Much More 'Free On Demand'

Cablevision Newark has hugely increased the number of shows available On Demand and without fee, at channel 502. I don't know when this happened, nor whether it was all at once or a network or two were added at any given time, but there are now 4 screenfuls of cable networks listed, each with at least several shows available in several episodes. I hadn't checked Free On Demand in months (the two things I have occasionally checked out are Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (WNET) and Meet the Leaders (Public Access). But a couple of nites ago I just couldn't find anything, on about 170 channels, that I wanted to watch. Everything I might watch, I'd already seen. So I thought of Free On Demand, and was startled to see all the new offerings.

(I don't have pix specific to today's text topic, so offer miscellaneous fotos on other matters.) I noticed something this summer that I hadn't seen before. The wisteria that grows all over my yard and up onto my house ordinarily blooms once a year, around late April-early May. But this year, I saw this flower cluster on new growth (outside the window at the landing on my stairs near the second floor) on July 22nd.

I counted. There are now 40 categories of Free On Demand selections, including some of the big basic-cable channels, plus local cable programming and some things from channel 13, Newark's over-air TV station stolen by New Yorkers (by the way, don't forget never to send WNET a cent during any of their begathons, but support NJN or BGO if you want to support public broadcasting). There's also an area called "Customer Help Videos" that presently has only one video, about setting up HDTV; plus samplers for HBO and Showtime.

Then, just a few days ago, I spotted two more flower clusters in the same general area, in late August. A steady breeze pushed leaves in the way of a clear picture, but you can see the flower clusters anyway. Wikipedia says of wisteria: "Flowering is in the spring (just before or as the leaves open) in some Asian species, and in mid to late summer in the American species and W. japonica." So how come my wisteria, all from the same invasive vine, flowers in both spring and late summer (at least on new growth)? This is like the magnolia at the corner of my block that flowers in April and July, or the forsythia around the corner at the other end of the block that flowers in the spring and late summer. Very odd.

The best thing about Free On Demand is that you can watch anything listed at any time, pause it, rewind, fast forward, even stop it if you have to do something, then go back at any time within 24 hours of the time you started to watch, and resume right where you left off — all free.

Toward the end of June, I saw these yellow flowers in two different places in the neighborhood. The plants have leaves like large blades of grass. I have a plant something like that, but mine flowers in April. Anybody out there know what this is?

HGTV's offerings do not include the only HGTV show I much like, Mission Organization. The HGTV website shows that program as being offered on only some Sunday mornings at 9am. Yech. OK, I have VCRs I rarely use. Might as well get some use out of them. Unfortunately, this Sunday is not one on which the progam is shown. How rude.

This splendid planter on an elegant paving-stone sidewalk is in the Ironbound.

Here's some of what is listed for some networks; there are other things and other networks available. Animal Planet's offerings include several episodes of Meercat Manor. BET offers a couple of episodes of its raunchy Comic View series. The Discovery Channel includes several episodes of Deadliest Catch. The Science Channel's offerings include several items from the How It's Made series.

This abstract-looking box is a stairwell in the new Science Park High School at nite.

Logo, the supposedly "gay" but actually antihomosexual network, offers, as per usual, a bunch of things for women. Its one comedy special is all-female. So overwhelmingly female and indeed antimale is Logo that I call it "Lesbo", since it is nearly all-women, all the time. Perhaps if there were two channels, Logo Men and Logo Women, men would finally get some significant amount of time on TV.

My phlox encroach on the slate sidewalk in front of my house. I guess I should deadhead the spent blooms to keep the overall display tidy and agreeable. I also have to figure a way to hold the phlox plants up and keep them from drooping.

Nick on Demand offers a small number of kid favorites, including, at present, 3 selections each from iCarly and the incomprehensible SpongeBob SquarePants, an animated series that makes absolutely no sense — it's supposed to be set at the bottom of the ocean, even tho many of the things that occur in it could not happen underwater — but which is hugely popular with its target audience.

Here's a portion of the rock (and brick) garden in the side yard of a house at one corner of the Silver Street end of my block.

The Comedy Central offerings include some standup, four episodes (at present) of the insane cartoon cult series South Park, and 11 individual scenes from both The Daily Show (starring Lawrenceville's Jon Stewart) andColbert Report (starring Montclair's Stephen Colbert), but not (at present) complete episodes. Some full episodes, with most of the commercials cut out, do appear for the standup series Live at Gotham. I watched one hosted by Plainfield's Rich Vos. That reminds me that Verona's Jay Mohr has a new sitcom on CBS's fall schedule, Project Gary.

One homeowner in Vailsburg created this coleus and impatiens focus point in a green lawn alongside a hosta-edged sidewalk.

Tho the number of selections on any given channel available Free On Demand is small, you multiply that by a couple of categories within each network and 40 categories, and you get quite a lot to choose from. For all I know, Cablevision will keep adding to this feature over time, and the particular episodes for any network presumably change with the passing of time.

The gray leaves of dusty miller carry the silver of the fence inward, while impatiens carry their pink outward thru the fence of another Vailsburg front yard.

If you have not yet looked into Free On Demand and find yourself unable to find anything you want to watch among the offerings of the moment, check it out.
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P.S., September 1st: the Comedy Central offerings now apparently do include a few full episodes of The Daily Show and Colbert Report. This is a change from a couple of days ago, so the service is apparently still growing.

This half-barrel planter, also in Vailsburg, roughly follows the design principles set forth by PBS garden guru P. Allen Smith: in decorative planters, mix something tall and spiky in the middle, some lower, rounded plants around it, and something that hangs over the sides, all together.