I am reprinting this story from last year about my niece, The Underwater Ballerina, who turns 23 today, the same day as Ducky. Happy Birthday UB.

Yup. The Underwater Ballerina, who at four was the flower girl at our wedding, turned 22 yesterday. And she’s a gorgeous, accomplished, and talented young woman. Interestingly, she has the same birthday as Ducky (my sister’s daughter).

The Underwater Ballerina just graduated from college and she’s gonna be a marine biologist; we always knew whatever she did, she’d be a success. She was the most adorable four-year-old on our wedding day in July 1989.

And she took her job very seriously. Our floral designer gave her a white basket full of white rose petals and told her to throw the petals up in the air with abandon. She even demonstrated.

The Underwater Ballerina walked down the aisle (while my opera singer friend sang Schumann accompanied by her pianist husband) and threw the white petals up in the air with great enthusiasm just like the flower lady had told her to do.

The crowd went wild—they loved it. And maybe they laughed, too. But our little flower girl thought she’d done something wrong and she cried and cried. She cried through the ceremony until her mother felt compelled to take her out. I remember trying to listen to the rabbi while listening to our flower girl cry.

I think she still has that white basket with the dried white petals in it; a reminder of that big day.

She cheered up later and we have pictures of her dancing with relatives and having great fun during the reception. But there are a few shots of her sad, sad face during the ceremony. We tried to explain to her that the guests were laughing with her not at her. But that’s a hard concept to explain to a four year old (even a super, super smart one like she was).

I wonder if she still has that basket in her childhood bedroom. I remember seeing it once on a high shelf.

But she’s on to bigger things now. The Underwater Ballerina is a marine scientist, who is compassionate and smart with a great sense of humor and leadership qualities up the wazoo. We always knew whatever she did she’d be a great success. And we were right

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had never eaten at Flatbush Farm and wondered if  anyone like to join me for lunch?

Well, one OTBKB reader responded and we had a lovely lunch. But not at Flatbush Farm. The place does not serve lunch except on weekends. We met at the farm anyway and admired the bar sign which is BARN with the N blacked out.

Nice.

My Lunch Date suggested Miriam on Fifth Avenue but sadly that was closed, too. We ended up at Brooklyn Fish Farm, a place I love. I told him I’d been meaning to go in there because there’s a waitress in there that worked at Two Boots for years. She’s one of the great Park Slope waitresses and I’ve been meaning to find out her name.

My Lunch Date reminded me that he makes music podcasts. He’s also the person who turned me on to Amy Rigby’s site, The Little Fugitive a site I love because I was an Amy "Diary of a Mod Housewife" Rigby an back when that CD first came out.

My Lunch Date was kind enough to make a podcast of more recent Amy Rigby tunes, as well as a a mix podcast with Rigby, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons and many more. I told him: "We have the same taste in music."

I asked My Lunch Date to share with OTBKB readers what he’s doing and tell them how they  can get some. Here’s the info he sent me.

Like many people, I have been making mix tapes for decades.  At the turn
of the 21st century, I moved from tapes to CDs.  Whatever the medium,
the way I would go about creating the mix was the same: find an idea (a
sound or a lyrical theme) and find songs based that idea that would flow
from one to the other.

About two years ago, it occurred to me that the way to overcome the one
idea limitation of the mix was to have a break between sets of songs. 
As a former DJ (at the University of Pennsylvania’s carrier current in
the dorms station, WQHS) I knew the way to create those breaks was to DJ
the mix.  And the idea of creating  one’s own show now had a title:
podcast.  So I went out and bought a stereo microphone, hooked it up to
my computer and in November 2005 created my first podcast, Best of
2005.  I did two more podcasts in 2006, including Best of 2006.

This year, I’ve had more time to devote to my podcasts and have done
four so far.  I expect that I will have done six by the end of the year
(and there will be a  Best of 2007).

My podcasts are available to members of the Idiots Delight Digest, a
group loosely organized around Vin Scelsa’s  WFUV radio show, Idiots
Delight.  Although this group discusses music, the topics can and often
do roam.  One of the latest topics was which team’s hat will Tom Glavine
wear on his Hall of Fame Plaque (the consensus was Atlanta, even among
Mets fans).

However, I have arranged for your readers to be able to sample my latest
podcast, cleverly titled August 07, at:
http://www2.bigupload.com/download_frame.php?id_file=46416C4B

I forget who My Lunch Date, the OTBKB reader I met for lunch at Flatbush Farm except it was closed and we ended up at the wonderful Brooklyn Fish Farm, told me about this piece on Andy Bachman’s blog. We were talking about the pros and cons of technology and the way that it can speed things up but not necessarily improve the quality of life. He also mentioned a new book he said is in the window of the Community Bookstore called "The Cult of the Amateur." I’m glad I searched out Andy Bachman’s post. Here’s an excerpt from Kaddish for Blackberry. Read more here:

That pesky little creature has left me. It stopped working, like ET’s
failing inner heart, moments before we boarded the plane to Israel in
early July. (Practically a sentient being in its own right, I think it sensed that
I was moving from denial to acceptance over the death of the idea:
being available 24-7. It’s just not sustainable for a guy like me.)

Right in Bay Ridge  spotted a sign in the window of New York City Councilman Vincent Gentile’s district office (8703 3rd Ave.) about helping victims of the Bay Ridge tornado:

Monetary donations are suggested for those wishing to help the American
Red Cross, who are now providing aid to our neighbors affected by the
tornado.

Please make checks / money orders payable to:

The American Red Cross of Greater NY

* Note on the check / money order "Brooklyn Tornado"

You may drop off your donation with a staff member inside or mail your donation to:

American Red Cross, Brooklyn Office
100 Pineapple Walk
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Thank you so much for helping the Red Cross help our Neighbors from Bay Ridge and other parts of Brooklyn!!

This from the New York Daily News:

According to the NYPD, units have been deployed with radiological
sensors, and checkpoints have been established at specific entry points
into Manhattan, including the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, as well as
the Manhattan Bridge.

The center of this threat is reportedly the 34th Street area.

The report was based upon postings on an Israeli website which said
an Al-Qaeda video suggested a truck with radioactive material may be
detonated within the city, as well as other locations such as Los
Angeles.

This just in from OTBKB commenter, Petunia:

Your OTBKB reader’s nemesis is "clearly" in the wrong and sounds like a
miserable person to encounter w/ dogs or without, but that said, if
your dog is in a public dog run and has been allowed to get overexcited
to the point of "tussling," don’t let yourself off the hook so fast
either.

I personally avoid the Fifth Avenue dog run for these very reasons
– there’s no getting away from an overexcited dog, and a dog coming
into a dog run in that state can quickly cross the line from "play" to
aggression.

Often in those cases the owner isn’t paying attention to
the warning signs and then takes a "dogs will be dogs" attitude, which
can be a bit infuriating. Just because there’s no blood doesn’t mean
it’s ok for the other dogs and owners to have to put up with it.

[The OTBKB reader] said the other dog was out-of-control excited as well, which would make
a problem pretty inevitable. Just think about the playground, same
basic considerations apply – if one kid pushes another kid in
"excitement", then that kid’s parent needs to take charge, not make
excuses, whether or not anyone was hurt.

It doesn’t mean you have a
monster dog or anything, it’s not really the dogs’ fault – I just wish
people would exercise their dogs a little before coming into the dog
run, to take the edge off so problems like this can be avoided. There’s
an excellent Dog Whisperer episode about dog park etiquette I wish all
dog owners would watch.

So take your pooch for a good long walk before
letting her loose in the run, keep a closer eye out for signs of play
getting too rough for one dog or the other, and hopefully you won’t
have to worry again about some crazy dog person getting all crazy on
you.

From our bedroom window, we’ve been  listening to the far off sound of sirens. It’s been constant for almost an hour. They could be as far away as Flatbush Avenue. Anyone know what’s going on?

HOME MOVIE DAY 2007!

Anthology Film Archives

32 2nd Avenue

New York, NY 10003 USA

Telephone: (212) 505-5181

Fax: (212) 477-2714

"There’s no such thing as a bad home movie. These mini-underground opuses are revealing, scary, joyous, always flawed, filled with accidental art and shout out from attics and closets all over the world to be seen again. Home Movie Day is an orgy of self-discovery, a chance for family memories to suddenly become show business. If you’ve got one, whip it out and show it now." –John Waters

It’s back!! The 5th Annual Home Movie Day returns for another celebration of films by you, your parents, your grandparents, your neighbors, genuine strangers and total weirdos. HMD 2006 was an overwhelming success with events in over 40 cities throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan. This year promises to be bigger and better because YOU will be bringing YOUR 8mm, Super 8mm or 16mm films to Anthology where they will be inspected and projected for all to observe. Motion picture archivists will be on hand to discuss film preservation and to give tips on how to save your precious movies before it is too late.

Sorry, but only films will be screened at this event, which means NO HOME VIDEOS (however video-makers should definitely come and see what they are missing).

Screenings will be first come, first served and we will not be able to screen more than one or two reels per person. Whether it is the day you lost your first tooth, an unknown cousin’s graduation or Grandpa in his Cadillac, we want to see those movies! Please contact andrew@anthologyfilmarchives.org for more information, or check out our site: homemovieday.com.

Seeing Green had this to say about Wednesday’s subway crisis and the behavior of cyclists. Read more at Seeing Green.

It is said that adversity brings out the best in people. Not,
apparently in some of the cycling populace of New York (or is it
Brooklyn alone?). Yesterday’s storm caused commuting chaos, what with
subways closed, roads gridlocked and buses jammed.
So many were forced to walk on the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges
from our fair borough to Manhattan (as an aside, I must say that I am
very impressed by these commuters; faced with the walking to work, I’d
taken the day off.) You would think this would bring out a camaraderie
in the cyclists, preferring to see pedestrians rather than the mass of
commute vehicles normally around. But apparently not. Streetsblog ran a
post asking "How was your commute?" which had dozens of lively, entertaining stories about how bad it was and how people coped.

But what stood out, and I will admit to succumbing to the tyranny of
small numbers (where one places undue focus on a small number of events
rather than statistical norms, kinda like remembering the few times
your bus was late rather than the majority of times you did not have to
wait long,) is the sheer stupidity of certain cyclists. Faced with
hundreds of people walking the bridges, they had the temerity to
complain about pedestrians who impinged on their sacred bike path space.

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UPTON NY
436 AM EDT FRI AUG 10 2007
...SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS...HEAVY AT TIMES...COULD
PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING ACROSS NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK
CITY THIS MORNING...
.AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER PENNSYLVANIA WILL TRACK JUST SOUTH
OF THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREA LATER TODAY. SHOWERS AND
POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY THIS LOW...WHICH MAY RESULT
IN FLASH FLOODS.

WESTERN PASSAIC-BERGEN-EASTERN PASSAIC-ESSEX-HUDSON-UNION-
NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)-BRONX-RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND)-
KINGS (BROOKLYN)-QUEENS-
436 AM EDT FRI AUG 10 2007
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM EDT THIS
AFTERNOON...
THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR
* PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHEAST NEW YORK...
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY...
BERGEN...EASTERN PASSAIC...ESSEX...HUDSON...UNION AND WESTERN
PASSAIC. IN SOUTHEAST NEW YORK...BRONX...KINGS (BROOKLYN)...
NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)...QUEENS AND RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND).
* UNTIL 2 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON
* SHOWERS THIS MORNING ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MODERATE TO HEAVY IN
INTENSITY AS THE MORNING PROGRESSES. AS SUCH...RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN
ONE AND ONE AND A HALF INCHES ARE ANTICIPATED. LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. WITH A SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL IN
THE RECENT PAST...SOIL MOISTURE LEVELS ARE ALREADY HIGH...WHICH
WILL INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT RESULTS IN RUNOFF. THIS
WILL TAX LOCAL SEWER SYSTEMS AND RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT RAPID
RISES ON SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS...AND COULD RESULT IN FLASH
FLOODS ACROSS THE WATCH AREA.
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.
YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION
SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.
$$

Issuing Weather Forecast Office Homepage 

Thanks to an article in the Brooklyn Paper, I just discovered Everyday Trash, a blog that examines the art and politics of the world through the
lens of garbage. It is written by Leila Darabi, a Brooklyn-based
journalist and nonprofiteer.

When my friends think of me, they think
of trash. They send me postcards of garbage dumps and email me links to
articles on the solid-waste industry. If they hear a story on the radio
or spot a television program mentioning trash, they call me. Sometimes
they even give me presents made from garbage. They do this because I am
a garblogger—someone who writes about garbage and posts those musings
on the Web. While I don’t presume to be the world’s first garblogger,
I’d like to think that if someone were to draft Wikipedia entries for
the terms garblog, garblogger, and garblogging, none would be complete without a link to my site, everydaytrash.

I
started everydaytrash in August 2006 to share with the world my wonky
fascination with the things people throw away, an interest developed in
journalism school while researching the politics of trash in New York
City. To me, trash was a political issue, and what interested me was
the enormous amount of money my city paid to export our trash to other
states.

An OTBKB reader sent in this story of her "nightmare at the Fifth Avenue Dog Run."

I had a terrible experience today at the Fifth Avenue dog run. An aggressive truck of a woman with a shepherd mix and an
abundance of leisure time stopped me and my dog from entering the park,
and by "stopped" I mean physically blocked the entrance, called me a
"bitch", and said that my dog and I would enter "over her dead body."

I wish that I were joking about this.

It was like walking into an episode of COPS.

Now
I’ve dealt with my share of crazy dog people before but this lady was a
whole new level of lunatic. She calIed me Dorothy and accused me of
being from Kansas. KANSAS!

This would not stand. Rather than face a physical confrontation
with this stool sample I called the cops on her after she quite
elegantly volunteered to "kick my ass." The police were nice enough to
stop by and let her know that she was neither the boss of the dog park,
nor the President of Armenia.

I had unfortunately previously encountered this beastly woman. I
warn you Park Slopers to tread carefully because the wicked witch may
come for you and your little dogs next.

A few months back our dogs
were in the park together with a few others. This woman…let’s just
call her Ava Braun was waving a stick in the air to throw. My dog
(being a dog) jumped up to get the stick. She was less than a year old
at the time and still mastering the command "Down".

Ava yelled out "You
had better get your dog off of me. I have a head injury." Now in
hindsight this should have been abundantly clear. However at the time I
apologized and pulled my dog back. Then at some point during the course
of play our two dogs got into a tussle. Nothing too vicious mind you,
no blood or anything, just your average carried away dog scuffle. So
Ava pretty much lost her shit on me all while warning me that she may
indeed lose said shit. "Get your fucking aggressive dog out of here
before I lose it!"

I am sure I asked her not to swear at me and assured her that my
dog was not aggressive but had just gotten overly excited as her dog
had seemingly also done. This just seemed to make Ava angrier and
apparently "we would no like Ava when she angry". So the pooch and I
decided to abandon the park for the time being and pray for a return to
a Democratic regime.

That was the last time we had the misfortune of running into Ava
until today’s sorry incident. I pray that this will be the last I see
of her but I seriously doubt it. Ava has a lot of free time but only so
many more summer afternoons left to ruin. The boyfriend will be coming
with me to the park from now on just in case she wants to get frisky
with me again.

Incidentally my dog came home from the day’s events and viciously
licked my feet for a while, ferociously attacked an ice cube, and
passed out while I was rubbing her belly. Clearly we are both a menace
to society.

CHECK OUT: http://rightinbayridge.blogspot.com/

From her weather observation tower on Coney Island, here’s today’s weather by Rose:

Sunshine and high temperatures will prevail today. Close to 90 degrees. Late this evening there will be thunder showers and rain will continue all day Friday.

The weekend is going to beautiful. And not as humid. The weather is going to drop into the 80’s but sunny and no rain.

Do tell what the Brooklyn Tornado of 2007 was like for you….

For obvious reasons. No, it’s not a Jewish holiday. A tornado wreaked havoc and much damage there yesterday. There’s a great pix on the Bay Ridge Rover.

All it takes is a fierce storm and 1.7 inches of rain to put the transit system out of service in this big city of ours.

That’s a scary thought. The New York Times’ has a thorough examination of what went wrong. The same thing happened in 2004 and an investigation laid the blame on NYC Transit. Well, here we aer three years later.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Props to Ed and Celia Weintrob and everyone at the Brooklyn Paper for this distinction. The Suburban Newspapers of America cited general excellence but gave special praise to the paper for its coverage of the Atlantic Yards. I am looking forward to my drink with my esteemed editor, Gersh Kuntzman (see quote below):

The Brooklyn Paper is a Suburban News­papers of America’s “Newspaper of the Year,” the group announced on Monday.

Finding that “The Brooklyn Paper was strongly and brightly written
throughout,” SNA’s judges heaped special praise on the newspaper for
its reporting on the Atlantic Yards mega-development.

“The Brooklyn Paper’s aggressive, read­able coverage of local developer Bruce Ratner stood out,” they wrote.

The SNA is a leading newspaper professional and trade association,
representing more than 2,000 daily and weekly newspapers in both
suburban and urban community markets across the country. The contest
was judged by the American Press Institute.

The Paper was cited for general excellence in its category of
newspapers, the com­petitive class of larg­est circulation week­lies.

Publisher Ed Weintrob said he was particularly pleased that the
judges singled out The Paper’s Atlantic Yards coverage for praise.

“This story — the biggest Brooklyn story in our lifetimes — is one
we’ve stayed with over four years, despite strong commercial pressures
to do otherwise, and despite appearing out on a limb, given the
determination of other New York newspapers to either ignore it or
misreport it.”

Publisher Celia Weintrob said her staff “should be rightfully proud to receive this recognition of their outstanding work.”

Paper Editor Gersh Kuntzman was less florid. “It is customary for
editors who bring home awards like this to get hefty raises,” Kuntzman
said. “I will use a portion of mine to take the entire staff out for a
well-earned drink.”

Turning to The Brooklyn Paper’s back pages, the judges celebrated
the newspaper’s “accessible and reader-friendly” color classifieds.

Up front, the judges praised the “use of graphical elements, [which] illuminates and draws readers into stories.”

The City Room has this link for periodic updates on all subway lines. Check here.

New OTBKB reader, Miss Ginger, is looking for someplace to live. Anyone know of anything? She’s looking for a two-bedroom rental and wants to pay $2,400/max. in Cobble HIll, Park Slope…

I’m just getting to know Brooklyn. what are the BEST local papers?
I’m a New Yorker for 30 years and am letting go of my rent-stabilized
Manhattan apartment.

Looking in Cobble Hill, Park Slope for a 2 bedroom. WHERE do I find
the best classifieds? And I MUST have street life, looking forward to
community.

Any friendly suggestions?  Bulletin boards?  Bookstores?  I can’t wait!!!

Leave comments or email me louise_crawford (at) yahoo dot com.

Got this email from Benjamin Wilson who runs Cockabilly Records here in New York City.

August 16-19, we are hosting the 2007 Coney Island Rockabilly Festival in Coney Island.

We have over 100 performers booked for four days of festivities.

We are featuring rockabilly, surf and psychobilly bands, burlesque
performance, sideshow acts, roller derby events, pin up contests and
hopefully a tattoo show, b-movie screenings and some hotrod showings.

We put this event together out of nowhere in hopes of bringing all
these scenes to Coney Island at the same time to give Astroland a
classy send off and to celebrate the things we love about Coney Island.

We have performers coming in from as far away as Austin, Montreal, New
Orleans, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Boston and even one from Amsterdam.

Our hope is that the festival becomes an annual event that draws people
from around the world to come to Coney Island to celebrate the artistry
that keeps our scene alive.

We were hoping that in light of the size of the event and current
changes in Coney Island, we might consider posting our press or
discussing our events.

Again we are a homegrown production company doing this to promote the New York scene and to promote Coney Island.

Anything you could do to help us spread the word would be greatly appreciated.

For more information: Benjamin D. Wilson (cockabilly records) 203 313 6499 or check their My Space page. See schedule of performers below on OTBKB.

This from New York 1 as of 10:40 am:

Transit officials urged New Yorkers to delay their morning commute
after severe weather flooded numerous subway stations and roads
throughout the area, leading to massive mass transit delays during the
morning rush.

NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges says the subway system could
not handle the morning rush, and that he guesses it will take at least
until noon or later to get all of the system back up and running
normally.

"No subway line right now that is running at full normal of its
route, so if people are at home, they’re about to leave their house,
advice to you is don’t,” said Fleuranges. “If you can delay your
commute, if you can go in a little later, do so cause right now we
probably can’t handle you and we probably can’t get you from point A to
point B."

As of 10 a.m. there was no service at all on the L, 3, V, W, and G
trains. Also in Brooklyn little or no service on the 2, the F, the B/Q,
or the N, which was not running Manhattan-bound between Coney Island
and 36th Strett.

In Queens, there was no E train service.

Also in Manhattan, there was no 1 train below 14th Street, and no trains in Manhattan on the 4/5/6 line.

As of 10 a.m., limited service had been restored on the Port
Washington Branch on one of the two tracks with residual delays of 30
minutes. Earlier, service was suspended due to flooding conditions at
Bayside. The railroad also said it was experiencing 25 to 30 minute
delays systemwide as a result weather related flooding in several
locations.

Just before 9 a.m., MetroNorth reported that all service –
northbound and southbound – has been restored on the Hudson, Harlem and
New Haven Lines through the Mott Haven area. All service is operating
through the area slowly and customers will be significantly delayed.

Reports of storm damage are coming in from all around the boroughs.

A heavy storm with tornado-like winds ripped the roofs off several
houses in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, damaging several houses
and downing a number of trees.

Flatbush residents also reported damaged houses and crushed cars along several blocks.

Power outages were also reported on Staten Island as a result of flooding.

The storms prompted the National Weather Service to issue a tornado
warning for Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens shortly before 6:30 a.m.
The warning expired at 7:15 a.m

For a listing of all the winners and for more information on how to enter next year’s contest, go to www.bbg.or

This from New York 1:

Residents working together to make a greener Brooklyn were rewarded for
their efforts at the 13th Annual Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest
Tuesday.

Sponsored by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, organizers say the
contest not only builds greener streets, but stronger communities, as
well.

"It’s really the block that does it," said Scot Medbury of the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden. "And your neighbor that you don’t know, maybe,
comes and rings your doorbell and gets you to plant something, and then
everybody starts to build community around such a positive thing as
plants and beautification."

This year, judges emphasized tree bed gardening.

In a contest with over 230 participants, winning is no small feat.

"We bad! It feels really good," said First Place Block resident Dave smith. "I like getting the reward for all the work."

August 16, 2007 – Intoxicating Nell and Cockabilly Records Present The Holy Roller Sideshow Burlesque Revue !!

Rockabilly !! Surf !! Burlesque !! Sideshow !!
Otto’s Shrunken Head NYC  9pm – 4am !! Free !!

August 17, 2007 – JT and Cockabilly Records Present Cha Cha’s on the Boardwalk’s Big Burlesque Blow Out !!

8pm – 4am !!!! Coney Island NYC USA !!!!
With Burlesque Performers from all over the United States,
North America and Europe !!!! Over 50 acts !!! $20

Starring !! 
The Legendary Bonnie Dunn,
Stormy Leather,
Kiki Clutch,
Damiana Dolce,
Weirdee Girl,
Lucy Buttons,
Lady Satan,
Burgundy Brixx,
La John Joseph,
Plum Manchego,
Blackie Deuce,
The Lady Aye,
Claire De Lune,
JZ Bich,
Fifi Dupree,
Pepper Minsky,
Amelia Danger,
Run Around Sue,
Rubie Fizz,
Anabel of the Ball,
Jelly Boy The Clown,
Lil Miss Lixx,
Crimson Boudoir,
Pookie Patootie,
Agent N,
Raven Isis,
Pandora,
Howling Vic,
Mini Malicious,
Albert Cadabra,
Moxie Block,
Kit Cat,
Ghoul A Go-Go,
Dottie Lux,
Gal Friday,
Bonnie Voy’Age,
Ruby Valentine,
Little Darling,
Tigger,
J.Cannibal,
Mary Widow,
Sugar Dish,
Machete,
Joey Martini,
Lulu Lollipop,
Ginger Leigh,
Ava Capri,
Cherry Bomb,
Key
Hocake Honeybuns
and The Charming Trickster Nelson Lugo !!!!
Live Surf and Rockabilly With The Holy Roller Sideshow !!!!
Main
Stage, Cages, Poles, Side Stage With Sideshow And A Brooklyn Rooftop
All On The Boardwalk By The Sea And Under The Stars !!!!
Don’t Miss It !!!!

AUGUST 18, 2007 – Cockabilly Records Presents
The 2007 Coney Island Rockabilly Festival !!!!

Sasquatch and the Sickabillys !! Fury 3 !! Tombstone Brawlers !! Jason
James and The Bay State House Rockers !! Susquehanna Industrial Tool
& Die Co. !! Fisherman Orchestra !! Sean Kershaw and The New Jack
Ramblers !! The Holy Roller Sideshow !!

Live Sideshow With The Charming Trickster Nelson Lugo, The Human Floor,
Jared The Conjuror, Jelly The Clown & The Electric Sideshow !!!!

Outside on the Boardwalk !! 12pm – 8pm !!!! Free !!!!

Ride The Cyclone !!! Take a Trip on the Ferris Wheel !!!
See Dante’s Inferno !!!!
Ever seen a man pound a nail into his head ? And like it ?

Come Be A Part of History And Give Astroland Amusement Park A Classy Send Off !!!
We’re Talking Classy People !!!!
Sponsored by Deno’s Wonder Wheel, Sam Ash Music and Cockabilly Records !!!

August 18, 2007 – 9pm-4am !!!! JT and Cockabilly Records Present The
2007 Coney Island Rockabilly Festival After Party and Roller Derby
Rumble !!!!

Cha Cha’s on the Boardwalk !!!! Coney Island NYC USA !!!!

Real Live Roller Derby Girls !!!!

Contests !!!! Prizes !!!!

The Human Floor Is Set To Go For A Guinness World Record !!!!

Live Wrestling With The Boston League of Women’s Wrestlers !!!!
Full Blown Cherry !!
El Jefe V. Demons !! Soul Reapin’ 3 !! Panty Raid !!
Sideshow and Burlesque !!!!
And Chicks Beating The Crap Out Of Each Other For Fun !!!!

$5

August 19, 2007 –
JT and Cockabilly Records Present !!
The 2007 Miss Pin Up Coney Island Contest !!!!

Cha Cha’s on the Boardwalk !!!! Coney Island NYC USA !!!!

Contestants Posing in Live Installations !!!!

Surf and Rockabilly Music All Day Long !!!!

$500 cash prize for the winner !!!!

Instant Fame and International Notoriety !!!!

Starring !!
Kit Cat,
Claire De Lune,
Cherry Bomb,
Pandora,
Amelia Danger,
Lucy Buttons,
Jasmine Blushes
& More !!!
Now Seeking Contestants !!!!

Come See Who Cha Cha Will Crown Miss Pin Up Coney Island !!!!

Day 4 of the 2007 Coney Island Rockabilly Festival !!!!
$5

Also, Don’t Miss !!!! Brooklyn Strongman Sean Kershaw Presents His
Sunday Honky Tonk !!!! Hank’s Saloon, Brooklyn, NYC !!!! Finger Lickin’
Barbeque !!!! Live Surf and Rockabilly !!!! Bands to announced !!!!

Liberty Heights Tap Room has been sold to the owner of Rocky Sullivan’s, a Manhattan pub well known for its literary readings (Rocky’s readings). LHTR owner, Steve Deptula, will continue to program the Rockin’ Teens Showcase one Saturday per month.

The very first reading at Rocky Sullivan’s of Red Hook will be on August 27th. And what a reading it is.

Monday August 27th, 8pm
CHARLES J. HYNES
Triple Homicide

The debut novel from longtime Brooklyn district attorney Charles "Joe"
Hynes, Triple Homicide is the gritty saga of two generations of New
York City police officers fighting to stay on the right side of the
law.

In the early 1990s in New York, easy money stands to be made at every
turn, and temptation proves a bitter struggle for the young and
much-decorated NYPD Sergeant Steven Holt—and for Steven and his
uncle Robert, an officer before him, an increasingly violent mess
endangers their careers and the reputation of the entire department.

Born out of real stories of corruption and centered around two men who
ultimately dare to challenge the fabled "blue wall" of silence, the
novel works toward a majestic courtroom on Long Island, where Sergeant
Holt is about to stand trial for triple homicide and where, as he
comes to know his past, he’ll learn that nothing he’s known has ever
been as it seemed.

All readings are free, books available for sale at the bar during reading

Rocky Sullivan’s of Red Hook
34 Van Dyke St
Brooklyn, USA
tel: 718 246 8050

This from the New York Times’ City section:

A book about Brooklyn published by the Wilderness Press? Turns out it’s a wonderful idea. Adrienne Onofri’s “Walking Brooklyn: 30 Tours Exploring Historical Legacies, Neighborhood Culture, Side Streets, and Waterways” ($17.95) is a charming, practical and informative guide to seeing the familiar and undiscovered features of the borough on foot.

Ms.
Onofri was three blocks from the World Trade Center on 9/11, and her
book represents the culmination of a personal quest. “I have wanted to
do something to express my affection for New York and my pride in its
recovery,” she writes. “Writing a book that encourages people to
explore and appreciate the city turned out to be that thing.”

Eleanor Taubman over at Creative Times has been busy meeting and interviewing puppeteers. Read her recent interview with Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo.

Eleanor says that her passion lies in revealing the creative brilliance of people everywhere and in connecting those people to one another.”

Have you checked out OTBKB’s Brooklyn Summer Guide: the August edition? Look what’s up for this week:

Indie Market on Smith Street.  This and every Sunday, a collective of Brooklyn-based emerging designers show their wares of
fashion, accessories, bath and beauty, pet gear, home-goods and more.
11 am to 7 pm. Smith and Union streets.

Dulaney Banks at Superfine on Sunday August 5th. 8-9 p.m. (Think Janis Joplin and Robert Johnson in high school). 126 Front Street in Dumbo

Lauren Hill at the MLK Concert Series on Monday, August 6th. 

A Bollywood classic film at Celebrate Brooklyn on August 10 in Prospect Park.

This from New York 1:

A 15-year-old girl was recovering Saturday after she was injured on a ride at Coney Island.

Investigators with the Buildings Department say the teen was hurt
when a lap bar on the Polar Express ride apparently broke while the
ride was moving around six o’clock yesterday. The ride has been shut
down.

The DOB says it conducts periodic inspections on amusement park rides at the beginning and throughout the season. 

There were no injuries or accidents on amusement rides citywide last year. There is no word yet on when the ride will re-open.