November 21, 1776 – British Invasion/American Retreat at the New Bridge in River Edge at the Hackensack River
November 22nd, 2021 by Mr. C
We retraced the steps and witnessed the reenactment of the American Retreat of our Continental Army troops of the 3rd Regiment of N. Jersey on November 21, 1776 during these trying times of the British Invasion!
We retraced the steps and witnessed the reenactment of the American Retreat of our Continental Army troops of the 3rd Regiment of N. Jersey on November 21, 1776 during these trying times of the British Invasion!
On the prior day of November 20, 1776 – our troops in Fort Lee had intelligence that the British took over Fort Washington NY just across the Hudson from Fort Lee thanks to an alerted officer who found out that five thousand British and Loyalist troops, under the command of Lt. General Cornwallis, scaled the Palisades at Lower Closter Dock and foaming at the mouth with seizing Fort Lee.
Hearing and acting on this – our Continental Troops retreated from Fort Lee and headed towards the Hackensack River and crossed over the New Bridge in River Edge where a firefight ensued in order to try to gain foothold of the bridge!
Enter November 21, 2021 and our friends at the Bergen County Historical Society are recreating/re-enacting this battle and fire fight at the bridge! The retreating troops will engage in a skirmish vs the British troops and ultimately forced the Continental Army away from the area and captured this vital crossing point over the Hackensack River.
We live to fight another day!
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Tags: 1776, american history, american retreat, british invasion, hackensack river, historic new bridge landing, new bridge, retreat to victory
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Retreat Weekend at Fort Lee, NJ – British Invasion of 1776
November 20th, 2021 by Mr. C
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This weekend was the 245th Commemoration of the British Invasion of
New Jersey and the beginning of the Continental Army’s strategic
“Retreat to Victory” in 1776 . The annual retreat weekend was again held at the Fort Lee Historic Park, part of the the Palisades Interstate Park in NJ. This retreat weekend in Fort Lee Historic park is usually held close to the actual date of the British Invasion of NJ and this year happens to be on the exact date of that occurrence on November 20. This re-enactment event in Fort Lee today featured artillery demonstrations, a cookout, music, and a skirmish. There will be a skirmish set for tomorrow as well in Hackensack at the Historic New Bridge Crossing not far from the Riverside Square Mall and even closer to the Home Depot. We couldn’t stay for the skirmish but did capture some video & photos of the artillery demonstration and just the vibe of our soldiers in full dressup at the camp at Fort Lee atop the Palisades!
If you haven’t been to this park then you should make a visit soon!
The Fort Lee Historic Park is a cliff-side park area with scenic overlooks,
& has a reconstructed Revolutionary War encampment. This park has great
views of the George Washington Bridge, nice views of the Hudson area, & Upper Manhattan. I love coming here during the fall and winter months because of the unobstructed views during these seasons. Enjoy some of the photos and videos below!
Tags: 1776, american history, american retreat, british invasion, fort lee
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Fanny: The Right to Rock at DOC NYC film festival
November 18th, 2021 by Mr. C
Fanny: The right to rock is an inspiring look at an unsung all female rock band from the late 60s who were not a household name but should of been.
Fanny paved the path for the future of lady female rockers to come. They were the first all female rock band to release an LP on a major label and by 1975 they had released 5 albums! Bands during that time certainly knew who they were such as the Go Gos, The Runaways, Bangles, David Bowie, Bonnie Raitt, Steely Dan, & Joe Elliott from Def Leppard! Fanny had many barriers to deal with including race, gender, & sexuality. Their music seemed to have been erased from memory banks and lost in time.
Fanny was certainly swimming & fighting against the music industry currents having 2 filipina americans in the band along with having lesbian musicians as well. A talking head on the show mentioned they couldn’t have made it any more difficult for themselves being women of color & having gay band members at that particular time!
Forever linked with David Bowie as he discovered Fanny from the legendary Troubadour. Bowie said people need to know who Fanny are but unfortunately the band never really got the recognition they deserved until recently.
Lookout for those Fanny albums while digging in those crates and finger flipping those vinyls at your favorite record store! Joe Elliott mentions his favorite 45 record that he practically wore down playing it so much is
Fanny’s single called Blind Alley!
Fanny: The Right to Rock screened in person earlier at the DOC NYC film festival with a performance by some of the band members but unfortunately we missed it! You still have time to watch it online though at DOC NYC here or you can go directly to the Fanny band website to catch their future screenings! or here at Fanny The Movie website!
Tags: doc nyc film festival, documentary, fanny, fanny the band, music, rock and roll
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Biopic film on HK Cantopop star Anita Mui Yim Fong: ANITA (2021)
November 14th, 2021 by Mr. C
Anita Mui is one of the most celebrated figures & icons in Hong Kong. Her pride & passion in music is a straight by product of her environment, her fragrant city. Her rise to stardom is almost as intriguing and sad as her final goodbye.
I was very curious about how this biopic of Anita would tell her story. And to be honest I felt the story-line & timeline rushed through her rise to stardom from her adolescent years all the way to her decline in health. We all know it’s not an easy task in any form to give a 2 hr moving image summation of her life especially regarding the subject matter of such an iconic figure & boisterous personality. I was wanting a little more backstory from every little segment in her life for example her relationship with her sister and Anita’s friendship with Leslie Cheung as well as her love interest with the Japanese singer. I just felt so many scenes were not elaborate enough while some sequences were dragged out longer than needed such as the Thailand run. Performance wise, Wang Dan Ni who played Anita Mui Yim Fong did a great job in emulating the spirit of Anita and Louis Koo was fabulous in his role as the fashionista. I thought the actor who portrayed Leslie Cheung was a little underwhelming. Leslie Cheung is a subject matter well deserving of his own biopic no doubt.
I’m thinking Anita would of been served with more justice if it was made into 2 films. The 1st film should cover the early years and the second should focus the last several years of her life. I did enjoy the real Anita Mui video & concert footage inserted into the film as well as the Anita Mui Yim Fong sonics! Overall, I do recommend the film as a 1st pass intro into the world of Anita Mui as it captured her love for her family, friends, and passion for music but the script left me wanting more substance in many aspects of her life.
Tags: anita, anita mui, biopic, cantopop, hong kong, hong kong films, music
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USS Ling – World War II sub in Hackensack
November 6th, 2021 by Mr. C
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I was driving around town the other day to see what the status was on the historic WWII submarine – the USS Ling. The Ling has been docked on the Hackensack River in Hackensack since 1973 and remain opened as a Naval Museum. She was donated to the Submarine Memorial Association and petitioned for the Navy to bring her to the Hackensack shore. The Ling has been renovated to her WW2 glory to be served in her retirement years at the New Jersey Naval Museum in Hackensack. Unfortunately, when Hurricane Sandy hit our shores on October of 2012, the flooding caused tremendous damage to the submarine and she was never to recover leaving her in this deteriorated state since. Sadly, city & state funding to repair the USS Ling never materialized.
Several years back, the Bergen Record reported that the Louisville Naval Museum was interested in bringing the USS Ling back to Kentucky but logistics and damage to the ship made it impossible for the Ling to make it to Kentucky. The sludge and dredge the sub is buried in along with the low-line waters and the Ling being unable to float is a huge issue. Hopefully, the Louisville Naval Museum will come up with a solution soon. It’s a travesty & a shame to have a piece of American History rotting away on the Hackensack.
The USS Ling is a Balao-Class submarine of the US Navy which spent a little over a year in commission between 1945 and 1946. In 1960, the Ling was towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and converted into a training ship until being brought over to Hackensack in 1973.
Tags: hackensack, uss ling, wwii submarine
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Back to the grill again! – ONE ALL THE WAY – Jersey, Texas Weiners, & the Silk City!
November 1st, 2021 by Mr. C
When people discuss the heart & soul of NJ, the conversation will eventually
teeter over to the topic of NJ style hot dogs otherwise known as the texas
weiner and reminiscing about Paterson! One All The Way is a short film that packs a lot of punch. It compacts the passion of Jersey hot dogs with a trio of friends that go on hot dog crawls along with combining the story of how great Paterson once was with its flourishing industry & the multi-cultured personalities that make up the vibrant city. The story of the Texas Weiner in ONE ALL THE WAY is really the story of 83 yr old Harry and the love for his hometown of Paterson & his obsession with New Jersey deep fried hot dogs with mustard, onions, & chili sauce otherwise known as one all the way!
The deterioration of the city over the years with factories being shut down as the manufacturing industry moved elsewhere including overseas led to unemployment issues, poverty, drug problems, homelessness, & crime really took a toll in Paterson.
A little bit of history of the Silk City – Alexander Hamilton founded Paterson as the first manufacturing city in the US that would eliminate our need of manufacturing dependence on Great Britain. The Great Falls & its powerful 77 foot waterfalls would be the catalyst & natural backbone resource to help Paterson become the first great City in our nation to produce textile goods, silk, firearms, & locomotives! Hot dog joints like Libby’s, Falls View, & The Original were created to feed these hard working factory workers in Paterson!
The main protagonist of the film really fantasizes and reminisces about his old Paterson and One All the Way! He even proposed to his wife at the defunct FALLS VIEW (now a Burger King) in Paterson over one All the Way and a frenchie! Also to bring things to a happier note, Paterson is on the rise again! Hopefully, we can call it a renaissance of sorts as little improvements to the City will become bigger steps in quality of life to the residents. The Great Falls and Hinchliffe Stadium are examples of Historic sites that are being renovated to its greatness! On a bad note, NJ Hot dog joints serving Texas Weiners have been vastly declining over the years. The pandemic really put a nail in the coffin for some of these old establishments. There’s a graphic of a hot dog tree below taken from the film that outlines some of the notable Texas Weiner restaurants in North Jersey in its heyday and current times. ONE ALL THE WAY would serve as a great introduction to the Garden State especially to those not familiar with NJ and even to those who did grow up here, who have lost touch with what NJ is all about and the chili with no beans sauce that runs through our veins! We encourage you to visit some of the Texas Weiner joints mentioned in the film. Our favorites are Hot Grill, River View East, and not mentioned in the film – Hirams in Fort Lee. Rutt’s Hutt is also a great place for Jersey Style hot dogs but not necessarily for it’s chili. Rutt’s is known more for their homemade relish! Maybe we’ll see you around the Great Falls with One All The Way in your grasp or maybe even double fisted! That’s exactly how I’ll remember Libby’s! We ordered a few hot dogs to go from Libby’s on their last weekend before they closed forever – walked across the street to the Great Falls and enjoyed the view and some Texas Weiners! This is NJ served on a hot dog roll!
Tags: documentary, hot dogs, new jersey, one all the way, paterson
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American River at 2021 Montclair Film Festival
October 26th, 2021 by Mr. C
American River was a wonderful eye opening film that documented the journey of Mary Bruno & guide Carl Alderson on a 4 day, 80 mile kayak through the pristine humble beginning flow of pureness & serenity of the Passaic River in Mendham, NJ to the very end when the Passaic river erects to form a chemical kaiju monster in Newark, NJ. The film is based on Mary Bruno’s 2012 book, An American River: From Paradise to Superfund. This would be Mary Bruno’s 2nd time navigating the Passaic River from beginning to end – only 10 years later from her first adventure. Her Kayak journey with Carl will reveal alot about the health of our river (and ultimately us humans) and in turn will educate and entertain us viewers just as much. On this 2nd journey and also based on the Q/A after the film, it seemed as if Mary came to grips & somewhat closure about the Passaic river that she grew up being afraid of while living in North Arlington, NJ.
So many thoughts flashed in my mind after watching American River
with opposite ends of the feel spectrum regarding the good of humanity
and the reckless abandon of humans in the way we treat our environment & each other for that matter. I’m not going to get into the details about
what lurks at the end of the Passaic river that causes it to be one of the most toxic if not THE undisputed belt holder of Superfund cleanup sites in our country. It is quite maddening that our nation and most of humanity would place money and industry first before our own health and well being. That being said, like our protagonists in the film say – what is done is done. We have to educate ourselves and learn from the past. And first and foremost, we have to put all our efforts to cleanup the mess or at least minimize it as much as possible.
I have to say that the kayak journey that Mary & Carl takes us on is so much fun & entertaining as much as it was scary & terrifying finding out what has
become of our river due to industry and greed. The banter between the two while kayaking and adventures on land was so enjoyable! I was excited to see areas of the Passaic river that I had never seen like in Mendham, Chatham, Summit, & even Berkeley Heights. This upper part of the river looks nothing like the area I’m familiar with. The section known as the lower 17 miles of the river like in Newark, Kearny, North Arlington, Garfield, Paterson, Elmwood Park, & Rutherford is the part that is closer to home to us. Unfortunately this lower 17 is also the most polluted part of the river. It was nice to learn about the Dundee Dam & the Little Falls Dam which is nearby to us but I had never known about. It was great to see familiar destinations in the film as well like the Great Falls of Paterson and them having lunch at Libby’s Lunch! The interactions Mary & Carl come across while talking to locals from every town they stop at was the key in learning about peoples experiences & different sections of the Passaic River.
There are so many things that I learned about our River and why we should preserve this powerful natural resource. For one, water is life. Why would I want to pollute it?
For those that do not live in NJ and are not familiar with the Passaic River, the issues on the Passaic is not unique – sad to say. Industrialization, business, ignorance, pollution, & selfishness applies to any person USA in any River USA.
I most definitely recommend watching AMERICAN RIVER and to read Mary Bruno’s book – An American River: From Paradise to Superfund .
Let’s do our part to keep our waters clean! Pete Seeger would approve!
Tags: documentary, mary bruno, passaic river
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Dionne Warwick : Don’t Make Me Over at 2021 Montclair Film Festival
October 25th, 2021 by Mr. C
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Dionne Warwick finally got a spotlight shining down on her for her contributions to the music industry as well as recognition for her stellar humanitarian efforts in 1985 with her fight against AIDS lending her voice literally & sonically – recording her version of the song “That’s what friends are for” with a bunch of her friends! This record made millions and continues to draw revenue to this day, all being donated to AMFAR, an organization to help bring awareness and fight to HIV & AIDS. Miss Warwick is a dignitary of the highest order! She sees something, she does something!
The documentary film “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over” chronicled her life starting from her humble beginnings in a diverse East Orange, NJ along with her religious family who were deeply rooted in the choir and gospel. Miss Dionne is the sister of Cissy Houston and Whitney Houston’s Aunt in case you didn’t know! Now that is what I call a talented family!
Stephen Colbert along with Dionne Warwick and director Dave Wooley
The film reminded us of how important Dionne was in bridging the gap between pop & r&b and maybe more
importantly with breaking down color & culture barriers. She also had to overcome the stigma of being a sellout because of this crossing. Dionne was caught in between not being black enough or being too white in the music industry. What I love about Miss Warwick was that she was an outlaw and she did what she wanted to do and not try to please others. She speaks her mind! It also showed us how tenacious she was in dealing with a racist & segregrated Jim Crow south when she toured with Sam Cooke in the 1960s. Her boisterous fight continued on to the 1980s & 90s when she said enough is enough with gangster rap and the outlandish language they used in portraying young ladies in their rap songs. Miss Warwick called in a meeting at her mansion to the OG’s of Gangster rap like Suge Knight, Snoop Dog, 2Pac and who knows what other G’s to address these issues!
This documentary was a nice reconnection & refresher to Dionne Warwick who was and is a very influential slice of pop culture and social influence that is often overlooked in my opinion! It was wonderful that we got a chance to celebrate her in this film and to give her roses for just being herself.
Stephen Colbert moderated a Q/A with Dionne and the director of the documentary after the viewing of the movie at the Wellmont Theatre / 2021 Montclair Film Festival. Colbert was really impressed with Dionne being on the Johnny Carson show over 10 times.
Tags: dionne warwick, documentary
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Summer Streets NYC 2021
August 14th, 2021 by Mr. C
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It felt great finally to get out to an organized public outdoor event and experience some sort of normalcy. I have to admit I still feel skittish going out in the public especially in confined spaces with crowd gatherings but summer streets is not that! For those who have followed us for a little while know that Summer Streets which is when NYC shuts down vehicular traffic for 7 miles for folks to run, bike, walk, talk, and basically do what they please short of committing a crime without having to worry about cars or any caged battering ram running amuck on the street! From Brooklyn Bridge/Supreme Court/Foley Square via Lafayette Street all the way to 72nd Street Central Park via Park ave was a Highway of bliss for pedestrians & bicyclists! For me it was amazing just to drive into the city, find a good parking spot, take out the bicycle, and just pedal into oblivion and to infinity! You know, just free the mind from the grind! It reminds me to not take things for granted and appreciate the simple things in life! These photos will look very familiar as we have ridden Summer Streets countless times since creation of this gathering but I can tell you everything felt like new again! We hope everyone is kind to themselves and kind to each other. Take care and see you on the streets!
Tags: Bicycle tour, summer streets
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Julia Scotti: Funny That Way (2021)
May 30th, 2021 by chocko
This documentary is an inspiring movie directed by Susan Sandler and tells the endearing story of a comedian who was born a boy in New Jersey. Rick Scotti had a successful career in comedy, headlining stages and performing with some of the biggest names in the field. Rick stepped away from the spotlight for more than a decade to focus on family, taking care of his two children and being a teacher. It seemed like a perfect life but something just never felt quite right for Rick. After a long hiatus from the stage and a gender transition, Rick became Julia. What emerged was a beacon of hope for the transgender community and proof that it’s never too late to follow your passion and for Julia that passion is comedy. The documentary is an emotional roller coaster ride that follows Julia for five years of her life as she attempts to reunite with her estranged children of more than a decade and as she makes a comeback to the comedy stage. You will pee your pants, weep, cry tears of joy and then laugh again while cheering on “the crazy old lady of comedy” in this funny and well done documentary. Not too shabby for a comedian that went from getting chuckles at the Jade Fountain in Paramus, New Jersey to laughs on “America’s Got Talent.” Julia Scotti: Funny That Way debuts on streaming platforms on June 1. Check out the trailer below!
Tags: comedian, comedy, documentary, julia scotti, movie, review, transgender
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Wayne New Jersey Toy Show
May 2nd, 2021 by chocko
Here’s a last minute post about the Wayne NJ Toy Show that happens the first Sunday or Saturday of the month in Wayne, New Jersey. The next one is Sunday, May 2 from 9 AM to 2PM at the Wayne PAL (1 Pal Drive, Wayne, NJ 07470). Admission is $5, so if you are looking for something to do on a first Sunday, come on down to “the Best local show for Toys, Comics, & other Pop Culture Collectibles!” Here are a bunch of photos I took from my visit at the show a couple months ago. As you can see there is a huge mix of toys like Star Wars figures, anime, Funko Pops and even some vendors selling toy modifications which are old toys or figures repainted and modified. You can even find records and movies too, so there is a little something for everybody. Come on down and check it out! Follow them on social media for more updates.
Tags: action figures, collectibles, toy show, toys, wayne nj toy show
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The Uncle Floyd Show – revisited!
December 4th, 2020 by Mr. C
The Uncle Floyd show came back alive again like fresh hot lava slowly oozing from a dormant – sleeping giant volcano last Tuesday! Uncle Floyd and long time producer and collaborator of Floyd’s, Scott Gordon started hosting a live viewing session of Uncle Floyd show episodes including the commercials and of course a live performance from special guest band! During the live viewing party, Uncle Floyd mentioned that there were approximately 6399 Uncle Floyd shows taped and that 5000 of them are gone forever. He didn’t want to get into the specifics of how they were lost but anyway that you slice it, that’s very sad and unfortunate. The Uncle Floyd Show is a piece of history that needs to be preserved in some form or fashion! On this particular night, Floyd & Scott re-ran the episode from November 30th, 1979. It was a trip seeing some of the old characters especially Oogie!
Now before you look at the hideous low-fi screenshots that I captured from the show below, let me explain to the young bucks who aren’t familiar with the plaid wearing NJ superhero and the phenomenon of what the Uncle Floyd show was. The Uncle Floyd show was an off the wall comedic – variety show who’s targeted audience were children & young adults alike but Floyd’s humor, ragtime piano playing, & outrageous skits along with live guest band performances on the show appealed to adults as well! The wacky cartoonish characters on the show like Netto, Skip Rooney, Mugsy, & Charlie added some spice too! Wait, did I leave out, Oogie & boxy!? The Uncle Floyd show ran from 1974 to about 1995 on UHF / 68 local public TV from what I remembered in the NJ/NYC area. Uncle Floyd Vivino and Scott Gordon are hosting virtual viewing parties of old Uncle Floyd Shows on Tuesdays at 8pm EST for the month of December but with the good feedback & viewership from last weeks show, I hope it continues on to 2021! So far the first and 2nd showings are hot tickets! Next Tuesday at 8pm EST, Floyd & Scott will show an episode from February 18, 1980 . Get your ticket for this viewing here before it sells out! ~> Tix for Uncle Floyd show on StageIt.com
Commercials from the Uncle Floyd show on November 30, 1979!
Tags: oogie, scott gordon, uncle floyd show, variety show
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