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Cool momento mori pre-Halloween, Vanitas, the transience of pleasures and life

October 14, 2012, 3:37 am
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Fiona Krüger’s Watches “Memento Mori”

Herman Henstenburgh, 1667 – 1726 | Vanitas Still Life | Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Katsukawa Shunsho | The actors Ichikawa Danjuro V as a skeleton, spirit of the renegade monk Seigen… | Edo period, 1783 | The Art Institute of Chicago | Photography © The Art Institute of Chicago


Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the scary side of ARTstor


Halloween stems from the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain (roughly, “summer’s end”) held on October 31–November 1, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. The festival was integrated into All Saints Day, a Catholic holiday observed on November 1 to honor saints and martyrs. The evening before All Saints Day was referred to as All Hallows’ Eve, which eventually became Halloween.


Vanitas 18th Century Robert Dighton titled, “An Essay on Woman: Life and Death Contrasted



Vanitas Figure,1700's Europe

19th C Anatomical Venus, Unknown Modeller and Workshop, Museu d'Història de la Medicina de Catalunya






Ignaz Günther, approx. 1756

‘Hell’O Monsters’ (Brussels, Europe)






Fernando Vicente Vanitas





Hand Carved "Momento Mori" Skeleton Rocking Chair
A intricately carved mahogany "momento morie" rocking chair depicting a skeleton figure on rockers terminating in dragons. Probably modeled after the Mid 19th Century Russian example as illustrated in 19th century European Furniture by Christopher Payne. Vincent Price, a well-known actor in horror films, owned a whole set of skeleton chairs.
 Electric chair covered in butterflies and made entirely out of porcelain by artists Bertozzi and Casoni
 Bouke de Vries Mao Head with Skulls, a life-sized bust of Chairman Mao made out of tiny skulls made out of porcelain

"The original Vanitas paintings were concerned with the impermanence of man and his earthly pleasures in the face of death. Symbols used included human skull, as well as books, candles, hourglasses, mirrors, flowers, insects, soap bubbles and shadows, all combined to create both a literal and abstract symbolism suggestive of the transience of life.
The new show Vanitas: The Transience of Earthly Pleasures displays original works dating back to the 17th century alongside painting and sculpture from 27 international contemporary artists."


Coffins From Ghana


Coca Cola Coffin: Young carpenters open a coffin shaped in the form of a Coca Cola bottle in Teshie, a suburb of Accra January 22, 2004.

"Since pre-Columbian times, El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead has been celebrated in Mexico and other Latin countries. This is a very special ritual, as it is the day in which the living lovingly remember their departed relatives. 
For centuries the inhabitants of Mexico have created fascinating folk art expressions of the Day of the Dead: magnificently decorated skulls and catrinas, fabulous candelabra, trees of life and  attractive skeletons.  Skilful artists transform wood, clay, tin and paper into wonderful  Day of the Dead sculptures many inspired by Jose Guadalupe Posada."


Maria Jimenez
Wood Carved Skull
Bat by Luis Pablo
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Mid-October 2012

October 15, 2012, 12:22 am
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Omg what a voice. Wait for it. Sooo good. Good song!
Lake Street Dive Plays "I Want You Back" On a Boston Sidewalk


Ooh, love these sexy watches.






Faramita No.1 by Chen Qi, 2001,180x180cm,
Water Woodblock Print, editions of 20

 Chen Qi, Woodblock Prints (2008)



Zheng Shuang's "Red Cushion"


SkylarkStudio

Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction

Reminds me of Chinese cloud and water patterns


Marvelously awful cake
Spanish woman who botched Jesus fresco demands royalties


"The Spanish church earned approximately $2,000 euros in the first four days the fresco went on display to visitors. Visitors were charged 4 euros as an entrance fee.
The budget Irish airline, Ryanair, has also begun offering cheap deals to the Spanish town so that tourists can view the botched fresco.
Images of the restoration have also landed on the top of crepes in Madrid foodstalls and in a skit on the Conan O’Brien show.
Now Gimenez is taking legal action to get her share of the profits from the Spanish church.
According to the octogenarian’s lawyer, Enrique Trebolle, Gimenez wants the church “to conform to the law” in this situation.
Gimenez hopes to use any economic compensation for charitable purposes, he said.
Martinez’s descendants have said they will take legal action against the elderly pensioner for destroying the painter’s fresco, according to the Ottawa Citizen."




Outrageous.
Iraq records huge rise in birth defects, New study links increase with military action by Western forces
"The latest study found that in Fallujah, more than half of all babies surveyed were born with a birth defect between 2007 and 2010. Before the siege, this figure was more like one in 10."

The Midnight Archive - The Automata


He can't handle the name


Street Performer Playing Mozart on Water Glasses


Love the collages and drawings by woodcum.



photo

winter


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sleepysky

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mhill

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shhh




                         
Graetz 158 GWGrundig 1006 WKLorenz WendelsteinLorenz ZugspitzeTelefunken RhythmusMende 186 WU
Baujahr 1951/52Baujahr 1951/52Baujahr 1951/52Baujahr 1951/52Baujahr 1951/52Baujahr 1951/52
An online radio museum in Germany, fun and interesting exploring the site.


Quite beautiful and moving.


A collection of photographs here.


Chipmunch ;) by viwehei on Flickr.
Chipmunch ;) by viwehei on Flickr.

By simple tess
The old technology was so colorfulfrom midnight radio 
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Halloween cats, old forests, bad ads, colonial, hit man, blind archer and more

October 15, 2012, 6:33 pm
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Clove model of a two-wheeled horse-drawn coach with coachman. From the Tropenmuseum in the Netherlands.

Mango-shaped scent bottle Mid-17th century Rock crystal with rubies and emeralds set in gold H. 1 3⁄4 × W. 2 1⁄4 × D. 1 3⁄4 in. (4.5 × 5.7 × 4.5 cm)
"Carved out of rock crystal with grooves cut on the surface and inlaid with gold and gemstones, this diminutive scent bottle embodies the refined aesthetic of seventeenth-century Mughal India. Likely to have been created during the reign of Shah Jahan, this bottle is an example of the high degree of perfection Mughal artists achieved during this period. It features a network of naturalistic scrollwork of vines in gold wire, with leaves and flowers inset with precious stones and set in high relief to provide the effect of a cage enclosing the crystal. It is missing a stopper, which was probably made of enameled gold."

Korea's 'blind' archer Im Dong-Hyun aims for 2012 gold


2012 Summer Olympics
On 27 July 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London he set a
new world record score of 699 in the ranking round at Lord's Cricket Ground.

Poignant and vivid short animation about what it is like to be blind. Out of sight.




A moving article about the murder of this man's friend.



I WAS A DEAR FRIEND OF THE WOMAN "SONS OF ANARCHY" STAR IS SUSPECTED OF MURDERING

Hollywood legend Catherine Davis rented me -- and many other actors -- rooms in her home throughout her life. Johnny Lewis isn't accused of murdering an 81-year-old woman. He is accused of murdering a saint.
And another article on the same topic

Catherine Davis, allegedly murdered by Johnny Lewis, was Hollywood legend

Fascinating to read about this hit man. Yikes, a monstrous sociopath.
Richard Leonard "The Iceman" Kuklinski (April 11, 1935 – March 5, 2006) 
In a 1992 interview, Kuklinski recalled what he considered was his most sadistic murder.
"It was a man and he was begging, and pleading, and praying, I guess. And he was, 'Please, God, no,' all over the place. So I told him he could have a half an hour to pray to God and if God could come down and change the circumstances, He'd have that time. But God never showed up and he never changed the circumstances and that was that."


This would have been my kind of paradise, living in a house in the tropics, like this. From the Tropenmuseum's collection of images on Flickr

Dining table in the Koning family's house, Surabaya, around 1910 Photo Studio O. Kurkdjian & Co Tropenmuseum collection: 60025780
Interior of the house of the Koning family
Interior of the house of the family D.A.P. Koning, with Art Nouveau furniture. Above the door hangs a sign that says "east west, home is best." 
Surabaya, around 1910
Photo Studio O. Kurkdjian & Co
Tropenmuseum collection: 60025782
Veranda of the Koning family house
Surabaya, around 1910
Photo Studio O. Kurkdjian & Co
Tropenmuseum collection: 60025774

Veranda of the house of the Koning family
Surabaya, around 1910
Photo Studio O. Kurkdjian & Co
Tropenmuseum collection: 60025799


Looking for charming old graphics on the web I occasionally come across strange advertising that leaves me with the thought, what the hell were they thinking?! Or I cringe because the images depict attitudes of the past, ones that are not acceptable in today's advertising world or that would cause an outcry. What's sad to think is the entitlement of those in the past who knew the racist, sexist or bigoted images could not be spoken out against at that time.

Or they are just weird images, that seem to me not to offer an endorsement of the product they were supposed to be enhancing.


The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 with illustrations by Paul Gustave Doré
The Moving Moon Went Up to the Sky
The Ice Was All Around
The Ship Fled the Storm
I Looked Upon The Rotting Sea
In Crimson Colors Came
The Sails Made On a Pleasant Noise

In the mood for old images of forests. A few from the New York Public Library digital collection.
Image ID: 1263316
Vue prise dans les forets de L'ile Peel. (1835-1836)
Image ID: 1263325
Vue dans l'interieur de L'ile Lucon. (1835-1836)
Image ID: 1263317
Vue dans l'interieur de L'ile Peel. (1835-1836)
Image ID: 1248623
A South prospect of the River Praa and the Forest of Assin. (1824)
Image ID: 1662551
Falls near Schooley's Springs / J. Milbert ; (Paris, 1828-9)  [Itinéraire pittoresque du fleuve Hudson. ] (1828-1829)
Image ID: 110050
View of Imaichi, at Nikko Road (188-?-189-?)
Image ID: 1220175
The Darien expedition, cutting through the forest.

Image ID: 1263283
Foret de L'Jile Sitkha. (1835-1836)
Image ID: 1263315
Vue prise dans les bois. (1835-1836)

Halloween cats

















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A few talking critters and other stuff

October 22, 2012, 7:22 pm
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Talking critters. Animals who mimic human speech cadence and sound.

Auditory Neuroscience


Mishka the talking dog. I love you.

Mishka, 12 words. Aww, that Obama is said so delicately.


Hoover, the talking seal (this is the better link), who sounds uncannily like the fisherman, who adopted him.


Beluga whale mimics human speech



So interesting to see words being spoken.

Fascinating this. The McGurk Effect. The "McGurk Effect" illustrates that what our eyes see can influence what we hear.

Saw this in person and experienced it a little too, when I had 4 subarachnoid bleeds 6 years ago, which the doctor told me was a stroke. Broca's aphasia. Accessing the word files gets blocked. Some words come through and other words are unavailable and, oddly, sometimes the wrong words - like bizarrely inappropriate or even the opposite meaning words -  came in the place of the one I want to say. This has healed pretty much totally in 6 years although my writing skills are not what they used to be, lots of typos and less ability. Being online, reading a LOT online, writing a lot - even badly written comments - has really helped my brain heal.

So poignant to see/hear Wernicke's Aphasia

Reading about The role of Pitch in Speech, the example used is Bush saying "I know that human being and fish can coexist peacefully." Wondering if he actually said this ( he did, not surprisingly), down the internet rabbit hole I plummeted.

This collection of Bushisms as a poem and the back story behind each incredible flub gave me a number of really good bellylaughs and giggles. The pit bull on the pantleg of opportunity, brings tears of laughter, even after repeated readings.
This following poem is composed entirely of actual quotes from George W. Bush.
Make the Pie Higher
I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen
And uncertainty
And potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the internet
Become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being and the fish
Can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope
Where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher!
Make the pie higher!
Source: Richard Thompson
So interesting the origin of the term spam, meaning junk email.


Who knew there was a term for thwacking the dang electrical gizmo to see if that works?
Percussive maintenance.

Famous examples of percussive maintenance in history

  • In 1969 during the Apollo 12 mission, Pete Conrad was working on a piece of equipment called the ALSEP. He was trying to remove its power source from its case so that he could insert it into the device but was having difficulty. Alan Bean suggested he hit it with a hammer. Conrad resisted at first but eventually gave it a tap. It worked, leading Bean to quip, "Don't come to the moon without a hammer."
  • In December 2006, NASA astronauts Robert "Beamer" Curbeam and Sunita "Suni" Williams spent a generous amount of time shaking and pushing a stubborn solar panel into its case so they could move it to a different location on the International Space Station.
Whoa. Important to keep an open mind, even on topics about which one feels passionately.


How facts backfire

Researchers discover a surprising threat to democracy: our brains


"Facts don’t necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite. In a series of studies in 2005 and 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs. Facts, they found, were not curing misinformation. Like an underpowered antibiotic, facts could actually make misinformation even stronger."

Taking music to the hospital? La Traviata may help the healing process.
La Traviata. Full opera, with Renée Fleming, who I adore. Such a brilliant thinker as well as marvelous voice. About La Traviata.

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Hurricane Sandy in Hell's Kitchen, NYC October 28th 2012

October 28, 2012, 8:01 am
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It's Sunday morning, 10:24am and this is what it's like in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, waiting for Hurricane Sandy to touch down.

The sound of the city is hushed, almost like a snow storm, that special quiet. The temperature is a bit chilly. A little chillier than a regular October day. It's 60F or so but it has a damp, cold edge, already steadily windy.

My downstairs neighbors are clearing out their patios. I suggested they sweep around the drains in the back alley to clear them of dead leaves, so it is less likely to flood their ground floor apartments.

Another neighbor was cleaning his fire escape of ceramic pots. He looked up at me through the fire escape and said, "Battening down?" and I said yes. There is a sense of friendly and supportive community in the preparedness.

There is a pewter gray, solidly overcast sky with a diffused brightness.

The view down the back alley on West 49th Street. Still some leaves on the Ailanthus altissima trees, Morning Glory vines and the planter with Periwinkle.
The view South East towards Times Square.
The view South West towards the Hudson River.
The Jasmine and Impatiens plants, which I'll probably end up bringing indoors for the duration of the storm, once it starts.
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Pre-Hurricane Sandy, Sunday night, October 28th 2012 in Hell's Kitchen NYC

October 28, 2012, 6:15 pm
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It's night in Hell's Kitchen. Sunday night but more quiet than usual. Not even a siren.

No wind just now.

A darkly clouded night sky.

Getty Images

This is way cool. Listen to this video. The Hudson River Harbor live cam with excellent sounds of intense winds whistling and buffeting. It will be a good one to watch tomorrow, Monday.

Hurricane Sandy is barreling down the pike.

Delightfully entertaining: @Elbloombito


From the New York Times:

5:45 pm
Overview: What's Open and What's Not
A subway rider exits the 14th Street station.
Michael Appleton for The New York TimesA subway rider exits the 14th Street station.

Evacuations: Mandatory in Zone A, which covers parts of all five boroughs. See map for details and list of shelters.
Transportation:
M.T.A. subways, buses and Long Island and Metro-North Railroads: Service suspended beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday night. It is not clear when it will begin again. For status, check the M.T.A.’s Web site.
PATH: Suspended as of 12:01 a.m. Monday.
New Jersey Transit: Shutdown has begun, full shutdown expected by 2 a.m. Monday.
Amtrak: Northeast Corridor service north of New York stopping at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Airports: All major airlines expected to halt operations by Sunday night. Port Authority urges travelers to contact individual airlines. Updates can be found on the agency’s Web site.
Roads: M.T.A. may close bridges if sustained winds exceed 60 miles per hour.
Staten I. Ferry: Last boat from Staten Island at 8 p.m. Last boat from Manhattan at 8:30.
East River Ferries: Suspended.
*
Schools: Closed in N.Y.C. and much of the surrounding region. For updates in N.Y.C., check the Education Department’s Twitter page.
Garbage collection: Monday trash collection is on. Weigh down your trash cans so they don’t blow away.
Street cleaning and parking meter rules: Suspended.
City offices: Open (but not courts, see below).
Courts: Closed in N.Y.C. and on Long Island, as well as in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange and Dutchess counties, except for arraignments and emergency applications.
N.Y.C. Parks: Closed.
N.Y.C. Libraries: Closed. Due dates postponed till libraries reopen.
Retail banks: Chase deciding on case-by-case basis. We are checking on others.
Stock Exchanges: New York Stock Exchange trading floor to be closed, but trading will continue online. Nasdaq open online. Read more.
Other general info:
Information for New Jersey residents can be found on the Web site for the state’s Office of Emergency Management.
Long Island residents can find updates on the Web site of the Office of Emergency Management for Nassau County.
Connecticut residents can go to the site for the state’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.


Maps and animated maps of the storm.


Zone A is being evacuated.
Whoa. City Island is being evacuated. 
Zone A includes the following areas of New York City:
• Coney Island, Manhattan Beach and Red Hook and other areas along the East River in Brooklyn;
• All of the Rockaways, as well as Hamilton Beach and
Broad Channel in Queens;
• Almost all of the coastline of Staten Island;
• City Island, a small patch of Throgg’s Neck, and another patch of the South Bronx in the Bronx;
• Battery Park City and stretches of the West Side waterfront and of the Lower East Side and East Village in Manhattan.
A total of 375,000 people live in Zone A alone.






















































































Via  Powerful Storm Brings Down NY Times Paywall: "The Times is providing free unlimited access to storm coverage..."


The origin of the term, Frankenstorm for Sandy, via 
The term  was made up in an HPC forecast published on Oct 25th. Then popularized by CBS's 


 "THE LION'S
SHARE OF GUIDANCE INDICATES THAT THE CIRCULATION ASSOCIATED WITH
HURRICANE SANDY WILL PASS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE AMPLIFYING POLAR
TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES TO BECOME INCORPORATED INTO
A HYBRID VORTEX OVER THE MID ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST NEXT TUESDAY.
THE HIGH DEGREE OF BLOCKING FROM EASTERN NORTH AMERICA ACROSS THEENTIRE ATLANTIC BASIN IS EXPECTED TO ALLOW THIS UNUSUAL MERGER TOTAKE PLACE, AND ONCE THE COMBINED GYRE MATERIALIZES, 
IT SHOULD SETTLE BACK TOWARD THE INTERIOR NORTHEAST THROUGH HALLOWEEN,
INVITING PERHAPS A GHOULISH NICKNAME FOR THE CYCLONE ALONG THE
LINES OF "FRANKENSTORM", AN ALLUSION TO MARY SHELLEY'S GOTHIC
CREATURE OF SYNTHESIZED ELEMENTS."



Over 7,000 flights canceled as major U.S. airports eye storm


Interesting point about the drop in the jet stream meeting Sandy.

Unusual for NYC: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will shut down its buses and the subway system Sunday at 7 p.m., Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced. It will attempt to keep the Staten Island Railway running, but made no guarantees.


Hurricane Sandy

( Andrew Burton / Getty Images / October 28, 2012 )
In preparation for Hurricane Sandy, construction workers cover air vents that could cause the New York subway system to flood. The MTA has announced that at 7 p.m. all subway, bus and commuter rail service will be shut down in response to the storm.

Hurricane Sandy

( Mike Stobe / Getty Images / October 28, 2012 )
A man surfs in Long Beach, N.Y., as Hurricane Sandy approaches. The storm has already claimed more than 50 lives in the Caribbean.



NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) Commissioner Jerome M. Hauer today announced that the state's Hurricane Sandy Helpline is operational for New York State residents in anticipation of the storm’s landfall. Residents can call 1–888-769-7243 or 1-518-485-1159 for information about preparing for the hurricane and its impact. Information will also be available for referrals to County Emergency Management Offices and American Red Cross Shelters and road closures. Language translation services are also available by request. 


Received this useful and a bit scary email from my cable company.

   Hurricane Sandy - Preparedness Announcement to RCN Customers
   Not displaying correctly? Click Here to view in your browser.
Hurricane Sandy - Storm Watch

Dear RCN Customer,

Ensuring your safety and delivery of services is our first mission.

RCN would like to provide you an update on Hurricane Sandy and our readiness plans. RCN is closely monitoring the approach of Hurricane Sandy, which has the potential to cause outages within our service territory. We have initiated our Incident Response Plan to prepare for the storm.

In anticipation of the storm, we have mobilized all employees and are already working on RCN network preparedness. Currently, operations are operating under normal conditions; however, we will adjust our operational plans based on the severity of Hurricane Sandy. Additional operational crews are on stand-by, ready to ensure any service outages are restored quickly.

Our recovery efforts are synched with the 911/first responders and utility companies to ensure the safe and efficient restoration of services should an outage occur.

For more information and updates, visit www.rcn.com/stormwatch or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Thank you,
The Entire RCN Staff 


My roommate, a film editor, was told not to come to work tomorrow



Storm Outage Hotline
1.800.746.4726

www.rcn.com/stormwatch

RCN on Facebook  RCN on Twitter


Safety Tips

  • Stay away from cable and power lines. Assume any linesare energized and dangerous.
  • Tune into local news broadcasts for the latest weather and emergency information.
  • Follow the advice of your local emergency management officials.
  • Take cover if necessary.
  • To report an outage,call 1-800-RING-RCN (1-800-746-4726) or find immediate support on our Facebook andTwitter sites.

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Hurricane Sandy, Monday October 29th 2012, Hell's Kitchen, NYC

October 29, 2012, 12:24 pm
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The statue of Liberty weathering the storm today. (A pic from the movie The Day After Tomorrow)


Here in Hell's Kitchen it's a mild October Day, a bit drizzly. Very low barometric pressure so I feel very sleepy.



The view out my window just now.



The real trouble is in the storm surge, the flooding that has already started to occur.

And there's a partially toppled crane at 157 West 57th Street, the gazillionaires building, between Sixth and Seventh Avenue, eight blocks away, that looks like it lost its, er, oomph.

"Damaged, dangling crane atop (for now) 1 57th Street NYC" by Jonathan Wald

HT ....landfall of  now looks to occur around 530p or 6p along the Jersey Shore.


 Damn Its TRUE!12m
East river park. 10:30 am.  




Hurricane Sandy Eyes DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia And New York (PHOTOS, LIVE UPDATES)


AP/The Huffington Post  |  Posted:  Updated: 10/29/2012 2:04 pm EDT
Waves wash over the seawall near high tide at Battery Park in New York, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, as Hurricane Sandy approaches the East Coast. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)


PHOTO: FDR Drive In NYC Flooded
Here is a photo of the flooding on the FDR Drive in New York, courtesy of HuffPost's Mike Ryan

Hurricane Sandy: View From Above 


FROM THE TIMES BUILDING: MONDAY, OCT. 29 2:06 PM ET

Here is the 5 am NOAA forecast for :. Storm has strengthened. Its center should arrive in NJ tonight.


A Closed Central Park Leaves Dogs at a Loss
John Blondel and Rollo, a white Labrador, were denied access to Central Park.Liz Robbins/The New York TimesJohn Blondel and Rollo, a white Labrador, were denied access to Central Park.
They were crestfallen, whimpering in disbelief. The city’s dogs walked right up to an east side entrance of Central Park, saw the fence and could not fathom why they – and their owners – were not allowed in. For a little wind? Light rain? They had seen worse.
“I may have to carry him away,” said John Blondel, nodding to Rollo, a spry-looking white Labrador who was 10 and a half years old. Rollo decided to engage in a sit-down strike in front of the 79th Street entrance on Fifth Avenue.
Mr. Blondel, 56, who is in the investment management division for Goldman Sachs, had driven from his apartment in the West Village to give Rollo his daily constitution. Later, he would work from home. “This is going to be it for a while,” he said to his friend.
Soon, Rollo was joined by several other dogs dragging their walkers to yet another blocked entrance. “They’re just amazed,” Mr. Blondel said.
When a gust of wind blew an opening in the temporary fencing, Rollo was wise to the opportunity. Mr. Blondel had to pull him back and head to the car.
The city’s parks had been closed since Sunday evening, and the morning scene was an abject one indeed. As joggers dashed by on the slippery, leaf-laden sidewalk adjacent to the park – some took advantage of the empty bus lanes to run in the street – they had to dodge the dogs, who were similarly displaced from their morning routine.


and

Mr. Bloomberg said that about 3,000 people had come in to city shelters, a tiny percentage of the 370,000 covered under the evacuation order, most of whom are presumably staying elsewhere. Pets are allowed at shelters, and the mayor said that about 70 had been brought in.

Red Hook, Brooklyn is flooded
Via , the view from Red Hook: .
By 

More from Red Hook, via , as the surge rises at Valentino Pier

Out at the end of Long Island in Sag Harbor
 Kathryn Menu
Long Wharf in Sag Harbor; 9:24 am, Monday

On Twitter, enjoying the  tweets

Lindsay Lohan renames  Sally, believes thinking positive will overcome the hurricane 

Somebody prayed for less Election coverage, and thus  was born.


It's official! NYSE and Nasdaq will be closed for a second day thanks to Sandy.    


, if we haven't made this clear enough, the Humans of the Eastern Seaboard would like to sacrifice Goldman Sachs to your angry gods.


Cute. 

New Crisis Response maps feature preparedness information for Hurricane Sandy

Sunday 10/28/2012 01:47:00 PM




Google has also launched a NYC-specific version of the map that features evacuation information from NYC Open Data, as well as live webcams and details on emergency shelters.



At least it's not like this yet:


Or this:

Beautiful photo of  in New York keithcalder.com

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Hurricane Sandy in Hell's Kitchen, Monday evening October 29th 2012

October 29, 2012, 5:40 pm
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Waiting for Sandy

Here is Eighth Avenue a couple of hours ago. Quiet, little traffic.

Here is West 49th Street, rainy but not bad really.

Rain splattering the camera lens.

News just now that the power is likely to go out.
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Hurricane Sandy, Hell's Kitchen, Monday night, assorted pics and vids

October 29, 2012, 8:21 pm
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It looks like the worst of the flooding is over in Manhattan. The water went up to over 13 feet throughout lower Manhattan.

There's a post-Sandy Part 1 party going on in the alley in back of my building. They're happy their apartment didn't flood and Hell's Kitchen still has electricity.

Whoa, the flooding came close to Hell's Kitchen. From Minervous' Flickr photostream, just down the street at the Intrepid on the Hudson River.

Tomorrow is Sandy Part Deux.

Some of the unusual pics/tweets/videos of today.

Wind blows down the wall of a small residential building on West 15th Street and Eighth Avenue.
At 44 seconds.

(7:57 PM EDT: NYPD say no injuries following facade collapse at New York City apartment building.)


NYT Firefighters inspect a collapsed building facade in the Manhattan borough of New York, Oct. 29, 2012

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/29/4371402/hurricane-sandy-disrupting-travel.html#article_photos#storylink=cpy

NYU nurses in pediatric ICU manually bagging patients on ventilators, according to a staffer. City begins emergency evacuation.

WCBS: Con Ed crews have shut off all the gas and steam pipes near collapsed crane on 57th Street.


More Reports from NYU Tisch hospital + backup generator failure. Personnel manually evacuating PICU and NICU down 9 flights of stairs.


Power out at NYU Hospital... moving patients out. Backup generators have failed.  From the news just now it seems that the patients are being moved in a fleet of ambulances to Sloan Kettering and Mt. Sinai.


PHOTO: Carousel Drowning In DUMBO
superstorm sandy dumbo carousel

Con Edison station exploding: at 22 seconds

On 50th Street windows bursting out of the building.https://twitter.com/NBCRobin/status/263078594610343938


NYC with and without electricity. Photo by nicksummers

Lower Manhattan goes dark during hurricane, as seen from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Water rushing into Battery Tunnel



14th Street and Avenue A


20th St and Ave C, Manhattan: 

Battery Tunnel c/o MTA


Ground Zero construction site

Flood waters are now under the  on 24th Street, moving towards 10th Ave.  

Water rushing into a subterranean parking garage in the Financial District. via Getty
Coney Island flooded.. 

Rockaway this afternoon

The Hoboken (NJ) Path train subway station flooding. Photograph: NY Port Authority/Reuters


Uh oh. Now it's the rats. 

Hurricane Sandy Could Displace Rats, Spread Infectious Disease


Power out in Manhattan, south of 40th Street. (Allison Joyce / Getty Images)


Chrysler Building during the storm 

The Empire State Building seen from the part of Manhattan without light, which was south of 40th Street
How Times Square looks now. Photo Imgur.


New York Magazine compares Bloomberg's sign language interpreter to "guitarist during a blistering solo." 

Hurricane Sandy’s Breakout Star: Mayor Bloomberg’s Sign Language Interpreter


Hurricane Sandy With Interpreter REMIX

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The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in NYC and environs, assorted pics, vids, tweets

October 30, 2012, 6:24 pm
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After the storm, a rainbow. A double rainbow for a superstorm.

Kurt Wilberding, a fashion and street photographer, snapped this Instagram photo in lower Manhattan, after Superstorm Sandy made its way through New York City.

The photo above is called The Day After Yesterday, taken by Noah Kalina. 

A beautifully written New York Times article about the people who died in Hurricane Sandy.

In Storm Deaths, Mystery, Fate and Bad Timing


By  and 

Published: October 30, 2012


Cars flooded in East Village.pic.twitter.com/kA3m34WX  Image courtesy Gosha Khuchua @gosha83

Flooded subway station via Imgur

A flooded subway station in New York City.

The subways are likely to be down for at least several days. Power outages south of 40th Street may continue for most of the rest of the week.

Lincoln Tunnel is working.

The Halloween Parade that usually happens every year will not take place this year because it would take up too much of the city's resources that need to go into helping those in real danger or distress after the storm.

Some of the bridges are working again.

The parks are closed because of the danger of falling branches. 

NYC schools will be closed for the third day.

If you go outside at night take a flashlight, especially if you cross any street south of 40th Street. There are no street lights or traffic lights.



FDR flooded at 81st Street and the East River. Image courtesy @GarrettGleeson

A fallen tree blocks a street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan

A fallen tree down near park benches in Manhattan's Upper West Side

Cars on Avenue C and 7th Street are submerged in floodwater which flowed through the city after Superstorm Sandy arrived

Shop owner Amanda Zink begins the arduous task of cleaning her store The Salty Paw, which was completely flooded on the waterfront of lower Manhattan


A cordon is put up around scaffolding which collapsed in New York after Superstorm Sandy caused widespread damage in the city


Tree down. Image courtesy Instagram user happyhour420

On the news just now, there are 7000 trees down in NYC. 


A fallen tree at Cooper Square in the East Village, New York, after Superstorm Sandy battered the city


Image courtesy Nirnroot

Wow. Gate C34 at New York's LaGuardia Airport  Image courtesy 

Ryan Broderick @ryanhatesthis 

twitpic.com/b8tfjy 

La Guardia Airport is closed indefinitely.


Image of ambulances waiting at NYU medical center  Image courtesy Ramss@bananarams #sandy pic.twitter.com/PH2fdmSy

The evacuation of NYU hospital in the pitch dark. Patients were slid down 9 flights of stairs on 'sleds', one by one for hours.

What is the most dangerous now is that because of the loss of electricity below 40th street, there are no traffic lights. People are walking out without flashlights. There are few or no traffic cops.

For many of the people living in high rise buildings south of 40th Street, the loss of electricity means the water pumps are not functioning and they have no water. Health aides who live in Queens and Brooklyn cannot get to Manhattan to help the elderly. Many elderly cannot negotiate the stairs, are in wheelchairs and are without water. They also may not have heat. No light, no water, cannot flush toilets, unable to get out.

I am going to volunteer tomorrow and see what I can do to be of practical help.




Truck underwater at Battery Park underpass. That truck is about 8ft high - gives sense of depth Image courtesy    pic.twitter.com/tVrxnvcH

Taxi hit by a huge tree branch while driving on the Upper West Side NYC - wife took pic walking the dog Image courtesy Elias Lopez @elopez_nyc
#HurricaneSandypic.twitter.com/Suv7OP5A

This fire in Breezy Point, Queens last night. So horrible. 80-100 houses destroyed.
Image courtesy BuzzFeed @BuzzFeed

Breezy Point devastation. Image via AP.

New York City resident Gary He posted this picture with the caption 'Dude in snorkeling mask trying to rescue his friend in Greenpoint (Brooklyn)'


Breezy Point devastation. Image via AP.

Beached: A 168-foot water tanker, the John B. Caddell, sits on the shore where it ran aground on Front Street in the Stapleton neighborhood of New York's Staten Island. Image via AP.


On the news now they said 110 homes burned down in Breezy Point.


Before and After photos of Funtown Pier. Image courtesy 

Donna D.@MildlyAmused twitpic.com/b8t60w via @bannerite


24 hour Duane Reade on Wall Street is still open. About 10 to 15 people here, shelves empty. Image courtesy patrickdehahn yfrog.com/nyp7kauj #sandy


A parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded as a result of Hurricane Sandy in Hoboken. Image courtesy MR.ESTRELLA @AllFamKid pic.twitter.com/bDawgr7Q

Sandy Aftermath: Red Hook, Brooklyn Image courtesy Sticherbeast

In Brooklyn, image via AP

An Oyster in the Storm: the oysters that once protected New Yorkers from storm surges, a bivalve population that numbered in the trillions and that played a critical role in stabilizing the shoreline from Washington to Boston.

(Photo: Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images)
Aerial View of New Jersey Coast Line After Hurricane Sandy from the National Guard
The flooded Jersey Shore, image via Imgur

AmTrak is resuming service in a very limited way. First, they'll need to take the storm debris off the tracks.
Reuters
A boat rests on tracks at Metro-North's Ossining Station on the Hudson Line on Tuesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, in New York.
A man and child look in disbelief at a collapsed house in the Cosey Beach neighborhood of East Haven, Connecticut
It's snowing post Hurricane Sandy in West Virginia, image via Imgur
Blizzard in Appalachia. "Superstorm Sandy buried parts of West Virginia under more than a foot of snow on Tuesday, cutting power to at least 264,000 customers and closing dozens of roads. At least one death was reported. The storm not only hit higher elevations hard as predicted, communities in lower elevations got much more than the in lower elevations got much more than the dusting of snow forecasters had first thought from a dangerous system that also brought significant rainfall, high wind gusts and small-stream flooding."

More photographs of Sandy and its aftermath here and here.

Flood water is toxic. It is polluted with sewage, petroleum and other toxic waste.
Tip #1: Boil or Bleach Your Water
According to Besser, “For a boiled water advisory you need to boil your water for at least one minute of full boil.  If you don’t have power and can’t do that you can take a gallon of water and add eight drops of bleach to  that water and that will make that safe to drink.”
Tip #2: Wait to Clean Out the Floods
“You want to have good light so you can see what you’re doing,” Besser said.  “When you have a couple of feet of water in your basement there may be sharp objects.  There may also be electrical problems when you’re going into a basement that has water.”
Tip #3: Wear Protective Gear
“You don’t want it to come in contact so you want to wear boots and rubber gloves and goggles so that it’s not irritating your skin and  you want to wash off very well after doing that [cleaning].”
Tip #4: Pitch Any Flood-Tainted Food and Water
Any food, any water, even in a sealed package, that has come in contact with flood water, you want to get rid of that,”  Besser said. “The one exception for that is canned goods.  You can take the labels off and either boil those cans or you can soak those cans in a bleach solution and then rinse those with clean water and use them.”


Sandy Is The Largest Hurricane To Ever Form In The The Atlantic Basin 





MTA bus status: 

Partial Bus Service Restored

Bus Service Operating 10/30/2012
Bus Service Operating 10/30/2012

Click borough names for PDF maps:

M2, M5, M8, M11, M14, M15, SBS15, M34, M34A, M22, M57, M60, M86, M96, M101
Bx1, Bx6, Bx7, Bx8, Bx10, Bx12, SBS12, Bx16, Bx23, Bx27, Bx36, Bx38, Bx40, Bx41, Bx55, Q50
B1, B3, B15, B35, B41, B44, B46, B61, B82, Q58, Q59
Q4, Q6, Q7, Q10, Q12, Q22, Q23, Q25, Q33, Q46, Q50, Q60, Q65, Q66, Q69, Q101, Q113
S40, S46, S48, S53, S59, S61, S62, S74, S78, SBS79
Some routes may be operating with minor detours due to street conditions, customers are advised to look for signage at bus stops.

MTA main page
M5 to South Ferry in service Tuesday night
M5 bus heading to South Ferry Tuesday night after partial service resumed
Passengers board M15 bus in Manhattan
Passengers boarding an M15 bus tuesday night after service resumed




















Please donate to the Red Cross to help with disaster relief

If you want to or can help: 
Occupy and Sandy Storm Recovery Resources

http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/
Occupy Wall Street & 350.org have teamed up with Recovers.org – a people-powered disaster relief platform – to help coordinate response to Hurricane Sandy in NYC. At Recovers.org we are launching support pages where people can GIVE help or post a NEED. For ongoing updates and info about this evolving relief effort, and to find out how you can help, be sure to sign up and stay informed at the Occupy Sandy Hub!

Support Pages

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Sandy on Halloween in NYC

October 31, 2012, 4:06 pm
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Sandy on Halloween.





Looks like for Halloween this year New York City is going as Atlantis.

Tricko de treato, que smello mi feeto. Giverdoro mis somethingo bueno to eato.





Photo credit


SOHO at 6pm on Halloween night, looks ghostly 



West Side Highway at 6pm in the dark after 


watching the evacuation of the nation's oldest continuously running hospital.    












LaGuardia Airport will reopen Thursday at 7:00 a.m. ET with limited flight schedules.  

NYC has a FaceBook page that is quite informative.

Odd Sandy related  things.

A crazy jet skier on the East River during Hurricane Sandy.


Three trees and a fire


The news report on the jet skier




Twitter hashtag: 

From the Gothamist, which has loads of useful information
Still confused by which subways are or aren't going to be in service when it resumes? The MTA has released a modified map to help make it more clear—check out the PDF below. Also, tipster Zach van Schouwen created his own version, which you can see above.



According to the MTA's Kevin Ortiz, subway service resumes at 6 a.m. Fares are back in effect, but the "bus bridges" between Manhattan and Brooklyn are free. He recommends adding 30-60 minutes to the commute, which seems low.
Here are the details, along with information about buses, Metro-North and LIRR.
NYCT SUBWAY SERVICE: 1 trains will operate local between 242nd Street (Bronx) and Times Square-42nd Street.
2 trains will operate between 241st Street (Bronx) and Times Square-42nd Street, with express service between 96th Street and Times Square.
3 trains are suspended.
4 trains will operate in two sections making all local stops:
· Between Woodlawn (Bronx) and Grand Central-42nd Street
· Between Borough Hall and New Lots Avenue
5 trains will operate express in Brooklyn between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Flatbush Avenue.
6 trains will operate local between Pelham Bay Park and Grand Central-42nd Street.
7 trains are suspended.
42nd Street Shuttle S trains will operate between Times Square and Grand Central.
A trains will operate in two sections making all local stops:
· Between 168th Street (Manhattan) and 34th Street-Penn Station
· Between Jay Street/MetroTech and Lefferts Blvd.
B and C service is suspended.
D trains operate in two sections:
· Between 205th Street (Bronx) and 34th Street-Herald Square making all local stops
· In Brooklyn, between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Bay Parkway making express stops between Pacific Street and 36th Street
E trains are suspended.
F trains operate in two sections making all local stops:
· Between 179th Street (Queens) and 34th Street-Herald Square
· In Brooklyn, between Jay Street-MetroTech and Avenue X
G trains are suspended.
J trains operate between Jamaica Center and Hewes Street making all local stops.
L trains operate between Broadway Junction and Rockaway Parkway making all local stops.
M trains operate between Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Metropolitan Avenue.
N trains operate between Ditmars Blvd. (Queens) and 34th Street-Herald Square making all local stops.
Q trains are suspended.
R trains operate in Brooklyn between Jay Street-MetroTech and 95th Street making all local stops.
Both the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway Park S shuttles are suspended.
SHUTTLE BUSES:
All shuttle buses will operate north on 3rd Avenue and south on Lexington Avenue.
1. Between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and 57th Street-Lexington Avenue via the Manhattan Bridge
2. Between Jay Street-MetroTech and 57th Street-Lexington Avenue via the Manhattan Bridge
3. Between Hewes Street and 57th Street-Lexington Avenue via the Williamsburg Bridge
LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD:
City Terminal - (Jamaica - Penn Station): Suspended (anticipate shuttle between these stations later tonight)
Ronkonkoma Branch: Suspended (goal to restore hourly service from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station for AM rush hour Thursday, Nov. 1)
Port Washington Branch: Suspended (goal to restore hourly service from Great Neck to Penn Station for AM rush hour Thursday, Nov. 1)
Babylon Branch: Suspended
Port Jefferson Branch: Suspended
Montauk Branch: Suspended
Hempstead Branch: Suspended
Long Beach: Suspended
Far Rockaway: Suspended
Oyster Bay Branch: Suspended
West Hempstead: Suspended
METRO-NORTH:
Hudson Line: Suspended
Upper Harlem Line: Suspended
Lower Harlem Line: Restored with hourly service
New Haven Line: Suspended
New Canaan Branch: Suspended
Danbury Branch: Suspended
Waterbury Branch: Suspended
West-of-Hudson:
Pascack Valley: Suspended
Port Jervis: Suspended
Bridges and Tunnels
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge: Open
Henry Hudson Bridge: Open
Throgs Neck Bridge: Open
Bronx-Whitestone Bridge: Open
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge: Open
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge: Open
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial: Open northbound to Broad Chanel; Open southbound to Rockaways but subject to period closures for emergency equipment
Hugh L. Carey Tunnel: Closed
Queens Midtown Tunnel: Closed
Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Ben Yakas in  on October 31, 2012 3:58 PM
Submerged escalator at South Ferry station (MTA Photos)
 Subway recovery map: go here to see the full PDF.

Lower Manhattan Power Lunch Spot Becomes Sidewalk Kitchen

Gawker: The power imbalance between upper and lower Manhattan was never going to last forever: two days after closing for the hurricane, SoHo power-lunch spot Balthazar has re-opened. After a fashion. Trapped in a powerless Dead Zone, the bistro can’t exactly seat people; it can, however, dish out food, cooked on a sidewalk grill, to hungry passers-by. It only looks like a Halal cart, though — according to Twitter chatter, they’ve got lobster and steak sandwiches at a fraction of the price that they’d normally be. Makes having to walk up to Hell’s Kitchen to charge your phone almost worth it. — Max [photo by Nick Denton]
Normally this would be about $30. Today? $5 at the Office Fire Sale. @ Balthazar Restaurant



MTA:  Bridges and Tunnels suffered major damage with flooding of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water.  Damage is extremely heavy in downtown Manhattan where several subway lines converge.  The South Ferry station was filled track to ceiling with water as were several of the subway tunnels. Water remediation work is continuing in several underwater tunnels.
It is still too early to say how long it will take to restore the system to full service. This is will be an exhaustive, time-consuming process with one goal: to restore safe and efficient service to 8.5 million daily MTA customers. 

The Future According to Sandy

“We [seem to] have a 100-year flood every two years now,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says he told President Barack Obama during his tour of the damage from Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday. 

Devastation of Sandy in the Caribbean

Post-Sandy New York Aims to Rethink Infrastructure Not Just Rebuild It

By Larry Greenemeier | October 31, 2012 |  

Emergency Disaster Pods


The Ultimate Hurricane Reporter Fails Compilation
NYC is very quiet post Sandy, for the moment. Except for the gridlock, especially in areas with no traffic signals.

JoannaColes @JoannaColes

View from my 38th fl office @Cosmopolitan... Gridlock! Def walking home tonight. Thank god I'm in my Celine loafers... twitpic.com




Hurricane Sandy Animals Rescues

Flickr: doxella
New York City Timelapse (Empty America)



Hurricane Sandy Wind Swath Covered Nearly 2 Million Square Miles: NOAA 




At least 18 New Yorkers were killed during Sandy


Governor Cuomo Announces Free Transit For Thursday and Friday Because of Transportation Emergency

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the MTA's subway, bus and commuter rail services will be free for today and tomorrow, to encourage the use of mass transit as the region slowly recovers from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy.
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Day 2 of Sandy aftermath on the East coast, Thursday Nov. 1st 2012

November 1, 2012, 11:51 pm
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rooftop view from 4th between a and b Photo courtesy Anselm Berrigan 

only 1/2 of the Verrazzano Bridge is lit, Photo courtesy Nicole Peyrafitte

NYC skyline from Brooklyn, photo courtesy Nicole Peyrafitte

From this series of pics: Hurricane Sandy Devastates New Jersey's Coastline

A commenter on this blog, Jonathan Robles, posted a fun timelapse vid. It's taken on 46th Street, between Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue, opposite the small playground there.
Frankenstorm in Hells Kitchen 2012



This pic taken in Hoboken, NJ. Love the community support.

Hurricane Sandy on Bikes in NYC


And a Halloween related sillibiz

Sean Connery-Betty White mash-up
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Day 3 of Sandy, Friday night, Nov. 2nd 2012

November 2, 2012, 5:00 pm
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Peter Lehrman

Send 10 bucks to help  victims; text "RedCross" to 90999. Takes 5 seconds. I will contribute 10 bucks per retweet.


Some NYC outages could linger into mid-November


Walking Around Manhattan In The Dark via the Gothamist

Looking down.(Michael Morgenstern )
Empty streets. (Michael Morgenstern )
From the corner of Mercer and Prince. (Reuben Hernandez / Reuben Hernandez.com)
Lit up on the corner of Rivington and Essex. (Reuben Hernandez / Reuben Hernandez.com)
The National Guard is here.(Ron Douglas's flickr)
Filling up on fresh water.(Rick McGrath's Facebook)
The Union Square Whole Foods.(Rick McGrath's Facebook)
Looking uptown. (Rick McGrath's Facebook)
Remember that building whose facade fell off as the storm hit? Still off!(Rick McGrath's Facebook)
And this is what is left of the facade.(Rick McGrath's Facebook)
23rd and Eighth Avenue.(Dan Nguyen @ New York City's flickr)
Patrolling the Meatpacking District. (Dan Nguyen @ New York City's flickr)
Fire will keep us warm.(Michael Morgenstern )
Closer to the fire!(Michael Morgenstern )
A taco truck does some business. (John de Guzman's flickr)
Take Shelter!(Rick McGrath's Facebook)



Next week's cover "Undeterred" by Adrian Tomine. Read an interview with the artist: http://nyr.kr/U5enmd



In the 30s, on 2nd & 3rd Ave, still no power. Groups of people walking down to 30th, to lights. Traffic signals already back in business.


Photographs of post Sandy NYC by Guillaume Gaudet
Downtown Manhattan post-Sandy Blackout 

NYC Post-Sandy Blackout. Take 2













A wise but sad decision. New York Times article about this.

After Days of Pressure, Marathon Is Off


Lifeblood of the city will return with the electricity.


 just restored power to 25,000 customers in the  network


 restores power to over 100,000 in , check our feed for network boundaries 

 restores over 65,000 customers on the Lower East Side and East Village areas of  

 has restored 135,000+ in Mnhttn; 122,000+ in Bk; 85,000+ in SI; 75,000+ in Westchester; 39,000+ in Bx; and 29,000+ in Qns. #24/7

South of 42nd St. lights coming back slowly but  still rules.  


NYT news alert: U.S. military to truck 24 million gallons of extra fuel to region hit by . 




And in Alabama, Sandy caused sundogs, marvelous rainbows. "It is suspected that the remnants of Hurricane Sandy seeded the upper atmosphere with ice crystals, which result in the bending of light rays into these arcs. Really cool."
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A peaceful Sunday night November 25th 2012

November 25, 2012, 6:18 pm
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Ever had the urge to listen to Polynesian pop music? I think Paul Gauguin would have liked it, when he was in a cheerful mood. Pacific Islands Radio.

Paul Gaugauin, Self Portrait 1889

Abraham Lincoln looking windblown

I strongly recommend watching this PBS video, Boogie Man. It was life changing for me in understanding a lot of today's politics in america. Until recently, I had no idea the incredibly important impact one man had on american politics of the last 40 years, a man named Lee Atwater. He used a concept, created by a political strategist, called Harry Dent, called "the Southern Strategy", which is to frighten white voters, rich and working class into voting for Republicans because of the imagined fear that black Americans are gaining undue power or advantages. This strategy uses coded language to incite racism and fear, words or phrases like "Welfare queens" or, as Romney did, to repetitively mention the idea of Obama "giving things away for free", "free gifts".

Brilliantly said: He used his own cynicism to anesthetize people to what was going on. At the 4:12 point. "Lee" Atwater (February 27, 1951 – March 29, 1991) was an American political consultant and strategist to the Republican Party. He was an advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee.


A gaspingly scary ride on a cliff hanging trail. But worth looking at. Get ready to sweat.
One mistake and it's a free fall to your death. Motology's Adam Riemann rides one of the scariest Himalayan trails you'll ever see.



Some weird international group exhibitionism going on here: No Pants Subway Ride 2012




Christmas is coming down the pike. 



Henri Cartier Bresson, INDIA. Maharashtra. Bombay. 1947. An astrologer's shop in the mill workers' quarter of Parel. 


Amazing jumping skills of this cat in Japan. Sheer determination. 


Language speech cadence learned in utero: At 30:33


/// Street stone /// by Alexis Persani, via Behance





Pancake the kitten loves his Doberman

*wipes tears of laughter. Touching the electric fence

Chinese guy blowing 7 balls in and out of mouth



Fascinating the inability to get out of the rigid mindset of magical thinking.

Jesus wept … oh, it's bad plumbing. Indian rationalist targets 'miracles'

Sanal Edamaruku faces jail for revealing 'tears' trickling down a Mumbai church statue came from clogged drainage pipes
A Japanese craftsperson, Makaon, makes fun sculptures out of tin cans
We Make Carpets. Carpets made of unexpected things.
Fork carpet

Fun birdhouses by Ethan Allen Smith

::: Ditology :::




Our Exquisite Corpse works with the Huichol people of Western Mexico to create these beaded skulls

Marvelous movies stills, many of them, and the actual places where they were filmed at Filmography

Marathon Man
The French Connection
The Professional
Klute

Things painted white at Brand Spirit

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December 10th 2012, late Sunday night

December 9, 2012, 10:23 pm
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Star Falls by Toshio Ebine

Big Cat by Kate Hoyer

A delightful audio remix of Snow White. Sort of dreamy chill. Wishery.

Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are


The Sacred Mushroom was one of the Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond shows
 in 1961 (about the shows on Wikipedia). Here is the full episode psilocybin mushrooms were introduced to the western world by the tv show One Step Beyond, and the host was filmed after taking some.

A January 1961 episode, "The Sacred Mushroom", deals with the discovery of mind-altering drugs. Newland traveled to Mexico where he met with a local shaman who was an initiate in ritual use of magic mushrooms. The then-unknown mushrooms were purportedly able to increase the user's psychic powers. On camera, Newland ingested several mushrooms and allowed his reactions to be filmed for broadcast. This was the only episode of the entire series to have a relatively reality-based "documentary" tone, rather than the scripted docudramas that made up all other episodes. Although the subject matter (the enhancement of psychic powers) was in line with the rest of the series, this episode was somewhat controversial and was omitted from the syndication package; it has been seen only rarely since its original broadcast. However, according to Newland, it was the most popular episode of the series.


What happens when you tickle a penguin, wait for it. So adorable.

Bonaire, in the Caribbean, known for flamingos, ship wrecks and diving.


Flickr's Your Best Shot collection has some likable pics






Cat Helps Baby with English - Spanish Lesson


Pug By Kate Hoyer 

(If you right click on this image and open it up in another tab, it's animated)


Important to know about for those who bicycle around cars and trucks. The blind spot.


Best friends. Awwww, he waits for the boy, while he enjoys the puddle.

Patient mother sheep


Photographs of abandoned villages in Southern Italy: Craco, Romagnano al Monte, Roscigno, Tocco Caudio.


From the Adventure Rider website, which has lots of nice pics: "November 23rd,1980 a big earthquake strongly damaged all the area called “Irpinia” (next to here) killing about 3000 people and making lot of homeless. Due to the risk of coming down Romagnano al Monte was abandoned and re-built downriver."





The Dream God, Ole Luk Oie by Kay Nielsen, via BibliOdyssey

Once upon a time there was a Golden Age of Illustration for children's books and Kay Nielsen is considered one of the great artists of that era.

Here is a veritable feast of his marvelous illustrations on Tumblr.

And more illustrations by Kay Nielsen. And more.

East of the Sun and West of the Moon, 1914 








East of the Sun and West of the Moon



Hansel and Gretel


Brother and Sister



Night On Bald Mountain
The Tinder Box: The dog ran with the princess on his back
 Kay Nielsen (1886-1957), the Danish illustrator 
Kay (pronounced “kigh”) Nielsen is considered one of a triumvirate of classic “great ” illustrators from the golden age of illustration and gift book design during the first quarter of the 20th century. Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, also featured in Gallery IV, were the other stars.

These are illustrations-paintings by Toshio Ebine 
Toshio Ebine is a painter based in the Kanagawa Prefecture. His main medium is a gouache-watercolor mix, which is a mix unique to a Japanese paint-producing brand called Nicker-enogu.









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Search

Sunday night December 16th 2012

December 16, 2012, 6:07 pm
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Want to see an example of amazing determination, in spite of all the odds?
This little rascal has my respect.



Yehrin Tong

Yehrin Tong

Neuroscience and Free Will


This is the best documentary I've seen about 9/11

This is a documentary that PBS aired about the Engineers and Architects who question 9/11. Worth watching.

PBS - Colorado broadcasts 9/11: Explosive 




and other issues. Very worth watching all the way to the end.


Hurricane Sandy was not that long ago...

Hurricane Sandy in East Village, Manhattan at 8th st and Avenue C


The Lower East Side gets its lights back. Such joy and celebration!!!!



Totally overboard with the sound effects and the close-ups. Indian soap opera.


The original Gerber baby now in her 80's


A few portraits of some 20th Century heavyweights

Top row (left to right): Jacques Lacan, Cecile Eluard, Pierre Reverdy, Louis Leiris, Pablo Picasso, Fanie de Campan, Valentine Hugo, Simone de Beauvoir, Brassai Bottom row: Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Michel Leiris, Jean Abier

Frida Kahlo

Willem De Kooning

Amadeo Modigliani

Georgia O'Keeffe

Francis Bacon

Gertrude Stein

Salvador Dali

Surrealists: Back row: Man Ray, Jean Arp, Yves Tanguy and André Breton.
Front row: Tristan Tzara, Salvador Dalí, Paul Éluard, Max Ernst and Rene Crevel.
(Photo Man Ray, 1930.)

Alberto Giacometti

Jackson Pollack

Joan Miro

Marilyn Monroe

Edward Munch

Alfred Hitchcock

Jean Cocteau

Max Ernst

Paul Klee

Marc Chagal

Andy Warhol

Rene Magritte

T.S. Eliot

Enthusiasm





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Vintage Homer's Odyssey post cards

December 17, 2012, 4:26 pm
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The week before Christmas 2012

December 19, 2012, 4:30 pm
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A quiet celebration of Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, koto solo

About the film, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

A poignant family Christmas, filmed over 25 years. Watching the kids grow up.




Something gentle for winter nights.

A lovely, mellow combination. Found on Reddit. This was created by a Redditer, with the username johnturkey. It's three links, which you open in 3 separate tabs.
http://www.rainymood.com/
http://endlessvideo.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k
http://endlessvideo.com/watch?v=DIx3aMRDUL4

http://www.rainymood.com/
http://endlessvideo.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k
http://endlessvideo.com/watch?v=DIx3aMRDUL4
http://www.rainymood.com/
http://endlessvideo.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k
http://endlessvideo.com/watch?v=DIx3aMRDUL4
1. The Rainy day sounds, here, from Rainy Mood.

2. Then this endless loop from Endless Video, which is the delightfully smooth jazz tune called The Fragrance of Dark Coffee. It is from Gyakuten Meets Orchestra, a soundtrack album featuring background music from the video game series Ace Attorney.

3. Then this endless fireplace loop, EndlessVideo - HAARDVUUR / FIREPLACE / FEU DE FOYER

Ernst Haeckel Christmas cards with festive and joyous jellyfish and sea creatures







Charlie Chaplin and Helen Keller.

A handy packing list for traveling. Right click on the image below, open in a new tab or window and print it for the next trip you take.

 A Taxonomy of Wines
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Made in Japan toys and trinkets of yore.

January 23, 2013, 7:21 pm
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Haunted by Fray Bentos

January 30, 2013, 8:00 am
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After researching information about the Liebig chromolithographs, origins of bouillon, Marmite, Oxo and Campbell's soups, I became curious about the company town of Fray Bentos, in Uruguay.
Apparently, it's pronounced Fry Bentos. Huh.



How the old factory looks now, as an industrial museum.


Old, rusted company cars, seen on the way into Fray Bentos.
More old company cars seen on the way into Fray Bentos

The old office in the Fray Bentos plant, as it was on the day it closed down.
 
 
 
The monument outside what was once the Liebig plant in Fray Bentos

Entrance to the plant, taken from this site about derelict places, with a page of good photographs of how the place looks now.
 
The meat plant and Barrio Anglo housing-complex, known as the Fray Bentos Cultural and Industrial Estate Complex, is under consideration to be added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list. (Courtesy of Ricardo Cordero)
From elbetobm's Flickr page LOST CONNECTIONS...OLD CONVERSATIONS...WHERE HAVE THEY ALL GONE?...FRIGORIFICO ANGLO....FRAY BENTOS...URUGUAY
Frigorífico Anglo del Uruguay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Frigorífico Anglo del Uruguay was a meatpacking plant located at 
Fray Bentos, Uruguay, on the Uruguay River bank.
In 1924, the Vestey group purchases the old installations of Liebig Extract of Meat Company and the production goes on under a new name.
During its peak period, El Anglo had 5,000 workers whose ranks included English, Belgians, Russians, Spanish and Italians. It finally closed in 1979 after Europe and the United States had cut back their purchases from Latin America. Small brick houses with thick walls running along the river's edge in Fray Bentos form the "Barrio Anglo," a city-within-a-city where meatpacking workers lived that featured a hospital, a school, a social club and a football squad.
   Once I started looking into the history of Fray Bentos, I was drawn into its story. I felt very much like the author of the blog page below.

Fascinated by what once was.


Once the world's largest refrigerator.


Taken from this excellent blog page at Survival for tribal peoples


Short extract from Lost Cowboys: From Patagonia to the Alamo by Hank Wangford, 1996. Click on the book to purchase.


In this extract the author and his fellow traveller, 
Joe Tambien arrive in Fray Bentos to be given a tour of the 
meat processing plant, El Anglo, by Eduardo Irigoyen.




We had arrived in Fray Bentos. The Intendencia, the Town Hall, 
is on Fray Bentos' small town plaza. 
In the centre is a filigree iron 
bandstand like the one in Kensington Gardens. We go in and find 
Eduardo Irigoyen who is to take us to the plant.

Eduardo has jet-black hair and a nearly trimmed beard vaguely of the 
French student type: He is wearing a white 
short-sleeved shirt under a blue V-neck pullover. Behind his glasses his 
dark eyes get very inter when he talks in a soft but precise voice about Fray Bentos 
and the Anglo Plant. He loves the Anglo plant and all its gory history and I want to hear every word.

We drive down past old tree-lined terraces of low workers houses, part of the 
original Anglo workers' ghetto round the plant. 
We turn a corner, come out of the trees and suddenly we are on the edge 
of a wide river and underneath a gigantic building. 
We walk out on to a rickety jetty and right there on the shore is a 
towering concrete monolith of a building, a hangar, a massive, 
brutish stone box sticking right out into the bright-blue 
Uruguayan sky beside the wide, slow-flowing, yellow-ochre river. 

Across the top of this huge block, in gigantic faded black letters
The Anglo plant seen from the river. Click for full image. roaring across the Río Uruguay,  the beautiful 
River of Birds, is `ANGLO'. This monstrous box is the cold-storage building for 
the plant, the end of this particular line for carcases 
waiting to be shipped directly from 
the shores of this muddy yellow river across the 
Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

It needed to be this big. The Anglo plant was the biggest 
meat-processing plant in the world. "It’s gargantuan fridge 
used to hold enough meat to feed the whole of Britain and 
free Europe during the Second World War.

I wanted to know more.
                                        -----------------------------------------
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And more...
 


What the heck is corned beef anyway?

Corned beef refers to a particular style of brine-cured beef. 
The "corn" in corned beef refers to the "corns" or grains of coarse salts used to cure it. 
The Oxford English Dictionary dates the usage of corn, meaning "small hard particle, a grain, 
as of sand or salt." Potassium nitrate(saltpeter) is often added to the brine 
to help preserve the beef's pink color.





One of the biggest paper and pulp mills in the world is situated near fray Bentos 
in Uruguay. This pulp and paper mill is from the Finnish paper company of Botnia 
( second largest producer of paper in the world ). The facility is producing 1 million 
tonnes of bleached short-fibre eucalyptus pulp per year:




In the U.S. and Canada, corned beef typically comes in two forms, a cut of beef 
(usually brisket, but sometimes round or silverside) cured or pickled in a seasoned 
brine, and canned (pre-cooked).

In the United States, corned beef is often purchased ready to eat in delicatessens. 
It is the key ingredient in the famous grilled Reuben sandwich, consisting of 
corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, andThousand Island or Russian dressing on 
rye bread.

Corned beef hash is commonly served with eggs for breakfast.
Smoking corned beef, typically with a generally similar spice mix, produces the 
cold cut known as pastrami.
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Photo copyright: German Embassy
Museum Frigorifico Anglo of Fray Bentos


The extraordinary Anglo Mural and its meanings at the RiosCichero Mural blog, 
which depicts elements of the life and times of the Anglo company at Fray Bentos.


[ll.jpg] 
[Botnia_Fray+Bentos+mill_2.jpg]


After reading that I need to post this. How to best dry your hands using paper towels. 
It's surprisingly useful.


And now
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