The work of photographer and photo blogger RANJIT will be on display in the Atlantic Avenue subway station. Check out his work at his Flickr site.
This show is called BROOKLYN IN COLOR and it looks like it’s worth a sightseeing trip to the Atlantic Avenue station. It will be up for a year.
This from New York 1:
More than 15,000 people are expected to run Sunday in the fifth annual Tunnel to Towers Run in honor of a Staten Island firefighter who died in the September 11th attacks.
The run kicks off in Brooklyn, then proceeds through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center site.
The three-mile route traces the path of firefighter Stephen Siller, who ran though the tunnel with his gear when he found he wasn’t allowed to drive through.
Participants, who come from all over the country, say the race is chance to remember the many lives lost.
“Anybody can make the walk,” said five-time participant Randy Payne. “You can run it, whatever you want to do. But when you pass through the tunnel and there are all of those faces on the banners of everyone who passed away that day, it is very, very emotional and it really hits you what happened that day."
Registration is still open for the run, which begins at 10 a.m. For more information, visit www.TunnelToTowersRun.org.
FIRST LOOK: ST. ANN’S WAREHOUSE SCHEDULE:
38 WATER STREET
DUMBO BROOKLYN
718-254-8779
artsatstanns.org
Les Freres Corbusier
HELL HOUSE
OCT 1–OCT 29 | $25*
Tours begin at 7:30pm
*$20 OCT 1–8 | Purchase by Sat, Sept 23 Use Code: H7W
All New Songs!
The tiger lillies
danses macabres
Halloween oct 31 & nov 1
Tues & wed | 8pm | $30*
*$25 | Purchase by Sat, Oct 7 Use Code: T7W
Live American Debut!
Stuart A. Staples
Leaving Songs
Nov 4 | SAT | 8pm | $30*
*$25 | Purchase by Tue, Oct 10 Use Code: S7W
FIve Stars “UNFORGETTABLE”–The Times
The Gate Theatre London
Woyzeck
Nov 13–Dec 3 | TUES–sat 8pm
sun 3pm | $35*
*$30 NOV 13–19 | Purchase by Sat, Oct 14 Use Code: W7W
World Premiere!
Lou Reed’s Berlin
Dec 14–17 | Thurs–Sun
8pm | $65*
*$60 DEC 15–17 | Purchase by Sat, Sept 30 Use Code: L7W
New York Premiere!
Cynthia Hopkins
Must Don’t Whip ‘Um
JAN 15–FEB 4 | WED–SUN
8PM | $25*
*$20 JAN 15-21 | Purchase by Sat, OCT 14 Use Code: C7W
First Previews! Limited Seating!
The Wooster Group
Hamlet
FEB 27–MAR 25 | $37.50*
*$27.50 FEB 27-MAR 4 | Buy now for a guaranteed seat!
Here’s this week’s Smartmom from the Brooklyn Papers: This week she’s on the front page (above the fold) and not in her usual spot. Way to go, Smartmom.
The week before
Rosh Hashanah, Smartmom was meditating in her bedroom. Her attempts to
meditate at home are usually a comedy of errors and this was no
exception. The fragrance of burning incense seems to attract her
offspring like flies to honey.The Oh So Feisty One tiptoed into the bedroom and assumed her very
best lotus position and scrunched her eyes shut tight. After a minute
or so:“I’m bored,” she said. “Is it okay if I bang your singing bowl really, really softly?”
Grrrrr. So much for Inner Peace. Then the phone rang. It was Groovy
Grandpa reminding Smartmom about Rosh Hashanah dinner on Saturday.Smartmom returned to the half-lotus position, her right hand resting
on her left palm, but she had a hard time quieting her mind because of
that Rosh Hashanah call. Should they go to shul? If so, which one?The religion thing nags at Smartmom: Nag, nag, nag. Especially during the Jewish holidays.
It’s not like she grew up religious or anything. Hers was a secular
Jewish upbringing on the Upper West Side of Gaphattan. In other words,
she was brought up by atheists, who were very committed to their Jewish
heritage and their lox and bagels from Barney Greengrass on Sunday
mornings.Still, on the high holidays, something deeply personal and profound
compels Smartmom to seek the sound of the shofar and the stirring
melody of Kol Nidre.When Smartmom was 10, her parents decided that she and her sister
needed to go to Hebrew school — it was time to get some of that
old-time religion. Just in case.It seemed hypocritical, but it probably was a good experience, even if the future Smartmom thought it was dumb at the time.
Going to Hebrew school meant no more Sunday morning bike rides in
Central Park, a cherished family ritual and one of the great pleasures
of Smartmom’s youth. Sitting in the basement of Congregation Rodef
Sholom learning Hebrew, and discussing anti-Semitism and the Holocaust,
was not.Smartmom dropped out after a year. Maybe that’s why she’s so
ambivalent about going to synagogue: those Hebrew school Sundays really
cut into bike riding time with dad.Yet since childhood, Smartmom has yearned for a spiritual
connection. For reasons she still doesn’t fully understand, she longed
to fast on Yom Kippur, to eat only matzoh during Passover, to see the
Hanukkah candles glowing night after night.This child of atheists had an inner Jewish self that bloomed all by itself.
Clearly, she was after a spiritual experience bigger than the Nova
Scotia Lox counter at Zabar’s. She wanted more. Something elusive.
Something deeper than the day-to-day.After Teen Spirit was born, Smartmom shopped for a synagogue or a
Jewish community for her interfaith family to be part of. Nothing felt
right. Nothing felt spiritual. Her quest eventually led to a private
meditation practice.Smartmom closed her eyes and breathed in an out gently through her
nose. She heard the toilet flush in the bathroom. OSFO was playing
“Heart and Soul” on the electric keyboard. A Third Street alley cat in
heat was crying like a human child. Trying to meditate at home is a
joke, she thought.Despite her forays into Buddhism, Smartmom works hard to instill the
ethics and values of Judaism in her inter-faith children; it is, she
feels, essential that they understand what it means to be Jewish (even
if no one seems to agree about what that means).For Hanukkah, they light candles on a handcrafted, wrought-iron
menorah from the Clay Pot; they read aloud Isaac Bashevis Singer’s
classic stories while non-Jewish Hepcat prepares delicious potato
latkes.On Passover, they sing a rollicking version of Dayenu during the
Seder ceremony, and search for the hidden matzoh afterward — the finder
even gets a little gelt.Smartmom also feeds them plenty of lox and bagels from La Bagel
Delight — a poor substitute for Barney Greengrass or Zabar’s. Hepcat
especially loves the lox and bagel part, but he nearly fainted the
first time he saw gefilte fish.Breathe in. Breathe out. Smartmom focused on her breath in an attempt to clear and quiet her racing mind.
It’s been harder to find a way to meet the family’s disparate
spiritual longings. Hepcat and the Presbyterians parted company when he
said, “If God made everything, who made God?” in Sunday school.
Intellectually, he’s an atheist. Emotionally, he’s an animist.Early on, Teen Spirit was interested in the big questions of Life
and Death. Although he never liked going to synagogue and didn’t want
to get bar mitzvahed, he was crazy about the Broadway production of
“Fiddler on the Roof” (with Alfred Molina, no less!).After that, he learned enough Hebrew to say the basic Jewish
prayers. And she gave him a copy of “The Jewish Book of Why” on his
13th birthday. Just in case.The Oh So Feisty One, from a young age, seemed to believe in a
higher power (Jewish or Presbyterian — it didn’t seem to matter). As
early as age 4, she’d put her hands together and pray, “Please, please,
please God, get me a Kit doll and a pair of her beach pajamas from
American Girl Place.”When OSFO started asking questions about death, Smartmom knew
intuitively that she wanted to believe in heaven, a place where
Smartmom would love and care for her forever and ever. As Smartmom
affirmed OSFO’s belief in heaven, she, too, felt comforted by the
eternal power of love.On her black meditation pillow, Smartmom returned to her breathing,
trying to unclutter her mind. But that’s about as easy as trying to
straighten up Hepcat’s desk (which she’s not even allowed to do). Too.
Much. Thinking. Should they go to Beth Elohim or Kolot Chayenu? Maybe
they should try the children’s service at the Park Slope Jewish Center.There it is again: Nag, nag, nag. Even when she’s meditating. It’s
true. She never joined a synagogue. She never makes reservations or
gets tickets in advance for high holiday services. Obviously, it’s a
commitment problem.Smartmom’s Orthodox friend, Yiddishe Mama, once said, “You have one
foot in and one foot out because part of you does not want to let
yourself believe in miracles.”Actually, Smartmom thinks she’s still pissed off about missing those
Central Park bike rides. Or maybe she just finds organized religion
boring and irrelevant. So why, she wonders, does she always decide at
the last minute to go to synagogue?Last year on the eve of Yom Kippur, she Googled Kolot Chayenu and found out that the Kol Nidre service started at 7:30.
Smartmom and OSFO got there in warp speed and were lucky enough to
find a seat in the last row. The service happens to be in a church,
which is perfect for the inter-faith Smartmom clan. Someone takes pains
to cover the crucifix with a beautiful handmade textile.As usual, Smartmom felt part of — and not part of — the service
(there’s too much Hebrew she doesn’t understand, and she doesn’t know
all the songs; she gets tired of standing up and sitting down). During
the service, she closed her eyes and tried to meditate while listening
to Kol Nidre, that haunting melody on this most holy of Jewish nights.The phone rang again. Smartmom knew she wasn’t going to get any more
meditating done. Who is it this time? Probably that religion thing.
Nag. Nag. Nag.This year Smartmom knows that she’ll be racing off to Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur services — somewhere.
Maybe this year she’ll accept that her quest to find a way to honor her Jewishness continues.
Maybe this year she’ll accept that her meditation and her Judaism
can exist together like cream cheese and lox on a poppy seed bagel.
Breathe in. Breathe out.Maybe this year she’ll even pick up some tickets — in advance.
The Dalai Lama spoke in Woodstock, NY yesterday. My friend, Red Eft, was there. Here’s an excerpt from her report. The rest is on her blog, Oswegatchie.
The Dalai Lama arrived punctually and was introduced briefly by the town supervisor, who thanked KTD monastery
for arranging the talk. A chair had been placed for the Dalai Lama on a
dais behind an arch of flowers, but he stood to speak to us, noting the
beauty of the day and the mountains all around, and gesturing to the
cemetery nearby, saying "and there is the final destination."Most
of his talk concerned love, compassion and harmony. I think my children
best related to some anecdotes he told from his youth, having to do
with animals he had wanted affection from but they rebuffed him. One
was a dog and the other a parrot who, when he fed her nuts, became
aggressive. "I lost my temper," he said. "And I hit her with a stick, a
little stick." Everyone laughed at the image of the Dalai Lama hitting
a parrot with a stick.Both of my kids were squirmy, wanting to
sit on me, feeling too hot or too cold as the sun traveled in and out
of clouds. Before the end they had to go to the portapotties so I
missed the closing words. A friend of mine had a restless daughter
who’d gotten sunblock in her eye and was having miscellaneous allergic
reactions. We commiserated about how, even in sitting to hear the Dalai
Lama, we must always be called to actively practice our patience. Some
attendees sat in half-lotus, their eyes shut, mouthing chants, and when
the Dalai Lama arrived they sat riveted and missed not a word. A
parent’s practice is different.
United Technologies has commissioned artists Chuck Close, Mitch Epstein and
Dayanita Singh to capture the changing urban environment in outdoor
photography exhibitions titled Cities in Transition in New York City, Boston and Hartford through October. Here’s the scoop:
Five images from each artist will look at how urban America is
evolving, including the face of immigrants in New York, the effect of
the automobile on Boston and the changing landscape of Hartford. The
photographs will be installed in Madison Square Park in New York City,
Downtown Crossing Station in Boston and Bushnell Park in Hartford.
American painter, photographer/printmaker Chuck Close photographed
New York City.American photographer and filmmaker Mitch Epstein shot
Boston. Indian photographer Dayanita Singh, known for her portraits and
landscape images, captured Hartford (where United Technologies is located).In addition to the 2006 Public Art Project, UTC is partnering
with the International Center of Photography on its Second Triennial
for Photography and Video, titled Ecotopia, in New York City, and with the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston for an event celebrating its opening this fall.More than 100 photographic, video, and installation art works on the
theme of humanity’s relation to the natural world make up a
UTC-sponsored exhibition on view through Jan. 7 at ICP.
What is A REFUGEE CAMP IN THE HEART OF THE CITY? Doctors Without Borders
constructed one in Central Park to bring attention to the plight
of the some 30 million who have been forced to flee their homes
worldwide. Now the camp is being moved to Brooklyn’s Prospect
Park, where you can tour it tomorrow through Sunday.
Guided by MSF (Doctors Without Borders) aid workers, visitors to this outdoor educational
exhibit are asked to imagine that they are among the millions of people
fleeing violence and persecution in, for example, Afghanistan,
Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Sudan.An estimated 33 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes
and live in temporary shelter, with nearly two-thirds of them displaced within
their own countries. The exhibit is made up of materials used by MSF in its emergency
medical work around the world, including emergency refugee housing, a food distribution
tent, water pump, health clinic, vaccination tent, therapeutic feeding center,
and a cholera treatment center. It addresses questions such as: Will I be safe?
What will I eat? How do I find water? Can I get medical care? And where will
I live?
Related events:
New York:
Anderson Cooper in Conversation with Doctors Without Borders
Thursday, September 21, 6:30 pm
The Great Hall, Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street at Third Avenue, New York
Seeing Green’s son has formed a covert society called Grownup Watching Group (GWP). Better watch out.
I’m afraid Mr. Alberto Gonzales has covertly conscripted Dylan.
Elizabeth, Dylan and I try to have an actual conversation at dinner,
a task made rather difficult by the D’s reticence. Nothing happened at
school. No new friends. The teacher is OK. School is good. No new
projects.Except today he told us all about a secret society he’s formed at
school, the Grownups-Watching-Group (GWG) which has been banded
together to look into suspicious behaviors by anyone over 14. Teachers
are included, but parents are not. His friend X’s (names obscured to
protect the underage) mother, who is also a teacher, is excluded.
Motherhood apparently trumps suspicion.Members of the group are assigned tasks to report on suspicious
behavior by the watched adults. A chart is being made, with check marks
inscribed for each such behavior, and if the line reaches the end…?What are these suspicious behaviors? Ah, there’s the rub. It’s
"classified information". Breaking this cloak of secrecy, and not for
attribution, the D informed us that one teacher had been observed
drinking a green potion. On further elucidation, it was downgraded to
green water, but the suspicion remained. But our efforts at suggesting
innocence were unsuccessful; it was proven beyond GWG’s doubts,
reasonable or otherwise.So, not unlike Dumbledore’s Army in Harry Potter, the GWG has a mission, a code, a leader (the D) and a goal.
Just after dinner he had a twenty-minute conversation with a fellow
member of GWG. Elizabeth suggested I eavesdrop, but what with his
uncharacteristic softness of tone (normally we can hear him two rooms
away) and my own reticence, I gathered only that he was dispensing
tomorrow’s tasks…after all, he is the Commander.Hope he does not get too many time outs from this one.
The New York Times’ interviewed Jean Nathan, an authority on Jewish food.
I always braise my brisket long and slow to tenderize it. Since
brisket comes from the grainier forequarters of the steer, slow cooking
is required to tenderize the meat, even more so these days with
pre-trimmed, young, or "select" meat. I start with a whole brisket and
leave the fat on – I cut it off after cooking. If you want a very
savory brisket try My Favorite Brisket in my "Jewish Cooking in
America." It includes red wine, tomato sauce, and, of course, lots of
onions. I never make a thick gravy with flour but reduce the juices
from the brisket after cooking and pour them over as a gravy. I also
make my brisket a day ahead, refrigerate it, trim off the fat and slice
it against the grain. Then I put the sliced pieces back in the pan with
the sauce and fruit, to be heated up at dinner. Here is a favorite:Fruited Brisket with Apricots and Apples
Adapted from "The New American Cooking," (Alfred Knopf)2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 chopped onions
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon dried ginger
1 five- six-pound brisket
Salt and pepper to taste
2 apples, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 cup dried apricots, halved
1 cup dried plums, pitted
½ cup dried cranberries
1 – 2 cups apple juice
1 – 2 cups canned beef or chicken broth1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown the onion, the garlic, and the ginger in the remaining
oil until the onion is golden. Then scatter the onions in the roasting
pan.3. Season the brisket with salt and pepper and gently lay on
top of the onions. Add the chopped apples, chopped apricots, dried
cranberries, chopped pitted prunes and enough apple juice and beef or
chicken broth to almost cover the brisket. Cover the roasting pan with
a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 3 hours.4. Remove the brisket, cool, and refrigerate overnight.
5. Just before serving, reheat the oven to 350 degrees. While
the brisket is still cold, skim off any fat that has accumulated on
top, and slice off the excess fat. Slice the meat against the grain,
place in a baking dish with the reserved juices, cover and reheat for
about a half hour. Remove from the pan to a platter, surrounded by the
fruits and the sauce. Serve this with potato pancakes or noodles.
Yield: 8 – 10 servings.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn will be raising money for its legal fund via a Walk Don’t Destroy walkathon on October 21. Last November, 400 Walkathoners raised more than $50,000 to support DDDB. The group’s last major public activity was a large rally at Grand Army Plaza on a blistering hot July day.
More information about the Walkathon is available here.
My friend, Red Eft, took some time to update her blog, Oswegatchie, to write about her recent 10-year wedding jubilee.
This summer we took time out from a lot of things to stop and celebrate 10
years of marriage and my husband’s 50th birthday. Our 10-year Jubilee,
as we called it, featured a ceremony at our UU congregation, a dinner
for family and extended family, a night away alone for me & my
husband, and still to come, a weekend marriage workshop. We have a lot
to celebrate. At our ceremony, friends lit candles and shared
stories—our idea was that this should happen periodically before
you die, and it was extremely moving and rewarding. The highlights for
me were when my dad said of me and my husband, "Everything they touch
comes to life," and when my brother said "Last night I lay in bed in
their house, listening to the rain, and there is so much love in that
house, you can feel it." My brother and my nephew sang "Speak Low"
together, my brothers-in-law did a couple of humorous songs, and our
dear friend Louise sang "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." Our families of
origin were together en masse for the first time since our wedding. That felt great.We
had an amazing caterer (note: Eat the Daisies) who understood our ‘concept cake’ and brought it
to life. Two big sheet cakes in pale green icing, joined by a mirror
covered with a blue glaze—on which little figurines of me & my
husband sat in a rowboat—represented the Hudson Valley and the past,
our journey upriver to our new digs in Kingston. A three-tiered cake
climbed by more clay figures of me, my husband and our kids,
represented the mountains and the present. (My son made his own figure
and it looked a lot like the oppressed artist in the claymation short
by Jiri Trnka, "The Hand.")
Photograph by Hugh Crawford.
(Please
note: I did fix the oars so that I was holding them properly, but
unfortunately not before this documentation was made. I’m not sure
anyone got a picture of the whole cake, sad to say. Let that be a
lesson.)Our gala days draw to a close and we look now toward autumn, the dreamy time of year.
Here’s a poem we love by Janet Holmes that our minister read at our ceremony:
Other Longevities
Janet HolmesIf, like snakes or reptiles, we grew with years,
then imagine the huge elderly, slowed
with age and bulk, frequenting
delicatessens, libraries; crowding
laundromats; taking whole booths to themselves
in family restaurants. The ample bodies
of the long-married, ambling their constitutionals.
The memories, all of smaller times.
Regardless of our wisdom or kindness, faith
or virtue, regardless of our capacity
for loneliness or independence, we would each grow
larger and more splendid,
and, lying down, would dream again and again
of childhood – the narrow long road back
to the vanishing point – each new dream
permitting another to be forgotten.© Copyright Janet Holmes.
Reprinted from The Physicist At The Mall, Anhinga Press, 1994
[Published December 9, 2001 in the Santa Cruz Sentinel]
[Also appearing on various websites.]
OSFO has always loved this pink house, the only one of its kind in tony brownstone Park Slope.
Note to self: read the hard copy New York Times more thoroughly (when I read it online I manage to miss things). I missed "The
House on Garfield Place" a poem that was published in The New York Times on
Monday. Duh. Can anyone send it to me?
Interestingly, the fuschia facade was grandfathered in before the district was landmarked in 1973. I just wish it was a prettier pink.
LACTIVISTS RALLY TO DEFEND MOTHERS’ RIGHTS TO PUBLICLY FEED THEIR CHILDREN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, New York – Hundreds of breastfeeding women and their supporters are expected to gather outside of the Toys “R” Us in Times Square, Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 11 A.M. for a Nurse-In. The public action is in support of Chelsi Meyerson, a breastfeeding mother who store employees and a security guard allegedly harassed at the store last week for breastfeeding her 7-month old son. The grass roots movement was spurred by media coverage initiated by the New York Civil Liberties Union, who provided immediate assistance to Ms. Meyerson after she unsuccessfully tried to get Toys “R” Us authorities to address the issue. Other lactating mothers, some of whom have experienced similar discrimination while feeding their children in public, organized and connected through the internet to plan the Nurse-In.
Ms. Meyerson and her family were at the Time Square Toys “R” Us location celebrating her daughter’s third birthday on September 11, 2006 when Ms. Meyerson began to nurse her son. According to Meyerson, store employees demanded she stop breastfeeding or move to the basement because they considered it inappropriate around children. When she asserted her rights and refused, a security guard came to “deal with her.” “I have never been more humiliated and dismayed,” says Ms. Meyerson. It is true that Toys “R” Us, like many retail establishments, provide what they call “nursing rooms” and mothers are sometimes asked to move to those locations for fear of offending other customers. While some mothers do like the privacy, many find it impractical and isolating to go to one every time their children need to eat.
In New York State, a mother’s right to nurse her child wherever she is legally allowed to be is protected by state law (NY CLS Civ R S. 79-e). Ms. Meyerson stood up for her rights and the participants on Thursday will be showing en masse that they support her for doing so. Toys “R” Us officials deny that Ms. Meyerson was harassed and claim to maintain a breastfeeding friendly environment. However, ignorant and crude comments from 2005 on an online message board for Toys “R” Us employees suggests a pattern of negative responses to breastfeeding mothers, which the Toys “R” Us corporation could have corrected in educating and training its workers. One person posted about the “problem” of
mothers publicly breastfeeding in the store. Others responded that next time they should call the police if they don’t stop or tell them to do it in the car. The discussion included inappropriate sexual remarks about breastfeeding, as well. While Toys “R” Us management might not have read or condoned those remarks, they indicate a serious lack of training regarding the rights of their target clientele and a lack of respect for their customers.It is rare for a breastfeeding mother to have the confidence to assert her rights when criticized, and, in many states, a mother is not as well protected while feeding her child as she is in New York State. Although women are protected on any federal property where they are allowed to be present, thanks to a bill written by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), their protection across the country is based on a smattering of very different state laws. The demonstrators intended to shed light on the fact that these women are not doing anything wrong by nurturing their children. They are, in fact, following recommendations from both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The AAP guidelines encourages exclusive breastfeeding “to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first six months of life,” noting that it “provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection. Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child.” The WHO has issued similar recommendations, stating further that breastfeeding should continue “for up to two years of age or beyond.”
The organizers of the Nurse-In, as well as many of the lactating mothers and supporters who will attend, extend their thanks to NYCLU for bringing this important civil rights issue
to the forefront and for standing up for the rights of all people. NYCLU, founded in 1951, states its mission as “to defend and promote the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and the New York Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, and the right to privacy, equality and due process of law for all New Yorkers.” One of the goals of the Nurse-In is to further educate people about these rights and the importance of breastfeeding.For more information about this event or topic or to schedule interviews with participants, please contact Ashley Clark by email at anniej83@hotmail.com or Annie Fox by email at afsvys@yahoo.com.
Thank you for being apart of breastfeedingisnormal.org. As you can see our website is back up and running again after some down time. Noel Trujillo (Pickett) had a fantastic home birth and has been taking some time off but will be getting back into the swing of things very soon.
Do you or someone you know have web development experience and some free time? If so breastfeedingisnormal.org is looking for a developer to help move bfin from our current web host to dreamhost.com. If you or someone you know has experience and would like to help out with this very important move, please email noel at noel@breastfeedingisnormal.org.
breastfeedingisnormal.org
MARY STERNBACH: Writer. Interactive media specialist. PS 321 and Beth Elohim mom. Does she do enough? No, she’s doing one more thing: shes reading the first chapter of her novel, ROBERT FOSTER about race in 1930’s Hollywood tonight at Brooklyn Reading Works tonight at 8 p.m.
She’s reading with LORI SODERLAND author of CHASING MONTANA, about her quest for the good life out west. It’s funny and fun and if you’ve ever thought about leaving New York you’ll wanna hear her read tonight.
THE OLD STONE HOUSE. FIfth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets. For info and direction: brooklynreadingworks.com
We mourn the passing of another longtime local biz: the Musician’s General Store on Court Street. It’s been there for ages and we rented TS’s clarinet back when he was taking clarinet lessons. We’ve also bought guitar strings, picks and music books. We believe in local music stores. I grew up with one called Levitt and Ellrod (first on 96th Street and then on 83rd Street in Manhattan). It was a wacky place but that’s where I got my first guitar ( a USA for $29.00). A Brooklyn Life reports:
"Based on a note in the window, it seems that the owner’s decision to
not renew their lease was more personal than financial (i.e., they did
not say they are being crowded out of the neighborhood by high rents).
And the store will be continuing music lessons at the Micro Museum on
Smith Street." – Brookly Life
Interestingly, last week I walked in front of the store and the owner or an employee was standing in front of the store having a screaming/cursing phone conversation with someone very loudly. There may be no connection but I did make note of it and thought to myself: hmmmm, something’s up.
photo by chttp://flickr.com/photos/jimbob/246794406/
A picture in today’s Times of mothers dropping off their children at a Baghdad school made me feel sad and disgusted; that’s why I write this.
How do they do it? The mothers. The fathers. The children. The teachers. How do they manage to do such normal things amid such abnormality as Bush’s American war, rampant terrorism, their city in ruins, their city under siege?
Those children deserve a life like our children. To be: carefree, playful, full of joy. To be children.
What about the mothers?
They, like all mothers, must want what’s best for their children. Screw the politicians, the war makers, the terrorists, the killers…
Mothers want safety, routine, and all that is good for their children.
In the month of July and August 5,106 people in the capital were killed, a figure much higher than reported before.
In this environment of death and dispair, these families are heroic to carry on. They still have hope despite…
Contrast the first day of school in Baghdad with the first day in Brooklyn. Here, the first day is all about the excitement of the new: teachers, classes, books, clothing, friends, hopes.
There is nervousness of course. But it’s not about an American war or terrorists: it is simple first day jitters.
How lucky our kids are to feel just simple first day jitters.
Our kids don’t have to live in a violent city without infrastructure, electricity, garbage services, water. The death and dispair and disruptions of war.
How sad for those mothers and children and teachers in Baghdad on their first day of school.
It is those struggle in a worn torn country to do the normal things who are the heroes. The parents, the teachers, the children. Those who carry on. Who put back the pieces, who do what they can.
THIS UNJUST WAR (THIS DECEITFUL WAR) MUST END.
I learned last night at the first PTA meeting of the year at PS 321 that PS 321 and over 300 other schools in NYC, is an EMPOWERMENT SCHOOL.
This designation is part of a new Department of Education Initiative. It means that the school has more authority in terms of decision making and budget. The school is also held more accountable for student performance. PS 321 was allocated additional money through this initiative, and that funding is helping the school in many different ways, from support in the school yard to intervention teachers to materials and programs in the arts.
PS 321 is also piloting some assessments that they are developing in concert with other schools that slign with their instructional approach. “For us one of the attractions of becoming an Empowerment School was the idea of having some input into new systems that the Department of Education will be putting into place for all schools next years,” writes Principal Liz Phillips in a letter to parents.
At the end of the school year, the school will be grade with a letter grade. “I don’t expect to get less than a B,” she said.
The first PTA meeting is usually the most well-attended of the year and is full of parents new to the school. The PTA discusses their fundraising initiatives and reports and reaches out to the parent body for financial support and volunteer help. There is a volunteer fair after the meeting.
This year’s PTA leadership is a highly skilled, organized group led by Amy Bender and Wesley Weissberg. The team is made up of fundraising dynamos and parents whose concern is for the entire student body and not just their own children.
There is even one male member of the team. He urged other men to get involved. “It’s not as scary as it looks,” he said. The PTA is traditionally mostly made up of women.
PTA MENTORING: It occurred to me that perhaps this team could offer mentoring to another school’s PTA. They have so much to offer in terms of ideas, organizational practices, templates, materials and approaches to fundraising and academic enhancement that could be a real contribution to a school that doesn’t have the same level of parent support.
And you thought the real thing was enough. Lionel is now making model NYC subway trains complete with the screeching sounds. How about the malfunctioning speakers that distort the voice of the conductors? How about some of the conductor’s voices? How about the inner thoughts of the passengers when they’re expected to understand what’s being said (i.e. "WTF. I hope that wasn’t important information because I didn’t understand a thing,") This from the New York Times.
All week, a man with a microphone has walked the subway platforms to
collect the clattering of the rivets and the whistling horns, the
distortion in the loudspeaker, the hush in the compressor’s song and
the dying of the brake like some wounded thing.Even in that
racket, some find value. The recordings are the chief selling point of
a new reproduction of a subway train by the Lionel model train company
made under a license from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for
completion by year’s end.Other companies have made models
before, but this one pays unparalleled attention to sonic detail,
recreating the subterranean soundscape in elaborate hi-fi to win the
favor of collectors and self-styled train geeks, keepers of a nostalgic
anachronism to rank alongside comic books and baseball cards.Among
their number count the musician Neil Young, so devoted that he
conceived a control system to reproduce the sounds of the rails, then
acquired a minority interest in Lionel more than a decade ago.“Realism
is the byword,” Mr. Young said by telephone. “It’s a heavy thing moving
down a track, like a real thing even though it’s a miniature.”The
system he championed has been used to recreate old steam engines, the
historic diesels of the short lines and the Acelas of the Atlantic
seaboard. The subway model will combine the sounds of vintage cars with
recreated station announcements from the Brighton Local, a predecessor
of the Q train, which runs from Midtown to Coney Island.
DO GOOD BY DRINKING WELL!
A wine tasting to benefit the Ft. Greene Park Conservancy. ON Septemeber 28th. At the Brooklyn War Memorial in Cadman Plaza. Details at fortgreenepark.org
Sweet Melissa’s, nice to have you on Seventh Avenue. Everyone is buzzing about you. You’re the talk of Seventh Avenue as in "Hey, the Times had something about them yesterday" or "It’s very pretty." "It’s really big."
I’ve been and I like it. Actually, it’s my new hang — no, I’m not abandoning my seat at Conn Muff. Diaper Diva, OSFO and I just like to try new things from time to time.
It’s a bit more serious than Conn Muff. You need a little bit more time for the waiter service. It’s not your quick – let’s meet for a latte kind of place. It’s a more formal: "We need to talk. Do you want to meet at Sweet Melissa’s?"
It’s a perfect place to have a elegant treat with a good friend on her birthday.
Tea with one’s mother, sister, or friend is a must. It’s a bit pricey. But we really needed a place for high tea.
I plan on visiting Sweet Melissa’s with a notebook or writing paper. It looks like the place to go for writing letter or thank you notes. Good for writing poetry, or notes for my Smartmom column.
I predict it will be the cafe of choice for those serious friend-to-friend chats ("You’ve been acting weird. What’s going on?"). The tables are close, though. It’s not ideal for telling a friend you’re cheating on your husband or something equally confidential.
It was ideal for my meeting with a published author who will "critiquing" one of my short stories. I "won" this service at the PS 321 auction and we met to discuss. His name is Tom Rayfil and he has a book coming out in January about a young mother in Park Slope. It’s called: PARALLEL PLAY. I’m reading and enjoying it right now. A must-read for all Park Slope literary buffs. He will be reading at Brookyn Reading Works on May 24th, 2007.
Sweet Melissa’s, it’s nice to have you around.
Pix of Court Street Sweet Melissa’s from Flickr: ttp://flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=Sweet+Melissa%27s+Brooklyn&m=text
Sunset Parker has a piece today about what he calls "the utterly unnecessary the cancer
causing chemicals sprayed indiscriminantly all over pregnant women and
children last month by the City." He’s got some other interesting stuff up there, too. Take a look.
This might be the best article yet,
detailing how utterly horrendous and utterly unnecessary the cancer
causing chemicals sprayed indiscriminantly all over pregnant women and
children last month by the City. Once again, its worth pointing out
that not one Brooklyn resident was diagnosed with West Nile Virus this
year, yet thousands (if not more) will potentially have their lives cut
short. If you think the government gives a wit about your health, look
at how they lied to people, guilting them to come down to the "pile"
after 9/11, knowing full well(yes knowing full well) that they were
sending them to an early (and most likely agonizing) death.This is
a big deal (so was that.) What’s done is done. At least the folks who
(naively) went down to the "pile" had a choice. Those of us living in
areas that were inundadated with low grade chemical weapons (this is
not hyperbole in that those are chemicals; chemicals whose only purpose
is to kill) last month had no choice in the matter whatsoever.
Seeing Green talks weather and the difference between New York and San Francisco…
Another one of these glorious fall days today, makes you want to stay outside all day.
We lived in California before moving to New York, and many’s the
time Elizabeth complains about the poor weather here–too hot, too
cold, too humid and too dull (in the sense of the light, not the
atmosphere, at home) at times. I have pointed out to her the positives,
for example, that complaining about the weather is the subject of the
stock greeting phrases when you meet the neighbor (crossing guard,
Fedex delivery person, stranger who makes eye contact) and a little
variability ensures more than a little freshness to the topic.Weather-complaining has been raised to an art form in those parts of
the country that have varying weather. California has earthquakes, but
snow is more predictable. Chicago and parts Midwest may actually be
further along than here; seems like one could spend tens of minutes on
today’s weather. Maybe we’re lucky we don’t speak Inuit which has over
280 words for "snow," which might prolong today’s weather discussion
into next week. But what can you say in Los Angeles—"Hi, looks like
it won’t rain (again)?"Having a kid also makes you more weather-aware. Rain means
cancellation of the Dylan’s tennis lesson (yes, the avid non-sportsman
has willingly agreed to tennis, maybe the trip to the US Open worked.)
Snow might mean no school (hooray!) And for one like myself who can’t
stand real heat in spite of growing up in a climate that never went
below 75F, the dog days of summer result in being in house-arrest.Can’t wait for the next season!
Some very exciting events coming up at Union Hall in Park Slope on Union Street just off Fifth Avenue.
TONIGHT:
A last minute show with TIM FITE (last seen opening for New
Pornographers and has an excellent record out on V2) and SEAN HAYES!,
$6, 8pm
Thursday, September 21: The very legendary FREEDY JOHNSTON plays
new songs from his ’07 release and old gems like "Bad Reputation" (we
hope!) with CHRIS MILLS, $12, 8pm
Friday, September 22: The
Tripwire welcomes THE ISLES and BON SAVANTS, two very deserving of any
hype buzz bands, the former from NYC, the latter from Boston. $8, 8pm
Saturday, September 23: Dreamy and loud SNOWDEN trek up from
Atlanta to support their recent "Anti" on Jade Tree Records, and
favorite locals DAYLIGHTS FOR THE BIRDS (ex On Air Library) open. $8,
8pm.
Sunday, September 24: Our neighbor, EUGENE MIRMAN, will very likely make you laugh. $7, 8pm.
Wednesday, September 27: The Onion presents the HOLD STEADY record release party. FREE, 7pm
Friday,
September 29: It’s Leah from Flavorpill’s birthday with the fabulous
GOLD STREETS and THE ATTORNEYS. $7 if you don’t know Leah, 8pm
Saturday, September 30: The revenge of Elephant 6 as ELF POWER
supports their new album on Ryko, Back To The Web. M COAST and GREAT
LAKES support. $12, 8pm
Sunday, October 1: A night of eclectic
and different music starrting THE ANDREW THOMPSON SHOW, GRAHAM SMITH of
KLEENEX GIRL WONDER, and JULIANNA BARWICK. $6, 8pm
Coming up… Evangelicals, Jason Trachtenburg’s Proverbial
Fourth Wall, Envelopes, Math & Physics Club, Novillero, The Secret
Shine (Sarah Records UK band!), Vienna Teng, Koester, South, Les Sans
Culottes, The Circulatory System, Charlotte Martin, and our CMJ lineup!
New York 1 ran this piece about landmark status for Crown Heights:
The city’s Landmark Preservation Commission is considering a new historic district – the largest of its kind in a decade. But as NY1’s Molly Kroon reports in the following, the area isn’t in Manhattan or Park Slope, but a gem just off Eastern Parkway.
Stanford Greavy bought his five-bedroom home more than 20 years ago.
"I spent a lot of time and a lot of money to restore it," says Greavy.
The area is a pastoral scene in the heart of Crown Heights.
So special, in fact, that the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering including Greavy’s home, and about 470 others, in a proposed Crown Heights North Historic District, which encompasses the area around Dean Street between Bedford and Kingston Avenues.
Landmarking the area means homeowners won’t be able to make any changes to the exterior of their properties without approval. Many at a hearing Tuesday welcomed the idea.
"This designation preserves the unique ambiance in this neighborhood for this and future generations," said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
"I am a homeowner in the community who believes in the quality and integrity of the housing treasures that have survived the test of time deserve to be preserved," said homeowner Deborah Young.
At the turn of the century, this area attracted wealthy New Yorkers with them came Victorian mansions like the Dean Sage residence. Beautiful row houses sprouted up after the Brooklyn Bridge opened. And after the subway arrived in the area in 1920, so did middle class immigrants and Tudor-style apartment buildings to house them.
Now, it’s home to a diverse community of homeowners, many of them African-Americans and many of whom have been lobbying the Commission for landmark status for the past five years. Critics say for too long the Commission has focused mainly on tony neighborhoods in Manhattan.
"We’re now moving in a major way back into Brooklyn," said a representative on the commission.
But while many homeowners are saying the plan is long overdue, others say they don’t want the city telling them what they can and can’t do with their own homes.
"On Sunday night there was a gentleman who was shot on Dean Street – several shots. Does that mean I need a metal door to protect myself, but I must wait to get a permit from the city?" said an area homeowner.
"It belongs to me – not to this board or any of my neighbors – it belongs to me," added area homeowner Kevin Anthony Williams.
But supporters say architectural gems like the ones in Crown Heights belong to future generations.
Ultimately, the commission will have the final say.
She knows it’s a corny idea. But that’s why I like Creative TImes. She’s not afraid to go with it. I’m going to try it, too. Check out her blog for more creative ideas.
The thing is, I have a little habit of focusing on "problems" rather
than giving my attention to what’s going well in life. So I finally
started to keep a gratitude journal, first in an actual paper journal
and then in a computer file. At the end of each day, I list ten simple
things that I feel grateful for. It’s a great way to end the day and
gets my attention on what’s going well.Here’s one of my lists:
Finding greeting card with Quentin Blake illustration
(see above image)
Finding Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write for $2.oo
Nice chat with middle school principal
Hugging Carol, the security guard at PS 6
Rearranging the office
Buying palm tree/hula girl earrings for my friend’s birthday
Wearing new terrycloth flip-flops
Spotting two red dachsunds the size of baby seals
Listening to Missy Elliott while working out
Watching Project Runway with my sweetie
Getting advice from fellow co-op shopper about best cheese to buy for pizza
Making pizza at home–From Creative TImes
