Nothing to rant, rave, or become an angry blogger about today. Those of you who have followed this blog probably are aware that I love music. Sunday is the day I put my mellow hat on.
Last weekend I was at the Top Of The Bay and enjoyed listening to Maggie Clifford. Here is another video sample of her......
This afternoon while making my grocery list I was also listening to some music. I heard this girl singing and her voice and indie style caught my attention. Her name is Ingrid Michaelson and has gotten some exposure on the TV show Grey's Anatomy and commercials for Old Navy.
There are 2 songs in this you tube vid......Far Away and The Way I Am
Enjoy
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I Am Happy That You Are Happy!
My response to a Letter To The Editor [TI Sun] written by Dr.Harriet Burris.....View On Blogs
She starts by sighting things that make her happy.......her favorite things. I suspect that she may want her world to be like this song.
Our world, whether it be local or global, is NOT like a Rogers & Hammerstein movie. Some think I am an angry, miserable blogger with nothing better to do with my time than to dissect what is going on with our local government. Picking on local political characters and assassinating them is NOT what I do. They commit political suicide in front of everyone by their actions in public[photos], their comments made at meetings [audio].
Furthermore , I do have a life that is filled with hobbies and other interests. May I share them with you? Thank You!
Things that make me happy [no particular order, stream of conscientiousness] : My family, kayaking, bicycling, boating, beer, gardening, home improvements, cooking, walking, music, Xbox live, cleaning, Limburger cheese, wine, movies, dining and cock-tailing at local establishments, talking with locals and tourists, the river, reading, and I could go on and on.
The Doc has asked a question twice, first time at the caucus, the second, in her letter to the editor.
Could we expect Jim the mayor to be different from Jim the blogger? Here is my answer.......HATS! Like everyone, I wear lots of hats. I wear my Grumpy hat that I got at Disney, when I blog. I am not really grumpy or miserable, I just feel the need to be a little edgy in the blog because our local paper is filled with happy, feel good news. The only bad news are the obituaries. I have a couple of river hats that I wear when kayaking or boating. I have a Halo hat that I wear when I play that game on X-box live. I have a cooking hat and a drinking hat. Sometimes I wear bandannas while working in our gardens. I leave all my hats at home when I go to church. My point is this, I can be polite, cordial, stern, concerned, happy, sad, mad and bad. It all depends on the situation or the task at hand. So the answer to your question Doc, if I were elected, it would be very easy for all of you to make the distinction between Jim the blogger and Jim the elected official.
One hat that you will never ever see me wear is one that says Mayor......our mayor really does own a hat that says mayor
One final thought. I am not upset with Dr. Burris for writing her letter to the editor. Nor am I frightened of her opinions of me or the blogs. She has every right to state her concerns. More importantly is that she did it publicly and had the decency to sign her name. She and I may never be friends but I will always have a lot of respect for her.
JC
She starts by sighting things that make her happy.......her favorite things. I suspect that she may want her world to be like this song.
Our world, whether it be local or global, is NOT like a Rogers & Hammerstein movie. Some think I am an angry, miserable blogger with nothing better to do with my time than to dissect what is going on with our local government. Picking on local political characters and assassinating them is NOT what I do. They commit political suicide in front of everyone by their actions in public[photos], their comments made at meetings [audio].
Furthermore , I do have a life that is filled with hobbies and other interests. May I share them with you? Thank You!
Things that make me happy [no particular order, stream of conscientiousness] : My family, kayaking, bicycling, boating, beer, gardening, home improvements, cooking, walking, music, Xbox live, cleaning, Limburger cheese, wine, movies, dining and cock-tailing at local establishments, talking with locals and tourists, the river, reading, and I could go on and on.
The Doc has asked a question twice, first time at the caucus, the second, in her letter to the editor.
Could we expect Jim the mayor to be different from Jim the blogger? Here is my answer.......HATS! Like everyone, I wear lots of hats. I wear my Grumpy hat that I got at Disney, when I blog. I am not really grumpy or miserable, I just feel the need to be a little edgy in the blog because our local paper is filled with happy, feel good news. The only bad news are the obituaries. I have a couple of river hats that I wear when kayaking or boating. I have a Halo hat that I wear when I play that game on X-box live. I have a cooking hat and a drinking hat. Sometimes I wear bandannas while working in our gardens. I leave all my hats at home when I go to church. My point is this, I can be polite, cordial, stern, concerned, happy, sad, mad and bad. It all depends on the situation or the task at hand. So the answer to your question Doc, if I were elected, it would be very easy for all of you to make the distinction between Jim the blogger and Jim the elected official.
One hat that you will never ever see me wear is one that says Mayor......our mayor really does own a hat that says mayor
One final thought. I am not upset with Dr. Burris for writing her letter to the editor. Nor am I frightened of her opinions of me or the blogs. She has every right to state her concerns. More importantly is that she did it publicly and had the decency to sign her name. She and I may never be friends but I will always have a lot of respect for her.
JC
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
VB Meeting 8.25.09
All were in attendance except Trustee Chaltain.
No correspondence, the Bills were paid, and the minutes from the last board meeting were approved. I would like to share a portion of the August 11th minutes with you. According to the minutes, the VB returned to regular session after executive session [collective bargaining and personnel] and discussed one item. The hiring of Village Treasurer S. Cullen to oversee the docks. Trustee Sweet and the mayor thought that this would increase the revenue from the overnight boating fees. If you recall, there were a number of boaters from previous weekends that did not pay this fee. Good Idea!........But, shouldn't the hiring of any employee be part of the new or old business of the 8.25.09 VB meeting agenda. For instance under new business of Tuesdays agenda is an item to hire a new dock attendant [35min:18sec].
Side note: The Village beach will close on September 8th.......moving on.......
Trustee reports: Trustee Roy 2min:08sec, Trustee Sweet 3min:50sec, Trustee Jarvis 4min:21sec, mayor 7min:41sec.
Old Business: Jane Rice of Environmental Design & Research [aka EDR] spoke to the board about 3 pending projects. Riverwalk, Local Waterfront Revitalization Project [aka LWRP], and the James St. Green Infrastructure Projects. This is the lengthiest part of the meeting, but, everyone should give this part of the audio their full attention. It runs from 8min:14sec to about 32min00sec. In addition, Jane Rice also commented on the Back Nine Walking Trail which could also be included under the LWRP [17min:50sec]. The walking trail is also part of a Inter Municipal Agreement [IMA] between the village and the town.
I am going to skip into the new business portion of the meeting because it has to do with the Riverwalk project 38min:26sec.....It is at this point that the VB members start mumbling and referring to what they are cryptically speaking about as an issue with the right away. Evidently somebody has altered the route of the Riverwalk to go down to the docks of the new condos [old fisherman's wharf].
New Business: 35min18sec
Hire a new dock attendant.
Request from Robert Lloyd 2010 Boat show re: vendor handmade light houses. Request was tabled and as the mayor stated "lets send it off to the chamber and let them play with it for awhile" 38min:10sec
The VB went into Executive Session to do the first monthly evaluation on the Police Chief 51min:00
VB Meeting 8.25.09 from p guston on Vimeo.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
More Feedback
Since I gave the We think Jc is a Loser Club their own topic so everyone could see their opinions of moi. I thought it was appropriate to let you see the other comments! I have since received a couple of thoughtful, positive and grammatically correct comments.......
- JC, Kudos for the effort. I find it interesting that those who criticize you offer nothing constructive, rather sounding like angry 12 year olds that have yet to master even the basics of the English language, and too cowardly to even sign their names. You are a voice, whether people agree with your point of view or not. If more residents of our community showed even a smidgen of the interest that you do, We could move in a much more progressive direction that we have up until now. Alexandria Bay has tremendous potential, but it must be nurtured, and guided in the right direction, but without leadership, where will that direction come from? The Village Government can't even figure out how to collect dockage fees or keep the streets clean! Ron Mowers
- Good speech and on point. A very tough task to face the Good Old Boys "Club". I was a summer resident in the 60's and finally a full timer from the 70's on. I've seen the village initially from an outside perspective and things haven't changed much in 5 decades. The "Club" likes to think that the the Village is Mayberry when in fact it's a model for the Dukes of Hazzard. Corruption, high jinks and drama. A lot of talk about what we should do and no action or planning on how to fix things. Hands in the cookie jar and even when getting caught red handed, one person lies and the other swears to it. Jim, you may be able to do a better job at fixing these problems from outside of office. Information is power and maybe if more people can see what's going on behind their backs they'll quit the "Club" and support someone who can plan a brighter future for the Bay. We may have inherited this condition but it doesn't mean that we have to pass it along to our kids.
Monday, August 24, 2009
VB Meeting Tuesday 8.25.09
Not scared, not embarrassed, not upset.....
There is a VB meeting at 5:30 PM tomorrow night! I will be sitting in the front row like I have been for almost 2 years. I am not the town's problem now, as some have gleefully mentioned. Just a voice expressing his concern.
This intersection is an accident waiting to happen! The VB does not think that this intersection should be a four way STOP. All sorts of vehicles blow through and miss the exit leading out of town via Church Street. Cars and similar vehicles just need to turn around by the Upper James St dock. Bus's encounter a different dilemma. They and delivery trucks have to back down James St. and across Church St. which creates a hazard for ambulances, other emergency vehicles, and pedestrians. How about a four way flashing light or a sign that says something like Turn Left to Exit Downtown
See Ya
There is a VB meeting at 5:30 PM tomorrow night! I will be sitting in the front row like I have been for almost 2 years. I am not the town's problem now, as some have gleefully mentioned. Just a voice expressing his concern.
This intersection is an accident waiting to happen! The VB does not think that this intersection should be a four way STOP. All sorts of vehicles blow through and miss the exit leading out of town via Church Street. Cars and similar vehicles just need to turn around by the Upper James St dock. Bus's encounter a different dilemma. They and delivery trucks have to back down James St. and across Church St. which creates a hazard for ambulances, other emergency vehicles, and pedestrians. How about a four way flashing light or a sign that says something like Turn Left to Exit Downtown
See Ya
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