The Truth About My Reading I didn't get my Composition and Literature teacher at Montclair State College at all. A crusty old man with a dour disposition, Mr. Smith always seemed angry and rude. He appropriately intimidated freshmen, even me, an English major, who found this common core course beneath my dignity. Frankly, as a graduate of Highland Park High School, and a survivor of Mrs. Yanowitz's Senior Honors English class, I had an over-rated opinion of my abilities, as do many freshmen. Mr. Smith's first assignment was ...

The Bloomfield Public Library is pleased to announce our concert series returns for 2018 with Stephen Fuller for Black History Month on February 3, at 1pm.  Stephen is genuine, energetic, articulate, and on a mission to soothe music lovers who venture out from their semi-urban life-styles, to melt away the daily grind  This rising R&B, Jazz, Calypso and occasional Gospel singer, is a Newark native and well known about town. His interest in singing began at age 12, when a teacher recognized his musical gift. He ...

I teenaged my way through high school under the assumption that my parents had no idea what I was doing.  I like to think I was pretty good at withholding information and presenting situations in ways that were other than they really were.   Still, sometimes they found things out.  Like the time my friends plopped me on our front door step at one o'clock in the morning and rang the doorbell.     Fortunately, my buddy with the car was a designated driver.      I don’t ...

I’ve been celebrating Halloween with my kids for over a decade now, and as a result, I’ve got a few Halloween hacks for parents to share. 1. Go to the pumpkin patch early. Some might take this advice a step further and skip heading out to the over-crowded pumpkin-slash-apple-slash-pony-ride-slash-corn-maze extravaganza entirely, but not me. Those fall pumpkin photos with the kids are just too amazing to miss. But go early. Most farms are pretty empty the first few weekends in October, but not so much as ...

          By the mid 70s, Italian studios were moving onto different trends, like giallo horror, poliziotteschi crime, and macaroni war. For those that still produced spaghetti westerns, the rule of the day was comedy. Yet, some directors weren't ready to hang up their colt pistols. The pictures they made these years were referred to as twilight spaghetti westerns.           Even darker than their 60s predecessors, twilight spaghetti westerns were categorized by their apocalyptic ...

OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY PLAINFIELD - Those who dabble in Union County politics are learning this morning that the former Democratic chairman, Jerry Green, has died at age 79 after a long illness. Green, a longtime assemblyman from Plainfield, rose through the ranks from serving on the freeholder board in the late 1980s.  He will be remembered as a Roselle native, a star basketball player, who began as a supermarket butcher, then an entrepreneur, before ultimately becoming the most powerful Democrat in Union County.

Whether you are new to the gym or a seasoned athlete, the winter weather can affect your body. In these cold conditions, muscles are forced to work harder to complete tasks. This extra effort can result in muscle soreness and damage to tissue. While you may not be able to avoid the cold, preventive measure can help avoid discomfort and injury. Learning and implementing sports therapy techniques, such as stretching and other practices can help keep your body loose and prevent muscle soreness. Why do I feel so ‘stiff’ in the ...

This week's feature will focus on TAPinto Plainfield franchisees Jennifer Popper and Carolyn Wellington. TAPinto.net has more than 70 franchised online, local newspapers. Our franchise owners include journalists, hard-copy newspapers, and thanks to Jennifer and Carolyn, non-profit organizations such as the YMCA. Find out how these local Plainfield, NJ residents are able to sustain their profitable business while getting closer to their community and doing what they love.   Q. When did you ...

Facebook recently announced it will be changing its feed and algorithms so that news from publishers and posts from businesses will be relegated in favor of posts about your neighbor’s cat.  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook is making these changes because he is concerned about his legacy and that of the company he founded. If Mark Zuckerberg is truly worried about his legacy and that of Facebook, casting legitimate news publishers and businesses into the abyss will only further tarnish ...

Corre, no camines (that’s “run, don’t walk!”) to see Coco, the newest animated feature film from Pixar Animation Studios/Disney. This beautiful movie is something that families will cherish seeing together. Like Moana last year, I took my family (ages 7 to 70+) to see Coco over Thanksgiving weekend, and everyone was delighted by the splendor of this wonderful cinematic experience. Coco tells the story of a young boy named Miguel who yearns to be a musician, although he comes from a long line of shoemakers who not ...

There is a glaring hole in recent Game of Thrones seasons that needs to be addressed: the ability of Valyrian steel to destroy White Walkers has not been acknowledged since before Jon Snow’s death. In fact, it hasn’t been mentioned since the Season Five finale when Jon Snow reveals this discovery to Sam Tarly. Jon has cared about little more than the war between the living and the dead since long before his death, but after being killed later that same episode, he never mentions Valyrian steel’s power again. Since ...