Stars, rising and falling

Well, as predicted, Kirsten Gum's star, at least as measured by hits to my blog, has faded somewhat with the end of the Tour de France. (This is good -- literally hundreds of you a day were scouring my site for pictures of the OLN honey, but I don't think too many stayed for the literature.) In Kirsten's place? A slow return to the classics, plus a renewed interest in the Dunn Memorial Bridge, and some new searches from the maturity-challenged for "Amanda Congdon's breasts." Amanda hosts Rocketboom, is very sharp, very funny, and is not going to show you her breasts. Ever. So get over it.

And while you're here looking for info on the Dunn Memorial Bridge, let's clear a couple of things up. First, the Dunn Memorial Bridge is not closed. You currently cannot get to it from the Albany side, but from the Rensselaer side, it's clear sailing, and you can access I-787 going north or south, or connect to the Quay Street connector that runs to the Corning Preserve. Best map of the problem here. For bikers and runners, the sidewalk is still open, too. Further, it's not the Dunn that has the problem -- the ramp is up over the entire complex, and is really part of the long-forgotten South Mall Expressway.

And I won't miss this chance to remind people of who Parker Dunn was. Private Parker Dunn of Albany was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously after the First World War. Here's his citation:
"When his battalion commander found it necessary to send a message to a company in the attacking line and hesitated to order a runner to make the trip because of the extreme danger involved, Pfc. Dunn, a member of the intelligence section, volunteered for the mission. After advancing but a short distance across a field swept by artillery and machinegun fire, he was wounded, but continued on and fell wounded a second time. Still undaunted, he persistently attempted to carry out his mission until he was killed by a machinegun bullet before reaching the advance line."