Have you seen the new Petit Bateau pop-up shop in Park Slope? It is located in the storefront that was Living on Seventh (between 3rd and 4th Streets on Seventh Avenue) and is essentially, a one-month (or while the supply lasts) sample sale with onesies, shirts, striped French sailor shirts (which I just LOVE), undies, skirts, dresses, hoodies, socks and more in  newborn to 18 year-old sizes. While the shop mostly carries children’s sizes, the teenage sizes fit some adults. The Petit Bateau line is gorgeous and well-made and everything in there is half price.

Go for it!

The Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) candidates at Brooklyn College’s Art and Performance & Interactive Media Arts (PIMA) have created a collaborative work. In doing so they have declared a temporary independent micronation, which will be on view on December 12th in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

This micronation has dual goals: first, to integrate art into all aspects of daily life, and second, to achieve statehood. In other words: all functions of the state are opportunities for artistic expression.

So what is a micronation and what exactly are these graduate students up to?

According to the group’s press release: “Micronations have a strong place in global history. Some are theoretical experiments in statehood, some are born out of frustration or discontent, while others are played for laughs: enormous, time consuming, intricate jokes, usually made at the creator’s own expense.

The following are examples of micronation trailblazers:

–Prince Leonard’s Hutt River Province (which seceded from Australia in 1970),

–the infamous Sealand (perched on a crumbling former anti-aircraft tower in
Britain’s North Sea).

–Westarctica (recipient of five Norton Awards for Micronational Excellence)

–The Kingdom of North Dumpling Island (which signed a nonaggression, mutual-defense pact with then-president George Bush Sr. in 1992).

Frankly, I don’t know much about micronations but I’m intrigued. Brooklyn College MFA micronation will be housed at Marian Spore: 55 33rd Street on the fourth Floor, Industry City (Sunset Park), Brooklyn. The micronation will only be open for visits on Sunday, December 12, from 4 – 6 PM. Admission price is the donation of a canned good, or the presentation of a gift.

Intrigued? Then you should go see what this is all about.

For no reason: Brooklynometry

Macabees: Fresh Poetry Daily

On singleness: Old First Blog

Thanksgiving is a contested holiday: Self-Absorbed Boomer

Against mixology and pro lit mags: The Spiral Staircase

New York Punk and Underground Record Fair Coming: Brooklyn Vegan

Mark Morris on The Hard Nut: NY Times

Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democrats  introduced the fifth different version of the  DREAM Act this year. This revision of the controversial legislation would offer legalized citizenship to immigrants who were brought to this country before the age of 16, who go college or serve in the United States military for at least two years.

My neighbor, a principal at a NYC public high school, feels passionately about The DREAM Act. She sent me this letter the last time the DREAM Act was voted on in the Senate.

As you know, I feel very passionately about improving the lives of immigrant students through education. It is possible that after years of stalling, the Dream Act, which would open a pathway to citizenship for undocumented students who graduate from college.

Please make it possible for students like Angel, who was brought to the US at age ten by his parents, to live up to their potential and contribute to our society.  In bald terms, taxpayers spent close to 100K on his education and society is not reaping his potential.  In human terms, Angel’s story is a painful reminder of what can happen to undocumented students. Angel graduated from Brooklyn International High School a number of years ago, scraped together the means to attend and graduate from Hunter College. This in and of itself is an extraordinary accomplishment given the statistic that fewer than five out of one hundred Latinos graduate from college.  Angel was offered a position at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the strength of his work as an intern there, which he could not accept, because he was undocumented.  Angel now sells flowers by day in midtown Manhattan and delivers take-out Chinese dinners in Park Slope by night.

When Angel came to me years ago to say he didn’t think going to college would be worth it, I told him about the Dream Act. I told him it would be a gamble, but if it never got passed, noone could ever take his education away from him and he would serve as a powerful example to his community and future children.

Let’s just say, my heart breaks every time I bump into Angel on his delivery bike.  Please, for his sake, and for the sake of all the Angels out there all over the US, please take a moment out of your busy lives to insure that we tap into the potential and hold out hope for the students who really do believe in and work for the promise of the American Dream with an ardent fervor even as many of our children, who have the birthright of American citizenship purely by chance, take for granted.

Nine activists dressed as giant bagels (and donuts and coffee cups) were arrested yesterday as they picketed outside Mayor Bloomberg’s World AIDS Day “Bagel Breakfast” at the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaze. According to a Housing Works organizers: “For three years the mayor has committed to combating AIDS at his Bagel Breakfast, then a month later proposed devastating cuts to AIDS housing, transportation or other services. He also influenced Gov. Paterson to veto the popular 30 percent rent cap AIDS housing bill.” The nine in costumes, who laid down in the street in Grand Army Plaza disrupting traffic, were later released from the 78th precinct.

“Those of us with HIV stand in solidarity, without shame, and invite all New Yorkers to join today and every day in the fight against AIDS,” said Charles King, pres. and CEO, Housing Works in an email.

Organizers from Housing Works — which fights homelessness and AIDS — came up with this inventive protest, which included people dressed as bagels, bananas and coffee cups.

Are you hungry for some stir fried fiction, fresh baked poetry and deep dish prose? On Thursday, December 16 at 8PM Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House presents a  succulent bounty from writers who use food as metaphor, motif and mnemonics of meaning. Bring an appetite for good writing and real snacks by Chef Ame Gilbert, who will prepare tasty treats for you to enjoy.

This BRW event is a benefit for the food pantry at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope. You are invited to donate what you wish. Suggested donation is $5, which includes snacks by Ame Gilbert and wine. Feel free to give more for those in need.

The writers on the literary menu include: Greg Fuchs, Jim Behrle, Louise Crawford, Michele Madigan Somerville, Peter Catapano, Sophia Romero, Ame Gilbert and more…

The Old Stone House is located at Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope. For more information go to theoldstonehouse.org or brooklynreadingworks.com

My friend Ed just sent this picture of that big rainstorm outside.

I wrote this on November 30, 2004 when my son applied to public high school. It was published on my first blog, Third Street. It’s actually nice to have a written memento of that day.

He did it: it’s done. The application is filled out. Signed. Dated Smartmom, Hepcat and Teen Spirit managed to select 12 public high schools and order them according to preference. The guidance counselor has it.

Hepcat didn’t sleep a wink last night. Teen Spirit’s high school application was only part of the anxiety running rampant in his mind. Last week his hard drive crashed. So in addition to worrying about Teen Spirit’s future and the family’s money situation, Hepcat was trying to figure out how he was going to print up 50 pictures or more without a computer for this weekend’s photo sale.

Smartmom popped up at 6:30 am and saw only OSFO in the bed — Clever Grandma was sleeping in OSFO’s room. No Hepcat. She looked everywhere for him. It’s not a huge apartment so that didn’t take long. She checked Teen Spirit’s bed twice — maybe Hepcat crawled in there. Nope. Was he on the green leather couch where he sometimes ends up? Negative. She checked to see if his camera was in its spot — was he out taking pictures of the dawn? Nope. Camera on the table in the living room.

Hmmmm. Where did Hepcat go? It’s time to fill out Teen Spirit’s high school application. Procrastination time is OVER. He wouldn’t run out over this, up and leave, end it all…

Finally the front door opened at around 6:45. Hepcat had to re-park the car because the city begins repaving Third Street and all cars had to be moved.

Mystery solved.

So they argued. Hey, isn’t that what everyone does when they’re stressed? The argument didn’t take hold so they moved on. And thus began the final lap of the high school application process. They started slow, but gained momentum. By 7:15 they were really going strong. Insideschools.com was open on the laptop, names of schools were being bandied about: Ever heard of…what does it say about…what are the statistics on…oh shit, we still need an eleventh choice…

Continue reading A Palpable Feeling of Relief: High School Choices Form 2004 →

This Coming Dec 9,10,11,12,16,17,18 the Brooklyn Lyceum will present a Holiday run of “a Charlie Brown Christmas” performed by Pig Brooch Inc. and featuring a live Jazz trio playing Vince Guaraldi’s famous soundtrack. More information and tickets are available here on their website.

A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn

Pumpkin pannacotta with gingerbread crust: A Kitchen in Brooklyn

Ditmas Park pub crawl: Ditmas Park Blog

Snowflake food specials: All About Fifth

Brooklyn food and drink round-up: Brownstoner

Prime 6 gets a rendering: Here’s Park Slope

If I’m a little frazzled today it’s because today is the day that my daughter (with our help) is required to fill out the High School Program Choices form, where she will carefully print the program code, program and name of all the high schools she’s interested in—up to 12 choices.

Suffice it to say, we’re all feeling more than a little stress. As of this morning my daughter still wasn’t sure, which school she wants to put in her all-important number one spot.

The decision about where she ends up is, ultimately, made by a computer using a complex algorithm that weighs various elements and is so complex few can really explain it (so I’m not even going to try).

If you’ve been following OTBKB’s High School Tour Confidential series, you know that the NYC public high school admissions process is a highly competitive ordeal that, in a sense, pits kid against kid, for the coveted spots in the coveted schools. Some schools require assessment tests, portfolios, essays and interviews while others require auditions for art, drama, dance or music. Some rely on test scores and grades. All of them look closely at attendance and punctuality.

Over coffee this morning, I sat with two other 8th grader moms at Sweet M’s and we spoke of the relief we’d feel when this process is over. There will be relief when we hand in the form, for sure, but it ain’t over until it’s over

Handing in the form is actually just the beginning of the next phase. The waiting. In late winter or spring we will finally find out where are children are going to school next year.

At Sweet M’s we laughed and reminisced about the high school tours. But mostly we expressed weariness and frustration. We went over the various schools we’d seen. We laughed some more. It was a nice bit of sharing and venting over coffee.

Continue reading High School Tour Confidential: Making Our List →

As a new feature: I will end each day at 5PM with the last line of a book that is lying on a nearby shelf.

“As you look at our beautiful, beautiful faces, there’s no getting around it. There is something there that can’t be denied.”

The last line from Third Girl From the Left by Martha Southgate

I just read in the Brooklyn Paper that the Old Stone House was burglarized on November 21. The burglar stole two computers, which were, fortunately, backed up, and $200 from a safe.

“It’s disconcerting that someone would want to steal from a community group,” Kim Maier told the Brooklyn Paper.