Trending Now: Silly Bandz
Status: Waning
Silly Bandz, funny bracelets, whatever you want to call them—the glorified rubber bands in various shapes that have been adorning the wrists of local children (and teens) over the summer are available nearly everywhere in the Village.
We first spotted them this Spring at Candyland on Park Place, but they soon spread to retailers as diverse as Value Drugs, where there's a whole rack of the things, and Womrath Book Shop, which even carries The Band Book, a funky guide to the trinkets.
We're hoping the trend subsides before Village Natural Market starts carrying homeopathic Silly Bandz, and indeed, a recent and very unscientific survey of tiny local wrists indicates they may just be on the way out…
So Much For Technological Advances
Our mailbox on Friday contained a colorful flyer from the Westchester County Board of Elections on this drop-everything-and-read topic: "How to Vote on the ImageCast Optical Scan Voting Machine." (Sounds better in Spanish: "Como Votar en la Emision de Imagen")
Rather than transfer said flyer immediately to the recycle bin, we thought it best to be prepared for November and read through the instructions.
So here's the thing: These sleek, black ImageCast are replacing the old machines, where one exercised one's right by flipping switches and pulling a lever. Simple enough, although admittedly quaint. We felt confident by the mechanical permanence of the whole process. "Ka-chung!" said the machine, and our votes were cast and confidential. Next!
The new process, according to the directions, will be to register, be handed a paper ballot, go to the booth and fill out that paper ballot ("fill the oval in completely" – shades of the SAT's, anyone?) Once the ballot is finished, you scan it into the machine. If there is a problem–a "misfeed", an "overvote", or a "misread ballot" –you need to go back to the registration desk, be handed a new ballot and start the process over. Presumably you'll need to review the problem ballot with a worker, negating the confidentially of your choices.
Seriously? From the physical appearance of the machine, we were thinking these things were high tech. Touch screens, fingerprint identification, heck we were thinking you could probably check in on Foursquare and watch the latest episode of 30 Rock while mulling your vote for governor.
But no. They're big scanners. That's all. Can't wait for the lines this November….
