Smartmom and Diaper Diva may be twins, but Smartmom has always felt like the elderstatesmom when it came to raising kids.

For Buddha’s sake, Teen Spirit is 13 years older than Ducky. That alone gives Smartmom the right to act like a big know-it-all, doesn’t it?

For many years, Smartmom was the Been-There-Done-That mom around her sister and she always thought she knew best what Diaper Diva should do when it came to Ducky.

It was probably really annoying. Actually, it was really obnoxious. But Diaper Diva was pretty nice about it. That’s probably because when Ducky was little, Diaper Diva was a typical new mom: a little nervous, a little jittery, a little bit, let’s call it what it is, ignorant when it came to the basics.

And boy did Smartmom love it when her sister asked for her advice. It made Smartmom feel like such a pro to give tips about teething, temperatures and the terrible twos.

Smartmom loved it when Diaper Diva followed her instructions word for word, like the time she bought the exact same Braun ear thermometer at Neergard or invested in the exact same kind of Maclaren stroller.

And then there were the times when Diaper Diva didn’t listen to what Smartmom had to say — something she lived to regret.

How about the time when Smartmom told Diaper Diva that she should get all the birthday party balloons in the same color so that the kids don’t fight.

“Read my lips,” Smartmom said. “Twelve purple balloons.”

But Diaper Diva didn’t listen, and at Ducky’s birthday party a gaggle of girls fought over two pink balloons.

There were tears and tantrums — and more than a few “I told you so’s.”

Then there was the time that Smartmom told Diaper Diva that it was a definite no-no to go backstage with Ducky before the Dance Studio’s recital at Brooklyn College.

“They don’t want parents back there, and she’ll probably get very clingy,” she warned.

Diaper Diva didn’t listen to Smartmom that time either. And when the rest of Ducky’s class was performing pirouettes, Ducky stayed stubbornly in Diaper Diva’s arms far away from the stage.

Well, that was then and this is now. Ducky is 5, and Diaper Diva is an experienced mom. Truth is, she doesn’t really need Smartmom’s advice anymore. And sometimes that makes Smartmom feel sad.

In fact, it doesn’t just make Smartmom feel sad. It makes her feel old and obsolete. It makes her feel invisible and without a purpose. She doesn’t know who she is when she isn’t being elderstatesmom.

Change is tough.

Diaper Diva doesn’t need Smartmom’s advice when Ducky has a fever. She knows all about Children’s Motrin and cold baths.

Diaper Diva doesn’t need advice about Ducky’s birthday parties. She knows the best hula-hoopers, children’s folk singers and party clowns.

Diaper Diva doesn’t need Smartmom’s advice about summer camps. She’s familiar with Park Explorers and Kim’s Kids and has actually researched, like, 10 other camps in the area.

Diaper Diva doesn’t need Smartmom’s advice about disciplining Ducky. Diaper Diva is actually an ace when it comes to setting limits and telling Ducky that she can’t buy junk eggs at Pino’s, those stupid little toys in egg-shaped canisters that they sell in those evil gum ball machines.

Smartmom can’t give Diaper Diva advice about bedtime either because, well, her kids were (and still are) night owls. But Ducky has always been a great sleeper, and Diaper Diva has always been firm about putting her to sleep, after three books, at 8 pm.

And about that three books thing, Smartmom lost that battle early on. She was never able to limit the number of books she read at bedtime. Well, she tried. But Teen Spirit, and then OSFO, always pushed the envelope.

Smartmom can’t even give Diaper Diva advice about PS 321, the beloved elementary school where she sent her children. For one thing, Smartmom doesn’t know all the new teachers. And Smartmom is way behind the eight-ball when it comes to all the newfangled traditions like 100s Day, the 100th day of school when the kindergartners are required to create an artwork using 100 of something.

Smartmom isn’t Expertmom anymore. So it’s lucky Smartmom isn’t having any more kids because she’d never hear the end of it from Know-it-all, er, Diaper Diva. Truth be told, she’s the smart mom now.

FILM

–Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer at BAM; Brooklyn’s Finest and Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton at the Pavilion

–Sunday, March 7 at 8 PM Pops Corn live blogs the Oscars right here on  OTBKB!

MUSIC

–Saturday, March 6th at 8:30 PM indie music with Moshe Hecht  at the Jewish Music Cafe

–Saturday, March 6th at 10 PM Find out what happens when New York jazz musicians play and improvise around the melodies of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at Barbes in Park Slope

–Sunday, March 7th at 8PM Nerissa Campbell’s Oscar party and concert at Puppets Jazz Bar in Park Slope.

THEATER

–March 6-7 at 8PM and through March 13th: Brave New World Repertory presents The Crucible by candlelight at The Old Stone House in Park Slope.

Through March 28th A Life in Three Acts at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Dumbo. “Hilarious and touching… a priceless repository of mischief and mimicry, honesty, wisdom and defiance” – The Times.

POETRY

On Sunday, March 7th at 7PM (before the Oscars) the Brooklyn Lyceum Writers Series presents poet Edward Hirsch reading from The Living Fire. He is the author of eight collections of poetry and four prose books, among them How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry, a national best seller.

MUSEUM NIGHTLIFE

On Saturday, March 6 starting at 5PM until midnight, First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum features special programs, and access to the exhibitions.

The kids in bars issue seems to be back for a flash. CNN weighed in on that subject recently and even quoted FIPS. Here’s an excerpt from the CNN piece:

…the divide remains wide in the blogosphere. Around 150 readers weighed in recently when someone posted on the Brooklynian, a neighborhood blog, the simple query: “Which bars are child free?” One writer shared the tale of a drunk father standing at a bar while his beer sloshed on his stroller-strapped kid’s face. Another poster announced a bar crawl in which “no crawlers” would be allowed.

The public debate about babies in bars ignited about two years ago when the bar Union Hall, a popular stomping ground, banned strollers from the premises, Gross said.

“At a certain point, owners said, ‘Hey, enough,’ ” he explained. “Strollers take up a lot of room, especially the nice strollers. Your average Bugaboo is a beast.”

This ban on buggies in a neighborhood where “kids rule” caused an “uproar,” said Erica Reitman, the 36-year-old married — but not a “breeder,” she insists — marketing director who is behind the blog F****ed in Park Slope. “There wasn’t a march on the street, but there could have been. [Union Hall] relented under pressure and got rid of the policy.”

Wouldn’t it be fun to watch the Oscars with OTBKB’s film expert and critic, Pops Corn? Isn’t he just the guy you’d like to be sitting next to on the couch trading Oscar stories, film facts and critiques of the Oscar presenters and winners?

Well, here’s your chance. Sort of.

Pops will be live blogging the Oscars live on OTBKB on Sunday night starting at 8PM (no, I don’t think he’ll be live blogging the Barbara Walters Special). But he wouldn’t miss the red carpet for anything. Pops will be online posting every 15 minutes or so exactly what he’s thinking and feeling about the broadcast, the ceremony, the movies, Alec, Steve, the audience and all the rest.

Don’t miss Oscar night with OTBKB’s Pops Corn. 8 PM on OTBKB.

On Sunday March 7th at 2 PM, Parents for Climate Protection and Beth Elohim Environmental Committee is having their 4th Annual Family Gathering (free and open to the public) in support of climate protection at Beth Elohim at 271 Garfield Place in Park Slope.

They’ve got something of interest for young children, teens and adults:

For young children: Tiffany Threadgould of RePlayGround will show kids how to turn scrap materials into fun and useful objects.

For teens: The Alliance for Climate Education will present a spirited multi-media presentation, including music, live narration, video and animation to educate and empower teens to take action on climate change.

For grown-ups, they’ve put together a panel discussion sure to enlighten and inspire, entitled: After Copenhagen: The Science and Policy of Climate Change

Continue reading Sunday 2PM: Parents for Climate Protection in Park Slope →

Superfund sounds like a fund but its not. It’s just a list, put out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), of the most toxic sites in America.

Remember Love Canal. That’s when Superfund started.

Superfund doesn’t have the money to pay for costly clean-ups that go on for years. But it’s their job to identify the polluters, who are responsible for the mess and go after them. They are, truly, the Toxic Avengers.

That can, of course, be a little tricky. Some of those companies aren’t even in business anymore.

Last summer during initial meetings about Superfund status for the Gowanus, the agency identified Con Ed, National Grid, Chemtura, the U.S. Navy for some World War II-related uses and the City of New York as major polluters of the Gowanus.

All the usual suspects in these parts.

But now there are more. Plenty more. On Thursday night at the  meeting at PS 58 on Smith Street, the EPA revealed more polluters. Walter Mugdan, the regional director of the Superfund program, and an impressive leader for this endeavor, announced that Kraft Foods and Citigroup might have to foot part of the bill for the $500-million that could take as long as 12 years.

Yowza.

Here is the list of new names:

Amerada Hess Corp.

Bayside Fuel Oil Corp.

BP America, Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Exxon Mobil Corp.

Seagrave Coatings Corp.

Patterson Energy Group

E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co.

Honeywell International Inc.

Kraft Foods Inc.

Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.

Unilever USA, Inc.

AkzoNobel Polymer Chemicals LLC

ConocoPhillips Co.

Fuqua Enterprises, Inc.

Citigroup, Inc.

Algrun Metals and Minerals, Corp.

NL Industries, Inc

United Capital Corp.

Universal Fixtures, Corp.

Wouldn’t it be fun to watch the Oscars with OTBKB’s film expert and critic, Pops Corn? Isn’t he just the guy you’d like to be sitting next to on the couch trading Oscar stories, film facts and critiques of the Oscar presenters and winners?

Well, here’s your chance. Sort of.

Pops will be live blogging the Oscars live on OTBKB on Sunday night starting at 8PM (no, I don’t think he’ll be live blogging the Barbara Walters Special). But he wouldn’t miss the red carpet for anything. Pops will be online posting every 15 minutes or so exactly what he’s thinking and feeling about the broadcast, the ceremony, the movies, Alec, Steve, the audience and all the rest.

That’s Oscar night with OTBKB’s Pops Corn. Don’t miss it!

As part of the Brooklyn Heights Association’s Celebrating a Century yearlong series of events, the BHA will be presenting a two hour workshop on Saturday, March 27^th at 2pm. Held at the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS), this workshop will help you discover the intriguing history of your house using BHS’ images, records and documents.

Attendees will be introduced to the library collections as well as essential tools for house and building research, allowing them to piece together the architectural and social history of any Brooklyn home or block. At this event participants will be given time to use their new skills to begin research in BHS’ Othmer Library. Admission: $10

Brooklyn Historical Society: 128 Pierrepont Street

Space is limited, to confirm attendance please call 718-222-4111 x250 or email vservice@brooklynhistory.org.

Visit  www.thebha.org to learn about all of the events in the BHA’s Celebrating a Century series. For questions regarding the BHA and the Celebrating a Century series please contact BHA at 718.858.9193 or info@thebha.org.  Follow them on Twitter:www.twitter.com/BKLYNHeights.  Fan us on facebook: www.facebook.com/BrooklynHeightsAssociation.

PS 107 and PS 39 are presenting a special evening of stories for families, featuring storyteller Bill Harley, winner of two Grammy Awards,the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, the Storytelling World Award and others.

Bill’s stories and songs are funny and insightful and, best of all, appeal equally to children and adults.

Thursday, March 25, 2010
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
John Jay High School 237 7th Avenue

Tickets are $10 per person or $30 per family (up to six people)
Tickets can be bought at www.ps107.org or at the door.
Questions? Email stuart.miller6@verizon.net

All ticket and bake sale proceeds benefit the PS 107 PTA and PS 39 PTA. Here is a link to a Youtube clip of Bill Harley.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RoundRiverProduction#p/u/5/yB0Wm7CsDv0

Neighborhood bloggers are celebrating the decision by the EPA to put the Gowanus Canal on the Superfund list:

Found in Brooklyn

Pardon Me for Asking

The City Room has a photo feature called “The Gowanus, In All Its Gooey Glory”

I wrote this on March 5th, 2009:

I’ll never forget the day that a perfect stranger by the name of Bob Guskind emailed to say that he was starting a blog. He told me that he was a seasoned journalist and a reader of OTBKB—and that he planned to focus on real estate and development issues in Brooklyn.

He was calling his blog, Gowanus Lounge, named after a shuttered bar on Union Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

I met Bob a few weeks later at the First Annual Brooklyn Blogfest at the Old Stone House. That was June of 2006 and I was very impressed with him. Serious, funny, he had a hearty laugh and a radio announcer’s voice. He told me that he’d worked at the National Journal in Washington for years. It was obvious that he was really excited about this blogging thing.

Clearly, he was smitten by the promise of the Blogosphere because it offered him the chance to pursue a lifelong dream: to be the publisher, editor, and star reporter of his very own Internet newspaper.

In the months that followed I was amazed at the scope of Bob’s reporting. At the time he had a day job at community newspaper in New Jersey and a freelance job with Curbed, a real estate blog in Manhattan. But somehow he managed to put out numerous blog posts every day. How, I wondered, did he have the time for all the top-notch reporting he was doing in and around Brooklyn?

And, boy, did he get around: Gowanus, Park Slope, Williamsburg, Coney Island. Bob was an old style newspaper reporter. He walked the walk, made the phone calls, drove his car from one end of the borough to the other doing the real face-to-face reporting that few bloggers are willing or able to do.

Later he worked full-time for Curbed.com and he still managed to create a wonderfully dynamic blog that had its own distinct editorial voice and hard-hitting reporting.

I especially enjoyed Bob’s frequent Street Couch series, photographs taken by Bob of derelict couches that were abandoned on the streets of Brooklyn. Those posts exhibited a whimsical and creative side of Bob that I found compelling.

Last summer we were both interviewed on Brian Lehrer’s television show. It was a nice experience and Bob and I spoke afterward about the myriad ways that blogging had changed our lives. That’s when he told me that Gowanus Lounge was the best thing he’d ever done professionally because it was a dream come true to invent his own “newspaper.”

Many of us knew that Bob worked too hard. That, like many journalists, he had “workaholic” tendencies. He worked until he dropped. He would often regale me with tales of work days that began well before dawn and took him till the wee hours of the morning. It seemed that long hours were the rule not the exception for Bob, who obviously loved what he was doing.

Continue reading Robert Guskind, You Had Brooklyn’s Back and for That We Thank You →

The post below was sent to the Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (CG CORD) from Phil DePaolo, a Carroll Gardens resident and community activist in Williamsburg. CG CORD writes: “He reminds us that we lost a dear friend and incredibly passionate Brooklyn community activist, Bob Guskind, author of the Gowanus Lounge Blog and writer for Curbed, among other things.  There is not a day that goes by that we at CORD do not think of Bob…We often say that we have no idea where CORD would be today had it not been for the compassionate, listening ear and and superior journalism instantly provided for us by Bob Guskind.  Rest in Peace our friend.  We miss you each and every day! ”

Today is one year since the passing of Bob Guskind. I miss him so much and I wonder what Bob would be saying about all the developments since his passing. I know he would be thrilled and very proud of the residents of Gowanus who won a Superfund designation yesterday over the objections of the Mayor. This was very important to Bob. I know he would also be very happy that the Newtown Creek has also received Superfund designation.

Bob would not be happy about what has happened at Coney Island or Atlantic Yards.  The loss of historic structures, the loss of amusement space and the overwhelming density and limited scope of the Coney plan were issues we often spoke about.

The recent ruling by Judge Gerges regarding Atlantic Yards would have angered Bob. He was a strong supporter of protecting residents from Eminent Domain abuse. He also saw through the fake “Affordable Housing” and the impact of the proposed density on the existing community.

He would be all over the new Domino proposal in Williamsburg. Bob was a strong advocate for the preservation and protection of the Domino site. The proposed density and lack of true affordability would have him up in arms!

Bob would be proud of some of our bloggers who have done a great service to our communities discussing important issues that for the most part are ignored by mainstream media. But he hated hack bloggers who simply cut and paste information or were just lazy. I remember one of Bob’s first post explaining why he started Gowanus Lounge. “Up front: While I am a realist about what cities need in order to survive and thrive, I am not a fan of what is happening in our communities, and particularly of the looming Manhattanization of Brooklyn and of the ongoing Theme Parkization of Manhattan. The blog side of Gowanus Lounge will be joined, some months down the road, by a literary magazine intended to feature the work, especially, of Brooklyn-based writers, and stories that feature a strong sense of place. I don’t take myself as seriously as all this might make it sound”

I can’t believe it has been a year since Bob passed away. But going forward I have wonderful memories of a great friend. I hope you can take a second to remember him. You can still see his writing and thoughts at

www.bobguskind.com and http://gowanuslounge.blogspot.com/

I just got this tip about census jobs from an OTBKB reader.

I don’t know if this would be of interest to you and your readers, but I am currently working for the 2010 Census. The region that includes DUMBO to Clinton Hill & Prospect Heights, Red Hook to Sunset Park (and everything in between) is currently facing a shortage of applicants for Enumerating jobs.

We are so short on applicants that everyone in our database will be offered a job within the next 6 weeks, and due to refusals and not being able to reach some people we probably won’t be able to fill all of the jobs that we have.

This is a great opportunity for people in this area to make some quick cash. The greatest number of jobs that will be available pay $18.75 an hour, but there will be positions available that pay from $14.50/hr. to $20.25/hr. and offer flexible part-time and full-time schedules including evening and weekend hours. The job also includes a paid training period.

All people have to do is call 718-360-5150 to schedule to take the test. Or, show up at the Big Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza between 1:30 and 1:45 this Sunday, with two forms of ID (Photo – Passport, License, State ID plus a Social Security Card, or Birth Certificate.) It’s that simple. Due to the shortage, just about any passing score will net a job.

I have been working with the 2010 Census off and on since the address canvassing operation last spring, and it’s an interesting job. I highly recommend it, especially for people that are interested in Brooklyn and people.