A year in review. All of these photos were taken at exactly 4:50PM, give or take a minute. Don’t believe me? Click on each photo to go to its Flickr page, then check out its EXIF data, available under “More properties” in the right-hand column (“Additional Information”) underneath where it specifies what kind of camera I used.

Hope it was a good year for all of you, and here’s wishing you an even less stressful 2008!

The reeds… or… some form of tall marsh-weed in Joe Palaia Park (formerly known as Deal Test Site).

A shopping cart… all alone behind Value City, which used to be part of Ocean Township’s Seaview Square Mall back when there WAS a Seaview Square Mall. Some years ago (maybe 10, give or take a few), the crime rate for this mall increased significantly, so people stopped going here and went to Monmouth Mall instead. As a result, Seaview Square is now comprised of a few large stores (Value City, Target, and Sears) but not much else. The large stores are no longer connected in a mall format.

Wikipedia tells the story better than I do.

(Gosh this picture is old.)

It’s a big wooden cross stuck in the middle of beach sand, lest you forget that Ocean Grove is actually a Methodist townlette.

(I don’t think that “townlette” is an actual word, but it’s… a teensy town subset of Neptune Township.)

It is SO Methodist, in fact, that Ocean Grove was the source of a nationwide civil union controversy. (Speaking from my own experience and observations, the structure in question is NOT a religious place; it is a roof supported by four wall-corners–very shack-like and very open to the public.)

Nobody wants the play on Joe Palaia Park’s swings in the wintertime.

Well, almost nobody.

…Maybe the occasional immature photoblogger.

Edit: According to reader Kenny, this is the Peking Pavillion. Thank you!

I do not know what this structure is (as seen from a 60mph car). It’s located on Rte. 33 in Manalapan (I think), and it was open on Christmas (and decorated accordingly). I’m going to go out on a limb here and conjecture that it’s a restaurant of some type.

This is what’s written on the side, magnified 2x full resolution:

If you can read it, please tell me what you see (or if you happen to know anything about the building from your own personal experience)!

(P.S. I use parentheses excessively.)

Merry Christmas.

(C7 is the bulb size.)

It’s Christmas eve, which clearly means it’s time to create abstract light paintings using the Christmas tree.