Is That All There Is?

So the Star-Ledger, trying desperately to regroup and hang on, comes out with its'"new and improved" version Tuesday. And after all the mock anticipation, what do we get?

A rip-off of USA Today! Arrrrggghhhhhhhhhhhh! Honestly, even the use of color seems "borrowed" from the free staple of hotel rooms and lobbies all across the country. The basic page layout system in particular seems a clear steal.

Plus there was a a column by its chief editorial thug and would-be tough guy, Paul Mulshine, dumping on internet journalists and bloggers. Yes, Paul, your stuff is the "real thing" because a)you're from Jersey and b)as you've told us a thousand times, you surf. Good, why not try doing it in Peru for the next several years?

The death watch perforce continues. The very last stages, I'm now betting, will neither be pretty nor fun to watch.

And the most nettling thing for me about New Jersey's largest daily newspaper remains that the Ledger still cannot distinguish properly between its and it's.

 Next time...

A look at a seeming new trend in Jersey restaurants, one I could easily get behind. But let me say this now as summer fades: both restaurant-wise and from the supermarkets, it's proved an awful summer for Jersey tomatoes, which are supposedly our pride and glory. I have yet to order a sandwich in a deli or at a diner, or to have a salad in a full-service restaurant in this state, that actually smacked of summer. Instead, they've all reminded of hothouses. Once, a long, long time ago in a biker bar frequented by the North Jersey chapter of the Pagan's (sic) MC (special regards to Gunner & Truck!), I had real, luscious Jersey tomatoes on my grilled cheese sandwichyes and burgers. Since then  - and again, it's been a long, long time  - the incidence of tasty, juicy tomatoes grown in-state has been rare indeed.

Have a grand weekend, all, too.