New York City is adding compost pickup days to each neighborhood one at a time.
They have been kind enough to provide each house with a tiny indoor bin and an outdoor can with a clamp to keep the raccoons and possums out.
But with every plan there’s a lot of flaws in it…I’ll use my neighborhood as an example.
We currently have regular and recycling pickup on Wednesdays, and regular pickup on Saturdays.
They are adding the compost pickup to Wednesday recycling days…which means that instead of four trucks coming down the block (regular + recycling, one each for each side of the street), there will now be six trucks coming down and clogging the blocks.
Why not add compost to the other day, when you have fewer trucks on the street?
And on that note, New York City already has a bad reputation for garbage bags piling up on the streets.
In front of my house on a recycling day, I have four cans, plus whatever folded boxes we have tied up.
Now on top of two regular cans, a metal recycling can, a paper recycling can, and now two of these compost cans…no room left for people or carriages to walk down the sidewalks with all of that in the way.
On Wednesday night the Orthodox Union/JLIC at the Tanger Hillel of Brooklyn College had a panel discussion entitled “Depression and Anxiety: Let’s Talk”, with the intent of breaking the stigma and getting the community talking.
Very often mental illness is a disease of separation where people feel different, isolated, and alone…and you really don’t have to be.
– Dr. Perlstein, Clinical Psychologist, DBT CBT Specialist
It featured a panel of six people including a Child Psychiatrist, a Clinical Psychologist, Social Workers, Organization leaders and a religious leader.
Mental illness is real. It’s something that needs to be addressed and something that we cannot shy away from anymore. Confront it. Deal with it. Get proper help.
– Zvi Gluck, Executive Director and Founder of Amudim
They spoke on a range of topics, from depression and anxiety to addictions and signs to look out for, as well as what we can do to help ourselves and those around us.
People aren’t crazy. Human behavior, every behavior that someone does, there’s a reason behind it. Let’s try to understand why before we judge it.
– Alexander Rand, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
At the end of the event, they had a resource expo handing out pamphlets and information for a lot of local organizations. They also handed out a booklet of information that people can take home and use as a guide if they ever needed a place to turn.
It’s time for us to be open with each other. It’s time for us to stop thinking and worrying about the shidduchim of our six-year-olds with ADHD. It’s time for us to stop running away from our problems. Face the problems.
– Dr. Ronen Hizami, Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist
The event was in memory of my friend Rebecca, who we lost almost one year ago, although it was the first anniversary on the Hebrew calendar on Wednesday, the day of the event.
Education ends the stigma. It’s important that we get a clear picture of what it is so that we stop stigmatizing without realizing what it’s all about.
– Rabbi Yisroel Grossberg, Principal of BCA and Rabbinic Advisor for Chazkeinu
Amudim, an organization formed to help provide assistance and guidance to those facing crisis, and whose founder was on the panel, recorded and live streamed the event via Facebook.
I turned their feed into an unlisted YouTube video, making it easier to view without a Facebook account.
We do have a choice whether we stay in denial or whether we come out of denial and take action and fight it.
– Judith Leventhal, Licensed Social Worker, Author of National Bestselling Series, Small Miracles
I know it’s two hours long, but trust me it is worth watching and sharing along to everyone you know. You never know who needs it and who will benefit from it.
As always, if anyone ever needs it, my inbox is always open to talk.
I can tell you with almost certainty that four weeks from today, on July 5th 2017, something big is going to happen with the New York Yankees.
I can’t tell you if it’ll be for good or for bad….but it will happen.
And here’s where I got that scoop from: I have tickets to go to the game on July 5th, and you want to know what happens when I go to a game? Well here are some samples of memories that I’ve thankfully experienced:
August 26, 1998 vs Anaheim – Homer Bush hit his only home run as a Yankee
May 6, 2007 vs Seattle – We roared as a crowd as Roger Clemens showed up and announced his comeback.
June 5, 2008 vs Toronto – The Yankees were down two runs with 2-outs in the ninth.
A hit by A-Rod, an RBI single by Matsui, and then an absolute bullet of a walk-off by Jason Giambi.
I was sitting on the third base line, aside home plate, lined up with the first base line and foul-pole…I’ve never seen a ball hit that hard, and that straight, and it soared straight over the foul pole for a beauty.
June 13, 2011 vs Cleveland – Derek Jeter was seven hits away from 3,000, and I had this crazy idea that he would go 7-for-7 and reach it that night.
Instead, he got one hit in the first before leaving with an injury in the fifth inning…sorry Yankees fans, that delay was my fault.
This Song of the Day post will start with a current genre battle and then take a few time hops back…
Battle of Pop vs EDM
Cut To The Feeling – Carly Rae Jepsen
This song is the catchiest entry song to hit the radio in a long time, and I want it to play as I open doors.
Cancel your reservations
No more hesitations, this is on
I want it all or nothing
Young and Menace – Fall Out Boy
Oops I, did it again, I forgot what I was losing my 0mind about
Oh, I only wrote this down to make you press rewind
And send a message: I was young and a menace
15 YEARS AGO – Battle of Pop vs Hip Hop
A Moment Like This – Kelly Clarkson
I wanna know that you will catch me when I fall
So let me tell you this…
Some people wait a lifetime
Lose Yourself – Eminem
You better lose yourself in the music
The moment, you own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo
I tend to stay away from CW shows…both because their app is a pain to watch in, and most of their shows seem to be teenage drama, which isn’t what I tend to watch.
But with Riverdale coming to Netflix after Season 1 ended, I went ahead and binged this 13 episode saga of lies and death, with the old school comic book gang we all grew up with.
Archie and Jughead, Betty and Veronica, Moose and Reggie, and of course Josie & The Pussycats.
The characters all seem very familiar to us, but this teenage high school drama is just getting started.
Jughead Jones plays as our narrator as we look in depth into the mysterious death of Jason Blossom.
This enjoyable shows first season gets an 8 out of 10.
Everyone nose what today is…it’s Red Nose Day 2017, and the never ending fight against child poverty.
Money raised from the campaign goes to ensure kids are safe, healthy, educated, and empowered across the 50 States as well as poor communities in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Meals for kids, vaccines, summer school and after-school programs, clean water, education and a place to sleep are all goals of the Red Nose Program.
It’s so easy to support it too. Go to your local Walgreens/Duane Reade and buy a nose for $1.
You can also head to rednoseday.org to donate and find out more about their cause, and for every dollar donated today via Facebook, it’ll be matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (up to a million dollars).
Meanwhile, tonight at 10PM on NBC there will be a comedy and music special fund-raiser, to help promote the cause. Chris Hardwick will host.
Last week was the Upfronts, the annual time when Networks present to advertisers and roll out their Fall lineups, and this is my early look at what I’m likely to watch!
Sunday
8:30 PM — FOX — Ghosted — Comedy starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson. Not usually into paranormal shows…but the cast will draw me in to trying it! TRAILER
9:00 PM — FOX — Family Guy
Monday
8:00 PM — CBS — Big Bang Theory (moving to Thursdays in November)
9:00 PM — FOX — Marvel’s The Gifted — Parents discover their kids are a little like the X-Men and need to hide from the government to survive. TRAILER looks fantastic.
Tuesday
8:00 PM — ABC — The Middle
8:00 PM — FOX — Lethal Weapon
9:00 PM — FOX — The Mick
9:00 PM — NBC — Superstore
9:30 PM — ABC — The Mayor
9:30 PM — FOX — Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9:30 PM — NBC — The Good Place
Wednesday
8:00 PM — CW — Riverdale
10:00 PM — ABC — Designated Survivor
Thursday
8:00 PM — CBS — Big Bang Theory (Starting November)
8:00 PM — FOX — Gotham
8:30 PM — CBS — Young Sheldon — Sheldon Cooper as a child? Sure, I’d give that a try. Can’t wait to see him get tested for insanity. TRAILER
9:00 PM — FOX — The Orville — Really not along the lines of things I’d watch…but Seth MacFarlane and Adrianne Palicki should make this hour-long comedy enjoyable! TRAILER
Friday
8:00 PM — FOX — Hell’s Kitchen
9:00 PM — ABC — Marvel’s Inhumans — New Marvel series? Okay, but I don’t know if I’d make it through this one…
No Dates Yet
ABC — Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Will return in January for a full uninterrupted season)
Yesterday was the last day for Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus and as the Greatest Show on Earth packed up the big tent, I took the opportunity to take them in one last time.
From riding bikes on high bars to horses, cats, pigs and dogs. Explosions and lights to all sorts of fantastic acts that are now unfortunately out of jobs…but despite all of that, they made it an enjoyable time for everyone in attendance, and proved that they are indeed the Greatest Show on Earth…and Out Of This World as well.
While many people are against the circus because of animal cruelty, at the end of the day the circus has been a part of many people’s childhoods for 146 years, and they truly put on a fantastic performance.
Ringling does more for animals and their conservation and enrichment than Peta supporters do…
Scroll down to the bottom and watch the last video to get a Kangaroo sighting!!!
Linkin Park’s seventh album comes as artists try to reinvent themselves to stay relevant (see Paramore last Friday), and One More Light is a mix of pop songs trying to get on the radio.
While the sounds on some of them are really good, it’s kind of strange hearing Chester Bennington stray so far away from the screeching and voice that put Linkin Park on the map (think One Step Closer and Crawling), and it just doesn’t work for Linkin Park.
Heavy (feat. Kiiara) was the single dropped, and it set the tone for what was to be expected. Meanwhile, Good Goodbye has ‘Stormzy’ in it, singing about how he’s performing with Linkin Park and everyone else can just get lost…but doesn’t actually contribute anything to the song or album, yet ‘Pusha T’ may be the saving grace of the song with a strong rap game mixed with Mike Shinoda dropping what he’s best known for (back in Remember The Name and Fort Minor days).
So with all that said, I am torn…I like the album for what it is, a dip into the Pop World; but as a Linkin Park fan, I miss (and need back) the Metal days.
The songwriting from Bennington and Shinoda are top notch, which helped move it up from 6 to a 7 out of 10.
I am in the midst of changing over from Spotify (which I’ve been a big fan of over the years) to Google Music, and while only a day or two in I already have some thoughts on it.
While Google Play Music is the same price as Spotify, the benefits are seemingly much greater…the only downside I can see is the “Discover Weekly” playlist that Spotify offers which gives a great view into new songs similar to those I already like.
Google Music gives a lot of the same features, such as a large library of music, no advertisements, and the familiar ability to download songs for offline play.
On top of this Google also allows you to upload 50,000 of your own clips to the library, which in my case means a resting place for the tens of hours of “Abbott and Costello” that I have saved on a hard drive.
But the real deal is that Google Music also gives access to YouTube Red (which if revenue is Google’s goal (it is) will get split off at some point) and a variety of perks including:
Offline Playback: You can download movies for offline viewing, which when riding the subway or just being in places with no Internet, and watch it as you’d like. Yesterday I absorbed some music videos and sports talk TV while drowning out the NYC dregs of the subway.
Minimizing YouTube on a phone: So you’re watching a music video and you get a WhatsApp message…the ultimate dilemma…do I go respond to the message, or do I stay here and finish my video?
Well, on Android Nougat you can just reply from the notification bar…but putting that aside for a second, you can now switch to another app or even shut off your screen entirely and you’re watching videos on YouTube.
Exclusives: YouTube has signed some of its top stars to make content just for them, as well as some of YouTube’s own content…one example that I am looking forward to?
Today’s release of “Lindsey Stirling: Brave Enough”, a look into Lindsey’s life as she prepares for shows, battles through tough times off the stage, and of course the electricity that flows when she is performing on stage.
Aviously 
