All posts by louise crawford

Postcard from the Slope

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: THERE ARE SOME NERVOUS KIDS OUT THERE

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Today is the first day of school and we’re ready. On Labor Day, OSFO and I went to Save on Fifth and bought everything on the list that her teacher’s sent during the summer. TS’s school doesn’t start until Thursday.

4 marble notebooks
4 folders (red for math, blue for reading, yellow for social studies and green for word study)
Crayons
Markers
Black Sharpies
Colored pencils
Ticonderoga pencils (they didn’t specifiy but they’re the best)!
Elmer’s Glue
Post-its
Kleenex
Paper towels
Liquid anti-bacterial soap

In case you didn’t know, public school parents must always buy classroom supplies like Kleenex, paper towels, sharpies, markers, soap, etc. The schools don’t have money for it and at some schools the teachers have to use their own money to get it.

We had so much fun shopping for supplies. It’s a rite of passage. A special day every year. OSFO’s outfit is ready for tomorrow (pink and navy striped polo shirt, I’m not sure if she’s wearing jeans or a skort). Her only worry is that some boy she doesn’t like will be in her class and that she won’t like her teacher. She’s looking forward to seeing one of her teachers from last year. In other words: she’s good to go.

On Monday night, she spent a couple of hours decorating the marble notebook, which will be her "Writer’s  Notebook." She put pictures of Ducky, Teen Spirit, Hepcat, Diaper Diva, and her best friend on the book…

She forced herself to go to sleep early so she’d be well rested for tomorrow. I hope she has a really great day.

Civics and Urban Life

FIRST BROOKLYN READING WORKS: SEPTEMBER 21

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Here’s the publisher’s blurb on Lori Soderlind, who is reading on September 21 at Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House at 8 p.m. Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets. Her book, CHASING MONTANA: A LOVE STORY, is said to be "an outrageous adventure told with humor and compassion." 

Lori, the heroine of this rousing narrative, is attempting to flee the hectic East Coast for a better life in the West. She is a child of the Seventies who feels misled by the rebellious "boomer" generation and disappointed with life in 1980s New Jersey. Spurred by the tale of her pioneering grandparents, who immigrated to Montana, and following her friend Madeleine, who has all the answers, Lori quits her job, loosens her ties, and sets off into a wild frontier.

Lori’s story is one of love for people and for places that are more mythic than real. Her pursuit is as painfully familiar as it is impossible: she seeks meaning in life while working dead-end jobs, falls in love with uninterested partners, and plans a future that seems doomed from the start. Somehow, though, she persists and ultimately finds her place as a twenty-first-century pioneer.

"An understated and moving memoir that feels like a road trip with a really good friend. But more than that, it’s a subtle social commentary, a travel story, a coming out, and an epitaph for the ghost towns of the West. Chasing Montana will be a new road favorite for meandering women across the land."–Mack Friedman, author of Setting the Lawn on Fire

"I rolled down my window. The air rushed in like a flood of invisible cotton, soft and edgeless. It smelled like the earth baked in sun. Oh god: it could all be so beautiful, it could, it could, if we wanted. I yelled above the radio and the wind rushing in: ‘Madeleine, I want to be free as wild horses, I want to live among the buffalo, I want to let my hair grow to my knees and swim naked in cold rivers. I want to live, to live, to live until I die and nothing can stop me now. I WANT TO BE FREEEEEEE!’ "–Excerpt from Chasing Montana

New York 1

WEST INDIES PARADE ON EASTERN PARKWAY

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This from NY1 about the annual West Indian American Carnival on Monday. You can bet there are going to be a lot of pictures or links to pictures at Brooklinks at Gowanus Lounge

Millions lined up along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn Monday for the annual West Indian Labor Day parade.

Crowds waved flags from nations across the Caribbean, enjoying the sounds of reggae and calypso.

The festivities mark the 39th year of the West Indian American
Carnival, which honors the more than two million Caribbean-Americans in
New York.

"It means so much to us, and I’m American, but it’s like freedom
for a day," said one parade-goer. "Everybody’s happy, everybody’s one
accord."

"Oh, it’s great being on the Parkway; it’s real nice," added
another. "It’s fun to see a lot of people and the music is great. You
get to dance, you know have a good time."

This year’s parade paid homage to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Postcard from the Slope

MY FRIEND WENT TO BURNING MAN AND I DIDN”T EVEN GET A T-SHIRT

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My friend who went to Burning Man with her daughter never sent even one email about her days there. She promised me a daily diary that I would publish to satisfy the curiosity of OTBKB readers. Well, she didn’t come through. Nothing. Nada.

We still know as little as we did before about Burning Man, the week-long counter-culture, arts festival for 40,000 in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. Hopefully, she’ll have lots to tell when she gets back tomorrow. And pictures. A t-shirt. Something. Nu?

Anyone else from Park Slope who reads OTBKB go to Burning Man?

Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN READING WORKS COMMENCES SEPTEMBER 21

Brooklyn Reading Works starts up again on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 AT 8 p.m. at the Old Stone House on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets.

And it’ll be so much easier to pull off than Brooklyn Film Works, our exciting July outdoor film series. I’m not kidding you: putting up a 15 x 20 ft. screen, audio equipment, tents, etc. every week was as A LOT OF WORK. Luckily we had a crack crew of volulnteers and technicians. But boy. And all that worry about rain and HEAT and the garbage truck and on and on. Not to mention we set up on either the hottest days of the summer or the wettest. On the Moonstruck night, we had to stop the film and were just lucky to get the audience off the lawn before the big lightning storm. But it was really, really fun and a great sucess.

But a reading series is easy by comparison: you don’t have to worry about the weather because it’s indoors, you set up a bunch of chairs, drinks and refreshments, the podium…Easy and fun. And oh so literary.

BROOKLYN READING WORKS 2006-2007 SEASON

September 21, 2006 Opening Night Festivities

Lori Soderland, author of CHASING MONTANA (UW Press) will read. park Slope residet, Mary Sternbach reads recently published short story.

October 19, 2006

LEORA SKOLKIN-SMITH will read from her book, “EDGES: O PALESTINE, O ISRAEL” published by “Glad Day Books” a small literary house founded by GRACE PALEY and Robert Nichols. Ms. Paley was the editor of “Edges” . The novel has recently been nominated for a PEN/Faulkner Award. It was also, selected by The Jewish Book Council for a National Tour and will be featured at this year’s Virginia Festival for the Book.

RICHARD GRAYSON reads from his new collection of short stored, “AND TO THINK HE KISSD HIM ON LORIMER STREET AND OTHER STORIES.”

November 16, 2006

Author DARCEY STEINKE, author of SUICIDE BLONDE (chosen as a New York Times notable book of the year), UP FROM THE WATER and JESUS SAVES will read from her new book.

December 14, 2006

An evening of poetry with 32 POEMS MAGAZINE. 32 Poems is a semiannual poetry magazine published in April and November. Each issue of journal contains 32 poems so you can give intimate, unhurried attention to each. It’s easy to carry and inviting to read.

The comfortable size of 32 POEMS and the superb quality of the work therein provides an alternative to larger collections and is attractive to new readers of contemporary poetry. Publisher Deborah Ager and a group of 32 Poems poets will be present.

January 18,2007

CLYDE OF NYC: THE FUNKY HOMOSEXUAL Clyde is a twenty-, thirty-, forty-something living in New York City, the Northern suburbs, the Eastern suburbs, in a van down by the river; the East River, the Hudson River. He love naps, White Castle cheeseburgers, The Flintstones, I Love Lucy, and Batman-THE Batman. He is madly in love and totally unavailable (sorry girls; and guys). He is a prolific short fiction writer and dabbles in poetry, rarely.

February 22, 2007

CARLA THOMPSON will read from her book, BEARING WITNESS, NOT SO CRAZY IN ALABAMA, which was well-reviewed by Booklist, Library Journal, Baltimore City Paper, MyShelf.com and Black Issues Book Review. There will be another reader TBD.

MARCH 15,2007

Brooklyn Reading Works celebrates ONE STORY MAGAZINE, an acclaimed literary magazine published right here in Park Slope. About their unusual, one-story, small format: “We believe that short stories are best read alone. They should not be sandwiched in between a review and an expos� on liposuction, or placed after another work of fiction that is so sad or funny or long that the reader is worn out by the time they turn to it.”

Publisher Marybeth Batcha and Editor Hannah Tinti will gather up a bunch of ONE STORY fiction talent for a night of fun, frolic and readings at The Old Stone House.

APRIL 19,2007

KRISTINA CHEW, a classics professor and mom writes a blog called AUTISMLAND. “Finding out your child has autism is like the end of a love affair and the start of a new, lifelong, really beautiful relationship.” MOTHERS VOX, the nom-de-net of a mother, teacher, scholar and activist living in New York City, will read from her blog, AUTISM’S EDGES.

MAY 24,2007

In honor of Mother’s Day, ALISON LOWENSTEIN, author of City Baby Brooklyn, will read from her novel-in-progress, MOMMY GROUP, about a group of Park Slope moms. SMARTMOM (aka Louise Crawford) will be reading excerpts from her Brooklyn Papers column and another Mommy blogger TBD.

JUNE 21,2007

Poets MICHAEL RUBY and NANCY GRAHAM will read

Michael Ruby’s first book, At An Intersection , was published in 2002 by Alef Books in New York. His poems have been published, or are forthcoming, in the print journals Lungfull!, syllogism , Fell Swoop ‘s Brooklyn Stoop issue, Lost & Found Times, and The Torch ; and in e-zines xStream , Aught , Big Bridge , La Petite Zine , Sidereality , BlazeVOX, Castagraf and Unpleasant Event Schedule, as well as in single-author issues of Mudlark and Poethia . He lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and works as a journalist.

Nancy Graham’s poetry and prose have appeared in Aught, BlazeVOX, Chronogram, Prima Materia, Listening in Dreams: A Compendium of Sound Dreams, Meditations and Rituals for Deep Dreamers and Eratio. Her chapbook, Somniloquies, is available through Pudding House Publications.

Postcard from the Slope

WHEN DO BLOGGERS BLOG?

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When do bloggers blog? Do they do it in the middle of the night? The previous day? Do they sleep?  It’s just amazing: I wake up in the morning and there they are: Gowanus Lounge, Atlantic Yards Report, No Land Grab, Brooklyn Record, A Brooklyn Life, Sunset Parker

Reliable as rain.

Then there’s No Words_Daily Pix. Sometimes he doesn’t get his picture up until early afternoon. What’s up with that?

Truth is, NWDP puts a lot of thought and time into his choice of daily pix. It’s not like he’ll put just anything up. He likes to read the blog and respond to what’s in there. He likes to make connections. He’s a very, very thoughtful guy.  Some days he actually takes the picture like the picture yesterday of the fallen tree on Second Street. Some days I’ll say, hey can you run out and take a picture?

He’s very obliging. It’s fun to have a photographer around.

Some bloggers don’t blog on weekends, some do. I miss the one’s that don’t and appreciate the one’s that do.

I tend to write my blog around 10:00 p.m. after the kids go to sleep (Hah). I put posts up around 11 p.m. or so. And the next day I do more. All day. So it’s worthwhile to keep checking in.

People ask me all the time: how much time do you spend on your blog? It varies. If the muse strikes I do a lot of writing, which can take a few hours. If I am just linking and putting up excepts, it’ll take up considerably less time. Truly, it’s a labor of love and it doesn’t feel like any time at all.

Early September will the the two year anniversary of Third Street (Originally called OTBKB but changed when I went more public and moved over to Typepad). It was originally on Blogger; Smartmom began there. 

In February of 2005, I started this version of OTBKB. I originally envisioned it as a cross between the Village Voice and the SoHo Weekly News for Park Slope. It kind of morphed into its own thing. And now there are so many other Brooklyn blogs – we all have our special niches, our special areas of coverage, our unique tone and voice.

I can’t believe I’ve been blogging for two years. The time just flew. And yet so much has happened. There are so many Brooklyn blogs now – we’re a real community. Strength in numbers and all that: bloggers working day and night to keep this community informed and entertained.

It’s a pleasure.

Postcard from the Slope

THINKING OF MOVING TO LA? THINK AGAIN OR READ THIS…

I’m enjoying a brand new book called I FEEL EARTHQUAKES MORE OFTEN THAN THEY HAPPEN by Amy Wilentz (Hello, Community Books, can you order Amy Wilentz’s new book).

Full disclosure: I ordered the book because it was written by a friend from high school’s wife, who happens to be a stellar journalist/memoirist. She’s won a ton of prizes for her first book, "The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier" and was bureau chief of the New Yorker’s Jerusalem bureau. She also writes for the Nation, Vogue, and other magazines.

Credentials a go go.

A true New Yorker, Wilentz was less than thrilled about moving out to LA. But it did provide her with one hell of a socio/historic/personal topic for a memoir – so she can’t be too pissed off.

The subject matter: New Yorker moves to California holds great interest for me since we nearly moved out to Northern California a few years ago and we go out there twice a year.

Wilentz and family moved out to LA soon after 9/11 and just before the Governator became governor. So the sub-title of the book is: Coming to California in the Age of Schwarzenegger.

She moves to California hoping to escape New York post 9/11, a landscape layered in grief and imminent disaster. Arriving in LA, she realizes she has escaped terrorist catastrophe for natural disaster—earthquakes, mudslides and heavy rains—and political tumult.

"I had arrived in L.A. hoping to avoid catastrophe, only to find that I was living in its capital. My new friends advised me: Cash and water in your car (Tampax too). Full tank, always. Slippers or flip-flops next to each bed (for walking on the inevitable broken glass). Flashlights everywhere, especially in night tables; make sure the batteries are live. Emergency lights. Hand-cranked radio. This all was beginning to sound too familiar. And don’t forget: The safest spot is still in a door frame or under a sturdy table; outside is dangerous until the shaking has stopped; door frames without doors are better because doors can swing and knock you out. Bolt all your bookcases to the walls."

The book is written in a speedy, funny, hyper-verbal, visual, ultra-smart style full of great observations about life in LA and loads of research, including initiations to lots of high-end parties with notable LA democrats and celebrities.

She is one smart writer this Wilentz and I look forward to reading her first book, "The Rainy Season" about two years she spent in Haiti.

I especially enjoyed the passage where she compares LA’s Bel Air with Haiti’s Bel Air:

Still I miss the streets of my old Bel Air as I drive, in a sort of a criminal’s crouch down Bellagio across Copa de Oro to Saint Pierre. It seems sad to live in a place so bereft of life, so immune to real life’s little inroads, so regally, resolutely detached. Money will do that to you. Here there is no stench of sewage to remind you of the human condition, no neighbor to make a meal for your sick mother if you have to go away, no grandmother living in the lean-to or the other room, if there is another room, no humble straw pallet on the floor for the cousins, no clicking of the dominoes to fall asleep to, no storyteller on a roof going on and on toward midnight for the benefit of the whole neighborhood, no cockfights in the secret arena back behind your brother’s House, no radio blasting merengue, no drummer practicing down the street out in back, no friends popping in unannounced at the any time of day or night, no babies sitting on the sidewalk with their big sisters, no one fixing tires with tar on the street corner or rewiring the electricity with paper clips; just the hired help serving you day in and day out, the cook and the nanny, and the charming Vietnamese Au pair, the driver, brunches at the Hotel Bel-Air in the pretty open air dining room above the pond…

New York 1

ERNESTO BRINGS HIGH WINDS AND CLOSED BEACHES

This from NY 1, my source for some Brooklyn news.

Crews are working to restore power to thousands in the city left in the dark because of high winds.

Con Edison says about 1,800 customers are without power throughout the five boroughs, although since one customer could be an entire apartment building, the number of people affected is higher.

In the Bronx, about 900 customers are affected and another 650 are affected on Staten Island. Another 300 in Brooklyn and Queens are also without power.

Con Ed called in crews from upstate and Rhode Island to help get power back up.

The utility asks anyone experiencing problems to call 1-800-75-CON ED.

Ernesto blew into the city with a whimper Saturday, but it was enough to close city beaches in Brooklyn and Queens due to high wind and surf conditions.

The Parks Department says waves could be up to 15 feet high and there will be very dangerous rip currents. Police and lifeguards will be out to make sure no one goes in the water.

Beaches in the Bronx and on Staten Island are open.

The tropical depression made itself felt along other parts of the East Coast as well.

Ernesto is really beating up the New Jersey shore, where 17,000 customers lost power and there were strong winds and flooding in some beach communities.

The storm is blamed for five deaths in the mid-Atlantic states.

Hundreds of homes have been evacuated up and down the coast and more than 400,000 homes and business have lost power at one time or another.

Some spots got up to a foot of rain.

Postcard from the Slope

THE CASE AGAINST HOMEWORK

Book
"The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It" sounds like an interesting read (Hello, Community Books, can you hold a copy for me).

I know these two smart Park Slope writers and mothers of teenage children and I can’t wait to read what they have to say. I hope the book will get a lot of attention and homework will be abolished forever.

At bookstores now (or soon, very soon).

Postcard from the Slope

VOTE AGAINST THE ATLANTIC YARDS ON SEPTEMBER 12th

Here’s a letter from Daniel Goldstein and Shabnam Merchant urging all to Vote against the "Atlantic Yards" proposal on Sept 12th.

Dear Friends,

I am writing to you because, you – like me – oppose the proposed Ratner arena/highrise project. In our opposition to that project, there is something very key and timely we can do.

IF WE CAN GET THE WORD OUT VIA EMAIL TO EVERYONE WE KNOW,
THEN BILL BATSON WILL WIN THE 57th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT RACE ON SEPT 12.

This assembly race has greater impact on the Atlantic Yards fight than any other race this year. Other politicians and most importantly Sheldon Silver will have to listen to Bill as the District’s rep, when he is making his decisions about the project.

Please forward this email to every single person you know who is opposed to the Ratner project, and ask them to forward it to everyone they know.

That way this will get to as many people as possible in the 57th Assembly District.

There are 5 things we each need to do

1) PRIMARY DAY
Take the day off from work on Primary Day, Sept 12 to volunteer with the Batson campaign.

2) VOLUNTEER
Between now and election day the campaign needs volunteers to help do door-to-door canvassing for Batson and phone calling for Batson to secure voters. If you can only give a few days or hours September 9, 10, 11 are key days. (You will not be sent out alone; and if you can’t handle canvassing, then make phone-calls).

Please – please let’s each put in at least 4 hours before primary day ; Bill does not have money for "paid volunteers" to do this.

3) VOTE
Come out and vote on Sept 12 for Batson and the candidates listed below, and urge everyone you know to do the same

4) DONATE NOW
This coming Tuesday Councilwoman Letitia James will endorse Bill Batson at a press conference!!

If the Batson campaign can do a mailing about this, it will seal the deal!

But they can’t send a mailing unless they can raise an additional 4 – 6K

If you, like us, believe that Councilwoman Tish James’ endorsement can make the difference, then donate now!!

Visit www.batsonforbrooklyn.com to make an online donation and get the word out about the endorsement.

5) SPREAD THE WORD
Forward this email and ask your friends to do the same

To VOLUNTEER contact:
Batson For Brooklyn
Abeni J. Crooms, Deputy Campaign Manager
767 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
917-609-6700 phone
abenicrooms@gmail.com

PS – other candidates who oppose the Atlantic Yards proposal are:
Chris Owens for Congress (11th Congressional District)
Ken Diamondstone for State Senate (25th Senate District)
Charles Barron for Congress (10th Congressional District)
—
Your friends, Daniel Goldstein and Shabnam Merchant

Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN PAPERS ENDORSES DAVID YASKY FOR CONGRESS

The retirement of Rep. Major Owens means that there’s a vacant seat in Brooklyn’s 11th
Congressional District (spanning Brooklyn Heights to East New
York, parts of Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Windsor Terrace,
Prospect Heights and East Flatbush). In the race are State Sen. Carl
Andrews (D-Crown Heights), City Councilwoman Yvette Clarke (D-Flatbush)
and Chris Owens, the current congressman’s son and City Councilman David Yasky.

This week, the Brooklyn Papers surprised everyone by endorsing David Yasky. Here’s an excerpt from from this week’s editorial. Who are you voting for?

Wonk-like in demeanor and a bit stiff on the campaign trail, Yassky is unlike many politicos — he actually makes a difference.

In his term-and-a-half as a city councilman, he’s pushed the mayor
to mandate affordable housing as part of the rezoning of the
Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfronts; worked to revise taxicab codes
to provide for hybrid cabs; helped keep film companies, with hundreds
of union jobs, working in New York City; and continued the fight —
begun when he was an aide to then-Rep. Charles Schumer — against gun
manufacturers.

We’re not pleased by the strong support he receives from developers
who fill his campaign war chest. Or with the fact that he moved to New
York City from Washington, D.C. after the imposition of term-limits
created open seats on the Council — or that he again moved so that he
would reside within the 11th District before running for the seat.

But while Yassky has been supportive of development, he has also
listened to the critics of the Atlantic Yards project. Yes, he supports
Bruce Ratner building at that site, but at last week’s state public
hearing he reiterated his position that the development must be halted
if it is not scaled back.

As Yassky demonstrated in the City Council, he doesn’t just issue
press releases or make speeches, but makes deals with those who have
other agendas and priorities.

Yassky is clearly the best candidate for the job. Our guess is that
once he gets to Washington, all voters will see what a gifted,
energetic legislator like Yassky can deliver.

View the September 2, 2006 Print Editions

Civics and Urban Life

ABANDONED CHILD?

I’m Seeing Green has quite the story about leaving his son at the seats to get food at the US Open. He should rename his blog I’m Seeing Red. Here’s an excerpt from this ‘Only in New York’ kind of story.

The D gets cranky when hungry (as do I, according
to Elizabeth,) and refuses to give a pre-hunger warning, so when we
were waiting in Armstrong stadium for a match to start, I decided to
get us lunch. Had no idea how long it would take in line for hot-dogs
(20 mins) and that you had to wait to get back into the stadium at a
game break (5 mins). Back I came and two nearby moms informed me that
they had been about to call security on poor "abandoned" Dylan. This
seemed more than officious…here’s a perfectly content 8-1/2 year old
enjoying the match. When I suggested they were overreacting, one said
"…after all, this is New York!" and the other muttered something
about "being sorry if something happened". My reaction, flak suit
donned?

Postcard from the Slope

NEW YORKERS CHOOSE PUBLIC TRANSPORT

New Yorkers are switching to public transportation in record numbers. That’s good news for the environment; good news for the country’s energy consumption except that most of the  country is so car-dependent and underserved by public transportation…

This from the NY Times:

A growing number of New Yorkers are deciding that if the trip to work takes more than a half-hour, then someone else can do the driving, a new survey by the Census Bureau shows.

In the metropolitan region, which for years has been home to the nation’s longest average commute, tens of thousands of workers have stopped driving to their jobs and switched to riding subways, trains, buses and ferries, according to an analysis of the data released this week by demographers at Queens College.

More than 2.5 million residents of the region — about 2 of every 7 commuters — regularly rode some form of public transportation to work in 2005, up from about 2.2 million in 2000. The share of commuters driving themselves or riding in private cars fell, a trend that could bode well for America’s energy consumption if only it were taking hold nationally.

Despite rising gasoline prices, nearly 9 of every 10 workers nationwide still travel to work by private car, said Phillip A. Salopek, a demographer at the Census Bureau. That number has been stuck at about 88 percent since 2000, Mr. Salopek said.

The latest figures reinforce just how unusual New York is in its reliance on public transportation. No other American city makes half as much use of mass transit. Of the 6.2 million transit riders in the country, more than 40 percent live in the metropolitan region, which, by the federal government’s definition, includes the city and 18 surrounding counties in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Civics and Urban Life

GOOD NEWS FOR POST PARTUM DEPRESSION

Tom Cruise made nice with Brooke Shields who he criticized for using antidepressants for post-partum depression. The couch-jumping ass, however, has not changed his mind about antidepressants. It seems that Brooke has accepted his apology. This from the NY Times.

Brooke Shields says Tom Cruise has apologized for publicly criticizing her use of antidepressants after the birth of her first daughter.

The
two had a public beef last year after the ”Mission: Impossible III”
star, echoing the position of Scientology, said in an appearance on
NBC’s ”Today” show that depression can be treated with exercise and
vitamins rather than drugs.

The 41-year-old actress says Cruise apologized in person Thursday.

”He
came over to my house, and he gave me a heartfelt apology,” Shields
said Friday during an appearance on ”The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” ”And he apologized for bringing me into the whole thing and for everything that happened.

”And
through it all, I was so impressed with how heartfelt it was. And I
didn’t feel at any time that I had to defend myself, nor did I feel
that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that
he was deeply sorry. And I accepted it.”

Cruise’s spokesman confirmed the celebrities made up.

”It
is true that his friendship with Ms. Shields has been mended,”
spokesman Arnold Robinson said in a statement. ”He has not changed his
position about antidepressants, which as evidenced by the black label
warnings issued by the FDA on these types of drugs, are unhealthy.”

Shields,
who wrote ”Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum
Depression,” has dismissed the actor’s remarks as a ”ridiculous
rant” and ”a disservice to mothers everywhere.”

Postcard from the Slope

39th ANNUAL WEST INDIAN DAY PARADE

Thanks to Wendy Zarganis of  About Brooklyn for all this information about the West Indian Day Parade.  Check out About Brooklyn for more events this Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday, Labor Day:The 39th annual West Indian Day Parade features floats, food, music and lively entertainment and colorful costumes. 

Ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 am. Parade begins at on Eastern Parkway and Rochester Avenue, continues up
Eastern Parkway to Grand Army Plaza, then continues down Flatbush
Avenue to Ocean Avenue. 10am-6pm

And on Sunday, Sept. 3rd: The West Indian
American Day Carnival Association presents "A Majestic Evening of
Caribbean Artistry and Music," featuring soca, calypso, and steelpan
performances. $30. 7 pm. Brooklyn Museum grounds, 200 Eastern Parkway
at Washington Avenue. For more information on any of the above events,
call (718) 467-1797

Postcard from the Slope

OUR NEW TOASTER

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We love our new Krups toaster.  You have never seen a family so excited about a new toaster. OSFO toasted something like 16 slices of toast the other day. That’s how excited she is. Even TS loves it. It’s the perfect toaster.

Our new Krups takes big, thick items like bagels. and has a button to turn off the elements so that you only toast one side of the bagel (AKA the bagel button).  It can eject toasted items out of the toaster no matter how small. As OSFO said, the toast comes out "golden" not burned.

HC now informs me that our toaster is  made by the same company that made the world’s largest gun (Big Bertha) for the Nazis. Maybe it’s not the world’s most perfect toaster…

Pre-Krups we had a Proctor-Silex 4-slice that stopped working about a month after we got it. It was so frustrating/ HC thinks that the computer was pocessed, which caused it to randomly barely warm or completely incinerate baked goods. It had a computer designed to toast bread to a desired color of the toasted item which meant that it would barely warm a slice of pumpernickel and white bread would burst into flames.  We threw out that toaster last week.

Prior to the Proctor-Silex we had a stainless steel dye-cast aluminum, built to last forever Dualit, the classic, restaurant supply toaster. We got it for $75 dollars at a Pottery Barn outlet. Amazing. They usually cost $340 dollars or more. Sadly, we had a couple of toaster fires and I threw it out but HC thinks he could have fixed it. We’ll never know.  It’s gone.

Luckily, he loves the new Krups. Which is amazing because he usually has nothing but complaints about the appliances and electronics that I buy. But the Krups has won his heart, too despite its past as a Nazi collaborator (see Gunter Grass).

Postcard from the Slope

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED

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This from New York 1:

Those who oppose the new Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn now have some extra time to voice their concerns.

At a public hearing last week, many of the people who oppose the
project said they didn’t have enough time to review the 4,000 page
proposal.

The Empire State Development Corporation announced Thursday that
the public comment period will be extended an extra week to September
29th.

After the public comment period ends, the plan will go before the
Development Corporation for a vote before going to the Public Authority
Control Board, the same board that killed the proposed West Side
stadium plan.

The $4.2-billion project would redevelop 22 acres over and around
the MTA rail yards in Brooklyn, including a new basketball arena for
the New Jersey Nets.

Postcard from the Slope

WHAT ARE WE EATING: COOL BLOG

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Thanks to Gowanus Lounge, I just discovered What Are We Eating,  described as a bricolage of food. A socio-political archive. A guide to global gastronomy. I don’t know. Send us a photo of what you’re eating for dinner: whatrweeating@gmail.com

It’s really cool. People send pictures of what they are eating – from all over the world. The above is a shot of "the expansive beach at Besant Nagar in Chennai, India."

Alive during the cooler hours of early morning and late evening, everyone comes here to eat fried food, play a carnival game, and enjoy the ocean breeze. Vendors sell chaat, fried hot peppers and – my favorite – roasted corn on the cob sprinkled with lime and chili powder.

A small hand-cranked bellows fuels the charcoal stove where they hold the corn by its pulled down husk and, once darkness falls, you can see the sparks stretch downwind like a migrating flock of angels. It is here that the tsunami wave swept over the sands in December 2004.

Civics and Urban Life

B.A.G. IS FULL OF EVENTS

LOTS TO DO AT the Brooklyn Artists Gym : 168 Seventh Street. 3rd Floor. Brooklyn, NY

OPENING!! THE FIRST BAG "SMALL WORKS SHOW" The Small Works Show will open on Sept. 8. Over 50 artists. Over 100 works. PARTY 6:00-9:00. Come have some food, some wine, buy an early Xmas present of art. Show’s open from Sept. 8-19. Click here for more info.

BAG AND IRART KIDS JOINS FORCES. BAG will have a kids art program starting September 26. Call us for more information.More.

JOIN US AT THE "ATLANTIC ANTIC" We’ll have a booth on Atlantic Ave. between Smith and Hoyt Sts. Come say Hi, do some painting, buy a painting, sign up for Kids Art, take advantage of the Antic Special and become a member. Membership info.

SATURDAY LONG POSE FOR ARTISTS
Every Saturday from 12-3 we have a 3-hour pose for artists to do extended studies or paint.  This will be a complete set-up with model and props.  Saturday replaces the Monday evening session; the Wednesday session (6:30-9:30 continues as always.  More….

WATCH OUT FOR "PLASTIC BAG SCREENINGS"
In the fall we are starting a bimonthly new and experimental film night! Interested in showing your film? Email us at: pbs@brooklynartistsgym.com. Please check back soon for dates and times.

Postcard from the Slope

HENRY LOWENGARD TURNS FIFTY

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Our friend Henry Lowengard turned 50 yesterday. We celebrated with him over the weekend but now I’d like to take a moment to appreciate all that is Henry.

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–His kids call him Dadu
–He’s one heck of a husband
–He remembers everything you ever tell him
–He has a great heart
–He is a wonderful artist: go here to see his work
–He makes hilarious and masterful comics
–He is a human encyclopedia
–He’s brilliant (but everyone knows that)
–He’s soooo funny and fun to be around
–He’s lovable
–He’s adorable
–He’s a terrific friend
–He has a player piano and plays the autoharp
–He knows so many great songs
–He loves the songs of Burt Bacharach (and so many others)
–He’s performed at the Loser’s Lounge
–He’s a mainstay at WFMU
–He’s non-pareil, unlike anyone else you will ever know
–He makes the world a better place because he’s in it

From Hepcat: It’s not so much I don’t know where to start, it’s I wouldn’t know when to stop.

Here is something I found on his website; an artist’s statement, if you will, about his vapor paint work.

A river is not so much water as a shape that water makes. The geometry of the river changes the pressure of the water which flows through it, which in turn changes the shape of the banks of the river. The same applies to rivers of ice, air and earth. That which has one nature at rest may have another nature in motion.

This is the philosophical basis of my art: that gestures in time are not the same as gestures held, but there can be an expression of time in stasis by either providing multiple images of gestures in time or combining an amount of time into a single image or both.

Civics and Urban Life

HAVE YOU SEEN DINOSAUR JR’S STOLEN GEAR?

Hepcat found this on Boing Boing.  Dinosaur Jr. played at Warsaw in Williamburg on August 29th.

Dinosaur, Jr’s entire collection of gear has been stolen out of their
trailer, and they’re trying to recover it before they have to start
cancelling gigs.

After a blistering set last night in Brooklyn, NY the band awoke this morning to find that the their trailer had been broken into and all of the gear has been taken.

J’s Amma guitar, the mountain man guitar, Lou’s Rickenbacker… EVERYTHING IS GONE. They are still taking inventory to see what else is gone but they were pretty much wiped out.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! Spread the word to everyone you know, every music store, pawn shop, club… anywhere you can think they may show up.

If you have ANY information let us know – management@jmascis.com.

Details, descriptions and serial numbers are on Dinosaur Jr’s Blog

Postcard from the Slope

STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES NOT READY YET

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This should stress out the city’s fifth and eighth grade parents, who are already stressed out because they have to go through the hideous process of getting their kids into public middle and high schools this year. They need those stupid test scores for applications. I wish they’d just throw all those standardized tests away. This from New York 1, my source for some Brooklyn news:

City students are heading back to school next week, but they still
haven’t seen the results of the tests they took last school year.

The Daily News says results from reading and math standardized
tests for students in third through eighth grades have not been
released yet.

The tests were taken in January and March, but officials say the scores won’t be available until September 14th at the earliest.

Education officials say since this is the first time the state
administered the tests under the federal "No Child Left Behind" law,
they don’t want to risk mistakes by rushing the grading process.

But critics say they delay could be harmful because some children who should be held back could be moved to the next grade.

Civics and Urban Life

SEEING GREEN IS GOING TO THE TENNIS MATCHES

My new fave blog, I’m Seeing Green, has a great piece today about sports, boys, his son, and other matters….

I remember reading an excellent children’s book, "The Man on the
Ceiling," by Jules Feiffer, to Dylan almost three years ago; it’s about
a 10-year old who loves to draw cartoons (surprise, surprise) and do
not much else, and laments "It’s hard to grow up in [these United
States of America] as a boy who doesn’t like sports." Dylan’s eyes lit
up–I’m sure he related totally to this sentiment.