Tempest in a Gimlet Glass: Brooklyn Blogfest 5 - Aftermath

The sh*tstorm over Brooklyn Blogfest 5's inclusion of a brand name alcoholic beverage maker and a famous film director who is shilling for it rages on.

The issue now appears to focus on Atlantic Yards Report and the Brownstoner's "revelations" on some additional behind-the-blogs marketing hustling that the liquor company was engaging in, offering what are ostensibly trinkets ($129 flip cameras) and invites-to-yet-other-"VIP"-marketing events, for some cross-promotional posts on "Stoop" life.  As Jerry Seinfeld might sardonically say, "Really?"  When I heard the brand name booze producer was involved, I imagined that Louise Crawford, after years of  hard work building the Blogfest from the ground up largely out of her own pocket, had finally hit a pay day with a major sponsor. Good for her. But in a couple of wrenching posts at Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Louise makes it clear that, if in fact Brooklyn Blogfest had "Sold out," it clearly "sold out" for very little: Mostly some (not all) ot the refreshments, the booze, and some (not all) of the operating expenses. There was no golden ticket here, more like a co-sponsorship, which, due to the high profile of Mr. Lee, did seem to muddy the focus of this year's event. Face it, Spike Lee is a big draw. Even the "chachkas" offered to some of the bloggers involved in the event, or for cross promotional posts on the Absolut website, sounded like little more than higher-end gift bag items. Kidstuff.

I think Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn has said enough, made enough mea culpas, for not really doing anything wrong as far as I can see. And stop knocking your sponsor -- you don't have to make these declarations about not liking the product or not being partial to that form of beverage. You really don't have to prove anything. Blogfest 5, in all of its occasionally interesting moments and imperfektions is proof enough. You gave a party and we came. And we didnt even have to pay admission this year. That was a pretty cool arrangement. (En passant, I feel like mentioning, although I don't have to, that I had a "value meal" at The Gate before I arrived, so, regrettably I wasn't in tune with vodka but I might try it at some point.) So, not that there wasn't a story in this, but it sounded more like something from the NY Times business page or the WSJ, not an actual succes de scandale. If you are largely a Mom and Pop not-for-profit event, and you decide to make a corporate arrangement, you have stepped across a threshhold. No doubt there were additional deals. But the Blogfest is just an informal get together, a gathering of the tribes and wannabes. Who cares if there was a little (apparently very little) sponsorship behind it. But you have to wonder-- was Atlantic Yards' action in breaking the story the way it did more of a McCarthy-esque litmus test --"Have you now or have you ever accepted a proclamation from a Borough President who has supported a controversial and unpopular-with-the-local-community development project in downtown Brooklyn?"  Who planted that story with Atlantic Yards? It was unfairly portrayed as malfesance, when, in fact, Brownstoner and Atlantic Yards appeared to be stirring the pot for their own reasons. A reaction to OTBKB and the Brooklyn Blogfest daring to stick its toe in the corporate waters?  To quote from the Army-McCarthy hearings -- "Have you no shame, sir?" And Brownstoner --not that I really care, but does that blog wish to share its fiscal spreadsheets with the public? Will this peculiar contretemps result in a new focus on full disclosure of the financials of all "monetized" blogs? We pretty much have an idea from Ms Crawford's posts that OTBKB and Brooklyn Blogfest are amateurs and relatively inexperienced when it comes to "selling out." But malfeasant? C'mon. Let the monetized blog that is without sin, etc...

I am sure Brooklyn Blogfest has been suitably chastened by this brouhaha and next year it will be back to donated sixpacks and local Asian fusion food only with a $50 admission charge. Too bad, but I wouldn't blame Louise at all...
--Brooklyn Beat

Absolutely Brooklyn: Blogfest 5

The scene from the floor of Brooklyn Blogfest 5 at the Brooklyn Lyceum

Poet Lemon Andersen toasting stoops and the Borough of Kings in all of its urban glory

Spike Lee makes the pitch for Absolut Brooklyn, sponsor of Blogfest 5

(Absolut V with Red Apple and Ginger flavo-flav)

Wrap up of the Blogfest symposium, with workshops and refreshments to follow

At first, it was hard to tell if Brooklyn Blogfest 5 had, as one wag texted me, already jumped the shark. After all, with Absolut Vodka as a major league sponsor, and filmmaking legend Spike Lee shilling for his new flavor Absolut Brooklyn (ginger and red apple), clearly, Brooklyn blogging had arrived.  But, in truth, as a product placement, the brand and its high profile spokesman at first appeared to simultaneously overwhelm and boost the "Brooklyn Blogger" brand.  Ironically, the presence of Marty Markowitz, minus his ubiquitous light saber, and presenting yet another proclamation on behalf of the "Republic of Brooklyn" (be careful, Marty, sounds like sedition), which was greeted with a few muted hoots, catcalls and boos, brought a tinge of reality and a reminder of what makes the blogging thing so unique. A few years ago, doubtless Marty didn't know or care about blogging. Now the blogosphere has become something to contend with. (A thought - can there be more than one proclamation from the "Republic of Brooklyn" per day? Like Leo Bloom says in The Producers, "Max,  you can only sell 100% of anything.")

Lemon Andersen's Ode to Brooklyn was a down and dirty toast to the borough, as he named names and places and things that make it such a great place, both for newcomers and for natives of the town of Brooklyn born.  It is always great to see Spike Lee before an audience. Although his main focus was the vodka, he was generous in answering audience questions.

Andrea Bernstein is a wonderful interviewer. The value of the panel, it seemed to this listener, less so.  I guess I am not that interested in the ready availability of creme fraiche. Likewise, the ramblings about gentrification, Brooklyn real estate and bloggers-as-bohemians unconcerned about money seemed to clash with the overarching semiotic-reality of this year's blogfest: Blogging is a big tent that welcomes all comers, and that is finally achieving a modicum of respect from the likes of the powerful in the worlds of politics, leisure, entertainment and the arts. As Brooklyn's established, brick-and-mortar cultural institutions well understand in this time of recession, money changes everything.

Nevertheless, Louise Crawford, her family and her production team are all to be congratulated for once again bringing together this disparate group of bloggers, wannabees, fans and spectators and also for continuing to raise the profile of blogging as a serious medium worthy of respect. Her comments on the responsibility of bloggers to take what they write seriously added a refreshing bit of brio to the proceedings.  But even more importantly, by welcoming all comers, corporate and political, Brooklyn Blogfest 5, intentionally or not, took a risk, and in doing so, has moved the Brooklyn blogosphere out of its comfort zone and into new territory, compelling it to reflect on who and what it is, where it's going, and what is its real meaning and purpose in a complex and changing borough.

--Brooklyn Beat

Brooklyn Blogfest Tonight

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, if it is spring it must be time for Louise Crawford's annual Brooklyn Blogfest. Once again, LC and Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, (which, by the Italian-American heritage invested in me,  I have informally designated "di bloggo di tutti bloggi of Brownstone Brooklyn blogs" ©  DITHOB 2010)  promises another amazing event, filled with old fashioned social networking, creative thinking and feedback on this expanding new medium and the Brooklyn Blogosphere. Pre-registration is closed but some overflow seating still available.

More details on the 2010 Brooklyn Blogfest here

Interestingly, Steve Jobs blamed the recent temporary failure of a new iPhone demo on the proliferation of wifi-using bloggers in the room at the tech conference who were clogging the wireless network. 

Well, if Steve Jobs considers the Bloggers in San Francisco to be troublemakers, what would he make of the Brooklyn Blog crowd?  While he is busy tweaking the iPhone 4 on the Left Coast, you can see the Brooklyn blog crowd  for yourself  tonight at the Brooklyn Lyceum. As always, Brooklyn Blogfest promises -- and, no doubt, delivers.

LC -- you go, girl....

--Brooklyn Beat

Art Sprouts on Third Avenue in Bay Ridge: The Art Room

Leigh Jewel Holliday welcomes

young artists at the Art Room

Marty Markowitz's office

proclaims Brooklyn Art Room

Day. 

    Justin Brannan, Leigh Holliday

     with City Councilman Vincent

    Gentile who welcomed The Art

     Room to Third Avenue

The economic news generally continues to disappoint but America is built on dreams and hopes, not fear.
A new business opened Saturday on 87th Street and Third Avenue, in Bay Ridge: The Art Room, a fine arts school opened by  artist Leigh Jewel Holliday, with the assistance of Mary Brannan, a veteran Bay Ridge early childhood teacher, and Justin Brannan, business manager. A fresh and charming space  with a warm, creative and attentive instructor, The Art Room offers classes for kids 3 and up, as well as serving as base of operations for birthday parties and other art-centric activities.

Borough Prez Marty Markowitz's office welcomed the new venture to the Brooklyn business community, as did City Councilman Vincent Gentile, whose district-office is a neighbor on 3rd avenue. A crowd of kids and well-wishers filled the exciting space, spilling out onto the avenue. A ribbon cutting by eager kids was cheered by the crowd of on-lookers.

As one long-time resident observed, Bay Ridge is a wonderful neighborhood with great shops and restaurants, but it remains hungry for more art and cultural  activities. Classes  at the Art Room begin Monday, and birthday parties have already been booked.  Check out the Art Room website for more information .

"I'm Smart!" - John Cazale's Brief Career and Legendary Performances in 5 Films that Helped Define the 1970s

John Cazale as Sal in "Dog Day Afternoon"

 

John Cazale and Meryl Streep                                                                                           Cazale and Streep in Measure for Measure

I Knew It Was You: Remembering John Cazale by Richard Shepard

I was a student at NYU in the mid-70s when a film crew took over 9th avenue (aka Prospect Park West) around the corner from my home on 17th Street in Windsor Terrace.  Some old storefronts were reconfigured into a bank and the great Al Pacino, fresh from his Godfather 2 triumph, explored a new character in Sidney Lumet's classic Dog Day Afternoon.  Sharing the screen was another remarkable actor, John Cazale, probably best known as Fredo in the Godfather series. Cazale appeared in only 5 films before he succumbed to cancer at the age of 42 but they were all critical, box office and Oscar favorites. A mainstay of the New York off-Broadway theater scene, Cazale was an enormous talent, and director Richard Shepard (Scotland, PA and The Matador) has created a touching and fascinating film portrait of his too brief career.

HBO is running this documentary in June and it also is available on HBO on Demand. Shepard was taken by the impact of Cazale -- ironically, at once familiar yet little known to film audiences who recognize him from his key roles in some of the pivotal films of the 1970s, yet his name was not widely recognizable. Shepard's documentary will clearly change all that, as he interviews Cazale's friends, acting colleagues, family, and others to learn more about the late actor's life, talent and work.   Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert DeNiro, Sidney Lumet, Gene Hackman, Playwright Israel Horovitz and others talk about working with Cazale and how his gifted acting style and unique personality helped to open up and expand their own performances and added so much to every film and play in which he appeared. Steve Buscemi, Brett Ratner, and film historian Mark Harris discuss Cazale's impact. Wonderfully, everyone interviewed -- some of the greatest American actors -- talk about Cazale with great love, affection and admiration, about his generosity as a performer and his impact on their own work and lives.

Sidney Lumet:  "When Al asked him during a scene, 'Is there any country you want to go to?' Cazale improvised his answer by saying, after long thought, 'Wyoming.' To me that was the funniest, saddest line in the movie, and my favorite, because in the script he wasn’t supposed to say anything. I almost ruined the take because I started to laugh so hard... but it was a brilliant, brilliant, ad lib."


Al Pacino: "It's great working with John because he has a way of getting involved - in the whole thing, in the characters. He asks so many questions - he was just brilliant. It was tough to sell Johnny, but once Sidney got to see him read, and work with me, it turned out great."

In his final screen role, and despite being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, Cazale continued work with fiancée Meryl Streep in The Deer Hunter. "I've hardly ever seen a person so devoted to someone who is falling away like John was," said Pacino. "To see her in that act of love for this man was overwhelming.

Director Michael Cimino "rearranged the shooting schedule," wrote author Andy Dougan, "with Cazale and Streep's consent, so that he could film all his scenes first." He completed all his scenes in this legendary film that gave a dramatically new perspective to the human toll on the lives and families of the US soldiers weho fought in that conflict, but died soon after, on March 12, 1978, before the film was finished. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, Massachusetts.

I Knew It Was You is a fascinating, touching and wonderful exploration of  the life of a major American actor whose too-brief life and career during the turbulent 1970s has left an indelible mark on American films that helped to define a generation.

I Knew It Was You trailer here.

Coda: Louise Bourgeois, Visionary and Influential Artist, Dies in Manhattan at 98

Louise Bourgeois in her Brooklyn studio on Dean Street

Louise Bourgeois, the French-born American artist who gained fame only late in a long career, when her psychologically charged abstract sculptures, drawings and prints had a galvanizing effect on the work of younger artists, particularly women, died on Monday in Manhattan, where she lived. She was 98.


The cause was a heart attack, said Wendy Williams, managing director of the Louise Bourgeois Studio.

Ms. Bourgeois’s sculptures in wood, steel, stone and cast rubber, often organic in form and sexually explicit, emotionally aggressive yet witty, covered many stylistic bases. But from first to last they shared a set of repeated themes centered on the human body and its need for nurture and protection in a frightening world.

More from the NY Times obituary here.

2008 Posting here at Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn about Ms. Bourgeois's show at hte Guggenheim and former studio on Dean Street here.

The Stickey Wicket on East 16th Street

The objective of each team is to score more runs than the other team and to completely dismiss the other team. In one form of cricket, winning the game is achieved by scoring the most runs, even if the opposition has not been completely dismissed. In another form, it is necessary to score the most runs and dismiss the opposition in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn.  A cricket match is played between two teams (or sides) of eleven players each on a field of variable size and shape. The ground is grassy and is prepared by groundsmen whose jobs include fertilising, mowing, rolling and levelling the surface. Field diameters of 137–150 metres (150–160 yd) are usual.The perimeter of the field is known as the boundary and this is sometimes painted and sometimes marked by a rope that encircles the outer edge of the field. The Laws of Cricket do not specify the size or shape of the field but it is often oval – one of cricket's most famous venues is called The Oval.

On East 16th Street in Flatbush, a few young boys are playing cricket in the street, watched over by a dad. Pure Brooklyn, the kids, West Indian, South Asian and white, take turns wielding the cricket bat with great seriousness, laughing with glee as they get the occasional hit. No doubt the asphalt streets provide a stickier  wicket than a wet and drying pitch, which makes the ball'spin and bounce sharp and unpredictable. But it is a school day afternoon and the Flatbush street is far from the weekend cricket games played at Prospect Park, or Staten Island's New Dorp near Miller Field (which was a keystone to Joseph O'Neill's wonderful novel, Netherland). Here you can imagine the game that may have been played  in British 18th century New York. Now, played again widely in the city, taught by immigrant kids to their friends,not just a weekend team sport with crisp and gleaming white uniforms on the fields of Prospect Park, but now, also a street game and urban sport, evolving on the streets of Brooklyn.

Coda: Reflection on "The Lindsay Era" in NYC (aka "Fun City")

 --Lindsay Campaign Sticker

It was a return to another era in NYC politics at the Museum of City of New York Tuesday night when politicians, journalists and historians gathered to assess the meaning, the impact and the successes and failures of the administration of John Vliet Lindsay, 103rd Mayor of the City of New York from 1966-1973.  Mayor Lindsay (or “Lindslee” as he was chided by many disaffected New Yorkers) came in brimming with ideas, energy and enthusiasm, and cadres of young activists seeking to revitalize the political scene and New York City under his leadership.   The event was moderated by Sam Roberts of the New York Times (and editor of the companion volume to the new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, “America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York.”)  Roberts opened the symposium by asking to identify audience members who had worked in the Lindsay administration: a forest of hands filled the air.  This lent a certain clubby quality to the event.  In addition, the panel included former Congressman Major Owens, former Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, who held positions in the administration and Jay Kriegel, Mr. Lindsay’s Chief of Staff.   They were all vocally supportive of the energy and vision of Mr. Lindsay’s mayoralty, acknowledging that the strikes and widespread political unrest were circumstances beyond his control that may have played a role in derailing many of the administration’s efforts at implementing new ideas.  Jerry Kretchmer, former Manhattan Assemblyman, campaign aide to Robert F. Kennedy and environmental commissioner for the Mayor, in the audience, took umbrage with suggestions that it was a failed administration. They took risks, made many advances, but were hobbled by the political climate, the unions, and other issues beyond their control. But at least they were willing to try new things.
 
Lest it devolve into a hagiography, journalists Gabe Pressman, Pete Hamill and Jeff Greenfield, and especially author and U. Massachusetts professor Vincent Cannato, added some much needed brio to the discussion, taking a more balanced view on the Lindsay administration, pointing out the unique strengths of the activist, media-genic Mayor and his progressive administration but also its weaknesses, failures and shortcomings, including the operational (failure to plow  out Queens following the blizzard, the attempts to dislocate Queens homeowners at the behest of developers), the political (failure to intervene in the Ocean-Brownsville community control situation that led to teacher strikes and political unrest) and the simply tone deaf (failure to recognize the identity and political clout of the working class and unionized white ethnic voters, which resonated with suggestions of elitism.)  Mention was only made en passant of the Knapp Commission’s police corruption investigations which in fact, according to news reports at the time, back In the day,  brought a panelist and mayoral aide to the brink of an indictment for allegedly changing his testimony regarding the handling of the early reports of corruption.  (When Officers Serpico and Durk reported corruption to Mayoral Aide Kriegel, did he or didn’t he tell the Mayor?-- Sources indicate that the administration, fearing possible summer unrest in minority communities, chose not to challenge the NYPD establishment at the time.)
 
After  the symposium, the opening reception at the Museum gave a much more nuanced, heavily documented, and fascinating overview of all facets of the Lindsay years. At the same time, it provides a wonderful flavor of that era in New York City. An incredible amount of political activity, cultural events, and rampant creativity.   Political and cultural memorabilia and tzatzches,  newspaper headlines and magazine covers, movie posters, layoff letters to teachers in Ocean Hill-Brownsville dispute, photos, books, municipal government handbooks and documents – the exhibit does a fabulous job of exploring the nooks and crannies of the era. I loved the recording of the Mayor’s Inner Circle dinner song, I believe with Florence Henderson, that went something to the effect of “I go to bed every night/wondering what the hell we did right!/will there be another strike? ”
 
I was not aware that his administration was responsible for formalizing the creation of “SoHo” as a mixed residential commercial district, or the creation of Westbeth Housing. And the efforts that the administration made for popularizing art and culture, with “Arts and Crafts Mobiles” and movies and theater in the parks, and the expansion of NYC as a filmmaking center, helped to transform the city. The panelists addressed with conflicting views the complexities of the Mayor’s support for the expansion of welfare and social services which showed him as an activist with a heart, but at the same time, helped to create deficits that led to a fiscal crisis. “America’s Mayor” gives a colorful and intriguing view of New York City during a tumultuous and exciting era, of a rara avis today -- a Liberal Republican (who later became a Democrat.). The exhibit, from this perspective, doesn’t attempt to answer questions about “success” or “failure” but it does help to fill out, with broad historical and cultural brushstrokes, a more defined portrait of the man, John V. Lindsay, whose bio had begun to fade a bit into obscurity.  
 
I was in my young teens in those years, but in looking back through the lens of “America’s Mayor,” you can’t help but to love New York City more and more, where we are, where we have come from, and hopefully still where we may be headed.

 
America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York City at the Museum of the City of New York, May 5 through October 3
 
http://www.mcny.org/exhibitions/current/Mayor-John-Lindsay.html

Tomorrow, Thursday, on WNET 8 PM--Fun City Revisited--The Lindsay Years

--Brooklyn Beat

America's Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York

America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York examines the controversial tenure (1966-1973) and dramatic times of New York’s 103rd mayor. The exhibition presents John V. Lindsay’s efforts to lead a city that was undergoing radical changes and that was at the center of the upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s; it highlights Mayor Lindsay’s ambitious initiatives to redefine New York City’s government, economy, culture, and urban design. Through his outspoken championship of city life, commitment to civil rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War, Lindsay emerged as a national figure in a troubled and exhilarating era. The exhibition also explores the costs of his approach, including growing criticism from disaffected voters and an increasingly out of control city budget.

Lindsay was born in New York City on West End Avenue to George Nelson Lindsay and the former Florence Eleanor Vliet. Contrary to popular assumptions, John Lindsay was neither a blue-blood nor very wealthy by birth, although he did grow up in an upper middle class family of English and Dutch extraction. Lindsay's paternal grandfather migrated to the United States in the 1880s from the Isle of Wight,and his mother was from an upper-middle class family that had been in New York since the 1660s. John's father was a successful lawyer and investment banker, and was able to send his son to the prestigious Buckley School, St. Paul's School and Yale, where he was admitted to the class of 1944 and joined Scroll and Key.

With the outbreak of World War II, Lindsay completed his studies early and in 1943 joined the United States Navy as a gunnery officer. He obtained the rank of lieutenant, earning five battle stars through action in the invasion of Sicily and a series of landings in the Pacific theater.After the war, he spent a few months as a ski bum and a couple of months training as a bank clerk before returning to Yale, where he received his law degree in 1948, ahead of schedule.


Back in New York, Lindsay met his future wife, Mary Anne Harrison, at the wedding of Nancy Bush (daughter of Connecticut's Senator Prescott Bush and sister of future President George H.W. Bush), where he was an usher and Harrison a bridesmaid. A resident of Greenwich, Connecticut and a graduate of Vassar College, Harrison was a distant relative of William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison. They married in 1949. That same year Lindsay was admitted to the bar, and rose to became a partner in his law firm four years later.

When he came into office, Mayor John V. Lindsay had a dream to reinvent the city—to bridge the income and affordability gap, bring racial minorities into government, integrate neighborhoods, empower communities through decentralization, impose strategic urban planning to spare the environment, and make cities more livable. Which of these dreams became a reality and how do those changes affect us today?

The exhibition, which opens to the public on May 5, is presented in cooperation with the Municipal Archives, is accompanied by a book of the same title edited by Sam Roberts of The New York Times and co-published by Columbia University Press and the Museum of the City of New York (May 2010), as well as a public television documentary presented by WNET.ORG.

Tonight at the Museum of the City of New York, DITHOB will be attending a symposium (sorry, sold out) moderated by Sam Roberts, and a panel of NY authors, journalists and political figures (Pete Hamill, Major Owen, Vincent Cannato, Jeff Greenfield, Jay Kriegel, and Gabe Pressman.)


More on the exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York

The City of Two Peaces: Jordi Savall Performs "Jerusalem" at Lincoln Center & WQXR-FM

Jordi Savall performs "Jerusalem: City of Heavenly and Earthly Peace" tonight at 7 PM at Lincoln Center in a performance that wil be broadcast live on WQXR-FM, 105.9 FM in NYC, and on the web. Savall has been one of the major figures in the field of early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for bringing the viol (viola da gamba) back to life on the stage. His repertory ranges from Medieval to Renaissance and Baroque music. His co-performer and spouse, Montserrat Figueras, has a voice that, in a word, transports. Jerusalem, City of Heavenly and Earthly Peace, from Catalan early music director and performer Jordi Savall, is a performance of religious songs, texts, chants and instrumental arrangements used to explore the way cultural traditions of the three major religions have shaped the history of Jerusalem, from biblical times to the present day.

A youtube sample from Cancion Sefardi.

Jordi Savall

WQXR-FM website here

From WQXR website: "Joined by his wife and collaborator, soprano Montserrat Figueras, as well as the musicians of his own ensembles, Hesperion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Savall charts Jerusalem's history from 1200 BC to the present day..The performance comes at a time when Israelis and Palestinians are at deep odds over political borders and settlement activities in East Jerusalem. But as the liner notes to the lavish 2008 recording of Jerusalem explain, etymologists have translated the Hebrew name Jerusalem as "the city of the two peaces," a reference to both "heavenly peace" and "earthly peace." The former was proclaimed by the prophets who lived in or visited the city, while the latter was sought by the political leaders who have governed the city throughout its five thousand years of documented existence."

More from wikipedia on Jordi Savall

Jordi Savall's official site

Never, Too Late

Dreaming of the power to understand

Before it is too late

That which can be done

And that which can’t be undone

First taking soft steps across the forest carpet

After ducking the river tumble
Until the night comes

And the day that is finally done

Itself no longer may be undone

But we gaze at the willows and imagine

Something

Before it slips from our grasp

Text and painting by Anthony M. Napoli

Avenue of the (Great) Americans

Photos by Brooklyn Beat

Maybe it is a reflection of the creative and generative powers of builders and architects, such as Ayn Rand's Howard Roarke in "The Fountainhead" who was willing to destroy a building he designed rather than have it, and his pride of creation, spoiled by "the committee."  We are accustomed to seeing the naming of buildings, whether egocentric, i.e.,  "Trump/Babel" or whimsical "The Glenwood" on a treeless street in Manhattan.

But on Avenue K and East 13th Street in Brooklyn, the buildings bear the names of some great Americans. Was it a builder or designer who took great pride and pleasure in the possibilities offered in the United States?  Or a former history teacher from nearby Midwood or Murrow who came into some money years ago and decided to erect some buildings, and in doing so decided to honor the names of Great Americans of the past?  Anyone's guess. But the memories of Lincoln, Grant and Franklin loom large on Avenue K near Coney Island Avenue.

--Brooklyn Beat

Coloratura: East 17th Street in Fiske Terrace, Brooklyn

Photo by Brooklyn Beat - Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn

New York City Invaded By Pixels

It looks like a Q-ball , a type of non-topological soliton,  entered the Earth right over New York City and rendered it whacko. Or maybe it is fall out from -- yes, the CERN Collider..  Patrick Jean's video   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcXtT3rZcqg&feature=player_embedded , making its way around the web, gives a cool and skewed look at pixillating rhythms in a transitionally Lego world. Avanti!

Update On the Dunes

Update from the Isle of Coney -- Well, for what almost passes as controversy on this site, when Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn apparently made the grave error of taking a walk in Coney Island on Monday, and not this past Saturday or Sunday when I was out of town, it appeared at that time that things might be slow for at least part of this summer On the Dunes in Coney Island..  Well, happily, not so...

Coney Island Fun Guide Reports: "If you had come on the weekend, the Boardwalk would have been open! I work in Coney Island and want to reassure everyone that Cha Cha's, Ruby's, Lola Star and the other businesses on the Boardwalk as well as the rides and games will indeed be open this summer.


As Ruby's host explained, one section of the Boardwalk between Stillwell Ave & W 12th is temporarily closed this week only. Work continues on the beach side of the Boardwalk.

Yes, at long last construction is now underway in Coney, including the new Luna Park with 19 rides slated to open on the former Astroland site on Memorial day weekend. The Ringling Circus returns in June. It's shaping up to be a great season. The Cyclone and Wonder Wheel are among the 40 rides currently open for business. Come on out and enjoy! Check the Coney Island Fun Guide for schedules and detailed info..."


Thank you for the update! Nevertheless, based on Monday's somewhat luckless visit, Brooklyn Beat still asserts that it would have been helpful and just plain nice for him, as well as the turistas, to know that, faced with gates and construction and No Entry signs, things were not to remain as they seemed at mid-day on a gorgeous and warm Monday. But anyway, you simply cahn't always get what you want....Still, so there you have it, Coney Island--still cool, still happening, still there. Go for it! See you there!

More info here 

"On the Dunes" by Donald Fagen
Drive along the sea

Far from the city's twitch and smoke
To a misty beach
That's where my life became a joke

On the dunes
On the dunes
(Became a joke on the dunes)
Where rents are high
And seabirds cry
On the dunes

As you spoke you must have known
It was a kind of homicide
I stood and watched my happiness
Drift outwards with the tide
On the dunes
On the dunes

(Homicide on the dunes)

It wasn't fair
It's brutal there
On the dunes
Pretty boats
Sweeping along the shore
In the faltering light
Pretty women
With their lovers by their side
It's like an awful dream
I have most every night

In the summer all the swells
Join in the search for sun and sand
For me it's just a joyless place
Where this loneliness began
On the dunes

On the dunes
(Loneliness on the dunes)
I'm pretty tough
But the wind is rough
On the dunes
--Donald Fagen, "On the Dunes" from  his great solo album,. Kamakyriad

--Brooklyn Beat