A little bit of Kansas found its way to Queens this weekend

So how did this weekend’s storm affect you? We are hopeful that you were able to stay safe and that none of your property was damaged. Probably the most bizarre thing to happen during the storm was the tornado that touched down in Breezy Point, out on the Rockaway Peninsula. The tornado was about 50 feet across and stayed on land for about 600 feet; winds were 70 mph, making it a “weak” tornado. We bet the Breezy Point Surf Club felt differently, as they sustained the most damage from the twister. If haven’t caught the video yet, here it is:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w8gWj2Ue3I&version=3&hl=en_US]

The last bits of the US Open

Starting at 4pm on Monday, September 10, the Men’s Singles finals are being played between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. This major match was supposed to happen on Sunday evening (the Women’s Singles were pushed a day to that slot instead – congrats, Serena), but the Saturday storms contributed to the delay. And even though the Open ends after the men play, and won’t be back for another year, you can savor the fact that one of the permiere worldwide sporting events happens right here in Queens. So proud.

It’s true, Thom Yorke was here in Queens, spinning and dancing his heart out, entertaining the Warm Up masses

The internet was all excited about the fact that Thom Yorke was spinning some of the tunes heard during the final MOMA PS1 Warm Up of the year. It was an excellent time and all about fun, fun, fun.

Parkour in Queens, including a movie

Have you heard of parkour? It’s the art of moving and overcoming obstacles, physically, and has origins in France. It’s a controversial sport and its participants are passionate about it (cats are natural parkour practitioners, though they probably don’t know it or really care). Word on the street is that one of the best places to practice parkour in NYC is at Queens College because of all its varied obstacles and types of surfaces, but Rockaway Boardwalk and Roosevelt Island are also popular parkour haunts.

Queens resident Kevin Horan of Rockaway Beach is such a parkour virtuoso that he was asked to be in an independent short film called “Atlas.” The film’s director, Nadia Lesy of Ridgewood, said the film depicts Greek mythology through parkour movements. Horan plays Zeus. The film is slated to be released in January 2013.

Looking for papalo?

This fresh herb, papalo, is often used in place of cilantro (it might be an option for your cilantro haters – yes, that soapy taste you detect has to do with genetics) in Mexican and other Latin American food, and can be found pretty easily in Queens – check the Mi Tierra market (which has a fantastic produce section) on Roosevelt near 85th Street (GMAP) and also at the Socrates Sculpture Park greenmarket in LIC (GMAP).