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Cinemania > Oct. 7
Written by Staff Reports Friday, October 07, 2011 12:07 pm
‘Moneyball’ is consistently smart and funny
In 2002, the Oakland A’s put together a winning baseball team with less than a third of the budget of the New York Yankees. In doing so, they defied all conventional logic and forever changed the way teams are put together.
“Moneyball” stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, former athlete-turned-general manager of the A’s. Disillusioned by the state of baseball, where the teams with the most money attract the best players, Beane is not only losing three star players, but knows his miniscule budget will assure that the A’s can’t compete with even mid-range teams. It’s the same system that recruited Beane out of high school, practically guaranteeing that he'd be a star. Having gone through it, he understands why the approach is flawed. He just doesn't know how to fix it.
Beach patrol finishes 2011 with safety record intact
Written by Ann Richardson Friday, September 30, 2011 05:20 pm
Since the first lifeguards protected bathers here in 1898, no one has drowned on a protected beach in Ocean City. The Ocean City Beach Patrol finished the 2011 season with that stellar safety record intact.
“We had a good season,” said Tom Mullineaux, operations manager for the OCBP. The strength of the OCBP played out in other areas too, he said, as lifeguards won a coveted South Jersey Championship in the South Jersey Chief’s Association competitions.
Mullineaux said the number of “incidents” requiring a rescue were “way down,” which he attributed to a much calmer ocean this year.
“We did not have those big waves and rip currents in July and early August this year like we did last year,” he said.
Read more: Beach patrol finishes 2011 with safety record intact
One Kook's Surfari with Bill Barlow > Please, look after each other out there
Written by Bill Barlow Friday, September 30, 2011 02:10 pm
Dawn patrol is getting later, the water is cooling and the beach is emptying out, but the lineup is still packed, at least on weekends, and the waves just keep coming.
Most years September is clear and loaded with blue skies, but this year there has been a steady roil of gray overhead. But for the past two weekends, an overcast Saturday gave way to a spectacular sunset to the west and a huge rainbow over the ocean on the other side.
The rides are there, at least for those who know how and where to catch them.
There were plenty of closeout sets as well, and some rough water. Over the weekend I managed one nice long left, and a bunch of spectacular wipeouts, as I tried to find a clean line in a pretty steep wave.
Read more: One Kook's Surfari with Bill Barlow > Please, look after each other out there
Service with a Smile > Sept. 30
Written by Staff Reports Friday, September 30, 2011 02:05 pm
Haley Alber, Riley Alber and Mari Heenan of Fred’s Tavern in Stone Harbor.
Sea Isle presents beautification awards
Last Updated on Friday, September 30, 2011 02:17 pm Written by Staff Reports Friday, September 30, 2011 11:46 am
The Sea Isle City Environmental Commission recently presented its beautification awards to eight residential and commercial property owners who have maintained or made noticeable improvements to the exterior of their property. Plaques and gift certificates to Sea Grove Nursery in Ocean View were presented to the winners.
Properties can be nominated by the owners or neighbors. Judging is based upon recent improvements with consideration given to owners who have made consistent efforts to maintain their property’s overall appearance.
Cinemania > Drive
Written by Staff Reports Wednesday, September 28, 2011 02:08 pm
Drive
Audiences for “Drive” may be expecting an over-the-top action movie. But the film, about a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver, subverts those expectations. From the first scene, it's clear this is no ordinary action film. “Drive” manages to forego the fast pace, quick cuts, and unbelievable set pieces that define the genre in favor of a highly stylized realism. Director Nicolas Winding Refn creates a world in which the suspense is actually suspenseful. “Drive” is an extremely violent film, but it's also unafraid of the slow build-up. As a result, the violence has that much more impact.
From the pink opening titles to the synth-heavy soundtrack, “Drive” lives and breathes style. Some might criticize it for flash over substance, but the slow pace and lack of action early on is deliberate. Each moment is meticulously crafted to maintain a specific tone. There are no unnecessary side plots or extra characters. There are no huge chases where police cars flip over, and no giant explosions. “Drive” creates real tension without sacrificing a sense of reality. When the finally blood does splatter, it looks real and feels earned.
Lighthouse Challenge raises money for preservation
Written by Staff Reports Wednesday, September 28, 2011 01:59 pm
The Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey, which has been called America's largest lighthouse festival, will take place simultaneously at all 11 of New Jersey's land-based lighthouses Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15 and 16.
The two lighthouse museums and two lifesaving stations are also included in the event.
Those who choose to accept the challenge can spend one day or both touring the state and hopping from one lighthouse to another, visiting the museums, climbing steps and seeing the views from atop some of New Jersey’s most historic structures.
The event raises funds for the continued preservation of these maritime beacons that have played an important role in New Jersey history, guarding mariners and protecting the coasts for more than a century.
The event offers an opportunity to step back in time and learn more about the state and the country's history.
Read more: Lighthouse Challenge raises money for preservation
Beach Reads > Sept. 23, 2011
Written by Staff Reports Friday, September 23, 2011 01:00 am
This Life Is In Your Hands. By Melissa Coleman. HarperCollins. The subtitle, “Sixty Acres, One Dream, and a Family Undone” forecasts part of what happens in this memoir by Coleman, who grew up as a homesteader with her back-to-nature parents, Eliot and Sue. The Colemans were inspired by Helen and Scott Nearing, authors of the homesteader’s guide “Living the Good Life,” and actually ended up neighbors of the couple in coastal Maine. Eliot Coleman, who himself gained renown as a spokesman for the movement, believed in a stripped-down form of simplicity: he and his family lived in a hand-hewn 400-square-foot house with no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and no running water; ground their own flour from wheat groats; ate vegetables dried in a root cellar; delivered their babies at home; let the kids run barefoot and naked in the woods; and essentially lived by the maxim “Less is more.” But over time, the relentless backbreaking work and primitive lifestyle took its toll. Coleman engaged in flirtations with young apprentices who worked the farm in the summer; his wife’s rigid vegetarian diet left her too exhausted and depressed to care; and in one tragic incident, the couple’s laissez-faire parenting and unfortunate circumstances led to the drowning death of their second daughter, Heidi. For all that, this is a rich and beautifully rendered account of what really was a dream for two idealistic people. Their exploration of a rugged lifestyle that was once common in the U.S. will open your eyes, and perhaps make you question the conspicuous consumption of a country that has lost its pioneer spirit.
Cinemania > Sept. 23, 2011
Written by Staff Reports Thursday, September 22, 2011 03:50 pm
Contagion” opens in an airport with a sickly Gwyneth Paltrow talking on her cell phone to a man who she just slept with – a man who is clearly not her husband. She eats peanuts out of a dish. She coughs into her hands. She is Patient Zero, and the audience knows it. The onscreen titles read "Day Two," and we're off.
What separates “Contagion” from traditional disaster movies is the reality of the film's threat – an airborne virus that kills within days. The scariest part is how real it all feels.
“Contagion” takes viewers around the world, from Hong Kong, where the disease originates, to the U.S., to the World Health Organization in Geneva. The global impact of the disease is a great device, enabling storytellers to jump around the planet seamlessly, treating the small stories with as much significance as the larger ones.
Plant swap helps grow backyard habitats
Written by Staff Reports Tuesday, September 20, 2011 01:00 am
The Nature Center of Cape May will hold a backyard habitat plant swap 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24.
According to the Nature Center, now is the perfect time to thin out gardens and backyard habitats before winter arrives, pot up any extra perennials and bring them to the plant swap.
By swapping plants, gardeners can share some of this year’s garden successes with other habitat gardeners while helping schoolyard habitats throughout the tri-county area.
Chautauqua mixes fun with serious discussion about food
Written by Staff Reports Saturday, September 17, 2011 01:00 am
Food and how it gets to the table is the primary focus of Chautauqua at the Shore, an event running through Sept. 25 that will feature food samplings, demonstrations and workshops on topics ranging from food movements to world hunger and the future of the dinner plate.
Chautauqua is presented by the Cape May Forum, a consortium of organizations and individuals whose mission is to strengthen the cultural, artistic, educational and recreational aspects of the community at large.
Throughout the event, Cape May will serve as a campus for lectures, workshops, panel discussions and other activities that fall under the theme “Guess What’s Coming for Dinner? The Politics of Food in the 21st Century.”
Read more: Chautauqua mixes fun with serious discussion about food
Service with a Smile > Sept. 16, 2011
Written by Staff Reports Friday, September 16, 2011 07:44 pm
Gabbi DiCrosta, Cara Swetsky and Brianna VanderHorn of Cool Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in North Wildwood.
Slow catch seen as an aftereffect of Irene
Written by Heather Holtzapfel James Friday, September 16, 2011 03:53 pm
September usually brings beautiful weather, fewer crowds – and great fishing. But so far this month, anglers are finding fishing to be difficult and sometimes impossible.
Hurricane Irene surely made her mark and is still being blamed for the dirty water. With just one week left till the end of flounder season (Sept. 25), anglers are hoping the water quality will improve – and quickly. Other anglers, at this point, may take a little break and hold out for the larger stripers to come through as fall nears.
A few tautog have been caught, and they can be continued to be targeted until Nov. 15, limit one fish per day. The black sea bass season continues until Oct. 11 but will pick back up again on Nov. 1. There is a limit of 25 fish at 12.5 inches or more.
Frank Jankowski of Frank's Boat Rentals in Strathmere reported that few boats have been out recently due to the unsettled weather. Those who did venture out between the raindrops managed to get a couple of flounder on their lines, but mostly all were shorts and had to be released.
There has been no lull in the crabbing, though. Crabbers are still coming in with buckets full.
One Kook's Surfari with Bill Barlow > To ride the big ones, you have to earn it
Last Updated on Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:48 pm Written by Bill Barlow Friday, September 16, 2011 03:48 pm
As the old surfer saying goes, September separates the kooks from the shredders.
OK, that’s a saying I made up over the weekend while trying to slog out through a whitewater blast that knocked me and my longboard over and back toward the beach.
I thought I had timed everything right. I thought I had enough speed. I thought I’d make it over, but instead, it was fins up, nose over, and me holding on as best I could before ending up back where I started in waist-deep water.
The waves were strong, but nothing compared to the Katia-powered swell on Friday, when I stayed on the beach with a camera. Those waves were big, and strong, and many slammed shut with a 20-foot-tall backwash.
Read more: One Kook's Surfari with Bill Barlow > To ride the big ones, you have to earn it
Bag check > Lucy Kataryniak
Written by CHRISTIE ROTONDO Friday, September 16, 2011 03:31 pm
What essentials do people carry around in their purses and beach bags? Join us each week as we take a peek into people’s bags and catch a glimpse of their personality. And don’t be surprised when Freetime reporter Christie Rotondo walks up to you on the beach or boardwalk and asks, “What’s in your bag?”
When Lucy Kataryniak of Old Bridge visited Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, she made sure to stuff her teal beach bag with snacks for her kids.
Inside her large bag were juice boxes and bags of chips, along with all the items her children asked her to hold so they wouldn’t get lost while they went ride hopping: hats, sunglasses, money, etc.
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