Go Giants!

I hear that today is the opening day for the Iselin Giants.
Go Giants! Go Cheerleaders!

Great video about Old Time Iselin! :)

A person on Facebook, known as "Green Street", created this wonderful video. Who do you recognize??

JFK High School - Summer Information Packet

Every year, if your child is going to JFK High School, you get a large envelope in the mail with about 20 papers (emergency information forms, etc) - including the paper that tells you which homeroom your child will be in.

This year, you won't be getting that in the mail. Instead, it's available on line, and you have to print it out yourself, fill it out and hand it in.

Here is where you can find it...
and if you are interested, the homerooms are listed on page 2 of the document.

Avenel's sculpture

Avenel isn't Iselin, of course, but it's our neighbor... and as one of the 10 towns in Woodbridge Township, I can't wait to see what he puts up for Iselin... and where he puts it!

Rise of The Smoke Eater from James Jeon on Vimeo.

Good morning, glory!

After all of those hot sunny days all summer, we've had a few days of cool temperatures and rain showers. It seemed very weird, and it's been a while since we've seen the sun. But it's a lovely morning!

 

Rain Again? :)

 
It's kinda news, I think, that it's raining again in Iselin today. It's been so dry for so long, I forgot what a rainy day feels like. Maybe I've just been away every time it's rained around here? Well, I'm back. And I can use a good rain day today; maybe it'll force me to sit inside and clean. Or... maybe not... I can always find an excuse, can't I?

The Garden is Working

It seemed like it took a while to really get going, but it's going full swing now!
In spite of very little rain this year, the garden is doing fine. Jersey tomatoes by the basketfull!
Lots of zuchini, too - I plan on grilling it and baking zuchini bread today -
and enough stringbeans for dinner, although I must say that considering the size of the stringbean plants, I'm not overly impressed with the number of stringbeans I'm getting.

I remember hearing that NJ is the Garden State because of the little gardens all over.
Mine is really little, but doing fine!

At Sundown on August 11th, in North America, Muslims will celebrate Ramadan.
It is a very interesting holiday... I found this video on the History Channel, which explains it.
History of Ramadan — History.com Video
According to When-is .com,

Ramadan in 2010 will start on Wednesday, the 11th of August and will continue for 30 days until Thursday, the 9th of September.

Based on sightability in North America, in 2010 Ramadan will start in North America a day later - on Thursday, the 12th of August.

Note that in the Muslim calander, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Muslims will celebrate Ramadan on the sunset of Tuesday, the 10th of August.

Although Ramadan is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year, since the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar and the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. This difference means Ramadan moves in the Gregorian calendar approximately 11 days every year. The date of Ramadan may also vary from country to country depending on whether the moon has been sighted or not.

The dates provided here are based on the dates adopted by the Fiqh Council of North America for the celebration of Ramadan. Note that these dates are based on astronomical calculations to affirm each date, and not on the actual sighting of the moon with the naked eyes. This approach is accepted by many, but is still being hotly debated.

If you are celebrating Ramadan this year,

glitter-graphics.com

It's pretty crunchy out.

We
really
could
use
a
little
rain
around
here.

(Not
a flood...
just
a few
nice
showers.
Thanks.)

The Sunsetfrom my own back yard

Ahhh, home sweet home. The sun setting over the railroad tracks, taken in my back yard tonight. Almost as beautiful as the sunset over the bay I saw down the shore the other night.

Iselin Fair Pizza

I have a special request from a reader, for anyone out there who has the inside scoop...

The Iselin Fair Pizza.... How do they make it?

I could guess.  But I have never actually MADE it, so I don't know the true ingredients.

Homemade dough? or dough bought at a local pizzeria?
Deep fat fried?
What's the secret to the sauce? Is it just plain tomato gravy?
Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top?  Any specific kind?

If you know the true recipe, or any details, please write in so we can share it with everyone else!  Thanks!

Iselin's India Day Parade

I'm sorry... You would think that if I'm trying to represent Iselin, I would have made sure I did a blog post on Iselin's (and Edison's) India Day Parade. It was a huge success, from all accounts!

But... I missed it. I couldn't help myself, I had the opportunity to go away for a few days to the Jersey Shore. But there were some really nice photos on the Woodbridge injersey site, including the one I've posted here.  So if you want to take a look, you can click on the link here:

India Day Parade on August 9th.

I really do hope that next year, I'll be around to take a few good photos myself.

Iselin's Newest Eagle Scout

Today, Troop 523 of Colonia came together with the family and friends of Michael S. DeStasio, to celebrate his Eagle Court of Honor.

 

Michael, a resident of Iselin, has been a Scout in Troop 523 since he crossed over from Cub Scouts in February 2004. (In fact, I can say "I knew him when..." because I was actually his Cub Scout Den Mother!)

Michael has been an incredibly active scout over the last few years, earning 35 merit badges, holding leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, earning many awards and honors, and going on some amazing trips. Just a few of the items that impressed me include:

Religious Award (Ad Altare Dei); Order of the Arrow Ordeal and Brotherhood; Northern Tier High Adventure, Philmont Scout Ranch, and Florida Seabase; 2 Boy Scout Jamboree's; World Conservation Award; and the Mayor's Youth Volunteer Award.
Total Nights of Camping - 149
Hiking and Backpacking - 123 miles
Community Service in Scouting - 192 hours
Canoeing - 62 miles
Summer camps - 7
Stitches - 3

It's hard to know how he finds the time to be so involved in scouting; he is amazingly well-rounded. In addition to Scouting, Mike is also in the National Honor Society at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School, he plays a musical instrument in the school band, and he runs Cross Country and Winter and Spring Track.

Mike will be a Senior this year at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School, and it seems that his future is already well-charted. He is looking to enter the service as an officer. He has been accepted as a candidate for both Annapolis and West Point; according to the speeches at his Court of Honor, it seems that he is leaning towards West Point.

Congratulations, Mike, and best wishes on an AWESOME future! I'm looking forward to visiting you in the White House someday!

Jamming in McBump's Basement!

I had to post this one too. I love this music. You should really check out his youtube channel!

Live forever... from McBump's Basement

I found this on youtube... or should I say, McBump found me. He makes some great music, and he's an Iselin guy.
This isn't a video, it's an audio recording with a still picture. Love it!

A sad day in Iselin

Today, it rained, and clouds filled the sky.
Today, a wake for two of Iselin's most popular and well known residents was held at Costello's Funeral Home on Green Street in Iselin.
The funeral will be tomorrow.
Flo was a lovely, funny, and exceedingly generous lady. She was ill. She will be greatly missed.
Although I didn't know Ralph very well, I had hung out with him once or twice. He was always pleasant and friendly. He was a family man with many friends. He had an accident.
It's a quirk of fate that the family lost two members in the same day, to unrelated causes. I could never imagine what they are going through, but my thoughts and prayers are with them.
In Memory of Florence Maglione ...In Memory of Ralph Maglione