Welcome to Mars!

Staying up late to watch the Mars landing.... It helps that I took the day off tomorrow :)

Here's the link if you're interested: NASA Live TV

1:49 a.m. Update: WOW! Was that awesome! What an amazing country we are that we can accomplish things like this. If you couldn't watch this live tonight, try to catch the replay on YouTube or on the NASA.gov site. To watch those first two pictures from the surface of Mars come in just minutes after Curiosity touched down was just amazing.

Mission to Mars

Looking forward to Curiosity touching down on the surface of Mars around 1:30 a.m. Monday. I love it when NASA has these big events during the summer.

What is Queens?

Well, according to The Lite Choice low-fat ice cream chain, Queens is, well Queens. That is all well and good, except its website's locations page has an entire section for stores in New York City. So, I ask you, why isn't our Forest Hills location listed there?

http://www.thelitechoice.com/location.html

This is one of my big pet peeves. It is not very hard to grasp that Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City. It's not it's own entity, other than being a borough, and therefore does not merit its own sub-heading on your locations page, Lite Choice people.

While I'm on the subject, just to point it out, Queens is also not a part of Long Island. Geographically, yes, it is, physically in fact part of the western portion of Long Island. But politically, again, it is a borough of New York City. We have no government in common with Long Island.

It's always amused me that certain entities in our neighborhood try to blur the lines between Forest Hills, Queens and Long Island, as if we are somehow the third county of Long Island. I guess I could understand that when the City was suffering through its period of urban blight. But that hasn't been the case for decades now. So, let's get things straight. If you think Queens is part of Long Island, or is its own entity somehow, you are misinformed and just plain wrong. If you want for some reason to believe that by living in Forest Hills you are living on Long Island, you are dating yourself by more than a decade or so. There hasn't been any good reason to think that since like 1998.

Storm Brings Flooding to Forest Hills

A reader sent me this shot of Puritan Avenue this afternoon during the intense rainstorm we had:

View Larger Map

Thrilling!

Congratulations!!

Bad for India, Good for U.S.A.?

Maybe they won't be so quick to move all our jobs overseas from now on? I wonder who's answering all those calls to my bank today?

Half of India Crippled by Second Day of Power Failures

For a second day in a row, large sections of India were crippled by massive power outages as the country’s northern and eastern electricity grids failed in the early afternoon.

Romney Doing Darn Best to Start Intifada No. 3

Laughable! Moronic! This is an insult to stupid people.... Oh, I can go on and on... What a moronic bunch of crap....

The Caucus: Romney Comments on Palestinians Draw Criticism

Mitt Romney's remarks at a fund-raiser suggesting cultural differences accounted for disparities between the per capita incomes of Israel and the Palestinians, have drawn criticism.

And Mr. Erekat is correct in what he is quoted as saying in this article. The comments are racist——putrid, racist filth. Disgraceful coming from a person who wants to be President of the United States. It's an insult to every American. What is this man even doing there?? It's fuckn' embarrassing!

Busy Sunday Morning in FoHi

Boy, there's a lot going on for a Sunday morning. I think we are going to have to add a special weekend shift here at EOTC.

I'll try to type through my foggy Sunday morning brain.

Some sort of mishap with the Chase Bank at the corner of 71st Continental and Queens Blvd. The entire window was shattered and they were replacing it this morning. Either another crazy Saturday night driver or an attempted "smash and grab" heist? Or perhaps a local street youth had too much to drink and fell into the window during his drunken stumble home. I, myself, just do not know. Perhaps one of you do?

And, here, for you fanatical waffle fans, are a bunch of photos of that waffle truck you all seem to adore so much, parked for the second Sunday in a row on 71st/Continental.

And finally, another Sunday at the delightful FoHi Farmer's Market... My second breakfast this morning (I think the hobbits refer to it as "elevenses") included a blueberry muffin from Bread Alone, and an almond croissant from those guys, too. I wasn't supposed to eat the croissant, but another member of my household passed on it and I couldn't resist. Oh, I also nabbed a bunch of nectarines for the second week in a row (they were among the best I've ever had when I got them there last weekend), and some local honey.

Update: Someone tweeted me that a homeless man smashed the window of the bank. Not sure yet how they know. Trying to find out.

Also, I forgot to mention earlier that I noticed Piu Bello (or Biu Bella, as someone said they are called now) is open again after being shut by the health inspectors. That's one restaurant that has nine lives if I ever saw one.

Storm Pic

Here's a cool pic @knitgrlnyc posted to Twitter of tonight's storm over Queens Blvd. in Forest Hills:

Retailers Fitting In

An interesting article in the Times this morning about how big box retailers are trying to better tailor themselves to cities:

Retailers’ Idea: Think Smaller in Urban Push

As young Americans move to cities, retailers that grew up in the suburbs are following them. And unlike previous efforts, they are doing it the cities’ way.

Last Segment of High Line Acquired

One of my favorite parks in the city will soon, hopefully, be getting much bigger...

City Acquires Last Segment of High Line From Railroad

New York City has acquired the third and final section of the High Line, the old elevated railroad structure on the West Side of Manhattan, from CSX Transportation, clearing the way for completion of the park.

Midway Theater in Daily News

Notice the pic...

Mayor Bloomberg launches PR blitz to promote his controversial ban on large sodas

A Day in the Country

Actually, all these photos were taken today right here in Forest Hills, along Greenway Terrace in the Gardens.

Lazy Squirrel Sunday

Found this lazy squirrel on my air conditioner this morning. Kind of odd behavior for a Forest Hills squirrel. They are usually so industrious. But after a lot of banging on the window, he finally woke up and reluctantly walked away.

What a horror in Colorado. Prayers go out to the victims and their families.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

MTA Restores Cuts

Some Subway, Train and Bus Services to Be Restored or Expanded

The M.T.A., which two years ago made cuts, plans to phase in the improvements starting this fall.

Another sign of the health of this remarkable city we live in while times are still really difficult for a lot of other parts of the country.

Storm Swamping Manhattan

Former NFL player Dhani Jones posted this amazing photo to Twitter from his plane near LaGuardia this afternoon.

Oh, how I know the feeling....

ArtsBeat: Rotten Tomatoes Halts Comments on 'Dark Knight'

The review aggregation site has temporarily suspended user comments on reviews across its site after readers reacted angrily to two negative write-ups of "The Dark Knight Rises" and made threatening and derogatory remarks about the critics who wrote them.

Makes sense to me...

More on Jack & Nellie's

Here's a link to an article in DNAInfo.com about the new wine bar coming into the spot on Ascan where Q Bistro used to be: Upscale Wine Bar Coming to Forest Hills

By the way, here's some other local restaurant-related news:

1) I heard that La Boulangerie celebrated Bastille Day over the weekend by making fresh crepes out in front of the store. Too bad I missed that!
2) I also heard that Piu Bello, located on the corner across from the Post Office, has been shut down by the health department. The biggest question I had about this place is how did it last this long given that every time I passed by there were just a few people in it.

By the way, some people have commented on this blog that certain locations in Forest Hills are cursed — that no matter what goes in to them will fail. They cite locations like the one right next to the Midway Theater, which has changed hands like six times in the past several years and is now Gloria Pizza. Or the spot where Piu Bello is right now - or was.  I happen not to agree. Firstly, I think Gloria Pizza may just prove the naysayers wrong. Their pizza is really good for one thing. And every time I go in there it is fairly crowded. So I think Gloria may be here to stay.

Also, the value of the location where Piu Bello is just went way up thanks to the success of the new Farmer's Market, which is bringing droves of people to the area in front of the restaurant every Sunday now.

What we need where Piu Bello is located is a high-quality, family-friendly, upscale diner-type eating establishment. (Yes, the kind that received the most votes in our recent poll right here on EOTC.) Just imagine in the nice Spring or Fall weather that restaurant there on a Sunday for brunch with all its windows open, maybe even people eating out in front (if allowed), while the Farmer's Market is open across the street. I'm getting a real Union Square vibe now.

New Poll: Anthony Weiner's Future

Phone Booths Being Converted to Free WiFi Hotspots

Makes sense to me...

New York City Pay Phone Booths Now Free WiFi Hotspots - ABC News

Coming Soon: Red Mango

A sign has been put up. This is at the former OTB location.

Soda Wars

Our local movie theater, the Midway, gets in on the soda ban controversy:

Taxi Fare Hike

City Room: Taxi Fares in New York to Rise by 17%

The Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to raise fares by an average of 17 percent, the first major increase in eight years. The fares could go into effect as soon as September.

A Good Idea for Queens Blvd.?

City Expands 20 M.P.H. Zones Across More Neighborhoods

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg called the program, which will be imposed in as many as 13 neighborhoods, the latest tool in “our assault on the No. 1 traffic killer — speeding.”

New Ascan Restaurant

There seems to be a ton of interest in this new place, opening soon where the old Q Bistro used to be on Ascan. Here's a pic of what I hear will be a beer and wine bar, with assorted light food. It certainly already has the air of a classy place and I hear the've done a really nice job on the inside as well:

Forest Hills Greenmarket: Day One