There’s a Brooklyn-wide voter
registration drive this Saturday at the Farmer’s Market in Grand Army
Plaza from 10 am until noon.

Here

      Here I am in the garden laughing
an old woman with heavy breasts
and a nicely mapped face

how did this happen
well that’s who I wanted to be

at last a woman
in the old style sitting
stout thighs apart under
a big skirt grandchild sliding
on off my lap a pleasant
summer perspiration

that’s my old man across the yard
he’s talking to the meter reader
he’s telling him the world’s sad story
how electricity is oil or uranium
and so forth I tell my grandson
run over to your grandpa ask him
to sit beside me for a minute I
am suddenly exhausted by my desire
to kiss his sweet explaining lips.

Grace Paley

An OTBKB reader was at the Brooklyn for Barack event at the Brooklyn Marriott. Here is her detailed and personal report.

I attended with my children. I have not made any final decision about my vote. I have watched my children grow in a time when patriotism is almost a thing of the past. We have tried to keep our heads high as our administration has embarassed us over and over again. We have felt the shame of their actions. I wanted my kids to hear a speaker that is capable of stirring that patriotism. Ronald Regan did it for the Republicans and JFK for the Democrats. I wanted them to know that they can be part of the political process.

Barack Obama is the first candidate that we have seen that is post-Vietnam. For that reason I find his participation fascinating. I think that he is pretty genuine. He is a politician, so I watched with a careful eye to see ‘the real Obama’. For whatever it’s worth, he was an hour and a half late. I was surprised that there was no security, not even a bag check. I knew as I entered that there would be no questions. No seats, no questions, I concluded. While I was waiting I overheard a woman say that she was a paid blogger for the Democratic Party. The man who introduced Obama was a Jamaican man with his son. The man had contributed $25 on his very tight budget, to the campaign and was asked to participate. His son ran around him and popped his face up between the his legs as he was reading. It lightened the stress of the wait and created a warm entry for Obama.

As any speaker has to access their crowd, Barack did just that, opening with a few shots at the Wall Street troubles and at the high salaries. I wondered to myself if he says that to his big contributors. As a Wall Street wife I was disappointed. He later talked about how Americans don’t want to be red and blue, black and white, fancy and plain… they just want to be people. I couldn’t agree more.

He revealed that he hadlived in Park Slope when he was at Columbia. Seems like a very long time ago. He was careful to mention that it was a sublease (so maybe it was in the summer) and that he couldn’t afford it then and certainly can’t afford it now. I rolled my eyes. He reminisced about running on the Promenade and about getting bagels at some place that I’d never heard of. I thought, why would he run on the Promenade when he could run in the park?

He is a great speaker. He touched on all the things that any good Democrat would want to hear. He did not go into depth. The crowd went wild with everything he said. The cheers were sprinkled with church-like shouts of “speak brother” and “we’ve got your back”. I was close to the front so the feeling was intimate. When he finished the people pushed forward to shake his hand and to have books signed, all of which he did at a calm pace with a sincere attitude.

From a speech writing perspective I was surprised that he mentioned along with his intention to find Bin Laden that 3000 people were killed here. I think that this may be fine somewhere else but in New York it wasn’t just 3000 people that were killed. They were our friends and neighbors and relatives.

I honestly don’t think that there is any way that he will be our President- this time. I studied him, watched and listened and the guy seems to be for real. I keep telling myself that he is a politician but I really think that this one might be different. Does different make him right? I don’t know. All I know is that my kids got goose bumps when he spoke and walked away feeling really sparked by his “hope”fulness.

We visited the Winchester Mystery House back in 1987. Before we were married. It was fascinating. It’s about time the kids got to see it.

The house was built in 1884 by a wealthy widow named Sarah L. Winchester. A construction project of such magnitude that it was to occupy the lives of carpenters and craftsmen until her death thirty-eight years later. The Victorian mansion, designed and built by the Winchester Rifle heiress, is filled with so many unexplained oddities, that it has come to be known as the Winchester Mystery House.

Sarah Winchester built a home that is an architectural marvel. Unlike most homes of its era, this 160-room Victorian mansion had modern heating and sewer systems, gas lights that operated by pressing a button, three working elevators, and 47 fireplaces. From rambling roofs and exquisite hand inlaid parquet floors to the gold and silver chandeliers and Tiffany art glass windows, you will be impressed by the staggering amount of creativity, energy, and expense poured into each and every deta

That means dirt cheap prices for books at Seventh Avenue Books, which is closing at the end of the month. The owner wants to move those books — so get on over there an BUY BUY BUY!!!

Seventh Avenue Books is on Seventh Avenue between 3rd and 2nd Streets in Park Slope. Tell him OTBKB sent you…

Hope you find a treasure.

An OTBKB reader was at the Marriott on Wednesday and he sent in a good line by Barack.

I was there!

Obama put on a good show – we heard the old standards, “Americans don’t like to be divided into red states and blue states,” and “this is a movement about the grass roots,” for example. He did bring out a new good line, though, about the question of his experience. “People ask ‘has he got enough experience?'” he said. “Well, nobody had as much experience as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. And look how that turned out.”.

He came across as genuine, a good story teller, and a candidate with his priorities straight.

This show sounds very interesting. Here’s the blurb from the Museum.

Nearly eighty works in a wide range of media by 45 artists examining how the Caribbean is defined, as both a real and an imaginary location, will go on view at the Brooklyn Museum on August 31, 2007. The exhibition, which runs through January 27, 2008, approaches the Caribbean as a uniquely flexible space, where culture and history offer multiple possibilities of interpreting contemporary Caribbean experience. The artists represented have ties to 14 Caribbean nations: Barbados, Cuba, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Monserrat, Nevis, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, Surinane, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Was anyone at the Brooklyn for Obama event last night at the Marriott? Do tell. This from New York 1 about the sold-out fundraiser.

Wednesday night he held a massive fundraiser at the Brooklyn
Marriott. The sold-out event was organized by the group "Brooklyn for
Barack," and tickets went for as little as $15 for students.

Obama spoke about his love for the city and the country.

"Every single place we go it looks like this, people from all walks
of life, you got black folks, white folks, Asian folks, Latino folks,
and Native American folks and disabled folks," said Obama.

This from New York 1:

As home to the country’s largest Caribbean community, Brooklyn is
spear-heading hurricane relief in the wake of Hurricane Dean.

Elected officials and foreign consul generals teamed up Wednesday
to announce an emergency aid campaign to support the devastated
tropical regions.

Lawmakers have designated August 27th through September 3rd as
hurricane relief week, and they are seeking donations of supplies and
money.

"My appeal to Brooklynites is to come on out, make the
contributions at the various drop off points,” said Brooklyn Borough
President Marty Markowitz.

"Demonstrate that spirit of generosity that Brooklyn proudly lays
claim too and help our neighbors in the Caribbean to recover from this
disaster,” said Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham.

New Yorkers can drop off generators, water filters, phone cards,
non-perishable food, soap and other similar items to C.A.P.E on Bedford
Avenue, Dennis Shipping on Utica Avenue, or Laparkan Shipping on Linden
Boulevard. Cash can be sent to the Manhattan consulate offices of
affected countries.

For more information go to http://www.brooklyn-usa.org.

This from New York 1:

Supporters of the city’s only Arab-language public school demanded the
re-instatement of its original principal at a protest outside the
Department of Education Monday.

Earlier this month, Debbie Almontaser resigned from her post at
Khalil Gibran International Academy in Boerum Hill after critics
blasted her for not condemning the use of the word "intifada" on
T-Shirts made by an Arab women’s group.

"Intifada" refers to the Palestinian revolt against the Israeli occupation.

While some critics say the school is a potential radical Islam training ground, supporters dismiss those accusations.

"It represents a gift of vision, a vision of tolerance, of
cooperation, of community understanding,” said Rabbi Michael Feinberg
of the Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition. “That’s what New York
is about, that’s what New York should be about, and that’s certainly
the vision that the academy was based on and founded on.”

“I have to say, I am horrified at the lies and distortions that
have been said about the school,” said Deborah Howard of the planning
team. “There’s not a word of truth in any of it."

Speaking to NY1 Friday, city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein also
defended the school saying religion will be taught only as an academic
subject.

"Sure, if you are in an Arabic school will you learn something
about Islam, and the difference between Shias and Sunnis? Sure, but to
say that’s a religious school is wrong,” said Klein.

The school is set to open September 4th, but no word on whether Almontaser will be reinstated.

By banning stryofoam, New York City can be just like San Francisco and Berkeley, Portland,  Freeport, Maine, Santa Cruz, California,
Santa Monica, California, Sonoma County, California, Malibu, California
and San Clemente, California.

At a meeting today, Council Member Bill de Blasio will introduce legislation to prohibit the use of Styrofoam by City agencies and food establishments.

"It is mind boggling that our City which is becoming a leader on
environmental issues, is still using Styrofoam when we know it is
extremely harmful to our environment and creating massive amounts of
waste. It is unacceptable that the DOE is
using Styrofoam, a substance that once it hits our landfills stays
there forever." De Blasio is quoted as saying in the press release sent by his office today. Here’s the rest of the press release.

Blasio’s bill would ban the use of Styrofoam by all city agencies. The Department of Education (DOE), for example, goes through 850,000 Styrofoam trays a day which add up to over 4 million trays per week and over 153 million per school year. In June, Councilmember de Blasio joined Parents Against Styrofoam in Schools ( P.A.S.S.) to call on the DOE to switch to either reusable plastic trays or trays that are biodegradable.

Polystyrene, more widely known as Styrofoam, is composed of Benzene, Styrene and Ethylene, which are all listed on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s hazardous substance list. Styrofoam is virtually immune to biological decomposition and also resists compacting and therefore, by volume, consumes more landfill space than other types of materials, such as paper. Due to the physical properties of polystyrene foam, the EPA states, "that such materials can also have serious impacts on human health, wildlife, the aquatic environment and the economy."

The legislation will also include a ban on Styrofoam "to-go" containers used by city restaurants and delis. The bill states that "no owner, operator or employee of a food establishment shall place, wrap, or otherwise package food or beverages in packaging made of polystyrene foam or offer for sale food or beverages packed in such material."

Emily Berger’s web site — designed by Good Form Design — is up and running, which means everyone has the opportunity to peruse her paintings and drawings  and learn more about what’s she’s up to. The painting to the left is called "Ninth Street." Her artist statement is written in poetic form.

280 Nevins, Looking West over the Gowanus

Out my window

Click through the photos on Park Slope Street Photography by Lara Wechsler from the last few weeks. They’re really good.

Out here on the farm in California, they remind me of home. Brooklyn isn’t as far away as it seems.

We’ve upgraded AG’s Netflix account from one to three movies at a time and are shuffling through quite a few movies on the cue. Every day I got out to the mailbox to see if a new movie has arrived.

Jesus Camp: A beautifully made and thought-provoking Rorschach of a documentary. Depending on who you are and what your beliefs you’ll see a different movie. The viewpoints portrayed are mostly  exasperating but the kids are charming and the film is riveting.

Conversations with Frank Gehry: Sydney Pollack’s portrait of his architect friend is  full of intimate interviews with Gehry and real insight into his working process. I like the tete a tete between two aging "commercial artists." Watching the Gehry firm at work is also fascinating.

We are expecting Grey Gardens today: A cinema verite documentary by the Maysles about two relatives of Jackie Kennedy who lived poverty in the decomposed splendor of an East Hampton estate.

Hannah and her Sisters and A Scanner Darkly could be arriving, too. Do you have any suggestions?