Thoughts from the Dark Side

Where Many Have Gone Before

2013-05-20T17:25:00.000-04:00

SPOILER ALERT *** SPOLER ALERT *** SPOILER ALERT If you have not seen the movie Star Trek Into Darkness and do not want to know anything about it, please click here and leave this page now. Okay, I admit it, I am a huge Star Trek fan. No, I have never donned (nor owned) a Star Fleet uniform, never owned a phaser, a comm badge or even a tribble, but I was there in front of my TV

Faces

2013-05-06T20:52:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I have bored shared with you photos of my grandtwins. Like every grandparent and parent I like to take pictures at birthday (and other) parties. Though I have been taking all sorts of photos for about 50 years, when it comes to parties, I tend to revert to pure snapshot mode - and there really is nothing wrong with that except I know I can (and should) make the most of the

You Never Notice ...

2013-05-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

I must have passed it thousands of time from when I first moved to Staten Island. After all it was just a 5 minute stroll (maybe 6 blocks) from my house. I drove my car down Rossville Avenue and faced it countless times - but I never registered its presence. But then a few years ago when I got my first digital SLR camera and was searching for photo ops, I decided to check out the small burial

Opening Day!

2013-04-01T12:32:00.000-04:00

Spring has indeed arrived. The weather is where it should be finally, the sun is out - but that's not the most obvious sign that life has returned to the United States ... it's Opening Day of the Major League Baseball Championship Season! (Yeah, yeah, I know that the Astros and the Rangers played last night but ... well they are the Astros and the Rangers.) When I was very young, Opening Day

I Need Your Advice

2013-02-21T20:04:00.002-05:00

Until recently, the amount of spam that was being posted in the comments section here and on my other blogs has been minimal and easily dealt with. About a month ago, however, it picked up significantly and is a multiple daily issue on each of the blogs I post. I have always made posting comments as easy as possible, refraining from making anyone enter their name and email address (though I

Am Retired - Will Travel

2013-02-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

I would say that the title of this post is a take off on an old TV show - but that would be dating myself. Let's just say that we are now free to move about the world. My wife left the classroom for the final time last June at the end of the school year and joined me in retirement. The plan has been to finally be able to be somewhere while kids are (supposed to be) in school. We just returned

NY State Does the Right Thing

2013-01-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, in New York State - which already had one of the toughest gun laws in the US - the New York State legislature - an historically dysfunctional body - did something that I hope becomes a model for the other 49 states ... they passed what is being called America's toughest gun laws. What makes it even more admirable is that it passed overwhelmingly in both houses - one controlled by the

Revisiting Sprague - The Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

2013-01-11T09:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was an unusually warm and sunny winter day so I decided to go out to take some photos. My destination was a small area of beach on the Raritan Bay. This spot also happens to be at the end of the block on which my son and his family lived until they moved last summer. It also happens to be one of the neighborhoods that was devastated during Hurricane Sandy a few months ago. Being

Wishes for a New Year

2012-12-31T11:54:00.000-05:00

As I write this, a good many of my friends have already seen the new year arrive. Many of us still have more than 12 hours to go. What kind of year has it been for you? It has been a year of major change here. It was my daughter and son-in-law's first full year as a married couple. My son and daughter-in-law have moved to another state. My grandsons have definitely become little boys - and

Christmas In My House

2012-12-25T09:24:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas morning here - which really doesn't mean terribly much, but I can't really say it's just another day even though, being Jewish, we don't celebrate it. It's always an unusual time of year for those of us who don't celebrate Christmas. Even as a little kid I knew that it wasn't our holiday - and never experienced any jealousy ... we had our own holidays and I always embraced our

So You Think You Know the Second Amendment?

2012-12-19T20:53:00.000-05:00

These words, written into our Constitution via the Bill of Rights in December of 1791, have been the stuff of debate in the centuries that have followed their adoption. "None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army. To keep ours armed and disciplined is therefore at all times important." --Thomas Jefferson, 1803 "It is more a subject of joy [than of regret] that we have so few

Hate - in the Guise of Religion

2012-12-16T11:45:00.000-05:00

I usually don't write about religion, not because I don't like talking about it, I do. I love to discuss religion and learn about all religions. However, I usually don't write about it for fear that what I might say could possibly and inadvertently hurt people about whom I care. I actually respect anyone's religious beliefs as long as it isn't used for purposes of hurting others. Religion

I Am Angry!

2012-12-14T15:00:00.002-05:00

I am very angry ... and sad ... and devastated! I, like the rest of the world right now, am watching the ongoing coverage of the horrific elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Information is just starting to come in but at the moment it appears that 27 people were killed ... 18 of them elementary school children! It also appear that the shooter's Kindergarten teacher mother was

The War on Christmas

2012-12-14T11:57:00.000-05:00

Political correctness (PC) has absolutely gotten out of hand. Because of it I have seen the most ridiculous things happen. For example ... the tale of a classic attraction in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Pirates of the Caribbean used to contain a set with scenes of pirates chasing women (albeit around in a circle and they never caught them), but the final scene in that set showed a pirate

Taking Stock

2012-12-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

Back in January, 2011, I started this blog because I was constantly having thoughts rolling around in my head that I wanted to share. Well, at least put into writing and make it available to anyone who was interested in hearing the things I might have to say. They wouldn't be earth shattering, just my thoughts. Along the way there have been times that I have had so much going on in my head

Introducing ... The Missing Link

2012-12-13T11:45:00.001-05:00

For a while now I have been having fun linking up with other sites either on a regular weekly basis or an occasional post. I have started to feel that they were taking away from the original purpose of Thoughts From the Dark Side so in the future, all of those posts will appear on a new site ... The Missing Link. I hope you will continue to enjoy these fun posts. (Note: My Disney links will

A Snap, A Set and A Song - Gold

2012-12-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

Time once again to link with Thea at A Snap, A Set and A Song for this week's theme of Gold. Stop by her site to see her take - and possibly join us with your own post. A Snap At first I didn't know what direction to go in for this theme, as I have set myself a rule that the SNAP will only be a photo that I myself have taken, and I was about to go away for a few days so I didn't have

Friday Favorite - Look Out!!

2012-12-07T20:19:00.000-05:00

Once again we join with with Thea at The Happy Shutterbug - for a Friday Favorite. You think giving my nephew a broomstick and then telling him to swing it is a good idea - even if he is swinging at a piñata? Does my son's expression give you any clue?. (From my grandsons' birthday/Halloween party.)

A Snap, A Set and A Song - December

2012-12-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

Time once again to link with Thea at A Snap, A Set and A Song for this week's theme of December. Stop by her site to see her take - and possibly join us with your own post. So many directions I could have gone with this theme - the first one which came to mind was snow - but that's really for later - after winter actually arrives at the very end of December. Generally December is not a

Tell Me Tuesdays

2012-12-01T11:19:00.000-05:00

Winter is cold here in the northeast and I don’t get out as often as I would like to take photos. However, I am introducing a new weekly feature on my photo blog - Gathered Images - Tell Me Tuesday will feature one of my photos with information on how it came to be. How and where it was taken, technical information, and if any post-processing was done will all be shared. Sometimes before and

Friday Favorite - Fireworks

2012-11-30T11:24:00.000-05:00

Once again we join with with Thea at The Happy Shutterbug - for a Friday Favorite. This week we look back at Halloween at The Magic Kingdom.

A Snap, A Set and A Song - Waterfall

2012-11-28T15:07:00.000-05:00

Time once again to link up with Thea at A Snap, A Set and A Song for this week's theme of Waterfall. Why don't you join us? The Snap I dug deep into the archives for this snap. April of 1971 to be exact. Living in New York when someone mentions Waterfall, we usually think of this small waterfall of ours. Perhaps you have heard of it ... Niagara Falls? I have visited it many times since

Nice Try, Sandy!

2012-11-26T17:46:00.000-05:00

As Hurricane Sandy was approaching, my wife and I had some decisions to make. Just at the time it was supposed to be starting to affect our area, we were planning on driving from Staten Island to Atlantic City, NJ for a scheduled 2 night stay at one of the Hotel/Casinos. Naturally, driving through a hurricane wasn't my first choice of activities I wanted to partake of, so after a lot of

A Snap, A Set and A Song - Rain

2012-11-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

Time once again to link up with Thea at A Snap, A Set and A Song for this week's theme of Rain. Why don't you join us? The Snap A few years ago, a friend from Australia came for a visit, and we happened to be in Florida during Spring Training and she wanted to see her first professional baseball game. My team happened to be in town playing the local team, so we went. Unfortunately when the game

Friday Favorite - Waiting for Cake

2012-11-17T09:05:00.001-05:00

Once again we join with with Thea at The Happy Shutterbug - for a Friday Favorite. Last weekend my nephew had a birthday party for his 6th birthday and I took this shot of one of my grandsons waiting oh so patiently for his slice of birthday cake.