Persona (introduced by Bibi Anderson)
Shame (introduced by Jonathan Lethem)
Fanny and Alexander (introduced by Pernilla August)
Monthly Archives: November 2007
SWEET MELISSA IN FOOD CHANNEL COMPETITION
Melissa Murphy is the owner of the Zagat-rated Sweet Melissa’s, OTBKB’s favorite patisserie and hang for latte and oatmeal with her sister and friends.
I loved Sweet Melissa’s even before it came to Park Slope; I used to meet a friend for tea there when it was just a tiny store on Court Street in Cobble Hill, which opened in 1998.
What a selection. What incredibly delicious and beautifully presented dessert items. That place just blows me away.
Recently, Murphy competed in the Food Network Challenge: “Edible
Ornaments” which was filmed at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, North Carolina. The resulting show will premiere
at 8 p.m. Nov. 25 on the Food Network.
Murphy was one of four chefs/designers selected from around the county to decorate an 8-foot holiday tree with“Edible Ornaments.”
The contest consisted of three categories: Garlands, Ornaments and Tree Toppers. All had to reflect the show’s theme: Holiday Memories."
Let’s all root for Sweet Melissa’s and watch the show (while eating a Sweet Melissa Pommier or Madeleine) on November 25th (that’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving).
BOTSTEIN ON DOE REPORT CARDS
Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and associated with the Bard High School Early College on Houston Street in Manhattan, which was originally given a C grade, told the New York Times in an interview that the DOE report cards are “reductive” and
“depressing." The DOE is reconsidering Bard’s grade.
The New York Times writes:
"The Bard high school is unique
within the city, as the only high school where all graduates leave with
a two-year associate degree. Nonetheless, Mr. Botstein’s basic argument
is being echoed throughout the city by educators and parents at some
schools that, like his, are nontraditional and high-performing. They
say that while the new rating system, which is driven by standardized
test scores, may be a good way to measure whether schools are imparting
basic knowledge, it is less useful and even harmful on the higher end
of the performance spectrum."
BOTSTEIN QUOTES (as told to the New York Times):
“You
have a system that is broken and that is failing, and they are
desperately trying to improve it. But don’t throw the baby out with the
bath water.
"There are a couple of places, and we’re one of
them, that really do something different and well."
“Not all plants are weeds,” he said, “so why are you spraying insecticide on the whole thing?”
“Let’s say we’re a vegetarian restaurant and you’re telling me our meat
is not good. I’m telling you we don’t serve meat. We’re not in the meat
business.”
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
BERLIN WITHOUT WALLS AROUND TOWN
Don’t miss the tail end of the Station-Wide, Multi-Platform, Full Body Immersion into the Berlin Philharmonic and Its Extraordinary City
Friday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 14, 2007
WNYC salutes Berlin’s re-emergence with "Berlin Without Walls," an unprecedented 13-day multi-media festival celebrating the culture and music scene of this city. "Berlin Without Walls" complements Carnegie Hall’s "Berlin in Lights," an ambitious international festival built around the Berlin Philharmonic’s 17-day residency in New York, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting.
Schedule: A complete schedule of Berlin Without Walls on air programming
Soundcheck on Site: Berlin Blog: Follow Soundcheck in Berlin in a daily blog that gives a behind-the-scenes peek at their musical and cultural adventures.
"Berlin Without Walls" is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This program is also supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
BROOKLYN BEAT RIFFS ON TODD HAYNES’ DYLAN FLICK
For the rest of this review, you’ll have to go to Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn. I am dying to see the movie and enjoyed BB’s review very much.
You might expect that the prospects of seeing the first dramatic film
on Bob Dylan might lead to nothing less than 99% aniticipation. And so
it was, when the lights went down at the screening of I’m Not There by
Todd Haynes , the audience excitment and anticipation was palpable. But
the film itself is not Ray or The Cole Porter Story or Walk the Line.
As much as fans would hope for something that would help unravel, or at
least prepare a Unified Field Theory of Bob Dylan, one must remember
that even his own two films, the 7os release, Renaldo & Clara, and
Masked & Anonymous which he co-wrote with its director, Larry
Charles, (who also directed Borat), merited "Turkey", "Bomb" or zero
stars in the leading film review texts.
IN DEFENSE OF SUFJAN AT BAM
Fans are writing in to say that Sufjan’s show at BAM was great and that Brooklyn Skeptic is just being a, well, a Brooklyn skeptic. Longtime Times’ rock critic, John Pareles, wrote about the show in the Times. But here’s what some readers had to say:
Sabrina writes: Oh, come on! "Blogland" appears to be just one bitter person’s
immature review… or were there others with legitimate critiques?
I thought it was a great show.
Der writes: What did Brooklyn Skeptic expect going to see Sufjan Stevens? If you
don’t know what you’re getting into before going to the concert, don’t
bitch afterwards that it wasn’t what you expected.
I was at the Friday night show. It was a wonderful. The NY Times has
a much more knowledgeable and even-handed review that you can read
here: http://tinyurl.com/22rfml
TO MAYOR BLOOMBERG FROM THE PIGEON ADVOCATE
Here is the letter that the PA sent to Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council members:
The Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Council members:
First off – I should mention one of the best books that have covered the subject of pigeons in many years, the NY Times best seller, “Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird” by Andrew Blechman – You might find it informative and shattering to many of the disease and other myths promoted by the property owners who do not have an interest in finding solutions for pigeon droppings (cleaning them and/or putting simple deterrents).
More importantly, I am writing to let you know that a ban on feeding pigeons is in direct contradiction to what we as New York State licensed wildlife rehabilitators are taught. We must provide a "soft release" for newly rehabilitated birds. This means a reliable source of food for 3 to six weeks after the injured and/or sick bird has been rehabilitated and released. There are at least half a dozen pigeon and city bird rescue groups in New York City . We all volunteer our time, energy and resources to the rescue and rehabilitation of our city friends. We do this for the same reason that vets labor over our sick or injured companion animals – because we care deeply for animals.
Pigeons are domesticated birds brought to this country in the 1600s for pets, racing, and sport ("pigeon shoots" now illegal — simply lining birds up to kill them). Many have either escaped or been abandoned to the streets. They are, in many ways, like stray dogs and cats. They have little or no ability to survive without human help. They are herbivores (seed eaters) and as our city became more industrial — little or no wild seed is to be found. Instead, many happily co existed with people "going to the park to feed the birds" and/or people who noticed they were hungry and threw them a crumb.
When pigeons have no other resource, they end up scavenging in bacteria infested garbage and falling ill. Then rehabilitators (lucky us) get to nurse them back to health.
Pigeons are not migratory birds – they do not travel farther than a ten block radius from where they are born. So, contrary to Councilman Felder’s flippant remark, “They can NOT just go to Jersey .” They won’t. What they will do is breed more quickly and live miserably, and die sooner. Pigeons natural life span is 25 years. Currently in NYC they live (if lucky) 2 years.
The bigger point here is that of human rights. Who has proclaimed that "pigeon haters" have more political rights than "pigeon friendly" people? The term "rats with wings" was coined by exterminator companies who benefited from increased sales. See this link to Colin Jerolmack’s PHD doctorate which explores “the problematization of urban wildlife” and explains how cities changed from pigeon friendly to the current mounting hostility. Suddenly city birds are “out of place.” Who says they are out of place? Why was that not the case only 50 or so years prior? How and why has this changed so drastically and can’t we question whether this may be unjust? Colin’s book will be coming out next year: http://colinjerolmack.com/
Pigeons have nothing in common with disease carrying rodents and we can contract no diseases from them. They carry none of the diseases associated with rats and, unlike rats, they are not meat eating. Therefore, pigeons are never prone to “bite the baby in the unattended crib” — as we’ve all heard the horror stories from the slums over time. So let’s stop the "rats with wings" mantra which supposedly closes the subject.
In fact, we as a culture, have a responsibility to care for these sweet and very exuberant birds — after having spent centuries breeding them for racing — keeping them in domestic situations where they became dependent on being cared for and/or alternately loving, then hating them. There are many people who enjoy having some contact with nature (many of us don’t have the wealth for that second home out on Long Island ) and want to have an integrated urban scape that includes urban wildlife.
Witness Portland Audubon’s program, "Living With Urban Wildlife" and many of the other Audubon sponsored programs. For people interested in actual facts on pigeons, Cornell University has a wonderful program, "Project Pigeon Watch" http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/urbanbirds/ubs_PIWMainEN.html
which has been a huge success with local children and college kids.Human beings have historically demonstrated a need to be connected with nature and with animals. It could be said that for some it is a critical part of their daily life. It should not be a "no brainer" to deny some that satisfaction as if we have no rights in the face of industry or property owners (concerned over damages from pigeon waste). Pigeons cannot survive without human intervention. They resort to garbage and fall ill. They don’t stop reproducing; they just live horrible and miserable lives.
For more information please see:http://nycprc.org/
and alsoWhen pigeons are healthy their waste is not watery at all but more like clay pellets. People who feed pigeons healthy food are actually helping to clean up the streets. We have an interest in living with our urban wildlife; not banishing them from our cities and towns.
The world is fast becoming a place where extinction is happening at break neck pace, we are losing species that will never be recovered. While we have a plethora of birds today, the carrier pigeon and the dodo bird are sobering examples of how milions of birds can become no birds at all.
Where do we start? When do we think that maybe urban planning should be inclusive not only of our buildings, granite, concrete — but parks that enjoy and host squirrels, sparrows, starlings, pigeons — and/or creating better protected areas where these creatures can be safe within our city zones. We are not all of one mind — witness the many organizations and volunteers who care for these critters. Instead of punishing those who have been doing what the state should have long ago – namely manage and care for our diverse urban wildlife; we need to work together to find innovative solutions that reflect all New Yorkers, not just those who have property interests and/or hate pigeons.
See:
http://www.satyamag.com/aug05/clearfield.htmlI would be happy to come to any meetings which might create a forum for those of us who spend all our time patching up the sick and injured city animals – a meeting which might talk about innovative and happy solutions to this issue rather than this menacing “ban.” I work with wildlife experts, rehabilitators and animal advocates – all who have many brilliant plans and strategies for creating an urban landscape that can allow us to live with our urban wildlife rather than decimate what little there remains
LYNN CHANDHOK AT POETRY PUNCH ON THURSDAY
Here is a poem by Lynn Chandhok, who will be participating in Brooklyn Reading Works‘ Poetry Punch at the Old Stone House on Thursday, November 15 at 8 p.m.
Her first book, The View from Zero Bridge, won the 2006 Philip Levine Prize and was published by Anhinga Press in October 2007.
Lynn’s poetry has appeared widely in journals including The New Republic, Tin House, The Antioch Review, The Hudson Review, The Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, and Sewanee Theological Review. 2007.
Order of Magnitude
Brooklyn, 2000
Out too late, on the avenue, I imagine—
or hope for—stars arched over earth like flowers
on darkened branches; satellites that fall
like messengers of old catastrophes;
bright red planets. Any of these would do.
But here, midnight is never broad or black,
the rooflines halve Orion, and the moon
in halo backlights aging cornices.
Once, I climbed switchback paths till trees gave way
to glaciers melting into lakes they fed,
resurfacing as islands, mirror on mirror,
like ice clouds skipping off a soundless sky.
There, nights were brilliant. God seemed plausible.
The cliffs might block the view, the valleys narrow,
but at a turn, it all turned to expanse.
That day, I found myself surrounded, cupped
inside a glacial cradle, while the clouds
unrolled like bolts of quilter’s batting, fell
and hid the sky. I sat alone and cold,
a single goatherd’s bell in hollow choir,
and waited.
Now, walking the avenue,
I know the clouds will lift. I know this too:
Orion cartwheels, vanishing in spring.
And still I find myself imagining
that city lights might falter, or just dim
one night, till constellations in their full
dimension brighten, as in heaven’s view.
That sky might hail some new catastrophe.
At least I’d comprehend its magnitude.
THIS THURSDAY: POETRY PUNCH AT THE OLD STONE HOUSE
BROOKLYN READING WORKS PRESENTS:
POETRY PUNCH: a delicious mix of language
With Poets Lynn Chandhok, Cheryl B, Zaedryn Meade, Marietta Abrams, and
Michele Madigan Somerville
Thursday November 15, at 8 p.m. A
The Old Stone House
Third Street and Fifth Avenue
(it’s the stone house in JJ Byrne Park)
PUNCH AND REFRESHMENTS ARE FREE
with the $5 Donation.
INFO: Louise_crawford(at)yahoo(dot)com
Brooklynreadingworks.com
Theoldstonehouse.org
MEMORIES OF MAILER FROM McBROOKLYN
McBrooklyn remembers Norman Mailer, who died last week at the age of 84. He had a house in Brooklyn Heights. Here’s an excerpt:
"Recommended to McBrooklyn the Mu Shu Chicken at Fortune House on Henry Street. Excellent!"
BROOKLYN TECH UPS ITS GRADE
This from the New York Daily News:
One of the city’s most coveted high schools initially earned a C
under the Education Department’s new grading system but was able to
prove that it really deserved a B, said Randy Asher, the principal of
Brooklyn Technical High School.Even after boosting its grade,
the B still gives Brooklyn Tech the poorest showing so far among nine
top schools where students need high grades or scores to enroll.Seven
other prestigious schools got A’s. An eighth, Bard High School for
Early College in Long Island City [note: it’s on East Houston Street in Manhatta, actually] is still under review.Brooklyn
Tech was one of 23 whose grades were still "under review" last week
when Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein released the
grades.The problem, Asher said, were students whose August
graduations weren’t submitted in time to be counted toward the school’s
graduation rate – a major factor in high school grades…
CALLING ALL QUILT MAKERS: GREENJEANS WANTS YOU!
This winter, Greenjeans is presenting a juried exhibition of small original quilts handmade by quilt-makers working in all styles and techniques.
From the experimental to the traditional, we want to offer a taste of what quiltmaking is today.
Tentatively titled “Sweet Dreams,” the exhibition will also feature new sculpture by Jane Kaufmann around the theme of beds.
The exhibition will be on view February 7 – March 20, 2008, with an opening reception on February 6.
Deadline for submissions is January 15, 2008.
For submission guidelines and full details, click here! And feel free to spread the word!
(Image: photo of quilting fabric sourced here.)
DO PIGEONS DESERVE THIS?
Brooklyn City Councilman Simcha Felder is pushing a bill to ban the
feeding of pigeons throughout the city and add more new garbage cans to
help keep food off the streets and away from the birds."Open garbage cans are like a restaurant for pigeons,” says Felder.
“If you don’t know where to go out to eat that night, I guess a couple
goes out to eat at a local garbage can."Felder says he’s willing to ruffle a few feathers, appointing a
"pigeon czar" to control the city’s pigeon population. He is also
recommending other pigeon-controlling moves like giving the birds
artificial birth control and introducing pigeon-killing animals like
hawks.New Yorker Malick Saho says he like to feed pigeons.
"They come to me like this,” says Saho, demonstrating how the
pigeons perch on his arm for feeding. “I love them like this. So then I
give them something!”If Felder’s bill passes, however, Saho could be slapped with a fine
as high as $1,000 for feeding pigeons peanuts, bread, or anything else
in his pockets or lunch bag."I think New Yorkers tolerate a lot to be able to live here,” says Felder. “They don’t have to be stepped upon and pooped upon."
According to Felder, the average city pigeon is a prolific pooper,
dumping 25 pounds of droppings a year on city sidewalks, bridges, and
the unfortunate shoulder or head.Felder says the droppings not only dirty up the streets, but pose a threat to public health.
While some New Yorkers say pigeons have taken over the city, others say the proposal is for the birds.
"I feel like they’re just rodents with wings,” says one New Yorker.
"I think they’re diseased, filthy and I try not to go near them,” adds another.
"They’re just trying to get by just like everyone else so why can’t they have a snack?" adds a third.
But it would appear the councilman has a bird of a feather in the mayor.
"While I love animals and I love birds, we do have a lot of pigeons
and they do tend to foul a lot of our areas and people would be better
off not feeding the pigeons,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.Last month, Councilman James Oddo recommended birth control to help
cut down on the large number of pigeons at the Staten Island Ferry
Terminal.
PIGEON ADVOCATE: FEED THEM SEED NOT BREAD
Pigeon Advocate sent this post yesterday. She suggests we check out. Save the Pigeons, the London group who cares for
London birds.
Pigeons were brought here (probably not of their
liking) from Europe and do not (like most native birds) eat insects to
survive. How sad for them — we are an insect festival. These birds
were mostly brought here by pigeon fanciers and/or for sport (pigeon
racing) and in fact, pigeons have been used in war (one even got a
medal of honor – Pigeon Joe).Since they are here — we brought them
and then abandoned them to the streets. They used to survive on hay
seed or wild grass seed — but not much of that nowadays. So what do we
do as a community? Allow them to continue to scavange garbage (they do)
and contract diseases (botulism is the most popular) live about one
year, procreate, t hen die? IIn their native environs, pigeons live up
to 15 years. In Brooklyn, they average 2. If they’re lucky. "They’re
here, they’re queer, get used to it?" They are here. Many people love
their enthusiasm for life, their ability to dance with joy at just the
offering of a bread crumb. Contray to your posts, pigeons help rid the
streets of bread crumbs and/or other edibles which helps reduce the
likelihood of rodents.The problem comes when ignorant people leave
hardened bread (they cannot eat, their beaks are very soft) and/or
other horrible garbage in the street. They should issue licenses for
people to leave responsible seed.The city is not comprised solely of
pigeon haters. Witness the nycaudubon.org’s very large membership as
well as the many (over half a dozen) pigeon rescue groups in our town.
Instead of thinking of ways to starve them to death and/or to leave
them tons o’ garbage, perhaps finding a consolidated and responsible
way to have them be a part of our community would make sense. Pigeon
safe islands; and/or other innovative architecture.Wildlife
rehabilitators would love to work together on solutions. For those who
posted that the pigeon advocate (me) needs to get a life. This is my
life. Caring for the lowest of the low. I am in good company. Consult
your bible. Oh, no, now someone will post that I have delusions of
martyrdom. You just can’t win, now can you?
CHARTER SCHOOL IN PARK SLOPE: ELITEST OR SMART?
Siobhan Sheils writes in an editorial in the Daily News (Be Our Guest) that it’s smart for upscale nabes like Park Slope to think about charter school. Let the discussion begin. Here’s an excerpt.
Leafy Park Slope, Brooklyn, full of strollers, dogs and pricey
stores, is the kind of place where you’d expect to find quality public
schools. So it might surprise you to learn that kids in District 15,
which includes Park Slope and surrounding neighborhoods, might be
better served by schools in places like the South Bronx or Harlem.Both
of those neighborhoods feature charter schools that outperformed the
vast majority of schools in District 15 during the 2005-2006 year. KIPP
Academy in the Bronx outscored 13 of the 14 middle schools in District
15. In math, Harlem Village Academy also outperformed all but one of
those schools. Ten District 15 schools had passing rates that were far
below 50% in both subjects.Families in Park Slope out-earn
those in the South Bronx and Harlem by more than 50%. So why don’t the
kids out-learn, or at least keep pace with, their counterparts who
attend quality charter schools in low-income neighborhoods?That,
perhaps, is what Dan Rubenstein and Luyen Chou wanted to know – and may
explain why the two educators wrote a proposal to start Brooklyn
Prospect Charter School, which they hope to open in fall 2009.
BROOKLYN SKEPTIC REVIEWS SUFJAN AT BAM
Okay so I misspelled his name and pissed off some people for putting up a request for tickets. It doesn’t sound like I missed much from what I’m reading in blogland. Here’s an excerpt from Brooklyn Skeptic’s characteristically skeptical take on Steven’s multi-media extravaganza:
Basically, it was like some child was born who had only ever been
exposed to the twee-est of the twee and the indie-est of the indie and
(obviously) learned how to use a super 8 and learned that Brooklyn is
cool and vomited up some stuff. And got a crush on a pretty,
long-haired girl who hula hoops.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
WHAT’S DEGENTRIFICATION? ASK NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Jill Weiskof of New York Magazine emailed me today to say that there’s an article in this week’s New York about Red Hook and the concept of degentrification. Contributing editor Adam Sternbergh examines what happens when gentrification doesn’t follow through as promised, with the prime example being Brooklyn ’s Red Hook. It sounds like one of those New York Magazine exaggerations to me. Whatever. Let the discussion begin. Here’s an excerpt from Sternbergh’s article:
“For the last two years, people in Red Hook have been waiting—some hopefully, some fearfully—for that wave to crash, the hordes to come, the towers to sprout.
Weirdly, though, none of that has happened. In fact, for all the heraldic attention, the neighborhood now seems to be going in reverse. The Pioneer bar has shut down. So has the bistro 360 [I read on Gowanus Lounge that there are signs of life at 360] and, just recently, the live-music venue the Hook.
Buildings put on the market for $2.5 million have stayed empty and unsold. Landlords hoping to get $2,500 a month for a Van Brunt storefront—the rent that Barbara Corcoran was asking—have found no takers. In fact, Corcoran’s spot sat unrented for over two years, until a local business took the space at the cut rate of $1,800 a month. The perception of the neighborhood got bad enough that in August the Post ran a story headlined "Call It ‘Dead’ Hook." Somehow the neighborhood went from "undiscovered paradise" to Dead Hook in just over a year.”
Read more of “The Embers of Gentrification” here.
DO YOU WANT TICKETS TO FALL OUT BOY CONCERT
Does anyone know who they are? A friend writes:
We have 3 Tickets to sell for the Fall Out Boy concert on Wednesday, Nov. 14
at Madison Square Garden at 7 PM.The ticket price was $154 for all three (including the absurd $9.75 service fee
for each).If your kid or anyone you know might want them, please let me know.
I’d be happy to negotiate the price. I’m just hoping not to eat the entire cost and that someone who really would like to go to the concert gets to use them.
Email: louise_crawford(at)yahoo(dot com).
PENGIUNS ON THE EDGE OF AN ICE FLOW: BUY BROOKLYN LAUNCH ON TUESDAY
Community leaders, local businesses and non-profits in Park Slope are launching a Buy in Brooklyn shop local campaign to help support small businesses and the local economy. The kick-off event, geared towards local merchants, is taking place Tuesday, November 13th at the Community Bookstore on Park Slope’s 7th Avenue from 8:00pm-9:30pm. Here’s the PRESS RELEASE.
(Brooklyn, NY) "We take community stewardship seriously, and want to support local entrepreneurs in the face of increasing displacement of locally owned businesses" says Ken Freeman, President of the Park Slope Civic Council whose Buy in Brooklyn shop local message began the campaign. “The character of our neighborhood depends on a diverse mix of businesses.”
He is not alone. City-wide concern around the closing and displacement of small businesses has reached a tipping point. Neighbors across all five boroughs look on with increasing alarm as the doors of some of their favorite local businesses close, only to be replaced by the relative anonymity of chain stores and banks.
Launch organizer and Community Bookstore owner Catherine Bohne likens the context to "penguins on the edge of an ice flow." "People are beginning to voice their concern and jump in," she says, "but here in Park Slope— with the generous support from the Park Slope Civic Council—we’ve been given the means to tap into local concern and pull together a critical mass of partners."
Co-organizer Rebeccah Welch agrees. "This launch has served as a lightening rod for local action," said Welch, adding "the issue resonates deeply in the community and the response has been heartening. There’s a groundswell of energy, a primed coalition of merchants, non-profits and activists who are eager to jump in and try to do something."
Part of the motor behind the shop local campaign is its heart and its neighborliness. "Many of our local merchants are our neighbors and friends—a salient part of the community," argues Melinda Morris, co-organizer and owner of Lion in the Sun. "Local businesses give back to the neighborhood in myriad of ways, far beyond providing goods and services."
But what also makes this movement unique are its expansive goals—to build a coalition of local business owners, non-profits and concerned residents to continue to support small local business and the character of the community through action, events and education.
National research has shown that local businesses are a major source of jobs, innovation, and insight—and Buy in Brooklyn takes its broader campaign message seriously, working with organizations like the Sustainable Business Alliance, NYC (SBANYC) whose principal mission lies in educating the community about the benefits of local, green and sustainable economies.
"Shopping locally is simply good for the economy and overall health of the neighborhood," concurs Freeman. "Every dollar spent locally circulates 3 times in our local economy – it strengthens the entire economy of the neighborhood."
Organizers expect local politicians, merchants, and non-profits to come together and tackle this issue in the wake of the launch. [Stay tuned for the results.] Organizers have already set a date for shop local day on December 13th, sponsored by Seventh Avenue of Chamber Commerce. "We really want to show how shopping locally is easy and helpful," says Bohne, adding "a healthy community is one of the best insurances for the well being of its individual members."
A CZAR TO OUTLAW PIGEON FEEDING?
This just in from the Pigeon Advocate. As you can imagine, she’s apoplectic.
A Czar to outlaw pigeon feeding?
In the
meantime, both the New York Sun and amNY report this morning on a proposal in the City
Council to outlaw feeding pigeons. The proposal comes from Councilman Simcha
Felder, (D-Brooklyn), who will announce a bill today to make it illegal to feed
pigeons. A "pigeon czar" will handle all the pigeon-related
complaints.
CLEVER DOC WANTS TO KNOW: ARE YOU EATING RIGHT?
Here’s the latest from CLEVER DOC. Today she’s wondering if you’re eating right. CLEVER DOC is Dr. Linda Hawes Clever, founder of Renew and an internist who specializes in occupational medicine is one smart lady. This is the 6th of 10 questions she asks as a way to help you re-think your life style and find meaning and vitality in your life. Here are the first five if you missed them:
Do you Laugh Enough?
Are You Still Learning?
How Angry Are You?
Do You Feel Trapped?
Do You Talk to People?
Meals mean more than food.
Eating a reasonable breakfast, for example, tends to decrease our total calories for the day. That is why, strangely, a breakfast banana and bagel (hold the cream cheese) can help us lose weight.
A bag lunch discussion in kindergartens established some practical guideposts. The kids agreed that it was okay to share lunches or exchange lunches but it was not okay to steal lunches. They used mealtime to define real time ethics.
Time was when families gathered and settled in for dinner. Now, well, the table is more like an aircraft carrier with landings and take offs as the family hovers, touches down, scoops up and heads out — maybe checking in with flight control or glancing at TV on the way.
That means trouble because eating together develops a sense of belonging. We transmit news, stories, and values. Studies of teenagers show that frequent family mealtimes are associated with a lower rate of drug use, depression and eating disorders.
Knowing this, one working single mom I know takes her daughter out to dinner four nights a week. They choose a restaurant, pick healthy meals and sashay out, chore free. The mom has no retirement savings but believes her investment in her daughter is more important.
Question #6 spotlights a sensitive time of day. Be honest when you answer.
6. How many sit-down dinners did you have with your family or friends in the past week?
0 (0 points)
1 – 2 (1 point)
3 – 4 (2 points)
5 – 6 (3 points)
6 + (4 points)
TONIGHT AT ROCKY’S IN RED HOOK: DID THE IRISH INVENT SLANG?
Tonight at Rocky’s Readings at Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook:
HOW THE IRISH INVENTED SLANG
The Secret Language of the Crossroads
by Daniel Cassidy
INTRODUCED BY Michael Patrick MacDonald
Special musical guest: Chris Byrne
"A thrilling read… this is a page-turner."
Frank McNally, Irish Times
" This book is truly amazing!"
Eamonn McCann, Belfast Telegraph
In a fast-paced spiel (speal, cutting, sharp speech) of monologues,
stories, and songs, the Brooklyn-born writer and musician Daniel
Cassidy slices through 100 years of Anglo-academic baloney (beal
onna, foolish blather) which claims that the Irish have had no
influence on the American language.
This is no linguistic scam (‘s cam, is a trick, a deception, a
fraud), Cassidy’s jazzy (teasai, pron. jasi, hot, exciting) new book
proves that the Irish language is a hidden strand of the lingo we all
speak today. Ain’t dat swell (sóúil, grand)?
Brooklyn-born writer and musician Daniel Cassidy reads, performs, and
belts out a song or two from his swell snazzy new book, How the Irish
Invented Slang: the Secret Language of the Crossroads, at Rocky’s in
Red Hook, where the old Irish slang was born!
Also this week at Rocky’s:
Every Saturday night, 9 p.m.
Seanchaí and The Unity Squad
Every Wednesday, 9pm
Soul Night with SUGARTIME
Every Thursday, 8:30pm
Pub Quiz with Scott M.X. Turnerr
Saturday & Sunday afternoons
Katie’s Brunch served
Rocky Sullivan’s of Red Hook
34 Van Dyke St
Brooklyn
718-246-1793
ABANDONED CATS IN FLATBUSH BUILDING
I got this email from an OTBKB reader.
I’ve been a long-time reader of your blog and a
never-poster! Finally I have a issue that needs the attention of OTBKB.242 Flatbush Ave. (between
6th and Bergen) has recently been vacated and the previous owners left
a number of cats living on the roof. They are scared and hungry.
I have trapped and taken in one of the cats, but there is currently
another one on the roof. I am willing to trap it and take it to the
home of someone loving who wants to care for this cat. She seems sweet
and is a good groomer!
Relatedly, do you have any good ideas for where to post this
information to possibly get a good foster or adoptive cat parent? I’d
like this cat to be placed in a home this weekend.
AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCASSIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO
Another missive from our pal, Pete.
THIS FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TODAY: "The United States ranks near the bottom for infant survival rates among modernized nations. A Save the Children report last year placed the United States ahead of only Latvia, and tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia."
Latvia?! Shocking? Yes. Shocking. But why is this so, and more importantly, why do we deny it?
I have been writing from a number of different perspectives on the egotistical attitudes overlaying the insidious inadequacies of parenting in the United States. We chronically and tragically do too much of the things children don’t really need, and not enough of what would really benefit them. Yet, our hubris is off the scale. In the worst traditions of American consumerism, we act as if spending the most of any industrialized nation on cool strollers and hip clothes for kids, along with private schooling, nannies and viola lessons, makes us competent parents. Meanwhile we simultaneously remain ambivalent about fully embracing universal health care and alternative – i.e. – preventative – healing practices for our childrens’ physical and emotional well-being.
Furthermore, we absolutely refuse, with a fervor that can only serve to confirm the resistance, to look at the ways in which we use our children for vicarious purposes, seeking to prop up our own fragile self-esteems and personal deficits. I have "listened to" numerous angry tirades on this blog when I suggest that parents should re-examine their reasons for not having fulfilled adulthoods (i.e. – vibrant sex lives and gratifying careers), because they have kids. The negative reactions have totally outweighed the positive reactions to my suggestions that having children past infancy sleep in bed with parents is not good for the kids, and of course, parents have really clammed-up when I’ve challenged them with evidence of the dramatic harm done to kids by labeling them with bogus diagnoses like "ADHD" and giving them drugs as a solution rather than – again – re-examining parenting (and its derivative – teaching).
Last night, I was at a dinner party with a group of parents bemoaning the sullenness towards the parents of their children after they became adolescents. "Doesn’t it basically come down to genes?" was the hopeful cry of many of the guilty-but-not-that-guilty parents, trying desperately to let themselves off the hook. "No, it doesn’t." was my not-too-well-received answer. Genes are merely switches inside of us, of which we have many. It takes chronic assaults, often subtle to the untrained or disinclined eye, to turn on a gene for mental illness, or physical diseases, for that matter. While children are not at all born as "blank slates," the "nature-versus-nurture" debate will only be resoved when we realize that it is both.
What has any of this got to do with our unconscionable infant mortality rate? Everything, because as long as we let doctors, pharmocologists and politicians tell us what we want to hear, instead of learning what need to know to help our children, and challenging ourselves in the ways that make us most uncomfortable, our children will suffer.
Disagree? Blog me at: http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com
SMARTMOM: LIFE LESSONS AT A FUNERAL
Here’s Smartmom from this week’s Brooklyn Paper:
Smartmom’s 84-year-old Uncle Jay died last week and she couldn’t decide whether to take Teen Spirit and the Oh So Feisty One to the funeral.
While he wasn’t a daily part of their lives, they did see Uncle Jay every year at Thanksgiving and at other important family events like weddings and bat-mitzvahs.
A real kid magnet, Uncle Jay was a lovable guy who liked to sing, make pictures and tell stories.
OSFO would probably remember what a good artist he was. He loved to entertain his young relatives by drawing Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters.
And Teen Spirit would probably remember Jay’s stories about his cousin, jazz drummer Buddy Rich.
When she told Teen Spirit that Uncle Jay had died, he seemed very sad. But when she asked if he wanted to go to the funeral, he looked pained.
“I hate funerals,” he told her.
But as far as Smartmom could remember, he’d never been to one.
“I went to Uncle John’s,” he said.
Fact is, Teen Spirit didn’t actually attend the memorial for Hepcat’s Uncle John. But he probably heard so much about it that he thought he had been there.
Teen Spirit, like many people, probably just hates the idea of funerals and what they represent. Death. Loss. Grief.
What’s to like, really?
Smartmom gave the matter a good deal of thought and decided there was no need to force Teen Spirit or OSFO to go to her uncle’s funeral.
So, on what turned out to be the Mexican Day of the Dead, Smartmom and Hepcat went to the funeral of her Uncle Jay without their children.
Smartmom felt a little funny about it. She even felt a little guilty (what a surprise). Was it disrespectful not to bring them? For that matter, was she depriving them of an important life experience?
That was a good question. Smartmom went to a cousin’s funeral when she was about 10 and she never felt more awkward in her life.
Smartmom was terrified of death and didn’t know how she was supposed to behave. Needless to say, no one explained anything. She just sat through the funeral and felt plenty weird.
For years after, she was afraid of funerals. It wasn’t until her late-20s that she felt a little more relaxed.
Last Friday afternoon, a large crowd gathered for Uncle Jay’s funeral at a Westchester synagogue, where two rabbis and five family members spoke eloquently about this exceptional, larger-than-life man. He was alternately described as a movie star, a superhero, and a mensch.
Smartmom knew that her kids would probably get antsy listening to so much talk just like she had gotten antsy at her cousin’s funeral all those years ago. But she did wish that they could hear the beautiful — and funny — words her cousins had written about their father. It would probably surprise Teen Spirit and OSFO that there was so much humor at a funeral.
That would have been a good life lesson.
She wished that Teen Spirit and OSFO could have heard all the biographical details of her Uncle’s life. A leader in every sense of the word, he was a born athlete, a great storyteller, a World War II veteran, boss, organizer for causes he believed in, loving father and grandfather, and a devoted husband to his high school sweetheart, Smartmom’s Aunt Rhoda.
Did Teen Spirit and OSFO know that their aunt and uncle attended Madison High School, where Jay (Class of 1940) distinguished himself in the arts and wore number 71 on the football team? Later, he went to Brown University and became a football star.
Smartmom sat childless in Diaper Diva’s green Jetta as they solemnly followed the hearse and a line of limousines to the cemetery, where her maternal grandparents are also buried.
She was relieved that her children didn’t have to endure the burial.
Death, of course, is a fact of life. And it’s not something to be ignored by or hidden from children. But, yes, OSFO would have been troubled by the sight of Uncle Jay’s huge coffin being lowered into the ground.
She knew that OSFO would probably have way too many questions — “Can he breathe under all that dirt?” “Isn’t it cold down there?” “Isn’t it dark?”
Each mourner placed a purple tulip in the grave. There was a chill in the air. Smartmom looked down at the large, pine casket and lingered for a moment of unthinkable thoughts. Sad. Scared. Where are we going?
Next came the thinkable thoughts: Had she made a big mistake by shielding her kids from the reality of death. Or was she doing them a favor?
Smartmom wondered that if by excusing them from the funeral, it would actually make them more afraid of death and the rituals that surround it.
Later, at the shiva at Aunt Rhoda’s, the conversations were rich, vibrant, full of life. “What are you doing?” “Where do you live now?” “Your children, what do they do?”
The voices were loud. There was laughter. Stories. Memories shared.
There was wine and good food. Rugelach, cheesecake, cookies, dried fruit. Friends and family caught up with each other.
When Smartmom was a child, she was surprised and even embarrassed that people were so festive after a funeral. Teen Spirit and OSFO might feel that way, too.
But that would be a good lesson, too.
Death is as much a part of life as a birthday party. It’s no different, really.
A ritual to commemorate the passage of time.
On the way home from Westchester, Smartmom decided: Next funeral, Teen Spirit and OSFO are coming. It’s a part of life just like everything else.
A VERITABLE RAVE FOR PARK SLOPE AUTHOR IN THE BOOK REVIEW
Congrats to Rudy Delson, author of Maynard and Jennica, for the qualified rave he received in the New York Times Book Review. Writer Thomas Beller, author of The Sleepover Artist and the editor of Open City Magazine, loved Rudy’s book. Sure he has some reservations here and there. But still. Woo hoo, Rudy. Look here and read the review:
By the end of the book I was wallowing in a state of pleasure but also
suspicion — suspicious because much of the novel is just so damn cute.
But looking through its pages again I found one tiny comic gem after
another, one pitch-perfect rendering of the modern moment after
another. Delson brings a Nicholson Baker-like
degree of precision to his descriptions; the book is always alive. I
felt the odd elation that occurs when you read fiction that not only
confirms your sense of the modern world but enlarges it, even if in a
slightly precious way, and makes you laugh. That was my experience of
“Maynard & Jennica.” But that’s just me.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
NOAH BAUMBACH INTRODUCES NEW FILM AT BAM
Filmmaker Jonathan Noah Baumbach said he was happy for any excuse to come to Brooklyn as he stood in front of a packed audience at the BAM Rose Cinema for a sneak preview screening of his new film, Margot at the Wedding.
He was, however, unable to stick around for a Q&A afterwards because Paramount had double-booked him and he was expected somewhere else.
Boo.
Baumbach promised to return for a Q&A during the run of Margot at the Wedding BAM Rose Cinema.
Yay.
A handsome fellow of few, well chosen words Baumbach told the crowd that the film says it all and hoped that everyone would enjoy it.
Margot at the Wedding is the sister film to end all sister films. Nicole Kidman plays Margot, an unlikable, judgemental and moody writer (descibed as a “borderline personality” by OTBKB reader). Very Type-A, she’s highly competitive and in one tour-de-force scene climbs a tall tree just to prove she can.
Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Pauline, her more laid back and bohemian sister. Jack Black is hilarious in the role of Pauline’s sympathetic layabout fiancee.
Two young actors are incredible as the children of Margot and Pauline.
The film proves that family members make the best and the worst company; it is the anatomy of the fascinating and sometimes insidious ways siblings influence each other’s sense of identity.
Like the talky and psychological films of French director Eric Rohmer, Margot at the Wedding gathers its characters together for a country wedding and waits for things to implode. Implode they do.
Go see this film with any member of your family and go out for some conversation and wine afterward.
You’ll need it.