Cover your bad eye and read this article.

Blogfinger gets the scoops that APP usually misses. Eileen Goldfinger photo. Pilgrim Pathway. OG.

APP photo on the OG beach. They love the OG girls in their summer clothes. They took 50 shots that day on the OG beach. 2022.

Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net.

The APP usually ignores Ocean Grove unless there is something big:  Like the headline  “Headless body found in topless bar. ”  *NY Post.

But now it seems that the Press has hired a reporter who will write about OG news. His name is Charles Daye.

APP:      “Charles Daye is the Metro Reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune Township, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP on Twitter/ Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com”

In the current edition of APP  he has 3 Ocean Grove articles and he does good work.:

a.   “The Camp Meeting Association’s standoff with the state over its beach-access policy is a fight that has divided the town, the latest battle in a long history that has seen the Methodist group that owns the land clash with secular state government as it seeks to hang on to what it says is its mission: “build and maintain a beautiful seaside community to serve as a place for meditation, reflection and renewal.”

So the planned court hearing about the beach closures was postponed until a conference on 5/16. It was supposed to be the CMA vs NJ DEP which has been threatening to punish the CMA unless they end the Sunday closings.  You can search Blogfinger about this. They may not resolve in time for Memorial Day weekend.  Then what??  Come on Sunday May 26 , 10 am, to watch the Dingbat Show on the boards by the pier.

b. “The Monmouth County Board of Taxation is looking into the tax assessments of Ocean Grove and the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association following a report released by a local nonprofit organization* that highlighted tax advantages enjoyed by the association.

“Last month, the nonprofit activist group Neptune United* released a report arguing properties owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association are generally assessed at a lower value for property taxes compared with similar properties owned by other taxpayers.”

c. “North End plan adopted by Neptune”

OK. Help is on the way for  all the news that’s fit to print in Ocean Grove. Forget that useless Tri City News. (On Passover it’s called Tri City Jews)

APP theme:  Big Bird from Sesame Street.

Little Evie-Rose is 8 months old.  Slumber time photo by Dad. 4/18/24.

Little Evie-Rose crawls and can pull herself up by the edge of the sofa.  Her big brother Noah kisses her gently on her forehead.  She smiles a lot. Grandma Eileen sent her a small stuffed bear.  She hasn’t met that new friend yet.     PG

Sayin’, “Rosie, come with me
Close your eyes and dream
Close your eyes and dream
Close your eyes and dream.”

Norah Jones:  “Rosie’s Lullaby.”

Medical News Today

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, FACC, board certified in two specialties,  Editor Blogfinger.net.  Co-author of Prevention Does Work: A Guide to a Healthy Heart. Still available on Amazon–just type in my name.

The last edition of our book is from 2011  and is still largely correct in the medical part, while all of Eileen’s “heart healthy–evidence based” recipes still are wonderful.—all 35 of them.  The book is a good source to keep in the kitchen. It is about $12.00 in paperback.   If we sell one book we get about $.40.  Not bad for one year’s work.

From the AMA Morning Rounds March 7, 2023:  Vitamin D supplementation may be a viable strategy for dementia.:

“Vitamin D supplementation has the potential to be a viable dementia prevention strategy, especially when initiated early…research suggests.

“In the large prospective cohort study, people who took vitamin D were 40% less likely to develop dementia than peers who did not take vitamin D.

“The effects of vitamin D were most pronounced in women, and those with normal cognitive function.”

In our book Prevention Does Work: A Guide to a Healthy Heart, 2011, page 22, we say.  “Vitamin D is important for bone health, and recent research shows that many Americans are deficient, and deficiencies are linked to heart disease, heart failure, and hypertension in addition to many other problems. There is evidence that Vitamin D can be protective against heart disease, although more studies are necessary.

“The typical recommended dose is 400-1000 units per day, although more research is needed regarding dosing.  Many doctors urge their patients to undergo blood testing for vitamin D levels. If the level is low, they often order supplements, but the value of this approach is controversial.”

Me now  (3/23):   There are many claims made for Vitamin D, but the most impressive studies show that it can prevent osteoporosis.  Vit D is necessary if your doctor has ordered calcium supplements. You need it to absorb the calcium.  Sometimes the requirement for calcium/Vit D is very specialized such as for those  who take thyroid hormone therapy.

There is reason to believe that Vit D will improve immunity.

Among the claims, mostly unproven, for Vit D  are:   prevents some cancers.  Many people take  a multivitamin without a specific reason.   They figure “what the hey?”  After all, Vit D in proper doses is pretty safe. But sometimes they can cause problems. Read up on what you prescribe for yourself.

My own doctor told me to take Vit D because it will help me live longer.  Did I take Vit D because of what he said?    No—it is unproven;  if it were proven,  it would be in the water.

Preventive doses for ages 1-70 are 600 IU per day (international units.). if over 70, take 800 units.

Full disclosure:     I tend to be skeptical of beneficial claims for vitamins in general and specifically for Vitamin D.  In my professional life I never took vitamin supplements, but many of my patients did, and some were willing to confess to me.  And I always said that many of the benefits of vitamins as a preventive were unproven.  And I also warned them to beware of possible side effects.

I now take Vit D as part of a thyroid regimen.

I also take Vit B12 because my doctor did a blood test and found my level to be a bit low.  I take his advice, but I’m not convinced of its efficacy.

Dr. Victor Herbert, a leading researcher at Mt. Sinai when I was there enjoying the upper East Side of NYC, was a famous skeptic regarding vitamins.   He use to tell the house staff that it  “produced expensive urine.”

In our book about preventing heart disease, this is what I said, “Vitamins used to be recommended preventive therapy due to their antioxidant actions.  In recent years, however, larger trials have shown no benefit with vitamins, so these supplements can no longer be considered part of a prevention regimen.”

This conclusion does not apply to vitamins in fruits and vegetables.  For individuals who have a poor diet, they could become deficient in certain vitamins. They should be on a daily vitamin supplement. There is a blood test to detect vitamin deficiencies. Some vitamin and herbal supplements can interfere with cardiac medications as can grapefruit juice, so check with your doctor.

Many people take pills containing fruits and veggies as if they are equivalent to eating the actual foods. In our book we discuss healthy diets, but we never suggest such pills. Are they equivalent?  Well, there is no proof.   So try to get the benefits of fruits and veggies by eating fruits and veggies.

Doctors avoid discussing nutrition and diet supplements with their patients because they don’t know a damn thing about it. I wrote our book to learn about it and give my patients some reading material, because no doctor has the time to discuss these things with their patients.

When I gave lectures on prevention to medical personnel and ordinary folks, I would begin with a question:  “How many of you have been to a doctor who actually uttered  the words “prevention” or “nutrition?”     No hands were ever raised.

There is a reason why they call physicians “doctor.” It’s because they are qualified to advise you on these matters. So check with him or her to see if he/she/fill in your own pronoun,  subscribes to the bs which you all listen to on You Tubes and social media.  Remember that sometimes supplements can be harmful or merely useless or just hocus pocus.  And remember that your doctor may know nothing about these subjects.   So ask them and then read our book.

My mother used to complain that our doctor used words that she didn’t understand .   But our  book is written in a way that anyone can understand.  However  don’t call me for advice because I am retired and I am now only licensed in New York.

And finally here’s some musical advice for healthy living, maybe better than indiscriminate vitamin therapy:

BOBBY MCFERRIN:

This still image of a fire-bombing in Nazi Germany is by Paul Goldfinger from the latest Netflix color documentary about WWII.

Blogfinger  photograph and editorial:   4/18/24

Towards the end of WWII, the United States and other members of the Allies embarked on an aggressive effort to close down the Nazi state in Germany. Even though it was clear that the Allies would emerge victorious, they did not want the death throes in Germany to drag on and on. So they initiated a devastating  airborne assault with thousands of planes, and the goal was to fire bomb major cities such as Dresden.

They were relentless, and of course many civilians were killed or wounded, and the civilian survivors were afflicted  with starvation, wounds, rapes, and disease.

That strategy was similar to what happened to bring the Japanese to their knees using the atomic bomb (2)

Yet there was little if any criticism for the collateral damage brought about by America and its allies.

Now, even though there are multiple places around the world where genocide is actually happening, only Israel has been singled out that way.

So they have been viciously attacked and they will react despite the biased and hypocritical criticisms.

Paul Goldfinger, Editorial, Blogfinger.net

Blogfinger has almost never strayed into international and national politics and controversies, but this time, to go along with this sample of photojournalism, we add an opinion.   We are not inviting a discussion on this.

By Paul Goldfinger, editor,  Blogfinger. net:

a. Relaxing on Main. Hungry?

Relaxing on Main Avenue. Paul Goldfinger photo 4/17/24.  Alley shop offers sandwiches on that black board.

Ocean Grove desperately needs a gourmet sandwich shop which is located in the downtown shopping area.  The Pathway Market is hopelessly useless. They had a professional cook making good take-out, but not now.  We have been hearing reports of  great sandwiches at the Odyssey  coffee shop in town, but they are sourced from the Downstairs Kitchen which advertises itself as being in Bradley Beach  at the “Perfect Perk.”

This sandwich is by the Downstairs Kitchen: roasted eggplant, sautéed greens, mozzarella , roasted peppers, balsamic glaze. (Facebook).

b. Bar scene in A. Park:

Bar in Asbury Park. When will the anti-alcohol blue law be trashed in Ocean Grove ? Paul Goldfinger photo. 4/14/24.  Blogfinger.net

Neptune has bars and liquor stores.  It is ridiculous that Ocean Grove remains  off limits. It has been over 40 years since Neptune took over governance in OG.  Bars will bring more people into town.   It would add life to the downtown unlike the mobs who come for flea markets and other tourist oxygen- sucking events. Maybe it would attract some small restaurants.

c. At the  northern  OG border:

The place where Ocean Grove becomes Asbury Park. Paul Goldfinger photo. 4/17/24.

I bet that those who are behind the Asbury Park South section of Ocean Grove have never considered how the soon-to-be enacted North End Plan will be interacting with the Asburian  area in the photo in the future.

On the other side of the Casino is proposed a massive rock and roll venue for concerts all season long; and likely there will be  a hotel and condos. Are the Neptuners and OG speculators  going to share this concern with prospective condo and house buyers?  And what will they do with the steam tower?

d. Rare sighting in Wesley Lake:

This swan pair were in Fletcher Lake last week and then in Wesley Lake a few days ago.  Our reporter said that the male can be quite vicious if provoked.   When some Canada geese approached, he stretched out his neck and assumed a threatening position.  The geese got the message and paddled away.

Some years ago, around 2006, a local resident placed a pair of black swans in Sunset Lake to chase the geese away, but for some reason that didn’t  work out.  Visiting photographer Ralph Brandi  got the shot below.

Wesley Lake April 15, 2024. Stephen Goldfinger photo. Blogfinger.net

Black swans.  Ralph Brandi 2006.   Sunset Lake.  AP

e.   The OG Area Chamber of Commercials has a new headquarters in town at 39 Pilgrim Pathway.   They say that it will allow them to bring even more events into town.  In the Coaster, this news is accompanied by some new language from the organization:

They say that they are “working on some community based events.”   When  did they discover the word “community?”

And besides bringing even more tourists into town, they need to define the word “community” for we-the-people.

They did mention an art walk in July and a farmers’ market. Ho-hum.    How about getting rid of those non- community mega-events like those that smother weekend life at the Pathway and fill the town with  blocked streets and over-parked cars during Grovarian Saturdays.    Step into their new headquarters and ask them what they do with all that money.

And ask them for some outdoor dancing and sing-a-longs;  We need some free fun for the locals.

Bring back Sousa’s music:  He’s still hanging around the Historical Society of OG.

Sousa’s portrait still in the Grove. How about something like Sousa did many years ago in the Grove when his orchestra performed in OG and AP.

RAY WATERS AND HIS ORCHESTRA.