Archive for the ‘railroad’ Category
shines thinly
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Early will your humble narrator be rising today, with intentions of loitering about the neighborhood for an extended period. It’s been a few weeks since my last merry perambulation carried me across the Pentacle and I look forward to where my feet may take me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Supernal glories abound, sights to see and inventory. Queens is calling.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, that thing which cannot possibly exist at the cupola of the Sapphire Megalith in Long Island City will be watching. What’s a Saturday without a sense of latent menace and paranoia, after all?
day’s gropings
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the bizarre world which your humble narrator inhabits, a Christmas Eve post is as good a time as any to expand on a little enigma which has been bugging me. As you all well know by now, the long walks around the pentacle often offer bizarre or odd details which torment and tantalize ones imagination. On a recent perambulation, I noticed yet another one of the single shoes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My curse is to notice things like this. For much of 2012, I have been observing shoes- always singular, never in pairs- discarded along my route. Once or twice, I’ve seen multiple examples of castoff footwear, but even then- orphaned individuals rather than matched sets.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shots above were gathered at 43rd street, off Northern Blvd. in Queens. Satisfied that I had documented this oddity, I continued on my path to a destination down in Long Island City. In accordance with habit, I found a moment to photograph and add to my library a few shots of the Megalith. Walking along Skillman Avenue, I was scanning the ground for more shoes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was around 36th street and Skillman that it occurred to me, suddenly, that I should look up. What did I spy, with my little eye?
Have a merry one lords and ladies.
ancient idol
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Skillman Avenue in Queens is one of the thoroughfares via which pedestrian transits are accomplished between the blessed hillocks of Astoria and the lamentable post industrial flats surrounding the Newtown Creek. It is all downhill from here, your humble narrator often tells people, but at least there is some spectacular scenery along the route. To wit, the Sunnyside Yards.
Mayan Apocalypse Countdown: just 9 days left until the 13th b’ak’tun ends, initiating the Mayan Apocalypse on December 21st. Tick, tock.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Illegal dumping is an art form here in Queens, with scatter dash arrangements of discarded goods lining both fence and wall. An odd thing I’ve noticed over the last few years is the presence of discarded single shoes. I’d be able to look over a pair of shoes, but everywhere I go these days, I’m seeing single shoes. That is weird, and there’s a story behind it, I am sure. It will likely involve a serial killer, I think.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This beautiful bit of detritus, arranged upon the old iron fence of the rail yard, has obviously been in place for a long time. Many questions occur to me, regarding it, but like many of the things which Queens wishes to have noticed- there will never be an answer. Queens is like that.
boisterous company
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All ‘effed up. Only way to describe it. Often, a feeling will come over me, a sensation that my shirt is too tight or an odd itch will manifest deep in my ear- far beyond the reach of common probes. Annoyance sets in, with every mundane happenstance somehow confirming that “this is not my day”. In these moments of pique, I reach for the camera and head out the door, much to the puzzlement of my little dog who worries that it might have been she that upset me. It’s the psychological equivalent of hay fever, not unlike the sensational annoyance of a nose which drips uncontrollably. Luckily, I live within walking distance of more than one interesting place.
from wikipedia
Mucophagy is feeding on mucus of fishes or invertebrates. It may also refer to consumption of mucus or dried mucus in primates.
There are mucophagous parasites, such as some sea lice that attach themselves to gill segments of fish.
Mucophages may serve as cleaners of other animals.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The headphones are in before the portal to the human hive is crossed, and when angered or annoyed, the tunes are as well. Normally, one enjoys the company of an audiobook or the extensive list of podcasts to which I am subscribed, but on days like the foggy one on which these shots were captured – it’s Husker Du. For those of you unfamiliar, the seminal hardcore trio from Minneapolis produced some of the finest punk albums of the 1980’s, and their masterpiece is something called Zen Arcade. The double album, which is meaningless term in the age of digital music, reminds me of those days when a young narrator was capable of a dizzying number of emotions rather than the three or four I’ve been reduced to in my increasing dotage.
from wikipedia
Common features of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) include excessive, often persistent anger, frequent temper tantrums or angry outbursts, as well as disregard for authority. Children and adolescents with ODD often purposely annoy others, blame others for their own mistakes, and are easily disturbed. Parents often observe more rigid and irritable behaviors than in siblings. In addition, these young people may appear resentful of others and when someone does something they don’t like they prefer taking revenge more than sensitive solutions.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Joking to myself that there might be things moving about in the fog, a reference to another bit of 1980’s pop culture, my plodding steps led me- as always down toward Newtown Creek and in the direction of the LIRR station. Can’t tell you why, but this spot is thrilling to me. Something about the trains moving along at grade level, so close you can touch them, and feeling (rather than hearing) the titan engines of these locomotives go by just electrifies- it feels as if a strong cup of coffee has just been injected intravenously.
from wikipedia
Caffeine overdose can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called caffeine intoxication (DSM-IV 305.90), or colloquially the “caffeine jitters”. The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are comparable to the symptoms of overdoses of other stimulants: they may include restlessness, fidgeting, anxiety, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation. In cases of much larger overdoses, mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations, or psychosis may occur, and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue) can be provoked.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, the conspirators who plot against Queens in their Manhattan offices would like to see this solace taken away from me, and would love nothing more than to deck over these tracks and install bland real estate. The masters they serve, and that thing which cannot possibly exist in the cupola of the sapphire Megalith is one of them, know that my joy is something to be crushed and will do whatever they can to see me cry. Next, they’ll take away my right to listen to loud thirty year old punk and take photos of stuff. Bastards!
I’m all ‘effed up.
from wikipedia
Grandiose delusions (GD) or delusions of grandeur is principally a subtype of delusional disorder that occurs in patients suffering from a wide range of mental illnesses, including two-thirds of patients in manic state of bipolar disorder, half of those with schizophrenia and a substantial portion of those with substance abuse disorders. GD are characterized by fantastical beliefs that one is famous, omnipotent, wealthy, or otherwise very powerful. The delusions are generally fantastic and typically have a supernatural, science-fictional, or religious theme. There is a relative lack of research into GD, in comparison to persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations. About 10% of healthy people experience grandiose thoughts but do not meet full criteria for a diagnosis of GD.
Also- Upcoming Newtown Creek tours and events:
for more information on the October 27th Newtown Creek Boat Tour, click here
for more information on the November 9th Newtown Creek Magic Lantern Show, click here
for an expanded description of the November 11th Newtown Creek tour, please click here
nature and position
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Shenanigans continue on the weekends, here in the heart of the perennial “next big thing” known to most as Long island City. When the “next big thing” term originally applied, in 1909, it actually was true and a vast industrial city sprang forth from amongst scattered mills and swamps overlaid with rail tracks. That whole thing lasted around twenty or thirty years, whereupon the neighborhood began a long and slow decline. In the late 1980’s, LIC became the “next soho” and then in the late 90’s the “next DUMBO”, and of late the “next Williamsburg”. Problem is that these days, it’s just kind of difficult to get around the place without a car, which is ironic, as this is where all the trains are headed.
from mta.info
Work Completed
Court Sq Station was closed for ten weeks between January and April. During the time the station was closed, we replaced the Manhattan-bound and Flushing-bound platforms and windscreens (platform walls), installed ADA accessible boarding areas, tactile warning strips, and signage. In addition, new track and platform to mezzanine stairways were installed and the station’s mezzanine and columns on station platforms were painted.
At Hunters Point Av, during an 11-month construction project we installed new column and wall tiles, a floor in the mezzanine, new railings and stainless steel handrails and light fixtures above stairs. In addition, we refurbished the street and platform stairs, painted the mezzanine, platform and track ceilings and repaired structural steel above the platforms and tracks. Also, water leaks were sealed and the public address system was modified.
A six-month station improvement project at Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av resulted in repairing/replacing station column and wall tiles; repairing platform surfaces and platform edge concrete; and repairing and painting platform and track ceilings. Station lighting and platform drainage was upgraded, and tactile ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) warning strips and new rubbing boards (edge of platform) were installed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
They just love to mess around with us on the weekends, don’t they? Turn off entire subway lines while running the buses on weekend schedules. Just a few weeks ago, signal problems on the R and N tracks also shut down the G, F, and E- all this on the same day that 7 service was closed for maintenance. This put western Queens in quite a pickle, except for those who ride bicycles or drive cars.
from wikipedia
Long Island City is served by the elevated BMT Astoria Line (N Q trains) and IRT Flushing Line (7 ; trains) of the New York City Subway. It is also served by the underground IND 63rd Street Line (F train), IND Queens Boulevard Line (E F M R trains) and IND Crosstown Line (G train). The Long Island City and Hunterspoint Avenue stations of the Long Island Rail Road are here, and a commuter ferry service operated by NY Waterway at the East River Wharf. Cars enter by way of the Queensboro Bridge, the Queens Midtown Tunnel and the Pulaski Bridge. The Roosevelt Island Bridge also connects Long Island City to Roosevelt Island. Queens Boulevard, Northern Boulevard (New York 25A) and the Long Island Expressway all pass through the area.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The “next big thing”, you have to understand, is the concentrating point of transportation infrastructure on western Long Island. The Long Island Expressway terminates at the Midtown Tunnel, and the various rail tunnels peppered about this ancient city are the choke point for subway, LIRR, and Amtrak service into and out of Manhattan. Losing any one piece of the system is massively disruptive, especially when it becomes a multi month affair as it was in the first quarter of 2012. Luckily, we are about to enjoy another protracted period of transit outages in 2013, and your humble narrator has grown quite used to walking.
from wikipedia
The Steinway Tunnel carries the 7 ; trains of the New York City Subway under the East River between 42nd Street in Manhattan and 51st Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, in New York City. It was originally designed and built as an interurban trolley tunnel (hence the narrow loading gauge and height), with stations near the 7 ; trains’ current Hunters Point Avenue and Grand Central stations. It is named for William Steinway, who was a major promoter of its construction, although he died in 1896 before it was completed.
Also- Upcoming Newtown Creek tours and events:
for more information on the October 27th Newtown Creek Boat Tour, click here
for more information on the November 9th Newtown Creek Magic Lantern Show, click here
for an expanded description of the November 11th Newtown Creek tour, please click here
The Newtown Pentacle 