As of now it’s a mystery why Caroline Kennedy has suddenly and shockingly dropped her bid for the US Senate seat from New York, given up by Hillary Clinton upon her appointment as US Secretary of State.

The frontrunner, once again, is Andrew Cuomo, presently NY State Attorney General, and member of another political dynasty. But there are other candidates for the job, including Manhattan Representative Carolyn Maloney, and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. One thing is for sure: Governor Paterson has some strong candidates, and promises to announce his decision by the weekend. And I sure hope he does because without Kennedy in the equation, we can stop all the speculation — “Is she qualified/not qualified?”, and all the talk of Camelot, and the continuity of a Kennedy in the Senate, yadda yadda. New York can finally get down to business, fill the seat, and work with our new administration to BEGIN the process of fixing things

If you want to see a great picture gallery of this year’s Village Halloween Parade, click here.

Photo credit: Jeanne Fleming/Wikimedia Commons. Picture from the 1998 Village Halloween Parade. Notice the Twin Towers lit up in the background.
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Thank you Pamela Skillings, About.com’s Manhattan guide.

As almost everyone knows, the NYC Marathon is on for this coming Sunday, November 2. I always watch it on TV, but it’s very exciting to watch it in person! However, you have to be familiar with the route and schedule of the runners in order to catch it in any of the five boroughs. The best website is : the official website of the ING NYC Marathon/NY Road Runners
Especially for newcomers to the city, visitors, or anyone otherwise new to Marathon viewing, you want to check out the website so you don’t go to the wrong place at the wrong time [or the right place at the wrong time]

Not since Christo’s “Central Park Gates” have we had an installation so impressive. Olafur Eliasson’s four “NYC Waterfalls” have come to NY Harbor. There are bike tours, boat trips, and water taxi runs, to go up close to see the falls [think Niagara Falls “Maid of the Mist”], but if you prefer to stay dry, you can view them from spots in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island as well.

Check out the official websites for locations, times, pictures, and other details.

Discussion in the blog yelp.com called “Things You Should Have Been Told Before You Moved to NYC”

Top on the list??
“Why did no one tell me that when I moved to NYC, I would have so many more boogers?”
I really never thought about it.
The dirt in the air seems to be the reason.

other warnings transplants wish they had been told
“don’t pick up “female” prostitutes between 14th and 30th Streets on the westside.” [no, this was not posted by Elliot Spitzer]

“don’t tell the guys talking in the movie theater to ‘Shut the fuck up'” [sound advice unless they’re over 80]

“You have to actually pick up your feet when you walk…the pavement and sidewalks aren’t always flat.”
[huh? you mean in other cities, they shuffle??]
anyway, you can follow the link above to read the entire article, or feel free to add your own here.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province in China, the Chinese-American communities in NYC are opening up hearts and wallets to help victims. An estimated 20,000 are believed to be dead or buried, with the toll expected to go up as rescuers go into the more remote areas. Many of the survivors are sleeping out in the street, either because their homes are gone, or they can’t trust that any structures still left standing are structurally sound enough to not collapse on them. Food is in short supply, and practically depleted.

The New York Consolidated Benevolent Association, based in Chinatown, has raised thousands as a result of a letter-writing campaign to over 60 member organizations. According to the MSNBC website, they hope to raise $100,000. And City Councilman John Liu, who represents the Asian area of Queens [including Flushing, Elmhurst, and Bayside], urges New Yorkers to donate to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which is also sending relief to victims of the recent cyclone in Myanmar.

Today on ABC news, reporter NJ Burkett was in Albany, talking with legislators to get their take on Governor Eliot Spitzer’s resignation, and our new Governor as of Monday, David Patterson.

It had already been mentioned several times that New York State’s first African-American and legally-blind governor is well-liked and has a great sense of humor. But Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind summed it up as only the Yiddish language can: “He’s a mensch”, said Hikind of Patterson. For those of you who don’t know Yiddish, or aren’t from New York, a “mensch” is someone every Jewish young lady wants to bring home– a real man, a human being, a really good guy!

Nice to know we will have a mensch in Albany!