Writer Will Stape watched the original STARTREK series on a black & white TV back when he was a kid and the experience left a colorful imprint in his psyche that later inspired him to write two STARTREK episodes, the STARTREKESSAYS eBook and his new eBook STARTREKSEX.
“I can remember being 3 or 4 watching STAR TREK and my little 3 year-old brain is thinking, what is this?†Stape says. “That was a little fate. It was imprinted on my brain and it was speaking to me. I always wanted to explore. I never wanted to be a pirate, I was into comic books. I’m a total Geek.â€
Years after writing two scripts for STAR TREK that were turned into episodes, Stape was listening to a sexy STAR TREK bit on THEHOWARDSTERNSHOW on Sirius XM Radio and it hit him that sexually-charged situations like inter-species sex; bondage, and S&M ran rampant through the plot lines and sometimes between the lines. So he did his research and in just two months, Stape wrote his second eBook STARTREKSEX, where he highlights, analyzes and sometime chuckles at alien couplings and other Sci-Fi sex play. Continue reading STAR TREK SEX Will Stape of Bayonne Goes Where No Writer Has Gone Before→
Chef Rob Burmeister Far right Chef Rob Burmeister on the Food Networks CUTTHROAT KITCHEN
A foodie with a gutsy attitude, Chef Rob Burmeister of Staten Island won the competition on a recent episode of CUTTHROATKITCHEN on the Food Network when he made New England clam chowder with whipped cream and cognac. Not many chefs could stand up to the challenge, but Chef Rob’s signature cooking style – “international fusion with a hint of American comfort†suggests his versatility as a chef and now with a taste of stardom on his lips, Chef Rob hungers for his own reality TV food show.
No side dish, Chef Rob has been featured on CHOPPED, RESTAURANTSTAKEOUT, THENEXTPORKPERSONALITYwithGUYFIERI, and STATEN ISLANDCAKES. He also does the Tuesday night podcast CHEWINGTHEFATWITHBIGANDBEEFY with co-host Clemenza Caserta, Jr. who was featured on Season 10 of HELL’SKITCHEN with Chef Gordon Ramsey. (Tuesday nights on Blogtalkradio.com/thewackonetwork, 7-9 pm.)
 Saturday, March 1st at 8pm plus Thurs, Mar. 6 at 7 pm; Fri and Sat, Mar. 7 and 8 at 8 pm; and, Sun, Mar. 9 at 3 pm
Benjamin Holmes plays Randle P. Mc Murphy
 By Sally Deering
Ms. Hank Morris plays Nurse Ratched
 Ken Kesey’s book ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST was a great book that became an even better stage play when Dale Wasserman adapted it for the theater. Jack Nicholson starred in the movie version and it still resonates decades later. ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ tells the story of Randle P. McMurphy, a free-spirited hooligan who thinks he outsmarts prison officials by acting a little nuts and getting sent to a mental institution to serve his time instead of prison McMurphy becomes the hero to a ward of misfits and it doesn’t take long before he locks horns with the ward’s nurse-in-charge, Nurse Ratched, a no-nonsense control freak who runs her patients’ lives with an iron fist and a cold, hardened heart.
This terrific stage classic gets a revival this week when the Attic Ensemble presents ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST for six performances, Fri, Feb. 28 through Sun, Mar. 9, at the Barrow Mansion in Jersey City. The play is directed by George Seylaz and features Sly Augustus, Ryan Bender, Luke M. Blanchard, Ron Leir, Richard Bull, Art Delo, Colin Goodwin, Melissa Harlow, John L’Ecuver, Crystal Schenck, Andre Urban, Ray Velasquez, Catriona Rubenis-Stevens and Brendan Wahlers. (Ms.) Hank Morris plays Nurse Ratched and Benjamin Holmes plays McMurphy. Continue reading WHAT, ME CRAZY? Attic Ensemble Presents Classic ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST→
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop at Jersey City’s State of the City Address Photo by Al Sullivan
“I am proud to announce that in 2014, we will introduce a budget with a tax reduction and flexibility for the Council.†That was one of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop’s final lines in his State of the City address Thursday night, when he addressed not only the progress of the city on various fronts since he took office last July but also how it is going forward in the upcoming year. But Fulop was more detailed about other accomplishments and goals while speaking in front of over 400 people inside the McMahon Student Center on the campus of Saint Peter’s University.
He spent time talking about how the city’s consolidation of the Fire and Police departments into the recently-formed Public Safety Department enabled the city to save money to hire 26 more firefighters and 34 more cops, and how the additional cop manpower along with the employment of various crime-fighting initiatives will help the police bring crime down by double-digits by the end of this year.
He then said coming this Monday, the city will launch a reentry program for ex-offenders that will provide treatment, housing options, and job opportunities with the goal of reducing recidivism for ex-offenders by over 30 percent from the current average for those residing in Hudson County. This effort was described by Fulop as being in sync with his Marine training.
All Saints Catholic Academy takes the win over the undefeated Nicholas Oresko Jaguars at the Bayonne City Grammar School Championship on Tuesday night in front of a packed house at Bayonne High School.
In Hoboken, on the 4th floor of the Neumann building on Observer Highway, Aart Markenstein tunes some of the most beautiful and unique pianos ever made. During his career as a professional piano tuner, Markenstein has kept the pianos of some of the world’s greatest music legends in tune. Taught by a master tuner – like Luke Skywalker learning from Yoda how to become a Jedi – Markenstein’s tunings have been considered “perfection†by music professionals.
Markenstein has worked with music legends including Beyonce, U2, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Tony Bennett, Cher, The Eagles, K.D. Lang, Cyndi Lauper, the Black Crowes, Aerosmith, James Taylor, Ringo Starr, Chuck Berry – and so many more. He tuned the keyboards for Aretha Franklin’s performance at the 53rd Inaugural Ball and when Bob Dylan played in Hoboken last year, Markenstein tuned his piano, too.
Markenstein owns his own business Aart in America Piano Company in Hoboken and his office is a large space filled with an array of pianos from a Steinway Grand to a small upright brought to Markenstein for repairs by a member of John Mellencamp’s band. Aart in America is a full-service piano company where Markenstein repairs and rents out pianos and if you’re a lucky visitor, he might even play a tune because not only is Markenstein an accomplished tuner, he’s a stellar musician.
On the HBO award-winning TV series THESOPRANOS (1999-2007), it was easy to like Vincent Curatola character Johnny Sack Sacramoni, a mobster who worshipped his heavyset wife. Sure, Curatola’s character was a cold-blooded killer, and he was scary to watch, but there was always a touch of humor, especially when he had to endure wisecracks about his wife’s weight. Curatola was so convincing that when Johnny Sack winced at a fat joke, the viewers did, too.
Vincent Curatola
Vincent Curatola as” Johnny Sack” Sacramoni from the HBO hit series THE SOPRANOS photo HBO publicity photo
Vincent Curatola at the Premiere of “Killing Them Softly” with Brad Pitt the late James Gandolfini
Vincent Curatola and the late actor James Gandolfini in a scene from the hit HBO series THE SOPRANOS
A Jersey guy, Curatola grew up in Englewood, a residential community just north of the George Washington Bridge. According to his website, VincentCuratola.com he always had the acting bug, and his wife, Maureen, encouraged him to take classes soon after Curatola brought Johnny Sack to life.
In the seven years since the show ended, Curatola has made a few movies, appeared on several TV shows, and taught acting in New York. He recently taped five episodes as an exasperated judge on the CBS hit show THE GOOD WIFE starring Julianna Margolis. Has it been difficult for Curatola to reinvent himself after eight years in a hit series? Do all roles pale in comparison to Johnny Sack?
On a recent afternoon,Mr. Curatola took time from his busy schedule to speak to RiverViewObserver about what it’s like to continue his career after THE SOPRANOS.
RVO: Mr. Curatola, can you tell us a little about your background; where you grew up?
VC: I was born and raised in Englewood and I had a unique paper route on the block I lived on. My customers were Tony Bennett, Jerry Vale, Wilson Pickett, Lesley Gore, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sarah Vaughn. I used to deliver The Record. My father had a masonry business, and I started one on my own in the mid-1970s, but I had fantasies (about acting). So I went to study with Michael Moriarty.
 RVO: Did you do much acting before being cast in THE SOPRANOS?
VC: Michael got me on LAW & ORDER, and I wrote a one-act play about a funeral guy called DEARLY BELOVED. I also did the show EXILED.
Make the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games your reality—without leaving the Tri-State—by celebrating at Newport Skates, the only outdoor, uncovered skating rink in Jersey City.
On February 15th Newport Skates will be presenting a special performance featuring two-time Olympic Bronze medalists John and Sinead Kerr (who some might recognize from their appearances on Glee too)! The talented Olympian siblings, who trained in New Jersey, will be performing several, exclusively choreographed ice dances, along with an ensemble of national and international figure skating champions from Ice Theatre of New York.
 Celebrations continue in Newport as the games go on at Sochi too. Newport Skates has an on-going line-up of special activities, games and prizes through February 23rd, including Frisbee curling and a medal count competition!
   By Sally Deering     Photo of John Gomez by Bob Foster, Hoboken Historical SocietyÂ
Published as part of the new Arcadia Publishing imprint Legendary Locals, John Gomez’s book LEGENDARY LOCALS OF JERSEY CITY shines new light on the people of Jersey City, past and present who stand out in the crowd. LEGENDARY LOCALS OF JERSEY CITY (Arcadia Publishing; 128 pgs.; $21.99, soft cover😉 focuses on Jersey City’s Who’s Who and “Who Wasâ€
At first, when Gomez, who is also the founder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy was approached by Arcadia Publishing to do the book, he was reluctant.
“I write about buildings,†Gomez says. “I’m an architectural historian, but then I thought we can’t have buildings without the people in them, so I agreed. I had a list of 500 people and had to shrink it to 150.â€
Gomez decided to include information in the book that people who are historians would not necessarily know. To accomplish this required a lot of research, he says, and when he decided to add Jersey City Mayor Frank “Boss†Hague to the list, he came across surprising tidbits like the time Hague had a run-in with Russian communist Leon Trotsky in Journal Square. Hague, who was anti-Communist, learned Trotsky was to make an appearance in Journal Square to recruit communists and Hague was there to kick him out. Continue reading Legendary Locals of Jersey City-Book by John Gomez Shines New Light on The City’s Movers and Shakers→
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