Just Ducky

Okay. Everybody into the pool! He meant people, not ducks. A resident of The Island section of Trenton, New Jersey called that a paddling of ducklings had taken up residence in her & her husband's pool, so off I went! I've been to similar assignments before where animals refuse to respect the boundaries of human constructs ;)


It's not a fossil. He's swimming underwater.

And here's the photograph that was the most trouble. The little buggers would move to the opposite direction of the slightest movement of a human at poolside so there was no way to get a close-up photo. That's where I proved that I'm smarter than the average bear...or duck, in this case. I clamped my camera to the pool's ladder with a wireless remote switch. It still took the owner and I about five minutes to maneuver them into position where I could get the wide angle close-up photograph I wanted.

Wedding Day

After a month of rainy days, last Saturday, the clouds parted for the union of Ted & Jennifer, but it wasn't the weather that made it a beautiful day, it was the joining of two sweet people, their families and their cultures. Congratulations and mazel tov!

I'm jazzed

In my previous entry, you saw how two nights ago, I "shared the stage" with blues guitarist Chris Duarte and now last night I shared the stage for real, for one song, anyway with world renowned jazz alto saxophonist, Trenton's own Richie Cole. I tried recording the thing on a cheap camcorder but the sound if unusable. Here's the only proof, a video frame grab. Richie very graciously called me up for a blues number (bebop scares me) at his appearance at Bordentown's Record Collector. This night was thirty years in the making since it was about that long ago that Richie played at a picnic I was attending and the word was that musicians could bring their instruments and jam. When I heard all that jazz, I turned around and put my guitar back in the car. He later told me "We could have done blues" and even before The Simpsons came into being, I slapped my forehead and said "Doh!" Now I finally had my second chance and I want to thank Richie Cole and the band for making my dream come true.

I got da blues

Last night I got to see Blues guitarist Chris Duarte in a master class and concert performance at the War Memorial in Trenton. The unusual setup features the audience sitting on the back of the stage and the performers on the front of the stage facing us. Sounds mixed-up, but it's a very intimate setting, plus I can now tell people that I shared the stage with Chris Duarte! That's Chris at left with local phenom Paul Plumeri Jr during the master class. There are sixteen photos at http://michaelmancuso.zenfolio.com

(above) Graduating seniors from Notre Dame High School in Lawrence Township turn their tassels during commencement ceremonies held at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton. (below) Heartfelt hug. Are we really done with high school?

I heard some insightful comments in North Trenton the other day at a press conference/vigil in memory of shooting victim Tamrah Leonard, 13, who was killed by stray gunfire while at a block party billed as an event to help stop the violence in Trenton's North Ward hosted by North Ward city council candidate and New Black Panther Party youth minister Divine Allah, top left. I heard pain, sorrow and frustration, and things like "Don't say a gang member killed one of our babies. Say one of our babies killed one of our babies."

You can make up your own headline for this one using the words hot, dog, hotdog, well you get the idea . Last Sunday was the 3rd Annual Bark At The Park Day presented by Dogs & Cats Rule at Trenton's Waterfront Park, home of the Trenton Thunder a minor league NY Yankees affiliate. Fans were invited to bring their dogs and this is Yorkshire Terrier "Rudy".

Earlier that day...(top photo) During a presentation on Peace in Judaism, in the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium, Marsha Rudolph, of Lambertville, NJ, holds in her hand a pointer used to follow along in reading or singing from the Torah. Out of respect, the Torah itself is not touched, so a pointer is used as a placeholder. (bottom two photos) Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum of String of Pearls Congregation in Princeton talks about and reads from the Torah scrolls. Participants next walked up West State Street to Trinity Cathedral, for a presentation on Peace in Christianity, where the event concluded with an Interfaith Potluck Dinner.