Blogfinger

About BLOGFINGER: This is an eclectic blog, about photography, music, medicine, opinions and Ocean Grove, New Jersey. For many years there was a newspaper here which was called the Ocean Grove Record and then the Ocean Grove Times. In recent years, the newspaper closed. Then, for several years there was an online newspaper called The Ocean Grove Record. That closed in early 2009.

Blogfinger, since June 2009, is attempting to fill that vacuum and to become a central clearing house for Ocean Grove news and opinion. Paul Goldfinger, MD, is the editor-in-chief. Our website is WWW.blogfinger.net.

Our motto is: “There are two ways of spreading light…to be a candle or the mirror that reflects it” (from a poem by Edith Wharton, American author, 1862-1937).

In 2011, at the 16th Annual Beersheba Awards Dinner, sponsored by the Historical Society of Ocean Grove, Blogfinger received a Civic Award for its innovative contribution to the cultural and intellectual life of Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Here is a link to the article about this event :

link to Blogfinger article about 2011 Beersheba awards

Anyone who wants to offer an opinion piece on Ocean Grove or other subjects is welcome to send us a post. We encourage citizen reporters to send us news. You can also send tips, facts, ideas for stories and letters to the editor. To be successful, this blog needs to be an information sharing website. You can send us an artistic photograph or a news photograph. Just create a jpg file and attach it to an email. Try to compress it for internet use (e.g., 200-800 KB).

You can also be a “guest DJ.” Just pick a song that you love and send us a few sentences about it and an MP3 digital file, a link to a YouTube video, drop off a CD for us to borrow, or go online and download the song. You can reach us by email at blogfinger@verizon.net or you can attach a Word file to an email.

We also encourage participation by using the blog technology to post comments at the end of any item on the Blogfinger web site. (http://blogfinger.wordpress.com). Note that postings are usually placed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent on top. You can then scroll through the others, as if you were reading an ancient Greek parchment, like the messenger in Antigone, or a Torah turned on its side.

We send out emails to Ocean Grovers whenever there are new postings, so send us your email address if you wish to be on the list. Email us at blogfinger@verizon.net.

About PAUL GOLDFINGER, MD, FACC ( Blogfinger founding finger. editor-in-chief).

Paul is a retired cardiologist who now lives in Ocean Grove, NJ. He was a biology major at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ where he received his degree magna cum laude. His MD is from The George Washington University School of Medicine in D.C. where he graduated “with distinction”— first in his class.

He then spent five years at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York where he trained in internal medicine and cardiology. While in training, he co-founded the first exercise stress testing lab at that hospital and he has published 12 articles in the medical literature. He was on the faculty of three medical schools at various times during his career.

Before entering private practice, he served as cardiologist (LCDR,USNR) at the US Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. Following military service, he founded a cardiology group in Morris County, was President of the Morris-Sussex Heart Association and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Dover General Medical Center. He was one of the leaders of a community coalition to save that hospital in the late 1990′s, when its existence was threatened by corporate raiders. His testimony to Congress (http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/pbc010322f.htm) about hospital closures can be found on-line.

He and Eileen (scroll down) are the authors of: “Prevention Does Work. A Guide to a Healthy Heart.” The fourth edition was published in 2011 and is available on-line at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, iUniverse.com. and the Comfort Zone in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

As a photographer, his work has been exhibited and published in a variety of venues. Most recently, one of his black and white photographs was chosen for an art show at the Monmouth Museum. His color photograph of the Ocean Grove tents was chosen for the book “New Jersey 24/7″.

Prior to starting Blogfinger, Paul was a regular contributor to the Ocean Grove Record, online newspaper, founded by Ocean Grover Steven Froias.

CONTRIBUTING STAFF:

About EILEEN GOLDFINGER (AKA Mrs. Blogfinger). Dining and food editor, photographer, house and garden editor, cook.

Eileen is the co-author of “Prevention Does Work: A Guide to a Healthy Heart”, with Dr. Goldfinger. The new fourth edition (2011) is now available at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and iUniverse.com. She did the section on evidence based, heart healthy eating, creating 35 original recipes that were designed to be easy to prepare and delicious. She has lectured on the subject of heart healthy food preparation, with an emphasis on seafood.

Eileen does proof reading for Blogfinger and makes sure that the blogmaster doesn’t get too snarky. She is well known for her good taste. Eileen is an expert gardener and an avid photographer, especially of flowers. We sometimes display her photographs on Blogfinger. She recently wrote a piece for us on the Asbury Park Farmers’ Market, so we have made her the Dining and Food editor. We also posted her recipe for homemade cranberry sauce using fruit from the Jersey Cranberry Festival. She and Dr. Goldfinger lecture on preventing heart disease.

Eileen is a graduate of the George Washington University, with a BA in Education. She has been a school teacher.

About YVETTE BLACKMAN: Contributing writer

Yvette Blackman, contributing writer

We welcome Yvette Blackman to the Blogfinger writing staff. She was born in Trinidad, but she spent her youth in the Bronx. After attending Colgate University as an English major, Yvette began a 25-year career with the Associated Press. She started as a reporter, was a news editor in Florida and then finished her career as assistant features editor—New York office.

Yvette lives in Ocean Grove where she has many friends. She spends much of her time here volunteering and visiting. Yvette offered to write for Blogfinger, and we are thrilled to have her join the team.

About Ted Aanensen, photographer

Ted Aanensen

Ted is a lifelong resident of Ocean Grove. He is a graduate of Upsala College and he has lived in Ocean Grove full time since 2000. His career has been in the family business.

Regarding Ted’s participation with Blogfinger, he says, “Glad to be able to share a passion of photographing a life-long favorite place to be. I hope it will bring some joy and understanding to friends and neighbors.”

About Ocean Grove:

Ocean Grove, New Jersey by Paul Goldfinger * Copyright 2011

OCEAN GROVE, New Jersey, is a unique town, on the National Historic Register. It is best known for its Victorian architecture, religious heritage and rich history. For a small town, the population is very diverse, and the demographics continue to evolve.

“The Grove” is a year-round community, but it really comes to life during the warm weather, when tourists visit the beaches and stay at inns and B&B’s. Visitors enjoy the activities, including those sponsored by the Camp Meeting Association, the Historical Society and the Chamber of Commerce. There is an impressive musical program throughout the summer, with many events at the famous 6,500-seat Great Auditorium, where the concerts vary from classical to pop and where the extraordinary Hope-Jones organ resounds with its 11,000 magnificent pipes, played by a variety of renowned musicians. The Historical Society Museum, on Pitman Avenue near the Great Auditorium, is open in season, and you can sign up for town tours there.

Downtown Ocean Grove attracts the crowds in summer, with restaurants, shops, sidewalk cafes, ice cream parlors, galleries, exhibits, flea markets, porch sales, antique shows and live music outdoors. The town feels as if it has been transported from 140 years ago.

To contact the Blogfinger compound, email us at blogfinger@verizon.net

* This photograph was featured in the January 2011 First Anniversary Collector’s Issue of the magazine Maine Ahead as part of the cover article they published about Ocean Grove pollster Scott Rasmussen.