They're Every Where

We have two on my block alone. And it is getting so you see them on many blocks in the city.

It just makes urban sense.

Blind Spot

Richard Serra may be the most ornery artist working but his shapes can make you cry.

Patti Smith - Because The Night

Watch Bono, the Boss and Patti do this on HBO's footage of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert.
We had no idea at the Mud Club.

Shameful

Another failure by DDDB to stop what will be a great asset to Brooklyn.
The misguided opposition to the development of the Atlantic Yards by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and the vicious Atlantic Yards Report and Mr. Oder has seen another failure.
DDDB has now wasted the poor defendant’s final appeals and left them with NOTHING!!
The last holdouts who depended on DDDB good judgment will now lose their homes and realize that the generous buyouts they were offered are long gone.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn is a huge misnomer. They NEVER wanted to “develop” anything. They only wanted to stop any possibility of Brooklyn moving forward. Like the Republicans and healthcare there was never any way they intended to find a way for all of Brooklyn to prosper.
Worst they used the people living there and ruined their opportunities to find decent housing elsewhere that Ratner would have paid for.
That is shameful.

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Update: Al Gore

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Au Revoir Jeanne Claude

Christo was never far from Jeanne Claude and she was the bull dog getting the projects done.
With "The Gates" we may have seen the last of the great Christo projects.

The Death Penalty Experiment Has Failed

In Callins v. Collins, Feb. 22, 1994 Justice Blackmun wrote;

“From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death. For more than 20 years I have endeavored...to develop...rules that would lend more than the mere appearance of fairness to the death penalty endeavor...Rather than continue to coddle the court's delusion that the desired level of fairness has been achieved...I feel...obligated simply to concede that the death penalty experiment has failed. It is virtually self-evident to me now that no combination of procedural rules or substantive regulations ever can save the death penalty from its inherent constitutional deficiencies... Perhaps one day this court will develop procedural rules or verbal formulas that actually will provide consistency, fairness and reliability in a capital-sentencing scheme. I am not optimistic that such a day will come. I am more optimistic, though, that this court eventually will conclude that the effort to eliminate arbitrariness while preserving fairness 'in the infliction of [death] is so plainly doomed to failure that it and the death penalty must be abandoned altogether.”


President Obama will have two more opportunities to keep the extreme right wing activist justices in check.

Flatbush Artists Studio Tour: the video

Another plus for this great neighborhood.

Man on Wire

Just watched “Man on Wire”.

Philippe Petit walking between the World Trade Center Towers.

I’m sure he was/is a pain but the film was touching.

No mention of the end of the towers but 9/11 is the silent partner to this film.

When he finally steps out … Well watch it and you tell me.

...The First One Now...

...Will Later Be Last...

Mary Travers 1936-2009

"The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country."
~Robert Kennedy

Bambi meets Godzilla

Just because

Souter’s First

In June of last year I wrote;

“John McCain has stated he continue to appoint conservative judges. The more moderate, some say liberal, judges are ready to retire. John Paul Stevens is 88, Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg is in her middle 70’s and has health issues and Justice Souter would like to get back to his cabin.
All of them are clinging to their seats, praying for a progressive, Democratic President so they can retire and not concede the court to the activist right.”

Well Souter has bailed and you have to know that Ginsberg and Stevens are not far behind.
Elected by Papa Bush Souter ended up being a judge that understands the law and was not an ideologue. The Shrub’s choices are a disaster that we will have to live with for a long time.
Thankfully all three made it to Obama’s Presidency and he will have the opportunity to at least keep the jackals at bay.

The Thinnest of Margins

It has been awhile since I wrote about ecology and I totally missed Earth Day.

To make up for it I will quote Garrett Riesman
an astronaut that I have been fortunate to meet. Upon getting to the Space Station and looking back at Earth he said this;

“…the thing that was closer to an epiphany for me was at one point I looked out, was within a day or so of being in orbit, I looked at the horizon, and I could see how thin the atmosphere was. And the atmosphere was... it just was the thinnest sliver of a band around the earth. And if you look, one would describe this as if you hold your arm out at full-arm's length, and I think if you stick out your pinky [finger] basically, that's the thickness of the atmosphere as seen on the horizon from our altitude. That's really not much, and it looked incredibly fragile. Before this, I kind of thought of the skies and seas as these vast, limitless expanses, and I don't think of it that way anymore. Especially when you consider how thin the atmosphere is and when you consider the ocean is a tenth as a... you know, ten times as less thick as the atmosphere is. You get the feeling that everything that we think as being Earth, all the forests, oceans, trees, and mountains. All that stuff is just the thinnest little coating on the top of a gigantic rock.”

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Tharon Musser 1925-2009

Tharon Musser represents the change from old theatricals to modern stage design.
Most significant was her work on “A Chorus Line” that brought her love of dance and use of new technology to Broadway. Her proudest moment may have been “A Little Night Music” where all her skills came into play and culminated in a beautiful design that served the script.
The NY Times has printed an obituary that gives her great credit for her work.
My life changed one morning in Dallas where I was having breakfast with Tharon and Marilyn. I had planned to find a regional theatre and enjoy the craft. Tharon set me on another path.
Through a friend of hers I found myself on the way to Stratford Conn. and the Shakespeare Festival where she had deigned some of their biggest productions. From there it was just a short drive to New York.
Tharon kept me busy as an assistant until I was able to get out on my own and eventually she became my landlady.
I enjoyed 25 years in that household and was privileged to be able to call her a friend.
Her illness took her away from us way too early she will be missed.

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A Billion!

There are a lot of "billions" being thrown about these days. But how much is a billion?

Isn't a million pretty big?

Lets look at in terms of time.

To calculate the number of years in one billion seconds, write first one billion in integers to make sure you don't miss any zero i.e 1,000,000,000.

Next, we determine how many seconds are there in a year:
1 min = 60 seconds
1 hour = 60 min = 60 x 60 seconds = 3,600 seconds
1 day = 24 hours = 24 x 3,600 seconds = 86,400 seconds
1 year = 365 days = 365 x 86,400 seconds = 31,536,000 seconds

To get the number of years for 1,000,000,000 seconds, we just divide
1,000,000,000 by 31,536,000

It should give us : 1,000,000,000 / 31,536,000 = 31.71 YEARS.

To give you an idea a million seconds is just about 12 DAYS!

70 Years Ago Today

Marion Anderson, banned from singing at the Constitution Hall by the DAR, sang at the Lincoln Memorial in front of 75 thousand people including the young Martin Luther King.

30 Years Ago Today

3 Mile Island went critical and the nations nuclear industry stopped cold.

Just the week before I had seen "The China Syndrome".
It was like "deja vu all over again.

30 Years Ago Today
3 Mile Island

The Perfect

Bicycle accessory.



C'Mon Spring!

Stupid Groundhog!

Thanks to VeloNews for the image.

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It Was Always...

About the Supremes.

With Ginsburg ill, Stevens is 88 and Souter wanting to reteat to his cabin Obama will appoint at least three supremes soon.

Size #10

Iraqi journalist throws shoes at George Bush. Apparently it is an insult to throw shoes in Iraq.
I'm afraid the Shrub will not catch a break in his last days a Commander in Chief.

67 Years Ago

But just a thought...

This is the fiftieth anniversary of the peace sign, originally designed as the official sign for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in England in 1958.

PEACE

BREATHE !!!

You can hear Justice Stevens

let out a sigh of relief now that President Elect Obama has been elected.
This election was always about the Supreme Court.

President Elect Obama will have the opportunity to keep the Supreme Court somewhat in balance for the future. He will probably appoint three justices before he’s done.

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Again the New Yorker says it all in a simple image.

The King Is Back

Velo News is reporting that Lance Armstrong will race with Astana next year.

IMO BUMMER!!!!

Contadore and Liepheimer don’t need the distraction of an egomaniac trying to relive his triumphs.
The only way Armstrong wins the Tour is having the entire team working for him.

That is just not fair to either Contadore and Liepheimer .

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The Tour Final Thoughts

This is a bit out of date as I was traveling but there are some things to consider after the Tour has concluded.
I think we have to put an * asterisk after this one.
Sastre deserved the win and put the hard work into the toughest climbs but another Spaniard was missing on the steep slopes.
Alberto Contador and the entire Astana Team were wrongfully left out of the Tour. No one can say what would have happened but combine Contador with Leipheimer supporting him and you have a much different race.
So now it’s time for one more race.
The Vuelta de Espana Starting the 31st of August.
They will all be there, it will answer some important questions and set the tone for the next year.

A word about the great George Hincapie .
He missed a win on Jausiers by just 24 seconds. After pounding himself for Cavandish there was no one from Team Columbia to help him.
A pity he deserved a stage. We can only hope he won’t retire yet.

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Alpe D’Huez

If you win on Alpe D’Huez you can win the Tour de France and Sastre did just that.

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Viva Sastre Viva Espana

With the ride of his career Sastre held off Cadel Evans and won the Tour de France.

Team Columbia and Team Garmin-Chipotle have done superb jobs, more on the entire day later.

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Barak Obama in Berlin

Europe knows a winner when they see one.
Listen to the speech and you will hear a man who can bring our country together and the world closer.

The speech is 26 minutes.

Viva Espana

A decisive win by Carlos Sastre on Alp D’huez put him in yellow and set up an epic time trial on Saturday between the Spaniard and Cadel Evans that will decide who will win the Tour .

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1986 Alp D'Huez

That day in 1986 was to go down in history.

We don’t know what is going to happen on Wednesday when the Tour again faces the three massive climbs culminating in Alp D’Huez but yesterday’s race put six riders inside one minute of each other and the attacks were furious.
Tomorrow is a serious climb but a down hill finish Wednesday ends going up on the penultimate classic climb.
Enjoy the video and tune in on Wednesday to history made anew.

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Double Edged Sword

Speaking of gentrification you might want to read Double Edge to Brooklyn’s Success
in the NYTimes.
It tells how the Brooklyn Brewery, Amy’s Cookies and Bagels by Bell are hard pressed to find space to expand in Brooklyn because real estate is expensive and being eaten up by residential conversions. Because of gentrification thier businesses are doing better and they need to expand and hire more people (i.e. gentrification is "good") but at the same time the success has made it harder to find space.
It would be a drag if “Brooklyn Brewery” had to make their (our?) beer in Long Island.

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OH NO RICCO!!

The “Cobra” was caught using a new form of EPO and thrown out of the Tour. What a disgrace.
Well good riddance. The only way to take the Tour back is test, test and test some more and when some one is caught give no quarter.

What a shame that it marred a day when again the great George Hincapie led Cavendish out to take the stage.

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“Gentrification…” is good

The following is a response to a post on the Ditmas Park Blog .

With apologies to Oliver Stone and Gordon Gekko…
“Gentrification…” is good.


I know many feel new buildings should provide a percentage of the apartments as “affordable” housing but in my opinion there are too many ways to get around that and the prices are only lower in relation to the highest priced apartment in that building, not truly affordable.
So I would argue that gentrification here helps develop other less desirable neighborhoods.
I moved here five years ago from the village and the price of my apartment was astonishing compared to other parts of New York including Queens and Brooklyn. Now we are at or near market rate but still quite low compared to Manhattan or the more developed parts of Brooklyn.
What that does for those who are still looking is make them search further south or across CIA in areas that were or still are marginal. Slowly the pattern helps all the neighborhoods take a step up. Those people who bought here many years ago are rewarded for their foresight and those who own in less desirable neighborhoods will slowly see new people move in and need services like groceries and restaurants. New businesses that couldn’t exist before will find they can make a go of it.
I lived in the Village back when it was the “Village”, small Mom and Pop stores and affordable café’s, well that’s gone but the new Village moved to East Village then down to the lower East Side. Friends who were willing walk past Tompkins Sq. Park at night in 80’s are now living in a very desirable neighborhood. Same here.
BTW – As I was being evicted from my regulated garden apartment in the Village I was traumatized, I now see it as the best thing that could have happened to me. I’m a home owner in a great neighborhood.
The artists, musicians etc. who bought these Victorian houses 10-15 years ago are seeing the neighborhood come alive. Those “pioneers” deserve their reward and we “newcomers” benefit from their courage.
The article about Jim Mamary and Allan Harding is another great example. Smith Street was not a destination to say the least when they started there. And who would have thought about putting a Bistro, of all things, in a bodega on Newkirk?
IMO - Pomme de Terre will bring major social changes to that area. By example the neighbors can see the possibilities.
The question is what happens to renters. If they are unregulated their rents will go up and they will have to either buy or move. But they will help the neighborhoods they move to by making grocery stores viable as well as other businesses.
I see gentrification to be the same as Darwinism.
Brutal? Yes in some cases but an opportunity to some that are willing to take a chance on owning their own place to live.
The one thing I think the government could and should do is help with affordable loans. The subprime beast of the unfettered capitol markets is exactly the opposite of what good government should allow and we will pay for it for a long time.

Why shouldn’t ALL of NYC eventually be a “nice” place to live?

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Ricco-Ricco-Ricco

Well the sailing was good and I came back in time to see Ricco do it again.
The little “Cobra” again timed his attack just right and soloed the first hard stage of the Tour.
Tomorrow is a beast of a day. Two of the hardest climbs in the Pyrenees. Both the Col du Tourmalet and the Hautacam are Hors Categorie “beyond category”.
The leaders stayed close today but war will break out tomorrow.

Sorry, not much time to blog with work intruding and just making it home to see the 8 PM recap on Versus.

Enjoy.

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Done Workin’ – Gone Sailin’

Ricco the “Cobra” has won his first stage of the Tour. He made everyone stand up and notice at the Giro when he took three mountain stages.
Today had just two category 2’s but the final 5 kilometers were steep and broke the peloton apart and Ricco timed it just right.

The real news is Kim Kirchen of Team Columbia takes the GC Yellow Jersey and also gets the Green jersey.
Amazing for our American team to hold the Yellow this early. It could be a two edged sword because now they have to defend it and tomorrow is another middle level climb then Sunday and Monday are the steepest of the first half of the race.

The weather here as taken turn for the better so I am off to Peregrine

and Oyster Bay.

Those of you that don’t have Versus can follow the Tour at Velo News and there are links to streaming video at Cycling Fans.

Enjoy.

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Leadership

George Hincapie may be the most selfless rider in the Tour. He worked for Armstrong all 7 winning years and today worked to get a young gun, Mark Cavendish, to the front for the final sprint. George was off the back of the peloton at 10 kilometers with a flat and worked himself back up to front and drove his team to control the finish. Watching him put his head down and power the entire peloton to set the pace so high that no one could run away with the finish was inspiring.
AND…
It worked Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia won the day.

Bravo!

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Americans in Paris

America has two strong teams in the Tour de France this year.
Team Columbia and Team Garmin-Chipotle
Not all the members of each team are American but we have Americans placed very high in the GC (General Classification)

Yesterday’s time trial pointed up just how strong the teams are.

Stage 4 Time Trial Cholet, France

American Team Members in Top 20

Stage Results
2. Kim Kirchen (LUX), Columbia, at at0:18sec
3. David Millar (GBR), Garmin-Chipotle, at 0:18
8. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle, at 0:37
9. George Hincapie (USA), Columbia, at 0:41
11. Thomas Lovkvist (SWE), Columbia 0:47
14. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Chipotle, at 1:10

Team Columbia and Team Garmin-Chipotle are evenly split in the first time trials’ top twenty. It must have been a great incentive to see Danny Pate set the early lead and hold on for his 14th place finish.

A closer look at the GC paints a picture of what Team Columbia can do in the mountains. No one knows how to put together a winning day in the mountains better than Hincapie. He wants and is due some glory for himself but his team mate Kirchen may be the key to an over all win.

Americans in today’s top twenty

8. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle, at 0:37
9. George Hincapie (USA), Columbia, at 0:41
14. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Chipotle, at 1:10

Americans in the top twenty (GC Today)

6. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle, at 0:37
7. George Hincapie (USA), Columbia, at 0:41

There is so much racing left that today’s stats may be meaningless but the American Teams and the Americans near the top of today’s race and the GC are IMO going to stay in contention right into the last week.

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Ray Charles - America the Beautiful

OK! OK!
For those of you that couldn't get behind Hendrix playing the anthem here is a classic, flag and all.
Happy 4th.

The Star Spangled Banner

Now you can't get anymore patriotic than that.
Hey...
Is he wearing a flag lapel pin?
Enjoy the 4th.

The Reason It Matters

The Supreme Court just ended their session last week and the decisions that were handed down have pointed out why the next election is so important.
John McCain has stated he will continue to appoint conservative judges. The more moderate, some say liberal, judges are ready to retire. John Paul Stevens is 88, Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg is in her middle 70’s and has health issues and Justice Souter would like to get back to his cabin.
All of them are clinging to their seats, praying for a progressive, Democratic President so they can retire and not concede the court to the activist right.
The appointments of Alito and Roberts and the retirement of O’Conner, has tilted one of the three pillars of our government to the right in a way that is reshaping the laws of the land.
This election is, of course, about the two men running but the make up of the court will be a lasting legacy that we will have to live with for many years after the next President is long gone.

NY Waterfalls - Brooklyn Bridge

Well it is certainly more impressive from the water.

Waterfalls in NYC

Olafur Eliasson has designed 4 waterfalls around the harbor between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
I have only seen a test from the Manhattan Bridge but IMO there isn’t enough water and too much scaffolding.
By not covering scaffolding the mechanics are too present.
I will reserve any more criticism until I’ve seen them from other angles and at night.

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Buckminster Fuller On Pollution

"Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value."

Thanks to TreeHugger

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40 Years Ago Today

Bobby(2006)-The Sound Of Silence Robert F. Kennedy

Part of a film Directed by Emilio Estevez.
As the fist black man prepares his run for president and Caroline Kennedy helps him find a V.P. the echos of what could have been are strong.

152 Days

This photo may be all that most voters need to know about the candidates.

Hopefully voters will dig a little deeper and see that today, or rather last night, was an historic moment for our country.
For one of the first time real change is staring us in the face.
Will we have the courage to reach out and take it?

Obama Wins!

Barack Obama's Victory Speech on June 3, 2008

The Internet & Symbiosis

Now that even my Mother has broadband the internet is taken for granted, to “google” has become a well used verb it has become ubiquitous like the telephone.
But every now and then the symbiosis of the computer the internet and local services comes together to amaze.
I was reading the Turkish news paper Today’s Zaman and found an article on “The Towers of Trabzon” which I had never heard of. While reading the article I decided to see the town and opened google earth and whizzed around the world to the coast of the Black Sea and zoomed in on the town and the Byzantine churches. The article mentioned a book by Rose Macaulay titled "The Towers of Trebizond".
Curious, I looked the book up in the Brooklyn library and ordered it. It is now waiting for me to pick it up at my local branch.
A wonderful combination of curiosity and the combination of services and programs took me around the world and has left me with tangible asset of the book (analog?) to read.

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IRONY

From an article in the 2/25 issue of The New Yorker entitled "Big Foot" that discusses carbon footprints.

"The best known climate-change bill now before the Congress, which would manage capping carbon limits, was written by Senator Joseph Lieberman.
Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama and John McCain are co-sponsors."

Clinton Divides Obama Unites

The Brooklyn Optimist has endorsed Barrak Obama but decries the attacts on Mrs. Clinton . The vitriol that is hurled at Mrs. Clinton now is just the tip of the iceberg that awaits her should she become the nominee.

The attacks on her husband will look like a cake walk, and he had to face impeachment.
The fact is the Clinton’s ended their time in office as a divisive force that has the potential to rip this country apart should she win the election.
Obama, on the other hand has the potential to establish a dialogue that could bring opposing views together to argue and debate our differences in a civil manor.
IMO – Mrs. Clinton should remain in the senate and assume the Kennedy mantle of spokes person for the left and let Mr. Obama set the tone for the nation.
Either way we cannot let an evolution denier or a pandering hawk into the white house.

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Listen One More Time

August 28, 1963

Time to listen on more time

1/20/09

Yes folks it's just one year, and a short one at that, from today that the "SHRUB" will be shown the door and we have the chance to start undoing the damage.
Two of the three Republicans are evolution deniers and McCain wants to stay in Iraq for a hundred years.
Edwards is on his last legs and no one knows where his supporters will go.
So...
Hilary or Obama?

POLLS!!!

Hillary don't need no stinkin' polls!


The news orgs. won tonight as they will have many hours of empty punditry to fill thier air times.

Obama Wins Iowa

No matter what happens in the general election, as of last night a black man has a chance, not a small chance a real chance, to be the leader of America.

A state of 92% white people (Iowa) has given Barak Obama a decisive victory over his Democratic opponents and the Democrats have overwhelmingly out distanced the Republican Party.

It’s time to get off the divisive issues of black vrs. white in our neighborhoods and realize that America could take a huge step toward in bringing us all together by electing the first black American, President of the United States.

I voted for Jesse Jackson in the NY primary just to keep his voice in the mix but he was never going to be elected.

Now we all have the opportunity to vote for a black man who has an honest chance to lead this country.

Benazir Bhutto

"If it means sacrificing our lives, if it means sacrificing our liberties to save Pakistan, then we are prepared to risk our lives and we are prepared to risk our liberties, but we are not prepared to surrender our great nation to the militants," - Benazir Bhutto.

The Windows at Bergdorf's

If you only see one set of windows this season, see the windows at Bergdorf Goodman’s
on the west side of 5th Ave. Bergdorf’s windows throughout the year are consistently the best but these are totally over the top.
Made to celebrate the art of Tony Duquette they are wonderfully exuberant.



Titled “Fire”, Water, Air, with a floating elephant, Earth and Light they are dense in detail and fantasy.
The tree at Rockefeller Center is better this year with the LED’s, powered in part, by solar power and Lord & Taylor’s windows are a delight as always but the Bergdorf windows are in a league by themselves.
Along with the tree at the Met my holiday viewing is complete.

The tree at the Metropolitan Museum

JFK on Religion And The Presidency

With Mitt Romney's speach the other day on his religion it might be helpful to see JFK's speach to a room full of Southern Ministers on his being Catholic.

It is intersting to see the introduction. I can't imaging any candidate subjecting himself to that.

Prospect Park Fall 2007

The Daffodil Project

Our community just planted 1000 daffodil bulbs in the new trees that line our main shopping street, see the The Flatbush Gardener for photos and info. The daffodils were donated by a wonderful project called the The Daffodil Project.

The Daffodil Project was originally created to commemorate September 11. Now in its fifth year, the annual effort-led by New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P) in cooperation with the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR)-not only brings together volunteers and raises the spirits of New Yorkers, but also draws attention to the needs of neglected parks and open spaces citywide.

The Daffodil Project is made possible in part by the generosity of a Dutch bulb supplier, Hans van Waardenburg of B&K Flowerbulbs, who has pledged to donate 500,000 daffodil bulbs to the project each year as long as there are volunteers willing to plant them. More than 20,000 volunteers have responded to his challenge so far.

This is a great addition our community in that it brought neighbors together and will enhance the look of the new trees. But also it connects our community to the trest of the city in a remembrance of 9/11.

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All Elections Count

The elections here in NYC seemed to be, as commented on by another blog, a "NON" election. But a closer look saw that the entire State (NY) electorate had the fate of a few in their hands.

This election has been described as a "NON" election. Well...

There is a proposal for the use of State forest preserve that we, the electorate, must approve or disapprove.

“The proposed amendment would allow the State to convey one acre of forest preserve land to the town of Long Lake for public use as the site for drinking water wells and necessary related equipment for the municipal water supply for hamlet of Raquette Lake. In exchange, the State would receive at least twelve acres of land that is at least equal in value to the land conveyed to Long Lake. The land the State receives would be incorporated into the forest preserve. The Raquette Lake reservoir would be abandoned as a source of drinking water supply. Should the proposed amendment be approved?”

What is interesting is the fact that this cannot be done without the approval of the electorate. That would be us.

On its face of it looks like a net gain of 11 acres of forest preserve what I was unsure of is the value of losing the Raquette Lake reservoir.

Well after a little research it turns out this is crucial to a very small town of 125 people. The Saratogian (saratogian.com) describes the Raquette Lake reservior as being "amber colored" and unsafe to drink.

The 125 people of this little town want use a well for their drinking water but cannot do that because of the "Forever Wild" provisions in the State law governing the forest preserves. So our vote will allow this little town to trade one acre of land for 12 other acres and they will be able to sink a well that will give them clean drinking water.

So get out there and vote and help these people out.

Newspaper article at ; http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18963769&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=602469

IMHO There are no “NON” elections. Every pull of the handle counts for something.

Work Begins on Atlantic Yards

The folks over at Gowanus Lounge have their knickers in a bunch over the work that is getting under way at the Vanderbilt Rail Yards which will be part of the Atlantic Yards development.

Yes work is starting on Atlantic Yards and will continue. Neither No Land Grab, or Atlantic Yards Report will have any effect on the progress.
The naysayer’s will wail and cry but Brooklyn will get a development that will change the borough for the better.
Brooklyn is the future of New York.
Having lived in Manhattan since 75’ I saw the island transformed from a broke dirty mess to one of America’s top locations. Those that say that it lost its fun haven’t frequented 2nd Ave by Tomkins Sq. park or scene on Ave. A. The waterfront above Battery Park was long overdue.
Now it’s Brooklyn’s turn.

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*Thanks to Tracy Collins at www.3c.com for the photo above.

Stop The Nuclear Bailout - NukeFree.org

I saw China Syndrome just 5 days before Three Mile Island and turned against the nuclear power industry. The “dirty power dirty, players” mentioned in the video built quite a few of the power plants with flaws. Money talks nobody walks. Read the post below on Biofuels.
But now 70% of our power comes from CO2 producing fossil fuels. There is no plan to reduce those emissions anytime in the near future. Nor is there a plan to reduce consumption in any meaningful way.
This is not a black and white issue and needs to be looked at closely.

Italy Travel: Florence: City of the Renaissance

I can't believe it, while looking for videos for my Mothers trip to Italy I found the little, wine bar where I hooked up with an ex-pat and another friend for a night in Florence.
Great trip, great city.

As the summer slowly drifts into fall we have had a great warm weekend that I was able to take advantage of. I got on Peregrine on Saturday and didn't get off till Tuesday night.
Not much time left but it has been a glorious summer.

My Second Post Ever

Sure I am blowing my own horn but in't that what a blog is all about?

I wrote the following on April 8, 2003. I am not prescient but I think I did have a good handle on what was going to happen in Iraq.

Check out the archives for other thoughts on sailing, art and politics

Cradle of civilization.

Between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates (in Arabic, the Dijla and Furat, respectively), the first writing gave birth to history as we know it. The rule of law was written down and the three great monotheistic religions trace their origins there.

In 1992 Michael Wood hosted a series called “Legacy” on PBS. In the film he is found at dusk perched on a mound with the sun setting behind him, as the camera booms down a plain filled with mounds as far as one could see becomes visible. All of them tells, the first cities. The film carries that archaeological past into the present of Islam, showing the cultural continuity from past to present. Included are scenes from the Gulf War and how Saddam Hussein used the Iraqi past as foundation for his dominance. It leaves the question of what’s next unanswered. Latter in 1995 after the Americans were long gone he went back. He made “Saddam's Killing Fields” an award winning account of the destruction of the Marsh Arabs of South Iraq and their cultural history. It pieces together evidence of the systematic destruction by the Iraqi government of the Shia Marsh Arabs - whose way of life goes back 5,000 years. “Saddam's Killing Fields” claims that the Shia and the Kurds in northern Iraq were encouraged by the US to rise up against Saddam's regime at the end of the Gulf War and then left with no support. In retaliation, more than 300,000 Shia are believed to have been killed, risking the ruin of an entire culture. At the end of this war Iraq is going to be a pretty broken country. Between the policies of Saddam and the punishing way the west dealt with the end of the 1991 war with sanctions depriving the people of anything but poverty, there will be a certain amount of anarchy that no one will be able to quell. The surrounding country’s have their knives close at hand if America gets too possesive. America now has it’s hands around a significant part of the Arab world. First “saving” Kuwait from the evil doer and Afghanistan from the evil doers. Pakistan is a wildcard with little control over the fundamentalists and the army. Their hatred for India could be a terrible spark and nukes ARE involved.

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The Fallacy of Corn Based Biofuels

David Suzki the Canadian scientist wrote the following in his Science Matters column.

Proponents of biofuels, which are often made from plants such as corn or sugar cane, often point to their many advantages over fossil fuels like gasoline. Biofuels are less toxic or non-toxic in comparison to fossil fuels. They are a renewable resource, whereas once fossil fuels are gone, they're gone. And biofuels can be grown just about anywhere you can grow crops, reducing the need for giant pipelines or oil tankers, and potentially helping to reduce conflicts in areas like the Middle East.
So far so good. But things start to get complicated when you look more closely. Much has already been debated about the energy requirements to produce some biofuels, especially corn-based ethanol. Ethanol made from corn only contains marginally more energy than what is needed to produce it. ... Many people argue that making corn-based ethanol is more of an agricultural subsidy for farmers than it is a sound environmental policy.
Things get even dodgier for biofuels when you look at the land area that would be needed to grow fuel crops. We use a lot of fossil fuels. Switching to biofuels would not reduce the demand for fuel, just change the way we get it. And that would require a lot of land. In fact, substituting just 10 per cent of fossil fuels to biofuels for all our vehicles would require about 40 per cent of the entire cropland in Europe and North America. That is simply not sustainable.
Of course, reducing the amount of fuel we use, no matter what the type, is very important. But the authors of [a] recent article in Science say that if our primary motive in switching to biofuels is to reduce global warming, then we have to look at all our options for the land that would be needed to grow fuel crops. ...
In other words, biofuels alone are not the quick-fix answer to global warming. In fact, strong legislated policies to improve the efficiency of our cars, homes and industries is a much more effective strategy. In the longer term, biofuels may certainly play an important role. Some technologies, like cellulosic ethanol, which is made from woody debris, are very promising and they need to be supported by government and industry now, so they can be available on a larger scale in the coming years. Biofuels have many advantages, but we have to look at all our options and make sure we make the best choices to ensure a more sustainable future."

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John Edwards Feeling Pretty

As a follicley challenged person I watched this with bemusement and a touch of envy.
Enjoy.

Food For Thought

I enjoy cooking. I have a limited repertoire but I try new things all the time.
Yesterday I got a mortar & pestle. The thing weighs 15 pounds!

Of course I started grinding everything in sight. It does a great job.

Food can certainly bring people together and since buying my apt. I have been entertaining. It’s a great way to bring friends together and make new friends. But one important thing cooking can do is to help some one.
A good friend of mine has had a doozey of a month. I won’t go into details but they say things come in threes and she has had three big ones come her way. So the only way I could help was to cook and let her chill out with no worries for an evening. I am lucky to work near the best green market in NY, the 14th St. green market recently featured in the NY Times with Alice Waters.

So dinner consisted of butternut squash soup, I ground the cinnamon of course, fresh corn, heirloom tomatoes and nectarines. Simple and tasty.
It was just what she needed and it was a great pleasure to see her relax.
Cook with a friend it will bring you together in a way that can’t be beat.

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A Picture...

Is worth a thousand words.

Thanks to VeloNews www.velonews.com

Develop Don’t Destroy Is The New Robert Moses

On a sultry August day on the porch of Gracie Mansion in 1955 there was a show down between Robert Moses and the great Walter O’Malley. On that day the Brooklyn Dodgers and the sad corner of Flatbush and Atlantic were left to their ignoble fates.


The scare tactics of Develop Don’t Destroy and other misguided blogs listed below are detrimental to a real discourse of how Brooklyn can and will grow.
The eyesore of the Atlantic Yards will be developed and will be a great addition to the borough.

Brooklyn suffered from the first time a sports arena was proposed for the site and blocked. Walter O’Malley tried to build a stadium there designed by Buckminster Fuller which would have kept the Dodgers in Brooklyn Walter O’Malley tried to build a stadium there designed by Buckminster Fuller which would have kept the Dodgers in Brooklyn
It was blocked by Robert Moses and has remained a blight ever since.
(Click on the highlighted sentence to read the story.)
The anti Atlantic Yards blogs claim this isn’t true well…
The only thing that isn’t true is actual footprints are slightly different. Their claims are lame, disingenuous and desparate.

Now there is an opportunity for an arena, shopping and housing to be designed by one of America’s better architects.
Brooklyn like all of New York is going to grow and no amount of caterwauling by self important luddites is going to stop it.


Here are some links to the blogs mentioned above.
http://www.atlanticyards.com/index.html
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/
http://www.nolandgrab.org/
http://www.developdontdestroy.org/


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Luciano Pavarotti - Ave Maria - Central Park 1993




Luciano Pavarotti performed in Central Park on a spectacular summer evening in June of ’93.
I had friends out sailing on my first boat, a Tanzer 22’, and we got back to the mooring in time to run into the city, grab a bottle of wine and find a spot under a big tree. We were way back but could see the stage and the sound system was updated earlier for the “Opera in the Park” series so everyone had great sound. We had a wonderful sail and a spectacular evening
It was one those fabulous moments in NYC when 100 thousand plus people came together for something special. That he did those wonderful concerts all over the world he let so many people hear his magnificent voice and the music he loved.

I feel I am lucky to live here and have seen the Beach Boys concert, Elton John, Simon & Garfunkle and of course the incomparable Pavarotti in the great lawn of Central Park with so many other New Yorkers. It’s hard for people outside New York to realize what we have and share as a community.

He was greatly loved and will be missed.

Abdullah Gul Elected President of Turkey

Walking through Istanbul with my Turkish friend last year, a modern dressed secular woman, I watched in shock as she was shunned by women with scarves who turned their backs on her.
The rise of the AKP Party is giving the more religious Turks the support and impetus to force the country into an Islamist state.
The election of Abdullah Gul will only split the country further. He may be a moderate but he encourages and emboldens the more fundamental elements.
It could have the effect that the military will feel the need to step in again to change the government. Look at the harsh language in the warning the military issued just yesterday. That would be a disaster to their EU hopes and for the economy.

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President Bush compares Iraq War to Vietnam

OK It is now official.
Bush will say and do anything to continue his disastrous war.
The Cambodian comparison is beyond the pale. We weren’t in Cambodia, were we? That’s another story.
What a tortured misuse of history. Using veterans to spread his lies does their service a disservice.
Take a look.

Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire C-SPAN

Everything he said in 1994 has come true. He even uses the word quagmire".
The sad part is when he talks about the "worth" of lives that would be lost if we moved to take Bagdad.
Watch the video and pass it on.

Health Care OR Extortion?

Today Massachusetts requires all state citizens to purchase healthcare or face financial penalties. Laurie McGinley writes in the Wall Street Journal
“Those who don't comply will risk losing their personal tax exemption, about $219. In later years, the penalty will be increased, and will top more than $1,000 for some people.”

If a group of thugs comes to a pizzeria and demands “protection money” that is extortion. For the state to demand that individuals buy insurance (protection money?) from the thieving companies that deny surgeries, block preventative care, and send people home from hospitals before they are ready this is also EXTORTION.

Extortion is NOT healthcare.

Every one of the Democrats except for Kucinich
(who has no chance of serving) are touting the same “healthcare”. The biggest disappointment is Hilary who made a mess of her efforts to confront healthcare early in the Clinton Presidency and now won’t dare face down the insurance companies.

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Summer Cooking

For past two to three years I’ve have embarked on cooking for friends and throwing parties. I’ve always cooked for myself and see it as a great urban past time. Whether it’s a cocktail party for fifteen or just a few friends for dinner I try to push myself and not poison my friends.
One thing I’ve learned is to “be prepared”. Shopping early, cutting everything and having everything ready before cooking, "mis en place", helps reduce the anxiety and makes it possible to enjoy the party with my friends.
So here is a quick tip for summer.
Roma tomatoes are just coming out and are affordable. I take a bag of them and cut them into quarters, salt and pepper them, drizzle with olive oil and broil them till almost burnt. Having them available makes salads, sauces and bruscetta easy and spur of the moment sauce should you have friends over.
Enjoy your friends and the summer bounty

Even More on the Atlantic Yards

There is loud wailing from the poor folks over at No Land Grab, Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and Curbed. Because their real last obstacle they threw up in front of the Atlantic Yards project came to an end.

Of course their argument as reported in the New York Times was a sad cry of 60's paranoia.

"The plaintiffs argued that any public benefit of the project was incidental, and the true purpose was to enrich the developer, Forest City Ratner Companies, and its investors."

Oh dear the mean developer wants to make a profit. Well yes, and Brooklyn will benefit as well.
Now let’s get on with it and get it built.

Milan-San Remo 2007

Great to Disco in second place.

A Little More on the Atlantic Yards,

The Atlantic Yards, and the development of the Nets Arena, Housing and shopping at Flatbush and Atlantic Aves. in Brooklyn is now moving forward.
The bloggers and readers of No Land Grab, Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and Curbed continue to prattle on with their anti Atlantic Yards, views to no avail.
They are wasting their time and energies. The Atlantic Yards, are happening all for he good of Brooklyn.

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Some Good News

After losing his restaurant on Waverly Gus has reopened.

GUS’S PLACE Gus Theodoro will reopen his Greenwich Village Greek spot, which has been closed for two years, in a new location today, with a menu that is more broadly Mediterranean: 192 Bleecker Street (Macdougal Street), (212) 777-1660.

Scroll down to read the notice in the Times.

Same Gus, same great food. Go!

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The Saddest Sentence…

I’ve ever heard was just reported on the News Hour
a few minutes ago.
“A sixth young girl was sent home, she is not expected to live.”
This is of course in reference to the shooting in Pennsylvania.
“..sent home. She is not expected to live.”
She is being sent home to die with her family. Maybe in the scope of things, a better situation than finding your daughter already dead. The family will be by her side if death comes. But how horrible is that?
To see those horse drawn carriages that most of us think of a quaint bringing the parents to the funerals of their children I can only think, “How unfair”.
I don’t care for fairness anymore. The NRA is wrong and needs to be fought at every level. Charleston Heston can stay in his mansion grasping his flintlock as his poor brain turns to goo. Guns kill people, people with guns kill children.
Stop it.

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Pledge of Allegiance History

1892 The Pledge of Allegiance and the salute are devised.

1898 First flag salute in New York State.

1919 Washington is the first state to make the pledge mandatory.

1924 “Of America” is added to the pledge.

1935 Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to say the pledge.

1940 U.S. Supreme Court rules that public school students may be expelled if they don’t say the pledge.

1942 Congress strikes the extended arm salute and codifies that the pledge be said with the right hand over the heart.

1943 U.S. Supreme Court reverses itself, ruling that students have a constitutional right not to say the pledge.

1954 “Under God” is added to the pledge.

2002 The 9th U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals rules that “Under God” is unconstitutional.

2004 U.S. Supreme Court throws out the 2002 federal court decision.

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