Late night open thread

Every so often, through all the little problems in life and the bigger miseries, it's nice to sometimes just have something nice you have a connection to go well. A small arena in Marquette Michigan, right on the shores of Lake Superior won this year's Kraft Hockeyville tournament from over 8500 community ice rink applicants. Johnny has played on that ice and been to many many games there while he attended Northern Michigan University, the homestanding team at Lakeview until recently. Marquette High School has won scads of state titles out of Lakeview AND the very first team to play at Lakeview Arena, the Marquette Iron Rangers had 3 players you perhaps became batter acquainted with in the movie Slapshot:

We've got entertainment for the whole family. Congrats Lakeview!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Hats off to all the Jersey City volunteers last weekend on Earth Day

Last weekend hundreds of volunteers spread out across Cool City and collected (drum roll) 15 TONS of trash from the streets and neighborhoods of Jersey City. Very very impressive and once again Johnny will speak on behalf of all residents when he gives a hale and hearty thank you to all who gave their time.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

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

Remember when radio used to be cool and you felt it had a connection to your town and the concerts you and your friends you saw? Growing up in Detroit Johnny was in a word blessed. For the top hits you had the world famous Big 8, CKLW, 800AM. For we FM connoisseurs there was the famed WWWW 106.7. Steve Dahl & Gary Meier in the morning, Howard Stern after the Dahl show then Sky Daniels to get you around at night.

Blessed.

Then slowly the radio became a corporate wasteland, void of anything good or worthwhile sans NPR. Payola not only became legal again but encouraged. You weren't served music because you called in and wanted it or even liked it but a record company was paying big to make sure that certain song made it on every 90 minutes. Local DJ's were replaced by canned showed taped elsewhere. Sure, XM and Sirius have brought back some of that DJ knowledge base and great stories and put music first but we put that on a credit card now don't we?

As we celebrate mediocrity all the boys upstairs want to see
How much you'll pay for what you used to get for free
 -- Tom Petty, 'The Last DJ'

So here's to old-style radio and the shortwave radio that hooked Johnny at age 7. Old-style radio, when the DJ could play what you asked for, what was new, or maybe an old song they liked and it didn't sound like Taylor Swift.

'Radio Free Europe from R.E.M. getting us started on 90 commercial free minutes on the Johnny Action Space Punk Radio Show

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with JOE JACKSON!

We've got Joe Jackson tickets for the show at the War Memorial this upcoming Friday if you're the third caller and can tell us the phrase that pays.

Joe Jackson at #2 this week on the caller favorite HOTline and 'On Your Radio'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ROSANNE CASH!

Signing off this shift on the Music Series on radio songs, The College of Musical Knowledge is up next and he'll take the overnight from 2am til the morning crew gets here at 6. Leaving you with the brilliant Rosanne Cash and 'Radio Operator'

Late night open thread

Great night for a lot of young men who were drafted into the NFL tonight. Not so much for Mississippi's program as their much-maligned draftee, after being shown (On his own Twitter account) in some hardcore weed smoking involving a bong hooked up to a gas mask and having emails on Instagram asking for money and the Mississippi football staff paying him, exposed. People long wondered how the Rebels got so good so fast. Maybe in one bad evening all around we found out.

TIme for Jersey City, After Dark

Johnny today is naming NJ Senator Cory Booker as his running mate for President

Since apparently now one chooses a running mate long before the convention, or getting anywhere near enough delegates to actually be nominated, Johnny thought now would  be as good a time as any to announce Senator Booker's status AND to actually start a campaign. But again, like Ted Cruz with Carly Fiorina Johnny figured he'd better reach into the name box and get a good one.

Let's make America cool again.

Late night open thread

“Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.”
 -- Steven Wright

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The first day and a half of Light Rail disruptions are on the truck driver, NOW it's on NJ Transit

For a third day NJ Transit is running the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail on modified schedules because of Monday's accident where a dumbass driver from one of the local developer sites tore down the overhead wiring needed for the HBLR to run. We understood the morning after there would be headaches and boy were there but now we're into the third day it's high time NJ Transit shows us they actually have real and solid contingency plans for such matters. Your whole line runs on overhead wiring, please don't tell us you haven't war-gamed this scenario.

So, day three and now we ask NJ Transit, what the hell?

Let's go surfing now
Everybody's learning how
Coming to the hospital with me

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The knockout game? Really Jersey City?

This shit needs to end now and those associated with it brought to bear...by any means necessary.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Great story for a Monday, A Jersey City Double Dutch team tearing it up!

If you've been by Audubon Park you may well have seen the awesome Double Dutch skills of the Jersey City group, the Honey Bees Double Dutch team. Some fantastic skills and not just those usual ones you're familiar with. No, this means handstand jumps and splits, yes splits. Follow this link and have yourself a feel good story about some really talented Jersey City ladies.

Late night open thread

When you have company in from out of town you don't waste a day this nice indoors.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

You kids, you don't do this

This is not clever, funny, sporting, or amusing. Cheating is never acceptable, this is beyond the pale. While he didn't throw the ball, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone got the punishment since nobody would own up. He got a red card on general principle which could bring about a two-game ban at a critical time in their season. Screengrabber has us covered.

Late night open thread

Look out Jersey City, Johnny's clubbing tonight.

Time for Jersey City, After Dartk

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE CLASH!

Tonight's about those songs that sound soooo good on a great night like tonight on a car or truck sound system. The kinds of music that's fun, awesome, and classic. Starting off tonight is a song you may well have the chorus sung to you if you're waiting out a light

New York
What?!
Don't stop give it all you got
New York
What?!
Don't Stop

Ever wondered how goddamned good the Clash can sound live? Here they are on Tom Snyder at the height of their powers in 1981 with 'Magnificent Seven'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with TOM JONES!

You had better believe if you're at a stoplight and this is on your system all the ladies will be popping fingers and bobbing heads to this one. 'She's A Lady' never goes out of style in public places.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with DIGITAL UNDERGROUND!

Yessiree Bob this would sound good driving around Jersey City tonight. if Johnny hears you playing this one like a desperate radio station will pay you cash! He'll come up to your car and drop some of Uncle Sam's best green pocket liner on you. Johnny's gonna be out and about tonight so you never know. Digital Underground means one thing, 'Humpty Dance'

If it's Earth Day (and it IS) it means fun in Hoboken!

Residents all over Hoboken are putting on their Friday best clothes and heading on down to Sinatra Park for the annual Earth Day Tire Fire and BBQ!

The Hoboken FD has been collecting tires from the Hudson River all year, even importing some from the Passaic River for this year's Tire Fire theme: "It's Just Smoke, Settle Down." Over 1000 tires will be lit as residents and visitors sing the Deep Purple classic, 'Smoke on the Water' with special emcee Sooty the Clown. A spokesperson for the Hoboken Fire Department tells the Jersey City Desk this year's fire should set the record and burn past the June 5th record set in 2011.

Other events are planned of course today all over Hoboken including a burning tire roll down First St., The Hoboken Conservatory of Science will have a special booth set up for kids called "So you wanna light your first tire..." full of tips on safe ways to handle gasoline and matches. The Cake Boss will deliver a special cake in the shape of burning smoking tires to Mayor Dawn Zimmer before the annual pushing of the burning tire pyres out into the Hudson River.

A new event this year is a 100 foot square tire base that grows in height like a pyramid with a Jersey City Citibike on top. You just can't spell 'fun' without FuHo.....kind of.

So come on out to FuHo today, bring the kids and tell the neighbors as this wonderful piece of Americana steps off once again. Free admission if you bring a tire. Hell, it's free admission even if you don't.

File photo from 2009 Hoboken Tire Fire and BBQ©

Late night open thread

Here, quick, a Prince video in honor of his sheer greatness and impact on Johnny and obviously society in general.

Drugs are nowhere kids, at least the kind it sounds like he used.

RIght, back to Prince, as with any video of his on YouTube is has a life expectancy of five minutes ago so without anymore talk, Price and 'Let's Pretend We're Married' because it's awesome and was available.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Boy were the entitlement biking crowd back on Twitter this AM

Johnny had over 17 Tweets he was mentioned in when he hit Twitter this morning. The entitled bike crowd is still apoplectic over Johnny's words yesterday. See, you take on one sacred cow and they get all up in arms like children denied a juice box. They're back at it today, still trying to answer the question (and failing badly) Johnny put out yesterday, "When CAN'T you ride you bikes on the city sideWALKS?

We'll tell you if we ever hear back with a cogent answer...

Late night open thread

OK kids, you've by now read so many stories about weed and smoking weed and 4/20 and you've probably kicked back and taken a marijuana at this point and you just wanna zone out. Hey, Johnny was young once. Pink Floyd and the timeless stoner classic, 'Sheep'

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

A Jersey City Desk Editorial -- Those Entitled Bikers

Johnny spent the better half of the last few hours exposing the sheer hypocrisy of so many of the bikers here in Jersey City. First, have you ever met a biker or member of any bike group that didn't have strong opinions, ne, intransigent positions on cars and how they drive, park, fill up with gas, how many mpg's they get and on and on and on? Cars are their enemy in cities all over America. NO GROUND must be given to cars according to these same bike groups.

You'd think these so-called forward thinkers might carry their worldview throughout their lives but you'd be wrong. It ends at cars. A member of a group calling itself BikeJC, speaking for all bikers in Jersey City spent some time telling Johnny that indeed in some cases it's ok for bikers to use the sidewalks (GET THAT FUCKING CAR OUT OF THE FUCKING BIKE LANE BEFORE I THROW MY KLEEN KANTEEN AT IT) because well, they didn't give any one reason. They said zero tolerance doesn't work ever anywhere (GET THAT CAR'S NOSE OUT OF THE CROSSWALK GODDAMMIT!) and well, shuckins, because it works in the Netherlands and Germany, we're all safer. So there you have it. Bikers do not want for themselves what they expect of others, there is no other way to put it. There's no other way for them to weasel out of their what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable worldview.

Want a question to make their heads spin? Ask them when can't they ride on sidewalks.

When Johnny had the common sense to bring up the idea that bikes under no circumstances should be on the sidewalk ever he got this golden nugget from BikeJC:

1) Yes we passed laws making it illegal to ride on sidewalks ever. We worked really hard on that law.
2) It's OK for bikers to ride on sidewalks (no word on whenever, sometimes, maybe, if they feel like it, if they hear a car horn or get scared by the Light Rail).

Remind you of anything?

Phase One-Collect Underpants
Phase Two-
Phase Three-Profit

But it's ok because statistics say it's safer for bikes to go on sidewalks with zero hard fast parameters. If you get hit, well there's where the BikeJC spokesperson on Twitter had no answers. Who pays if you get run down or your pet gets hit? The biker? We're hearing from the biker group they shouldn't be responsible because of statistics. The city? Yeah, right. You see where this is going. If a car hit a biker in the bike lane they howl with indignity yet should a biker hit someone on a sideWALK, well then they try and murk up the situation right quick. When Johnny suggested a zero tolerance law (which technically exists because of BikeJC) be enforced the bike group spokesperson took this to the ridiculous endgame of the police kicking in your door if you smoke a joint.

Project much?

It's simple, it's against the law to ride on the sidewalk. ANY biker riding on the sidewalk by any of the dozens of police standing around construction sites, those standing around busy intersections or on patrol should talk with the biker. Why were you on the sidewalk? Avoiding a situation in the street and maybe they go. If they're just on the sidewalk, ticket. Let the officer decide.

This utopia where cars are attacked and bikers just do what they want because they hide behind statistics and NEVER accept personal responsibility may work in the Borough of Oz but not in Jersey City. Continue to document bikers on the sidewalks and feel free to confront them, also know as education, in getting them off the sidewalks once and for all.

Late night open thread

Sorry kids, Johnny had one more meeting today with his surgeon and clients about work to be done after the big day >:/

Really puts the S in suck.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Are you a music lover? Of course you are

You know Johnny's all about Detroit and Southeast Michigan music because he was lucky enough to grow up in what he feels in the music capital of the world. Want some proof? OK, the Detroit Free Press is holding a contest to name the best 100 songs ever from Detroit. To get to 100 you must pick through thousands of songs from all eras to all formats. It'll be an eye-opening look into the fabulous rich history of Detroit Music.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey CIty, After Dark

For 24 hours anyway all is right with the world

Go Wings! What an effort. Joe Louis Arena, our home, our cathedral, our fortress.

Late night open thread

Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade.
 -- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Johnny's a big Daffodilian

You?

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES!

We'll start the fun tonight with a slow one. Johnny's gonna bring the room down and drop this platter on the record player, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and 'The Tracks of My Tears'

Go ahead, give this one a whirl. Sing along and do your best. If the dog and or cat leave the room maybe don't quit your day job.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with PETE YORN!

Here's one Johnny has always found Music Series worthy, a real cool song with a great hook. Pete Yorn with 'Life on a Chain'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with MATERIAL ISSUE!

Sending you off into this glorious spring night with something you can jump around and easily repeat the chorus to as you get to where you're going. Material Issue with 'Valerie Loves Me' on this internet radio outpost.

Ah stalking...

Late night open thread

Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
 -- Steven Wright

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Any more costs from delaying the reval is now ALL on Mayor Fulop

As expected, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Francis B. Schultz, ruled against Jersey City, ie Steve Fulop's administration, who upon taking office looked for excuses to stop the reval and up until now has been embarrassingly successful.

Judge Schultz who had earlier expressed his disdain for city tactics said in his ruling:

"The evidence in this trial is clear and convincing," the judge said. "The city simply does not want a revaluation. Period."

Exactly. We here at the Jersey City Desk have said it umpteen times. The city is long overdue for one, state law requires it, time to eat the vegetables. Stop acting like a child in so obviously protecting, or should we say ham-handedly trying to protect the interests of anyone who might be hit up for a check when Fulop announces his run for governor (even as that secret SUPERPAC floods his accounts with moolah).

Enough. The state has demanded it. Judge Schultz said you were acting childish or even imperial throughout this entire case. No more delays, no more tedious and doomed-to-fail lawsuits and certainly NO MORE tax abatements until the reval is performed. Any more costs due to delays are all on you Mr. Mayor. We understand this is chundering your run for governor but you've only got yourself and your official "Hudson County politician" pin to blame.

While we're happy Mayor Fulop seems to have backed off wanting a casino in Jersey City...

...We still don't trust this mess is over, and sure wonder why the flip. Fulop as many know has sidled up with a Boston developer to build an unneeded, unnecessary and unsustainable casino in Jersey City, no doubt on the taxpayer's dime while all parking and game revenues go to the very few.

Suddenly though, Fulop paid a visit to Atlantic City and came back thinking, "Know what, maybe we don't want that."  Good, he's been reading the Jersey City Desk again. We have explained in graphs, numbers and anecdotal evidence that a casino would be a very bad thing here.

But why the flip? Let's try and find out together.

Today, Fulop said his discussions with Atlantic City leaders — he met today with its council president, Marty Small — and residents have cooled him to the idea of a Jersey City casino. It's not clear anymore that casinos can bring an economic boost and jobs without bringing along crime and broken promises of economic development, he said.

He said he will spend the next few weeks mulling it over and will announce before November whether he still supports casino expansion. If he decides not to, he told the media in Atlantic City today, he will campaign against the referendum.

"I'm not reluctant to say that sometimes I make a mistake and my position can change based on new information," he told The Jersey Journal.

So, is it really self-reflection at work here? Was this the mayor's fist time to AC and to look around and really see what the economy there is? While we're happy he's obviously been listening to Johnny Jersey City residents must remain ever vigilant on this issue.

Late night open thread

Whoaaa Nellie will we have something to talk about tomorrow casino related. So many angles to this one kids, do come back by.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The Jersey City Desk 2016 NHL Playoffs Preview

Johnny didn't talk much about hockey this past regular season. He doesn't like the Rangers or most of their fans, and the Devils never did anything to get excited about. Johnny was mad at his Red Wings at several points this year as he noticed issues popping up that weren't addressed in a way Johnny liked and he watched young players not take the next step under a coach they were familiar with and should have flourished under. But, as they always do for a Wings fan, the playoffs have come around agains for the 25th straight year. Let's take a look at the conference quarterfinals shall we?

Detroit vs Tampa Bay - The Bolts should have all the advantages here but they don't do they? A lot of top flight prognosticators are taking the underdog Wings. Tampa Bay is without several key players up front and on the back end. Tyler Johnson who torched the Wings in the playoffs last year is a game time decision. There's an old adage in hockey this time of year, beware the veteran team that underachieved in the regular season. While the Wings are rather young they do have key vets in Zetterberg, Kronwall, Richards, Green and Pavel Datsyuk. A lesser Wings team took a better Lightning team to 7 games last spring before losing. This year it's Wings in 7.

Washington vs Philadelphia - Yeah, but it's Washington everyone keeps saying. Yes, yes it is but even Washington can get through one series as President's Trophy winners. The Flyers are hot coming in and playing with confidence. If they take one of the first this could be a long series with Washington winning. If the Caps win both at home it's over in 5 at worst.

New York Islanders vs Florida - The first-place Panthers on paper should have no trouble with the plucky Isles who are close to being a very good team but need to figure out how that last jump happens. It hasn't yet. The Panthers in 6 but perhaps the Isles can take a pound of flesh from Florida for their troubles like that famed Toronto series years back.

New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh - The most evenly matched of the first eastern series' to be sure. The Penguins keep telling everyone they're done with all the choking and Sidney Crosby is ready to roll. The Rangers have become a pretty reliable playoff team (Of course everyone tore up their brackets the day Michigan State lost too) with a roster built for this time of year and a coach who doesn't panic. Johnny likes the Rags in 7 here.

Still here? OK, the West, where lots of teams get opportunities to hoist the cup now that Detroit is in the East (Yes Wings fans are insufferable this time of year but also awesome).

Chicago vs St Louis - We've seen this set-up time and time again with St. Louis. They're in a home ice advantage, they have what looks like a great team and then they face a Chicago or Detroit and it all goes sideways quickly. The Hawks are battle tested and even with just one great line this time around Johnny thinks knows that until St. Louis actually wins a big series he's picking Chicago. The Blues have to be the biggest disappointment in the Western Conference come playoff time since...

San Jose vs Los Angeles - ...The Sharks. Year after year after decade we hear about how THIS without a doubt is the year Team Teal breaks through with their awesome talent, their great coaching and wild fan support and every year it's the same goddamned thing, pfffffffft. The Kings are trying to build a dynasty at the same time the Hawks are. To watch a Hawks vs Kings series later would be divine. Good thing the Kings only have to dispatch the Sharks in 6 here.

Dallas vs Minnesota - The old North Stars vs the new North Stars with he Wild name. What a wonderful reunion of Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Nobody cares

Nashville vs Anaheim - A lot of people are simply checking off the Ducks box in their brackets without giving too much thought to the series to be played. Here's Johnny's possible red light upset special. The Predators score a LOT of goals from their defensemen. A lot. They shoot hard, often and well. How many times is the deciding shot late in a tie game or overtime a tipped point shot or a screen? If the Nashville forwards can somewhat limit the Ducks one big line and they do get a couple BB's into the back of the net, this series gets real interesting real fast. Preds in 7.

Late night open thread

A playoff preview on the morrow. Til then...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Fulop and DeGise are probably no longer fans of night church

The Old Bergen Church opened wide and swallowed up Mayor Fulop and Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise whole last night. Both men, missing their usual cadre of police officers, friendly administration officials and supporters, were asked the hard questions and when they didn't have answers, or tried to dodge them they were met with less than friendly responses, it would seem many in the African-American community in Jersey CIty are sick of being taken for granted and leaned on every-time downtown needs a tax cut:

The Rev. Alonzo Perry Sr., of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, pressed Fulop on why his administration has not moved forward with a citywide reval, one Perry said would shift the city's tax burden from its less affluent neighborhoods to wealthier areas. Fulop's attempts to explain his reasoning for postponing the reval were met with occasional jeers from the crowd of about 850 gathered inside Old Bergen Church for the launch of Jersey City Together.

"I did believe as I do believe today that people in this room would lose their homes," Fulop said. "I believe that."

"People are losing their homes now, Mr. Mayor," Perry said to applause. "People are leaving the city now, Mr. Mayor. There's a crisis in the city today, Mr. Mayor."

According to many there, DeGise was an utter jackhole, constantly shifting blame and crying poor and committing to not much. Just like his day job. Fulop however seemed in over his head said some who were there and this report does make it seem like there is a disconnect between the African American community in Jersey City and a Mayor who views it as one big Ward E. This was a very very telling meeting in both the Jersey City context and more than likely Fulop's run for governor. Without his support staff and being able to call the meeting shots the mayor shrunk and got rattled and also watched a key section of any Democratic candidate's base further peel away.

Late night open thread

"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love."
 -- Sitting Bull

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

They held a remembrance at the Katyn Memorial yesterday

Johnny and Mrs. Johnny had gone out to dinner on April 10th 2010 at Light hOrse Tavern and then walked down to the waterfront. How does Johnny remember that date so specifically? That was the night a Polish government and military contingent, on it's way back from Moscow after commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre had their plane crash eerily near the Katyn forest that claimed so many Polish lives decades before. There was a very large and somber group of Jersey City's Polish residents who had come to stand together to deal with now not one but now two great national tragedies in Katyn. Johnny had no real idea what the Jersey City waterfront statue was about until that night. He's done quite a bit of research on the massacre since then.

People who know much more than Johnny met once again at the Memorial yesterday and the Jersey Journal has a nice photostory. At the JJ page Johnny posted the picture he'll share here, one of his favorites he's ever taken. No filters, just a foggy late afternoon March day last year.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

NJ Transit, they're not only videotaping you, they're recording your voice

A quick reminder about your rights this morning as NJ Transit now admits not only are you on camera (hey, you're on camera everywhere anymore) but now they are recording your conversations/discussions or anything else you might say while on the train. That's right, NJ Transit is listening in to what you say. Did you sign up for that?

NJ Transit seems to want to hide behind the "people want to be safe" excuse but here, read for yourself:

"Passengers have repeatedly told the agency that security is a priority in the quarterly scorecard surveys of riders, Smith said. "The onboard surveillance systems are also a deterrent for crime and unruly behavior."

But security has to be balanced with a person's right to have a private conversation with the person next to them, critics said.

"You expect some privacy. You don't have it if you are yelling across the car. If you're sitting next to a person and talking to them and you don't know there is a microphone picking up your conversation, our laws say you have a right to a private conversation," said Ed Barocas, legal director of the state American Civil Liberties Union.

The NJ Transit talking head went onto obfuscate over what they are doing with the recordings or how long they'll be use or even HOW they'll be used. Good reading on a Sunday morning.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

25 years in a row and counting!

It's wasn't exactly how a Wings fan would draw it up in losing today but also having Boston get embarrassed but over 25 years once in a while you might eek in. The longest streak in professional sports continues. For comparison two other successful teams recently also have playoff streaks. The Penguins are at 10 years and the Blackhawks 8.

Late night open thread

The weather tomorrow calls for cold rain and then sleet then a coating to an inch of snow. Keep that in mind while you read this:

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
 -- John Ruskin

This time tomorrow we'll line up to kick Mr. Ruskin in the ass. Line forms behind Johnny.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE POGUES!

No turkeys were harmed in the making of the this song. There's the PETA disclaimer. How great is this song? The Pogues and 'The Turkish Song of the Damned' though maybe some context on the woman with the comb would be nice.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with WANDA JACKSON!

You just can't run from the 'Funnel of Love', its gonna get you one day.

Wanda Jackson and that growl that's gotten her into the Rock and Roll, Country, Rockabilly and Gospel Halls of Fame.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with MARY WELLS!

Seein' as how Johnny's Detroit Tigers beat dem Yankees today 4-0 we'll see off the Music Series this week with some more Motown goodness with Mary Wells singing 'You Beat Me to the Punch'

Let's talk about the preponderance of these PD window sticker badges

You've seen them, the little tri plastic holders showing some kind of police union or other police designation that isn't really a badge and isn't really a permission slip, they just hope it will be.

They're as official and carry as much legal weight as 'Baby on Board' signs.

Johnny is the President of a local board that includes an entire block of buildings. One has private parking, owned BY THE BUILDING, and whom do you think continually ran roughshod over the private parking? People with FOP badges in their windows. After a recent meeting the residents wanted Johnny and the board to do something about this. So tow it was the board decided. Earlier this week the private space had again, two cars with competing FOB badges (It's just amazing how many people are cops isn't it? LOL). Johnny then walked the neighborhood asking the cops standing around not doing much at the local construction sites. These weren't their cars.

So towed they were and boy howdy you should have heard the outcry.

When contacted by the first of the cars who were towed (Johnny takes the shit for this, not the supers job) they actually told Johnny "It's the law, you must respect those." No, no we don't. The second person was just as apoplectic screaming at Johnny you cannot tow cars with those stickers. Johnny asked him if he could see his badge or other PD affiliation. He stormed off muttering under his breath. Funny man, go call a cab.

Both these scofflaws were busted, being bad actors with fake police ID on their cars. In both cases the individuals who either shouldn't have had these or they were using them to bully Jersey City into letting them park or stand anywhere they want, you know, don't screw with the police, you don't know who's on the other end of the sticker. Those days are over. Do not be afraid to confront those parking like assholes or illegally to put up or shut up on the badges/stickers. You'll find out really quickly who should have one and who just has one.

If you'd like to go out and take snapshots of such vehicles we'll have a ball with them here. Make sure to get license plates on the cars, for confirmation and all.

Late night open thread

Mr. Timothy Olyphant tonight, teevee's baddest lawman Raylan Givens from the show Justified, making Mrs. Johnny very very very happy signing her playbill outside his off-Broadway show Hold on to Me Darling.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Sitting down? 2-3" of snow on Saturday

Cold air will form a dome over the Garden State Friday night and lead to a 2-3" snow event pretty much all day Saturday.

Happy Spring!

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Mayor Fulop's tunnel vision will now cost more

Mayor Fulop's insistence that no reval be done by any means necessary via lawsuit, obfuscation, delays and any other trickery will now cost the city at least $8.5 million bucks. For a reval that's 95% done. Awesome. Just awesome. Terrence T. McDonald at the Jersey Journal, winner of the Art Weissman Memorial Award has all the facts.

Late night open thread

Better late than never. Nope, Johnny's not dead.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark AM Edition

The pedestrian plaza on Newark Ave is a tremendous success

As seen here.

Late night open thread

After tonight the NCAA will have to come down hard after all the North Carolina sham classes and lack of control of their basketball program were recently exposed.

Probation and vacated victories it shall be....For Richmond, Central Michigan and the UNC women's team because the NCAA won't stand by while somebody cheats. Punishment must be doled out.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Mayor Fulop's obsfucation has come to an end on the Reval -- It's now state ordered

Mayor Steve Fulop's ending of the citywide reval shortly before he took office (and that may or may not have been an illegal act, that's still in court) and his protection of donors and the downtown rich folk was overruled by the State of New Jersey today, there WILL Now be a reval ordered in Jersey City, Elizabeth and Dunellen, all communities that have gone over 25 years without a reval.

Local resident Esther Wintner had this to say of the coming reval:

Esther Wintner, of Jersey City, predicted a revaluation would mean her property taxes could skyrocket overnight. But foremost is her own sense of fairness, and she's resigned to its necessity. 

"I'm really afraid of this reval and what it's going to mean to our home and our family. However, I also know it's the law," she said at a January public hearing by the Division of Taxation in Jersey City. "My morals tell me that this is what we need to do. The law tells me that. Yet, I'm afraid."

At that public hearing, Wintner and a half dozen residents encouraged the state to step in and overrule Mayor Steven Fulop, a likely 2017 gubernatorial candidate who canceled a revaluation in the works when he took office in 2013.

So, like it or not, or perhaps like MANY MANY people in Jersey City you'll welcome the reval, it's coming and there's nothing Steve Fulop can do anymore to protect his donors over it.

Late night open thread

Candy is natures way of making up for Mondays.
 -- Unknown

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Windy start to a cold day

If you'd like to share some of your wind damage pictures send us links and we'll put them up here. It wasn't just windy, it was the kind of windy you avoid walking near the construction sites for fear of death from above. A couple shots of fencelines down around a warehouse at Second St. and Provost.

Late night open thread

It's early yet Jersey City, get out there and get your swerve on.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Dinosaurs drive amongst us...

No, not old people, real dinocars. Johnny took the dire for a rainy walk this morning and figured since it was crappy out he'd grab a cup-to-go of that fine Intelligentsia coffee from the Warehouse Cafe.

They can be ruthless in the PAD to illegally parked cars. Johnny's seen it for years. They embarrass poor parkers. This one was parked over the yellow lines and was blocking a small walkway and presto, instant Nissan Stegosaurus.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with FIRST AID KIT!

Here's a really cool sounding song, in both the harmonies which will be immediately apparent and the great Middle Eastern string sound. It's a song called 'My Silver Lining' and it's from 2014 on the album Stay Gold. Really good stuff kicking off the Music Series tonight.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SLIM HARPO!

Time for an American standard. The classic Slim Harpo song, 'Baby, Scratch My Back' and baby that's what we're gonna do.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN!

This song still sounds as good today as it did beck when. Another timeless classic on the Music Series. Echo and the Bunnymen with 'The Killing Moon' making us all sing into the closest thing we can all find to a microphone.

Just because you bought the land doesn't mean you own it

No doubt when Lloyd Goldman bought the properties at 110 First St. and 111 First St. (Home of the old old Arthouse) to put up stinky condo buildings, he'd be called out by a New Jersey state department on not REALLY owning the property.

According to the New Jersey Office of Native American Affairs, Goldman's new The One condo building may well have to be TORN DOWN. "We take antiquities extremely seriously as you know" said John Butler with the NJONAA "It's apparent the owners, when they bought the properties(s) they didn't check the state database on Native American grounds."

So, what comes next? Quite possibly a tear down of The One, another possibility is for the NJONAA can dig into The One's sub-flooring according to Butler, the state reserves the right to call for it.. While nothing would make Johnny laugh harder it would serve Goldman right.