NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
TWO STARS FOR FRANNY’S IN THE TIMES’
And I’ve never even been there. Reviewer Frank Bruni goes hog wild for the place. Franny’s is located at: 295 Flatbush Avenue (Prospect Place) in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; (718) 230-0221.
So was Franny’s essentially a glorified pizza parlor? For those outside Brooklyn, did it really warrant a water crossing?
To the first question the answer is no; to the second, an emphatic yes.
Other
restaurants have honorable pies, admirable lettuces or noteworthy
salumi. But take it from a cranky Franny’s doubter, now a besotted
Franny’s believer: not many do all three with as much joy and
distinction as Franny’s.Besides which, Franny’s does more. In
June it reinstated pasta dishes on its menu. A few had been there in
the beginning but were quickly jettisoned, because Franny’s chef,
Andrew Feinberg, didn’t think he’d mastered them.Now his kitchen
has new equipment, while he has new confidence. So it’s pasta once
again, and the rigatoncini with peppery pork sausage and sweet
cipollini onions will have you hoping it’s pasta forever.
WEATHER BY ROSE
From her Coney Island weather tower, here is the weather report from Rose.
"Sunny. High in the 80′s. 75 degrees now. There may be thunderstorms later in the evening. Hot and humid all day."
COME TO A BOOK PARTY FOR WALKING BROOKLYN AT BOOKCOURT
Walk on over. The festivities are at BookCourt on Thursday, Sept. 6 from 7-10 pm. It’s a nice walk from Park Slope: BookCourt 163 Court Street in Cobble Hill (between Dean and Pacific Streets).
NEWS ABOUT ANDY THE FRUIT TRUCK GUY
As some of you have probably noticed, a fruit truck has returned to the corner of President Street and Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. But no Andy.
Well, here’s the scoop. Andy had a stroke a few months ago. He is now recovering and in rehab. I spoke to his nephew who is operating the fruit truck (for Andy, I assume).
He told me that after the stroke, "Andy’s speech was really messed up. That’s why he’s in rehab. Also his sister died and his truck had to be trashed." The truck they are now using is on loan.
The good news is this: Andy expects to be back soon. But only two days a week. The nephew said that a lot of people had inquired about Andy. I’m hoping that all that concern and good wishes got back to Andy.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
BROOKLYN FRAME WORKS IS MOVING
BROOKLYN FRAME WORKS is moving to a new space at 142 Fifth Avenue between Douglas and Baltic. It’s a great framing shop. Good luck to them.
NEW OWNERSHIP AT FREEBIRD BOOKS ON COLUMBIA STREET
An article in yesterday’s Times about Columbia Street illuminated me on the status of Freebird Books, a bookstore I’ve heard a lot of great things about but have never been to.
Freebird has been an anchor. But change is coming there, too. Ms. London, the former co-owner, said she and her partner had recently agreed to sell the property to a longtime neighbor and customer. She said the decision to sell the business was not a financial one, but rather a practical one. Ms. London that she needed to spend more time with her 3 ½-year-old son, and that her partner had decided to move to Florida.
She added that “psychological barriers” created by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway kept people from discovering Columbia Street as a destination.
“People don’t think to come to down to Columbia Street to stroll,” she said. “The construction going on is a deterrent.” Foot traffic picks up in the evenings, she said. A couple of years after opening, she said, her bookstore had become one of the most popular places on Columbia Street, a shop where people browse in peace with no pressure.
Ms. London also works at the Pit Stop, a French bistro a couple of doors down, and she hasn’t given up.
“There is something magical that happens around here,” she said. “Everyone struggles together.”
Peter Miller, an associate director of publicity at the publishing house Bloomsbury/USA, is Freebird’s new owner. He wondered if the neighborhood had to become hot at all to succeed.
SIMONE DINNERSTEIN IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
There’s an article about Simone Dinnerstein in Tuesday’s New York Times. She, along with her parents, Simon and Renee Dinnerstein, were on the Park Slope 100. Her recording of the Goldberg Variations is being released on Telarc.
If you want to be a concert pianist when you grow up, there are
certain rules. You do start playing as a young child. You don’t drop
out of Juilliard. You do win competitions and get the attention of
managers at a young age. You don’t end up at 30 with no management and
no bookings, raising the money yourself for your first recording. And
you definitely don’t make your New York recital debut with Bach’s
demanding “Goldberg” Variations, which are supposed to reflect the
wisdom of long experience, and Baroque style.Ms.
Dinnerstein’s recording of the “Goldberg” Variations is being released
today by Telarc. It is a distinctive approach to the work: colorful and
idiosyncratic, a contemporary pianist’s rather than a harpsichordist’s
account. It starts with a long, thoughtful, hesitant Aria that seems to
be struggling to lift itself uncertainly out of silence.
OPERA ON A RED HOOK TANKER
This sounds very interesting:
As part of PortSide NewYork’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness of, and appreciation for, the waterfront and working waterfront in the Port of New York, we are pleased to offer Puccini’s steamy opera Il Tabarro set on our tanker home the Mary Whalen, in a real, working container port.
Actual stevedores and professional opera singers will share the stage, in a story about barge life, adultery and murder, surrounded by views of gantry cranes, containers, the lumber port, passing vessel traffic and a spectacular view of Governor’s Island and the lower Manhattan skyline, making an unforgettable on-site experience.
The opera will be performed by Vertical Player Repertory and hosted by American Stevedoring, the operators of the Red Hook container port in Brooklyn. The tanker is the stage; the audience sits on the pier.
Experience this unprecedented cultural event! A maritime night out at affordable prices!
Four performances:
Fri 9/7
Sun 9/9
Fri 9/14
Sun 9/16Opera is one hour long without intermission.
Opera ticket is $25.
Opera + Sunset Reception before each performance is $60. (Proceeds benefit PortSide)
Reception 5:00-6:45pm
Opera 7:00-8:00pmCash bar before and after each performance.
Tickets on sale now http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=ILT.
REMINDER: FEIST AT McCARREN PARK TONIGHT AT 6PM
Wouldn’t miss it for the world EXCEPT Cool and Unusual, Tetsuwan Fireball, and Dulaney Banks are playing at the Old Stone House. AND I CAN’T MISS THAT FOR THE WORLD.
But the Feist show should be way cool; I just love her new album, The Reminder. Enjoy the show at McCarren Park.
UNDERWATER BALLERINA ON HURRICANE DEAN
My niece, Underwater Ballerina, left the Carribbean island where she’s working during Hurricane Dean. Turns out the island was spared the wrath of Dean and UB is back on the island affter two days in Ft. Lauderdale. On her blog she writes eloquently of the experience. Read what happened on the island…
I’ll admit there’s a voice in the back of my head saying that I’m a quitter, that I cut and run, that all my friends are still stuck on the island, and that it’s not fair that I left. Still, the island is about to be wiped off the map. I downplayed the seriousness of the storm in my assorted emails and posts, but Arrecife is in for some big trouble. The island rode out Hurricane Ivan, a similar storm, three years ago, and damage is still evident all over the island.
As I was driving through the empty streets last night on my way to the Bypass, I saw plywood and hurricane shutters over stores and houses that stood next to other buildings still with holes in their roofs or only partially rebuilt from Ivan. Arrecife is mostly below sea level. The storm surge from Hurricane Ivan was 8 feet in some parts of the island; a foot of water in the ground floor of your house was considered “minimal damage”. While many people learned their lessons about complacency from that storm, there is still only so much you can do when a Category 5 storm is bearing down on you.
Had I stayed, I would have been safe in the Winchester-Swann’s ballroom, but utilities will not be back up for days after the storm passes, if not a few weeks. Most employees will be sent home as soon as the airport is functional again, as conditions will be unsanitary, looting will be rampant, curfews will be set, and the air will be full of mosquitoes and the smell of effluent and dead fish. Despite all of that, part of me wishes I had stayed. Could I have done something to help? Are my friends going to be okay? When will I be able to get back onto the island? What will be left when I do return? For now, though, all I can do is watch and wait as the little swirly mass of clouds on satellite photos inches closer and closer… Stay safe, Arrecife.
WEATHER BY ROSE
From her weather tower in Coney Island, here’s today’s weather by Rose.
“It’s going to be very nice today. In the 80′s. Sunny. Very nice.”
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!
Today is my birthday. Heres a post from last year about birthdays past:
Birthdays still feel like special days even when you’re my age. That’s probably because my parents always did special things for us on our birthday. I say “our” because I am a twin and I share my birthday with my sister.
As children, we were often in Bridgehampton, Water Mill or Sagaponick, Long Island on our birthday. We’d stay at this old-fashioned rooming house called Stepankowski (I’m pretty sure it’s not there anymore). It was the kind of place where everyone eats dinner at the same time, and eats the same thing. They probably had a croquet set on the lawn. Or horseshoes. Other times we’d stay in a B&B called the Conklin House and eat breakfast in the kitchen with the Conklins.
We’d always go to the Penny Candy Store in Water Mill —the one mentioned in the The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh—on the day and carefully pick out an assortment of tootsie rolls, licorice sticks, colorful dots on paper, jaw breakers. The candies were still just a penny then. I think that place still exists but you can be sure those candies don’t cost a penny anymore.
We’d go to the beach and swim, play in the sand for hours. Stop at antique stores (my parent’s hobby) and buy swirly colored antique marbles. That’s what we collected then.
I remember many birthday dinners at old fashioned Long Island restuarants (cloth napkins, waiters in white jackets) where I’d always order L.I. Duck L’orange. And coca cola. That was a birthday treat.
A summer birthday like mine often passes unnoticed by friends. When I was a child I never had a birthday party in school. In my day, the schools didn’t do a special summer birthday party for all the kids with summer birthdays.
But that never bothered me. It has always felt like my very private day. I love it when people remember. But if they don’t I understand. It’s the dog days of August afterall and I’m usually away.
So it feels like a secret birthday; I have birthdays just like everyone else (and I grow one year older) but they happen on a day when no one is looking. That’s my summer birthday.
One year, when we were 7 or 8, my sister had a beautiful garden party in Riverside Park. We went to our favorite party store on Lexington Avenue and she picked out the most beautiful streamers, paper plates, cups, napkins, hats; it was absolutely magical, the most special party in the world.
We went to separate schools and had different friends. I remember a sleep over party when I was six. With my cousin, we made groovy sixties posters that said: “Let’s Swing” and “Do the Twist.”
In recent years, we have been separate on our birthday. I’m usually on the farm in California and she’s usually in New York on the day. It felt grown up in a way. Like I was claiming the day for myself. But something was missing…
When in California, my mother-in-law often serves a birthday breakfast; she table in the garden room with her Italian floral plates, Matisse tea cups, flowers from the garden. Fresh oranges, figs, cantaloupe, nectarines. My favorite present ever: from Teen Spirit. He gave me a huge Bob Dylan songbook knowing that I would cry. I did.
We were together for the big Four Oh, when mother threw us a cocktail party in her living room with a jazz trio and a very tall bartender. I even got to sing (Cigarette holder that wigs me over his shoulder he digs me, out cattin’ that Satin Doll). There was champagne and finger food, friends toasting, saying nice things.
One year HC and I went to Chez Panisse on my birthday and discovered that August 28th is also the birthday of the restaurant and they always have a special birthday menu on that day. There are usually other people celebrating their birthdays, too.
For the last five or more years we’ve made Chez Panisse my birthday tradition on our shared birthday. We drive into Berkeley from the farm. Go to Cody’s Books and The Gardener in Emmeryville. Stop in at another favorite bookstore on Shattuck Avenue and then go into the simple but elegant California arts and crafts style restaurant. They always have a special birthday poster by David Lance Goines.
This year, like every year, I want my birthday to be a perfect day in Sagaponick with a trip to the Penny Candy Store, the ocean and a garden party in Riverside Park. A bookstore browse in Berkeley, Matisse dishes in the garden, fresh vegetables at Chez Panisse. A jazz trio in the living room and good friends making toasts.
Ya wanna come?
MAGGIE MOO GOING OUT OF BUSINESS
Finally. It was in a doomed restaurant spot and it didn’t manage to overcome the curse, I guess. Here’s a post from 2005 about Maggie Moo’s, when it first opened.
Does Park Slope really need one more ice cream store?
Strategically positioned across from PS 321 (and next door to Pino’s Pizza), Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream and Treatery is poised to make a killing on the sweet teeth of Park Slope children and parents alike.
That makes six ice cream stores between Union and Ninth Street. There’s Haggen Daz, Uncle Louie’s with 2 shops, Carvel, Fratelli, and now Ms. Moo. There’s also Mr. Softee who parks daily on Second Street, the ices cart, which rolls up to PS 321 on a regular basis, and at least 4 pizza stores that sell Italian ices. Yeesh. Dats a lot of ice cream. Only real estate offices outnumber ice cream shops around here.
So who needs Maggie Moo?
For Smartmom’s ice cream needs, a pint of chocolate Haggen Daz from the Food Coop does the trick. Yet, this blogger from Brooklyn is always interested in the latest consumer developments on Seventh Avenue. Especially those entrepreneurs, like Maggie Moo, brave enough to build in doomed locations.
Yup. you heard me. Maggie Moo took over one of the most famous doomed restaurant spots on Seventh Avenue. For years this one storefront has been the site of one terrible restaurant after the other — the names of which are thankfully forgotten. Terrible food, rotten service, ugly decor, bad ventilation — you name it. Every restaurant that’s gone in there was a disaster.
Smartmom was reminded recently by a local reader that before the site was a doomed restaurant spot it was a newstand where, tragically, the proprieter was murdered. This was back in 1991 when Smartmom first moved to the neighborhood.
Smartmom is curious if Maggie Moo can do it. Can she transcend the curse of her doomed location?
Fortunately, the shop looks completely different from its last few incarnations. Ms. Moo did a major rehab of the space painting it bright pink and orange with spots on the ceiling. Clearly, it was a big money rehab and it has the sniff of a national chain, which it is. It took weeks and weeks for the store to finally open and for a few days it looked open but they were just doing training sessions for the employees.
On opening day, an employee in a rather elaborate upright cow costume gave out flyers in front of the store. Said cow was wearing a polka dotted Minnie Mouse-style dress and was doing a little dance. Smartmom thought: It is nearly winter and these people are opening an ice cream store. What kind of overconfidence is that? With a cow no less. The first couple of days saw a steady crowd — people are always curious when something new opens in the Slope.
OSFO was dying to go and was completely captivated by the dancing cow. Teen Spirt thought the whole thing was idiotic and he refused to step even one foot in the door. But OSFO was determined. So Smartmom and OSFO went…
Well?
Turns out Maggie Moo is modeled on the Cold Stone Ice Cream concept. That’s a chain that started, like everything else, in California where the servers mash treats of your choice into the ice cream on a slab of marble or stone. There are M&Ms, marshmallows, gummy bears, nuts, Reeses, Heath Bar, KitKat, dried fruit — take your pick. They make a bit of a production out of the mashing process. At Cold Stone, the employees sing Hip Hop style if you tip them. Maggie Moo does no such thing but other than that they’re the same.
On OSFO’s first trip she wanted vanilla ice cream with a KitKat bar mashed in. She watched in awe as the server diced the candy and vigorously smeared it into her ice cream using two silver spoons. The production cost close to $3.00 but Smartmom was okay with that as OSFO’s pleasure is always foremost in her mind (how do you spell spoiled?) After a few bites, OSFO gave her culinary review: “Toooo Sweeeet,” she said and she didn’t much like the crunchy texture of the KitKat in there. Smartmom took a bite and agreed that the vanilla ice cream was putrid.
Curiosity satisfied, Smartmom figured: been there, done that. She didn’t have a very glowing prognosis for this new addition to Seventh Avenue.
Will Maggie Moo break the curse of its doomed restaurant location? Will Park Slopers choose to spend top dollar on too sweet ice cream? Smartmom will keep you posted. For now, she and OSFO will walk on the other side of the street to avoid the lure of the dancing cow, the bright pink interior, and turquoise ice cream with gummy bears.
Smartmom is the pen name of a certain Park Slope writer and blogger. Her other site: thirdstreet.blogspot.com, chronicles the adventures of Smartmom, her husband, Hepcat, her son, Teen Spirit and the Oh So Feisty One (OSFO), her second grade daughter.
SEEING GREEN APPLYING FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL JOB
Seeing Green is applying for a job with the Bush administration. Wish him luck, read this excerpt. and read more here.
I mean, how hard can it be to work for this man?
Firstly, you don’t have to be competent, as shown by an endless stream of ne’er-d-wells who have been appointed to all kinds of federal agencies they had no experience with, from the EPA to the much-derided Federal Emergency Management Agency. So right there I’m OK, though I may have to downplay my ability to solve problems and write a coherent sentence longer than ten words. That should be easy.
Secondly, you don’t have to pretend objectivity or not having conflict of interest. Any number of corporate flacks have been appointed to agencies that they were battling before they joined it, and, in turn, have brought their own chosen friends aboard. In this, alas, I might have to prevaricate a bit. Not having worked in the vast unwashed corporate sector for a long while, I would have to make up interests with which I can be in conflict. Perhaps I can say I was a factory farmer, which should get me a job in the Farm Agency
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
HOPE PACKS FULL OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR YOUNG VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE
You can donate to Safe Horizons and give a young victim of violence all he/she needs for the beginning of the school year. Even $25 would be a BIG HELP. It buys a HOPE PACK full of school supplies.
Read more here:
Dear Blogger,
Each year, parents and children trudge through endless aisles
debating the perfect paper, pens and folders in a rite of passage—back-to-school
shopping. Besieged by begging, fighting and pleading, parents often dread this
time of year. But for many children, shopping is a luxury and school supplies
just aren’t a priority or even an option.Safe Horizon, the nation’s leading victim assistance
organization, provides services to 26,000 children annually. These children are
often victims of abuse, caught in vicious cycles of domestic violence and often
living in shelters. Due to their uncertain and dire circumstances, their
families often cannot even afford rent, let alone pencils or paper.To help provide for these children, last year, Safe Horizon
launched a Back-to-School Campaign—each $25 donation provided a child
with a Hope Pack, a backpack filled with the essential school supplies needed
to begin a new school year. Hope Packs return
a sense of normalcy and belonging to children affected by violence.
A new backpack stuffed with shiny binders, bright colored pencils and
calculators for the new school year symbolizes a new beginning for a child living
with violence.Safe Horizon believes that every school-aged
child deserves to enter the school year with the necessary supplies—this year,
Safe Horizon is striving to exceed the 1,000 Hope Packs they distributed last
year.Please let your readers know that this one-time
donation will radically change the lives of
New York City ’s most deserving
residents. School starts soon—with your readers’
help, thousands of children can return to school with not only the tools to
learn, but also confidence in face of their hardships.Safe Horizon, the nation’s leading victim assistance
organization, serves more than 350,000 people each year who have been touched
by violence. Safe Horizon provides the practical tools, emotional support,
education and advocacy to help victims and their families heal and rebuild
their lives. For more information, please see www.safehorizon.org.
FLATBUSH FARMERS MARKET RUN BY TEENS
The Greenmarket opened yesterday alongside St. Jerome’s Church on Newkirk Avenue.
Lawmakers, employees and customers all agree it will be a boost to the community.
"This is a youth farmer’s market and the idea here is to bring good
food, economic literacy and also a sense of empowerment that people can
take control of their own lives and their own health,” said State
Senate member Kevin Parker.
"Instead of having to go give your money to all these companies who
are giving all these fast foods and all these fatty foods that are
killing you quickly, it’s time for you to take the stand and do what
you have to do and take a stand for yourself and start to eat right,”
said farmer’s market staff member Tamika Daniel.
Along with fresh locally grown produce, the stand will feature healthy cooking demonstrations and workshops on nutrition.
GREENJEANS IS GONNA BE ON TV:
Amy Shaw and Jae Kim, owners of Park Slope’s Greenjeans (and bloggers), will be featured on the CBS Early Show on August 29th. The shop, on Seventh Avenue near 16th Street, features traditional and new wave craft items from all around the world. They have 100% toxin-free wooden toys made by Frank Ridley’s Different Drummer Workshop.
"Every single toy is handmade by Frank in his barn workshop in the woods
of Solon, Maine. The toys are solid Maine pine and maple sanded smooth
with no varnish, paint, or any other finish on them, so kids can play
(and chew!) to their heart’s content with no risk of lead poisoning or
exposure to harmful chemicals," writes Amy and Jae on their blog.
Tune in to the The Early Show on CBS on August 29th to catch a relationship piece about husband-and-wife business partners featuring me and Jae!
It
all happened very quickly, and quite out of the blue, (and no we don’t
have a publicist!). Last week, we got an email from a woman named Amy Kean
asking if we are a couple in business together with the words "CBS
Early Show" in the subject line. Thinking it might be spam, I replied
"Yes!" and figured that was it. But within minutes Amy called the shop
and talked to a very surprised Jae, whom I hadn’t told about the email
yet. It all sounded legit and kinda fun, and the next thing we knew, we
had made a date for CBS to come to our very not-unpacked-yet apartment
(we moved a couple weeks ago) for an interview!Amy had found
out about us by googling "brooklyn entrepreneur husband and wife" and
finding Shawn Liu’s recent interview with us for his small business
blog, Hear, Hear.
She said that she’d considered asking some higher-profile husbands and
wives in business, but decided she’d rather go with someone who hadn’t
had as much publicity yet. How lucky is that?!
SUMMER DAYS, SUMMER NIGHTS ARE GONE
This post, from Brooklyn Beat, covers a lot of turf: the end of summer blues, school shopping at Staples, Big Pink, and meeting Uma Thurman.
"Summer days, summer nights are gone..
I know a place where there’s something going on"
–"Summer Days" by Bob Dylan from LOVE AND THEFTWe made our annual pre-first day of school pilgrimage to Staples to
start loading up on school supplies and generally to begin our familial
reality testing as to the fact that those lazy crazy hazy days of
summer are dwindling down to a precious few..Our older daughter is already back at college and our younger kids got
their school lists in June and this weekend we started to gather
folders, notebooks, pens, graph paper, etc. I think we do this every
year — we like everyone else apparently, try to go the week before
school begins to start to get some supplies (I think it helps the kids
deal with some of their back-to-school anxiety), but so does eveyone
else and the store was quite jammed. I always think of the Staples TV
commercial that my late Dad adored, and I guess I do too, which is the
middle aged guy whooping it up, swinging around the aisles with a
shopping cart, while the holiday tune "It’s the Most Wonderful Time of
the Year" plays in the background. He is followed by his drooping kids,
despairing at the return of Fall and homework..Since we are an edu-ma-cation centered home, my wife also begins to
enter the mourning mode in mid August. She bought a copy of "How to Get
Along at Work with People You Hate" and a magazine on ideas for
starting home businesses..She is a special education art teacher who
works with special needs kids (primarily autistic and emotionally
disabled).. She loves working with her students, her students do
amazing work and have won numerous arts awards, but like anyone who is
employed in a large organization, the adults often pose the greater
challenges.Anyway, we were remembering a fantastic summer a few years back. We had
rented a place in Bearsville NY, a lovely little home with the Esopus
running through the backyard. The kids were younger, 4 years through 11
years I guess. I work year round so we spent a few weeks up there and
then went up every other weekend that we could.The kids had a great
time. We were relaxing but in the process of selling our first home in
Clinton Hill and buying our current place in Flatbush. But in between
the phone calls, faxes and Fed Exes, we enjoyed our summer in the
country. We went to a concert at the old Woodstock site near
Monticello. We saw great outdoor theatre— "Rip van Winkle" featuring
giant puppets. My son and I searched the back roads nearby until we
found Big Pink, where Bob Dylan and the Band recorded the legendary
Basement Tapes in 1967. As a matter of fact, less than mile away, on
Stoll Road, Bob Dylan had had his mythic motorpsycho accident in 1966.
Our next door neighbors, including a volunteer fireman were wonderful
and we went with them to the 4th of July parade in town. We loved that
summer. Wading in the Esopus, visiting the town.Speaking of puppets, one day that summer, we went to the Woodstock
Library. I had a NYPL card and we were able to get a Woodstock Library
Card and visited often. They always have amazing used book sales at the
library and we have picked up many gems over the years. Everyone was
very friendly. Anyway, we were browsing around the library and a young
guy came in with his daughter. Our kids were in the childrens’ oom
looking at books and playing with kids toys. The young dad, a little
grungy but very friendly, started doing a puppet show for his daughter
and our kids. Mostly kid-talk with puppets. I recognized the dad
immediately. Suddenly, the mom shows up in a granny dress with
heavy-framed glasses. "Ethan, we gotta go". And that’s how our kids met
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. My wife and I were polite and cordial but
frankly starstruck. The librarian lady said "Your kids had a very
famous playmate". My son (you might remember him, the 16 year old
autograph hound, who, by the way, this summer completed a film that was
shown last week at the NYC Summer Arts Institute at the Tribeca Film
Institute) still hocks me for not getting an autograph
JOSH AND HENRY MILLER AT THE COMMUNITY BOOKSTORE
I do love Josh Millstein’s updates about the à la Modern book club at the Community Bookstore. It’s fun to participate vicariously and even plan on attending. That never quite happens. But it feels oh so civilized. And Josh sounds like such a nice guy.
Hello all,The à la Modern had another
wonderful meeting last Wednesday night. We’ve also decided to move on
from war and death to unadulterated you-know-what in the form of Henry
Miller’s Tropic of Cancer.Our next meeting will be on
Wednesday, September 26th at 7:30. I, unfortunately, won’t be able to
make it, but somebody from the bookstore will be there to moderate the
discussion. Or, if that’s not possible, we’ll drag in a random person
off the street and force him/her to do it. I do hope you’ll be able to
make it. It should be a very interesting discussion, to say the least.Hope you are all well.Take care,
Josh
FREE SLICE OF CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH EVERY BOOK PURCHASE: COCOA BAR ON WEDNESDAY
Lynn Harris emailed me. Her book, Death by Chicklit, is so much fun. And to add to the fun, if you buy a copy at her Cocoa Bar reading this Wednesday you get a free slice of Death by Chocolate cake.
I am so there. Weight Watchers diet and all. It is the day after my birthday and I deserve a slice of chocolate cake!! Here’s more info:
Lynn Harris reads from the set-in-Brooklyn DEATH BY CHICK LIT at Park Slope’s vice-tastic Cocoa Bar (chocolate, wine, and coffee!)
228 7th Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets, BrooklynWednesday, August 29, 8 PMsubway: F to 7th Ave. (for other train info, ask me)
Free slice of DEATH BY CHOCOLATE with every book purchase!Book sales provided by Community Bookstorewww.lynnharris.netwww.deathbychicklit.com•"Brilliant"* — New York"A fun summer read" — People
EAT DRINK MEMORY: IT’S ALL ABOUT KURD
Mrs. Cleavage (aka Saucy Tart) just called to invite me to her luscious garden for a BBQ. You can imagine that I am quite excited to attend one of her BBQs because she is such a good cook. Hepcat will be sure to take pictures of her lovely jardin.
Check out her food blog, Eat, Drink, Memory. I linked to it a few weeks ago but the link was wrong. Sorry about that. But check out her blog (with the correct URL) for a recipe for yummy yogurt.
Great-Aunty, who is younger than myself, whipped out a huge bowl of
kurd. That’s yogurt to you all. And it looked so good and so fresh
and I asked: where did you find this fresh kurd.She made it.
Unh-huh. She made it. With whole milk and a bit of plain yogurt as
a starter. It was superb. Naturally, I who pay $3 for a dinky
container of Fage had to know the secret. And even now, as I type,
kurd is curdling in my kitchen.
STATE COMPTROLLER BLASTS MTA FARE HIKE
Transit riders might not have to pony up more for their commute after all.
That’s the word from state comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who is releasing a report today blasting the MTA’s proposed fare increase.
DiNapoli says the MTA should wait to see how much money it will get
from the mayor’s congestion pricing plan and Governor Eliot Spitzer’s
upcoming budget.The MTA announced last month that it would seek a rate hike to close what it expects to be an $800 million deficit.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
AFTER THE JUMP: SATURDAY IN GREENPOINT
I got this note from one of the organizers of the After the Jump Festival that’s happening today in Greenpoint. Alas, we won’t be able to make it as we’re in California. But it sounds like a great show.
Hi Louise,
I know you’re a big music fan, (I thought that Feist album was great
too), if you could post about this Brooklyn event that I am helping
organize, I’d really appreciate it.The After The Jump Festival is an all day concert being thrown by 22 New York music bloggers at Studio B (in Greenpoint) on August 25th (tomorrow).
Your son might enjoy the lineup of daytime bands (there are lots of local Brooklyn bands on the bill).
Please check out our website for all the information,
www.afterthejumpfest.com.
AU CONTRAIRE: PETER LOFFREDO ON HOMEWORK
Our pal Peter is quoted in an article by Maura Kelly about excessive amounts of homework in a recent issue of Time out Kids.
Kids have always complained (and complained) about homework overload.
But these days, parents are joining the fray. Take Peter Loffredo, a
52-year-old psychotherapist from Park Slope, whose nine-year-old son,
Bennett, often ends up in tears as he struggles to finish his spelling,
math or reading assignments—all of which take him an hour, on average,
to complete. “Imagine if you had to spend 60 minutes on taxes every
night,” says Loffredo. “Bennett rides the bus for an hour and then has
to find time for dinner and a bath before going to bed—there’s no time
for him to do much else besides hit the books. A playdate shoots the
whole schedule.” Loffredo fears that Bennett’s missing out not only on
social time but also on creative pursuits, like playing guitar. “The
imaginative side of the learning process is being stinted,” he says.Fed up, he recently put Bennett on the waiting list for the Brooklyn
Free School—a Park Slope institution that doesn’t give its students
compulsory homework assignments. Founded in 2004 by Alan Berger, a
certified New York high school teacher and former assistant principal
who became disenchanted with the way curricula were being designed, the
school allows children to seek out knowledge on topics they’re curious
about; each student has a personalized, self-directed learning
experience…
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