teacup cats: September 2013

Sorry, No Post Tonight

Favorite Hallowe'en Porch

Gotta get up super-early.

10/1/13

Don't forget to vote in the runoff today: Daniel Squadron vs.Tish James for Public Advocate.

Postscript: According to WNYC tonight, Tish James has this, as least for now.

Please check back tomorrow, 10/2.

Candidate Forum, Debates in Bay Ridge

Meet the Candidates

On Wednesday, October 2 at 7 PM, the Brooklyn Real Estate Board will host a "Meet the Candidates" Political Forum with mayoral candidates Bill deBlasio (D) and Joe Lhota (R) and Republican and Democratic candidates from Districts 43, 44, 46, 47 and 48, at Dyker Beach Golf Course Clubhouse, 1030 86th Street at 7th Avenue in Dyker Heights.

Candidates include:

Vinnie

BRFC Distribution at Union Church

The Bay Ridge Food Co-op Buying Club will host a food distribution from 5:30 to 7:30 PM on Thursday, October 3, at Union Church, 7915 Ridge Blvd (@80th St.) in Bay Ridge.

Orders are due by noon by Monday, October 1.

You can download an order form here to pre-order items. Return completed order forms to brfc.distribution@gmail.com.

You can also view pre-order items on this Price List. To

Union Till I Die

Third Avenue Festival

Home Reporter Photo

The 3rd Avenue Merchants Association will host its 39th Annual Third Avenue Festival from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday, October 6, along 3rd Avenue between Bay Ridge Avenue and 92nd Street.

The event is expected to draw as many as 100,000 people from Bay Ridge and across the city.

In addition to dozens of commercial and informational street displays by merchants, local

Miracle on 34th Street at Fort Hamilton

Kris Kringle and Susan

Beginning Friday, November 29 through Sunday, December 8, Narrows Community Theater will present Meredith Wilson's musical adaptation of Christmas film "Miracle on 34th Street" at Fort Hamilton Army Base, 101st Street and Fort Hamilton Pkwy in Bay Ridge.

Everyone knows the beloved story of how Kris Kringle, the mysterious white-bearded old gentleman who claims to be

"Murder at Johnnie's Juice Joint" at St. John's

St. John's Episcopal Church, at 9818 Fort Hamilton Parkway in Bay Ridge, will present a costume fundraiser, "Murder at Johnnie's Juice Joint", on Saturday, October 26 from 6-10 PM.

Whether you dress as a gangster or silent film star or come as you are, the event promises a fun evening.

The $35 per person reservation includes dinner, a bottle of wine, dessert, and coffee or tea -- plus a

Semper Fi Fund 5K Run/Walk

The Bay Ridge Semper Fi Fund 5K Run/Walk to help support injured Marines is scheduled for Saturday, November 2 at 10 AM.

The race will begin and end in Cannonball (a/k/a John Paul Jones) Park, at 101st Street and 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge.

The Semper Fi Fund on Facebook.

Important Rally at Mt. Manresa This Morning

The Committee to Save Mount Manresa Committee has issued an urgent call to friends and supporters to come to its 18th rally at 10 AM today, Saturday Sept 28, in front of the stone Manresa sign (around 99 Narrows Road North) in Staten Island.

The Committee wants this rally, the last before its court date on October 1, to be its biggest so far. Today's turnout matters.

If you care about the

VVMF Seeks Photos, Stories of Those Lost in Vietnam

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, working with local organizations and volunteers across the country, is collecting the photos and stories of the American soldiers who died in the Vietnam War.

The call for photos is part of the "Faces Never Forgotten" campaign,
urging friends and families of veterans and all Americans to ensure that
the faces and the memories of those on The Wall in

Solitude and Company

I am sitting here tapping on the keyboard, door open. Across the landing in a darkened room, door also open, sleep Martha and Evie. I had to go out tonight for a few hours so Bert was the one responsible for putting them to bed. He did OK. One out of two isn't bad. When I got home Martha was asleep but Miss Evie was wide awake. One yogurt, a nappy change, brush teeth and a story and she was sleeping too. She'll still be up at six am tomorrow.

On Monday I went to Eelburn, just me and the brown dog. When I was in Vancouver I decided that there would be no more respite for Pearlie. She was becoming thoroughly fed up with it and the thought of going into residential care for two weeks at a time was spoiling her life. From now on we go on respite, she stays at home. That was what my three days in Donegal was about. I thought I'd be lonely but was not. It was so relaxing to have nothing to do. I spent a deal of time just staring into space. How come I never realised how great that is? Just staring into space. Wonderful. Judy and I did lots of walking and clambering over rocks which was fun but sadly I appear to have overused my knees which became apparent this evening.

For this evening there was lots of kneeling and up and downing at the chapel for it was Cousin Joe's anniversary Mass. One year since he died. The service was beautiful with astounding music. While he was ill last September, too ill to receive visitors any more, I passed some time picking blackberries. Tonight when I got back Bert had opened a bottle of blackberry wine made from last year's picking. It was pretty fine. I wish I could have given Joe a share of it.

Tender Mercies...

Proverbs 12:10

Update:

According to an email today from my rescuer friend, the cats trapped at the Ovington Avenue location in September were not taken to ACC, as originally assumed. They were dumped at another Brooklyn location.

Numerous agencies are now investigating, and legal action is possible.

Bethlehem Lutheran has been working with the local animal rescue community to put a plan

The New R Train Commute

The A/C Transfer at Jay Street

Capital Fund Grant for GEC

At a presser on Friday, September 27 at 11 AM, Council Members Vinnie Gentile and Domenic Recchia will announce a $1,900,000 award of capital funds to the Guild for Exceptional Children.

GEC board president Anthony Cetta and executive director Paul Cassone will be on hand to accept the award.

The funds are earmarked for major renovations to GEC’s main adult facility at 260 68th Street in Bay

Fall at the Brooklyn Lyceum

The Lyceum Holiday Marketplace

Funky neighborhood holdout The Brooklyn Lyceum, at 227 4th Avenue in Park Slope/Gowanus (R to Union), will host its 6th Annual Holiday Marketplace Saturday and Sunday, December 21 and 22, from 11AM to 7PM featuring 50+ vendors of hand-crafted gift items for your last-minute shopping convenience, as well as family fun and food.

Watch for announcements about "A

Hynes: "I'm Out"

In a New York Law Journal interview today, Brooklyn District Attorney Charlie Hynes, who lost the Democratic Primary to Ken Thompson earlier this month, said he won't campaign on the Republican or the Conservative lines in the November general election, as Republican and Conservative supporters have urged him to do.

Hynes' denial ended a very public effort by manager Dennis Quirk, Republican

Bay Ridge Democrats Phone Bank for deBlasio

Local Democratic club Bay Ridge Democrats, which helped get out the vote on Primary Day, will be phone banking for Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate for mayor from 7-9 PM tonight, September 24, at 8710 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge.

Volunteers are asked to bring their cellphones. The club will supply the rest.

They Walk Among Us

A&S Pork Store Closed

I didn't shop there, so I'm not sure when this happened, but I just noticed last week that the storefront was for lease.

According to comments on the various rating sites, the owners of A&S have opened a successor business, M&S Prime Meats, at 312 5th Ave. (between 2nd St. & 3rd St.) in Park Slope.

The store is on Seamless. The number there is (718) 768-2728.

John Kenney at the BookMark Shoppe

Brooklyn-based John Kenney will be at the BookMark Shoppe, at 8415 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge, at 7:30 PM on October 17 to discuss and sign copies of his critically-acclaimed novel, Truth in Advertising, published by Touchstone.

Mildly successful ex-blue-collar Boston Finbar Dolan, secretly unhappy in advertising, finds the courage to confront his life after finding out that his abusive father is

Southwest Brooklyn Buildings on Green Home Tour

The Green Home NYC Annual Fall Green Buildings Open-House, on October 5 between 10 AM and 3 PM, will feature two sustainable southwest Brooklyn buildings: "Bright 'n' Green" in Brighton Beach and the Stillwell Avenue Train Shed in Coney Island.

The tours are a chance to see green buildings and sites and to learn about energy-efficient, sustainable building methods from the architects, engineers

Michael Grimm Threepeats on "Most Corrupt" List

Two-term Congressional Representative Michael Grimm (R-NY-11CD) made the CREW "Most Corrupt" list again this year -- for the third time -- for orchestrating and accepting illegal campaign contributions during the 2010 campaign cycle, and for improperly linking to CSPAN coverage of a House floor speech in his campaign materials.

According to a Times analysis of Grimm's 2010 campaign

Seven Years Now

Today would have been Shirley Finlay's 32nd birthday. Gone seven years now.

"Save Our Beer" at Heartland

Environmental Advocates of New York and partners Water Rangers, United for Action and the Manhattan Young Democrats will host the first Manhattan "Save Our Beer" event at Heartland Brewery in Union Square on Wednesday, October 9.

Hollywood star and anti-fracking activist Mark Ruffalo (a/k/a "The Hulk"), an upstate homeowner who's mad as hell about Gov. Cuomo's push to frack New York State, is

Hurricane Sandy Town Hall Meeting in Gerritsen Beach

As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaches, State Senator Marty Golden has invited residents affected by Hurricane Sandy in Gerritsen Beach, Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach to a Town Hall Meeting at 7:00 PM on Wednesday September 25 at Public School 227 at 2529 Gerritsen Avenue.

Invited government agency representatives include:

Build It Back
National Flood Insurance Program

Surveilling Bay Ridge Muslims

The recent publication of documents by Associated Press reporters Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman detailing at least a dozen NYPD "terrorism enterprise investigations" (TEIs) at New York City mosques, and the release of their new, Pulitzer-Prize-winning book "Enemies Within" have renewed public scrutiny of the NYPD/CIA post-9/11 domestic spying program, built on the Israeli model.

Bay Ridge

Allison Robicelli Whips It up at the Greenmarket

You are invited to the Bay Ridge Greenmarket tomorrow, Saturday, September 21, from 11 AM to 1 PM, to watch guest chef Allison Robicelli whip up a batch of her delicious honey caramel with locally-produced Apple Blossom Honey from Greenmarket vendor Toigo.

The Greenmarket, in the Walgreen's Parking lot at 3rd Avenue and 95th Street in Bay Ridge, is open from 8 AM to 3 PM.

Come grab a

BCS Million Step Challenge in Prospect Park

This Sunday, September 22, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn Community Services will host its annual "Million Step Challenge" (formerly known as the "Fun Walk".)

The event, which starts at 11 AM at the Grand Army Plaza entrance, builds awareness of BCS' important work, as 500 supporters each walk one mile (2,000 steps) to raise money for one of Brooklyn’s oldest social service organizations. The goal

Reaching out Community Services "Walk Against Hunger"

Bensonhurst-based Reaching-Out Community Services, at 7708 New Utrecht Avenue in Bensonhurst, will host its 5th Annual "Walk Against Hunger"
fundraiser on Saturday, September 28.

Registration will begin at 9:30 AM at the Knights of Columbus parking lot
on 86th Street and 13th Avenue. The walk will step off at 11 AM and follow a route along 13th Avenue and 86th Street to 69th Street,

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the Brooklyn Lyceum

The Brooklyn Lyceum, at 227 4th Avenue (R to Union Street) in Park Slope/Gowanus, will present Washington Irving's Hallowe'en classic "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" at Noon and 1:30 PM on three weekends this fall: Saturdays and Sundays, October 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27.

The interactive reading, set in the Lyceum basement, with actors voicing Ichabod Crane, Katrina Von Tassel and The

NBG Harvest Festival and Canine Costume Contest

Narrows Botanical Gardens will host its 2013 Harvest Festival, featuring its Annual Canine Costume Contest and a variety of handcrafted local goods, from Noon to 5 PM on Sunday, October 13 at 7001 Shore Road in Bay Ridge. (Rain date is October 20.)

Canine judging categories include "Most Imaginative Costume and Presentation" and "Most Hilarious".

The entry fee for canine contestants is $15

News from the Committee to Save Mt. Manresa

Vigil for the Victims of 9/11

The Committee to Save Mt. Manresa held a special vigil at Mt. Manresa, at 239 Fingerboard Road in Staten Island, on Sept 11, honoring of the victims of the World Trade Center attacks.

Mt. Manresa has a deep connection with 9/11.

Sister Maureen Skelly, a police captain on staff at Mt. Manresa at the time of the 9/11 attacks, gave the memorial address

"Rudy Piccirillo Field" Dedication

At the ballfield entrance at 11 AM on September 21, 2013, Council Member Vinnie Gentile and other elected officials will join with family and friends of local sports legend Rudy Piccirillo, members of the Knute Rockne Football Assocation, and community members, to name the field at 97th Street and Shore Road “Rudy Piccirillo Coaches Field” in his honor.

Piccirillo, who, on the advice of a

Blackberry-Picking 2013

Seamus Heaney's grave, Bellaghy

We were in Portglenone yesterday collecting vegetables for the kune kunes and decided to drive over to Bellaghy to visit Seamus Heaney's grave. It is just over a fortnight since he was laid to rest in that quiet cemetery and, it appears, that there is not a daylight hour passes that his grave is without visitors. It is a beautiful spot, Heaney's last resting place. Homely. I found myself thinking, as I've often thought at graves - Taken far too soon. There was still so much to do.

And that is the way it is. We live and we die.

Last year when I picked blackberries I filled my ears with Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong and Nelson Mandela's Long Walk To Freedom. This year, no iPod so I just did thinking. Last year I thought about blackberry wine and jam and crumbles. Last year my audiobook blocked out anxious thoughts about my cousin Joe who was dying from a brain tumour. This year I thought of the very first Heaney poem I ever read. The blackberry one. I must have been in my early teens, the poet in his late twenties. It was the first piece of poetry I'd ever come across that spoke of the life I knew. I recognised that lust for picking.

So I picked blackberries and I got scratched and stung, my fingers stained purple and I thought about how fleeting and ephemeral life can be. We live, we die. We wither, we rot. No matter how much we love people, no matter how much we need them - they might leave us. Or we leave them.

Morbid? No. It is just life. Which is for living. The very best we can.

And that is why I will be making wine from my blackberries.

Not as Mighty as a Speeding Dodge

In January, 2010, 104-year-old body-builder and former Coney Island strongman Joe Rollino, known in his youth as "Mighty Joe", was run down by a mini-van while crossing
the street with his daily paper at Bay Ridge Parkway and 13th Avenue.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Lutheran Medical Center.

Yesterday, the intersection of Bay Ridge Parkway and 13th Avenue claimed another elderly

Bay Ridge Food Co-op Buying Club at Union Church

On Friday, September 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM and on Saturday, September 21 from 11 AM to 1 PM, the Bay Ridge Food Co-op Buying Club will distribute food orders at Union Church, 7915 Ridge Blvd. (at 80th Street) in Bay Ridge.

After the Saturday distribution, you are invited to join the co-op's foraging tour of Owl's Head Park.

From its new distribution point at Union Church, the co-op has

Mohammed Gebeli's Store Closed

Valentino Fashion of Brooklyn, the men's clothing store at 7718 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge owned by murder victim Mohammed Gebeli, has closed. A sign on the awning advertises the store for rent.

Salvatore Perrone, an independent Staten Island clothing salesman who sold to Gebeli, has been charged with his murder.

The eccentric Perrone, dubbed "Son of Sal", has also been charged in the shooting

Walk to End Alzheimer's at Coney Island

Lutheran Family Health Centers Services for Older Adults will host the "Seniors in Touch Team" at the Brooklyn Walk to End Alzheimer's on Sunday, September 22 on the Coney Island Boardwalk.

Check-in is at 9 AM. The walk will step off at 10 AM at Stillwell Avenue and the Boardwalk.

You can contribute to the walk by joining the team on the boardwalk; collecting donations from family and

Fall Tennis Lessons at McKinley Park

Fall tennis lessons for juniors and adults will begin on Saturday, September 21 at McKinley Park, 75th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway in Dyker Heights.

Classes include:

Pee Wee (ages 4-6);
Junior (ages 7-16);
Adult Beginners; and
Adult Intermediates.

For more information, call 718-745-7776 or visit the website.

Fall Season at the Bay Ridge Historical Society

Toys from Our Past and Present -- Wednesday, September 18

Local resident Paul Trinidad, owner of 3rd Avenue's Kaleidoscope Toy Store, will give an illustrated talk on the history of toys.

Young Theodore Roosevelt -- Wednesday, October 16

Local historian and park ranger at the Theodore Roosevelt National Historic Site Daniel Prebutt will discuss Teddy Roosevelt, one of the greatest U.S.

The Second Coming of Hynes?

No sooner had Brooklyn D.A. Charlie Hynes been defeated by rival Democrat Ken Thompson in the September 10 Democratic Primary than the Republican and Conservative parties, undoubtedly with Hynes' knowledge and consent, placed an item in the New York Post urging Hynes to run on the Conservative and Republican lines in the November 5 general election -- something the 78-year-old had vowed not to

Kassenbrock Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser

There will be a fundraiser for the Kassenbrock Brothers Memorial Scholarship Fund at Caesar's Casino in Atlantic City on Sunday, October 20.

The bus leaves from 6th Avenue and 71st Street in Bay Ridge at 9:30 AM. There will be bingo and refreshments on the trip. Passengers will be returned to 6th Avenue and 71st Street at 9 PM that evening.

The price is $40.00/$25.00 coin return.

Call

Bay Ridge Community Council on Traffic and Transportation

The Bay Ridge Community Council will present "Traffic and Transportation Updates" on Tuesday, September 24 at 7:30 PM at Shore Hill, 9000 Shore Road in Bay Ridge. Parking is available. (Enter on 91st Street.)

Refreshments will be served.

Issues covered by expert presenters will include traffic and transportation concerns and changes.

Maybe they know what happened to the Fourth Avenue

19th Annual Bay Ridge Center Walkathon

On Saturday, September 21, the Bay Ridge Center will host its 19th Annual "Miles for Meals" Walkathon in Bay Ridge.

Registration begins at 10 AM at the Bay Ridge Center, at 411 Ovington Avenue in Bay Ridge.

Kick-off ceremonies begin at 10:30 AM.

The walk will begin at 11 AM and will follow a 1.9 mile course along 3rd Avenue to 83rd Street, turning on 83rd Street onto 5th Avenue, then

Bay Ridge AARP Chapter Meets

Bay Ridge Chapter 3630 of the American Association of Retired Persons will meet at Shore Hill Community Center, at 91st Street, between Shore Road and Colonial Road in Bay Ridge, at 2:30 PM on Tuesday, September 17.

Guest speakers will be financial adviser Patrick Gilbride and Karen Tadross, producer of Jeff Samaha's Production of "Les Miserables."

For more information about the Bay Ridge

Senior Idol Auditions

Auditions

Auditions for Brooklyn's 7th Annual Senior Idol Competition, sponsored by State Senator Marty Golden, are scheduled for Tuesday, September 24 from 4-6 PM at Xaverian High School, 7100 Shore Road in Bay Ridge.

To enter, you must be at least 50 years old and a Brooklyn resident; and you must bring your own musical accompaniment.

To register, call Senator Golden's office at

5th Annual Det. Russel Timoshenko Memorial Motorcycle Run

The 5th Annual Motorcycle Run, honoring the life and the sacrifice of Det. Russel Timoshenko, is scheduled rain or shine for Sunday, September 29.

The event is organized by Russel’s family and friends and the Retribution Law Enforcement
Motor Cycle Club.

The meetup is at Midland Beach Parking Lot #5A at Father Capodanno Blvd. and Lincoln Avenue in Staten Island.

Registration begins at 9:

3rd Annual Sneak Peak at Freshkills Park

From 11 AM to 4 PM on September 29, the public is invited to the Third Annual "Sneak Peak" at the new 2,200-acre Freshkills Park, on the site of the former Freshkills Landfill on the west shore of Staten Island.

Planned activities include kayaking, walking, biking, kite making and flying, composting and re-use, public art, games, giveaways, a climbing wall, pony rides, and more.

Or you can

2013 Carroll Gardens PumpkinFest

Carroll Gardens' Mazzone Hardware store will host its 9th Annual PumpkinFest
on Oct. 5 at 470 Court Street at 4th Place in Carroll Gardens. The event is a benefit for the Children's Miracle Network.

Featured entertainment will include clowns, balloon animals, pony rides and
face-painting -- and of course, lots of of pumpkins, which will be on sale from $2-7.

This family-friendly

The Subprime Meltdown, Five Years On

Five years ago, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, collapsing the house of cards known as Wall Street. But after a bailout by American taxpayers, Wall Street has completely recovered. The American people? Not so much.

Here are a few shocking, infuriating, damming statistics from advocacy organization Public Citizen:

The crash cost the U.S. economy $22 trillion, meaning that every American got

Too Pooped to Post

Please check back tomorrow.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Moon Festival at Leif Erickson Park

State Senator Marty Golden will host a Moon Festival celebration at Leif Erickson Park, from 65th to 67th Streets near 8th Avenue on the border of Bay Ridge, from 11:30 to 4:30 PM on Sunday, September 15.

Featured will be traditional Cheong Sam costumes shown by a diverse group of models; musical performance by award-winning singers; street dance; bands; modern and classic music; lantern

LICH Closure Plan Invalidated

In a decision that City Council Member Letitia James called a "huge victory for the patients, workers and the broader community", New York State Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes has invalidated the state's closure plan for Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, assuring that the facility will remain open for care.

The lawsuit to keep L.I.C.H. open was filed by Public Advocate Bill

Harbor Defense Museum Re-Opens

The Harbor Defense Museum, Building #230 at Fort Hamilton Army Garrison, at 101st Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway in Bay Ridge, re-opened on September 5 after being closed for a year for renovations.

The 187-year-old Fort Hamilton, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, is one of the nation's oldest Army bases.

The Harbor Defense Museum, opened in 1980 and curated

Smart Parking for a Smart City

You can't help but notice, if you live in Bay Ridge, how much local traffic is the result of people driving around looking for places to park.

You'll be out for a jog and the same car will pass you three times in the space of a few blocks. You'll finally realize, on the third pass, that the driver isn't stalking you, he's stalking a parking space.

The less time drivers spend looking for

Stalking Wild Edibles in Owl's Head Park

From 3-5 PM on Saturday, September 21, rain or shine, the Bay Ridge Co-op will host a walk-along tour with urban forager Leda Meredith, a committed locavore and Brooklyn Botanic Garden instructor, to learn how to safely identify and harvest wild edibles in the urban terrain.

Wild root vegetables like gobo and evening primrose; salad greens and edible flowers, including Asiatic dayflower;

Bay Ridge Democrats at The Bridgeview

The Bay Ridge Democrats will host their monthly general meeting tonight at 7:30 PM in the back room at the Bridgeview Diner, at 9011 3rd Avenue.

There's "lots to talk about tonight", says club president Justin Brannan, now that the club's slate won.

Regina Pops Concert at OLPH

Brooklyn's Regina Opera Company, now in its 44th season, will present "Regina Pops", a 2-hour concert of Broadway hits, Neapolitan songs and other Italian favorites on Sunday, October 6 at 3 PM in the auditorium at Our Lady of Perpetual Help at 5902 6th Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Featured:

Patricia Vital - soprano

Jessica French -

The Never Forgotten

Sorry, No Post Tonight: Long Day at the Polling Place

deBlasio Strikes a Pose

How come it's not electioneering when all those electeds and would-be electeds come trooping through with their entourages while people are trying to vote?

Sheesh!

Looks like billionaire Republican candidate John Catisimitidis and his entourage, which included Marty Golden, didn't just hit my Bay Ridge polling site [L Magazine.]

Taking star turns with his entourage

Working Families Party Endorsements

Although it split on the mayoral race and couldn't make a primary endorsement, the progressive Working Families Party has made other crucial endorsements up and down the ballot.

If you're a registered Democrat, you may want to cut and paste the following information to your Iphone and bring it with you when you go to vote in the Democratic Primary tomorrow, September 10.
Working Families

Happy Birthday Dear Granny

This has been my birthday weekend. Big special birthday, sixty years old. Guess this means I'm old now but being a glass half-full sort of person, I like to think I'm still on the young side of old.

We started with a children's party on Saturday. It had been a good enough week weather-wise but Saturday brought downpours. Children don't care about rain. They just need sausages, balloons, Haribo, puppies, each other's company and bouncy castles. They got all that plus Young Loveheart's three man catapult, a treasure hunt (got to work for those party bags) and a lot of muddy puddles to jump in. Next children's party I throw maybe I'll not bother with a bouncy castle and just get Clint up with his digger and he can create lots more muddy puddles which he can fill in afterwards. Clint loves playing with his digger.

Bouncing

Catapulting

Watching the catapulters

Some of our guests

There were dramas. The original bouncy castle people let us down. Bad Fred! Fortunately we were able to get another one at an hour's notice. Good Mutley! And then Zoe's dog Gracie went missing. There were so many children and so many dogs that no one noticed for more than an hour. As I have mentioned many times before we live far too close to a busy B road where far too many people drive far too fast. In fact when Miss Mel and I were searching the verges we saw two cars racing each other. Would that I could have made a citizen's arrest of the idiots. There was a happy outcome for Gracie. She had got on the road, a quarter of a mile down it, but she was picked up by a young couple who immediately phoned the number on her collar disk. Unfortunately it was Zoe's house phone so no one got the message at the time. The young couple took charge of her until her owners raced home to see if there were messages. These good people delivered her back to Cully. Big sighs of relief from everyone.

The next stage of the party was in the BT club in Ballymena. Music and catering was all arranged so all we had to do was turn up. What can I say? It was a great night, wonderful music, great food, marvellous company. All the musicians were good friends, one was actually Bert playing his first ever gig. He was very nervous but he did well. The young brother did a few songs, Kerry Sister did a few more and Zoe sang too. I was so proud of them all. There were a few missing faces, some people on holiday, some not up to it, some, God forgive me, that we forgot to invite. It was that thing where Nelly thought Bert had asked them and Bert thought Nelly had.

Anyway – there wasn't a friend or sibling that didn't or couldn't make it that I didn't miss. And I realised this thing again. I am a tremendously fortunate woman. I have a good and loving family and Bert and I have great friends.

Sunday I spent with all the family at home. London Sister and Vancouver Brother sorely missed. We all went to Cemetery Sunday at St Comgalls in Antrim. I don't remember there being Cemetery Sundays when I was a child. It is a cunning ruse by the Catholic Church to shame the faithful and the faithless into keeping our ancestor's graves clean and tidy. Being closer to faithless I prefer to be advised by Blind Lemon Jefferson. It was a lovely thing to do as it felt like including Mammy and Daddy in the birthday celebrations. I also had the opportunity to say hello to aunts, cousins and neighbours.

Today was my actual birthday, the day I turned 60 although still haven't organised that bus pass! It was gardening day so had Martha, Evie and their minders for supper. We had mince pie, beans and birthday cake. In a three day period of fun, festivity and ancestor worship it had to be a best bit when the girls sang, Happy Birthday dear Granny, Happy Birthday to you.

DeBlasio Surges

In the run-up to the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, city Public Advocate Bill deBlasio racked up a 36% lead in a recent Marist poll, just four points away from the 40% he needs to shut out his rivals.

The poll shows former city Comptroller Bill Thompson and Council Speaker Christine Quinn tied at 20%. Former Congressional Rep. Anthony Weiner is rocking a big 7%.

On the Republican side, kitten

Holy Cross Greek Cultural Festival

Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church, at 8401 Ridge Boulevard in Bay Ridge, will host its annual Greek Cultural Festival, rain or shine, from 2 PM to 11 PM on Friday; Noon to 11 PM on Saturday; and Noon to 7 PM on Sunday, September 20, 21 and 22.

The festival features fun for the entire family: Greek food, Greek dance and Greek entertainment, vendors, rides and games, a flea market, and an

Where is Elizabeth McCarthy?

According to posters that appeared on 3rd Avenue and on Marine Avenue this evening, a woman named Elizabeth McCarthy is missing.

No other details are given.

If you have any information regarding her whereabouts, call 917-763-9357.

Update: According to the ladies on the counter at Cathy's Place today, Elizabeth MCarthy, who suffers from dementia, was located within 24 hours and returned

Authors of "Prospect Park: Olmsted and Vaux's Brooklyn Masterpiece" at the Dweck Center

As part of the Brooklyn Book Festival, David Colley and Elizabeth Keegin Colley, authors of Prospect Park: Olmsted and Vaux's Brooklyn Masterpiece, will be at the Dweck Center at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza on Saturday, September 21 at 2 PM to provide an insider's look at the history of Prospect Park.

Also on hand will be former park administrator and founding Prospect Park

2013 Ragamuffin Parade

Bay Ridge's Ragamuffin Parade, now in its 47th year along 3rd Avenue, is scheduled for Saturday, October 5 at 1 PM (rain or shine).

The parade route will be from 76th to 92nd Street (HSBC) on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge.

Registration, at Holy Angels Academy/OLA, off 3rd Avenue on 74th Street, will begin at 11 AM and end at 12:15 PM. Costume judging will take place from 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM.

The

Festa de Maria SS. Addolorata

As part of the Associazione Culturale Pugliese Figli Maria SS. Addolorata's 6th Annual Festa di Maria SS. Addolorata, there will be a procession through the Streets of Bensonhurst on Sunday, September 15 at 3:30 PM.

This year's grand marshalls are Joe and Vanna Marinelli.

The event is dedicated to the memory of Angelo Vinciguerra.

A novena will be offered from September 6th to the 14th at

Shelton Hollers Runs the Rock 'n Roll for Parkinson's

Bay Ridge resident Shelton Hollers will run the Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn 10k in Prospect Park on Saturday, October 12 to raise funds for the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.

Hollers, a sales director in the event management business, decided to turn his passion for running into a charitable gift.

Working with the PDF Champions program, the grassroots fundraising arm
of the Parkinson’s Disease

House Republicans Defend For-Profit Colleges

High school graduates need affordable post-secondary education and degree/certificate programs leading directly to good-paying jobs. But that's not what students who attend for-profit colleges are getting.

Nearly 10% of all high school graduates enroll in for-profit colleges, which reap about 25% of all Pell Grants and federal student loans. Yet the for-profit college industry accounts for

Wheels

Primary Day, Tuesday September 10

The Democratic Primary is only four days away. The rallies, debates, fundraisers, ads, polls and forums will all come down to you, standing in that booth at your local polling place -- and yes, it will be a lever machine.

This is no ordinary Democratic primary. It could determine the outcome of the mayoral election. And it will determine who the next Brooklyn District Attorney is.

That's a

Ambulances No Longer Diverted from LICH

According to an email blast today from city Public Advocate and Democratic mayoral candidate Bill beBlasio, ambulances, diverted from Cobble Hill's Long Island Hospital since June 20 due to an effort by the State Department of Health and operator SUNY Downstate to shut down the hospital, are taking patients to LICH again.

DeBlasio made the announcement at a press conference today with local

Saying "No" to Powerful Men

It has become her greatest political liability. Why did Democratic mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, who emphatically denied in 2007 that she would change her mind on term limits, reverse her position a year later?

According to the New York Times, it was not, as people thought, just a back-room deal with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but a bid by a speaker besieged by a slush fund scandal and

Brooklyn Lyceum Hanging In

Looks like funky, eclectic neighborhood imaginarium Brooklyn Lyceum, at 227 4th Avenue (corner of 4th and President) in Park Slope/Gowanus (R tu Union Street) is hanging in there.

Free Shots of Expresso

According to an email blast today from proprietor Eric Richmond, the Lyceum cafe is offering free shots of Intelligentsia expresso from 7 AM to 11 AM this Friday, September 6 -- while

Back-to-School Giveaways at Luna Park

From September 5 through 29, Luna Park in Coney Island will celebrate the new school year by offering prizes and giveaways to returning students.

Kids in grades K-12, as well as recent high school grads, can cash in their 2013 report cards at Luna Park’s Surf Avenue ticket counter for ride credits good for the rest of the 2013 season. Points will be awarded for every passing grade, (A,B or C)

Brooklyn Preservation Council at Scotto's

The Brooklyn Preservation Council will host its monthly meeting at 6:30 PM on the Second Floor at the Scotto Funeral Home, 106 First Place in Carroll Gardens, on Tuesday, September 17.

On the meeting agenda are reports on the planned Marylander Memorial Park, the Sunset Park Historic District, and historic signage projects.

Your community concerns are welcome.

For more information, contact

Gaudy Fake Flowers

"Les Miz" at Bay Ridge High School

Jeff Samaha Theater Productions, in association with the Ridge Chorale, will present Broadway musical sensation "Les Miserables" by Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Shonberg, based on the Victor Hugo Novel, at the High School of Telecommunications Arts and Technology (Bay Ridge High School), at 350 67th Street in Bay Ridge, on the following dates:

at 8 PM on successive Fridays, September 20 and

Poetry Open Mike at Narrows Botanical Gardens

From 3-5 PM on Sunday, September 9, 2012, Brooklyn Writers Space will host a Poetry Open Mike at Narrows Narrows Botanical Gardens at 7001 Shore Road in Bay Ridge.

The event, which will take place rain or shine, is free of charge.

Featured will be a reading by Writers Space member Terence Degnan from 'The Small Plot Beside the Ventriloquist's Grave."

More information is available at the