Archive for April, 2008
Friday, April 25th, 2008
Subway Sketcher at Brooklyn Flea
Check out the talented subway sketch artist Amitai Plasse’s stuff at the Brooklyn Flea at Bishop Loughlin High in Ft. Greene this weekend. “Ami” does some interesting artwork centered around the people he sees on the train.
No Comments » - Posted in Amitai Plasse by TJ
Friday, April 25th, 2008
JerseyJim: Taking All the Joy Out of My Dentist Visits
Every few weeks I vary my morning NJ Transit commute, and ride into Hoboken–either having overslept and missed the early express straight to Penn Station/NYC–or last week, to an 8 a.m. appointment to my longtime dentist on Washington Street.
Since I have a monthly pass to NYC, my occasional commuting option to Hoboken and the PATH […]
No Comments » - Posted in New Jersey Transit by TJ
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
The Five People Who Walk in My Neighborhood
Up in my corner of Hummerville, people generally don’t walk unless the doctor tells them to. In fact, I count a grand total of five people who walk for reasons other than recreation or exercise. Yes, all of five people walk the .5-1 mile from our side of Elwood Avenue into our tiny “town” and the […]
No Comments » - Posted in Church Lady by TJ
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
I Never Promised You a Paumgarten
I like poking around the web analytics back channels of Trainjotting to spot any kind of traffic irregularities. I stumbled upon one this week: Monday saw 108 page views of the Trainjotting category “Nick Paumgarten,” Paumgarten of course the author of the seminal New Yorker commuting essay. Tuesday had a 94 Paumgarten clicks, and yesterday, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Nick Paumgarten by TJ
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Checking Out the “El-Way” Series in Chicago
No, John Elway is not suiting up again for the Broncos against da Bears.
The NY Times has a funny story about New Yorkers schlepping to Chicago to check out the Mets at Wrigley and the Yankees at…whatever the hell the White Sox stadium is called. It was the first time in 28 years both New […]
No Comments » - Posted in Mets, Wrigley by TJ
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
An Open Letter To:
The young man who barged onto the 6 train this morning.
The train pulled up around 9:10. Usually, the 6 comes in every few minutes in the morning; today, it had been a little longer.
We waited patiently at the perimeter of the “Train Stops Here” box, known among our hockey brethren as the “crease.”
But you, young […]
1 Comment » - Posted in 6 train, Open Letter by TJ
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Metro-North Makes World Better Place With New Bulbs
It being Earth Week and all, Metro-North does its part by switching from incandescent light bulbs in Grand Central to the compact fluorescent variety favored by green types everywhere. Installing more than 1,700 of them in the public areas of Grand Central, Metro-North figures on saving more than $100,000 a year on utility bills.
“While we […]
No Comments » - Posted in Grand Central, Peter A. Cannito by TJ
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Great Commuting Moments in Literary History Vol. II
Great Commuting Moments in Literary History ventures from the damp streets of Dublin to the depressing byways of Steel City for Michael Chabon’s The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
Riding on a city bus along the route that you have taken from your job, from the movies, from a hundred Chinese meals, with the same late sun going down […]
No Comments » - Posted in Michael Chabon by TJ
Monday, April 21st, 2008
Is There a Doctor on the Train?
Cool story in Friday’s NY Times on a local Arena Football wide receiver who’s also studying to be a doctor. By day, Chris Anthony hauls in touchdown passes and gets slammed into the boards for the New York Dragons. By evening, he’s studying sickle cells under the microscope at Hunter College.
Anthony uses his bicycle, the Long […]
No Comments » - Posted in LIRR, New York Dragons by TJ
Friday, April 18th, 2008
Boiling Mad on the New Haven Line Platform
From reader Meq:
Can anyone solve the door mystery of the 5:38 New Haven train leaving Grand Central?
Normally the train doors are open well in advance of the train leaving. Regulars can find their favorite cars and settle in, leaving only a few latecomers to throw themselves on and straggle through the train at the last […]