How the state divides HS athletics

OK, I know that we DO NOT acknowledge Central NJ for this documentary when it comes to our "dividing line."

But the state does in many of its classifications. In HS sports it does as well.

I am posting this because it calls into question those people in Somerset, Middlesex and Hunterdon Counties who claim to be from CENTRAL NJ. . . or the "so called" Raritan Valley. Well, for most of you - the state thinks you are NORTH.

The only two counties that fall completely in green (Central) are - Mercer & Monmouth.

The Snow Dividing Line

Looking at the snow map and getting some reports from friends on the ground, below is the snow line today in New Jersey. This was done at noon, so it already has changed an hour and 1/2 later. ANY town that was listed on http://www.weather.com/ as having: snow, wintry mix, sleet or freezing rain was included in the blue. If the weather was listed a just rain for the town in question, it was SOUTH of our snow day dividing. . . and for today - is SOUTH JERSEY.

Hoboken in the snow - 2:30pm

SNL busts on New Jersey . . . again

I have written on this blog how Saturday Night Live has busted on New Jersey before, and we even use a clip of Tina Fey from 2003 swiping a low blow at Atlantic City in our film.

But yesterday, during the last episode of 2008 for SNL, Fred Armisen, dressed up as New York Governor, David Patterson, swiped at New Jersey a couple times:

Now I don't know if this was as low as the previous times, because Paterson is legally blind, a fact SNL exploited during Amy Poehler's farewell:

Does this mean that SNL was actually defending New Jersey, citing that because Paterson is blind - he doesn't really know about the state?

Probably not, as you can see in rough clips from our film below, the only thing that seems to unite New Jerseyans is the disdain Philadelphians and New Yorkers seem to share of us:

Is it any coincidence that Fey is from a Philadelphia suburb and that Armisen is from Long Island? Hmmmmmm . . .

Well, we do give it back to our neighbors for 3 months in the summer time down the shore. I guess it's a symbiotic relationship . . . I guess.

Anyway, you can see more of what New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians think of New Jersey in our film . . . and it looks like the next showing will be in the New Brunswick area - as the voting above indicates!

Band feature: Mike Mullane & the Bayonne Bleeders

If you have read this blog before, chances are that you know about Bennys. Well, Mike Mullane (who is originally from Bayonne . . the "B" in B-E-N-N-Y") was an unlikely source to come up with the unofficial Benny Go Home (BGH) Anthem, I'm a Benny, but the tune has become a staple at the North Jersey Shore. His band, "the Bayonne Bleeders," are coined after the famous Jersey boxer, Chuck Wepner, who famously went all 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali, and even knocked him down in the 9th round (and was the insipration for Rocky). Here is a pic of the band with Wepner:

The band has more to offer than just "Benny" related songs, and one of my favorites is a catchy tune and nice ode to our friends, the Jersey Shore Roller Girls. You can listen to the songs here at their myspace site and Mike has recently re-located from Bayonne to the North Jersey Shore, making his lyrics in Benny's coda prophetic. Listen to the lyrics . . . very clever and funny if you've hung out in Manasquan, Belmar, or Seaside on the summer weekends. I definitely know a guy who got rid of his rear car seats to put in speakers and, yeah, he was a Benny.

Band profile: Lifeguard Nights

This was a fun band that I happened upon . . . party because of their name. Formerly known as the "South Jersey Seashore Lifeguard Convention Band" (SJSLCB) and now "Lifeguard Nights" the band describes themselves as such: "If Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention procreated with Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band and raised their child on Indie Rock, Lifeguard Nights would be that child."

I still have issues with what lead singer, Vincent Brue, considers to be South Jersey, but they have deep roots in the state and I'm glad I found them. We used an older song from theirs, "Sandbox" over our South Jersey montage in the film. I am working with the editor to even feature their new song, "Unrequited Love" in the credits which you can listen to here. Check out their website: http://www.thelifeguardband.com/ . . also look into their myspace site and facebook fan sites. Here are some notable videos; the bottom video parodies a very famous Van Halen music vid. I also hear they put on fun live shows . . . and you can see why below: