Liam Clancy, RIP

Response to post in ATW

Bob Dylan once called Liam Clancy "the best ballad singer I've ever heard." Clancy died Friday at a hospital in County Cork, Ireland. He was 74.
From NPR

John Batchelor Show Back on the Air Five Nights A Week

Effective this week, the John Batchelor Show is back on WABC 77 New York, from 9pm - 1am , Monday through Friday.

John Batchelor is the best public affairs talk host on the US radio airwaves. He's not a screamer, and he does not fit into any right or left wing cubbyhole. He's got serious international connections, and on every show you'll hear detail and frankness on domestic and international issues that you won't hear elsewhere.

Check it out, on radio or on the WABC stream. Highly recommended.

Ticket Trap on 67th Street / Lief Erickson Park

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There is a ticket trap on 67th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue, on the north side of the street, by the Lief Erickson basketball courts .

( click on photo to enlarge. Photos taken early Thanksgiving morning ) My sister came in from out of state to visit. This past Monday, on or about 5pm, she parked on 67th Street, a few car lengths from Fifth Avenue. She made sure to double check the closest Parking Regs sign which is shown here. It says " No Parking " only for 8:30 - 10am Monday morning.


Imagine her surprise when she came back Tuesday to have a parking ticket that said she had violated a " No Parking Anytime " sign.

I walked up there last Tuesday night trying to figure out what had happened. One space down from the " No Parking Except for 830-10am " sign was a lightpole with brackets where a sign might be placed. But there was no sign. Maybe it fell out. Maybe there was never one there.

Only if you walk way, way down the block, past the light pole, past the fire hydrant, will you see this sign, which says " No Parking Any Time ".

It looks like there is one missing sign, leaving two signs in conflict. One says " OK to park at any time except Monday morning ". Another sign, quite far away says " No Parking Anytime "

On Thanksgiving morning, I saw that the 68th Precinct had given two additional tickets. People thought that they were parking legally, and their Thanksgiving present was to get bad faith parking tickets.

On tomorrow, I will call the 68th Precinct at 718-439-4211 to report this Parking Trap.

On Monday, I will call City Councilman Gentile's office at 718-748-5200. to see if they can help.

Please:
take a walk over to see this situation for yourself
call the Councilman and 68th Precinct to complain. There is power in numbers
Report any nearby Bay Ridge Parking Traps. I'm certain that they're out there.

Shanagolden

It has been found. Thank you, youtube.

I think it was from the early 1970s. My mother, like so many Irish, would listen to various Irish radio programs. They could be heard on college stations like Bronx based WFUV, whose FM signal was barely strong enough to push past the Manhattan skyscrapers into Bay Ridge. The Sunday night program was hosted by Adrian Flannery I think. If you positioned the radio just so, you could hear a song or two. Then the signal would shift again, and you'd get more static than song. You'd fiddle with the controls, move the radio around, and you'd have the signal again. Maybe.

It was from such a tenuous link that I recall the heard " Shanagolden ". For maybe two years in those old days, it was one of the most popular songs in the micro-universe of Irish-American radio. They'd play it every week.

It was written by one Sean McCarthy, a Kerry man who wrote his first song at the age of seven. Many of his songs dealt with sadness and death.

The protagonist of this song is a woman, whose husband died fighting " the Saxon stranger " in Limerick a long time ago. There are good versions by female singers, but to me the best is this one, by Brian Day.

The audio imperfections make this all the better to me. The words harken to a distant past, to long ago battles in Limerick, to long ago broadcasts from the Bronx.

Three Oak Trees Planted on 68th St

Three young English Oak trees have been planted in front of 374, 370, and 366 68th Street. These replace trees that were destroyed during the freak tornado that hit the block in 2007. ( Will post a photo of the trees soon )

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Our crack sources tell us that the new Bay Ridge Avenue Key Food will open on Sunday December 13. Some of the shelves have been stocked, things are finally rounding into shape there.

This morning, I went to visit the USS New York at Pier 88 with some friends.

The line to get on board was not long. The troops could not have been more friendly.

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Giving some marksmanship tips :)

Be safe, boys.

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