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Civics and Urban Life

Big Problems for Travelers

While we in Park Slope (who have nowhere to be) are enjoying a quiet snow day, those who are traveling to and from New York City are having big troubles. I for one am wondering what my friends, who are vacationing in Florida, are doing. Looks like they’re going to get a few extra vacation days…

The AP reports:

“Buses were stranded on snowed-in highways and passengers in New York City spent a cold night stuck in an unheated subway train.

“Officials urged anyone who did not have to drive to stay off roads in the region, where high winds pushed snow into deep drifts across streets, railroads and runways. More than two feet of snow had fallen in some areas by Monday morning.

“In Monmouth County, N.J., state troopers brought water and food to diabetics marooned on two passenger buses carrying about 50 people on the Garden State Parkway, where stranded cars cluttering ramps stymied snow plows and ambulances, state police spokesman Steve Jones told NBC’s “Today” show. One bus was freed by 7 a.m. and the other was expected to be out soon, he said.

“Most of the people are pretty calm, but they are getting antsy,” said New Jersey State Police Trooper Chris Menello, who along with his fellow troopers raided their personal stash of food to bring to the passengers.

“In New York City, hundreds of cold, hungry and tired passengers were stranded overnight at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports. Officials said they were being provided blankets and cots, but some would-be travelers were not allowed to retrieve their checked luggage, leaving them with no extra clothing or toiletries.”

Civics and Urban Life

Park Slope Snowed In

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The day after Christmas it was white. And now the city (and Park Slope) is snowed in! The airports are a mess and many subway lines are in disarray (check the NY Times Blizzard Transportation Guide for info). It  doesn’t look like there’s been any plowing as yet. In Park Slope anyway.

People are staying in. It’s cold and windy outside and the TV and radio stations are urging people to stay close to home. I was just outside and it was actually quite lovely on snow-packed Third Street. Yes, it’s cold but the snow is beautiful and if you’re dressed properly…

One neighbor ventured to take out the garbage. A boy in the building next door walked his dog (the dog seemed to be quite excited by snow).

Quiet day in the Slope. Snow covered, white. A good excuse to stay under the covers and relax.

arts and culture

The Last Line: joyce

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“A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.”

From The Dead by James Joyce


arts and culture

OTBKB Music: The Best Albums of 2010 – Part 2

Here are the second five albums in my Best of 2010 list.  It’s an interesting coincidence that I saw each of these bands live before I ever heard their records.

Madison Square Gardeners – Taste the Thunder: Perhaps one of the most fun bands to see live out there these days, The Madison Square Gardeners deliver an EP which shows what they do so well, and that is flat out rock.  From the ruefully cynical I Was Born With Nothing (And I’ve Still Got Half of It Left) to the joyously upbeat Young and In Love, The Gardeners give you more of what you listen to a rock band for.

Phosphorescent – Here’s to Taking It Easy: Phosphorescent was not on my radar screen until I saw them do a live show inside a record store, where they knocked me out.  This record is mostly mid-tempo rock with some inspired lead guitar, akin to early 70s Neil Young.  The songs have enough room and time here, including Mermaid Parade and the eight minute stand out, Los Angeles.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed – Come and Get It: This neo-soul album from Brooklyn-based (via the Boston-area) Eli “Paperboy” Reed is the real deal.  One of the best live acts I’ve ever seen, Eli leads his large (including horns) band through 12 songs including the title track and Name Calling.  Make no mistake, this is not a recreation of anything, it is a continuation of the lineage of 60s soul.

Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds: Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds is a nine-piece (including horns) rock/soul/funk band fronted by small framed and big voiced Arleigh Kincheloe who also writes their material.  They have been packing them into the Lower East Side’s Rockwood Music Hall for the the past two years and it’s nice to finally have a record which documents well what they do.  If you’ve already seen Sister Sparrow, you’ll want to get this record.  If not, once you listen to this record, you’ll want to see them live.  This CD is a party in a jewel box, with Freight Train the standout cut.

Watson Twins – Talking to You, Talking to Me: With keyboards once again added to their songs, The Watson Twins (sisters Chandra and Leigh Watson) shine on this record.  With influences ranging from from folk-rock, soul and Pink Floyd, one finds all sorts of interesting musical thoughts popping up in The Watson Twins’ music.  Here, from the short and punchy U N Me, to the extended Midnight, and on to the bass driven The Devil in You, the sisterly harmonies and strong song writing make this collection stand out.

–Eliot Wagner

arts and culture

Mr. Popper’s Penguins Shooting in Park Slope

Mr. Popper’s Penguins, the film adaptation of the 1938 children’s book written by Richard and Florence Atwater, has been shooting the last few days on Montgomery Place in Park Slope.

The film stars Jim Carrey and is directed by Mark Water, who directed Mean Girls. The cinematographer, Florian Balhaus, is a resident of Park Slope. The film, which also stars Carla Guigno, Angela Lansbury, Philip Baker Hall and Madeline Carroll, has been shooting for the last two months at Steiner Studios in the Navy Yard section of Brooklyn.

It is my understanding that the film is quite different from the beloved book. The script follows what happens when a businessman inherits six penguins and his New York apartment becomes a winter wonderland and his career starts to fall apart.

Civics and Urban Life

Drs. Gordon and Glaser: Partners No More

Many in the neighborhood are talking about the split between Drs. Amy Glaser and Phillipa Gordon, two highly respected pediatricians in Park Slope, who have been in partnership for many years.

Both of the doctors are going solo and their clients will have to choose between them. One neighbor said it was like Sophie’s Choice. “How am I going to choose?” she said to me the other day.

I know many families who use their practice. The word on the street is that Gordon has the better bed-side manner. From what I’ve ascertained over the years (and through her participation in discussions on Park Slope Parents) she’s a smart, warm, and engaged pediatrician with a deep interest in public health. Glaser, who has been on New York Magazine’s list of the Best Doctors in New York City numerous times, is considered a brilliant diagnostician and practitioner.

The practice, located on 8th Avenue in the North Slope, has an excellent reputation.

Smartmom

Last Year’s Charlie Brown Xmas Tree

We’re an interfaith family (New York Reform Jew and California Presbyterian) and we usually celebrate Christmas in California and Hanukah in Brooklyn. When we don’t go to California it’s always that Shakespearean question: to get or not to get a Christmas tree. Last year we got one. This year, we’re not going to bother. Here’s a Smartmom from last year about our Charlie Brown Xmas tree.

Smartmom bought her Charlie Brown-style Christmas tree from the
Vermont tree farmers who set up in front of the Park Slope Food Co-op
 every year. It was $20, which is a lot to pay for what was more like a
branch. But the gangly tree caught her eye and seemed lovable in its 
own — slightly pathetic — way.

As Smartmom walked home, she knew her little tree was a far cry from
the huge, tree that Hepcat’s mom always sets up in her humongous
California living room and decorates with a lifetime’s collection of
vintage ornaments. The fragrance of pine and hot apple cider permeates
the house as a fire roars.

Christmas with Hepcat’s family is a Jewish girl’s fantasy, and
 Smartmom loves that her inter-faith children have such holiday’s in
their memory banks of childhood.

Smartmom knows she could never match that level of Christmasness:
she’s Jewish, for Buddha’s sake, and any attempt at Christmas is
fraught with inexperience and ambivalence. But this year, the family is
spending Christmas in Brooklyn.

This has happened three times before in
 her children’s lifetimes. Turns out, Teen Spirit is thrilled because 
all of his friends will be home from college and he’s excited to hang out 
with them. The Oh So Feisty One has mixed feelings about not being in
 California, but she, too, is glad to be near her friends.

Walking up Seventh Avenue with her tiny tree conveniently tucked 
under her arm, Smartmom remembered 2007 when they bought a huge
 Christmas tree and it was like Rockefeller Center in the apartment
 because the Oh So Feisty One kept bringing friends in and out to see it.

Now Smartmom worried that OSFO and Teen Spirit would feel cheated by
this year’s tiny tree. But she tried not to worry about it. She was 
already stressing about how to make this as nice a Christmas as the 
one’s they spend in California. O the pressure, o the guilt, o the need
to meet everyone’s expectations at this time of year.

Continue reading Last Year’s Charlie Brown Xmas Tree →

Smartmom

The Gift of Good Values

Here’s a Smartmom piece from December 2004 when my kids were younger and the whole present thing was so fraught with longing and disappointment:

The gift-giving time of the year sometimes brings out the worst in OSFO and Teen Spirit. The trouble is: they get way too excited about getting presents, their expectations run sky high, and disappointment is sure to ensue.

Then there’s the fact that they celebrate both Hanukah and Christmas. That is, they do Hanukah with Smartmom’s relatives in New York and Christmas with Hepcat’s family in California. This means that OSFO and Teen Spirit tear through gift wrap on numerous occasions during the holiday season.

Continue reading The Gift of Good Values →

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: The Best Albums of 2010 – Part 1

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It’s time to trot out the best of the year list, and I’ll spend today and Friday doing just that.   This Best Albums  list will  be presented in two parts.

2010 was a pretty good year musically with a bit of a pick up in quantity and quality from 2009.  It seems that it was also the year of the EP, and three of the top 10 albums are, in fact, EPs.  Note that nine out of the 10 bands that comprise this list are NYC based; four and parts of another are Brooklyn-based.  And eight out of the nine play around town frequently.

The top album of 2010 is:

Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 – Northern Aggression:  I’ve said this for years: Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3 (Jason Victor, Dave DeCastro and Linda Pitmon) are the best rock band out there. This album contains 11 songs (10 Steve originals and a cover) that run the gamut of styles (including straight ahead rock, psychedelia, rock/funk and soft rock ballad).  Some songs were recorded live in the studio and one was even made up on the spot (Consider the Source).  But no matter what, you get great musicianship and songwriting on each track.  It was well worth the five year wait since the last Miracle 3 album.  If  you like rock, get this album.

The rest are presented in alphabetical order

Del-Lords – Under Construction: The Del-Lords are a New York City based band active in from 1984-90, playing a straight-ahead brand of rock with some of the most intelligent lyrics anywhere.  They came back together again this year and put out this five song EP to bring with them on their short tour of Spain early this year.  The songs here are presented as rough mixes,  but they sound great.  When the Drugs Kick In (a profoundly anti-drug song) and Silverlake are the standouts here.

Sasha Dobson – Burn:  This six-song EP is the first record from Sasha Dobson since 2006, when she released Modern Romance.  Sasha’s voice is a clean and pure as before, but this record is sparked by the four songs on which Steven Elliot plays tasty, imaginative and even blistering lead guitar.  While Sasha had rock elements in her music previously, she jumps all in to the rock pool here on those songs.  Two additional songs which have more jazz leanings round out this excellent outing.

Maura Kennedy – Parade of Echoes: Maura Kennedy, along with her husband Pete, has been one half of the duo, The Kennedys, for the past 15 years.  She steps out on her own for the first time with this album, and it is a winner.  Although longtime listeners to The Kennedys will find much that is familiar here, the 13 songs here were all Maura’s own (all the original songs by The Kennedys are co-writes by Maura and Pete).  This is definitely a rock record, and the song Chains delivers all the power chords you’ll need.

James Maddock – Live at Rockwood Music Hall: I don’t know who has a better time at a James Maddock show; the band or the audience.  No matter, a James Maddock show is someplace between a concert and a party. This live album finally captures that feeling and puts you right in the audience.  As good as lat year’s Sunrise on Avenue C was (and it made the NIHE Best Albums list then), this record really gives you an idea of what James and his band can do with their material in a live setting.  Most of the songs come from Sunrise, with a couple off of  Songs from Stamford Hill, the album by James’ former band, Wood.  Although James’ material is pretty much all mid tempo, it really rocks here.

Part 2 of The Best Albums of 2010 will appear Friday.

–Eliot Wagner

Civics and Urban Life

Signage Malfunction: Walk and Don’t Walk at the Same Time

Alex Goldmark, one of the editors of WNYC’s Transportation Nation, wrote in to say that the show is  doing a little crowd sourcing experiment. They’re trying to map the broken street signs around the city that display walk and don’t walk at the same time.

It’s an epidemic, admittedly not of life threatening proportions, but still, far more widespread than most people realize.

Here’s the reporting on it with map.

http://www.wnyc.org/crowdsourcing/mixed-signals-photo-map/mixed-signals-map-report/

Civics and Urban Life

Is Park Slope the Most Livable Nabe?

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Is Park Slope is the most livable neighborhood in NYC. It’s in the running for that title in Curbed’s Neighborhood of the Year.

After slipping by underdog Roosevelt Island in a controversial vote, Park Slope‘s march to Curbed Cup glory continues. The Slope is the people’s choice (it received double the reader nods of the next most popular Curbed Cup nominee), and this year it was scientifically proven to be NYC’s most “livable” neighborhood. It also sported the city’s most controversial new bike lane. Quite the achievements! The retail and restaurant scenes continue to expand,starchitects are showing up and wealthy Googlers arerenovating $8.5 million mansions. But every giant has weaknesses. The neighborhood’s outskirts still leave something to be desired, and even some Slopers loathe the place. But as one reader put it, “If it’s good enough forNew York magazine and the American Planning Association, it should be good enough for Curbed.”

arts and culture

Happy Birthday: Now I’ve Heard Everything!

Today Eliot Wagner is celebrating the first birthday of Now I’ve Heard Everything, his wonderful NYC music blog. Hard to believe he’s only  been doing it for a year. Prior to starting the blog, he wrote posts for OTBKB three times a week, which he still does (they link to NIHE). He briefly wrote music posts for the Gowanus Lounge.

Eliot is passionate about music and has been involved with music and radio in New York City all of his life.

In the late 60s and 70s, he spent a lot of time at The Fillmore East, The Academy of Music, The Palladium and anywhere bands would set up and play. He was present when Lou Reed and Bob Dylan recorded seminal live albums.

Throughout the 70s and early 80s, radio was his constant companion. Sometimes the dial would be set on WPLJ, sometimes on WPIX, but mostly it would be set at 102.7, WNEW-FM.

These days he can be found  listening to music in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side and here on the Internet. Now that he has a blog, it is his mission to give readers a “continuing music education” and help expand their horizons and learn about the great music that’s out there.

The other night I saw Eliot at the Keren Ann and Danya Kurtz show. He’s a great fan, a great appreciator of music and a walking encyclopedia of the music he loves.

Happy Birthday, Eliot.

Civics and Urban Life

Give a Book to a Kid in Senegal!

In 2007 the co-founders of Telephone and Soup, Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg,  lived in Mali where we came to care deeply about local language issues.

They founded Local Language Literacy in 2008 and for their first project raised enough money to print nearly 1600 books.

Most of the school day in West Africa is taught in French, then students go home and live the rest of their lives in a different language like Bamanankan or Wolof.

Being able to speak and read French is a valuable skill in this region, but having the opportunity to learn in the language in which you dream/bargain/joke is essential to any student’s success and sense of self-worth.

LLL’s goal is to get books written in (or translated to) local languages into the hands of students at no cost to them.

This January they will return to West Africa to document the results of that first project in Mali and to begin a new one in the neighboring country of Senegal where the school system faces similar language issues.

They are asking for donations, that will be used to fund specifically the translation and printing costs of this still developing project. For reference, the previous project’s cost per book was $3.

You can make a tax deductible donation to LLL three ways:

–Write a check made out to Local Language Literacy Inc and send it to our offices at 515 8th St. 3R, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

–Make a donation online on our website: LocalLanguageLiteracy.org

–Make a donation online using the Facebook app Causes

Telephone and Soup is the name of Casey and Steven’s book/art/zine/stuff operation. Most of it they make together. Generally the pictures come from Steven, the words Casey. They are from Brooklyn and D.C. respectively. They’ve set up camp all over the world– from China to Mali to Morocco– but are currently Brooklynites.


arts and culture

Words About the Daily Pix

Hugh took the No Words Daily Pix picture last night during the eclipse. At 4AM I woke up to the sound of him leaving the apartment with his camera, tripod and other equipment.

He stood on the corner of Third Street  and Sixth Avenue and took pictures Our neighbor Tim gave him some gloves to wear.

Prior to that Hugh was gloveless and so inspired.

At about 3:30 AM, the beautiful full moon rose above New York City. The Earth passed between the sun and the moon. It cast a shadow on the moon with unusual colors.

According to NASA (via Tonic) “the moon reflected even richer colors because there were extra particles in the air due to recent volcanic activity.”

Tim: thanks for the gloves. Thanks be to the universe for the eclipse. And thanks Hugh for the beautiful picture.