Photo by Avi.
January 14, 2013 Weather: Mostly Cloudy, High of 55 Degrees.
Notices:
Free concerts, including an open mic at Symphony Space, on our calendar.
MLK Jr. Day of Service at the JCC.
News:
Central Park workers who were cleaning a cannon taken off of a British ship during the Revolutionary War made an amazing discovery on Friday; the cannon still had gunpowder in it, and the ammunition was live. The cannon, now stored in a shed around 79th street, had been on display in the park for more than 100 years and no one had realized during that period that it was still a potentially dangerous weapon. “The park workers found the ammunition when they removed a plug in the cannon’s barrel, said Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the police. Then the workers dialed 911. When the bomb squad arrived, Mr. Browne said, ‘They tilted the barrel of the cannon and the cannonball rolled out.” Inside, too, was one pound and 12 ounces of gunpowder wrapped in wool. ‘In theory you could have fired that cannon,’ Mr. Browne said, ‘because the powder was still working.'” Check out a video about the discovery below. (NY Times, CBS)
Parents freaking out about the flu rushed doctor’s offices over the weekend, and flu shots are now unavailable at various doctor’s offices and pharmacies. “‘We ran out,’ said Dr. Mark Melrose, an emergency physician and owner of Urgent Care Manhattan on Amsterdam Ave. on the upper West Side. Melrose said his supply went dry Saturday after doling out 10 times the normal number of flu shots to victims of the coughing—sneezing-head-feverish epidemic sweeping the nation.” Melrose has ordered more. (Daily News)
Wow!! A live cannon in Central Park. Many people say there are a lot of loose cannons in NYC; but this gives new meaning to that phrase.