skyline

In Memory Of 9/11

September 11, 2023 — 10 Comments

F/16.0, 30.0, ISO 160.

We Will Never Forget 9/11.

Interesting Fact: On clear nights, the lights can be seen from over 60 miles (97 km) away, visible in all of New York City and most of suburban Northern New Jersey and Long Island. The lights can also be seen in Fairfield County, Connecticut, as well as Westchester, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York. The beams have been clearly visible as far north as the terrace at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, from at least as far west as western Morris County, in Flanders, New Jersey, at least as far east as the barrier beach of Fire Island in Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, and as far south near Trenton, New Jersey in nearby Hamilton. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribute_in_Light )

Bring On The Night!

January 29, 2021 — 37 Comments

jersey-city-downtown-park

F/18.0, 24.0, ISO 80.

Newport Green Park Downtown Jersey City

A man asked his wife what she’d like for her birthday. “I’d love to be six again,” she replied.
On the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and off they went to a local theme park.
What a day! He put her on every ride in the park: the Death Slide, the Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear, everything there was!
Wow! Five hours later she staggered out of
the theme park, her head reeling and her stomach upside down.
Right to a McDonald’s they went, where her husband ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake.
Then it was off to a movie, the latest Star Wars epic, a hot dog, popcorn, Pepsi, and M&Ms.
What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed.
He leaned over and lovingly, asked, “Well, dear, what was it like being six again?”
One eye opened. “You idiot, I meant my dress size.”
The moral of this story: Even when the man is listening, he’s still gonna get it wrong.

Interesting Fact: Newport is a 600-acre (2.4 km2) master-planned, mixed-use community in Downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, consisting of retail, residential, office, and entertainment facilities. The neighborhood is situated on the Hudson Waterfront opposite the Tribeca area of Lower Manhattan in New York City, on what had been the yards of Erie Railroad‘s Pavonia Terminal. Redevelopment of the neighborhood began in 1986 as a $10 billion project led by real-estate tycoon Samuel J. LeFrak and his firm The LeFrak Organization.  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport,_Jersey_City )

 

 

NEVER FORGET

September 11, 2020 — 3 Comments

F/22.0, 77.0, ISO 125.

New York City Skyline 9/11 Tribute

A Time To Remember Those Who Died, Those Who Served, And Those Who Carry On.

Interesting Fact: The Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88 vertical searchlights placed six blocks south of the World Trade Center on top of the Battery Parking Garage[1] in New York City which create two columns of light to represent the Twin Towers in remembrance of the September 11 attacks.[2]Tribute in Light began initially as a temporary commemoration of the attacks in early 2002 but became an annual commemoration, currently produced on September 11 by the Municipal Art Society of New York.[3][4][5] The Tribute in Light was conceived by artists John Bennett, Gustavo Boneverdi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian LaVerdiere, and Paul Myoda, and lighting consultant Paul Marantz. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribute_in_Light )

 

 

 

May All Your Troubles Soon Be Gone. Oh, Christmas Lights Keep Shining On.

December 23, 2019 — 13 Comments

F/22.0, 87.0, ISO 125.

Jersey City Downtown

What did the stamp say to the Christmas card?

Stick with me and we’ll go places!

Interesting Fact: The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of today’s Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as a publicity stunt. However, it was published by a Detroit newspaper reporter, and Johnson has become widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows.[14] Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person; as such, electric Christmas lights did not become the majority replacement for candles until 1930. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )

 

 

 

All Bridges Can Be Crossed, So Don’t Give Up!

September 10, 2018 — 12 Comments

F/10.0, 1/640, ISO 160.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Why was the big cat disqualified from the race?

Because it was a cheetah.

Interesting Fact: A bridge across the Narrows had been proposed as early as 1927, when structural engineer David B. Steinman brought up the possibility of such a crossing.[3] At the time, Staten Island was isolated from the rest of New York City, and its only direct connection to the other four boroughs was via the Staten Island Ferry to South Ferry in Manhattan, or 39th and 69th Streets in Brooklyn.[4] In 1928, when the chambers of commerce in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island announced that the Interboro Bridge Company had proposed the future construction of the “Liberty Bridge” to United States Department of War. The bridge’s towers would be 800 feet (240 m) high and it would cost $60 million in 1928 dollars.[5] In November 1929, engineers released plans for the 4,500-foot (1,400 m) Liberty Bridge spanning the Narrows,[6] with 800-foot-tall towers.[7] It was hoped that the new construction would spur development on Staten Island, along with the Outerbridge Crossing and the Bayonne Bridge, which were under construction at the time. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verrazano-Narrows_Bridge#History ) 

BON VOYAGE! The Rest Of Us Will Envying You While We Work.

November 3, 2017 — 4 Comments

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.

New York City Skyline & Norwegian Cruise Line Ship

A very nervous first time crew member says to the skipper, “Do ships like this sink very often?”

“Not too often,” replied the skipper. “Usually it’s only once.”

Interesting Fact: The cruise line was founded as Norwegian Caribbean Line in 1966 by Knut Kloster and Ted Arison, with the 8,666-ton, 140m cruise ship/car ferry, Sunward,[5] which in 1966 operated as a car-ferry between Southampton UK and Gibraltar, for that one, short season only. Arison soon left to form Carnival Cruise Lines, while Kloster acquired additional ships for Caribbean service. Norwegian pioneered many firsts in the cruise industry like: the first Out Island Cruise, the first combined air-sea program (marketed as “Cloud 9 Cruises”) which combined low cost air fares with the cruise, first shipline to develop new ports in the Caribbean, like Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Like the original Sunward of 1966, Norwegians’s second ship, the Starward had the capability to carry automobiles through a well concealed stern door. Later, this area was turned into cabins and a two deck movie theater, which is now a casino. Norwegian was responsible for many of the cruise innovations that have now become standard throughout the industry. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Cruise_Line )

Happy 4th Of July

July 4, 2017 — Aside — 6 Comments

F/10.0, 1/250, ISO 250.

New York City Skyline

What did one flag say to the other flag?

Nothing. It just waved.

Interesting Fact: Thomas Jefferson changed the wording of the Declaration of Independence from “the pursuit of property” to “the pursuit of happiness.” ( http://list25.com/25-fun-facts-about-4th-of-july-that-will-make-you-want-to-celebrate/ )

 

We Own The Night

January 27, 2017 — 30 Comments

 

new-york-city-manhattan-1

F/18.0, 26.0, ISO 80

New York City, Manhattan

A couple had lived together in the backwoods for over fifty years.

To celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, he took her to a large city and they checked into a plush hotel.

She said to the bellman, “We refuse to settle for such a small room. No windows, no bed, and no air conditioning.”

“But, madam!”, replied the bellman.

“Don’t ‘But madam’ me,” she continued. “You can’t treat us like we’re a couple of fools just because we don’t travel much, and we’ve never been to the big city, and never spent the night at a hotel. I’m going to complain to the manager.”

“Madam,” the bellman said, “this isn’t your room; this is the elevator!”

Interesting Fact: The name “Manhattan” derives from the word Manna-hata, as written in the 1609 logbook of Robert Juet, an officer on Henry Hudson‘s yacht Halve Maen (Half Moon).[35] A 1610 map depicts the name as Manna-hata, twice, on both the west and east sides of the Mauritius River (later named the Hudson River). The word “Manhattan” has been translated as “island of many hills” from the Lenape language.[36] The United States Postal Service prefers that mail addressed to Manhattan use “New York, NY” rather than “Manhattan, NY”.[

Let There Be Lights!

December 11, 2015 — 15 Comments

Christmas lights Skyline

F/29.0, 39.0, ISO 64.

Day 345 / 365

Little Mikey had a cussing problem and his father was getting tired of it. He decided to ask his friend what to do. The friend said, “Since Christmas is coming up, you should ask Mikey what he wants Santa to bring him. If he cusses while he tells you his wish list, leave a pile of dog poop in place of the gift or gifts he requests.” Two days before Christmas, Mikey’s father asked him what he wanted for Christmas.
“I want a damn teddy-bear laying right beside me when I wake up. When I go downstairs I want to see a damn train going around the damn tree. And when I go outside I want to see a damn bike leaning against the damn garage.”
Christmas morning, Little Mikey woke up and rolled over into a pile of dog poop. Confused, he walked down stairs and saw another pile under the tree. Scratching his head, he walked outside and saw a huge pile of dog poop by the garage.
When Mikey walked back inside with a curious look on his face, his dad smiled and asked, “What did Santa bring you this year?”
Mikey replied, “I think I got a dog, but I can’t find the son-of-a-bitch!”

Interesting Fact: The illuminated Christmas tree became established in the United Kingdom during Queen Victoria’s reign, and through emigration spread to North America and Australia. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote, “After dinner.. we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room. There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees”.[7] Until the availability of inexpensive electrical power in the early twentieth century, miniature candles were commonly (and in some cultures still are) used. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )

New York, Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of There’s Nothin’ You Can’t Do Now You’re In New York

November 6, 2015 — 19 Comments

Empire State Building

F/16.0, 57.0, ISO 64.

Day 310 / 365

Two men are sitting drinking at a bar at the top of the Empire State
Building when the first man turns to the other and says, “You know,
last week I discovered that if you jump from the top of this building,
by the time you fall to the 10th floor, the winds around the building
are so intense that they carry you around the building and back into
the window.”

The bartender just shakes his head in disapproval while wiping the
bar.

The second guy says, “What are you a nut? There is no way that could
happen.” “No, it’s true,” said the first man, let me prove it to you.”
He gets up from the bar, jumps over the balcony, and plummets to the
street below. When he passes the 10th floor, the high wind whips him
around the building and back into the 10th floor window and he takes
the elevator back up to the bar. He met the second man, who looked
quite astonished. “You know, I saw that with my own eyes, but that
must have been a one time fluke.”

“No, I’ll prove it again,” says the first man as he jumps. Again just
as he is hurling toward the street, the 10th floor wind gently carries
him around the building and into the window.

Once upstairs he urges his fellow drinker to try it. “Well, what the
hey,” the second guy says, “it works, I’ll try it!” He jumps over the
balcony plunges downward, passes the 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th floors
…and hits the sidewalk with a ‘splat.’ Back upstairs the Bartender
turns to the other drinker, saying “You know, Superman, sometimes you
can be a real jerk.”

Interesting Fact: On July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber that was lost in fog slammed into Empire State Building north wall of the 78th and 79th floors. Fourteen people were killed (it was a Saturday, so many offices were empty). Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived a plunge of 75 stories inside an elevator, the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall recorded. There was no important structural damage to the building, which opened for business on the following Monday. ( https://www.walksofnewyork.com/blog/empire-state-building-facts )