Yearly Archives: 2010

arts and culture

New Music for Aardvarks in Park Slope

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My daughter and I used to LOVE Music for Aardvarks. We attended classes in Manhattan with MFA founder, David Winestone.

The classes were fabulous. We also listened to the cassette tapes endlessly in the car.

Endlessly.

So I felt a stir of interest when I saw this on Park Slope Parents this morning. There seems to be a whole new Music for Aardvarks in Park Slope. The Group led by Sivan Vigder from Music for Brooklyn and Jo Solomon “are about to give Park Slope the Aardvarks Classes of their lives,” they write.

Happening first: outdoor summer classes in Prospect Park, in 3 locations. This happens July 5th to August 15th for 6 Weeks super Music for Aardvarks Fun.

Register: at www.MusicForBrooklyn.com<http://www.musicforbrooklyn.com/>

arts and culture

Are You Staying in Town for Memorial Day?

As usual I’ll be doing a Weekend List but here are some teasers of things to do Brooklyn style on the upcoming holiday weekend:

There’s Green-Wood’s 12th Annual Memorial Day Concert with compositions by Green-Wood Cemetery’s permanent residents — Fred Ebb, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and Paul Jabara.

The BKLYN Yard in Gowanus is sponsoring a festival of the city’s best food trucks, including traveling pizza vendor Pizzamoto, selections from the Greenpoint Food Market vendors, and Rickshaw Dumplings for the main event. For dessert, there’s almost too much to choose from, from Steve’s Key Lime Pie to Robicelli Cupcakes to Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and the  Green Pirate Juice Truck.

And it wouldn’t be Memorial Day in Brooklyn without DanceAfrica at BAM with troupes from Zambia, Dallas, Philadelphia and Brooklyn’s own BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble will entertain at the Fort Greene venue, performing traditional dance and music to hip hop.

The day will also feature film screenings, an art exhibition, and an outdoor bazaar, with nearly 300 vendors from around the world transforming the streets around BAM into a global marketplace offering African, Caribbean, and African-American food, crafts and fashion.

arts and culture

Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Green-Wood Trolley

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Just so you know everything that is up with me: today I am going on the Green-wood Cemetery trolley with my relatives, who are in town from San Francisco.

A little sightseeing in Brooklyn.

Turns out that every Wednesday there is a new historic trolley tour at Green-wood. Who knew?

Tours last approximately two hours and feature the beauty of Green-Wood’s grounds, the Cemetery’s history, its bird life, the most fascinating tales of its permanent residents, views of Manhattan’s skyline, The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project and its preservation program, and more.

According to the website, the tour guide, Marge Raymond, fell in love with Green-Wood Cemetery 25 years ago as a birdwatcher and naturalist. She brings to her tours her enthusiasm and passion for Green-Wood’s famous residents, its history, trees and animals. Marge, a professional singer, has been a volunteer since 2002 with The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project and has helped to staff The Historic Fund’s information and sales cart since its inception. She has been known to break into an occasional song during her tours.

Starts at 1 PM.

Food and Drink

The Mystery of the Missing Martin: Solved

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I have fielded SO many questions about what happened to Martin O’Connell, the beloved (by some) barrista at Cafe Regular (on 11th Street just west of Fifth Avenue in Park Slope) and brother of the owner.

I knew there had been a falling out with his sister, when Cafe Regular did a swank redesign and added a north Slope location (on Berkeley Place off of Seventh Avenue).

Mystery solved. Sort of.

The storefront that used to house the Pink Pussycat on Fifth Avenue near 5th Street,  is now Cafe Martin, co-owned and operated by Martin.

arts and culture

Tonight: 5th Birthday Party for Swiss-Miss

swiss-miss.com, the popular design blog is turning 5! Tina Roth Eisenberg, who refers to herself as a “Swiss designer gone NYC”, started swissmiss in May of 2005 as a personal visual archive.

The blog receives 900,000 monthly visitors from all around the world. Based in Brooklyn, swissmiss broadcasts with an European viewpoint and a love for clean, Swiss functional design.

Tonight there’s a party in Dumbo at the Galapagos Art Space where Tina will give a very short presentation, looking back at the past 5 years and highlighting discoveries and insights that were had. She’ll also  talk about her eccentric aunt Hugi.

Galapagos Art Space

Wednesday, May 26

Doors open: 7:00 PM
Tix: $10.00

arts and culture

New Blog on the Block: Park Slope Parents

Get out the welcome wagon and bring ’em a tray of daqueris. There’s a brand new blog and it’s our old friends Park Slope Parents. This has been in the work for a long time and it was spearheaded by Nancy McDermott (the so-called Parenting Guru of Park Slope Parents) and Susan Fox (one of the visionary developers of that famous list-serve).

In case you didn’t know, Park Slope Parents (PSP) is the largest and most popular online parenting group in New York City (!). Today they announce the launch of a new local blog.

What’s next? World domination?

The blog will serve as a hyper-local magazine for area families, featuring original content from neighborhood contributors. The PSP Blog, like the Park Slope Parents lists, will be a supportive, fun resource for families in Park Slope and other Brooklyn neighborhoods. “Beyond that, we hope it will function as a point of connection for parents and the community at large,” says Nancy McDermott, the blog’s editor. “Our purpose isn’t to recreate the discussions that take place on our list but to develop and expand on some of the topics and themes relevant to a wider audience.”

The blog will place a strong emphasis on local events such as street fairs and concerts.  It will also tackle community issues such as supporting local businesses, crime prevention, and enriching neighborhood relationships. “We see this as a logical extension of the work Park Slope Parents does with other local institutions, such as the Park Slope Civic Council, the Fifth Avenue BID, the Prospect Park Alliance, the 78th Precinct and Community Board Six,” says Susan Fox, Park Slope Parents founder.

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: Misty Boyce Tonight; 19 New Album Streams

Singer-songwriter Misty Boyce plays The Living Room tonight at 9pm.  What you get with Misty is great songwriting, spirited playing and an energetic crowd.  See Now I’ve Heard Everything for the details.

Can’t get out?  Then try this: Spinner.com is streaming 19 new and soon to be released albums right now.  The artists available include Crystal Caves, Karen Elson, Far, Stone Temple Pilots, The Cure, Solvent, Toots and The Maytals, Betty LaVette, Tift Merritt, Mariana and The Diamonds, Glitch Mob, Peg Simone, Fyfe Dangerfield, Grovesnor, Widespread Panic, Peter Wolf Crier, Sara Jackson-Holman and John Prine.  A little something for everyone.

–Eliot Wagner

arts and culture

Spike Lee to Appear at Brooklyn Blogfest

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I am honored to announce that Spike Lee will be appearing at the Fifth Annual Brooklyn Blogfest on June 8th, 2010 at 7PM at the Brooklyn Lyceum.

Pre-register now.

Witness New York’s bloggiest borough come together to sound off about how and why Brooklyn remains such a rich source of material and inspiration.

Featuring iconic filmmaker Spike Lee and other top entrepreneurial creatives and bloggers thriving in Brooklyn.

There will also be a special performance by renaissance artist and Brooklyn native Lemon Anderson.

Since it was founded in 2005, the Brooklyn Blogfest has established itself as the nexus of creativity, talent, and insight among the blogosphere’s brightest lights. This year will be no different as a panel of blogging’s best disect the unique brand of entrepreneurial creativity flourishing here (moderated by award-winning WNYC radio journalist, Andrea Bernstein). Also on tap: The Big Picture, a video tribute to Brooklyn’s most visionary photo bloggers, special networking sessions for like-minded bloggers (i.e. Blogs of a Feather), Blogs Outloud, actors read from great blogs, and a roof-raising after-party with ABSOLUT® VODKA cocktails, food and music.

“The borough of Brooklyn has always been front and center in the world of blogging,” says Louise Crawford, founder of the Brooklyn Blogfest and onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com. “Whether you live by a blog, blog to live, or live to blog, you’ll want to come out on June 8.”

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 7:00 PM

The Brooklyn Lyceum

227 Fourth Avenue at President Street in Park Slope Brooklyn

THIS EVENT IS FREE

The 2010 BROOKLYN BLOGFEST is sponsored by ABSOLUT® VODKA

Civics and Urban Life

Today’s Brian Lehrer: Anecdotal Census About Brooklyn

The Brian Lehrer Show’s Brooklyn edition of YOUR ANECDOTAL CENSUS airs this morning, May 25th at 10am. Borough President MARTY MARKOWITZ will be on the show to answer residents’ questions and concerns.

Residents of Broolyn were invited to submit their stories about the county of Kings at http://beta.wnyc.org/shows/bl/blogs/scrapbook/2010/may/04/your-anecdotal-census-schedule/.

Today you have an opportunity to call in and be heard by the Brooklyn borough president on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show airs on 93.9 FM, AM820 and www.wnyc.org.

arts and culture

Jonathan Lethem is Leaving Brookyn for California

From the New Yorker

Lethem is headed to California, where he will become the Roy Disney Chair of Creative Writing at Pomona College, a position held by David Foster Wallace until his death, in 2008. I asked Lethem how he felt about leaving a place that has shaped so much of his work. “I take a lot of pleasure in New York,” he said. “But I’m always kind of here in my mind. In a way, I need to be dreaming my way back here. The longing and exile are part of my relationship to writing about this place.”

A change of scenery has worked for Lethem in the past. “The way people respond to this news is ‘Oh no, what will this do to your writing about New York?,’ as though I have to be on the streets. I wrote most of ‘Fortress of Solitude’ when I was living in Toronto and most of ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ at Yaddo.” It may even be, he told me, that getting out of town was necessary to his development as a writer (he lived in Berkeley in his twenties): “There was something about working from the margin and not right under the shadow of the publishing industry. You should find a way to slow that down and dwell in your apprenticeship and take pleasure in being playful and unfinished while you can. Once you professionalize this activity, there’s no turning back.”

Civics and Urban Life

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Bridge

I looked at No Words Daily Pix and said to Hugh: “Why did you put a picture up of fireworks on the Brooklyn Bridge ?”

And he told me that 127 years ago today was the opening.

“It’s on all the other Brooklyn blogs,” he said.

Has it really been 27 years since my father had that great party in his apartment, which faces the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate its 100th birthday?

That night the fireworks were unbelievably good — they poured off of the bridge itself like enormous streams of colored champagne. My father’s apartment was packed full of revelers, many of whom braved the subway to Brooklyn from Manhattan (the subway to Brooklyn!) to celebrate with my dad.

It’s hard to believe it was 27 years ago. Today is the 127th anniversary of the bridge that first connected Brooklyn to Manhattan.

The bridge’s designer, John Augustus Roebling, died during the bridge’s construction and  his his son, Washington Roebling, took over the project. He was then injured on the job but continued to work from his wheelchair.

Today’s No Words Daily Pix  picture was taken in 2008 during the 125th celebration. The apartment was filled with revelers on that day, too. It was just months before my father from cancer but he was in good spirits. You could see the fireworks right outside his window so we’d set up tall stools, drink wine and savor the private view.

We’d pretend on the Fourth of July (when there were also fireworks in New York Harbour) that it was his own private celebration. We joked on that night, too.

“When are you going to start the show,” we joked.

“Soon,” he said. “As soon as it’s dark enough.”

When the fireworks, spectacular as always, were over we’d thanked him profusely.

“We loved your show, dad,” I told him.

“Ah, it was nothing,” he said in return.

But it was wonderful. It really was.

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: Freebies and Videos

There’s lots of music to share with you today.  First, another free and legal download collection, this time from the folks at YepRock.  This  13-song sampler contains unreleased bonus tracks, b-sides and other material.  For more information and the download link, click here.

If you are not the downloading type, how about some music videos?  The first is from Kristin Diable,  a Louisiana native who lives down in New Orleans these days, but who resided in Greenpoint for about five years.  You can find her song, Lines on The Road here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

The other music video is from Court Yard Hounds, the side project of Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, 2/3rds of The Dixie Chicks.  I saw them at SXSW earlier this year and enjoyed their set.  The Coast is the song in the video, which you can see by clicking here.

–Eliot Wagner

arts and culture, Shop Local

May 29: Pop Up Swap in Gowanus

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On n May 29, BKLYN Yard presents “Score! Pop Up Swap, a gigundo swap meet.

But what exactly is a swap?

Well, you bring items you want to get rid of and, for a small admission fee, you can take home whatever you want.

Okay.

More than 1,600 showed up last year. This year they’re adding an electronics boutique run by Alpha One Labs and a crafts section managed by Etsy.

Smartmom

Broken Ankle Teaches Smartmom a Lesson

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It was a rainy Monday morning, and Smartmom and Diaper Diva were moving some of Smartmom’s things into Manhattan Granny’s basement storage room (a little house cleaning). Wearing rubber rain boots, Smartmom walked on a wet rubber ramp, when — splat — she violently twisted her ankle and it was as if her foot folded beneath her. Smartmom found herself on her back screaming: “I think I broke something. I think I broke something.”

“Did she break something valuable?” Manhattan Granny apparently said to Diaper Diva (they were in the storage room).

“No, I think she means she broke herself,” her twin sister said.

The pain was excruciating, but somehow Smartmom was able to go upstairs to her mother’s apartment. Within a half hour, her foot had swollen to the size of a Nerf football, and Smartmom and Manhattan Granny went crosstown to have it X-rayed.

“It’s not fractured,” the radiologist told her. “You can go now.”

“But what do I do?” Smartmom asked plaintively.

“We can’t help you. You’ll have to call your primary care physician.”

Smartmom was smarting. She wanted to cry. Buddha knows, she was relieved that it wasn’t broken or fractured, but clearly there was something wrong with it and she was in need of some advice.

Standing on the corner of 84th Street and Lexington Avenue in the cold rain with a throbbing foot, Smartmom called her doctor, who told her to “go home.”

“If you can’t walk tomorrow, call an orthopedic doctor,” she added.

That seemed exceedingly unhelpful at that moment. Actually, it was exasperating. Finally, the doctor gave Smartmom the number of a nearby orthopedic practice — “The only one who will take your insurance,” she grumbled. Manhattan Granny and Smartmom went into a restaurant, ordered some pizza and dialed the number.

“We can’t see you until later in the week,” the receptionist told Smartmom.

“What should I do in the meantime?” she said tearfully, her foot still radiating pain.

“I can’t tell you anything until the doctor examines you,” the receptionist said coldly.

Tears filled her eyes. She tried not to sob into her pizza. But she felt helpless. Her foot was becoming black and blue …

“Excuse me,” a beautiful Indian woman walked over to their table holding a small, white business card.

“I’m sorry to eavesdrop, but it was awful what you just went through on the phone,” she said.

The woman’s kindness made Smartmom weep with gratitude.

“Why don’t you go around the corner to see the doctor I work for? He’s a physiatrist, and he’s wonderful. Tell them Samantha sent you.”

Smartmom did just as good fairy Samantha told her to do. She and her mother walked around the corner and Dr. Loren Fishman, an elfish man in a red bow tie and round glasses, was able to see her almost immediately.

Immediately. Have you ever heard of such a thing?

When Smartmom told Dr. Fishman what happened he measured the good ankle and the sprained ankle and concluded that, indeed, Smartmom’s ankle was very, very swollen.

Fishman, the author of “Yoga for Osteoporosis,” and many other books and papers, told her to keep her foot elevated and iced. He said the best thing she could do was lie on her back and put her leg up against the wall.

Smartmom and Manhattan Granny were both enchanted by Dr. Fishman. They spent close to an hour with the good doctor (Manhattan Granny told him about all of her foot problems). He told Smartmom to come back in a few days for physical therapy “to preserve your range of motion.” And he gave her prescriptions for an anti-inflammatory and an air cast.

Back in Brooklyn, Smartmom managed to hobble up the three flights of stairs to her apartment. With Hepcat in California, she was on her own until her children came home. They were clearly flummoxed when they found her lying on the floor with her left leg up on the wall.

“Did you break it?” she asked.

“No, I sprained it,” Smartmom said.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m elevating it,”

“What?”

“Never mind …”

They were even more startled when she started to cry in pain and frustration. Nothing like tears to get your kids to really notice. After the waterworks, they were really helpful bringing her ice packs, Advil, books, and food. At dinnertime, the Oh So Feisty One ordered Moo Shoo Pork from Szechuan Delight and even went downstairs to get it from the deliveryman.

Smartmom should sprain her ankle more often.

In the days that followed, Smartmom learned to slow down, to delegate, to not move around at the pace she is accustomed to.

The Buddhists would say she was being mindful, taking things slow and paying attention.

In her effort to heal, Smartmom was learning to ask others for help and to take things one step at a time.

Not a bad thing, all things considered.

arts and culture

Heartbreak House in Rhinecliff, NY

Hepcat will be at the Bard College graduation/reunion because, well, he’s that kind of guy. It’s not even his year. Whatever.

I’ll be seeing my good friend Nancy in a Rhinebeck Theater Society production of Heartbreak House in Rhinecliff, NY. If you’re up there come on by.

Billed as the funniest play ever about love, money, and the end of the world, George Bernard Shaw’s Heartbreak House describes a world not unlike our own, where base materialism and raw power threaten the values upon which society is built. Nobody but Shaw could turn such a gruesome situation into three acts of hilarious comedy. And probably nobody but the Rhinebeck Theatre Society would undertake such an ambitious project.

The RTS production is directed by  Ellen Honig, one of the region’s most experienced directors and the ten-member cast includes many names familiar to Hudson Valley theatergoers as well as a few newcomers.

Much of the story of Heartbreak House revolves around Ellie Dunn (played by Dorothy Penz), a young ingénue who intends to attain a life of wealth and comfort by marrying Boss Mangan (Phillip Levine), a ruthless businessman who has amassed a fortune by exploiting others. The action takes place at the home of Captain Shotover (John Adair), a retired, hard-drinking sea captain, who plays the reluctant host to his two daughters and their husbands. Nothing unfolds as expected as each character reveals their true nature and motives over the course of the three acts. Even the burglar who is caught after breaking into the house turns out to be both more and less than he appears at first.

My friend Nancy O. Graham, who stars as Hesione Hushabye, one of Shotover’s daughters, most recently appeared in BOUND, directed by Amy Poux and presented by High Meadow Arts, and in ‘The New Kid,’ an improv play presented in schools as part of the Act/Write! program.

A comedy with a serious underlying message for our time, Heartbreak House, described by Shaw as the favorite of his plays, is a dazzling tale of false appearances and romance set against the backdrop of a troubled, cynical world.

The show runs through Sunday, May 23. Tickets are $20, with discounts for students and seniors. Tickets are available at www.showclix.com or by phone at 1 (888) 71-TICKETS.

Civics and Urban Life

The Saturday List: Brooklyn Half-Marathon, Nightime Green-wood, Folky Jalopy

BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON

Feel like running 13 miles?

The Brooklyn Half-Marathon (sponsored by the New York Road Runners Club) is on Saturday. Starts at 7AM  from Prospect Park to the Coney Island Boardwalk. On your mark, get set, GO. It’s gonna be hot so read up on dealing with heat conditions.

NIGHTIME WALK AT GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY

Bring a flashlight and you’re all set. This special nighttime walk, led by Cemetery historian Jeff Richman, features live accordion music, by Famous Accordionists Bob Goldberg and Carl Riehl, a visit inside Green-Wood’s Catacombs and the light (weather permitting) of the moon. From “Erie Canal” to “New York New York”, a stroll through New York’s history. In the dark, with flashlights No reservations necessary.

The tour is $20 / $10 for Historic Fund members. Reservations are not required, but are recommended. Reserve your ticket online today or call 718.768.7300.
Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 8:15 PM

BROOKLYN FOLK FESTIVAL

May 21-23 at Jalopy, the Brooklyn Folk Festival presents the best in old-time music, blues, pre-blues, jug band music, New Orleans jazz, folk style songwriting, African folk music and Mexican folk music and dance. 7 pm–12:30 am.

ART EXHIBITS

American High Style: Fashioning a nation collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Opens May 22 through June 13: Lucky Gallery presents: “Made in Red Hook”, a traditional salon exhibition by Red Hook artists Todd von Ammon, Laura Arena, Maria Baraybar, Andy Vernon-Jones, Christina Kelly, Heather Phelps-Lipton, Nate Luce, Rachel Mosler, L. Nichols, Julia Oldham, Anna Ortiz, Joshua Ray Stephens, Eric Taylor, Elizabeth Tomasetti, Tonky and Beriah Wall.

MOVIES

Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, Letters to Juliet, Barbie in a Mermaid Tale at the Pavilion;  City Island, Babies, Exit Through the Gift Shop at Cobble Hill Cinema.

DANCE

Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 3pm & 7pm, Sunday at 3pm: Elizabeth Streb and her superbly-conditioned performers are on a great, romantic adventure as they pursue, possess and exemplify pure action. Nowhere on earth will hardware, humans, extreme action and true grit combine in such an outrageous, explosive and shocking way. This is action magic for the masses! And it’s great for kids  at the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics.

Civics and Urban Life

400 Revelers In Support of One Story

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On Friday night, 400 literary revelers joined John Hodgman (the PC guy on those great Mac spots) for a BIG bash in support of and to celebrate the Brooklyn-based nationally acclaimed literary magazine, One Story, a pocket-sized magazine issued 18 times a year (and featuring only one story by a top notch emerging or established writer).

The event was organized and hosted by Maribeth Batcha, publisher of One Story and Hannah Tinti, the magazine’s editor at the American Can Factory in Park Slope.

One Story is a  must-have, must-read for anyone interested in the art of the short story.

And that’s the truth.

At the party notables included aforementioned (and beloved humorist) John Hodgman, Michael Cunningham (author of “The Hours”), Colson Whitehead, (author of Sag Harbor), Elissa Schappell (Hot Type columnist for Vanity Fair and author of Use Me), Rob Spillman (editor of Tin House), Joshua Shenk (essayist), James Hannaham (author of God Says No), Victor LaValle (author of Slapboxing with Jesus and Big Machine) many other literary notables I am inequipped to name (or recognize).

The American Can Factory is such a cool space for a party. It’s the big room where the Meet the Makers craft market and green market locates every Sunday. The caterer was none other than Nana, the woman who runs a fabulous food concession in the back of the Meet the Makers market.

Kudos to Nana for great food and gorgeous presentation.

Fun was had all.

It was the magazine’s first-ever benefit and the idea was to celebrate  One Story’s debut and emerging authors, with artists, performers, and filmmakers producing work inspired by issues of One Story.

Those original works were displayed at the ball and were auctioned off. There was also a cool “presentation” (a la a debutantes ball) of writers who have made their debuts in One Story.

Each writer was “escorted” by an established author. The presentation was announced by John Hodgman (The Areas of My Expertise, The Daily Show).

I went with my sister and we had a great time running into friends and meeting new people, too.

Cheers to One Story, a Brooklyn treasure that has made its mark on the world of literary fiction.

Civics and Urban Life

Gold Star for Gold Star 4 Trying

Stephanie, who writes the terrific blog Gold Star 4 Trying, has been  giving out gold stars around Brooklyn and beyond for going on a year, just trying to add a bit of brightness to people’s days just for trying!

She writes: “I am a freelance writer, married mother of two and a would-be…lots of things, so I know what’s it’s like to need a gold star!”

Well, here’s a gold star for Stephanie for an awesome blog. Here’s an excerpt from a post called It Takes a Village:

I have been toying with adding pictures and names on my blog for a while, but had wondered if people would really want to be featured, focused upon? Turns out, some do, some really do and some don’t. But the simple act of imagining that people might actually be buoyed by the recognition has given me a renewed sense of the project, helped me understand how important it is–both for those that want to see themselves and those who don’t–that there is some acknowledgment of people’s efforts.

Because I am energized about the idea anew, believe wholeheartedly in the power of the gold star sticker to make someone’s moment, their day, their week, I am overwhelmed: shouldn’t I give a gold star sticker to everyone I see? Who am I to choose? Why is it just me?

Sitting in temple the other day, a rare thing, I was delighted and amazed by the Rabbi’s story of a little village whose citizens were told that someone among them was the Messiah.

“It could be any one of you that was brought here to save the world…” the story went.

The Rabbi told of how this powerful idea resonated throughout the village, how everyone started to treat everyone else with much more respect, how they started to treat even themselves with much more respect. The idea changed the village into a special place, far better than before, a place where people actually believed in one another’s power to raise each other up and, because they believed it, they actually made it happen.

I was so excited to hear the story. It is, I believe, the same message I am trying to send with my project. Each and every one of us has within us the ability to raise up another, to raise up ourselves, if only we believed we had been granted such a power, if only we thought it possible.

Civics and Urban Life

May 22: Brooklyn Half-Marathon

Due to my sprained ankle, subsequent pain in my neck and shoulder from realigning (misaligning my body) and a whole lot of other reasons, I won’t be running in this year’s Brooklyn Half-Marathon.

When I did run in 2006, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. What exhilaration? What a sense of accomplishment!

Back then the race started on the boardwalk and ended in Prospect Park. Now they’ve reversed the course: the race begins in our great park and ends in glorious Coney Island.

On the boardwalk, by the ocean.

The race starts at Prospect Park’s Well House Drive (directions and loads of information here). Turn left onto West Drive and complete two counterclockwise loops of Prospect Park. Exit the park at the southwest corner (the second exit), turn right onto Park Circle, and continue to the Fort Hamilton Parkway/Ocean Parkway entrance ramp. A fork to the left of the road will take you to the Ocean Parkway entrance ramp. Continue south on Ocean Parkway, turn right (west) on Surf Avenue, turn left onto the boardwalk entrance ramp near West Fifth Street (between the handball courts and the Aquarium), and then make an immediate right onto the Coney Island Boardwalk. The finish line is located on the boardwalk between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets.

Here’s the Brooklyn Half Checklist for those who are running. It’s what you need to know about the race.

*  The race starts at 7:00 a.m. Runners should be in their corrals by 6:50 a.m.
* The weather forecast predicts a warm day. Read our heat tips.
* There are NO shuttle buses from Coney Island to the start. While parking is available at MCU Park in Coney Island, runners must take the subway to start. [Transportation Info]
* Make sure your scoring D-Tag is attached correctly. The D-Tag should be shaped like a D and looped through one lace only.
* Runners must use the clear plastic drawstring bag given to them at number pickup for baggage service. No other bags will be accepted. Runners are advised to check their bag by 6:30 a.m.
* Join us after the race for the Brooklyn Beach Party.
* And don’t forget to grab your Brooklyn Half coupon book and get beautiful, baby! Brooklyn rocks!