Tony Capparelli Art Lesson

Aquariums are soothing, says Joe Schinn of Joe's Aquariums, a company that sets up and cares for aquariums in the tri-state area. That's why you sometimes see them in dentists' or doctors' waiting rooms. In fact, Joe once met a psychiatrist who believed so strongly that pet fish lower anxiety, he insisted that all his patients have home aquariums.

Servicing hundreds of tropical and marine aquariums, as well as koi ponds, many in the Montclair vicinity, is not a low anxiety profession, though. In addition to scheduled maintenance of tanks and ponds, Joe has to be available for emergencies 24 hours a day. Fish are delicate, and a broken piece of equipment, or the sudden appearance of disease, may require immediate attention.

Continue reading "The Age of Aquariums" »

Montclair State University will start construction on two new student-housing units by the Recreation Center this spring.

This will be the first new construction project under the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009, signed by former Gov. Jon Corzine this past August. The bill allowed public universities to hire private contractors to build on campus.

According to The Montclarion, MSU was recently planning off-campus housing in downtown Montclair, but since the stimulus bill was signed, plans were canceled. Capstone Development Cooperation, who was going to build the dorms in Montclair, will now be building the new on-campus dorms.

The new dorms will hold 2,000 beds for freshman and sophomore students.

Construction is anticipated to be complete by August 2011.

Tonight at 7 p.m. the ceremonial swearing in of Lieutenant Fredric Egnezzo and Sergeant Carlos Alvarez will take place. Egnezzo has been acting lieutenant since November 2009 and Sergeant Alvarez has been acting sergeant since summer 2009.

Feb. 6: Officers responded to a car accident with damage to property on Bloomfield Avenue and Clark Street at 2:49 a.m. The police reported the driver appeared to be intoxicated. The driver was issued numerous summonses along with criminal charges for criminal mischief.

Feb 1-5: There were three reported acts of graffiti on Washington Street, Benson Street Lot, and the Freeman Parkway Bridge. All three graffiti were unrelated to eachother.

Feb. 3: A High Street resident reported that someone broke off the side view mirror of their car.

Are you 60 or older and have an amazing story to tell? Here's your chance.

Essex County senior citizens are welcome to enter in this year's Legacies Writing Contest. Seniors 60 and older can submit an original story about a special person, life-changing experience or significant period of their life. The deadline is March 22.

All writers who submit stories will be invited to the Division of Senior Services Legacies luncheon celebration in May. The winning authors will be honored and their stories will be published in the Essex Advisor.

For additional information and rules continue reading.

Continue reading "Essex County Senior Citizen Legacies Writing Contest" »

Football, beer, wings and commercials symbolize Super Bowl Sunday. If you weren't enjoying the Saints upsetting the Colts, maybe the commercials (ten of the best showcased here) eased the pain.

From the expected E-Trade baby commercials to some new controversial spots discussing abortions, the ads are expected to spark watercooler talk for the rest of the week.

Continue reading "Super Sunday: Football, Puppy Bowl and Commercials" »

And this reporter is filing her Official Sunday Superbowl Post rather late, but here it is anyway--a nice shot of the winning team's quarterback holding his earmuffed tyke. Even thought my sweetie and I watched the kick-off and the first half at Montclair's own Erie Saloon while enjoying juicy burgers (him) and sauteed calf's liver (me) we watched the second half at home and were happy for the Saints. Good game!

Ok, this is totally subjective, and I'm sure there were brilliant comments I never saw. But here's my nomination for Baristanet Comment of the Week for its sheer insight, wit and brevity. By Walleroo on the "Is 'Jersey Shore' Bad for Jersey?" thread:

So Mr. Roo, Pat Boone with his white bucks and cleaned up versions of song was not dumbing the nation down?

Sometimes I feel that Baristanet posts are nothing but Rorschach blots in which each of us sees whatever bugaboo he wants to see.

walleroo | February 3, 2010 1:43 PM

Yes, indeed, Walleroo, you are finally onto us. For five and a half years, Baristanet has merely been a psychological experiment to evaluate the mental health of its readers. We'd tell you what we've discovered, but we're bound by HIPAA compliance policy to keep our results confidential.

Have any comments you think qualify as comments of the week? Send them to comments@baristanet.com with the words "Comment of the Week" in the subject line.

This Baristanet photo editor is presenting Monday's Botanical Photography program at the Garden Club of Montclair's monthly meeting, and you're invited. Everyone is! This is a free presentation (donations always welcome, of course) and it takes place tomorrow, Monday, February 8, at 1 pm in the United Way auditorium at 60 South Fullerton in Montclair.

I'll present a selection of botanical photographs, and discuss how they were made. I'll talk about lighting, aperture, and a few other technical points, but mostly I'll be talking about the beauty and the joy of capturing images of all kinds of flowers, leaves, bark, lichen, seed pods, grasses, and more.

All are welcome. If you ever wanted to learn how to get better photographs of your garden, your favorite park, or some pretty hibiscus you saw on vacation, this is an opportunity. Hope to see you there!

Zilch. Zero. Nada. A big dud.

From Twitter:

AmyNitrate
Hey what happened to the big snow-maggen? Got nuttin' in Montclair, NJ.

garyvee
wait? we didnt get ANY snow in NYC

watchungbooks
what happened to the snow? you still have time to come in and get a book to curl up with.

montclairbayst
No snow here folks, just beautiful luxury apartments..they are going fast so make your appointment and lease today 973-744-0800!

Suzartist
Roads are clear, sanded and salted. Now we just need that white stuff.

Looky Daddy
http://twitpic.com/11oes0 - Snowpocalypse, Central New Jersey Edition. Huh.

So far, it's 2:11 a.m. and I still don't see any of those snowflakes that were supposed to come flurrying down on us by midnight.

Continue reading "All Stocked Up For The Big Storm?" »

Gals: If Superbowl weekend makes you think "cheerleaders" and "why don't I look like one?" consider going to this co-branded event by Bangz and New Jersey Plastic Surgery. It's called the Pre-Super Bowl Botox Party, but the name is a little misleading. The party is this Sunday (Feb. 7) at NJ Plastic Surgery, 29 Park Street in Montclair, with seatings at 10:30 am, noon or 1:30 pm. There'll be goodie bags, but no injections. Basically it's a pitch for two new therapies being offered by Dr. Barry DiBernardo's office: Ultherapy (which is billed as a surgery-free facelift) and Zeltiq (an alternative to liposuction, which basically freezes unwanted fat, which is later excreted). Major discounts will be offered for ladies who sign up on Superbowl Sunday. Call Bangz at 973.746.8426 or New Jersey Plastic Surgery at 973. 509.2000 to save a spot.

Nubian Quilters at Montclair Historical Society February 5 through 19, Saturdays & Sundays, 1-4 pm. Reflections of a Dream: History, Heritage and Quilts

This quilting group, which was launched to promote, preserve, and document the importance of African American quilting, is displaying some of its spectacular works of arts throughout the Israel Crane and Nathaniel Crane houses at 108 Orange Road, Montclair.

Continue reading "Weekend Roundup, Feb. 5-7, 2010" »

Lovers of poetry, gather 'round next Thursday, Feb. 11 for a special poetry reading by acclaimed NJ poets Laura Boss and Maria Mazziotti Gillan. Two Montclair poetry groups have been invited to participate at the open mic reading which includes complimentary wine tasting, cheeses, artisanal breads, and chocolates!

"Love/Poetry: A Jug of Wine, A Loaf of Bread, and Thou" - February 11, 2010 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Free, at Gary's Wine & Marketplace, 1308 Rt. 23 North (3 miles north of Rt. 80),Wayne, NJ 973-633-3900.

Boss has long-time connections to Montclair. More about the poets, after the jump.

Montclair Art Museum's biggest blockbuster ever, Cezanne and American Modernism, blew the lid off previous exhibition records, according to marketing director Michael Gillespie. "Attendance broke 30,000 during the 100-day show, which is amazing when you consider the previous record-breaker was 12,000 visitors over a period of six months during the Super Hero exhibit. Another 10,000 visitors participated in special tours and art school programs related to the Cezanne show," Gillespie added.

What do those attendance numbers mean financially for MAM? "Museums don't really make money on exhibitions, but I can tell you Cezanne really helped MAM's operating budget. For instance we were able to bring our staff back to work full time, from four days a week. We were able to reinstate "Free Fridays" every first Friday of the month," says Gillespie. (The first Free Friday is March 5.)

Continue reading "Montclair Art Museum: Cezanne Blockbuster Breaks Records; Opening Feb.7, "A Force For Change"" »

Have a contingency plan in place for tonight? Just in from NJ Transit:

NJ TRANSIT will offer full systemwide cross-honoring starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 5 and continuing all day on Saturday, February 6, enabling NJ TRANSIT customers to use their ticket or pass on an alternate travel mode--rail, bus or light rail. More details: As winter weather moves into the region, NJ TRANSIT operations, customer service and police personnel across the state are preparing the system to minimize service suspensions and delays to the extent possible.

Continue reading "Commuter Alert: NJ TRANSIT PREPARES FOR WINTER STORM" »

It's probably late in the game to find prime time dinner seating at Baristaville restaurants on Valentine's Day, but if you're celebrating, you've got lots of other options to add sweet romance to your day. Add your own Valentine's day suggestions and tips in comments.

Let's Find The Chocolate:
The Chocolate Path, a Montclair destination for serious chocoholics celebrates Valentines Day and its fourth anniversary next week. Load up on Wednesday (2/10) and get 10% discount all day - open until 8 pm. Starting at 6 pm sample Madame "X"tasy hot chocolate, Kama Sutra hot chocolate and Midnight Oasis hot chocolate. On Thursday night (2/11), the store closes early (at 6:30 pm) for a chocolate tasting fundraiser for child advocacy group, CASA, 7-9 pm. Space is limited, donation $35 per person. To RSVP contact Carol Costello or call 973-648-2814. Friday night, 2/12, Chocolate Path and Amanti Vino pair up for a fun wine and dark chocolate tasting at Amanti Vino on Church Street, 7:30-9:00pm. Mmmm, good place to be if you're still gift-needy on Friday. Cost: $40 per person, reserve at Amanti Vino. Saturday, 2/13 all day, the tasting bar is open featuring NewTree Chocolatier and sampling flavors like ginger (Sexy), straight dark (Pleasure). Sunday, 2/14, open from 11 - 4 sampling Kama Sutra Hot chocolate.

Sweet Home Montclair at 623 Valley Road is relatively new to Baristaville, so you may not know about the large selection of chocolate and other sweets beautifully displayed at the back of the store. You'll find beautifully boxed chocs (pictured) covered with wooden-carved roses, crispy hearts, retro conversation hearts and tubes of pink and red chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. Other sweets for your sweeties include flavored jelly belly beans, raspberry hearts, and cherry hearts, there cherry gum balls, champagne bubbles, and heart shaped boxes of green and white teas - an Oprah pick. 973-746-4200.

Continue reading for more chocolate, cheese, and more...

Continue reading "Valentine's Day: Prep With Chocolate, Wine, Cheese, Glamour" »

New Jersey is on a winter storm watch - some are calling for a blizzard in Southern Jersey - tonight through Saturday, which means football fans may be digging into the snow as well as the guacamole this weekend. Essex, Bergen, Eastern Passaic, Hudson and Union are in the local watch area, according to National Weather Service.

SNOW WILL LIKELY DEVELOP FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE WATCH AREA TONIGHT.& CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY.BEFORE TAPERING OFF LATE IN THE DAY. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL
LATE TONIGHT & SAT MORNING...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR 4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW TO FALL ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE TRI-STATE AREA.WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS IN LOCATIONS CLOSEST TO NY HARBOR & THE ATLANTIC...A TRACK FURTHER NO. THAN CURRENTLY EXPECTED WOULD RESULT IN MORE SNOW..

Is Superbowl or snow going to dominate your weekend? Take our poll after the jump.

Continue reading "Super Bowl, Super Snow Weekend" »

Montclair's downtown business district continues to see a lot of coming and going around Bloomfield Avenue. Depending on who you're talking to, things are looking up - or not so good for 2010. For instance, "The Phoenix" Building, at the corner of North Willow and Bloomfield Avenue, is 100% occupied. Tenants are Elevation Burger, Arthur Murray, Blue River Funds (Hedgefund), The Pinnacle Companies, Esteve USA, and the lawfirm of Slous, Ashenfelter, McDonough & Trevenen.

345 Bloomfield Avenue (left) is a newly renovated building just down the block from Elevation Burger. Moving in soon, is Chef's Lab - a gourmet food store & cooking school. Glen Ridge owner, Henry Thervil says he expects to open in early April. You'll find a kitchen store in the front with gadgets galore and be able to plan cooking parties or take a myriad of cooking classes in the back. Bring your own wine for a new twist on "date night." Other leases in the building have been signed for Carlucci Design and a new hair salon, "Eric."

Montclair now has its very own auction house: Nye & Co. Auctioneers and Appraisers formerly Dawson & Nye of Morris Plains, have opened at 425 Bloomfield Avenue (across from Cuban Pete's). The store, full of elegant antiques, features free appraisals in the similar spirit of "Antiques Road Show," every Monday Their first big public event will be the auction of super-model Naomi Simm's estate, on February 27.

Continue reading "Business Moves On Bloomfield Ave" »

Clever Commuters are reporting problems on Rte 3 due to an accident near Meadowlands and some buses taking alternate routes. Train it if you can and add what you know to comments.