Sometimes there are simply too many Craigslist Missed Connection riches to share on a Sunday. So, we’ve got one from a Russian Bath House to toss into the mix today:

Sandooney’s russian bathhouse Friday – m4w (in our bathing suits)

Would be amazing if you actually looked here and we could connect. You looked absolutely amazing – and we made much eye contact throughout the afternoon. Both of us were discreet in our looking, and I think we had a vibe. You were with your bf. I was with a former gf- she and i met for lunch and then the spa just to see each other over the holiday. Even though I am not dating her now, it would have been inappropriate to attempt any further advances on you, especially since you were with your bf anyway. lol. With all that said- I would love to hear from you, and take you out sometime when it is more discreet and convenient for you. You’ll know who you are… we were the best looking group in there that day. 🙂

Our first bath house MC!!!

On Saturday, we ran a report from some Boerum Hill emails about someone that had their tires slashed and a swastika traced in the dust on their vehicle. (They also had a McCain sign in the window of their house for what it’s worth.) We have a follow-up today that sounds like the person is dealing with a deranged neighbor as the activity has been going on for some time:

I spoke with the victim today, and the tire cutting has been going on over a year. Her best guess is it’s one person who is doing it. Yes, it has been reported to the police, but I¹m not sure the full scope of it is understood. Leslie, I will recommend that they contact you. Neighbors, if you see suspicious activity around an SUV on Pacific Street between Bond & Nevins, please call 911 to report a crime in progress.

Pretty disgusting stuff.

Ever eat at Song Thai on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope (one of the Slope’s astounding collection of utterly mediocre Thai places)? Read this, which we found on Brooklynian, and you may never want to set foot in there again. It involves what sounds like an allegedly tainted egg roll and the restaurant’s utter denial of any problem. Do not read this after eat Thai food:

Today I’m in utter shock after having a conversation with a man who said he was owner of the restaurant. although I’d really rather drop this, what happened today was beyond the pale and I’d like to you to consider this next time you’re thinking of eating there. To recap, this week I ordered delivery and bit into a spring roll and encountered upon biting into it a massive chemical taste and smell, like ammonia or bleach. That night and the next day I vomited some, and ended up having the most painful sore throat I’ve ever had.

On that night I called to say that something might be wrong with their deep fryer, I was return called at no prompting by a manager who was kind and wanted to let me know that yes, there was something specifically wrong with the stuffing in the spring rolls, that they were thrown out, and she had tested all the other deep fried foods which were ok ( i remember her specifically saying “the spare ribs, the prawns”). Here’s where it gets unbelievable.

Actaully, they changed their minds and decided there was no problem at all.

Tips, photos and information from readers are the lifeblood of GL, just like other blogs. So, send us your tips. We always love hearing from our readers when they see or hear something interesting of get an interesting photo of something going on in their neighborhood. We like to span Brooklyn so all neighborhoods are of interest to us. All tips are absolutely confidential, unless you specifically want to be credited, in which case, please say so. You can reach us via thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com or the handy contact form you will find under the GL banner. We try to specialize in original news rather than copying what’s already been posted or published, so your help is ultra-important!!! Thanks for reading, thanks for helping and thanks for being part of the online community we trying to build.

[Photo for GL by Meg Groome]

· 17 People Freeze Asses Off in BK to Celebrate Winter Solstice [NYT]
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· Brooklyn Hipsters Start Bodega with Online Delivery in Burg, Etc. [NYT]
· Thieves Rip Off Cops in $60,000 Cell Phone Scam [NYP]
· Teacher at Park Slope School Uses N Word in Class [NYDN]
· Greenpoint Welcomes Alaskan Suntanning [New York Shitty]
· Brooklyn Bike Shop Moving [Lost City]
· Can We Finally Call 184 Kent Re-Landmarked? [WPA]
· Cortelyou Road Station in Snow [Ditmas Park Blog]
· Snowmen in Prospect Park [Liberty on Tenth Street]

This is from an email that came to us via the South Slope email list. We’re not sure we full understand it, but it is definitely interesting: “There are spaces of Prospect Park being used as a dump by a “friend” of our mayor, in clear violation of all aggrements.This is also happening on 3rd Ave. where a developer is using huge spaces as if it were there personal back yard, and yet these boneheads see fit to ticket honest people like you. Do any of these people look in the mirror when they pick up their pay check.” [GL Inbox]

[All photos by JP Pagán/flickr]

Say that ten times fast. In any case, GL Contributor JP Pagán ran into some Christmas carolers in Gardens last night and got some nice shot of them. They were on Third Street in the Gardens.

[Click to enlarge]

Perhaps you remember the Meeker Avenue Plume. It even got some PR in the New York Times last week, leading Curbed to call it the “Toxic Death Cloud.” Well, there’s a meeting about it coming up for residents in January 14 at 6PM. It is a hazard to both long-term residents and to buyers of condos or renters of apartments in land under which the plume of carcinogenic toxins has spread. The plume came from dumping by manufacturers, dry cleaners and the likes of poisons into the ground. Here’s the email about the meeting:

Please join the Newtown Creek Alliance for a briefing on the Meeker Ave. Contaminant Plumes. Brownfields experts Lenny Siegel and Peter Strauss will be on hand to answer questions about hazardous vapor intrusion in homes, the health effects of TCE/PCE exposure, and how to get the Meeker Ave. Plumes mitigated and remediated.

The meeting takes place at the The Green School, located at 223 Graham Avenue between Maujer and Scholes. The Green School is on the 3rd floor of the William J. Gaynor Junior High School building.

A GL Reader sent us this pic of squatters leaving a boarded up building in the Greater Gowanus Metroplex. We not going to get into the address and have crop out identifying details as well as blurred the faces of the people leaving. We think the continued presence of squatters in the neighborhood is an interesting one and they are in many locations. Oh, and Brian and associated friends, if you have any threats for us or ugly comments like you’ve had hundreds of times over the last few years, please don’t leave them in the comments. Email us directly at thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com or send them via handy contact form. If we remember correctly it was some photos of squatters at the “Bat Cave” in Gowanus that set you off a couple of years ago and lead you to threaten the photographer. We look forward to direct communication after all these years of anonymous harassment, name calling and vague threats of violence. Have a nice day.

[Photo courtesy of Rubys Host/GL Flickr Pool]

Here’s a shot of some holiday cheer from Brighton Beach. Well, at least they’re trying.

[Photo for GL courtesy of Meg Groome]

Our newest contributor Meg Groome, who has a knack for taking evocative and meaningful photos, got this one in Prospect Park and called it “Wacky Adults.” Indeed.

[Photo for GL courtesy of E.C. Stephens]

This is one of the decorated houses on Ninth Street in Park Slope between Fifth and Seventh Avenues.

“Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations will be suspended on Monday, December 22, 2008, for snow removal. All other regulations, including parking meters, remain in effect. “–GL Inbox

Yes, it’s time for our Sunday Missed Connection and, yes, this one is, uh, different:

Girl with a rubber chicken – m4w – 23 (L train)
You got on a Brooklyn bound L train maybe at union sq or 1st ave. I was the tall guy who didn’t sit in the seat so you could, but later grabbed the open one on the other side. We exchanged a few glances. I thought you were super cute, especially the face you made when your chicken squeaked.

We’ll bet it was a really cute face too.

[Photo courtesy of Deborah Matlack]

Oh, Green-Wood Cemetery, you sadden us so, because you are a cemetery, but you’re also so beautiful. GL Contributor Deborah Matlack traveled there yesterday and filed this pretty picture.

[Photo courtesy of Flatbush Gardener/GL Flickr Pool]

This looks like a Brooklyn Christmas card.

[Photo courtesy of Mr. Jonesey/Coney Island Message Board]

The slow and painful death of Astroland continues with rides being dismantled and put into shipping containers and the fate of the iconic Astroland rocket and Astrotower still up in the air. This is a pic of the death scene in the snow.

[Photo courtesy of JP Pagán/GL Flickr Pool]

This is the pretty little Transit Garden in Carroll Gardens all decorated and lit up for the holidays.

Remember, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy is having an art show and sale called “A Sense of Place” through tomorrow. They’ve added some items too. It takes place at 298 Bond Street between Sackett and Union Street, today and tomorrow from 11AM to 7PM. On Monday, remaining art will be 20 per cent off. Here’s some info from the conservancy:

We have added some last minute holiday gifts to the Gowanus Canal Conservancy’s Holiday Art Show and Sale! Support the Conservancy while you round out your holiday shopping. Featured artists: Charles Basman, Emily Berger, Nan Carey, Eddie Earl Cato, Nicholas Evans-Cato, Greg Frux, Ilan Jacobsohn, Tom Keough, Patricia Melvin, Sarah Mostow, Manuela Paul, Regina Perlin, Vince Pinto, Karla Roberts, Bonnie Steinsnyder, and Ella Yang. For more information about the show, please call (718) 858-0557 or email gowanuscanal1@gmail.com.

Get some cool gifts and support the Conservancy

[Photo courtesy of pixonomy/Gl Flickr Pool]

PJ Hanley’s in the snow on Court Street in Carroll Gardens.

There is a report from Boerum Hill of tires being slashed in what either could have been random vandalism or something a little more ugly (read the second emai). It happened to a car owned by people with a McCain sign in their window. There are two emails from the Boerum Hill group. Here is one:

Oh, my gosh! I’ve seen the McCain sign in the window and thought the folks who lived in the house might feel a bit lonely in such fervent Obama territory, but I never dreamed anyone would do such a thing as slash their tires over the sign! Geez! I don’t know how to express my dismay.

And there is this which is even worse:

Whatever the “reason”, it is a reprehensible act. I was told by the victim that they also found a swastika traced in the road dirt of their car. This kind of intolerance is the opposite of everything Boerum Hill has always stood for and still stands for. We as a community have been among the most embracing of diversity in lifestyles and beliefs.

We’re really hoping it was just random vandalism, but the swastika would seem to indicate otherwise.

And now for Saturday’s adoptable kitty! So pull up to the computer, take a sip of that hot coffee and enjoy your GL morning edition of adorable adoptables. Today we have Cleo a lucky gal that along with her brothers were fortunate enough to be saved from a life on the street.

Cleo is one of a litter of FIVE kittens born in a precarious location in Flatbush. Their mother, Celia, had either moved them to the cramped, crawlspace between 2 buildings, or somehow had given birth there. Someone heard the kittens crying and managed to toss food to the struggling family, but rescue proved very difficult. Celia was friendly, but the scrawny, 5 week-old kittens were afraid and quite wild. Empty Cages Collective volunteers managed to drop a trap into the space and caught 2, then 2 again, and finally the last days later! Mom and one kitten were adopted, but Cleo and her brothers, Caesar, Pluto, and Claudius still need to find homes. All of ECC’s cats and kittens have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated and tested for felv/fiv.

You can meet all of the adoptable cats rescued by Empty Cages Collective trap-neuter-return volunteers on their Petfinder page. If you can’t adopt but want to help, check out their Amazon Wishlist.

This is a super cool vid of the old Thunderbolt Roller Coaster, in all its diminished glory, in Coney Island not long before Rudy Giuliani ordered it demoished. It was just posted in the last few days.

[Photo courtesy of New York Public Library]

This is the Williamsburg Bridge under consruction in the early 1900s as seen from Kent Avenue in Williamsburg.

[Photo for GL Courtesy of Deborah Matlack]

Valued GL Photographer Deborah Matlack stood out in the sleet with camera on tripod and holding an umbrella to capture this quintessential Southern Brooklyn Christmas scene. And it is pretty.