FREE GIFT BAGS FROM BABELAND PLUS FREE WINE AND REFRESHMENTS!

This year’s line up includes Elizabeth Laura Nelson, Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Nicole Callihan, Karen Ritter, Jezra Kaye and special guests!

So what is an Edgy Mom?

She’s feisty and fun and a little bit zany. She whines to her friends and can be a bit of a martyr. She fantasizes about taking long trips without her children. She lets her kids have dessert before dinner and reheated pizza for breakfast. And she NEVER remembers to bring Cheeros or tissues to the playground. Except when she does and then she feels victorious.

Her kids have seen her fight, yell at her mother, and curse her sister on the phone. They’ve watched her cry. More than once. She’s been know to throw away her children’s old toys and art supplies when they’re not around. And then pretend she doesn’t know where they are when they ask.

And she knows not to miss Edgy Moms on May 10th because it’s gonna be a blast and the wine is free.

Jezra Kaye is the author of the novel, The Tattooed Heart, Rebel Heart, a Civil War romance novella and Kicking: Love Poems. She runs Speech for Success and has been a Fortune 500 speechwriter. Before that, she was a jazz singer and bandleader (she is a proud graduate of New England Conservatory of Music), and supported her jazz habit by working as a secretary,  a house cleaner, an accounts receivable clerk at J.C. Penney’s, a singing waitress, and an  overnight typist at the Brooklyn Supreme Court. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, and is the mother of an adult daughter.

Elizabeth Laura Nelson writes for xoJane. She lives in Brooklyn with two daughters and no dog, in spite of the fact that she promised her girls they’d get one. She writes, bakes, runs half-marathons, and spends many hours underground, getting herself and her children all the places they need to be. She is doing the best she can at any given moment. She’s getting that dog just as soon as she can.

Karen Ritter has spent decades in the advertising trenches, crafting copy for Dunkin’ Donuts and Weight Watchers. Faced with the task of persuading some people to gain weight and others to lose it eventually created a psychic split. Seeking refuge in fiction, Karen has completed one novel, Living With Men, and embarked on a second, The Other Ingrid Bergman. A mother of one, Karen is still traumatized by the autobiographical novel her own mother self-published nearly 35 years ago.

Nicole Callihan writes poems, stories and essays. Her work has appeared in Painted Bride Quarterly, Salt Hill, New York Quarterly, North American Review and cream city review and has been translated into German and Spanish. A finalist for the Iowa Review’s Award for Literary Nonfiction, she was named as Notable Reading for Best American Non-required Reading and awarded Best of the Net 2010 for fiction.

Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer is a surfer, a runner, a writer and married to a nice Jewish boy named Seth. They are raising three kids in a big old beach house in Rockaway Beach, New York around the corner from Mildred and Irvin, her darling in-laws. Sounds like a sitcom, doesn’t it? She also runs the Queens Arts Council and is a grantmaker by profession, a writer by confession.

EXPERIENCE Brooklyn Reading Works, the reading series that has been called “The best place to chase fiction with a bit of history” by Conde Nast Traveler.  ”Once a month you can hear writers discuss themes ranging from “Make Mine a Double” – on women and  drinking –  to books by war veterans.”

BRW is a great night out for anyone who wants to be entertained and enlightened by acclaimed and emerging authors, and meet others who enjoy the same.

A $5 donation includes refreshments and wine.

New Location:

TWO MOON ART HOUSE AND CAFE

315 Fourth Avenue between 3rd and 2nd Streets

Brooklyn,  NY 11215

718-499-0460

FREE GIFT BAGS FROM BABELAND PLUS FREE WINE AND REFRESHMENTS!

This year’s line up includes Elizabeth Laura Nelson, Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Nicole Callihan, Karen Ritter, Jezra Kaye and special guest Michele Madigan Somerville.

So what is an Edgy Mom?

She’s feisty and fun and a little bit zany. She whines to her friends and can be a bit of a martyr. She fantasizes about taking long trips without her children. She lets her kids have dessert before dinner and reheated pizza for breakfast. And she NEVER remembers to bring Cheeros or tissues to the playground. Except when she does and then she feels victorious.

Her kids have seen her fight, yell at her mother, and curse her sister on the phone. They’ve watched her cry. More than once. She’s been know to throw away her children’s old toys and art supplies when they’re not around. And then pretend she doesn’t know where they are when they ask.

And she knows not to miss Edgy Moms on May 10th because it’s gonna be a blast and the wine is free.

THIS YEAR’S EDGY MOMS:

Jezra Kaye is the author of the novel, The Tattooed Heart, Rebel Heart, a Civil War romance novella and Kicking: Love Poems. She runs Speech for Success and has been a Fortune 500 speechwriter. Before that, she was a jazz singer and bandleader (she is a proud graduate of New England Conservatory of Music), and supported her jazz habit by working as a secretary, a house cleaner, an accounts receivable clerk at J.C. Penney’s, a singing waitress, and an overnight typist at the Brooklyn Supreme Court. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, and is the mother of an adult daughter.

Elizabeth Laura Nelson writes for xoJane. She lives in Brooklyn with two daughters and no dog, in spite of the fact that she promised her girls they’d get one. She writes, bakes, runs half-marathons, and spends many hours underground, getting herself and her children all the places they need to be. She is doing the best she can at any given moment. She’s getting that dog just as soon as she can.

Karen Ritter has spent decades in the advertising trenches, crafting copy for Dunkin’ Donuts and Weight Watchers. Faced with the task of persuading some people to gain weight and others to lose it eventually created a psychic split. Seeking refuge in fiction, Karen has completed one novel, Living With Men, and embarked on a second, The Other Ingrid Bergman. A mother of one, Karen is still traumatized by the autobiographical novel her own mother self-published nearly 35 years ago.

Nicole Callihan writes poems, stories and essays. Her work has appeared in Painted Bride Quarterly, Salt Hill, New York Quarterly, North American Review and cream city review and has been translated into German and Spanish. A finalist for the Iowa Review’s Award for Literary Nonfiction, she was named as Notable Reading for Best American Non-required Reading and awarded Best of the Net 2010 for fiction.

Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer is a surfer, a runner, a writer and married to a nice Jewish boy named Seth. They are raising three kids in a big old beach house in Rockaway Beach, New York around the corner from Mildred and Irvin, her darling in-laws. Sounds like a sitcom, doesn’t it? She also runs the Queens Arts Council and is a grantmaker by profession, a writer by confession.

EXPERIENCE Brooklyn Reading Works, the reading series that has been called “The best place to chase fiction with a bit of history” by Conde Nast Traveler. ”Once a month you can hear writers discuss themes ranging from “Make Mine a Double” – on women and drinking – to books by war veterans.”

BRW is a great night out for anyone who wants to be entertained and enlightened by acclaimed and emerging authors, and meet others who enjoy the same.
A $5 donation includes refreshments and wine.

TWO MOON ART HOUSE AND CAFE

315 Fourth Avenue (between 3rd and 2nd Streets)

Brooklyn, NY 11215

718-499-0460

For information and interviews louise_crawford@yahoo.com or 718-288

The Community Bookstore and 3RingPress invite you to celebrate the launch of two new novels, The Tattooed Heart, by Jezra Kaye, and Come From Nowhere, by Ellen Greenfield.  Toast these books and hear excerpts read by the authors, who will be available to sign copies.

At the start of the AIDS epidemic, Gracie—a hard-luck girl with a haunting secret—loses her best friend and lover, Marcus. But just before he dies, Marcus makes her promise to bear a child in his memory. He knows she’ll need someone to live for when he’s gone.  But he can’t know how tough and twisted Gracie’s journey will become. The Tattooed Heart has been called “a wild road trip through the American West, fueled by anger and loss.  Gracie’s is the tough and tender voice you won’t be able to get out of your head.”

Come From Nowhere has been called a love letter to New York City and all of its varied inhabitants.  “The seven characters we meet at the onset of this remarkable novel, each wrapped in her own particular music, are soon to experience the sudden arrival of darkness—New York City’s two-day black out of summer, 1977—and the subsequent transformation of everything.  Written with grace and perceptive intelligence, the narrative that follows is humane, mysterious, tragic, compelling and beautiful.” Chuck Wachtel, author of the novels 3/03, The Gates, and Joe The Engineer.

So I’m starting a new business. It’s called Brooklyn Social Media. Check me out on Facebook and LIKE ME.

If you wanna LIKE ME.

Back in 2004 I was a blogging pioneer. I launched a blog before anyone knew what a blog was. Sure, some people did but most people said, “What’s a blog and why should I care?”

Others thought it was a great way to waste time.

I proved them wrong and made them care with Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, a popular hyper-local blog for people who are addicted to where they live. Since 2004, I have posted 14,322 posts on OTBKB.

Soon, OTBKB had awesome reach. Lots of people were reading it. The New York Times, Crains New York, loads of blogs wrote about me. I had a weekly column in the Brooklyn Paper. I was interviewed by Brian Leherer, WNBC, Channel 12. I was recognized on the street. Entrepreneurs, artists and businesses barraged me with information about what they were up to because:

I was viewed as a major INFLUENCER.

In 2005, I was inspired to spread the blogging gospel and I founded the Brooklyn Blogfest, an annual networking event for bloggers and entrepreneurs. For six years I ran that event with passion and LOVE. I look back with pleasure and pride at that large community that came together year after year —and the many people who found each other there and made interesting and creative connections.

Interesting and creative connections: Isn’t that what’s it’s all about?

In 2010, the event was sponsored by Absolut  Vodka, who chose the Brooklyn Blogfest as a perfect launch pad for their new product, Absolut Brooklyn.

Flash forward to 2012: I have decided to share my blogging and social media expertise with those in need. My fees are flexible and affordable. I have resources up the wazoo and if I can’t do it I know who can. AND, I’m offering a free first consultation so get in touch if you’d like my input and ideas.

So why the name? Because Brooklyn is the social media capital of the world. When it comes to blogging, there are more blogs in Brooklyn than anywhere else in the world (statistic from outside.in and Steven Berlin Johnson).

It started in Brooklyn and I tip my hat to this borough and it’s  pioneering influence on blogging and social media.

So here’s my pitch:

Let me help you spread the word about your business, your event, your product, your new book, your non-profit, your…

There are numerous ways I can help you:

–A conversation about goals, strategy and first steps

–Lessons or coaching sessions (i.e. what is all this overwhelming social media stuff anyway and what does it mean for me?)

–Consultation (brainstorming and creative direction)

–BSM can design and/or write a blog or website for you;  Create a Facebook, Google+ or Twitter presence

–BSM can write email newsletters, press releases, copy and advertising

The takeaway: BROOKLYN SOCIAL MEDIA will develop smart, well-directed social media campaigns which build relationships and reach influencers.

Oh yeah. Here’s my  motto:

Quality + Trust + Authenticity = Brooklyn Social Media

People wondered why I aspired to be a court reporter.

Well, it’s a long story. Suffice it to say, I had my reasons. Economic, mostly.

I was on the subway one day thinking to myself: How can I make a nice, dependable income? and for some reason I  remembered the stenographer I observed seven years ago when I was on jury duty. I recalled her flying fingers and the graceful way she handled the long, thin sheets of paper.

How does someone get a job doing that?

Mind you, I didn’t realize that stenography was its own language. I didn’t realize court reporters type 220 works per minute and that it’s nothing like typing.

That said, I forged ahead. Thanks to Google, I found the only court reporting school in Manhattan and spoke with a nice woman in the admissions office. The next week I met with her at the school on Park Place in Manhattan. First impressions: Who were all these young women (and a few men) with black rolling suitcases?

There was a crowd of people – very young people of all sizes, shapes and colors –  smoking cigarettes outside the building. I noticed a few people my age but mostly it was a sea of young women just out of high school and college.

The admissions woman told me the training would take about a year to complete training if I was very motivated. She assured me that there were plenty of jobs in the field and that court reporting jobs—freelance and salaried—are very well paid (both statements are true). To train for this lucrative profession, I would need to buy or rent a machine and get one of those rolling suitcases I observed outside.

Of course, I assumed I was the motivated type and it wouldn’t take clever me long to reach the stratospheric speeds required of a court reporter. She showed me the stenography machine with its black keys. It didn’t look a thing like a typewriter but I was undeterred. I imagined myself in a cute suit working in a court room from nine to five. A regular paycheck, health insurance, benefits and all the rest.

This was in  October of 2010. I filled out an application, sent for my college transcripts, filled out the necessary forms and prepared to begin training in February of 2011. Admittedly it was a strange and out-of-character thing to do. I didn’t know anyone who was a court reporter but the idea of making a decent  income and all the courtroom stories I would hear sounded great.

And to be a scribe? Wasn’t that like being a writer?

You can read the epic live-tweeting of last night’s Park Slope Coop meeting here.

There really is a fine art to great tweeting.

Just yesterday I was telling my son and his friend how great the coop is. She’s a vegan and I know she’d love the food. Maybe this will inspire them to join. The general meetings are such high entertainment.

Curated by author Sophia Romero (The Shiska from Manila), IN THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON includes a Brooklyn Poet Laureate, a playwright, and three novelist, all of whom will read excerpts from their latest work. A Q&A will follow the reading.

You won’t want to miss Brooklyn Poet Laureate Tina Chang, Novelists Susan Choi, Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer and Sabina Meyer and playwright Linda Faigao-Hall.

A $5 donation includes light refreshments and wine.

The Old Stone House, 336 Third Street. Between Fifth and Fourth Avenues. Due to construction in the park, enter from the Fourth Avenue side of the house.

2011-2012 BRW SEASON

September 15, 2011: Italian Americans: History, Politics and the Everyday curated by Joanna Clapps Herman

October 6, 2011: Tranformations on the Tongue curated by Pat Smith

November 17, 2011: Make Mine a Double (Why Women Like Us Like to Drink) curated by Gina Barreca

January 19, 2012: The Truth and the Ghostwriter curated by John Guidry

February 16, 2012: New Plays by Brooklyn Playwrights curated by Rosemary Moore

March 15, 2012: The Year of the Dragon: Voices from the East curated by Sophia Romero

April 19, 2012: Funny Pages: An Evening of  Humor curated by Marian Fontana

May 10, 2012: Edgy Mother’s Day curated by Louise Crawford and Sophia Romero

A few months ago I ran into one of the organizers and she thanked me for all the times I listed that event, which is in its 19th year. I thanked her and we conversed very pleasantly; I told her that I was no longer blogging. .

Suprise. I am blogging. But as I tell people, I’m not doing hyper-local anymore. However, because she was so nice. Because I have a soft spot for people who thank me. Because I like book sales…

I am doing this shout out for this very worthwhile event.   Did I mention I have a soft spot for worthwhile events…

That’s what got me into this mess/blog in the first place

I needed a break.

The Internet feels like a new place just a few months later. 140 character tweets are really the currency of  the social media world right now. Yet, blogging doesn’t seem to have any less relevance. Scouting about, I discovered a world of blogs on xoJane and elsewhere.

And a world of comments. This week on xoJane, a blogger named Daisy is getting hammered for an interview she did with Tucker Max followed by a post she wrote called You Guys Hurt My Stupid F*cking Feelings, followed by an even sillier post she wrote called 14 Ways to Make Guys Love You (From the Girl Who Lives and Breathes It).

There were aspects of the You Guys Hurt My F*cking Feelings post that I related to. Back in my days of endless blogging, I would get hurt by comments on OTBKB and at the Brooklyn Paper. I forced myself to get a tough skin and to avoid comments. I see that Daisy is just now learning that important lesson.

I’ll be honest: There are times I don’t read the comments. It’s not worth the stress/anger/anguish. But mostly, I try to read them because I think you deserve that. And that it’s sort of part of an unspoken “deal” we have on this site.

That is: You took the time to read my piece (although not everyone does, which is also obvious), so I should check out what you have to say. I’ve been doing that for 10 months. But I think going forward? I might be do less of it.

Despite that insight, she decided to write a really snarky, sarcastic post that left a lot of her readers feeling insulted, which can happen when you take the opinion of a few commenters to be the opinion of your entire readership. That’s a mistake because it’s usually the people who disagree with you who make comments. Those who like what you’re doing don’t bother to say anything. If you decide to fight back it makes for some very defensive and not altogether pleasant writing.

So, I dunno if you guys, like, totally heard, or what, but word on the street is: I’m only in it to impress dudes. I know, right? Apparently I’m so concerned about doing this that I don’t even care if I totally throw other chicks under the bus. I don’t know why this is a big deal, or whatever, because, um, hel-lo! Boys are the best! They have, like, money and stuff to pay for my drinks. And penises! And obviously all of my daddy issues mean that I’m basically nothing unless men pay attention to ME ME ME ME ME.

One gets the feeling that the writer is either having a very public meltdown or she’s further milking the site for all the attention she craves. Here’s an example of one of the many comments she got from outraged readers:

I replied earlier but wanted to reply directly to you as well. No one is taking you seriously at this point, Daisy. It might be all in good fun for you, but it wasn’t fun for me. As a reader and xojane commenter (who did not comment on the two articles preceding this one), this made me feel…trying to find the right word…kind of unwelcome. Even though I didn’t comment on your other pieces and thought some comments were harsh, there were constructively critical comments that I did agree with and I read this piece feeling like I was swimming in passive-aggressive hostility.

And perhaps because I’m reading this as an editor too…I just want to red pen the last three pieces you’ve written and tell you to be an adult. It’s fine to provoke dialogue, but making your readers feel like shit is another thing entirely.

xoJane is an interesting place. The enormously popular site’s tagline  is “Where women go when they are feeling selfish and their selfishness is applauded.” Obviously that tag line is just dripping with irony or quotation marks. But the site truly is a haven for over-sharing and over-telling.  There’s a column called It Happened to Me, which  features stories like My Father Tried to Kill My Whole Family, My Father Disinherited Me (a beautiful and heartbreaking piece written by my friend Elizabeth Nelson), I Had My Third Nipple Removed, I Am in a Sexless Marriage and so on.

xoJane is actually a fascinating place to spend some time. That said,  it does remind me how dangerous a place the Internet can be. The on-going cycle of over-sharing as a means for attention can be pretty scary. And it reminds me of why I needed to take a break from my own blog back in September. Thick skin is the name of the game but so is careful and constructive writing with something compelling to say.

]]> http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/02/23/postcard-from-the-slope-thawts/feed/ 0 http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/02/20/postcard-from-the-slope-a-conversation-with-otbkb/ http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/02/20/postcard-from-the-slope-a-conversation-with-otbkb/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:37:44 +0000 admin http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/?p=28913 Taking a break from this blog was like a separation from a long marriage. Seven years and I needed a breather. It was my seven year itch, my seventh inning  stretch.

My hiatus began last June. But I’d been flagging since I began training to be a court reporter in February of 2011. In July, I embarked on a trip to Europe and I knew that I wouldn’t be writing from there. So the timing seemed right.

Indeed, it was well-timed and necessary separation from life with OTBKB. Here’s what I wrote on September 13, 2011:

Last Spring, for the first time in a very long time, I just couldn’t find the time, the will, or the interest to blog.  Because I was in school, OTBKB wasn’t the primary thing I was doing; I felt I had to step away to make room for the new. Stepping away was actually easier than I imagined it would be. I was spending more and more time in Manhattan and my non-stop attention to Brooklyn was waning

Marital separations can go one of two ways. In the best case scenario, they provide much needed time for solo reflection and a chance to explore what went wrong—and what went right.

They can also herald the end of a marriage.

Well, I’ve had my time away from the blog and I find myself kinda sorta missing it. I miss the daily discipline of it, the outlet for creative expression, the readers, the community connection, the ability to promote Brooklyn Reading Works and other local events.

So I decided that me and OTBKB needed to get together for coffee and talk about getting back together.  And that’s exactly what we did. We met at the Purity Diner in Park Slope. I had a cup of coffee, OTBKB was fine with just a glass of water. The conversation went like this.

Me: I miss you.

OTBKB: I miss you, too.

Me: I want to get back together. But in a different way.

OTBKB: What do you mean?

Me: Well, I want to be together but not like before. I need some space, some boundaries, some time for myself.

OTBKB: Does that mean that we shouldn’t live together?

Me: Not exactly. It’s just that I can’t post as often as I did. I can’t spend most of my day typing away on a hot computer (like at a hot stove) working on posts. I need to do some of my own writing, I need to make money, I need to do other things, too.

OTBKB: I understand…

Me: You do?

OTBKB: Sure, I could see that you were losing interest, that you were tired. That you were frustrated being with me all the time.

Me: Thanks for understanding.

OTBKB: So what do you want to do?

Me: I want to give it a try, again.

OTBKB: Sounds great to me. It’s been kind of  boring lately.

Me: I know.

OTBKB: Let’s not overthink this. Let’s just see what happens.

Me: Now that sounds like a great idea.

OTBKB: Happy Valentines Day, by the way.

Me: You too.