“A large white yacht was coming into harbor and seven miles out on the horizon you could see a tanker, small and neat in profile against the blue sea, hugging the reef as she made to the westward to keep from wasting fuel against the stream.”
All posts by admin
Tom Martinez, Witness: Mural-in-Progress by Cece Carpio
Artist Cece Carpio is working on a new mural in the outdoor courtyard of Quathra (Arabic for tear or drip as in coffee), a new cafe on Cortelyou Road. Martinez will be following the progress of this mural in the days to come.
Born in the Philippines, Carpio is an illustrator, painter and muralist, who likes to visually tell stories about the communities she is part of. She has produced and exhibited work in the Philippines, Fiji Islands, Italy, Norway, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, California and New York.
OTBKB Music: The Madison Square Gardeners
Tomorrow (and the following two Tuesdays as well) Brooklyn-based The Madison Square Gardeners will play The Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2. For now, you will find a video of The Gardeners shot just a few weeks back in NYC with two songs, On the Run and the anthemic Young and In Love here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
–Eliot Wagner
Give the Gift from Local Shops This Holiday Season
Over the last few days I have walked three main shopping arteries – Seventh Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Smith Street – for various gift guides that I am working on and I can tell you that there’s just about everything you need on your shopping list right here in Brooklyn.
Truly, it is amazing how much gorgeous stuff there is around here. For one thing, there’s plenty that’s made and designed in Brooklyn. But there’s also an excellent selection of the best of the best from elsewhere in jewelry, accessories, home design, toys, food items and more for your holiday gifting.
For me it was fun to check out Smith Street. I haven’t been there in a few years. It was very nostalgic for me to go into Refinery, which opened 14 years ago, and was surely one of the first of the new shops in the “groovy reinvention” of Smith Street that slightly preceded the “groovy reinvention” of Fifth Avenue.
Refinery was the first shop to design and carry 718 t-shirts. She also was one of the first to do beautiful handmade purses carryalls, pouches, etc. out of gorgeous fabrics (see photograph above). Refinery’s bags were definitely THE Brooklyn bag for many years, well-designed, attractive, sturdy (great for city life). I know it was MY bag for a few years.
It was great to see that the shop is still alive and well and filled with great stuff including colorful clogs, lithograph pendant necklaces, loads of bags, beaded bracelets and toys.
Winning Design for Third Street Entrance Competition
We have a winner. The Park Slope Civic Council has selected a winning design from their competition for the entrance to Prospect Park at Third Street (now closed to traffic).
Jordan Yamada and Peter Zahatros of Manhattan came up with the top pick, Stone Garden, which consists of a variety of stones set on a pair of bronze roller bearings that can be repositioned for emergency vehicle passage.
It’s kinda hard to describe but the illustration is a big help. The city will have to approve the design before construction begins. You can see the other designs that were considered on the PSCC website.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
OTBKB Weekend List: It’s Sunday!
Happy Sunday. After my Weight Watchers Meeting, I’m heading to Claireware’s annual Holiday Craft Show (with hand-painted fabrics by Susan Steinbrock (see below). Don’t forget about PS 29’s Eat Pie and Shop benefit all day today. At 4:40 PM trek on over to hear Honor Moore and Rosemary Moore read at the 440 Gallery. Tonight at 6PM there’s the opening of art show called Serious Whimsey: A Collection of Inevitable Objects opens at Littlefield. The artists in the show are: Gail Rothschild, Justin Gignac, Kit Warren, Lisanne McTernan, Mark DiBattista, Stephanie Homa, and Sztuka Fabryka.
Click on read more to see the whole list with all the details you really need like time and links and more.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Don’t Be Shortsighted: Shop Local in Brooklyn
Yesterday I went “window” shopping on 7th and 5th Avenues in Park Slope for the various gift guides that I’m working on. It’s a real deja vu experience because I’ve done these holiday gift guides many times before.
Shop owners welcome me, remember me from years past, show me their favorite wares, talk.
In some cases, we spoke about the difficulties of the past two years. “After 2008, sales really dropped,” one clerk shared with me. “A lot of our vendors went out of business.”
It’s sobering to hear from local businesses about the economic travails of the last few years. One local business owner told me that he had changed his merchandise since last year. “The high end items seem to sell better. The middle range. Nah.” The tough times have definitely taught many lessons.
At one store, the owner told me that he is convinced that Internet shopping has irrevocably changed the way people shop. What he’s noticed is that people come into his shop to try clothing on for size and color. Then he watches them notate the correct size, color and item number. He’s sure they’re going home to save money by buying that item on the Internet.
“That’s immoral,” I screamed out. It really made me angry. Indeed, people would rather save $10 than reinvest in their community.
“That makes me so mad,” I told him. I could tell it made him mad, too.
This store owners anecdotal observation definitely meshes with statistics and news reports that shops were crowded on Black Friday but sales were flat (though up from last year). Cyber Monday, however, was a breakthrough day for Internet sales.
The above-mentioned store owner has determined that brick and mortar shops must carry items that are so unique you could never find them on the Internet. It also helps to sell items that have price regulations (same price everywhere).
Sad to say, even in Park Slope people don’t get how important it is to reinvest in the community. Spending money in the neighborhood is a great way to support the quality of life around here. If people keep shopping on the Internet, the only stores that will be able to afford to be here are national chains. And then we’ll be sorry because all of the character, local color and uniqueness of our neighborhood shopping experience will be gone.
Here’s what I think: spend a few dollars more to keep our shopkeepers in business.
*note: store owners generally don’t like to be quoted about hard times so all quotes are anonymous. Sorry.
OTBKB’s Weekend List: It’s Saturday!
Good morning everyone: I’m heading over to the PS 321 Holiday Craft Fair to buy a scarf for my mother-in-law from that wonderful scarf guy. Then I’m going to Claireware’s annual Holiday Craft Show (with hand-painted fabrics by Susan Steinbrock (see below). I hope to stop by Barbes to catch Soul Power, a doc about the Ali/Foreman fight in Zaire in 1974 (read more below). Did anyone make it over to Red, Hot and New Orleans last night? Tonight’s the special Chanukah Concert at the Jewish Music Cafe with The David Ross Band and special guests. Also don’t forget: On Sunday, December 5th at 6PM, an art show called Serious Whimsey: A Collection of Inevitable Objects opens at Littlefield, with an opening reception (that usually means white wine and snacks and lots of people). The artists in the show are: Gail Rothschild, Justin Gignac, Kit Warren, Lisanne McTernan, Mark DiBattista, Stephanie Homa, and Sztuka Fabryka at
Click on read more to see the whole list with all the details you really need like time and links and more.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
The Last Line: Toibin
“She has gone back to Brooklyn,” her mother would say. And, as the train rolled past Macmine Bridge on its way towards Wexford, Eilis imagined the years ahead, when these words would come to mean less and less to the man who heard them and would come to mean more and more to herself. She almost smiled at the thought of it, then closed her eyes and tried to imagine nothing more.”
Crazy Low Prices at Petit Bateau Sample Sale
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!
Opens Dec 5: A Collection of Inevitable Objects at Littlefield
On Sunday, December 5th at 6PM, an art show called Serious Whimsey: A Collection of Inevitable Objects opens at Littlefield, a music club located at 622 Degraw Street between Fourth and Third Avenues in the Park Slope/Gowanus neighborhood with an opening reception (that usually means white wine and snacks and lots of people).
The artists in the show are: Gail Rothschild, Justin Gignac, Kit Warren, Lisanne McTernan, Mark DiBattista, Stephanie Homa, and Sztuka Fabryka at
I know Kit Warren and Lisanne McTernan (Found in Brooklyn) and I am excited to see the other artist’s work represented in this show.
Dec 12: A Micronation for Artistic Expression in Sunset Park
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.
OTBKB’s Weekend List: It’s Friday!
Hey guys, TGIF and there’s a busy weekend ahead. Here’s what I’m thinking. Part of me wants to run out NOW to catch Black Swan, the new Darren Aronofsky movie with Natalie Portman but it’s not playing nearby (you gotta go to Chelsea and Union Square). Tonight I’d bet money that BAM has the best show in town with Red, Hot and New Orleans featuring Irma Thomas! Dr. John! Ivan Neville! Tomorrow for dang sure I’m going to stop in at the PS 321 Holiday Craft Fair to buy a scarf for my mother-in-law from that wonderful scarf guy. Saturday evening at Barbes there’s a screening of Soul Power, a doc about the Ali/Foreman fight in Zaire in 1974 (read more below). And on Sunday I am going to the 440 Gallery at 4:40 PM to hear my friend Rosemary Moore and her sister Honor Moore read their fiction. Click on read more to see the whole list with all the details you really need like time and links and more.
Bklyn Bloggage: art & ideas
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
OTBKB Music: Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3
The first record in five years by Steve Wynn (who is not the guy who owns hotels, he ‘s a musician based in New York City) with his main band The Miracle 3, was issued last week. It’s titled Northern Aggression, and in my opinion, it’s one of the best records of 2010 (yes, I’m already working on my best of 2010 list). The first song on that album is titled Resolution and it has a creative video made up of vintage B&W old movie clips. You can see it at Now I’ve Heard Everything by clicking here.
–Eliot Wagner
Reid Introduces Fifth Version of the DREAM Act
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.
Juan Pinto: Metro Card Mona Lisa
Artist Juan Carlos Pinto used Metrocards to create his Mona Lisa. His work is currently on display at the DIS Micro Gallery in Dumbo (147 Front Street) in “The Artwork of Juan Carlos Pinto: Recycle and Recreate.”
Born in Guatamala, Pinto turns discarded Metrocards into pictures and messages. “The idea of using these non-biodegradable cards is to reinforce recycling and prolonging its use indefinitely while providing the artist with a source free material. It is also a way of reminding us about the danger this material can cause if left to seep into the earth,” writes Pinto about his work.
Photography by Tom Martinez
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
The Last Line: roth
“So (said the doctor). Now vee may perhaps to begin. Yes?”
OTBKB’s Weekend List: Thursday – Sunday
Hey guys, it’s a busy weekend with a lot of interesting stuff to do. Here’s what I’d do: Red, Hot and New Orleans with Irma Thomas! Dr. John! Ivan Neville! at BAM sounds awesome. Tiny Furniture and Burlesque sound intriguing. And what about Unstoppable? The PS 321 Holiday Fair is always fun (I am so there). Oh yeah and on Sunday at 4:40 at the 440 Gallery my friend Rosemary Moore and her sister Honor Moore will be reading from their fiction. Keep checking back because I will be adding things to this list all weekend. Click on read more to see the whole list.
Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal Romancing in the Slope
Dear Taylor and Jake:
I’m so happy to hear that, according to many gossip magazines and blogs, you’re falling in love in Park Slope. It was fun to see a picture of the two of you on Fifth Avenue on the cover of US Magazine. You both looked super happy: Taylor was holding a Gorilla Coffee coffee cup and Jake had a Union Market shopping bag. I’ll spare you the details of last year’s employee walk-out at Gorilla Coffee.
It’s so much more fun to read about the two of you than Prince William, Kate Middleton, Brad and Angelina, who never come to Park Slope.
Park Slope is a great place to be a celebrity. We never bother our movie stars, acclaimed authors, artists and other notables when they walk down the street. It’s only our politicians that we feel free to engage with when we see them around. Just yesterday I saw John Turturro near Connecticut Muffin and I didn’t make a peep. He just blends in with the scenery around here as does Steve Buscemi, John Hodgman, Paul Auster, Maggie Gyllenhaal (who I saw once on Bergen Street), Peter Sarsgaard and the others.
Hope the romance continues to blossom in the Slope.
Best from OTBKB
The photo above is not from the US Magazine story; it’s a photo by Citadel Radio on Celebridoodle
Bagels Arrested at AIDS Day Protest at Grand Army Plaza
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.
Bklyn Bloggage: home & design
PS 321 Craft Fair this Saturday: Reclaimed Home
Rainy night in Brooklyn: CasaCara
Rambling renovations: Limestone Adventures
5 simple ways to make your house less depressing: Apartment Therapy
A collection of color for Black Friday: Stylefilenyc
Staircase by Danny Kuo: Swissmiss
Jewelry alphabet: Swissmiss
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
The Last Line: capote
“Then, starting home, he walked toward the trees, and under them, leaving behind him the big sky, the whisper of wind voices in the wind-bent wheat.”
Tonight: World AIDS Day at Park Slope Roman Catholic Church
Tonight as part of World AIDS Day, there will be an interfaith prayer service at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope. This is the fourth year that the GLBTS (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Straight) Ministry of St. Augustine’s seeks to call attention to the ongoing AIDS epidemic.
During the weeks leading up to December 1st , a row of red ribbons (pictured above) are affixed to the church fence serving as a dramatic and hopeful reminder of the continuing need for leadership in the fight against the AIDS and HIV.
If you wish to help remember a loved one, you must provide the name(s) of the person(s) to staugustinegay(at)gmail(dot)com or leave the information in the Rectory’s mail slot in an envelope marked “Ribbon Project.” Names inscribed on the ribbons will be read aloud at the World AIDS Day Service on December 1st.
At this event, there will be music by Ann Beirne and speakers including, Council Member Brad Lander of the 39th Council District. One church member will be bringing latkes (because the event falls on the first day of Hannukah). A reception will follow.
Feast: Food as Metaphor, Motif and Mnemonics on Dec 16
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