Brooklyn Reading Works presents FEAST: Savory Syllables on
Sustenance/Writers on Food curated by Michele Madigan Somerville with
writers Peter Capatano, Greg Fuchs, Ame Gilbert, Nancy Garfinkel and
Andrea Israel, Alexander Nazaryan, Sophia Romero and Michele Madigan
Somerville, who will be reading her fun and fabulous poem BOOB. You wouldn't want to miss THAT. 

This event is a benefit for the Helping Hands Food Pantry at St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope.

December 10, 2009 at 8 PM
The Old Stone House
Fifth Avenue and Third Street
$10 Suggested donation (but give what you can).

December 10-11 in Hudson, NY, the Hudson Opera House presents "Hudson to China" with music by Park Slope's Bob Goldberg (of Famous Accordian Orchestra fame). Says Goldberg: "I wrote the music and play it, live.  I also get to impersonate Nixon.  briefly.  Come see!"

Hudson to China is a spectacle with projections, puppetry, theatre, and
live music. It parallels three different beings seeking a way to China:
the statue of Henry Hudson that stands in the Bronx, who believes he
has finally found his route to China; a young man, Harry, who dreams of success by literally conquering what he fears: China & its economy, and Hua, a Chinese immigrant, who longs for home.

Hudson to China is an adventure in which the experiences become the destination. On the journey the voyagers and we, the audience, lose our way, finding it just to lose it again, echoing Henry Hudson's voyages and our own lives, searching for the mythical Orient.

Hudson Opera House presents the Concrete Temple Theater's production of HUDSON TO CHINA

December 11 at 8 pm
December 12 at 2 pm and 8 pm

Co-Created by: Renee Philippi & Carlo Adinolfi
Puppets & Set Design: Carlo Adinolfi
Director: Renee Philippi
Music: Bob Goldberg
AD/Stage Manager/Lighting Design: Casey McLain

Performers: Carlo Adinolfi, Mi Sun Choi, Bob Goldberg, and Zdenko Slobodnik

Oscar contender An Education is consistently surprising and not because of gimmickry or exclamation-point-punctuated plot twists.  Director Lone Scherfig simply leads you in unexpected directions with a murky morality that doesn’t feed viewers simple conclusions.  A tale of a young schoolgirl with a bright future who is seduced by an older playboy and his lifestyle could have come off as an awful sermon, but Scherfig gives the film gravitas.  Brian Englishby’s score is also consistently surprising; you’re often uncertain what that music means and it’s very effective.  Unfortunately the last two minutes of the film sums things up in a way that is out of step with the rest of the film.  The content of the ending isn’t a disappointment, but the style makes it seem tacked on.  The music that had been so unpredictable, swells in a clichéd climax.  Don’t be surprised if the DVD comes packaged with an alternate ending.

Overall, however, the movie is beautifully mounted and acted, particularly by leads Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan.  Though miles apart stylistically, the story of a young person seduced by a fantasy lifestyle and the success of a seasoned and often unsavory elder makes it a perfect companion piece with Funny People and the ultimate celebration of education has parallels to Precious.  Maybe this is the year Oscar hits the books.

–Pops Corn

Here's the local weather forecast from the fabulous Feldman family!

Check out  the local weather forecast from the Feldman's because it looks like the weather will be good for tonight's Snowflake Celebration.

Last year (and the year before) there was rain on one or more of the nights of Snowflake, which was a tad dispiriting but tonight promises to be GOOD all the more reason to get out there and participate in SNOWFLAKE.

So what is Snowflake?

The 3rd Annual Snowflake Celebration begins this week! The first
two Thursday evenings in December, Park Slope businesses will light up
with special sales and festivities like a [insert holiday-themed
light-up icon of your choice], all in the spirit of getting holiday
shoppers to spend more of their gift-dollars locally.  

Our
website, www.buyinbrooklyn.com, has a list of participants (and their
enticements), hard copies of which will be available at all Snowflake
Celebrating businesses.  Highlights include:

    Free childcare at Juguemos Spanish Institute from 5:30-8!

    Free wine and snacks, and a food drive at 4PlayBK!

    20% off all merchandise and free gift-wrapping lessons every half-hour at Lion in the Sun!

   
15% storewide discount on women's clothing, and a free raffle on a
women's custom design outfit of the winner's choice (have to choose
from the collection) at My Passion Fashion Designs!

    Some of Brooklyn's finest mobile food vendors (aka “gourmet trucks”) will make a special appearance in the Slope!

On Thursday, December 3rd at 7 PM, the  O'Donovan Rossa Society, Brooklyn, New York presents a lecture and slide presentation by renowned Irish
Photographer, 
Frankie Quinn, who will present his most recent work
Peaceline Panoramas, a series of photographs taken over the last five
years, which 
document life along the 48 walls and barriers, known as 'Peacelines', that 
divide the city of Belfast in the north of Ireland.

The walls, many of
which were constructed at the height of the recent conflict by the
British Government, were initially conceived of as a temporary measure
to separate communities divided along political and religious lines and
to control mobility within the 
insurgent nationalist community. Far from being a temporary measure,
the walls have increased in number and in height over the years,
forming a network of 
enclaves, ghettos and deeply divided communities across the city.
Quinn's presentation is timely, given the recent commemoration of the
twentieth 
anniversary of fall of the Berlin Wall, and his photos testify that
despite the developments of the recent peace process, the continued
presence of these 
fault-lines ensure that Belfast remains a divided and segregated city.

Frankie Quinn has been a photographer for the past 25 years. His
interest in 
documentary photography developed as a result of his involvement with
the 
MacAirt Camera Club in East Belfast. Since 1983 his work has been
exhibited extensively both at home and abroad. His work has also
appeared in numerous local publications including Falls in Focus
published by the Falls Community 
Center (1987) and Shoot Belfast (1986), a guide for amateur
photographers, funded by the Northern Ireland Arts Council. His work
has also appeared in the 
book Garvaghy Road: A Community Under Siege (1999). He was a founding
member of the Belfast Exposed Community Photography Resource Center.

In
2008 he opened The 
Red Barn Gallery in Belfast, a non-for-profit photographic gallery
dedicated to the advancement and provision of the photographic arts for
public benefit. He lives and works in Belfast. Red barn Gallery www.rbgbelfast.com

Slide Presentation and Talk by Renowned Belfast Photographer Frankie Quinn
Thursday, December 3, 7:00 PM Free Admission
Rocky Sullivan's Pub
34 Van Dyke Street (at Dwight Street)
Red Hook, Brooklyn

 NEWEST SURGE

Not the bombs.

From today's Brooklyn Paper:

At Coco Roco on Fifth Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets,
which was fined $214,672 for the alleged abuses, state officials
reported that a dishwasher worked 66 hours per week and received only
$360.00, amounting to $6 an hour with no overtime. One deliveryman
allegedly worked 72 hours per week and was paid $210, plus tips.

Seven other employees were reported to endure similar workweeks.

Workers at Olive Vine Café on Seventh Avenue between Lincoln and St.
Johns places, which was fined $88,196, also allegedly worked outrageous
hours for low pay. In one case, a deliveryman who also washed dishes
allegedly worked 72 hours for only $260. Three other employees’ wages
were also at rock bottom, the state said.

The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Olive Vine Café owner Zaid Demis flatly denied the charges, saying
the agency fudges numbers to garner publicity. And Demis said the
department doesn’t even get its facts straight — fining him for four
years of back wages for a worker who only toiled at the restaurant for
four months.

From Leon Freilich, Verse Responder:

Trees, wreaths, garlands, winterberries, pinecones, maple syrup…

IDanika and Anners of Vermont Balsam will be set up on Union Street between 7th and 6th Avenues (just past the Park Slope Food Coop as one walks towards 6th Avenue) to sell trees, wreaths, garlands, maple syrup and other holiday products from Vermont.

CALL FOR YOUNG ARTISTS
YOUTHWORKS 2010
 A FREE Performance Program for Young Artists to Create and Present Original Work

YOUTHWORKS is a unique opportunity for young people ages 7- 18 to imagine, create and perform original short plays, dances, songs, poetry, and more. Each young performer or group works with various coaches to help develop their work. All of our coaches are professional artists working in their fields. BAX provides FREE rehearsal space to these young artists and the program culminates with a professionally produced performance.

On Saturday December 5 from 2:30-4:00 PM, there will be a mandatory orientation meeting for interested young artists, their parents, and coaches to learn about the program and the process of developing original work into a professional performance.

Coaching sessions will take place on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoons in December and January. Youthworks performances will be Saturday January 30 at 7 PM and Sunday January 31 at 5 PM.

ADULT EDUCATION PRESENTS: DEATH
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 – 8 pm (doors at 7:30)

Union Hall in Park Slope
702 Union St. @ 5th Ave
$5 cover
http://www.adult- ed.net

Adult Education is a Brooklyn-based monthly lecture series devoted to
making useless knowledge somewhat less useless. Each month is devoted
to a given theme, and 4 speakers will address some aspect of that theme
using visual aids.

DORIAN DEVINS, MARGARET MITTELBACH, & ANDREW TEMPLAR
(SECRET SCIENCE CLUB)
"Death and Taxidermy: The Ape That Launched 1000 Quips"
Devins, Mittelbach, and Templar discuss observations gleaned from four
years of Carnivorous Nights, an annual taxidermy contest held in
Brooklyn.

ALEX PAREENE
"Everyone Is Trying To Kill You: Analyzing Homicidal Tendencies In Electronic Information Networks"
The most dangerous people in America today are celebrities. And Arianna
Huffington is letting them blog. Alex Pareene assesses recent threats
to our national health from Suzanne Somers and Canada.

KATHARINE HELLER
"Le Petit Mort: Death as a Metaphor for Orgasm in Popular Culture and Literature"
Heller looks at the various ways in which death, much like everything else, is tied to sex

JOANNA EBENSTEIN
"Morbid Anatomies and Anatomical Theatres: A Guided Tour through the Macabre World of Medical Museums"
What is the difference between a wet and a dry specimen? Why did people
make life-sized, recumbent wax women whose insides could be taken apart
into dozens of pieces? Where did Gunther von Hagens (Body Worlds
exhibit) get his schtick? Joanna Ebenstein presents a virtual tour of
great medical museums of the western world.

WITH HOST CHARLES STAR

Brooklyn Heights pediatrician Stephen Turner,
MD, will conduct an additional session of H1N1 vaccination for children
AND adults. There is a $20 administrative fee.

Location: 185 Montague St., 4th floor
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009
No appointment is necessary.

The 3rd Annual Snowflake Celebration begins this week! The first
two Thursday evenings in December, Park Slope businesses will light up
with special sales and festivities like a [insert holiday-themed
light-up icon of your choice], all in the spirit of getting holiday
shoppers to spend more of their gift-dollars locally.  

Our
website, www.buyinbrooklyn.com, has a list of participants (and their
enticements), hard copies of which will be available at all Snowflake
Celebrating businesses.  Highlights include:

    Free childcare at Juguemos Spanish Institute from 5:30-8!

    Free wine and snacks, and a food drive at 4PlayBK!

    20% off all merchandise and free gift-wrapping lessons every half-hour at Lion in the Sun!

   
15% storewide discount on women's clothing, and a free raffle on a
women's custom design outfit of the winner's choice (have to choose
from the collection) at My Passion Fashion Designs!

    Some of Brooklyn's finest mobile food vendors (aka “gourmet trucks”) will make a special appearance in the Slope!

On election night David Pechefsky, Green Party candidate for City Council in the 39th district, came back from the polls with numbers that were somewhat higher than what was being reported in the media.

Katia Kelly of Pardon Me For Asking, the indispensable Carroll Gardens blog, came across a flock of Canadian Geese at the Parade Grounds.

Miracle Grill closed on Sunday but they weren't serving dinner on Saturday night so it was empty all weekend except at the bar.

I am wondering if the ever-crowded Barrio right across the street put them out of business or if it's just a sign of the economic times that they couldn't make it. I had lunch there in October and had an inkling that things weren't going well.

What's your theory?

Miracle Grill made a decent go of it for quite a few years. But prior to that, its location on Third Street and Seventh Avenue has had a high turnover. It was almost considered a doomed restaurant spot. Does anyone remember the names of all the now-defunct restaurants that have been in there going back to the 1980's. I barely remember any names at the moment but I remember the ethnicity of the food…

–Miracle Grill
–a Peruvian place.
–a Vietnamese place called Nam.
–a bar, burger and bistro kind of place (good for brunch).

  On Friday, December 4, 2009 from 8-11 PM there's an Old Stone House Fundraiser that sounds like a lot of fun: