Columns
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•March 11, 2020
Dinosaur Discovery in New Jersey
Most of us are familiar with one of the groundbreaking scientific theories of evolution in the 1800s. In the 1830s, Charles Darwin cruised to the Galapagos Islands aboard the HMS Beagle. In the late…
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•March 10, 2020
Coywolf, Baby, in the Shadows; Timely Changes for Atlantic Standard Time?
Yet another report of an LBI coywolf presence on the north end. See related story in this issue.
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•March 5, 2020
Don’t Get Bamboozled or Run Amuck in March, Cold War Waiting Period Begins
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0wGaY22tyQ&feature=youtu.be
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•March 4, 2020
Scam Artist Escapes Punishment Again
In May 1907, J. Randolph Appleby pleaded “no contest” to a charge of using the U.S. mail to fraudulently sell New Jersey land. He was given a suspended sentence on the condition he discontinue the…
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•February 26, 2020
That Tat Can Have Afterlife of Its Own; Thrown Curves From Sky Above
There was a time when tattoos were pretty much forever. Those of us who bear artistic ink long assumed we’d be going down under with it – and I’m not talking Australia. Well, such perpetuity thinking…
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•February 22, 2020
Do We Need Dramatic Digital Detox Vacations, or Can We Just Turn Off Our Phones?
Sometimes I don’t know how I would write my column if it weren’t for stupid marketing emails. From motorized surfboard fins to something called “Bosom Culture Boob Glue,” I’ve used press releases…
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•February 19, 2020
Pass Me Another Portion of Them-There Robin Breasts; Closing in on Final Striped Bass and Bluefish Regs for 2020
Somewhat a-cringe, I recently listened in on a conversation about the days of eating robins. The breast meat of a hapless robin red breast is apparently suitably edible, if you’re into that sort of…
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•February 17, 2020
Appleby Finally Called to Account
The 1902 exposé in the Philadelphia Bulletin of the Appleby land scheme did little to bring it to an end. People continued to purchase land advertised as bayfront or good farmland only to discover it…
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•February 13, 2020
Skinny Sardines Loom Large in the Big Picture; Wintry Clamming Times Beg a Meatier Chowder
I need to start small this week with the breaking news that sardines, on the whole, are half the size they were just 10 years ago. Thetimes.co.uk headlines: “Sardines shrink to half their size in a…
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•February 12, 2020
Property Scams Nothing New
Today many land frauds begin with a phone call or an email, and we feel they are part of modern life. But even at the beginning of the 20th century, there were many scams that involved South Jersey…
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•February 10, 2020
Coywolves Are Coming to Town, All Part of a Wild Canine Takeover
“Look, there’s a coyote crossing the road.”
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•February 5, 2020
Jersey Comes Through on Ratification
As February 1920 began, the fate of New Jersey’s ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the vote, was in doubt. The Philadelphia Ledger set the scene on the second…
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•February 5, 2020
Sunday Surfs, Mild Temps and All the Hubbub Over a Gay Curriculum
I have a feeling this week’s intro is going to make me some enemies. Funny how that happens when you’re on the side of love and understanding.
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•January 29, 2020
Bitter Battle Brews in Trenton
The battle for ratification by New Jersey of the 19th Amendment, giving women the vote, was truly one of David versus Goliath. On the eve of victory, those supporting the amendment had it snatched…
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•January 29, 2020
Watch Your Forearms When It Rains Iguanas; The Final Say on 2020 Striped Bass Regulations
“This isn’t something we usually forecast, but don’t be surprised if you see iguanas falling from the trees tonight as lows drop into the 30s and 40s!” Such went a recent issuance by the National…
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•January 22, 2020
Correcting a Very Unwintry Winter of Warm-Day Swells
I know there were some folks grumbling about this winter’s lack of … winter.
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•January 22, 2020
Slick Trick Threatens Vote in NJ
There are many clich’s that apply to the events that took place in New Jersey concerning women’s suffrage in January 1920, including “politics makes strange bedfellows” and “the best laid plans of…
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•January 22, 2020
Following Waze Directions Into the Heart of Nowhere; Ruthless Young Hunters Become Instant Online Targets
I’m so easily amused it’s laughable. As we speak, I’m fully a-chuckle over images of happy little Atlantic City-bound cars and vans becoming hopelessly bogged down in deep Pinelands sugar sands, with…
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•January 15, 2020
Would Women Be Able to Vote?
In the spring of 1919 when the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress finally passed the amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote, hopes were high that ratification would come…
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•January 15, 2020
Popcorn Is the Staff of Snack Life; Free Buggying for Disabled Vets
As we hump through football’s finales and a cascade of televised sports, many of us keep our closest munch buddy nearby -namely popcorn. The indispensable edible is in our nation’s lifeline, born of…
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•January 8, 2020
Liquid Lines’ Off The Wall Predictions for 2020 and Beyond
Happy New Year and welcome to the first Liquid Lines of the new decade. Just a warning: I may have a hard time adjusting to the ’20s, being as I’m still stuck in the well, the ’90s in my head.Black…
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•January 8, 2020
Were You Paying Attention?
January is finally here and with it hopefully come snow and cold. But one thing you can count on is that it brings the answers to the 2019 year-end 200 Plus history test. Give yourself four points…
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•January 8, 2020
It Was Likely the Perfect Time for a New Year; Wind Turbines Will Stick up 1/8th of an Inch
IS IT A NEW YEAR YET? I didn’t attend the overall 2020 ushering-in ceremony. At about 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, I plopped down on my Purple Mattress and put on some Mongolian chant music, featuring…
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•December 18, 2019
How Good Is Your Memory?
There are some New Jersey traditions that you can set your clock by … like it will rain and be cold during Memorial Day weekend and you will see your last mosquito while wearing your Halloween…
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•December 18, 2019
Cold Winter Nights Staring at Cheetos; Make Coming Year Green As Can Be
Weirdness can arrive in many forms. Take, for orange instance, the ongoing rush for big-dollar Cheetos. You heard me right. In fact, maybe you’ve heard about this shape-shifting junk food search. If…
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•December 11, 2019
Wrapping Up 2019: How Many Miles Did You Surf?
Well, it seems the holidays are certainly racing up on us right now. Has anyone else thought of using their CVS receipts to trim the tree?
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•December 11, 2019
Finding Deep-Down Blame for Global Warming; Regulations Will Fly as Bluefish Stocks Fall on Hard Times
We hold the atmosphere as sacred. Despite our admiration of and addiction to it, we have likely dealt it an overdose of wrong by spewing our highly human Industrial Revolution gases in its face. But…
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•December 11, 2019
Hydrogen-Filled Blimps Rain Fire
As the summer of 1919 began the U.S. Navy was working on plans to enlarge its lighter than airship fleet. The plan was to construct a base at Lakehurst and there to construct a rigid dirigible that…
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•December 4, 2019
Lakehurst Rumors Become Fact
In the days following World War I, the nation looked for ways to benefit from the technological advancement it had created. The Trenton Times of April 5, 1919, announced Atlantic City’s plan to be…
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•December 4, 2019
Freshness Is Not in the Eyes of Kuwaiti Beholders; Walled Narwhal Tusk Called Into Anti-Terrorist Duty
Here we go again with weirdness manifest. This one sounds so fishy it must be true. Seems a Kuwaiti fishmonger was busted covering the dull, been-dead-too-long eyes of whole fish with dime store…
