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a little past its expiration date as a meme but its good to see obama enjoying this post election season before he lets us down again.
vintageblackglamour:
Aretha Franklin rehearses steps with the legendary dancer and choreographer Charles “Cholly” Atkins at a dance studio in 1961. Mr. Atkins (1913-2003) created the iconic dance moves of The Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips and The Supremes’s famous “Stop! In the Name of Love” hand movement. The Alabama-born Mr. Atkins began his career as a vaudeville performer and was one half of the legendary dance duo Coles and Atkins with Honi Coles. In 1988, he shared a Tony Awards for choreographing the Broadway show, “Black and Blue.” Photo: Frank Driggs Collection/Getty Images.
my toilet has been broken for about a month and ive been manually flushing it with water from the tub. it took the 80 year old plumber about 8 hours of toil before he realized the tank had a crack in it and another three weeks for him or the landlord to do anything about it. so he came by today to take the tank to a store about half a mile away to get a replacement. the tank is not exactly light and considering he asked me to help him move the top of the tank a few weeks ago i assumed he would need help with the much heavier tank. so i offered but he repeatedly refused to accept my help although i did persuade him to let me carry it downstairs. god help him if he doesnt get a cab. meanwhile jewy mclandlord ask in all seriousness if instead of replacing the tank i could only fill it half way which wouldnt even solve the problem as the crack goes all the way to the bottom. this is maybe a hundred dollar part and the work is free as the plumber lives in the building at well below market value. im really starting to think hitler was on to something.
there are some supposed whiz bang typists among us. test your own skills behind the keypad. i rated average for the site, about 50 wpm with about 98% accuracy but i was exhausted after about a paragraph. i think i might rate lower on a test that measures the ability to focus on a task.
snowing...
The Post-Apocalypse Survival Machine Nerd Farm:
In 2007, Jakubowski began working on a minimum set of machines necessary to sustain a modern civilization. It comprises bread ovens, aluminum smelters, tractors, brick presses, and 46 others. Factor e Farm has already built 15 of these devices, including a computer-controlled torch table that can cut intricate patterns on metal with a jet of superheated ionized gas. Work will com-mence soon on a cement mixer, a sawmill, and an industrial robot....
Jakubowski expects to have all 50 tools finished by 2015 and publishes progress reports on the Open Source Ecology website. He shares the designs for all the machines and produces how-to-make-it videos. He wants as many people as possible to take a crack at improving the designs.
At a ball in New York City, architects dressed as buildings they had designed:
Left to Right: A. Stewart Walker (Fuller Building), Leonard Schultze (Waldorf-Astoria), Ely Jacques Kahn
(Squibb Building), William Van Alen (Chrysler Building), Ralph Walker (1 Wall Street), D.E.Ward
(Metropolitan Tower), Joseph H. Freelander (Museum of New York), 1931.
opening day, empire state building, 1931
How DMTree stayed up during Sandy. Incredible.
Thank you, Elyssa Rothe for this info about efforts in the Rockaways today! If you are able to help tomorrow, PLEASE do!
The Rockaways on November 3, 2012:
Today I went to the Rockaways with a car full of donations and what I experienced was beyond belief. I drove from JFK to Belle Harbor and the destruction far surpasses anything I was capable of imagining. Here is a collection of thoughts about the day that I hope will help with the relief effort.
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
• People need WORK GLOVES. They WANT to work, but it is very difficult without any resources. Most in demand are work gloves, heavy duty garbage bags, warm jackets, gloves and hats.
• There is NO Red Cross or FEMA assistance at this time. I drove about 6 of the 10 miles into the island, and I did not see any FEMA aid whatsoever. I saw 1 Red Cross mini-truck; that is all. There were not any signs for Red Cross shelters or assistance of any kind.
• There is ZERO power, heat, phones, internet, water or cell service. Rockaway is truly cut off from the rest of the world, and have no means of communication. Because there are no phones, there is a huge lack of organization. People don’t know where to go for resources so most people are wandering the neighborhoods looking for what they need.
• Don’t go at night. The area is pitch black at night and people are (understandably) extremely paranoid. There are signs everywhere warning that “we will shoot first, ask questions later.” Many people armed. Help as much as possible during daylight hours, and then leave the area.
Things I didn’t realize until I got there:
• It is FREEZING! I didn’t realize how much colder it would be out there because it is right on the water. It is super windy and much feels much colder than in Westchester.
• The scope of this damage is immense. I had no idea how large this area is. In my mind, I thought there would be several hundred homes. There are thousands and thousands of people on the streets, in need. 10.6 miles of land from end to end, with everything in sight damaged.
• Most of the things ruined were on the first floor. Things on the second floor are more salvageable. People were not AS in need of things that would be in the bedroom and bathroom. Most needed are things that would have been in the basement and living room. For example, I brought soap, washcloths, toothpaste and toothbrushes which were not in severe demand by homeowners. However, these things are in demand by people who were previously homeless or in distress before the hurricane.
• People are working hard all day, sweating, dirty, exhausted, but then cannot shower afterwards. They are washing by using a cold bottle of water and a washcloth. They are 5 days in.
The unexpected:
• “Organized” distribution sites don’t exist. The 2 areas I saw set-up were overflowing with goods, but most people didn’t know about them so there was no way to get the goods out. The best way to distribute items was to drive around the streets offering what we had to individuals.
• People have a small supply of diapers, but no baby wipes. If you are bringing diapers, bring wipes as well, or even just wipes alone.
• Currently, people seem to have canned goods, sandwiches and water. They also have basic clothing. There are many tee-shirts and boxes of clothing strewn throughout the streets, untaken. What is needed is WARM clothing: long sleeves, jackets, gloves, hats, blankets.
Where to go:
• B29 had a large gathering of people who would take ANYTHING- I think they had little to nothing to begin with, before the storm.
• I heard from several sources that B59 had a distribution center, but could not find it.
• B129 has a functioning indoor shelter and distribution center, but they are currently stocked.
• Most successful was to drive up and down streets distributing goods to individuals.
Items Needed:
• Work Gloves
• Heavy Duty Garbage Bags
• Flashlights, C and D Batteries
• Sweatshirts and Jackets
• Underwear
• Diapers and Wipes
• Blankets
• Towels
• Tampons
• HOT food
jon stewarts new jersey homes
1960s bronx street scene
JLo, I know this tip comes years late, but others may find it handy. My mom related a story of some people that had to move their elderly mother to assisted living. They told her that they had to renovate the condo she lived in, so they were going to move her to a nice little bed and breakfast inn for a while. My mom is now forewarned if we ever want to move her to a "bed and breakfast." Perhaps we need a spot with little round windows so she can go on a "cruise ship".
west & cortlandt, hurricane donna (1960)
