Monthly Archives: November 2012

arts and culture

Dec 1: The Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair with Pete Hamill

 The Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair on December 1 from noon until 6PM at The Old Stone House will be a wonderful holiday shopping opportunity for book lovers and those who love beautiful things.

Best of all, acclaimed author  PETE HAMILL will read from an early edition of “The Gift of the Magi” by O’Henry at 4:30 PM. Pete will also be SIGNING copies of his new book  THE CHRISTMAS KID.

To open the holiday season, a group of independent Brooklyn booksellers with a shared interest in print history will fill the Old Stone House with some of their favorite rare, vintage, and out-of-print books. Get to know your local booksellers, and be surprised and inspired by books you didn’t even know you wanted!

Participants include:

Book Thug Nation, Williamsburg, est. 2009

Freebird Books, Cobble Hill, est. 2004

Honey & Wax Booksellers, Park Slope, est. 2012
Human Relations, Bushwick, est. 2012
Open Air Modern, Williamsburg, est. 2009,
P.S. Bookshop, DUMBO, est. 2006
Singularity & Co., DUMBO, est. 2012
Unnameable Books, Prospect Heights, est. 2006

Also for sale: antiquarian maps and prints of Brooklyn, offered by Prints Charming.

When: Saturday, December 1, 2012 from Noon until 6 p.m.
p.m.

Where: The Old Stone House in Park Slope, 336 Third Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Subway: The F train to 4th Avenue, the R train to Union Street.

Admission is free. Drinks and refreshments will be available.

Civics and Urban Life

An Artist Writes in Gaza: “I Don’t Know How the Story Ends”

I just read an opinion  piece in the New York Times about the Gaza situation called “Trapped in Gaza” by Lara Aburamaden. 

It begins with the simple line: “I don’t know how the story ends.” Aburamaden’s piece is almost  heartbreakingly artful at a time when restraint and communication have gone out the window, in a region that is sorely in need of such things.

Lara writes of being  at a Nordic Film Festival when word came that there had been an assassination:

But halfway in, just as Sebbe’s story began to arc, the reel stopped, just as surely as the world around me.

A festival organizer interrupted the film and relayed the news: The Israelis, we were told, had just assassinated someone. There was already word of retaliatory rockets fired from Gaza. Things were going to get bad quickly, and we had better get home, where it would be safer.

So much is learned here. A Nordic Film Festival, the first of its kind, in Gaza. A rapt audience interrupted. Young people. Artists and intellectuals who must face death and destruction. Again.

Gaza. This is a human story as much as it is a political one. Aburamaden’s words bring to light the humanity of those who suffer there. Later in Aburamaden’s story we learn of a sister on the verge of her high school graduation and a bevy of siblings who sleep with furrowed brows.

The author, described in the New York Times bio as a photographer and a student of English in translation, has brought Gaza home to me as I sit in my apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I found some lovely photos of her’s on Flickr like the one at left of Gaza’s coastline and another one of a Turkish coffee pot on a grill.

In another paragraph, the author comtemplates the horrific photograph at the top of the page, which she did not take. In it a man whose heart has been severed by the death of his not quite one-year old son, holds his child who is wrapped in white.

As I contemplate my own mother’s tired eyes, I wonder: What happens to those who lose a child? And will I ever see my own? So far, in the war that began on Wednesday, only a handful of children and teenagers have died. Hiba was 19, Omar a month shy of his first year on the planet. (Omar’s picture, I have since seen, made the rounds on Facebook. But he himself was wound in white and faceless, a corpse cradled by his wailing father.) As for Ranana, she made it to 5 before something very big and very loud fell from the sky, ending her time here. I don’t know her either. But then again, I do.

Words. Humanity. A transmission from a place few of us have ever been. Her thoughts are powerful, sane and impossibly artful at a time when even art isn’t enough to contextualize the human tragedy that is going on.

Each day here lays bare the ugliness of war, and for my siblings and me, each scene of our movie starts the same: we are trapped. And that is where our story begins and ends.

 

arts and culture

Sophia and Dan: Making It Last in The New York Times

I was told that there was a possibility that Sophia Romero, a published novelist who writes the blog, The Shiksa from Manila, and her husband Dan Schwartz, a technology expert at a bank, were going to be featured in  the New York Times column by Samantha Storey, Making it Last. But I was sworn to secrecy.

I kept the secret.

But now I can kvell. The two, who live in Park Slope and celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on the Saturday before Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New York City, are a fascinating couple.

On paper, the marriage doesn’t make  sense. She’s a devout Catholic from the Philippines who is passionate about pork and he’s a nice Jewish boy from Queens, who doesn’t eat meat. But clearly they share that intangible, je ne sais quois that makes a good relationship tick.

When Dan told Sophia that he wanted to raise their children Jewishly just days before the wedding, Sophia didn’t have a problem.

Dan: On the way to the wedding, which is on the way to the airport in Tokyo, I told Sophia I’d like to bring up our kids Jewish. Sofia is a devout Catholic. She goes to church every Sunday. And she says, As long as they are raised with God in their life, it’s O.K. That part has been amazing. In fact there have been religious-oriented events when she was more familiar with what was going on than many Jews in the room.

In the Times article/interview, we learn in their own words how they made it last. Part of the reason, clearly, is that they’re both enthusiastic and bright people who are up for the roller coaster ride of life if the tracks are greased with love. And by every indication, there’s a great deal of love between them.

It also helps that they’re very good at dealing with conflict. And there’s been plenty:

Sophia: My husband is calm and measured, and we try never to be angry at the same time. He is much better at saying to me, I can’t talk to you when you are like this. When you are finished, I am happy to talk to you and until then this is not a good time. And I think we have learned from that. We use that method a lot. We use it on our children and they use it on us. And it’s a good way of calming everyone down, and then once you’ve reached a level of peace, you can begin to address and unpack whatever issues there were to begin with.

At the anniversary party at the Audubon Center in Prospect Park, there  was a chupah, a ceremony presided over by Rabbi Andy Bachman and a priest from St. Saviour (who read beautifully from the Song of Songs). There was also an exchange of vows that was tear inducingly moving—and hilarious.

They made it last and we are very, very glad that they did. The adorable couple are pictured above in photographs by Julie Markes that accompany the New York Times story. Sophia is wearing a feathery, sparkly dress designed by the Philippine designer who also created her wedding dress. Dan is wearing a traditional Phllippine wedding shirt.

READ THE ARTICLE 

 

Food and Drink

Trois Pomme In Park Slope Bakes Bespoke Twinkies

 Today the New York Times reported that Hostess is closing its doors. The bankrupt company was in the midst of a strike. But the snack cake business has been declining for a very long time.

You can, however, get a sort of bespoke Twinkie at Trois Pomme, a bakery on Fifth Avenue between  Garfield and Carroll Streets in Park Slope. It’ll cost you about $2.50 if I’m not mistaken. They also have a Whoopie Pie and a take on a Hostess Cupcake.

I must tell you, the Trois Pomme Twinkie is yummy. And now that Hostess is turning off its ovens, the Trois Pomme Twinkie is all we’ve got.

Truth be told, the Twinkie at Trois Pomme looks a lot like the original though the cake doesn’t have that weird artificial yellow complexion. The  TP Twinkie is golden brown color, has a torpedo-like shape and a creamy white inside.

They taste similar but I actually haven’t tasted a real Twinkie in years. The  bakery uses an almond batter that gives the cake a delicious flavor, I mean it’s one awesome Twinkie knock-off but it’s just different enough from the original to a be delicious and sophisticated dessert.

So in that way it’s not like a Twinkie at all. The photograph above is from Bklyn Foodie

Civics and Urban Life

Barreca Understands Broadwell

1 Comment

In a piece in today’s Huffington Post , author Gina Barreca explores the larger issues raised when a young woman attaches herself romantically to an older man in a position of power. Gina is also a professor English and feminist studies, a funny person and the editor of Make Mine a Double. Here’s an excerpt from the Huff Post piece:

True, Paula Broadwell — who is almost 40 — isn’t so young that she flies half-fare or orders Happy Meals on a regular basis. Yet her youth captures our collective imagination because she represents the quintessential girl-who-goes-after-the-boss.

What is she (this quintessential character) going after when she goes after the idolized older man? I want to claim it is pride, rather than lust, motivating her. The boss — genuinely, sincerely, absolutely — appeals to the young woman. There are kid sighs, pouts and swoons over the idea of him.

Why?

I feel confident about discussing the allure of the boss because I’ve been that kid. I’m not a kid anymore, however, and these days, for me to develop a crush on a much older man would involve learning advanced CPR in preparation. But in my day I’ve had crushes on pretty much every guy I looked up to, worked for or whose class I attended — even the ones who looked like extras from Ironweed.

arts and culture

Tom Martinez, Witness: The Babe in Red Hook

I’ve never seen this poster of the Babe with the gates open. Suspect it’s hurricane related as it’s in Red Hook next to Baked on Van Brunt. Seems oddly fitting though, as if the power of all the ghosts of the past are being summoned.

Spirit of community in Red Hook is truly, truly inspiring. What New York is all about.

Civics and Urban Life

Rabbi Ellen Lippmann: I Do Not Have Words, Only Tears and Frustration

Pastor Tom Martinez (All Souls Bethlehem Church in Kensington and OTBKB) sent me this message from Rabbi Ellen Lippmann of Park Slope’s Kolot Chayeinu. She is one of the organizers of the annual and interfaith Children of Abraham Peace Walk. Here Rabbi Lippman quotes fellow human rights activist, Rabbi Arik Ascherman. Tom writes, “I found this helpful in this difficult time.”

The news from Israel and Gaza could not be worse: rockets flying, bombs bursting, death, destruction, violence unleashed. I find myself speechless with horror and fear and an odd kind of numbness whose main question is “Again?!?  When will they – or we – ever learn?”

To try to get a handle on the situation on Wednesday when I first got the news of the Israeli attack, I turned to online sites and various organizations and – of course – to the words of Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights. This time, as often, I found Arik’s words right and smart and somehow therefore comforting.

As the deadly exchanges grow and escalate, I share with you some of his words and would like to hear yours; how does this look from where you sit? I do not yet have words, only tears and frustration.

Hear/Here Arik, an Israeli writing from Israel:

“Most of us have biases burned into our hard drives. If our sympathies lie with the Palestinians, we see Zionist aggression and charred Palestinian babies. If our sympathies lie with Israel, we see terrified Israeli children with 15 seconds to run to a bomb shelter every time the siren sounds (According to one source, some 11,000 rockets in the last 4 years.) For all too many of us, our sympathies are all encompassing and exclusive. We see only Palestinian children or Israeli children.

Continue reading Rabbi Ellen Lippmann: I Do Not Have Words, Only Tears and Frustration →

Civics and Urban Life

OTBKB Featured on Brick Underground

Julie Inzanti of Brick Underground did a very nice interview with me on Brick Underground and I appreciate it. I love the pull quote: “In Park Slope: not everyone is Vegan or dedicated to socialist style food shopping.”

When people want the scoop on the local Park Slope scene–from arts and entertainment to politics and on-the-spot news–they visit Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. (The name was inspired by the Thomas Wolfe story, “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn.”)

OTBKB founder, Louise Crawford, born and bred on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, started blogging after a career as a documentary filmmaker (In A Jazz Way) and a film and video producer for corporations, non-profits, museums and theater installations. She now runs Brooklyn Social Media, publicity and social media for authors and entrepreneurs.

OTBKB began in 2004. Park Slope happens to be a worldly and interconnected place, so the blog touches on a wide range of topics of interest—and the people who live in Brownstone Brooklyn.

Civics and Urban Life

Obama Touring Areas Hard Hit by Sandy

I just heard that today Borough President Marty Markowitz will be joining President Obama on his tour of New York City’s areas worst hit by Hurricane Sandy.

I’m pretty sure that means that Obama is coming to Brooklyn though it could also mean that he’s not coming to Brooklyn and Markowitz just happens to be on the tour or that Markowitz is the stand-in for Brooklyn being hard hit.

Red Hook, Coney Island, Dumbo and elsewhere in Brooklyn were devastated. But maybe not as bad as the Rockaways and Staten Island.

If he is coming to Brooklyn, the traffic could be bad. Just saying.

arts and culture

Tonight at The Old Stone House: Writing War: Fiction and Memoir by Vets

Brooklyn Reading Works presents: Writing War: Fiction, Memoir, Poetry from Vets curated by Peter Catapano of the New York Times at the Old Stone House, site of the first and bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War. $5 Suggested donation includes wine and refreshments.

In honor of Veterans Day, veteran/writers provide insight into what it means to be a soldier in the 21st century. This is a must-see event. Important. Powerful. Pertinent.

Anthony Swofford, acclaimed author of Jarheadand a new memoir Hotels, Hospitals and Jailswill be on hand, as well as Maurice Decaul, Matt Gallagher, Philip Klay, Mariette Kalinowski and Roy Scranton

When: Thursday, November 15 at 8PM:

Where: The Old Stone House (336 Third Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, 718-768-9135 or 718-288-4290) site of the very bloody Battle of Brooklyn, the first and largest conflict of the Revolution.

BIOS OF THE PARTICIPATING AUTHORS: 

Maurice Decaul is a former Marine who served in Iraq in 2003. He is a poet, essayist and librettist whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek.com and Sierra Magazine, and has poems forthcoming in Barely South Review. He recently appeared as a poet and performer in the multimedia show “Holding It Down,” which premiered at Harlem Stage in September.

Matt Gallagher is Senior Fellow at the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. A former Army cavalry captain, he is the author of the Iraq war memoir “Kaboom” and co-editor of the forthcoming Fire and Forget.

Mariette Kalinowski served in the U.S. Marine Corps between 2002 and 2010, deploying twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her short story “The Train” will appear in “Fire and Forget.” She currently studies fiction in the Hunter College Master of Fine Arts program.

Phil Klay is a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a graduate of the MFA program at Hunter College. His work has been published by The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Granta and elsewhere. Forthcoming, he has a story in “Fire and Forget” and a short story collection to be published by Penguin Press in 2013.

Roy Scranton is an Iraq War veteran whose poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in LIT, The Massachusetts Review, New Letters, the New York Times, Theory & Event, and elsewhere. He is a co-editor of “Fire and Forget.”

Anthony Swofford, a veteran of the first Gulf War, is the author of the memoirs “Jarhead” and “Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails” and the novel “Exit A.” He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.

Peter Catapano, the curator of the event, is an editor in the opinion section of The New York Times, where he develops and edits series fo the Times website, including Home Fires, which features the writing of United States military veterans. His writing has appeared in several publications in the past 15 years, including Salon, The New York Times, ARTNews, Killing the Buddha and elsewhere.

Civics and Urban Life

Tonight: Writers Who Sing Fundraiser For Hurricane Sandy at Two Moon

Please join me at Two Moon Art House and Cafe for Writers Who Sing, Singers Who Write, a Sandy Fundraiser and performance presented by Only the Blog at Two Moon.

The event is free but we’ll be collecting money. We’ll donate whatever you give to the OSH PSP Brooklyn Neighbors Hurricane Relief Fund or another appropriate charity helping locals recover from Sandy. There will also be a RAFFLE of a photo by Hugh Crawford, CDs by Mila Drumke and a book by Peter Silsbee.

“Overhead, the two moons worked together to bathe the world in a strange light.” ― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

Writers Who Sing, Singers Who Write celebrates the double-threat talents of artists who cross mediums to tell their stories. In this inspiring musical and literary evening, songwriters/writers Mila Drumke and Peter Silsbee will share how their music influences their non-fiction and fiction and vice versa.

 

Civics and Urban Life

Poet Jack Gilbert Dies

TEAR IT DOWN by Jack Gilbert (1925-2012)

We find out the heart only by dismantling what
the heart knows. By redefining the morning,
we find a morning that comes just after darkness.
We can break through marriage into marriage.
By insisting on love we spoil it, get beyond
affection and wade mouth-deep into love.
We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars.
But going back toward childhood will not help.
The village is not better than Pittsburgh.
Only Pittsburgh is more than Pittsburgh.
Rome is better than Rome in the same way the sound
of raccoon tongues licking the inside walls
of the garbage tub is more than the stir
of them in the muck of the garbage. Love is not
enough. We die and are put into the earth forever.
We should insist while there is still time. We must
eat through the wildness of her sweet body already
in our bed to reach the body within that body

Civics and Urban Life

Special Public Comment Meeting on Rezoning at John Jay Tonight

The current Department of Education proposal to rezone parts of District 15 is expected to affect kindergarten aged students for school year 2013-2014 in PS10, PS39, PS107, and PS321.

A new zone map will be proposed that will include some of the same blocks that were proposed last month, but will also include some blocks that hadn’t been proposed previously.

There’s a meeting TONIGHT, TUESDAY, 11/13, 2012 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Sign up for public comment 6-6:30pm

Please limit your comment to 2-3 minutes

It’s happening at the John Jay Educational Campus,  237 Seventh Avenue (between 4th and 5th Avenues), Subway: D, R to 9th Street, F, G, to 7th Avenue, Bus: B61, B63, and B67.

Civics and Urban Life

November 14 at 6PM: Dumbo Rebuild Fundraiser

The DUMBO Rebuild Fundraiser is on for tomorrow, November 14, 2012.

In the aftermath of Sandy, there is a concerted effort in DUMBO to work together to support the many small businesses that make the neighborhood so unique. As many half a dozen businesses are still completely closed after the storm, and many more are still a long way from being back to normal.

Some of my favorite Brooklyn spaces were damaged by the storm. Impacted businesses include Galapagos Art Space, Governor, One Girl Cookies, Aegir Board Works, 66 Water Street, Almondine, powerHouse Arena, Punto Bianco, Smack Mellon, Ignazio’s, 7 Old Fulton, Rabbit Hole Studios, Brooklyn Roasting and more…

Despite heavy flood damage, Galapagos, an art space/bar in the neighborhood re-opened November 3rd with help from lots of neighbors doing cleanup and they are hosting the Dumbo Improvement Districts fundraiser tomorrow night.

In addition, they just announced an awesome raffle—the winner gets Mary Markowitz to record their voicemail message!

Help DUMBO Rebuild Fundraiser (more details here: http://dumbo.is/blog_posts/donate-now-to-help-dumbo-businesses)

When: Wednesday, November 14, 6:00 p.m.

Where: Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main St., DUMBO

Why: More than a dozen of your favorite DUMBO spots suffered significant damage during Sandy (including our amazing host, the indefatigable Galapagos Art Space!!!). In the coming weeks and months, they will struggle put their pieces back together.

Who: Impacted businesses and art spaces

 

 

arts and culture

Pete Hamill to Read The Gift of the Magi at Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair

Now here’s a holiday event you won’t want to miss. A real Brooklyn classic.

Brooklyn legend and acclaimed Irish-American author Pete Hamill will read The Gift of the Magi by O’Henry at The Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair at The Old Stone House on December 1 at 4:30  PM.

The Book Fair itself funs from noon to 6PM on December 1. If you’re coming for the reading, arrive early so you can browse a unique selection rare books from Brooklyn indie booksellers all over Brooklyn. Also we’re expecting a big crowd for this hometown boy.

Hamill will be reading from a very rare first edition copy of the book published in 1906 that Honey & Wax Booksellers was lucky enough to locate very recently. This will almost certainly add to the aura of an event dedicated to rare and extraordinary books—and to the story itself.

“The Gift of the Magi” is a short story written by O. Henry about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. The story packs a sentimental punch with a timeless message about gift-giving and is popular at holiday time. It also has one of O’Henry’s brilliant plot twists. It was allegedly written at Pete’s Tavern in Irving Place in Manhattan.

Pete Hamill was born in Park Slope in 1935, the first of seven children of Catholic immigrants from Belfast, Northern Ireland.  He is a  journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. He is also a Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.

Just released is THE CHRISTMAS KID,  a much-awaited collection of Hamill’s stories about Brooklyn, the borough in which he was born and grew up, and the one closest to his heart.

His 1994 memoir, “A Drinking Life”, was a critical and commercial success. It chronicled his journey from childhood into his thirties, his embrace of drinking and the decision to abandon it. The late Frank McCourt once told him that the book encouraged him to complete his own memoir, “Angela’s Ashes.”

Full Disclosure: Honey & Wax is a client of Louise’s business Brooklyn Social Media. Truthfully, though, she’s in love with the idea of the Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair and is over the moon about Pete Hamill reading at the event. Just saying.

Civics and Urban Life

If You Want to Help

Two Boots Brooklyn and Old First have officially moved their recovery operation to Old First Reformed Church, at 729 Carroll street.

There they are preparing delicious food for those without all over Brooklyn

If anyone would like to volunteer with them, they need help after 10AM. Show up there and ask for Sara. She’ll put you to work!

arts and culture

Mila Drumke at Two Moon on Wednesday

It’s kind of a big deal that Mila Drumke will be performing in Writers Who Sing, Singers Who Write on Wednesday, November 14 at 7PM at Two Moon Art House and Cafe (also a fundraiser for Sandy).

It’s her first Brooklyn show in a long time and I’m very excited about it.

Mila has released quite a few albums including the acclaimed Radiate which was released in 2006. Before that, in 2000, she recorded an album of standards from the American songbook called Hip to Hip. Singing classics like Someone to Watch Over Me and My Funny Valentine, Drumke is earthy, elegant and sumptuous.

Radiate, an album about caring for her sister, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 27,  was a critical success.  She is currently writing a memoir about this experience, All The Time in the World, which she will read from at Wednesday’s show. Below  is an excerpt from a review of Radiate from Hearsay Magazine.

“Look how everything is changing, changing where you are,” sings New York-based songwriter Mila Drumke on her ambitious, magnanimous and riveting fourth recording. We’re five years on from her last release, 2000’s Hip to Hip, a coolly-ahead-of-its-time reinvention of jazz standards and, yes, everything’s different now. While all the traits which captivated Mila’s admirers late in the last millennium are still in abundance—the dynamic, supple compositions which nod to jazz and folk without really being either, the velveteen vocals, the oblique yet vivid lyrics—no one could have anticipated an album quite so keenly felt, so moving and yet so scrupulously arranged and played as Radiate has turned out to be.

Don’t miss what will be a wonderful evening. Peter Silsbee, a writer of fiction and non-fiction, will also be performing. He is a wonderful singer/songwriter, who performs with his band, The Haywood Brothers, in top venues in New York City. He has published five young adult novels, including Amanda: Revealed, The Big Way Out, Love Among the Hiccups, and The Temptation of Kate.

Civics and Urban Life

EPA: Cleaning Up After Hurricane Sandy

CG CORD (Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development) forwarded this letter from the Environmental Protection Agecny about cleaning up the Gowanus Area after Hurricane Sandy.

November 2, 2012

On October 29, 2012, during Hurricane Sandy, a portion of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York overtopped its banks, causing the flooding of some area residences and businesses. The water receded after the storm. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency immediately conducted a visual inspection of the length of the canal and the surrounding area and did not observe sediment on the streets. The EPA also collected samples of standing water from several buildings and will make the results public as soon as they are available.

The Gowanus Canal is contaminated by PCBs, coal tar waste, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and bacteria from many years of industrial discharges, spills, storm water runoff and combined sewer overflows. The site was added to the federal EPA Superfund list of the nation’s most contaminated sites in March 2010.

If you live near the Gowanus Canal and experienced flooding from the canal during the storm, there are simple steps to follow in cleaning up:

Remove or pump out standing water.

Use bleach to kill germs

Wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles.

Open windows and doors to get fresh air when you use bleach.

Clean hard things with soap and water. Then clean with a mix of 1 cup of household liquid bleach in 5 gallons of water. Use bleach that does not have an added scent (like lemon). Scrub rough surfaces with a stiff brush and air dry.

If you don’t have household liquid bleach, use soap and water.

NEVER mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaners.

Wash clothes worn during cleanups in hot water and detergent. These clothes should be washed separately than uncontaminated clothes.

 

 

Civics and Urban Life

“Humanitarian Crisis” in Coney Island Two Weeks After Sandy

The Huffington Posts’ Daniel Marens reports that there’s a humanitarian crisis in Coney Island two weeks after Hurricane Sandy.

The situation in public housing projects in Coney Island, Brooklyn remains a “humanitarian crisis” in which the government and the Red Cross have been nearly completely absent, according to Eric Moed, a volunteer aid worker with Occupy Sandy.

Friday is Moed’s fifth day volunteering with Occupy Sandy, an ad hoc hurricane relief group formed by former Occupy Wall Street activists. Moed, an architect from Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood, goes door to door in the 30-40 public housing buildings in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn to distribute food, water and supplies, and help address sanitation and medical needs. The projects in Coney Island remain without power, and often without water and necessities in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Accounts of these conditions have been corroborated in theNew York Daily News.

 

Civics and Urban Life

Dutch Prayer for New York After Sandy

Old First Dutch Reformed Church (pictured left in 1666) posted on Facebook the Dutch Prayer for New York that was prayed in his cousin’s church in the Netherlands on Sunday.

Mensen hebben mensen nodig

om elkaar te dragen,

om elkaar tot leven te brengen

Mensen hebben mensen nodig

om voor elkaar op te komen,

om samen te werken aan welzijn en geluk.

Mensen hebben mensen nodig

om te laten zien wie U bent,

God van Liefde, God van gerechtigheid.

Wek dan die kracht in ons.

Doe de liefde in ons ontvlammen,

die ons omkeert naar elkaar,

die ons doet zorgen voor elkaar.

Dat wij U liefhebben.

Dat wij onze naasten beminnen.

Dat wij onszelf kunnen beminnen.

Pastor Meeter writes: “This prayer conveys the essence of being a Christian” and means something close to what is below, which is the auto-translation from Facebook:

People need people to come together, to work together to well-being and happiness.

People need people to show who you are,

God of Love, God of righteousness.

Do the love in our ignite, which reverses us to each other, which makes us concerned for each other.

That we love you.

That we love our neighbors.

That we can love ourselves.

 

 

 

arts and culture

Pen & Oink: Wonderful New Blog About Illustration

Readers of OTBKB will remember graphic artist Liz Starin, who published a wonderful “comic” series on OTBKB during the summer called What are the Chances?

Soon after her series ran, we had lunch and she told me then about her NEW children’s illustration blog with the incredibly great name PEN AND OINK.

Love it.

Here’s how it happened (and I borrow from their About page). Liz, who lives in Ditmas Park, has been in an  illustrator’s critique group with Robin Rosenthal and Ruthie Lafond (both Park Slopers) since 2006.

The group met in children’s book illustrator Sergio Ruzzier‘s SVA class. There were about ten artists in a class that touched on “picture books about squirrels, hats, and grumpy old men.”

But a couple of months just weren’t enough. On the last day, Liz and her friends circulated a signup sheet, and the “Post-Sergio” crit group was born.

Over the years, they’ve haunted the Donnell Library (RIP) children’s room, each other’s apartments, and lately ‘Snice in Park Slope. All that time, they never really had a name. But “team post-Sergio” and sometimes “post-surgery” snuck into our planners and emails. Sergio never knew…until now. Here’s what they wrote on the About page of their new blog.

We’d like to thank our stubbled Italian fairy godfather for bringing us together. But we didn’t want to burden him with a blog named Post-Sergio, which is why we decided to christen ourselves Pen & Oink.

The blog is a must-read for all who adore illustration, specifically children’s book illustration, graphic design AND the creative process.

Civics and Urban Life

December 1: Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair

Brooklyn is redefining what it means to be a rare bookseller. In fact, the borough is turning into a haven for indie rare and antiquarian dealers who are reaching out to a different kind of collector, one who understands the value of the book at a time when its future is in doubt.

On December 1, 2012 from noon to 6PM, The Old Stone House and Honey and Wax Booksellers are presenting the VERY FIRST Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair featuring rare and extraordinary books, a feast for collectors and those who just love uncommon, beautiful books.

I think it’s going to be a very cool event, the first of its kind with booksellers from Park Slope, Bushwick,Williamsburg, Dumbo, and Cobble Hill.

Heather O’Donnell, who is organizing the fair along with Kim Maier of The Old Stone House, is shaping up to be something of a leader of this indie rare books scene in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn’s love affair with the literary continues. A highlight of the event will be a reading of a rare first edition copy of The Gift of the Magi, the classic Christmas tale by O’Henry, read by a surprise Brooklyn lit notable. 

Who will it be? Who will it be?

This group of  independent Brooklyn booksellers with a shared interest in print history will fill the Old Stone House with some of their favorite rare, vintage, and out-of-print books. Get to know your local booksellers, and be surprised and inspired by books you didn’t even know you wanted!

Participants include:

Book Thug Nation, Williamsburg, est. 2009

Freebird Books, Cobble Hill, est. 2004

Honey & Wax Booksellers, Park Slope, est. 2012, www.honeyandwaxbooks.com

Human Relations, Bushwick, est. 2012, www.humanrelationsbooks.com

Open Air Modern, Williamsburg, est. 2009, www.openairmodern.com

P.S. Bookshop, DUMBO, est. 2006, www.psbnyc.com

Singularity & Co., DUMBO, est. 2012, www.savethescifi.com

Unnameable Books, Prospect Heights, est. 2006, www.unnameablebooks.net

Also for sale: antiquarian maps and prints of Brooklyn, offered by Prints Charming.

Full disclosure: Honey & Wax is a client of Louise’s firm Brooklyn Social Media.

 

Civics and Urban Life

City Still Reeling After Hurricane Sandy

The devastation caused by Sandy in the New York and New Jersey area cannot be overstated. Homeland Security head Janet Nepolitano estimated that the area affected is the size of Europe.

That really is staggering.

In Brooklyn, Gowanus and Red Hook Houses were still without electricity until Saturday and some apartments may still be without power. The clean up in Red Hook, Coney Island and elsewhere is massive. Many businesses in Dumbo, including the beloved River Cafe, were badly damaged.

This is just a calamity that keeps unfolding.

Look to the helpers as Fred Rogers (PBS’s Mr. Rogers) used to say. That’s what gives people hope because in the face of nature’s wrath, it is comforting to know that first responders, firefighters, police officers and regular citizens are willing to risk their lives for others.

The organizing efforts of Occupy Sandy have also been heartening. In Brooklyn the St. Jacobi Church in Sunset Park has become mission control for vast, well-organized and on-going Sandy relief efforts.

That said, help has not come fast enough for some communities and going forward City officials must construct ways to provide relief after a storm of this magnitude.

If you’re looking for a way to help, Park Slope Parents has a great list of what’s going on and what you can do. 

arts and culture

Don’t Miss Sandy Fundraiser on Wednesday at Two Moon

Please join me at Two Moon Art House and Cafe on Wednesday, November 14 at 7PM for Writers Who Sing, Singers Who Write, a Sandy Fundraiser and performance presented by Only the Blog at Two Moon.

The event is free but we’ll be collecting money and having a raffle during intermission and at the end of the program. We’ll donate whatever you give to the OSH PSP Brooklyn Neighbors Hurricane Relief Fund or another appropriate charity helping locals recover from Sandy. There will also be a RAFFLE of photos by Hugh Crawford, CDs by Mila Drumke and a book by Peter Silsbee.

“Overhead, the two moons worked together to bathe the world in a strange light.” ― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

Writers Who Sing, Singers Who Write celebrates the double-threat talents of artists who cross mediums to tell their stories. In this inspiring musical and literary evening, songwriters/writers Mila Drumke and Peter Silsbee will share how their music influences their non-fiction and fiction and vice versa.

Mila Drumke is currently writing a memoir called All the Time in the World about caring for her sister, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 27. She has recorded numerous albums, including Radiate, which was named “one of the top 10 album discoveries of 2006″ by WFUV. “Radiate is not just an artistic triumph—it’s easily Mila Drumke’s best work to date and one of the most impressive records of the year by anyone—but a personal one, too. In taking unimaginable sadness and turning it into something both grounded and visionary, she has created a deeply humane song cycle.” writes Neil Parkinson inHearsay magazine.

Peter Silsbee is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. He is also a singer/songwriter, who performs with his band, The Haywood Brothers, in top venues in New York City. He has published five young adult novels, including Amanda: Revealed, The Big Way Out, Love Among the Hiccups, and The Temptation of Kate.