A nice little bakery in New Jersey

When I was a little girl and we lived in New York (Brooklyn, then Queens, then Staten Island), when you went to someone's house, you never showed up empty-handed. More often than not, you showed up with a cake or a nice box of cookies. From the bakery, not the grocery store. A beautiful box of cookies from the bakery a few blocks away. There was always a bakery a few blocks away.

My Auntie Betty, the most wonderful and kind-hearted human being that ever existed on this planet, who lived in the same apartment in Woodside, Queens, for the entire 26 years I knew her before she died at age 84, bought cookies from such a bakery whenever she knew my sister and I were coming to visit. Bowtie cookies sprinked with sugar in a white box tied with string. At Auntie Betty's, we had tea with milk and bowtie cookies. That's just how it was.

Of course, in those days, bakeries were plentiful. People did not get their birthday cakes from Sam's Club or Costco. They were not mass produced in some warehouse-y type environment. They were made by a baker at the back of a store on a street just a few blocks from where you lived. You took a number when you went inside, and you picked the cake or cookies or muffins or cupcakes you wanted. You got them in a white box lined with wax paper and tied with string.

There are not many of those bakeries around today. Today people think Entenmann's is a quality baked good. Today you go to the bakery counter in Super Fresh at the last minute and grab a nice-enough cake from the counter and have them write, "Happy Birthday, Aunt Sylvia" on the cake in pink icing. 

There are still a few old-fashioned bakeries around, though. When I first moved to New Jersey with the kids, I was living at my parents' house for a year, and when I mentioned to a friend what route I took for my somewhat lengthy commute from Monmouth to Mercer County, she said, "Oh, you pass by Mendokers'. You have to go there." So, one day, while driving through Jamesburg, that is just what I did. I stopped in at this amazing place, totally unassuming from the outside, and got an eyeful: glass cases of fruit tarts with kiwis, black-and-white cookies, strawberry shortcakes, chocolate mousse cakes about a foot high, cupcakes with Cookie Monster and Elmo and The Little Mermaid, huge cranberry muffins, every kind of cookie you'd ever want, and so much more. 

That morning, I got myself a coffee (79 cents no matter what size, and they put the milk in for you; take THAT, Starbucks) and a box of "nice" cookies to put out for my department. You know the kind of cookies I mean: the green and pink ones shaped like leaves with the chocolate centers, the chocolate lace cookies, the ones shaped like pretzels with sprinkles on them (particularly loved by Bill in the Web group). Everyone wanted to know where I got the great cookies. Since I passed the place every day, I made a point of stopping every now and again to get a nice box of cookies for my co-workers, and they never lasted long.

I have since moved closer to my job and no longer pass Mendokers' on a regular basis, but stop by with my kids now and again, and when I am going to see people with little kids who might like a cupcake decorated with a character from the movie Cars. Today, however, is Mother's Day and yesterday was my son's birthday (he is at his dad's this weekend), and on my way back from having breakfast with my mom in Monmouth County, I decided to stop off at Mendokers' and get my son a birthday cake. The place was filled with people getting beautiful items for Mother's Day, and while I was there a delivery man came with flowers for one of the women who worked behind the counter. A very nice scene, all in all. 

So I got my son a nice chocolate-and-vanilla-checkerboard cake, and because of the design on the top, they put a nice large chocolate slab in it with his Happy Birthday message. And a coffee, and a beautiful twist with strawberry preserves on it for me, and a box of candles. I was expecting to pay about $40.00 for all this, and the total came to $22.06. All that for $22.06, and I got to see the lady in the red apron behind the counter joyfully receive her Mother's Day bouquet. A bargain.

So if you are in or around central Jersey and want a treat, please stop at Mendokers' Quality Bakery. It's on the block by the railroad tracks right in downtown Jamesburg (all quarter-mile of it!). Make sure there is lots of room in the trunk; you will want to stock up on lots of wonderful treats.

Mendokers' Quality Bakery

34 West Railroad Avenue

Jamesburg, NJ 08831

(732) 521-0056

Love to all, and Happy Mother's Day!

Dunkin' Donuts employee nabbed for hidden camera in ladies' room

Okay, so this guy likes to watch videos of women peeing and pooping on his laptop. I suppose something's missing in his life that this gives him a thrill, but whatever. 

I have read enough of these stories that I am somewhat uncomfortable using a women's restroom at this point. My mother once told me she is very mindful of these weirdos and does not like to use public bathrooms. Anyway, what kind of weirdo wants to watch a woman urinating or wiping her bottom? There's something really wrong and scary about this. 

At least I always wash my hands. Nobody's ever gonna catch me on film not washing my hands. Nasty, though, eh?

Dunkin' Donuts employee nabbed for hidden bathroom camera

By Jennifer Maloney | jennifer.maloney@newsday.com

9:50 PM EDT, May 4, 2008

A Kings Park, Suffolk County, New York, Dunkin' Donuts employee was arrested for hiding a wireless surveillance camera in the women's bathroom and watching the images on his laptop computer, police said.

Danish Qureshi, 25, of Hungtington Station, concealed a wireless pinhole camera in a fake smoke detector on the bathroom ceiling, police said.

Qureshi's surveillance system was discovered inadvertently by a neighbor with a similar system in his home, police said.

The neighbor was adjusting his surveillance camera and unplugged it. When he plugged it in again, he intercepted an image of the ladies' room at the Dunkin' Donuts, which is behind his house, said Suffolk police Det. Sgt. Richard Matero.

Apparently the systems operated on the same frequency and anyone within a 150-foot radius could pick up the video feed, Matero said.

The neighbor called police at 10:02 p.m. Police arrived at the store about 20 minutes later and found Qureshi, who was working at the time, sitting in the parking lot in his green 1998 Nissan Pathfinder, with the camera and a laptop in his lap, Matero said. He had removed the camera from the bathroom, Matero said.

Police have not determined when Qureshi installed the camera, Matero said. Police believe he watched the images from his car, he said.

Qureshi was charged with second degree unlawful surveillance, a Class E felony. He was arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Central Islip, and was released on $7,500 bail. He could not be reached Sunday night.

Qureshi was fired immediately, according to a Dunkin' Donuts statement. "This is one aberrant act committed by a store employee using poor judgment," the statement said.

Well, this isn't too good

This unfortunate Taiwanese fisherman, pictured at right being carried away on a stretcher, was struck by lightning in his genitals while he was fishing. I hope he is okay because it's such a good story that it would be a shame for him not to be able to share it. Of course, if the damage is permanent, I'm not sure that he'd really want to spread the word that lightning struck him in the balls. However, his picture being in the paper and all over the Internet might be a giveaway.

Taitung angler's genitals struck by lightning

The China Post news staff

TAITUNG, Taiwan -- An angler's genitals were struck by lightning while he was fishing yesterday morning at a reef on Green Island, located off Taiwan's coast in the eastern county of Taitung, according to coastal patrol policemen.

The angler, 47 and named Chen Ming-wen, was fishing at a reef off the Nanliao Bank of the Green Island, when a bolt of lightning -- attracted by the fishing pole he was holding -- struck, running down to his privates.

Soon after being informed of the accident at 8:55 a.m. that morning, firemen rushed to the spot and sent Chen to a nearby clinic for emergency medical treatment.

Coastal patrol policemen then sent Chen to Mackay Memorial Hospital for further treatment,

Doctors said that Chen had some 20 percent of his body burnt, and remained conscious, adding that they would conduct further examinations to see if Chen's sex ability is undermined or not.

Weathermen said that as the thunderstorm would linger in Taitung area, people had better not expose themselves to the open space.

Meanwhile, a veteran angler said fishing men should be aware that the general fiber-carbon fishing pole can conduct electricity.

Don't mess with your face.

There weren't too many actresses who were prettier than Priscilla Presley. She was absolute gorgeous, even with that black bouffant hairdo she wore when she was married to Elvis. She was just plain old pretty.

I realize that nobody wants to get wrinkled and old, but if you were a pretty younger woman, you're likely going to be a pretty older woman, even if you have lines and wrinkles. That's what time and experience do to you. But lines and wrinkles do not make a pretty face ugly.

Look at Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve, neither of whom appear to have touched their faces with plastic surgery. They are older and they are beautiful. Both of them have wrinkles. But I guess Priscilla didn't want to go that route, and has tapped the surgical fountain of youth too many times. She's made herself scary looking. I don't get it. Her face looks permanently semi-smiling, and if you look at a close-up, there are lumps in her cheeks (maybe pieces of facial filler). Does she think this looks nice? I don't even have anything funny to say because this is really kind of sad. She was absolutely gorgeous. In The Naked Gun she was stunning and she was not a kid in that movie. Her daughter Lisa Marie was grown when that was made, I believe. She did not need to do this to herself.

Don't mess with your face, kids.

The most honest moment I have seen on "Reality TV"

So my daughter and I are watching Rock of Love, which is sick in its own right, and a commercial for Celebrity Fit Club comes on. Erin Moran, from Happy Days and Joanie Loves ChaChi, is evidently on the show this season. On the commercial, she's telling that drill sergeant guy that she just wants to go home, then he yells at her and asks, "Why are you here?!" and she answers, "I'm here for the money, okay?" And then you see the guy's face contort in complete horror.

From this point forward, I friggin' love Erin Moran. She is my new hero. 

British youths banned from buying ketchup

I'm not quite sure why I am so fond of this story, but somehow a community refusing to sell eggs and ketchup to teenagers in order to lower crime strikes me as pretty funny. Here you have to regulate handguns. There you just have to stop selling eggs and condiments, and in no time at all you see an improvement in the crime rate.

You gotta love those British.

Supermarkets have banned sales of eggs and tomato ketchup to young people in a bid to cut anti-social behaviour.

About a dozen residents in the Charles Close area of Caister-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, have reported tomato sauce being squirted at cars and homes. Norfolk Police asked supermarkets in the town to challenge youths trying to buy sauces in squirty bottles or eggs. Sgt. Andy Brown said no more complaints had been received in the past two weeks since the agreement came into force.

'A bit daft'

Sgt. Brown said squirting ketchup was not a criminal act but it could be possible to bring charges of criminal damage if paintwork was damaged on homes or vehicles. He said: "We had about a dozen complaints from residents, some of them elderly, about people squirting ketchup over doors, windows and vehicles."

"One of the ways we have looked at tackling that is to speak to local schools and businesses to get them to agree to not sell tomato ketchup to young people. I know it sounds a bit daft, but it has made a difference because we have had no more reported incidents since the supermarkets came on board with this."

Martin Bailie, from Lidl supermarkets, said staff from its Caister branch became aware of a problem before police asked them for help. "Our staff were challenging youngsters who were trying to bulk buy these things. … It is anti-social behaviour and it was getting out of hand."

"It wasn't that we haven't been selling eggs and ketchup to youths, but have been careful about who we have sold them to, and we are glad it has been making a difference." 

'Naked Tickler' Gets 25 Years In Prison; Police: Man Terrorized Women For Years, Left Bodily Fluids

Disgusting story, and does this surprise anybody that it happened in Florida? (Florida and Texas are "Land of the Crazies," I swear. Those two states probably account for 90 percent of the weird shit that happens in this country.) I think 25 years is suitable for terrorizing people and peeing into the milk they give their kids or put in their coffee. 

This guy was so proud of himself for peeing in the milk, he made a video. I'm going to go out on a limb and make the assumption he has not earned his doctorate in anything. Just putting it out there. Anyone care to discuss? Anyone?

I wonder what his mother thinks of all this nonsense. I'll tell you this much: SHE CAN'T BE TOO HAPPY ABOUT IT.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- A 50-year-old man who police dubbed the "naked tickler" for terrorizing women for years by sneaking into their homes and tickling them was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Police said Thomas Blacine would leave bodily fluids at the homes of women in the New Smyrna Beach area while they slept. 

In one case, Blacine recorded himself urinating into a jug of milk inside a victim's home, investigators said. Blacine was initially arrested in October and confessed into breaking into homes and videotaping victims while they slept, Local 6 reported. A police dog tracked Blacine's scent to a sport utility vehicle parked near the 700 block of East Second Street after a woman said she was fondled in her sleep. 

"I felt something on my leg and thought it was my cat and I look up and it was this naked guy," Combs said after the latest attack. "And he ran again." Earlier, Blacine pleaded guilty to burglary and possession of narcotics.