Good Thursday morning, which, by the way, is one day away from Friday – technically speaking. Just thought you might like to know.
My step-son is right now participating in freshman orientation at SUNY Binghamton, preparing to start his first year as a quasi-adult, making his own decisions about when to sleep, eat, and study, who to hang out with and when, and ostensibly doing his own laundry and chores.
It’s going to be a big step and probably, in some ways, a rude awakening. Watching him navigate this milestone has me thinking back to my days as a college student at the University of Rochester.
My freshman year was probably a little different than most, as I had grown up in a college town and experienced a lot of the partying etc. while still in high school. I watched my fellow freshmen (freshpeople?) drink with abandon, try – and fail – to hold their alcohol and make all the stupid decisions that come along with unfettered freedom, and thought: “Been there, done that.”
So, I did spend more time than the average first year college student studying – that is, until I pledged a sorority in my sophomore year, though that’s a topic for a different post. This isn’t to say that I didn’t make some questionable decisions during that first year away from home – including getting my first tattoo.
The details surrounding how that came about are a little fuzzy – about as fuzzy as the outlines of the basic red rose that is now fading – 30+ years later – on my left hip. My tattoo journey did not stop there, however, and went on to also include a short-lived attempt at tattoo removal, which, take it from me, is a hell of a lot more painful – and takes a heck of a lot longer – than initial ink.
These days, I’m very into stick-and-poke tattoos, which is actually the traditional, pre-machine method of tattooing, using a simple needle-and-ink method to poke a design into the skin by hand. The process hurts less than a machine tattoo, in my opinion, and the result is a far more delicate line (in my experience, anyway). When done correctly, they can last just as long as a machine tattoo.
The human practice of marking the skin dates back thousands of years, utilized by an assortment of cultures for a wide array of purposes – as decoration, in religious practice, to protect from evil, signify economic status or nobility, and even as a form of punishment.
The oldest known tattoos were found on Otzi (AKA the Iceman) – the most famous mummy in all of Europe, who was discovered by hikers in the Alps in 1991. Archeologists documented 61 line-like tattoos all over Otis’s body, which seem to have been created by filling holes in the skin with charcoal dust. Experts believe these tattoos were either therapeutic or ceremonial in nature – perhaps both.
You’ve probably seen the incredibly elaborate tattoos associated with the criminal underworld in Japan, but this history of tattooing in that country is incredibly long, and also complicated. Tattooing in Japan has been embraced and elevated and also banned. For some time, tattoo artists in Japan needed a medical license to operate. (If you really want to go down the rabbit hole on that, click the links above).
Tattooing in the U.S. has an equally fraught and tumultuous history, playing a significant role in counterculture and subcultures. Interestingly, it was Thomas Alva Edison (he of the incandescent light bulb fame) who is credited with laying the groundwork for the invention an electric tattooing machine.
From 1961 to 1997, tattooing was banned in New York City following a Hepatitis C outbreak, causing some artists to operate underground. Today, there are more than 300 tattoo shops in the five boroughs alone, and these days about one in three Americans say they have at least one tattoo, and 18 percent have more than one. The practice is regulated at the state – not the federal – level, which some medical experts say is a public health risk.
Today, for reasons that are somewhat murky to me, is National Tattoo Day. I have 13 tattoos and counting on my forearms alone, and I’m already planning my next one. Here’s to ink!
Another hot day is on tap, with scattered thunderstorms possible in the morning, followed by clouds in the afternoon. The morning storms could be accompanied by strong and gusty winds, and temperatures will top out int he low 90s.
In the headlines…
The Senate early this morning approved a White House request to claw back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting, as Republicans bowed to President Donald Trump in an unusual surrender of congressional spending power.
The 51-to-48 vote came over the objections of two Republicans, who argued the party was ceding Congress’s constitutional control over federal funding. The Republicans who opposed the measure were Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Over time, some local stations may be forced off the air. Others may have fewer shows to broadcast. Stations may have less resources for reporting and educational programming. But the exact impacts are hard to predict.
The House set a new record for the longest vote in the history of the chamber last night, surpassing seven hours and 24 minutes on a vote to advance a trio of cryptocurrency bills as GOP leaders worked behind the scenes to get a handful of holdouts on board.
House Republicans finally cleared a key procedural hurdle to unlock consideration of a trio of cryptocurrency bills, unfreezing the floor after a two-day saga.
Senate Republicans are warning Trump that it would be a big mistake to follow through on his threat to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying it would likely send a “shock wave” through the financial markets and roil the broader economy.
Trump derided some MAGA loyalists as “weaklings” for demanding that he order the release of files related to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
As outrage builds over his effort to turn the page on the scandal, Trump slammed a group of what he called his “past supporters” for refusing to back down from the demand for transparency.
Maurene Comey, a Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was abruptly fired yesterday by the Trump administration, according to six people with knowledge of the matter.
Though the reason for Comey’s firing was not immediately clear, her dismissal immediately raised questions, given her involvement in the Epstein-related cases that have roiled the White House in recent days.
Trump said he had spoken to the Coca-Cola Company about using “REAL cane sugar in Coke” in the United States and that the company had agreed to begin adding it. A spokeswoman for Coca-Cola would not comment on whether it had agreed to do so.
“We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand,” the spokeswoman, Michelle Agnew, said in a statement. “More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon.”
A coalition of legal groups filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing the federal government’s campaign to arrest people at immigration courthouses so that they can be swiftly deported is unlawful and violates due process protections.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired two of his top aides this week, shaking up his leadership team at the Department of Health and Human Services amid an aggressive effort to reshape public health policy.
The firings included Heather Flick Melanson, his chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, his deputy chief of staff for policy. The reason for the ousters was not immediately clear.
The National Park Service is defending its handling of a lightning-sparked wildfire that destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge and historic cabins, saying containment lines were built around the blaze and crews were ready to conduct defensive operations.
Some are also demanding to know whether the Trump administration’s budget freezes and Forest Service layoffs could be playing a role, not just at the Grand Canyon but at fires raging around national parks in Colorado and Washington as well.
While New York City has quickly passed local laws protecting access to gender-affirming care, several statewide bills remain in limbo, despite clearing both chambers of the state Legislature.
New York State lawmakers are continuing to discuss a potential special session to address the federal government’s reconciliation plan, but have yet to decide on a date.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that New York City mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani’s stunning primary win has turned her into the “therapist in chief” — as she sought to quell furor over the socialist’s radical “Tax the rich” plan.
New York’s AG has joined 18 other attorneys general and the Pennsylvania governor in a legal battle seeking to stop Trump from cutting $4.5 billion infunding from the FEMA for pre-approved projects to protect people and property from natural disasters.
Housing nonprofit executive Drew Warshaw is mounting the first competitive Democratic primary against longtime incumbent state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and has so far raised more than $1 million in campaign cash.
Mayor Eric Adams has raised $1.5 million for his reelection campaign since June 10, a massive haul that solidifies him as the candidate of choice for many in the city’s business class who fear a City Hall led by Mamdani.
The mayor spent $263,000 over the same time period, putting his cash on hand at just under $3 million. That puts him in a better cash position than Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Nearly half of the money Adams raised came from outside New York City. Eight donations arrived from Florida on the day of a fund-raiser held for the mayor there by Young Republicans and Trump supporters, totaling $2,325.
The campaign’s notable totals were propped up by New York City’s largest commercial landlord, SL Green, with 60 of the employees donating to Adams during a fundraiser hosted by the real estate group’s CEO, Marc Holliday.
Mamdani drew rave reviews from fellow Democrats yesterday after a meeting hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Washington, D.C., along with a separate sitdown with Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The Democratic mayoral candidate met for nearly two hours with lawmakers at a breakfast gathering, but did not meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries or Sen. Chuck Schumer.
Mamdani, who faced fierce backlash after declining to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” told a group of business leaders he decided to discourage its use after a Jewish woman recently told him the phrase evoked memories of violence.
A new poll from HarrisX finds the New York City mayoral race shaping up to be a tight and competitive contest, with Mamdani statistically tied with Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in a four-way race.
Cuomo is shifting gears and taking personal responsibility for running what he admits was a lackluster campaign in the Democratic mayoral primary, acknowledging that any strategic mistakes ultimately fall on him.
Cuomo — who infamously paraded around his control over the MTA while governor — proposed City Hall take over the reins of the transit authority as he tries to revive an independent bid for mayor following his embarrassing primary loss.
Self-proclaimed auto enthusiast Cuomo was ripped online for a “cringe” new campaign video where he purports to help a man jump-start a car in an unstaged New York City moment.
A legal battle over a three-block-long bike lane in a predominantly Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn neighborhood has become a central issue in Adams’ re-election campaign.
The primary elections that New York City uses to pick its mayors will remain unchanged, after a special panel that had been formulating a switch to an open primary system said yesterday that it would not put the proposal on the ballot this fall.
The I.R.S. has cleared faith leaders to endorse political candidates to their congregations. New York clergy are wrestling with the choice to use their newfound influence.
Thomas Donlon, a former federal agent who served as interim NYPD commissioner last fall, sued Adams and top current and former police officials, alleging they operated a “corrupt enterprise” that rewarded cronies and punished enemies.
A near-assault during a photo op. “Spies” assigned to monitor the NYPD commissioner. The illegal arrest of the then-ousted commissioner’s wife after a minor fender bender. These are just a few of the bombshell allegations in Donlon’s lawsuit.
Columbia University has said it will adopt a controversial definition of antisemitism as the embattled Ivy continues to negotiate with Trump administration officials over $1 billion in research funding.
A boundary-breaking Broadway revival of “Gypsy” starring Audra McDonald will end its run on Aug. 17, much earlier than its producers had hoped.
John Sarcone III said that he will be the top prosecutor for the Northern District of New York “indefinitely,” thanks to recent moves by the Justice Department.
Eight former state correction officers charged in the beating death of Robert L. Brooks at Marcy prison are scheduled to stand trial in October, although an Oneida County Court judge has not decided whether to allow some of them to have separate trials.
Court documents made public this week provide new details about UAlbany’s decision to discipline but retain men’s basketball coach Dwayne Killings after an episode in which he allegedly slapped and shoved player Luke Fizulich in November 2021.
Luke Malamood, 40, an Albany attorney initially indicted on myriad charges, pleaded guilty to assault and criminal contempt in Albany County Court.
Yaddo Gardens in Saratoga Springs will reopen today, a week after a thunderstorm damaged the grounds at the famed artists’ retreat.
A small plane crashed overnight in the Hilltowns. The pilot was the only one on board, and left the crash unscathed overnight.
American Cruise Lines kicked off its Hudson River Summer Classic Cruises last month, taking about 100 passengers from New York City to Troy Downtown Marina’s South Dock.
The Ballston Spa Ethics Board found councilman Chuck Curtiss violated ethics laws when he allegedly failed to publicly disclose a conflict of interest in 2021 when the town approved a lot line adjustment allowing the sale of two acres from a conservation easement.
The law firm hired by Mavis Discount Tire to defend the company in wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the 2018 limo crash in Schoharie says it did nothing to merit disqualification in the cases.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
