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Posts Tagged ‘New York City’
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Our resident poet, Joseph P. Martino of Millburn, New Jersey is back again! This time, Mr. Martino writes a poetic verse about the city of my birth, New York City! Sit back, relax, and enjoy – New York City I Must Say.
“I have traveled far and wide but could never stay
Away for very long before feeling this yearning
Buried deep inside my soul to return to the city of
My birth, the greatest place on earth. I’m as driven
To return home as a lemming jumping off a clift,
If you get my drift.
Or a salmon swimming upstream, back to, and as fast
As possible to my beloved city by the bay.
New York City I must say.
Where else could I ride the Staten Island ferry?
Or take a breezy walk across the Brooklyn Bridge?
Visit the statue of liberty, when downtown?
The worlds symbol of freedom and liberty standing
Watch high over the harbor, elegantly dressed in her
Flowing robes torch and crown.
Where could I walk from Battery Park via Broadway’s
Canyon of heroes?
Stop off at wall street and city hall?
Eat all my favorite foods in Chinatown and little Italy,
And walk away full, but never guilty?
What a lovely way to spend a day
New York City I must say.
Where could I buy a knish or a special dish anytime
of day? Enjoy a walk through soho, the village any
“Greenwich time” of day?
Browsing and buying is an art form here, from highbrow
Galleries to vendors various works of art. talented
Artisans selling on sidewalk stands and stalls each
And every day.
New York City I must say.
The empire state building is a storied structure in more
way than one. Sitting atop 34th. street where could you go for the
Heights and see all the visionary sights in a day?
Attend an opera, ballet, recital or a play?
Walk across 42nd.street, the crosswalk of the world?
Head north up Broadway, Or as we new Yorkers refer
To as “the great white way.”
New York City I must say.
Where else could I stroll side by side, across town, up and down?
And all around the world two greatest Mecca’s of shopping in the world?
Madison and fifth, what two great streets to buy a gift!
Where else could you enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral To
Give thanks and pray?
New York City I must say.
Where could you walk, visit and attend Carnegie hall, central
Park, Columbus circle, Lincoln center and 72nd. street and the
Upper west side all in a day or two?
All just a walk or ride away. Now you know and maybe understand
This compulsion to quickly return to this great city,
When away?
For you see I have the worlds right here at my home and doorstep.
A magical city-world where everything and anything of value
And worth in this world is only a short walk, bus, taxi or
Subway ride away!
New York City I must say.”
Copyright Joseph P.Martino 2006
Thank you again to Mr. Martino for his poetic contributions to JerseySmarts.com!
Posted in Random Entries | No Comments »
Friday, January 1st, 2010
Happy New Year, folks! I hope that you all had a safe and happy New Year’s Eve last night, celebrating the arrival of 2010 in whatever way you saw fit. Personally, I kept my New Year’s Eve festivities very low key. After a quick dinner with one of my roommates and two of our buddies I watched the ball drop from the comfort and warmth of my bedroom. Last night was the first time in many years that I opted not to go to a party to watch the ball drop and it was very relaxing, calming, and enjoyable. 
 Happy New Year! Just a bit of commentary on the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, New York City last night… I watched the FOX News coverage of the parting in Times Square last night and after watching the people in the Square on the television all night, I have a few observations. First, they’re all nuts! Who would want to be out there in the cold and sleet and nasty weather with crazy people all around you? Blech! Not me. Sure, at some point in my adult life I’d like to ring in the New Year by making the pilgrimage tp New York City’s Times Square, but I’ll wait for a much warmer winter to come around before that happens.
Second, most of the people in Times Square seem to be tourists. This prompted one of my roommates and I to comment that all of the real New Yorkers are probably watching (and laughing) from the comfort of a local bar or their own homes! But thank God for those tourists bringing their economic power to the City. Tourists help keep local economies afloat and all local people thank tourists for their purchases!
Finally, I included “prosperous” in the title of this post because I really do hope that 2010 and the entire coming decade is a prosperous one for all of my family members, friends, and readers of this blog. The last decade saw too many people lose a lot of money in a variety of markets. First the technology and “.com” bubble burst and then the housing bubble exploded a few years later. In the past few years the stock market went on a slide, though it seems to be recovering. There are many people out there – myself included – who managed to make the best of these situations and actually wound up in a much better financial position than before these crises! But there are far too many people who are suffering economically, physically, and mentally so I hope that the wealth of prosperity and happiness (and so much more) come to more people in the next ten years.
As for the rest of today – sit back, relax, and enjoy the day off!
Posted in Winter & Christmas Time | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
 FOX News Projects a Christie Win FOX News has called the 2009 New Jersey Gubernatorial election for Republican challenger Chris Christie. As someone who voted for Chris Christie and, really, against Jon Corzine let me be among the first to say – thank God!
That said, I do think that it is important to remember that this is New Jersey and, even though 83% of precincts have reported and the vote stands at 49% for Christie and 44% for Corzine, anything can happen. But for now – it’s exciting to know that the voters in New Jersey made the right decision by getting rid of Jon Corzine. The Republican Governors Association has already called this win (along with the big win in Virginia earlier tonight) a turning point for the Republican Party. Their website boasts that comeback begins with Virginia and New Jersey…and so let the drums begin beating for 2010 already, huh?
It looks like the vote by mail ballots have not been counted yet in New Jersey. As a guy who votes by mail, I’m a little concerned about that. Stay tuned for additional information as the night – and the vote counting – continues… And hey, is anyone watching the Mayoral election in New York City right now? With 85% of the vote counted, incumbent Independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg is up with 50% of the vote to his opponent’s Thomson’s 47% of the vote. That’s significant when you consider that Mayor Bloomberg spent upwards of $100 million on this campaign and some estimates have Thompson’s expenses at just $3 million. Definitely something to watch in New York City.
Posted in The State of New Jersey | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Now that we are at about 58% of the precincts reporting in New Jersey, it looks like Republican challenger Chris Christie has 50% of the vote to Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine’s 44% of the vote. That’s close. In fact, that’s too close for comfort if you’re a Christie supporter.
But be wary, folks. Large portions of Camden and Essex counties and many of the New York City suburbs have not reported their election results yet. These are areas that are notorious for voting the Democratic ticket for no reason other than that it is the Democratic ticket. These are also areas where there was talk a few weeks ago about a gigantic increase in vote by mail ballot applications along with some talk about the possibility that ACORN was helping to register voters. Something tells me that if these counties come in strong for Corzine (which everyone expects them to) and in enough numbers to sway the vote that there is going to be an explosion of citizen rage in this state.
We’re tired of corruption in New Jersey and we’re tired of paying for crooked politicians and their lies.
Posted in The State of New Jersey | No Comments »
Monday, August 10th, 2009
More than 36 million Americans go to bed hungry every night – 12 million of them are children. They could be your neighbors, people you know in the community or maybe somebody you said “hello” to this morning. ShopRite is committed to making a difference in the lives of its neighbors. That’s why ShopRite Partners In Caring dollars ultimately service a variety of organizations with feeding capabilities including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, child care centers, battered women’s shelters, senior programs, drug rehab centers, programs for the mentally and physically disabled, after school programs and other organizations that support those in need in ShopRite communities.
Every time a customer purchases products with the ShopRite Partners In Caring shelf tag, they support the brands that support the fight against hunger. At ShopRite, customers are not just filling a grocery bag; they are helping to fill empty bowls for thousands of hungry families in your community.
ShopRite Partners In Caring is the Recipient of the Following Awards – among others:
- Good Neighbor Award – Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
- Retailer of the Year Award – America’s Second Harvest/Feeding America
- Outstanding Achievement Award – Hudson Valley Food Bank
- Crystal Toque Award – Philadelphia and South Jersey
- Outstanding Spirit Award – Monmouth and Ocean County Food Bank
- Connecticut Food Bank – Bill Liddell Award
- Corporate Excellence Award – Food Bank for New York City
Companies that have joined ShopRite in the fight against hunger are marked in stores with the ShopRite Partners In Caring shelf label. By choosing these products, ShopRite customers support manufacturers who contribute to the program.
Each of the 217 ShopRite stores in the six states that ShopRite serves (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland) selects qualified local organizations to benefit from the program. These local food charities use their designated funds to acquire supplies at a food bank.
Today, the ShopRite Partners In Caring program supports 23 regional food banks and more than 1,400 charitable agencies with food or meal components. With a $2 million annual donation, more than $20 million has been donated since 1999 in the fight against hunger.
For more on the program, visit www.ShopRitePartnersInCaring.org.
Posted in The State of New Jersey | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Only a few months ago I was blogging about some of my random thoughts on the NBC show Kings. Since that time, NBC has played all of the remaining episodes that it was holding and has officially canceled the show. This was confirmed in a statement from the creator of the show which was posted online last week.
What bothers me the most about the cancellation of Kings is that it appears NBC is taking the easy way out of a show that could have really had some legs to it. NBC owns the USA Network, Bravo, SyFy, some Spanish channels, and any other number of channels that could have successfully aired this show. If any of you are Kings fans out there, would you have had a problem watching this show on SyFy or USA Network or Bravo? I think not.
In any event, when the DVD set is released on September 29, 2009, you can bet that I’ll be purchasing it. Although I was a little freaked out by the fact that there were too many “perfect” people on the show (not enough “regular” folks), I really did enjoy watching Kings and I believe that NBC could have found another platform on which to display this asset. If you’ve already clicked over and read the note from the creator of the show, then you can skip ahead. However, if you haven’t yet read that note, let me share a portion of it that I found very interesting:
– Some have speculated that the cost of the show was prohibitive. While it is true that the episode budget was high for a first season show, that number was reduced by the outstanding aggregate 30% tax benefit New York provided (which we all hope will remain in effect), thus bringing the cost down to rates comparable to other prime time dramas. And, of course, plans were already made to bring the costs down to whatever number the studio required of us in the future.
Isn’t that something? Kings was allowed to film in New York City and they even were given a 30% tax benefit for doing so. Sounds like some pretty good economic conditions if you ask me! Another piece of the note that I found interesting:
Your interest in show here is, to me, evidence enough of this. (As an interesting aside, Kings was #1 on iTunes on the day we were cancelled.)
How about that? On the day that NBC tossed this show, Kings was the top downloaded show on iTunes. That’s great! And yet…NBC cancels the show.
It would be great if Kings achieved the type of post-cancellation success that Family Guy or Futurama have both achieved (did you hear that Futurama was uncanceled a week or so ago?). That’s what I’m hoping for at least.
Posted in Entertainment | 8 Comments »
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