The Luna Park Gazette

“Fear an ignorant man more than a lion.” -- Kurdish Proverb I see them three days a week and they always cheer me up. My gym is a good walk from a house, which isn’t a real problem unless it’s raining or bitter cold and then it really sucks. Some mornings I pick up the pace and use my trek through the neighborhood as a warm-up for my workout. Along the way I always pass by two Little Free Library boxes. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minn. with a mission “to be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all.” The idea is to get people reading and I’ve found some good books at the various boxes in my neighborhood. I consider them little lighthouses, only instead of sending out bright beams of light, they’re glowing with knowledge and good will. Or at least most of the time they do. This morning I came upon the free book box at 84th Street and Narrows Avenue, which I believe is part of the LFL s...

And I was all set to tell you about our fabulous New Year’s Day dinner. My family and I did not officially welcome 2023 until Saturday, after our January 1st extravaganza had to be postponed on account of illness. We had an excellent Chinese feast in two phases: a takeout order of appetizers from Red Bowl, one of our favorite local restaurants, followed by a screening of “Great Expectations,” a holiday tradition in our family, and then a Red Ball redux for the main course. And while our dinner was late for the Times Square ball drop, we were just in time for the Lunar New Year. This is the Year of the Rabbit, the fourth animal in the zodiac sequence of 12, and is seen as the luckiest. Or at least it was. I was going to tell you about my fortune cookie message which told me to “be receptive to new ideas from all fronts” and which I consider to be excellent advice. And I was going to tell you about the weird dreams I’ve been having during the last week, including one...

At least I still have Duke. One of my promises for this New Year was to socialize more, particularly in the realm of dating. Last year was memorable mostly for its missteps and mistakes, so I’m starting 2023 with a clean slate and a healthy dose of emotional amnesia. I had signed up with Facebook’s dating service a few years ago and I've gotten a few dates out of it, one of which showed early some signs of promise before Covid came crashing down on the world. Online dating is hardly ideal, but I keep my eyes peeled for potential connections and last week I thought I had come up with a real gem. I recently became exchanging messages with woman named Suzanne, who had contacted me through Facebook. Suzanne lives in New York City and describes herself as “cerebral, romantic, sensate, tactile, funny, serious, talkative, though sometimes goofy.” I think I got everything. Suzann, her profile said, “is looking to date with the intention of establishing a very serious relat...

“Everything in life is vibration.” –Albert Einstein In 1966, the Beach Boys had one of their biggest hits with “Good Vibrations.” The song, composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love, was an immediate commercial and critical success, topping the charts in American, England and many other countries. “Good Vibrations” featured the use of an instrument called an Electro-Theremin that gave off a weird, funky sound. Sales of Electro-Theremins and synthesizers soared after the record came out. Wilson got the song’s title from his fascination with cosmic vibrations after his mother told him when he was growing up that dogs sometimes bark at people in response to their “bad vibrations.” Love got his inspiration to write the lyrics from the “Flower Power” movement. I have a vague memory of watching The Beach Boys perform the song on “The Ed Sullivan Show”—it was on Oct. 13, 1968—that included some rather strange and cheesy camerawork to give off a supposedly psychedelic f...

Okay, so let’s get this thing started, shall we? It’s January 1st and that means it’s time for my New Year’s resolutions. I know, I know, I do this every single year, vowing to change nearly every single aspect of my life, only to veer off course and revert to all my old, unhealthy patterns before Presidents Day. I know and I still don’t care. I am hopelessly in love with the idea of starting over, rewinding the clock, clearing the decks, and all those other born-again clichés. I’ve gone through my Christmas malaise and now I’m ready to be free ‘23. There’s nothing new on the list of resolutions. This is more of a time to reconnect with my goals and remind myself that time is fleeting. I want to treat my pursuit of happiness like a math problem; add the good stuff, subtract the self-sabotage and come up with a better version of yours truly. Way back in August, I covered an electric vehicle auto race in Red Hook. These cars are a lot like their gas-powered Indy 500 cousin...

Where’s Mariah Carey when I need her? A few weeks ago, I wrote about how hearing “All I Want for Christmas is You” marks the start of the holiday season for me. Despite my advanced age, I always get excited about the seeing lights and listening to the Christmas carols and watching all the old movies. But this year the spirit ain’t here. I could make plenty of excuses: the state of the world, the state of my mind, and the paralyzing fear that “Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey” will get stuck in my head and keep on playing until the Memorial Day weekend. I know that’s not true, though. I’ve endured all those things in the past and still managed to have myself a merry little Christmas. I just don’t have the usual enthusiasm, which is no way to feel about the most wonderful time of the year. Even Ebeneezer Scrooge had some emotion about the holidays. It was pure hatred, of course, but at least it came from the heart. Is there a Ghost of Christmas Apathy? And, if s...

I knew there had to be an expression for this behavior. YouTube has become my go-to source for music. Between my job and my writing, I spend most of my time on the computer and YouTube can provide soundtracks to my various moods and personalities. Jazz, big bands, new age, Eighties, traditional Irish, you name it, you’re sure to find it somewhere on YouTube. And the automated suggestions offer even more possibilities. Be advised that the ads on YouTube are a rip-roaring pain in the ass, particularly when I'm trying to enjoy meditation and exercise videos. The site offers its own streaming service, which I might subscribe to, so I can save some money and stop screaming obscenities at my computer. Now there are times where a song will get into my head, and I’ll just have to play it over and over. I figured there must be a name for this activity and a quick Google search came up with the term “Binge Listening,” a perfect expression for the Generation Netflix. I did...