  |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Get Ready To Rock!
Christina
Grimaldi Watch
out guys, Christina really knows how to rock! This
metal maiden was “born and raised” in Astoria and graduated from Bryant
High School. She
told us she loves to crank up her favorite bands, which include ICED EARTH,
Edguy, Savatage and Outworld. Although
she works in Manhattan as a secretary, “heavy metal is what I love,” she
told us. Her
hard rockin’ fanaticism with edgy music has also garnered her attention in
the industry – including an appearance on the cover of the metal mag Grimmoire,
a pair of book covers and several appearances at the legendary Brooklyn rock
club L’Amour. Christina’s
modeling hobby has also helped her meet some of the musicians in her
favorite bands including
Jon Schaffer, songwriter and guitarist of ICED EARTH, and Tobias
Sammet, the lead singer and songwriter of Edguy. But,
she is also fond of the old neighborhood, she explained. “I
loved growing up in Astoria . . .the neighborhood was good way back when,”
before more “city folks” moved into the area. Christina,
said she used to enjoy hanging out at Astoria Park,
— she also misses nights at the former Astoria club “Silver
Screen.” Currently,
she enjoys visiting the cafes on Broadway, rollerblading along the Cross
Island Parkway in Bayside and horseback riding near Jamaica Bay. When
she’s not rocking out, Christina said she enjoys drawing — “mostly
beach scenes,” she said. Yesterday’s
News For Simpler Times
Tucked
away on a quiet street in Astoria is the Queens headquarters of the
Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, an umbrella group of
Greek organizations in the Tri-State area. In
the building’s lobby are
original newspaper clippings from the 1800s that feature articles
about Greek life during that time period. The papers are from various cities
on the East Coast, and contain stories about immigration, settlements, and
marriages. One
paper, The Essex Register from Salem, Massachusetts, displayed behind
glass in the Astoria building’s lobby was a faded, yellow broadsheet
featuring stories of Greek life, dated “Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1822.” Exactly
179-years before the World Trade Center was attacked, the front page news of
the day in Massachusetts included Elijah Porter moving his store to Court
Street, cheap dry goods going up for auction, and a new shipment of livery
and life stock coming into town. Simpler
news for a simpler time . . . not exactly CNN material, but interesting
nonetheless. License
To Drink and Drive?
There are quite a few strange folks in this borough. People with a slightly off-beat sense of humor, who have very odd ideas of what makes a good joke.
Take
for example, a Maspeth resident who, a few years ago, decided to order New
York vanity plates with the letters “DWI” on them . . . of course
implying “Drinking While Intoxicated.” The
plates, which are special Queens plates, came in the mail and the resident
said he had every intention of putting them on his car. He thought it would
be funny. Well,
after seriously thinking it over, he decided that drinking and driving
really isn’t funny at all, and decided not to use them. He threw one away,
but kept the other plate for fun. On Jan. 5, 2003, he decided to have some
real fun with the plate and make some money off of it. The
resident, known only by his eBay name “larry.allie,” placed the oddball
item on the auction site with the full explanation of how he obtained it. He
also issued the warning, “Please use this plate only for display and do
not use it on any vehicles.” The starting bid on the item was 30 cents. Despite the connection between death, turmoil and jail time and the crime of DWI, nearly 15 people bid on the plate, and the final bid was over $50. Queens
Screams On The TV and Movie Screens
Queens
gets a bad rap most of the time when it shows up on television programs and
movies. If
watching the small silver screen is any indication, the people of
Queens are low-brow , low-class, semi-educated country – well, maybe city
– bumpkins. We’re
all blue collar working stiffs with bad grammar and we all have twangy
accents in which the letter R doesn’t exist.
We aren’t intellectuals, but we’re very street-smart and aren’t
afraid to share our wisdom unsolicited. Of
course, QConf knows
better. But
for the record, so as not to be accused of making up false legends, here are
some Hollywood quotes supporting the stereotypes. Will
& Grace (1998) Karen:
I’m not going to Queens, there are people living in cabs down there!! Coming
to America (1988) Prince
Akeem: Is it just me, or does every woman in Queens have some kind of an
emotional problem? It
Takes Two (1995) Amanda
Lemmon: Yeah right, and Santa Claus lives with the tooth fairy in Queens. City
Hall (1996) Kevin
Calhoun: Where you going? Marybeth
Cogan: The city. Kevin
Calhoun: Thought we were in the city. Marybeth
Cogan: Not if you’re from Queens. Terrors
of Pleasure (1988) Spalding
Gray: The first thing he does is ask me what do I do for a living. I chose
“writer” that day. He says, “Good! We’ll have a lot to talk about.
I’m an artist myself. I’m a florist in Queens.” Seinfeld
(1990) George
Costanza: You know what, I’m gonna do it. Jerry:
You’re gonna do it? George
Costanza: I’m gonna convert to Latvian Orthodox, just to be with her. Jerry:
Are you sure about that? I mean, this isn’t like changing toothpastes. Elaine:
Actually, I think it’s kinda romantic. It’s like Henry the VIII
converting to be able to remarry. George
Costanza: That’s
it! I’m exactly like Henry the VIII. Jerry:
Yeah, only Henry the VIII didn’t live in Queens with Frank and Estelle
Costanza. The
Usual Suspects (1995) Cop:
I can put you in Queens on the night of the hijacking. Hockney:
Really? I live in Queens, did you put that together yourself, Einstein? Got
a team of monkeys working around the clock on this? Queens
Logic (1991) Jeremy:
So why do you stay in Brooklyn? Eliot:
Queens. I stay in Queens. Jeremy:
Oh, right. Sorry. It’s just that your friends... they’re like those guys
in movies that are always from Brooklyn, you know? The Bronx. [Eliot
gets up to leave.] Jeremy:
Why do you keep running away from me? There’s nothing to be afraid of. Eliot:
I’m not running away
from you. I don’t like you. I don’t like what you say, and I
don’t like the way you talk about my friends. I know what you’re
thinking: here’s this poor, repressed [expletive] from the boroughs who
needs to get laid, and you know what? You’re right. But I don’t like
you. And if you follow me back into that party, I’m gonna tear off your
arm and beat you down the [expletive] street with it. Goodbye, and
goodnight.
E-MAIL your items to: conf@queenstribune.com
|
|||||||||||||||||
| E-mail the trib | ||||||||||||||||||
