For District Leaders in the 52nd AD the OTBKB endorsement goes to:
Female: Jo Ann Simon
Male: Chris Owens.
Why?
All posts by admin
Who Ya Gonna Vote For?
Maybe you’ve given some thought to the “bigger races,” the statewide stuff like the race for Attorney General and Senate. But what about the locals.
What about the locals?
Today is the day to familiarize yourself with who’s running and what they believe in. In some cases, it’s a good day to learn what the position entails (i.e. District Leader). It’s also worth taking a look at the new voting machines at Vote NY.
Here’s a list of the races you will see on your ballot depending on where you live:
U.S. Senate
NY Attorney General
U.S. 10th Congressional District
U.S. 12th Congressional District
New York State Senate, 18th
New York State Senate, 20th
New York State Assembly, 52nd
District Leader, 52nd AD
So What Is a District Leader?
The race for District Leaders in Brooklyn has been one of the hottest races this primary season.
So what is a District Leader?
There is one male and one female District Leader for each State Assembly district. These are unpaid, part-time positions, Nonetheless it’s a powerful job (especially in Brooklyn) and they perform some important duties on behalf of the voters in their district. The district leader serves a two-year term.
Here are some of the District Leaders’ responsibilities as I understand them:
–They hire poll workers and election inspectors for the primary and general elections.
–They help pick judges and the party chairman.
–They attend party meetings and events on behalf of the district
–They organize meetings and events in the district.
–They work closely with the district’s city, state, and federal elected officials.
–They help elect party members to public office in the district.
–They provide info to the district’s voters about poll site locations, election results, and general information about party candidates.
Read more about the importance of District Leaders at the Brooklyn Heights Blog.
Tuesday is Primary Day
Tuesday, Sept 14, 2010 is Primary Day in New York, when voters go to the polls to choose their party’s candidates for several positions, including attorney general, senate, assembly, some congressional districts, district leaders and some judicial posts.
The polls are open from 6AM until 9PM. There is usually low voter turnout at these primaries so please make a point of getting to your polling place and vote.
To understand more about the race for District Leader I direct you to the Brooklyn Height Blog for a piece by Claude Scales called District Leader Races: Why They Matter?
Chock Full ‘o Nuts
My mother will be happy to hear—or maybe she’s already read about it in the Times—that Chock Full ‘O Nuts (CFON) is returning to Manhattan with a single location on 23rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.
CFON used to occupy a space in our hearts and our neighborhood on the Upper West Side. Broadway between 86th and 87th Street is where she sat for years and years. A large yellow and black restaurant with counter space and revolving stools.
It was a place to get a quick cup of coffee and delicious whole-wheat doughnuts, nut-and-cream-cheese sandwiches, grilled hot dogs and split pea soups.
And the clientele: it was something out of a Edward Hopper painting combined with the 1960’s and ’70s residents of the Upper West Side.
What Starbucks is now, CFON was then. Sort of. A place for some to linger over a cup of coffee.
And now CFON is back. One question: will they be serving wifi with their date nut bread? I for one can’t wait to revisit this gastro-temple of my youth with the unforgettable theme song: Chock full ‘o nuts is a heavenly coffee, heavenly coffee, heavenly coffee…
Back when we were kids, we could afford to spend a dollar at the counter and get a cream cheese sandwich from the uniformed waitress. The service was good, it was clean, the donuts and sandwiches were tasty.
And the coffee? Better a coffee a millionaire’s money can’t buy.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Thoughts on a September Day
Today. What a brilliant blue sky day. Just like that day. That day. How many times did I look up and remember?
That day.
At one time it seemed like September 11th would never be a normal day. No birthday celebrations, block parties, shopping trips, normal activities on that day that was anything but normal in 2001.
But today on the streets there was the crowded energy and excitement of a typical early fall weekend. The fashion shows in Manhattan, the Brooklyn Book Festival, the Brooklyn Flea, farmer’s markets in parks around town, streets closed for block parties.
It really did feel like a normal Saturday.
So it was startling to come upon a candle on a stoop and a handmade sign which read: “There is not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of just one candle.”
In the years after 9/11, this was a day of mourning and service: we cried, we sat quietly remembering our friends, our city; we were encouraged to do something good for others, for the world. We relived the emotion, the commotion, the revulsion of that day. The waiting, the hoping the missing would return, the wondering if there really were people in those “voids”.
Who can forget the way the city smelled in the days and months after, when people searched the site for the remains of their friends?
And the first anniversary, the solemn intonation of the voices reading the names of their loved ones.
We didn’t think our city would ever be the same. We didn’t think we’d ever stop waving at firetrucks. We didn’t think we’d ever really relax on bridges, tunnels and trains…
It’s not that we’ve forgotten, it’s that we’ve gradually moved along despite our ever repeating memories of that day and all that came after.
But all it takes is a brilliant blue sky day to remember that which we can never forget.
Naruto Ramen Opens on Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue
The Park Slope branch of the Upper East Side Japanese noodle shop Naruto Ramen, opened yesterday. They’re in the storefront where 3r Living used to be.
If you remember 3r Living, it’s a fairly narrow space for a restaurant but it will be perfect for the long bar of a noodle shop. The menu offers three kinds of noodles, as well as curries and fried chicken. Location: 276 5th Ave., Brooklyn between Garfield and 1st Streets.
Tom Martinez, Witness: Towers of Light
A Perfect Night in Fort Greene
Friday night started with a party at the Greenlight Bookstore, a bookstore that will blow your mind even when they’re not serving wine and pretzels and celebrating the Brooklyn Book Festival —and specifically the Brooklyn indie publishing scene (Akashic Books, A Public Space, Archipelago Books, Armchair/Shotgun, BOMB, Electric Literature, Melville House, powerHouse Books, Tin House and more). The place was packed with writers, publishers, editors and those in town for the Festival on Sunday.
And the bookstore itself…
I mean, this is a place you could spend hours upon hours in. A great neighborhood bookstore, they have an astounding selection and lots of room to browse about in.
Then at the recommendation of Jessica Stockton, one of the co-owners of Greenlight, we walked over to DeKalb and had dinner at Chez Oskar, another place I’d heard about but never been. With its Chinese umbrella festooned ceiling and pinkish mural of a Parisian scene on the wall, it is a classic bistro with excellent bistro fare like hangar steak, lamb burgers, salad nicoise…
Walking out of the restaurant, which is located on the corner of Adelphi Street, we heard the sounds of a bebop saxophone across the street and found ourselves inside Cornerstone Restaurant and Lounge enjoying the Rakim Walker Quartet, an irresistible group.
With two sax players, an organist, and a very cool drummer, the quartet is Charlie Parker on steroids, jazz with a groove, funk with a jazzy undertone: the music is riveting and Cornerstone is a great place for this music every Friday and Sunday night.
Pictures to come…
Today’s Brooklyn Book Festival Events
So last night we made it over to Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene, where there was a party to celebrate the indie presses of Brooklyn complete with plastic cups of red and white wine, pretzels, Oreo cookies, and plenty of hard to hear conversation.
The bookstore, located on Fulton Street at South Portland Place in Ft. Greene, is glorious: spacious, attractive bright and filled to the gills with everything you ever wanted to read and more. It was my first visit and I was duly impressed (even floored).
Today there are more “Bookend events” leading up to the festival on Sunday.
Making Books Sing: A Warm-up for the Brooklyn Book Festival. In 1929, New York’s first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpré, transformed her East Harlem library into a welcoming community center for all. Through a blend of storytelling, music, and puppetry, young audiences will learn about Puerto Rican folklore and the library’s important role in the community. Kids sing along and become puppeteers as Pura’s stories unfold. Followed by a bookmaking workshop.
Location: Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza (at Flatbush Ave.)
Time: 11 a.m. €– 1 p.m.
Price: FREE
Books to Film for Children. A series of short films based on children’s books for ages 2–6, followed by Q&A with Brooklyn Book Festival participants Jon Scieszka (with the film The True Story of the Three Little Pigs) and Chris Raschka (with the film Yo! Yes?).
Location: BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave.
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Tickets: $12 (adults) / $9 (children under 13)
Robin Hood: Prince of . . . MONSTERS! Mainspring Collective and the Irondale Center present Monster Literature, written and conceived by Daniel John Kelley, an action-packed and hilarious live theater series that celebrates great works of children’s literature that kids can read now. For details and advance tickets, visit www.monsterliterature.com.
Location: Irondale Center, 85 S. Oxford St.
Time: 2 & 4 p.m.
Price: $5 (advance) / $7 (door)
The New Brooklyn Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from 31 Restaurants That Put Brooklyn on the Culinary Map. Join authors Melissa and Brendan Vaughan for a panel discussion and cocktail hour at The Brooklyn Kitchen, North Brooklyn’s leading hub of home culinary exploration, and the best place to learn how to make restaurant dishes in cramped apartment kitchens. Panelists will include the chefs, farmers, kimchi makers, and beer brewers who make this borough delicious!
Location: The Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost St.
Time: 2–4 p.m.
Price: $65 (includes advance copy of book)
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. Author Rob Sheffield reads from his latest work and chats about new wave music, adolescent love, and John Hughes movie soundtracks. Rob is the best-selling author of Love Is a Mix Tape and has been a music journalist for over twenty years. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran is a poignant tour of his 1980s upbringing, as told through the music of that decade. Stick around afterward and enjoy Rob and other DJs spinning the tunes highlighted in the book. For details, visit www.thebellhouseny.com.
Location: Bell House (front lounge), 149 7th St. (between 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
Time: 8 p.m.
Price: FREE
Genre Busters. Freebird Books & Goods presents a ninety-minute revue show with artists and authors who work in a genre to turn it on its head. Includes readings, slideshows, short lectures, video, Q&A, trivia prizes, and snacks.
Location: Freebird Books & Goods, 123 Columbia St.
Time: 8 p.m.
Price: FREE
Watching Mad Men at the Bar
It’s Saturday, time to figure out where we’re going to watch Mad Men on Sunday night. Without cable, we’re left to find a bar, restaurant or friend’s apartment where we can indulge in one of our favorite television shows.
Last week I called Sheep Station and asked if they were showing Mad Men.
SS Bartender: Sorry, someone spilled a drink on the video projector and it’s not working.
OTBKB: Really?
SS Bartender: Yeah, someone spilled a drink on the video projector. It’s Labor Day weekend and we can’t get it fixed.
OTBKB: Someone spilled a drink on it?
SS Bartender: Yeah, I think it was Don Draper.
OTBKB: Oh, you’re pulling my leg.
SS Bartender: Really, though, the video projector is broken so we won’t be showing Mad Men tonight.
OTBKB: That’s too bad. I’ll call you next week to see if it’s working again…
So I guess I’ll give Sheep Station a call, see if their projector has dried out. I’ve missed the last three shows though my sister has kept me up to date. Last week sounded really fun what with Peggy Olsen’s strip tease game with her art director. She’s developing into quite an interesting character.
And we’re missing out unless we can find somewhere to watch the show…
(illustration: Roxanna Velandria)
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Bookends: Tonight and Saturday Before Brooklyn Book Festival
The Brooklyn Book Festival is on Sunday (outside, in and around Borough Hall) but there are Bookend events tonight and tomorrow, free and fun, all over Brooklyn. Tonight I’ll be going to ringShout at Littlefield at 7PM maybe I’ll go to Greenlight Bookstore and catch the Brooklyn Indie Press celebration at 7:30.
Secret History of the Dividing Line: A True Account in Nine Parts (Parts I–IV, 1999–2004). Light Industry presents a screening of David Gatten’s unfinished 16mm film cycle, a project based around the life, writing, and library of William Byrd II, a Virginia planter who owned one of the largest collections of books in colonial North America.
Location: Light Industry, 177 Livingston St.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: $7
Brooklyn Indie Press Celebration! With Akashic Books, A Public Space, Archipelago Books, Armchair/Shotgun, BOMB, Electric Literature, Melville House, powerHouse Books, Tin House, and others. Brooklyn’s finest independent publishers of books and periodicals come together at Greenlight Bookstore. Mingle with writers and publishers who make Brooklyn’s literary scene, and enjoy refreshments and live DJs to kick off BKBF weekend.
Location: Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton St. (at S. Portland Ave.)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: FREE
WORD Presents an Intimate Conversation with John Waters. John Waters, the iconic filmmaker, actor, and writer, comes to Greenpoint to talk about his new book Role Models with Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times. For details, visit www.wordbrooklyn.com.
Location: Coco 66, 66 Greenpoint Ave.
Date: 8 p.m.
Price: $25 (includes copy of book)
DEBUT LIT Presents “Opening Act,” a flash reading of original work by literary rock stars. Readings will be written on a theme provided by DEBUT LIT—it’s fun and it’s fast. Readers include Aryn Kyle (The God of Animals), John Murillo (Up Jump the Boogie), Sung J. Woo (Everything Asian), Brooke Berman (No Place Like Home), Matt Stewart (French Revolution), Fiona Maazel (Last Last Chance), and Daphne Beal (In the Land of No Right Angles).
Location: powerHouse Books, 37 Main St.
Date: 7 p.m.
Price: FREE
Books to Movies: The Sweet Hereafter. In this 1997 adaptation of Russell Banks’s novel, directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Ian Holm and Sarah Polley, a big-city lawyer descends on a small Canadian town following a tragic school bus accident to organize a civil-action suit, while simultaneously mourning the loss of his own daughter to drug addiction. Atom Egoyan’s masterpiece is a sensitive examination of overcoming grief. Q&A with authorRussell Banks.
Location: BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: $12 (general admission) / $8 (BAM Cinema Club members)
Literary Pub Contest staged by PEN American Center at St. Ann’s Warehouse. The first-ever PEN Quiz Night. Don’t miss the chance to compete with (and against!) your favorite authors. We’ll bring the paper and the pencils; you bring your literary mettle!
Location: St. Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water St.
Time: 7–10 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.)
Price: FREE
ringShout: A Place for Black Literature kicks off its new reading series. Join us for an evening of readings by four acclaimed African American writers. Featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tayari Jones, Jeffery Renard Allen, and Danielle Evans. DJ sounds by Rob Fields.
Location: Littlefield, 622 Degraw St. (between 3rd and 4th Aves.)
Time: 7–9 p.m.
Price: $5 (suggested donation)
Continue reading Bookends: Tonight and Saturday Before Brooklyn Book Festival
Brooklyn Reading Works 2010-2011 Schedule: It’s Here!
As most of you know Brooklyn Reading Works is a monthly reading series at the Old Stone House in Park Slope, Brooklyn produced by me and curated by talented writers and editors. All the readings are at 8PM. Suggested donation of $5 includes wine and snacks. Books are usually sold and there is often a Q&A after the reading.
I’ve updated the BRW website and there’s a Facebook page as well.
The Old Stone House. Fifth Avenue and Third Street in JJ Byrne Park (AKA Washington Park in Park Slope. Go to the house’s website for directions.
September 23, 2010: Young Writers
Curated by Jill Eisenstadt
October 21, 2010: New Plays by Brooklyn Playwrights
Curated by Rosemary Moore
November 11, 2010: Writing War Fiction by Vets of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan
Curated by Louise Crawford
December 16, 2010: Feast: Writers on Food
Curated by Michele Madigan Somerville (an annual benefit for the soup kitchen at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope)
January 20, 2011: The Truth and Oral History (the double life of the interview) Curated by John Guidry
February 17, 2011: Memoirathon
Curated by Branka Ruzak
March 17, 2011: Blarneypalooza
Curated by Michele Madigan Somerville
April 14, 2011: In the Year of the Rabbit: Voices from the East
Curated by Sophia Romero
May 19, 2011: Edgy Mother’s Day
Curated by Louise Crawford and Sophia Romero
June 16, 2011: Fiction in a Blender
Curated by Martha Southgate
Tonight: RingShout Reading at Littlefield in Park Slope/Gowanus
RingShout: a Place for Black Literature kicks off its new reading series and celebrates the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival
Tonight at Littlefield (622 DeGraw Street) from 7PM unitl 9PM, an evening of readings by four acclaimed African-American writers.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tayari Jones, Jeffrey Renard Allen and Danielle Evans.
Danielle Evans, author of the brand new Before You Suffocate You Damn Fool Self, read last June at Brooklyn Reading Works. Her writing is wonderful and I can’t wait to hear her again. Tonight there will be DJ Sounds by Rob Fields. The Suggested donation: $5
OTBKB Teaching a Blog Class This Monday! Come One, Come All
Hey everybody: I am teaching a class in Manhattan this Monday Night called Blogging 101.
A group called NYC Entrepreneurs contacted me and asked me to do it and I said, “Hell, yeah, I love to talk about blogging.”
Here is the class description. It only costs $10 and it would be fun if some of you were there (keep me company, put in your two cents, learn something new, teach me something new).
Entrepreneurs create and use blogs to engage their customers/readers, build their brand, position themselves as experts in their field, develop trust and create community.
There are over 100 million blogs online today and that number is growing. How does your blog stand out from the crowd and how do you increase the number of readers to your blog?
Learn how to create a great blog and increase your blogs traffic with strategies used by some of the most successful bloggers today.
In this class you will learn:
• Strategies for increasing your blog readership
• How to analyze your blog to see what works and what does not work
• How to make money with your blog
• How to create rich, relevant and engaging content
• How to use social media and guerilla marketing tactics to increase your blog traffic
Date: Monday, September 13, 2010 at 6:00 P.M.
Location: City Space Suites. 817 Broadway (b/w 11th and 12th) 10th fl
New York, NY
Agenda:
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Registration
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM: Presentation / Q &A
8:00 PM – 8:30 PM: Networking
Particle Collider (September 10)
Speaking of poems, my friend Michele Madigan Somerville has a poem up on her blog today called Particle Collider (September 10) for Louise Crawford.
It is dedicated to me, which is thrilling. The poem was inspired by the poet’s thoughts on the day of my father’s funeral in 2008.
The poem is also about September 11th and thoughts about leaving or staying in New York City after that day.
Michele is a Native New Yorker, who writes frequently about religion for the Huffington Post. She is the author of the book-length poem WISEGAL (Ten Pell Books 2001) and Black Irish, her first collection of verse. Her verse has appeared in many literary journals.
Somerville’s work received an Honorable Mention in Dublin’s Ireland’s Eason Books Poetry Competition in 2003, first place in the W.B. Yeats Society poetry competition in 2000, a MacArthur scholarship for poetry at Brooklyn College in 1987, and the Louise B. Goodman Award for Women-Centered writing at Brooklyn College in 1988.
She curates readings at The Old Stone House in Park Slope, including the upcoming Feast (Writers on Food) on December 16th, 2010 at 8PM and Blarneypalooza on March 17th, 2011 at 8PM and has hosted readings at Ceol Bar in Cobble Hill Brooklyn and Cornelia Street Café in Manhattan. Somerville recently completed two collections of verse: Glamorous Life, and Stations of Light. She is currently working on a novel, Sucker Punch.
Read more to see my favorite section of her poem…
Understanding Search & Online Marketing
Understanding Search & Online Marketing.
September 15th – October 20
Wednesdays 6:45-9:45
Location: 475 Park Ave South, New York City
Gracey Newman is the instructor for this very worthwhile course. She and I were on panel together along with Jessica Cohen (editor of Jezebel) at the Newswomen’s Club of NY back in June. She is going to cover a lot of Marketing topics from Basic SEO, Social Media, Blogging and more.
Trust me you will learn a lot in this course! The goal of the course is for you to apply what you learn immediately. So it will be great for professionals who are already working.
Poetry for 9/11
This year the Brooklyn Arts Council decided to do a poetry event for their annual September 11th Memorial Project. Last night at the PS Bookstore in DUMBO there was a reading of poems by Brooklynites on the experience of 911 and the process of remembering and memorializing it. This morning, an article in the New York Daily News described the project as a way to help a nation heal and move on—but “never forget”:
Howard, a lawyer living in Downtown Brooklyn at the time of the attack, decided others shouldn’t forget it, either – so she put it into verse, penning lines such as: “our eyes drawn over there/to the broken skyline./a reminder of why we/walk away from Manhattan.”
“It’s important to document that history, as tragic and horrible as it is,” she said. “With words and poetry and stories, you really get inside the head of the people that experienced it.”
Tom Martinez, Witness: Coney Island Chevy
I wasn’t able to identify this car but I asked my dad who was visiting and he rattled it off: a vintage 1956 Chevy Belle Air Station Wagon (down at Coney Island, of course). Thanks Dad.
OTBKB Music: 14 Song Freebie and Photos from The Rockwood Music Hall
I haven’t posted a Friday Freebie for a while, but here’s a pretty nice one. Last night The Americana Music Association had their awards show in Nashville. In recognition of that event, Amazon is offering a 14 song sampler from 14 artists. The link to download the sample is here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
I spent three hours Monday night at The Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 listening to Nick Africano, Misty Boyce and Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club. Wonderful music all around. You’ll find some photos from that night at Now I’ve Heard Everything by clicking here.
–Eliot Wagner
Bklyn Bloggage: arts & culture
If it’s Friday it’s the arts and culture day at OTBKB’s Bklyn Bloggage:
Maria Baraybar: Art in Brooklyn
The rise of ollaborative consumption: Swiss Miss
My life with Julio Cortázar: Truth and Rocket Science
Shana Tovah: Brooklynometry
Watching the detectives: Old First
Rosh Hashanah sermon: Water Over Rocks
After seeing Matisse in Morocco: The Writer and the Wanderer
Bklyn Bloggage: home & design
It’s Friday and I’m one day late with the home & design bklyn bloggage.Here goes.
Architecture fantasy camp: CasaCara
Moved back but not settled in: Reclaimed Home
So haute living room: Limestone Advenutres
Eclectic bathrooms: Apartment Therapy
Best of bedrooms: Design Sponge
Questions for a minimalist: NY Times
The Weekend List: And What a Weekend!
It’s Friday and there’s is so much to do this weekend: it’s actually ridiculous.
On Monday I want a full report on how much of it you actually did, okay? I know I’m going to be busy (Brooklyn Book Festival, Bergen Street Lot Party, Zora Space, BAM). Heck, I just spent the last two hours scouring the listings for the best and brightest things to do this weekend. This is for you, OTBKB readers. Enjoy! And keep reading…
The Thursday List: Craig Harris’ Birthday, Bergen Street Lot Party, Mesrine: Killer Instinct
There is so much to do this weekend: it’s actually ridiculous: On Monday I want a report on how much of it you actually did, okay? I know I’m going to be busy (Brooklyn Book Festival, Bergen Street, Zora Space, BAM). Heck, I just spent the last two hours scouring the listings for the best and brightest things to do this weekend. This is for you, OTBKB readers. Enjoy! And keep reading…
Continue reading The Thursday List: Craig Harris’ Birthday, Bergen Street Lot Party, Mesrine: Killer Instinct
Park Slope Photographer Snaps Great Shot of Obama on the Vineyard
Gabriela Herman, a professional photographer, who resides in Park Slope some of the time, took a great shot of President Obama on Martha’s Vineyard this summer.
Herman came to my attention when she asked if she could take a picture of me for her Bloggers at Home series (a work in progress).
We had a delightful photo shoot in my dining room and I now get her occasional emails and know about her wonderful blog featuring her own work and the work of other contemporary photographers. I urge you to take a look at her high energy photographs!
What a summer she had; what a great shot of our president. Read more for the details of getting the shot of Barack…
Continue reading Park Slope Photographer Snaps Great Shot of Obama on the Vineyard
Marketa Irglová and Jake Clemons to Appear at Zora Space in Park Slope
On September 18th at 8PM, Marketa Irglová will be appearing at Park Slope’s new Zora Space on Fourth Avenue near Third Street. The artist, who is one half of Swell Season, recently performed at Celebrate Brooklyn with her musical partner Glenn Hansard.
But at Zora Space, she’ll be performing her delicate, melodic music with Jake Clemons,
Irglová began playing music at age 7, and began playing piano at the age of 8 when her parents bought her a piano and sent her to lessons. When she was 9, her father bought her a guitar and she immediately began playing and learning songs by ear. Her mother insisted Markéta learn piano because, as a child, her mother’s family could never afford a piano even though she loved it so much.
Jake Clemons has been performing his whole life. As a child his family traveled cross-country singing and performing musical theater. He is the son of a former Marine Corps band director and nephew of an international rock and roll icon, Clarence Clemons.
Irglová and Hansard appeared in the Irish film, Once. Among the songs Irglová wrote with Hansard for Once was “Falling Slowly,” which received an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Irglová became the first Czech woman to win an Oscar, and at age 19 she was the youngest person to win an Oscar in a musical category. Hansard and Irglová performed the song live on the Oscar broadcast at Los Angeles.
This should be an amazing night at the very intimate Zora Space.
Happy New Year: Challah and Honey from D’Vine Taste
One of the pleasures of life is shopping at D’Vine Taste, the middle-eastern gourmet shop on Seventh Avenue near Garfield Place in Park Slope, where I buy cheese, hummus, tabouli, condiments, olive oil, olives and many others delicious things. On Wednesday, Wajih Salem, the tall Lebanese man with the beard who is one of the sibling-owners, handed me a large, round challah, that he bakes.
“L’shannah tovah,” he said with a big smile.
D’Vine Taste supplies the challah for Congregation Beth Elohim. Often on Thursday afternoons I’ll see Salem walking up Garfield Place to the synagogue with his huge box of challah for the temple’s nursery school, the weekend’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah or other celebrations.
On Friday’s one of the shop’s front windows is filled with challahs wrapped in plastic. For Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and the beginning of a 10day period of celebration and atonement which ends with Yom Kippur, Salem bakes a round challah, which symbolizes the cyclical nature of life.
Yesterday I also picked up a jar of of honey from the Magnolia Honey Company in Woodville, Mississippi, dried fruit and nuts. What a pleasure to share the holiday with Salem and his siblings at D’Vine Taste.
Ghost Bookstores of NYC
Yesterday Boldtype ran a round up of the 10 best bookstores in the US. I hungrily searched the list for familiar and/or local names. The intro blurb lamented the demise of the bookstore and the book business.
“Bookstores are dying. They’re dying because of jerks who are too cheap to buy a hardcover, or even a paperback, and too lazy to get a library card. Guys like the one from Julie Bosman‘s NY Times article, and this guy, and this guy. Even before we break into the eBooks discussion, think about everything else that reading is supposed to contend with these days — movies, video games, television, and the internet.”
It was nice to see their list, which included the Strand Bookstore right here in NYC, Powells in Portland, Secret Headquarters in Los Angeles and City Lights in San Francisco. It got me to thinking of the all the great bookstores that no longer exist in NYC. So here’s my roundup of the ghosts of bookstores past…