By Paul Goldfinger, MD. Blogfinger.net, Ocean Grove, NJ, USA Ironically, Persian kings (Cyrus the Great and Xerxes) beat the Babylonians (around 490 BC) and thus freed the Jews from slavery, granted them freedom of religion, and allowed them to return to Jerusalem and their home land of Israel (Judah and Israel) around 490 BC. […]
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net It was a gray and miserable morning on Monday, October 13, 2025. A nor’easter was bearing down at the Jersey Shore. Rain was coming down hard, and the tempestuous wind was raging. But I decided to drive to the beachfront. I hoped to get a photo of surfers returning […]
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor. Blogfinger.net. March 17, 2025 re-post: The BS meter in Ocean Grove just blew up after today’s Coaster front page story justifying $500,000 of public funds to the CMA for a “fitness project.” Our State Senator Gopal is behind this, and he says, “..The goal was to support a […]
By Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net. 6/21/21. Re-post October 2025. ” The Green Acres program requires that privately owned land be dedicated to public recreation and/or conservation purposes.” In exchange, the land owner receives a tax exemption. What “privately owned land” in Ocean Grove does the sign above refer to? Does […]
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net. Update 2025 The huge storm of October 29, 2012 has been such an iconic event for the Jersey Shore that photographs of Superstorm Sandy in Ocean Grove and its aftermath will become a genre of its own, as occurred with Bob Bowné’s now famous image of the surf […]
It’s TAKA in her festive holiday garb. A large crowd starts to celebrate New Year early. This is 12/30, about 5 pm. Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park. An indoor fire pit gives warm light along with live music. KENNY VANCE AND THE PLANOTONES. Lovers Island
NBC News reports research that reveals that “short bursts of purposeful activity –– such as walking around the block or lifting small weights –– may be the best way to get in the habit of exercising.” Investigators “found that in adults younger than 65, these small acts of physical activity significantly improved […]
The new pier (4/15/23) tolerated a large crowd of “first-timers” which tested the pilings. But ironically the pier subsequently had to be shut down in December 2023 due to pilings failures. Later it was reopened, but no one was permitted to go past the new barricade. We understand that there is law suit in […]
Hi Paul: Greetings from Manhattan. I was struck by your quietly beautiful photo, “Beachfront Sunrise,” (posted recently on Blogfinger), and your statement that you preferred sunrises to sunsets because “beginnings are happier than endings.” Here is the poem, “Dawn,” from my 2008 collection, Father of Water. Best wishes, Charles Pierre Dawn […]
“Serenade. How Fair This Place”. Sarah Brightman
We were driving on Rt. 138 eastbound when a mysterious giant deep orange disc appeared in the sky. At first it seemed like an unearthly foreign presence but we quickly realized that it was the Harvest Moon in full bloom. Eileen got her iPhone, but this sight, in the dark, with […]
See the photographer on the steps? That’s Pete Ackerman, ace photog of the Asbury Park Press. Blogfinger beat him to the shot at the start of Illumination Night in Ocean Grove. BRIAN WILSON:
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net. October 7, 2025. Anniversary of the 2023 massacre in Israel. Mt. Hermon is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments and there also is considerable archeologic information available. There are many interpretations as to its biblical importance. It is the tallest summit in the area at 9,232 feet […]
Music from Tremé. Irma Thomas and Alan Toussaint. “Time is On My Side”