B.D. Lenz in Princeton This Weekend

Hey, B.D. Lenz fans . . . B.D. will be appearing at two venues in Princeton this weekend. On Saturday, September 3, contemporary jazz guitarist B.D. Lenz and his trio will be performing at Small World Coffee from 8:30 to 10:30 pm. On Sunday, September 4, they will be on the Green at Palmer Square from 1 to 3 pm.

Irene, Goodnight

Another Hurricane Irene Update

No sign yet of cleanup activity on the property, other than what homeowners are doing themselves.

Hurricane Irene Update

Power is out in parts of Princeton Landing. PSE&G is saying it may be several days before service is restored. In parts of the community that still have power, residents report that Comcast cable and Internet service is also out, and there's no estimate of when it will resume. So, if you're in Princeton Landing, how can you be reading this?

The Hurricane

by William Carlos Williams

The tree lay down
on the garage roof
and stretched, You
have your heaven,
it said, go to it.

Tracking Hurricane Irene

Our map is updated as information becomes available from NOAA. (Public Advisory Number 31, Saturday, 8/27/11, 11 pm)

The map below, published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, gives an idea of where Hurricane Irene is headed in the next few days. Click on the map to enlarge. Click here for the National Weather Service Alert for Middlesex County. Click here for the NJ Office of Emergency Management.

Hurricane Irene Headed Our Way

Photo: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

This visible image of Hurricane Irene was taken today at 1:40 pm EDT from the GOES-13 satellite. The extent of Irene's 600-mile-wide cloud cover can be seen covering about a third of the U.S. East Coast.

Did You Feel the Earthquake?

U.S. Geological Survey

Okay, we know that at any given moment in Princeton Landing someone could be walking on your roof unannounced. Add to that the fact that an enormous car carrier was making rounds on the Loop Road this morning shaking things up. So how's a Princeton Landing resident to know what's going on when everything in your house starts to rattle?

Well, reports are coming in to The Washington Post that an earthquake was just felt in Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland. The U.S Geological Survey said an earthquake of a 5.9 magnitude hit Virginia, about 41 miles northwest of Richmond.

Provincetown Art Guide & Provincetown Insider

We'd like to pass along a tip for our readers who may be traveling to outer Cape Cod late this summer or fall. Be sure to pick up Provincetown Art Guide and Provincetown Insider. Both of these free guides, pictured below, are available in Provincetown and throughout the Cape. Provincetown Art Guide, published annually, lists the galleries, artists, artisans, museums and theatres in Provincetown. Provincetown Insider, published for the first time this year, tells you "where to shop, play, eat & stay." My lifelong friend, artist Patricia Zur, publishes, art directs and edits these beautiful books. Patricia's love of Provincetown and her mission "to present Provincetown as the artistically inspiring, unique, beautiful, culturally rich, accepting and diverse place that it truly is" come through loud and clear in these stunning guides.

Waking Up in Princeton Landing

Residents were greeted this morning with vandalism along the Loop Road. While certain members (and a former member) of the Board seem to think it's important to hold secret meetings to write voting policy designed to benefit their own election, the community is experiencing changes that are not for the better. Fortunately, by the time you read this, much of the damage will be cleaned up by nearby residents. But the question remains, what is the Board doing to address attacks like this on the quality of life in our community?

Butterfly Festival at the Watershed Reserve

This Saturday, August 13, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association will hold its 11th annual Butterfly Festival & Green Fair at the Watershed Reserve.

The festival is an event the entire family can enjoy. There will be naturalist-guided tours of the Kate Gorrie Butterfly House, nature hikes, live entertainment, children's activities, and a variety of demonstrations and exhibits about the environment. Food from local vendors will be available.

There will also be a Butterfly Costume & Hat Parade, open to both children and adults. To participate, you must sign up at the festival's information booth between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm. The parade will begin at the main stage at 12:45 pm.

Admission is $5 per person or $15 per carload. Become a new member of the Watershed Association at the Butterfly Festival and get in for free. Parking is provided across from the Watershed Association courtesy of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Shuttles will be provided from the parking area to the festival; no pedestrian travel is permitted between the parking garage and the Watershed Reserve. No pets allowed. Click here for more information.

The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association is located at 31 Titus Mill Road in Pennington. Click here for directions.

Summer Courtyard Concerts Extended

Summer Courtyard Concerts at Princeton Shopping Center held Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm have been extended through August 25.

Tonight singer, songwriter and pianist Sandy Zio will perform. Her CD All That I Am, combining soft rock/pop, country and jazz, debuted to very favorable reviews of both her strong voice and great songwriting skill.

Princeton Shopping Center is located at 301 North Harrison Street in Princeton Township. The concerts are free and ample free parking is available. For more information, visit the Princeton Shopping Center website. Don't forget to bring lawn chairs or blankets!

Philip Levine — New Poet Laureate

Today the Library of Congress named Philip Levine the new poet laureate of the United States, succeeding W.S. Merwin. In this video Levine talks about his neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights, and his admiration for Brooklyn's Walt Whitman.

Monday Blues Jazz at Forrestal Village

On Wednesday, August 10, from 5 to 7 pm the Monday Blues Jazz Orchestra will appear at Forrestal Village as part of its summer concert series. The Monday Blues Jazz Orchestra was founded in the late 1960s by employees of RCA's Astro-Electronics satellite division in East Windsor. It performs a mix of sounds comprised of classic big band jazz, popular standards, modern hits, favorites from the Great American Songbook, rock, R&B and pop.

Within walking distance for Princeton Landing residents, Forrestal Village is located off Route 1 South and College Road West. Sponsored by the Arts Council of Princeton and Princeton Forrestal Village, the summer concerts are held in the main courtyard at Forrestal Village every other Wednesday from June 15 to August 24. Admission is free and free parking is available.

Bed in Summer

by Robert Louis Stevenson

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer, quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

Illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith from A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1905.

B.D. Lenz at Halo Pub

Contemporary jazz guitarist B.D. Lenz and his band will be performing at Halo Pub on Saturday, August 6, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

Halo Pub is located at 9 Hulfish Street in Princeton.

Gary Russo of Local 40 Gives Back

The New York Post is reporting a great story today. Have you seen it?

Gary Russo, a Local 40 ironworker from Queens, sings the songs of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin during his 30-minute lunch break. Gary is an MTA construction worker stationed at the never-ending $4 billion Second Avenue Subway project, which has Upper East Siders delirious from the noise of jackhammers. Gary says it's his way of giving back for the inconvenience.

Here is Gary Russo singing Frank Sinatra's "The Summer Wind"—just another reason I miss working in Manhattan.

Swiss National Day

August 1 is to the Swiss what July 4 is to Americans and July 14 is to the French. The Swiss celebrate their national day today because on August 1, 1291, three Alpine cantons—Schwyz, Unterwalden and Uri—swore the oath of confederation, an act which later came to be regarded as the founding of Switzerland. Fireworks are a highpoint of the celebrations, just as they are in the United States, but in recent years an alternative celebration has been gaining in popularity—brunch on the farm. The idea was launched in 1993, as an initiative by the Swiss Farmers' Association. Visitors are served fresh farm produce and get to see something of farmers' lives. In 2005 about 430 farms took part, serving brunch to about 200,000 people.

Switzerland has been our second home and there is no place we'd rather be on August 1 than with our dear Swiss friends. That isn't possible this year, so we'll make do with some warm memories of an August 1 celebration we enjoyed a few years ago on a wonderful Swiss farm.

Fireworks photo: © swissinfo / Christoph Balsiger