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Civics and Urban Life

Ridiculously Late Start Today

Why?

Well, I went to the press opening of Andy Warhol: The Last Decade at the Brooklyn Museum. It’s the first U.S. museum survey to examine the late work of American artist Andy Warhol (1928–1987) and has been in two other cities before Brooklyn.

During his last ten years, Warhol worked on a very large scale and also created some interesting video work. An interview he did with Larry Rivers is on view and I found myself laughing hysterically.

Then I visited Lesley Topping, who videotaped the Brooklyn Blogfest and looked at her footage of the show and that was, to say the least, very interesting.

Then I went over to Root Hill Cafe on Fourth Avenue (not far from the Brooklyn Lyceum) and did some reading. Later I found out that tonight Root Hill is opening a night-time only bar called Trash Pony Bar. The name is  inspired by a stuffed animal pony the owners found in the trash can outside of the cafe…

Then I realized it was 5:30 PM and I hadn’t put anything on the blog. This has been a catch up week after the crazies of last week and the many weeks before — the preparation to and the aftermath of Blogfest.

Tonight I will update.

Civics and Urban Life

Tenant for Old Zuzu’s Spot on 7th Avenue

Walking south on Seventh Avenue last night I noticed that the old Zuzu’s Petals and Olive Vine storefronts, between Berkeley Place and Union Streets, are boarded up. In 2004, fire swept through that one-story building and it’s been vacant and untouched since then. The wooden rainbow  Zuzu’s Petals sign was visible until a few days ago. Olive Vine moved a few blocks away on Seventh Avenue and Zuzu’s moved to much bigger digs on Fifth Avenue..

So is something finally happening over there?

There’s a rumor that Petco is moving in, but the owner, David Chemtob, has not officially disclosed who or what is going in there.

According to the Brooklyn Paper, Chemtob bought the vacant storefronts in 2008 and was going to build to build residential housing and storefronts. He had a commercial tenant, I remember hearing that it was a health club or something like that, but then that fell through. Then the recession hit Chemtob’s big plans bit the dust.

arts and culture

Coney Island Mermaid Parade This Saturday

Pray for good weather for this iconic event. A parade of people dressed as mermaid and mermen in Coney Island It is as wonderful and zany as it sounds and always worth a visit to Coney Island.

Coney Island USA, the organizers of the parade, have a very helpful Q&A on their website. Here’s an excerpt:

What day is the Parade?
Saturday, June 19, 2010, rain or shine.

Who is this years King and Queen?
Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson!

What time does the Parade start?
The Mermaid Parade starts at 2 PM!

What time does the Parade end?
Hard to say, but it usually all wraps up at around 5:30 PM or so. The winners in each category are announced as soon as the last entrant passes the reviewing stand. Immediately after, Parade founder Dick D. Zigun leads the King and Queen procession up 10st to the beach for the opening of the Ocean for the summer swimming season.

Where does the Parade take place?
The Parade will start on West 21st and the Surf Avenue. It will roll East to West 10th Street, where the cars and motorized floats will park. The marchers and push pull floats will go to the Boardwalk and march West to Stillwell Ave. where the Parade will Disband.

Where’s the best place to watch the Parade?
That’s entirely up to you.  Many people like to watch the Parade on the boardwalk, but the boardwalk only features marchers and push-pull floats.  Surf Avenue allows viewing of antique cars and motorized floats as well.

Where is the Reviewing Stand?
It is on Surf Avenue just east of West 12th Street, across West 12th Street from the Sideshow building.

Is it ok to bring kids to the Parade?
The Mermaid Parade is an art parade and is for everyone, just keep in mind that some folks will be dressed as Mermaids and Mermen who, let’s face it, aren’t historically known for wearing much clothing. That being said, we’ve always had a ton of kids in the Parade, (even a little girl’s Birthday party or two!) but it’sentirely up to you as a parent or guardian to decide what you feel is appropriate for your kids.

Who puts on the Parade?
We do! Coney Island USA the resident not for profit arts center in Coney Island. We are headquartered at 1208 Surf Ave between West 12th street and Stillwell Ave. You can help support the parade by supporting all of our programs throughout the year, buying merchandise at our giftshop, having a beer, soda or bottled water at the Freak Bar! And another great way to show your appreciation is to become a member of Coney Island USA! Memberships start at only $25 and include free admission to the sideshow and museum!

arts and culture

Poets Walk Across the Bridge and Broken Land Anthology

I didn’t know anything about the 15th annual Poets Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge on Monday night.

Wasn’t anyone gonna tell me (or send me some PR?).

Actor Bill Murray was there as was  Brooklyn Poet laureate Tina Chang and poet Galway Kinnell, who read Walt Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” at the Fulton Ferry Landing.

Poets House organized the walk and readings, which sounded great. This might be a good time to mention Broken Land, the  first poetry anthology dedicated exclusively to verse about Brooklyn edited by Julia Spicher Kasdorf and Michael Tyrell and published by NYU Press. The editors have collected 135 poems that convey the borough’s long history as well as the diverse mosaic of lives lived here.

Many of the poems recited during the Poets Walk, “A Coney Island From the Mind,” Allen Ginsberg’s “Supermarket in California” and Denise Levertov’s “The Rights.” and Walt Whitman’s Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” are featured in the anthology.

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: Some Recent Event Pictures and Emily Zuzik Tonight

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I’ve replaced the pocket camera that fell out of my pocket a few months back and have begun posting  pix of some of the shows I’ve attended recently at Now I’ve Heard Everything. You can see Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby, Charlie Faye with Will Sexton, Carolyn Wonderland, Davell Crawford and Allen Toussaint, and Rosanne Cash and the rest of the star-studded cast at the Benefit for Nashville Musicians.

As for tonight, Emily Zuzik is a Broolyn-based singer-songwriter who is a familiar part of the New York music scene frequently playing around town.  But the rest of 2010 is going to be busy for Emily with her day job (she’s a model) and another non-music project (it’s her wedding) keeping her busy.  So take advantage of Emily’s appearance at The Rockwood Music Hall tonight.  It’s a full band show and Emily will perform her own well-crafted songs and probably an inspired cover or two.  If you need more convincing, just check out the video of Emily posted here.  Details are over at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

–Eliot Wagner

arts and culture

Loom at Littlefield This Friday

Loom is a band I like very much. I’ve heard them at Vox Pop and Sycamore and this Friday they’ll be at Littlefield (see below) I’ll let the recent editorial raves about this band do the talking:

“To say that The Loom’s performance was a revelation would be to understate the significance of this unit. They combine musical talent, strong writing, and an abundant amount of band camaraderie into an intense amalgam.” – nyctaper

“Beloved Brooklyn sextet The Loom…have lately been guiding their chamber-folk sound to decidedly louder sonic territory.” – The New Yorker

Hear them at Littlefield with Damien Jurado this Friday at 8 PM.

Food and Drink

Cafe Martin’s Martin is Droll

In an article in today’s Brooklyn Paper by young reporter Ben Kochman (full disclosure I know this young man)  there’s a joke masquerading as news. Cafe Martin’s Martin O’Connell claims he never met his sister, who owns Cafe Regular.

I’d chalk it up to Martin O’Connell’s droll sense of humor. Well, the article in the Paper is good humored, too. Here from the Brooklyn Paper:

It’s a feud so overcaffeinated that a brother now claims that he’s never even met his sister!

The sour sibling spat that split the ownership team of Cafe Regular in Park Slope has boiled over once again, now that Martin O’Connell has opened Cafe Martin — a new joint on Fifth Avenue that’s only six blocks away from the original coffee bar that his sister, Anne, still runs.

“I don’t want to comment about that,” said Martin O’Connell, when asked about his sister’s cafe. “I wouldn’t want to cause consternation for someone I don’t know.”

Someone he doesn’t know?

For years, Martin O’Connell was the popular public face of Café Regular, which is located on 11st Street near Fifth Avenue, known mostly for his wry humor and “life-changing” cappuccino.

But last fall, he and his sister feuded over whether modernizing with wireless Internet and an electric cash register would sacrifice the old-school Parisian authenticity of the café.

One rumor suggested even suggested that the spat occurred after Anne demanded that the baristas wear uniforms!

The tension between the two became so heated that now Martin flatly denies any former association with Café Regular.

“No, I don’t know them at all,” said Martin of his former abode, while he served up customers at his new café on Fifth Avenue and Fifth Street. “I don’t know anyone who worked there.”

Martin has a new cafe in a great new location — on Fifth Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets. It’s a lovely place with pews for seating, an attractive tin roof, a standing room only cafe/bar and black and white photography on the wall.

And the coffee?

Well, Martin is a master barista and the brew is strong and good.

Food and Drink

Undomesticated Brooklyn: Blogfest Blacklash

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By Paula Bernstein

The Blogfest Backlash is in full gear as critics snipe that this was the year the gathering of Brooklyn bloggers sold out to Absolut Vodka, the event’s sponsor.

Controversy aside, for a first-time attendee like myself, it was an opportunity to meet fellow bloggers and to be inspired by the community. Sure, Spike Lee’s chat made it clear he was there to shill Absolut Brooklyn, the new vodka blend “inspired” by Brooklyn. And it was also painfully apparent that he knew nothing about blogging or the purpose of the event.

Still, I appreciated the fact that Spike Lee brought a more diverse audience to the blogfest. And, to be honest, I also appreciated the free entry fee, vodka, and food (and no, I didn’t get a flip camera or a bottle of vodka to take home). Producing an event like this isn’t cheap. Kudos to blogger/Blogfest founder Louise Crawford for helping to make it accessible to all.

Ultimately, the cocktails were not as memorable as the conversations. During the “Blogs of a Feather” sessions where bloggers broke up by subject matter, I got to know fellow food and home bloggers, including:

Carolina Capehart of Historic Cookery, who cooks over an open fire, using the equipment,the ingredients, and the receipts (recipes) of the early 19th Century.

Phyllis Bobb of Reclaimed Home, who blogs about low impact housing and renovations options for thrifty New Yorkers.

Heather Johnston of SoGood.tv, which features videos about wine and food for the home cook.

Susan LaRosa of A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn, who revisits American home cooking in the era before convenience foods became popular.

Chattting about the state of blogging in Brooklyn was fun, but the highlight of the night came after I left Blogfest and I stumbled upon an inflatable couch on the sidewalk outside the Brooklyn Lyceum. It was after 11 pm and the man reclining on the couch was handing out free cookies.

“Want a cookie?” he asked.

I eyed him suspiciously. My mom always warned me about taking cookies from strangers, but it was a homemade orange chocolate chip cookie and he assured me that not only was it safe, but it was gluten free. I couldn’t resist. It was delicious.

He handed me his card. Turns out the cookie man’s name is Scott Alexander. Apparently, he’s a musician who makes friends and contacts by setting up his couch and handing out cookies. He’s got a 24-hour Free Cookie Hotline, 347-829-4YUM and a web site, FreeCookies.Net.

Scintillating conversation with old friends and new, strong cocktails and free cookies. I couldn’t ask for much more in an evening out in Brooklyn.

arts and culture

Brooklyn Reading Works Summer Reading List

Here are some summer reading suggestions from authors who have recently appeared at Brooklyn Reading Works, a monthly reading series at the Old Stone House. Readings resume in September 2010.

Fiction:

A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein: What happens when a successful doctor in New Jersey with a devoted wife and a young son finds out that his best friend’s daughter has a shocking and unspeakable past. Grodstein read a chapter from this novel at Fiction in a Blender 2010.

The Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick: A high-quality page turner set in 1907 Wisconsin about a mail order bride. Goolrick read his incredible memoir, The End of the World As We Know it at the Memoirathon in 2009.

Third Girl from the Left by Martha Southgate: A  novel about three generations of an African American family and the power of the movies. Southgate read the first chapter of this novel at Edgy Mother’s Day 2010.

The Big Machine by Victor LaValle: His work has been called a mix of Gabriel Maria Marquez and Edgar Allen Poe. A funny book about a middle aged hustler who is inducted into a league of paranormal investigators. LaValle read the first chapter at BRW’s Young, Gifted and Black (Men) in September 2009.

Signifying Nothing by Clifford Thompson: Set in Washington, D.C., in 1979 this novel focuses on  Lester Hobbs, nineteen years old, mentally retarded and mute until the day he suddenly begins to rap at the top of his lungs about life with his parents and older siblings. Thompson read at the Young, Gifted and Black (Men) reading in September 2009.

God Says No by James Hanaham: a young black man strugglles with his appetites–for friendship and love, for religious experience, for corndogs, for illicit gay sex in Waffle House bathrooms, for acceptance. He tries everything to change himself…Hanaham read at the Young, Gifted and Black (Men) reading in September 2009.

The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel: A tale of food and friendship (the subtitle) told through letters and recipes. Israel and Garfinkel read at December’s Feast reading.

Tin House Summer Reading Issue edited by Rob Spillman: Short fiction by Lydia Millet, Steven Milhauser, Per Patterson and more. Rob Spillman curated January’s BRW, which featured three Tin House authors.

No Perfect Words by Nava Renek: In this East Village break-up book, the narrator addresses in second-person her longtime lover, a cultural critic of some renown who has recently left her and their seven-year-old daughter, Jenna. Renek read at the 2010 Memoirathon. 

From Rockaway by Jill Eisenstadt: “If Rockaway, at the Atlantic edge of New York City, were a state of mind, it would be energized despair. Or so it seems for the teenagers in this finely tuned first novel who have spent their lives in “Rotaway” and are unlikely to get out. They drink a lot, do a little dope, talk about sex more than have it and feel no more in charge of their lives at 18 than they did in Catholic grammar school.” — Publisher’s Weekly. The book is available from used booksellers at Amazon. Eisenstadt curated the Young Writers event at BRW in 2009 and read at Edgy Mother’s Day 2010.

Always Hiding by Sophia Romero: A coming of age novel set in Manila’s materialistic upper class under the Marcos regime, the main character deals with immigration to the US and her conflicted feelings about life here.Romero curated Edgy Mother’s Day and read at Feast 2009 and Edgy Moms.

Non-Fiction

Money Changes Everything edited by Elissa Schappell and Jenny Offill: An anthology of essay and memoir pieces on the subject of money. Schappell appeared at the Truth and Money reading and discussion on tax day 2010.

The Art of Making Money by Jason Kersten: The author traces the riveting, rollicking, roller coaster journey of a young man from Chicago who escaped poverty, for a while at least, after being apprenticed into counterfeiting by an Old World Master. Kersten appeared at the Truth and Money reading and discussion on tax day 2010.

The End of the World As We Know It by Robert Goolrick: A dark, captivating memoir about a southern family. Beautifully written with humor and depth. Goolrick read at the 2009 Memoirathon.

Dirt: The Quirks, Habits and Passions of Keeping House edited by Mindy Lewis: this book of essays and memoir pieces features an essay by Branka Ruzak, who curates the Memoirathon.

Poetry

Black Irish by Michele Madigan Somerville (Plain View Press)

The Virgin Formica by Sharon Mesmer (Hanging Loose Press)

Modern Life by Matthea Harvey (Greywolf Press)

Knock Knock by Heather Hartley (Carnegie Mellon University Press)

In Memory of the Fast Break by Michael Sweeney (Plain View Press)

Civics and Urban Life

Sunday: Seventh Heaven Street Fair

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It’s that time of year again. Every Father’s Day, Seventh Avenue’s tube sock and roasted corn fest fills Seventh Avenue with huge crowds.

Organized by the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, Seventh Avenue is covered in street vendors, craft merchants, music and food stations.

One of the things I like about Seventh Heaven—and the Fifth Avenue Fair—is that it does manage to convey some of the flavor of those avenues, in addition to the usual street fair fare.

I like to walk the fair early, just as vendors are setting up. By the middle of the day it gets a little zooey. But it is a great place to run into friends and neighbors and people you haven’t seen in a while.

The Community Bookstore is organizing a Scavenger Hunt for the second year in a row. That promises to be fun as the bookstore is very good at that sort of thing. Look for information at the Community Bookstore (on 7th Avenue betwen Carroll Street and Garfield).

Civics and Urban Life

Council Member Steve Levin Vows to Keep the Douglas St. Pool Open

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At last night’s town hall style meeting  in Boerum Hill, City Councilmember Steve Levin vowed to open the D&D pool on Nevins Street between Douglas and Degraw Street for kids in the neighborhood.

According to the Brooklyn Paper, the Councilman from the 33rd district said:  “A lot of families depend on this pool for free recreation. We need the this pool for our kids to stay active and out of trouble.”

The city targeted the “Double-D” pool for closure because its attendance is lower than other local pools (37,000 swimmers last yaer) and immediate area is mostly industrial. The closing would save the city $200,000.

But people in Boerum Hill and Park Slope depend on that pool in summer as it is located near three large housing projects and Brownstone Brooklyn.

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: Benefit Concert to Help Nashville Musicians

You’ve  no doubt heard about the recent floods in Nashville.  Tonight there is a benefit to aid musicians hurt by those floods with an all star cast including Roseanne Cash, Greg Trooper, Jonatha Brooke, Laura Cantrell, Mary Lamont and many more.  The event takes place at Hill Country in Chelsea with a minimum (tax deductible) contribution of $25.  A complete list of performers, set times and further information is available at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

–Eliot Wagner

Civics and Urban Life

June 21: Conquer All Your Pie Crust Fears!

Brooklyn Brainery is teaming up with Lauren Cucinotta from Pie in the Park to host a workshop that will conquer all your pie crust making fears.  Four pro crust makers will show you how it’s done, with plenty of pie tasting along the way.

All the details:
What: Pie Crust Workshop and Tasting
Where: The Gowanus Studio Space, 166 7th Street, Brooklyn (near the 4th Ave stop on the F, G, M, and R)
When: Monday, June 21st, at 7:30 p.m.
No advance registration necessary, $15 gets you in, gets you a slice of pie, and helps support Pie in the Park and the Brainery.

http://brooklynbrainery.com/pie-crust-workshop

Civics and Urban Life

Time Warner Internet Service Restored After Two Day “Outage”

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Sometime Friday a little before noon Con Ed cut the Time Warner cable that serves this area. There was the following sign:

“CUSTOMERS IN OR AROUND THE FOLLOWING AREAS MAY BE IMPACTED: THE 400-500 BLOCKS OF 3RD ST, THE 400-600 BLOCKS OF 2ND ST,  THE 300 BLOCK OF 6TH AVE” 

The Time Warner cable crew has been working on restoring service. It seems that not only is a cut cable involved but also freshly poured concrete on top of it.

As a temporary fix the Time Warner crew re-routed the cable to a lamppost, across the street to another lamp post, and then under a steel plate on the sidewalk. Of course in the middle of all this outage there was the gay pride parade on seventh avenue between the aforementioned lamp posts.

Now we are getting our Internet via this cable tied to two lamp posts getting pinched by a steel plate. That pinched coax can’t be very good for impedance, and every time someone steps on that plate it probably gets pinched some more. I guess it will have to do for now. I wonder, will they have to dig a new trench to fix this correctly?

H.C. on Sunday morning

Civics and Urban Life

BP Oil Spill on Fourth Avenue

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The old BP gas station on Fifth Street at Fourth Avenue is raising the ire of Park Slopers. The Daily News has the story. Here’s an excerpt:

Residents say the dilapidated site of an old BP service station on Fourth Ave. reeks of oil and gasoline they want cleaned up.

“It’s a smelly example of urban decay,” said Jeremy Friedman, 27, a grad student who lives on Sixth St. near the vacant lot. “I wish somebody would take responsibility for it.”

For more than a decade, the BP service station leaked gas and oil into the ground, said state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Maureen Wren.

Now the oil company is on the hook for cleaning it up.

“We’re supervising BP’s cleanup of the site,” she said. “It’s an ongoing project.”

Neighbors say the trouble started in 2008, when Brooklyn-based Tona Development purchased the lot and demolished the BP gas station, releasing noxious fumes from the contaminated soil.

Tona planned to seal the oily ground with a 12-story condo built on a concrete foundation, but the project stalled last year when the developer ran out of money.

“Since then it’s been a stinking empty lot and an eyesore,” said Friedman. “You can smell it for blocks.”

Residents say the lot has stunk worse since the winter, when noxious fumes began wafting from an oily puddle.

arts and culture

The Sunday List: Bklyn Film Fest, American High Style, Urban Glass

Film:

The 13th Brooklyn International Film Festival continues into the weekend: For a full schedule of the screenings go here. Films are shown at Brooklyn Heights Cinema and indieScreen in Williamsburg.

Please Give, Solitary Man, Sex and the City at BAM.

Dance:

This weekend and next at BAM: Alvin Ailey “By Popular Demand” Program. Jun 11, 12, 16 & 17 at 7:30pm. Jun 12 & 19 at 2pm (ING Family Matinees)* Audience favorites including: In/Side by Robert Battle; Uptown by Matthew Rushing; Revelations by Alvin Ailey

Music

This Sunday and every Sunday at 8PM at Issue Project Room: Share Free Audio and Video Jam. Share is an open jam, not just for digirati, but for all new culture lovers. Participants bring their portable equipment, plug into IPR’s system, improvise on each others’ signal and perform live audio and video. IPR will furnish the amplification and projection. Share happens every Sunday.

Art

At the 440 Gallery in Park Slope:  “Ezra, zichrono l’vracha, May his memory be a blessing” is a powerful installation that chronicles a year of mourning and a painfully altered family life.

At the Brooklyn Museum of Art: “American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection” Featuring over 80 dressed mannequins and a selection of hats, shoes, sketches, and other fashion-related materials. 10 am–5 pm.

At UrbanGlass: “Parenthetical Admission (Things Eventually Recognized After the Fact…)” Artist David Schnuckel presents works based on human fallibility. 647 Fulton St. at Rockwell Place • Tel: 718.625.3685

Theater

Tiny Toy Theater Festival at St. Ann’s Warehouse is a big festival of tiny films.
Sunday, June 13, 11 am
Sunday, June 13, 2 pm
Sunday, June 13, 7:30 pm

Civics and Urban Life

With Smartmom Children are Seen and Heard

The sounds of childhood. It’s not just the giggles and squeals of joy that warms the hearts of parents everywhere. Kids make a lot of racket, and from time to time, it can cause parents—neighbors and strangers—much consternation.

For 19 years, Smartmom has been trying to control the sound level in her apartment. Sure, the noise is sometimes just the effusive energy and activity of childhood. But there’s also the fighting and the crying and the yelling and the …

It’s been a while, but Teen Spirit and the Oh So Feisty One were crying babies once. Neither of them were particularly colicky, but they did do their share of crying. In the first few weeks of his life, Teen Spirit would get so hungry that he’d launch into an ear-piercing wail. Usually it would start with a benign whimper (hungry baby here), but it would quickly develop into an angry roar (HUNGRY BABY HERE!).

The Oh So Feisty One was also a big screamer. On her first morning home from the hospital, she woke with a huge shriek.

“Hey, mom, I like your new alarm clock,” the then-5-year-old Teen Spirit memorably said.

But you can’t really complain about a crying baby. It’s all part of the life cycle, the essential way that babies make their needs know before they learn language: dirty diaper, hunger, pain, fear, a call for love and attention.

But that doesn’t mean people don’t complain. Smartmom remembers airplane trips when a crying Teen Spirit or OSFO would inspire carping from other passengers.

“Can’t you do something about your baby?” another passenger once grumbled her way.

Truth be told, Smartmom now rolls her eyes (inwardly) when she hears the sharp cry of a baby on an airplane. It may be perfectly natural, but it does put her nerves on edge when she flies.

And what about tantrums? The sound of a toddler wailing and hollering in fury must be one of the most unpleasant sounds of childhood — and a cause for neighbor’s complaints a-plenty. But what’s a parent to do? Tantrums also represent an important stage of growth and childhood expression.

But that’s nothing compared to the pitter patter of little feet also known as the unbridled — and high volume — energy of youth. Teen Spirit loved to run up and down the hallway playing his imaginary superhero games. The downstairs neighbors used to call him Thumper. Their chandelier would shake when Teen Spirit careened through the living room. At high speed.

“There goes Thumper,” they’d say.

But they didn’t complain too much because they had their own brood of three boys and one very active girl running up and down their hallway.

They were living in their own private cacophony — and causing havoc for their own downstairs neighbors.

Lucky is the family that lives on the top floor.

Kids growing up in apartment buildings have as much raw energy as their suburban (and brownstone) counterpoints. But they don’t have the backyards or the one-family houses to run wild in. In the cold weather, especially, it can be hard on the neighbors when kids use their apartments as winter playgrounds.

Active playdates and slumber parties also test neighborly patience. Smartmom remembers the time OSFO and Teen Spirit spent an evening making a action adventure movie in the apartment with friends, which entailed moving furniture, dramatic screams and leaping from one end of the apartment to the other.

ACTION.

Smartmom is humiliated at the thought that her neighbors had overheard all the parent/child battles of Teen Spirit and OSFO’s childhood and adolescence.

“I SAID WAKE UP!” and “I’M GOING TO GET THE ICE” and “DID YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK, YOU LITTLE SO AND SO…”

Each age of childhood has its own distinctive racket. These days, Teen Spirit and his friends gather in the living room and have rowdy sing-a-longs. Then there’s the welcome sound (and racket) of OSFO practicing the piano and Teen Spirit recording his multi-track songs and singing in a loud stage voice while he’s doing it.

Smartmom wonders what it will be like next year without Teen Spirit. What will life be like with one less child to make noise? Will it be hard to get used to? Will it make her sad?

Let’s just say, there are some noises she’ll miss and others she won’t. But it remains to be seen. Or heard.

Civics and Urban Life

Erratum

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I want to make it very clear that Norman Oder did not suggest NEVER SUGGESTED that the Blogs Aloud excerpts—and the panelists—were chosen by Absolut. I know that Oder is dedicated to accuracy and I fully respect that. I am sincerely sorry that I did not issue this full correction earlier. I’ll let Norman Oder speak for himself:

This is the fifth time in two days–two emails, three comments–I’ve had to point out that you *invented* this sentence: “Norman Oder’s accusation that the bloggers on the panel and those included in the Blogs Aloud section were chosen by Absolut is patently ridiculous.”

I never made that accusation.

In the Times’s CityRoom blog, you said “I make every effort to attribute quotes accurately and not misrepresent people’s point of view” and “I love it when people fact-check me or send me typos. That’s a big help because I’m working very fast and mistakes do get made.”

Making such corrections–especially when the underlying error has no basis in fact–is not just a professional obligation. It’s a legal one.

Civics and Urban Life

Acceptance Rate at PS 321 Pre-K Hits New Low

Unlike kindergarten, public pre-kindergarten programs are not mandated by New York State so admissions are very limited and often by lottery. The program at PS 321 is very small (only one full day class and two half-day progarms) Still the acceptance rate hit a new low this year according to the NY Post:

…the acceptance rate at some schools hit record lows — with PS 321 in Brooklyn’s Park Slope at a jaw-dropping 2.5 percent. Ivy League Harvard accepted 6.9 percent of its applicants this year.

“This is such a great program, and I really hoped he would have gotten in,” said Mary Thaman, whose son was not among the 12 lucky tots — out of 475 applicants — to land spots at PS 321.

“We’re scrambling to see if we can find someplace else for him,” she added.

Families who snagged seats at the well-regarded school — which, like all of the programs, gives priority to kids who rank it as their top choice and have siblings attending the school — were shocked by their good fortune.

“It was just disbelief when we heard the news,” said David Criste, whose 3-year-old son, Neal, got into PS 321 with the aid of his older brother, a first-grader there.

“We decided to play Powerball the next day, just in case we were on a lucky streak,” Criste said. “But we weren’t that lucky.”

Among the 25,000 applicants for public-school pre-K slots, more than 18,000 got offers from at least one program, Department of Education data show. As for the 7,000 families that were shut out, they’ll get a new shot next month — when a second round of applications gets under way.

arts and culture

The Saturday List: Pride, Allen Toussaint, Tiny Toy Theater

Pride Day in Brooklyn

–Multicultural Festival (11:00a – 6:00p)
It’s more than your usual street fair featuring stage performance, family zone, shopping and great food. Most importantly, it provides opportunities for the community to come through to learn about community organizations, issues and business.

–Kids Space (12:00p – 4:00p)
Kids come join the fun at Brooklyn Pride with your own Space! We will have sing a song, puppet making workshops, story time, bookmaking and much much more!

–Night Pride Parade (7:30p Kick Off)
Come join the fun with the one and only “Night Time Parade in the Northeast, a celebration of our Pride and Heritage.

Celebrate Brooklyn

On Saturday, June 12 at 7:30 PM (doors open at 6:30PM) Allen Toussaint and Davell Crawford bring the sounds of New Orleans to Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park. One of the true architects of New Orleans music and a national treasure, Allen Toussaint has produced, arranged for, or collaborated with everyone from Dr. John to the Neville Brothers to Irma Thomas (not to mention the Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, and The Band). Performing on his own, “the generosity and grandeur of his melting pot vision…invokes nothing but joy.” (Down Beat) The electrifying piano player and singer Davell Crawford is a direct descendent—he’s often referred to as “The Prince of New Orleans.”

NYC Writers Coalition Marathon

The NYC Writers Coaltion Marathon provides an opportunity for people to spend the day writing, meet other writers, attend free creative writing workshops, attend a  lunch time talk with Nicholas Dawidoff, bestselling author of The Crowd Sounds Happy, and help NYWC’s free creative writing programs for the formerly homelss, at-risk youth, seniors & others.

Film:

The 13th Brooklyn International Film Festival continues into the weekend: For a full schedule of the screenings go here. Films are shown at Brooklyn Heights Cinema and indieScreen in Williamsburg.

Please Give, Solitary Man, Sex and the City at BAM Screenings are in

Dance:

This weekend and next at BAM: Alvin Ailey “By Popular Demand” Program. Jun 11, 12, 16 & 17 at 7:30pm. Jun 12 & 19 at 2pm (ING Family Matinees)* Audience favorites including: In/Side by Robert Battle; Uptown by Matthew Rushing; Revelations by Alvin Ailey

Music

Saturday, June 12 at 8PM at Barbes: Gato Loco plays arrangements of early Cuban son dance hits from the 1920s-1940s. The quartet plays the great compositions of Ignacio Pinero, Arsenio Rodriguez, Chano Pozo, Quarteto Habanero, Casino De La Playa, Maria Teresa Vera, as well as traditional folk songs, all filtered th0rough subsonic instruments played as delicately as possible. tuba, bari sax, baritone acoustic guitar, and acoustic bass guarantees that you feel the music, rather than hear it.

This Sunday and every Sunday at 8PM at Issue Project Room: Share Free Audio and Video Jam. Share is an open jam, not just for digirati, but for all new culture lovers. Participants bring their portable equipment, plug into IPR’s system, improvise on each others’ signal and perform live audio and video. IPR will furnish the amplification and projection. Share happens every Sunday.

Art

At the 440 Gallery in Park Slope:  “Ezra, zichrono l’vracha, May his memory be a blessing” is a powerful installation that chronicles a year of mourning and a painfully altered family life.

At the Brooklyn Museum of Art: “American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection” Featuring over 80 dressed mannequins and a selection of hats, shoes, sketches, and other fashion-related materials. 10 am–5 pm.

At UrbanGlass: “Parenthetical Admission (Things Eventually Recognized After the Fact…)” Artist David Schnuckel presents works based on human fallibility. 647 Fulton St. at Rockwell Place • Tel: 718.625.3685

Theater

Tiny Toy Theater Festival at St. Ann’s Warehouse is a big festival of tiny films.
Saturday, June 12, 1 pm
Saturday, June 12, 4:30 pm
Saturday, June 12, 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 12, 10 pm
Sunday, June 13, 11 am
Sunday, June 13, 2 pm
Sunday, June 13, 7:30 pm