I ran into a friend and OTBKB reader at PS 321’s Winter Carnival who appreciated the post in OTBKB about Park Slope’s Cynthia Wade, the documentary filmmaker, who won an Oscar for “Freeheld” at this year’s Oscar’s.

My friend, Mary Engel, is a documentary filmmaker herself. The daughter of legendary photographer Ruth Orkin, she produced and directed the film, Frames of Life, about her mother.

She just completed a film about her father, Morris Engel, who directed the groundbreaking film, Little Fugitive, about a boy who gets lost in Coney Island in a style that is said to have inspired Francois Truffaut and many others.

Between neorealism and the nouvelle vague stand Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin, whose independent feature Little Fugitive (1953) has been credited — by Francois Truffaut, who ought to know — with providing both spiritual imprimatur and nuts-and-bolts strategies for the French New Wave

A Borax crystal snowflake grows in Brooklyn (Brooklynometry)

Target opens at the Junction (Brooklyn Junction)

Faces and Names (Callalillie)

1 dead and 2 cold case arrests (2008 Murder Book)

A new kind of mugging in Park Slope (Gowanus Lounge)

SCHLEPPING AS PREPPING

One day in the future our children will bear

The entire weight of the world on their backs;

Is that why we burden them now and here

With a ton of books in their shoulder packs?

Photo by Ashley No

New Tibetian restaurant on Cortylou (Ditmas Park Blog)

Is grey hair good for your sex life (Full Permission Living)

Colbert Report slams 6-year-old graffiti punk (Brooklyn Optimist)

Brooklyn College Target: mostly yay (Brooklyn Junction)

The Juliet and the Camelot (Brooklynometry)

Polytechnic University will merge with NYU (NY Times)

Green building for Center for Performance Research (NY Times)

5 boro rentals under $1,200 (Reclaimed Home)

Well, I said it on Brian Lehrer Live so I might as well say it here:

The 3rd Annual Brooklyn Blogfest will be on May 8th, 2008 at 8 p.m. at the Brooklyn Lyceum on Fourth Avenue and Union Street right on top of the R train’s Union Street station.

Couldn’t be more convenient or accessible. And it’s a perfect space for the Blogfest because it’s HUGE. Come one, come all to the Brooklyn Blogfest.

Details to follow. Save the date.

It’s getting very meta meta. But Michael Musto is really funny.

Heath Ledger died in the nude, but most of today’s young female stars live in the nude, albeit while teetering on the precipice of oblivion and trying to join him there. Whereas yesterday’s sexpot Jane Fonda had to apologize just for saying the word cunt, most of these refreshingly shameless bimbettes are only sorry when you can’t see theirs, even if the exposed pubes give the lie to their natural blondeness

.

Photo by Howard Huang. Please don’t sue me.

"Fleeting
Memories," is a web
book by Park Slope poet Michael Ruby with
many
pictures
about
forgetting and
remembering
and
parenting
in
the
period
around
9/11.

It is featured
on
the
website
of
acclaimed
Brooklyn
publisher
Ugly
Duckling
Presse:
http://www.uglyducklingpresse.org/

Here
is Michael Ruby from the introduction: "This is a collection of
memories that popped into my mind over a period of seven years at work,
as a copy editor at The Wall Street Journal, across the street from the
World Trade Center. As far as I can tell, the memories came from
nowhere, with no relation to the mostly political articles I was
editing about the Republican takeover of Congress, the government
shutdown, Monica Lewinsky, the Starr Report, the downfall of Newt
Gingrich, impeachment, Florida or Bush v. Gore. Many of the memories
are glimpses of places, a street corner and nothing more, as if a major
function of the mind were this continuous global positioning, this
continuous murmuring, ”Right now, I’m at the corner of 10th Ave. and
64th St.” The places are distributed fairly evenly over the course of
my life, with a somewhat disturbing precedence given to the streets
around my childhood home at 251 Montrose Ave. in South Orange, N.J."

There are more than two thousand memories here—listed and numbered. The book is a slide show with old photography and memorabelia. I like that each memory is expressed in one sentence. Ruby spent years writing down these one sentence recollections,  images, moments in time.

It’s very moving, very interesting, very addictive. I look for people and places I know. It evokes memories in me. They are random, unchronological, of large importance and small. Here are just a few:

228.  Stopping at a pizzeria with Louisa and the baby Charlotte in Staten Island in ’94
329.  The face of Journal editor Ron Smith anytime from ’86 until he died of AIDS in ’94
505.  The Kentile building in Brooklyn’s Gowanus on a dreary day during my New York walks
687.  Playing stickball with Carl Adamo on the blacktop at Marshall School in 7th grade

I will be talking about place blogging with Steven Berlin Johnson and Brian Lehrer on Brian Lehrer Live at 7:30 p.m on CUNY-TV.

You know, Brian Lehrer of WNYC. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. His TV/web show is called Brian Lehrer Live.

Brian Lehrer, the popular host of WNYC’s award winning "Brian Lehrer
Show," hosts a live, hour-long weekly television program
web-extravaganza through CUNY TV.

"Just like the WNYC show, Brian Lehrer Live will be trying to get at the truth about life and politics in New York City. But
unlike the radio, we are focusing through the lens of the new media
empire forming on the web: Bloggers, reporters and pundits forming an
unprecedented level of access to information and a whole new set of
news challenges. The show examines the affect that
internet has had on our daily lives, from candidates fund-raising
online to community groups e-organizing, and we want you to come
participate in carving out a niche in how the web affects the news. The
show will continue to provide the direct access to major news makers
that you’ve come to expect from someone like Brian Lehrer. We’ll also
invite people to send in photos and original videos that say something
meaningful about life in New York today. And, as on the radio, we’ll
find our ways to sneak in some fun!"

The program is cablecast in New York City on Wednesdays from 7: 30
p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and is simulcast live and archived online at www.cuny.tv. We want your original content! Submit an idea for a segment, a guest, or your own home grown video to us through our website at http://bllblog.org

To interact with guests and offer your opinion about topics
discussed on the show, call (212) 251-0801 on Wednesday evening from 7:
30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The red chair is waiting for its fate to be decided in the corner of the dining room. I moved it there on the day I decided that I’d had enough of the red chair.

So the red chair is in a very transitional spot in the corner of the room. At first I put it on its side so that it wouldn’t take up too much room. But OSFO insisted that I put it right side up so that she can sit in it when we eat dinner.

OSFO likes to eat in that chair. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so dirty. I should have put the kibosh on eating in the living room but I never did.

So the fate of the red chair is undecided. Yesterday two OTBKB readers came over to look at the chair. They seemed to like the chair. The guy said it was too big from the start. But the young woman seemed to want to make it work. We measured the chair for them.

"Now go home and measure in your living room," I said.

The young woman called and said that when they measured the living room they realized that the chair was too big for the room. Turns out that Mrs. Kravitz, our downstair’s neighbor, might be interested. Her living room is big and she’s been wanting to get rid of what she calls her yellow "grandmother chair."

I don’t know if the chair literally belonged to her grandmother or not. I haven’t heard from Mrs. Kravitz since yesterday. She hasn’t come up to take a look at the chair. I hope that doesn’t mean that she’s lost interest.

It might be nice to have the chair in the building not far away.

The question caught my eye on Park Slope Parents this morning and it seems to have elicited quite a few responses from other PSPers.

The woman who asked has family in Boston and is considering a move to be closer to them. Trouble is: she’s hooked on the Slope. Items of importance: public
transportation, a sense of
community
and
kid-friendliness.

Answers came swiftly from the oh-so-resourceful list-serve. Cambridge was mentioned most often for its similarities to Park Slope. It’s even called "The People’s Republic of Cambridge."

(I always say Park Slope is a college town without a college.)

The Boston Children’s Museum and the Museum of Science were mentioned. Boca
Grande,
the
burrito
place
on
Mass.
Ave between
Harvard
and
Porter
Squares, was cited for its delicious lemon
chicken
burrito.

Newton, Somerville,
Jamaica
Plain,
Watertown,
Belmont, and Arlington were also mentioned. 

Easily overlooked lesions tied to Colon Cancer study finds (NY Times)

RIP Tony Silver: Director of "Style Wars" (NY Times)

Many options for giving babies away (NY Times)

More on the MTA Proposal (Brooklyn Junction)

DUMBO rezoning plan (McBrooklyn)

Feel the Rush (Brooklynometry)

Go stick it in yer ear Brooklynites tell Domino’s (NY Daily News)

Brooklyn College plans to open first dorm by next spring (NY Daily News)

Upcoming Brooklyn Community Board Meetings (Gowanus Lounge)

Around the park (A Year in the Park)

Bad Girl Brooklyn is hosting the Brooklyn
Blogade on Sunday, March 9, at 12 p.m., in Kensington at the Old Brick
Cafe, a little Italian/Balkan/Mediterranean restaurant on Church
Avenue. Please come and participate in the show and tell.

The Brooklyn Blogade is a monthly gathering of Brooklyn Bloggers. Inspired by the annual Brooklyn Blogfest, every month Brooklyn bloggers spread the blogging gospel, network and discuss blogging in a different Brooklyn nabe.

Remember show and tell in kindergarten? At Bad Girl’s Blogade, bloggers are encouraged to be brave and give a
reading from one of their best blog posts. Or bring along your laptop
and a screen and show us your best pics. Or just tell us about your
best post. Please plan to limit your presentation to about five minutes
so everybody can have a turn.

The Old Brick Cafe’s owner, Eddy, and I have planned a lunch, so please arrive on time at noon.

For a cost of $15 per person (tip at our discretion), the menu includes:
–salad
–an appetizer pastry called burek
–a main course of cevapi (shish kebab), chicken cutlet or vegetarian lasagna
–dessert and coffee

We will have the place to ourselves as a private party, and you may bring in a bottle of wine if you care to BYOB.

Because
Eddy’s restaurant is charmingly small, it is essential that I give him
a headcount. Please RSVP with me by Thursday, March 6, and be sure to
tell me what you want as your main course. Send your reservation to: mybadgirlblog@hotmail.com

The
Old Brick Cafe is located at 507 Church Ave. between Ocean Parkway and
E. 5th Street (very close to the Church Avenue stop on the F train, and
not too far from the Q stop on Church Avenue).

Posted by
Joyce Hanson


at

Yesterday Teen Spirit noticed the post on OTBKB about the red chair. "Are we getting rid of the red chair?" he screamed from the back of the apartment.

He was really upset.

"That’s a great chair. You can’t get rid of it," he pleaded.

Then OSFO chimed in. "You are not getting rid of the red chair. Say it, "I will not throw away, give away or sell the red chair."

The chair was removed from the living room in the middle of last week. It’s been on its side in the dining room for days. I guess they were in denial about it.

What’s a mom to do? The chair takes up too much space in our newly truncated living room. It’s like a black hole in there occupying a corner, blocking the window.

It’s just too big.

I understand how kids get attached to things. They’ve spent many a cozy time in that chair. Am I cruel? Am I not sensitive to their needs? Am I being a terrible mom?

I don’t think so. The chair is old. The springs are coming out of the
bottom. It’s dirty. Sure, it’s a fancy chair. My mother had it made at
a snazzy upholsterer in Soho. It’s a good chair. The cushions are  down
filled. It’s ULTRA SUEDE.

"You’re always changing things," he said. "When you’re upset you always move the furniture," Teen Spirit told me. He’s kind of right. When I’m upset I move things.

P.S. The chair is still available.

Debbie Galant is a novelist who writes about the "dark heart of suburbia" and runs, with two others, the New Jersey blog, The Barista of Bloomfield Avenue. She’s been a good friend and advisor to OTBKB since the beginning and she wants you to buy her book.

Yoga, Fear, and the Audacity of Hope

No, I’m not stumping on behalf of Barack Obama, but I am attempting to borrow some of his mojo. You see I have the audacity of hoping that you won’t just congratulate me on the publication of my second novel – FEAR AND YOGA IN NEW JERSEY – but that you’ll actually buy it.

Thanks ahead of time for your well wishes, but what I really need are sales. And here’s the part that’s going to make me sound like a pushy bitch from one of my novels: I’m asking you to buy my book this week. Why? Because if I can concentrate sales into a single week, I have a chance of making a bestseller list. I have a chance of breaking through the 172,000 other titles that get published in the United States each year. I can keep doing what I do best: satirizing the dark heart of suburbia.

I don’t know Oprah and I don’t know Stephen King, but I do know you. Maybe we went to school together. Maybe I helped you start a new business or taught you about blogging. Maybe you wrote to me after reading my first book, RATTLED, or I spoke to your book group, or came to your library.

Yes, I know. You’re only one person. But I have the audacity to hope that you’ll be my Oprah. Be part of the movement. Please buy FEAR AND YOGA IN NEW JERSEY today.  Go here for links to local and national booksellers. Read the first chapter here.

Complete with a nice map, check out Brooklyn Junction’s post about this possibility raised at yesterday’s first ever State of the MTA address.

Performance and burlesque artist Victoria Libertore, aka Howling Vic says: "Why
wait
for
someone
to
give
you
permission
to
perform?"

She’ll share
her
unique
approach
to
creating
original
performance
through
the
use
of
archetypes,
physical theater, viewpoints
and
improvisation. The first session is TONIGHT.

Aw come on. Just do it.

Create your your own work with Downtown
NYC
sensation
Victoria
Libertore
To
register,
call
BAX
at
718-832-0018
Tuesdays,
March
4-25,
7pm-9:30pm
Tuition:
$125

If
you’re
new
to
making
your
own
work,
you
will
learn
the
process
of
transforming
an
idea
into
a
performance
piece.
If
you
wish
to
delve
deeper
into
an
already
existing
piece,
you
will
learn
tools
to
command
the
stage
and
methods
to
refine
your
work
and
characters.
Both
text
based
and
movement
based
work
are
welcome.

Victoria
Libertore
(Howling
Vic)
is
performance
artist,
actress,
playwright,
and
improviser.
She
has
created
and
performed
her
work
throughout
NYC
at
venues
such
as
BAX,
Dixon
Place,
Joyce
SoHo
&
PS122
as
well
as
in
Boston,
DC,
Philly,
Provincetown,
Montreal
and
Toronto.
Victoria
has
taught
sold-out
burlesque
workshops
at
Brooklyn
Arts
Exchange
and
Groove
Mama
Ink,
archetype
workshops
and
improvisation.

Victoria
has
a
BFA
in
Theatre
Performance
from
Otterbein
College.
Her
studies
include
Balinese
mask
with
Per
Brahe
and
Grotowski
with
Raïna
von
Waldenburg.
To
learn
more
about
Victoria,
visit
www.howlingvic.com.

A friend sent this to me for those
who
want
to
exercise
their
fingers
to
combat
global
warming
in
a
creative
way. Read this and pass this along:

Knitty
City
will
host
a
workshop
on
March
8th
to
teach
the
skills
needed
to
create
your
own
woolly
reef.
Saturday,
March
8,
from
12-4.

Coral
reefs
around
the
world
are
dying
off
at
rate
faster
than
the
rain
forests,
a
development
many
attribute
to
global
warming.
In
response,
Australian
twins
Margaret
and
Christine
Wertheim
of
the
Institute
for
Figuring
have
put
out
a
call
for
citizen
craftspeople
to
help
fashion
a
giant,
exponentially
expanding,
crocheted
coral
reef,
which
has
been
called
global
warming¹s
equivalent
of
the
AIDS
Quilt
project
and
which
was
inspired
by
the
Great
Barrier
Reef
of
the
twins¹
homeland.

Now,
New
Yorkers
have
been
invited
to
create
a
New
York
crochet
coral
reef
of
our
very
own,
to
be
displayed
at
the
Winter
Garden
of
the
World
Financial
Center.
We
need
all
the
help
that
we
can
get
put
this
wonderful
project
into
action.
In
order
to
do
so,
we
need
to
recruit
as
many
crochet
enthusiasts,
environmentalists,
family
and
friends
to
participate
in
this
community
effort.

The
workshop
is
free
and
open
to
the
public
on
a
first-come,
first-served
basis.
For
further
information,
call
212.998.2100
or
visit
www.nyu.edu/fas/institute/nyih.

TEXAS SHOOTOUT

Hillary and Obama

Are in a dead heat;

If she loses today,

Hillary’s dead meat.

An OTBKB reader sent me this tip about something beautiful to see: it’s an icy wonderland on the corner of St. John’s and Seventh Avenue. Better hurry cause it’s probably melt today when temperatures reach 54 degrees.

I
just
thought
that I’d
let
you
know
about
something
beautiful
that I 
saw
today. 
You’ve
got
to
see
it
before
it
melts. 

On
the
corner
of St.
Johns
and
7th
in
the
flower
beds
of
the
Presbyterian
church, 

there
is
a
crazy
ice
wonderland!! 

It
doesn’t
make
any
sense. 
I discovered
it
at
the
same
time
as
the
Reverend
of
the
church. 
We looked
in
awe. 
I
can’t
even
describe
it
and
my
photos
don’t
do
it 
justice. 

Please
go
see
it
if
you
get
the
chance
before
it
warms
up 
this
week. 
If
you
go,
make
sure
that
you
walk
down
away
from
the 
corner. 
There
is
some
ice
by
the
church
sign
and
then
some
really 
kooky
stuff
in
the
next
flower
bed
down.

I found this in my in-box this afternoon. It helps to explain what’s been going on with the asbestos removal near the Carroll Street F & G stations According to Tom Gray, the final air monitoring results were below the NY State acceptale clearance levels. No more work is expected in the "foreseeable future."

In regards to Councilmember de Blasio’s inquiries about the asbestos
removal work that occurred this past weekend (March 1) near the Carroll
Street F G station, please be aware that this was a NYC Transit asbestos
removal project in three manholes along the F line south of the Carroll
Street Station to facilitate battery and control cable replacement.  The
contractor was removing cable insulation, duct sleeves, duct seals and
debris.  The work started at midnight on Friday night and was completed
at 7:15 pm on Saturday evening.  The air monitoring consultant for the
abatement project was on site at all times, and NYC Transit had asbestos
monitoring personnel on site during the project.  The final air
monitoring results were below the NY State acceptable clearance level of
0.01 fibers/cc.

The only asbestos-related complaint was an alleged open dumpster at
street level.  The dumpster was checked by the NYC Transit
representative, the contractor and the consultant and it was found to be
closed.  The NYC Department of Environmental Protection visited the site
at 4:00 PM on Saturday, inspected the dumpster and noted no problems.

This project was finished on Saturday, March 1 and we will not be
returning to the area for any similar work in the foreseeable future.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to
contact me via e-mail or telephone.

Tom Gray
District Director 
City Council Member Bill de Blasio

(718) 854-9791
(718) 854-1146 Fax

The following expresses the view of my mom.  To me, her thinking’s the
result of being Bushed.  But then, she thinks mine is Hillaryous.

   NOT TO BE PASSED OVER

He’s chilly toward the Israelis

And won’t be at our seder

But he blasts the Gospel of Greed

So I’m voting for Ralph Nader.       

The store is located on Seventh Avenue between Union and Berkeley and there’s a sign in the window that says they’re looking for counter help and managers over there.

And they’ve come out with the signage and everything. No more secrets, no more hush hush. It’s called:

Yogo Monster.

Obviously it’s a frozen yogurt place. But beyond that, does anyone have any info? I don’t see it on google other than all the times it’s been mentioned on Brownstoner and Gowanus Lounge.

Another swastika found on Brooklyn Hts. building (NY Times)

I Write in Brooklyn. Get Over It. (NY Times Book Review)

The Vale of Cashmere in Prospect Park (NY Times)

5 Boros: Which is the best value? (Reclaimed Home)

Dining table = Pool table (Reclaimed Home)

In honor of Schnäck (Brooklynometry)

Rustik Tavern in Clinton Hill (Clinton Hill Blog)

Tracks of My Fears (Luna Park Gazette)

Here’s something new from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living:

Earlier this week British researchers made headlines with their report that antidepressants are for the most part ineffective. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/26/do-antidepressants-actual_n_88523.html)

But in a fascinating development, now researchers point to growing evidence that depression might actually be good for you. (Is Depression Good for You?)

Interesting. I have very often told people that their "problems" were not their problem, but rather that their judgments of their problems were their problem. And when I taught my class on psychopatholgy, I felt that the best moments were when we examined our "disorders" and "dysfunctions" as adaptations and devices that perhaps regulated the pace of our unfolding into our higher life path. The caterpillar’s coccoon is an apt analogy. Created to protect the caterpillar while it is maturing into a butterfly, the coccoon is quite functional, but to the butterfly needing to spread its wings and fly, it is dysfunctional, something necessary to get out of in order to survive. So, too, with our human emotional and psychological defenses. They are created to help us survive the vulnerabilities ofchildhood, but then we need to shed them in order to soar as adults.

Here’s some excerpts from the article on depression:

"A leading psychiatrist, Dr Paul Keedwell, an expert on mood disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, says that depression is not a human defect at all, but a defence mechanism that in its mild and moderate forms can force a healthy reassessment of personal circumstances.

"There are benefits and that’s why it has persisted. It’s a tough message to hear while you are in depression but I think that there’s a life afterwards,’ Keedwell says. ‘I have received e-mails from ex-sufferers saying in retrospect it probably did help them because they changed direction, a new career for example, and as a result they’re more content day-to-day than before the depression."

"One woman left an abusive relationship and moved on, he says, and might not have done so if depression had not provided the necessary introspection. Similarly, unrealistic expectations are revised when depression sparks a more humble reassessment of strengths and weaknesses. Psychological unease can generate creative work and the rebirth after depression brings a new love affair with life.

"Aristotle believed depression to be of great value because of the insights it could bring. There is also an increased empathy in people who have or have had depression, he says, because they become more attuned to other people’s suffering."

This from NY 1:

Riders of the F or G train may want to leave extra time for their commutes today.

Signal and track work is knocking out service on both lines in parts of Brooklyn through 5 a.m. Monday.

F trains won’t run between the Jay Street and 4th Avenue/9th Street
station. Riders should switch to the D train at 4th Avenue/9th Street
for service to and from Manhattan.

And G trains won’t be running between the Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Smith-9th Street stops.

Free shuttle buses will run between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and 7th Avenue in Brooklyn.

"These are life lines, the G in particular," said City Councilman
David Yassky. " They have no other choice. You know, people get very
frustrated."

Yassky said that he has been pleased with the number of transit
workers available to inform riders of the service changes and help them
onto the shuttle buses.

You can read about it on the MTA website, too.

Prices for most Metrocards going up this weekend (NY Times)

Rafael Viñoly designing the new addition to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (NY Times)

Jehovah’s Witnesses hit the streets in Brooklyn Heights (Brooklyn Hts. Blog)

Nice shot of the Hotel St. George (Brooklyn Hts. Blog)

Interview with Brooklyn’s ghostbuster (Brooklyn Optimist)

RIP: Barbara Seaman, author of The Case Against the Pill and Free and Female (NY Times)

New Gowanus photo gallery (Gowanus Lounge)

Brooklyn Industries on Seventh Avenue moved into its new corner space on 9th Street and temporarily vacated the store next door while workmen fix/refresh/renovate things in there.

Next week, the two storefronts will become one when a sheet rock wall is removed. Voila: a bigger Seventh Avenue Brooklyn Industries.

Some new merch in the shop but still a lot of sale items. If you’re a small size maybe one of the long down jackets will fit you. The price is good.

They’re selling woolen hats and scarves for $9 bucks.

It was so cool having two bookstores right around the corner. Seventh Avenue Books and Park Slope Books both added so much to the intellectual landscape of Seventh Avenue between 3rd and 2nd Street.

First Seventh Avenue left. Now Park Slope Books.

I feel like a spurned book lover.

A few
month’s ago Henry’s tutor asked if there was a Bible in the house and
we couldn’t find one. Omigod there’s no bible in the house That explains a lot.

A few days later I went into Park Slope Books and bought a beautiful edition of the Torah and New Testament.

Park Slope Books was great for those kind of impulse purchases. And I’m so glad to have those religious tomes around.

Every inter-faith household needs a Torah, a New Testament…

What will we do when we need a quick Torah, an anthology of international poetry, a copy of some book by an author we discussed at dinner.

Sadly, Park Slope Books is nearly done moving all of their books out of the store. The packing went fairly quickly.  Now it’s just bookcases in there.

The store has an outpost in Brooklyn Heights called Brooklyn Heights Books. The owner is a friend of my father. I’ll have to find out why they decided to close the shop.

My guess: high rents and low revenues. But maybe it’s something else. You never know. Tom, the owner of Seventh Avenue Books claimed that sales were pretty good in his shop. But then again he was trying to sell the shop.

Truth is, Tome sold for personal reasons and maybe Park Slope Books reasons are personal, too.

You never know.

pix by Phil Moore