Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

Life In A Marital Institution

Producer Anna Becker says that Life in a Marital Institution "is a feel good date night for married people because they'll feel better about their marriage after hearing about James Braly's." You can catch this fun show at the SoHo Playhouse.

James Braly spent over twenty years researching life in a marital institution. He's performed his autobiographical stories on Marketplace, NPR, and at The Whitney Museum, Long Wharf Theatre, and The Moth, where he is the only two-time winner of the GrandSLAM and a featured performer on The Moth/TNT National Story Tour.  His monologue, Life in a Marital Institution was featured at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, opened this February in New York City at 59 East 59th Street Theaters, and will transfer to SOHO Playhouse starting on June 26, 2008.

He lives on the Upper West Side, I think. But the director of the show, Hal Brooks, lives in Brooklyn. Here’s what he thinks of our fair borough:

I moved to Brooklyn reluctantly after nine years in a tiny 10'x15'
studio on Prince Street.

Needless to say, I've much more space.

Initially I moved to a beautiful 1 bedroom in beloved Brooklyn heights—but have recently relocated to the newly-built State Renaissance on Schermerhorn.

I love it. Its five minutes from all the essentials: across the street
from the A/C train, a five minute walk to Smith Street and a stone's
throw (or a quick bike ride) to BAM, the park and the promenade.

It's really more downtown Brooklyn than it is Boerum Hill - but that's changing rapidly as more and more development occurs.

Favorite nearby spot, especially now: blue marble ice cream. Whoa.

Brownstoner Says: There's Activity at Trader Joe's Site

Every time I go over there to shop at Urban Outfitters, I check on the status of the upcoming Trader Joe's at Atlantic and Court. Not yet, not yet. But today, the last day of June, Brownstoner says otherwise. Check his site for pictures...

The crew working on the Trader Joe's space on Atlantic and Court has boarded up the building's windows, and the only view inside is through a couple cracks in the plywood. A reader sent us an email on Thursday saying work has picked up over the past week, with new equipment like fridges and freezers arriving daily. This was how a small section of the future grocery looked yesterday afternoon.

Kung Fu Panda

If it's very, very hot and everything else you want to see at the Pavilion is sold out, go with Kung Fu Panda. I saw it last night with Diaper Diva, Ducky and OSFO and we loved it. Even if we had to sit in the front row of the tiny theater on the top that has a bunch of messed up chairs no one can sit on.

Jack Black is the voice of Po, the Panda. Dustin Hoffman is the voice of the Master Shifu. Even Manhola Dargis at the New York Times' enjoyed the film not expecting to.

Visually, this animated film from Dreamworks is actually quite gorgeous. Here's Dargis in her New York Times review:

That outsider is even more irresistible when nestled amid so much lovingly created animation, both computer generated and hand drawn. The main story, executed via 3-D animation (all done on computers) and directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, fluidly integrates gorgeous, impressionistic flourishes with the kind of hyper-real details one has come to expect from computer-generated imagery: photorealistically textured stone steps, for instance, and fur so invitingly tactile you want to run your fingers through it. One of the pleasures of “Kung Fu Panda” is that instead of trying to mimic the entirety of the world as it exists, it uses the touch of the real. The character designs may be anatomically correct, but they’re cartoons from whisker to tail

Nikki Giovanni, Capathia, and Louis at the Community Bookstore

I continue to be excited about this fun event at the Community Bookstore next week:

Nikki Giovanni, world-renowned poet, will join Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen for a party for One Ounce of Truth: The Nikki Giovanni Songs at the Community Bookstore on July 8th at 7 p.m.

Giovanni will read poems, Louis and Capathia will perform and they'll all discuss the process of making an album of songs with words drawn from Nikki’s poetry.

Of course, they'll also be glad to sign copies of their CDs and books for all who attend.

Here are the 'tails:

Community Bookstore on Seventh Avenue between Garfield and Carroll
July 8th at 7 p.m.

They will be at the Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble on July 9th at 7 p.m.

A Year in the Park: The Dead Quakers Will See You Now

  Crazy headline from A Year in the Park; but she's not kidding. The tour of the Quaker Cemetery in Prospect Park drew a really big crowd!

It figures. I cycle over in the sticky heat to one of the rare tours of Prospect Park's Quaker Cemetery, and by the time I get there, there's a 40-minute estimated wait on line. At the 10-acre cemetery, which predates the park and contains some 2,000 Friends' graves, living Quakers were offering re-enactments of some of the interred residents, but I couldn't tarry that long with dinner guests on the way.

 

Maryland Crab Fest at Rosewater

Just got this enthusiastic note from the folks at Rosewater about a Crab Fest on July 10th at 7 p.m.

    In the Spring of  2007 we announced our first-ever Crab Feast. Our Maryland-born Chef then promptly decided to decamp to greener Connecticut pastures and suddenly the Boil was reduced to a slow simmer on the back burner. It's a year later and, happily, another talented Maryland boy is manning the stove at RW - Chef Marcellus Coleman is champing at the bit to boil us up some Maryland Crab!

    We're gonna cover the tables with tabloid newsprint, cover the upholstery, bust out the wooden mallets and dump some Old Bay Blues right there on the table - Chesapeake family style. Add pink wine, cold beer, cole slaw, fries and corn (if it's good enough). You get the idea. Hard-shell Heaven. We're expecting this to be so much fun that it will become an annual event!

    $68, all inclusive of tax and service. 718 783 3800. Tickets will likely go fast, so reserve asap.

The Oh So Prolific One: Leon Freilich, Verse Responder

NEVER KNOW

He found an apartment on craigslist
Along with a leather sofa
Together with a cool tuxedo
Being sold by a TV gofer.

But the biggest surprise of them all
(On the dating page that Craig carried)
Was finding Janel and her swimsuit snap--
He thought they were happily married.

Carmen's Exclusives For Children

I walked by with my mother and told her that Carmen's, the new Seventh Avenue children's stores, has handmade dresses with smocking. I used to wear hand made dresses with smocking when I was a girl.

At this shop, which is in the dripping cyclops/octopus building owned by Mark Ravitz Art and Design, you can buy seersucker shorts for a young boy in this store and all manner of formal looking clothing your grandmother would have loved. I know my grandmother bought me underwear at Best and Co. on Fifth Avenue

It's the storefront that used to be Seventh Avenue Books (or was it Park Slope Books).

If variety is the spice of life: this kind of shop is a refreshing antidote to Lolli and Area if you like the sort of styles they feature.

Carmen's Exclusives for Children on Seventh Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets, has clothing for children birth to five years old. Go this week while they still have cookies and beverages.

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

Poet Nikki Giovanni Coming to Brooklyn for Release of Louis and Capathia's One Ounce of Truth

Nikki Giovanni, world-renowned poet, will join Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen for a party for One Ounce of Truth: The Nikki Giovanni Songs at the Community Bookstore on July 8th at 7 p.m.

Giovanni will read poems, Louis and Capathia will perform and they'll all discuss the process of making an album of songs with words drawn from Nikki’s poetry.

Of course, they'll also be glad to sign copies of their CDs and books for all who attend.

Here are the 'tails:

Community Bookstore on Seventh Avenue between Garfield and Carroll
July 8th at 7 p.m.

They will be at the Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble on July 9th at 7 p.m.

Red Hot II: The Usual Red Hot on Prozac

The Blog that Must Not Be Named weighs in on Red Hot II

I was full from a huge lunch, told my wife I'd probably just have a bowl of cereal, and so she passive-aggressively says she needs Red Hot, when she damn well knows that I can't fully participate. She doesn't even LOVE it like I do... wtf? Does anyone have any marital adv-

Oh, right the review:

We order by phone and then go pick up - that's our jam to save 4$ on delivery. We call up, people on phone different (yeah I can tell, all asians don't sound the same to me you RACISTS - jk, they sound exactly the same, not sure if they were the same people or not)

Anyway, they were nice, they got the order easily, BUT to be fair, we weren't ordering the sesame tofu, which always seemed to throw the old guard off their guard, since they needed to figure out how to combine sesame sauce with bean curd on those little computers.

Anyway, food was ready in about 15 mins.

Went to pick it up and in the little foyer there were a couple of teenagers waiting - funny moment when some confused Jewish chick outside was like "I thought they cloooosed?" and the teenagers said "they OPENED" and some crazy white dude walking in goes "Yeah what the FUCK - don't you read the BLOGOSPHERE?!?!"

I asked the woman behind the counter what the deal was - she said NEW OWNER, SAME CHEF.
Jesus, it was packed, they really have to be retarded not to be able to carry this into a successful business, no matter what their rent is.

Anyway, food was much HOTTER than usual, which is a good sign. It was clear that it's the same Chef, same look and feel, tasted much fresher than usual like a the usual red hot on Prozac. However, I wouldn't deduce from this that it will stay this way forever - I mean, this was opening night - lets taste it Thursday night when that same Beef is still kickin around.

Anyway, so far so good - for all intents and purposes, Red Hot is back.

Last Night at Celebrate Brooklyn by Richard Grayson

Richard Grayson, author of Who Will Kiss the Pig: Sex Stories for Teens, I Brake for Delmore Schwartz, and With Hitler in New York, is back in town and he went to Celebrate Brooklyn Presents The Crooklyn Dodgers Reunion last night and filed this report, which is also on his blog.

It was raining very hard at 6 p.m. last evening, and things didn't look good as we finished our Boca burger and batata coreano, intending to leave Dumbo HQ in Williamsburg for the next hour's starting time at the Prospect Park Bandshell for Celebrate Brooklyn's presentation of The Crooklyn Dodgers Reunion.

By 6:30 p.m., things had brightened up a bit and we made our way to the park to represent BK's old white people at what sounded like it was going to be a history-making night in the annals of Brooklyn hip-hop with the return of the classic super-group.

As Wikipedia notes,
They appeared in three separate incarnations since 1994. The first two incarnations recorded for the soundtracks for Spike Lee films, Crooklyn and Clockers, respectively. The theme connecting The Crooklyn Dodgers songs, aside from the Spike Lee films which they were made for, is the topic matter, which tends to comment on the state of affairs in and around urban New York, as well as other issues affecting everyday life; as Jeru spouses "Chips that power nuclear bombs power my Sega."

Probably due to the heavy rain, the crowd wasn't big at the start of the night, but it really grew. We managed to find a close seat, thanks to the tiny blonde 7-year-old girl who took it upon herself to sponge off the water from all the folding chairs in our area.

It was an incredible show, hosted by Buckhshot and Special Ed, who showed off some of their own freestyling skills. The evening was a collage-montage of Brooklyn hip-hop, with continual shout-outs to the neighborhoods: "Flatbush!" "Crown Heights!" "Canarsie!" (When the incredibly talented Chip Fu yelled out "East 56th Street between Church & Snyder!" we shouted back, since we spent our first 28 years on East 54th between Snyder & Tilden and East 56th between O & Fillmore.)

The classic original veteran Masta Ace came on with his group EMC featuring amazing talent - Wordsworth, Punchline & Stricklin, and Chip Fu - with their rollicking signature opening. It just got better from there. As the crowds grew, arms waved, fists pumped, everyone swayed, and to us, the event seemed both Dionysian and intimate, as when Wordsworth jumped off the stage and began rapping in the crowd.

It was like being at a greatest Brooklyn house party ever. O.C., after doing some amazing stuff, sat down at the edge of the stage and began to talk to the borough's young rappers just coming up about the perils of artistic compromise and hypocrisy. "The last of my kind," O.C. didn't name names, but said "some people ain't doin' what they supposed to." Around me, audience members did name the names of some stars he was referring to.

The whole evening was curated by Danny Castro and Anthony Marshall, creators of the pioneering they-said-it-couldn't-be-done open-mic night Lyricist Lounge, who deserve much credit for putting together this defining event. And props to their majesties DJ Premier and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, whose historic work with A Tribe Called Quest brightened our days back in the day (and made early morning workouts bearable).

The night featured great freestyling and amazing rapping, some of it BK-centric. "Why do we gotta live in this environment?/Your grandpa done drank up his retirement" reminded us that we were really, really tired and maybe the second-oldest human we spotted in the by-now humongous (we're bad at estimates, everyone who took our 30,000 at the Met Opera seriously!) peaced-out crowd.

Blaming our fatigue on not old age but severe jet lag (we were campaigning in Arizona all week), we left a bit after 9 p.m. for the return trip home (the F was running funny, taking over the G route to Queens, causing confusion but making this a one-train trip back to the Burg), so we missed most of the show after intermission: Chubb Rock, the incredible Jeru the Damaja, etc. But we've got Kevin's report:
One highlight of this evening was going out with a post-party crew of stoners (Jon Good, Jesse, other Jesse, and Daniela) to dew-damp Prospect Park to catch the tail end of a fucking huge (and completely free) hip-hop concert, featuring the reunion of a moderately successful '90s rap group called the Crooklyn Dodgers.

I usually go to small underground shows, so this enormous outdoor bandshell venue, with thousands of screaming fans, backup dancers, stage lighting, the whole shebang. And the artists, though icons of the hip-hop underground, were more professional than anyone else I've ever heard. That's the great thing about Brooklyn--a local concert, with local artists celebrating the history and culture of the neighborhood, is going to have world-class talent. Some of the lyrics were a little blingy and whut-whut for my tastes, but for the most part the rhymes were tight, the beats were solid, and the Scene was Real.

And their lyrical talent was astounding. The distinction between rap and poetry is usually pretty controversial but there is no questioning that what I saw and heard tonight was poetry. These guys know their neighborhood, they know their culture, and they know life in Crown Heights, and they managed to tap that zeitgeist like a keg of ass.

Isn't life wonderful!

Smartmom; The End of the PS 321 Line

Here's the latest Smartmom from the award winning Brooklyn Paper:

Smartmom’s days are numbered at PS 321. After 11 years as a very involved parent at this illustrious school, she’s is about to say adieu.

Sure, 11 years is a long time to be in elementary school and Smartmom is good and ready to graduate.

Sort of.

But it’s a big deal, a major transition and, truth be told, Smartmom is feeling very shaky about the whole thing.

Transitions. They are an essential part of the big shebang, integral to the process of growth and moving on. You can’t live with ’em or live without ’em.

Smartmom can still remember the transition from Teen Spirit’s private kindergarten to first grade at PS 321. This was back in 1997, the olden days before Elizabeth Phillips was principal

On the first day of school, Hepcat, Teen Spirit and Smartmom — with 6-month-old OSFO in the Baby Bjorn — walked nervously to that first-grade classroom carrying a huge shopping bag full of paper towels, hand soap, Kleenex and crayons (as requested by the school).

Smartmom worried that Teen Spirit might feel overwhelmed by the raucous public school atmosphere. But it was Smartmom who felt overwhelmed.

Walking out on Seventh Avenue, Smartmom felt pangs of anxiety. What would Teen Spirit make of this new school? Hadn’t he grown used to the precious, child-centered pedagogy and specialized wooden toys of a local Montessori school?

His transition wasn’t seamless. Transitions never are. But by Halloween, Teen Spirit had settled into life as a public school first-grader. And Smartmom adjusted, too.

Soon she realized how lucky they were to live around the corner from such a warm and well-run school, where learning is focused and fun and parents and administration work closely together to make the school even better.

When OSFO started kindergarten at PS 321 in 2002, she was well adjusted by the time she went trick-or-treating on Seventh Avenue dressed as a Disney Princess. She liked her cubby, choice time, read-alouds, and playtime with friends in the playground.

It was Smartmom who missed Beth Elohim and the mommy friends she had made over there. Fortunately, some were also sending their children to PS 321. But others she didn’t see as much anymore.

New friends. New routines. Change is fun — but also scary and sad because it means that Smartmom is aging and her children growing more independent. Despite all the grief outsiders give today’s Park Slope stroller moms, Smartmom is sadder and sadder that she’s not one anymore.

The same year that OSFO started kindergarten at PS 321, Teen Spirit started middle school at MS 51. Now that was a big change: 1,300 kids in three grades; a different teacher for every subject. That first day, Teen Spirit even walked to school by himself.

But Hepcat and Smartmom were dying of curiosity. They walked over to Fifth Avenue to spy on their son at lunchtime.

“Who is that woman in the camouflage pants that he’s walking with?” Smartmom asked Hepcat.

They maneuvered themselves to get a better look from across the street. “That woman” turned out to be a friend of Teen Spirit’s from fifth grade who had grown tall over the summer and had reinvented herself as a grunge-goth-punk rock-grrrl-girl.

Once again, it took a while for the family to get used to Teen Spirit’s new school. They never really figured out their way around the building or got to know many of the other parents.

But they adjusted. Eventually.

A few years later, it was transition time again. Teen Spirit went to a high school in Bay Ridge, which was too far away for lunchtime spying. And after two years, he switched to an even better high school in Manhattan.

Both parents knew to keep their distance, but Smartmom’s affinity for the school motivated her to volunteer as an advisory parent, which is something like a class parent (a term that would surely mortify any high school kid).

Smartmom kept her affiliation on the down low (she’s not sure if Teen Spirit ever found out). Secretly, she attended PTA meetings and got to know the school and a few other parents on her own. Naturally, Teen Spirit avoided her when he saw her in the hallway. And she acted like a perfect stranger.

So, it’s transition time again. OSFO finally found out that she will attend New Voices middle school on 18th Street near Seventh Avenue. She will take the Seventh Avenue bus to school and get to know a new group of teachers and friends (and parents; Smartmom hopes she likes the parents).

OSFO hasn’t lost any sleep over it. She’s excited about going to middle school and doesn’t seem nervous about riding the B67 or navigating a brand new social scene.

Naturally, it’s Smartmom who’s having the hard time. Will OSFO feel comfortable up there? Will she make new friends? Will she like her teachers? Will everything work out?

It's Smartmom, who is afraid to leave her wonderful school around the corner, a one-of-a-kind place with a special community of friends and neighbors. It’s been the heartbeat of her life for so many years now.

But now, it’s time to let go.

The Oh So Prolific One: Leon Freilich, Verse Responder

UNTIMELY

The folks who disdain watches can be counted on

In every clime

To pester you and me throughout the day with their nagging

"Got the time?"

Klezmer Meets Funk and Hip Hop with Jerome Harris on Bass

My friend, Jezra Kaye, sent me this review of a recent concert of a band that includes Prospect Heights bassist, Jerome Harris. Harris has played with so many jazz musicians I don't know where to begin. For starters, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, Ray Anderson, Don Byron, Bobby Previte, Oliver Lake, Amina Claudine Myers, Bob Stewart, George Russell, Julius Hemphill, and Bob Moses. The excerpt from Jazz Times, describes a wonderful new band that brings together klezmer, funk and hip-hop.

Hopefully a CD will be out in the not-too-distant future, and OTBKB will let you know when they’re coming to Brooklyn. As Jezra said, "In the meantime, we can all just enjoy that such a thing exists!J Happy Almost-4th of July, and much love to all."

This endlessly surprising yet highly successful hybrid of klezmer, funk and hip-hop had the enthusiastic crowd—young and old, Jews and gentiles, whites and blacks—dancing ecstatically in the aisles like it was a Jewish wedding. Wesley brought the funk while virtuoso clarinetist David Krakauer delivered the passionate intensity and deep Jewish soul that ties him to the lineage of klezmer clarinet kings like Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras. Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist and visionary beat architect Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled, provided a bridge between the klezmer and hip-hop worlds with his audacious Hebraic rapping while the Bronx-bred emcee C-Rayz Walz brought street cred to this unlikeliest of collaborations with his remarkable freestyling facility and stark urban imagery.

Bilingual Puppets at El Pequeno Artista on Fifth Avenue

Don't forget about El Pequeno Artista's Puppet Show on Sunday. Shows are at 11, 1:30, and 4. It's Spanish/English, and it's made for the smaller set.

El Pequeno Artista, is a bilingual arts center for children in the South Park Slope. They have a full schedule of summer activities/programs for kids.

249 20th St., @ 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

The Oh So Prolific One: Leon Freilich, Verse Responder

PARKING CIRCLES

They came from outer non-spaces

Having heard of Park Slope's parking places--

A wide-open neighborhood for cars

Where once the attractions were churches and bars.

To Slopers, told that parking regs

Were gone for the summer like hated dregs

It seemed the end to spots you fish for;

Oh yeah? Be careful what you wish for.

Red Hot II On A Hot Hot Day

On Park Slope Parents this morning, this note from a Red Hot I customer:

Seems like they're back... this time as Red Hot II (now that's creative). From the conversation I overheard outside the door this evening it's the same chef. I didn't keep an old menu so I can't compare - the phone number on the new menu is (718) 369 -2577. Feedback please from whoever is the first to order...

Overheard on the 2 Train

A man and a woman talking on a train stream of consciousness about Black Pearl, the recently closed restaurant on Union Street between 6th and 7th Avenues:

Do you think it's closed?

There was a sign that it was reopening on June something but I think it's closed for good

I liked it.

I really like Black Pearl.

Do you think it was too big?

But it was such a good restaurant.

If it had been on Seventh Avenue maybe it would have done better

It had a Bay Ridge vibe

I loved the arugula pizza

The food was good

I'm really going to miss the arugula pizza

Do you think it closed?
Why do you think it closed...

I really liked Black Pearl

I wonder why it closed...

Interesting Stoop Sale on First Street

On First Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, I happened on a stoop sale with lots of LPs, found super-8 movies, Criterion Collection DVD's, art books, and film equipment. My dad collects classical and jazz LP's here' what I got for him:

The Art Tatum Buddy DeFranco Quartet on Verve

Bird and Diz on Verve

In a Mellow toe by Johnny Hodges on Verve

Die Dreigroschenoper: The original cast recording of The Three Penny Opera on Telefunken

Victoria De Los Angeles on Seraphim

Bach: The Two and Three Park Inventions Gleenn Gould on Columbia

Elizabeth Schwarzkoph singing Mozart and Bach

But the real find was this, a book, copyright 1958:

The Beat Generation and the Angry Young Men: Revealing stories and pieces by the most damned and praised writers of our day, including Jack Kerouac, Colin Wilson, Joh Wain, John Osborne, Kingsely Amis, Allen Ginsberg and many others...

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

This Weekend With Kids Around the Borough

All hail Rachel of Park Slope Parentswho puts together this fantastic list of things of things to do on the weekend with kids. You can find details, addresses, phone numbers, URL's, etc. at the PSP calendar on the home page.

Friday, June 27, 2008

NYC Waterfalls

Storytime @ The Postmark Cafe

Sing A Long At The Tea Lounge On Union

Storytime @ The Moxie Spot

Suzi Shelton & Randi Kaplan - Tea Lounge

Youth Council Outdoor Movie Night - Prospect Park, Cat In The Hat

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Puppetworks Presents Pinocchio At 12:30pm & 2:30pm

NYC Waterfalls

Kids Cook - Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket

Open House NY Kids! Prospect Park

PLG Arts Performs This Short Version Of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

ARTY Facts At The Brooklyn Museum @ 11 Am & 2pm

Figment Arts Festival

Storytime At Court Street Barnes & Noble

McCarren Park Live: AudraRox

Intro To Birdwatching At The Audubon Center

Lefferts House - Quilt Exhibit & Workshops

Tree-mendous Walk

Nature Crafts At The Audubon Center

It's A Bee, Honey - Puppet Making FREE

Walk And Learn In The Quaker Cemetery In Prospect

Prospect Park Audubon Center - Discover Tour

Hootenanny Art House - Open Family Art Studio

John Rocco - Moonpowder Story TIme

He Friends Of Douglass/Greene Park Invite You To A SUNSET SWIM (

Sunday, June 29, 2008

NYC Waterfalls

Canoe The Lullwater - Sign Up Begins 10:30am

Brooklyn Indie Market Craftin' Kids Workshops

Figment Arts Festival

Brooklyn Museum - Arty Facts At 11am & 2:00pm

Prospect Park - Lefferts Historic House Quilt Exhibit & Workshops & More!

Fulton Art Fair

Puppetworks Presents Pinocchio At 12:30pm & 2:30pm

It's A Bee, Honey - Performance FREE

Prospect Park Audubon Center - Discover Tours, 3pm

PLG Arts Performs This Short Version Of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Waterfalls, Waterfalls, Waterfalls

Heres the word on the waterfalls from About.com's Brooklyn page written by Kristin Goode:

The city has been buzzing lately with news of a major new work of public art that will be on display for the next few months. The project, called The New York City Waterfalls, will be "live" from June 26 to October 13 and will consist of four large (90- to 120-feet tall!) man-made waterfalls, all installed throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Governors Island.

A product of artist Olafar Eliasson, one of the four waterfalls will live near the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge, and another one will be between Piers 4 and 5 near Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights. The falls will run between 7am and 10pm, seven days a week. They'll also be lit after sunset.

Here's an interesting interview on video with Olafar Eliasson from the New York Times.

Complete Summer Schedule in JJ Byrne Park

For the fourth year in a row, the Old Stone House is presenting a great series of music, film, theater and dance from July 1-30, all outdoors, all free. Opening night will feature Opera on Tap in JJ Byrne Park at Fifth Avenue and Third Street on Tuesday, July 1, at 6 pm and 8 pm, sponsored by The Gate, 5th Avenue ’s favorite tavern. With music on Tuesdays, film on Wednesdays and a fantastical equity showcase production of Midsummer Night’s Dream on July 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, as well as Silver Brown Dance Company on July 20, there’s something to bring you to the Old Stone House almost daily.

The complete schedule:

Music on Tuesdays:
July 1: Opera on Tap, 6 pm & 8 pm
July 8: Astrograss, 6 pm
July 15: Opera on Tap, 6 pm & 8 pm
July 22: Buzz Universe, 6 pm
July 29: The Plush Interior, 6 pm

Movies on Wednesdays/Democracy in Action:

July 2: 1776, 8:45 pm
July 9: Reelworks Film Festival, 7:30 pm
July 16: The Manchurian Candidate, 1962
July 23: The Mouse that Roared
July 30: The Candidate w/ Robert Redford

Piper Theatre at the Old Stone House
July 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 8 pm – an equity showcase of Midsummer Night’s Dream with a Coney Island theme

Silver Brown Dance Company
July 20 at 4 pm

The Night After the Day

Smartmom and OSFO packed up two jelly sandwiches and headed to the park for the fifth grade end of year celebration picnic at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park.

Smartmom and the Oh So Feisty One got there more than an hour before the show started and set up a blanket near friends. The kids, many in their blue fifth grade t-shirts, ran around with fair abandon. The parents, on the other hand, seemed happy to sip wine and beer and engage in wistful conversation.

There was the feeling, to Smartmom at least, that people had already begun to move on. Conversations were about things other than middle school applications, fifth grade activities, and graduation.

With one friend, Smartmom discussed what this transition might mean in terms of continuing friendships. There is, of course, the worry that friendships will fizzle out as the connection to the school fades.

Smartmom knows from experience that with effort (and plenty of it) those who want to will remain friends via monthly dinners, meet-ups for coffee or drinks, phone calls.

At 7:30, the Dixie Hummingbirds, the legendary jubilee gospel quartet, began their set of joyful, spiritual music with many shades of harmony. Stevie Wonder says of them; “they continue to press the envelope with their greatness, linking us to a rich musical heritage that keeps us in-tune and in harmony with the universe and each other."

Smartmom didn't know this last night, but Ira Tucker, who had been singing with the Dixie Hummingbirds since 1938, passed away the evening of June 24. He was born in 1925 and performed with the group until the end of his life.

The crowd observed a moment of silence, but up in the hills behind the seats, Smartmom isn't sure if anyone realized that.

After a brief intermission, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, young black musicians who play the wild string band music of the 20's, 30's, and 40's and dress the part as well, played raucous and ecstatic music that was wonderfully fun.

Toe tapping, hand clapping, it brought the crowd to their feet. Smartmom even saw some square dancing. Another great night at Celebrate Brooklyn; this one with a bitter sweet twist.

And plenty of wine.

Boutique Organic Wines in Brooklyn

I just got a note from Jessica Aptman, who is opening Blue Angel Wines in Williamsburg:

I wanted to pass along infomation regarding Blue Angel Wines – a new wine boutique based in Brooklyn with a strong focus on organic wines. "Blue Angel" is a German certification for products and services with environmentally friendly practices. I was hoping this might be of interest for Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn.

Blue Angel's Chief Wine Buyer is Kym Apotas, who most recently served as a wine buyer for three years at Astor Wines and Spirits. As one of two wine buyers at Astor, Kym shared responsibility for stocking the store with more than 3,500 different wines and organizing more than $2 million in inventory. At Blue Angel, Kym has helped build the store's organic-focused wine repertoire, featuring smaller distributors and producers, with her sharp palate and incomparable experience.

The latest addition to Grand Street's booming culinary scene (including Huckleberry Bar, Wombat and Le Barricou), Blue Angel's sophisticated yet earthy aesthetic was constructed using materials that are either recycled or eco-friendly. Additionally, the store has a great backyard that will later open for tastings. For those pressed for time but in need of wine, Blue Angel will deliver to their customers in the neighborhood.

Blue Angel
638 Grand Street
718-388-2210
Hours:
Monday – Wednesday; Noon to 9PM
Thursday – Saturday; Noon to 10PM
Sunday; Noon to 6PM

A Walk Around the Blog with Brooklyn's Photobloggers

Adrian Kinloch of Brit in Brooklyn and Tracy Collins of Not Another F*cking Blog share their thoughts on photoblogging and talk about the Web Cam that is documenting the demolition at the Atlantic Yards site.

Last Chance to See Macbeth at St. Ann's Warehouse

Don't miss this acclaimed performance at St. Ann's Warehouse in DUMBO.

The run of TR Warszawa’s Macbeth is coming to an end soon -- Sunday June 29 is the Closing Night for Macbeth and there are still some tickets left for the Closing Night Celebration (7:30PM reception, 9PM performance) at $175, to purchase CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make the celebration, please take a chance at our rush line tonight Fri June 27, tomorrow June 28 or Sun June 29 – people have been lining up starting around 5PM and tickets will be distributed at 8PM. Once we run out of $20 RUSH tickets we sometimes have a few extra $35 tickets to sell that have opened up at the last minute.

Hope to see you at the Tobacco Warehouse this weekend.

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

This Is It

At noon the playground began to clear. Indoors, parents were clustered around the bulletin board looking at the photos of the school's teachers, conjuring up the face of next year.

Report cards, test scores, Parents clutched in their hands the familiar manila folder, the shopping bags of school work, art work, clay sculptures.

Some fifth graders cried. So were very "whatever" blase. One moms eye make-up was blurry and black from the sadness and the humid heat: giving her raccoon eyes and a genuinely mournful glaze.

Another friend said, "You know, we're moving..."

OSFO's second grade teacher looked on in disbelief that this class was moving on to the next big thing. It was her first year of teaching when she had OSFO and her friends. She was so new at it all; her first.

Smartmom ran into OSFO's third grade teachers, a spirited woman with a large, warm face. "So this is it," she said to Smartmom and gave her a hug. Smartmom has nothing but good memories for the way this teacher understood OSFO's learning style; how she guided with a gentle hand and helped OSFO achieve good things. Tears were just under the surface for that encounter.

A hug and they moved on.

Smartmom held her shopping bag filled with single flowers wrapped in purple tissue paper. There was one for the crossing guard, one for the parent coordinator, who's been at the school as long as Smartmom has.

One for Teen Spirit's first grade teacher. "It all goes back to you in the lovely floral dress you wore on Teen Spirit's first day of kindergarten. Thanks for everything," Smartmom wrote in a note. She is now assistant principal.

One for OSFO's teachers this year; one for the guidance counselor who is retiring and was so helpful getting the middle school muddle unmuddied.

But then the parents moved away, the backyard emptied in the light rain. Smartmom didn't know what to do with herself. As she has done all year, OSFO was already on her way to a friend's house.

Smartmom stood alone, looking for someone to talk to, someone to share news of next year's teacher, next year's path.

And then it dawned on her...

She has no business at this elementary school anymore. Sure, she could hang around at drop off, pick up, watch the parents of younger children as they move through the steps of elementary school. She could even pretend that she has a child going there.

But what would be the point?

Smartmom is no longer part of this place that engaged in her so many ways for 11 years. Without a child there, it is time to move on. Time to catch the bus, as it were, the B67. Hop on the bus, Smartmom.

Next stop: New Voices.

Presentation of New Charter Schools in District 15

At the July meeting of the District 15 Community Education Council, newly proposed charter schools for District 15, including the Summit Academy Charter School and the Sunset Park Academy, will make their presentations. There will be time for questions and public comments.

"Empowering Parents to Claim Excellent Education for All Students"

131 Livingston Street, room 301B, Brooklyn, NY 11201 at 6 p.m.

Phone: 718 935-4267 Fax: 718 935-4356

CEC15@schools.nyc.go

Tuesday July 8th, 2008 at 131 Livingston Street, 6th floor, room 610.

Outdoor Movies This Summer

Once again, thank goodness for Brooklyn Based: she does the footwork and puts up great tip sheets for Brooklyn life. Today her "Blogletter" is all about outdoor movies in Brooklyn this summer. Think about signing up for BB's three times a week blogletter, which is delivered directly to your inBox.

One caveat: she left out Brooklyn Film Works, which begins on July 2nd in JJ Byrne Park (Fifth Avenue and Third Street). This summer, the series is called, Democracy in Action and it opens with 1776. The show begins at dark. As always, there will be great shorts to accompany the feature. A lovely thing to do on a summer night: movies al fresco under the stars.

Back to Brooklyn Based.

When I was growing up in the sticks, one of my favorite summertime activities was dragging the TV and VCR out to the backyard (courtesy of a very long extension cord), setting up lawn chairs and watching movies outside with friends on warm summer evenings. Turns out, when you grow up and move to Brooklyn, you can watch all sorts of movies outside during the summer, no extension cords or explanations to your parents required

Pride of the Brooklyn Blogosphere: Amazing Bay Ridge Blog Story

Bay Ridge Talks isn't exactly a blog. It's more like a message board, where neighbors can carry on discussions about a variety of topics.

Well, this story takes the cake. And the credit for bringing down a crack house in Bay Ridge. The story was first reported by the Brooklyn Eagle. And the Times in its story has some great quotes. It seems that the DA is happy to take the credit:

The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, announced the arrests on Wednesday, praising old-fashioned police work — “a fairly uncomplicated, unsophisticated operation.”

The suspects were identified as three brothers, Joseph Terrone, 54, Michael Terrone, 47, and Ross Terrone, 45, as well as Alan Reilly, 61, and Erica Raffone, 31. All remained jailed on Wednesday. The brothers and Ms. Raffone face conspiracy, drugs and weapons charges, while Mr. Reilly was charged with selling a controlled substance. A sixth suspect remains at large.

But the Times' seemed to really get that it was the bloggers of Bay Ridge Talks that really delivered the goods.

Mr. Hynes said most of the drug activity occurred inside the house, making it hard for officers to penetrate. “I don’t think anyone recognized it was as expansive as it was,” he said.

But the bloggers seemed to know, sometimes chronicling daily activities in detail, misspellings and all: “Several more crack heads came out of 346 93rd street,” one woman wrote last year, “and one was trying to steal a ladder while i guess another which i could not tell was male or female, who may have lived their claimed ownership to the ladder and they begain to fight.”

Bay Ridge: Local Web Forum Brings Down Drug House

This is an incredible story: another positive outcome of the pioneering ways that people are using their blogs in neighborhoods around the city. This from NY 1. The New York Times has the story, too. They called Bay Ridge Talks a blog, but it's really a message board like the Brooklynian.

Police said Wednesday that they teamed up with neighbors of an alleged Brooklyn drug house to take down the operation.

Prosecutors say three brothers sold crack, heroin and prescription pills and let their customers hang out at adjacent houses on 93rd Street in Bay Ridge.

Police were investigating the ring for years, but could not bust it because they never witnessed any transactions.

Finally, fed-up neighbors brought complaints of related rampant criminal information to their community board.

They were able to share tips with police, which led to arrests.

"We came together through a local web forum and there were many neighbors that were feeling much the same fear and issues that we were already observing,” said area resident Jason Miller. “A lot of people got together and said we have to have a plan."

"We find it to be very effective, we meet very regularly with the community people affected," said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

Five defendants were imprisoned with charges of conspiracy and drug sales. As of Wednesday night, a sixth suspect was still at large.

Neo-Lounge at Rooftop Films

Yesterday I got this email from Jessica, who works with Rooftop Films, a summer film series dedicated to showing new, independent films in unique outdoor locations in NYC:

This Saturday, June 28, we will be presenting "Neo-Lounge" on the roof of the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The night starts at 8:30 with live music from Artanker Convoy and the film starts at 9:00.

In the aftermath of the SARS outbreak in Beijing, Joanna Vasquez Arong,
the Phillipines-born filmmaker, immerses herself in a small group of
daring and desperate ex-patriots who banded together at the decadent
Neo-Lounge nightclub. This gathering place showcases those who come to
Beijing for a different life—it strays from the “routines” of other
places, and it has a transient nature in which “life is day to day…half
good, half bad.” This film is about people in transition surviving
desperation and confusion in a place marked by transition itself, and it
shows Beijing in a new and unique light through the eyes of two foreigners
in the performance and nightclub scene.
More information about it can be found here:
http://rooftopfilms.bside.com/2008/films/neolounge_rooftopfilms2008

Andy Bachman: My Kids Calls Me Norman

I saw Andy Bachman,rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim, at the fifth grade graduation of our children. "This is a great day," I think he said. We shook hands. I checked his blog to see if he'd written anything about his feelings about the event. Instead I found this. This is an excerpt, go here for more.

One of my kids has taken to calling me Norman, my middle name, for my mother’s late father, a kindly

gentleman of Wisconsin, murdered in 1939 and thereby truncating my own mother’s youth and grandmother’s aspirations for the Wonderful Life.

“Norman, how was Shul?” she’ll ask.

Or, “Norman, how’d the Mets do?”

She refers to Milwaukee’s baseball team as the Brew Crew. God bless her.

She quietly sneaked this new moniker–Norman–into the family lore, here in Brooklyn, intuiting among our clan here that an oral remnant of a bygone era would somehow bind us in ways even we parents weren’t clever enough to figure out.

From the mouths of babes, as they say.

ET In Prospect Park is Cancelled

Due to weather the film and fireworks has been CANCELED for tonight. It will be rescheduled for a future date.

The Oh So Prolific One: Leon Freilich, Verse Responder

COFFEE CIRCLES

I went berserk

At Le Cirque

When out came the bill

A staggering pill

For what I havva,

A cuppa java.

Historians and scholars

Who follow dollars

Please note for the thrifty

The bill said nine-fifty.

A teacup of joe

For that much dough!

Ready to kill,

I chewed up that bill,

I swallowed that bill

Convulsing with rage

In a half-mad stage.

Without missing a beat

Or shifting his feet,

The waiter said, Sir,

I know you'll concur

There now must be

An extra fee--

Ten dollars is the rate

For the bill you ate.

So was I a jerk

For going berserk?

Perfect Summer Date Night: Life in a Marital Institution

James Braly, the original edgy husband and dad, opens in Life in a Marital Institution (20 years of monogomy in one terrifying hour) at the SoHo Playhouse at 15 Vandam Street in Manhattan. The show runs from June 26 until August 31.

My forever friend, Anna Becker is the producer and I trust anything she puts her heart and mind behind. The director, Hal Brooks, lives in Brooklyn.

Even the New Yorker Magazine loved the show: “James Braly’s wry hour-long monologue interweaves the story of his twenty-year marriage—a union rife with ‘tantric conflict’—and Braly presents it winningly.

And So It Ends

A half-day today and then we're through. With elementary school, that is. Two children, eleven years at PS 321: so much to remember, so much to cherish about our time there.

And yet, like any rite of passage, it feels right, too. The end of this and the beginning of something else.

So what is that something else?

Middle school for OSFO; and a new school, new parents to know, new projects for Smartmom. It's the great blank slate now, the future without elementary school.

There were tears at the fifth grade graduation. Speeches by fifth graders pulled at Smartmom's heart as did the principal's words ("as people you understand the importance of working together and making each other look good," she said); the sight of a girl helping to carry an American flag down the aisle and the spiritual the kids sang facing their relatives from their seats.

Marty Markowitz, as always, delighted the children with his speech about eating right and getting exercise. He asked them: Any doctors in the house, any lawyers, any future borough presidents?

And as he has done for years, he ended the speech with a Star Wars style light saber in his hand, "May the force be with you."

We sat in the balcony. Teen Spirit napped, Hepcat snapped pictures, Smartmom skipped around to empty seats visting friends. It was a long presentation and it was very hot in the steamy auditorium of John Jay.

But it was the end: of something so powerful and sweet that went by in a flash. Why, it seems just yesterday we walked into that building for the very first time flushed, excited, and apprehensive; ready to begin the adventure.

School is just a place and just one of many places where childhood happens. But it consumes so much time and so much energy for the entire family that one is grateful if that experience is something to savor.

And this was, this school, this part of our lives. And so it ends.

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

Last Night: Coney Island Speak Out on Development

Coney Island residents, including the unofficial Mayor of Coney Island Dick Ziggin, Reverand Billy, and the Mermaid Parade Queen, spoke out at a Tuesday meeting on plans to redevelop their neighborhood. Read all about it at the Kinetic Carnival.

Here's an excerpt from NY 1 story:

The proposed plan includes 5,000 housing units, and space for what's being called "entertainment retail."

Some residents say they don't want the amusement area to be turned into a mall, and made their statements loud and clear through sermons, songs, and speeches.

"It's FAO Schwartz with a keyboard you can dance on. It's Radio Shack with a demonstration video game. It's a shopping mall by other names," said Dick Ziggin, founder of Coney Island USA.

"It's certainly an important part of the public process for zoning. So I'm actually glad that people came out tonight so that we can hear their opinions and modify the scope accordingly," said Lynn Kelly of Coney Island Development Corporation.

Officials expect more public hearings as the rezoning process moves forward

.

NYC Waterfalls: Faucets Get Turned on Thursday at 7 am

Thank goodness for Brooklyn Based and her fabulous tip sheets. Subscribe to her blogletter now and hear about all the cool stuff.

The largest art installation to hit New York since Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Gates will be Olafur Eliasson’s New York City Waterfalls. The four man-made structures, ranging in height from 90 to 120 feet along the East River, will drop thousands of gallons of river water a minute — and the faucets get turned on Thursday at 7 am and run till 10 pm, when the falls will be lit by LEDs. For a good view, stroll the Brooklyn Heights Promenade or Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, hop on the NY Water Taxi from Fulton Landing to South Street Seaport, or try the new, free Ikea shuttle. June 26-October 13 at Governors Island, Piers 4 and 5 in Brooklyn, under the Brooklyn Bridge and Pier 35 in Manhattan, nycwaterfalls.org

Stuff and Things to Do:

This Thursday: The opening of the Small Work Show at 440 Gallery (440 6th avenue between 9th and 10th street.).

"Yesterday I was at the gallery helping hang the show, and it really looks wonderful. We have a lot of Brooklyn artists participating. Let me know if you are still planning to drop by so that I make sure I meet you. The opening is from 6 to 9pm," wrote Helene, a member of the gallery.

In July: Summer Concerts at Old First: Every Wednesday evening in July at the Old First Reformed Church, Seventh Avenue and Carroll Street in Park Slope

July 2nd: Hellgate Harmonie will performing Strauss and Mendelssohn wind music at Old First Church at 8 p.m.

Bill de Blasio Says: Brooklyn Deserves Transit Improvements

Councilmember Bill de Blasio emailed me the following statement about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which will cut projects including 19 subway station renovations. According to de Balsio, the cuts will hit Brooklyn hardest. 15 of the 19 station renovations that will be cut are in Brooklyn: 10 on the D line, 4 on the N line, and 1 (Smith and Ninth Street) on the G and F lines.

"Brooklyn deserves its fair share of transit improvements. How is it that we have millions of dollars to fund major projects like the Second Avenue subway, but can't find the money to fund Brooklyn's station renovations? The MTA is talking about raising fares again, but have failed to deliver on their promise of regular, on-time service and stations and platforms that are in decent condition. When the fares went up last March they told us we'd be getting these improvements. The bait and switch game must end. Brooklyn deserves better." The current $23.7 billion plan includes spending for new buses and train cars, and major projects like the Second Avenue subway. If the agency raises fares in 2009, it would be only the second time in the 104-year history of the subways that there would be back-to-back fare hikes. The last and only time it happened was in 1980 and 1981.

In December 2007, Councilmember de Blasio proposed a Bill of Rights for all of New York City's subway riders. The Subway Riders' Bill of Rights include regular, on-time service provided on trains and platforms that are kept safe and clean, working public address systems in all stations, and immediate and real-time notification of service changes and advisories with accurate information on alternative means of transportation in situations where service is interrupted.

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

Comings and Goings in Park Slope

Black Pearl, a well-liked restaurant and bar on Union Street near the Tea Lounge has closed.

Five Guys Burgers will be opening in July on Seventh Avenue near 6th Street.

Construction on the new Bank of America on 6th Street and 7th Avenue is moving along. They have removed the red wood construction covering.

The mysteriously named Carmen's Exclusives for Children is set to open soon in the space that used to house Park Slope Books, on Seventh Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets. They have not, however, removed the plain brown wrapping on the windows. They will sell clothing for children birth through five years old.

Red Hot is back. Red Hot II, the second iteration of the Szchuan restaurant on 7th Avenue and 10th Street, is set to open in early July.

The Chocolate Girl, kosher chocolates on Seventh Avenue near 11th Streets has gone out of business.

Big Nose, Full Body is opening a wine bar on Seventh Avenue across from their shop near 12th Street.

Tribute to George Carlin

Scott Turner, who runs Rocky Sullivan's, the pub across the street from IKEA in Red Hook, sent this tribute to George Carlin, who died over the weekend. He also mentioned that there's a pub quiz this Thursday. Like always.

..and what I want is to pay tribute to George Carlin by listing, in all their glory, the Seven Words You Can't Say On T.V. Carlin's routine wasn't about cheap laughs or working blue, as the old Borscht Belt comics used to call explicit routines. Carlin was pointing out the U.S. government's usual hypocritical proclivities. In this case, a society that uses these words all the time, except for the tiny little realm called "television." Like if television programs don't use dirty words, dirty words don't exist.

By the way, here's George Carlin's take on electoral politics: "It is the illusion of choice." He's 99% right...this fall might, for the first time in most of our lives, be the yang to Carlin's yin. But when the Democrats punked out last week and voted for George Bush's FISA bill, Dems in New York City favor big real-estate developers over their local constituents clear instructions to stop Bloomberg's wild-west construction explosion, and those vote against their own best interests in this country -- well, it's easy to see the wisdom of Carlin's eloquence.

Still, agreeing with Carlin doesn't mean it's good to stay away from the voting booth. You want a country that works the way it should? Use all the tools in the shed. Voting's one of 'em. With a two-party system that works together to keep all other parties out in the cold, it's not freedom of choice -- more like freedom to choose who the folks in Washington tell us to choose from. It's like only being allowed to buy items that Wal-Mart stocks, and convincing yourself you can purchase anything in the world.

Carlin's gone, and with it, another gale in our sails. We'll just have to row harder now.

Rocky Sullivan's Pub Quiz
Quiz 'Neath The Stars
General Knowledge Night
with Quizmaster Scott M.X. Turner
This Thursday evening, June 26th
8:00 pm
free admission, potable prizes, per chance wearable winners and aural awards
Rocky Sullivan's
34 Van Dyke Street
Red Hook, Brooklyn
F/G to Smith/9th Streer -or- F/R to 4th Avenue/9th Street Stations
transfer for the B77 Bus to corner of Van Dyke & Dwight Street, Red Hook
free Ikea shuttle buses and ferries, go here for more info: http://info.ikea-usa.com/brooklyn/
http://www.rockysullivans.com/quiz.html

Here's his tribute to George Carlin: