Politics: "Honey, I Shrunk My Mandate" or "Client 9 from Outer Space"

Just when we thought that the Democratic Presidential Primaries couldn't get any more excruciating we have the Death Watch over the Governor Eliot Spitzer resignation..

It is fair to say that even many of his supporters and admirers were uncomfortable with his use of his enormous political mandate. It seemed that he was incapable of governing, could not accomplish his State policy initiatives since he felt that he could only use his electoral mandate as a cudgel to attempt to beat his opponents into submission, could not work things out with Sheldon Silver of the Assembly or Joe Bruno of the State Senate. Mediation, political wrangling, negotiation clearly did not seem to be part of his personal toolkit. His way or the highway. Who did he think he was, Billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg ? Even Mayor Mike seems to be squeaky clean by comparison, or at least has the sense to cover his tracks really, really well.

There seemed hope in recent weeks that the Governor was in the process of toning down his approach, and that he would try something new in his second year of office. But now in retrospect, perhaps he was just keeping his head down, since he knew the Feds were circling. He has not only wasted his mandate but lost the tie breaking vote for the Dems that Lt Governor David Paterson potentially held in the State Senate. Press accounts suggest that the Lt Governor has reached out to GOP elected offiials and expressed a willingness to start fresh. Everyone in the state needs to support him and give him the benefit of the doubt before the knives are unsheathed. He may not be the Sheriff of Wall Street, but perhaps he can offer "hope" in New York, which we seem sorely in need of....

One could sense in his first year that there was something awry in the Spitzer administration. Perhaps, down deep, the Governor realized that he could not change himself, could not actually be a true leader, could not work across party lines to achieve his goals. He was a hard charger who seemed to have the world at his feet. How could he fail? So he unwittingly derailed his elected office, his administration, and his personal life, rather than fail.

There are no political enemies to blame here. "The fault lies not in our stars/but in ourselves." The watch continues.

Politics: Governor Spitzer to Resign ?

Hard ball politics. If Governor Spitzer was involved with a prostitution ring, he broke the law. That no doubt would be overshadowed by the hypocrisy of "the Sheriff of Wall Street" having personal pecadilloes and crimes and misdemeanors of his own uncovered. Was this something that will prove to have been known in Albany, and did his bare knuckle battle with Joseph Bruno lead someone to make this public ? It doesn't matter. Politics is a tough tough game. Any weakness will be exploited. Any flaw will glint like a polished diamond in the glare of the 24/7 news cycle. The delay in the Governors' statement suggests a resignation could be in the works. As Governor who delcared he was going to clean things up in Albany and NY State, how do you work your way back from this ? Somethings cannot be repaired. This may be an example of that.

Battle Tested versus Medium Cool

This amazing presidential campaign has shifted a little bit again. Although it appears that the breakneck momentum that Senator Obama displayed in February has been tempered a bit, the pundits are still pondering the math, and now no one is prepared to claim that they can see through their crystal balls to confidently predict the outcome of the Democratic nomination. Maybe Senator Obama with the combined hopes of his supporters will pull it all together before the Primary. Maybe not. But this is politics and stranger things have happened.

A few short months ago, who thought that Senator McCain would be the Last Man Standing in that crowded field of Republican White Guys.

It seems safe to assume that should Senator Obama receive the Democratic nomination, he and his so far invisible surrogates need to be prepared to fight tirelessly, endlessly, and fiercely in the regular campaign. Frankly, just like Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been willing to fight. Politics is a struggle. Senator Obama to the general public has not outlined a broad platform. He hasn't presented himeslf as a Man With A Plan. Rather, he is portrayed as a gentle visionary, zen cool, suggesting that we should all just love one another, work together for Change, hope and A Better America, and end the politics of personal destruction. This is not said to be facetious. He presents a very appealing image. However, and perhaps it is generational, but I can't yet see a shift away from traditional political campaigning, including hurling the negatives, or, its logical conclusion, the politics of personal destruction.

But should Senator Obama be the candidate and adopt this posture, there is no certainty that the Republicans will roll over and agree to play by the same game rules. (Think Ann Coulter.) When McCain passed the required delegate count, and claimed the G.O.P. mantle, his audience was ecstatic and you could sense that they were feeling empowered and now have the Fire in the Belly required to wage political war which is the American Way.

While Ms Rodham Clinton has seemed to assemble some concrete plans, especially in the health care realm, she too seems careful in not presenting too much information too soon. But what she has presented is her willingness and ability to be a strong candidate and a fighter. In traditional Democratic politics, that includes the willingness to fight the GOP to the end to secure victory.

If Senator Obama wins, perhaps his hallmark will be that coolness, that desire to end political rancor. The question is whether independents will respond to him rather than Senator McCain in sufficient numbers to put him over the top.

In order to ensure victory, we can't assume that the election will reflect anything other than traditional American politics.

Senator McCain projects a certain coolness as well, but it is the coolness of an elder statesman, who has seen, and suffered in, actual battle, and is now the standard bearer for his political party in a changing political climate. But I think we can safely assume that his surrogates will be brutal, both in direct challenge and in sub rosa investigations, leaks, etc., in an effort to breakthrough Senator Obama's cool image.

The major risk is that in electing Senator Obama the Democrats will be suggesting that yes, it will be a War of Ideas. I am sure that Senator Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton and all of their supporters would be out there fighting the GOP should Senator Obama be the candidate. At that point, however, will Senator Obama ask the only Democrats who have been successful in winning an election since Jimmy Carter to pull their punches ? Or will he take the Gandhian approach and say "I would rather lose this election and sacrifice my political party than defeat the Republicans by any means necessary? If through some unforeseen political manuevering, Senator Rodham Clinton gets the nomintion, will he and his supporters in fact not support her in hopes of waiting out the next election ?

Lots of interesting questions. The American political system is based on conflict, intense partisanship, personality, always has. It is no coincidence that there are so many "war" metaphors in the political argot. It seems that both parties would be required to buy into the change of the rules of the game. This has not yet happened.

The next months and the upcoming election promises to be as perplexing, difficult to foresee, and emotionally wrenching as ever.

Modern Times: Husbands + Housework = Yahoo !

C'mon married/partnered guys, you do believe in equality and sharing of responsibility on the home front based on Principle and those Modern Core Values, right ? Well, according to research reported in the Associated Press, there may be more going on below the surface. You decide. Read on:

March 6, 2008
Men Who Do Housework May Get More Sex
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:46 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- American men still don't pull their weight when it comes to housework and child care, but collectively they're not the slackers they used to be. The average dad has gradually been getting better about picking himself up off the sofa and pitching in, according to a new report in which a psychologist suggests the payoff for doing more chores could be more sex.

The report, released Thursday by the Council on Contemporary Families, summarizes several recent studies on family dynamics. One found that men's contribution to housework had doubled over the past four decades; another found they tripled the time spent on child care over that span.

''More couples are sharing family tasks than ever before, and the movement toward sharing has been especially significant for full-time dual-earner couples,'' the report says. ''Men and women may not be fully equal yet, but the rules of the game have been profoundly and irreversibly changed.''

Some couples have forged partnerships they consider fully equitable.

''We'll both talk about how we're so lucky to have someone who does more than their share,'' said Mary Melchoir, a Washington-based fundraiser for the National Organization for Women, who -- like her lawyer husband -- works full-time while raising 6-year-old triplets.

''He's the one who makes breakfast and folds the laundry,'' said Melchoir, 47. ''I'm the one who fixes things around the house.''

Joshua Coleman, a San Francisco-area psychologist and author of ''The Lazy Husband: How to Get Men to Do More Parenting and Housework,'' said equitable sharing of housework can lead to a happier marriage and more frequent sex.

''If a guy does housework, it looks to the woman like he really cares about her -- he's not treating her like a servant,'' said Coleman, who is affiliated with the Council on Contemporary Families. ''And if a woman feels stressed out because the house is a mess and the guy's sitting on the couch while she's vacuuming, that's not going to put her in the mood.''

The report's co-authors, sociologists Scott Coltrane of the University of California, Riverside and Oriel Sullivan of Ben Gurion University, said they were addressing a perception that women's gains in the workplace were not being matched by gains at home.

''The typical punch line of many news stories has been that even though women are working longer hours on the job and cutting back their own housework, men are not picking up the slack,'' Coltrane and Sullivan wrote.

They said this perception was based on unrealistic expectations and underestimated the degree of change ''going on behind the scenes'' since the 1960s. The change, they said, ''is too great a break from the past to be dismissed as a slow and grudging evolution.''

Among the findings they cited:

--In the U.S., time-use diary studies show that since the '60s, men's contribution to housework doubled from about 15 percent to more than 30 percent of the total. Over the same period, the average working mother reduced her weekly housework load by two hours.

--Between 1965 and 2003, men tripled the amount of time they spent on child care. During the same period, women also increased the time spent with their children, suggesting mutual interest in a more hands-on approach to child-raising.

Sullivan and Coltrane predict men's contributions will increase further as more women take jobs.

''Men share more family work if their female partners are employed more hours, earn more money and have spent more years in education,'' they said.

Pamela Smock, a University of Michigan sociologist who also works with the council, said a persistent gender gap remains for what she called ''invisible'' household work -- scheduling children's medical appointments, buying the gifts they take to birthday parties, arranging holiday gatherings, for example.

Marriage equality is more elusive among blacks than whites, with black women shouldering a relatively higher burden in terms of child care and housework, said council collaborator Shirley Hill, a sociology professor at the University of Kansas.

The report's overall findings meshed with what Carol Evans, founder and CEO of Working Mother magazine, has been observing as she tracks America's two-income couples.

''There's a generational shift that's quite strong,'' she said. ''The younger set of dads have their own expectations about themselves as to being helpful and participatory. They haven't quite gotten to equality in any sense that a women would say, 'Wow, that's equal,' but they've gotten so much farther down the road.''

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press

Brooklyn Spirits: Another Man Done Gone ---Fields Fine Wine and Spirits Moves On

That a liquor store should thrive in the shadow of Farrell's Bar and Grille was a thing of wonder. Growing up in Windsor Terrace, Farrell's was to us proto-hippies in the 70s a place where guys in Brooklyn Union Gas Company uniforms would hang out after (and truth be told, during) work. Not a place for us. Devlin and the other music-arts-young 'uns, would make the occasional flyby, when they were of age, to pick up a cardboard container, or tapper, of beer to take to the Park, where we all would hang out, tell ridiculous tales, and sing endless choruses of Neil Young and Grateful Dead tunes... Although in later years, Farrell's took on an aura of charm and grace (by conferring blue-colllar authenticity, I guess), when it was anointed by Pete Hamill and liberated by Shirley McLaine, but it was too late for us, I guess.

Farrell's beer to go and the Park was the alternative to \ the occasional six pack of Ringnes, a Norwegian beer, that Devlin and comapny would pick up at a Norwegian deli in Bay Ridge, which would be quaffed on the bluffs overlooking the Narrows.

Somehow, one of the hills overlooking the Narrows was given, in one stupor or another, a naif-faux native American appelation of "Taka-maka-doy-land" which Devlin figured was as suitable a native American name as any other..this was especially noticeable in late spring and early summer, when the sun would glare off of the Narrows with incredible intensity and beauty....glistening, gleaming. This, after a six pack of RInges, became known as "the hour of the Golden Needles at Taka-maka-doy-land"

Eventually, Devlin drifted toward the Finer Things in Life and as a totem of that Maturity, he remembered buying his first bottle of Sophisticated Wine (I think it was Mateus Rose, or, as Bill Murray had it on SNL, "MA-TAY-US"..the placve of this purchase was Fields which resided on 16th street and PPW, in the shadow of Farrells.

Fields never yielded to oak showcases or ferns or winetastings...it was a friendly neighborhood wine and booze shop, a convenient stopping point for me on the journey from the Heights to Flatbiush..[. I remember my surprise when I saw a bottle of Fat Bastard on the shelf..

Well, All Things Must Pass, and now Fields has closed, to be replaced by WIndsor Wine and Spirits. No one knows whether it will have ferns and oak and tastings, and what the relationship of the new proprietors will be to Farrell's, but I am sure Devlin would smile on the need to salute the passing of another venerable, spirited Windsor Terrace institution.

--Brooklyn Beat

On A Brief but Deep Hiatus from Brooklyn

Here at the American littoral, the sea is very blue and green. The horizon is endless. The hotels are pastel. The sand is pure pleasure beneath the feet. The palm trees sway. The Beat here is first and foremost Latin. Perhaps only Latin, here near Espaniola Wayand Collins Avenue, it is truly the Mother Culture.

For the first time in years and years, the kids were a phone call and an airline flight away. Just me and my honey, recreating the past, going back to that place when we were first together, and did nothing but dream of the future. The future that is now for us the past. So it is time for us to begin to dream again and recreate another future.

Brooklyn Spiritual Technology and Iconography: Three Patriarchs

Brooklyn is filled with spiritual technology and architecture. Synagogues, churches, chapels, temples, store-front places of worship, cemetaries, art, imagery, ikons.

The word Icon (ikon) comes from the Greek word "eikon" which means image, the same word that describes the creation of man in God’s image and likeness.

Icons are attributed to the hand of Christian Saints (St. Luke) and many of the unsigned masters of the Byzantine era, St. Andrei Rublev, the acknowledged greatest iconographer of Russia, the famous post-Byzantine iconographer Theophane the Greek, Moscow’s Armory School founder Simon Ushakov, and many, many others.

The remarkable film director Andrei Tarkovsky's "Andrei Rublev" is a staggering epic of the fabrication of spiritual technology in the Byzantine era. One of my favorite films.

These are replicas of great art and great art treasures. This image of icons is from the exterior of the Three Patriarchs Greek Orthodox Church on Avenue P near E. 17th Street. I would assume these 3 patriarchs refer to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, known as the Patriarchs, are both the physical and spiritual ancestors of Judaism. They founded the religion now known as Judaism, and their descendants are the Jewish people.

Even the "Epistle to the Hebrews" in the Christian New Testament presents the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as examples of men of faith. They lived in hope. They lived with the promise of God's faithfulness.

Or, in this instance, the icon could refer to Patriarchs, which like Metropolitan, is a title of respect and authority in the Eastern Orthodox rite. The four Ancient Patriarchates of the Eastern Rite were Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The Primate of the OCA is the Metropolitan.

Brooklyn, in the unpretentious, everyday face that it shows to the world, is filled with art, spirituality and inspiration.

--Brooklyn Beat

De-Construction on Livingston Street

I know real estate is among the most concrete (oof) and popular blog topics in Brooklyn. However, RE is usually far afield for my blog. But I took these photos Friday night on my way home and sent them from my cell phone to another blog that has a much much greater interest in this topic but they either never got the pix or decided not to pick up on the tip. So, this may be ancient history already, since things move quickly in the realm of construction. But, waste not, want not, so here it is.

CODA to Super/Shrove Tuesday

I picked up my daughters at Starbucks on Seventh Avenue, with Mr. Obama's supporters combing the streets, joyful but perhaps a little too insistent on the virtue of their choice. My daughters told me that someone said to them "Tell your parents when they vote, to vote for Obama." They responded, "We are supporting Hillary" to which the campaigner responded snarkily/sarcastically, "Oh, you are old enough to vote ?" Most of the folks campaigning for Mr. Obama that I saw throughout the day were young and white (not that there is anything wrong with that).

Granted, there were not a lot of Hillary supporters on the streets. But maybe, like me, they were working, picking up their kids, or finding it enough of a challenge to get through the day and make it out to vote, instead of being fortunate enough to have the freedom to spend the day campaigning. Another blog observed that (I paraphrase) 'high school educated, Hispanic and working people' were the primary supporters of Ms. Clinton. Well, we fit only part of that profile and we supported Hillary.

We went to our polling place, the school on Coney Island Avenue near Newkirk, and there were still lots of people on the street, again, mostly young, mostly white, some with kids in strollers, all for Mr. Obama. Honestly, it felt a little intimidating, all of the young white campaigners, a little too eager and too insistent. In America, come election day, you don't have to explain your vote to anyone. It felt a little like being confronted by Jacobins on the street during the fall of the ancien regime. Did I need to look around to make sure there was no guillotine ? I thought the "enemy" was the GOP, the party that has wrecked the economy and squandered America's political capital and post 9/11 goodwill, not another Democratic candidate.

The girls (who are 13) came into the voting booth with me. At first I thought I had a problem with the machine. None of the Democratic levers would work. Ironically, I think the poll watcher had me pegged (erroneously) by my demographics (white guy in his 50s) as a Republican. She twiddled with the knobs outside and we were ready to vote. The girls symbolically helped me to pull the lever for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I have done my part and voted for the candidate of my choice. I still hope Ms. Clinton gets the nomination although I am concerned about all of those Hillary-haters out there in both parties. On her war vote, yep, it was a mistake, but a lot of us, in the time after 9/11 were concerned about WMDs, etc. Who knew we were being lied to by the most cynical US Chief Executive (and Vice Chief Executive) of modern times. Unfortunately, a lot of people were pro-war, I dare say even many of the supporters of Mr. Obama. As a father of a teenage son, I don't think the 100 year war advocated now by Mr. McCain, after years of the Iraq conflagration, is a good thing. I didn't support the Iraq War either but I am not an intelligence analyst, so, I like many people I think, second guessed my own reluctance to beat the drum for war. It is safe to say that Ms. Clinton, along with many other elected officials and citizens, do not now support the war, and realize that the Iraq entanglement is terrible. We are all clear that the Bush administration has made a mess of the country (Iraq and our own). Mr. Obama, who was not in the Senate at that time, never had to actually face that vote. But it is a moot point, who knows how he would have voted.

That said, I am totally prepared to vote for Mr. Obama should he be the eventual Democratic candidate, whether he runs again Messrs. McCain, Huckabee, or Bloomberg. The Democratic Party needs to be returned to the White House. We cannot stand even one more term of the Republican Party, regardless of who that candidate is. They have made a muck of it and must pay the price.

However, I am very concerned that many of those voters, in their obvious enthusiasm for Mr. Obama, will be unable to support Ms Clinton should she be selected as the Democratic candidate, whether as the presumptive candidate in March, or at the Democratic convention later this year. I was on the fence like a lot of voters, but I made my decision. Perhaps it is loyalty to Ms. Clinton as our State's Junior Senator. Just as Illinois supported Mr. Obama, it appears many New Yorkers supported Mrs. Clinton. I could not "drink the kool aid" and go against my generally very positive feelings for Ms. Clinton, so I supported her. But, as I said, come the fall, my loyalties are with the Democratic candidate, in order to defeat the GOP, despite the fact that I am an Aging (but not average !), White Guy, which I guess is a Republican demographic.

Therefore, I found it very disturbing to read that Ms. Michelle Obama, Mr. Obama's First Lady, indicated that "she would have to think hard" about supporting Ms. Clinton should her husband not be victorious and should Ms. Clinton be chosen as the Democratic Presidential candidate. What is that all about ? That is an echo of the Conservatives who are threatening to become "Suicide Voters" and vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton and against John McCain should he be the Republican candidate. Something uncool is happening. As I said in my earlier blog post, things do not bode well for the future of this country if the Democrats can't get it together, after the disastrous Bush Presidency.

I doubt that Mrs. Clinton would agree to run for Vice President should Mr. Obama get the nomination. Perhaps she would be more valuable as a leader in the US Senate than as a (traditionally powerless) vice president. . But I am certain that she would support Mr. Obama fully and unreservedly. I would be very surprised if she did not.

However, I am concerned that the same may not be true for Mr. Obama and his supporters.

--Brooklyn Beat

Super Tuesday

We are heading in a new direction, folks. Perhaps not the direction promised by the Greens or Ralph Nader, but a new direction nevertheless. If McCain is the Republican candidate, will the Conservatives run a third (or fourth) party candidate? McCain as Liberal Warrior, perhaps soft on social issues but promising a new 100 Years War ? (Did Ann Coulter really say that Hillary is more conservative than McCain? ) But of course Super Tuesday, even if not totally decisive, promises to better spill the beans on where the Democratic Party will be in November.

Barack Obama: Despite the fabulous oratory, is he really "Republican lite" ? (see the fascinating Salon link on the Economics of Obama).

Hillary, likewise a centrist Democrat, although now willing to embrace the more Progressive, traditionally Democratic mantle ? If Barack wins the nomination will this keep Bloomberg out of the race? If Hillary, the bete noir of mainstream and conservative Republicans, gets the nod, is Mayor Mike in it to win it?

So, THIS IS WHAT AN INTER-GENERATIONAL, MULTI-CULTURAL, INTER-GENDER Political Environment is all about. (To paraphrase Captain Beefheart on Bongo Fury: "So this is a drive-in-restaurant in Hollywood, so this is a drive-in-restraurant in Hollywood...")

As Hendrick Hertzberg in The New Yorker wonders, Does Hillary Rodham Clinton offer a competent, proven, battle-tested political organization and administration, albeit from Day 1 in a defensive posture, while Barack Obama may offer a transformative one ? Please, please, just promise me one thing -- that "We Won't Be Fooled Again"..

Whatever the outcome of Super Tuesday, and the continuing battles, both intra-party and inter-party, at least we can (hoprefully) wave goodbye to the horrific 8 years of the George W. Bush administration. Is there ANY Republican now who, Deep in His or Her Heart, can say that the Bush Administration has been a good thing for America ?

See you at the polls. And yes, God Bless America.

--Brooklyn Beat


Super Tuesday:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080205/D8UK6GBO0.html

www.Drudgereport.com

The Economics of Barack (& Hillary):

http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2008/02/04/economics_of_barack_obama/index.html

CODA: THE WALL

Cortelyou Road and East 17th Street, 7:45 AM, Monday, February 4, 2008

MEAT ME IN THE MORNING

There was an interesting article on a bit of gustatory sociology in Wednesday’s NY Times regarding the “Beefsteak” phenomenon in Northern New Jersey.

“Beefsteak,” not as in a cut of meat, but as a celebratory get together where folks previously gathered at a restaurant or other venue to basically eat meat of all kinds, virtually nothing but meat, washed down with beer, with no silverware or other refinements, thank you, immediately called to mind that great essay “All You Can Hold for Five Bucks” by New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell. Mitchell described Beefsteaks as a delivering a staggering array of meats (mini-hamburgers, lots of them, followed by kidneys-wrapped in-bacon, followed by tenderloin steak dipped in butter, washed down by beer, followed by more and more of the above, in virtually limitless quantities..Beefsteaks were often attended for political purposes, by Tammany Hall Club and others, as well as labor unions, and by businesses, just for a good time, primarily by men.

So, we have meat and we have misogyny, or at least male chauvinism.. Not politically correct by any means, but not without its peculiar charms.

Maybe because it is Super Bowl Weekend, and folks (not me, but folks) are out there shopping for their ribs, BBQ sauce and chipotle, and warming up the 52” flat screen LED or plasma TV, , and truth be told, I am not really much of a red meat eater, but there was something interesting, something that stirs a visceral yearning, and plucks a feral chord, in some guys, with the thought of hanging out around a table with a bunch of guys, whether in Northern New Jersey today or in Hells Kitchen in the 1940s, wearing a paper chef’s apron and hat (on which to wipe the grease from your hands, since you don’t use napkins or silverware) , as you savor your 15th or 18th tenderloin slice, stacking up the uneaten bread on which the tenderloin is served (better to save room for more meat), and quaff a little more beer, without worrying how I will explain it all to my wife or internist.

Anyway, here is the NY Times article on Contemporary Northern New Jersey Beefsteaks (be sure to watch the video):

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/dining/30beef.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1

The Upcoming Beacon Restaurant, 8th annual Beefsteak (& Fundraiser) in New York City (looks like fun). This posting also includes a link to an excerpt of the original New Yorker article by Joseph Mitchell on “All You Can Hold for Five Bucks”: Read it and run out to buy Joseph Mitchell’s fantastic collection Up in the Old Hotel. (Vintage Books)

http://www.beaconnyc.com/pdfs/beefsteak.pdf

Obscure Brooklyn Rock Venues: Loews/Universal 46th Street Theatre

Sure, you knew about the famed Fox and Paramount theaters downtown, where lots of early rock and pop acts performed. Even 9th Street's Prospect Theatre (now a C-town between 5th and 6th avenues) hosted the Dave Clark Five, among other groovies.

But did psychedelia ever make its way Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn? Sure enough, it did.

From November 11 through November 14, 1970, a fantastic double bill featured Hot Tuna with the Grateful Dead as an opening act at the "46th St. Rock Palace - Brooklyn, NY". This shows the early prominence of the Airplane and its personnel (Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady), while the Dead were still relatively less known, before becoming the enormous cultural phenomena (and pop cash machine) that it did in larter decades until guitarist Jerry Garcia's death in 1993.

I vaguely remember seeing a later version of Garcia's bluegrass spin-off, Old and in the Way, only with another musician substituting for Jerry Garcia on banjo, along with Peter Rowan and David Grisman, at Brooklyn College's Student Union (SUBO), in the early 70s, but my details are hazy.

But the idea of a Tuna/Dead show in Bensonhurst is fabulous. The 46th street theatre was located at 4515 New Utrecht Avenue. According to www.Cinematreasures.org,
Loew's 46th Street Theatre, now closed, seated 2,675 with a single screen, and an atmospheric theatre style. Architect: John Eberson. Closed in 1973, the Universal Theatre, better known as the 46th Street Theatre, was converted into retail space.

Theater photo courtesy of The John Chappell Collection

Bnote Mitzvah Time

Not to presume that this blog has been missed, but if it was, the reason has been that our family has been involved in Heavy Readiness Mode for the past few weeks as we prepared for the Bat Mitzvahs of our twin daughters, Ilana Miriam and Gabrielle, this past weekend. It has been a remarkable time. For my wife Judy (Jehudit) and myself, it is our third time through this incredible Gate of Life (previously with our slightly older 2 kids Danielle and Benjamin). The service, led by Rabbi Andy Bachman and Cantor Janet Leuchter, at Congregation Beth Elohim, and the service the previous night led by Rabbi Dan Bronstein, created a beautiful connection with the roots of our Jewish faith. Although I was not born into Judaism, for the past 20+ years it has become central to my life and my values, and the emotions and pure joy that welled up over me as the Rabbi and the Cantor consulted as to the extent of each of our daughters completion of their recitation of the parsha was profound and deep. Rabbi Bachman, who within the last 2 years, also presided over the funeral of Judy's late mother, promised us a meaningful service and it certainly was. The presence and support of many of our non-Jewish family, friends and colleagues at the service was also so joyful and gratifying. We also would like to acknowledge the preparation provided to the girls by Cantor Leuchter, the previous preparation provided by CBE president Jules (baby) Hirsch who has played a role in the preparation of all 4 of our children. The Dvar Torah preparation provided by Rabbi Dan Bronstein, CBE congregational scholar was likewise so much appreciated,as was the help of Executive Director Nancy Rubinger. We have been long-time members of Congregation Beth Elohim, sometimes more involved, sometimes less, but we are grateful to have completed this circle of growth and connection, through CBE.

--Brooklyn Beat/Tony Napoli

Brooklyn-Raised Chess Icon Bobby Fischer Dead at Age 64

Brooklyn-raised, Chicago-born chess icon Bobby Fischer, who became a Cold War symbol when he defeated Soviet Union's Boris Spassky as world champion in 1972, has died at age 64.

In May 1949, the six-year-old Fischer learned how to play chess from instructions found in a chess set that his sister had bought at a candy store below their Brooklyn apartment. He saw his first chess book a month later. For over a year he played chess on his own. At age seven, he joined the Brooklyn Chess Club and was taught by its president, Carmine Nigro.

Bobby Fischer attended Erasmus Hall High School together with Barbra Streisand, though he later dropped out in 1959 when he turned 16. Many teachers remembered him as difficult. When his chess feats mounted, the student council of Erasmus Hall awarded him a gold medal for his chess achievements.

Icon or avatar of a complex game, Bobby Fischer, perhaps like Ezra Pound, Charles Lindbergh, or other artists, geniuses, or heroes whose talent and exploits were overshadowed by their public and political views, leaves behind an enormous reputation in the annals of modern chess.

--Brooklyn Beat

Fischer died Thursday in a Reykjavik, Iceland, hospital, according to spokesman Gardar Sverrisson. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

Born in Chicago and raised in Brooklyn, Robert James Fischer was a U.S. chess champion at age 14, becoming a grand master at 15. When he beat Spassky in a series of games in Reykjavik, he claimed the U.S.A.'s first world chess championship in more than a century.

The event was given tremendous symbolic importance, pitting the intensely individualistic young American against Spassky who ws presented at home as a product of the grim and soulless Soviet Union.

The match also was marked by Bobby Fischer's somewhat peculiar behavior - possibly calculated psychological warfare against Spassky - including Fischer's arriving two days late to complaining about the lighting, TV cameras, the spectators, even the shine on the table.

Spassky said in a brief phone call from France, where he lives, that he was "very sorry" to hear of Fischer's death.

Fischer's reputation as a genius of chess soon was eclipsed by his idiosyncrasies.

Fischer was world champion until 1975, when he forfeited the title and withdrew from competition because conditions he demanded proved unacceptable to the International Chess Federation.

After that, he lived in secret outside the United States. He emerged in 1992 to confront Spassky again, in a highly publicized match in Yugoslavia. Fischer beat Spassky 10-5 to win $3.35 million.

The U.S. government said Fischer's playing the match violated U.N. sanctions against Yugoslavia, imposed for Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic's role in fomenting war in the Balkans.

Former Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov said Fischer's ascent of the chess world in the 1960s was "a revolutionary breakthrough" for the game.

"The tragedy is that he [Fischer] left this world too early, and his extravagant life and scandalous statements did not contribute to the popularity of chess," Kasparov told The Associated Press.

Over the years, Fischer gave occasional interviews with a radio station in the Philippines, often digressing into anti-Semitic rants and accusing American officials of hounding him.

He praised the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying America should be "wiped out," and described Jews as "thieving, lying bastards." Fischer's mother was Jewish.

He also announced he had abandoned chess in 1996 and launched a new version in Argentina, "Fischerandom," a computerized shuffler that randomly distributes chess pieces on the back row of the board at the start of each game.

Fischer claimed it would bring the fun back into the game and rid it of cheats.

He renounced his American citizenship and moved in 2005 to Iceland, accepting an offer of citizenship from the country still grateful for its role as the site of his most famous match.

Fischer had been detained for nine months detention in Japan for trying to leave the country using an invalid U.S. passport. Japan agreed to release him after he accepted Iceland's offer of citizenship.

Fischer told reporters that year that he was finished with a chess world he regarded as corrupt, and sparred with U.S. journalists who asked about his anti-American tirades.

"The United States is evil. There's this axis of evil. What about the allies of evil - the United States, England, Japan, Australia? These are the evildoers," Fischer said. --Various news sources