Snow Day in NYC!

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!

Dirty glass of water

This dirty glass of water was OK’d by 311 when we called them this morning, to drink.

My dad found out early that all the water coming out of our taps in Queens was soiled. Apparently there’s some “work being done in your neighborhood, but all the water is OK to drink.”

Really, NYC Helpline? Really?

Take a freaking look at the muddled water. What the heck is OK to drink about that? Also, once I drank the water, I passed out for 2 hours. JK! I didn’t drink it. Anyhow, it smells strange too. A bit metallic, a bit like watered down waste . . . too graphic? Well I hope they fix it soon because otherwise I’ll be roaming the streets unshowered. And that’s a hazard in itself to New Yorkers.

The Cramps via brooklynvegan.com

Lux Interior, frontman for the seminal punk band The Cramps, died today at 62 of a preexisting heart condition. Sean at the LA Metblog covered this as well, noting how important The Cramps were to the punk scene. They were an integral part of the growing punk scene in NYC at the now-defunct CBGBs in the mid-70s and are counted as influences for a number of bands with diverse styles.

I saw them live in Southern California in the late 90s, and they kicked ass in their own inimitable way. Lux was amazing, as always.

From LA Metblog:

Lux died this morning from a pre-existing heart condition, he was 62. I met him a few times through friends and he was incredibly cool, and there’s no arguing how important The Cramps are. He’ll very truly be missed.

From MTV.com:

Born Erick Lee Purkhiser, Interior started the Cramps in 1972 with guitarist Poison Ivy (born Kristy Wallace, later his wife) — whom, as legend has it, he picked up as a hitchhiker in California. By 1975, they had moved to New York, where they became an integral part of the burgeoning punk scene surrounding CBGBs.

Their music differed from most of the scene’s other acts in that it was heavily steeped in camp, with Interior’s lyrics frequently drawing from schlocky B-movies, sexual kink and deceptively clever puns. (J.H. Sasfy’s liner notes to their debut EP memorably noted: “The Cramps don’t pummel and you won’t pogo. They ooze; you’ll throb.”) Sonically, the band drew from blues and rockabilly, and a key element of their sound was the trashy, dueling guitars of Poison Ivy and Bryan Gregory (and later Kid Congo Powers), played with maximal scuzz and minimal drumming.

Because of that — not to mention Interior’s deranged, Iggy Pop-inspired onstage antics and deep, sexualized singing voice (which one reviewer described as “the psychosexual werewolf/ Elvis hybrid from hell”) — the Cramps are often cited as pioneers of “psychobilly” and “horror rock,” and can count bands like the Black Lips, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the Reverend Horton Heat, the Horrors and even the White Stripes as their musical progeny.

103 in 1990

3 in 2008

for 34th

Give up?

That’s the number of murders for the 34th precinct of the NYPD in the year 1990 versus 2008.

That’s a -97.1% difference in the overall murder rate in that particular section of WAY THE F UPTOWN Manhattan.

The first thing that struck me when I saw the photo of Chesley Sullenberger of US Airways, the hero of yesterday’s “miracle on the Hudson”? I thought: this is a seasoned professional! In a society that values youth and tries to put older [higher-paid] employees into retirement, we should be happy that experience and maturity is obviously a valued asset at US Airways, at least for pilots. Sullenberger has been flying for 40 years, and got his training in the US Air Force. You might say he is a pilot of the “pld school”.

Ever since the deregulation of the aviation industry in 1978, airlines have been notorious cost-cutters, busting unions, and forcing employees – even pilots — to take pay cuts or early retirement. Let’s all be thankful that “Sully” was not a casualty of a cost-cutting guillotine. His cool demeanor [some passengers say he was the only one not panicking], and smooth landing were the products of his maturity and experience.

In short, let’s hear it for seasoned professionals! There are some jobs in which youth is not such an asset!

A passenger took this photo of the U.S. Airways plane crash

Though I was nowhere near the crash, it’s good to see that all 150 passengers made it off safely on the U.S. Airways flight.

My concern, when I first heard the news was that today is the coldest day of the year so far. But when watching the news, it became clear that though some people have suffered serious injuries there were also those who did not even touch the water.

Most of it is thanks due to the excellent thinking under pressure on part of the pilots. Kudos to them. I want them to be flying my every next flight.

The note below was sent to me by Gramstand today. I went there and took memorable photos, videos and conducted business. The place was very packed a lot of the time. It just goes to show you that times are tough.

I wish them tons of luck and love for the future.

Dear Friends and Customers,

The Gramstand is closing today and will host a farewell garage sale through the day. Please do stop by and purchase some odds and ends from us. We apologize for the short notice, but it was short notice for us as well.

Due to the rising cost of doing business and an overwhelming financial situation, the Gramstand has been forced to close it’s doors. Nearly five years ago, the Gramstand began serving customers by selling grams as a tiny, closet-sized stand in the Gramercy area. Less than three years ago, we moved to the East Village and began to bud. This past summer, attempts to expand at a new Upper East Side location, exacerbated our crunch and stunted our growth.

We are hopefully that there is a future for the Gramstand and would like to keep you posted on our evolution. The Gramstand staff has become very attatched to our community of patrons and supporters and we appreciate all the passionate, save-the-store responses. We cannot thank you enough for supporting us. And whatever our future is, we promise to keep building chill spaces that attract good people. Please look to our emails and website (www.gramstand.com) for updates.

Hope to see you today for the sale!  We got mini-fridges, counters, tables, chairs, coffee tables, speakers, glass-ware, jasmine soap, etcha-sketches and lots of wicker among other things. So come buy or just say hi!

One of the longest fought battles over time is that between cops and citizens. We are always afraid of them, even if we haven’t done anything wrong.

A long while ago I was pulled over by a bunch of cops who accused me out right of having taped buildings and other NYC landmarks with the intent to terrorize. That skirmish was followed up by a visit to my house from 2 extremely burly cops part of the anti-terrorism squad of New York City.

Your tax dollars at work.

Recently, three officers were indicted in a Subway brutality case. These officers sodomized a 24 year old man on the subway.

Powerful police officers will do nearly anything to get their way. Their doubts are often unfounded, their abuse of power is rampant and their racial profiling an every day reality.

The worst part is that even with this indictment this behavior will continue. I’m suggesting that there be an advanced course given to all police officers in training on quick-judgments, anti-substance abuse and medtiation and yoga. Hey, if it could work for prisoners, I’m sure that their aggressive counterparts could benefit from the same.

All I want is some responsible police officers who are not just a glorified fraternity with pistols.

After my post about Black Friday madness I woke up to find a serious note: a Wal-mart employee in Valley Stream was killed by a stampede of people shopping during Black Friday.

We all do our part in contributing to the insanity and if the retailers would make the events last just a while longer it could save such trouble. It’s all a Catch-22. If you increase the hours of the sale then not as many people will come shop for goods and then the day would no longer be Black Friday. It would just be another sale event.

I don’t care what retailers end up doing—no amount of money justifies the death of a human being. That is absolute insanity

And if companies like Wal-Mart know that their employees are going to be facing unusual volume, they should take security measures prior to the day. But then again Wal-Mart is rated as one of the worst companies to work for so I can’t imagine them having this sort of insight.

I sincerely am sorry that a person actually died because of a sale.

Last night in Mumbai, India, there were a series of coordinated terror attacks across the city. Reports coming in say there still may be hostages in some areas and there are over 100 dead with hundreds more injured. Arzan at the Mumbai Metblog (who also writes for the NYC Metblog) is covering the story and has lots of information about what’s going on as the news of the attacks unfolds.

Our thoughts are with the people of Mumbai and all the people affected by these attacks.