Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai, Hawaii, originally uploaded by butterflymom2000.

OK, time for another trip. Come New Year's Eve, I'll be flying out to the island of Kauai, in Hawaii. It's a long flight from New York, but long flights do not phase me one bit.

Have never been to Kauai before. Looks a little different than Honolulu.

butterflymom2000 says:
"One of the many falls on the leeward side of Kauai, scenes of Jurrassic Park were filmed there"

Bay Ridge Federal Credit Union

Hey, big news!

Gene Brody, the head honcho of the Bay Ridge Federal Credit Union is part of a delegation of US credit union people in Moscow, who will provide the Russians with advice on how to encourage and regulate credit unions there.

I've lived in Bay Ridge all my life and I've never heard of the Bay Ridge Federal Credit Union. Hey boys, if you want to grow right here in Bay Ridge, how about doing a little advertising? Or tell us who you are?

Meeting Jack Dempsey

Me, My Brother and Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Dempsey, originally uploaded by ozoni11.

Want to hear a wonderful New York story?

ozoni11 has one for you!

"In 1955 (a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away) my parents took me and my brother to New York City to see the World Series. Yes, it was the Brooklyn Dodgers vs. the New York Yankees. It was a thrill for a young baseball fan like me. It was even more thrilling when Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall took the two seats in front of us.
After one of the games we went to a restaurant owned by former Boxing Heavyweight
Champion of the World, Jack Dempsey. I was a little bit of a practical joker. I had a fake pack of chewing gum that snapped on your finger when you pulled a piece of gum out. I did it to a man at the next table—he turned out to be a friend of Jack Dempsey. He asked me to play the trick on Dempsey. He called him over to the table and I offered him the gum—snap. He laughed…and my brother and I ended up on Jack Dempsey’s lap and this photo was taken. Notice that the movie, “Oklahoma” had just opened and was playing across the street. A typical New York crowd gathered at the window to catch a glimpse of Dempsey and they help make this photo complete. I’m in the dark jacket and my brother, Ron, is in the light jacket and tie."

If that isn't a perfect photo, or story, I don't know what is!

Santa rides along

Santa rides along, originally uploaded by RSEanes.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Yankees' Steve Hamilton throws Folly Floater

from hadrons
"Yankees' Steve Hamilton gets out the Indians' Tony Horton on his famous "folly floater" and Horton crawled back to the dugout on all fours. This is the old Yankee ballpark and the Yankee catcher is a very young Thurman Munson. See the old park's "death valley" in centerfield, reaching 463 feet in right center."

Great comments from youtube viewers. Wonderful to see this clip from 1970, with the real Yankee Stadium in the background and a young Phil Rizzuto behind the mike.

Duke Rape Charges Dropped: Prosecute Nifong Now!!

The Duke Rape charges have been dropped. The three defendents still face kidnapping and sexual offense charges that could bring them nearly 60 years in prison.

It has been clear for some time that this is nothing more than a Southern-fried
Tawana Brawley case.

The slipshod Durham County Michael Nifong is clearly guilty of malicious prosecution. Nifong should be brought up on charges immediately.

Donald Trump Wishes Rosie O'Donnell A Merry Christmas

So, I ran into Donald Trump on the R train yesterday. We ducked into Peggy O'Neill's where he wished Rosie O'Donnell a Merry Christmas.

Atlantic Yards

Brooklyn: Atlantic Yards Approved!

It's the best news in Brooklyn since the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the NY Yankees in the 1955 World Series.

Today, the Atlantic Yards project received final approval from NY State. When complete, the Frank Gehry-designed complex will add 6,400 housing units, significant office space, and a gorgeous 18,000 seat arena to house the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, who will be liberated from their New Jersey imprisonment.

After a lapse of over 45 years, Brooklyn will shortly be a major league town again. The Brooklyn Nets will be playing against the Knicks, the Celtics, the Lakers and the rest of the NBA. I've never been much of a basketball fan, but that will change with the first jump shot on the Brooklyn arena floor.

A dramatic project hasn't been built in Brooklyn since the Verrazano Bridge opened in 1964. And we have to share that with Staten Island.

Brooklyn has never had a center--but once this place opens, it , right next to the LIRR and a zillion subway lines, will be the center. I predict that it will be immensely popular, and once it has been completed, it will rather quickly win over much of those in Park Slope, Fort Greene and other neighborhoods that have opposed it.

New Starbucks on 86th Street

Right next to Circuit City, between Fifth and Gelston Avenues. So we now have a "Caffeine Triangle" of three Starbucks in Bay Ridge. The other two are on Third and 92nd and Third and 75th.

Thanks, Judy for the photo.

New York City Subway Video

Bay Ridge / Bensonhurst straphangers will recognize the N train exiting the tunnels into the open air. Steven Bornhotz's ten minute film is made with great skill and love. Trip goes along through the N, 7, and D line through Brooklyn and Queens. It ends with lovely images of 1940s vintage trains as they go on a recent "fan trip"/ Play with sound on!

Riding a Bike Through Dublin

What's it like to commute by bicycle through Dublin? Well funny you should ask. I meant to only glance at this, but after the first minute I was hooked. What kind of camera does he use? Will he be hit by an opening car door? You'll have to watch the video to find out. ( Goes by: Terenure, Rathgar, Rathmines, Grand Canal in Dublin )

Freedom Tower Steel Signing

Freedom Tower Steel Signing, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

Messages left on the steel.

This steel will be installed in the building foundation this week.

Freedom Tower Steel Signing

Freedom Tower Steel Signing, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

One of the heavy steel beams to be used in the construction of the Freedom Tower was displayed to the public on Sunday December 17. Families were given the chance to sign it earlier in the day. I went there in the afternoon.

Merry Christmas from the Firehouse - Engine 241, Ladder 109

Merry Christmas from the Firehouse - Engine 241, Ladder 109, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

At Third Avenue, near 67th Street in Bay Ridge

Nixon Comes to China at the Raccoon Lodge

Don't know who's supposed to be Nixon, and the Raccoon looks more like a used auto-parts store than it does China, but I found myself there this past Friday.

I got there by means of a little wager. I must be the only "right-wing" (by NYC standards anyway)guy who won a political bet this past election. But I did, which was like picking a needle in a haystack on a windy night.

In the aftermath of Ned Lamont's defeat of Joe Lieberman in the CT Democratic primary, I said that Joe would win in the General Election. Darcy James Argue took me up on a wager that entailed a few beers, a bag of potato chips and five bucks for the jukebox, going to the winner at a bar of the winner's choice. So, I won, and Darcy was true to his word. We met this past Friday at the Raccoon Lodge for some friendly conversation with Darcy and Lindsay Berenstein of Majikthise.

Darcy is the ringleader of the jazz big-band Secret Society and the blog of the same name. I've never heard the band play live, but if the audio clips linked to his blog are any indication, they're really good. Darcy, you've been blogrolled. Hope to see you again sometime.

Andy Pettitte Returns to the Yankees

Andy Petitte, originally uploaded by dgriffin_ice9.

So, its announced today that Andy Pettitte has been re-signed by the NY Yankees. That's good news. A Southern gentleman and a "money player" , there isn't a Yankees fan that won't welcome him back with the loudest of cheers.



One of the best performances I ever saw was Pettitte's shutout of the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series. The Braves had plenty of runners on base that game, but any time he got into trouble, Pettitte gutted his way out of it. A fearless, effective lefty who comes up big in an important name--that's Pettitte.



Roger Clemens observes the situation from his home in hell.

Let's hope that Clemens does not follow Andy Pettitte to NYC. Roger Clemens' act has gotten very old by now, with the retiring-and-unretiring for ten years in a row it seems, and I'm not sure that there's anyone left for Clemens to betray anymore. Clemens, stay away from the Bronx: I'm warning you.

Lufthansa Buys 20 747s

Lufthansa 747 D-ABVU, originally uploaded by caribb.

Well, this isn't a business blog, but since I run the stupid thing, I get to write about what I want to write about.

I've always loved flying, and aircraft. And I've basically grown up with the Boeing 747
Not that I flew when it entered service in 1970. We weren't exactly a wealthy family, and the closest I got to setting foot in one of these things then was the observation deck at Kennedy Airport

When relatives came to visit from Ireland, they flew on these proud aircraft. Now, Aer Lingus flits with their generic Airbuses, which zip to the gate unnoticed at JFK. Even in the scrapyard in Arizona, their "St. Kiernan" 747 has more dignity in its desert afterlife than every Airbus ever built. You'll never hear comments like this when their Air buses retire.

I first flew the 747 in the 1980s, on Pan Am to Europe before Pan Am became Pan Am sadly ceased to be. And then a long gap until September 2005 when I made my little trip to Vietnam on Eva Air, the Taiwanese airline. I flew their 747 Newark-Seattle-Taipei, then another 747 to Saigon. Then it was one 747 from Hanoi to Taipei, then another from Taipei-Seattle then on to Newark. All over again, I appreciated the majesty of these planes. Flew across the world and back, and never a moment of discomfort. Air turbulence doesn't rattle this beautiful craft.

So imagine how I felt when I heard that the mighty Lufthansa has agreed to buy 20 of the newest generation of the plane, the 747-8. The 747 nearly went out of production a couple of years ago. The Airbus A380, a ugly catastrophe of a thing that seats 8000 passengers or something was supposed to be the wave of the future.

But now the A380 is trapped in a swamp of delay and engineering problems, while the 747 has been modernized with fuel efficient engines. As
Boeingsays in their specs:"Operating economics will offer a significant improvement over the A380. The 747-8 is more than 11 percent lighter per seat than the A380 and will consume 10 percent less fuel per passenger than the 555-seat airplane. That translates into a trip-cost reduction of 19 percent and a seat-mile cost reduction of more than 3 percent, compared to the A380." This modern version of the venerable craft does all this with a range of 8000 nautical miles. And looks good doing it.

An Airbus hack was quoted in the press saying that the 747 was just a "modernized Essel" or something like that. Huh? It's more fuel-efficient and generally costs less and its supposed to be the lesser aircraft?

The Germans are known for their engineering excellence. They studied this nine ways to Sunday, and bought the magnificent 747. A plane whose life has just begun. Long live the 747

Sarah Godfrey - December 5, 2006

Hi guys. Appreciate the kind e-mails from Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Have noted a number of "hits" from Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, White Haven, Noxen, Broomall, Drums, Mountain Top, Lancaster, Analomink, Berwyn, and Pittston. Welcome.

We've decided that Sarah deserves a site of her own. Effective immediately, most new posts will be placed in the brand spanking new Sarah's Place That's www.sarahgblog.blogspot.com

The new website will allow visitors, including new ones, to have an easier time finding what they need, without navigating through other things.

I'll keep all the old posts here, and will duplicate them on the new site.

Please bookmark Sarah's Place. It will be "linked" to this blog, on the right hand side. So, I'll meet you over there right now!.

Sarah Godfrey- December 4

Mrs. Casey

Mrs. Casey, mother to Brigid, grandmother to Sarah, and matriarch of the Casey family suffered a stroke a few days ago.

She passed last evening at about 7:00pm. The loss is great. Mrs "C" was full of life, love and was always upbeat. It won't be the same without her, but the house will
continue to be the place to gather. It will continue to be filled with the people she loved most..her family.

The family is in the process of making arrangements. Though specifics aren't yet known, Sharon believes that arrangements are being made with Lehmans, which is located on Hazle Street on the hill toward Ashley.

Sarah

Sarah continues to remain stable. This morning we believe she broke a fever she has had since her hospitalization, so that is great! She is also exhibiting more movement, so we continue to hope she starts responding to commands, and opens her eyes.

As always, the family thanks you all for your love, concern, support and your prayers. (Sharon)

---

I will soon create a separate "blog" page that will be exclusively for news about Sarah and the family. I think that this would make it easier for those concerned to read and to find information. Good night, everyone.

Winter Arrives in Bay Ridge

It was a global warming November here in Bay Ridge, but winter's here now. It came in from the West, dropping lots of snow in Colorado and the Chicago suburbs, but by the time it crossed the East River, all we got were strong winds and bracing weather.

For as long as I can remember, they've sold Christmas trees in front of the A&P supermarket on Fourth Avenue between 67th and Senator. Unfortunately, the A&P is no more, replaced by yet another Duane Reade drugstore that noone wanted. But the Christmas tree guys you can depend on. They're out there tonight, where Christmas trees have been sold since the sixties and probably decades before. The Christmas tree men are hunched over the fire, as they've been for decades, among the pine trees.

Spoke to Kirk, who owns the building at the northwest corner of 68th and Fourth. The store there has a new tenant, who'll be there in less than a month. Think it will be a Gyro/Greek place, run by someone who owns aimilar places in Manhattan. Since a properly made Gyro is one of nature's perfect foods, I can't wait to check it out. If he makes good falafels, that would be perfection. I'll throw out the stove and the refrigerator. If there's a good gyro stand next door, who needs 'em?

Bobby and Keri and the Trains

Bobby came up from Wayne, PA and rode the D train like a champ. Here he holds the pole between 36th and Pacific Street. That look? He was playing around with an "Elvis sneer". I didn't know kids less than nine years old knew about Elvis!








We moved on to the E train. Here, Bobby and his cousin Keri were writing silly notes for me. I passed sillier responses back, all the way to Lexington and 53rd Street.









Riding the escalator at 53rd and Lex- Keri, her dad (my brother in law)Steve, Bobby the wild man, his mom (my sister) Helen.



We went to the wonderful "The Station"model train exhibit at Citicorp Center. There are many model trains rattling around there, through a mockup route that runs from a 1950w Weehawken NJ, with NYC in the background, up to "the Catskills" and beyond. These photos don't really do the trains justice, but trust me--this is a wonderful exhibit that any kid or adult should come in to see. It's free, in the basement lobby at Citicorp Center.




There is great detail here-in the trains ( my favorite- the North Pole Express, with flatcars with huge presents on them--also Pennsylvania Railroad trains, trams ), grade crossings, a movie theater showing "High Noon", a guy ice fishing, a little house being built, with a very little man sawing wood, etc. Its wonderful. The kids liked the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, but they liked this much more. See it.

Sarah Godfrey - Dec 3

Sarah had a quiet evening [Saturday night] , and continues to remain "stable" which we are
pleased to report. She did sustain a broken jaw during the accident,
and on Wednesday of this week one of her Dr's will be exexamining the
situation to determine whether it can be wired at that time. They are
concerned about infection, and although we would hope they are able to
fix it on Wednesday, it may be something that will have to be addressed
down the road.

Express Train ( Travis Ruse )

I've always loved trains, especially the New York subway. Well, apparently so does Travis Ruse. He runs the terrific Express Train, which consists exclusively of photos taken in or about the NY Subway system.

All the photos are good, some are just wonderful.

And the NY Times agrees.

Travis, you've been blogrolled.

Sarah Godfrey- Dec 1

(from Pat)

It is about 10:00 p.m. on Friday, December 1 and time for an update on
Sarah.

Early this morning Dr. Pratt notified Brigid that Sarah would need a minor
procedure today. They were concerned about the overall appearance of
Sarah's wound at the back of her head. Not a critical situation but
something that needed proper attention. They took her to the operating room
in the late afternoon.

She was returned to her room relatively quickly and the procedure was
characterized as a success. They were able to clean and dress the affected
area. Moreover, they were able to get a good look at surfaces within the
incised area and were pleased with what they saw.

Onward