I think Henry Lowengard deserves to be an occasional column on OTBKB. No Words Daily Lowengard? Postcard from Henry Lowengard? Smartlowengard?

He's just such an interesting guy. He told me about this show on radio station WFMU: 51 Versions of the Inaugural Poem Remix. There's one by Henry on there. Listen.

Complaints are piling up about lawyers/ billable hours.  –news item.

                       Clockster

If forced by Recession to give up his billable,

Which enables the lawyer to have his fillable,

He can always retain a by-the-hour fee

By punching a time clock in a
factory.

Brooklyn Reading Works presents Cupid's Arrow: Writers on Love curated by Marian Fontana. Another on eof the great themed readings at Brooklyn Reading Works curated by interesting writers.

Marian  Fontana, author of The Widow's Walk; A Memoir of 9/11 and the upcoming from Simon and Schuster,  The Middle of the Bed, has gathered together some wonderful writers, including  Elissa Schappell author of Use Me and the upcoming Blueprints for Better Girls; Novelist, poet and editor of Teachers and Writers Collaborative magazine, Susan Karwoska; and Poets Ellen Ferguson and Ira Goldstein and memoirist, Mila Drumke. Marian will be reading an excerpt from her upcoming book.

It should, as always, be a great night. These themed group readings are fascinating as you see the subject matter shift, the approach, and the language shift from author to author.

Alison, the owner of Paper Love, the new card and stationery shop on Lincoln Place, is thinking of selling letter press Valentine's cards at the show. She happens to be a fiction writer and was very excited to be part of this event.

The Where and When:

February 12th at 8 p.m.
Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House
Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets (in Washington Park)
A $5 suggested donation includes light refreshments and wine.
There will probably be candy hearts and chocolate as well.

I just heard a story on WNYC about Marine Lance Cpl. Julian T. Brennan, 25, who  when a roadside bomb exploded during a combat operation in Afghanistan.

If the war in Afghanistan seems far away, it's not. The family moved to Park Slope in 2003. They learned of their son's death when Marine officials showed up at their Park Slope door. Just like in the movies.

His parents also learned that he'd secretly married his girlfriend, Bettina Beard-Brennan, before he went to Afghanistan, so that if he should die, she would receive widow's benefits. A very loving gesture.

Julian, a handsome Brooklyn youth, was a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and an employee of the Martha Stewart show. As reported by Tom Witt on Your  Nabe, Julian, a singer/songwriterm often played at the open mic at Bar
47, 444 7th Avenue,

But it was his grandfather, James Brennan, a Marine who fought in Iwo Jima, who was Julian's hero. And he was the reason Julian wanted to become a marine.

Like many Park Slopers, Julian voted for Barack Obama and called his parents on Inauguration Day from Afghanistan. Here is the announcement that arrived in my inbox from Marty Markowitz:


“Brooklyn extends its deepest condolences to
the family, friends and fellow Marines of Lance Cpl. Julian T. Brennan,
who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation while serving in
Afghanistan. We grieve with
Lance Cpl. Brennan’s loved ones and hope they will be comforted by the
prayers and thoughts of millions of Brooklynites, New Yorkers and
Americans grateful for his valiant service.”

Survivors include
Julian Brennan’s wife, Bettina Beard-Brennan, his father Billy Brennan,
mother Thya Merz, a brother James, and sister Shannon.

Julian will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia next to his grandfather.

Speaking of windows (see story about Urban Alchemist below), there’s an Obama tree in the window of Lion in the Sun on Seventh Avenue at 4th Street in Park Slope and an invitation to write a letter to President Obama.

I haven’t gone in yet. I’m not sure if they’re sponsoring an event of if it’s an ongoing idea. I plan on going in and finding out.

Anyone know?

By the way, the shop is carrying Brenda Becker’s “A Year in the Park” calendar for 2009.

We are exclusively carrying the lovely, full-color “Prospect: A Year in the Park” calendar featuring 12 months of lush and evocative images from Brenda Becker’s adventures in Prospect Park as featured on her blog ayearinthepark.typepad.com.

I noticed hand written notes on the window of Urban Alchemist, the charming jewelry and craft cooperative on Fifth Street just east of Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, and made a mental note to go back and find out more.

Alas, I didn't make it back in time. And now I see that the Brooklyn Paper has the story.  Turns out that the store is inviting customers and passerbys to put their secrets on the window. And guess what? The Daily Intel ran the story, too with a link back to BP.

50 hand-written mysteries adorn the front window. Some are
innocuous (“I still sleep with my teddy bear” or “My resume is a
sham”), some are scandalous (“I once had sex with my teacher for an A
on a test”), some are just embarrassing (“I have a crush on Joey
Fatone”).

Others are just plain horrifying (“I voted for McCain”).

“The idea is to let people reveal their secret,” said co-owner
Rebecca Shepherd. “You have no idea how much better you feel when you
let it out, even anonymously.”

Shepherd said her favorite was the secret of the lowly worker at a
Soho gallery who felt so put upon by his bosses that when they went on
vacation, he urinated in their Snapple bottles and then watched in glee
when the bosses drank from them days later.

“It’s so delightfully devious and awful,” she said.

Get Fresh, the restaurant, take-out, cafe on Fifth Avenue between 5th and 6th  Street, has a new identity, which is a good thing because I don't think the first concept, a place to buy ready-to-cook organic ingredients to make at home was working for them.

And they've devised a way to help parents relax
and to celebrate Valentine’s Day, too. The idea is this: provide food in a romantic setting for the parents, and arts and crafts activities for the kids. They're doing it for brunch and early supper on Valentine's Day.

The restaurant is offering two
ways for parents to enjoy elegant dinners — in the restaurant with
“Hearts and Crafts,” a special event featuring activities designed to
entertain the children while parents enjoy their meals; and at home,
with a special take-home dinner that’s perfect for new parents!  
 

I am just now beginning to pay attention to the city council race. The primary is nine months away and the campaigns of an excellent group of candidates for Bill deBlasio's seat are beginning to heat up.

Thursday night, Hepcat and I attended Craig Hammerman's roll-out party at Magnolia, a cozy restaurant and bar on Sixth Avenue and 12th Street. It was billed as a Meet- the-Candidate event and it was a good chance to meet Hammerman supporters and those who were just taking a look/see.

Heck, the smart guy that works at the Community Bookstore was manning the door.

There was a pay-as-you-drink-bar and free shish kebobs, pizza, chicken wings and stuffed mushrooms that were tasty. Full discolure: I had one kebob and a stuffed mushroom.

At the friendly, small gathering on an icy cold winter night, Hepcat and I had the opportunity to grill Craig on the path that led him to city politics.

Craig has been District Manager of Community Board 6 for the last 19 years. Before that he was born in Brooklyn in 1965, attended Midwood High School and studied chemical engineering and history at Rutgers University. After college he taught high school science in Brooklyn. He told us that he was hired to teach biology at one school even though he hadn't studied biology since high school. Fortunately, his father, a professor of life science at Long Island University, was able to help keep Craig a  week or two ahead of the students.

He also worked for a small manufacturing firm, a valuable experience that convinced him that he was meant to work for the public good.

In 2001 Craig ran against Bill deBlasio. Well, that race didn't turn out the way he wanted. But he's at it again with plans to pound the pavements, ring the doorbells and meet the citizens one-on-one in his district which includes a large swath of Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Kensington.

I've gotten to know Craig a little bit of late because he shops at the Community Bookstore and we're often in there at the same time. Before Christmas he came in looking for a book to buy his mother or father for the holidays.

Catherine recommended The Economist Book of Obituaries because it's really a great collection of biographies of the famous and the unusual. It was an odd choice for elderly parents but Craig thought that once his parents got passed the title they'd really enjoy the book.

Later he told me that they did.

He was at the Community Bookstore on the night of Obama's inauguration and participated in the festive read-in  that was going on (Frederick Douglas, Thomas Jefferson) by reading excerpts from The Tempest. That's what I hear anyway.

A member of the Park Slope Track Club, Craig is an avid runner and has completed 7 marathons.

"I ran the Brooklyn Half," I told him proudly."

"Half-marathons are my favorite race," Craig told me.

So the guy knows how to run. But can he win?

Now don't take this for an endorsement. It's too early for that. And don't think I won't be running other stump speeches on this blog. It's just that I was there last night and was impressed with the words that Craig strung  together to get his message across.

"We're taking it back" is his campaign mantra. The phrase appears on his website, which is still being developed and is the 4-word refrain of much of his stump speech. So what is Craig taking back?

For the community activists who take time away from their family, their friends and their hobbies to get involved, people I’ve spent two decades of my life supporting, organizing, leading and admiring…we’re taking it back.

For the people who dare to speak out, whose views may be unpopular with the powers-that-be, who see things as they are and aren’t afraid to call the Emperor naked, who scare the establishment with their honesty and openness, you have my undying admiration for your commitment to the most basic democratic principles…we’re taking it back.

For the teachers and administrators entrusted with the education of our children, stuck between a community of frustrated and disempowered parents and students who care, and a centralized bureaucracy that never seems to care enough…we’re taking it back.

For our neighbors who want to enjoy an occasional visit to Prospect Park, bring their dog for an early morning run, picnic or barbeque with family and friends, bring their kids to little league or soccer, or perhaps even train for a marathon there, without fear or threat of being mugged or killed by a car…we’re taking it back.

For the pedestrians who would rather keep their gazes fixed upward taking in our beautiful brownstones, tree-lined streets and open sky, but instead must focus on the cracks in the sidewalk and the buzzing traffic in our congested streets…we’re taking it back.

For the butchers, the bakers, the candle-stick makers, and the restauranteurs, bookstore owners, and all the merchants we know by name – the people who make our shopping a pleasant experience with their street fairs, Christmas tree lightings, Halloween candy and Snow Flake festivals – things that Starbucks and Barnes & Noble would never do…we’re taking it back.

For the shoulders of giants we stand on today, the people who had dedicated an important piece of their life to building the communities we get to enjoy as their legacy – the Bob Acito’s, Ed Rogowsky’s, Peggy Buffalano’s, Stephen Foster’s, Anita DeMartini’s, Jackie Connor’s, Frank Verderame’s, Mary Allman’s, and Ernest Migliaccio’s…we’re taking it back.

For the average middle-class New Yorker, tired of seeing tax dollars wasted on projects, programs and policies that don’t work, aren’t needed, or can be done more efficiently and effectively, people who are worried about keeping their jobs, their home, and their lives in tact, people who are increasingly thinking that government must be part of the solution, not the problem itself – my friends and neighbors who despite their cynicism want something to believe in, are motivated to work for change, and have not given up…we’re taking it back.

We’re taking it back!

We’re taking back our community – building by building, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood.

We’re taking back our voice from those who have tried to silence us – the small-minded, scared politicians who fear what they do not understand and what they cannot control.

We’re taking back our government from the big-monied special interests who hijack public land for private use and create jobs for those with access instead of those with need.

We’re taking back our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness so that we can take care of each other and live in the kind of communities we get to design.

We’re taking it all back.

The pendulum is swinging.  Our new President cannot do it alone.  We must answer his call for communities to organize, mobilize, stand up and be counted.  This is our mission.  This is our campaign.  It starts right here and right now.

In 2010 we will have an incumbent City Council.  A City Council filled with third-term veterans who have been around for 8 years.  People who know how to get projects, programs and policies funded.  People who know how to activate City government.  People whom I’ve worked closely with – some I’ve even taught a thing or two.

This is no time to send an untested person to the City Council to represent our communities.  The situation demands an experienced person possessing not only an eagerness to do the right thing, but the knowledge and know-how to do it.  The situation demands strong, proven leadership.  The s
ituation demands that we put our energies into getting this message out there to every single one of our friends and neighbors.  They must know what is at stake here and it’s our job to inform them.  We have 9 months to get this done.

In 2008 we took back our nation.  In 2009, we’re taking back our community.  And together – we will!

What he does know how to do is write a good speech. I appreciated his words tonight and am glad to be able to post them here.

Just because I'm running Craig's speech doesn't mean I won't run your's if you're campaigning for City Council. Try me. I just might.

He knows how government works and believes that this community needs strong, experienced representation at a time when the City Council will be filled with veteran politicans.

A Man's Home is his Hassle

"No Chinese Menus" sign is gone,

No longer on the door, withdrawn,

And if you've been inside, you've seen

Pasted to the computer screen

A sign that spits out, like a curse:

"No More of That Constant Lighthead Verse!"

And it's worked, proof positive that when you

Speak out–it's goodbye Chinese menu.

Amelia Lukas, a fan of OTBKB, wrote in to tell me about a new performance venue in Bushwick. 
Cafe Orwell opened at 247 Varet St. one month ago. "We are dedicated to freedom, justice, equality, and coffee," she writes. 

Their goal is to provide Bushwick with a cultural center where locals can tap into cutting-edge art, literary and music scenes.  All events are free and begin at 7pm.

I was impressed with how much they've got going on already. And I love the name. 

Sunday Night Film Series: 
1st Sunday of the month - Documentaries
2nd Sunday - From Across the Pond
3rd Sunday - George's Picks
4th Sunday - The History of Cinema
The rare 5th Sunday - Pandering to the Masses

crowd (reading series): hosted by Douglas Piccinnini – 1st Saturday of each month
A community-based project to connect innovative artists, performers, and writers in the emerging creative hub of Bushwick, Brooklyn.www.crowdyourself.blogspot.com

Live Sound: hosted by Amelia Lukas – 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month
Concerts of contemporary and classical music featuring the city's most talented young performers.

New Sound: hosted by Nicholas DeMaison – 4th Saturday of each month
A new music forum where composers will present their work through recordings and live performance with the opportunity for questions and discussion. 

Open Mic: the 2nd Thursday of each month
All are welcome – the more original, the better!

Book Club: hosted by Taier Perlman – 3rd Thursday of each month
Please contact cafeorwell.bookclub@gmail.com for the book list.

FEBRUARY CALENDAR

More news from Paper Love, the little card, stationery, paper and MORE shop on Lincoln Place:  

Helen Frank over at BAM just wrote in with this great news:

ha
Once again the Brooklyn Based Tip Sheet arrives in the old inbox and we can all relax because BB has a host of suggestions for interesting things to do in the coming days. Phew.

This caught my eye right off the bat. The picture of handsome Sufjan Stevens, of course. Go to BB for more. Better yet, subscribe! Tell 'em I told you to do it.

• Sufjan Stevens has a brand new song so far heard only by his closest
  friends — and one lucky Brooklynite. Alec Duffy of the Hoi Polloi
  theater company was awarded exclusive rights to “The Lonely Man of
  Winter.” In an effort to combat the impersonal experience of
  internet-leaked tracks, Duffy is inviting fans to his home for a unique
  listening party, complete with tea and cookies. Three sessions (limited
  to four people) each Wednesday until Feburary 25. Email to reserve a spot, and bring your own headphones if you have good ones.

Just got this missive from Eric Demby of the Brooklyn Flea. Just because it's the dead of winter don't think the Brooklyn Flea is closed. No, no, no. They seem to pop up everywhere.

On Wednesday January 28th at 7:30 p.m. at Beth Elohim: What Parents and Students Really Need to Know: The College Admissions Process

 
Many of you are probably starting to think about a Valentine's gift for your Valentine.

Well, I recommend simply gorgeous wearable minimalist art by my friend  Sheva Fruitman. Perfect for the Valentine in your life.

Shhhhhh. I happen to know that I am getting one of her rings from my Valentine. And I am very excited about that.

Actually he told me. Still. It's a surprise.

Check out her website. You can buy directly from the artist, who is located in NYC.

I'm going. Are you?

Monday, February 9, 2009

Galapagos Art Space
16 Main Street, DUMBO Brooklyn

7 PM

Come celebrate love’s two-faced heart!

Featuring tales/poems of love, loneliness, lust and loss.

Funds raised from the Red and Black Benefit will benefit New York Writers Coalition creative writing programs.