The Best And Brightest Are All On Wall Street

And in case you were wondering about that bailout:

There are hundreds of storefront clairvoyants and high-end spiritual advisers in the city ready to quench the thirst for insights into the forces that control one’s life.

And now with the turmoil engulfing the financial markets, some psychics say they have been experiencing a boom in business linked to deep worries about money.

. . .

In an apartment in the East Village, opposite Tompkins Square Park, another psychic, Rosanna Schaffer-Shaw, a former belly dancer, offers her insights under the name Fahrusha, which she translates from Arabic to mean butterfly or moth. “I prefer butterfly,” said Ms. Schaffer-Shaw, who specializes in tarot card reading and palmistry, as well as photograph interpretation and communicating with animals.

“People are concerned about their jobs,” said Ms. Schaffer-Shaw, sitting in her brightly painted pink room devoted to readings, where she charges $150 per session. On a shelf were a couple of crystal balls, candles and a feather. “I hear more questions about jobs lasting even if the person is not in the financial sector,” she said.

On a recent afternoon, Ms. Schaffer-Shaw advised three clients, all of whom requested that they be identified by a single initial, some because they worried that their turning to a psychic might cause problems at work.

Mr. S was an artist who said he hoped to reap a windfall from the stronger market for contemporary art. Ms. Schaffer-Shaw told him, “In the past, you have been neglectful of the business aspects of your career.” Mr. S laughed and replied, “Have I ever,” as Ms. Schaffer-Shaw conjured up the names of Manhattan galleries that might be interested in his artwork.

She pointed a lavender-painted fingernail to two tarot cards, the Six and the Nine of Pentacles: “This card says you are worried about your finances. You won’t want to spend money on luxury items. You also will not be able to be as generous to others as you would like.” She advised against buying stock in financial firms and urged him to consider investing in utilities or water purification systems.

Ms. E, who is planning a business venture with another client of Ms. Schaffer-Shaw’s, a Chinese investment banker, asked questions about the Shanghai economy, where the two plan to open a frozen yogurt company. She wanted to know whether the media stock she had bought on the Chinese market would go up after its recent loss, and even what flavors and toppings her company should offer.

Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics And Spin

On the one hand, sure, just 11 out of 190 of those arrested in Belmar this summer were from Staten Island. On the other hand, fully 11 out of 190 of those arrested in Belmar this summer were from Staten Island:

It turns out most of Belmar, N.J.’s unruly troublemakers don’t come from Staten Island after all.

After Belmar Mayor Ken Pringle famously sparked a furor this July by writing a screed about “SI girls behaving badly” and “guidos,” his own police department’s crime statistics ended up telling a very different story about Islanders’ behavior in the Jersey Shore town.

Just 11 of the 190 people arrested in Belmar between May 29 and Sept. 1 hailed from Staten Island, according to a published report.

One of those arrests — an incident where a Staten Island woman allegedly attacked another patron at a bar popular with the borough’s visitors — spurred Pringle to write about “Staten Island girls” in the “Belmar Summer Rental News.”

“As the Staten Island girl was pummeling the Boonton girl’s face, she used the hand she was still holding her drink glass in,” Pringle wrote in the newsletter. “Now, we’re not sure if the glass was stuck to her hand cause of all the hair spray or if this is a technique Staten Island girls learn in Brownies, but we are thankful she left her brass knuckles and straight razor in her other purse.”

The remarks sparked a firestorm of public opinion — Pringle soon apologized, then toured the borough’s cultural landmarks in an attempt to mend fences.

Pringle didn’t return a phone call yesterday seeking comment about the police stats.

Earlier.

Ant Diversity And Abundance Increase With Increasing Plant Complexity And Amount Of Garbage Bins In New York City Street Medians

No, seriously.

You Know What Helps?

Putting your utility lines underground:

Community Board 11 district manager John Fratta explained the call for action saying, “We’ve been getting complaints about the shoes on the telephone wires.”

More than a street-beautification effort, Fratta said area residents are deeply concerned with the connotations, false as they may be, the hanging footwear represents.

While no one really knows the reason behind the telephone line-sneaker trick, numerous theories have come to pass.

Most widely believed to be the sign of gang activity or site of street drug sales, folklore also denotes the sneaker sling as a celebration for men who lost their virginity.

Though more than a dozen explanations continue to claim the reasoning behind the obscure act, all continue to remain inconclusive.

. . .

Not knowing where else to turn, he said he looked to Councilman Jimmy Vacca for some needed assistance.

Though eager to get involved, Nivardo Lopez, constituent liaison in Vacca’s office, said their immediate response for involvement quickly turned into a drawn out investigation.

With Cable Vision, Verizon and FDNY wires, among others, creating a web of unmarked territory over the neighborhood, Lopez said determining which company owned the wire that coordinated with the hanging footwear was an increasingly difficult task.

Then, to his great luck and appreciation, Cable Vision stepped in.

“They took care of theirs right away,” Lopez explained about their cooperative efforts to remove the sneakers.

Lopez further explained the company took initiative to compile a master list that clearly identified which line was which company’s responsibility.

From then on, they soared.

“We’ve gotten a good response from the different utilities about removing the sneakers,” Lopez commented, pleased with results of the unique initiative.

See also: Hanging Sneakers.

See What The Weak Dollar Brings?

More tourism:

Authorities say a resident of the Netherlands who came to New York as a “graffiti tourist” has been indicted on charges of spray painting a subway car and leading police on a dangerous chase.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Thursday that 23-year-old Robbert Boxem of Zwolle, Netherlands — who uses the graffiti tag “KRAE” — faces charges including criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. If convicted, he could get up to four years in prison.

Part of the police chase occurred on subway tracks.

Brown says it’s believed Boxem, who was arrested on Sept. 9, came to New York for an international graffiti event known as Meeting of Styles.

The tourism board luvs u in the Bronx!