On BoingBoing, I found post about MySpace, probably the mose popular teen site among teens in this neighborhood and elsewhere. It’s always interesting to try to figure out what Teen Spirit and his friends are up to. I especially like the point about the lack of access to public spaces for teens to hang out. Ya gotta go to Cyberspace to get some privacy around here.

Posted by Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing: Danah Boyd has
published an excellent paper on the hows and whys of the explosive
growth of teen users of MySpace, the most popular social networking
site ever. Boyd, a high-tech social scientist who has an excellent
track-record for winkling out the important truths behind social uses
of tech. Her clear-eyed work on MySpace talks about the
youth-liberation aspects of the service as well as the response,
situating in history.

Adults with authority control the home, the school, and most activity
spaces. Teens are told where to be, what to do and how to do it.
Because teens feel a lack of control at home, many don’t see it as
their private space.

To them, private space is youth space and it is primarily found in
the interstices of controlled space. These are the places where youth
gather to hang out amongst friends and make public or controlled spaces
their own. Bedrooms with closed doors, for example.

Adult public spaces are typically controlled spaces for teens.
Their public space is where peers gather en masse; this is where
presentation of self really matters. It may be viewable to adults, but
it is really peers that matter.

Teens have increasingly less access to public space. Classic
1950s hang out locations like the roller rink and burger joint are
disappearing while malls and 7/11s are banning teens unaccompanied by
parents. Hanging out around the neighborhood or in the woods has been
deemed unsafe for fear of predators, drug dealers and abductors. Teens
who go home after school while their parents are still working are
expected to stay home and teens are mostly allowed to only gather at
friends’ homes when their parents are present.

Link

GET RID OF ALL THOSE BOOKS THAT YOU DON’T WANT ANYMORE. THE ONES THAT ARE MESSING UP YOUR APARTMENT (NOTE TO YOU KNOW WHO: BRING THE BOOKS ON THE  FLOOR OF THE BEDROOM, THE LIVING ROOM, THE ONES THAT ARE FALLING OFF THE BOOKSHELVES….WE’RE BEING OVERTAKEN BY BOOKS. THE BOOKS THAT FELL TO EARTH…AHHHHHHHHHHHH)

I SAID, BRING THEM OVER TO THE PARK SLOPE METHODIST CHURCH BEFORE SATURDAY FOR THEIR SALE.  And don’t buy too many when you get there.

The terrific annual BOOK SALE at Park Slope United Methodist Church will take place on Saturday, February 25, from 9am to 4pm.

Thousands of new & used books (prices start at 50 cents ), as well as CDs, records, tapes, videos and DVDs. A fabulous Childrens Corner too!

The church is at the corner of 6th Avenue & 8th Street in Park Slope.

We are still accepting donations of books, CDs, records, tapes, videos, DVDs and children’s books & videos. Excellent condition only (no magazines or textbooks, please!).

Donations will be gratefully accepted at the church (6th Ave at 8th Street) on:

Thurs., Feb. 23  7 pm – 10 pm

Friday, Feb. 24  11am – 10 pm

For more information, visit the church website ( www.parkslopeumc.org) or send a note to churchbooksale@earthlink.net

Got this e-mail today from Brooklyn Industries:

Homegrown clothing company, Brooklyn Industries, is striving for a healthier urban environment.  This spring, Brooklyn Industries is joining forces with Recycle-A-Bicycle to educate the community about the benefits of recycling and bicycling as a better form of urban transportation.

Recycle-a-Bicycle is an innovative recycling and education organization that truly exemplifies Brooklyn Industries

Mr. Brownstoner got a sneak peek at the 2006 House Tour schedule. Here are a few of the dates. Check out Brownstoner for more:

Park Slope Civic Council
House Tour
Sunday, May 21, 12-5pm

Brownstone Brooklyn Garden District
Sunday Garden Walk 2006
Sunday, June 4, 12-5pm

Victorian Flatbush House
and Garden Tour
Sunday, June 11, 1-6pm

I thought this sounded interesting. It’s in Manhattan. Whatever.

At the School of the Visual Arts,  a diverse cross section of the art world convenes for a panel discussion on the artistic merits and pitfalls of kitsch

On view: March 10 – May 28th. Woof:
The Brooklyn Museum will be the first venue of this
traveling exhibition exploring forty years of the
artist’s work in all media. The first William Wegman
retrospective in more than fifteen years, it will
include more than 200 works, among them the
signature 20 x 24 Polaroids, early black-and-white
and altered photographs, as well as paintings,
drawings, collages, artists books, videos, and film. The exhibition is sponsored at the Brooklyn Museum
by Commerce Bank.
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Continue reading WEGMAN’S DOGS AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM →

Two of my favorite things: Beat Poetry and Steve Buscemi. ("He is the perfect celebrity," said I to The New York Observer).

TONIGHT: Monday, February 20th, a benefit for  Issue Project Room (Carroll Street between Bond and Nevins.)

A minimum donation of $20. gets you through the
door. But you can always put a little more in the donation box if you
want to support Park Slope’s center for  experimental music, poetry,
and performance.

An evening of readings honoring Beat Poets of the Past, with actor
Steve Buscemi and poets Anne Waldman and Bob Holman.

Acclaimed actor, writer and director Steve Buscemi recently won the
Independent Spirit Award, the New York Film Critics Award and was
nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Ghost World directed by Terry Zwigoff.

Anne Waldman, poet, editor, performer, professor, curator, cultural
activist, carries in her genetics the lineages of the New American
Poetry, and is a considered an inheritor of the Beat (Allen Ginsberg
called her his "spiritual wife") and New York School.

Bob Holman , recently dubbed a member of the "Poetry Pantheon" by th
New York Times Magazine and featured in a Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
profile in The New Yorker, Bob Holman has previously been crowned,
"Ringmaster of the Spoken Word"

8:00 p.m., $20 minimum donation. This event is a benefit for ISSUE PROJECT ROOM

Not sure what this was about. But some of the local kids took part in this event at Union Square on Saturday. Organized by something called New Mindspace, they’ve organized giant Easter egg hunts. big Capture the Flag games, and Subway parties. Now this:

FEATHERS FLY AND TEDDIES SOAR AS YOU CONVERGE ON UNION SQUARE FOR A MASSIVE URBAN PILLOW FIGHT! SWING AND WHACK AS YOU EVADE PILLOW-WIELDING ASSAILANTS ON E. 14TH STREET. BRING A PILLOW TO THE SQUARE AND WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL. PILLOW FIGHT! 

There are a bunch more photos on   FLICKR

DOCUMENTARY AT THE LIBRARY: On Tuesday, January 17, 7 PM at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza: Documenting Brooklyn Film Series: Los Sures, Produced and directed by Diego Echeverria

Known locally as Los Sures to the many Latinos that live there, Brooklyn’s South Williamsburg has long been one of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods. Filmed at a time when gang and drug-related violence exacted the heaviest toll on the area, this insightful, historically important documentary and its unmediated, candid profiles of five neighborhood residents give voice to a beleaguered community struggling to get by. 58 min.

ARE YOU HAVIN’ A BABY?

Expectant Parents Workshop
Monday, February 13 at 7-9 pm
at Families First
250 Baltic Street
to register, call 718-237-1862
www.FamiliesFirstBrooklyn.org

Taught by the author of City Baby Brooklyn: The Ultimate Guide for Parents from Pregnancy through Preschool–Are you expecting? Wondering what you really need for the new baby? If so, sign up for this Expectant Parenting workshop, which will cover all of the essentials on what to get for your new arrival and where to get it in Brooklyn. There will also be a discussion on what to expect after you bring your baby home, and will address topics such as how to find a lactation consultant, a local mommies group, and tips for surviving the first few weeks. The class also offers you a chance to bond with other expectant parents. The workshop will take place on Mon. Feb. 13, at 7:00 pm, at Families First, 250 Baltic Street, Brooklyn, in Cobble Hill. The cost is $25 for Expectant Mom only. $40 per couple. Sign up at least a week in advance.