GAY, FAT, CRIPPLED, BLACK AT BROOKLYN READING WORKS: THURS. 8 p.m.
This Thursday at Brooklyn Reading Works I am pleased to present Adarro Minton, author of Gay, Fat, Crippled, Black. Old Stone House. Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets. 8 p.m.
Here’s the blurb from Amazon, which will give you some idea of what to expect at this reading you won’t want to miss.
Like
Hubert Selby’s joyously tragic characters, Adarro Minton has created a
faction of players that seem to exist on an Earth 2. The author has
created powerful, challenging and at the end, beautiful stories about
the most important and universal things in life and about humanity. We
are vaguely familiar these people, we have put them in radical
pigeonholes and expect The Department of Homeland Security to keep them
in their place. This book contains stories of people living in the
metropolitan back ends of New York City, some rich, some poor, all
streetwise, misguided and desperate. a fat girl, a faggot, a lawyer and
several others. We follow as their lives are systematically broken down
and destroyed. This is a harsh, raw, and daring piece of writing. Be
warned: not for the faint hearted.
About the Author by Adarro Minton:
I have been expelled from
St Peter Claver, St Catherine of Siena, and The Union Springs Academy,
a Seventh Day Adventist boarding school, after refusing to submit to a
weekly shower game that five lusty upper-classmen came up with.
I survived the disco era in New York City, in imagined opulent splendor
at Studio 54, Better Days, The Nickel Bar, 220 Club, The Saint, The
Mineshaft, and The Paradise Garage.
I survived mescaline, blotter
acid, cocaine, freebase cocaine, crack, danger sex in subway bathrooms,
hunger, homelessness, and three serious suicide attempts.
In 1999, I lost the use of my arms and legs to a mysterious, and still undiagnosed form of myositis.
Thanks to 12 steps, and the love of K.D. Haynes, I got up (so to speak)
off of my clinically depressed ass, and in the year 2000, I began to
forage through a lifetime of stories circling my soul. This collection
represents the first set of them.
TODAY AT 4 P.M.: INTERFAITH SERVICE AT OLD FIRST
Today at 4 p.m.
This inter-faith service at Old First Church in honor of Martin Luther King comes at a perfect time. Come see leaders of many faiths put aside their differences and come together against the war. It’s very inspiring.
Martin Luther King Holiday Observance: Citizen MLK
"Remembering Dr. King with Heart and Mind"
Jeremiads by this generation of clergy & leaders on inequitable and unjust policy abroad AND at home
Sunday, January 14th 4 PM sharp
Old First Reformed Church 729 Carroll St. @ 7th Ave., Park Slope
For more info: contact Brown Memorial Baptist Church at (718) 638-6121
or Old First Reformed Church at (718) 638-8300
Observe the MLK Holiday with our Pastors, Rabbis, Imams and leaders as they reflect on Dr. King, clergyman, countryman and war critic.
There will also be a discussion of the best way to practice democracy as a person of God. Stand together as one human family and tell our elected officials: Stop Recruiting Our Kids for Iraq.
Join us in a call to action concerning peace, justice and the re-distribution of our tax dollars for our local needs.
Featuring: Citizen MLK Juniors An Interfaith Youth Presentation.
Participating congregations: Memorial Baptist Church, First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, Congregation Beth Elohim, Old First Reformed Church, Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Council of People’s Organizations, Islamic Mission of America,“ Dawood Mosque, First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn Heights and others
PARALLEL PLAY AT BARNES AND NOBLE: Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Park Slope writer, Thomas Rayfiel, got a great review in People Magazine of his new book "Parallel Play".
(I knew there was a good reason to get People this week. Dang. I also wanted to read about the new thing between Scarlett Johanson and Justin Timberlake).
I don’t have that review at my disposal (please send if you have it). But Publisher’s Weekly had this to say:
Rayfiel’s fourth novel is a dark, hit-and-miss snapshot of young
motherhood. Eve, now 27, is overwhelmed: her unexpected pregnancy
resulted in marriage to older doctor Harvey Gabriel and ambivalence
about caring for Ann, her seven-month-old daughter. Eve is a far cry
from the supermoms she encounters at the park ("Ow! You little bitch!"
she snaps when Ann bites her breast), and her relationship with Harvey
has cooled…
Rayfiel is reading at the Seventh Avenue Barnes and Noble this Tuesday at 7:30 pm. Anyone want to join me? Trust me, this is THE book for your book club. It’s really good — and great for discussion.
Eva Ziesel Interview on Creative Times
Creative Times has an interview with legendary glassware designer, Eve Ziesel. Here’s a short excerpt. Read the rest at Creative Times, Eleanor Taubman’s cool blog.
I first learned about Eva Zeisel during a June 2006 episode of CBS News Sunday Morning.
She was born in 1938 to a Jewish family in Hungary, and, over the
course of her life, has designed roughly 100,000 glass and ceramic
objects. As a young adult, she was made Director of Glass and China for
the USSR. A year later, she was arrested and imprisoned for 16 months
in Moscow on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Stalin (!). Twelve of
those months she spent in solitary confinement. She was released for
reasons unknown to her.
A PIANO FOR OSFO
Yesterday, we bought OSFO an electronic keyboard that really looks like a piano at The Guitar Center. Hepcat, Teen Spirit, and I were at the store returning Teen Spirit’s right-handed electric guitar for a lefty. While there, we checked out the keyboards.
And there it was.
Not cheap or anything — it was a reasonably priced floor model of a Casio with 88 weighted keys and the look and feel of a very small piano. The most important thing: the weighted keys.
Hepcat wanted to get a portable keyboard but I liked this one for its faux piano look. It really played into my fantasy that a home should have a piano — not a keyboard on an ironing board type of stand.
It wasn’t really a price thing. Hepcat thought the portable keyboard would be great "in case OSFO starts a band or something. It’ll be easier to move," he said.
But I was thinking — traditional piano, piano bench, a metronome sitting on top… Of course this thing has an electronic metronome and over 60 sounds. It’s pretty high tech. But within a traditional-looking piano body.
What can I say, I grew up with a grand piano in the foyer of our Upper West Side apartment. It was a Knabe, given to my grandparent’s when they were married in 1920. My sister took piano lessons from an old woman named Mrs. Halstead and my father played a made up kind of atonal jazz and his take on the Goldberg variations.
Hepcat left it up to me "and my vision of what I wanted," he said. We had the piano delivered and it arrived less than two hours later. Not without a crisis. The delivery guy left the power supply back at the store and there was no manual.
But we got all that ironed out and within an hour or so, OSFO was practicing for her Thursday lesson. There’s a quiet switch on the piano so we’re hoping not to disturb our neighbors.
OSFO has been wandering over to the piano a lot, picking out her music, getting ready for her first recital in a month.
It’s just the way I always wanted it to be…
EXPLORING BROOKLYN
I ventured out of provincial Park Slope today and went to the Best Buy Store on Bay Parkway to buy a flat screen television for our Babysiterrandsomuchmore.
And that’s not all. I took the B6 bus on Cropsey Avenue to 86th Street and Cropsey, where there’s and elevated D-train station. Before getting on the train, I went to an amazing middle eastern eatery and had a hummus pita sandwich, which was excellent. A television was tuned to a belly dancing tournement and the owner walked a customer’s small baby around. Once on the train I rode and rode and rode until we got to 36th Street where I could change for the R-train and home to Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue.
THE RABBI RUNS FOR HIS HEART
Here’s a lovely post from Rabbi Andy Bachman posted on his Brooklyn Jews’ blog. The Rabbi will be at today’s interfaith service in honor of Martin Luther King at Old First at 4 p.m.
On my way out today to do a run in the park, I got a call from the
front door that someone needed to see me. As I approached the security
desk at shul, there was a skinny, elderly woman with a big gold cross
on her neck and she had cornered one of our maintenance men with what
seemed to be a pretty animated monologue about miracles.A live one, I thought. Just my kind.
“I’m
the rabbi,” I said, and she pivoted with enthusiasm toward me and began
asking me various theological questions like, “Can miracles happen? Is
God good to the Jews? Do you think I have special powers?” Who was I to
say “no?”So we stood and spoke for a while. I’d say she was a
bit frayed mentally; together in some ways, unwound in others; in
mediocre health; strong and resourceful; funny and sad. She grew up in
the neighborhood and now lives in a nursing home on the other side of
Park Slope. I promised to go and find her sometime next week for a
longer conversation.
Find out what happened next here.
MY FATHER’S BIRTHDAY
My dad’s birthday went without a hitch. Which is a good thing. We always say that momentous things happen on his birthday.
In 1989, Hepcat and I announced our engagement at the Gotham Restaurant. Before we got around to it, we nearly walked out because the service was so bad and my father asked if there was a mutiny in the kitchen. Fortunately we stayed. They gave us free champagne and Hepcat made the announcement at dessert.
In 1990, while dining in a restaurant on Spring Street, the Gulf War broke out and we taxied home to Brooklyn to watch the invasion of Kuwait on television.
Recent years have been more subdued. We had a festive meal at Mario Batali’s Lupa for dad’s 75th. A birthday dinner at 360 in Red Hook was especially nice.
Usually, the temperatures are much lower and his birthday is a cozy night in from the cold. Last year, we gave him a down jacket from Brooklyn Industries, which he loved. Unfortunately it didn’t fit and good old Brooklyn Industries wouldn’t exchange it (FINAL SALE ITEM).
Tonight we ate in a new French place in Brooklyn Heights on Henry Street. The joint was packed and the food was good. We gave my dad a book of photographs of Katrina and a book of Tiepelo’s work published by the Frick Museum. He was happy. MiMa Cat gave him $100. to make a Pick-6 bet with — as in six horse races in a row.
Back at their apartment, we talked about the state of the world, Iraq, and the need to impeach George W. Bush. We listened to Anita O’Day scat sing and ate bread pudding from Sweet Melissa’s.
All in all, an unmomentous night. And that’s always a good thing.
By the way, DAD: Happy Birthday!
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
FRIENDSHIPS TRANSCEND GEOGRAPHY
So I was walking down Seventh Avenue talking to my great friend Red Eft (Gluten-Free) on the cell phone as I often do and I mentioned that she and her husband, Dadu, were in this week’s Smartmom.
I guess she was near her computer because she read the column while I was crossing Union Street.
"’Suburban Pals a Memory?’" she said. "We didn’t move to the suburbs. Kingston is a small city."
"I know. That must have gotten edited out," Smartmom said.
"’A city childhood is no different from childhood anywhere else?’" she read my line from the article. "I don’t think that’s true at all," she added.
"I know. It’s kind of a joke," Smartrmom said.
"’The ease of shouting up to a window Brooklyn-style must be replaced with the effort of picking up the phone?’ You never shouted up to our window Brooklyn-style," she joked.
"Ahh. Yeah. I took liberties. The characters are sometimes amalgams. You know. Smartmom is an amplified version of me," I said probably defensively.
"This thing is so NY-centric," Red Eft said.
"Yeah. That’s kind of the joke. Smartmom has this persona…"
By the time I got to Lincoln Place we were talking about other things. I wasn’t sure if she was mad at me or just taking issue with the writing. I certainly didn’t mean to offend them and I’m pretty sure she knows that.
Red Eft and my friendship transcends geography and is all the richer for their move upstate. It is a friendship built on shared interests, trust, shared emotions, and insight. I value her deeply — not that I have to say that here.
I amplify aspects of myself and my Brooklyn-centric attitude when I write Smartmom. Much of it is tongue-in-cheek. Some of it isn’t. I guess it can be hard to tell. When I write Smartmom, she speaks to me. Half the time, I don’t even KNOW what she’s gonna say. And that’s the fun.
Red Eft, Dadu, and family are coming down to Brooklyn on Sunday. We’re having brunch at Beso, our old favorite Fifth Avenue haunt. Kingston is really just two hours from Park Slope.
They left Park Slope for their own, and very personal, reasons. And they’ve made a really interesting life for themselves in that SMALL UPSTATE CITY. I commend their ability to change their lives in such an interesting and fulfilling way.
But I bet they don’t have pancakes like Beso’s in Kingston. oops.
PURE POETRY FRM ARIELLA COHEN
Gowanus Lounge thinks that Ariella Cohen’s piece this week in the Brooklyn Papers about the Revere Sugar Plant is pure poetry. I agree. Kudos to Ariella Cohen for such evocative writing. Photo by Soupflowers.
At the Revere Sugar refinery on the new gold coast of
Red Hook, the high ceiling is a silver dome over the South Brooklyn
waterfront. Look past the tree growing in that window and see how the
Statue of Liberty shines on the water, see the skylines of Manhattan to
the north and Sunset Park to the south.
To be inside a factory on the verge of demolition is like visiting a
place of worship emptied by earthquake. The ceilings are high.
Unfiltered sunlight washes over everything: chairs that once held
people, stray leather shoes, a suit jacket, ink-stained ledgers,
bashed-up books. A sapling grows in the arch of a broken, scroll-shaped
window.At the Revere Sugar refinery on the new gold coast of
Red Hook, the high ceiling is a silver dome over the South Brooklyn
waterfront. Look past the tree growing in that window and see how the
Statue of Liberty shines on the water, see the skylines of Manhattan to
the north and Sunset Park to the south.
NEW SIGNS FOR PEDESTRIANS TO FIND THE BKLYN BRIDGE
It’s official. Now everyone’s done the story now. Including me. But I think Brooklyn Paper had the scoop. Funny thing is, just last week when we were in DUMBO, some Long Islanders asked us how to get on the walkway to the Brooklyn Bridge. Neither Hepcat or I could tell them. We mentioned something about Miss Beck’s signs. But… we weren’t much help. It is one of the great walks in America. I’m glad to see there will be signs showing the way. This from New York 1 (NY1.com):
New signs will be installed in Downtown Brooklyn, making it easier for
pedestrians to find the world’s largest suspension bridge. NY1’s Roger
Clark filed the following report.For years, tourists and residents alike struggled to navigate
through Downtown Brooklyn in order to get to the Brooklyn Bridge’s
footpath. But, that all changed when Roslyn Beck, 71, started making
signs to help people find their way."People just keep getting lost, [I’d] catch them opening up their
maps, looking and trying to find the bridge,” recalled Beck. “They have
a subway map with them, which doesn’t always help."Even though the Parks Department sometimes removed her signs, Beck
says she kept making more — in an attempt to help lost soles."Just a nice thing to do to help people who live in the area who need some help getting to the bridge,” said Beck.
Now the city is supporting this former college instructor and
professional tennis official’s signs, and adding some new ones as well."These signs that Ms. Beck has provided very generously, and the
formal and permanent signs that will be installed in the days to come
will really make it easier for a tourist to visit Brooklyn and to
celebrate with us that we are really one of the hottest places in the
globe," said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.Brooklyn was recently named one of the world’s hottest tourist
attractions by Lonely Planet Travel, and Brooklyn’s downtown is
booming.Officials have taken the hint, as the Metro Tech Business
Improvement District is putting 60 brand new information kiosks and 60
directional signs downtown and in surrounding neighborhoods…more at New York 1
SMARTMOM: SUBURBAN PALS A MEMORY
Here it is, from this week’s newly re-named and designed Brooklyn Paper:
Smartmom hates it when, every couple of years, one of her friends or
neighbors decides to leave Park Slope for supposedly greener pastures.
The move is usually preceded by a whole lot of bellyaching: “The
city is dirty and dangerous”; “my apartment’s too small”; “real-estate
prices are through the roof”; “parking is ridiculous”; “the schools are
overcrowded”; “there’s too much crime”; “private school is too
expensive.”
Times like these, Smartmom finds herself getting defensive. When
people say they’re leaving Park Slope, she feels her core values,
her life choices, are under attack.
So what’s wrong with Park Slope? If it’s good enough for Smartmom…
At the same time, Smartmom can’t help but think that if people move
away, there’ll be less of them to steal a Thursday parking space, a
spot on line at ConnMuffCo, or a place or two in class at PS 321.
OK. Smartmom gets it. Everyone has real-estate and quality-of-life longings he can’t satisfy here.
But are such concerns worth going bumper-to-bumper in the Lincoln Tunnel or shopping in big box stores at the mall?
When her friends, the Deserters, moved to a big Victorian house in Nyack, Smartmom pretended to be happy for them.
But really she felt abandoned. Weren’t they going to miss their
impromptu Sunday night potluck suppers and their juicy stoop
conversations?
When Gluten Free, Dadu and family left Prospect Heights for a house, upstate Kingston that’s almost as big as Atlantic Yards, Smartmom
supported their decision to move. But what she really wanted to say
was: why would you want to move so far away from me?
Smartmom knows she has to stop personalizing everything! But nobody likes to be left behind — especially for the wrong reasons.
Often, the desire to move can be summed up by one word: backyard.
For some baffling reason, backyards have deep psychological meaning to
those who grew up in the ’burbs. It’s their Rosebud, their code word
for “normal childhood.”
Deep down, those who choose the ’burbs believe that growing up in a big city is just plain weird.
This argument galls Smartmom because she’s a city kid through and
through (and just look how normal she is!). As the Music for Aardvarks
song goes: “Beep beep, honk honk, can you spare a dime? Have a bagel
with a schmear and see the Guggenheim…”
A city childhood is no different from childhood anywhere else.
Smartmom frolicked on West 86th Street, dropped water balloons from her
parent’s ninth-floor bedroom window, popped wheelies on her bike in
Riverside Park and got to trick-or-treat on 12 floors of her apartment
building — what a treat bag!
Yes, there are also some key differences. At an early age, Smartmom
knew where to find the Jackson Pollocks at MOMA and the French
impressionists at the Met.
She went to “be-ins” in Central Park and Young People’s Concerts
with Leonard Bernstein at Lincoln Center. She frequented FAO Schwarz,
Barney Greengrass, Charivari, the Automat, the New Yorker Bookstore,
and the Thalia.
In high school, she’d hang out with friends at the West End, a jazz club near Columbia University.
And when it was time for Saturday Night Live, she’d hail a cab and be home in time for Rosanne Rosannadana.
Then as now, subways, taxis and car services were a godsend to city
parents of teens. Teen driving is just one less thing to worry about.
But it’s true, Smartmom and Hepcat considered leaving Park Slope once. Only once.
In fact, they came very close to buying a mid-century modern farmhouse in Northern California right next door to Hepcat’s mom.
Occasionally, Smartmom allows herself to wonder if they made a mistake. Maybe life on the farm would have been really cool.
Instead of a column in The Brooklyn Paper, she could be writing for
the Tracy Press. She’d find out what it’s like to be a landowner. Her
kids would get to see stars at night and Republicans at the Safeway.
Part of her loved the idea of reinventing herself as a California
farm girl. But she knew she didn’t have the guts to make a big change
in her life.
So while Brooklyn is obviously the right place for her gang — Teen
Spirit likes to be walking distance from Music Matters — Smartmom is
trying to learn to respect the choices her friends make and not get so
defensive when they leave.
Smartmom still waves at Mrs. Deserter’s window every time she walks OSFO to school in the morning.
But Smartmom hasn’t mastered the art of the long-distance
friendship. New phone numbers must be memorized. New conversation
topics must be substituted for the old standbys: local real estate, 321
teachers, gripes about the Food Co-op, and Third Street gossip.
As for Gluten Free and Dadu, Smartmom still dials 718 instead of 845
whenever she calls them even though they’ve been gone for four years.
The ease of shouting up to a window Brooklyn-style must be replaced
with the effort of picking up the phone.
They say it can be done, but Smartmom is still having trouble. After
all, she still hasn’t visited the Deserters in their palace in Nyack,
which, let’s face it, isn’t that far away (physically, at least).
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
BROOKLYN PAPER: THEY’VE GOT A BRAND NEW BAG
I got this exciting note in my in box today from Gersh Kuntzman, the editor-in-chief of the Brooklyn Paper. Got that? Brooklyn Paper—singular.
Last week, we unveiled a stunning Web site. This week, it’s jam packed with action. Here goes:
1. 94 year old guy EVICTED! He’ll be homeless by next week. Says he’ll sleep in his Buick. Only in New York, kids, only in New York:2.
The Stoop: The Paper’s NEW neighborhood feature, which (for now) only
appears as a concise unit in our five separately zoned editions (it’s
GORGEOUS; I hope you’ll check it out). For now, here are the separate
links from each page (man, it’s a lot of news and features, so hold
onto your mice!):a) Fort Greene: Liquors gives up the ghost: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02liquors.htmlb) Bay Ridge: The PLO on the move? http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02plo.htmlc) South Slope: A war of words, and more, on 16th St: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02condowar.htmld) Park Slope: Rev. Liz speaks about the sale of her church garden: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02gethsemane.htmle) Red Hook: Inside the Revere Sugar factory (no, really, inside!): http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02sugarplant.htmlf) Fort Greene: The Baby invasion spreads: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02babies.htmlg) Brooklyn Heights: A wild charge of anti-Semitism at a Kosher restaurant: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02bagel.htmlh) Bay Ridge: Al Gore teaches our columnist’s babysitter a thing or two: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02algore.htmli) Brooklyn Heights: Housing Works to open Montague Street thrift store: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/2/30_02fishseddy.html3. The Rushkoff mugging: Our take:4. Smartmom weighs in on people who leave Brooklyn:5. Payback isn’t always a bitch: Andrews lands job with Spitzer:6. Global warming in Brooklyn: Our editorial cartoonist’s take:7. Editorial: The Paper calls it like it sees it: Brooklyn Bridge Park is still no park.
SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENT IN BROOKLYN
Holy smokes. Another school bus accident in Brooklyn.
A mini school bus overturned in Brooklyn this morning leaving seven people hurt, including five students.The bus was on its way to Xaverian High School at around 9 a.m.
when it overturned on 71st Street at Narrows Avenue in Bay Ridge.The school says the bus was making a turn onto 71st Street when it
was clipped by a minivan. Neighbors say drivers often speed through the
intersection."It’s ironic because I had just emailed the mayor yesterday about
the problems with the driving around here," said one area resident.
"The way that the kids and the parents drive recklessly and too
quickly. It’s a school zone, technically it should be 15 miles an hour
and no one adheres to that."The Fire Department says the students, the driver and the bus matron were taken to Lutheran Hospital with minor injuries.
There’s no word on what happened to the minivan or its driver.
The bus is owned by Gotham Transport Corporation.
PEACEFUL ANTI-IRAQ WAR PROTEST IN TIMES SQUARE
President Bush’s plan to send thousands more soldiers to Iraq drew protesters out to Times Square Thursday.
About 200 people gathered at the military recruitment center to
protest the war, chanting “1, 2, 3, 4 — bring ’em home, stop the war.”The rally was organized by United For Peace and Justice but many anti-war groups were in attendance.
“I think its just more fuel for the fire,” said one protestor.
“He’s been told by generals and elder statesman that what we’ve been
doing in the past isn’t going to help. So why would 20,000 more troops
help?”“Bush is wrong,” said Judith LeBalanc of United for Peace and
Justice. “He was wrong when he started the war, but now many people
Republicans and Democrats, the majority of people in our country, the
majority of people in Iraq, want the troops to come home. Adding more
troops only creates more crises and more dying.”There was a heavy police presence but everything remained peaceful.
WEEKLY ANTI-WAR VIGIL IN FRONT OF BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL
I just found out that there’s a weekly anti-war vigil in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall, organized by Brooklyn Friends, the Quaker organization in Brooklyn. Here’s the info.
Brooklyn,
NY — Weekly vigil, Tuesdays, 5:30 – 6:30 pm, Joralemen St. in front of
Brooklyn Borough Hall; Brooklyn Friends, 718-850-0809, vicrog35@Earthlink.net,
www.afsc.org
Continue reading WEEKLY ANTI-WAR VIGIL IN FRONT OF BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL
TEST TALK
So much talk, talk, talk about the fourth grade tests.
Parent-to-parent: How is your kid doing? How are you doing? Don’t you hate it? Is your kid anxious? How anxious? etc.
Teacher-to-parent: The kids are really doing great. It’s a tough week. They’re getting through it. We really feel for them. We’re very proud of them. etc.
Parent-to-teacher: My kid is a wreck about the test. What should I do? etc.
Parent-to-kid: Don’t worry. You’ll do great. Just take it slow. Don’t worry if someone else finishes before you. Check your answers. Get a good night’s rest. Eat a good breakfast. Take your time. I know you’re going to do the best you can. I LOVE YOU.
Kid-to-parent: We’ve been doing test prep for months!! I can’t wait for this to be over? Will I really be left back if I don’t do well on this test. Will I get into a middle school if I don’t do well on this test? Will you still love me if I don’t do well on this test? Will we celebrate when this is over?
Here and there: One teacher told her students to come up with a positive mantra for themselves. To say that over and over to quell their anxiety. One mom taught the kids in her son’s class meditation.
Overheard: "Mr. Hess, Mr. Hess, How did I do on the test today? How did I do? (Mr. Hess, a very beloved and gentle teacher at PS 321, explained that he has no idea and that it will take months to score the tests…He probably assured him that he did his very best…)
Overall: it’s done. The kids survived. Resiliently. Time to get back to being a kid. Hey, does anyone remember what it means to be a kid?
‘DEM DEMS WILL BE IN DENVER NOT NYC
New York City was passed over in favor of the Mile-High city as the
site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in a vote Thursday.The vote was supposed to take place last fall but was pushed back because both cities were struggling with logistical issues.
New York City had sought the convention, but Mayor Michael
Bloomberg had said he would not commit the city to underwrite the
convention’s costs.“We are disappointed, but as I had pointed out a number of times, these conventions have gotten very expensive,” said Bloomberg.
Bloomberg added that he felt the fundraising would fall on him, but
he has other obligations, like the World Trade Center memorial.Denver had an enthusiastic bid, but critics say it was riddled with
logistical problems. Democratic Chairman Howard Dean says the decision
was a strategic one. The recent Democratic gains in the west have given
the party hope that it can make more progress in the region come 2008..
OTBKB AND NO_WORDS INTERVIEWED BY DANISH JOURNALIST
OTBKB and No_Words were interviewed on Thursday by a Danish Fullbright Scholar, who is getting a degree at the Columbia School of Journalism.
This is the second time a student from Columbia has schlepped out to Park Slope to interview OTBKB.
She was very surprised when I told her my age. I’m pretty sure she thought I was a lot younger. I hope.
The Danish journalist’s topic is "Citizen Blogging." The conversation covered a lot of ground, including the rise of blogging in Brooklyn, personal blogs vs. public interest and activist blogs, the way that local newspapers are using bloggers as unpaid stringers, the way that print newspapers are appropriating aspects of blogging into what they do.
She mentioned that Aaron Barlow, owner of Shakespeare’s Sister in Cobble Hill, is coming out with a book about blogging. More information please…
The Danish journalist had some interesting questions. Maybe some of you would like to weigh in in the comments area. No nasty comments, please. Tastefully negative is fine.
How would your readers describe OTBKB?
Why do your readers read OTBKB?
THE FOURTH GRADE TESTS AND MEDITATION
This year’s public school fourth graders are done — done with three days of standardized testing. The math test is in March. But for now they can just relax and give themselves a big hug.
The parents and teachers can give themselves a big hug, too. Because they’re done with months of test-prep and anticipation of THE TEST, which is important largely because it can determine entry to certain middle school. I repeat: some, not all The kids are:
–Done with having to have good nutritious breakfasts even if they’re not hungry because they’re so nervous.
–Done with having to go to sleep earlier than usual even when they’re not tired because they’re so nervous.
I ran into a writer friend who said, "So, are you writing about the test?" I told her that I have nothing to say and I’m not going to say it.
But that wasn’t really true.
Really. What can you say? Boo Hoo. It’s a drag to see our kids put through this rigamarole.
Perhaps there are some positives:
–Much of life is a test: so this is good preparation. Sad to say.
–Teaching to this particular test isn’t a waste — some of it is quite worthwhile. Again, it’s good preparation for things to come.
That said, I could say: Oy vey. Sigh. What a drag. Why put them through it? Does the test really measure anything important? Should children be measured by bubble tests? Should they be stressed out at age nine about their future?
Lawyer Friend told me that in the weeks before the test she taught the kids in her son’s class relaxation techniques and meditation breathing. She read them Thich Nhat Hanh poetry. She played soothing music. She taught them to be still.
Now that’s a life lesson worth learning.
THE O.C. IS ENDING: ONLY 6 MORE EPISODES
Tonight I found out that there are only 6 more episodes of The O.C. That’s it. Kaput. It’s over. Needless to say, this girl from Kings County will really miss her dopey TV friends from Orange County.
The O.C. is my weekly does of dumb television. And I look forward to it. So much. Thursday is O.C. night. OSFO and I watch it together. I am, like, so completely sad about the fact that it’s ending.
Why you might ask? Well, er, ah, uhhh…
For some reason, I am very attached to the characters. I think the show is funny. The nasty characters are satisfyingly nasty. The cute characters are really, really cute (I have a crush on Ryan, pictured left). There’s some good acting. Some good writing. Some ridiculously bad writing. Some pretty bad acting.
I love that ditzy, crazy Taylor is going out with my Ryan. I love that Taylor speaks French and was briefly married to a French intellectual (who wrote a bestselling book about their sex life).
Ryan is the oh so troubled one. His great love, Marisa, died last season. He’s a child of the streets. A little bit tough. A little bit tongue-tied. Estranged from both parents, he was adopted by a rich lawyer and his wife. He’s raw. He’s shy. He’s hurtin’. He’s cute.
I love Summer and her transformation from Newport Beach girl into envionmental activist at
Brown University until she gets kicked out for freeing the rabbits in
the science lab. And she keeps one and names it Pancake.
I love funny, shy, comic-book artist Seth who is Jewish and in love with Summer.
I love Peter Gallagher playing a Jewish super lawyer, super dad. Plus, he did a great Jerry Lewis imitation tonight.
I love Kaitlin for her utterly bitchy, "too cool for school", utterly debased and debauched high school attitude.
And then there’s Julie, the queen of mean. Heck, she’s running a
male (twenty-something men for middle-aged women) prostitution ring out
of the office she shares with too-good-to-be true-Kirsten. Yes,
Kirsten, the most plastic character on the show. Wise, womanly, above
the fray…
Whoa. Whoa. Wait a minute, Kirsten used to have a drinking problem
and went to rehab (that’s when I first started watching. She has
backstory, I forgot).
Wouldn’t you miss these characters, too. If you read The O.C. message boards, most fans think the show went to hell after Marissa died. This season’s plots have been very off the wall. The ship is definitely going down and some are glad that they’re ending the misery.
But what about: THE SOUNDTRACKS!!!
SHAKESPEARE’S SISTER IN CARROLL GARDENS
The Danish Fullbright Scholar mentioned Shakespeare’s Sister to me today. I said, sounds familiar, don’t know it.
Well I do. It’s that little shop next to the Sweet Melissa’s in Carroll Gardens. I’ve been there many times to look at their greeting cards.
Danish Fullbright Scholar told me that the owner, Aaron Barlow, is writing a book about blogging. Sounds interesting. More info anyone?
Turns out there’s a lot more going on in there. Here’s how they describe themselves on their website:
Shakespeare’s Sister, along with our gallery/crafts-mall The Artback, provides gifts a little more surprising, a bit more unexpected than what might be found at other gift stores.
In business since 1994, Shakespeare’s Sister takes its name from Virgnia Woolf’s "A Room of One’s Own," where Woolf counters the argument that women are not as creative as men. We believe creativity is found everywhere, among all ages, sexes, races, and nations.
They also offer this interesting service:
Have you a book to publish? We at Shakespeare’s Sister are offering a new service, preparing manuscripts for print-on-demand publication. With our experienced compositor and cover designer, we can allow you complete control over how your final product will look–all for as low as $350.00.
If you then use a print-on-demand service such as that provided by lulu.com, your final book could be ready for as little as $400.00.
Soon, you will be able to do this completely online. For now, however, please call us: 718-694-0084.
270 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
718-694-0084
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
BROKEN ANGEL BROKERED A DEAL
75-year old Arthur Wood created the stained-glass windows in the now infamous Broken Angel building located at 4 Downing
Street in the Clinton Hill. They are made from all sorts of detritus: salt shakers, ashtrays and coffee table, bottles. From the inside, you can see the windows’ bright colors.
Yesterday, in a conference with the Brooklyn Supreme Court, the
Woods agreed to dismantle
the building’s 40-foot rooftop structure, the main violation.
FROM THE NY TIMES: The Woods
have also entered into a tentative agreement to share ownership with a
local developer, Shahn Andersen, who would turn most of the building
into condominiums, according to a spokeswoman for City Councilwoman
Letitia James. The Broken Angel, as the house is known, would include
some form of community space, along with living and studio space for
the Woods.Wood wanted to raise the
money to bring the building up to code and keep it for himself. But he
was running out of time and afraid the buildings department would tear
down his home.
MORE FUN FOR FONT FANS
And I found it on Boing Boing: calendar of pin ups made completely from typography. Created by Taylor Lane, a UK design firm, the calendar includes ‘Miss Bodoni,’ ‘Miss Franklin Gothic,’ and ‘Miss
Univers.’"
Link
I NEED THIS
The Dorit Baxter spa in New York is offering Blackberry Thumb and Tech
Neck massages to help you release the muscular tension brought on by
your gadgets. I have both conditions. Have started to use a mouse instead of the pad.
Is your Treo making your fingers ache and your face break
out with zits? The city’s high-end spas are selling fixes for such
ailments as “BlackBerry thumb,” “tech neck,’’ and “cell-phone clog.’’
“These are repetitive-stress injuries that people used to get in their
fifties and sixties; now they are afflicted in their twenties and
thirties,’’ says Dr. Thomas Scilaris, an Upper East Side orthopedic
surgeon. Dorit Baxter spa on West 57th Street offers “Tech Neck” and
“Tech Hand” treatments, recommended weekly at $59 per half-hour for
each, which combine hot compresses and acupressure to relieve
inflammation and “pins and needles.”
THE FOURTH GRADE TEST
Thursday is, thank god, the final day of testing for New York City public school fourth graders. The ELA (English Language Arts) Test is a big deal because some middle schools require a certain score for admission.
For those who don’t know — NYC public school kids have to apply to middle school. It’s sort of like college…
Just to get into 6th grade. Fun. Crazy. Idiotic.
The kids have been doing test prep for months at PS 321 and they’re sick and tired of it. I imagine many of them will be relieved when it’s over. So will their parents.
OSFO was stressed. She went to sleep early each night and struggled to fall asleep. She tried to eat a good breakfast — even if she wasn’t hungry.
She was very worried that if she didn’t do well she wouldn’t be promoted to fifth grade.
I told her not to worry. There wasn’t a chance of that. Not a chance. I hate to see my girl so stressed out. I love her so.