Bring your old Jack-O-Lantern to the MS 51 garden, 4th St./5th Ave. between 1-5 pm
& learn more about composting and gardening on the site.

Sponsored by the Old Stone House Garden Club

November 3rd at 7 PM at the Community Bookstore(143 Seventh Avenue between Carroll and Garfield):

Climate Change: Picturing the Science
With editors Gavin Schmidt and Joshua Wolfe, and author Frank Zeman

The first book anyone seeking a layman’s understanding of the science of global warming should read…one of the most reasonable, unflappable, pleasantly humorous and least stuffy experts in any subject that we’ve met. ––Popular Mechanics

[A] masterful account of the science of climate change…It will leave you both in awe of the Earth we inhabit and of the science itself, with all of its uncertainties and incomplete answers. ––Seed Magazine
Schmidt, a climate scientist at NASA, and photographer Wolfe seek to advance public education about human-induced climate change in a combination of arresting images and lucid explanations of the science of global warming and the pursuit of global cooperation in adopting new, sustainable ways of living. With contributions by 16 scientists, engineers, writers, activists, and photographers, Schmidt and Wolfe address a host of observable changes, from the melting of ice and permafrost at the poles to the rising of sea levels in cities such as Venice and Miami. From discussions of increasing drought, forest fires, and extreme storms to the deadly buildup of industrial and agriculture chemicals, the coverage is clear and bracing. And it’s inspiring to learn about the work of these cutting-edge experts as they marvel over the finely calibrated checks and balances of  the earth’s systems, elucidate the ways human-induced climate change is making the planet less conducive to life, and chronicle inventive approaches to averting environmental catastrophe. In the midst of sobering reportage, the authors manage to appeal to our fascination with epic challenges. –Donna Seaman

Just noticed this interesting article in the NY Times about Bishop DiMarzio and Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Readers of OTBKB may remember that Bishop DiMarzio may have been involved in the decision to fire Principal James Flanagan at Saint Saviour Elementary School last spring.

And about the powerful Assemblyman Vito Lopez: Steve Levin, the candidate for City Council in the 33rd district (which includes parts of Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Navy Yard, Williamsburg and Greenpoint) is the former Chief of Staff for Lopez.

In an unusually overt step into politics by a religious leader, the
Roman Catholic bishop of Brooklyn is urging voters, via robocalls, to
support Vito J. Lopez, an assemblyman and the Brooklyn Democratic boss, whose hand-picked candidate is in a tough race for a City Council seat.

The bishop, Nicholas A.
DiMarzio, in a recorded phone call sent to every registered voter in
City Council District 34, praised Mr. Lopez’s legislative service to
the Catholic Church this summer. Mr. Lopez played a key role in defeating a bill that would have let adults file suit over childhood sexual abuse that may have occurred long ago.

Mr.
Lopez, a longtime kingmaker in Bushwick and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has
energetically championed the candidacy of Maritza Davila, who is
running against Councilwoman Diana Reyna in District 34.

Park Slope's Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen will be playing at Joe's Pub on November 8, 14, 21, 22 at 7 PM.
Their new album, The Ache of Possiblity, is available at CD Baby, Amazon and elsewhere.

 


http://donwiss.com/pictures/Halloween-2009/

Smartmom’s couch saga entered the inertia phase last week. As
reported in this paper, Smartmom and Hepcat went to Room & Board in
the city earlier this month and looked at a plethora of couches. They
both liked one called the Townsend and vowed to go back to take another
look.

But that hasn’t happened yet. Last week, when Smartmom and Hepcat
were in Manhattan on other business, Smartmom suggested that they go
look at the couch at the shop in SoHo.

“It’ll just be a quick trip,” she pleaded.

But Hepcat was in no mood for couch shopping and he was anxious to get back to the living/room office to do his work.

So now a week later, they still haven’t made a trip to Room &
Board and Smartmom can barely remember why she liked the Townsend so
much.

In the meantime, Hepcat took a photo of the green leather couch for
The Brooklyn Paper. It wasn’t really a fair photo; when Smartmom wasn’t
home, Hepcat carefully “styled” the couch by putting red pillows on it
and a small Ugly Doll.

Still, when Smartmom saw the picture in The Paper, she felt
vindicated. The couch looked so awful, so saggy, so worn out that she
was sure that everyone would agree that her family was in need of a new
one. Not surprisingly, Hepcat saw things differently. He was convinced
that the comment section would be filled with posts saying that the
couple should stop whining and just keep the couch.

Smartmom couldn’t have disagreed more. Wasn’t it obvious that after
18 years of good service, that couch was ready to hit the streets? But
just in case he was right, Smartmom checked the comments section in The
Brooklyn Paper, and was relieved to see that there were none. Phew.

But then Smartmom got the surprise of her life. Brooke Dramer, a
writer and friend since she and Smartmom had babies at the Montessori
nursery school, e-mailed her with “a serious offer.”

“I would like to buy your green leather couch,” she wrote. “Our
green leather couch died, and we have been searching for a replacement
on Craig’s List. Very few companies are still manufacturing green
leather couches (I guess they think it’s so last century).

“My boyfriend Dave brought the green couch with him when he moved in
with us in 2001. He brought only one other piece of furniture — a green
chair — plus four guitars, a bass, a banjo, and three amps. We agreed
to throw out my blue velveteen convertible couch. No arguments at all;
my couch had no history whatsoever — until we put it out on the street
for garbage collection. Friday morning, we found that two people had
opened up the convertible across the sidewalk and were sleeping on it.
They’d unzipped the velveteen covers from the cushions and slipped them
over their heads. Dozens of children were walking to school with their
parents and thought it was really funny to have to walk around two
people sleeping on a pull-out couch. The two sleepers just wouldn’t
wake up. We had to call the cops, who drove by with a policewoman
yelling through a bullhorn, ‘Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!’

“The sleepers stirred a bit. They turned out to be a short, skinny
man and a tall, stocky woman — not two men, as we’d originally thought
when their heads were covered. But the police drove on, and the people
went back to sleep. Dave finally got rid of them by placing our stereo
speakers in the window and playing Black 47, full volume. That woke the
sleepers up, and they finally left. Dave and I ran out and folded up
the couch. Dave’s (now our) green couch suffered some splits in the
leather after being sat on, jumped on, and slept on by kids for more
than 18 years. Finally, just a few months ago, the slits opened up, and
large scraps of leather pulled away.

“We’ve got to get rid of this thing (which I’m sitting on now as I
type this). But we’re very busy. If we buy your couch, we could just
pay for it and lug it three blocks. You could film us carrying it away
and post the video on your blog. That’s closure.”

So Hepcat was right. There are people — OK, at least one person —
who think it’s a perfectly good couch. Some would even spend money on
it.

But how much? Brooke didn’t say, and now Smartmom and Hepcat should
probably set a price. But doing so requires a knowledge of one thing:
what’s that damn couch worth to them?

Talk about closure!

Yeah I'm a good aunt (and a great sister). I walked with my sister and niece to the middle of Prospect Park for the Spook Walk and Halloween Carnival.

First order of business: Ducky needed to have her face painted. She was a GORGEOUS lady bug and she needed a lady bug face. OF COURSE. A lovely face painter knew just what to do. A red face with black polka dots.

Best moment of the day: A real lady bug landed on Ducky's lady bug costume. What joy. What fun. A lady bug on the lady bug.

Fun sighting: The lovely and gracious Tupper Thomas, President of the Prospect Park Alliance, introduced herself to the Spook Walk line waiters. I said hi:  "So great to meet you, I'm Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn…"

Another fun sighting: Brad Lander with his wife Meg and daughter were on line for the Spook Walk. "Hey, Brad is this off the record?" Lander is running for City Council inthe 39th district. 

How was the Spook Walk: Fabulous. The actors who don costumes and participate in the very theatrical and scary fun Spook Walk do a fantastic job! They stay in character the whole time. I got freaked out a couple of times…

Change is good. The new route of the Park Slope Halloween Parade was a roaring success. On Third Street anyway. Third Street dwellers enjoyed their front row seats for the parade. I for one sat inside our gated front yard and watched the entire parade from start to finish.

It was partytime for the grown ups and kids on Third Street.

And what a parade it was! I actually got to see the skaters with the long arms and white grim reaper faces. I got to see Paprika and all the big puppets. I saw Marty Markowitz, Chuck Schumer and other local pols.

And then there was Gersh Kuntzman's float. Dressed as Miss Brooklyn, he made quite a splash with a microphone…

As usual, the parade started on 14th Street and Seventh Avenue but this year for the first time, marchers made a sharp left onto Third Street and walked to JJ Byrne Park at Fifth Avenue.