All posts by louise crawford

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to do.

BROOKLYN WEATHER:  Partly cloudy. Going up to 47 degrees. More Brooklyn weather here.

BIG NEWS:  The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect today. 140 nations signed on to prevent greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming trends, with one notable exception: The United States.

CITY NEWS:  A Judge’s ruling that the city needs an additional 5.7 billion annually for students and $9.2 billion for capital projects set off political wrangling yesterday about where the money will come from and who will pay. Read all about it.

BROOKLYN BEAT:  PARK SLOPE RESIDENT, SUSAN SOMMERS,  the lead
lawyer for the Lambda Legal’s landmark litigation to secure the right
for same-sex couples to marry in New York City is featured in yesterday’s Private Lives column in the New York Times: "I do sort of travel through life assuming that people think I’m a
lesbian, and I don’t go out of my way to correct them; it really is a
part of my identity," she says, taking a breather in her cluttered
office downtown at Lambda. She joined the organization five years ago
after dropping off the corporate fast track to have her third child and
spend more time at home in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Though after a few
years of 24/7 domestic duty, she says, "I did kind of feel like I was
falling off the face of the planet."

_RENOVATION TO BEGIN SOON on the Park Slope Armory, which is being
turned into an indoor sports center. Located at 8th between 14th and
15th streets, the renovated armory will house a community-use sports
and education facility, as well as a women’s shelter. A non-profit
organization called Take the Field Take, will be contributing $2
million for the renovations.  The Mayor and the City Council have each
committed $6 million and the Borough President’s Office has committed
$2 million to the project

_PUBLIC SCHOOL MID-WINTER RECESS  is 2/20 – 2/25. Start making those playdates and plans!

DAILY DISC: Grammy winner,  The Songs of Stephen Foster,(Emergent)

WEDNESDAY:  Parent/teacher conferences at public middle schools from 1 p.m – 3p.m. and tonight 6:30 – 9 p.m. That means the kids have a half-day (do you know where your children are?) If you don’t have any kids in middle school:  Check out tonight’s show at Barbes.

THIS SOUNDS COOL:  StoryCorps, is a national initiative to instruct and inspire Americans to collect one another’s stories in sound. Over the next few years, StoryCorps will be opening
     small recording studios, called StoryBooths, in public spaces across the country. The first is in Grand Central Terminal. Here, trained facilitators will help you record your interview with your loved ones. After your interview, you’ll receive a CD copy of your session to take home. With your permission, StoryCorps will add your story to the StoryCorps archive, creating an
     oral history of America. At Grand Central Terminal, the StoryCorps booth is located in the Graybar Passage, off Lexington Avenue. Mondays-Wednesday and Fridays: 10:30am to 7:30pm. Thursdays: 3:30-7:30pm: Saturdays and Sundays: 11:30am-5:30pm. An hour-long StoryBooth recording session costs $10. Reservations are required. Call (212) 941-8553 between 10:30am and 5:30pm or reserve online. Check out the StoryCorps website. Information is also available by phone at (212) 941-8516
      

_Laurie Anderson performs her one woman with
violin show,  "The Song of the Moon" at BAM 2/22 – 3/1. "Anderson
weaves stories, music, songs, and words into epic portraits of American
culture."  Get your tickets here.

_The Wooster Group at Art at St. Anns "House/Lights" from Gertrude Steins, "Dr. Faustus."  38 Water Street. Weekends through 4/20. 38 Water Street. DUMBO.

_ The Moonlighters, Hawaiian steel guitar swing. Barbes. 276 Ninth Street at Sixth Avenue.  2/18. 10 p.m

FOR THE BIRDS: Great Backyard Bird Count at the Prospect Park Audubon Center. 2/19 at noon. Enter park at Lincoln and Ocean Avenue. Free.

NEW SNEAKERS: Registration for the Brooklyn Half-marathon on March 19th is now open.

_The 10th Annual Cherry Tree 10-mile
race is on Saturday February 19th at 10 a.m.  To register stop by Slope
Sports. Seventh Avenue between Berkeley and St. Johns.

MID-WINTER VACATION TIP: 8th Annual Sports
and Arts in Schools Fest is a free 3-day long festival of sports and
arts activities at Chelsea Piers, Lincoln Center, Queens Hall of
Science, Riverbank State Park and Robert Clemente State Park. It’s open
to NYC public school kids in groups of 10 accompanied by an adult
during the mid-winter break from 9 a.m. until  3 p.m. To register, call
Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation at (718) 786-7110.

HERE/SAY:  "The question is not what you look at, but what you see." Henry David Thoreau

Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN THINKERS_Beatin’ the Blues

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Depression Prevention Kit by Red Eft

Yesterday, as we ambled along a rail trail next to a mossy cliff
dripping with melting ice, I told my son, "I need to be someplace I’ve
never been about once a week, or eventually I get into a funk."

Winter is long.  Here’s what I do to beat the blues.

1.  As per above, go somewhere you’ve never been, once a week.  At least.

2.  Take a good Vitamin B complex.  Surprisingly effective.

3.
Don’t ingest news outside of a context that allows you to spit
something back, or disempowerment is always battering at you. I like to
get news from Progressive Secretary letters; all I do is click SEND and I’m complaining to my senators.

4.  Aerobic exercise three times a week, some light yoga a couple of times.

5.  Meditate daily, even if only for 10 minutes.

6.  Get outside every day.

7.  Don’t eat wheat or dairy.  Keep alcohol & caffeine to a minimum. And sugar.

8.  Do something nice for somebody else at least three times/week.

9.  Get lots of sleep.

10.  Don’t go more than a couple of days without writing, drawing, making music, pretending, whatever.

12.  Don’t watch TV.  At.  All.  A movie once in a while is OK, but see that it isn’t a non-redemptive bummer movie like House of Sand and Fog.

13.  In the stressful years since 9/11, I have found these healing modalities to be extremely powerful: Energy work with a Barbara Brennan practitioner, Maitri Breathwork, Craniosacral Therapy.

14.  Keep a little statue of Ganesh.  Powerful fellow!

15.
Listen to dreams, (you knew red eft would say that!) Here’s a good
blues-fighting idea from a dream I had (a woman was speaking to me):

"Imagine
a necklace of fireflies around your neck, each able to transform your
utterances. They remind you that you are light, divine. They protect
you from thinking negative thoughts, saying negative things."

Finally,
if someone is clinically depressed, try not to give them advice or come
up with silly lists of things they can do to turn things around, it’s
very annoy

Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN THINKERS_Ecstatic

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Ecstatic February by OTBKB

The Gates are one of the best things to ever happen to New York in February.

February: it may be the shortest month, but it slogs on and on.
There’s usually ice, slush or snow on the sidewalks, bitter winter
temperature and face slapping winds. The last few Februarys have seen
city-stopping blizzards that have wreaked havoc on hectic lives.

Years back, when I was experiencing a depressing February, this
song by Dar Williams was on repeat on the CD player in the living room.
Maybe that was part of the problem. But it seemed to express so well
the hopelessness and listlessness of this deep-winter month.

And February was so long that it lasted into March
And found us walking a path alone together.
You stopped and pointed and you said, "Thats a crocus,"
And I said, "Whats a crocus?" and you said, "Its a flower,"
I tried to remember, but I said, "Whats a flower?"
You said, "I still love you."

But this year the color orange seems to be everywhere. Hats. Pants,
Coats, Gloves. And of course, throughout Central Park, orange curtains
are blowing in the wind. The fabric dances and changes color from
orange to saffron to deep yellow in the sun. Enhanced by these bright
orange structures, we see our mighty park through a new frame.

The Gates are an elixir for the mid-winter doldurms, that spiritual
abyss that usually sets in this time of year when everyone is sick of
their down filled coats and hearts are yearning for chirping birds and
the buds of spring.

This city is just so excited about this monumental pick-me-up.
People are throwing parties, taking walks, meeting friends in the park.
A friend threw a viewing party in her Central Park West apartment with
its park-facing windows. An aunt of mine doesn’t even live near the
park, but she invited friends over for coffee and a group pilgrammage
to The Gates.

These events are like Superbowl parties for the Christo-crazed.

What happens to New Yorkers when they are ecstatic in February?
Nobody really knows. It’s never happened before: this is an experiment
in the transformative powers of art. We don’t even recognize ourselves.
Eyes open wide, promenading through The Gates in cold and fair weather,
we’re connecting with all of our senses.

What happens to New Yorkers when they are ecstatic in February?

They swoon. And the world swoons with them.

Postcard from the Slope

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Say Cheese

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2cbw0304A soggy night didn’t  keep friends and neighbors from the Be Your Own Valentine event at Mary Warren’s shop, Fou Le Chakra. Photographer Hugh Crawford set up a small photo studio in the front of the store with his nifty strobe light and the old gray backdrop that he’s been using for years; it’s practically his signature.

Party guests enjoyed sparkling wine, assorted hor doeuvres and sweets
while taking  turns getting their picture taken with or without kids,
with or without significant others.

For some it was like going to the dentist – "Oh, is it my turn?" For others it was pure bliss: "I’m ready for my close up, Mr. C."

A former house photographer at Fiorucci and the nightclub, Xenon, Crawford has plenty of experience taking portraits at special events. After a ten year stint in the computer biz, he’s returned to photography full time concentrating on editorial and fine art portraiture, Times Square street photography and a series of pictures called Earth. Water. Fire. Air. His photographs of Park Slope appear daily on Only the Blog knows Brooklyn (see No Words_Daily Pix).   

Crawford managed to keep his cool as a band of wild children, fueled by chocolate chip cookies and too little supper, ran in and out of the pictures unable to resist the cool photo studio in their midst. My daughter was disappointed that her photographer-dad wouldn’t let her help as much as she wanted to.

Selected photographs from the V-day event will be exhibited at Fou Le Chakra in the weeks to come. It is located on Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets.

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

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BROOKLYN WEATHER:  The nice weather returns. Sun with some clouds. A high of 50, I said 50 degrees. More Brooklyn weather here.

BIG NEWS: A STATE JUDGE RULED LAST NIGHT that an additional $5.6 billion must
be spent on the city’s public schoolchildren every year to ensure them
the opportunity for a sound basic education that they are guaranteed
under the State Constitution.  Beyond that, another $9.2
billion must be spent over the next five years to shrink class sizes,
relieve overcrowding and provide the city’s 1.1 million students with
enough laboratories, libraries and other places in which to learn  Read all about it.

_HOWARD DEAN IS READY TO LEAD THE DEMOCRATS. "If
you’d told me a year ago I’d be standing here doing this as your choice
for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, I would not have
believed you, and neither would have a lot of other people," Dr. Dean
told a cheering Democratic crowd in Washington. He was elected by a
voice vote shortly before noon on Sunday without opposition." Read all about it.

_METROCARD PRICES ON SUBWAYS AND BUSES are going up on February 27th. Higher bridge and tunnel tolls to begin on March 13th.   Read all about it.

_FDNY UNDER DISCRIMINATION probe. US Justice Department has begun an investigation into whether the Fire Department discriminates in hiring and promotion.   Read all about it.

LOCAL BEAT: PARK SLOPE RESIDENT, SUSAN SOMMERS,  the lead lawyer for the Lambda Legal’s landmark litigation to secure the right for same-sex couples to marry in New York City is featured in today’s Private Lives column in the New York Times: "I do sort of travel through life assuming that people think I’m a
lesbian, and I don’t go out of my way to correct them; it really is a
part of my identity," she says, taking a breather in her cluttered
office downtown at Lambda. She joined the organization five years ago
after dropping off the corporate fast track to have her third child and
spend more time at home in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Though after a few
years of 24/7 domestic duty, she says, "I did kind of feel like I was
falling off the face of the planet."

_RENOVATION TO BEGIN SOON on the Park Slope Armory, which is being
turned into an indoor sports center. Located at 8th between 14th and
15th streets, the renovated armory will house a community-use sports
and education facility, as well as a women’s shelter. A non-profit
organization called Take the Field Take, will be contributing $2
million for the renovations.  The Mayor and the City Council have each
committed $6 million and the Borough President’s Office has committed
$2 million to the project

_PUBLIC SCHOOL MID-WINTER RECESS  is 2/20 – 2/25. Start making those playdates and plans!

DAILY DISC: Grammy winner,  The Songs of Stephen Foster,(Emergent)

TUESDAY: Open  house at the Brooklyn Secondary School for Collaborative Studies, one of the 52 new high schools opening in Fall 2005. 2/15. Tour: 5:30 – 6 p.m. Presentation 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. 610 Henry Street. Fourth Floor library. An opportunity to meet their High School planning team.

NEW SNEAKERS: Registration for the Brooklyn Half-marathon on March 19th is now open.

_The 10th Annual Cherry Tree 10-mile
race is on Saturday February 19th at 10 a.m.  To register stop by Slope
Sports. Seventh Avenue between Berkeley and St. Johns.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: Laurie Anderson performs her one woman with
violin show,  "The Song of the Moon" at BAM 2/22 – 3/1. "Anderson
weaves stories, music, songs, and words into epic portraits of American
culture."  Get your tickets here.

_The Wooster Group at Art at St. Anns "House/Lights" from Gertrude Steins, "Dr. Faustus."  38 Water Street. Weekends through 4/20. 38 Water Street. DUMBO.

UP AHEAD: The Moonlighters, Hawaiian steel guitar swing. Barbes. 276 Ninth Street at Sixth Avenue.  2/18. 10 p.m

FOR THE BIRDS: Great Backyard Bird Count at the Prospect Park Audubon Center. 2/19 at noon. Enter park at Lincoln and Ocean Avenue. Free.

MID-WINTER VACATION TIP: 8th Annual Sports
and Arts in Schools Fest is a free 3-day long festival of sports and
arts activities at Chelsea Piers, Lincoln Center, Queens Hall of
Science, Riverbank State Park and Robert Clemente State Park. It’s open
to NYC public school kids in groups of 10 accompanied by an adult
during the mid-winter break from 9 a.m. until  3 p.m. To register, call
Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation at (718) 786-7110.

HERE/SAY:  "One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so
much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But
we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather
confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken
in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern,
nor attracted much sustained inquiry." Harry G. Frankfurt, philosopher, in his book, On Bullshit.

Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN THINKERS_Ecstatic

Ecstatic February by OTBKB

The Gates are one of the best things to ever happen to New York in February.

February: it may be the shortest month, but it slogs on and on. There’s usually ice, slush or snow on the sidewalks, bitter winter temperature and face slapping winds. The last few Februarys have seen city-stopping blizzards that have wreaked havoc on hectic lives.

Years back, when Smartmom was enduring a depressing February, this song by Dar Williams was on repeat on the CD player in the living room. Maybe that was part of the problem. But it seemed to express so well the hopelessness and listlessness of this deep-winter month.

And February was so long that it lasted into March
And found us walking a path alone together.
You stopped and pointed and you said, "Thats a crocus,"
And I said, "Whats a crocus?" and you said, "Its a flower,"
I tried to remember, but I said, "Whats a flower?"
You said, "I still love you."

But this year the color orange seems to be everywhere. Hats. Pants, Coats, Gloves. And of course, throughout Central Park, orange curtains are blowing in the wind. The fabric dances and changes color from orange to saffron to deep yellow in the sun. Enhanced by these bright orange structures, we see our mighty park through a new frame.

The Gates are an elixir for the mid-winter doldurms, that spiritual abyss that usually sets in this time of year when everyone is sick of their down filled coats and hearts are yearning for chirping birds and the buds of spring.

This city is just so excited about this monumental pick-me-up. People are throwing parties, taking walks, meeting friends in the park. A friend threw a viewing party in her Central Park West apartment with its park-facing windows. An aunt of mine doesn’t even live near the park, but she invited friends over for coffee and a group pilgrammage to The Gates.

These events are like Superbowl parties for the Christo-crazed.

What happens to New Yorkers when they are ecstatic in February? Nobody really knows. It’s never happened before: this is an experiment in the transformative powers of art. We don’t even recognize ourselves. Eyes open wide, promenading through The Gates in cold and fair weather, we’re connecting with all of our senses.

What happens to New Yorkers when they are ecstatic in February?

They swoon. And the world swoons with them.

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to do.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY BROOKLYN.

BROOKLYN WEATHER: I think it’s going to rain today. High temperature: 40 degrees

BIG NEWS:  "The new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, said in an interview this
weekend that the war with the Israelis is effectively over and that the
Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is speaking "a different
language" to the Palestinians. Mr. Sharon’s commitment to withdraw from
Gaza and dismantle all Israeli settlements there and four in the West
Bank, despite "how much pressure is on him from the Israeli Likud
rightists," Mr. Abbas said, "is a good sign to start with" on the road
to real peace." Am I dreaming or what? Read more here.

LOCAL BEAT: Brooklyn Heights-based magazine, Modern Romance, angered many readers with its recent mostly nude cover picture of a bare-chested man and naked woman wrapped in each other’s arms. At the Love Lane offices of the magazine, Kathryn Falk, the magazine’s publisher, stands by her magazine’s racy break with romance taste and tradition.

_Renovation begins soon on the Park Slope Armory, which is being turned into a indoor sports center. Located at 8th between 14th and 15th streets, the renovated armory will house a community-use sports and education facility, as well as a women’s shelter. A non-profit organization called Take the Field Take, will be contributing $2 million for the renovations.  The Mayor and the City Council have each committed $6 million and the Borough President’s Office has committed $2 million for the job.

_Public school’s mid-winter recess is 2/20 – 2/25. Start making those playdates and plans.

DAILY DISC: Brooklyn’s own, Clem Snide. Soft Spot, (Spin Art) Play it all day long.

MONDAY:  BE YOUR OWN VALENTINE. Free portrait sittings by photographer
Hugh Crawford. Party and pictures at Fou Le Chakra. Seventh Avenue
between 13th and 14th Streets. 6:30 until 9:30.

MORE VALENTINE’S DAY FUN: Klezmer Valentine Concert at Barbes. 276 Ninth Street at 6th Avenue. 9:30.

GOOD EATIN’:  A romantic dinner at this cozy Ft. Greene bistro: Chez Oskar. Dekalb Avenue.

BEST CHOCOLATES: Brooklyn’s own Jacques Torres at Blue Apron Foods on Union Street just off Seventh Avenue.   

BEST PLACE FOR LAST MINUTE V-DAY GIFTS: The Clay Pot on Seventh Avenue between 1st Street and Garfield.

NEW SNEAKERS: Registration for the Brooklyn Half-marathon on March 19th is now open.

_The 10th Annual Cherry Tree 10-mile
race is on Saturday February 19th at 10 a.m.  To register stop by Slope
Sports. Seventh Avenue between Berkeley and St. Johns.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: Laurie Anderson performs her one woman with
violin show,  "The Song of the Moon" at BAM 2/22 – 3/1. "Anderson
weaves stories, music, songs, and words into epic portraits of American
culture."  Get your tickets here.

_The Wooster Group at Art at St. Anns "House/Lights" from Gertrude Steins, "Dr. Faustus."  38 Water Street. 2/19. 38 Water Street. DUMBO.

UP AHEAD: The Moonlighters, Hawaiian steel guitar swing. Barbes (see above) 276 Ninth Street at Sixth Avenue.  2/18. 10 p.m

FOR THE BIRDS: Great Backyard Bird Count at the Prospect Park Audubon Center. 2/19 at noon. Enter park at Lincoln and Ocean Avenue. Free.

MID-WINTER VACATION TIP: 8th Annual Sports and Arts in Schools Fest is a free 3-day long festival of sports and arts activities at Chelsea Piers, Lincoln Center, Queens Hall of Science, Riverbank State Park and Robert Clemente State Park. It’s open to NYC public school kids in groups of 10 accompanied by an adult during the mid-winter break from 9 a.m. until  3 p.m. To register, call Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation at (718) 786-7110.

HERE/SAY:   "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love."  Cole Porter 


Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN THINKERS_Orange Curtains

Just Mad About Saffron by OTBKB

We journeyed to Central Park yesterday to see
The Gates. At the entrance at 59th Street and Sixth Avenue,
orange curtains were billowing in the breeze. We walked underneath our first few gates and were swept into the intstant joy of Christo
and Jeanne-Claude’s happening.

The
Gates are everywhere: surrounding the Sheeps Meadow, in
front of the Arsenal at the Zoo, by the frozen lake, in the mall
leading to the Bethesda Fountain. We only got as far as 72nd
Street and there is plenty more to see. There are 7500 of them in all and they fascinate from a distance as
well as up close.

While I was watching my daredevil daughter climb some
rocks, I overheard an "erudite" English woman talking to some
friends. Well dressed and middle-aged, she might have been a professor or an intellectual wanna-be. Hell, she might have been "the real thing.

"Do you think each gate works individually or does it only
work in repetition?" she asked her group.

"Personally, they do
nothing for me," she continued. "It’s really just O.C.D. Art of the
obscesssive compulsive. Much writing is like that, too. Tolkien for
example. ‘The Hobbit’ with all its endless details, it’s really more of
a disability than a work of art."

I wanted to shake this
woman upside down. But I just continued to eavesdrop some more: "Well I guess you
have to call it a sucess. They built it. Thousands of people came.
That’s an accomplishment in itself I guess," she said.

I really wanted to say: "Lady, get out of your head. Walk around. Stand
underneath one of the curtains or on that god damn rock and look at the
view. Notice the way the light hits each gate differently. Experience
the exhilaration of being here. Thank Christo and Jeanne Claude for
this exuberant and experiential gift to New York."

Some people just can’t get out of their own way.

Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN THINKERS_Makin’ Valentines

Valentine’s Day Countdown by Elswhere

Late January:
Briefly consider creating homemade valentines with Mermaid Girl: red
cutout hearts, stickers, lacy doilies. Scrap idea after looking at
packed calendar and considering MG’s attention span and fine-motor
development; just writing names on prepackaged cards will be enough of
a project.

February 2, early evening: On a
pre-dinner trip to Fred Meyers, drop MG at playroom and scour the
Seasonal aisle for acceptable valentines. Push past towering piles of
Sc00by Doo, Disn3y Pr1incess, Sp1derman, assorted saccharine-sweet
themes, and seemingly endless varieties of Br4tz cards (3D hologram,
tattoo, naked–hah! just kidding!) to find one box of Eye Spy and one
relatively inoffensive set of He11o K1tty. Swing back to playroom and
present both boxes to MG for her choice. Surprise! (not) She chooses
Kitty. I briefly consider buying Eye Spy as well, just for backup, but
figure there are plenty of cards in just the one box.

February 2, after dinner:
Much excitement about the valentines. With our help, MG
enthusiastically compiles a list of everyone she wants to give them to:
friends from school, closest friends outside of school, baby cousin,
grandparents, Little Latke. I write up the list in block letters so she
can use it to write each recipient’s name herself. I perforate the
sheets and she sorts through the individual cards, cooing over all the
cute little pastel kitty designs and insisting on taking one to keep
for herself. No problem; there are 32 cards. We are rich in cards! And
in time. There’s more than a week to work on them. For once, we planned
ahead! We’re so good.

February 3-12: Valentines? What valentines? We have busy lives, you know.

February 13:

4 PM: RW and Mermaid Girl are out at a friend’s. I remember the valentines, then think, Well, she can work on them tonight.

5:45 PM:
I’m on the other phone with a friend when RW calls: they’re invited to
stay for dinner, do I mind? No, no, of course not, go ahead.

6:00 PM: Oh, sh*t! The valentines!

7:55 PM:
RW and Mermaid Girl return home. They’ve already thought about the
valentines: it’s no problem, MG will just write them while she eats her
dessert cookie.

8 PM: While MG engages in an
elaborate show of cookie-eating and milk-drinking, I read aloud an
abridged version of the list we came up with in the first heady flush
of planning: no grandparents, no cousins, just the school friends she
mentioned. We don’t have time to mess around. She chooses one friend. I
circle the name, help her figure out how to make the letters (it’s a
short name, thank goodness). She writes the name slowly and
painstakingly. She freezes when she gets to her own name: the pressure!
I make a dotted outline of the first letter for her–sometimes she gets
it backwards. I fold the card in half, she pulls a heart sticker off
the sheet to seal it, and we’re on to the next card. This will be just
fine.

8:15 PM: Three valentines down. First
crying meltdown of the evening, brought on when I absent-mindedly seal
one of the cards myself instead of letting MG do it. Fortunately, the
heart sticker comes off easily.

8:45 PM: Eight valentines down: "Write my name for me, Mommy! Please!" [curling up in my lap] "This is a lot of work for one little child!"

9:10 PM:
Thirteen valentines down. MG has a breakdown halfway through the
fourteenth. "You could stop, you know, you don’t have to do cards for
everyone," I say. "No!" she insists. "If he sees the other kids have
one, his feelings will be hurt!" We agree to take a short
sanity-restoring break while she puts on her pajamas.

9:15 PM:
RW and I try unsuccessfully to convince MG that she can stop after the
next card, since she doesn’t know most of the other kids that well. She
is affronted: "I know all the preschoolers!"

9:20 PM:
A pajama’ed Mermaid Girl and I come up with a plan: she will do one
more card in her own hand, for one of her best friends at school, and I
will address and sign the half-dozen others in her name after she tells
me who should get each one. Most of them are for younger kids who won’t
care as much who actually wrote them, anyway. And we’ll still have
plenty left to send belatedly to friends and relations.

9:30 PM:
With all cards addressed and signed by either Mermaid Girl or me, and
with RW on bedtime duty, I count up the completed valentines and
realize that the kids Mermaid Girl has listed constitute most of the
preschool, and that if only the few she didn’t mention are omitted they
may, in fact, feel bad. (The take-home folders are at adult height, so
it’s not like the kids would be looking through them. But still, if
almost everyone gets a valentine, the few who don’t might notice.)
Belatedly, I look through the preschool directory, and discover 10 kids
who were left off her list. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I count
the remaining He11o K1tty cards. There are eight left.

9:40 PM:
back at Fred Meyers, in the depleted Valentine’s aisle, which now
shares space with the newly-stocked Easter section. He11o Kitty is long
gone, as is Eye Spy. I survey the remaining boxes, muttering curses. A
giggly, carefree young couple in their mid-20’s swings by: she’s in the
cart, he’s pushing. They offer advice: "Well," she observes, "there’s
lots of Br4tz cards left." I shudder and make an involuntary noise.
"Yeah," she agrees. "I don’t like them either. They’re like little
prostitutes, aren’t they?"

10:10 PM: Mermaid
Girl is in bed. I show RW what I unearthed. We junk the sappy Pr3cious
Moments cards and go with the puppies-and-kittens themed box. I sort
the cards, looking for the vaguest, least-committing messages: "be
mine!" and "friends forever" cards don’t seem appropriate, considering
she doesn’t even know she’s giving these; I wouldn’t want to lead some
poor 3-year-old on…or am I being too literal?

10:30 PM:
Done. Valentines in a big envelope to take to MG’s school in the
morning. Leftover cards left on the table so we can continue the
torture tomorrow evening, with the belated cards for friends and
relations.

Elswhere and her partner, Renaissance Woman (RW),  live in Seattle with their 4-year-old daughter, Mermaid Girl. An honorary Brooklynite, she lived near the Gowanus projects back in 1989 and has been known to surf the PS 321 website just for kicks. This piece can also be found on her blog: Travels in Booland.

Postcard from the Slope

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Dancing at the Lyceum

2909040_std_1Last night we partied like it was 1986 and what a night it was. We could have been in Area, the Tunnel or the Palladium, but it was the Brooklyn Lyceum, the classical style public bath that’s been transformed into a theater and performance space on Fourth Avenue.

But really, we were years away from those hip night spots of the mid to late 1980’s, and our younger selves.  In the here and now, the room was filled with middle-aged Park Slopers who looked pretty darn good in their Saturday night best dancing to an incredible mix of funk, rap, hip hop, and soul. Tom Tom Club really got the room moving as did Madonna and other old favorites. But there were newer sounds by artists we’d never heard of too.

Yet, it wasn’t a nostalgic night for pretending to be young or revisiting the past. No, it was a bunch of people acting their age — boldly and happily expressing themselves in free form dance; shaking their hips to the rhythms of the night. There were couples, singles, friends, and strangers joyfully dancing together. People were sweating, stripping off layers of clothing; just content to be out on a cold February night away from children and the daily details. 

When the clock struck midnight, there was a Cinderella moment in the room. Many had to get home to babysitters and sleeping children. We said our good byes and got our coats from the coat check. Walking up President Street toward Fifth Avenue and home, we could still hear the funky sounds leaking out of the Lyceum’s windows. The music was beckoning us to the dance floor for one more dance before we turned into pumpkins again.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

BROOKLYN WEATHER: It’s gonna be a sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky. Not a negative word to be heard from the people passing by. High temperature: 40 degrees.

BIG NEWS:  A RARE STRAIN OF H.I.V. that is highly resistant to virtually all
anti-retroviral drugs and appears to lead to the rapid onset of AIDS
was detected in a New York City man last week, city health officials
announced on Friday.

This is the first time a strain of H.I.V. showed resistance to multiple drugs and led to
AIDS so quickly, the officials said. While the extent of the disease’s
spread is unknown, officials called a news conference to say that the
situation is alarming.

ARTHUR MILLER, author of "Death of a Salesman" "The Crucible" and "View from the Bridge," died on Friday.

CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE’S Gates are a thing of beauty and joy.

DAILY DISC: Sidney Bechet, The Best of Sidney Bechet (Blue Note Records)

GOOD EATIN’: Best brunch in Park Slope if you like your eggs
with a Cuban accent and pancakes with caramel sauce. And the cafe con
leche… Beso. 210 Fifth Avenue near Union.

Miracle Grill is OPEN. Seventh Avenue at Third Street. Brunch is their forte, at least it is in the East Village.

NEW SNEAKERS: Registration for the Brooklyn Half-marathon on March 19th is now open.

The 10th Annual Cherry Tree 10-mile
race is on Saturday February 19th at 10 a.m.  To register stop by Slope
Sports. Seventh Avenue between Berkeley and St. Johns.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: Laurie Anderson performs her one woman with
violin show,  "The Song of the Moon" at BAM 2/22 – 3/1. "Anderson
weaves stories, music, songs, and words into epic portraits of American
culture."  Get your tickets here.

SUNDAY:  Find out about the 52 new high schools set to open this fall at
the New School Information Fair at the Brooklyn School for the Arts. 345 Dean Street. 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

SILVER SCREEN:  The Merchant of Venice at the BAM Rose Cinema. 

BE YOUR OWN VALENTINE: Free portrait sittings by photographer
Hugh Crawford. Party and pictures at Fou Le Chakra. Seventh Avenue
between 13th and 14th Streets. 6:30 until 9:30.

MORE VALENTINE’S DAY FUN: At Barbes. 276 Ninth Street at Sixth Avenue. 2/14 at 9:30. A Yiddishe Valentine – Lehavdl! with KLEZMER CABARET – This all star Klezmer ensemble mixes up klezmer and greek music with a touch of musette. 

HERE/SAY:  "Dancing is the hidden language of the soul." Martha Graham

Postcard from the Slope

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Orientation

3484827_stdWELCOME to ONLY THE BLOG KNOWS BROOKLYN

The name of this Brooklyn blog comes from a short story told in thick Brooklynese by Thomas Wolfe called "Only the Dead Know Brooklyn:" "He’s found out by now dat he’ll never live long enought to know
duh whole of Brooklyn. It’d take a guy a lifetime to know Brooklyn t’roo an’
t’roo. An even den, yuh wouldn’t know it all." 

ONLY THE BLOG KNOWS BROOKLYN wants to help you learn about "duh whole of Brooklyn t’roo and t’roo."

We start each day with NO WORDS, a daily photo by Hugh Crawford, which helps us see what we sometimes miss — the beauty in the everyday world around us.

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE, is an observation about life in this community by OTBKB. Often personal, it will hopefully resonate with others too.

SCOOP DU JOUR is a fast, easy way to see what’s going on, including weather, news, events, what sounds cool, tips on music, art, books and movies. Plus Hear/Say: one or two quotes of the day.

BROOKLYN THINKERS features short essays by Brooklyn writers or non-writers who think about the stuff that matters. Submissions are encouraged and welcomed from all, including those who no longer live in Brooklyn or never did. Please e-mail us. 

On the grey sidebar panals you’ll find: BROOKLYN ESSENTIALS, BROOKLYN ARTS, BROOKLYN BLOGS, NON-BROOKLYN BLOGS, all contain web links to vital Brooklyn resources about schools, services, parking, subways, buses, nyc government, music, theater, movies, museums, restaurants and blogs. Click on the link for a site called Hello Brooklyn, a comprehensive and very helpful listing of just about everything in the borough.

There is also a link to THIRD STREET, The daily adventures of Smartmom, Hepcat, Teen Spirit, and the Oh So Feisty One.

That’s it for now. More features to come. Tell your friends and spread the word. The URL is easy to remember OTBKB.com but it’s even easier if you bookmark us or make us a favorite. We update daily.

 

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to do.

BROOKLYN WEATHER:  7500 fabric gates by Christo and Jeanne Claude will unfurl today and there’s a chance of SNOW. Oh Glory Be.

BIG NEWS:  Arthur Miller, author of "Death of a Salesman" "The Crucible" and "View from the Bridge," died on Friday.

DAILY DISC: Damien Rice, "O"

GOOD EATIN’: Best brunch in Park Slope if you like your eggs with a Cuban accent and pancakes with caramel sauce. And the cafe con leche… Beso. 210 Fifth Avenue near Union.

NEW SNEAKERS: Registration for the Brooklyn Half-marathon on March 19th is now open.

The Race for the Hardcore is the 10th Annual Cherry Tree 10-mile race on Saturday February 19th at 10 a.m.  To register stop by Slope Sports.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: Laurie Anderson performs her one woman with violin show,  "The Song of the Moon" at BAM 2/22 – 3/1. "Anderson weaves stories, music, songs, and words into epic portraits of American culture."  Get your tickets here.

TODAY:  Find out about the 52 new high schools set to open this fall at
the New School Information Fair at the Brooklyn School for the Arts on
Dean Street. 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

SILVER SCREEN:  The Merchant of Venice at the BAM Rose Cinema. 

BE YOUR OWN VALENTINE: Free portrait sittings by photographer Hugh Crawford. Party and pictures at Fou Le Chakra. Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets. 6:30 until 9:30.

MORE VALENTINE’S DAY FUN: At Barbes. 276 Ninth Street at Sixth Avenue. 2/14 at 9:30. A Yiddishe Valentine – Lehavdl! with KLEZMER CABARET – This all star Klezmer ensemble mixes up klezmer and greek music with a touch of musette. 

HERE/SAY: "If I have any justification for having lived it’s
simply, I’m nothing but faults, failures and so on, but I have tried to
make a good pair of shoes. There’s some value in that."Arthur Miller

"Every year it seems that our golf game gets worse. But this year we’re playing like next year." Dick Luria, photographer and cousin who died last Monday.

Civics and Urban Life

Brooklyn Thinkers_Bio Dad

1 Comment

Who’s Your Daddy? by Elswhere

Travel tip of the day: everyone will be much happier in the car if you teach your kid to ask "Where are we?" instead of "Are we there yet?" Since "where are we?" is a question that can actually be answered ("We’re in Mount Vernon…we’re near the border…we’re stuck in traffic..") and the only answer to "Are we there yet?" is "No! No! NOOOOO! If we were there, would we still be driving???"

It’s one adventure after another around here these days. We zipped up to Vancouver yesterday and back this evening, and we’re all beat. Mermaid Girl got to see her Uncle Skaterboy, who always makes her completely giddy. For him, she pulls out all the stops, getting cuter and cuter and goofier and goofier until she collapses from sheer exhaustion.

Uncle Skaterboy is no relation to Cousin B. Actually, he’s not even Mermaid Girl’s uncle– he’s her bio-dad, and one of the Renaissance Woman’s oldest friends. I’ve noticed most people use the term "donor," but we started with "bio-dad" when MG was a wee thing; it seems to describe their relationship better. And Mermaid Girl likes it; we’ve overheard her, when some other kid comments that MG doesn’t have a dad, retorting, "I have a bio-dad." It seems to work for her.

In the beginning, the very very beginning, when Mermaid Girl was but a fetus, we refused to answer That Question. And people asked! You’d be surprised how many people we didn’t even know that well asked, or hinted. Or maybe you wouldn’t. We came up with stock answers. My favorite was, "Well, it’s not David Crosby." Renaissance Woman preferred to counter the query "Where’d you get that baby?" with a wide-eyed, "Heaven."

The second-parent adoption went through when Mermaid Girl was six weeks old, and after that we started to relax a little. Not that we’d ever worried that he, or his parents, would rush in with a custody claim, but somehow being legally declared a family took some of the pressure off. After a few months we told Skaterboy he could tell his parents. And were they ever thrilled.

We also told our parents, who had all guessed already, not being complete idiots. But we still had the foolish idea that we weren’t going to tell Mermaid Girl until she was older, three or so. I think we had this vision of sitting her down and having A Little Talk with her, wherein we would unveil the secrets of her genetic heritage, and she would gape in silent amazement, never having thought to wonder about it before.

Hah! Is all I can say. What on earth did we think we were going to do until then? Punt? Because Mermaid Girl has always been hyper-aware of family and social structures. And as she used to say proudly about herself, "No miss trick."

And the resemblances between Skaterboy and Mermaid Girl were obvious right from the start. For one thing? The guy never sleeps. He’s the only person I know who’s a morning person and a night person. When Mermaid Girl was a tiny baby, it became apparent that the truism about newborns dropping off anywhere they need to was just not true for her: the girl hated to miss a party, and would force herself to stay up if there was a chance of anything exciting going on, even at the cost of terrible meltdowns later. After a few weeks of this, RW called Skaterboy and said "This is all your fault!"

So one day when Mermaid Girl was about a year old and not really talking yet, she and RW were hanging out, nursing, and Mermaid Girl was flailing her legs around and hooking her feet over her shoulders and doing all this baby-gymnast stuff that she was wont to do. RW was used to talking to Mermaid Girl as if she couldn’t really understand anything (a mistake, as will soon be apparent), and murmured something like, "Well, it’s a good thing you got your athletic ability from your daddy and not from me."

Mermaid Girl stopped nursing, stared at RW, and said, "Dada?!?!"

"Uhhhh, yes," said RW, totally busted. "Uncle Skaterboy is your daddy. Sort of. Yup. Uh-huh."

We filled in the details a little later, after she could talk more and after we got a book from the library about all kinds of families.

We talked about how there are the parents you are born from, and the parents who take care of you, and sometimes those are different people, and they’re special to their kid in different ways. And how even though Uncle Skaterboy didn’t want to be a parent who took care of a kid all the time, he helped Mama to make Mermaid Girl, because she and I wanted to have a child together, and then after she was born I adopted her and now she had a mommy and a mama. "So, Uncle Skaterboy used to be my dad, but now he isn’t?" she asked, at two or so; not sad, just working it out.

Sort of, we said.

Once, before library story time, I was telling the friendly librarian that Mermaid Girl had a mommy and a mama. "And an Uncle Skaterboy!" she chimed in proudly.

She went through a period for a while where she used to ask RW to draw pictures of herself, RW, and Uncle Skaterboy and say that was her family. Sometimes, when pressed, she would put me (and Uncle Skaterboy’s partner) in the corners. Once she told us the sad story about how she and Mama would go live with Uncle Skaterboy, and I would be alone in the house, calling "Everyone come have dinner now!" and no one would come, I’d just be alone with the food.

I just couldn’t take it personally, because it had nothing to do with our actual daily life, with brushing teeth and picking up toys and reading stories and walking to the park. It was her working out the structure of things. And I knew that while Uncle Skaterboy loved (and loves) Mermaid Girl, loves having her picture on his fridge and showing her off to his friends in the West End and buying her clothes and teaching her to skate, he doesn’t want to be a full-time or even a part-time parent. And I do.

These days, Mermaid Girl can reel off the whole story, for us or anyone else she feels like telling: the speck Uncle Skaterboy gave Mama; the adoption; etc. etc. She loves to go up to Vancouver to see him, partly because he’s so glamorous and energetic and kid-friendly, and partly because she knows he’s so special to her. And while she sometimes seems a little sad that Uncle Skaterboy isn’t her "real" day-to-day dad, we’ve heard much more flack about our stubborn refusal to provide her with a little sibling (which is a story for another time).

Still, even though I’ve regained center-stage in her family pictures, Uncle Skaterboy has a unique place in her life. And I’m grateful to him, not only for making her existence possible, but for making that special place for her, too. They are lucky to have each other; I’ve seen how happy she makes him, and as she gets older, he’s going to be able to help her in ways that RW and I can’t. Her heart is big enough, and our family is big enough, to fit all of us.

Elswhere is another honorary Brooklynite. At one time she lived across from the Gowanus Projects and pined to live in Park Slope. "But I couldn’t afford it," she writes. "Not even in 1988." Elswhere now lives in Seattle with her partner (RW) and their toddler daughter, Mermaid Girl. This piece first appeared on Elswhere’s blog: Travels in Booland.

Postcard from the Slope

POSTCARD FRO M THE SLOPE_Flowers and Chocolate

1 Comment

2cbw9643_stdMy husband and I agree to differ about Valentine’s Day. He hates it and calls it a Hallmark holiday. Grudgingly, he will make or buy a card but his heart just isn’t in  it. I don’t get hurt anymore but I do feel a twinge of regret that he’s not a flowers and chocolate kind of guy.

I happen to love Valentine’s Day: the cards, the silver-wrapped chocolates, the heart shaped gifts. It’s fun to browse the jewel-filled windows of The Clay Pot and Treasure Chest. Weeks ahead of time, they are harbingers of the big bright red spot in the middle of February.

As a girl, I enjoyed making valentines with white lace doilies or buying those tiny "Will You Be Mine" cards from Woolworths and giving them to
each and every member of my  elementary school class.

Even now, I shop for cards well in advance, carefully choosing the right card for friends and family. It is not lost on me that the stores are cashing in on these small gestures of love. I spent $39.99 at Possibilities, the newish card shop on Seventh Avenue (the closest thing we have to a Hallmark).  That’s nearly forty dollars plus postage for this much maligned holiday.

Yeesh. The commercial nature of the day really is quite appalling. Shop after shop on Seventh Avenue has heart shaped decorations taped to their front windows — just another way to say: "Spend Money." All the restaurants post signs announcing their Valentine’s Day dinners. It is said to be one of the two worst days of the year to eat out (the other is Mother’s Day). 

But for all that it has going against it, Valentine’s Day does gently force us to acknowledge and say, "I love you" to the people we love in our lives. How bad can that be? It doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. But even when  it does, it doesn’t hurt to spread a little love around.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

 

 

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to do.

REMINDER: Time to send a secret valentine to someone you love.

BROOKLYN WEATHER: There’s gonna be clouds. There’s gonna be sun. The temp is maxing out at 39 degrees.

PARKING: Alternate-side-of-the-street parking regulations suspended today. See NYCDOT link in BROOKLYN ESSENTIALS on the right sidebar. 

BIG NEWS:  Lawyer Lynne Stewart, 65, a left-wing activist
known for representing radicals and revolutionaries in her 30 years on
the New York legal scene was convicted Thursday of smuggling messages of violence from one of her jailed clients – a
radical Egyptian sheik – to his terrorist disciples on the outside. Read more about it.

BLOGTIP:

GOOD EATIN’: Surreal Cafe, 79 Fifth Avenue at Prospect Place is a corner eatery with huge windows that let the sun shine in. Easy going and tasty, it has an artsy ambiance with an organic menu and much for the veggies in the crowd.


GRACE NOTES: The Moonlighters, a Hawaiian steel guitar swing band at  Barbes on 2/18. 376 Ninth Street. 10 p.m. Plan to be there for mellifluous music. 

THIS SOUNDS COOL:  At The Whitney Museum, a mid-career retrospective of the artist Tim Hawkinson. "Bring the kids, they’ll have a ball," says Times critic. Michael Kimmelman. "The show is like a mad scientists’ fair of screwball contraptions, sprawling in no
obvious order across the museum’s fourth floor, hopscotches from one
dexterous tour-de-force to the next." Madison Avenue and 76th Street. Just opened.

TONIGHT: As part of PS 321’s Free Friday’s, Rod Rodgers Dance companies performs works inspired by Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Rosa Park, and Harriet Tubman. Seventh Avenue between 1st and 2nd Street. 7 p.m.

THIS WEEKEND: Find out about the 52 new high schools opening this fall at the New Schools Information Fair at the Brooklyn School of the Arts on Dean Street.  Friday and Saturday 2/12 – 2/13. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

VALENTINE PHOTO DAY: Be Your Own Valentine. V-Day party and FREE portrait sittings with photographer Hugh Crawford. Have a portrait done of you or someone or something you love at Fou Le Chakra. Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th Street. Monday 2/14, 6:30 – 9:30.

MORE VALENTINE’S DAY FUN: A Yiddishe Valentine – Lehavdl! with KLEZMER CABARET – This all star Klezmer ensemble mixes up klezmer and greek music with a touch of musette. For this Valentine day, they will delve deep into the Yiddish saudade with songs of libe-shmertsn (heartaches), farshpilte libe (played-out love), & nice Jewish girls gone bad in Buenos Aires – with Jeff Perlman (clarinet), Ben Holmes (trumpet), Reuben Radding (bass) & Jeanette Lewicki (accordion) Pete Rushevsky (tsimbl) & Timothy Quigley (percussion) and Max & Minka with their Accordion Love Act.

HEAR/SAY:  "The mark of a city worth living in is that there are never enough places to park." Adam Gopnick in The New Yorker

Postcard from the Slope

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Teens

2 Comments

3484872_stdEavesdropping on teenagers is my latest obsession. Whether they’re on the subway, hanging out in front of the Mojo, sitting on the playground wall at PS 321, or crammed into a booth at Pino’s, observing and listening to them has become a hobby with me.

And there are so many of them. There must have been a demographic bulge back in the early 1990’s. It seems that they outnumber babies in Park Slope. No, I take that back: there are still plenty of moms pushing strollers or wearing newbies on their chests. But the teens are more noticible — and they take up so much room.

Maybe it’s because I have a teen of my own that I notice them at all. Before I had a baby, I never noticed babies. After my son was born it was all I could see:  everyone seemed to have a baby. I guess it’s that ‘takes one to notice ’em’ thing.

Still, these funky citizens of Park Slope are a sight to see in their retro-grunge, retro-punk outfits. It’s such an interesting age: the age of identity. They like nothing better than to hang out in large groups. Touching, hitting, hugging — physical contact is important as is smoking and other forbidden activities.

Truth is, I am a teen voyeur for my own selfish reasons. Certainly, it gives me insight into what might lie ahead for my son. But even more, it gives me a chance to remember my high school years hanging out on Columbus Avenue, getting pizza with my friends, and feeling like the city was my oyster.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Events.

4 Comments

BROOKLYN WEATHER: Rain, even some snow later. Dang. What happened to that phoney spring?

BIG NEWS: Prince Charles to marry his longtime lover Camilla Parker Bowles. Read what the British are saying here!

LOCAL BEAT: Yesterday, on Ash Wednesday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn announced the biggest round of school closings of Catholic schools in the history of the city’s Catholic education system. Read more about it here.

ALERT: Kids wearing I-pods are getting mugged at knifepoint  in front of MS 51. WORD TO THE WISE:  Take off the I-Pods!

DAILY DISC:  The Incredible String Band, Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter (Electra)


BLOG TIPS: Check out this literary magazine. The senior editor lives in Brooklyn.

GOOD EATIN’:  Try the newest addition to the Blue Ribbon empire: Blue Ribbon Knish.  276 Fifth Avenue (between 1st Street & Garfield Place)
                         
(718( 840-0404.
                         
                         
 

THIS SOUNDS COOL: The New Museum of Contemporary Art presents: East Village USA, a retrospective of that "renegade art scene that flourished in the East Village in the 1980’s. Covering the stylistic gamut from grafitti art to punk expressionism to new geo and appropriation.  526 West 22nd Street. Through March 19th.

TODAY: Emily Roboteau, author of the novel "The Professor’s Daughter," reads at The Community Bookstore. 2/10, 7:30. Seventh Avenue between Garfield and President.

HEADS UP: Rod Rogers Dance Company in a Free Fridays program at PS 321 perform work inspired by Duke Ellington, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and Harriet Tubman.

DON’T FORGET: Learn about the 52 new small high schools opening in September at the New Schools Information Fair. 2/12 – 2/13. The Brooklyn High School for the Arts. Dean Street. 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

HEAR/SAY: "There was a sense of the future, of coming up in the world. We lived on the 10th floor, and we felt our view was getting larger.
We could even see a piece of the ocean." Donald Marguiles, author of the new play "Brooklyn Boy," on growing up in a 23-story apartment building  in Coney Island.

HEAR/SAY 2: "There are no official opening events. There are no invitations. There are no tickets. This work of art is FREE for all to enjoy." Christo and Jeanne Claude

The gates will be unfurled on Saturday February 12th. Join the crowds.

Scoop Du Jour_Weather. News. Events.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Events.

1 Comment

BROOKLYN WEATHER:  A mix of sun and clouds but still a warmish 49 degrees.  There’s talk of snow for Thursday.

BIG NEWS: In a summit at the Egyptian town of Sharm El Sheik, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged
an end to the violence that has persisted for the past four years. Read all about it here.

DAILIY DISC: Madeleine Peyroux, Careless Love (Rounder)

BLOGTIP: My Urban Dig

SILVER SCREEN: Propect Heights’ resident Elliot Greenebaum’s film, Assisted Living, is showing at  Sunshine Cinema on Houston Street, a treasure in its own right.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: Chinatown Lunar New Year Firecracker Ceremony  on 2/9. A traditional Lunar New Year practice believed to scare away evil
spirits. After opening ceremonies, a dozen dance troupes of lions,
dragons and unicorns march down the main streets of Chinatown (Mott,
Bowery, East Broadway, Bayard, Elizabeth, Pell) to ring in the New
Year. Firecracker detonations take place at Mott St. and Bayard St. at
12:00PM and at Market St. and East Broadway at 2:00PM. Stages at both
intersections feature performances by traditional and contemporary
Asian and Asian American singers and dancers.
Firecrackers at 12:00PM at the intersection of Mott St. & Bayard St.
Firecrackers at 2:00PM at the intersection of Market St. & E. Broadway
Visit www.ExploreChinatown.com for more information.
 
   
 

TODAY: Frank McCourt reads old and new work. 7 p.m. at MS 51. A meet-the-author reception follows:  ten bucks gets you in (twenty  if you stay for the reception).

HEADS UP:  Rod Rogers Dance Company in a performance inspired by Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Duke Ellington and others. Free Fridays at PS 321. 7 p.m.

AND DON’T FORGET: New School Information Fair. Find out about the 52 new high schools
being opened in September 2005.  2/12 – 2/13 at Brooklyn School for the
Arts. 345 Dean Street. 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.for more info, go to Inside Schools.

SOMETHING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT: The Gates in Central Park February 12th through the end of February  by Christo and Jeanne Claude (see No Words above).

HEAR/SAY: " Hatred ever kills, love never dies; such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time.  What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for its increased hatred." Mahatma Gandhi.

Postcard from the Slope

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Going Into Town

2636363_std"I’m going into town," is what I say when I have plans in Manhattan. It sounds sort of quaint,  as if Manhatttan is a small town just a few minutes by horse and buggy, when, in fact, it is a teeming metropolis 30 subway-minutes away.

The longer I live and work in Park Slope the more of a big deal it becomes to "go into town."  I used to work in the city every day.  Riding in at 8:30 a.m,  I’d read the Times standing, balancing in a car crowded with commuters. I was a player then; a part of the ambition and energy that is New York City.  And during those long, hectic work days in Manhattan, the Slope felt very far away.

Then my career changed direction. I now work in a small office in an old mansion in Park Slope.  More and more of my work is conducted over the telephone, by e-mail and fax. When necessary, messengers or Federal Express can bridge the distance between here and wherever something needs to be.

Now, I only go into town for occasional business meetings, dental appointments, some culture, or lunch with friends. A born and bred Manhattanite (yes, that rare breed), I feel like a tourist now and the stimulating streetscape is like a drug. I am all eyes and ears, taking in the latest architecture, the shining stores and the styles in a state of exhilaration.

I enjoy my quick trips into Manhattan, my forays into a life I no longer lead. But I am always happy to emerge from the F-train Slope-side. My breathing slows as I ease into the slower pace, the familiar faces, the parade of children from stroller tots to teens on Seventh Avenue.

Fortified for the time being,  my return to Manhattan is assured; I am always ready for more.

Yours From Brooklyn,
OTBKB