Dear Air Force,

When you decide that it would be neat to take photos of the “backup” to Air Force One flying close to the Statue of Liberty and taking almost exactly the same flight path as the planes that took out the WTC towers in 2001, it would be nice to, I don’t know, let the people of NYC know about it ahead of time. Might be nice to at least let the freakin’ mayor know about it, for starters. You scared the hell out of a lot of people and pissed a lot more off today. But, at least you got your photo op!

Tell us ahead of time next time or we’ll break your kneecaps.

Love,
NYC

This weekend, while everyone was out enjoying the lovely (if a bit hot for April) weather, news was breaking all over the place about the new swine flu variant that has killed 20 and infected 1,000+ in Mexico. There are confirmed cases in the U.S., including several at a private school in Queens, but no deaths and only one hospitalization have occurred in this country. The flu virus, a mix of pig, bird, and human flu viruses, has the possibility to become a pandemic because it seems to be easily transmissible from human to human, and it is killing young adults rather than infants, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems.

Of course, people are beginning to panic, and the European Union has issued a warning urging its citizens to avoid travel to the U.S. and Mexico in hopes of heading off a global pandemic, but don’t shutter yourselves inside and prepare to wait out the flupocalypse in your bunker just yet.

The Centers for Disease Control have said that this particular strain is vulnerable to two commonly available flu medications, and the U.S. has not issued any travel advisories for its citizens (though they’re expected to issue one for travel to Mexico shortly). Common sense should prevail – wash your hands frequently, especially if you’re around someone who is sneezing or coughing. If you have flu symptoms, call your doctor, and don’t rush to the nearest ER if you just have a slight fever. And finally, read only reliable sources (scroll down for links to CDC and WHO) and stay away from “end of the world” and conspiracy websites. Don’t panic! You have more to fear right now from crazy taxi drivers than swine flu.

Little Jazmina only has 2 months to live, at best, if she doesn’t get a bone-marrow transplant right away. Jazmina, a 6-year-old, who attends PS41 in Greenwich Village, has a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. She is adopted, so there is no access to her biological family.

All New Yorkers — but especially African-Americans — are needed for a bone marrow screening today [Saturday] at PS41 from 10am to 2pm, at 116 W. 11th Street, west of 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village. This screening will put you in the National Bone Marrow Registry, so even if you are not a match for Jazmina, you may be able to help someone in the future. And it’s completely painless; no blood, and no needles. The screening is done by a saliva swab from the inner cheek.

Today on the bus ride home, I got freaked.

1. I realized that when a bus is 11 minutes late and it’s below freezing outside, time seems to slow down.
2. I realized that standing on ice makes you colder.
3. I realized was that bus drivers should not speed when it’s snowing and there is ice on the ground.

And if they do speed, they should give themselves enough time to brake for red lights – instead of carrying on with their speed through red lights…

Bus drivers in Queens, if you’re reading this, please for the love of life, do NOT speed after it has just snowed.

I’ll appreciate it. Mmk, thanks.

All schools (and also most if not all universities) in NYC are closed today due to the snow.

I found out first from my friend Annie on Facebook…she knows, she’s a teacher.

Hooray! Kids in NYC! This is like a major event. The last time we had a snow day – well we never had a snow day while growing up in the late 80s early 90s. It was always delayed school openings or leaving a little early and a weird bell schedule with strange lunch.

Make the most of this day!

My parents are on their way out to the motherland. Where does that leave me? Well, searching for an apartment while my folks sell our house here in Queens.

A lot of my friends of Indian origin have already made the move or are on their way out. And several others are taking on jobs in places besides NYC.

Is this a mass exodus or just a few people on their way out? All I know is that NYC will not be the same as it is today in just 2 years from now…probably less than that.

As soon as I saw the posters pop up for this event, they caught my eye. This year (2008) in movies was horrendous. I saw maybe 4 movies at the theaters. Mainly because most of them didn’t capture my attention or intrigue.

The Children’s Film Festivals features movies for kids ages 7 and up. All of the films selected for this year’s festival give an age recommendation and will let you know if it can or cannot be enjoyed by adults.

Check out the screening schedule that start today, February 27th and go until March 15th. Enjoy the films.

The entire gloom and doom scenario….of the tanking economy, had not been felt in NYC as much as it was all over the US. That is of course if you dont count Wall Street.

However, its slowly showing up in more visible ways, with the closure of commercial establishments. Below are some pics from a CNN ireport.

DOC-217670#

What’s the scene in your nabe ?

It will be interesting to see if the proposed boycott of Israeli products goes through at the Park Slope Food Co-Op. Read this article in CrownHeights.info for the full story. New York City’s largest and longest-established food co-op is frequented by various segments of the population, both Jewish and non-Jewish. And among Jews, shoppers run the gamut from Orthodox and Hasidic to Reform and even non-observant secular Jews.

It is not unusual for the co-op to take a political stand, reflecting the tradition of the community in which it is situated. This latest proposal would be in protest of Israel’s recent activities in Gaza.

A local Brooklyn rabbi believes that the proposal will not pass but, if it does, it will seriously impact the co-op’s membership.

New York City is going to have the highest rate of unemployment in 2009. That is primarily due to the banking industry taking a hit, but a lot of other industries that are suffering include those involved with the jewelry trade.

If I may get personal for a bit, I’m the only working member of my 3-person household right now. The harsh realities that seemed to be at a far distant are now here to stay. It’s time to move, shift and let go of the property we own so we have some cash to live with.

It’s either that or taking on a 2nd or 3rd job for me and continuing to make the efforts on holding on to what we have. I know that in the end whatever happens will have been a long time coming and exactly as the way it should be. But being presented with reality is not always so easy to deal with.

In my case, some of my clients are such that they cannot afford to pay me since they’re entrepreneurs themselves. I’m all about selfless service and continuing to support those with a strong ethical basis for whatever work they’re doing, but at this point in time, it seems as though I will have to let go of that service picture and continue being a capitalistic hound.

On the sunny side, if you live in Ithaca, NY, Fairbanks, Alaska or a number of other places, the employment rate is scheduled to stay flat or increase by a wee bit. Huzzah!

What is your experience of the current economic climate? Any better? Also, I’m open to suggestions on what additional jobs I can take on that would not conflict with my 9-5 and freelance marketing work.