Blow This

Not bad...very funny!

how about 'man on the street' interviews on bloomfield ave?

i loved it..

it's just a blank spot on my computer. i don't see anything.

Maybe you can catch some of the bad kids beating the good ones up and bust em!

eh. sorry to be the first naysayer, but... A jokey take on TV news invites comparison to Jon Stewart, whose material is so well-written and produced. This is pretty weak by that standard. It feels forced - trying to be funny but not making it. And the fact that it's a 3-week-old story doesn't help.

Liz, Deb and Annette are all strong writers/journalists who can be quite witty - this seems substandard compared to your written posts.

It's great. Please do more. Much, much more.

What a great idea...this could open up another entire area of getting news/info/fun stuff, out to the masses.

It's a shame there is always someone who has to say neg. things about starting new projects..but that does happen when you deal with the gen. public.

I look forward to seeing more, and to also submitting my own.

Another cool Barista idea.

wayne robbins

This is terrific - I can't wait to see more.

To sleepysleek - I think your being a little quick to judge. I though the video was funny, local and fresh. Great to see the baristaville expanding.

I like the potential for multimedia.

Cool, I want to see the Mayor talking about PAWS, or Plofker sitting alone in an empty theatre.

Great addition to your amazingly wide-ranging repertory of news and views,
How about a Blow Off/Rake Off between opposing sides?

Geoff: If I am not mistaken, I think there WAS a contest of sorts hosted by the Star Ledger that involved Pat Kenshaft. And, I believe Pat won!

Great! So it's a rip-off the of the Daily Show, so what? It shows what a buffoon Pat Kenschaft is! And Lauren's hot! =)

More please!!!

I think it's cute, well-done, but really just *cute*...more real local journalism would be nice!

FYI, I was able to see the YouTube feed on my computer, but it screwed up the look of the page and I had to page down (waaay down) to view and play. I have a Mac using Firefox 2.0.

I have the same problem as whippersnapper on WinXP/Netscape 8.1. Must be a Mozilla thing. And YouTube is blocked at work so I can't watch it anyway.

A segment on wayfinding should be next.

Please include clips of:
-hapless out-of-towners trying to locate Crisco as a tourist destination

-hapless, stolen car suspects driving down dead end streets

- amateur wayfinding wannabes (i.e. graffiti artists)

- tear-down mapping

- migratory birds that still haven't migrated yet ... damn them

Wayne and Park518 -
hey, she wrote "let us know what you think," and I gave an honest reaction - I think it seems amateurish. I'd love to see better video here in the future - either funnier, or more jounalistically valuable, or both. And given how strong Baristanet is over-all, i'm sure we will.

I enjoyed it. Also, I'm jealous.

We appreciate all the reactions/reviews -- and we will be doing more (watch for our camera crew and don't be shy). And yes, some will definitely be more newsy/journalistic than others. So stay tuned!

Perhaps, were you good people to line up many of the regular posters and then to tape them, giving us as well their posting names....well, it definitely might cut down on much of the chaff seen here regularly. There is that to be said for the video-added process, even if little else currently seems clear about its efficacy and attractions.

Cathar, go back into hibernation.

Keep dreaming, cathar. No way Barista is getting me on tape (or should I say, chip?). This is one mammal that's staying in his hidey-hole. I would like to see cathar with his tattoos sitting on a bike with a cig dangling from his lip.

He is risen! How you been, rich?

You're going to have to go easy on Pat Kenschaft, Barista, for these videos. You'll have to cultivate some other Montclair personalities (and there aren't too many like her's). There are only 168 hours in Pat's week.

Walleroo -- is there any Aussie in your background as your name might suggest?

You guys should listen to Sleepysleek. He offered his point nicely and there is something to be said for a watered down version of the gold standard, that is J. Stewart. Lets Barista do what it does best. No extra bells and whistles needed.

Pleeeeze,

It's wonderful that Pat has dedicated her life to banning the leaf blower. What a waste of time.

What about Lawnmowers, or god forbid, a snowblower on a quiet winter morning after a snowfall. Hammers ans saws can be annoying too. I really hate cars, much too loud. Airplanes, lets move the airport or better yet, lets get rid of air travel.
Music is really loud and annoying, lets ban music in stores and malls. Kids have really pushed me over the edge lately with their loudness (especially mine). Lets ban kids. Birds, lets kill those birds that wake us up on those "quiet" summer mornings. Bugs, lets exterminate the planet of bugs, especially crickets.

But, lets SAVE those wonderful quiet leaves.

Anything else on your list Pat. Wouldn't want to bother you in any way.

I'm fine, creep. (Which applies both to sleepysmirk and Rod Powers above.) And of course I hope you're comparably not.

Ditto for the marsupial with his perky-sounding posts. God but I hate chirruping critters, I always want to dump liquid DDT into their barrows.

Very funny - you lightened my afternoon. Great.

that's what i get for trying to be friendly-like. I guess your hiatus didn't cheer you up much, Cathar. So have you come again in glory to judge the living and the dead? Oh wait, no - that's some other joker.

I think it was great send her down to the Carteret and Hurrell fields after a little rain and let her show the fields.... Then same day on Field Turf...

I think it was great send her down to the Carteret and Hurrell fields after a little rain and let her show the fields.... Then same day on Field Turf...

Hey, how'd you get Ben Franklin to appear in this video?

I love Ben, he so handsome!

Baristanet Nightly News is on it's way! I am sure you can grab more marketshare than NJN.

John Stewart? Gold Standard? Phooey!

WHAT'S THE LIFE OF A MAN

As I was a walking one morning at ease
A viewing the leaves as they fell from the trees
All in slow motion appearing to be
And those that had withered, they fell from the trees

What's the life of a man anymore than the leaves
A man has his season, so why should we grieve
Though all thru this life, we appear fine and gay
Like the leaves we will wither and soon fade away

If you'd seen the leaves just a few days ago
So beautiful and bright they all seemed to grow
A frost came upon them and withered them all
A storm came upon them and down they did fall

If you look in the churchyard, there you will see
Those that have passed like the leaves from the trees
When age and affliction upon us do fall
Like the leaves we must wither and down we must fall

Darth Cathar returns!

Wired News - The Silence of the Leaf Blowers

There are alternatives.

I think the piece was fun, and I also think that's what it is meant to be. It's not supposed to look like a professionally produced piece, after all, it is on YouTube.

What's wrong with Pat? She seems in fine spirits during her part. Do leafblowers make an inordinate amount of noise? Yes, but as another poster listed, so do a lot of other things, and we're not banning them. I don't like the noise either, but I don't want to ban it. It really could be worse.

laser, I wouldn't besmirch Darth Vader by linking any part of his name with cathar. I almost want to say I missed all the name calling and pontificating from the usual suspects, but it's clear that is not true.

Will the site allow visitors to embed video in lieu of a comment? That would take Baristanet to a level beyond Jon Stewart's static show!

I could have sworn I heard the "Imperial March" playing.

I hate the way YouTube compresses their videos with crappy quality.

No where close to Jon or Stephen but clearly deriviative.

Loved it Baristanet, great work. It was funny in its own right, but anything that diverts attention from your regular posters' attempts at humor is welcome.

I should say except those of Colonel Phil McCracken (ret.), but he isn't so regular.

Franklin Anthony sounds like Mr. Echo from "Lost" ...

I hate the way YouTube compresses their videos with crappy quality.

DVD-quality MPEG-2 video is 2GB per hour, or 33MB per minute. I don't think you want to wait for that kind of download.

Forget the video spoofs ... why not video the town meetings and interview officials on "top topics" and post the videos here as a public service? make it interesting to watch (edit, polish), rather than the boring home-movie-style programming found on channel 34 ...

Hey that was good for a maiden effort. I particularly liked the leaf-counting bit. Keep it up!

I HATE leaf blowers. They are a horrible, horrible thing. The video's nice, sure, but what really shocks me is that almost nobody seems to be willing to take a stand.

Can we please, please ban them. Leaf blowers make noise and they pollute like crazy (have you ever walked by one?). Just wait 15 years until all the "landscapers" (ha! what a crock...those guys don't do landscaping...what happened to the 15 year old down the block who would mow your lawn and rake your leaves??? I was one once) have hearing damage and lung cancer and then, you know what, they'll want us to bail them out? Come on... Enough already. Let's ban them.

Friendship7,

When you used to mow the lawn, did you use a reel mower. Those gas powered lawnmowers also make quite a racket -- let's ban those! When you were using that lawnmower back in the halcyon days you seem to recall, keep in mind that you were pissing someone off too. Let's just ban all power equipment -- especially anything with an internal combustion engine ...

Maybe folks just need to settle down a bit and realize we're living in a neo-urban (that's right, not out in the pastoral countryside -- or even in the suburbs for than matter) environment in th 21st century.

i agree with i like progress!
to me, it has become part of my daily routine to hear one of those things whirring away endlessly
i just got used to it

i agree with i like progress!

the sound of a leaf blower has become part of my daily life. i think we should all get over the sound.

Am I the only one who noticed that the video was produced by Parabox Media--the same company where our local rock, paper scissor champion works? Could it have even been shot by Bryan himself?

So barista, were you that impressed with his cunning scissor throw? Or is this just payback for his 15 seconds of Baristanet fame?

Am I the only one who noticed that the video was produced by Parabox Media--the same company where our local rock, paper scissor champion works? Could it have even been shot by Bryan himself?

So barista, were you that impressed with his cunning scissor throw? Or is this just payback for his 15 seconds of Baristanet fame?

Lets keep leaf blowers!

We can ban Pat & Friendship7. It will be easier :-)

Just Curious, astute observation. It was Parabox, but it wasn't Bryan -- or payback. The talented Rob Moretti shot for us and we hope it is the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership.

Dr. Patrica Kenshaft was my Calculus I professor @ Montclair State College in 1979. She was an excellent mathematics instructor - a rarity, almost as good as Dr. Demetropolous.

I don't like to give too many personal details, Montclair Mommy, but you see all right so I'll make an exception. I did indeed grow up in the Outback. My parents were cactus farmers in the North Country. I lived there until I was 13, when I grew tired of cactus needles and the baking sun and headed to America to make my way in the world. I landed in Jersey City and found work doing odd jobs in a brothel (and those jobs were pretty odd, let me tell you) that doubled as a medical supply store. I befriended a neurosurgeon who used to frequent the establishment for scalpels and a quickie. He taught me the tricks of the trade, and I was a quick learner. He hired me as his assistant, and we toured the country as a freelance brain-surgery team. Eventually I enrolled at UNDMJ where, in graduate shool, I perfected the technique of removing brain tumors without damaging the surrounding tissue. That the Nobel Prize Committee has never seen fit to give me their award I can only attribute to the many Swedish girls who worked at the Jersey City brothel (many of whom now staff my clinic).

Thanks for asking.

Nice work.

Welcome to democracy. If the neighbors have to votes they should have to ban they want. There are leaf blowers out there that are more quite. Grandfather in the old leaf blowers if you want to make a compromise. Give a tax break for those that sell there old leaf blowers and buy newer more quite ones. Give landscapers a few years to get on the ball.

There alternatives to the statue quo.

I here by announce Leaf Burning rights to all!

Douse yer leaves in gasoline and burn them all to hell!

Thank you. your Mayor

The funny thing was is that I'm pretty sure the house with the leaf-blowers was mine (currently rented)...

...and I'm thousands of miles away in a 3rd world country reading baristanet!

Sorry, Pat.

if lawncare doesn't work out for franklin, it looks like he has a future in pictures!! great job.

Hey Baristavillians: see how much you've put into this in 2 days? Awesome. Another point of light for those following Baristanet into the future of real hometown media.

This looked like an editorial to me. My question -- and how could I know down here in Maryland -- is: are noisy leafblowers an issue in Montclair? If so, this is a clever way to talk about it. If not, it's just kind of a leafy street theatre. But cool.

Putting a thought bubble over someone's head during an interview is disrepectful and unprofessional. If you feel a need to produce more video content do yourself a favor and don't debase your work by doing so.

Funny video and "I am not counting all of those leaves"!