Do you ever wonder how someone else sees your town?

Johnny saw this yesterday and wanted to pass it along. A blogger named Cathy Chester spent some time in Jersey City recently (a lot of it unexpected) and wrote about her visit to our fair city which in turn got picked up by the Huffington Post. It's nice to see what we see through the eyes of someone who hasn't been to Jersey City for quite a while.

Late night open thread

It's back! The Saturday night Scoreboard Show!

Ohio St. 34
Navy 17
Fans in Columbus are whistling past the graveyard

Michigan 52
Appalachian St. 14
Michigan could beat them by 100 and that stain would remain

Kentucky 59
UT-Martin 14
Kentucky's Braylon Heard just transferred from Nebraska because he wasn't getting enough playing time and enough chances to be a star. He ran TWO times today for 116 yards and both his runs were long TD's. He's averaging 58 yards per carry. Suck on that Nebraska

Eastern Michigan 31
Morgan State 28
You don't ask why EMU was playing Morgan State, no, in Ypsilanti you just take the win and shut up

Furman 13
Gardner-Webb 3
Boy did Vegas take a bath on this game

Alabama 33
West Virginia 23
OK, Alabama did pretty much throw their helmets on the field and win

Mississippi State 49
Southern Miss 0
Mississippi State declared that no directional school was gonna ruin their day

Texas 38
North Texas 7
Texas declared that no directional school was gonna ruin their day

Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Bethune-Cookman 14
Florida International University 12
Michael D. Jones for Bethune-Cookman, One carry. One yard. One touchdown.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE ROLLING STONES!

Labor Day weekend, what better time to dedicate a song to all the salt of the earth people in our lives than with the Rolling Stones and ironically enough, 'Salt of the Earth' getting things started tonight. Happy weekend!

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ROCKPILE!

If sugar was as sweet as you honey
Sugar just couldn't be bought
Because you're so sweet you make sugar taste just like salt

Yes, those were words spoken at Johnny's wedding. Johnny stood there while his wife read him those very words. What? It could happen. Either way that just segues nicely into Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds and Rockpile with 'If Sugar Was As Sweet As You'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with EDIE BRICKELL!

Now here's one we're betting you haven't heard in a while. We'll wrap up the Music Series this week with some serious wah wah pedal and Edie Brickell with 'What I Am'

It is RARE to get a Johnny business endorsement to say the least

He just doesn't hand out compliments to people for doing in all honesty what they are trying to do. You may compliment someone on a good job done or a great meal and that's fine. But for it to make it into the free advertising zone here that tends to be an advertising free zone 364 days out of the year, you've really gotta be extra good.

Friends, since 2010 Johnny has gone to Dr. Sushma Halthore at Grove Street Dental and his care has been tip top. Top shelf. He prays she never leaves Jersey City with her growing business. All his many questions are answered and in a way that A) He understands (and long-time readers know Johnny understands little) and B) Works toward proactive care. Grove Street Dental comes Johnny recommended and Johnny approved.

Late night open thread

Johnny's got a long craptastic day ahead featuring a root canal. Bedtime calls.

Here's a partial score on the big Rutgers game out in Seattle against Washington St. 2nd quarter score: Rutgers 14.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We so wanted today to be all about the big Rutgers game but, well, read on friends

Terrence T. McDonald at the Jersey Journal points out that all the blather coming from the mayor's office about the big job creation at 101 Hudson comes at quite a cost to the taxpayers.

When Steve Fulop talked up the announcement that First Data, an Atlanta payment processing company he claimed the 74 new jobs were proof that:

Jersey City is becoming a "preferred location" for businesses.

Really, so why the need for ridiculous tax breaks? Fulop had more in a statement:

"We are very thankful and excited that First Data's leadership sees the benefits of growing a business in Jersey City," he said. "Jersey City is becoming a preferred location for business and is leading the state economy with job creation."

Ok Jersey City, here's what Mayor Fulop didn't say. The Economic Development Authority is giving out a SIX MILLION dollar tax credit for First Data to move up one floor. One floor. Currently they reside on the 39th floor at 101 Hudson and now they get a lot of our money (an idea wholly supported by Mayor Fulop) to move up one floor and add 74 people. Let's face facts, it's just a bad deal for NJ taxpayers. Do the people involved in this really think there's some kind of economy crushing threat if First Data were to take the current 20 or so employees back to Atlanta?

One floor. 74 workers. Six million dollars. The disconnect between candidate Fulop and mayor Fulop grows more by the day. Johnny sure misses the guy who ran for mayor.

It's Rutgers football Gameday!

Yes yes, still August on the calendar for a couple more days but it's fall enough and tonight friends Rutgers embarks upon a whole new world with expectations that come from a new league. Tonight finds the Scarlet Knights out at Wazzou, Washington State in Seattle at 10pm. Before we get to much into the great unknowns of matchup sand what to look for in a way Johnny is very glad Rutgers joined the B1G. All these Rutgers gameday threads over the year rang pretty hollow, to write about a school you never went to or played in a league one is familiar not with. NOW Johnny can actually put some feeling into them (sorry no refunds on the back dated ones) as Rutgers tonight really runs out under the Big Ten banner for the first time. Rutgers is the birthplace of college football. As Steve Politi said today in the Star-Ledger though they're about to see that headstart from 1896 evaporated long ago. Rutgers who, if they lose to a smaller team, now gets slagged by the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Michigan fans and not Louisville, Cincinnati or Connecticut. Rutgers more than ever needs to step up their game all across the board. This B1G fans wishes them the best in doing so.

OK, Washington State. They can't run. They can't defend and they give up a lot of points. Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Here's the kicker, they were 4th last year out of over 200 teams in passing. Wazzou is going to pass on first down, second down and third down. They may pass some on 4th down as well. Pass happy is one way to put the WSU offense. Wide-open is another. So, Scarlet Knight fans, how do you feel about your pass rush and defensive secondary? This is a tough game for Rutgers. Washington State has been running these short passing drills all summer. There is every chance they are already up to speed whereas an offense like RU that relies on running to set up the pass does take longer in a first game to make things click. Rutgers cannot get down if they get behind by a score or two early. Their attack will take some time to keep pounding on a hapless WSU run defense. Make no mistakes here, Rutgers is going to need at least 28+ points to win this game so they'll have to be prepared BUT slow and steady is the only way to win this game. Get into a shootout and you may lose 56-40.

So game one of a new era in Piscataway being started waaaay across the country tonight. Johnny gives all RU fans permission to stay up past your bedtimes and if needed will send email excuse notes to your bosses for anyone who asks for one.

Fearless Forecast:
B1G Rutgers 31
Wazzou 30

Late night open thread

Johnny has been meaning to ask Rutgers fans their opinions about the new season and their new league. Tell us your hopes or trepidations in comments.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Sometimes Monday just gets away from you

So enjoy a picture of the Light Rail, all aboard for Monday evening fun!

Late night open thread

Say kids, do you like dirty jokes? Of COURSE you do! Who doesn't enjoy a well crafted filthy joke? Well, maybe the uber religious but it's also our guess they don't spend much time in the Jersey City Desk reading room. On with the joke:

A penguin has a problem with his car and takes it to the mechanic. The place is busy so they suggest he come back in a hour. Since it was a hot day the penguin decides to treat himself to a nice cold vanilla ice cream cone at the Dairy Queen across the street. After an hour the penguin finishes up his ice cream and he'd made a bit of a mess since he had flippers instead of hands and a beak instead of a mouth and all. Well he went back to the mechanic who tells him, "Looks like you blew a seal."

The penguin said, "No, it's just ice cream."

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

So, the question has been asked who has the better downtown; Jersey City or Hoboken

Pull up a chair and pour some Bailey's or Kahlua into that coffee boys and girls and listen to Jersey City's favorite Nere-Do-Well do what he does best, promote Jersey City and have some fun with our friends up north in FuHo.

Has Hoboken got the last of the water from Sandy out of downtown yet? They have? OK, then let's commence to the rules before this verbal knife fight begins.

 Somebody say 1-2-3 Go!

Hoboken has a delightful waterfront (and for the sake of talking about "downtowns" waterfronts count) and a great pier you can watch movies on and grass filled parks. They have events to fill the parks well too. It's a very nice, calm and family friendly waterfront when water isn't pouring over its banks into the main downtown. Jersey City too has a lovely park, J. Owen Grundy Park which, while less grassy than Hoboken parks also offers up the premiere view of New York City. Grab that camera and in Jersey City you get uptown, the WTC, the Statue of Liberty and the Verazano-Narrows bridge. Jersey City does have two things that Hoboken can't match. The Colgate Clock so New York can tell what time it is and The Katyn Monument, yes the one with the Polish soldier getting stabbed right through the back. Seriously, a giant clock and a grand violent statue? Advantage Jersey City. We will take away ONE point from Jersey City because the Great Vampire Squid of Goldman Sachs is located on the JC waterfront.

Downtowns have to be ruled over by someone or other or nothing gets built, cleaned up, or done. Hoboken recently had a mayor go to jail. Jersey City's last guy most likely at some point thought he was going to jail. We love Dawn Zimmer here. She stood up when nobody else would and called Chris Christie a big fat liarhead. The guy here now in Jersey City despite promises of grand design for the middle class and low-income residents has returned to his roots of the Great Vampire Squid to peddle giant casinos and race tracks. We'd almost give this advantage to Hoboken right now but for one thing; Beth Mason. You can't have someone like that in your city governance and not get points taken away. Right now we're going to call this a tie though Hoboken does seem to want to get to the bottom of their real problems faster than JC does who like to gloss things over far too often.

Architecture is a tricky call isn't it? You have so many classic Americana buildings in downtown Hoboken, the Castle Gatehouse brings European flair whereas Jersey City's downtown is quickly being remade and the old warehouses are either being torn town or updated into unrecognizable mush. In fact the only castle in Jersey City is the White Castle on Kennedy Blvd. in India Square. Jersey City does have some new exciting buildings going up like the three offset book looking buildings at Greene and Bay St., and the new buildings going up at the Grove St. PATH station. JC must lose points for the horrid looking "POS" building at 111 First St., the Lloyd Goldman wonderment to below-average and the new Toll Brothers "thing" going up along Marin Blvd. Skyline? Please. Jersey City has one. We also know both cities have some gorgeous churches and great looking buildings here and there but Hoboken wants to hold onto their history far more than Jersey City and when it comes to architecture that counts. Advantage: Hoboken

Food and Drink means different things to different towns. Hoboken is filled with bars and small restaurants that with the exception of a couple have all the ambience of an Applebees or TGI Friday's. That's because Hoboken skews younger. Show Johnny a 20-something "foodie"and he will show you the horrors of Brooklyn. There are good restaurants in Hoboken but when compared to the new food destinations of Jersey City, this is a clear cut victory to JC for the food part of this debate. Thirty Acres, Left Bank Burger, Razza, Taqueria, Satis, Orale, and Talde is on the way. Now comes the drink part of the discussion. Hoboken loves to drink and serve drinks and make money on drinks and loves making money on tickets for open-carry and public drunkenness. They have a very well known Day of Drinking which became so famous they had to change it because it became too dangerous. Jersey City takes a decidedly lower profile when it comes to imbibing. Maybe again because Jersey City takes on the role of adult when it comes to Hoboken's tween persona because again, Jersey City skews older. No puke in our shrubs. You can get the same beer and liquor in Hoboken you can get here with one new coming exception, Departed Soles gluten free craft brewpub coming to 150 Bay St. this fall. Advantage: Jersey City.

As this debate slips away from our bathtub shaped friends, Johnny can hear the cries of CRIME IN JERSEY CITY coming from the Mile Square City. Truth be told in the proper part of downtown there isn't much crime. Go ahead and complain Johnny is somehow skewing the maps or stats or however you want to cut it. Sure, Jersey City in places has a big problem with crime. Nobody will deny that but in a comparison of "downtown areas" JC doesn't knuckle under here. If we're choosing city vs. city yes, Hoboken wins this test, but it's not. Johnny could easily pivot here and talk about downtown artists and art spaces and the murals going up all over in Jersey City but that may seem like piling on.

So what have we learned? Jersey City is a true up and coming small city powerhouse with a great waterfront, a clean downtown with new construction, the best food outside of Manhattan with an ok in a "we're trying" kind of way city government. What have we learned about Hoboken? While it has some beautiful buildings and a pleasant downtown, it's flood prone and Buddy Valastro and Beth Mason both work there. Residents and visitors drink like vikings and then the town floods some more. They keep moving their big parade earlier and earlier every year so that this year's St. Patrick's Day parade in January 16th at 7:30am. If we have to hear that Eli Manning lives in the Hudson Tea Building one more time we're gonna yack. Yes, even more than the bushes and shrubberies in Hoboken are used to come springtime.

Advantage downtown Jersey City it is!

Late night open thread

Oh no, not Monday again. Ah well...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

New Jersey author tells the forgotten stories of local Revolutionary War sites

Wachung historian and author Bob Mayers knows the Revolutionary War. He's now written books on the topic and given speeches at West Point, and the Pentagon on the topic. His latest book, “The Forgotten Revolution — When History Forgets: Revisiting Critical Places of the American Revolution That Have Been Neglected by History” is a wonderfully researched book that covers important places in New Jersey that played parts in the Revolution many have long since forgotten:

“The Forgotten Revolution” covers 12 sites. He’s visited them, spoken to local residents — Mayers calls them “witnesses,” — many of whom have ancestors who lived in the area during the war for independence or who served in the army and wrote about their experiences in diaries or letters. Others are specialized historians, such as re-enactors, who have studied specific regiments and their battles, or members of local historical societies who have acquired and studied original documents involving the area.

Some of Mayers' research has turned up gems of strategy on the fly during the war:

Early on, in 1777, the British came from the Amboys and tried to draw Washington out of Bridgewater. They wanted him on the plains of New Jersey to fight a “European-style battle on the plains, with two armies facing each other and firing into each other,” he said.

Washington, who was at Washington Rock in Watchung, could see the lines of British coming. They came through Edison and Metuchen, and Washington sent Lord Stirling with a detachment of about 1,000 soldiers to Plainfield, telling him to “Guard my flank … hold these people off ‘til I get to safety,” Mayers said.

If you love American history or just enjoy the history of the Garden State along comes a very interesting late-summer read. 

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Fun with photos; Gardening edition

Trump Tower in Jersey City proving the old adage that if you put enough manure and compost on the ground you'll grow big things:

Late night open thread

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
 -- Oscar Wilde

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with BOB DYLAN!

Just one of the best songs ever done. 'Tangled Up in Blue' has always been and will always be one of Johnny's faves. Here's a slightly truncated version done live. Trust us this is the only real choice out there for this song -- some people need top have their YouTube account suspended for crimes against eardrums for tricking one into clicking a link claiming it's Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan when it's a hideous cover done off-key in the basement in front of bad paneling. If you are doing a cover, say so.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with NEKO CASE!

We haven't had Neko on in quite a while so why not tonight? Why not indeed. Johnny once heard Neko say this song, 'Red Tide,' was her sort of breakup song with the Pacific northwest, her home for many moons.  Once again, and as always, Kelly Hogan is amazing on backup vocals on this track.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with GERRY RAFFERTY!

Growing up Johnny remembers being dragged down to his best friend Roger's house to listen to his giant new bad-ass speaker system that was waaaay too big for his 10 x 14 room. Johnny remembers well Roger getting out the City to City album (yes album!) and set it on the turntable and set the diamond needle on the platter and this song came belting out and almost gave his mother a volume-related heart attack. Gerry Rafferty with 'Baker Street'.

Late night open thread

The necessary fixes have been made and thank you Amazon for getting the needed hardware here within 24 hours. You know Johnny doesn't easily throw effusive praise to companies around often but in this case, well done Amazon.

So who remembers the old David Lynch show Twin Peaks? While surfing the web today he came across this gem, Twin Peaks gets Simpsonized. How many characters can you still name?

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Sadly we're going to be offline for a day or two as we've had a hardware malfunction and the necessary part is a day or two out. Johnny will be back as cranky as ever don't you worry!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

More people betting on casinos in North Jersey

And what do we know about betting at casinos? The house normally wins and in New Jersey even that loaded business model can't keep the casinos in Atlantic City from chundering one after the other. A few weeks ago JC Mayor Steve Fulop said he'd be all for a new casino in Jersey City, all 800 floors of it and a race track in tow, Liberty State Park be damned. Since any new bricks and mortar casinos built in the Garden State must get the approval of the AC casinos and a new constitution, maybe Fulop is betting they'll all be gone soon enough and none will be left to fight a change in said state constitution.

But wait fans of going and hanging out at casinos, the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce has proposed FOUR new casinos. Guess where. Go ahead, guess. That's right, at the Meadowlands. The swamps of Jersey. Yes, what's not to love about that idea? Casinos can't work on the Atlantic Ocean with a wonderful boardwalk but the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce thinks they'll work there? Hooo man, we DO have some real thinkers around this state don't we? Again, pick up your smartphone or tablet and gamble your brains out and you needn't head over to the scenic Meadowlands to do it.

If you're wondering about the plan we'll hook you up with a handy link right here. There is also a schematic as to how they think things would shape up. You have been warned. Do come back and tell us of your excitement to get this done!

Everything dies baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in East Rutherford

Late night open thread

The best way to describe the summer of 2014 is "delicious."

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

And we're back on the air...

What a few days off it was too. The police murder and police riot in Ferguson Mo., the pedestrian walkways being set up to the chagrin of some drivers, and something that shook Johnny to the core and something we will be addressing over the next few days, the fact that if Steve Fulop runs for governor and just about everyone expects (and he has shown through his own actions) that Jersey City may well need to prepare for another Healy administration.

So friends and dear readers, the days off were nice but beware power brokers of Jersey City, Johnny and his staff are back on the clock.

Late night open thread

We'll see you back here on Tuesday but in the meantime if you are having pest problems Johnny thinks you should call Joe Sweeney. Pests, you know, critters, vermin...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE POLICE!

This song, 'Bombs Away' was on the album Zenyatta Mondatta which was what Johnny was going to name his first child until The Police stole the idea, (well, technically Miles Copeland did) so instead of going with his backup plan of Regatta De Blanc he just decided no Zenyatta Mondatta, no kids. FACT!

'Bombs Away' by The Police stepping things off tonight.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with R.E.M.!

Johnny's blog, Johnny's punctuation.

Wanna know one of the ten best things about 1986? This song. R.E.M. with 'Fall on Me' and we here simply dare you to not sing the chorus at the top of your lungs.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE FOUR TOPS!

Pulling down the curtain on another Music Series are the Four Tops with that Motown sound Johnny hopes makes it back to Detroit to inspire the Tigers and give them the kick in the pants they need right now.

The Four Tops with 'Reach Out (I'll Be There)'

A logo so anonymous that it almost evaporates and a looooonnnng weekend

First off the long weekend. Johnny needs some time off so he's gonna vacate the Jersey City Desk offices after tonight's Music Series until Tuesday morning. Johnny just needs some time to recharge some batteries, visit a couple museums, a trip to Governor's Island and hit some great restaurants in both Jersey City and NYC. A three and a half day staycation. Very necessary.

Secondly, would you like to see what $3.57 million dollars gets you when you commission Landor Associates to create your new World Trade Center logo. You can click here to see the weak offering or you can just take the word of an architect working in the WTC area who told Gothamist "It’s so anonymous that it almost evaporates."

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Sometimes all you want while the world burns is a good read

Well what about a good read that features international intrigue, American "royalty" such as George Washington and Aaron Burr and actual guys on money? How about we spice it up with a haunted house? How about if it was set in olde New York and Paris? Come friends, read the amazing history of Eliza Jumel, formerly the richest woman in America and her NYC mansion. 

Late night open thread

"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With the Wind."

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

So Jersey City, how did you fare in the big rain?

People on Long Island and parts of NYC seem to have been hit harder than our fair city. We also know of some flooding further south in New Jersey where the Pineys got well soaked. How are you making it through today? Any issues with your commute? Flooding in your neighborhood? Loss of power? Do let us know and here's a handy dandy guide to how much rain everyone got.

Late night open thread

State trivia night. Which state is the only US state with a flag that has different designs on both sides? Answer here.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Mea Culpa when it comes to casinos in New Jersey

Johnny has bid $250 cash dollars to buy the Revel Casino in Atlantic City. Should his bid be accepted (and it's an all CASH offer friends) he's going to have to point out he's a casino owner in AC while fighting the bad idea Mayor Fulop has for a kabillion story casino and racetrack. Just want to stay on the up and up with you readers.

Got a big old rain thing coming our way

Call it what you will, a storm, a front, a leading edge of cooler air, any way you look at it the Tri-state is under a flood watch through Wednesday afternoon. We could be getting over three inches of rain tonight with the rain beginning at about 3:30 EDT. Be careful out there and make sure your flood plans are ready to go. Gonna be a long wet night ahead.

Late night open thread

There are 5 to 10 times more stars in the known Universe than there are grains of sand on all the world's beaches, but a single grain of sand has more atoms than there are stars in the known Universe.

If you can't sleep tonight start counting either atom or sand sheep.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Bats in their belfry

Well, attic anyway. In Green Township a local church, the Tranquility Methodist Church, has an issue. Some 350 big brown bats have begun calling their attic home. People gather around to watch them fly off into the night to feed on insects (including mosquitos) and take pictures and videos. Local groups including Antler Ridge Wildlife Sanctuary and Biologist MacKenzie Hall from the Conserve Wildlife Foundation are trying to find a way to move the current tenants in a non-lethal way. These bats really are too cute AND they perform a great service to local areas that have them keeping the flying bug population down. Click here to watch the report.

Late night open thread

“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”
 -- Mark Twain

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Get your moon boots on and head down to the river later today for some quailty moonwatchin'

Don't forget the camera. Why you ask? It's a SUPERMOON tonight and as you can see there are very few clouds in the sky. The moon rose a while ago at 1:15pm but the great shots will come later this afternoon. The moon is at perigee (closest to us) and will appear 12% bigger and will be 30% brighter tonight into Monday's wee hours of the AM than a normal full moon. So get those cameras and head down to J. Owen Grundy Park and get your urban Ansel Adams on.

Late night open thread

A full evening of design shows has convinced Johnny that it's time to put that new minaret on the Jersey City Desk offices. It'd be unique, a real eye-catcher and the speakers could broadcast Johnny's messages to the good people of Jersey City...and play great music all day. We think this particular minaret celebrates layer cakes.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Hope somebody thought to lock up the offices before we left

Wish you were here...

Late night open thread

Johnny's dad often cautioned him about being in such a hurry to grow up and do things and not wish his life away. However wishing this past week away couldn't happen soon enough. Hello weekend!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SOPHIE TUCKER!

You remember Sophie Tucker don't you? Hell this recording is only 102 years old and you're saying you don't remember it? Well friends we have a real treat tonight, Sophie Tucker. Here's "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas" with 'Knock Wood' from (are you sitting down?) 1912 as played on Thomas Edison's Wax Amberol Rare Phonograph Cylinder. It's worth a watch as well as a listen!

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with BECK!

You know, the NEW pollution. Not the old pollution, the kind that made that Indian cry that time. No, the new pollution. Pollution of the airwaves, of fracking, of cell tower radiation, and whatever beck is talking about.

Beck with 'The New Pollution' keeping things rolling.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with VAN HALEN!

Off you go into this good summer night and you're gonna head out there rocking hard. Van Halen with 'Runnin' with the Devil' capping another Music Series.

Late night open thread

"Hello 911? Those little shitheads are back and they're stealing my weed again. Do you realize just stalks do me no good? Hurry up, hurry up they're clipping the buds RIGHT NOW!"

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Get your hot fresh news roundup, get it while it's HOT

* On a personal note, as Dan Levin pointed out on Twitter after Ward E councilwoman Candice Osborne had a cow about a skunk under or near her own porch:

Daniel Levin ‏@DanLevin_inJC  59m
murder left and right, out of control spending continues, NO budget and the only thing concerning downtown is skunks

* Atlantic City has raised property taxes 29% to cover what the failing casinos can't put back into the coffers (though they PROMISED it to get tax abatements). Ironically Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is in AC today talking to AFSCME workers. No doubt telling them they'll pay more if his wrongheaded 95 story casino at Liberty State Park ever gets off the ground. Casinos in NJ are a bad bet for everyone.

* For long-time New Jersey residents or those who are fascinated by cold cases, a woman living in Florida has finally been charged with the 1991 murder of her son in Sayreville.

* The Port Authority has said "No way Jose" to the charges that they owe Jersey City some $400 million is a lawsuit filed by JC Mayor Steve Fulop.

* Accuweather is predicting early snow for the Garden State, Thanksgiving to be exact. They say a big snowstorm is practically expected around Turkey Day this year.

* Finally, a trip to Jefferson Township New Jersey where a bear has it ALL figured out. People, I'll act like people...

Late night open thread

If your birthday is today you share it with Andy Warhol who was born in 1928.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

If you're gonna put up a giant sign hating on the President in your yard, don't be a remedial

Dateline rural Georgia: Yes, we know this is making the rounds on the Twitter this morning and yes we know Johnny's English isn't 100% perfect (that encompasses sentence fragments, run on sentences, grammar mistakes, punctuation and spelling errors) but this luddite is in a class by themselves. Wow, the hatred, and certainly the punctuation alone gets this one into the Hall-of-Shame. Are they saying someone named Libety is a Tranny? Help a friend out here...

Stupid Obama, LOL

So that pothole that might have been classified as FIXED, you gotta see this

As some will recall on Sunday Johnny posted pictures of a crater of a pothole looking for a place to emerge and showed the before and after the MUA/DPW dropped a couple shovels of asphalt on it and called it good. So here we are on Wednesday and Johnny's bitching and complaining got somebody's attention:

As you can see from the ladder in the hole a couple shovelfuls of anything wasn't going to fill it. If you want anything done right Jersey City be prepared to have to see it through. Ring some phones, send some emails and when all else fails get a blog and a Twitter account.

Johnny 1 MUA/DPW 0

Late night open thread

Another Jersey City Desk original animation, from 7th Ave. and Bedford tonight.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

New York Rangers fans, are you gonna sit there and take this?

The Hockey News is counting down the top NHL logos and your team's famous crest and shield look rated no better than #14.

To enrage you another way, the Buffalo Sabres are going to outrank you. Here you go, vent your rage here.

Avoid the Pulaski Skyway if you're headed out this morning

Traffic is backed up from the Pulaski Skyway back to the Tonnelle Circle here in Jersey City this morning due to an injury accident closing ALL lanes on the Skyway into Newark. NJ511.com can help and keep checking the Jersey Journal for more. 

Late night open thread

Yes, nothing shows eternal love like a headstone from Dignity and a funeral from Assman's.

When my time on earth is gone

And my activities here are past
I want they bury me upside down
So my critics can kiss my Ass...man funeral, where we offer the most eternal compassion for you and your family...in this price range.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Johnny's a big proponent of rail travel but you can't have this

As some of you may know from previous posts, Johnny doesn't fly. He drives and or takes train rides. He very much enjoys the train. He also likes it when he gets a ticket that Amtrak tells him the correct platform it's leaving from so he can, you know, get on. Well Saturday Amtrak told over 200 passengers the WRONG platform number for their ACELA Amtrak ride from Penn Station to Washington D.C.

Now suppose you're the conductor waiting on the platform the train was actually waiting to depart on, would you notice that ZERO people got on board? Would you use your radio to call someone? Not if you're the conductor on ACELA 2253, the fact nobody (NOBODY) got on didn't phase them one bit. So off an empty train went to Washington D.C.

Yes, empty:

“They literally sent us to the wrong platform, and the conductor took off without any passengers,” said Damien Miano, 60, of Chelsea. “The right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing. It was just so bizarre.”

Several passengers took to Twitter to vent their rage — and bewilderment.

“@Amtrak u didn't find it strange that no one from NYC got on the Acela to DC?? Left an entire train of people at Penn #mindblown,” wrote @JamieBraaten.

“Thanks @Amtrak, missing a wedding cause Acela 2253 left NYC without boarding any passengers,” wrote @mikeyuBCN.

More on the ghost train to D.C. right here, all aboard!

Late night open thread

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
 -- Hunter S. Thompson

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Wolf walk

Johnny took the dire wolf out early this morning. These were his findings.

WTF Sunday -- Explosion at NJ Egg Nog factory injures two

Two people were injured in Totowa NJ last night. Luckily the two workers' injuries are not serious (or Johnny wouldn't be mocking this) and fire officials in Totowa are currently baffled as to what actually set off the explosion:

Totowa Fire Marshal Allen Del Vecchio said, "There was a big vat that had this product in it... what we're trying to determine is what ignited this product and caused the explosion." He added that he could feel the explosion a mile away in his own home, "The whole back of the building was completely blown out, probably half of this building may have to be torn down."

Johnny did a little research and this is what he found on the ever-accurate Wikipedia page for the Nog Bean, from which egg nog flavoring comes from:

The nog bean (1) has very complex chemical compounds and if left to dry incorrectly can cause detonation of the nog bean itself(2).

There you have it Totowa, Johnny has solved your query. Wikipedia is never wrong. It was the nog beans. You are welcome.

Late night open thread

“There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant”
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

C'mon Municipal Utilities Authority and Department of Pubic Works, try a little harder than this

Earlier this week the Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) announced an "aggressive" campaign to start filling in potholes all over town. Why the MUA? Because the Department of Public Works (DPW) can't keep up because they are busy installing personal gas grills in their offices. Some of these potholes have gained mythological reputations and Twitter accounts. Johnny called one in, baseball size BUT it's going to become watermelon sized and SINK because if you look at the pictures below you can see a good six inch VOID under street level. It's sagging badly inward. We're of the mind the construction crews for Toll Brothers, Shuster, Lloyd Goldman's bunch via Pavarini-McGovern and Mill Creek should pass the hat since their trucks' constant pounding most likely exacerbated this one.

Johnny called it in and the "aggressive" MUA/DPW campaign stopped by and it looks like threw one, maybe two shovels of asphalt over it (some did get inside LOL) and left.

So our question to the MUA/DPW is, does this count as fixing a pothole? When you say you've fixed 5000 around Jersey City does throwing a couple shovels of asphalt count as fixed? You cannot half-ass this stuff gang. These holes get worse and worse and a shovel here and a shovel there doesn't do shit.

So, one more time, did you count this one at Warren and Morgan as a fix?

Late night open thread

Here's a movie factoid you may not know; real Civil War veterans were at the premiere of Gone With the Wind.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with NO DOUBT!

Hey baby hey baby hey. It works if you're Gwen Stefani, maybe not so much your Cher or Minnie Riperton-types. Let's get right to the music tonight and No Doubt with oddly enough, 'Hey Baby'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with JIM CROCE!

Big Jim Walker. Say, does anybody know if he still hangs around 42nd St. at night? Johnny's pretty sure by this point some 40 years on he could take him.

Jim Croce and 'You Don't Mess Around with Jim'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with FREDDIE CANNON!

Freddie Cannon? Damn Johnny you're old and stuff. Maybe so kids but this one can't be beat. Wrapping up another Music Series here is the aforementioned Mr. Cannon with the song that put the panhandle of Florida on the map with 'Tallahassee Lassie' from 1959.