We thought we heard fireworks on Sunday night. McBrooklyn knows the score. They were part of the Indian celebration of
Diwali, a festival of light. Read more at McBrooklyn.
DEBBIE ALMONTASER TO SPEAK OUT AT CITY HALL
Got this email this morning. It’s from a group called Communities in Support of Khalil Girban International Academy:
Dear Friends,
As you know, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, the first Arabic/English dual-language NYC public school, has sustained fierce anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim attacks by groups who want to shut the Brooklyn school down. Implied in this attack on multicultural education is an attack of interfaith dialogue and coexistence programs. Tomorrow, the school’s founding principal, Debbie Almontaser, will deliver her application to the Department of Education for the position of principal and will speak to the press for the first time since her forced resignation.
As a close colleague who knows the value of interfaith dialogue, and who appreciates Debbie’s shining record as a community leader, please join Communities in Support of KGIA at this event tomorrow. Tell the Department of Education that we will not be silent until the DOE stands up to any anti-Arab and anti-Muslim attacks against the school and invites Debbie to return to her position as principal of the school.
When: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 5 pm
Where: The Steps of NYC City Hall
Speakers will Include:
Debbie Almontaser, joined by her Attorney Alan Levine
KGIA Parents
Councilman John Liu
Reverend Clinton Miller, Brown Memorial Baptist Church
Imam Talib Abdur Rashid
Other speakers TBA
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
POEMS OF BROOKLYN THIS WEEK AT BROOKLYN READING WORKS
On October 18th at 8 p.m., Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House presents BROKEN LAND: POEMS OF BROOKLYN with poets, Phillis Levin, Andrea Baker, Patricia Spears Jones, and Tom Sleigh.
Brooklyn,
crouching forever in the shadow of Manhattan, is perhaps best known for
a certain bridge or for the world-renowned tackiness of Coney Island.
When it comes to literary history, Brooklyn can also seem dwarfed by
its sister borough-until you take a closer look. As unlikely as it may
sound, for more than two centuries Brooklyn has inspired poets and
poetry. Although there are plenty of poetry anthologies devoted to
specific regions of the United States, Broken Land is the first to focus exclusively on verse that celebrates Brooklyn. And what remarkable verse it is.Edited
by poets Julia Spicher Kasdorf and Michael Tyrell, this collection of
135 notable poems reveals the many cultural, ethnic, aesthetic, and
religious traditions that have accorded Brooklyn its enduring place in
the American psyche. Dazzling in its selections, Broken Land
offers poetry from the colonial period to the present, including
contributions from the American poets most closely associated with
Brooklyn-Walt Whitman, Hart Crane, and Marianne Moore-as well as
memorable poems from Elizabeth Bishop, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence
Ferlinghetti, George Oppen, and Charles Reznikoff. Also included are a
wide range of contemporary works from both established and emerging
poets: Derek Walcott, Galway Kinnell, C.K. Williams, Amy Clampitt,
Martin Espada, Lisa Jarnot, Marilyn Hacker, Tom Sleigh, D. Nurkse,
Donna Masini, Michael S. Harper, Noelle Kocot, Joshua Beckman, and many
others.With its expansive array of poetic styles and voices, Broken Land
mirrors the borough’s diversity, toughness, and surprising beauty. The
requirements for inclusion in this volume were simple: excellent poems
that pay tribute in some way to the land that Dutch settlers,
translating from the Algonquin, called "Gebroken landt." But it is the
phrase emblazoned on borough billboards that best serves to entice
readers into entering this book: "Welcome to Brooklyn, Like No Other
Place in the World."Published by NYU Press, it is the first poetry anthology dedicated
exclusively to verse about Brooklyn. Editors Julia Spicher Kasdorf and
Michael Tyrell have culled 135 poems that chart the boroughs long
history as a place of danger and beauty, dreams and disappointment.
Sure, there are several references to Brooklyns bridges and Coney
Islands beaches — and even a few to the Dodgers — but the book also
encompasses a diversity of lives lived among and between the boroughs
icons.
—Brooklyn Daily EagleIn the excellent and surprising anthology Broken Land,
poets and editors Julia Spicher Kasdorf and Michael Tyrell take a
chronological and panoramic look at the New York borough of Brooklyn as
portrayed in poems.
—Publishers Weekly"This book
isn’t only for Brooklyn residents but for all those who value
community. . . . Reading this collection is a moving experience because
the poems feel home-grown. It doesn’t matter where they were written,
each one makes Brooklyn come alive, and the poems find a home inside
you."
—From the Foreword by Hal Sirowitz, author of Mother Said
ONE WOMAN’S MISSION ON BEHALF OF THE PIGEONS AND OTHER LOCAL BIRDS OF PARK SLOPE
I got this rather long email from a Park Slope woman who lives on 6th Street between 8th Avenue and Prospect Park West. She obviously has a passionate interest in the well-being of Park Slope’s pigeons and other local birds.
Recently she was told by a neighbor to stop throwing bird seed into the street. At first I thought her email was just a rant against a neighbor and a local hospital (which it is, I guess).
But it’s also a passionate defense of the benefits of feeding bird seeds to birds. Her neighbor has been calling the police on her and quite a conflict is emerging. There’s a lot of interesting information in this e-mail.
We have sparrows, finches, pigeons, blue jays and an assortment of other wonderful birds in our area and as a member of both the New York City Audubon Society as well as a licensed NY State wildlife rehabilitator, I’m always cognizant that healthy bird seed keeps local birds healthy. It prevents them from resorting to scavenging garbage and picking up the many illnesses that come from rancid or germ infested food. As I’ve rescued and rehabilitated dozens of birds (since 2005) in our area (including having at least 10 or more euthanized), I am constantly being told by the veterinarian that the cause of the illness is either starvation-related and/or bacterial. By leaving clean bird seed, I am helping to keep the birds healthy and this means the local community does not have to stumble across sick, dead or diseased birds on their way to the subway. It also helps to keep pigeon droppings solid (the watery waste comes from bad diet) – in fact, when pigeons have healthy seed to eat, their droppings are exactly the same as gerbils – solid and much less acidic (they don’t do property damage).
The “new neighbor” explained that his son has an allergy to pigeons and that since he owns the brownstone he can tell me not to put bird seed anywhere on the block, on either side of the street. As a wildlife rehabilitator, I know the law. There are no laws against feeding birds. There is a law against littering. People who leave stale donuts, spaghetti and/or other problematic food for birds should be reprimanded and/or fined. But leaving clean and healthy (and $$ expensive) birdseed on the sidewalks near bushes/shrubs – is not littering. In fact, a recent court case (August 2007) was dismissed and the judge wrote, “bird seed cannot be construed as rubbish and so the defendant was not littering.”
However, as I am on the way to work (this is at 7:30AM), I cannot wait for him to call the police (which he does, on his cell phone) and have them come, then explain to them that I am not littering and/or have them issue a ticket for littering which would later (after much time consumption) be dismissed by a judge. And so I hurry off to work. As mentioned, he recently grabbed and held my wrist so hard it is black and blue. Again, I’m not interested in involving the police as then the entire issue of feeding or not feeding birds becomes the focus – not the assault. Considering bird seed could at worse be construed as litter, this would be a fine of ! $75.00. Assault, however, is a felony which could carry with it jail time. I do not have the time or energy to explain this to the screaming, bullying man on the street at 7:30AM…
When I sometimes have walked on the Methodist Hospital side of the street (on 7th street, between 7th and 8th Avenues) the hospital has sent maintenance staff driving mini motorized sidewalk cleaning jeeps to follow directly behind me, prohibiting me from leaving any bird seed anywhere near there. This is a hospital that has special permission to dump biological waste into our Park Slope air and has paved over the green park area directly across from John Jay High School in order to make parking lots. There was much press and publicity around Methodist’s hospital take over of Park Slope several years ago when they began their expansion. Many reports showed the increase in carbon emissions and other air quality problems that resulted from this, but obviously Methodist has strong connections and/or agreements with local leaders.
With all of the truly hazardous side effects of Methodist Hospital ’s emissions, and their encouragement of volumes increase in traffic (by provided expanded parking); the idea that they would resent anyone feeding a bird on the public sidewalk is almost hilarious. As a pigeon expert, I can tell you that the dangers from emissions and/or biological waste far exceed any possible problems that come from pigeon droppings.
As a graduate student at Hunter, I’m focusing on the incredible shrinking public sphere. As you may know, because the city and state have left public parks neglected, private companies have jumped in to fill the gap and then proceed to use the space for commercial purposes. For example, Bryant Park — which was originally intended as a respite from the “hustle and bustle” of the inner city and had at one point boasted (via the New York City Audubon Society, http://www.nycaudubon.org/home/) a rich diversity of birds & squirrels; it is now privatized in partnership with the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, BPRC, which not only has added HBO to it’s list of funders, but is converting the one expanse of meadow into a tourist-attracting ice skating rink. The park was already downgraded to HBO sponsored lunch time rock-fests with ear splitting music that no animal could possibly stand (or humans such as myself) but now the destruction of the only lawn by a sheet of ice will obliterate whatever was left of the the more beautiful and delicate birds.
A year ago, BPRC proposed putting barbed wire on their trees and hired predatory hawks to circle the park intent on killing and/or scaring away the birds. The hawk experiment ended unceremoniously when one efficaciously swooped down and “captured” someone’s unsuspecting Chihuahua .
You may be thinking – Why don’t you just feed the birds in the park (Prospect)? Because pigeons are not migratory birds – they do not fly more than a few blocks from where they are born. The pigeons that I come across on my way to the subway will live, breed and die in that area – they will never migrate over to Prospect Park . Would I prefer that all the birds were located in the park? Of course I would! But pigeons (brought here from Europe in the 1600s) are “rock doves” (“ Columbus livia”) and they do not make their homes in trees – they don’t have the DNA or instinct to do it. That is why they roost in buildings.
As a Buddhist, I believe in “accepting things as they are and attending to the alleviation of suffering” In other words, I try to help the birds that I see where I see them – not hope or wish that they all lived somewhere else. This is a “NIMBY” (Not In MY Backyard) syndrome where every single step that I take – everywhere I go – people will come out and say “Can you please just go feed these birds somewhere else?????” Where else? This is where they live and as a caring and humane bird lover, I try to do what I can for them when I see them.
I would love for the city to adopt a plan where man-made fountains and/or water stations could be strategically placed in out-of-the way areas to attract pigeons which could also be bird feeding stations – this would be a step toward sharing and enjoying our urban environment together. In addition there are pigeon cotes that could be provided – which, once pigeons have made them their “homes” – could be culled (volunteers could remove the fertile eggs and replace them with dummies). The organization PICAS has been successful with this type of pigeon control in the UK for decades. It has been reported that culling eggs is the only effective way to reduce and control pigeon populations in city areas. Extermination doesn’t work as the birds then reproduce more rapidly to compensate.
As of right now, I am at my wits end. I have women screaming at me from windows, men lunging at me on the sidewalk and as I go about my day; my only interest is just to provide ONE small but healthy meal to the bird to keep them from getting ill. Once they are sick, it has been my job to pick them up, shuttle them to veterinarians, nurse them back to health and/or have them euthanized.
The author of this email wrote to say that if anyone finds an injured or sick bird, please contact the Wild Bird Fund hot line which is staffed by volunteers who work with Animal General in the City. Their number is (646) 306-2862, They can also ask for help on-line by going to any site linked to nycprc.org. And/or they can email the author at fieldjo(at)aol(dot)com.
PUBLIC HEARING TO REVIEW LANDMARKING PROPOSAL IN FISKE TERRACE
Brooklyn Beat, who has a blog called Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn, sent me word that the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission will be holding a public hearing to review the Proposal for the Landmarking of the Fiske
Terrace- Midwood Park neighborhood in Flatbush on October 16th:
Interested residents are invited to attend the public hearing at the LPC’s headquarters in the Manhattan Municipal Building, One Centre Street, 9th floor at Chamber and Centre Streets. (The scheduled hearings begin at 9:30 AM)Fiske Terrace – Midwood Park
is a unique, wooded suburban neighborhood within the predominently
urban Brooklyn environment, with detached single family Victorian homes
built around 1905-1906. Fiske Terrace runs from the Q train subway
line to Ocean Avenue, between Avenue H and Glenwood Road. Midwood Park
is adjacent, bordered by the Q train on the west, Glenwood Road on the
south, Ocean Avenue on the east and Foster Avenue on the north. The two
neighborhoods were developed as suburban communities.The Historic Districts Council http://www.hdc.org/neighborhoodatriskmidwoodfiske.htm
gives further detail on this unique historic area:At the turn of the 20th century, a number of real estate developers
purchased large tracts of farmland and woods near the sleepy market
town of Flatbush, Brooklyn, and began to develop a suburban oasis
affording wide lawns and spacious Victorian houses at a convenient
distance from the City. The historic neighborhoods of Flatbush retain
to a remarkable degree their integrity as early 20th-century suburban
developments more than 100 years later.
Midwood Park
was constructed by developer John Corbin in the first decade of the
20th-century on what had previously been farmland. The houses were
built using Corbin’s method of standardized construction. Buyers could
choose from thirty distinct models, but uniform construction
techniques, materials and assembly methods were employed to minimize
cost and boost efficiency. The wood-shingled houses are relatively
grand: set back from the street on large lawns, they have open porches
and rich interior detailing in the style of the time. The streets have
a landscaped median and are lined with mature trees. The neighborhood
must have represented a striking alternative to city living. Midwood Park
has undergone few inappropriate alterations. It remains a unified,
coherent and harmonious suburban neighborhood in an urban context. The Midwood Park
Homeowners Association is advocating in consultation with the Historic
Districts Council for historic district designation for the
neighborhood.The adjacent Fiske Terrace features more elegant houses
but retains an intimate sense of place through its historical
integrity. In 1905, T. B. Ackerson Company purchased a densely wooded
tract of land and immediately cleared it, laid out streets and
installed underground water, sewer, gas and electric lines. Eighteen
months later, the former Fiske estate had been transformed by some 150
custom-built, detached, three-story suburban houses with heavy oak
ornamental mantels, staircases, beamed ceilings and built-in bookcases,
ornately bordered parquet floors and elaborate cabinetry. A landscaped
median and hundreds of street trees planted at the time of development
continue to contribute to the idyllic feeling of the neighborhood —
Historic Districts Council
Recent articles in the NY Times and local papers, which included
interviews with Fred Baer, former Fiske Terrace Association president,
who has helped to shepard this proposal through the Landmark
Preservations Commission’s Review process, indicates that very strong
support from area residents and public officials suggest that the LPC
may support a favorable decision on the application for historic-area
designation. The Commission sent letters to area residents (including
Brooklyn Beat) in August regarding the placement of the proposal on
the Commission’s calendar in September. The calendaring of the public
hearing last month and the actual public hearing tomorrow
are important steps toward designation. Fiske Terrace will mark its
official centennial this year.–Brooklyn Beat
TOURS FOR THE BLIND AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM
The Daily News reports that the Brooklyn Museum is offering tours for the blind.
"The museum began offering Touch Tours last year, Flynn said, but so
far, attendance has been only fair. Next Tuesday afternoon, to
celebrate Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month, the museum will host an
open house for adults who are blind or have visual impairments.On the guided Touch Tours, visitors also can examine masks from the
museum’s African collection and feel textiles from the Peruvian
collection.Annamarie Kaplon of Bensonhurst described her tour as “nothing short of fabulous.”
“I was floored,” said Kaplon, 51, who has retinitis pigmentosa. “The sculptures were so detailed, so vivid.”
PARK SLOPE NANNIES TALK TO THE TIMES
Did you see the front page article in the City Section about I Saw Your Nanny, a blog that’s been around for more than a year?
"What happens is that a stranger, maybe
a passer-by in the playground, witnesses a scene between adult and
child that looks alarming. If the child is white and the caregiver is
not, as is often the case in New York, the passer-by tends to assume
that the caretaker is the nanny, not the mother."
I liked the part of the piece where the nannies got a chance to express their side of the situation.
"But
day to day, being the subject of such pervasive examination can feel
deeply unsettling. Back at J. J. Byrne Park, where some nannies have
been decried as “obnoxious” and “cliquey” in ISawYourNanny postings,
emotions ranged from fatalism to indignation.“What are you going to do?” said a Jamaican nanny named Gwen. “Life goes on.”
"By
early afternoon on that summer Friday, several nannies sat chatting on
the benches, a gathering that a poster on ISawYourNanny derided as “the
J. J. Byrne Bench Sitters’ Club.”“Mostly there’s a group of us
that get together,” said Joyce, a longtime nanny from Barbados. “And
parents start gossiping. They describe what you wear.”“We
gather together in little groups because we look out for each other,”
Joyce continued, stirring banana purée into oatmeal for the twin infant
boys being cared for by Prudence Forde, the nanny seated beside her.
With her other hand, Joyce gently rubbed the back of the boys’ sister."As
for the term “bench nannies,” Joyce shook her head. “I ignore it,” she
said. “Everybody’s got to sit down, and we sit on a bench.”"Resentment
is a common reaction to many of the complaints posted on the blog, like
the use of cellphones. “Wait, what mother doesn’t talk on her phone?”
Ms. Forde asked."As nannies are frequently several skin tones
darker than their charges, it can be easy to identify them. Ms. Forde
mentions that nannies are often automatically blamed when a child seems
to be neglected. “When a child starts crying in the playground,” she
said, “the first thing a person will do is strut over to us and yell,
‘Who’s taking care of this child?’ before asking the other parents.”
But, Ms. Forde said, “it’s often one of theirs.”"Another day,
several nannies sitting on the park’s benches shared some complaints
about their jobs: work hours that can extend from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
a pay rate in Park Slope of little more than $12 an hour, the
expectation that they also clean houses and apartments, and requests
that they work on Christmas. One nanny, from St. Lucia, recalled an
interview during which the mother, a lawyer, refused to pay her on the
books.“‘Why is it so important to pay Social Security?’ she asked me,” the nanny said. “And this is who’s spying on me? Please.”
CHOCOLATE CHIP MUSIC FOR KIDS
The Erklingen Brass Quartet
A Pirate’s Booty of Brass
Kyle Lane and Jim Lake, Trumpets; Amber Chisholm Lane, French Horn; Michael Canipe, Bass Trombone; and introducing Hope Harris as Baker Bobbie
The
November 3rd and 4th concerts weave great music from Gabrieli to Joplin
and an original composition by the group’s leader, Kyle Lane, with
favorite pirate lingo and antics. The program opens with Baker Bobbie
donning an eye patch, sword, and sash, in addition to her usual chef’s
attire. The baker’s introduction of the ensemble and
the rumor that they are arriving by pirate ship is interrupted by
strains of Handel’s Hornpipe from his Water Music Suite,
played by the quartet, processing. A spyglass allows Baker Bobbie a
closer look at the instruments comprising the brass family, which are
then demonstrated to the audience. Young listeners will have ample
opportunities to try their own swagger as they dance to pieces such as Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
by Henry Creamer. Slower selections conjure up images of gentle rocking
on board ship. As always, concert-goers will enjoy two treats at the
end of the performance: the chance to sample the instruments, and a
fresh – baked chocolate chip cookie.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
PARK SLOPE PARENTS SAYS: BLOGGERS GET PERMISSION
Susan Fox, the force-of-nature behind Park Slope Parents, isn’t naming names, but she’s miffed that bloggers feel free to pick up posts from the Park Slope Parents listserve without first getting the writer’s permission.
"Our privacy policy is on every email, " this civic cyber dynamo told me on Saturday after the Harvest Festival in JJ Byrne Park,
"Content on this group should not be reproduced (or linked to) without
permission of the author. Members should be aware, however, that this is
a public forum, and that any information posted here might appear
elsewhere."
The blurb does, however, acknowledge that PSP is a public forum…
All that she’s asking, Fox says, is that bloggers take the time to get permission from the PSP member before reproducing their post.
Recently, a PSP member was very upset to be quoted on a popular Brooklyn blog. Her name wasn’t used but she was still P.Oed just the same because her email is on PSP and her identity could be traced.
When I contacted "Lost Boy’s Hat and the "There’s a squirrel in my apartment" person, I found that they were happy to oblige.
I will be the first to admit that I have been guilty of freely publishing posts from PSP members (sorry Ms. Frump). It’s often for expediency’s sake or the desire to get a story out there.
But it’s a journalistic no no and a copyright infringement.
After speaking with Susan, I realize that it’s
always so much better (and legal) to consult the PSP member to begin with.
SUNDAY MARCH AGAINST THE ATLANTIC YARDS
Here’s the press release from Develop Don’t Destroy:
BROOKLYN, NY — Opponents of the “Atlantic Yards” plan walked in Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s (DDDB) third annual Walk Don’t Destroy walkathon to raise funds for the ongoing, long haul legal battle against developer Forest City Ratner’s unpopular, anti-democratic, and outsized “Atlantic Yards” project and proposed experiment in extreme density, in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The walkathon is part of the continuing effort to build the community’s legal war chest against the project.
“We are close to marking the 4th anniversary of the struggle against the Atlantic Yards project, a purported ‘done deal’ whose time will never come,” said DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein. “Today, once again, we are terribly proud of the community’s support in real dollars and in spirit. Along with so many other contributors, today’s walkers and donors ensure that DDDB will see the legal cases through to victory, so we can start over and develop the Vanderbilt rail yards in an appropriate, sustainable, and democratic manner.”
DDDB relies on the broad community for its support; its legal efforts are funded entirely by the community with over 3,500 individual donors, as well as various fundraisers throughout the year. DDDB’s efforts over the past four years, along with so many other organizations, have been a sustained, truly grassroots community movement, thanks to the community’s ongoing and continually growing support.
JOURNALIST REQUEST POLICY AT PARK SLOPE PARENTS
Hey all you journalists out there, Park Slope Parents has devised a formal protocol for Journalists and Media representatives, who want to have a message sent to the PSP membership regarding a story they are researching by sending a
message to:
journalists@parkslopeparents.com
These requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis and must be
related to parenting. In your request please give us your:Name
Phone
Topic of the story
Text of the message you’d like to postBy sending your request to the journalist address you agree to the
guidelines belowGUIDELINES
The privacy of our members, and the privacy of the discussion of the
topics on PSP, is important to our membership. And it is because of our
members’ concerns about privacy that we ask you to take note.–No posting on PSP can be excerpted in any form without the permission
of its author. This is true whether you quote the author in your
work, or not. We take this rule seriously.—If you are reporting on PSP please keep in mind that although
certain topics may appear inviting to use as illustrations about our
membership in general — Often following down that road, and generalizing about
PSP or about parents in our area, can be misleading. Our membership
is made up of over 6,000 parents. They are a diverse group of
individuals who live in and around Park Slope and Brooklyn.PSP was formed in 2002 to be a resource for parenting in Park Slope,
Brooklyn. Topics on PSP range far and wide but are typically related to
raising children. Many new parents, and not so new parents, have found
lots of help with their children on one topic or another on this group.
It’s important that they feel protected to speak freely about
whatever concerns them. We hope you understand and respect our privacy policy
as it relates specifically to journalists on PSP.
BLOGADE ROADSHOW TO MEET IN BAYRIDGE ON OCTOBER 21
Luna Park Gazette will be hosting the next Brooklyn Blogade Road Show. A chance to meet other Brooklyn bloggers. A chance to see Bay Ridge through the eyes of Luna Park Gazette. A chance to learn blogging tips, network, and have fun. Here’s a note from Luna Park Gazette.
Greetings one and all,
Just want to see if I can get a head count for the Bay Ridge Blogade,
coming up on Sunday, Oct. 21.I’m looking at a time frame of 1pm to 4pm. If that’s agreeable to
everyone, I’ll pass it on our to our host.Once again, the location is Omonia Cafe, 7612 Third Ave. (between 76 and 77th Streets) in beautiful Bay Ridge.
Directions: Take the R-train to 77th Street and walk one block from Fourth Avenue.
Let me see your face at the place…
Take it light,
Rob
CALLING ALL SCREENWRITERS AND PLAYWRIGHTS
Check out the news I just got from Scot Adkins the literary dynamo behind Brooklyn Writer’s Space and Room 58:
Hey friends – there’s a new series in town, check it out.
Yours
scott
SIX COLD READINGS ONE HOT OPEN MIC
If you’re one of the first six writers to sign up,
hear up to 10 minutes of your work read by
actors.
Hosted by ROOM 58: a writers space and Erin Courtney
“6 Cold Readings, 1 Hot Open Mic” will happen at
Brooklyn Artist’s Gym (BAG) Gallery
MONDAY OCTOBER 15,
7:30p to 8:30p.
**Sign up is at 7p**
Admission: FREE
BAG is located at 168 7th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Aves.
(F train to the 4th Avenue stop or R train to the 9th street stop)
WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER SINCE 8TH GRADE
Cool and Unusual played their last set together at last night’s Teens for Darfur benefit concert.
It’s the end of an era. "We’ve been together since 8th grade," Jack Greenleaf told the audience before the band launched into a nostalgic rendition of the Pixie’s, "Where is My Mind," one of the first songs they played.
Apparently, they were thinking about playing, "Another One Bites the Dust," the first song they ever played but decided against it in favor of the Pixie’s tune.
It’s amazing how far they’ve come since 8th grade. In the last few months the band has really come into it’s own; each of the four adding something special to the mix.
Last night was probably their best show ever. It made their parents sad to think that the band would never grace the stage of the Old Stone House, Rocky Sullivan’s or the Cake Shop again. The music was exhilarating, tight and the set list perfectly paced.
Whey are they breaking up? The answer isn’t clear. Maybe they just need a break. Some of them may want to concentrate on other things (homework, college, other musical projects).
None of the parents really understand it. But hey, in rock and roll, they say, it’s good to go out when you’re at the top of your game.
The crowd loved the night’s spirited performance and sang and danced along, especially with their signature tune, "The Odyssey."
But when they were done: it was done. Another one bites the dust.
WATCH OUT FOR DIRT ON YOUR HEAD ON THE BENCH OUTSIDE SWEET MELISSA’S
Is someone in the Sweet Melissa’s building throwing dirt and cleaning fluids on people sitting on the bench outside the shop?
Is it intentional or an accident?
Does anyone know?
Two incidents have been reported this week. A woman on Sunday had dirt thrown on her head from above. A man I spoke to said that cleaning fluid dripped onto his fiancee earlier in the week.
We are mad for Sweet Melissa’s, which made the Zagat’s for it’s wonderful afternoon tea’s. Just sorry to hear that dirt is falling from the sky above its bench.
SMARTMOM: HEPCAT LEARNS THE SECRET TO LONG LIFE: FIGHT!
Here’s this week’s Smartmom from the award-winning Brooklyn Paper.
Smartmom was pretty sure that Hepcat had read the article in
Tuesday’s Science Times. He always makes a point of reading that
section cover to cover.
The fact that he called on his way home
to see if he should grab anything from Met Food was another clue. It
had been months of too much work (and too much neglect of Smartmom, if
you ask Smartmom) since he’d thought to ask if she needed something
from Seventh Avenue.
And when he came home with six bottles of Yuengling Black and Tan and two cans of garbanzo beans, she knew for sure.
Hellooooo,” he cooed sweetly as he came in the door.
That
settled it. Hepcat may be irresistible, but he is rarely so effusive
when he comes home. He was scared. That was all there was to it. He’d
read the article about the health benefits of expressive fighting and
he wasn’t going to do anything that might cause an expressive — and
healthy — fight.
Smartmom decided to just come out and ask him if he’d read the article.
“Which article?” Hepcat answered. Smartmom smarted. He knew perfectly well which article she was talking about.
“The one that said it’s healthy to have fights,” she told him.
“Ha. Only you would construe that article to mean that it’s healthy to have fights,”
“So I guess you read it,” she said.
Gotcha.
“Yeah, I read it,” he said quietly.
“Listen
to this,” Smartmom gleefully opened the newspaper. “‘When you’re
suppressing communication and feelings during conflict with your
husband, it’s doing something very negative to your physiology. … This
doesn’t mean women should start throwing plates at their husbands, but
there needs to be a safe environment where both spouses can equally
communicate.’”
“See? Expressing yourself during a fight is good for your health,” Smartmom squealed.
“I
don’t think that’s what the study is saying,” he told her. Before she
knew it, they were having an argument about the article about marital
arguments.
Typical. Hepcat and Smartmom have been fighting for 20
years. She can remember where they’ve had fights the way some people
remember where they kissed when they were dating.
Stromboli Pizza: that’s where they had the fight about Hepcat being an hour late for their second date.
The
Sleepy’s Store just above Spring Street: that’s where they had the
fight about whether they should get a full- or a queen-size mattress.
In
front of Citarella on Broadway: that was the fight about whether they
should serve poached salmon or trout at Teen Spirit’s baby shower.
They’ve
fought in the Volvo, in a sleeper train enroute to Florence, on Seventh
Avenue, in the Third Street Playground, in front of their kids, in
front of their relatives, in front of PS 321, at the Pavilion after
seeing “The Squid and the Whale,” at Patois on Smith Street and at
their friends’ wedding at the Montauk Club.
They’ve had so many
fights over the years that they all just sort of blend together.
Sometimes it seems like what they’re really fighting about is how to
fight.
Smartmom comes from the Jewish, high-volume, high-voltage,
go-for-the jugular school of fighting. Say what you feel and apologize
later.
"Schools, there are schools of that?" Hepcat told Smartmom.
He hates conflict almost as much as
alternate-side-of-the-street-parking and will do almost anything to
avoid it, including parking himself on the other side of the apartment
when Smartmom wants to have one of her little talks.
To meet him
half-way, Smartmom has adopted a more WASPy, repressive style of
fighting. There’s less vitriol and more teeth-grinding. She has, in
fact, learned to suck in her feelings. But she has increasingly felt
that this is not a healthy situation. In fact, if the study in the
newspaper is correct, this repression is killing her (and necessitating
expensive root canals).
“‘In men, keeping quiet during a fight
didn’t have any measurable effect on health,’” Smartmom continued from
the article. “ ‘But women who didn’t speak their minds in those fights
were four times as likely to die during the 10-year study period as
women who always told their husbands how they felt,’ ” according to the
July report in Psychosomatic Medicine.
“I feel vindicated,” Smartmom told him. “How did you feel?”
“Left
out. When we fight, I can feel the negative hormones coursing through
my veins attacking all of my delicate organs. Repression makes me sick,
too.”
This stopped Smartmom in her tracks. He was actually
admitting that his tendency to suppress his feelings wasn’t good for
him — or the marriage. Progress.
“Maybe men put up with so much
stuff that the extra step of putting up with their wives doesn’t make
that big a difference,” he said.
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Smartmom said and they were off and fighting again.
According
to the study, the way a couple fights was a “powerful predictor of a
man or woman’s risk for underlying heart disease. Strangely, it’s more
of a predictor than smoking or high cholesterol.
“So this is
good. You don’t have to be so terrified of fighting anymore,” Smartmom
said expressively. She told Hepcat to think of it like jogging in
Prospect Park or going for a ride on his expensive Bianchi bicycle that
he rarely uses anymore.
“This argument could save your life,” she screamed with just the barest hint of victory.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
NEWS FROM THE BROOKLYN PAPER
Did you see today’s Brooklyn Paper, I mean, the award winning Brooklyn Paper?
The Paper is running a big Thanksgiving contest: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/turkey/
SOMEONE is starting a Brooklyn daily newspaper.
This ad ran in BP’s classified “Help Wanted” page today:
EDITORIAL AND SALES STAFF WANTED
Editorial and sales staff wanted for new daily newspaper planning to launch in late November. This will be a compact-sized paid newspaper of general circulation (Monday through Friday) featuring Brooklyn’s top news in a breezy entertaining style, including unmatched coverage of new businesses and real estate transactions.
To request an invitation to an upcoming Open House, send us your resume.
editor@brooklyndailyherald.com
salesmanager@brooklyndailyherald.com
A WALRUS NAMED AKITUUSAG
Brooklyn’s biggest baby now has a name, and it’s a tongue-twister.
A walrus calf born at The New York Aquarium in June has been given the name Akituusaq. The name means “a gift given in return” and is taken from the Yupik language, indigenous to Eastern Russia and Alaska, where the walruses make their habitat.
Born on June 12th, the walrus calf weighed in at 115 pounds. Akituusaq will grow to be approximately 4,000 pounds.
The baby walrus is now on display at the aquarium. For an online peak, visit www.nyaquarium.com/babywalrus.
SELF-ABSORBED BOOMER TALKS TO A BROOKLYN PAINTER
Self-absorbed Boomer isn’t that self-absorbed. This week he has an interview with Brooklyn artist Mark Crawford. Here’s an excerpt. And go to SAB for more.
“I’m not an angry person,” Mark Crawford said, his pleasantly modulated
voice revealing his Midwestern origin. He was responding to my
observation, perhaps prompted by its New York Post headline-like title, that his painting, Wolfowitz Doomed,
seemed to me a visual expression of ire. Looking at that painting, seen
above, again, I saw that my eye had first been caught by the slashes of
red and their contrast with the dark ground on which they are arranged,
but had not focused on the broad swaths of white that overlay them,
some with descending rivulets that “droppeth as the gentle rain from
heaven.”
PETER LOFFREDO IS STARTING A BLOG
Does this mean that our pal Pete won’t be sending posts to OTBKB anymore? OTBKB’s loss and Full Permission Living’s gain. Stop on by every now and again, Pete.
My new blog is called Full Permission Living.
Full Permission Living is an approach to healing and self-actualization, but moreso, it is an approach to living life as it is naturally meant to be lived.
Full Permission Living is the based on the understanding that human beings are, by first nature, sane, loving, cooperative, creative, humorous, intelligent, productive and naturally self-regulating. Full Permission Living rests on the foundation of truth that all people are entitled to live pleasure-filled, spontaneous, lives without guilt, shame or oppressive inner rules and prohibitions.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are indeed our inalienable birthrights, and all human beings do have the potential to become “healthy, wealthy and wise,” as the founders of our country realized in writing about the nature of freedom and living according to natural law over two centuries ago. It is our accumulated oppressive beliefs, individually and en masse, and the suppression of emotions that has caused us to lead lives of “quiet desperation” or engage in destructive acting out. The good news is that now, we stand at the threshold of a new era in which humanity can realize itself to be a beautiful, magnificently designed, perfect expression of the great “I Am” of the Universe, living with full permission to be exactly who and what we are.
Some of the topics that we’ll talk about on the FULL PERMISSION LIVING blog will include:
– The true nature of the Self. Who we really are as human beings, and what our rightful place is in the Universe. We will look at a variety of ways that we have come to define ourselves and how those definitions influence how we experience our lives as a result;
– The nature of feelings. We will explore how emotions work and why we even have feelings. We will discover that our emotions, which are quite literally Energy-in-Motion, are a powerful force within us from where we create our personal and collective reality just like a perfect storm;
– How we do indeed create reality will also be one of our quite fascinating topics, incorporating not only ancient wisdom and intuitive knowledge on the subject, but also discoveries from modern quantuum physics, molecular biology and neuropsychology.
– We will even take a look at… You! Yes, you! We will examine each of the basic and quite uniquely different character structures that we form in order to adapt to and survive the slings and arrows of childhood, and how they effect everything from how much money we make and who we choose to love to the curvature of our spine and the shape of our upper lip. No one escapes from forming a character structure, but we will explore how we can escape from their crippling effects on our road to fulfillment.
Other topics will include:
– health, and how to live a vibrant, fully alive life from birth to death;
– adulthood, and what it truly means to be an adult in our times, and how to enjoy all the rights and privileges and powers of maturity;
– parenthood, and what children really need most from adults, and what parents really need to know about themselves in order to help children;
– dysfunction, and what forms our deformations take, as well as how to understand their usefulness in the healing process and in one’s own personal evolution;
– relationships, and how they are the cornerstone of a fulfilled life and how we can connect to the vastness of the Universe through our connections to other human beings;
– world events, and how each of our inner lives is reflected in the collective events that we find ourselves seemingly surrounded by;
– sex and sexuality, and how the forces of love, Eros and sex are the key and solution to every human problem there is.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
‘TIS THE WEEKEND 2
ON SATURDAY: HARVEST FESTIVAL IN JJ BYRNE PARK. Sponsored by Park Slope Parents and the Old Stone House. Saturday, October 13, 11 am – 3 pm in park on Fifth Avenue and 3rd Street. Pony Rides, Petting Zoo, Face Painting and MORE FUN.
ON SUNDAY: WALK DON’T DESTROY
Join your friends
and neighbors to help stop eminent domain abuse, massive
over-development and the destruction of the Brooklyn we know and love. More at No Land Grab.
The walk is about 2 miles, and
starts at noon at Freddys Bar. The event will include hundreds of
walkers and a closing community party at Soda Bar.
NOON — 1 pm: SIGN IN:Visit our tables at Freddy’s Bar (on the intersection of 6th Avenue and
Dean Street) to pick up your registration (or to register if you
haven’t already done so).
1 pm — 3:00 pm:
Join the Grand Marshall to walk to Grand Army Plaza, around and back to the Soda Bar.
INCIDENTS IN OR NEAR PROSPECT PARK
Gowanus Lounge has word of: "Scary Park Slope Incident #2: Dad & Baby Assaulted by Teen on Prospect Park West."
This follows a story that’s been on Park Slope Parents (and the Gowanus Lounge) about a family dispute that looked like a kidnapping. This incident occurred on October 10th around 5 p.m. in the Harmony Playground (also known as the 9th Street playground).
One reader of Park Slope Parents had this to say about that incident (I know the writer well and trust her account implicitly). She was there.
"I too was there and saw the whole thing happen. It
seems as if it is a family dispute. The father of the
two children was in the playground with the kids. The
mother, accompanied by 2 men, swooped in, pulled the
kids off the monkey bars, and took the two kids. She
ran out of the playground with them. The kids did not
cry–they obviously knew her. The father did not even
notice right away and when he did he, understandably,
freaked out.
A sad story for these kids and this family…but it
was not a stranger abduction so there is no cause for
community alarm. Perhaps a reminder, though, to speak
with your kids about dealing with strangers."
21-YEAR-OLD CONVICTED OF GAY HATE CRIME
A 21-year-old man was convicted today of
manslaughter as a hate crime for chasing a gay man to his death on a
busy highway, despite his claims that he too was gay.
A Brooklyn Supreme Court jury deliberated for four days before
finding Anthony Fortunato guilty in the Oct. 8, 2006, attack that
killed Michael Sandy.
The jury acquitted Fortunato of murder, which could have put him
behind bars for life. At his sentencing, he will face a prison term of
between five and 25 years.
Prosecutors said Fortunato was the ringleader of a group of four
young men who cooked up a plan to rob a gay man. They connected with
Sandy online and lured him to Plum Beach under the pretext of sex,
prosecutors said.
The attackers beat Sandy and when he tried to run away they chased
him onto Brooklyn’s Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a car,
prosecutors said.
Fortunato tried to beat the hate crime rap by testifying that he too
was gay. "I could be homosexual or bisexual. … I was leading two
complete double lives," he said.
But prosecutors argued that Fortunato targeted Sandy because he was gay.
In a videotaped confession, co-defendant John Fox said Fortunato
told his cohorts he could find someone to rob in a gay chat room.
"He was telling us how, like, it’s easy to get them once you talk to
them, Fox said, referring to gay men. "They’ll come and meet you, and
we were gonna do it for the money."
Fox was convicted last week of similar charges.
A third suspect, Ilya Shurov, is awaiting trial. The fourth
defendant, Gary Timmons, took a plea deal in exchange for his testimony.
‘TIS THE WEEKEND
SATURDAY: INNER LIVES, DEVELOPING CHARACTERS is
Regina McBride’s monthly writing workshop in Park Slope. 10 am until 5
pm. To register: nightsea21@nyc.rr.com.
Using relaxation, sense memory, and emotional memory (Stanislavski
acting techniques transformed for the writer) a variety of exercises
will be offered to enable the student to find a deeper, richer
connection to the character he or she is creating.
Exercises will be followed by writing periods, and opportunities for
people to read and share their work. The atmosphere will be safe, with
the focus on exploration. The class is designed to help the student
break into new territory with the character, and with the story itself.
SATURDAY: TEENS FOR DARFUR, a benefit concert at the Old Stone House
with Cool and Unusual, Dulaney Banks, Post No Bills, Banzai, and The Floor is Lava. 6 p.m. $10 for adults. $5 for kids
and teens. All welcome. Funds will go to the American Jewish World Service Refugee Relief Effort in Darfur. Fifth Avenue and 3rd Street in Park Slope.
MOVIES AT BAM: Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution and Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited.
BROOKLYN READING WORKS OFFICIAL SCHEDULE FOR 2007-2008
BROOKLYN READING WORKS
AT THE OLD STONE HOUSE
Curated by Louise Crawford
Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope
Info: brooklynreadingworks.com or theoldstonehouse.org
SEPTEMBER 20
HOT NEW AUTHOR, HOT NEW BOOK with Rudy Delson
OCTOBER 18
BROKEN LAND: POEMS OF BROOKLYN
with Phillis Levin, Andrea Baker, Patricia Spears Jones, and Tom Sleigh
NOVEMBER 15
POETRY PUNCH
with Lynn Chandhok, Zaedryn Meade, Cheryl B, Michele Madigan Somerville and Marietta Abrams
DECEMBER 13
JAZZ WRITING, WRITING JAZZ
with Jason Weiss and jazz/spoken word artist Roy Nathanson
JANUARY 17:
RAW THEATER
Side Street: a reading of a new play by Rosemary Moore
FEBRUARY 28
MEMOIRATHON
with Branka Ruzak, Mary Warren, Carla Thomas, Marian Fontana and Nica Lalli
March 27
INNER LIVES OUT LOUD
Readings from Regina McBride’s Inner Lives, Developing Characters Intensive Workshops
APRIL 10
FUN WITH PUPPETS, SCISSORS AND FICTION
Barbara Ensor and Martin Kleinman
MAY 8
THIRD ANNUAL_BROOKLYN BLOGFEST (location TBD).
JUNE 12
ANNUAL READING OF THE 808 UNION WRITER’S GROUP
All readings at 8 p.m.
SUBLET NEEDED OR APARTMENT SWAP
A lovely couple who live in Germany are coming to Brooklyn for Christmas and would like to sublet your apartment if you’re going away.
They are also open to the idea of doing an apartment swap. I don’t know the couple but my friend is the woman’s aunt and she has nothing but the highest regard for her niece.
How about Christmas in Munich? They live on the Isar River, minutes from downtown, opera, art museums, theater…
Nice non-smoking 30-something couple looking for a small (studio is fine) apartment (or room) from Christmas day to January 6. Preferably in Park Slope.
We are neat and clean and have no pet allergies. Looking to pay around 1000k. If anyone is interested in a housing swap we can offer a charming, centrally located apartment on a tree-lined street in Munich Germany. The apartment sits directly on the Isar river, is minutes from downtown and all major cultural institutions (opera, symphony, national theater) and of course the alps are less than an hour away.
If interested in either option please contact elreagh@yahoo.com