Off the record, on the QT in WHB, and very hush-hush…
...or, a primer on things that howl in the night.
"Whoever is bitten by a werewolf and lives, becomes a werewolf himself."
So sayeth tiny, wizened Maria Ouspenskaya1 in the original (1941) version of "The Wolf Man," still one of the best of the Universal Studios "horror" films of my youth. More...
On this third anniversary of the Great Oak Street 'Possum-Shooting Caper, OtBB takes the opportunity to connect for posterity some otherwise disparate events and comment on Trustee Jim Kametler's remarkable myopia.
No re-hash of the then Deputy Mayor's actions are required. Suffice to note, he did something extra-legal, was caught red-handed, and there was no consequence... for him, at least. More...
...and oft-misquoted, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...."
But I don't consider consistency, "foolish" or otherwise, to be deserving of such opprobrium... even from one the stature of a Ralph Waldo Emerson. More...
Updated 02/05/2010 – 08:57 am
Several dozen hearty souls who braved the deep Winter temperatures this evening were treated to a lively session that clearly drew the battle lines between the troika and the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
And the highpoint of the monthly Village Board meeting may have come when, following a brief furtive exchange between Trustees Joan Levan and Jim Kametler1, the deposed More...
Updated 02/04/2010 – 02:45 pm
...require discussion at this evening's Westhampton Beach Village Board meeting... assuming, of course, that the bashful troika don't see a full room and decline to attend.
Foremost will be the results of the meeting the Trustees, led by Oberstgruppenführer Joan Levan, wanted to reschedule with Village Labor Attorney Richard Zuckerman to determine whose view of the police situation is the correct one. More...
...redeem the soul of Eastern Long Island?
After filing the report of the unfortunate closing of Westhampton Steakhouse, it occurred to me that what Westhampton Beach... if not the entire South Fork... really needs is more restaurants and fewer real estate offices. More...
...in perhaps the most unseemly local match-up since Bob King and Fred Adams threw down with one another in the brokerage offices of Robb&Robb in the mid '80s, we have Ed Dean and Jim Kametler in of all places Waldbaum's.
It was shortly before 9:00 am Friday when words were exchanged, fingers were pointed, threats were made and Mr. Dean More...
Updated 02/01/2010 – 02:32 pm
...on the local "East Beat" as the Village of Westhampton Beach awakens to a new month.
Historic Mechanic's Hall is again available for occupancy as its most recent tenant, Westhampton Steakhouse, has quietly folded its tent and faded into the night. More...
...on the Westhampton Rotary Club's 18th Annual Spaghetti Dinner at the Immaculate Conception CCD Center on Quiogue.
And since an immoderate number of local Rotarians made pointed remarks about OtBB's critical comment... More...
Let it serve as a reminder of why the Red Sox should go another 90 years before appearing in another World Serious.
Updated 02/02/2010 – 12:18 pm
One needn't be a sports fan to have taken notice of the on-going controversy surrounding 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and a scheduled Super Bowl XLIV paid advertisement on behalf of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.
The burning controversy? More...
From NBC New York's website:
"The victim, a married father with three children, was discovered bound and strangled with seven stab wounds. Dtectives{sic} on the scene believed the brutal nature of the crime screamed foul play."
And that's why they're called "detectives!"
E-mails! We get E-mails... such as this from OtBB reader Ray Overton:
"Any chance I can get you to put a plug in this week for the Rotary Club Spaghetti Dinner on your blog?" More...
An easy meeting this evening... in and out in under an hour, with the full board on board for the event.
Nothing pressing was decided, which is not to report that nothing of interest was discussed More...
...is who and how many might show up for this evening's monthly Trustees' Work Session.
'Twas but 19 days past that the infamous "No Show" non-meeting occurred, and the feeling is that the likelihood of a full compliment of Board members may be inversely proportional to those tax-paying residents in attendance.
...like YaVaughnie Wilkins, and it's already cost someone $250,000.
"YaVaughnie who?" one might ask, and with reason as she was not a household name prior to this past week's end. More...
"Turn out the lights, the party's over."
Gang Green's Super Bowl coach turned into a pumpkin in Indianapolis this afternoon, but there is very definitely just cause for Jets' fans to reprise that pre-'55 chant of Brooklyn faithful everywhere: "Wait'll next year!" More...
...and counting.
And this year, I didn't almost blow it... thanks to one of our wedding gifts from friends JoAnn and Cathy. More...
One of the most beautiful of filmdom's faces passed away last night at her home in Santa Monica, nine days shy of her 81st birthday.
British-born Jean Simmons, a naturalized American citizen, was already a veteran of a dozen films when she first came to prominence with her nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role as "Ophelia" in Olivier's 1948 version of "Hamlet." More...
The "official video" of the January 7th Village Board non-meeting has been mounted on the Village of Westhampton Beach's Website.
(It appears, in all respects, to be identical to the unexpurgated version which debuted on Sea TV last weekend.) More...
One of my all-time favorite meals for near 20 years was Milo's East "Sizzling Fajita Platter," the only complaint about which I had was that there was always too much meat, onions and peppers to stuff into the three tortillas they provided.
Then the place changed its name and menu, prices went up, and it wasn't the same. More...
There are two this morning, one in Haiti and a second across America's political landscape.
I'm not certain, though, that "aftershock" is the proper term for the seismic event in the stricken Caribbean nation. More...
The biggest story coming out of Massachusetts for me today, is that the creator of the tough Boston-based private detective "Spenser," was found dead "just sitting at his desk" at his home in Cambridge yesterday.
I discovered Robert B. Parker in the mid-'70s when I grabbed up a baseball-themed novel, "Mortal Stakes," from a remainder house for one dollar, and liked it enough to start reading the entire series from the beginning! More...
By now, most have heard the names of Gilbert Arenas, Plaxico Burress and Jayson Williams, and even if their career statistics cannot be recited by rote, most are aware that all three are or were professional athletes.
Some can even recognize them as ones who've had legal problems involving firearms. More...
Improbably, the New York Jets are going to the AFC Championship game next Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
Having just now beaten the highly-favored San Diego Chargers, 17-14, in the only More...
Just because there was a "non-meeting" of the Westhampton Beach Village Board on January 7th, doesn't mean there wasn't a video record of that evening.
It's not much, but it's the "official record" of the event which was televised on Sea TV last evening and again this morning.
And since, not surprisingly, it hasn't been mounted on the Village's Website, it's here.
...to the inadvertent inclusion earlier today of the portion of Senator LaValle's plea for assistance to the Haitian relief effort which read:
"I encourage local residents to consider contacting the American Red Cross...." More...
Updated 01/15/2010 – 11:45 pm
From the Associated Press:
"The international Red Cross estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in Tuesday's cataclysmic earthquake, based on information from the Haitian Red Cross and government officials. Hard-pressed recovery teams resorted to using bulldozers to transport loads of dead." More...
...at #292 Sunset Avenue... and with more than two months 'til Saint Patrick's Day!
Spike Larsen, Dick Whitney and "Easy Ed" Desmond may no longer be with us, and if anyone knows where Jerry Mangles is, they're not sayin', but the hope born in 1968 endures! More...
...by way of Speonk, courtesy of Fran and Spencer Fink.
"This an account of last night in and just outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. More...
Saturday's report of a "magnitude-6.5 earthquake" off the California coast and Monday's even larger (7.0MW) one in Haiti reminds us of how fortunate we've been on the East End.
I don't think we've had one since the "minor" tremor in March 1992 which registered 2.8 on the Richter scale. More...
