amNew York and Real News?
In a New York Times story earlier this week about the finances of the private organization managing the re-opening of the Statue of Liberty, the NYT actually gives some credit to that new, flimsy giveaway paper, amNew York.

The department should have known that trouble was brewing, the aide said, given that its inspector general was already investigating the project and a city newspaper, amNew York, had reported on the foundation's finances.

- posted by Amy @ 4/09/2004 10:55:00 AM

 

Yankee, Sit Down
For a mere $1,500 you can own your own set of authentic Yankee Stadium seats. You could buy some and pretend you're in the studio audience for "Saturday Night Live". The city is selling them off through their City Store and apparently they're anticipating crazy demand: "The sale will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, April 19, 2004 and will be on a first-come first-served basis, one set per customer. NO ORDER WILL BE ACCEPTED BEFORE THIS TIME."
- posted by Amy @ 4/09/2004 10:21:00 AM

 

Times Square Centennial
Times Square turns 100 years old today. Before it was named for the Grey Lady, it was known as Long-Acre Square. Lovely. (via Gothamist.)
- posted by Amy @ 4/08/2004 05:44:00 PM

 

First We Club the Baby Seals, Then We Vote ...
The crazy Slovaks might just go ahead and let "backward-looking bully" Vladimir Meciar run their country again.
- posted by Amy @ 4/08/2004 05:38:00 PM

 

Thanks, Homer
I just wanted to say thanks to Homer Simpson and all his co-workers at FirstEnergy for causing that blackout in August. Without you, I never would have been stuck on the subway for two hours. But because I was, I had my highest blog traffic ever and have been interviewed by exciting international TV crews.

Just don't do it again, OK?
- posted by Amy @ 4/06/2004 09:59:00 AM

 

Kids These Days
Last week I was out in New Jersey for my stepson's talent show. Before it started, we were milling around the hallways of the middle school, checking out some of the student projects on the walls. Seems one class had an assignment to hand-draw Web pages about Buddhism. It's kind of scary to realize what these youngsters already take for granted. A lot of them had "FAQs" and search engines and one even had an eBay link for items related to Buddhism.
- posted by Amy @ 4/06/2004 09:48:00 AM

 

Squatcho on the Move
Looks like the site for my brother's band, Squatcho, is up and running again. And it says they're playing the Freak Fest at Famosa Raceway on April 16.
- posted by Amy @ 4/06/2004 09:43:00 AM

 

Mystery Blogs
Last night I was reading through the blog of mystery writer Lawrence Block, who's driving a rental car all over the east Coast promoting his new book. There's some fun stuff there about the meaning of bestseller lists, getting comfortable with self-promotion and booking rooms on Priceline. Here's an excerpt:

In PROWL, I referred to the song about loving the girl one's near. And I---or Bernie, if you want to be technical---identified it as being from My Fair Lady. Well, it's from Finian's Rainbow, and I knew that. I suspect Bernie knew it as well. But somehow it got past both of us, and my editor and copy editor and proofreader, and indeed everybody who saw it, and the book came out that way.

And so far six readers have let me know about it. Boy, do I ever know about it. We'll fix it in the paperback, and we may even fix it in future printings of the hardcover, although that's not as easy to manage as you might think. But one thing I don't need is to hear any more about it, and I know I will. Sheesh, the book's only been out there for two and a half weeks.

Since I'm on the topic of mystery writers who are bloggers, I'll mention Roger Simon. I just finished his book "The Big Fix," - which coincidentally I bought while at Block's book signing a couple weeks ago. The book just reeks of Raymond Chandler so much that I often found myself thinking I was reading about Philip Marlowe, not Moses Wine. It's kind of Chandler with a bit of a Kesey/Wolfe-sentiment thrown in. It's a fun read. (And it even has a few pointless Bakersfield references thrown in for good measure.)
- posted by Amy @ 4/06/2004 08:58:00 AM

 

Clubbing Baby Seals
Yet another sign we're moving in reverse these days. A few scattered paragraphs from the front-page story in today's New York Times:

Commercial hunting of baby seals is back and even bigger than when it stirred a global outcry two decades ago.

That trend is making an extraordinary jump this year, when the (Canadian) federal government will allow the killing of up to 350,000 baby harp seals, or more than one in three of all those born, largely for their valuable fur.

Meanwhile, tougher hunting rules, including stiffer regulations to avert skinning the seals alive, have muted the effort to stop the hunt and eased the consciences of Canadians.

Seal products remain banned in the United States, and they find only limited acceptance in most of Western Europe. But new markets have emerged in Russia, Ukraine and Poland, with a fashion trend for sealskin hats and accessories. Fur experts expect the Chinese market to grow, perhaps raising prices higher.

Seal hunting is worth about $30 million annually to the Newfoundland economy, which has been hurt by the collapse of the cod fishery. About 5,000 hunters and 350 workers who process skins rely on the industry. Hundreds more hunting jobs are created in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Arguing that hunting seals is no worse than "people taking the heads off chickens, butchering cows and butchering pigs," he added, "People are just trying to make a living."

- posted by Amy @ 4/05/2004 11:46:00 AM

 

Tsar Night
If I found myself in California today, I would assuredly be at the Tsar show at the El Rey Theatre tonight. Matt Welch bills it as "the most important show ever in Tsar's six-year history."
- posted by Amy @ 4/05/2004 11:22:00 AM

 

More Treo Possibilities
One of the things I like about my Treo 600 camera phone is that it makes me think about what these devices could be used for as technology improves.

This morning there was a wreck at the intersection by my apartment. I heard the crash and looked out the window to see a truck landing on its side. I reached simultaneously for the telephone and my Treo. As I was calling 911 on the land line, I was taking pictures with the Treo and posting them. The operator patched in an EMT operator to find out how many people appeared to be trapped in the truck, and I had the thought I could actually e-mail him the picture and he'd have it in less than 30 seconds. (Of course I didn't try to explain that.) But it got me thinking, wouldn't it be cool if there was a 911 screen set up in the emergency response vehicles so they could actually see the scene of the crash, fire, or crime before they arrived?

And yeah, I know, getting bad pictures would be like having to wade through spam on the way to the scene, so maybe it's not a super great idea. But maybe there is a kernel there that might work eventually.

And I should note for your tech geeks that I had the crash picture posted to my Web page (via Buzznet) even before I heard sirens heading this direction.

As for the guys in the truck, they both climbed out with help of passers-by before the firemen, cops and EMTs arrived. The passenger is only just now leaving the scene - via car service, not ambulance.
- posted by Amy @ 4/05/2004 11:01:00 AM

 

Jet Blue as Good as its Passengers?
Let me tryout my snobby little theory about why Jet Blue now ranks No. 1 in quality among U.S. airlines. It's about their passengers.

I'm not saying Jet Blue isn't great. They do a lot of things better than other airlines. But because they are this young airline, most infrequent travelers have never heard of them and wouldn't know how to book a flight with them. So as a result, the passengers you find on Jet Blue are far more likley to know how to behave on a plane and have realistic expectations at the airport. Try flying American into Los Angeles in the middle of the summer -- you get all the novice flyers who argue at every counter about stupid things, trying to get inappropriate bags on the plane and crammed into overhead bins. They don't know to bring quiet games for their kids, the women don't know not to wear extra perfume for the flight, etc. Those people aren't yet booking their summer vacations on Jet Blue. But when they do, Jet Blue's customer service people will have to spend more time with them. And if a passenger has a lousy flight because of other passengers, he might be more likely to file a complaint over something the airline did wrong.
- posted by Amy @ 4/05/2004 10:40:00 AM

 

New Blog Alert
My friends Eric Wahlgren and Jason Stone have quit their jobs and are moving to Paris in a week. Jason has been kind enough to start a blog. Check him out -- only now is he disclosing they had mice in their apartment, ("Since we aren't expecting any more visitors to our apartment in New York City, I think it is safe to tell you all this story.") He also has a little rant about a spate of chain stores opening in the West Village.
- posted by Amy @ 4/04/2004 03:10:00 PM

 

Shopping Alert
I stopped by Century 21 yesterday and - egads, they've done something crazy. The womens shoe department is no longer upstairs. You have to follow some creepy staircase through children's clothes and then down to where they moved the mens shoes a few months ago. The good news is the shoe department is now bigger. The bad news is it's just as cramped and chaotic as ever. It actually goes all the way over to Broadway at street level -- and it has its own downstairs level. Same bargains as ever.
- posted by Amy @ 4/04/2004 02:33:00 PM

 

Republishing or Not
Been having some publishing problems the past few days. Trying to get something fixed. Hopefully I'll get back to my regular, exciting posts soon.
- posted by Amy @ 4/04/2004 09:41:00 AM