Monthly Archives: February 2011

arts and culture

Finally, A Letter from Catherine in Albania

The former owner of the Park Slope’s Community Bookstore, Catherine Bohne, posted this wonderful letter on Online Journal from Albania. In it she describes the protests in Tirana, the capital, and also her new life in the Valbona Valley.

I found the writing so alive and so alluring. It’s positively novelistic in that magical way that Catherine has of describing her experiences. Do ya think she’s going to write a book about her exploits? Here’s an excerpts. You can read more here: http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_6858.shtml

Thanks for Ezra, the new owner of the Community Bookstore for sending this around to the Community Bookstore email list.

In the world I come from, I have made a seemingly quixotic and possibly overwroughtly romantic and impractical choice. I have given away my business, sold my apartment for break-even, and moved with a few suitcases of random possessions to Albania — specifically to Northern Albania, the District of Tropoja, to this point possibly one of the most backwards, impoverished and forgotten regions of Europe. To absolutely damn the impracticality of my decision, I should add that I have no income, no plans for any income and no clear thoughts about what my future looks like. Nor am I of an age which lends itself to such a cavalier attitude to the future. In my world, I should be planning sensibly for senescence, I suppose. Well, I’m not.

So my compulsion then is to explain the actual sense of my decision — to communicate why I’m absolutely certain this is the wisest and most practical choice of my life to date. What is it about Albania? What is there here that I perceive, that is not in other places I have been? Something real and tangible that is worth more than whatever I may have given up? And what is it that I see, that I see that others from my world do not see, so that they so often seem to be rushing to help Albania lose exactly what it is that I see that makes it so precious? Something worth speaking up for? Something that is exactly what my world might well stand to learn? Or relearn, as it seems so often to have been forgotten.

Images flash through my mind, but resist organization. Point and counterpoint. Somehow, though, I think they add up to an answer, of some sort at any rate…

…Here’s one last picture. Just before we leave Kamenica, I am sitting in the snow on the edge of the wall surrounding the entrance to the house. One of the daughters of the house crouches beside me. Together we gaze out at the snow-covered hills, absolutely silent and gloriously empty. An enormous mockingbird plays in a frozen fruit tree, knocking lumps of snow to the ground. You like Albania? she asks. Oh yes, I say. I love it. I turn and we look into each others eyes, smiling happily. You? I ask. I watch her as she returns watching the mountains. Oh yes,  she says, still smiling. Yes.

To read much about her experiences in Albania go here.

arts and culture

Feb 16-18: The Pajama Men at St. Ann’s Warehouse

Because I am of the school of thought that practically everything at St. Ann’s Warehouse is worth seeing, here’s what they’re presenting later this week:

The Pajama Men, aka Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez, are bringing their international hit show, The Last Stand to Reason, to St. Ann’s Warehouse.  Hailed by the London Times as “one of the most dazzling displays of comedy theatre I’ve ever seen. It’s weird. And it’s wonderful”, these guys from Albuquerque, NM will be presented by AEG Live for 5 shows only, Wed Feb 16 – Fri Feb 18 at 8PM and Sat Feb 19 7PM  & 9:30PM.

arts and culture

Park Sloper Creates Gay Valentines

Here’s one of my stories from Park Slope Patch. I should have posted it days ago. Sorry.

Everyone has a good idea from time to time. But Park Slope designer Susanne Fox decided to do something about it.

“A lesbian friend of mine who works with a Broadway production company mentioned that the boys at work were upset about a lack of man-to-man Valentine’s Day cards,” Fox told me in a recent phone conversation.

Apparently that was all the inspiration Fox, who is heterosexual, needed to create a line of Valentine’s Day cards for same-sex couples that she is selling on her Etsy site.

“I brainstormed a few ideas with my friend and the rest was easy,”

Easy if you happen to be a talented illustrator and designer like Fox. The cards are black, white and red and are characterized by an elegant line drawing and message.

“This year you are my valentine,” read the words on the cover of one of her cards. Inside there’s a hand drawn illustration of two women in bras and the words: “because four boobs are better than two.”

Another card shows a man smoking a cigarette, which says: “When you asked to borrow a fag I told you, Come and Get Me. Glad to be your Valentine.”

On another, two women are pictured. One has her hand on the other woman’s breast. When you open the card: “You’ve really got a hold on me. Happy Valentine’s Day”

According to Fox, 22, a Philadelphia native, the images were inspired by photographs and drawn by hand but in conjunction with (actually on) the computer.

With a degree in Interior Design from Syracuse University, Fox moved to Park Slope two years ago. “It’s a great community,” she says. “Still a city but you can meet everyone and anyone here.”

Fox, who most recently worked for interior designer Cherie Zucker in Manhattan, says she likes to create nice things for nice people. Currently self-employed, she aims to create “an environment, product or system that will delight someone and make his or her life a little bit more enjoyable every day,” she told me.

Like many a designer, she has a tendency to obsess over scale and proportion, which is evident in these cards which combine craftsmanship with a bit of whimsy.

In addition to her work as a designer, she describes herself as a frequent dinner party host. “My favorite dish is citrus panko-crusted shrimp couscous with toasted sliced almonds, scallions, watercress and cilantro.”

Clearly she capable of creating quite a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.

For her parties, like her cards, Fox thinks that presentation is key. “I always set the table nicely before guests arrive. A beautiful dessert is great eye candy for the entertainment space and something worth waiting for after dinner. It’s also fun to have interactive activities for before and after food.”

I asked Fox if she has a favorite Valentine’s Day: “My Dad is a woodworker and furniture maker by hobby. One year he carved a heart out of wood for me and wrote “Be My Valentine. Love, Dad” on it.

For Valentine’s Day 2011, Fox’s plans are still undetermined. “I hope it involves cupcakes with pink frosting.”

Then I popped the big question. What is your definition of love?

“Putting up with stubble is a good answer,” was her succinct reply.

Civics and Urban Life

Steve Levin: The Power of Community Activism

I just received an email from City Council Member Steve Levin, who’s 33rd District includes parts of Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Williambsurg and Greenpoint (hope I didn’t miss anyone).

Apparently he’s all revved up about the power of community activism and is pleased to announce that in the  past few weeks, local activism and organizing has had a real positive effect on various communities in his district.

While there are still many issues that he and the community must tackle, Levin feels reassured that “if we continue to work together, we will be able to overcome any obstacle. Together, we will make our city an even better place to live and work.”

Positive stuff.

First, just over a week ago, HELP USA announced their decision to withdraw their proposal to build a 200-bed homeless assessment center at 400 McGuinness Boulevard . Hundreds of Greenpoint residents signed petitions and sent letters to Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond, voicing their opposition to the proposed assessment center. The decision to withdraw the proposal was a direct response to the advocacy of a united community. Thank you to everyone who signed the petition, wrote a letter, and attended our meetings to voice their opposition the proposal.  Now, we must continue to work together as a community to address Greenpoint’s homeless population in a positive and constructive manner. You can see my press release regarding this decision here.

Second, I recently held a town hall with residents of Monitor Street in Greenpoint. Residents were informed by the Department of Design and Construction that DDC had determined that their stoops were intruding on city-owned property and would be removed due to impending construction. The stoops have been in existence for generations and, despite other construction projects, residents were never before told that there may be an issue. After hearing from the community, DDC postponed their planned construction until a comprehensive solution can be reached. The residents of Monitor Street deserve all of the credit for effectively organizing and drawing attention to the city’s unnecessary request. You can see my press release regarding this decision here.

Lastly, a few days ago, Governor Cuomo announced that he planned to withhold funds for the continued operation of Long Island College Hospital until further notice. Our community came together quickly to tell Gov. Cuomo that LICH is essential to our neighborhood. Because of your strong advocacy, Gov. Cuomo recognized that LICH is essential to the Brownstone Brooklyn community and announced that he will adhere to the agreement put in place by his predecessor, former Gov. Paterson. The funding is being released and LICH will continue to serve our community.

arts and culture

E.E. Cummings: i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

arts and culture, Jamie Livingston

Valentine’s Day 1991

I just found this photo of me on Jamie Livingston’s Photo of the Day website from February 14, 1991.

Here I am pregnant, in a bed at  Lenox Hill Hospital with pre-term labor. I had to stay there for a month so that my son, Henry, wouldn’t be born 4 months early.

His due date was June 12th.

I remember spending Valentine’s Day at the hospital. Hugh, who managed to stay strong throughout this ordeal, made me a beautiful valentine’s card that made me cry. And I guess he gave me a box of chocolates. Or someone did.

That was one of the most stressful times of my life. I thought Henry might not survive. I was under doctor’s orders to be calm and told not to laugh or cry. I wasn’t allowed to get out of bed, to stand. It was pretty awful. But staying calm was hardest of all.

CALM? How can you be calm in a situation like that?

I had so much love and support from Hugh, my family and friends. My parents, who divorced years before and were rarely in the same room together, were there day after day, side by side (able for the first time to overlook their own differences in the face of this emergency).

My sister, my cousins, my aunts, my friends, including one who figured out how to wash my hair while lying in bed, all rallied round. They brought food, books, magazines. Jamie gave me cassette tapes of his favorite ethnic music, another friend brought  Creme Brulee from a French Bistro, still another gave me an adorable stuffed dog that sat on top of the hospital TV like a mascot.

My twin sister gave blood for me (just in case). At first she was told that she was too thin to give blood. While she was disappointed about not being able to give blood, she was THRILLED to be too thin. As I recall, they told her to go out and have a big meal and then come back.

She did end up giving blood for me and I was grateful.

The room was often full of people. It was actually kind of festive and fun. I got so many flowers from a Upper West Side flower shop called Surroundings, it was a lush garden on my windowsill, which had a diagonal view of Park Avenue.

I remember wanting to connect with the baby(I had just learned that he was a he) but I was afraid because I thought he might die.

A wise person told me: attach to the baby inside of you. If something does happen, you will deal with the loss then.

And so I did. I soared at the art of positive even magical thinking. And you know what? It worked!

Henry was born on his due date. The nurse screamed out “He’s cute.” Indeed, he was the most adorable– and beloved — baby in the world.

arts and culture

Flowers and Chocolate

2cbw9643_stdThis is an old post from 2005 about Valentine’s Day:

Hepcat and I agree to differ about Valentine’s Day. He hates it and calls it a Hallmark holiday. Grudgingly, he will make or buy a card but his heart just isn’t in  it. I don’t get hurt anymore but I do feel a twinge of regret that he’s not a flowers and chocolate kind of guy.

I happen to love Valentine’s Day: the cards, the silver-wrapped chocolates, the heart shaped gifts. It’s fun to browse the jewel-filled windows of The Clay Pot and Treasure Chest. Weeks ahead of time, they are harbingers of the big bright red spot in the middle of February.

As a girl, I enjoyed making valentines with white lace doilies or buying those tiny “Will You Be Mine” cards from Woolworths and giving them to each and every member of my  elementary school class.

Even now, I shop for cards well in advance, carefully choosing the right card for friends and family. It is not lost on me that the stores are cashing in on these small gestures of love. I spent $39.99 at Possibilities, the newish card shop on Seventh Avenue (the closest thing we have to a Hallmark).  That’s nearly forty dollars plus postage for this much maligned holiday.

Yeesh. The commercial nature of the day really is quite appalling. Shop after shop on Seventh Avenue has heart shaped decorations taped to their front windows — just another way to say: “Spend Money.” All the restaurants post signs announcing their Valentine’s Day dinners. It is said to be one of the two worst days of the year to eat out (the other is Mother’s Day).

But for all that it has going against it, Valentine’s Day does gently force us to acknowledge and say, “I love you” to the people we love in our lives. How bad can that be? It doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. But even when  it does, it doesn’t hurt to spread a little love around.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

Civics and Urban Life

Hideous Brooklyn Murder Spree

Today I listened to a girl on the subway recite the hideous details of this weekend’s Brooklyn murder spree.

Maksim Gelmanm 23, is accused of murdering three and injuring others in a 28-hour killing spree. He was finally captured on the number 3 train at Times Square and arraigned on Sunday.

Needless to say, he is being held without bail on assault, robbery and second-degree murder charges

Just before his capture, Gelman attacked another man with a knife in a subway car. The dead include Gelman’s stepfather, the mother of a friend and a man Gelman rear-ended in the car he stole from his mother.

The murder spree was sparked by an argument about his mother’s car, a Lexus.

Civics and Urban Life

LICH Hospital Back from the Dead

Phew.

On Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo agreed to release $62 million in grants to allow LICH to merge with SUNY Downstate.

Hospital officials said the medical center was close to bankruptcy if the grants didn’t come through.

Now the Governor is releasing that money and the LICH/SUNY Downstate merger is good to go.

That was close.

arts and culture

Thursday at 8PM: The Memoirathon

Fans of memoir, fans of Jamie Livingston’s Photo-of-the-Day AND fans of Hugh Crawford and No Words Daily Pix work WILL NOT want to miss this year’s Memoirathon this Thursday at 8PM. The details are below:

On February 17th at 8PM, Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House presents its 4th annual Memoirathon: Experience and Expression curated by Branka Ruzak with poet Howard Altmann, prose writers Mindy Greenstein, Chris Macleod, Sue Ribner, Andrea Rosenhaft, Elena Schwolsky, Beverly Willett and Annalee Wilson AND exhibition of works by photographers Jamie Livingston and Hugh Crawford and painter Kathleen Mackenzie.

The English noun memoir, comes from the French mémoire and the Latin memoria, meaning memory. In its very simplest form, one can look at memoir as a remembrance of something meaningful or significant in one’s life. Artists capture and explore personal memories in unique ways, dependent on how they choose to express themselves, whether it’s through painting, photography, poetry, essay, etc. This evening celebrates the expression of memoir in just a few of its many forms.

Click on read more to read about the  prose writers, poets, photographers and painters, who will participate in this year’s Memoirathon.

Continue reading Thursday at 8PM: The Memoirathon →

arts and culture

OTBKB: Syd Straw’s Heartwreck Show

It’s Valentine’s Day, which means that it is time once again for Syd Straw‘s Heartwreck Show.  If you have never been to one of these shows, it consists of  rock vocalist extraordinaire Syd Straw leading a band of friends through any number of songs about the down side of love.  This year the place the festivities will take place is Southpaw in the northwest corner of Park Slope.   The full details are available to you at Now I’ve Heard Everything by clicking here.

–Eliot Wagner

Civics and Urban Life

Sat and Sun: New High School Fair in Manhattan

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The DOE will introduce 12 new high schools scheduled to open in September at the New High School Fair today and Sunday in Manhattan.

One of the new schools on the list is Millennium Brooklyn, which is joining the John Jay High School Complex in Park Slope in September. A handbook listing the schools will be posted online and will also be available at the fair, which is at the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School on the Upper West Side from 10AM until 1PM.

As you probably know, the DOE’s Panel for Education Policy just voted to close 22 schools. If your 8th grader  applied to a school that will now be closing or if they want to attend a new school, they can request a new schools application from their guidance counselor.

arts and culture

OTBKB’s Weekend List: Feb 12-13

Lots of cool stuff, including a LIVE screening of Nixon in China from the Metropolitan Opera at 1PM at BAM. The Diary of a Mad Man by Gogol with Geoffrey Rush at BAM AND Frost/Nixon at Height Players. Also: the new high school fair is Saturday and Sunday AND Biutiful with Javiar Bardem (swoon) shows at the Cobble Hill Cinema. Click on read more for more ideas and all the essential details.

Continue reading OTBKB’s Weekend List: Feb 12-13 →

Civics and Urban Life

The Last Line: austen

“With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them.”

From Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: Lucinda Williams on Video

Lucinda Williams has a new album about to be released.  Titled Blessed, the buzz is that this album is the best that Lucinda has recorded since her 1998 classic, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.  I haven’t heard the new one yet, but the first single from that album is called Buttercup and this video of it has been released.  It is, as Rod Serling used to say, presented for your consideration at Now I’ve Heard Everything, just click here to see it.

–Eliot Wagner

Civics and Urban Life

MTA Announces Re-Opening of Fourth Avenue Entrance

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In more subway news: Park Slopers will have a new subway entrance to the Fourth Avenue station (of the F and R trains) when The Metropolitan Transportation Authority opens a long-closed station entrance on the east side of Fourth Avenue at 9th Street.

The MTA said that it would reopen that entrance by the end of the year which is great news to commuters who don’t want to cross super-wide Fourth Avene.

Finally some good news from the MTA in Brooklyn.

Civics and Urban Life

Brad Lander: LICH in Jeopardy

Here is City Council Member Brad Lander’s letter to Governor Cuomo about his decision to delay grants to LICH putting the hospital’s survival in jeopardy.

I was very distressed to learn this morning that the Cuomo Administration has decided to delay grants to Long Island College Hospital/SUNY Downstate Medical Center, which may force the hospital into bankruptcy. I call on the governor to immediately restore these promised grants, in order to protect the health and safety of Brooklynites.

Long Island College Hospital serves people from throughout Brooklyn, and is especially important to residents of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens, for whom it is the nearest medical facility. Long Island College Hospital operates 300 beds, and annually delivers over 2,500 babies and has over 55,000 emergency room visits. Long Island College Hospital also provides 2,500 people with good jobs.

Last year — in recognition of financial challenges facing LICH, and in dialogue with the community — LICH began the process of merging with SUNY Downstate Medical Center. That deal will both preserve LICH as a great community hospital, and achieve efficiencies in the delivery of health care in Brooklyn. As part of the deal, LICH and SUNY Downstate were promised $62 million in state grants.

By delaying these grants, and suggesting that they might be cancelled, the Cuomo Administration is placing the merger, the survival of LICH, and the health of our communities in jeopardy.

I ask Governor Cuomo to respect the State’s commitment to LICH/SUNY Downstate, to immediately restore these grants, and to help secure the future of LICH, SUNY Downstate, and the health of our communities.

Civics and Urban Life

Weekend Subway Advisory

Thanks to the Brooklyn Paper for letting me borrow their lovely list of weekend subway changes:

F: Manhattan-bound trains skip Fort Hamilton Parkway, 15th Street-Prospect Park, and Smith-Ninth Street stations (all times until May).

G: Trains run in two sections: Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand avenues, and between Bedford-Nostrand avenues and Hoyt-Schermerhorn streets (Friday, Feb. 11 at 11 pm to Saturday, Feb. 12 at 6 am). No trains between Church Avenue and Bergen Street. Queens-bound trains skip Fort Hamilton Parkway and 15th Street-Prospect Park stations (all times until May).

A, C: Manhattan-bound trains run on the F from Jay Street-Metrotech, skipping High Street.

D: Trains run on the N line between Stillwell Avenue and 36th Street (Saturday, Feb. 12 at 4 am to Sunday, Feb. 13 at 10 pm). Manhattan-bound trains run express from 36th Street to Pacific Street, then skip Dekalb Avenue.

N: Trains run over the Manhattan Bridge between Dekalb Avenue and Canal Street (Saturday, Feb. 12 and Sunday, Feb. 13 at 12:01 am to 6:30 am, and Monday, Feb. 14 from 12:01 am to 5 am).

Q: Manhattan-bound trains run on the R from Dekalb Avenue. Manhattan-bound trains skip Avenue M and Avenue H (all times).

R: Trains run over the Manhattan Bridge between Dekalb Avenue and Canal Street (Saturday, Feb. 12 and Sunday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 am to midnight). No trains at Court Street and Jay Street-MetroTech. Manhattan-bound trains run express from 36th Street to Pacific Street, then skip Dekalb Avenue.

arts and culture

Free Babeland Body Chocolate If You Mention OTBKB

Mind you, Babeland is not paying me for this ad (I asked them once to advertise on OTBKB and it was no go). I do like the store very much, however, and want you to know that they are offering FREE Babeland Body Chocolate to any customer who attends their massage event tomorrow night (details below) AND references Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn (while supplies last)

The free workshop is called: Inspiring Desire with Massage and it’s on Thursday, February 10 at 7PM at Babeland Brooklyn ( 462 Bergen Street in Park Slope). You will learn techniques to add” romantic touch to your Valentine’s Day date.” According to the “babes” at Babeland, massage is an excellent way to get things started.

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: Four Shows, You Choose

Here we are at February Residency Wednesday again.  But tonight, we add another show to the mix and get four shows for you to choose from.   One is in the East Village at 8pm, two are on the Lower East Side at 9pm, and one is in Williamsburg at 10pm.  Tonight’s selections from which you can mix and match: Pete Kennedy, Milton, Aaron Lee Tasjan and Serena Jean.  You can find all the details at Now I’ve Heard Everything by clicking here.

–Eliot Wagner

arts and culture

Thurs: Improv on the Theme of Giving

On Thursday (February 10th) at 8PM at The Old Stone House my friend Nancy Graham will perform in To: From, a play developed through improvisation on the theme of giving. 

It is sure to be an interesting evening and I hope you’ll join me there.

To: From:
an evening of improvisation on the theme of giving

With Jerry Wintrob + Nancy Graham
Directed by Amy Poux

Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Old Stone House
336 3rd Street in Park Slope

Food and Drink

Behind the Scenes at Al Di La

2 Minutes to Dinner provides a behind-the-scenes look at Park Slope’s acclaimed Al Di La. In the blog post, Chef Anna Klinger reveals the secrets behind the restaurant’s delicious Anchovy Vinaigrette. 2 Minutes to Dinner is designed to help the home cook “put high quality dishes on the table in minutes, without shortcuts or convenience foods, all while encouraging frugality and improvisation.”

Given Al Di La‘s reputation for doing no wrong–ask anyone who eats out in my neighborhood–it’s funny that Anna Klinger, its chef/co-owner, would caution that her Anchovy Vinaigrette might be too simple for a Behind the Scenes entry.  It is, in fact, a perfect example of a basic, versatile, but hardly understated pantry item that we like to champion at Purple Kale Kitchenworks.  And, of course, it is Anna’s unflashy but keenly finessed cooking that keeps Al Di La’s Italian food on point.

arts and culture

Feb 10 at Ethical Culture: Journey to the Heart of Venezuela

On Thursday, February 10, at 6:30PM, Brooklyn for Peace presents a screening of Inside the Revolution: a Journey to the Heart of Venezuela, a documentary by Pablo Navarrete  (2009)

A discussion, led by Carol Delgado, Consul General of Venezuela and Greg Wilpert, author of Changing Venezuela, and a professor of political science at Brooklyn College, will follow the screening.

At the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture at the corner of 2nd Street and Prospect Park West in Park Slope.