Just curious. Send to louise_crawford(at)yahoo(dot)com

Having recently read Anna Karenina I can rewrite the opening line without shame: "Happy family businesses are all alike; every unhappy family business is unhappy in its own way."

Indeed, there is no shortage of stories about family businesses that go awry. And now Park Slope has its own dysfunctional family business, Cafe Regular (11th Street branch) which has become city-wide news thanks to loyal regulars who are keeping the local blogs apprised of the murky situation.

I just heard from Aileen at Grub Street and she's got deep local on the latest over there.

Apparently sister Anne wants to go a little upscale over at the Regular du Nord. She's talking computers and uniforms. The regulars of the modest and sort of perfect-as-it-is cafe are up in arms. Barista Martin, Anne's brother, has been ousted, probably for a host of reasons nobody even knows about.

The whole thing makes me kind of sad. It's sad when siblings don't get along. It's sad when mixing family and business gets ugly. It's sad, sad, sad…

And the regulars at the Regular are miffed.  That's for sure. Hell hath no fury like a bunch of local cafe fans deprived of their morning coffee (and pleasant place to sit all day…).

From Fonda, owner of Zuzu's Petals, which opened on Fifth Avenue five years ago after a fire ravaged their original location on Seventh Avenue.

If you LOVE Jonathan Blum's paintings as I do you'll LOVE this:

On December 3rd there will be an opening party for Jonathan Blum’s “Rabbis, Goats and Other Characters”
at the Green Building [450 Union St. at Bond Street in Gowanus, (917)
855-6564] from 6:30 pm to after midnight.

His work will be on display at the gallery Thursdays and Saturdays through Jan. 14, 2010.

Brooklyn Reading Works presents Feast, Writers on Food curated by Michele Madigan Somerville. A benefit for a local food pantry, Feast authors include: Sophia Romero, Nancy Garfinkle and Andrea Israel (authors of The Recipe Club), Greg Fuchs, Michele, and more .

Thursday, December 10 at 8 PM at the Old Stone House. Third Street and Fifth Avenue. 718-768-3195. Suggested donation for this reading is $10 (because it is a benefit for a food pantry). theoldstonehouse.org

WASHINGTON,
D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with
the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the
following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled
products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Stork Craft Baby Cribs

Units: About 535,000 (including 92,000 with the Fisher-Price logo)

Manufacturer: Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada

Hazard: The
metal support brackets used to support the crib mattress and mattress
board can crack and break. When one or more support brackets break, the
mattress can collapse and create a dangerous gap between the mattress
and crib rails, in which a child can become entrapped and suffocate.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC
is aware of 10 incidents in which one or more mattress support brackets
broke. In several incidents, the support bracket broke causing the
mattress to collapse and create a gap between the mattress and crib
rails. CPSC received a report of a toddler who sustained bruises to his
forehead. In another incident a child reportedly became entrapped in
the gap between the mattress and the drop side rail with no injury.

Remedy: CPSC
urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled
cribs and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their
baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free
replacement kit, with new mattress support brackets.

Consumer Contact: Contact Stork Craft toll-free at (866) 361-3321 anytime to order the free replacement kit or log on to www.storkcraft.com

For more info: www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09093.html

The Gay Catholic Ministry of Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church announces its second annual World AIDS Day Candlelight Service and Memorial Ribbon Project.

The Candlelight Service will take place on World AIDS Day, Tuesday, December 1, at 7:00 PM in St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church, 116 Sixth Avenue, between Park and Sterling Places in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

The Memorial Ribbon Project is ongoing (November 17 through December 1.).

The campaign call for World AIDS Day is “I am.” Why “I am? “ “I am” can mean, “I live.” “I am” suggests a challenge to understand HIV and AIDS from a human rights perspective. “I am” is personal, not abstract: I am accepted. I am safe. I am getting treatment. I am living. I am living well. When Moses asks the God of Exodus 3:12 “Who are you?” the voice answers, “I am.” “I am” reminds us that the divine lives within all who live with HIV and AIDS.

 Over 33 million persons in the world are living with AIDS. Approximately two million are children. More than two million have died since 2007. World AIDS Day 2009 calls on us all to continue to hold individuals, religious leaders, faith organizations, international and national governments and agencies accountable for the commitments they have made to fight HIV and AIDS.

 Ann Citarella, Sister of Charity, one of the founders of the Gay and Lesbian Catholic Ministry at St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan, and Reverend Doctor Daniel Meeter, pastor of Old First Reformed Church in Brooklyn will speak.

 The exuberant and inspiring NYC OUTLOUD, a group of choral musicians dedicated to promoting tolerance and acceptance of GLBT and all people through song, will perform under the direction of Brian S. Hunt..

An  exhibition of paintings called “Preparation Series,” by the artist and educator Maureen Mullen who teaches art at Friends Seminary in Manhattan, will be on display in the church on World AIDS Day. “Preparation Series” chronicles the artist’s experience supporting someone beloved to her as he made the journey through AIDS. In 1999 the first World AIDS Day Without Art took place.

The church's annual Ribbon Project will take place mid-November through World AIDS Day 2007. It is our hope that the red ribbons bearing the names of loved ones who have died of AIDS which line the iron fence surrounding Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church, will serve as a stark and reverent reminder of the continued need to improve AIDS/HIV education, support all who live with HIV and AIDS as we press for a cure. We invite all who wish to take part to submit names of loved ones who have died of AIDS. This can be done via email (staugustinegay@gmail.com), postal mail, or by hand-delivering names to the mail slot at the church rectory at 116 Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn. (Please mark envelopes: “Ribbon Project”).

The names inscribed on the ribbons will be read aloud as part of the prayer service.

 A reception will follow the service.

 For further information call St. Augustine Church (718 783 3132), write to staugustinegay@gmail.com,  www.brooklyngaycatholics.blogspot.com or visit Facebook Page “World AIDS Day St. Augustine”)

Kathy Malone, who runs the Brooklyn Idie Market, is trying to find other small businesses who have had their Con Ed billing quadrupled. "I can't afford to be an entrepreneur," she writes. Below read emails that passed between Kathy and another small business owner, who also experienced a Con Ed price increase. 

    Subject: Brooklyn Indie Market getting screwed by Con Ed too!
    Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009, 2:44 PM

From Craig Hammerman, Manager of District Manager of Community Board 6:

From Craig Hammerman, District Manager of Community Board 6:

From Craig Hammerman, District Manager of Community Board 6:

A quick review from Verse Responder Leon Freilich who tried the new tapas place on Seventh Avenue and Garfield It's called 161 (located 161 Seventh Avenue)!

A bite into a tortilla espanola, followed by sushi and
a sip of Pinot Noir.  Then, sitting at a high table,
a taste of chorizo and sashimi moistened by
a fine merlot. 

You're in 161, the new tapas
wine bar that replaced the Japanese restaurant
on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Garfield Place

The dual-national establishment, which opened
this weekend, is an instant hit.  The back wall of
this sprawling treatery, seen through the many
streetfront windows, is the first attraction–
brightly lit red & yellow & blue halos of what
appear to be wine bottle bottoms. 

From there the delicate wines & tidbits take over.
Sunday night, they seemed to be doing their  job.
More patrons were on hand than in a month of
either of the previous two Japanese incarnations.

Smart decor plus Euro flashfare can do that.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Tempers flare and years-old grudges
Surface in everyone
Till at last relief's in sight–
Thank goodness that it's done.

 
Efrain writes: "I took these Sunday night.
on the Smith and Ninth Street subway
stop on the F subway line, over the Gowanus Canal
moon set over the BQE." 

Regulars of Cafe Regular on 11th Street just west of Fifth Avenue seem to be staying away since their favorite barista, Martin, was asked to leave.

It's not exactly a boycott. But one regular had this to say:

In a special 30th anniversary edition, there's loads to read about Brooklyn—and the Brooklyn Paper.

Coney
Island: Change
is the one constant in Brooklyn

Bay
Ridge: The
new ethnic mix

Brooklyn
Heights: The
story of Brooklyn Heights? Stability

Carroll
Gardens: An
enclave holds on

Downtown:
From
retail to residential

DUMBO:
A
long journey from warehouse to hothouse

Fort
Greene: Crime
is gone and all are welcome

Park
Slope: The
epicenter of the brownstoners

Red
Hook: On
the waterfront, but not ‘On the Waterfront’

Williamsburg:
Have
a beer and hear a great story

DIVAS (Digital Interactive Visual Arts Sciences) for Social Justice is a grassroots community organization in Bed-Stuy that aims to:

On December 1st, the DIVAs are having a fundraiser and lecture at the the Magnolia Tree Earth Center (677 Lafayette Avenue in Bed Stuy).  Marcia Harris will deliver a lecture on Imagery & Its Power.

Leon Freilich wrote in with this tip (Thanks Leon)!

London's progressive broadsheet, The Independent,
reviews both Hotel Le Bleu, its rooftop Vue restaurant-
bar & adjoining Park Slope, delivering a pair of raves.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/hotels/stay-the-night-hotel-le-bleu-brooklyn-1825245.html

The Independent describes the Slope this way:

"It's where affluent Manhattanites migrated to in the 1800s
and its public
library, art gallery, and Academy of Music complete
 with anything Manhattan
has to offer.
"

OK, so it misplaces BAM.  Quick, what district of London is
Covent Garden in?

Smartmom sat on the Townsend couch in Room & Board’s second-floor showroom waiting for Hepcat to arrive.

She had to laugh. How had this couch thing gotten so out of hand?
Was it really worth fighting about? For that matter, what was it really
about? Were they fighting about a piece of furniture or the state of
their lives?

Hepcat was late as usual. But no matter, Smartmom was determined to
enjoy what she hoped would be their final couch-shopping expedition.

While she waited, she wondered whether their couch drama had been a
power struggle or an aesthetic disagreement. Was it really about form
and function or the dysfunctionality of their 20-year marriage?

Good questions. Smartmom felt a pang of sadness. If the two long
marrieds had such a hard time agreeing on a new piece of furniture, was
there any hope for peace in the Middle East or the health care bill?

Sitting on the soft chenille of the Townsend, she realized what a
turbulent river she and Hepcat had crossed to get to the point where
they could agree to pay the $1,399, plus tax and shipping, for a new
couch to replace the 18-year-old Ikea divan that Hepcat loves.

When her hubby finally arrived, he and Smartmom walked around the
store and revisited some of the other couches they had considered:
there was the Andre, the Anson, the Metro and the York.

It didn’t take long for them both to agree that the Townsend was the one. It was comfortable, soft and easy on the eyes.

Then they got a phone call from the Oh So Feisty One saying that she was locked out of the apartment.

“We’ll be home in a half hour,” Smartmom told her. Sadly their shopping trip was cut short.

“So should we buy it?” Smartmom asked nervously.

“Let’s pay for it,” Hepcat said.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yup, yup, yup,” Hepcat said — it’s what he always says when he wants to sound agreeable.

Smartmom knew it was time to make a decision. She knew it was time
to let go of this disagreement and move on. Hand in hand (or was it
only Smartmom’s imagination?), they walked over to a sales associate,
paid for the couch and scheduled its delivery for exactly one week from
that day.

What a strange feeling to have finally made a decision. The couch dilemma was over. What an accomplishment: PROGRESS.

When they got home, they told OSFO and Teen Spirit the good news.

“So these are the last days of the couch?” Teen Spirit said dispiritedly.

“Why do we have to get a new couch?” OSFO whined.

“I protest the removal of our couch,” Teen Spirit said and walked into his room.

Smartmom hoped they’d eventually adjust to the new couch. But there
was an even more pressing matter to attend to. Smartmom e-mailed her
friend Brooke Dramer — who had earlier expressed an interest in buying (believe it or not) the ratty old couch — and asked what she’d be willing to pay.

“What’s it worth to us?” she wrote back in an e-mail. “Well, let’s
get together soon so we can look at (and measure) the Green Couch. It
would be especially fun if Dave and I could sit on it with Hepcat and
discuss how proud we are to be part of the .81 percent that voted for
the Rev. Billy for mayor.”

“We’re thinking $300,” Smartmom replied. But Brooke wanted a measurement before committing.

“It’s 88 inches wide and 37 inches deep. Can you come see it before Saturday?”

“Oh, no! Eighty-eight inches is too big to fit with our furniture!”
she wrote back. “Alas, the Saga of the Couch ends not with a bang, but
a whimper. I would never stoop so low as to throw you a headline like
‘Size does matter.’ But in this case, I need eight inches. Before you
say, ‘Who doesn’t?’ let me explain. The couch has to fit between an end
table and an antique trunk — a space of less than 80 inches.”

So for the first time, a woman was complaining about something being eight inches longer than she wanted.

Smartmom didn’t understand why they couldn’t just move the end table
and the antique trunk. But who was she to question the strange calculus
of any relationship?

Smartmom was glum. It wasn’t going to be quite so easy to sell their
green leather couch. Maybe they’d have to give it away. Or leave it on
the street. In less than 24 hours, their new couch would arrive from
Room & Board.

Smartmom was stressing. How would it look? Would it be comfortable?
At 92 inches, would it be too big for their own truncated living room?

And what would Teen Spirit and OSFO think?

Tune in next week …

An OTBKB reader wrote to say that her brother is a rapper and his band, Epick and the Mofos, will be playing at Southpaw on Wednesday night. I watched the video and he's awesome.

Here's what Epick has to say about his music:

At Southpaw Wednesday, November 25 at 9 PM (doors open at 8 PM) 125 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope.

Is there any information about why the little park on the corner of 5th Ave and President St. is always closed these days?

ART: On Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, 70 participating
Brooklyn art galleries will offer visitors outstanding exhibitions and
refreshments as well as a unique opportunity to learn more about
Brooklyn's expanding art scene and galleries during the second annual
smART Brooklyn Gallery Hop, an initiative of Brooklyn Borough President
Marty Markowitz and Brooklyn Tourism. Info here.

OPERA:  Philip Glass' opera, Kepler, Nov 20-21 at 8 PM at BAM.

DANCE: Wally Cardona and company return with Really Real, a delicately
calibrated exploration of our species. Balancing composer Phil Kline’s
affecting music with Cardona's architecturally exacting movements, his
elegant and uncompromising troupe—accompanied by the Brooklyn Youth
Chorus—mines the hard-wired forces that make us who we are. At BAM on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM.

FILM: Precious, An Education and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans with Nicholas Cage, directed by Werner Herzog at BAM. Men Who Stare at Goats, 2012, Precious and The Blind Side at the Park Slope Pavilion.

TWILIGHT SAGA:  New Moon at Cobble Hill and UA Court Street Stadium (not at the Pavilion).

FILM AT BARBES: Short Brazillian Film at 8 PM on Friday, November 20 at Barbes. The works presented range from documentaries to fiction, animation and
experimental films. A majority of the films come from the city of Belo
Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais. The city, which is experiencing
a creative boom of sorts, is home to a large contingent of filmmakers
all working outside the institutions of mainstream Brazilian cinema.

FOOD AT THE BELL HOUSE: Ride on down to the Bell House, 4PM Nov 22 for the Brooklyn Chili
Takedown!!! The Takedown has destroyed with bacon, curry, lamb, and
tofu – but it's first and best love is CHILI. Over the past 5 years the
Chili Takedown has proved itself the finest, most important chili
cookoff, ever, of all time. Texas Chili, Cincinnati Chili, Veggie Chili
– free to enter your super brilliant batch of your finest. $100
People's Choice Award, $50 Judges Award, and other prizes! Just contact
Matt Timms at chili-takedown.com! Or come down and for $15 try all the
cooks' barbaric interpretations on this Texas delicacy!

MUSIC: Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen's "The Ache of Possibility" at Joe's Pub: Catchy new pop standards about the current depression, not the original one. Nov 21-22 at 7 PM.

THEATER: The Electric Ballroom, a new play by Enda Walsh and the Druid Ireland company at  St. Ann’s Warehouse • 38 Water St. at Dock Street. 

HOLIDAY GIFT SHOPPING: Artisan items and gifts at Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture on Saturday, November 21; Meet the Makers at the American Can Factory Market on Third Street and Third Avenue.

In Sweet Melissa's Brooklyn Paper column, she reveals the secrets of her Thanksgiving turkey.

A friend told me that there was no F train service yesterday morning and I wondered why.

Sadly, it turns out there was a suicide at 7th Avenue. An unidentified man jumped in front of a Queens-bound G train at the Seventh Avenue F/G Station (at 9th Street) in Park Slope. Service was disrupted for two hours.

Many favorite Park Slope restaurants are on the list released by the State Department of Labor Department yesterday. 25
Brooklyn restaurants owe at least $910,000 in unpaid wages to more than
200 workers.

In Park Slope, state
inspectors found that workers make as little as $2.75 an hour way below state
minimum wage of $7.25. They found that delivery workers earn $210 to $275 a week for 60 to 70 hours of work.

Of the 25 restaurants cited, 12 restaurants paid back the wages while 13 other restaurants are still
in negotiations to pay back the wages.

Park Slope Restaurants With Violations

The following restaurants are negotiating a resolution for payment:
Aunt Suzie's Restaurant
Bagel World
Bogota Latin Bistro
Coco Roco
Joe's Pizza
Marcho Corp's Cholita
Olive Vine Cafe (two locations)
Rachel's Taqueria
Sette
Song
Taqueria
Uncle Moe's

Believable Imagery
When We Should (Dis)Believe Photos And Why

The pen is mightier than the sword but in our increasingly visual culture maybe the image has become the automatic weapon, with unprecedented power for communication and with very real consequences. We swim in a visual culture and yet like fish in water we hardly think about significance of the medium that envelops us: information, news, advertising, pop culture, celebrity portraits and not to overlook our family albums now online and public at Flickr, Facebook and elsewhere. The power of the photograph lies in its obvious immediacy and its assumed reality – but how much should we trust what we see in the digital age? As the 21st Century gets under way the power to make and distribute imagery has never been greater and we need to learn new skills to distinguish fact from metaphor, public from private, art from vernacular, truth from lies…

Panelists:

Stephen Mayes Director, VII Photo, representing thirty globally recognized photojournalists

Kira Pollack Director of Photography, Time Magazine; Fmr. Senior Photo Editor, NY Times Sunday Magazine

Theresa Raffetto Theresa Raffetto Photography, Commercial Photographer; President, Advertising Photographers of America

Fred Ritchin Professor of Photography and Imaging at NYU; Author of "After Photography" (2009) "A fascinating look at the perils and possibilities of photography in the digital age"

Date:
December 3, 2009

Time:
7:00pm-9:00pm

Wine Reception 7:00pm-7:30pm
Panel 7:30pm-9:00pm

Location:
28 Jay Street, Dumbo – Brooklyn
2 blocks west of York Street station (F train)

Registration is $30
www.gothammediaventures.com

Seating is Limited