PLANET CHOCKO – art/music/movies/beyond

Hiking the Hudson Valley – Constitution Marsh Audubon Center & Sanctuary

March 3rd, 2016 by Mr. C

Where do you go for a casual nature hike if you want to visit a scenic yet very unique destination while strapped for time & energy? I’d say go to Constitution Marsh in Garrison, NY. It’s about 50 miles north of NYC close to the Bear Mountain area in the lower Hudson Valley. The hike is less than 2 miles roundtrip in a relatively easy terrain to navigate minus a few rocky areas of flight. The final destination yields some stunning views overlooking the marshes in the foreground and the hudson river in the back.

It took me about 1 hr to drive to the Marsh from Northern NJ & about 1 hr of hiking. Crossing over the Bear Mountain Bridge ($1.50 toll) from the Palisades Parkway into the East side of the Hudson was amazing! Majestic views of the Hudson River – all points north & south! The only drawback I can see coming to Constitution Marsh is that the parking area only holds 8 cars at any one time. It was no issue for me as winter temps are still holding on like Richard Marx or Wilson Phillips – whatever your preference. Getting creative with the parking outside these 8 designated spots is not recommended! There are tons of No Parking signs everywhere outside of the skinny Eight! Be prepared to wait or make backup plans if you come here just in case the parking is full.

(Warning – only 8 parking spots!)

Constitution Marsh is a tidal wetland on the east shore of the Hudson River. They say there are over 200 species of birds and 30 species of fish, plus other vertebrate and invertebrate species living on this land. Shoot, if they told me the boogey man or big foot lives in these parts, I might believe them too because the marshes, the plant life, the cattails that thrive here provide so much cover for anything living or dead for that matter! I guess I feel secure knowing that West Point Militiary Academy is just across the other side of the Hudson from the Marshes. I’ll have to comeback when the weather is warmer and when things are in bloom for further investigations! I’m looking forward to seeing some wildlife. Maybe I’ll see you on the trails!

Constitution Marsh Audubon Center & Sanctuary
127 Warren Landing Road
Garrison, NY 10524

(Before I hit the trails – I went looking for Indian Brook Falls)

(Supposedly up & around this fence somewhere)

(Unfortunately, I fumbled & stumbled around like Mr. Magoo and missed the falls. Ended up at a creepy creek)

(The little bridge up top at 12’o clock, I think I should of walked over that and continued on to the Indian Brook Falls. Next time for sure!)

(The Visitor center & trails – that away!)

(Let the games begin to the right of the kiosk!)

(cross the little bridge – follow the blue!)

(Things start to get a little rocky – just a little)

(If things get too rocky for you, take a break)

(just a little more elevation and you’ll start seeing these views)

(Now climb down some more rock faces and you’ll be greeted with this)

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Chiller Theatre 25th Anniversary

February 29th, 2016 by chocko

Looking at my Gucci, it’s about that time. Chiller Theatre Expo will be coming at you live from April 22 – 24 at Sheraton Parsippany Hotel in Parsippany, NJ. The guests appearances this time around include Alice Cooper, Weird Al Yankovic, Meat Loaf, Tara Reid plus loads more including a CHiPS reunion, a What’s Happening!! reunion and Musical Guests including Cherie Curie and members of The Monkees. Tickets are on sale now. Definitely get your tickets in advance. Here’s a quick look at some of the guests at Chiller Theatre which took place a couple months ago.

Batman’s Crime Fighting Arsenal was on display in the parking lot including The Batmobile. Batman and The Riddler were posing for photos.

Also on display outdoors, was The Chariot from Lost In Space. It was created by John Antonellis and the team at Elevator Interior Designs using the original 20th Century Fox blueprints. Incredible detail!

Bobby and Diana Steele of The Undead with a friendly skunk. Pick up their new album “The Morgue… The Merrier” – New Jersey horror punk rock!

Herschell Gordon Lewis presented the 50th Anniversary of The Blood Trilogy (Blood Feast + Two Thousand Maniacs + Color Me Blood Red). Before the movies started rolling, Herschell spoke about his movie career and delighted the audience to a performance of the theme from Two Thousand Maniacs. All the Chiller maniacs in the seats provided the rebel yell…Yee-Haw!!! Free swag for those in attendance…a vomit bag. Blargh!

MADMAN cast reunion…from left to right: Michael Sullivan, Paul Ehlers, Gary Sales and Harriet Bass. MADMAN is a 1982 slasher flick where a serial axe-murderer comes back to life to hack, chop and slaughter.

You never know what you’ll find in the creepy vendors rooms or what’s lurking in the Chiller halls. Possessed baby dolls and nurses plus straight outta your nightmares bondage goons…don’t forget the safe word!

Celebrating Batman’s 50th Anniversary with a cast reunion: Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar. Holy autograph fees! I had to walk away from the room or go broke…deuces! Is that Mickey Rooney with Julie?

Punk rock drummer extraordinaire…Marky Ramone of The Ramones!

Darnnit…just missed Zacherley! Catch ya next time, Cool Ghoul.

Frank Henenlotter (left) and Mike Hunchback (right). We had a nice conversation with Frank about his love for Jess Franco films and his recollection of meeting Mr. Franco at a Chiller Theatre Expo back in the day. Mike was promoting his book Pulp Macabre: The Art of Lee Brown Coye’s Final and Darkest Era. It’s chock full of bizarre drawings.

Mike Zohn of the TV Series Oddities about the daily grind at the shop, Obscura Antiques & Oddities located at 207 Avenue A, New York, NY.

Uncle Boris wants a hug!

“I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula.”

In this corner, from Newark, New Jersey, weighing in at 190 lbs…WWE Hall of Famer and legendary ring announcer, Howard Finkel!

Thank you zombie police officer for making me wet my pants.

Professional wrestling superstar, CHYNA! The next couple photos below are from the Halloween Costume Contest which took place on Saturday night before the bands took over the stage. My favorite costumes were the R.J. MacReady from John Carpenter’s The Thing and Elephant Man.

Chocko and Mr. C also ran into the stunning Trina Parks from exploitation films like THE MUTHERS and DARKTOWN STRUTTERS. She also is an accomplished dancer, singer and happens to be the first black Bond Girl after starring as the bikini-clad Thumper opposite Sean Connery in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER in 1971. A big thank you to Trina for taking the time out to answer some questions. Hope you come back to Chiller soon!

Could you tell us a little bit about the 1976 movie, THE MUTHERS?
Muthers was done in the Philippines. Jayne Kennedy, Rosanne Katon and myself were the three American actresses. Doing the film was wonderful. We did the film on location, we had scenes in Batangas. Riding in taxis there…not the best thing to do there in the summertime. They didn’t have airconditioning. I like heat but I almost fainted from the stuffiness and humidity. I had a wonderful time shooting and with this film, we had to go to Guam to dub the whole film. The lead villains were just wonderful to work with and they were completely different from their characters.

What was it like to work with the legendary Filipino sleaze director Cirio H. Santiago?
Cirio Santiago was very good to work with. He was so nice, for instance there was a part where there’s a snake that’s supposed to bite me and I don’t like snakes at all. He was so kind and asked, “How are you with snakes?” and I said,”Not good at all.” He said, “Don’t worry. We have a rubber snake and the only time the snake will be real is when it comes up your leg.” So, he went back and talked to the tech people and they put my sneakers and pants on someone else and they just showed the snake there. He was so great to work with and for the first time to work with him, you just felt very comfortable as I felt like working with Sean.

How did you get that part in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever?
I was a dancer doing concert work and Broadway and then I went to L.A., a friend of mine was working with me as a manager and she invited people because I started doing my own singing act and it was standards with a 3 piece band and she invited the Agency For The Performing Arts (APA) and William Morris and a couple other people. I signed with APA and they got a call from the James Bond people. They wanted someone like myself because I danced plus I did karate. That’s how I got the role.

Do you have any memories from the fight scene with Sean Connery?
Oh gosh, the fight scene we shot for two weeks. Each day we shot a little section. It was just wonderful. He was so willing to do a lot of things. It made me feel very comfortable because I had to kick him in the balls. The first time I did it kind of easy. Mr. Hamilton (director) said, “I know you can do it stronger.” I said, “Yeah, but I don’t want to hurt him.” He said, “Miss Parks, he has one of those football things on.” Of course when I kicked him, it was the stuntman that fell.

Since we’re at Chiller Theatre, what are your favorite horror shows?
I like The Walking Dead, The Strain and American Horror Story.

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Tags: adam west, celebrities, chiller theatre, expo, horror movies, interview, Madman, new jersey, sci-fi, The Muthers, trina parks
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Anthrax signing at Vintage Vinyl

February 25th, 2016 by chocko

Anthrax (pictured above from left to right: Jonathan Donais, Joey Belladonna, Charlie Benante, Frank Bello and Scott Ian) showed up for a signing to promote their latest album “For All Kings” at the legendary NJ record store Vintage Vinyl. I’ve been to the store for many in-stores and signing events and this was probably one of the worst signing experiences ever! Fans lined up in the cold for nearly two hours before the record store’s security laid down the law and promised that two items would get signed by the band and only take photos on the fly…no selfies or pictures with the band. The signed poster as advertised was not meant to be and the reason was that somebody from the record company forgot to send them to the store. Anthrax showed up and with a performance later that night at Starland Ballroom, you just knew that things were going to get rushed more than usual at a store signing. Sure enough, when I got to the table…one of the first ones up to the plate, the rules get changed! One signed item only, then security yells at everybody that they’re only signing cards. Now, the deck of cards (with Anthrax For All Kings art work) was an option to get in on the signing or you could pre-purchase the new album “For All Kings” which wouldn’t even be released for another month at the time of the signing. So, Anthrax only signing cards when not everybody bought a deck of cards totally didn’t make sense! I’m sure it wasn’t Vintage Vinyl’s fault for the confusion but they could have been a tad more accommodating to customers for the lack of communication and last second rug pull. If this had been my first signing at Vintage Vinyl I would never go to one again, but I’ve been to tons of events there and seen them do much better.

Anthrax signed for a solid hour. I heard some people got fist bumps from the band or members of the band actually acknowledged their fans. I managed to get a copy of “Spreading The Disease” autographed so all was not lost. The band was whisked away to get to their show opening up for Lamb Of God. Before stepping away from the table somebody from the crowd asked “How about a group photo?” They pretended not to hear their fan’s simple request because I’m sure they had some rough Jersey back roads to navigate to get to Starland on time. Pictured below are some new friends, fans of heavy metal and unsatisfied customers.

Enough of the whining for now, the new Anthrax album drops on Friday February 26 and it’s titled “For All Kings.” I’m looking forward to listening to it. Anthrax has a couple events surrounding the release of the album, check out their website for more information. Definitely support Vintage Vinyl…check out their website for future events and buy some records!

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Tags: antrax, autographs, charlie benante, for all kings, Frank Bello, joey belladonna, Jonathan Donais, record store, Scott Ian, signing, vintage vinyl
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Lions, Dragons, & Spice

February 21st, 2016 by Mr. C

(Norman Chin’s Southern Praying Mantis school)

(a view down Bayard Street)

Things almost seem to be back to normal for me especially when I can attend a Super Saturday celebration in Chinatown’s NYC usually scheduled on the 2nd Saturday after the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. I haven’t been able to make the Saturday jams the last couple of years, but I think I’m back like furious George now! Super Saturday is a 50+ year old tradition in Chinatown, NYC set in place to celebrate Chinese New Year and the parading around of Lion dance troupes,Kung Fu Schools,community organizations, & the likes to local businesses to welcome in the New Year! – this Super Saturday was organized & created by the 5th Precinct of the NYPD in the 1960s to set a day aside for the Lion street dances! Main streets are closed off for traffic in Chinatown like Mott, Mulberry, Bayard, Pell, & Grand Streets. It used to be a lot more hectic & unpredictable when fireworks were allowed during the lunar new year celebrations but those pre Giuliani times are nothing but distant memories now.

Our day’s lunar new year celebration continued as we called upon the spice gods at the Mala Project, a newish Sichuan Chinese Restaurant on 1st ave just a few storefronts away from the defunct Kim’s Underground record/cd/dvd store. Mala Project specializes in the dry hot pot scene and we got a pretty nice dosage of the Mala! (mouth numbing,tingly spice). We started off our lunar new year eating adventures with the 5 spice sliced beef and the Liangfen of Happy Tears – both cold appetizers! I thought the 5 spiced sliced beef was ok. Not the best rendition I had because the meat seemed too lean for my tastes and a little light on the 5 spice flavor. The 5 spiced beef that I would have preferred would have been more fattier – have more of a gelatin like consistency from the refrigeration process. Though, I must say, the sliced beef still was a nice compliment to cut the spiciness, cut the tears of the Liangfen of Happy Tears. The grass jelly gelatin (liangfen) cut into udon noodle like strips mixed with the spicy sauce was excellent! Loved how the liangfen was cold and then the sauce heated you up real quick! The spice level from 1-5 of the Liangfen of Happy Tears was about a 3.9 out of 5. The main event – what we really came here for was the dry hot pot. You basically pick your proteins,vegetables,carbs from an array of choices and then choose your spice level and bam – your hot pot comes stir fried with hot peppers and the familiar numbing,tingling, & spicy flavors (called mala) of what is the Sichuan flavor profile! For our Hot pot we chose soup filled beef balls, sliced lamb, beef tendons, chinese cabbage, lotus root, rice cake, & konjac noodle! It proved to be a great combination. I’m happy to get my rice cakes (in 1 form or another) in for the new year and what better way than this dry hot pot. The rice cakes acted like a sponge to absorb the sichuan spice! We chose the level 3 out of 4 spicy and yeah, it was the perfect spice for us. I think the 4th level of spice would of blown my top off! We’ll have to come back to make a further analysis and final verdict but the 1st visit definitely made us want to go back to try more!

Mala Project
122 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10009

(New Years Monkey Zine/Comic to greet us at the Mala project)

(Dried pepper floral arrangement at Mala Project – photo by Mondocurry)

(Long & narrow dining room amongst cavernous nooks & crannies at Mala Project)

(5 spiced sliced beef)

(Liangfen of Happy Tears)

(Dry Hot pot – Spicy level 3 – Photo by Mondocurry)

(The Menu at the Mala Project could of doubled for a Planet Chocko Zine)

(Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu School)

(Dragon from Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu School)

(Yee’s Hung Ga – Dragon march down the Bowery)

(Wing Hong Yip Dragon Style Kung Fu)

(NYPD Sergeant & the Fishmonger enjoying the SuperSaturday festivities)

(Luen Hing organization)

(Luen Hing)

(Baby Lion – Staten Island Lions)

(Staten Island Lions)

(Staten Island Lions Drumming Station on wheels)

(Golden Lion Club)

(Golden Lion Club drummers)

(Jook Lum Tong Long Pai)

(Luen Hing Organization)

(Crimson Kings)

(NY United Lion Dance Troupe)

(Staten Island Lions crossing Canal Street)

(Staten Island Lions)

(The Aftermath)

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Croton Dam

February 14th, 2016 by Mr. C

I finally made it out to the Croton Dam in Cortlandt, NY (25 miles north of NYC) today despite it being the coldest day of winter with wind gusts of up to 40-50 mph making it almost single digit temps with the wind chill factor! Croton Gorge Park is one of those undercover – amazing finds in our area which serves as a great way to spend the day enjoying nature with friends & family. Ok, maybe not today specifically because of the weather except for those rebel numb-nuts without a cause! The Croton Dam has been a destination that was recommended to me by a good friend for years & years now. After seeing it, I wished I would of gotten there much sooner! I think I choose days like this to head out to a gorgeous landmark because I know that no-one with a right mind would be there leaving me with ideal photo ops! The drive into the park had a WOW factor of 10 as the views of the dam with the direct downstream of the falls was right there to slap you in the face to greet you! I didn’t get a chance to hike the trails of the old aqueduct because of the cold but I did find my way up to the bridge overlooking the spillway of the reservoir and another WOW! It’s amazing to think that the New Croton Reservoir supplies NYC with 200+ millions of gallons of water a day. The photos really don’t do it justice so just take this as an appetizer and see it for yourself in person! See you on the trails!

Croton Gorge Park
35 Yorktown Rd, Cortlandt, NY 10520

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The Blaze of Hackensack – Jersey Burners – Aerosol Art

February 7th, 2016 by Mr. C

(Per One and Hef)

It’s been a Jersey minute (about 1 year) since I checked the open air graffiti walls nearby the Planet Chocko experimental labs in Hackensack, New Jersey and today, while running errands around town I noticed some seriously clean burners looking for attention! Actually, Planet Chocko member JoeNJDev always gives the latest & greatest updates on anything street art in NYC/NJ on his instagram so if you want to stay in the know go HERE.

There’s been a collective of tremendously talented artists from the tri-state that have been writing on these walls including TCM, Pase, Per One & Hef, Shiro, Crash, Ces, Bio, Zimad, BG 183, Sonic, Part One, ZAR, & more. Thanks to all the writers for beautifying our neighborhood! Even downtown Hackensack is adopting street art to help revitalize Main Street. Rise up from the Detroit like vibe – Hackensack – It’s about time!

“The mural is going to make a statement that the city is really invested in the arts and that they see it as a viable way to build community and drive economic development.”
–Danielle DeLaurentis (Associate director of the Northern NJ Community Foundation)

(Murals in downtown Hackensack – main street)

(Zimad)

(Sonic/Part One – Tribute to Paris)

(Shame)

(Pase)

(Bio)

(CES)

(Crash)

(Sade TCM)

(BG183)

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Hinds played Other Music

January 14th, 2016 by chocko

Hinds at Other Music (photos by chocko)

Other Music kicked off 2016 with a super fun in-store performance by Hinds. The band consists of Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote both on guitar and vocals, who originally formed a band named Deers back in 2011. Ade Martín on bass and the Amber Grimbergen on drums were later added to the mix and after some nasty threats from a band with a similar name, changed the name to Hinds (female deer). The loopy and enthusiastic Madrid based band were in New York City for a few days to promote their debut album titled Leave Me Alone which was available at the record store days before its official release. The packed in-store event featured the young ladies of Hinds playing a good amount of material off their scrappy, garage rock heavy album. Despite lack of reverb (technical difficulties perhaps?) and a missing cymbal on the drum kit, the band sounded fine! Check out some videos below…I like that song “warts” it’s got a nice smooth, summer breeze at the beach vibe thing going on. They also did a Thee Headcoatees cover of “Davey Crockett” – Gabba Gabba Hey! and a song titled “Baby” a song not on the album. You know Hinds is gonna be your new favorite band…do yourself a favor and pick up their album Leave Me Alone out now on Mom + Pop Music.

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Tags: hinds, in-store, leave me alone, new york city, nyc, other music, performance
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a hootin’ & a prowlin’ – Owl prowl at Tenafly Nature Center

January 10th, 2016 by Mr. C

(hark! whoo goes there? – Pfister’s Pond at the Nature Center)

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Tonight we attended a really fun & very informative session about Owls at the Tenafly Nature Center. Who? Yes, you read it right – Owls – a nocturnal bird of prey that can swivel its head about 270 degrees & back. The event was called the Owl Prowl which was lead by an environmental educator who gave us an introduction to these raptors including a visit from a live owl. Afterwards, our group with about 15 people ventured outside the park in the pitch dark in search of these nocturnal feathered friends. Walking out in the complete darkness was equally a serene and peaceful occassion as well as a very creepy one especially after a day of torrential rains & gusting winds! If my imagination wasn’t getting the best of me, I could of swore we were being setup to get slaughtered in the woods. But no, Kathleen – our environmental educator led us out to see if we can hear the calls of various owls including the screeching & the grey horned variety. Kathleen played recordings from her phone of owl calls to see if this would stir up response from the beautiful creatures in hopes of getting a glimpse of one or at least to get a hoot back. Unfortunately, our big foot presence and the loud planes flying overhead probably scared off these birds of prey. We eventually headed back to the Nature center to meet a gorgeous barred owl that lives at the premises. He was a rehabilitating bird that was found in 2013 in Pennsylvania after a vehicle struck him. The Owl was nursed back to health and has been living at the reserve ever since.

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(Enthusiastic Environmental Educator – Kathleen and the Barred Owl)

If you live nearby Northern NJ, we recommend that you stop by the Tenafly Nature Center for a nice casual walk on one of their beautiful trails, go bird watching, sit on a bench & just observe and appreciate what nature has to offer – just enriching lives through nature is what they say! The Nature Center also has a lot of fun programming and events for the whole family. Educate yourself! See you there!

Tenafly Nature Center
313 Hudson Ave.
Tenafly, NJ 07670

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(Kathleen showing us a preserved owl wing)

(Preserved Talons from an Owl)

(Replica skeleton head of an Owl)

(Kathleen demonstrates head movement on an owl puppet)

(star of the show – live barred Owl at the Tenafly Nature Center)

(Owls spit out pellets – fur & bones from prey that they can’t digest)

(Aviary at Nature Center)

(Red tailed Hawk at Tenafly Nature Center)

Tags: nature, new jersey, NJ nature, owl, owl prowl, owls, tenafly nature center
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Kristen Stewart Q&A at IFC Center

January 4th, 2016 by chocko

Kristen Stewart attended the IFC Center Screening of Clouds Of Sils Maria last night, January 3, in New York City for a Q&A following the film. The movie also stars Juliette Binoche who plays the role of Maria Enders, a veteran actress who decides to take on the role in a revival of a play which made her famous decades ago. Kristen Stewart takes on the role of Valetine, her loyal and trusty personal assistant. Kristen has been getting a lot of props for her performance in Clouds of Sils Maria including winning France’s Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress which makes her the first American actress to win a Cesar, the French equivalent of an Oscar. Kristen was also named “Best Supporting Actress” by the National Society Of Film Critics and celebrated a recent win at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2015. The Clouds of Sils Maria screening and Q&A was sold out, but have no fear, Chocko recorded the whole enchilada…Check out the video below. Clouds Of Sils Maria is out now!

Tags: Best Supporting Actress, cinema, Clouds of Sils Maria, film, IFC Center, IFC Film, Kristen Stewart, movie, new york city, nyc, Q&A
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All Aboard – a blast from the past NYC subway ride – Holiday edition

December 20th, 2015 by Mr. C

(Ride the “Special” Queens Plaza to Houston Street/2nd Ave local!)

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Thanks to the folks at the New York City Mass Transit Authority (MTA) and the NY Transit Museum, we get a special treat every Sunday during the month of December with the annual holiday tradition of the blast from the past rides via NYCs antique fleet of buses and subway trains! The holiday nostalgia fleet includes trains from the 1930s and buses from the late 1940s to the 1980s. I didn’t get a chance to ride the retro buses but we did get to hop on the throwback subway trains today! The antique subways ran on the M Line, from Second Avenue to Queens Plaza and then back again! What a treat it was! From the vintage signs/advertisements, rattan seats, ceiling fans, & boxy design of the cars to the solidly built straphangers, the oldie but goody subway trains are definitely a design deal shaper and pioneering game changer in engineering of the first generation fleet of modern mass transit! What made the day truly special were the folks that got dressed for the occassion for riding in a train that ran in the 1930s-1970s! You’ll see what I mean with the photos below! You have one more chance to hop on the nostalgic subway train ride on Sunday December 27! Click here for more info from the MTA on schedules and stop locations where you can hop on this “Special” train!

Visit the New York Transit Museum
Boerum Pl & Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

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“For four consecutive Sundays in December, subway customers can catch the “Shoppers Special,” a train consisting of eight cars from the 1930s that ran along the lettered lines until the late 1970s. The cars, which were ordered for the Independent Subway System (IND), were the first subway cars to be identified by their contract numbers, hence the R1/9 designations. R1/9 cars, known as ““City-Cars,” have rattan seats, ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and roll signs for passenger information. Their design of more doors that were also wider and faster, plus increased standing capacity to accommodate crowds, served as the model of modern subway cars, and their dimensions are identical to the latest R160 cars. They were retired from service in 1977.” –NYC MTA

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(Check the ceiling fans,rattan seats, & straphangers!)

(Love the dapper look and an even better smile!)

(Classy and sassy!)

(At the Queens Plaza stop)

(Check Rockaways’ Playland)

(say “Once Upon a Time in America”)

(Last Train Home)

(what a photogenic bunch)

(We rode in this R6 type car – Her train number was 1000 – She was born in 1935 – She operated in passenger service till the 1970s)

(While New York Sleeps – Their men check the trains!)

(Naughty Santa was celebrating Xmas early by hitting that bottle!)

(Peter Pain – brilliant!)

(Photoshoot in between cars)

(a bottle of Imperial Whiskey please!)

(a little bit of homekraft bread to soak up the spirits?)

(Of course some Planters peanut butter to go w/ the bread)

(Give that seat up to Grandmama or else she’ll whoop that ass!)

(say “Gangs of New Yawk”)

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bridge the gap – HIGH BRIDGE – connecting Manhattan & the Bronx

December 20th, 2015 by Mr. C

NYCs oldest standing bridge, the High Bridge re-opened on June 9, 2015 after being closed for more than 40 years! We’ve been wanting to come all summer but never got around to it but today on a chilly Saturday morning, I decided to take a little trek out to the Heights to soak in the views. First of all, what a gorgeous little gem of a park the bridge is part of. It is very well maintained and manicured. The views from the terrace of the park overlooking the FDR and Hudson river are stunning. This pedestrian bridge connects the neighborhoods of Washington Heights in Manhattan and Highbridge in the Bronx, and is accessible from both boroughs by bike & on foot. I’m not going to go through the history of this Bridge but it is an iconic landmark of NYC. Read more here.

The High Bridge park entrance that leads to the High Bridge from the Manhattan side is on 172nd Street & Amsterdam. Be careful with those steps walking down to the bridge!

(Path that leads to the bridge)

(The Water tower in the distant)

(negotiate these steps carefully!)

(View of the bridge from the Manhattan side looking towards the Bronx)

(North of the Harlem River)

(South of the FDR/Harlem River)

(Tangled web of the Deegan,95,Washington Bridge, & beyond!)

(South)

(North)

(Forever curious about this Motel strip of Howard Johnsons & the Stadium Motel)

(Bronx looking into Manhattan side)

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NY International Motorcycle Show

December 13th, 2015 by Mr. C

(High Line park path by 30th street)

(2016 NY International Motorcycle Show at Jacob Javitz Convention Center)

The end of the year always marks the beginning of a fresh calendar for sales & marketing of new model year motorcycles. It’s that time again in December when the New York International Motorcycle Show rolls around to the Jacob Javitz Convention center and the collection of moto nerds starts to pool together to drool over high powered machinery. This year was quite strange and refreshing due to the warmer weather – not complaining here. Saturday was also tagged as SantaCon day when folks dressed in Santa gear bar hop until no end or at least till they are incoherent. The collection of drunk santas was supposed to mainly be centered in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and then over to the East Village for the finishing blows but Santas could be found all over Manhattan including the outskirts of the Motorcycle show and especially by the bars by Penn Station.

I parked my car on 21st Street between 8th & 9th ave before I headed uptown to meet with Steve from Unseen Films blog and his dad (fellow cycle nerds as well) at the Jacob Javitz Center for the NY IMS. I stopped off at an outpost of the famed Sullivan Street bakery on 9th ave for a heavy dose of coffee and a scrumptious banana/chocolate chip olanda for body fuel. I needed a serious shot in the arm of caffeine and sugar before trolling the floor of the Javitz. I continued uptown and entered the 30th street entrance to the High Line park to resume the scenic route to the motorcycle show. I have never walked the High line going towards Hells Kitchen and wow, they really did a great job in re-purposing the elevated railroad tracks with greenery & scenery! There is a lot of construction going around and below the High Line in this area but the park itself which runs all the way to 34th street is pretty darn cool. The view overlooking the railroad yard is amazing as well as the view ropes of the Hudson fading into New Jersey.

Soon enough the serene walk ended and I quickly bumped into the Javitz Center to unite with like minded riders! My main goal of the day was to get a glance of the new Triumph Bonneville T120, sit on the Honda CB1100 & Harley Davidson Sportster Seventy Two, & see how the Suzuki Bandit S 1250 felt! Mission accomplished & more. I discovered I really liked the look and feel of the Ducati Scrambler and the Ducati Monster 821 especially the model with the white paint job. The 3 wheeler roadster from Polaris – the Slingshot looked cool as hell! If I had 25k to throw around, she would definitely be in my toy vehicle arsenal! The Indian motorcycles including the Scout and the Indian Chief Dark Horse caught my eye as well.

The NY IMS this year or at least on Saturday didn’t seem quite as large, vendor wise as well as with the number of attendees like in years past or maybe the crowds came later on in the day? We still had fun seeing all the vehicle eye-candy! Enjoy some of the photos from the show below and if you ride – ride safe and if you don’t ride – be safe!

(a piece on Indian Larry)

(Indian Larry Motorcycle)

(Polaris Slingshot)

(royal-ensfield-continental-gt)

(Indian scout 60 hooligan racer)

(2016 Triumph Bonneville T120)

(Ducati Monster 821)

(2014 Honda cb1100)

(2016 harley sportster 72)

(2016 Suzuki Bandit S 1250)

(2016 ducati scrambler)

(Yamaha custom cafe)

(Widow Jane)

(Design Worx Customs – Custom Baggers)

(Bagger all graffed up & dedicated to the 5 Boros of NYC – Design Worx Customs)

(Badass “Green Bagger” by Design Worx Customs)