] Music alive in Waretown
]
] I enjoyed your "Day in the Life" section about Waretown,
] but was disappointed there was no reference to the Albert
] Music Hall. My husband and I recently discovered the
] music hall after seeing a reference to it in the Datebook
] feature of the Asbury Park Press. What a delight.
]
] Who would have thought that New Jersey has such a
] valuable resource -- its own Pine Barrens blue grass
] music. We felt as if we were in the hills of West
] Virginia or North Carolina enjoying a good-old-fashioned,
] foot-tapping hoedown. Banjos, fiddles and acoustic
] guitars -- no ear-splitting sounds, no pyrotechnics, no
] ghoulish stage makeup. Just down-to-earth,
] good-old-fashioned music, performed by accomplished
] musicians. What a treat to the ear.
]
] It's a great way to spend a Saturday evening with the
] family.
]
] Liz Olexsak
]
] FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP

Letter to the Editor

] WEST WARWICK, Rhode Island (CNN) -- At least 39 people
] died at a concert late Thursday and others were reported
] missing after a fire -- apparently ignited by an indoor
] pyrotechnics display -- destroyed a Providence, Rhode
] Island-area nightclub, officials said.

Holy shit! I'm always in West Warwick! I'm also always at shows! But not Great White shows. And not in West Warwick either. That's so terrible, and only a few days after the Chicago stampede.

A guy I work with got asked to go to that show. But he's not into 80's metal so he didn't go. His friends got out though. So that's good.

UPDATE: a woman my boyfriend works with here just ran out to the hospital, crying.. apparently her daughter was there last night, and so were a bunch of people from here.. i saw that woman this morning and she seemed fine, i guess she just got the news. how terrible.

UPDATE: the death toll is now up to 86, this is all people have been talking about all day. and i just saw a quote that i HAVE to include: " A New Jersey club owner said Great White used pyrotechnics without seeking his permission for a concert there a week ago. Dominic Santana, owner of the storied Asbury Park club, the Stone Pony, said management had not known the band planned to use pyrotechnics during a February 14 show.

"We do not allow pyrotechnics and it got us by surprise," he said. "

GREAT WHITE WAS AT THE PONY LAST WEEK AND WE MISSED IT?@!#@!?!?!?!?!!

Nightclub fire kills at least 86

] My arrival in Atlanta lacked appropriate fanfare. No
] winsome blond belle greeted my plane, delicately boned
] hand upturned and cupping a gently ripened peach. I
] noticed the distinct absence of a military band playing a
] rousing rendition of "Dixie" in time with my heavy
] footfalls. Nowhere in sight was a swarthy limo driver in
] a fedora clutching a sign to his chest scrawled with my
] name. In fact, there was nothing at all to indicate that
] Atlanta was even remotely aware of my arrival. This was
] disappointing, as it's not every day that the City of a
] Hundred Hills welcomes a man of my stature. Twenty-five,
] overweight, unemployed and recently "relocated" to my
] parents' house in New Jersey, I am truly a man in full.
] Rather, I am a man fully in need of a job, which is why I
] was in Atlanta. Many moons had passed since I last set
] foot in an office, several more since I last received a
] legitimate paycheck. After a few months spent ferrying
] back and forth by bus across the toxic swamps of New
] Jersey and into Manhattan to search for something,
] anything, while my enthusiasm waned, I had a break. The
] break came in the form of an interview with the sales
] team of a well-regarded consulting firm in Atlanta. In
] retrospect, I should have stayed home and burned myself.
] It would have been less painful, and left me with
] arguably more attractive scars. But after all

Salon.com Technology | The chicken show

] American drivers should shop aggressively for gasoline
] bargains in the face of "dramatic" and questionable price
] increases, the auto club AAA said Tuesday.

So basically, they think we should drive around looking for gas which is a penny or two cheaper per gallon? What's that save you, maybe ten cents? A quarter? How much gas do you waste in the meantime looking for cheaper gas? I mean, okay, when we go down to New Jersey to visit friends/family, we fill up there because it's cheaper than in NY or CT. But around town? All the gas prices are about the same, PENNIES different. I think driving around to find it cheaper just wastes more money and fuel. Which contributes to the problem.

Drivers urged to hunt for cheaper gas

] The state is working with the federal Nuclear Regulatory
] Commission and PSEG Nuclear, which runs the plant, to
] investigate the leak of radioactive water, which is
] around a spent-fuel pool building on the site, according
] to a DEP statement.
]
] According to the DEP, the leak was identified when
] elevated levels of radioactive tritium were discovered in
] ground water and reported last week by the NRC, which
] regulates the nuclear power industry. DEP officials
] confirmed ground water contamination in samples analyzed
] yesterday.

From Jessica: Salem 1 started operating in 1977. Oyster Creek went online in '68, I believe. I recommend you move. Now. :) But don't move here... "Millstone Power Station sits on a peninsula on the eastern end of Long Island Sound. The site is 3.2 miles west-southwest of New London, Conn. The station consists of three units: Millstone 1, a 660-megawatt unit, began commercial operation in 1970 and is currently undergoing decommissioning. Millstone 2, an 870-megawatt unit, began commercial operation in 1975, and Millstone 3, an 1,150-megawatt unit, began commercial operation in 1986."

Rattle: Oh yeah, I'm well aware I'm living in what will be called the "Dead Zone" at one point or another.. Only I don't define that area as [blank], or Ocean County, but rather New Jersey.

Radioactive water leak found at Salem I plant

] In fact, Norton called the Arctic Refuge "one of the most
] environmentally appropriate places we can look for
] energy." Why? Because of all the things that can be done
] "in a high-tech way" to protect it.
]
] Congress has yet to approve drilling in the Arctic
] Refuge. Six Republican senators recently signed a letter
] saying they won't be part of any effort to sneak it
] through in a spending bill without open debate.
]
] Yet, Bush's proposed budget assumed $2.4 billion in
] revenue from the first oil lease sale in the Alaska
] preserve.
]
] The Republican Party learned -- painfully -- in the 1990s
] that the environment can be a new third rail in American
] politics. President Clinton played against the perceived
] extremism of House Speaker Newt Gingrich in cruising to
] re-election in 1996.

... and we all know you don't piss on the third rail..

This is an issue I've done a fair amount of bouncing back and forth on. While I do think we need to tap that reserve, and I think that it is possible to do it in a "high tech" way that will not damage the environment, I have my doubts about it being implemented properly. I always have doubts when the key thing I'm concerned with can simply not be followed thru on. I fear we get all the promises, congress oks it, we drill, it falls off the media radar, next thing you know a section of the refuge looks like the area of Jersey around EWR commonly referred to as "The Oil Wasteland". Yeah, I know thats an area where processing happens, not drilling, and drilling can be done cleanly, but this is a Bush plan we are talking about..

The title of this oped piece is reason enough to blog it.

In the Northwest: Bush smiles at environment, but his teeth are fangs

according to classmates.com (the dumbest thing anyone ever convinced me to sign up for.. but it was interesting for stuff like this), this is a listing of percentages of people from my graduating class who live in which states.

alabama- 1.0% mississippi-1.0% west virginia-0.5%
alaska-0.0% missouri-1.0% wisconsin-0.0%
arizona-2.4% montana-0.0% wyoming-1.0%
arkansas-1.0% nebraska-0.5%
california-4.9% nevada-1.0%
colorado-1.5% new hampshire-1.0%
connecticut-1.0% new jersey-34.0%
delaware-0.0% new mexico-1.0%
DC-0.5% new york-6.3%
florida-4.9% north carolina-2.4%
georgia-3.4% north dakota-0.0%
hawaii-0.5% ohio-3.4%
idaho-0.5% oklahoma-2.4%
illinois-1.5% oregon-0.0%
indiana-1.5% pennsylvania-2.4%
iowa-0.5% rhode island-1.0%
kansas-2.4% south carolina-1.0%
kentucky-0.0% south dakota-1.0%
louisiana-0.5% tennessee-0.0%
maine-0.0% texas-3.4%
maryland-1.9% utah-1.0%
massachussetts-1.0% vermont-0.0%
michigan-0.0% virginia-1.0%
minnesota-1.5% washington-1.9%

very interesting. now besides the fact that this adds up to 100.6%, i wonder a few things:

1. if "0.5%" probably means -one- person, then "1.0" probably means -two- people and i want to know who the other person living in connecticut is!!!

2. i find it hard to believe that more people from my class live in KANSAS than connecticut. who are they!??

3. the person from hawaii must be lying. who is it??

it's also nice to see that most people made it out of the state.

] New Jersey doctors are planning a partial work stoppage
] next month to protest soaring malpractice premiums many
] say they can no longer afford.
]
] The doctors plan to stop seeing patients for routine
] checkups, elective surgery and nonessential tests and
] services as of February 3, said Dr. Alan Zaccaria, who is
] organizing the effort in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

It's almost as if every day, I find a new reason to be THRILLED that I left New Jersey.

Some N.J. doctors planning work stoppage

] "Children, don't fear: State officials won't block Santa
] Claus and his reindeer from flying over New Jersey on
] Christmas Eve."
This is from a while ago (like I said previously, I just got back) but I thought it was so cute I had to post it.

Santa's reindeer free to fly over N.J.

] "Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were
] in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming
] forward to comply with a new rule to register with
] immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and
] behind bars."

If this dosen't wind up in the TV news rotation by the end of the day, our media isn't functioning properly.

I'm pissed. I feel the comparisons people are making to Japaneese internment are valid. Our justice dept cannot be allowed to go off half-cocked. I better be seeing some sort of statement from Ashcroft before lunch tommorow. This is something that needs to be explained and justified, not just happen without anyone noticing.

I want to detailed breakdown of what the people were arrested for. This will have a backlash. They better be prepared. They better be transparent in their handling of this.

If I had to guess at the near-future outcome at this point, based on the two articles I have read thus far... Optmistic: Next week we hear in the sweep they caught a few people with terrorist ties, they release everyone else, and appoligize for the nature of the sweep but claim it was necessary. After, a program for speed up naturalization starts to aid these people attain their citizenship. Given the timeframe of several months, its viewed as part of a critical restructure of the INS's handling of foriegn nationals. Pessimistic: We just don't hear about it again or its the first of many, and many immigrants get the shaft.

I am keenly aware of the effects of immigration in America. I do not have to look any farther then my granparents to see where half my blood line entered this country. No farther then my great grandparents for the other half. I am an average American in that respect. Even people such as the creator of MemeStreams would not be in the US if not for our open immigration and borders.

Here in Jersey, we have a downright huge Middle Eastern population. Ironicly, they tend to work in all the gas stations and its the brunt of many jokes. They view Jersey as a good place to "start in America".. They live and work here for a few years, save up money, and move elsewhere. Its the modern American Dream for the immigrant. This is a critical part of New Jersey's heritage. If I see this type of shit going down here, you can be assured I will be one of the people holding a sign in front of a jail.

Yahoo! News - Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif.