Archive for September, 2009
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Zoo Station
Rail service from Penn Station to the Meadowlands (Giants Stadium, Izod Center, that huge race track) all of 11 miles to the west seems like a perfectly logical thing in the modern era, though the reports on the fledgling Meadowlands Rail Line at the U2 concert last week were horrible, with people stuck for hours somewhere […]
No Comments » - Posted in New Jersey Transit by TJ
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Hawthorne Gets a Restaurant!
I cruised by the little strip mall with the Chinese food restaurant, the laundromat and not much else on the way home from work yesterday, and saw the first signs of life in the northernmost storefront in almost three years. Tiny downtown Hawthorne is getting a Spanish-Portuguese restaurant!
The paper in the window said Coming Soon: […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Gordo's, Hawthorne by TJ
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Can Someone Please Help This Man?
Reader “Steve” wonders:
Anyone know of a car rental place right by a NJ Transit station? I’d like to take the train out of Manhattan to somewhere in north or central Jersey, pick up a rental car for business in Denville area……then return the car to Manhattan that night….so it needs to be a major car […]
No Comments » - Posted in Car Rentals, New Jersey Transit by TJ
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Potential Psycho on the 8:16
There was a peculiar fellow on the 8:16 today. He was a big white guy, around 6′ 3″ and 220. He wore the geeky horn-rimmed glasses one tends to associate with psychos, and he had a blackened tooth on the side of his mouth.
I first spotted him when he stopped in the small alcove near […]
No Comments » - Posted in 1-3/4-Seater, 125th Street, 8:16 by TJ
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Sports I’ve Seen Played in Pershing Square
I’ve seen tennis played in Pershing Square, the stretch of 42nd Street in front of Grand Central and under the overpass. If memory serves (if I can use a little tennis parlance…serves…get it?), they’d set up a regulation tennis court along 42nd as a promo for the Open or something.
I’ve seen a mini version of […]
No Comments » - Posted in Grand Central, Pershing Square by TJ
Monday, September 28th, 2009
How Not to Use the Crosswalk
We’ve toasted the town of Mount Pleasant for installing crosswalks and Slow the F*** Down, There Are Children Walking About signs around the hamlet of Hawthorne; in fact, we pass through either two or three such crosswalks on the way to the station each day, depending on where we park. We think they serve as […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Crosswalks, Hawthorne, Mount Pleasant by TJ
Monday, September 28th, 2009
The Professor Vs. The Conductor
Friday evening on the 5:27 out of Gotham.
Normal looking dude standing and reading the New Yorker in the vestibule. Neat gray hair the color of iron, tweed blazer, khaki slacks, glasses. The word professorial comes to mind.
The conductor comes around to check tickets. I’m not paying attention until there’s some friction between the Professor and […]
No Comments » - Posted in Conductor by TJ
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Great Scott, Look Who Rides Metro-North!
Our Connecticut correspondent ConnecticEnergy boarded the 8:03 out of Stamford this morning, then squeezed into a four-seater across from none other than 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. Pelley, freshly back from Afghanistan to report on the state of the war, was apparently putting the finishing touches on the piece, which is to run Sunday–pecking away […]
No Comments » - Posted in ConnecticEnergy, New Haven Line, Stamford by TJ
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Classic Word of the Week: TRAUMADINEJAD
TRAUMADINEJAD \TRAW ma DINN eh JAHD\ noun: The extra traffic stress felt by car commuters when a controversial world leader is in Manhattan.
USAGE: I caught all sorts of Traumadinejad on the FDR Drive because that Iranian president dude is at the U.N.
2 Comments » - Posted in traffic by TJ
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
U2 Giants Stadium Review: Band Was ‘Magnificent’, New Rail Link ‘Sux’
Well, U2 did not disappoint last night at Giants Stadium. They’re the gold standard in live music today, thanks to a deep catalogue of memorable (and mostly timeless) songs, expert stagecraft, and a genuine affection for each other that adds to the uplifting vibe of the music. A birthday shout-out to Garden State Godfather Bruce […]