Michele Madigan Somerville, a Park Slope poet/blogger/literary impresario has written a 3-part essay for the Huffington Post about the sexual abuse crisis within the Catholic Church. It is very much worth reading. Here’s an excerpt frm part 3 Homophobia and the War on Eros.

To say that Roman Catholic practice is sensual is an understatement. People with little interest in God travel great distances to sit within Catholic houses of worship so as to be moved by their beauty. It is not unusual for even poor Roman Catholics to worship in architectural masterpieces, in perfumed air, as colored beams descend in streams from leaded windows. At the fore of every Catholic church in the world, one beholds an image of Jesus spread open, nearly naked on a cross. Creamy angels and a God we eat. Could a religion be more carnal, more sensual? Almost every poem St. John of the Cross wrote in praise of God reads like an erotic poem. St. Therese of Lisieux is often characterized in art as being in an orgasmic state. Eros has its place in faith and religion. Tamping it down doesn’t eliminate it. Ignoring it doesn’t neutralize it. Our liturgies and temples are designed to arouse us, to bring the beauty of the created world into focus. But the Magisterium clamps down, ruling by fear when it should be guiding with love.

It is inevitable that the tension between Catholic sensuality and its hierarchy’s commitment to repression should give way to perversion. Why does the Catholic hierarchy devote so much ritual and design to awakening sensuality in us, only to clobber it out of out of us? How do we Catholics square naked cherubs in the Sistine Chapel with learning to bring a copy of the Yellow Pages to the high school dance in case the need to sit on a boy’s lap in the car arises (so to speak)?

Why does a religion so erotically charged condemn healthy sexuality in so many ways when it is entirely possible that sexual longing and ecstasy are the closest human beings ever truly get to experiencing the kind of desire and joy we are taught to feel for God? How did sex become more sinful than holy? And if Christ is love, as we Catholics are taught, why must so many women, gay Catholics, and victims of abuse continue to live as collateral damage in the Church hierarchy’s unholy war on Eros?

I am honored to announce that Brooklyn based hip-hop artist and spoken word performer LEMON ANDERSON will be at the Fifth Annual Brooklyn Blogfest.

Wow.

Lemon appeared at the Public Theater in County of Kings, his one-man show, in which his voice moved seamlessly from hard-edged drama to urban poetry, creating a vivid portrait of his difficult yet at times humorous experiences growing up in New York City during the birth of hip-hop.

Lemon is a regular on HBO’s Def Poetry presented by Russell Simmons, an original cast member and writer of Stan Lathan’s TONY award winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway and a Drama Desk Nominee. On the screen, Lemon appeared opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s Inside Man and is featured in the upcoming Dreamworks film The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.

Trust me: you won’t want to miss his appearance at Blogfest.

And you thought SPIKE LEE, iconic Brooklyn filmmaker extraordinaire, was the only big surprise at Blogfest this year. And there are more..

So if you haven’t registered for the Fifth Annual Brooklyn Blogfest it might be a good idea. We’d love to have a sense of how many of you are coming to our fabulous free event.

Free? Yes free thanks to our fabulous sponsors: Absolut Vodka.

It all happens on June 8th at 7PM at the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope.

Also featured: The Big Picture, a video tribute to the great photo bloggers of Brooklyn, Blogging Aloud: a performance of great blog writing and the panel: Create, Inspire, Blog, with award-winning radio journalist Andrea Bernstein as moderator and a table full of interesting bloggers.

How many bloggers does it take to fill the Brooklyn Lyceum? Come find out on June 8 at 7:00 PM when the borough’s most opinionated and dedicated bloggers (and surprise special guests) step away from their keyboards to sound off about how and why Brooklyn remains such a rich source of material and inspiration.

But forget about filling the room. Here’s the real question the Brooklyn Blogfest will answer: How many bloggers does it take to wrap their arms around New York’s most happening borough? So, whether you are a blogger, wannablogger, reader, or media maven, you’ll want to come see for yourself. And meet up with this year’s most tenaciously keen tribe of bloggers as they gather to celebrate all the reasons Brooklyn is such a potent source of runaway creativity.

Since it was founded in 2005, the Brooklyn Blogfest has established itself as the nexus of creativity, talent, and insight among the blogosphere’s brightest lights. This year will be no different as a panel of blogging’s best disect the unique brand of entrepreneurial creativity flourishing here. Also on tap: a video tribute to Brooklyn’s most visionary photo bloggers, special networking sessions for like-minded bloggers (i.e. Blogs of a Feather), the return of the ever-popular Shout-out, when bloggers are invited to share their blogs with the world, and a roof-raising after-party with ABSOLUT^® VODKA cocktails, food and music.

“The borough of Brooklyn has always been front and center in the world of blogging,” says Louise Crawford, founder of the Brooklyn Blogfest and onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com. “Whether you live by a blog, blog to live, or live to blog, you’ll want to come out on June 8.”

The Brooklyn Lyceum

June 8th, 2010 at 7PM

227 Fourth Avenue at President Street in Park Slope Brooklyn

THIS EVENT IS FREE

FILM

Babies, Please Give and Sex & The City 2 at BAM; Iron Man 2, Sex & The City 2, Shrek Forever After at the Pavilion

MUSIC

Monday, May 31, 2010 at 2:30: A Memorial Day concert at Green-Wood Cemetery by the ISO Symphonic Band, featuring select compositions by Green-Wood Cemetery’s permanent residents Fred Ebb, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Paul Jabara. Bring a folding chair, a blanket and a picnic lunch. Cookout food, snacks and drinks, as well as Historic Fund books and apparel will be for sale. Admission to this event is FREE. Location: The Grounds of Green-Wood Cemetery at The Gothic Arch of Green-Wood Cemetery.

THEATER

Sunday, May 30 at 7PM at Barbes: The Twenty-Five Cent Opera Company of San Francisco: theater slash performance slash entertainment brought to you once monthly. Featuring new works for the tiny stage by landscape artist Erin Courtney, theater architect Yelena Gluzman, & word contstruction worker Kristen Kosmas.

DANCE

It wouldn’t be Memorial Day Weekend in Brooklyn without DanceAfrica at BAM with troupes from Zambia, Dallas, Philadelphia and Brooklyn’s own BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble will entertain at the Fort Greene venue, performing traditional dance and music to hip hop. The day will also feature film screenings, an art exhibition, and an outdoor bazaar, with nearly 300 vendors from around the world transforming the streets around BAM into a global marketplace offering African, Caribbean, and African-American food, crafts and fashion.

ART

Also part of DanceAfrica at BAM: May 27 – June 19 (open during BAMcafé hours and by appointment) an exhibition of works by artists Bara Diokhane, Duhirwe Rushemeza, Francis Simeni and Ezra Wube, who all originally hail from various nations on the African continent, will be featured. Each will choose a piece from their oeuvre and pair it with a piece from BAM’s own collection of predominantly American artists. Organized by BAMarts and MoCADA.

FOOD & FESTIVITY

The BKLYN Yard in Gowanus is sponsoring PARKED, a festival of the city’s best food trucks, including traveling pizza vendor Pizzamoto, selections from the Greenpoint Food Market vendors, and Rickshaw Dumplings for the main event. For dessert, there’s almost too much to choose from, from Steve’s Key Lime Pie to Robicelli Cupcakes to Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and the  Green Pirate Juice Truck.

Hudson River Victorian for sale: CasaCara

Discovering more of Philadelphia: CasaCara

A bassinet and a rocker: Swiss Miss

Eco Friendly Expo: Reclaimed Home

Brooklyn Flea finds: Reclaimed Home

Plates by Fornasetti & John Derain: Renovating a Limestone

My daughter and I used to LOVE Music for Aardvarks. We attended classes in Manhattan with MFA founder, David Winestone.

The classes were fabulous. We also listened to the cassette tapes endlessly in the car.

Endlessly.

So I felt a stir of interest when I saw this on Park Slope Parents this morning. There seems to be a whole new Music for Aardvarks in Park Slope. The Group led by Sivan Vigder from Music for Brooklyn and Jo Solomon “are about to give Park Slope the Aardvarks Classes of their lives,” they write.

Happening first: outdoor summer classes in Prospect Park, in 3 locations. This happens July 5th to August 15th for 6 Weeks super Music for Aardvarks Fun.

Register: at www.MusicForBrooklyn.com<http://www.musicforbrooklyn.com/>

As usual I’ll be doing a Weekend List but here are some teasers of things to do Brooklyn style on the upcoming holiday weekend:

There’s Green-Wood’s 12th Annual Memorial Day Concert with compositions by Green-Wood Cemetery’s permanent residents — Fred Ebb, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and Paul Jabara.

The BKLYN Yard in Gowanus is sponsoring a festival of the city’s best food trucks, including traveling pizza vendor Pizzamoto, selections from the Greenpoint Food Market vendors, and Rickshaw Dumplings for the main event. For dessert, there’s almost too much to choose from, from Steve’s Key Lime Pie to Robicelli Cupcakes to Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and the  Green Pirate Juice Truck.

And it wouldn’t be Memorial Day in Brooklyn without DanceAfrica at BAM with troupes from Zambia, Dallas, Philadelphia and Brooklyn’s own BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble will entertain at the Fort Greene venue, performing traditional dance and music to hip hop.

The day will also feature film screenings, an art exhibition, and an outdoor bazaar, with nearly 300 vendors from around the world transforming the streets around BAM into a global marketplace offering African, Caribbean, and African-American food, crafts and fashion.

Just so you know everything that is up with me: today I am going on the Green-wood Cemetery trolley with my relatives, who are in town from San Francisco.

A little sightseeing in Brooklyn.

Turns out that every Wednesday there is a new historic trolley tour at Green-wood. Who knew?

Tours last approximately two hours and feature the beauty of Green-Wood’s grounds, the Cemetery’s history, its bird life, the most fascinating tales of its permanent residents, views of Manhattan’s skyline, The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project and its preservation program, and more.

According to the website, the tour guide, Marge Raymond, fell in love with Green-Wood Cemetery 25 years ago as a birdwatcher and naturalist. She brings to her tours her enthusiasm and passion for Green-Wood’s famous residents, its history, trees and animals. Marge, a professional singer, has been a volunteer since 2002 with The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project and has helped to staff The Historic Fund’s information and sales cart since its inception. She has been known to break into an occasional song during her tours.

Starts at 1 PM.

swiss-miss.com, the popular design blog is turning 5! Tina Roth Eisenberg, who refers to herself as a “Swiss designer gone NYC”, started swissmiss in May of 2005 as a personal visual archive.

The blog receives 900,000 monthly visitors from all around the world. Based in Brooklyn, swissmiss broadcasts with an European viewpoint and a love for clean, Swiss functional design.

Tonight there’s a party in Dumbo at the Galapagos Art Space where Tina will give a very short presentation, looking back at the past 5 years and highlighting discoveries and insights that were had. She’ll also  talk about her eccentric aunt Hugi.

Galapagos Art Space

Wednesday, May 26

Doors open: 7:00 PM
Tix: $10.00

Get out the welcome wagon and bring ’em a tray of daqueris. There’s a brand new blog and it’s our old friends Park Slope Parents. This has been in the work for a long time and it was spearheaded by Nancy McDermott (the so-called Parenting Guru of Park Slope Parents) and Susan Fox (one of the visionary developers of that famous list-serve).

In case you didn’t know, Park Slope Parents (PSP) is the largest and most popular online parenting group in New York City (!). Today they announce the launch of a new local blog.

What’s next? World domination?

The blog will serve as a hyper-local magazine for area families, featuring original content from neighborhood contributors. The PSP Blog, like the Park Slope Parents lists, will be a supportive, fun resource for families in Park Slope and other Brooklyn neighborhoods. “Beyond that, we hope it will function as a point of connection for parents and the community at large,” says Nancy McDermott, the blog’s editor. “Our purpose isn’t to recreate the discussions that take place on our list but to develop and expand on some of the topics and themes relevant to a wider audience.”

The blog will place a strong emphasis on local events such as street fairs and concerts.  It will also tackle community issues such as supporting local businesses, crime prevention, and enriching neighborhood relationships. “We see this as a logical extension of the work Park Slope Parents does with other local institutions, such as the Park Slope Civic Council, the Fifth Avenue BID, the Prospect Park Alliance, the 78th Precinct and Community Board Six,” says Susan Fox, Park Slope Parents founder.

Singer-songwriter Misty Boyce plays The Living Room tonight at 9pm.  What you get with Misty is great songwriting, spirited playing and an energetic crowd.  See Now I’ve Heard Everything for the details.

Can’t get out?  Then try this: Spinner.com is streaming 19 new and soon to be released albums right now.  The artists available include Crystal Caves, Karen Elson, Far, Stone Temple Pilots, The Cure, Solvent, Toots and The Maytals, Betty LaVette, Tift Merritt, Mariana and The Diamonds, Glitch Mob, Peg Simone, Fyfe Dangerfield, Grovesnor, Widespread Panic, Peter Wolf Crier, Sara Jackson-Holman and John Prine.  A little something for everyone.

–Eliot Wagner

I am honored to announce that Spike Lee will be appearing at the Fifth Annual Brooklyn Blogfest on June 8th, 2010 at 7PM at the Brooklyn Lyceum.

Pre-register now.

Witness New York’s bloggiest borough come together to sound off about how and why Brooklyn remains such a rich source of material and inspiration.

Featuring iconic filmmaker Spike Lee and other top entrepreneurial creatives and bloggers thriving in Brooklyn.

There will also be a special performance by renaissance artist and Brooklyn native Lemon Anderson.

Since it was founded in 2005, the Brooklyn Blogfest has established itself as the nexus of creativity, talent, and insight among the blogosphere’s brightest lights. This year will be no different as a panel of blogging’s best disect the unique brand of entrepreneurial creativity flourishing here (moderated by award-winning WNYC radio journalist, Andrea Bernstein). Also on tap: The Big Picture, a video tribute to Brooklyn’s most visionary photo bloggers, special networking sessions for like-minded bloggers (i.e. Blogs of a Feather), Blogs Outloud, actors read from great blogs, and a roof-raising after-party with ABSOLUT^® VODKA cocktails, food and music.

“The borough of Brooklyn has always been front and center in the world of blogging,” says Louise Crawford, founder of the Brooklyn Blogfest and onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com. “Whether you live by a blog, blog to live, or live to blog, you’ll want to come out on June 8.”

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 7:00 PM

The Brooklyn Lyceum

227 Fourth Avenue at President Street in Park Slope Brooklyn

THIS EVENT IS FREE

The 2010 BROOKLYN BLOGFEST is sponsored by ABSOLUT^® VODKA

From the New Yorker

Lethem is headed to California, where he will become the Roy Disney Chair of Creative Writing at Pomona College, a position held by David Foster Wallace until his death, in 2008. I asked Lethem how he felt about leaving a place that has shaped so much of his work. “I take a lot of pleasure in New York,” he said. “But I’m always kind of here in my mind. In a way, I need to be dreaming my way back here. The longing and exile are part of my relationship to writing about this place.”

A change of scenery has worked for Lethem in the past. “The way people respond to this news is ‘Oh no, what will this do to your writing about New York?,’ as though I have to be on the streets. I wrote most of ‘Fortress of Solitude’ when I was living in Toronto and most of ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ at Yaddo.” It may even be, he told me, that getting out of town was necessary to his development as a writer (he lived in Berkeley in his twenties): “There was something about working from the margin and not right under the shadow of the publishing industry. You should find a way to slow that down and dwell in your apprenticeship and take pleasure in being playful and unfinished while you can. Once you professionalize this activity, there’s no turning back.”

There’s lots of music to share with you today.  First, another free and legal download collection, this time from the folks at YepRock.  This  13-song sampler contains unreleased bonus tracks, b-sides and other material.  For more information and the download link, click here.

If you are not the downloading type, how about some music videos?  The first is from Kristin Diable,  a Louisiana native who lives down in New Orleans these days, but who resided in Greenpoint for about five years.  You can find her song, Lines on The Road here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

The other music video is from Court Yard Hounds, the side project of Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, 2/3rds of The Dixie Chicks.  I saw them at SXSW earlier this year and enjoyed their set.  The Coast is the song in the video, which you can see by clicking here.

–Eliot Wagner

Hepcat will be at the Bard College graduation/reunion because, well, he’s that kind of guy. It’s not even his year. Whatever.

I’ll be seeing my good friend Nancy in a Rhinebeck Theater Society production of Heartbreak House in Rhinecliff, NY. If you’re up there come on by.

Billed as the funniest play ever about love, money, and the end of the world, George Bernard Shaw’s Heartbreak House describes a world not unlike our own, where base materialism and raw power threaten the values upon which society is built. Nobody but Shaw could turn such a gruesome situation into three acts of hilarious comedy. And probably nobody but the Rhinebeck Theatre Society would undertake such an ambitious project.

The RTS production is directed by  Ellen Honig, one of the region’s most experienced directors and the ten-member cast includes many names familiar to Hudson Valley theatergoers as well as a few newcomers.

Much of the story of Heartbreak House revolves around Ellie Dunn (played by Dorothy Penz), a young ingénue who intends to attain a life of wealth and comfort by marrying Boss Mangan (Phillip Levine), a ruthless businessman who has amassed a fortune by exploiting others. The action takes place at the home of Captain Shotover (John Adair), a retired, hard-drinking sea captain, who plays the reluctant host to his two daughters and their husbands. Nothing unfolds as expected as each character reveals their true nature and motives over the course of the three acts. Even the burglar who is caught after breaking into the house turns out to be both more and less than he appears at first.

My friend Nancy O. Graham, who stars as Hesione Hushabye, one of Shotover’s daughters, most recently appeared in BOUND, directed by Amy Poux and presented by High Meadow Arts, and in ‘The New Kid,’ an improv play presented in schools as part of the Act/Write! program.

A comedy with a serious underlying message for our time, Heartbreak House, described by Shaw as the favorite of his plays, is a dazzling tale of false appearances and romance set against the backdrop of a troubled, cynical world.

The show runs through Sunday, May 23. Tickets are $20, with discounts for students and seniors. Tickets are available at www.showclix.com or by phone at 1 (888) 71-TICKETS.

Playing at Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Bowl tonight is Harper Blynn.  The band feature high energy pop rock with some nice harmonies added to the mix.  Their album, Loneliest Generation, has been available as a download for a few months and was released as a CD on May 11.  This is the CD release show.   Only downside to tonight’s show is that the G Train turns into a pumpkin – that is, it is replaced by a shuttle bus at 11:30pm.

More details about the show are posted here at Now I’ve Heard Everything and you can see a video of  the CD’s title song, Loneliest Generation by clicking here.

–Eliot Wagner

BROOKLYN FOLK FESTIVAL

May 21-23 at Jalopy, the Brooklyn Folk Festival presents the best in old-time music, blues, pre-blues, jug band music, New Orleans jazz, folk style songwriting, African folk music and Mexican folk music and dance. 7 pm–12:30 am.

DEBUTANTE BALL

On Friday One Story magazine hosts a fun fundraiser in support of their fabulous magazine issued 18 times a year that is a must have for those who follow the art of the short story. Tickets are $50, which includes drinks, hors d’oeuvres, the night’s performance by Wingspace, hobnobbing with some of New York’s finest writers.

ART EXHIBIT

On Friday: Brooklyn College’s Performance and Interactive Media Arts MFA Program are presenting a show about their semester long inquiry of the Atlantic Yards. It’s called: A Question of Domain: Art About Atlantic Yards” and the show begins at 6:30pm in the playground located on 6th Avenue between Dean and Bergen Streets in a U-Haul truck and then continues at Southpaw at 8PM.

American High Style: Fashioning a nation collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

MOVIES

Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, Letters to Juliet, Barbie in a Mermaid Tale at the Pavilion;  City Island, Babies, Exit Through the Gift Shop at Cobble Hill Cinema.

DANCE

Run Up Walls at the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics. Dancers dodge cinder blocks, fly through the air and, as the name suggests, run up walls in the Streb company’s latest. 7 pm.

A year in Springs and how my garden does grow: CasaCara

Exposed brick in any room: Apartment Therapy

Darling Clementine’s cards and wall coverings: Design Sponge

Brooklyn’s bird house: Renovating a Limestone

Reminders: Swiss Miss

City Beams: Reclaimed Home

Tonight’s recommendation is easy: a return engagement for Robbie Fulks and Jenny Scheinman.  But this time they are playing at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan.  Robbie and Jenny played many Tuesday nights in 2009 at their “homedive,” Barbes, when Robbie, who lives in Chicago spent six months living in Windsor Terrace.  Jenny still lives in Brookyln.  More details over at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

When I saw them at SXSW this year, I noted that Dawes played “melodic rock with some nice harmonies.”  That’s certainly the case for their song, When My Time Comes.  You’ll find the video of that song here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

–Eliot Wagner

I just heard about an amazing blog called The Audacity of Pope, written by Raphael Pope-Sussman, a 22-year-old from Park Slope who has testicular cancer. He was diagnosed in December and earlier this month underwent RPLEND surgery and is now cancer-free.

Some of the writing is dark, much of it is funny and all of it conveys a smart,  honest voice that is compelling and very much his own. Pope-Sussman is a junior at Columbia and also, it turns out, the editorial page editor of the Columbia Spectator.

I urge you read Pope-Sussman’s blog. Here is an excerpt from an April post called Standing Tall:

Pope-Sussman is also giving away Rafstrong bracelets (pictured above):

When this all began, my friends joked that I should get bracelets for people to wear, a la Lance Armstrong. Then we actually decided to do it. I ordered a batch of bracelets, in light blue, inscribed with the word “Rafstrong.” At first I was just going to give them out, but then I decided I might as well use the opportunity to do something good for the world. Whenever I give someone a bracelet (they are free), I ask that he donate a small sum to a charity of his choice. It can be any charity, provided it’s not overly political or cancer-related. Donations are on the honor system, but I suggest that people who do donate let me know where they gave, just so I can keep track.

If you’re interested in getting a bracelet, please e-mail gorafstrong@gmail.com. I’ll mail bracelets anywhere in the world, free of charge.

Thank you. And stay Rafstrong!

This event, sponsored by ICE, Teen Spirit’s alma mater, was quite the shin dig I’m told. According to one tipster:

Macon Dead won the ICE-sponsored 5 Borough Battle of the Bands Sunday.  The competition, held at the Bell House, brought together 19 great bands from across the city.

Macon Dead won the ICE-sponsored 5 Borough Battle of the Bands Sunday.   The competition, held at the Bell House, brought together 19 great bands from across the city. Macon Dead includes (left to right) drummer/guitarist Hugo Stanley (Manhattan),  singer/guitarist Lily Konigsberg (Park Slope) and guitarist/drummer Mike Emmerich (also Park Slope).

James Maddock is a favorite of mine and I have a video is from James’ gig just three days ago (Friday May 14th) at The Rockwood Music Hall. The song, Wake Up and Dream, has not yet been recorded. To see it, just go here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

–Eliot Wagner

I wandered into Two Lovers, a stylish, new resale  clothing shop in the space that used to be Matter (Fifth Avenue between President and Carroll Street) in Park Slope.

Oh Matter, remember Matter, that gorgeous contemporary design shop that left the nabe about a month ago but continues on in SoHo.

When Lynette Kirchner, a fashionista who lives on Fifth Avenue and used to work for Eden, Bono’s clothing line, saw that Matter (one of her favorite shops) was out she got to thinking.

Two Lovers is the result of that thinking.

“I love bargains, stoop sales, sample sales. My taste is very feminine,” she told me in her lovely shop that sells a careful selection of clothing from the last twenty years of so.

“I love silk, chiffon, ruffles, patterns,” Kirchner told me. And that’s evident in the clothing she’s collected.

“I’ve got lots more and will keep replenishing from my collection. In a while I may buy from others,” she said.

The store is already popular — and it just opened on Saturday. I spent about an hour in there trying things on — and bought two blouses. My friend bought a patterned blouse and a beautiful denim skirt.

Today a trio of college girls were happily trying on all sorts of frilly things. It’s a fun place to be and the prices are very, very fair.

What fun. Two Lovers: welcome to the neighborhood.

The National play Letterman show: Brooklyn Vegan

Psychological content and color to investigate nature: Art in Brooklyn

Interview with Django Bates: Do the Math

More than 1200 paintings, drawings, photographs, mixed media and sculptures: Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition

On life in a family unfriendly nation: Momasphere

Women’s Film Festival at BAX: Momasphere

Momasphere presents LUNAFEST at BAX.

Filled with stories of reflection and whimsy, hope and humor, grace and perseverance, LUNAFEST films are renowned for celebrating the talents and stories of women. Our films include many off the traditional “festival circuit.” Collectively, LUNAFEST films captivate audiences, compel dialogue and arm those who participate with both the knowledge and the motivation to make a difference in their communities.

From quirky animation to touching documentaries, this year’s 10 selected films are incredibly diverse in both style and subject matter, united by a common thread of exceptional storytelling by…for…about women.

Price: Tickets are $20 online and $30 cash at the door.

Space is limited so please RSVP by purchasing tickets online. Tickets at the door are cash only and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click Here for more on Momasphere and LUNAFEST Women’s Film Festival..

Come Here Often?

Elena Kagan’s making the rounds

(Even if it’s something she’s hating)

Of the U.S. Capitol —

Call it Senatorial speed dating.

PARK SLOPE HOUSE TOUR

This Sunday marks the 51st Annual Park Slope Civic Council House Tour.  The self-guided tour features seven beautiful homes, followed by a panel discussion on how to make your home more environmentally friendly (moderated by yours truly).

Tickets are $20 in advance, via the Civic Council’s web site or available through tomorrow from many local businesses

Tickets can also be purchased on Sunday, for $25, at the tour’s starting point, the Poly Prep Lower School, at 50 Prospect Park West, near the corner of 1st Street.

All of the profits from the house tour are redistributed by the Park Slope Civic Council in the form of grants to local non-profit organizations.  Click here for more information about the house tour; to purchase reserved tickets, click here.

FILM

Please Give, Babies, and Exit Through the Gift Shop at BAM.

WRITERS READING

A new reading series called “Six O’Clock Shadow” at Barbes on Friday May 14 at 6PM with Honor Molloy, Rosemary Moore, Lisa Shea, Alison Smith.

THEATER

The Gallery Players present “City of Angels” through May 23rd. With multiple sets, a large cast, frequent costume changes, and the need for over-the-top performances that don’t go too far over the top, City of Angels is an ambitious choice for an Off-Off-Broadway theatre company. However, the folks at The Gallery Players are more than up to the challenge. The five-piece band is excellent, and the cast handles the humor, singing, and costume changes with aplomb. City of Angels [is] a delightful musical. -Wendy Caster, Show Showdown

The Creditors at BAM. Directed by Alan Rickman, this fiercely modern battle of the sexes comes to BAM following a sold-out run at London’s Donmar Warehouse (RED, Jude Law’s Hamlet, Frost/Nixon). A darkly comic tale of vengeance, jealousy, and psychological warfare, Creditors unfolds as a young husband (Tom Burke, in his New York debut), anxiously awaiting the return of his new wife (Olivier Award-nominee Anna Chancellor), falls under the sway of a mysterious stranger (Tony Award-winner Owen Teale).

MUSIC

On Friday at the Bowery Ballroom: Doors open 7:30, show at 8:30PM. The Loom, a great Ditmas Park band that plays at Sycamore, will open for The Mother Hips, These United States. Loom’s rich amalgam of folk and americana-influenced indie rock features male and female vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, French horn, trumpet, piano, pedal steel, bass, drums, ukulele, accordion, and banjo in songs ranging from gentle to anthemic and built around subtle, affecting lyrics.

May 16 at 7PM at Barbes: New Music Sundays: A New Music Series curated by Richard Guérin and Giancarlo Vulcano presents HEBREW SCHOOL David Griffin’s Hebrew School is a soft-psych interpretation of ritual, atheist rant, the renewal and failure of culture, quasi-biblical meditations on violence, and fragmented prayer. Oh, and a sappy love song or two.

BIKE SHOPPING

May 16 10AM until 4PM: The Bike Jumble in Washington Park (Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope).  A note from the organizers: “Just like last year, we’re holding the Brooklyn Bike Jumble in Washington Park. Dealers from all over the east coast and from New York City will be there to sell bikes, bike parts, t-shirts, clothing, and really anything bike related! This year, the Fifth Avenue Streetfair will be on as well, so food options and other shopping options abound!”

CONEY ISLAND VELODROME EXHIBITION

Strong Backs and Weak Minds on view at the Old Stone House through June 21. The Coney Island Velodrome opened on July 19, 1930, as the world slipped toward the Great Depression and war. The track became the last velodrome in America offering the thrills and chills of motor-paced racing, where riders raced behind motorcycles to attain speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour.

The exhibit features bikes that were raced on the track, as well as photos, programs, tickets and other ephemera, including a special ‘Stayer’ bike for motor-paced racing and New York-built track bikes from long-forgotten builders.