Ken Davis of Estero, Florida, breezin’ along with the breeze. By Paul Goldfinger. 2013 Re-post.
We met Ken Davis at the Causeway Islands Park which stretches from Ft. Myers to Sanibel Island. It is a remarkable park where you can just pull over and drive onto the beach. We saw Ken pull his 4-wheel drive up to edge of the Gulf of Mexico. His car was filled with wind-sailing gear.
It took him quite a while to put his wind-sail together. It was a breezy afternoon, but he shook his head and said that there wasn’t enough wind to get a really good result. Nevertheless, he got on board and aimed for Cuba. But a short while later he returned toward shore and then headed out again. That’s when I got this shot.
Ken is a “local” and he was there with some friends who huddled on shore to keep warm. Soon it would be sunset, but we were gone after getting this photo. Ken was still cruisin’ around when we departed. Sunsets are corny, but you already know that. —Paul Goldfinger
Re-post from 2013, but this movie deserves remembering on this New Year’s Day
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
This movie just opened, but it is clear that it will be a big hit. We saw it on a big screen in mid-town New York in the afternoon. I love to see films in those New York theaters where the screens are huge and the sound systems spectacular, especially during the day. This multiplex has dedicated 3 screens to “42.”
Jackie Robinson steps onto the field in his new Brooklyn Dodger uniform. All photos off the screen by Paul Goldfinger. We’ll use them as long as nobody yells at us.
“42” is the story of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major league baseball. He broke the “color barrier” in 1947 when Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, bravely ignored considerable opposition when he brought Robinson up to the big leagues.
The movie covers the years 1945-1947. It is beautifully filmed in a subdued color palette that is just perfect for the mood of a movie that depicts a very specific time in America. The costumes and settings are just perfect. Racism was prevalent thoroughout the country, and particularly in baseball. As you might expect, this movie is about a talented athlete with great personal qualities who manages to put up with all sorts of abuse while performing at a high level in helping his team get to the World Series. He accomplished this feat even after he is forced to learn a new postion–first base–and even though he was only a rookie.
The themes about personal courage and bravery in overcoming such a powerful social force as racism are among the most important elements in this very significant movie.
The baseball scenes are mesmerizing: in the locker room, riding the team bus, getting caught in a run down between 2nd and 3rd, rounding the bases after a home run, a collision at home plate, and a horrifying intentional “beanball” incident; and there are others just as good.
Jackie Robinson is played by a fine actor named Chadwick Boseman. But his character is not very complicated. The film doesn’t really tell us much about Robinson’s early influences, his personal opinions or how his values were shaped. So the role for this actor doesn’t have much depth, but it is powerful nevertheless.
Branch Rickey in his Dodger office. Played by Harrison Ford.
The most interesting character in the film is that of Branch Rickey who is played by Harrison Ford in a huge leap from Han Solo (“Star Wars,”) Jack Ryan (“Clear and Present Danger”) or “Indiana Jones.” Rickey was a religious man who had been planning to integrate major league baseball, and the movie digs into how he accomplished that goal and how he decided to choose Robinson to be the first. Ford did a great job in capturing Rickey’s passion, bravery, and fortitude. Harrison Ford may get an Oscar for this role.
This is one of the most captivating moments in baseball history. With the crowd screaming racial slurs, Pew Wee Reese, the Dodger shortstop, put his arm around Robinson and just stood there with him until the noise quieted.
Take your kids to see this film. You don’t need to be a baseball fan to enjoy it. The “N word” is used a lot, but it is necessary, and kids should hear it.
Fans shower Robinson with abuse.
A SELECTION FROM THE “42” SOUNDTRACK by Mark Isham. The selection is called “Pee Wee and Jackie.”
Ocean Grove Fishing Pier. A wreath was tossed into the ocean from a small boat. 2011. Paul Goldfinger photograph.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger (text and photos)
It was a gloomy, rainy day Wednesday, December 7, 2011. A small crowd had assembled at the end of the fishing pier for this annual event. But this time it was extra special. Not only is it the 70th anniversary of a vicious attack against our country, which killed over 2000 people and nearly destroyed the Pacific Fleet, but very few of the veterans are still around to participate. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association will be disbanded at the end of this year.
We spoke with Bob Hodges of Neptune. Bob is the Senior Vice Commander of the Monmouth County American Legion (see photo below). He is 83 years old and he spent 20 years in the Army, being involved in three wars. He was an 18-year-old “kid” from Chicago when he entered the service in 1946. His first deployment was in occupied Japan. He is an official WWII vet because, although the shooting stopped in 1945, the war was not officially over until 1946. He participated in the Battle of Pusan (Korea) when UN forces, including Americans, successfully fought off a North Korean Army advance. He also was in Vietnam. He limps a bit due to some knee problems, but he seems quite vigorous, and he has a great sense of humor.
Today there were representatives of veterans’ groups, individual veterans in their special hats, politicians, and citizens. Because of the rain, a brief ceremony was held inside the OG Fishing Club house. A wreath was tossed into the ocean from the deck of a small boat that was bobbing vigorously in the water. We shot the photo gallery in black and white because the vast majority of WWII photography was done monochrome.
Bob Hodges of Neptune: 83-year-old Army vet, Senior Vice Commander of Monmouth American Legion.
Albert Hairston, Quartermaster of Neptune VFW Post 2639. Served in the Army 1945-1975
After the event: chatting on the pier.
The rain didn’t bother the visitors. They were proud to be present.
2020 update: Sorry for being one day late. It was unavoidable. Never forget is an often used slogan, but we, as a society, must remember as well as look forward. WWII was an event that overwhelmed the entire world, and the danger was a take-over of democracies like ours by two maniacal countries which murdered many and which would have killed even more if given the opportunity.
America, a beautiful and honorable nation, set aside isolationism and paid a huge price for its part in saving the world. We must not forget those who sacrificed but also we remember in order to learn lessons for our country. The price was paid, and we must be conscious of what needs protecting in the USA. Never forget.
Paul Goldfinger, JWV Post 125, Monmouth County.
MUSIC: The main title theme from the HBO miniseries: The Pacific: “Honor”
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger (This post was originally published on Blogfinger in April, 2013)
While shooting some images in Greenwich Village, I wandered over to University Place for a Blogfinger Film Festival meeting with our producer Marlee. On the way I spotted a small restaurant just a few steps down the block on East 9th Street. The restaurant caught my eye for two reasons. One is that it is a place that looks like Europe. There were tables out front with flowers , and the rich colors of the facade and the lights showing from inside said, “Eat here—it’s authentic.”
The other element that made the image even more visually arresting was the presence of a very tall young lady walking back and forth in front, speaking on a cell phone. Her striking appearance was enhanced by her color scheme—-bright turquoise shoes and yellow skirt.
I went up to her and asked if I could photograph her. She said, “Sure.” It turns out that she is Violet Hasangjekja. I could not resist asking about her nationality. She said that she and her family are from Montenegro. Violet is the manager, supervisor, and event planner for the family-owned Arte Restaurant at 21 East 9th Street. The cuisine is Northern Italian. The neighborhood is very scenic—right near the Washington Mews, one of the most famous streets in the City.
I was intrigued, so I went home later to review all the visitors that came to Blogfinger from Montenegro in 2012. There was just one. Violet’s image on the blog will make her our second Montenegrin visitor.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: This song “Hablas de mi” is not what you might probably hear in Montenegro, but it means “talking about me” and we are talking about Violet, and this music seems to fit with her charming image.
VINCE GIORDANO AND THE GRAMMY WINNING NIGHTHAWKS from their album “The Cotton Club Revisited.” Vince does the vocal. Harold Arlen wrote this song for the 1932 Cotton Club Parade.
Ocean Grove, New Jersey. “Summer Tents”–anybody creeping around? Paul Goldfinger photo
Re-post from 2012.
We have been having, according to Kathy Arlt, a bit of a “tent festival” on Blogfinger. We have slow dancin’ in a tent and then Kathy’s historical account of tenting in the Grove. Then we have the Hebrews sleeping in tents as part of the Passover story.
Well, it seems that throughout history, some hanky panky finds its way into somebody’s tent. It sure did occur when the Sheik of Araby showed up, creeping around the campground. Here’s Asa Prebner, even though he’s no sheik. Asa is a rocker, and this is from his Session Americana album
I happen to be reading The War in the Air by H.G. Wells, the turn-of-the-century British author famous for his prophetic ideas, depicted in what later came to be called science-fiction novels. The War in the Air foresaw World War I, describing it as a global combat employing enormous and powerful flying machines. It was written in 1907, only four years after the Wright Brothers’ first successful flight at Kitty Hawk.
About halfway through the book, a fleet of German airships moves in from the Atlantic to launch a surprise bombing attack against New York City. This German fleet, Wells writes, “reached New York in the late afternoon and was first seen by watchers in Ocean Grove and Long Branch coming swiftly out of the southward sea and going away to the northeast. The flagship passed almost vertically over the Sandy Hook observation station…”
What a picture! All those Methodists standing beside their tents marveling at the passage of an airship armada.
If anyone else has happened across an interesting reference to Ocean Grove in literature, please let us know.
Saturday night. Ocean Grove, NJ By Paul Goldfinger
SOUNDTRACK. Joe Venuti. This song is usually done with a trumpet lead—Louis A. mostly. But Joe Venuti is something else altogether. He uses a violin for the lead, with the trumpet coming in later. His voice sounds like a combo of two Louis—Prima and Armstrong. PG
Eileen Goldfinger, Food and Garden Editor @Blogfinger
Fish:
2 flounder fillets
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Smart Balance margarine
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon
Stuffing:
6 medium shrimp, diced and peeled
1 scallion, diced
1 shallot, minced
1 small celery stalk, diced
1/2 teaspoon ground garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons Eggbeaters
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
Prepare the stuffing:
Put the margarine and the oil in a 10 inch non-stick pan and heat on medium.
Add shrimp, scallion, shallot, celery, garlic, black pepper and salt.
Sauté until scallions soften, and shrimp turn pink, approximately 5 minutes.
Remove from pan and place in a bowl to cool. Turn off heat under pan.
When the stuffing is cool, add Eggbeaters and Panko bread crumbs to the mix.
Prepare the fish:
Re-heat the pan on medium and add a little more oil if necessary.
Rub the chili powder on both sides of the fillets. Lay the fillets, skin side down on the counter (the skins are removed), place half of the stuffing in each fillet. Pull the two ends of the fillet together, over the stuffing, and secure with a wooden toothpick.
Cook the fillets in the pan until they turn brown and then turn them over and brown the other side. While they are cooking, squeeze the juice from the lemon over them.
serves 2
Cookin’ Music: Clifford Curry with “Mamma’s Home Cookin'”
If you are from the Mediterranean or if you eat like you are, then you will use garlic on almost everything. Garlic has been ingested for thousands of years. Eileen says that she puts garlic in salads, sauces, eggs, meat and fish dishes. She uses powdered garlic or fresh cloves, minced or sliced.
There is a French dish called “chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.”
Around here, garlic is usually harvested in July, and we saw some still on the stalks (like in the photo above) at the Farmers’ Market in Asbury, but they were pricey. ($5.00 per la botte—ie bunch.) Once pulled out of the ground, garlic can last for months if kept cool and sheltered.
We once went to a garlic festival in California, and once in Florida, but you can find such events celebrating garlic in New York State and New Jersey. They even make garlic ice cream (ugh!)
There are those who claim that garlic is good for your health, but in our book, we talk about garlic and come to this conclusion: “At present the evidence does not support using garlic supplements for prevention.”
—Eileen and Paul Goldfinger
SAMUEL E. WRIGHT –from “Disney’s Greatest Hits:” You can kiss the girl, but don’t try it if you’ve eaten garlic; unless, of course, you both have eaten some—and, by the way, FYI, garlic is known by some experts to be a powerful aphrodisiac (which is a lover of all things Aphrican)
By Charles Layton. (2011 on Blogfinger.net)
