samhexum

Did you ever go to Niederstein's on Metropolitan Ave? There's now an Arby's at that location, so still some good eatin'! And, of course, you used to be able to BUY German food more easily... When ‘The Best Butcher on the Block’ reigned in Ridgewood and beyond By The Old Timer Are you hungry? If you happen to be a carnivore, you will be by the time you read about the history of one of Ridgewood’s most popular butchers, Karl Ehmer. Karl Ehmer was born in a small village near Stuttgart, Germany, in 1909, and came to America in the fall of 1930 when he was 21 years old. He got a job in a butcher shop in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, and worked hard to save enough money to open his own store. In 1932, even though the country was in the depths of the Great Depression, he decided to strike out on his own and he opened a Jersey Pork butcher shop in Manhattan. But business conditions were difficult, and he struggled to keep his store open. Finally, he went back to work at his old job. However, he still had ambitions of operating his own business and, a short time later, he tried again with his own store, again in Manhattan. This time, he prospered, and eventually, in 1941, he opened a store in the Ridgewood/Glendale area at 61-14 Myrtle Ave., offering a large selection of quality bolognas. The store proved highly successful. Nine years later, on Nov. 2, 1950, he opened a much larger retail store and a manufacturing plant at 62-10 Myrtle Ave. Trucks lined up at the curb of the new plant and retail store, advertising quality pork products. As his business continued to grow, he moved to larger quarters in November 1958, at 63-35 Fresh Pond Road on the corner of Menahan Street. All of his products were made, at one time, in this plant. The list of Karl Ehmer products is substantial, including frankfurters, knockwurst, bratwurst, Black Forest ham, Westphalian ham, kassler rippchen (brined pork chops), braunschweiger liverwurst, pinklewurst (Bavarian sausage), lachsschinken (smoked pork loin), head cheese, leberkaese (similar to bologna), schwaebischer farmers salami and Tyrolerwurst (an Austrian sausage). Over the years, Karl Ehmer relocated upstate and opened his own farm on Noxon Road in La Grangeville, New York, where he raised many of the animals for his products. He also held an annual Oktoberfest there for his friends and family. By the 1970s, Karl Ehmer had more than 50 franchises across New York City, Long Island Pennsylvania and even Florida, along with five cattle and livestock farms and a slaughterhouse. The company boasted a slogan, “The Best Butcher on the Block.” During the 1970s and 1980s, it was not uncommon to find Karl Ehmer products and stores advertised on TV. The company’s namesake starred in one of the commercials, shot from the kitchen of his upstate farmhouse. In the spot, he boasts in his German accent about his bratwurst being so delicious, “it even makes the vegetables taste good.” Along with fine cold cuts and other cuts of meat, a Karl Ehmer shopper could walk into one of the stores and find an array of imported German products including chocolate, cake mixes, pickled goods, spaetzle and preserves. Karl Ehmer died in 1989, and his grandsons continued to operate the company that bore his name. However, the following three decades would see a variety of changes including economic downturns, shifting demographics in the Ridgewood/Glendale area where Ehmer gained a loyal following and dietary trends in which many people turned away from regular consumption of processed meats. One by one, Karl Ehmer stores across the New York City area closed. The flagship store and manufacturing plant on Fresh Pond Road held out as other pork stores across the area closed down. Finally, on Sept. 30, 2010, the Ridgewood store and plant closed. In a Ridgewood Times article published that same day (Thursday), Alan Hanssler, Karl Ehmer company co-owner, said that “rising labor costs and other expenses, combined with a struggling economy, brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy.” “The 25 workers employed at the Ridgewood store and plant will lose their positions today; all were provided with a month’s notice of the shutdown in order to find new jobs,” according to the article. The store and manufacturing plant would ultimately be transformed into a self-storage facility. The Karl Ehmer company continued producing its products outside the New York City area and distributing them to butcher stores and supermarkets around the area. The closure of the Ridgewood Karl Ehmer left just one butcher shop under the company banner in Queens: a location on Horace Harding Expressway in Fresh Meadows. However, that location would not last the decade; it closed in 2017, according to Yelp. It became a SUBWAY that didn't last. Today, you can still find Karl Ehmer products at grocery stores across Queens; the company also continues to operate stores in Long Island; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Danbury, Connecticut and Hillsdale, New Jersey. If all else fails, you can even order them online from the company’s website, karlehmer.com.

YOU MEAN THE SERIAL KILLER?!?!? Brock Purdy gives blunt response after reporter's bizarre Lee Harvey Oswald question Brock Purdy didn't seem amused when asked about chatter online that he looks like Lee Harvey Oswald.

Apparently, Charlotte's never did... Who’s your daddy? Researchers in North Carolina say something’s fishy about the pregnancy of a stingray at the Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team ECCO in Hendersonville. The stingray, named Charlotte, is preggers, but the aquarium and outreach center doesn’t have any male stingrays, WRAL in Raleigh reported. Despondent staffers thought the swelling they started to see in September might be cancer before exams revealed the surprising cause, the dispatch said. There are two ways Charlotte might have gotten knocked up, but puzzled researchers won’t know which way until the pups are born. One is a very rare process called parthenogenesis, in which the eggs develop on their own without fertilization and create a clone of the mother. The other possibility? Charlotte could have been makin’ whoopee with one of the young studly sharks that was added to the tank in mid-July. SLUT!!! “In mid-July 2023, we moved two 1-year-old white spot bamboo males [sharks] into that tank. There was nothing we could find definitively about their maturation rate, so we did not think there would be an issue,” Brenda Ramer, the aquarium’s founder and executive director said, adding, “We started to notice bite marks on Charlotte, but saw other fish nipping at her, so we moved fish, but the biting continued.” Ramer said bite marks are an indicator of mating for sharks — and the frisky stingray had several bites on her fin edges. SLUT!!! The expectant mom is carrying up to four pups and could deliver at any time. DNA testing will likely be conducted on the pups after birth to solve the miraculous mystery. Until then, it’s Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte. The typical gestation period in a stingray is three-to-four months, the aquarium said.

Spain sets up ranger patrol to protect villages from massive bears that were once nearly extinct Spain’s Iberian brown bear population, which was once almost extinct, has made such a strong recovery that a ranger patrol was set up to deter them from roaming into small villages in the country’s north. The regional government of Castile and Leon arranged for the patrol, which consists of nine rangers, to guard residents and their crops in the mining town of Villablino and the surrounding area, in the province of Palencia, according to a report. Their mission is to keep the endangered ursines secure and healthy, while enabling human residents to coexist with them. If locals spot a bear, which can weigh from 330 to 550 pounds and stand over 6.5 feet tall, they are asked to keep calm and call the rangers’ 24-hour phone line for assistance. Thirty years ago, there were only 60 bears left in Spain, but today, the country is home to 400. “The increase in the bear population leads to an increase in conflicts” with humans, patrol coordinator Daniel Pinto said. In 2021, a team of veterinarians, biologists and mountain rangers created a satellite system to monitor the animals. Once caught, the bears are anaesthetized and given a GPS collar so they can be easily located in the future. So far, rangers have captured 12 bears that were then freed far from villages. The increase in the bears has already boosted tourism in the area, since people come to the region to catch a glimpse of them in the wild.

Fowl play: Thieves steal 133 tons of chicken from Cuban plant to buy laptops, appliances I'm confused; Do chickens have some special skill for purchasing electronics that I'm unaware of?

Experience the thrill of an exclusive early screening! Amazon Prime members, grab your chance to watch the "Giannis: The Marvelous Journey" for free. Use the code for your theater: AMC Theaters: AMCEARLY Regal Theaters: RGLEARLY Cinemark Theaters: CMKEARLY Marcus Theaters: MARCUS

Up 6 pounds, with no sign of slowing down. That's less the lack of Ozempic than me 'falling off the wagon' after Xmas when Stop & Shop had a clearance sale in January because they were phasing out their delivery service from a distribution warehouse (& changing to Instacart from their stores). 75% off many things no human being could resist ordering at that price... An apple pie for $1.75 6 bagels $.80 Full size bags BBQ chips $.67 Reduced fat Cool Whip $.82 More than a few frozen things (see below) Plus, the occasional healthy thing like almonds, pecans, frozen spinach Plus, I have magical online shopping powers and got 15 boxes of saltines for 17 cents apiece. (I like crackers in my soup & now have enough for a couple of years). So, no carbs at all... (a few of these frozen items were for a friend and have already been given to her)

This dog is full of surprises! The adorable — and resilient — pooch who was trapped inside a Texas shipping container for over a week before being rescued by US Coast Guard officers is pregnant, the group caring for the animal announced this week. After the canine — nicknamed Connie the container dog — was found on Jan. 31, she was taken to a vet in Pasadena, Texas, before eventually landing in the hands of Forever Changed Animal Rescue (FCAR) in Maryland, who determined the little dog was expecting. “SURPRISE, CONNIE IS PREGNANT!!!” FCAR wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “The fetuses have strong heartbeats and were bouncing around, so while her pregnancy is guarded due to her being without food and water for eight days or more, we are hopeful given what we could see.” The small dog, who only weighed about 30 pounds when she was found, will stay with the vet throughout her pregnancy, according to the organization, which said it would send updates as Connie progresses. Connie was rescued after US Coast Guard Officer Ryan McMahon and his team heard barking coming from a shipping container. A crane was used to bring the container down to the men, and out popped Connie, who is believed to have spent eight days inside without food or water. “As soon as we opened it, we could see the little dog’s face poking out. She was right there, like she knew we were going to be there to open it for her,” McMahon, a petty officer 2nd class, told the Associated Press. “And she just, she wasn’t scared or anything. She just seemed happy more than anything to be out of that dark space and in the arms of people that were going to take care of her,” said McMahon. She was a little dirty and “definitely pretty skinny,” McMahon said. Connie also tested positive for heartworm and will be treated for the disease after her pregnancy is over. The Coast Guard is unsure how the dog got inside the container with a bunch of junked vehicles, but believe she may have been in a junkyard and accidentally got into the container. McMahon said he was grateful to have noticed the dog’s barks before she was loaded up on a cargo ship. After her pregnancy, Connie is hoping to find a forever home in the DC-area.

This is em-bear-assing. Build-A-Bear’s stuffed animals targeting “kidults” — with some dressed in bikinis and others wearing a Hugh Hefner-style robe while pouring champagne — has led some critics to slam the child-friendly company. The St. Louis, Mo.-based toy company rolled out the risque accessories for their stuffed bears as part of a Valentine’s Day promotion. The seemingly inappropriate attire also includes a black slip dress, satin robes and pajamas, leopard heart boxers and gold strap heels. Another shirt reads the word “ZADDY” — a slang term for an attractive older man. “Please excuse me whilst I be violently sick,” Alice Waterman-Hale, a London-based marketing strategist, wrote on her X social media page. She told The Wall Street Journal she “wondered if they had been created just to upset people.” Build-a-Bear CEO Sharon Price John insisted the adult accessories are to recognize the “evolution of what people want.” “Build-A-Bear’s intention is always to be an upstanding, appropriate, guest-facing brand,” she told told the Wall Street Journal. Founded in 1997, Build-A-Bear Workshop has become a “multigenerational” brand, according to John, with teens and adults accounting for about 40% of its sales. The controversial accessories are part of a growing trend for a sagging toy industry that is increasingly focusing on “kidults” — grown-ups who are interested in toys for nostalgia, comfort or collecting, according to the Journal. Build-A-Bear’s special collection is categorized in the “Bear Cave” section of the store’s website. It asks users to pledge that they are over the age of 18 before clicking in to the site. One South Carolina woman got creative and outfitted a bear with a bow tie, cuffs and heart-covered boxers to create her very own “stripper bear.” “He may be a little devious,” Kaleanne Hearn told The Journal. “He can be a stripper on the side. But he’s still cute.” The adults-only collection also includes a “Devilishly Pink Teddy Bear” who is seen wearing a “You Turn Me On” shirt. Build-A-Bear's 'after dark' collection of horny animals sparks... NYPOST.COM The toy company's new collection can be found in the "Bear Cave" -- asking users to pledge that they are over...

Welcome! I loved your cousin's TV show.

This is the scene: https://www.gayforit.eu/video/19992/rob-cryston--mike-lamas The money shot is around 9:25. This is an extended clip, though the quality is worse. It contains a mini-interview with Rob, though it's hard to hear because the music is so loud: https://www.gayforit.eu/video/160118/ROB-CRYSTON

Thanks, but that's a compilation video and it's the scene @maninsoma posted.

Yes, but you didn't see either of them with the woman who went from boffing Mick Jagger to marrying Rupert Murdoch.

And Michelle Lee's first hubby in 34 episodes of KNOTS.

When did I say that? Of course we know who Norma Jean Baker was... she was Josephine Baker's co-joined twin.

If THIS doesn't get people to Queens, NOTHING will... Charo performs one-night show at Queens Theatre March 2 I hear there's a scandal involving Ticketmaster & allegations of scalping for this... City Gate Productions set to perform ’12 Angry Men’ at Ridgewood’s Stone Circle Theatre Mar. 1-10

Murray, like Ava Gardner, is best known to my generation for appearing on KNOTS LANDING.

That's the same info I was able to glean, but I don't think that's the correct video. Hence, this post...

Evil Donte has been traded to Detroit.

You haven't lived until you've seen Shaun Cassidy & Jerry Hall onstage in London:

In 1996, Mike Chavez did a video with Rob Cryston that had a very controversial scene among the gay porn community. In the scene, Chavez was supposed to ejaculate onto Rob's chest. Instead, when he reached orgasm, Rob moved his head forward and received Chavez's semen on his face; more specifically he sucked it into his mouth and swallowed it. At the time, it was unheard of for a high-profile male star to perform in scenes with an oral climax due to AIDS precautions. I've read descriptions of the scene and have even viewed it online, but oddly, nobody has actually mentioned the name of the video. Does anyone know?

Brock Purdy gives blunt response after reporter's bizarre Lee Harvey Oswald question Brock Purdy didn't seem amused when asked about chatter online that he looks like Lee Harvey Oswald.

Because absolutely nothing else is on TV and the NBA only has 2 afternoon games.