Bruce Springsteen by the merry-go-round in The Casino, early 1970's
Yesterday I took a ride down to Long Beach Island and spent most of the early afternoon. It was beautiful and cloudless, and Island Beach State Park was packed, lots of families with a zillion kids getting one last big blast of summer before returning to school either this week or the day after Labor Day. I took some light reading along- it's still summer, you know. And I started Runaway Dream; Born To Run and Bruce Springsteen's American Vision by Louis P. Mazur. It's a pretty good read, dealing primarily with Springsteen's early career and the creative process involved with the creation and recording of his iconic record Born To Run in 1975.
Born To Run was released at about the same time I was getting out of the Air Force. My last two years were in the UK; I had heard some buzz about "The New Dylan" over there, but we were fed a steady diet of False Prophets in those days. I thought it was all hype.
My brother, five years younger than me, was a true believer and a member of Bruce's Church of Rock and Roll, Jersey Style. He worked on me, gained a convert, had me going to the Stone Pony and The Fast Lane on Fridays and Saturdays with him to see if and when Bruce would show up and jam- we saw a couple of Bruce's shows together years later, in fact we were at the then Brendan Byrne Arena on it's opening night during Bruce's The River tour.
The song he opened with; Born To Run.
Anyway.... yesterday I was feeling a bit nostalgic. I hadn't been to Asbury Park in years. That is, MANY years. Instead of going to Seaside Heights on the way home- who knows, an out of control Snookie might still be pounding on people at Seaside- I decided to just stay on Route 35 North to Asbury Park, and revisit some of the past, and get a look at the good, bad, and ugly of what was once a little jewel by the ocean.
Below, selected videos on Asbury Park found on YouTube. The still photographs were taken by me on August 30, 2010. Click the photo for a better view. More text and photos following the jump break
"The boys from the Casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers along the shore....Chasin' all them silly New York girls " "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)".
It was as if I was walking among ghosts when I stepped into the shell that was once The Casino. At one time an ornate carousel could be found here, the same one seen in Springsteen's Tunnel of Love video from the late 1980's. And there were the bumper cars, and in the lagoon in back of the Casino were peddle boats for rent, many shaped like swans. On October 28, 1990 it was all over for The Casino. What stands there now is a New Jersey version of a Roman ruin.
The Casino, 2010
The Casino 2010. Murals decorate the west walls.
Interior of The Casino
The Casino from the public parking lot. Where the merry-go-round once stood is now a storage area
Section of the dome , The Casino
Section of ironwork, The Casino
Mural inside The Casino
A mural in The Casino, the words of Junot Diaz
Mural, The Casino
One bit of inspiration and hope was the many boardwalk cafes and restaurants, a diverse and eclectic mix of ethnic delights. And of course, Asbury Park is still a rock and roll Mecca. On a given night in the Seventies or Eighties you could catch Southside Johnny, or Beaver Brown or even some young hair band called Bon Jovi in the Fast Lane or The Stone Pony. And the beat goes on....playing at the Stone Pony in early September; Max Weinberg and his big band. I wouldn't rule out a guest appearance from one or more prominent locals.
The Paramount Theater still has musical attractions, as does Convention Hall. I saw the Kinks there in 1981. We were all on "A Low Budget" those days.
I was really taken by how ornate the frieze on Convention Hall was, as you can see on the photos. It had a nautical theme, with anchors, shells, starfish, and sextons....something from a bygone era that had a quiet glory and elegance.
One of the dozens of sidewalk cafes, Asbury Park boardwalk.
Asbury Park boardwalk, August 30, 2010
The legendary Stone Pony
A COORS poster on the north wall of The Stone Pony
Entrance To Convention Hall
Frieze, Convention Hall
Frieze, Convention Hall
Poster for upcoming shows at The Paramount Theater
Convention Hall, Asbury Park
Poster for "Jersey Shore Roller Girls"
Madame Marie's- I should have asked her when the 8/30/10 power outage in Monmouth County would be over.
"Well the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do".- "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"
Now, the real Madame Marie has long since been "retired".....so I've been told. And from the sign on her door it wasn't clear whether this was a family member or somebody bought The Franchise....but these days she does work by appointment, and you can call her anytime in case you need a psychic reading at this very minute.
The sign said nothing about house calls.
The Wonder Bar
"Tillie"
"Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard.....girls comb there hair in rear view mirrors....and the boys try to look so hard"- "Born To Run"
The Wonder Bar on 5th and Ocean has a replica of "Tille", the smiling face that was found on the green Palace Amusements complex, built in 1888 and closed in 1988. The landmark fell into disrepair, and was finally demolished in 2004. Many of the artifacts from the Palace were held for safekeeping by the Asbury Park Historical Society. A volunteer group of friends of Asbury Park, Save Tillie, reported that 125 of those items were destroyed while in storage.
Below, a video look at The Palace from it's glory days to it's razing
For more information, check out the following sites.....
It starts up with Mt. Olympus, the middle section is Earth, and the bottom is the Underworld. You've got Zeus, Hector, Achilles, Hercules, Hades, Ares ... quite a bit going on.
I spotted a whole lot going on with Renae's left forearm, while browsing at the Chelsea Salvation Army store, so I just had to ask.
Let's deconstruct:
The first part of this tattoo is the dark heart on the inner part of the forearm. Renae attributes this to Rob at the Orlando branch of Hart and Huntington. In over three years of inkspotting, this is the first piece on Tattoosday that has been credited to one of their shops.
Renae, who has "no idea" how many tattoos she has (which is synonymous for "too many to count"), wanted to add to her arm, so she headed to Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge.
Alex Franklin was given free reign, according to Renae. Her exact quote was "use your imagination and run," which must be music to many a tattooists ears.
Alex did the flourishes around the original tattoo, along with the phrase "gutta cavat lapidem," a Latin phrase by Ovid which translates to "dripping water hollows out a stone," which is a shortened version of the line "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence." This quote is known to many New Yorkers who have seen it inscribed underground here (with a broader description here).
And he tattooed the piece on the other side of the arm:
Work from Brooklyn Ink (and a lot by Alex) has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.
Thanks to Renae for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!
Those readers of Class 99 who subscribe to the European Intellectual Property Review (EIPR) will be pleased to note that it contains a contribution from Class 99 team member, lawyer and scholar Henning Hartwig entitled "The General Court's First Decision on a Community Design's Validity--All's Well That Ends Well? Grupo Promer v OHIM and PepsiCo (T-9/07)". Otherwise known as the "metal rappers" case, this decision was analysed here on Class 99 by David Musker.
Right: here's something to cheer PepsiCo up -- some of its own prior art ...
According to Henning Hartwig, the court has adopted a "fluctuating, non-static scope of protection of the prior Community design": he speculates as to whether national courts will follow in the General Court's path.
At the end of July, I coincidentally exited the A train at 14th Street at the same time as John, who was visiting from Nevada.
I had been admiring his sleeve on the train, but didn't have the opportunity to speak to him about it until after he got off the subway.
He referred to these creatures as "Root People":
It's an abstract collaboration with the artist, Rickett, at The Ruby Lantern in Carson City, Nevada.
They started working together in January of this year, and they're not yet finished with the whole sleeve. As you can tell, it's very unusual and has a very unique approach.
These designs are all on John's right arm, and I am particular to the female tree person above on his inner forearm.
Thanks to John for sharing his Root People here with us on Tattoosday!
On Friday morning New Jersey Governor Chris Christie fired Education Commissioner Bret Schundler in the wake of the controversy regarding the denial of $400 million in RACE TO THE TOP money for Garden State schools because of a clerical error. The HOME NEWS TRIBUNE's editorial board contended that Schundler lied to Christie. My Letter To The Editor below says there is no smoking gun saying that Schundler lied, to the best of anyone's knowledge.
"Education Commissioner Bret Schundler got caught in an apparent lie- worth $400 million- and got canned by Gov. Chris Christie as a result".
This is how your editorial regarding Christie's firing of Bret Schundler in the Saturday (Aug 28) edition of the Home News Tribune began. I have a real problem with the wording of that statement.....it should read "Bret Schundler was fired partly because Governor Christie says Schundler was caught in an apparent lie".
After New Jersey lost out on the RACE TO THE TOP millions, Christie decided to blame Washington bureaucrats and the President of the United States for New Jersey finishing out of the money. When the tape surfaced that showed the New Jersey's representatives in the application process were at fault, Christie said that Schundler gave him bad information of what happened during the process.
Now, according to other media sources- broadcast, online, and in print- Schundler denies that he gave the governor bad information. According to those sources Schundler told Christie not to make the claims against Washington and President Obama....but Christie did so anyway. Schundler has emails that support his claims, but other than that it's a "he said- he said" scenario.
Schundler had to go; with this $400 million clerical error somebody had to take the fall, and the ball was in Schundler's court. But your newspaper has no impirical evidence whatsoever that Schundler lied to the Governor. Christie made the situation worse with his over the top and foolish fixing of blame on the Obama administration when the fault was with his own team. The Governor once again played tough talking prosecutor and made sure the other guy- Bret Schundler- was painted in the worst possible light.
The bottomline- a very embarrassing performance by all involved. And maybe with some investigating- and with time- the truth about what really happened will surface.
Update! According to The Auditor in Sunday's Star-Ledger, the United States Department of Education held a workshop last year regarding the second round application for RACE TO THE TOP funding. Tips were given on the correct way to submit the application, as well as reminders to proofread, and that no new information could be submitted after the June 1 deadline.
The workshop was held on April 21 in Minneapolis. In all, 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico sent representatives to the workshop.
New Jersey did not, and finished eleventh, out of the money
The ten states that finished ahead of New Jersey and received funds attended the workshop.
In late June, I ran into Gina in Penn Station and complimented her on a tattoo she had on her back. At the time, she was wearing something with straps that covered part of the design. I gave her a flier and she remarked that she had just recently discovered the site through this post on the tattoo of Julie Powell.
Alas, like so many folks to whom I give fliers, I didn't receive any emails or photos. But a month passed and one day I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Gina, with the following photos of her phoenix tattoo:
I'll let her explain the rest:
"... I had completely forgotten [about sending in the photo] until I found the picture I took for you on my camera... This was done by Junii at the Diamond Club in San Francisco. [Bill Salmon, Junii's husband, is the studio owner]. She does amazing line work. She's also incredibly conscientious about design and her clients. For both my tattoos, she spend a lot of time talking with me, looking at the 20 pictures I had brought in of bits or aspects of what I wanted, then went off and did her own research, always coming back with exactly the right drawing.
This one - I got it after a really, really difficult year. So, obviously, not the deepest symbolism - just wanted to remind myself of the possibility of renewal."
Thanks to Gina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
Hurricane Katrina first hit the Florida coast on August 23, 2005, and then crossed the peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico, where it reorganized into a strong Category Three storm.
Five years ago on this date, August 29th, Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in Southeastern Louisiana. We all know the stories of the levies breaching, flooding New Orleans, causing more destruction than any natural disaster in US history.
When the storm finally fizzled out there were 1,836 dead and $81.2 billion in damages done to the Gulf Coast states, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Images shocked us then, they shock us still.
Most shocking of all were the images of New Orleans, a national treasure, 80% under water, with men women and children dead or dying in the streets, and on rooftops, and in the New Orleans Superdome waiting for rescue that too often came late or not at all.
There was recovery, but still work to be done in New Orleans and the region when the BP oil spill occurred, another blow to people of whom we must ask; how much more can they take?
But there is will, there is faith, there is progress....and New Orleans looks at tomorrow, hoping to never to repeat that chapter of it's past.
Below, video from NBC Nightly News. Brian Williams, one of the first journalists in New Orleans five years ago, comes back to take a look at the city. Among those he interviews are actor/activist Brad Pitt and New Orleans native, musician/actor Harry Connick, Jr.
Many people have extinct animals tattooed in their bodies but not everyone notice it. Some people think extinct animals are strictly dinos and never realize there's more to it than a reptile. Here are some examples of those who are no longer with us.
A certain issue has been bugging me for a very long time- and it's the segment of our society that self describes themselves as being patriots.
But before you read on, please note; I have nothing against patriots, and I am not indicting or criticizing people for love of the United States or of any other country (should the reader be from another nation). Hopefully readers and others may find me to be patriotic. But what I find disturbing is when a person feels the need to describe themselves as being a patriot.
Because in my eyes, being a patriot is a virtue. It's like being honest, or being a good parent or spouse, or being wise. You can even throw in the attribute of possessing beauty, internally or externally, or having talent. And to me, if a person is truly virtuous they don't extol their virtues.
I can tell another person they are wise, or possess genius, or are a good son to aging parents. But for a person to crow about their own virtues- "I'm a good son" or "I'm the smartest guy here", for example- is really bad form.
And it's not very humble.....and humility might be the greatest of all virtues.
Some of these feelings that I have no doubt come from the "Rally To Restore America" that Glenn Beck is holding in Washington today on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He'll be addressing tens of thousands of patriots later on today.....and I know they're patriots, because so many of them say they are. I guess all one has to do is join "Tea Party Patriots" and that does the trick, like baptism or a bar mitzvah sanctifies and admits you to a realm of faith.
I grew up during a time where I was surrounded by quiet patriots, that of The Greatest Generation. This includes my Dad, my uncles, my Mom, grandparents, cousins, family friends and others who came of age during the Great Depression and then fought the Nazis and Japanese in World War II, or made sacrifices here on the home front, or worked in factories aiding the fight against Axis oppression. They always talked about the Depression and WW2 when I was a little kid, and we listened to stories of gas rationing and boot camp and Grandma driving rivets as she helped put together tanks and jeeps at the old GM plant that was converted for the war effort. There many different stories from many different people, but they all had one commonality....
Each one said they were just doing their share. They didn't ask for extra credit. None of my acquaintances from that generation ever pointed to themselves and said "I'm a patriot". They would talk about the other guy and say, "He was a great patriot", or "She sure was patriotic". But they never made it about themselves....they were old school. You left it to others to praise your virtues, you never praise yourself. It was something called humility.
And that, in our narcissistic age where there are no secrets and a multitude of lies, is something seemingly lost in America.
Maybe a look in the mirror.....and a dose of humility directed at one's self, and to one's country, is what really needs to be restored.
Back in July, for example, I approached a guy on the West 4th Street subway platform to ask him about this tattoo on his right forearm:
It was only after I said hello to him that I realized he was someone named Alex who lives in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.
In fact, Alex had a tattoo featured here back in 2009, after I stopped him in the laundromat.
This floral tattoo is a representation of how a flower overcomes obstacles and pain to lay down roots, rises up, and blooms.
He draws the comparison to life, as nothing comes without hard work and bypassing obstacles.
The tattoo was created by Shon Lindauer at Thicker Than Water in Manhattan. Shon is the same artist that did the tiger on my calf. Other work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.
Thanks to Alex for once again sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!
Tomorrow, Saturday August 28, Glenn Beck will lead his "Rally to Restore America", an allegedly non-partisan affair on the National Mall in Washington, DC on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. The rally is being held on the same location where Dr. King delivered that famous address.
To date Beck has been very cloudy as to just what he is restoring America from, but here's a clue. Take a look at the video below.
The first African American President of the United States will be vacationing and not in Washington when the rally takes place. But the symbolism of Glenn Beck's selection of the date and location of the rally is pretty clear. When one looks at the video above, and Beck calls Barack Obama a racist, a reasonable person can see where Beck is coming from, and what his intent is.
I just wonder what music will be played when Beck takes the podium.
I've got 5 to 1 that it's "Jesus Christ, Superstar".
