NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_PRIVATE TALKS
My 8-year-old daughter and I have long talks about what goes on in the playground of her school after lunch. Just about every day she has a story about one or more of the "mean girls" and some mean thing they did or said. Sometimes on our way to school in the morning she’ll point someone out and say: "There’s one of them. She’s a mean girl." And we’ll discreetly spy on her for a moment, so that I’ll have a picture to go with the stories.
Recently, my daughter seems to be getting really fed up with one particular mean girl. Last night she stood on a chair and raised her hand very high and said: "I’ve had it up to here with her." She even wrote a note that she probably won’t give to her that says:
Dear ____, I do not like how you play. Mostly you are bose(sic) and mean too. I hate how you are to kids.
My daughter seems to want to stop being friends with the girl she wrote the letter to. But it’s hard. She seems simultanously drawn to and repelled by this girl. And as you can imagine, the girl is quite commanding both emotionally and physically.
After my last postcard about mean girls in the playground, I got this response from a friend: "Wait till 4th grade when it really, really kicks in. Oh my god. My daughter’s going through a hard time now, and if possible the girls have gotten meaner from when we went through it with my older daughter. I was actually thinking of asking the school to please have some kind of workshop addressing this issue, which is widely ignored by school authorities, though some teachers are better than others at dealing with it. I know a number of mothers whose first kids are boys and this all comes as a shock. Even thought I know what to expect, it isn’t any easier."
I’m one of those mothers of boys who had no idea what was going on in the playground all those years. The last few months have been a real education for me. I am grateful that my daughter has been so expressive about what’s going on. And conversations with other moms have helped too. It’s never too soon to address the issue at home and give our kids the time and support they need to really talk about it figure out what to do.
Thanks to Park Slope Parents, a Yahoo.com discussion group, a documentary film called "Let’s Be Real" has come to my attention. The film, which is appropriate for ages 10 and up, lets kids, both victims and bullies, speak out about the pain and confusion of bullying and taunting. It also explores a variety of issues that lead to it, including
racial differences, perceived sexual orientation, learning
disabilities, and sexual harassment. A discussion will
follow the screening on April 16th at the ImaginAsian Theater 239 East
59th Street in Manhattan between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. 10:00 am until noon. Reservations necessary. For more information and registration: urbina9@aol.com
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
SPRING FORWARD NEXT WEEK: Though Europe switched over on Sunday, daylight savings time
for New York (EST, GMT -7:00) takes place NEXT weekend. Set your clocks
ahead (spring forward) one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2005.
CITY NEWS: The right to distribute leaflets in front of schools is upheld by a
Federal Court. A group was seeking to stop army recruiters from setting
up tables in front of school.
the settlement, reached earlier this month in Federal District Court in
Manhattan, and dated March 16, the New York Civil Liberties Union,
which represented the group, the Ya-Ya Network, and lawyers for the
city agreed that the department would instruct police officers that a
state law against loitering near schools and colleges "does not apply
to First Amendment activity."
The Police
Department issued a one-page directive to all precincts on March 21
instructing police officers not to enforce the loitering law against
First Amendment activity, including "the holding of signs, placards and
leaflets, chanting and singing."
_New York University will
limit student’s access to balconies in two
dormitories. The school also installed a plexiglass guard wall in the
school’s main library. This is all part of the school’s effort to
prevent
student suicides. Last year there were five such deaths.
_iPods are getting stolen on the subway pushing up city’s subway crime rate, which is up for the first time in years.
_City to get hybrid buses instead of those powered by natural gas.
_Mayor kicks off major pot hole repair blitz attempting to fix damage caused by winter storms.
_As of Sunday, children age seven and younger must be buckled into a car seat in New York State. This is up from age four.
_There’s a growing blog community of New York City public school teachers. MildlyMelancholy, Judysmoh, and others are sites where teachers can openly vent about what they really think and feel about their jobs.
BROOKLYN BEAT: OTBKB has word that there have been a number of muggings between President and Ninth Street in Park Slope. The victims are women who are talking on their cell phones. The suspect surprises them from behind, puts his hand over their mouth and asks for money. Apparently he hasn’ t hurt anyone. He just takes the cash and runs. There was an incident on Tuesday at 4 p.m. on President Street on or near 8th Avenue. If you have any information, please call the 78th Precint Pct., re: Pattern 29. 718-636-6484.
_The Department of
Education has instructed high-demand middle schools in District 15 to
admit 20-40 additional applicants. Parents were outraged when in-demand
middle schools rejected 550 qualified applicants."
_New York wants to reclaim the movie and TV production that’s been
going to Candada and other lower-priced shooting locations by offering
tax credits and other incentives. The city is hoping that the recently
completed Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard will attract movie
and television producers.
_ Workers at the Vox Pop Coffee Shop ("Books, Coffee, Demoracy") on Cortylou Avenue in Ditmas Park unanimously joined the
Industrial Workers of the World last week. The employees join a growing
movement of NYC retail workers, including Starbucks baristas, who are
striving to increase union membership in the industry. Check out the Vox Pop web site.
"Play without Words," a dance-theater piece by Matthew Bourne, the
most important contemporary choreographer in Britian. 8 p.m. at BAM.
IT’S THURSDAY 3/31: Park Slope author James Grant reads from his book: "John Adams: Party
of One." Old Stone House, JJ Byrne Park. Third Street between Fourth
and Fifth Avenue. 7 p.m.
Who’s Afraid of Mike Nichols Film Series. March 31 – April 19th. This BAMCinematek program
includes: "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf "The Graduate," "Carnal
Knowledge," "Angels in America, "Wit," and more. This Thursday, March
31 at 7 p.m. Q & A with Nichols following "The Graduate."
"Play without Words," a dance-theater piece by Matthew Bourne, said to be one of the most
important contemporary choreographers in Britian. 8 p.m. at BAM.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Valentines. Portraits by Hugh Crawford at Fou Le Chakra. Opening 3 p.m. 4/2. 411 Seventh Avenue
_Pianist Anthony Coleman plays the music of Jelly Roll Morton at Barbes on Friday night. April 1. 7 p.m. And at 10 p.m.: The Wiyos, a band that combines Django Reinhardt, Gershwin, Doc Watson, Fats Waller and vaudeville.
_First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. April 2nd. 6:30 -
8:30: Use oil pastels to creat your own Basquiat-inspired symbol on
canvas. At 7 p.m. there’s a public reading of Whitman’s Leaves of
Grass followed by a musical setting of the poems by members of the
Brooklyn Philharmonic. Then it’s time to do some LATIN DANCING in the
Rotunda.
<>
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: In the documentary, "Let’s Get Real" kids speak out about
bullying, name calling, and other root causes of violence in school. The
film explores a variety of issues that lead to taunting and bullying including
racial differences, perceived sexual orientation, learning
disabilities, sexual harassment and others. A panel discussion will
follow the screening on April 16th at The ImaginAsian Theater 239 East
59th Street in Manhattan between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. 10:00 am until noon. The film is appropriate for kids ages
10 and up. Reservations necessary: urbina9@aol.com
HERE/SAY: "
Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone
stupid doesn’t make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George’s life
definitely didn’t make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to
solve the problem in front of you." From the 2004 film "Mean Girls."
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
Co-Editing "Pandamonium," PS 321’s poetry magazine, is mostly a labor of love. But it’s also a bucket-load of work. Since 2001, I’ve headed up the team of parents who type, design, scan, proof read and edit the 70-page magazine, which features one poem from every child at the school; 1300 poems in all. It’s nothing if not inclusive and that’s what I love most about it.
From pre-K to fifth grade, there’s a wide range of subject matter, quality, and style. You can learn a little bit about the teachers through the poems their students write. Some classes produce lots of poems about "rain going pitter pat." Other teachers help kids dig deep for content and forms of expression.
There are so many interesting poems, it’s hard to pick a few to mention here. I enjoyed a vivid poem about an asthma attack, a humorous piece about a boy not wanting to "Practice, practice, practice" his horn, a sad poem about the divorce of a girl’s parents, and one called: "When Alliteration Hits Me:"
When Alliteration hits me / I/ Marvel at Monkeys maliciously/Mashing Mangos making/Metropolitan Museum Mummies/Melancholy/When Aliteration hits me…
The end of March is always crunch time for me, and I’ve been holed up in my office for the last five days doing a final proofing before sending the file to the printer. I feel like I’m going blurry-eyed making sure that students’ names are spelled correctly and that there are no typos or punctuation errors.
Much as I can’t wait for this laborious task to be finished, I do enjoy these long days spent sitting on the floor in my office, reading the poetry of children. It is a rare chance to get inside their heads and find out what makes them tick. Like this excerpt from a poem by a fourth grader:
Me
Violet purple
sleeping flamingo pink
pony-tailed brown hair
dirty sand brown eyes
My hometown Brooklyn
Florida, I come from
Jamaica, I come from
Barbados, I come from
Africa, I come from
but love is what I have
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
SPRING FORWARD NEXT WEEK: Though Europe switched over on Sunday, daylight savings time
for New York (EST, GMT -7:00) takes place NEXT weekend. Set your clocks
ahead (spring forward) one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2005.
CITY NEWS: New York University will limit student’s access to balconies in two
dormitories. The school also installed a plexiglass guard wall in the school’s main library. This is all part of the school’s effort to prevent
student suicides. Last year there were five such deaths.
_iPods are getting stolen on the subway pushing up city’s subway crime rate.
_City to get hybrid buses instead of those powered by natural gas.
_Mayor kicks off major pot hole repair blitz attempting to fix damage caused by winter storms.
_As of Sunday, children age seven and younger must be buckled into a car seat in New York State. This is up from age four.
_There’s a growing blog community of New York City public school teachers. MildlyMelancholy, Judysmoh, and others are sites where teachers can openly vent about what they really think and feel about their jobs.
_NYPD arrested 37 protesters,
members of Critical Mass, a group that celebrates cycling and other
non-polluting forms of transportation. Those arrested were charged with
parading without a permit. The city is going to court to demand that
these cyclists get a permit for their month protest. Earlier this year
a Federal judge said permits weren’t necessary.
_The City’s Department of Education sent out
test prep guides to NYC teachers filled with wrong answers, typos and
grammatical mistakes. The first big typo was right on the cover:
Mathematics Planning for the Forth Grade. "Tweed has no problem with
excessively criticizing teachers for failing to meet its picayune
mandates, but then it produces a test prep manual riddled with errors
and misspellings," said Weingarten, president of the United Federation
of Teachers. " The hypocrisy is stunning."
BROOKLYN BEAT: _The Department of
Education has instructed high-demand middle schools in District 15 to
admit 20-40 additional applicants. Parents were outraged when in-demand
middle schools rejected 550 qualified applicants."
_New York wants to reclaim the movie and TV production that’s been
going to Candada and other lower-priced shooting locations by offering
tax credits and other incentives. The city is hoping that the recently
completed Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard will attract movie
and television producers.
_ Workers at the Vox Pop Coffee Shop ("Books, Coffee, Demoracy") on Cortylou Avenue in Ditmas Park unanimously joined the
Industrial Workers of the World last week. The employees join a growing
movement of NYC retail workers, including Starbucks baristas, who are
striving to increase union membership in the industry. Check out the Vox Pop web site. "Play without Words," a dance-theater piece by Matthew Bourne, the most important contemporary choreographer in Britian. 8 p.m. at BAM.
IT’S WEDNESDAY 3/30: "Play without Words," a dance-theater piece by Matthew Bourne, said to be one of the most
important contemporary choreographers in Britian. 8 p.m. at BAM.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: "Who’s Afraid of Mike
Nichols?" film series. March 31 – April 19th. This BAMCinematek program
includes: "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf "The Graduate," "Carnal
Knowledge," "Angels in America, "Wit," and more. This Thursday, March
31 at 7 p.m. Q & A with Nichols following "The Graduate."
Pianist Anthony Coleman plays the music of Jelly Roll Morton at Barbes on Friday night. April 1. 7 p.m. And at 10 p.m.: The Wiyos, a band that combines Django Reinhardt, Gershwin, Doc Watson, Fats Waller and vaudeville.
_First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. April 2nd. 6:30 – 8:30: Use oil pastels to creat your own Basquiat-inspired symbol on canvas. At 7 p.m. there’s a public reading of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass followed by a musical setting of the poems by members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Then it’s time to do some LATIN DANCING in the Rotunda.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
HERE/SAY: "We love those who know the worst of us and don’t turn their faces away." Walker Percy
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_LOUIS ROSEN CAPATHIA JENKINS
He’s in our midst. He looks just like everyone else. Drops his kid off at PS 321 and drinks coffee in the morning; he helps out with PTA activities and does the Times’ crossword puzzle at the same table every day at Starbucks.
Bu this man has another identity too. He’s a prodigiously talented composer and songwriter. His work will make you swoon, laugh, even cry. Just like I did. Lifted out of the every day, his work delivered me to the worlds of Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and a white, Jewish guy from the Southside of Chicago.
His name is Louis Rosen. And Sunday night at Joe’s Pub, Capathia Jenkens, sang, among other things, a song-cycle he created based on the sassy eloquence of Maya Angelou’s poetry. Rosen uses a variety of song styles to bring the poet’s words to life – blues, jazz, musical theater, classical – with suprising leaps of melody and harmony. His music brings out the poet’s voice in a way that enhances and enthralls.
Vocalist Capathia Jenkins is a discovery. Like Rosen, she deserves to be a star. The songs, which were created expressly for her multi-timbered voice, give life to Angelou’s women. And Capathia becomes these characters in an instant – her stance, the way she holds her microphone or moves her hand. In tiny theatrical ways, she embodies these phenomenal women and stirs the room with virtuousic blues in a deep alto-to-high soprano range. Her earthy emotionality belies a sophisticated vocal control.
What a pair. Louis and Capathia: a handsome, skinny guy from Chicago’s Southside and a ravishing, voluptuous black woman with a voice that makes you laugh and cry.
The audience at Joe’s Pub was in their thrall Sunday night. Louis on the piano singing an autobiographical song about growing up. Capathia endearing herself to the crowd while taking us on a journey through a universe of identities.
The room took them in with all the cabaret-attention it could muster. Waitresses served, people ate from plates of delicious food, drinks were a-plenty, but the audience was rapt and they applauded ferociously after every song-poem, honored to be among the few to see what was probably the best show in town.
Monday morning I saw Louis in the Slope but I didn’t say hello. Feeling a little awed, a little shy, I watched to see if there was a spring in his step after such a phenomenal night. He kissed his son good bye in the lobby of PS 321 and found his usual table at the local Starbucks.
Back to being a regular guy. Someone who looks just like everyone else.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
SPRING FORWARD NEXT WEEK: Though Europe switched over on Sunday, daylight savings time
for New York (EST, GMT -7:00) takes place NEXT weekend. Set your clocks
ahead (spring forward) one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2005.
CITY NEWS: City to get hybrid buses instead of those powered by natural gas.
_On Monday night in the rain, Ringling Brothers Circus elephants snarled up traffic as they came out of the Midtown tunnel and crossed 34th Street to Madison Square Garden for their annual crosstown walk.
_Mayor kicks off major pot hole repair blitz attempting to fix damage caused by winter storms.
_As of Sunday, children age seven and younger must be buckled into a car seat in New York State. This is up from age four.
_There’s a growing blog community of New York City public school teachers. MildlyMelancholy, Judysmoh, and others are sites where teachers can openly vent about what they really think and feel about their jobs.
_NYPD arrested 37 protesters,
members of Critical Mass, a group that celebrates cycling and other
non-polluting forms of transportation. Those arrested were charged with
parading without a permit. The city is going to court to demand that
these cyclists get a permit for their month protest. Earlier this year
a Federal judge said permits weren’t necessary.
_The City’s Department of Education sent out
test prep guides to NYC teachers filled with wrong answers, typos and
grammatical mistakes. The first big typo was right on the cover:
Mathematics Planning for the Forth Grade. "Tweed has no problem with
excessively criticizing teachers for failing to meet its picayune
mandates, but then it produces a test prep manual riddled with errors
and misspellings," said Weingarten, president of the United Federation
of Teachers. " The hypocrisy is stunning."
BROOKLYN BEAT: Tenants of a burned out Brooklyn apartment building are suing the city saying that the FDNY was late to arrive to the blaze where two people died and that the fire hydrants were frozen.
-The Department of
Education has instructed high-demand middle schools in District 15 to
admit 20-40 additional applicants. Parents were outraged when in-demand
middle schools rejected 550 qualified applicants."
_New York wants to reclaim the movie and TV production that’s been
going to Candada and other lower-priced shooting locations by offering
tax credits and other incentives. The city is hoping that the recently
completed Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard will attract movie
and television producers.
_ Workers at the Vox Pop Coffee Shop ("Books, Coffee, Demoracy") on Cortylou Avenue in Ditmas Park unanimously joined the
Industrial Workers of the World last week. The employees join a growing
movement of NYC retail workers, including Starbucks baristas, who are
striving to increase union membership in the industry. Check out the Vox Pop web site.
Jury selection has been postponed in the $10 million malpractice case by the Brooklyn family of Yankel Rosenblum against Kings County Hospital.
IT’S TUESDAY 3/29: When there’s nothing going on in the Slope, there’s always Barbes for some fun. Enjoy a SLAVIC SOUL PARTY! Matt Moran leads one of the best Balkan Brass Band anywhere.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: "Who’s fraid of Mike
N ichols?" film series. March 31 – April 19th. This BAMCinematek program
includes: "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf "The Graduate," "Carnal
Knowledge," "Angels in America, "Wit," and more. This Thursday, March
31 at 7 p.m. Q & A with Nichols following "The Graduate.
Do you have any old super 8 reels lying around. Stuff you found and never saw. Buried family footage. Barbes is having a SUPER 8 EXTRAVAGANZA on April 14th. Show up anything you have providing it’s under 5 minutes long. Show up, sign up before the show or email them at super8@barbesbrooklyn.com
_5th Annual Brooklyn Jewish Film Festival. April 5 – 10. Stand up and Laugh: New and Classic Jewish Comedies at BAM.
Jean Luc Godard Festival at BAM a chance to discover and rediscover the masterpieces. April 21-26.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
HERE/SAY: "Pretty women wonder where my secret lies, I’m not cute or built to suit
a model’s fashion size, But when I start to tell them, They think I’m
telling lies. I say, It’’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my
hips, The stride of my steps. The curl of my lips. I’m a woman,
Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman. That’s me." Maya Angelou
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
SPRING FORWARD NEXT WEEK: Though Europe switched over on Sunday, daylight savings time
for New York (EST, GMT -7:00) takes place NEXT weekend. Set your clocks
ahead (spring forward) one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2005.
CITY NEWS: As of Sunday, children age seven and younger must be buckled into a car seat in New York State. This is up from age four.
_There’s a growing blog community of New York City public school teachers. MildlyMelancholy, Judymoh, and others are sites where teachers can openly vent about what they really think and feel about their jobs.
_NYPD arrested 37 protesters,
members of Critical Mass, a group that celebrates cycling and other
non-polluting forms of transportation. Those arrested were charged with
parading without a permit. The city is going to court to demand that
these cyclists get a permit for their month protest. Earlier this year
a Federal judge said permits weren’t necessary.
_Friday March 25th marked the
anniversary of two tragic fires: the Happy Land Social Club fire in the
Bronx and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
_Thieves make off with $5 million in diamond heist at a diamond exchanges on West 47th Street.
_The City’s Department of Education sent out
test prep guides to NYC teachers filled with wrong answers, typos and
grammatical mistakes. The first big typo was right on the cover:
Mathematics Planning for the Forth Grade. "Tweed has no problem with
excessively criticizing teachers for failing to meet its picayune
mandates, but then it produces a test prep manual riddled with errors
and misspellings," said Weingarten, president of the United Federation
of Teachers. " The hypocrisy is stunning."
BROOKLYN BEAT: The Department of Education has instructed high-demand middle schools in District 15 to admit 20-40 additional applicants. Parents were outraged when in-demand middle schools rejected 550 qualified applicants."
_New York wants to reclaim the movie and TV production that’s been going to Candada and other lower-priced shooting locations by offering tax credits and other incentives. The city is hoping that the recently completed Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard will attract movie and television producers.
_ Workers at the Vox Pop Coffee Shop ("Books, Coffee, Demoracy") on Cortylou Avenue in Ditmas Park unanimously joined the
Industrial Workers of the World last week. The employees join a growing
movement of NYC retail workers, including Starbucks baristas, who are
striving to increase union membership in the industry. Check out the Vox Pop web site.
Early Saturday morning, an 85 year old retired Russian physicist was
run down by a car at Bay Avenue and Cropsey Avenue, an intersection
that is said to be one of the city’s worst. The elderly man had just
finished his daily four mile morning walk. He died Saturday morning at
Coney Island Hospital.
IT’S MONDAY 3/28: Barbes presents "The Three Penny Opera (1931) at 7 p.m. 376 9th Street near 6th Avenue. Live music begins at 9 p.m.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: "Who’s fraid of Mike Nichols?" film series. March 31 – April 19th. This BAMCinematek program includes: "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe," "The Graduate," "Carnal Knowledge," "Angels in America, "Wit," and more. This Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Q & A with Nichols following "The Graduate."
<>
5th Annual Brooklyn Jewish Film Festival. April 5 – 10. Stand up and Laugh: New and Classic Jewish Comedies at BAM.
Jean Luc Godard Festival at BAM a chance to discover and rediscover the masterpieces. April 21-26.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
HERE/SAY: "A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end… but not necessarily in that order." Jean-Luc Godard
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
CONTENTS_27 March 05
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
GRAB-BAG_Brooklyn and Beyond
SIDE PANELS_Links this way <<<<< and that>>>>> for Essential Brooklyn.
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
Sometimes I’m not sure I want winter to end. A part of me appreciates the cold, dreary season because it is, in its way, very forgiving of moodiness. Spending a winter weekend at home, making soup, and devouring the Sunday paper inspires not the least bit of regret that I am not doing something better with my time.
These first springy days bring with them a kind of pressure to take advantage of what the weather has to offer. I force myself to say: "Wake up everyone, it’s time to get out there and have some FUN," when really all I want to do is lie underneath my comforter until hunger and the need for coffee forces me to the kitchen.
Much has been said about winter depression. But what about the blues brought forth by the expectations that spring arouses. What if the reality and the expectation don’t exactly match up? I, for one, am not quite ready for perky tulips at the Korean market, the park full of fair-weather runners, or Easter, for that matter. Truth is, I’m just not ready for spring.
A great, great jazz tune sung by Betty Carter comes to mind. The lyrics by Fran Landesman really say it so well:
"Spring this year has got me feeling. Like a horse that never left the post. I cry in my room, staring up at the ceiling. Spring can really hang you up the most."
I think this is just a temporary thing. Transitions are often hard. You get kind of attached to the seasons, even the nasty ones, and it’s hard to move on. I’ll get past this. I know I will. But please, just a few days more of winter, so I can get this malaise out of my system.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
SPRING FORWARD NEXT WEEK: Though Europe switched over early this morning, daylight savings time
for New York (EST, GMT -7:00) takes place NEXT weekend. Set your clocks
ahead (spring forward) one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2005.
CITY NEWS: NYPD arrested 37 protesters, members of Critical Mass, a group that celebrates cycling and other non-polluting forms of transportation. Those arrested were charged with parading without a permit. The city is going to court to demand that these cyclists get a permit for their month protest. Earlier this year a Federal judge said permits weren’t necessary.
_Friday March 25th marked the
anniversary of two tragic fires: the Happy Land Social Club fire in the
Bronx and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
_Thieves make off with $5 million in diamond heist at a diamond exchanges on West 47th Street.
_The City’s Department of Education sent out
test prep guides to NYC teachers filled with wrong answers, typos and
grammatical mistakes. The first big typo was right on the cover:
Mathematics Planning for the Forth Grade. "Tweed has no problem with
excessively criticizing teachers for failing to meet its picayune
mandates, but then it produces a test prep manual riddled with errors
and misspellings," said Weingarten, president of the United Federation
of Teachers. " The hypocrisy is stunning."
BROOKLYN BEAT: Workers at the Vox Pop Coffee Shop ("Books, Coffee, Demoracy") on Cortylou Avenue in Ditmas Park unanimously joined the
Industrial Workers of the World last week. The employees join a growing
movement of NYC retail workers, including Starbucks baristas, who are
striving to increase union membership in the industry. Check out the Vox Pop web site.
Early Saturday morning, an 85 year old retired Russian physicist was run down by a car at Bay Avenue and Cropsey Avenue, an intersection that is said to be one of the city’s worst. The elderly man had just finished his daily four mile morning walk. He died Saturday morning at Coney Island Hospital.
_Brooklyn woman was mauled by her son’s pit bull. The dogs were tranquilized and taken to An Animal Care Center. Her arm was seriously wounded.
_Brooklyn Rebbe Naftali
Halberstam, who continued his father’s efforts to rebuild the Bobov
sect of Hasidism that was nearly eradicated by the Holocaust, died on
Thursday. The Bobov practice an ecstatic form of Judaism that centers
on a religious leader and an individual’s direct relationship with G-d.
The sect originated in Galicia, now southeastern Poland.
_ A teenager was stabbed in the stomach by an older man on the
Northbound R platform at the Ninth Street subway station in Park Slope.
Apparently the two were having an agrument. The teenager was taken to
Lutheran Hospital. Read all about it at New York 1.
_Brooklyn receives $1 million to spruce up Fulton Street.
Congresswoman Nydia Valazquez was able to secure the money from the
Transportation Appropriations Bill and a local developer. Improvements
include better lighting, signage, sidewalks, and landscaping. Read all about it at New York 1.
IT’S EASTER/PURIM SUNDAY: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. 3 p.m.
_"Play Without Words," a dance theater piece by Matthew Bourne at BAM. Tonight through Saturday. 2 p.m.
_Catpathia Jenkins and Park Slope resident Louis Rosen perform their
song-cycle based on the work of Maya Angelou at Joe’s Pub. Sunday 7 pm.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Mike Nichols answers
questions following a screening of "The Graduate" as part of BAM’s
"Who’s Afraid of Mike Nichols?" film series. Thursday March 31 at 7 p.m.
HERE/SAY: He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers gave birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves." -Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
Love in the Time of Cholera.
