Months After Hurricane Sandy, The Shore Remains In Disarray

These photos were taken during a recent visit to the New Jersey seaside resort town of Point Pleasant. Towns at the Jersey Shore continue to rebuild and recover from the damage that was inflicted by Hurricane Sandy, in Fall of 2012. Although,the sand has been removed from the streets and the water damage has been cleaned up,the scars of the devastation continue to remain present.

 Bulldozers are being utilized to push sand, back into its rightful place. Large machinery has been comissioned to sift through the piles of sand for debris.

 Besides being extremely cold, I could not bring myself to smile during this visit to the beach. The destruction of the boardwalk is very discouraging to those of us whose childhood memories are solidly entrenched in the Jersey Shore.

New regulations determined by the Federal government and FEMA, will aid in determining how houses should be rebuilt, as well as what areas are now designated as flood zones.

Songs For The Emergence Of Spring

Even though the Northeast continues to be plagued by unseasonably cold weather,the tender buds of tulips have started to sprout.It is the perfect time to reflect upon some of the new music that is being released in time to create the perfect Spring soundtrack.

Indie rock is leading the pack, with strong new releases in time for South by Southwest. One of the most notable gems is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Sacrilege.Sacrilege is the lead track off the upcoming album Mosquito.The group with front woman Karen O,have been somewhat absent from the music scene since the 2009 release of the extraordinary album, It's Blitz. Although,their New York appearance recently sold out in record time, Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be performing in Delaware at the Firefly Festival. 


Drake proves that he is much more than a former Canadian teen television star with the a song that is one of the most authentic portrayals of how a rapper can ascend from normalcy to fame in Started From The Bottom.Besides possessing a catchy hook and extremely danceable beats,Started From The Bottom forces listeners to confront the slightly novel feeling of empathy,for Drake.Although,the lyrics can come off as being consistent with normal hip hop swagger,Drake raps them with a naivete that would seem contrived if performed by any of his contemporaries.




 KPOP group B.A.P evokes the signature yacht rap of nineties era Bad Boy Entertainment in their video for One Shot.B.A.P has perfected a harder hip hop sound,yet mixes this with the light vocals consistent with KPOP.Although, they are influenced by their predecessors such as the mega group BIGBANG,B.A.P incorporates elements of African American stepping to authenticate their presence in the scene.Besides,B.A.P makes way more believable gangsters than the members of BIGBANG, TOP excluded.