Rabid Little Island

Unbelievable - as I was walking home on Staten Island roads in the cool night under a full moon reminiscent of Kuindji, I was surprised to look up and see the Big Dipper. In almost seven years of living in New York, this is the first time I've seen a constallation in the night sky. 

A more typical City experience was the night of my Columbia Orientation party, when I saw the shadows of Midtown buildings reflected onto the sickly vermillion sky and sulfury yellow clouds.

Anyway, I need to catch up on Staten Island news. Let's begin with RABIES!

I credit my friend Alexia with this one. Apparently, between 1992 and 2007, Staten Island had 37.9% of cases of documented rabies in the five boroughs - 133 cases.  That includes 42.4% of rabid raccoons, and 70% of rabid cats. 

In comparison, the Bronx has the lion's share of rabies - 53.0% of all cases, and 52.1% of rabid raccoons! Only one rabid cat, though. Van Cortlandt Park seems to be a breeding ground for the stuff.

Still, Staten Island can claim something none of the other boroughs have - RABID GROUNDHOGS - by the scenic South Shore.  My North Shore just seems to have humdrum rabid raccoons.

Some other tidbits: 

Wednesday, June 11th - Staten Island's two Republican Councilmen hold positions of Minority Whip and Minority Leader - because how many Republican city Councilmen are there? And the Post (of course) notes that a man was arrested for exposing himself to a young woman on the Staten Island Railway. Haven't ridden that yet...

But the worst has to be the New York Times's obnoxious blog, which tried to use clever alliteration to say that Staten Island politics is "part Aeschylus and part E!" But the reporter is referring to the Oedipal struggle of father Frank Powers and son Fran Powers for the Congressional seat - in other words, Sophocles's Oedipal Cycle! If it were Aeschylus's Oresteia, Vito Fossella's underage daughters would be running for office, or at least, killing the Virginia police officer who had arrested the representative for drunk driving. Learn your Classical references, you Times snot.

The past weekend - I completely missed the borough's music festival Rock the Harbor, and I missed the exhibitions and bands showcasing Art by the Ferry, but you can catch the bands performing again this upcoming Saturday. I will be out of town.

All this artmaking again tried to raise the public value of the Island, but another story has overshadowed the Island - mysterious house fires. And they turn deadly.

Fran Powers lost the Libertarian nomination, but he tells the New Yorker he may create a Free Party. To which the New Yorker asks, "get it?"

The Staten Island Yankees lost to the Brooklyn Cyclones 3-1, - and I had to read a Wisconsin website to learn the score?!???

Oh well. At least the Staten Island Russians are happy. As are the Chasids.

So let's drink some Tuscan-style wine, grown at the public expense by my borough president! Prego!

"And a Little Child shall lead them."

Isaiah and William Blake fans rejoice - I don't know whether the Peaceable Kingdom is upon us - but the little children are definitely leading.

In a congressional race that is increasingly looking like a race for Lord of the Manor, the son of the presumptive Republican candidate Francis H. Powers, whose name is Francis M. Powers, is running on the Libertarian ticket.

Claiming there's no Oedipal twinge to his campaign, the Powers son, known as "Fran," is merely running against his father, known as "Frank," on policy differences alone.

Fran's hilarious - compared to his suit-toting father, he looks like a local version of wild-maned Lyle Lovett. And Papa disapproves of his son's "carefree lifestyle," and says little Fran "rejected everyone's help to live a healthy lifestyle" to work in the music industry.

When Fran was asked whether voters would be confused by Francis M. vs. Francis H., he said, "If people can't tell the difference between the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party, maybe they shouldn't be voting."

Should make for a great race.

And in other news, a teenager was the Staten Island Police Commissioner for a day.

No word on whether the lion and the lamb are lying together as well.