Photo by Jill/Blue Moonbeam Studio.
December 21, 2015 Weather: Partly Cloudy, with a high of 54 degrees.
Notices:
Holiday shows, stand-up comedy and many more events are on our calendar.
AARP has set up several workshops for seniors to get help with their taxes. Here’s the list.
From correspondent Joy Bergmann: If you’re looking for bargains online, be careful of a scam that has resulted in robberies, according to Lt. Matthew Bases of the 24th Precinct. An individual is posting “A Bathing Ape” [BAPE] hoodies and other apparel for sale on Facebook and Craigslist, he said. When a would-be buyer meets up to purchase, this individual robs them.
A word on posting comments on this site: We’ve seen an uptick in nasty and inappropriate comments lately — from calling veterans who need help “screwed-up” to making vast generalizations about all “project kids.” These comments will continue to be deleted, and we’re considering banning users. Get out of the cesspool and treat your neighbors with respect.
News:
A construction worker was badly injured after being hit in the face by construction material “in a four-story building under renovation at W. 86th St. and West End Ave…The worker was on the second floor when he was struck in the face by a falling piece of construction material dropped by another worker, officials said.” There have been a disturbing series of construction accidents in the neighborhood in the past year or so.
Justin Bieber was baptized in the bathtub of basketball player Tyson Chandler’s Upper West Side apartment. We thought you should know this.
A local entrepreneur has created the NoPhone, a slim piece of plastic that does absolutely nothing. “There’s the completely featureless $5 NoPhone Zero (aka “the least advanced phone ever created by mankind,” according to its website), the $10 NoPhone (with fake buttons and ports) and the $15 NoPhone Selfie, which comes with an adhesive-backed mirror. All are guaranteed to do absolutely nothing, just like the Pet Rock from 1975’s holiday season.”
Thank you for that note on commenting guidelines. the tone on here lately has been quite awful and made me wish for no comments to be allowed at all.
Agreed. There’s enough hostility in the world these days. Let’s at least be civil to each other on this forum.
Agreed.
Here, and in the country generally, I keep wondering whether the “whisperer” from The Mysterious Benedict Society has been at work. If you haven’t read the book, it’s a great book, and it could explain a lot about why everyone is in such a bad mood these days.
I had noticed that certain prolific posters had suddenly disappeared and was wondering if you were instituting a banhammer. This is probably a good idea, or else the comments devolve into a classic “never read the bottom half of the Internet” type of situation.
Who is Justic Bieber?
Justin’s cooler brother.
Thank you for endeavoring to clean up the comments section. It had gotten pretty unpleasant.
Agreed! I will keep hoping for the addition of an upvote/downvote/flag as inappropriate option. I think it would make commenting on this site much more pleasant for everyone, and more interactive, too!
Thank you for yourCOMMENTS position on nasty posts and especially the last sentence of which ended with “… treat your neighbors with respect.” BRAVI and Happy Holidays.
Sorry folks, if you didn’t like people’s comments, don’t read. Its called freedom of speech. Just like turning off the TV when your least favorite politician comes on.
And we have every right to delete comments that go off the rails. There’s no legal right to post filth on any website you wish. WSR
For the thousandth time, “Freedom of speech” merely means that you won’t be arrested for your comments unless you’re shouting “fire!” in a crowded movie theater; it does not mean that you are guaranteed to say anything you want, anywhere, without repercussions. In a civilized society we try to be civil with others who disagree with us, and when a comments section veers into racist generalizations and ad hominem attacks, it benefits nobody and degrades the dialogue. Thank YOU, West Side Rag, for taking the lead and keeping it both classy AND real!
Looks like I’m in the minority here, but I don’t understand a comment policing policy. Why would you want that?
People can embarrass themselves, and you can skim or skip. Yes it’s different from govt infringement, but it’s annoying and artificial.
For example if someone says something horrible about the homeless, and I want to reply that that sounds super fascist, I don’t know if I’ll be banned because someone is offended that I called their fascist comments fascist.
Seriously, grow up and don’t read things that upset you. WSR I’m guessing most of us are over 6 years old and get that you’re not endorsing comments. This is an interesting view of UWS people and why would you want that censored?
Can’t we just ridicule the resident racists? Don’t we overwhelm them in 2015?
Absolutely right!
Dear WSR
Keep up the good work, I really enjoy reading the WSR. I live in Moscow and it makes me feel closer to home. I pass a lot of information to my daughter who lives in the UWS but too busy to read it. Thanks for deleting the bad stuff.
I definitely would not recommend AARP tax services for persons who have their own businesses and who itemize business, etc. expenses. I now use a professional accounting service for my taxes that I can easily contact during and after tax season.