Before the year ends, I thought I'd share some pictures that just never quite made it into anything.
Joe's Bar in Alphabet City. We had one wimpy snowstorm and this one that felt legitimate but didn't leave much on the ground this month.
12.31.04 @ 2:52 AM EST [Click For More...]
I, like anyone else, am mortified by the tsunami in Asia. These pictures speak for themselves:
Banda Aceh Shoreline: Before
Banda Aceh Shoreline: After
Banda Aceh City: Before
Banda Aceh City: After
12.30.04 @ 10:38 PM EST [Link]
Whenever I go to Jamaica Station, I'm surprised that it's not a busier hub... this was all around 7:30 on a Tuesday...
I mean, they've got it all there.
12.30.04 @ 11:17 AM EST [Click For More...]
When I was a kid and we first got cable, my wake-up TV before school was simple. I'd watch the Today Show and get serious news for half an hour, then flip over to SportsChannel, which had no morning programming.
Instead, they had something called "Webb Sports Wire," which had a ticker of scores at the bottom of the screen and text panels filling the screen. The panels would have some recaps of the previous night's games or updated standings. Within a few minutes, you had all the sports information you needed. All to a soundtrack of Weather Channel-style music. I still remember how it goes.
Simple, to the point, everything I could possibly want except for highlights.
12.29.04 @ 6:45 AM EST [Click For More...]
Sign at 34th Street/Herald Square Station, 2004
I'm pretty sure that there hasn't been an "S" train that stopped at Herald Square since at least 1997. Not that there's any reason this sign should be on the MTA's to-do list, but it's one of those things that you see and just make you scratch your head for a second. At least, if you're me, it is.
12.28.04 @ 3:39 PM EST [Link]
I don't know why, but last weekend feels like about four years ago. The subway cars that were running on the Times Square-Grand Central shuttle, though, came from an even more distant time.
Sign near the door.
12.26.04 @ 3:05 PM EST [Click For More...]
There's a part of me that would like to write a bunch of things that I've liked about 2004, just to counteract my last Grinchly entry.
12.25.04 @ 3:06 AM EST [Click For More...]
Twas the day before Christmas,
And all through the year
A lot of things annoyed me.
I'll talk about them here.
12.24.04 @ 4:17 PM EST [Click For More...]
I think the title is pretty self-explanatory. I wrote a fictional story to go along with the following pictures. Enjoy!
(PS: If you hold your mouse over the photos, you can see what they really are.)
12.22.04 @ 3:04 AM EST [Click For More...]
My brain, as usual, is a 10-car pileup of insanity and inanity. Here comes the cleanup crew...
12.21.04 @ 5:26 PM EST [Click For More...]
Well, maybe it does...
23rd Street and Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria, 2004
12.21.04 @ 3:30 AM EST [Link]
Saturday afternoon, there was a protest of the MTA's proposed ban on photography. Feeling that the ban is stupid, I went and snapped some pictures.
After meeting up in Grand Central Station, the protest filled one of the vintage subway cars on the 42nd Street Shuttle.
12.20.04 @ 3:48 AM EST [Click For More...]
Simple reason for reposting this in the redesigned format...
Here's a look at the most popular search strings guiding people to my site this month:
1. Betty and Veronica
2. Meg Scheding
3. Jesse Sepctor
Good to know where I stand on my own site.
Original post date: June 22, 2004
12.20.04 @ 2:59 AM EST [Click For More...]
I missed out on my half-year "anniversary." This site has been up for six months and two days now.
But I figured I'd re-post this, the first entry I made on the site. A lot of people seem to find it on Google, so I thought I'd give it a bump into the new format, along with the "Betty or Veronica?" post, which will be up here within minutes.
Original post date: June 18, 2004
12.20.04 @ 2:41 AM EST [Click For More...]
It's just good advice...
...especially if you have an evil pyromaniac baby.
12.19.04 @ 2:49 AM EST [Link]
How about a crackdown on the civil liberties of Moron-Americans? Apparently, a good deal of people in this fair nation believe that the Constitution shouldn't apply to everyone. That's funny, because I distinctly remember that episode of "School House Rock" that said "the Constitution is for everyone!"
And who knew that TV news watchers would be more fearful? Really? TV news makes people afraid? So they'll stay inside and watch more TV news? "Coming up... a report on remote controls... do they cause cancer? You won't want to touch that clicker -- we'll be right back!"
I'm disgusted. Again.
12.18.04 @ 10:41 AM EST [Link]
OK, these pictures are all pretty similar, but I think they're pretty cool... the Triborough Bridge just after sunset...
12.18.04 @ 2:06 AM EST [Click For More...]
Walking around Astoria, there are a lot of great opportunities, and some not so great ones...
Of course, there's no phone number or anything. Then again, with a top speed of 5 MPH, anyone who wants the car can probably just walk up to the owner while he's driving and make a deal. And yes, I'm assuming that the owner is a man. I can't imagine the woman who would drive this hunk of junk.
12.17.04 @ 10:38 AM EST [Click For More...]
That seemed like a good idea.
12.17.04 @ 10:03 AM EST [Click For More...]
Two bridges connect northwestern Queens with mainland America... the Triborough, which lets cars cross the upper part of the East River known as Hell Gate and the Hell Gate Bridge, which carries trains over the same. Both curve to go into the Bronx, using Randall's and Ward's Islands to turn. The Triborough also goes to Manhattan, hence its name.
The Triborough Bridge, looking south from under the Hell Gate Bridge.
12.16.04 @ 6:19 PM EST [Click For More...]
I wrote a rather fictional account of Pedro Martinez's four years with the Mets on Tuesday, then came back to Earth a little bit with the statistics I used in the Daily News graphic.
Why not take that a step further?
So, today debuts a new series on this site, Baseball Projections.
12.16.04 @ 12:17 AM EST [Click For More...]
These pictures would probably work best with a tripod, but I like the fact that I can adjust the shutter speed on my new digital camera. I took it for a spin underground and above, catching some moving lights...
Here's the G train leaving Queens Plaza.
12.15.04 @ 1:56 PM EST [Click For More...]
Not too long ago, I wrote about potential bad free agent contracts in baseball.
I never dreamed that list might include Pedro Martinez.
12.14.04 @ 7:27 PM EST [Click For More...]
A few days ago, I went to Roy Rogers for dinner.
When I was in high school, Roy's was all over the city, including a short walk from school. We went there a lot for lunch, as often as McDonald's and Cajun Cabin (a place on Remsen Street in Brooklyn, just across the street from St. Francis College).
Somewhere along the line, though, Roy Rogers started to be replaced. The one on Court Street in Brooklyn is now a KFC. Not much of a difference in the chicken, but no more roast beef.
12.14.04 @ 2:30 PM EST [Click For More...]
It's time to admit something.
12.14.04 @ 1:35 AM EST [Click For More...]
After lunch yesterday, Caroline and I wanted to do something before I had to go to work, but there wasn't enough time to see a movie, and it was too cold outside to really enjoy walking around.
So, we went to Macy's at Herald Square and took a load off by "testing" some recliners in the furniture department.
There are about a thousand stuffed Grovers all over the store, and some of them have gotten themselves into ridiculous situations.
Caroline noted that the life of Macy's official holiday spokesmuppet, a title she came up with, isn't an easy one, and I snapped some pictures of Grover's life in the department store.
12.13.04 @ 1:53 PM EST [Click For More...]
46th Street and Broadway, Astoria
12.13.04 @ 3:02 AM EST [Link]
Undoutbedly, it's quarterback rating, the sliding scale from 0.0 to 158.3 that tells you how well a quarterback has done.
Who's better, a guy that goes 27-for-30 for 700 yards and 19 touchdowns or a guy that goes 30-for-30 for 1000 yards and 28 touchdowns? Well, they both get "perfect" 158.3 QB ratings.
Still, it's a stat that's out there a lot, and I think it's worth linking to the QB Rating Calculator.
By the way, Eli Manning's rating today was 0.0. I'm glad I was out all afternoon and didn't see any of that.
12.12.04 @ 7:17 PM EST [Link]
Since the middle of last season, Eric has been touting Jeff Kent as being "On the Road to Cooperstown," which he follows up every time by singing the CBS college football theme.
Well, Kent has signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers. He'll be 37 years old on Opening Day. And he might not be a second baseman anymore, which would probably hurt his Hall of Fame credentials.
12.10.04 @ 2:52 PM EST [Click For More...]
It was raining last night, so when I wanted to go to the deli for a cookie and soda around 11:00, I brought my umbrella.
It seemed like a decent umbrella. When I bought it on Monday night, I estimated that it would get me through eight storms before its destruction by wind or loss by me.
Instead, there was a new wrinkle in my lifelong struggle with umbrellas.
12.10.04 @ 1:29 PM EST [Click For More...]
Things didn't work out for Bob Dole... he lost out to Clinton's "Bridge to the 21st Century." Well, I've now joined the 21st Century with the digital camera I just got as a gift, and which I just used to take this picture on Broadway in Astoria. Whoo! Much more to come, I'm sure...
12.09.04 @ 3:30 PM EST [Link]
I think this brings a new meaning to the phrase "petty cash."
The New York Post has a billboard up advertising its rising circulation numbers. It doesn't seem so childish, at least, not until you realize where it is.
12.08.04 @ 9:52 AM EST [Click For More...]
I just had to share this link:
Hungry Hungry Hippos!
You have to play as the blue hippo, which contradicts my longstanding practice of using the green hippo, and the entire game is to click "Z" on your keyboard, but it's fun nonetheless.
12.06.04 @ 11:49 PM EST [Click For More...]
I figured I'd put up a few more pictures before I turn in for the night.
I've just got some assorted shots from around Astoria, so that'll satisfy my urge to put something up.
12.06.04 @ 2:48 AM EST [Click For More...]
I just wanted to share a quick word on the uptick in pictures on the site. I've picked photography back up lately as an enjoyable hobby. I like taking pictures and like to see how they come out, and I'm happy to have this site as a medium to share my photos.
The other benefit is that if I have pictures to share, it gives me something to post to the site when I don't necessarily have anything to write.
Today is one of those times, so I'm sharing some pictures of nighttime in New York. Enjoy!
12.05.04 @ 3:36 PM EST [Click For More...]
The MTA wants to ban photography in the subway, which would be a stupid, pointless and reactionary thing to do. Fortunately, citizens can register their comments on the proposal until January 10
Click here to view the proposal and post your comments to the MTA.
12.04.04 @ 10:44 PM EST [Link]
Some pictures from my recent trip to Jamaica.
Of course, it was Jamaica, Queens, not the fun one. If you're a fan of Fulton Mall in Brooklyn or Market Street by the Gallery in Philadelphia, you'll love Jamaica Avenue and the 165th Street Mall.
12.04.04 @ 7:10 PM EST [Click For More...]
I learned a very important lesson last night. The only question is when it's finally going to sink in.
The lesson, of course: The MTA will do everything in its power to make your life less convenient.
12.04.04 @ 12:40 PM EST [Click For More...]
Tired of all the steroid talk?
Well, here are some pictures of geese on a baseball field.
12.03.04 @ 12:13 PM EST [Click For More...]
"This could be the last time.
This could be the last time.
Maybe the last time,
I don't know!"
--Rolling Stones, The Last Time
I wish I could say this was the last time I was going to write about this.
12.03.04 @ 12:00 PM EST [Click For More...]
We can all use a little luck in our lives.
12.02.04 @ 10:27 PM EST [Click For More...]
Everyone knew.
When Jason Giambi showed up at spring training last year, it was obvious. It wasn't something anyone could print, or say without getting sued, but that didn't make it any less transparent.
After the company that had allegedly provided Giambi with steroids was busted, all of a sudden he shows up in Tampa looking about 30 pounds lighter.
12.02.04 @ 3:11 PM EST [Click For More...]
The 4 train is my favorite in the New York City subway system. It's the only one that I've ever dressed up as for Halloween -- I think that was when I was four years old, in fact.
When I was growing up, the R62s were the cars used on the 4, and they were shiny and new. They still are among the nicer trains in the subway system, but you don't see a lot of 4 trains that look like this anymore.
That's because they're now using the latest edition of shiny new trains, and to be honest, I kind of miss the "old" ones, because it was nice to see the illuminated green circle charging into the station.
12.01.04 @ 5:12 PM EST [Click For More...]
Latest Daily News story: Braves Get Pen Help (8/1)
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Greymatter. The reason this website no longer looks like the 1998 edition of a Small World Sports fantasy game.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.