Photographer Jennifer Macchiarelli: Art in Brooklyn
Karen Gibbons at 404 Gallery: Found in Brooklyn
The Sheriff of Yrnameer by Michael Rubens: The Written Nerd
Lower Manhattan architectural contrasts: Self-Absorbed Boomer
Walt Whitman and the Beats: Self-Absorbed Boomer
Mica trail: Brooklynometry
Review of Uncle Vanya at BAM: NY Times
Easter Sunday in Coney Island: Amusing the Zillion
FILM
Alice in Wonderland, Greenberg, The Ghost Writer at BAM; The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Man som hatar kvinnor), Greenberg, City Island at the Cobble Hill Cinema
April 9-May 11 at BAMcinematek: The Films of Jean Renoir, who directed over 40 films that explore enduring themes of individual liberty and universal fraternity. His poetic visual style, a graceful blend of naturalism and artifice, and incalculable influence on world cinema led Orson Welles to declare him “the greatest of all directors.” This 21-film retrospective includes every film Jean Renoir directed in Hollywood exile as well as his early masterpieces and late Technicolor spectacles. All films in French with English subtitles unless noted.
THEATER
April 7-10: Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov performed by The Maly Drama Theatre at BAM’s Harvey Theater at 7:30 PM.
ART
Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Bay Ridge Arts Festival, features local artists, craftspeople, photographers, and musicians raising money for a local arts scholarship fund. Parish Hall at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (7420 4th Avenue).
SHOPPING
Saturday and Sunday: Brooklyn Indie Market on Smith Street. Peruse your favorite indie designers of seasons past and get to meet some new-on-the-scene faces as well, offering the public a first glimpse of the many new names in fashion and product design. After a wintery, three month hiatus, Brooklyn Indie Market designers re-emerge with a new bag of design tricks.
SPORTS
On Sunday April 12, meet Beyonslay, Anais Ninja, and Beatrix Slaughter of Gotham Girls Roller Derby.at Sunday’s Derbytant Ball at Public Assembly with music, food and drinks.
A rock a day: CasaCara
Laura’s live/work studio in Heights: Apartment Therapy
Favorite nook by Emily A. Clark: Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Brownstone
Garden pot pick me up: Design Sponge
Living in: Picnic at Hanging Rock: Design Sponge
Stoop: Brooklynmometry
A writer gets a home office of her own: NY Times
So my sister and I tried to put together the IKEA PS Organizer (pictured), a portable closet on wheels that, according to Hepcat, looks like an oversized shoe bag.
It was a gift of sorts; my sister bought two at Ikea in Red Hook. One in white for OSFO’s room and one in black for Teen Spirit’s They need more places to put their clothing and needless to say there’s not much room in their rooms.
The IKEA PS organizer comes in a long canvas bag that looks like something a foldable beach chair would come in except a lot bigger. I was hoping it would be as easy to put together as one of those chairs.
It wasn’t.
First thing we noticed: No instructions. NONE. Can you believe? I googled IKEA PS organizer and found IKEA instructions online (in PDF form). There were some funny pictures and some hard to follow directions. Friends tell me on YouTube you can find videos of people putting together IKEA furniture. I had my usual reaction to DIY furniture projects.
Panic. Anxiety. More panic. Putting together furniture puts me way outside of my comfort zone.
Diaper Diva was a bit more patient. But just as clueless.
Finally after some deep breathing I was able to wrap my head around the instructions. We assembled the frame and put on the wheels but couldn’t for the life of us figure out how to put on the canvas covering or the canvas shelves. So we just left it until Hepcat got home. He’s a whiz when it comes to putting things together.
“What’s that?” he said. I showed him the directions, which I’d printed out. He chose to ignore the project for the rest of the night.
This morning Hepcat was game. And a little insulting, too. He said we’d put it together in the wrong order. He used some unpleasant words, too. With much sighing and groaning he did put it together fairly quickly. I may forgive him the insulting words.
OSFO has a portable closet/shelf unit in her room. On wheels. Woo hoo. Now on to the second one. Oy.
Starts tonight (Wednesday, April 7th): Brandy Blaha will be presenting all the tap basics for the beginner as well as a stylistic and rhythmic challenge for the more intermediate student at Creative Arts. From simple warm up exercises to complete dance combinations, this class will help develop rhythmic syncopation and eye-ear-foot coordination.
Day and Time:
Wednesdays, 7:30-8:30pm
Location:
119 Union St.
Brooklyn, NY 11231
Fee:
$56 / 4 week workshop
If you missed The Watson Twins playing their brand of folk-rock when they were here in February, you get another chance to see them tonight. But this time, instead of walking over to The Bell House, you have to jump on to the F Train and travel nine stops to The Mercury Lounge to see them. Details over at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
–Eliot Wagner
A mass of living dead creatures will be descending upon the Park Slope Barnes and Noble this Friday, April 9th at 7:30, to celebrate the launch of my upcoming book, The Zombie Combat Manual, scheduled for release tomorrow.
The zombies will be a small part of the festivities that will be taking place. Here are some of the other events:
– Makeup artist on-site to “zombify” anyone who wants to join the ranks of the undead
– Self-defense demonstration of Zombie Combat techniques
– Reading from The Zombie Combat Manual
– Q&A with the author and illustrator.
The book is a manual on fighting the living dead without a firearm; in other words, only non-ballistic weapons and hand-to-hand combat, the idea being, “What if you can’t shoot them in the head?” For a taste of how the book works, you can check out the site created by author Roger Ma, to pitch & promote the book: http://www.zombiecombatclub.com.
Sarah met singer, composer, and instrumentalist Judith Berkson at Barbes to talk about her beautiful new CD Oylam, due out next month on ECM Records. Stay tuned for news about her upcoming shows, including a May record release at Joe’s Pub.
Sarah: What was your earliest exposure to music?
Judith: My dad is a cantor, and he was teaching me all the prayers by ear starting at age three. We had a family band – my mom played piano and we sang three-part harmony. My dad was really strict. He forced me to listen to opera, which at the time I resented, but now I’m sort of glad, because I love it. All the music we had growing up was Jewish music, cantorial recordings, klezmer. Those things stuck with me.
Sarah: When you sing, what kind of sound are you aiming for?
Judith: I want it to sound like someone is talking to you right in your ear. Simple, like recordings from the fifties. Now we have all this modern recording technology, but I love that old sound. It’s like you were right there.
Sarah: Your new CD has a lot of eclectic material. What’s the connecting thread?
Judith: It’s the culmination of four or five years of work. I wanted to explore all the forms I enjoy – lieder, jazz, cantorial music, and the quirky, atonal songs I write – to take them and make them personal. I want to connect directly to the essence of each thing. The editing process was very important. I was trying to cut out anything inessential, like whittling down a piece of wood.
Sarah: I love the Yiddish piece “Hulyet, Hulyet.” It’s stunning.
Judith: Gebirtig is the shit. He was a Polish songwriter, killed during WW2 in the ghetto. In my arrangement I tried to go for an austere feeling to contrast with the lyrics.
Sarah: Is it hard being a singer and having your instrument inside your body?
Judith: It’s not comparable to any instrumentalist. It’s a whole other level of maintenance and neurosis. Obviously you have to practice every day. Not smoke, not drink too much. Not talk too much. It’s a battle.
Sarah: Do you have any rituals before you perform?
Judith: Yeah, I take a Klonipin!
Sarah: What’s more important to you, vowels or consonants?
Judith: What an interesting question! Why do you ask?
Sarah: I guess I really noticed the clarity of your consonants.
Judith: I take that as a compliment. Vowel sounds are so important in the classical way of singing. The vowel is what carries the sound. But I think the consonant is what sets up the vowel to be pure and to be understood. It’s what communicates.
Sarah: Tell me about the cantorial tradition. What is it all about technically?
Judith: It’s modal music, and it’s part of the Ashkenazic tradition. There are different modes for the different services and times of day. Within that, it’s improvised, and each culture and each individual cantor had their own way of using the modes, so there are Polish, German, Romanian styles, etc. Opera was a big influence as well. When I sing this music I don’t even have to think about it. In a way I’m always sort of doing it for my father. I knew he’d get a kick out of the piece I put on the CD because I’m adding chords that are very atypical.
Sarah: How do you use your voice in cantorial music?
Judith: I hear the man sound. It’s not feminine. It’s kind of deep and aggressive. At the same time, you have to be flexible and have a voice that can carry. They do this thing they call a “kvetch” which is when your voice cracks or breaks before a note and it feels like you’re almost crying.
Sarah: When you work as a cantor, do you feel like you have to be holy?
Judith: I’m only the assistant cantor. Belief? I don’t even want to go there. The music is what I focus on. When I sing, I’m trying to create a connection to the beautiful traditions of the past. Institutions are broken. I’m just trying to make people feel good. That’s the only thing that matters to me.
THE VESPER MARTINI
Judith likes vodka and I like gin. Next time we drink martinis, which I hope will be soon, we’ll have to have vespers. The delicious compromise is as follows…
“A dry martini,” [Bond] said. “One. In a deep champagne goblet.”
“Oui, monsieur.”
“Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?”
“Certainly, monsieur.” The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
“Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,” said Leiter.
Bond laughed. “When I’m…er…concentrating,” he explained, “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I can think of a good name.”
-Ian Fleming, Casino Royale
It’s the beginning of the new baseball season and The Baseball Project has just released a brand new song which details its pick for 2010, and get this, it’s The Chicago Cubs. Get more details and legally download your own copy of the song at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
–Eliot Wagner
Sasha Dobson, who has been opening for Norah Jones is back in town and is playing a free show tonight. Details at Now I’ve Heard Everything. But if you prefer not to leave the comfort of your own home, you can still hear live music as WFUV (whose signal is now actually listenable in Park Slope) will be presenting James Maddock live from City Winery tonight and an interview and performance with Peter Wolf, formerly the lead singer for the J. Geils Band, tomorrow night. Details here.
–Eliot Wagner
On April 15, 2010, Brooklyn Reading Works presents its monthly writers’ program on “tax day.” This happy accident, observed last summer in a casual conversation over coffee with John Guidry of the blog, Truth and Rocket Science, resulted in the idea for a panel called “The Truth and Money,” a reading and Q & A with three authors whose work has taken on money in some significant way.
Our three panelists are:
Elissa Schappell, a Park Slope writer, the editor of “Hot Type” (the books column) for Vanity Fair, and Editor-at-large of the literary magazine Tin House. With Jenny Offill, Schappell edited Money Changes Everything, in which twenty-two writers reflect on the troublesome and joyful things that go along with acquiring, having, spending, and lacking money.
Jennifer Michael Hecht, a best-selling writer and poet whose work crosses fields of history, philosophy, and religious studies. In The Happiness Myth, she looks at what’s not making us happy today, why we thought it would, and what these things really do for us instead. Money—like so many things, it turns out—solves one problem only to beget others, to the extent that we spend a great deal of money today trying to replace the things that, in Hecht’s formulation, “money stole from us.”
Jason Kersten, a Park Slope writer who lives 200 feet from our venue and whose award-winning journalism has appeared in Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and Maxim. In The Art of Making Money, Kersten traces the riveting, rollicking, roller coaster journey of a young man from Chicago who escaped poverty, for a while at least, after being apprenticed into counterfeiting by an Old World Master.
Please join us for the event at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, 2010, at the Old Stone House in Washington Park, which is located on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, between 3rd and 4th Streets, behind the playground.
Do you ever wonder what goes on behind church doors on Easter? Here are two sermons from local churches, one a Dutch Reformed Church in Park Slope, the other a Unitarian church in Kensington.
On Easter morning, Rev. Daniel Meeter of Old First Dutch Reformed Church spoke about the church’s painting, The Empty Tomb by Vergilio Togetti. Here is the ending of his sermon.
How do you see your life? How do you summarize the meaning and purpose of your life? The message of this painting today is that the ultimate meaning of humanity comes from outside of humanity and our broken history. The meaning of human life is a surprising gift of God to us. The meaning of your own life. You come like the women, with your need, your loss, your grief, whatever your need may be, and you are given something else, not what you came for, but more, we are surprised by God, a greater gift, the new life of the world. It is for you. Its energy is love.
It strikes me that the women have been captured in a dance. The power of the resurrection has transformed their grief into a dance. Look, the resurrection is about our souls but even more about our bodies, in all their pain and pleasure, and about the place and purpose of our bodies in the kingdom of God. You will need your body for eternal life. For all the dancing. I hope that all the exercise will be dancing.
The ultimate purpose of your body, no less than your soul, is to glorify God and enjoy God forever. So God will let your body dissolve in death, and then raise you again on that great day, reconstituted and reconditioned, without spot or wrinkle, without compromise or weakness, so that you may do what you were given your body to do, to enjoy God forever within the moving circle of humanity. You can practice those steps right now. Read more here.
Here is an excerpt from the sermon delivered by Minister Tom Martinez of All Souls Bethlehem Church in Kensington, an ecumenical community of faith with ties to three liberal denominations: the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Church of Christ, and the Christian Church, Disciples
Do you believe in a love bigger than death?I like that question a lot more than the more typical, “Do you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus?” In certain religious circles that’s often used to weed out unbelievers. Somehow the notion that there may be more than on interpretation of the resurrection story is so threatening the matter gets reduced to an either/or, a “You’re either with us or your against us,” kind of thing.
But asking whether or not you believe in a love that’s bigger than death comes at things from a slightly different perspective. A couple of weeks ago we saw some forebodings of this in the passage in which Mary Magdalene anoints Jesus, pouring expensive oil onto his feet and rubbing it in with her hair. That was an anticipation of the cleansing of his body after death. She clearly loved Jesus deeply.
So much in fact that she was the first person at the tomb and she had more oil. She was prepared to anoint his body again, even after it had been disgraced on the cross. But instead she has an epiphany and sees a living Jesus. Laying aside our scientific minds and embracing the mythopoetic truth of the story, I’d like to suggest that it was at this point that Mary discovered her love was bigger than death.
As a general rule I think it’s always a good idea to ground our theological meditations in the real world. For me, when I think of love and life and death I think of my friend Rob. Many of you know that I go out to Pennsylvania about every other week to visit Rob, who’s been battling Lou Gehrig’s disease for about ten years now and he’s nearing the end of that battle. He spends most of his time in bed, though he can still talk and he’s breathing on his own. Beyond that he needs help to get dressed, to move from his bed to his wheelchair, to do almost anything. But mentally he is completely there, which is one of the maddening aspects of this disease. While your body slowly stops working, your mind observes without losing a beat.
FILM
–Alice in Wonderland, The Ghost Writer, Greenberg at BAM; Tyler Perry’s Why Did We Get Married, How to Train Your Dragon, Care Bears Movie, The Last Song, The Bounty Hunter and More at the Pavilion
–Sat, Apr 3 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:30 PM The Landlord at BAM. Directed by Hal Ashby with Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands. Description: WASP-y rich kid Elgar Enders (Bridges) buys an apartment building in then-gritty Park Slope with plans to evict the current residents and turn it into a ritzy home for himself.
MUSIC
–Sat April 2 at 7PM at The Bell House in Park Slope: Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Penelope, a haunting 60-minute song cycle for female voice, chamber orchestra, and electronics composed by Sarah Kirkland Snider. The New York Times praised the work for having “an elegiac quality that deftly evoked sensations of abandonment, agitation, grief and reconciliation…ably [demonstrating] the poised elegance of Ms. Snider’s writing
–Sat, April 3 at 10PM Red Baraat Festival. Baraat is Hindi for a marriage procession. In North India, it is a tradition on the day of the wedding for the groom to travel to his bride’s home on a magnificently decorated horse, accompanied by family and friends. Red Baraat Marching Band, led by international drumming sensation, Sunny Jain, it is the first and only Indian marching band in the States. Comprised of dhol (a double-sided, barrel shaped drum from Punjab), percussion and horns, this NYC-based group plays traditional baraat songs, Punjabi songs, as well as classic Bollywood numbers and originals. $10
–Sat, April 3 , 10PM until 4AM at The Bell House: NEWMINDSPACE 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY + PILLOW FIGHT AFTERPARTY
ART
–Saturday, April 3rd, 5-11PM: Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. To Live Forever is this month’s theme in honor of the exhibition, To Live Forever: Art and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt. Lectures, film, hands-on art activities and dancing with Egyptian-inspired funk and Afro-beat music.
THEATER
–April 3rd & 4th at 8PM: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at the Gallery Players in Park Slope: “As performed by The Gallery Players, The Crucible is one of the finest examples of [local] theater in recent memory. The ample cast gives strong performances all around. Add in atmospheric lighting and the audience’s rapt attention, and you have a show well worth the ticket.”
-The Brooklyn Paper
SHOPPING
–April 3rd and 4th marks the 4th grand reopening of Brooklyn Indie Market on Smith Street. Touted by Time Out New York, New York Magazine, Italian Marie Claire and fashion blogs as a beloved neighborhood style dealer for your fashion and design fix. Peruse your favorite indie designers of seasons past and get to meet some new-on-the-scene faces as well, offering the public a first glimpse of the many new names in fashion and product design. After a wintery, three month hiatus, Brooklyn Indie Market designers re-emerge with a new bag of design tricks Registration Now Open For New Vendors!
FOOD
–Easter dinner or brunch at Bussaco on Union Street just west of Seventh Avenue in Park Slope.
–Dine inside or out at Benchmark, the new restaurant on 2nd Street just west of Fifth Avenue in Park Slope.
Launchpad
Today is the day–
Hip, hip, hurray!
The launch of the millennium,
Biggest since selenium.
No need to name it,
For that would shame it.
Martians alone
(Sans iPhone)
Are in the dark
About this spark,
All Earth’s mobs
Will huzzah Jobs,
Every tot
Will cheer a lot,
Each alter kacker
And rickety rocker
Will play his part
And praise the art.
Here’s to reliance
On computer science!
The pad’s a maxi
And’s sure to taxi
Mankind to heights,
To the Northern Lights.
And six months from now–
The version with POW!
Half the price,
Twice as much rice:
New functions,
Fixed dysfunctions.
For men, a shaver
That’s a raver;
For women, makeup
For when they wakeup;
Girls’ll get dolls
Look like gunmolls;
Boys’ll love
The baseball glove,
Though oldsters won’t venture
If they’re in dementure.
Are doors open yet?
Get ready, get set!
Apple’s a-horning:
A new world’s aborning.
(Though Amazon’s warning
The thing is a-thorning–
Jeff Bezos says it’s
Really the iPits.)
http://open.salon.com/blog/leon_freilich
At BAM on Saturday April 3rd see a film that takes place in 1970’s Park Slope: The Landlord directed by Hal Ashby with Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands
“Something like a Marx Brothers movie charged up on LSD and left-wing politics… a compelling and adventurous spectacle, which feels simultaneously like a time capsule and a crucial influence on such recent films as The Royal Tenenbaums and Half Nelson.”—Salon
WASP-y rich kid Elgar Enders (Bridges) buys an apartment building in then-gritty Park Slope with plans to evict the current residents and turn it into a ritzy home for himself. When the black tenants refuse to move out, however, Enders is launched into a series of comic misadventures that begin to change his outlook on life and attitude about race. Hal Ashby’s pointed comedy strikingly predicts contemporary concerns regarding gentrification and presents a nuanced, daring exploration of race relations in America that is surprisingly ahead of its time.
FILM
–Alice in Wonderland, The Ghost Writer, Greenberg at BAM; Tyler Perry’s Why Did We Get Married, How to Train Your Dragon, Care Bears Movie, The Last Song, The Bounty Hunter and More at the Pavilion
–Sat, Apr 3 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:30 PM The Landlord at BAM. Directed by Hal Ashby with Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands. Description: WASP-y rich kid Elgar Enders (Bridges) buys an apartment building in then-gritty Park Slope with plans to evict the current residents and turn it into a ritzy home for himself.
MUSIC
–Friday, April 2nd at 7PM at Barbes: Opera is fun. Most people don’t seem to realize how much fun it really is. In order to prove it, Opera on Tap has taken its act to barrooms where they found out that beer on tap enhances the operatic experience. The company is made up of young singers and instrumentalists who relish the direct contact with audiences not inhibited in their reactions by the looming menace of giant chandeliers.
–Also Friday, April 2nd at 10 PM at Barbes: Jack Grace, The Martini Cowboy brings us his urban take on Country music. “One of the city’s most personable and skilled country stars” Time Out NY.
ART
–Saturday, April 3rd, 5-11PM: Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. To Live Forever is this month’s theme in honor of the exhibition, To Live Forever: Art and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt. Lectures, film, hands-on art activities and dancing with Egyptian-inspired funk and Afro-beat music.
THEATER
–April 3rd & 4th; The Crucible at the Gallery Players in Park Slope: “As performed by The Gallery Players, The Crucible is one of the finest examples of [local] theater in recent memory. The ample cast gives strong performances all around. Add in atmospheric lighting and the audience’s rapt attention, and you have a show well worth the ticket.”
-The Brooklyn Paper
SHOPPING
–April 3rd and 4th marks the 4th grand reopening of Brooklyn Indie Market on Smith Street. Touted by Time Out New York, New York Magazine, Italian Marie Claire and fashion blogs as a beloved neighborhood style dealer for your fashion and design fix. Peruse your favorite indie designers of seasons past and get to meet some new-on-the-scene faces as well, offering the public a first glimpse of the many new names in fashion and product design. After a wintery, three month hiatus, Brooklyn Indie Market designers re-emerge with a new bag of design tricks Registration Now Open For New Vendors!
EASTER (with thanks to the Brooklyn Eagle)
–The Annual Brooklyn Heights Spring Egg Hunt takes place Saturday, April 3, 10 a.m. sharp at Pierrepont Playground (Columbia Heights and Pierrepont Streets on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade). Every spring, hundreds of little bunnies and their families turn out to participate. Candy, treats, balloons and good friends have made this a holiday tradition for many families. A bake sale will be held to benefit the Brooklyn Heights Playground Committee.
–Senator’s Easter Egg Hunt: Saturday, April 3, 2 to 4 p.m. in McKinley Park, Bay Ridge Parkway and Fort Hamilton Parkway. Participation is free; the egg hunt will feature music and prizes for the youngsters, who will be occupied searching for the over 1,000 candy-filled eggs. Also part of the fun will be races, face painting and entertainment provided by clowns. (Note: there are long lines and a limit of eggs per child.) For further information, call Senator Golden’s office at (718) 238-6044.
–Urban Meadow’s Second Annual Spring Egg Hunt: Red Hook, 11 a.m. for children 0-4; noon for children 5 and up. Face painting and a real bunny. Bring a basket. Corner of President and Van Brunt streets.
–Prospect Park Audubon Center’s Unscrambling the Egg, from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 3, and Easter Sunday, April 4. Free. The event will feature crafts, games and special exhibits. Enter the park at Lincoln Road and Ocean Avenue, at Parkside and Ocean avenues, or at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard. 718-287-3400 or www.prospect park.org.
–Easter Egg Hunt and Party: Ms. J’s Gymnastics and Dance at 289 Kent Ave Brooklyn, Saturday, April 3, 4:30-6 p.m. Family Fun time after you find all the eggs; limit three eggs per child. (718) 218-7065. Free for registered families, $10 for non registered families.
–Sunday, April 4: Park Slope Parents All Volunteer Easter Egg Hunt: Meet at Third Street and Prospect Park West entrance. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Greeters will send groups of up to 20 people into Prospect Park. Each group appoints a hiking leader, entertainers, egg-hiders, etc. The group will keep their kids occupied with music, tattoos (provided by PSP) or other activity. The last group will be sent off at 11:30. Bring: 1) a dozen or so plastic Easter eggs filled with goodies. 2) props (Easter books, guitar players, shakers, etc.) 3) lunch and a blanket if you want to enjoy the park afterward.
–Meet Your Neighbors Breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt: 10 a.m. Organized by the Friends of Underhill Playground group in Prospect Heights, this potluck breakfast of coffee and bagels will include an Easter egg hunt, rain or shine. Some eggs provided, but bring your own plus baskets. Free, just show up! For more information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/underhillplayground/.
–Prospect Park Audubon Center’s Unscrambling the Egg, from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 3, and Easter Sunday, April 4. Free: the event will feature crafts, games and special exhibits. Enter the park at Lincoln Road and Ocean Avenue, at Parkside and Ocean avenues, or at Flatbush
Paintings by Jonathan Allmaier (see above): Art in Brooklyn
City Walls call for proposals: Creative Times
Music for April: Now I’ve Heard Everything
Looking for pink elephants with MoCADA: The Local
Natalie Merchant new album and tour dates: Bumpershine
Turkish Delights: The Writer and the Wanderer
Maya Lin’s Wavefield: Water Over Rocks
April 2010 movie preview: Free Williamsburg
Three Penny Review 30th anniversary reading: Community Bookstore
Old Mr. Flood by Joseph Mitchell: The Written Nerd
A sermon on our painting: Old First by Daniel Meeter
The group playing at the Lower East Side’s Lakeside Lounge on February 23rd was billed as The Elvis Club. That was a pseudonym for one of my favorite bands of the 80s, The Del-Lords. The reformed Del-Lords, containing all of the original members, played Burnin’ in the Flames of Love, a song from way back then. You can see a video of that performance today at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
–Eliot Wagner
The Brooklyn Artists Gym is stepping up to the next level and looking to bring a Gallery Director on board .
According to a recent email from Peter Wallace, who runs the Brooklyn Artists Gym, they are looking for a Gallery Director who can give the BAG Gallery “a solid, fresh and fiscally fruitful direction.”
Clearly, they need someone with imagination, energy, excellent collaborative skills and terrific abilities in self-direction and follow-through. “We need someone who knows the New York art scene and can think outside that box. According to the email, they are open to new ideas and new ways of doing things,” Wallace writes.
Here’s what they’re looking for in a Gallery Director:
• A vision and plan for the BAG Gallery.
• Execution of that plan.
• Working with artists both at BAG and elsewhere.
• Working with curators.
• Creating and implementing a marketing plan.
• Taking responsibility for the finances of the gallery.
Salary is by commission. (Commission is very broadly defined.)
Applications are being accepted until they find the right match. Take a look at their new website to get an idea of who they are: www.brooklynartistsgym.com
• Email: peter@brooklynartistsgym.com.
• Subject line: GALLERY DIRECTOR APPLICATION
• Include: Current resume; Statement of what you want to do; Three references.
OTBKB is a proud sponsor of the Lyceum Spring Food & Craft Market on May 1 & 2nd at the Brooklyn Lyceum on Fourth Avenue and President Street. This year, the market is taking up two floors of the Lyceum and it should be quite a show. There will be a boatload of high quality artisanal craft and food items, as well as workshops. It should be a fun event.
My pick for this week’s Vendor of the week is: Hammeronsteel: Hot iron & Forged Steel Elements for the Home. They make earring stands, bottle openers, lamps and more. Here’s what they have to say on their website.
Hot steel moves me. So I move hot steel.
Every object I produce is one of a kind, and while there may be some thematic similarities, no two pieces are ever exactly alike. I take great pleasure from creating custom work, so please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have something in mind that you don’t find here.
There’s lots going on on Fifth Avenue this spring and the Fifth Avenue BID sent out some reminders of important events along that illustrious Park Slope avenue.
Logo and Slogan Contest: Just a few more days left in the BID’s logo and slogan design contest. Help rebrand the organization and avenue and win prizes:
FIRST PRIZE: $1,000. SECOND PRIZE: $300. THIRD PRIZE: $100. Submit all entries by email to ParkSlope5AVBID@aol.com by April 5, 2010.
Fifth Avenue Family Festival: Puppetry Arts and the Park Slope 5th Avenue BID are teaming up to bring a
new family event to the neighborhood filled with crafts, games and giveaways. The 5th Avenue Family Festival will be hosted on 4th Street at 5th Ave next to the Old Stone House on Saturday April 24 from 11am-4pm.
Games, Food, Fun…and Free!
Films on Fifth 2010: The Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District is hosting “Films
on Fifth” from April 30 – May 9th. There will 20 films shown in 10 days in restaurants, bars and boutiques along the avenue. Stay tuned for details! Oh, and if you are a film maker or know one, there are still some slots left
to fill. Please drop off three copies of each film at Aunt Suzie’s Restaurant (247-5th Ave, Between Carroll & Garfield) to be considered.
And don’t forget:
Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair: Save the Date: Sunday, May 16th!
The Community Bookstore has reinvented itself as the Community Shoe Store. I kid you not. They’ve spray painted the window and the awning. And in the window there’s an odd and motley assortment of shoes: rain boots, Doc Martins, used sneakers, high heel sandals.
No books. Only shoes.
Once inside, however, it’s the same old store. Books, books, and more books. The shopkeepers are wearing funny hats that say April Fools.
No kidding.
Brownstone resuce: NY Times
Art house B&B in Hamptons: Casa Cara
How to deal with a flooded basement: Apartment Therapy
Stilts and swords: Brooklynometry
Living in a League of Their Own: Design Sponge
Brooklyn General: Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone
Industrial-strength shredders: NY Times
Simone Dinnerstein’s PS 321 Neighborhood Concerts presents Face the Music, an ensemble of 20 classically-trained musicians ranging from sixth to twelfth grade in a concert called “Beating Down the Doors.” In residence at Kaufman Center and founded in 2005 by Music Director Jenny Undercofler and composer Huang Ruo, Face the Music breaks the boundaries of classical music education and performance.
“Beating Down the Doors” brings Face the Music’s youthful energy to works by five living composers. The centerpiece of the concert is the world premiere of Liquid Timepieces by composer and PS 321 faculty member Joseph C. Philllips, Jr. Commissioned for Face the Music by Simone Dinnerstein and PS 321 Neighborhood Concerts, Mr. Phillips’ piece is cinematic in its intensity and expansive sound.
The teen members of Face the Music will also present four of their favorite works: Graham Fitkin’s sax-heavy Mesh (1992); Marcelo Zarvos’ foot-stomping “Memory” from Nepomuk’s Dances (2002); Nico Muhly’s stop-and-start How About Now (2006); and Jacob TV’s Lipstick (1998), with a playback mix based on clips from American talk shows.
Face the Music’s young players will talk to the audience between pieces and take questions at the end of the concert, making this an excellent opportunity for families with children.
Of his new piece, Liquid Timepieces, Mr. Phillips says, “The years 2010 and 2011 are anniversaries of composer Gustav Mahler’s birth (1850) and death (1911). I wanted to celebrate these ‘Jubilee Years’ by writing a work that honors the profound influence Mahler’s music has had on my musical thinking. Liquid Timepieces is my hommage to Mahler.”
A chart-topping pianist, Ms. Dinnerstein founded the PS 321 Neighborhood Concerts series at the public school her son attends and where her husband teaches. The performances, which feature musicians she has admired and collaborated with during her career, is open to the public and raises funds for the school’s Parent Teacher Association. The musicians performing donate their time and talent to the program.
Here is an excerpt from Repeat Until Rich, a new memoir by Brooklyn’s Josh Axelrad about winning and losing $700,000 as a card counting Blackjack player. It was reviewed and excerpted in today’s New York Times.
They called themselves Mossad after the Israeli intelligence agency. The key honcho was a guy named Jon Roth. I met him just once, and then everything started. I took the subway one evening to Park Slope in Brooklyn, buzzed at the address my contact had given, and was let in by a tiny brunette who introduced herself as Bridget Gould.
She showed me up the stairs. The building was a brownstone, singleresidence — all Roth’s. He was a retired millionaire from Wall Street. Israeli-born, charismatic, three to six years older than myself. I knew these things from Garry Knowles, my mentor.
At the second fl oor, I saw a person dealing cards. A dining-room table had been converted into a blackjack table. There was green felt spread over it like a partial tablecloth. Two strangers sat on the player side, chips in the betting squares in front of them. The dealer was Roth, to whom Bridget presented me.
“You’re Garry’s guy?”
“Right.”
He shrugged in response — not without warmth, I thought.
I can’t say what I expected, but he was certainly a human being: large head, heavy build. Either he was muscular or he used to be. His hair was a few inches long, and his brow was pronounced. He might in a previous life have been some kind of ape king, a silverback.
The others sat watching me quietly.
Roth said to one of them, “Chuck, you want to check this guy out?”
“For spotter?”
Roth gave the thumbs-up. The person named Chuck was dark-eyed, perhaps Greek or Latino. He was physically attractive, and it bothered me. My habitual nervousness had been about doubled since I got off the subway, but as I shook Chuck’s hand, it grew worse. I would never fit in with these people.
He led me to a sofa at the end of the room, where he handed me a “shoe” to count down. That’s a big deck made of multiple decks mixed together, six in this case. As we sat, he went over the rules. He would remove a dozen cards or so, then time me as I counted the rest. I had to do it ten straight times, pretty fast, with a limited number of errors.
I passed this test. Shortly after that we had a pizza break. Roth ate standing up, as did Chuck and a bearded guy, Aldous. They were discussing an upcoming trip.
No one addressed me again until Roth had finished his pizza and lit a cigarette. “Ready for the table test?” he asked.
“I hope.”
This was the final exam. Crusts and paper towels were stuffed into the grease-bruised pizza box. Roth began stacking the deck. The Aldous guy sat on one side of me, Chuck on the other.
Over at Now I’ve Heard Everything, check out the very funny video by Jewmongous performing They Tried to Kill Us (We Survived Let’s Eat) which claims to explain the story of Passover “according to Wikipedia.” Jewmongous will be appearing at 92Y Tribeca on Saturday, April 3.
Appearing tonight at The National Underground will be The Demolition String Band who go from country to flat out hard rocking. Details here.
–Eliot Wagner
Pilar Guzman, formerly the editor of Cookie, Conde Nast’s now-defunct parenting magazine is starting a new parenting website called Mom Filter from her Park Slope home.
Here’s the story from the NY Observer sent to me by Verse Responder, Leon Freilich.
“It was definitely a tough experience,” said Pilar Guzman—the popular editor of the mom magazine Cookie, which folded in October—from her place in Park Slope. “I was the rookie who got to do it for five solid years without interruption. It was definitely rough having the rug pulled from under you.”
Ms. Guzman said she’s been concentrating her efforts on two pursuits: wrapping up a cookbook for Cookie and creating a Web site.
The Web site will be called momfilter.com, which she described as a lifestyle site for the modern mom. She’s looking for funding now, and is hoping for a launch date in the fall. She’s working on the site with Yolanda Edwards, another former Cookie editor.
She said she’s excited about the prospect of turning herself over to the Web, and said Cookie could have survived if Condé had invested significantly in the magazine’s Web site. “We had sort of a limited capability of what we could do online, as I’m sure you’re well aware,” she said.
And how has she taken to the transition from 4 Times Square to life at home in Park Slope? “I wasn’t Anna or Graydon, I rode the subway every day!” she said. “If you have your feet on the ground, then that fall from grace is not a fall from grace. It’s like a loss of any job.”
http://www.observer.com/2010/media/exiled-cond%C3%A9-editors-lost-years