Psychedelic plywood

May I suggest that you start your week with some retinal excitement? Move in closer than you should to your computer screen (3 inches away is about right), let your eyes relax, then move back and forth slowly. Ignore your coworkers. Once this was a sign for Mel’s Transmissions. Nice brickwork, too.

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M hearts B

A tree can take a lot of punishment. (Don’t worry, we are not having a theme this week.) This one, having a perfect seat six or seven feet off the ground and bark that wears marks well, is thriving.

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Owl’s Head tree

It was a lovely, muggy day at Owl’s Head Park in Bay Ridge. People were out, but the park wasn’t mobbed. This pine tree lost a big branch recently, probably during the big storm last month, but it didn’t topple.

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Gingerbread house escapes

Bay Ridge’s famous “gingerbread house” was lucky; the giant tree fell towards the street. Most, but not all, of the trees that came down in the storm over a week ago have been cleaned up.

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Repair that shoe

The shoe repair shop is still open for business. They guarantee their work unless you leave your shoes outside 365 days a year for several years.

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Don’t look for tapas here

There’s a Best Western in Bay Ridge; ONLY ten miles from Manhattan, the sales info says. The hotel first opened in 1926 as the Hotel Madrid, went through a few incarnations, and now it’s the Hotel Gregory (Best Western Gregory). An average room goes for around $150 a night, and it has three stars. It is one of the few hotels in the five boroughs not crawling with European tourists. They must have read about the R Train’s reputation for slowness and checked in somewhere else.

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Good-bye clunker

Trash it or treasure it? This early 1960’s Chrysler may be a rust-bucket, but it’s a funky green color and has the metal checkered flag logo on the side. Many of the so-called clunkers being traded in are Detroit’s recent jewels, giant SUVs with terrible mileage. Cash for Clunkers makes me uneasy; I hope car owners pause and think before hurrying off to the dealership.

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A cupcake tree grows in Brooklyn

Cupcakes are in vogue at the moment, which I attribute to their general cuteness and handy single serving size. Some will say that it all started with Sex and the City, but cupcakes have been around forever, almost as long as bake sales.

I walked past this bakery twice in one evening, and each time, at a sidewalk table, couples were sitting with an abandoned, half-eaten piece of red velvet cake. The popularity of this cake befuddles me. I can’t get past the half a bottle of food coloring (or more) that goes into every cake. Given a choice, I’ll take a cupcake any old day.

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Are you thinkin what I’m thinkin?

Tony Manero and Stephanie are back on the dance floor! Bell bottoms, platform shoes, 2001 Odyssey … it’s Saturday Night Fever. Tony’s right arm is itching to point skyward, and she is looking away, feigning immunity to his rough charm. Time has been crueler to Stephanie. Those pants look like jodphurs, or maybe the calzones caught up to her once the disco pace slowed down.

Pacheco dry cleaner, at Fifth Avenue just past 15th St., is about three miles from where the real-life disco stood. Torn down long ago, the neighborhood has become  Brooklyn’s Chinatown. (Learn more about where Saturday Night Fever at this movie location website.)

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That dog there, how much?

Take the R Train to the end of the line, out in Bay Ridge. When you exit the station, you’ll see a tangle of small-breed puppies flinging themselves against the pet shop glass to get your attention.

I’m not sure of the exact prices, but such cuteness does not come cheap. You may want to consider a pet from the pound. (Find your furbaby-to-be at Petfinder.)

All the little critters come with rabies shots, even this one.

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