The Coney Island we know and love is gone. Even as building slows
across the city, demolition moves forward unchecked. The rocket has
been a Coney Island constant since Astroland opened in 1962 and last
week it was removed from its iconic perch.
Luckily for us, photographer Ellery Samuels organized
a Brooklyn Adventure for the Long Island Photographers Meetup and
snapped these shots. Here’s what it looks like to dismantle Brooklyn’s
storied past.
On Simon Dinnerstein's new blog, Counterpoint: A Blog on the Visual Arts, he writes about a car ride to the Palmer Museum of Art: to visit his painting, The Fulbright Triptych.
On
December 9, Virginia Bonito, an art historian and former curator of the
Seavest Collection, Marshall Price, curator at the National Academy
Museum of Art, and Jhumpa Lahiri, a wise and gifted writer, accompanied
me on the four and a half hour car ride to the Palmer Museum of Art at
Pennsylvania State University. These three, along with about twenty
other contributors including the composer George Crumb, the actors John
Turturro and Alvin Epstein, and the art historian, Colin Eisler, will
be taking part in a really exciting project. (Also participating in
this upcoming publication are Anthony Doerr, author of The Shell Collector and the psychoanalyst/novelist Phillipe Grimbert, whose book, Memory, was recently made into the haunting film, A Secret.)
For
the last few months, Milkweed Editions, an independent publisher
located in Minneapolis, has been putting together an anthology of
writing based on my painting, The Fulbright Triptych. In
the book, this major, fourteen foot painting will be seen and written
about from a variety of points of view: through the lens of an art
historian, a novelist, a composer, a pianist, a critic, a psychologist,
etc. Some essays that were previously published, including works by Guy
Davenport, Rudolf Arnheim, John Russell, George Tooker, Tom Messer and
Albert Boime will also be a part of this publication.
Here's this week's Smartmom from the Brooklyn Paper:
Smartmom and family are still on California time. But they better
switch their circadian rhythms to Eastern Standard Time. Pronto.
On Sunday night, Smartmom was in a panic. In the weeks ahead, there
was just too much to do and she wasn’t sure she had the stamina for it
all.
• Teen Spirit has a boatload of schoolwork to complete and a couple of college applications to get out the door.
• Hepcat has to finish a project he’s been working on for too long. And while he’s at it, he needs to see about getting paid.
• Smartmom still needs a job. Actually, she needs one now more than
ever (yeah, good luck with that — unless Obama creates a new WPA for
writers!).
• OSFO has to get back to the rigorous and overscheduled life of a Park Slope middle-schooler.
Couldn’t they just go back to the farm and hang out with goats,
Flora and Miss America? That was so much more relaxing than this.
Smartmom was stressing about getting her kids up in the morning in
time to get them to school. They hadn’t gone to bed before midnight
since before Christmas. Smartmom and the OSFO enjoy watching “Desperate
Housewives” and “Brothers and Sisters” on Sunday nights. They’re
addicted to both, and you’ve got to be kidding if you think they were
going to miss a new episode.
So much for early to bed, early to rise.
But on Sunday, OSFO had to miss “Desperate Housewives” because she still had an itty bit of homework left to finish.
“Why didn’t you do it out in California?” Smartmom bellowed.
“I forgot,” OSFO lied.
Smartmom was fit to be tied. The television stayed off until OSFO finished her reading logs. Damn those reading logs.
“Couldn’t I just watch a little,” OSFO begged.
“Read my lips!” Smartmom snarled.
Besides, there’s always Hulu for catching up on the latest escapades
of Eva Longoria Parker, Felicity Huffman and Terri Hatcher.
Thank Buddha, OSFO was done in time to watch how baby Elizabeth’s
illness and her uncle’s sacrifice caused an emotional confrontation
between Kevin and Tommy that threatened their relationship on “Brothers
and Sisters.”
And Smartmom thought her life was complicated.
At 11 pm, OSFO was in bed and Teen Spirit was already asleep after a
long weekend of revelry with friends after “solitary confinement” in
California. He was out like a light.
Mission accomplished. The children were sleeping. Smartmom practically patted herself on the back. Not so fast.
At 11:05, OSFO crawled into the parental bed and had an emotional
meltdown. It was like the beginning of the school year all over again:
tears, fears and apprehensions about going back to middle school.
“I miss PS 321,” she told Smartmom tearfully.
Smartmom felt like it was “Groundhog Day.” Hadn’t they gotten over
this back in September? Finally Smartmom managed to calm OSFO down: she
rubbed her back until she fell asleep.
“Set the alarm for 5:30,” OSFO told her drowsily before she dozed
off. She wanted to shower, do a tiny bit more homework and get herself
ready for her first day back after vacation.
Smartmom slept fitfully. Visions of all the bills she had to pay,
the phone calls she had to make in search of a job, and all the family
business she had to attend to danced like sour lollipops and broken
candy canes inside her head.
At 4:45 am, she gave up trying to sleep and waited for the alarm to ring at 5:30.
“Turn the shower on,” OSFO ordered from her bedroom as soon as it rang.
It was a bit harder to get Teen Spirit up at 6 am. But he did,
eventually, shower, dress and make it out the door, while listening to
“Talking Heads 77” at top volume.
Uh oh. OSFO needed lunch and there was nothing in the fridge. That
meant a quick trip to the newsstand on Seventh Avenue where the owner
knows to make a bagel with cream cheese for OSFO and a coffee with one
sugar for Smartmom. (It would be too easy to keep a steady supply of
bagels at home.)
When she got back home, Smartmom could see that OSFO was still
nervous about her first day back. Even as she brushed her turquoise
hair, OSFO looked fairly blue. Smartmom tried to cheer her up, but what
could she say. Smartmom was feeling pretty glum herself on this, the
first day of real life in 2009.
“Try to have a good day,” Smartmom said as she waved at OSFO as she
left the apartment. But she was really talking to herself. Because that
was what she was going to try to do. All day.
FRIENDLY FIRE
Homeowners and merchants who don't clear their walks
On post-snow days
Are telling unfortunate passers-by,
"Have an ice day."
I was worried about Get Fresh, the one-year old Park Slope market and online store
dedicated to creating prepared foods with fresh and local ingredients,
has reinvented itself over the holidays as a full-service restaurant
serving breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch, and as of January
16th—dinner, under the new name Get Fresh Table and Market.
I for one am glad to see they're trying something new. Now they're a cafe and restaurant.
GET FRESH TABLE AND MARKET
Open daily for breakfast (available all day) and lunch (11am-5pm)
Weekend brunch (10am-3:30pm)
Dinner –beginning January 16–
Tuesday – Sunday, 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Dinner Entrees $16-$18
Appetizers $6-$7
BYOB
Credit cards accepted
Wheelchair accessible
Get Fresh Table and Market
Phone: (718) 360-8469
370 Fifth Ave (between 5th and 6th St)
Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.getfreshnyc.com <http://www.getfreshnyc.com>
Last week I heard from the new folks over at kensingtonbrooklynblog.com.
I took a look and it looks newsy and interesting over there. Check it out.
.
Today I posted about a Brooklyn for Peace rally against the war in Gaza, scheduled for Wednesday late afternoon at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Intuitively, I am against this war for a variety of reasons. But I know the situation is complex and it causes me much pain and confusion. I went to Rabbi Andy Bachman's blog to see if he's been writing about the situation. I gather that he sees this as a just war. I was curious to read his point of view.
What you should be
impressed with, regardless of your feelings about Israel’s decision to
attack, is the incredible range of debate in the press.
Ari Shavit’s The Decisive Hour
Gideon Levy’s The Time of the Righteous
Dror Etkes Don’t Forget the West Bank
Sayed Kashua (a regular Arab Israeli contributor) Cast Lead 2
Besides the calls for a truce, there are the many practical considerations.
What
so many refuse to acknowledge–even to hard-core two-staters like yours
truly–is how abysmal the support actually is for peace.
For
instance, Hamas in Gaza has received its steady flow of rockets and
munitions through the infamous tunnels of Egypt, which has essentially
looked away while Israel attempts to defeat Hamas. In diplomatic
circles, Egypt agitates for a truce.
But who will police the border between Gaza and Egypt? Not Egypt.
Which is why leftist centrists like myself struggle with but ultimately accept the necessity of Israel doing what it’s doing.
Yes: end the occupation and create two states.
But:
what happens when the West Bank has a chance to arm in the same way?
With rockets that could easily hit any part of Israel?
It’s not so easy.
And in our neighborhood, it’s often lonely.
The former Brooklyn Parents for Peace–now Brooklyn for Peace–is
calling for a rally that condemns Israel but says nothing about any
attacks FROM Gaza or Lebanon these last several years. Conveniently,
the answers are simple and one-sided.
But I take heavy heart in the realistic debate going on inside Israel, far away from our opinions here in Brooklyn.
There will be rally after rally on all sides in the coming days.
Theater.
I’d love to hear realistic ideas once we agree on getting to two-states.
. Universal Health Care: Free Band-Aids to the first 1,000 fans
. Naming Rights: Anyone named Barack gets in for free
.
Joe the Plumber special: any plumber named Joe gets two free tickets –
one for himself, and one to "spread the wealth" with a friend.
. Bi-Partisan Consolation Prize: anyone named McCain or Palin gets a free Bleacher Seat
. A clear-cut Exit Strategy: fans will receive American Flags and discount coupons as they leave the ballpark
There was a story yesterday in the City section about neighborhood blogs. No mention of OTBKB. But so be it. They did mention Gerritsen Beach, Gowanus Lounge, and Brownstoner (of course):
The growing number of New York neighborhood blogs — there are nearly
200, many in Brownstone Brooklyn, but there are others in communities
like Inwood, Harlem and Astoria,
Queens — has amplified the city’s already boisterous discourse, raised
the ideological stakes in discussions of even the tiniest issues and
turned upside down the old chestnuts about urban isolation.
Perhaps
most important, the city’s muscular and energetic blogs have provoked
questions about how to police raucous New York-style debate without
sapping its energy.
After a bit of a hiatus, The New York Moon is back with itslatest edition:
–A foreign dispatch from the diseased reservoir of the Tsarist city of Voronezh in Russia
–A trip down the Hudson with artists turned sailors + music from Dark Dark Dark
–and
a call for Wall Street to be rendered as Pompeii to warn future
generations of the "seminal lunacy" that leads our moneymen astray
Brooklyn for Peace is calling a candlelight vigil and protest rally on Wednesday, January 14th, from 4:30 to 5:30 at Brooklyn Borough Hall (at Joralemon Street and Court) to oppose the bombing and invasion of Gaza.
Free at BAM!
On
January 20, 2009, Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the
United States. BAM will broadcast this
momentous occasion and share the experience with the public at a free screening of the inauguration
ceremonies, broadcast live at BAM Rose Cinemas.
Free tickets
will be available beginning 11am on day of screening. Tickets are
limited, and will be distributed on a first come, first seated basis.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 11:30 am
I just heard on WNYC radio that Forest City Ratner, developers of the Atlantic Yards Project, may have removed Frank Gehry as architect on the Nets stadium and are looking for a cheaper way to build it. FCR denied these allegations calling them rumors.
The UN declared a suspension of its aid operations after one of its drivers
was killed and two others were wounded despite driving United
Nations-flagged vehicles and coordinating their movements with the
Israeli military. The United Nations secretary general,
Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation by Israel for a second time in a week after
the more than 40 deaths near a United Nations school from Israeli tank
fire on Tuesday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross
reported finding what it called shocking scenes on Wednesday, including
four emaciated children next to the bodies of their dead mothers. In a
rare and sharply critical statement, it said it believed that “the
Israeli military failed to meet its obligation under international
humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded.”
That's really bad.
The rumor this week concerning the troubled Atlantic Yards project near
Downtown Brooklyn had the developer firing the famed architect Frank Gehry, who designed the project’s centerpiece: a $1 billion basketball arena.
Executives are concerned that even
if they are able to overcome a pending legal challenge, it would be
hard to finance what would be the most expensive arena in the world.
From the Brooklyn Paper:
Starting today, The Brooklyn Paper is offering “The Brooklyn Wire,” a new feature on BrooklynPaper.com that scours the Web for all things Brooklyn.
Our Web geniuses have created a single page that delivers you to the
widest range of news, commentary, features and entertainment coverage
about Brooklyn on the Web. Bookmark it now. It’s simply amazing.
This is best thing that’s happened to the Internet since Google,”
said sometimes-hyperbolic Brooklyn Paper Editor Gersh Kuntzman.
And they're having a liquidation sale. Everything 50% off. I spoke to the owner. He was hoping to sell the store and came very close. But the buyers backed out after speaking to the landlord who were offering a 10-year lease on a rent that would eventually be $18,000 per month. I'm not sure what the rent is now. But that's a lot of money.
My cousin is the Executive Director of the Petra Foundation, which identfies and recognizes unsung heroes who are making distinctive contributions to the rights of others. Here's the email I received this morning. If you are thinking of nominating someone make sure you read the criteria carefully.
Dear
Friends
Each
year since 1988, through a national search and nomination process, Petra has
identified and recognized unsung heroes who are making distinctive contributions
to the rights, dignity and autonomy of millions who are marginalized in America
today
Now almost 80 in number, Petra Fellows work in 29 states, often at risk and without
the safety net of personal privilege or institutional support. The foundation
gives fellows a no-strings personal financial award, publicizes their models
for change and welcomes them to a national network of leaders working across
the divides of age, ethnicity, class and issue to build a more just society.
If
you know a leader who fits the awards criteria, please nominate your candidate
for a Petra Fellow award. If you know of others who might make a
nomination, please forward this note and help to spread the word.
The
awards guidelines and brief nomination questionnaire can be easily downloaded
from http://www.petrafoundation.org/nominations.html
Please
read the guidelines closely and note that nominations are submitted without the
knowledge of the nominee by those who know the nominees and their work.
This
year’s deadline is February 12, 2009. If you have any
questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
With
your help, the Petra Foundation will continue to champion local leaders who are
fighting on the frontlines of the struggle for justice.
We
look forward to hearing from you!
Here's something about Jezra Kaye's upcoming public speaking workshop; lots of good food for thought—and speaking. If you would like to communicate with POWER, AUTHENTICITY and EASE, join her for an evening of hands-on activities that will lift your speaking skills to the next level. I took a 3-hour workshop and enjoyed it very much and picked up some very useful ideas and tips.
For weeks, I’ve been shuffling through
the same stack of papers, articles, notes, biz cards, invitations, old socks and photos waiting to be scanned.
If you want to de-clutter your public speaking
(and that means everything you say that's not private), here are some simple ways to start:
1. ADD SOME
SPACE
Those of you who live (and talk!) in New York will be glad to hear that adding space does not
mean s p e a k i n g r e a l l y s l o w l y.
And those
of you who went to college will be glad to hear that it doesn't require
you to give up those erudite-sounding, run-on sentences, so rich in
subordinate clauses and clever little asides that allow you to keep
talking
about the topic at hand, which is probably quite delightful, until
you've exhausted everything that one could imagine saying about it and
then
you add something else because…
No, "adding space" means pausing—briefly, fractionally—between one phrase and the next so that people can
hear your entire thought.
And if you want to slow down further, add some emphasis.
Now you're pausing… briefly, fractionally… between one phrase and the next… so that people can hear your entire
thought.
You can practice this
trick in your "private" speech (i.e., when you're talking to family or friends):
Add some space!
You'll sound calmer… and
smarter… and people will have time to
take in your words!
2.
SIMPLIFY
Now that you've slowed down enough to hear yourself think, you can start to edit.
Most of us say much more than we need to:
Unfortunately, people don't remember large chunks or subtle nuances unless they've studied a
topic at length.
In normal conversation, as in public speech, they're likely to recall just ONE
THING that you said. So what's it going to be?
To find the answer, ask yourself:
When you can answer those questions, you've got the simple, elegant core of what you want to
say.
Concentrate on stating it as clearly… cleanly… and authentically
as possible.
And leave some space to let it sink it!
3. CALL A
“SPEECH-ALIST”
An experienced Speaker Coach can help you develop these (and other) tips into
a powerful and authentic speaking style.
Would you like to begin right away?
Contact me about private
coaching, or come to…
Presentations that
Persuade Workshop
Next Thursday, January 15th, 2009, 6:30-9:00PM
The meeting of two legends in experimentation and sound: the meeting of two fabulous
violins:
Tony Conrad and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge.
Guest musician: Edward Morrisey, PTV3.
Guest visual artists: Bradley Eros and Sebastien S. Santamaria.
Tony Conrad and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge will meet for the first time
and perform on two consecutive days in improvisatory concerts centered
on their mutual love for violin. The shows will take place at ISSUE
Project Room on January 10 at 9 p.m. and January 11 at 4 p.m. The event
will be recorded for an album release and filmed by Marie Losier for
her upcoming feature documentary on P-Orridge.
The idea to unite the two influential musicians was conceived at the screening
of "Marie Losier's Film Portraits" at the French Institute Alliance Française in September of 2008. Upon watching
Losier's documentary, "Tony Conrad DreaMinimalist," P-Orridge
confessed that violin, which figured prominently in the film, was her
favorite instrument and that hearing Conrad's personal story made her
cherish it even more. "I initially wanted to create a scene for the
film on Genesis in which she and Tony would just play the violin
together," says Losier. "But very quickly this idea developed into a
strong desire to see the two musicians I love perform live for an
audience. Even though their paths have not crossed up until this point,
it only felt natural to me that they should."
The Where and When
January 10 at 9 p.m. and January 11 at 4 pm
Issue Project Room
The (OA) Can Factory
232 3rd Street,
3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215
get directions
t: 718-330-0313
contact us
She's done it again! Kristin Goode of About Brooklyn has a nice selection of things to do in January. Here are a few examples. There are plenty more at her site.
Last week in San Francisco we went to the gorgeous new deYoung Museum, designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron and Fong & Chan, and saw an amazing—and very powerful—exhibit called In the Name of God: War, Religion and the Reliquaries of Al Farrow.
In this work, Farrow appropriates and reinterprets the iconography of Jewish,
Christian, and Islamic religious institutions. The Spine and Tooth of Santo Guerro (2007), which is pictured to the left, is an elaborate construction, which looks like a scale model of a European Gothic cathedral.
A closer look reveals
that the entire structure is fabricated from deconstructed gun
components, as well as bullets and steel shot.
I heard from Al Farrow today. He thanked me for mentioning him on the blog. It turns out that he was born and raised in Brooklyn and left 20 years ago for California, where he exhibits widely.