Archive for December 2010
singular caravan
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The odd ways and methods of thought which your humble narrator exhibits mystify even himself. Walking down Laurel Hill Blvd. one fine day, and upon observing that most mundane and usual of creatures- the Squirrel- I realized that near total ignorance of the studied actuality of the animal was mine.
This happens to me often, sometimes it’s a foodstuff- like honey for instance. “How does one produce Honey industrially?” (which I’ve mentioned before), or “How, exactly, is Jell-O made?”. The latter case, incidentally, produced an answer so horrible and pregnant with latent disgust that I haven’t eaten the stuff since.
If you enjoy gelatin desserts, don’t ever, EVER try to find out. It’s not what you think it is, and the simplest thing to say is that the process for producing the stuff was invented in the 19th century at Newtown Creek…
from wikipedia
The living squirrels are divided into 5 subfamilies, with about 50 genera and nearly 280 species. The oldest squirrel fossil, Hesperopetes, dates back to the Chadronian (Late Eocene, about 40 – 35 million years ago), and is similar to modern flying squirrels.
During the latest Eocene to the Miocene, there were a variety of squirrels which cannot be assigned with certainty to any living lineage. At least some of these probably were variants of the oldest, basal “proto-squirrels” (in the sense that they lacked the full range of living squirrels’ autapomorphies). The distribution and diversity of such ancient and ancestral forms suggests that the squirrels as a group might have originated in North America.
Apart from these sometimes little-known fossil forms, the phylogeny of the living squirrels is fairly straightforward. There are three main lineages, one comprising the Ratufinae (Oriental giant squirrels). These contain a mere handful of living species in tropical Asia. The Neotropical Pygmy Squirrel of tropical South America is the sole living member of the Sciurillinae. The third lineage is by far the largest and contains all other subfamilies; it has a near-cosmopolitan distribution. This further supports the hypothesis that the common ancestor of all squirrels living and fossil lived in North America, as these three most ancient lineages seem to have radiated from there – if squirrels had originated in Eurasia for example, one would expect quite ancient lineages in Africa, but African squirrels seem to be of more recent origin.
The main group of squirrels also can be split up in three, which yields the remaining subfamilies. The Sciurinae contains the flying squirrels (Pteromyini) and the Sciurini, which among others contains the American tree squirrels; the former have often been considered a separate subfamily but are now seen as a tribe of the Sciurinae. The pine squirrels (Tamiasciurus) on the other hand are usually included with the main tree squirrel lineage, but appear to be about as distinct as the flying squirrels; hence they are sometimes considered a distinct tribe, Tamiasciurini.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These sort of questions are not good ones to ask, as often the answers present casual barbarism and bloody reality in a matter of fact fashion, and such information blackens the heart and calcifies the mind. Would it aid me, in any way whatsoever, to find out that there might have been some carnivorous Ice Age Squirrel the size of a Buffalo or something? Would it not in fact, be somewhat wiser to apply the limited intellect and time left to me on this mortal coil in pursuit of acquiring the sort of skills which would allow me to gather and hoard material wealth to myself?
Perhaps I could apply my time to more fruitful pursuits than those already explored, apply for and attain some sort of professional license and become a realtor or exterminator or something? Perhaps some novel combination of the two would be possible, and certainly more useful than spending an entire day thinking about common urban rodents.
from wikipedia
Squirrels are generally intelligent and persistent animals. In residential neighborhoods, they are notorious for discovering clever methods to circumvent obstacles in order to eat out of bird feeders. Tree squirrels also create minor annoyances by digging in planting pots and flower beds to pull out bulbs which they chew on, to either bury or recover seeds and nuts, and for building nests within human domiciles, including attics and basements. Squirrels use their keen sense of smell to locate buried nuts and can dig extensive holes in the process. Birds, especially crows, will sometimes watch a squirrel bury a nut, then dig it up as soon as the squirrel leaves. Although they are expert climbers, and primarily arboreal, squirrels also thrive in urban environments, where they have adapted to humans.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Alas, this fascination for the obscure and bizarre marks me, as always… an Outsider… condemned to feel at home only amongst the tomb legions.
from wikipedia
In Norse mythology, Ratatoskr (Old Norse, generally considered “drill-tooth” or “bore-tooth”) is a squirrel who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages between the unnamed eagle, perched atop Yggdrasil, and the wyrm Níðhöggr, who dwells beneath one of the three roots of the tree. Ratatoskr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the squirrel.
Ratatosk is the squirrel who there shall run
On the ash-tree Yggdrasil;
From above the words of the eagle he bears,
And tells them to Nithhogg beneath.
Hunters Point Avenue Bridge Centennial, Dec. 11
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Gaze upon it, lords and ladies, a risible talisman of permanence amidst an ever changing industrial landscape… The Hunters Point Avenue Bridge.
A recent post was offered for consideration at this, your Newtown Pentacle, which hinted at certain remarkable events about to occur in its environs and discussed a small part of the rather expansive history of this largish bit of motile steel which spans Dutch Kills.
Glory then, in the announcement of a free walking tour celebrating its centennial.
from nycbridges100.org
NEW YORK CITY BRIDGE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION AND NEWTOWN CREEK ALLIANCE TO HOST WALKING TOUR OVER HUNTERS POINT AVENUE BRIDGE MORNING OF DECEMBER 11TH
The New York City Bridge Centennial Commission (NYC BCC) and Newtown Creek Alliance announced today that they will sponsor a free walking tour of the Hunters Point Avenue Bridge in Long Island City on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 11 a.m. to celebrate its 100th birthday.
“It’s important to celebrate these milestones as a way to show how much we rely on all these crossings in our day-to-day lives,” said NYC BCC President Sam Schwartz.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your tour guides for this centennial event will be Newtown Creek Alliance and Working Harbor Committee’s Bernard Ente, and a certain humble narrator will be assisting him in meager ways.
This location is awfully close to both legendary Greenpoint and to the heart of Long Island City, and quite close to Manhattan via subway. Here’s a google map with the location of the Bridge, and the meet-up point at 21st street and Hunters Point Avenue is called out.
from nycbridges100.org
The original Hunters Point Avenue Bridge dates back to 1874 when the bridge was a wooden structure. From 1874 to 1907 an iron bridge was in place before being replaced in 1910 by a double-leaf bascule bridge. It was again rebuilt in the early 1980s as a single-leaf bascule bridge. Bascule bridges are designed with a counterweight that balances the span as it swings upward (a single leaf lifts up from one end while a double leaf lifts up from both sides in the middle of the span).
The bridge is located between 27th and 30th streets in Long Island City and is situated four blocks east of the Borden Avenue Bridge. The span is 21.8 meters long and has two lanes, one in each direction. It has experienced higher traffic volumes over the last year and a half while the Borden Avenue Bridge has been closed for construction in this heavily industrialized area.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Spectacular views of Dutch Kills, as well as knowledgeable and unbiased narration, can be had for the price of attendance alone. Attendees are advised to bring cameras, as this is a particularly photogenic section of the Newtown Creek watershed.
from nycbridges100.org
The meeting point for the tour will be at Hunters Point Avenue at 21st Street outside the 7 train station. If you would like to participate, please email tour guide Bernie Ente at info@entephoto.com.
About the NYC Bridge Centennial Commission
The NYC Bridge Centennial Commission is a 501 c 3 non-profit comprised of public and privateorganizations to commemorate the centennials of several NYC bridges and raise infrastructure awareness.
About the Newtown Creek Alliance
The Newtown Creek Alliance represents interests of community residents and local businesses who arededicated to restoring community health and vibrant water dependent commerce along Newtown Creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Dutch Kills is a familiar sight to regular readers of this, your Newtown Pentacle, but must be experienced first hand by all interested in the story of the Newtown Creek. This will not be a rigorous walking experience- sneakers or other comfortable shoes should be sufficient as we won’t be leaving the sidewalk- but if icy conditions occur- use good judgement.
Undoubtedly, it will be cold, and the event will be happening rain, shine, or snow- so gauge your outerwear according to forecasted weather conditions.
For those interested in further discussion with other antiquarians and enthusiasts, we are planning an after event visit to a local diner for coffee, luncheon, and conversation.
from nyc.gov
Hunters Point Avenue is a two-lane local City street in Queens. Hunters Point Avenue is oriented east-west and extends from 21st Street to the Long Island Expressway/Brooklyn Queens Expressway interchange in Queens. The avenue is parallel to and approximately one block south of the Long Island Expressway. The Hunters Point Bridge over Dutch Kills is situated between 27th Street and 30th Street in the Long Island City section of Queens, and is four blocks upstream of the Borden Avenue Bridge. It is a bascule bridge with a span of 21.8m. The general appearance of the bridge has been significantly changed since it was first opened in 1910. The bridge provides a channel with a horizontal clearance of 18.3m and a vertical clearance, in the closed position, of 2.4m at MHW and 4.0m at MLW. The bridge structure carries a two-lane, two-way vehicular roadway with sidewalks on either side. The roadway width is 11.0m, while the sidewalks are 1.8m wide. The width of the approach roadways vary from the width of the bridge roadway. The west approach and east approach roadways are 13.4m and 9.1m, respectively.
The first bridge at this site, a wooden structure, was replaced by an iron bridge in 1874. That bridge was permanently closed in 1907 due to movement of the west abutment, which prevented the draw from closing. It was replaced in 1910 by a double-leaf bascule bridge, designed by the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Company. The bridge was rebuilt in the early 1980′s as a single-leaf bascule, incorporating the foundations of the previous bridge.
Incidentally…
a photo in the same series as the one below was recently exhibited here- in the “from some point in space” posting about Dutch Kills and the Hunters Point Avenue Bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While doing supplemental research about the place, I came across the following shot embedded in a scanned “google book”, and the two images form an interesting parallel. The BW shot, you see, is from 1921.
Coincidence abounds, but I believe my forebear was shooting from a similar if not same vantage as I would be at some four score and nine years or 24,855 days later.
– Photo from “The Newtown Creek industrial district of New York City By Merchants’ Association of New York. Industrial Bureau”
confines of our kingdom
“Newtown Creek for the Vulgarly Curious” is a fully annotated 68 page, full-color journey from the mouth of Newtown Creek at the East River all the way back to the heart of darkness at English Kills, with photos and text by Mitch Waxman.
Check out the preview of the book at lulu.com, which is handling printing and order fulfillment, by clicking here.
Every book sold contributes directly to the material support and continuance of this, your Newtown Pentacle.
The Newtown Pentacle 