2.27.2006

Su Casa Es Mi Casa

I know it's not much now, not much more than a hole in the ground ...

But, you know, if you count on me, this hole in the ground could give rise to fun, family and games.

Can't you just hear the laughter of the children waking up on Christmas morning ...


Until then, your house is my house. Okay?


Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

2.26.2006

My Money Worries Are Over For Good!

FROM: SAMUEL DUKES ABIDJAN, IVORY COASTE-

MAIL: samuel_dukes51@yahoo.fr
TELE PHONE +225 0854 9226

DEAR ONE

PERMIT ME TO INFORM YOU OF MY DESIRE OF GOING INTO BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. I GOT YOUR CONTACT THROUGH MY CAREFUL SEARCH FOR TRUST WORTHY ASSISTANCE IN THE NET.

I PRAYED OVER IT AND SELECTED YOUR NAME AMONG OTHER (3) NAMES I GOT ALSO DUE TO IT'S ESTEEMING NATURE AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS GIVEN TO ME AS A REPUTABLE AND TRUST WORTHY PERSON I CAN DO BUSINESS WITH AND BY THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS I MUST NOT HESITATE TO CONFIDE IN YOU FOR THIS SIMPLE AND SINCERE BUSINESS.

I AM SAMUEL DUKES THE ONLY CHILD OF LATE CHIEF AND MRS OBINNA DUKES , MY FATHER WAS A VERY WEALTHY COCOA MERCHANT BASED IN ABIDJAN, THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF IVORY COAST BEFORE HE WAS POISONED TO DEATH BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES ON ONE OF THEIR OUTING TO DISCUSS ON A BUSINESS DEAL.

WHEN MY MOTHER DIED ON THE 21ST OCTOBER 1986, MY FATHER TOOK ME SO SPECIAL BECAUSE I AM MOTHERLESS.

BEFORE THE DEATH OF MY FATHER ON 24TH JUNE 2005 IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL HERE IN ABIDJAN.

HE SECRETLY CALLED ME ON HIS BEDSIDE AND TOLD ME THAT HE HAS A SUM OF US$8,500,000 (EIGHT MILLION FIVE HUNDREDTHOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) LEFT IN SUSPENSE ACCOUNT IN A LOCAL BANK HERE IN ABIDJAN, THAT HE USED MY NAME AS HIS ONLY SON FOR THE NEXT OF KIN IN DEPOSIT OF THE FUNDS.

HE ALSO EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF THIS WEALTH THAT HE WAS POISONED BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, THAT I SHOULD SEEK FOR A FOREIGN PARTNER IN A COUNTRY OF MY CHOICE WHERE I WILL TRANSFER THISMONEY AND USE IT FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSE, (SUCH AS REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT).

I AM HONOURABLY SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.

1) TO PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THIS MONEY WOULD BE TRANSFERRED.

2) TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUNDS IN YOUR COUNTRY SINCE I AM A BOY OF 22 YEARS OLD WITHOUT BANKING AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EXPARIENCE.

3) TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR ME TO COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY TO FURTHER MY EDUCATION AND TO SECURE A RESIDENTIAL PERMIT FOR ME IN YOUR COUNTRY.

MOREOVER, I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 15% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS COMPENSATION FOR YOUR EFFORT INPUT AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER OF THIS FUND TO YOUR NOMINATED ACCOUNT OVERSEA.

FURTHERMORE, YOU CAN INDICATE YOUR OPTION TOWARDS ASSISTING ME, AS I BELIEVE THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS YOU SIGNIFY INTEREST TO ASSIST ME AND ENDEAVOUR TO FURNISH ME WITH YOUR TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER FOR EASY COMMUNICATION.

THANKS AND GOD BLESS,HOPING HEAR FROM YOU SOONEST.

IN GOD WE TRUST.

YOURS SINCERELY,

SAMUEL DUKES NB:

PLEASE CALL ME ON THIS
REPLY ME THROUGH THIS MY PRIVATE E-MAIL (samuel_dukes50@yahoo.de ) FOR SECURITY REASON. THANKS
--------------------------------

PS - Aunt Tonoose was wondering how Samuel Duke found me. I told her not to worry and start counting your blessings.

Let me know if you want to get in on this deal. Maybe Samuel can stay at your house a few days while I straighten out this money stuff.

Let's see, 15% of $8.5 million, WOW, that's a nice chunk of change!



Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

2.25.2006

Saturday Morning Dream

I was back in my junior high school and as I was coming down the stairs to the library there was an air raid drill going on. The teacher was stuffing kids into the lockers and locking them in. I remember thinking, the kids inside the lockers are the ones who know the combination to the locks. This is not a good thing.

Now that I'm awake, I think, we're going to head on up to Borders and test out the new
Borders Rewards card I got. They are going to give me money back on al the books I buy. Won't they be surprised at how much it costs them!

I'm bringing my wish list, plus one more item - that Barista gal's book, her new novel,
RATTLED (St. Martin's Press), just got a rave review in USA TODAY.

Maybe I'll wait until a book-signing and have her sign it as well?


Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

Debra Galant

2.21.2006

Artwork Out of the Woodwork at Newark Musuem


Yeah, the Newark Museum 

has artwork coming out 

of the woodwork.


We paid a parking meter two quarters for an hour's street parking even though I knew there was a parking lot somewhere nearby.


The directions you get online bring you in through Washington Place, to the front of the Ballantine House and the Newark Museum. There's a park on your right side and on a nicer day perhaps we would have photographed those statues.

When we found the correct entrance door to the museum, we also found the parking lot. My little red wagon would have been a sitting duck next to the park, so I hopped in and drove it around the block to

The parking lot, valet - $6 for five hours - is south on a one-way north street. Kind of figures. No?

We picked a day when virtually thousands of screaming kids came in to hear Abe Lincoln give a talk (as one kid pointed out, 'he's dead') for President's Day.


We headed the opposite direction of the noise.

We began our trek through the galleries. I asked an bored attendant if I could take pictures with my camera. She said yes.
Illegal Photograph: Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.A Painting on the Wall

We mosied along. I took one photo, and then another. Dang if that same bored attendant didn't come over and say NO PICTURE TAKING - ANYWHERE IN THE MUSEUM.

I didn't know it yet, but I probably would have liked a photo of the Campbell soup cases, and a few photos in the beer mogul's mansion.
Illegal Photograph: Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.This modern sculpture is literally coming out of the wall!

Frankly, we were too flabbergasted to even know what this man-coming-out-of-the-wall was all about.

We saw the Tibetan Altar that had been consecrated by the Dali Lama on one of his three visits to the museum. He was really here because there's a photo of him with Mayor Sharpe James - one of about a half-dozen Newark scenes we found.


We saw the Egyptian display, and the Japanese, Korean and Chinese art displays.

You can save yourself a few bucks and a some walking when you take a virtual tour online through the Newark Museum link. It's not the same, but you may want to use it to plan you visit.

It was day time so we didn't bother going to the Planetarium.

We saw some of Edison's early films. They look a lot like my video camera movies. Edison didn't have video tape or automatic shaky-hand stabilizers.


I got a big kick out of the folks coming down the chute at Coney Island about 100 years ago.

A lot of the exhibits were directed at children and asked them questions about culture and customs. Where would your family fit in on this map of ethnic groups in Newark?
I would have expected at least one gallery room dedicated to the grand history of the city of Newark. That is, besides the grandly restored Ballantine House.


If a trip to the big museums in the big city are out of your range, try a local visit to a local museum. Just don't expect to find too much local history - and you can leave your camera home.

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

PS - Not until we posted this missive did we recall what prompted our visit to the Newark Museum in the first place. Two weeks earlier, Terry Teachout wrote in the Saturday Wall Street Journal about a Visit To An Empty Museum. Of course, if you read what he wrote earlier this month and my blog above, you'll see why he's the drama critic of the Wall Street Journal and the music critic of Commentary, and I'm not.
The Newark Museum

NJSPJ 2006 Regionial Conference will have a reception at the Ballantine House on March 31, along with screenings of The Late Editions and His Girl Friday.

2.20.2006

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree

I heard K.T. Tunstall do this song - Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - on VH-1 a while back and the song has stuck with me.

Check it out yourself KT Tunstall Tunes


Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

Eye To The Telescope - KT Tunstall

Shop at Amazon, through this link, thanks

2.16.2006

The Passaic River In The Hudson River

On this February afternoon the air approached 60 degrees. I stood at Avalon Cove on the Hudson River and I faced the warm rays of the sun on a winter day. The rays were warm and bright on my face. When I shut my eyes everything was red like tomato soup.

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
Keep your hand on that plow, hold on!

When I flipped out my notebook to jot down the image of the winter sun, something flew out of my pad, something tucked in there for safe-keeping from last night: two photos of Nutley on the Passaic River from long, long ago.

One photo landed on the sea-water washed wooden planks at my feet.
The other photo skidded off the first, across the beams and down fifteen feet.
The photo of old Nutley on the Passaic River in the Hudson River floated face up.
Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

Beyond Bob Dylan singing in my Panasonic CD/MP3 player that I bought for fifty bucks at Costco, I could hear the steady rhythm of a pile driver - the sound - WHOOSH-CLANG WHOOSH-CLANG WHOOSH-CLANK echoing off the buildings and through the nearby passing Chinese voices - could have been coming from across the river or a multi-million dollar building site behind my bench.

Avalon Cove was a place of restive respite on 911.
At sea, a red and yellow tug pushes a barge up river. A New York Waterway ferry races by. Then another ferry passes as the barge and the tug cross the horizon.

From here, the
Top of the Rock seems lost in the skyline and dwarfed by the big rocket of the Empire State Building.

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

The record snow fall has all but returned as harmless salted water to the river and side paths.

You see the mothers with babies in strollers, grasping the sunshine and warmth of this odd February day. A dad in short-sleeves sits talking to his little girl in her stroller.

The seagull scouts skim the waters looking for food or a photo of Nutley on the Passaic River in the Hudson River.

By now, the photo is probably half way to Hoboken or Weehawken.
"Come in she said
I'll give ya'
shelter from the storm ..."

-- Bob Dylan
Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

NOTE: Photos may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission. Photo prints are available for $2.9 million per photo.

Look, if Edward Steichen's 'The Pond - Midnight' photograph can sell for $2.9 million, why not one of mine? His photo is 102 years older than mine! Cash or certified check, thank you.

2.14.2006

Be My, Be My Little Baby!



Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

A Real Emergency, Heaven Help Us!

Had This Been an REAL Emergency, fg't it!

Monday morning commuters on the PATH to Exchange Place around 9 a.m. were surprised when the train didn't stop at Exchange Place and carried all passengers to WTC.

At the WTC the EP bound commuters were told to go up and around and board a different train for Exchange Place.

When that crowded train pulled into Exchange Place the commuters were directed away from the triple-escalator bistairs, to the ELEVATORS down the railing.

Guess what it's like when hundreds and hundreds of commuters try to board one elevator to fresh air and civilization?

No.

You don't want to know.

Fortunately, before the lone elevator there is a stairwell.

Along the walk there is an emergency stair case that says civilization is six flights up.

To the surprise of crowd of hundreds and hundreds of hapless commuters, the stairwell only led to a double set of elevators.

The elevators fit about 25 passengers at a time.

You do the math.


Above ground, the main entrance to the Exchange Place station was wrapped off in yellow police emergency tape.

No one was being allowed in the station. And everyone scrambling from the underground was hurrying to work.

Had this been an actual emergency, everyone trapped underground waiting for the friggin elevators would surely have perished.

If anything, this minute catastrophe has assured the hapless commuters that the PATH emergency services have a long, long way to go.

And, we hope, soon.

---- Happy Trails,
------ Anthony

PS - Nearly an hour later, commuters through Exchange Place were told the exit had been closed due to falling ice from nearby buildings. The commuters were allowed to use the emergency stairs to exit.

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
This text first appeared on NJ.COM

2.12.2006

Zamboni Meets The Blizzard of 2006!

Early this morning our chocolate Lab Zamboni went into the backyard to look for those familiar places.

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
Sure, he's happy, he didn't have to shovel anything!
Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

2.10.2006

Explosive Detection Test Program, Jersey City, N.J.

If you want to know what's going on at the Homeland Security explosive detection test being conducted at the PATH station Exchange Place in Jersey City you'll have to give up something.

In order to access Anthony's posts on that subject at NJ.Com, you need to give them a zip code, age and sex. On that last part you just have to declare which one you are not actually give it to them. These cookies will be crushee, er, erased when you clear out your temporary Internet files from your browser.
Here's the link:
NJ.Com - Anthony's posts on EDTP

GOING BACK TO MY PLOUGH - 1/25/06
EXCHANGE PLACE SNIFFERS - 2/6/06
SNIFF ME, SNIFF ME GOOD ;-) - 2/7/06
THEY GOT ME, GOT ME GOOD - 2/9/06





5-06 February 6, 2006
MEDIA ADVISORY

EXPLOSIVE DETECTION TEST PROGRAM TO BEGIN
AT PATH’S EXCHANGE PLACE
STATION ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will begin an explosive detection test program at PATH’s Exchange Place Station in Jersey City, N.J. at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 7. Media wishing to observe passengers participating in the test program will be allowed to do so providing they have proper media credentials. Media also will be allowed to go to the platform level after the 10 a.m. start of the testing. # # #
Contact: John
J. McCarthy
Steve Coleman
Port Authority
212 435-7777
Like they said earlier:

Press Release

January 31, 2006
Contact: Public Affairs (202)
282-8010


EXPLOSIVE DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES TO BE TESTED AT
JERSEY CITY’S EXCHANGE PLACE STATION

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the cooperation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will test and evaluate security equipment and operating procedures at the Exchange Place PATH station from Feb. 6 to March 1 as part of the department’s broader efforts to protect citizens and critical infrastructure from possible terrorist attacks.

This rail security pilot project has two phases. In phase one, Feb. 6 through March 1, bags and passengers at Exchange Place Station will be screened deliberately and
randomly using off-the-shelf equipment such as x-ray machines and metal
detectors that are specifically modified for the rail transportation environment.

Exchange Place Station is the sixth busiest among the 13 PATH stations, transporting approximately 15,000 passengers on a typical workday. Peak rush hour brings in excess of 4,000 passengers per hour, compared to about 400 during slower times – all funneled through two entrances. It’s this concentration of passengers, the general accessibility of the system, and the economic importance of mass transit that DHS and Port Authority are improving security of commuter rail and subway systems.

Varied approaches will help DHS representatives evaluate equipment performance and screeners’ actions to ensure they are appropriate for actual station operations. The testing will also provide data such as percentage of false alarms, rate of screening, delays of passengers, and manpower requirements – all of which DHS will use to determine life-cycle costs and develop risk analyses. Equally important, the data will indicate which technologies and operational procedures should be further developed or refined in order to make the mass commuter rail and subway systems as safe as possible.

Phase two of the project will focus on emerging non-intrusive explosive technologies, such as infrared or millimeter wave, that can detect other terrorist devices from a distance. The rail security pilot program is expected to end Sept. 30, 2006.


###


Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

2.09.2006

Empty Nester Puppies

Is there anything more than anecdotal evidence that when their only (or last) child goes off to college (or work) the empty nesters get a dog?

In my case we had an empty house for one year – after our 10 year old yellow Lab died – and our daughter went back to college. Then we got a chocolate Lab.

Her friend’s parents got a golden retriever when their daughter moved out of the house to take a job in Trenton.

Our other friends got a replacement Lab after theirs died and their son went off to college.

In our case, when our daughter comes for a visit, the dog is exceedingly excited to greet HIS NEW TOY.


Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
Zamboni Sono Buoni, our Lab
Retrieving Labrador Days

2.08.2006

Flick Lives! - Jean Shepherd Remembered

Everyone who has enjoyed the annual TV marathon showing of A Christmas Story <"You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"> by Jean Shepherd will be delighted to know that many of his WOR New York radio shows are available on tape and such.

There are many fan sites to fill you in on the man behind the stories. And many of his stories are collected in his books.

We reviewed a live show of his at the YM-YWHA on Northfield Road in West Orange, N.J., back in November 1975.

On Christmas Eve that same year, we were helping Santa make his calls and had Shep on the radio, and heard him use our names in the story he was telling.

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.Author, storyteller, Jean Shepherd & fans, November 1975


JEAN SHEPHERD BOOKS & TAPES
A Christmas Story : The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic
Film

In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash
Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories : And Other
Disasters

The Ferrari in the Bedroom
Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean
Shepherd

The Phantom of the Open Hearth: A film for television co-ordinated by
Leigh Brown

Will Failure Spoil Jean Shepherd? [LIVE]
Jean Shepherd and Other Foibles
Jean Shepherd: The X Random Factor [ABRIDGED] (Audio CD)
Jean Shepherd: Don't Be a Leaf [ABRIDGED] (Audio CD)
County Fair! (Shepherd's Pie Slice Six) (Audio Cassette)


There was only one Jean Shepherd, but there are many sites to help remember him:
Flick Lives
Jean Shepherd tapes
I wonder if they have the tape of the show
that uses our names?
Shep
Shepherd Archives
Jean Shepherd: Excelsior, You Fathead!
The Jean Shepherd Page
Jean Shepherd Filmography
Jean Shepherd Podcast
Jean Shepherd Hall of Fame Celebration
Shepherd and Lou the Duck - WFMU
Our Land, Our Literature
NPR tribute to Jean Shepherd

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

2.05.2006

Jersey City Building Boom

Around here, every hole in the ground turns into a skyscraper!






Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.The Flamingo was saved for this!



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Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
PHOTOGRAPHS MAY NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Majestic Neighborhood - Jersey City, N.J.






Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.


Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.



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Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
PHOTOGRAPHS MAY NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Headquarters & Other Jersey City Signs





Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.






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Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.
PHOTOGRAPHS MAY NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES WITHOUT PERMISSION.

2.03.2006

Battery Operated Candles

"We're going to need new batteries for the candles," my first wife told me.
So I went to the window and took out one candle and snapped it open to see what size the batteries were.

In case you're keeping track, each candle takes two C batteries.

We set out our four candles in November and were supposed to get one-month of flickering light from the QVC items.

Now, it's February and, well, this little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.

Me, I'm happily married to a Christmas nut.

And she, well, she's just married to a nut.

Your mileage may vary.




Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

A Father's Place, An Eclectic Collection

2.02.2006

One hundwett bwutton mwen

"I got one hundwett bwutton mwen in da woods! If dat gwoundhog shows one hair on its tail, bwadda bwing, bwadda bwoom!! No more wintah, Powwie."
-- signed Sonny Fwudd


Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.

2.01.2006

What Stride?

'The Poems of Charles Reznikoff 1918-1975'
Review by JOSHUA CLOVER
"...Charles Reznikoff was 47 when he hit his stride; few if any poets, save fellow lawyer Wallace Stevens, came into their own so late. ..."

'The Female of the Species,' by Joyce Carol Oates
Review by HILLARY FREY
In Joyce Carol Oates's latest collection, the girl next door is likely to be a killer.

ALSO REVIEWED THIS WEEK
'Bouvard and Pecuchet,' by Gustave Flaubert
Review by CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
Flaubert's last novel features a couple of comic buffoons who prove that a little learning is a dangerous thing.


le mot juste!

Thank God for the New York Times Book Review

Copyright © 2006 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.