Joyeux Quatorze Juillet

Bastille Day is the French national holiday which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale (National Celebration) and commonly le quatorze juillet (the fourteenth of July). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution. Festivities are held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic. More here

Mid Summer, Clinton and State: July 13, 4:30 PM

Photo by Brooklyn Beat/TN

The Roots Film A Music Video @ Brooklyn Borough Hall

Fresh off their Celebrate Brooklyn performance this past weekend, celebrating the World Cup games in South Africa in "OkayAfrica" with Talib Kweli and others, as well as their new album, How I Got Over, in stores now, The Roots film a music video on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall. The Roots are also in the studio working with John Legend.  The Roots, and Brooklyn, so cool.
--Brooklyn Beat

Around noon - July 13, 2010

Photos by Brooklyn Beat/TN

NY Times Analyzes Stop and Frisk as a Crime-Fighting Tool

A New York Times interactive graphic and accompanying article by reporters Ray Rivera, Al Baker and Janet Roberts explores the effects and impact of the controversial but growing use of stop, frisk and question by the NYC Police Department as a crime fighting tool. The interactive map which provides statistics on violent crime, provides detailed information on stops, frisks, whether force was used, and resulting arrests, as well as the race/ethnicity of the individuals stopped for questioning by the police. This is the type of complex and frankly "arresting" story, with best-of-intentions laced with moral ambiguity on all sides that makes the NY Times the great American newspaper.

The NY Times interactive map is here.http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/07/11/nyregion/20100711-stop-and-frisk.html?ref=nyregion

Excerpt from the NY TIMES article: “…a former professional basketball player who runs the Brownsville Recreation Center, said the rising tide of stops had left many who wanted a strong police presence here feeling conflicted.



“Do we welcome the police?” he said, “Of course I do. Ninety-nine percent of the people in the area do. But they also fear the police because you can get stopped at any time.”


New York is among several major cities across the country that rely heavily on the stop-and-frisk tactic, but few cities, according to law enforcement experts, employ it with such intensity. In 2002, the police citywide documented 97,000 of these stops; last year, the department registered a record: 580,000.


There are, to be sure, plenty of reasons for the police to be out in force in this section of Brooklyn, and plenty of reasons for residents to want them there. Murders, shootings and drug dealing have historically made this one of the worst crime corridors in the city.


But now, in an era of lower crime rates, both in this part of Brooklyn and across the city, questions are swirling over what is emerging as a central tool in the crime fight, one intended to give officers the power to engage anyone they reasonably suspect has committed a crime or is about to.

Full NY Times article here.

From Off the Streets of Cleveland: R.I.P., Harvey Pekar, An "American Splendor"

Harvey Pekar

Comic book writer Harvey Pekar, whose "American Splendor'' was made into a 2003 film (starring

Paul Giamatti), was found dead in his home early Monday, authorities said. He was 70.

Paul Giamatti and Harvey Pekar

AP reports: Officers were called to Pekar's suburban home by his wife about 1 a.m., Cleveland Heights police Capt. Michael Cannon said. His body was found between a bed and dresser.

Pekar had been suffering from prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression, according to Cannon. Pekar had gone to bed about 4:30 p.m. Sunday in good spirits, his wife told police.


An autopsy was planned, said Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner's office in Cleveland. He had no information on the cause of death.


Pekar's "American Splendor'' comics, which he began publishing in 1976, chronicle his grousing about work, money and the monotony of life. His quirky commentary developed a cult following and his insights and humor were often a bit on the dark side.


In 2003, the New York Film Critics Circle honored "American Splendor'' as best first film for the directing-writing team of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. Part feature and part documentary, with animated elements added, the film starred Giamatti as the disgruntled Pekar. Pekar told The Associated Press in a 1997 interview that he was determined to keep writing his "American Splendor'' series.

"There's no end in sight for me. I want to continue to do it,'' Pekar said. "It's a continuing autobiography, a life's work.''

More here and here  .

Wishes & Dreams at the New Museum

Eu desejo o seu desejo / I Wish Your Wish (2003) is installed in the lobby gallery as part of the exhibition "Rivane Neuenschwander: A Day Like Any Other". Visitors are invited to select ribbons printed with a wish to tie around their wrists. When the ribbon falls off, tradition has it that one's wish will be fulfilled. Visitors may write another wish and place it in the empty hole. This work of art is based on a similar practice that takes place at the church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Our Lord of the Good End) in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

You can participate in the "I Wish Your Wish" online here
Also, a forensic artist can draw a portrait based on your description of your "First Love." You can particpate online here

Through September 19.

Brion Gysin introduced William S. Burroughs, Jr. to the "Cut Up" Method. Brion Gysin, born John Clifford Brian Gysin, 19 January 1916, Taplow, England, Died July 13, 1986 (aged 70), Paris, France . Gysin was

a painter, writer, poet, and performance artist. With Ian Somerville he invented the Dreamachine, a flicker device designed as an art object to be viewed with the eyes closed. It was in painting, however, that Gysin devoted his greatest efforts, creating calligraphic works inspired by Japanese and Arabic scripts. Burroughs later stated that "Brion Gysin was the only man I ever respected." Although the "Dream Machine" exhibit feautres many of Gysin's paintings and drawings, works produced by the  "cut up" method -- and by extension, William S. Burroughs-- loom large here.

In a 1966 interview by Conrad Knickerbocker for The Paris Review, William S. Burroughs explained that Brion Gysin was, to his knowledge, "the first to create cut-ups":

INTERVIEWER: How did you become interested in the cut-up technique? BURROUGHS: A friend, Brion Gysin, an American poet and painter, who has lived in Europe for thirty years, was, as far as I know, the first to create cut-ups. His cut-up poem, Minutes to Go, was broadcast by the BBC and later published in a pamphlet. I was in Paris in the summer of 1960; this was after the publication there of Naked Lunch. I became interested in the possibilities of this technique, and I began experimenting myself. Of course, when you think of it, The Waste Land was the first great cut-up collage, and Tristan Tzara had done a bit along the same lines. Dos Passos used the same idea in 'The Camera Eye' sequences in USA. I felt I had been working toward the same goal; thus it was a major revelation to me when I actually saw it being done.

The exhibit also includes films, such as Antony Balch's notable 1963 film Towers Open Fire, and, 1966, The Cut Ups which use the cut up method (and feature a brief clip of street signs from Clark and Hicks Streets, circa early 1960s).


The exhibit also features a working model of Gysin's and Somerville's Dream Machine. The full experience of The Dream Machine is gained kneeling on a cushion in a darkened room, staring with closed eyes, 5"-8" from the device. After a few moments, you may begin to experience some eyelid patterns based on the movement of the device and the light source. To get a flavor of the Dream Machine, check this link

More on Gysin here. Through October 3.

The New Museum. 223 Bowery, at Prince Street, New York, NY

A Narrows Escape

A long post-prandial Friday walk on a hot summer day along the Narrows, from Caeser's Bay to the Verrazano. Preceded by a fabulous sandwich lunch at the legendary Royal Crown bakery's restaurant. We strolled along the Verrazano Narrows, finally  reaching the bridge, our goal.  We sat for awhile on the grass in the shade of the bridge, enjoying the breezes, watching the flight path of airplanes in the distance coming in from the Atlantic, crossing over the bridge, on their way to JFK airport.

Enjoying a vacation day, ordinary yet out-of- the-ordinary, in Brooklyn, USA. 

Photos   by Brooklyn Beat/TN

Hot Enough to....

The Times City Room threw caution to the wind and tried to fry an egg on the sidewalk.  I have to give the reporter Andy Newman credit for venturing outside on a day when only Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and the kebab and felafel carts venture out. While the experiment resulted in some lightly cooked tuna, the eggs proved less than satisfactory. Based on our extensive Google research, the Library of Congress reports that, yes, it is theoretically (damn their eyes - there is that word again) possible to cook an egg on the sidewalk, but it is unlikely that the sidewalk would get hot enough.

LoC reports: An egg needs a temperature of 158°F to become firm. In order to cook, proteins in the egg must denature (modify), then coagulate, and that won’t happen until the temperature rises enough to start and maintain the process.

The City Room was on the right track using a frying pan, since metal is a better conductor of heat than just plopping the egg on the concrete. But wo-be-tide to we New Yorkers should it ever approach that chilling temperature. But standing around trying to fry an egg  at 103 degrees Fahrenheit just ain't gonna cut it.

Once, when our kids were younger, I amused them on a long car ride home from upstate by making nachos: melting little bits of cheese on Doritos using the car cigarette lighter. Now that's entertainment!  (My Better Half was suitably unimpressed.)

Interesting that the heat always seems to bring out the frying-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk gambit, but there appears to be no widescale effort to commercialize on solar cookery in New York City. It seems like it would be much easier (and more fun) for backyard cooking than lugging those 40 pound propane tanks to run the gas grille. When I was in elementary school, a science and engineering nut, bakelight eyeglass frames, pocket protector and all, I built a solar oven for a science project that managed to produce a moderately good melted cheese sandwich (although my intention, unfortunately, was grilled cheese.)  But solar cooking kits are on the market place, and no doubt would cook an egg (and probably bacon) very effectively on a 103 degree NYC afternoon.

More on the LoC research here

More on solar cookery here

Frida Kahlo de Rivera: July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954

Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick - Frida Kahlo. 1954.

Frida Kahlo de Rivera (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954; born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón) was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán. Kahlo painted "pain and passion" using intense, vibrant colors. Her style "close to folk art" was influenced among others by indigenous cultures of Mexico, European Realism, Symbolism, and Surrealism. Many of her works are self-portraits. Kahlo was married to Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.

More on Kahlo here

Self Portrait, Frida Kahlo

My New York times--- 4th of July @ the Hudson RIver

A flotilla of small craft made their way south on the Hudson. From our vantage point, the red tailights of no doubt irritated motorists backed up far beyond what the eye could see on the West Side Highway. The 4th of July fireworks had shifted from East to west, and we, happily, received an invitation to a gathering on the upper west side where we could see the sparkling displays from a 23rd floor rooftop  overlooking Riverside Drive. It was 90+ on the street, but the breezes at rooftop overlooking the Hudson River were positively refreshing. It is summer in NYC so we had the rare luxury of finding a spot right in front of our host's building. After the fireworks, the flotilla of small boats made their way northward, safety lights blinking. Sally the Dog scarfed up someone's red velvet cake. The humidity returned to the penthouse level, while(somewhat) cool breezes had made their way back down to the street. With the middle holiday of the season done, it was clearly Summer in New  York City.

Photos by Brooklyn Beat/TN

The Declaration of Independence of The United States of America: July 4, 1776

The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.


After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed

July 3, 1971

The grave of Jim Morrison, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France

James Douglas Morrison, December 8, 1943 - July 3, 1971

The last Doors album, completed in the wake of the critical panning of Soft Parade, preceded by the equally bluesand roots oriented Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe, reflected a powerful shift, and emergence of Morrison into full shamanic  mode. Wreckless and impassioned, great rock-blues-jazz fusion. Some recent criticism suggests that the Doors and Morrison are now a less regarded group. Nevertheless, the tunes and the legend will live on. A favorite Doors  tune from the album of the same name [L.A.Woman]

Adam's Rib: Women Artists Contemplate Religion at LES FusionArts Museum

FusionArts Museum on the Lower East Side has two new exhibitions. In the main gallery, Adam's Rib, features 14 accomplished women artists presenting work that speaks to a woman's role (or absence of it) in organized religion.

That exhibit  curated by artist and museum founder Shalom Newman runs through August 22, 2010

In the lower gallery poet and writer Steve Dalachinsky, a contributor to Brooklyn Rail among other publications, explores fusion art in his first solo exhibit in New York City.

The Sunday opening was graced by extraordinary readings and performances by Chavisa Woods and Carol Lipnik.In keeping with the theme of the opening and the weekend's Pride March focus, Ms. Woods read some powerful work about identity, religion and memories of growing up in the mid-west. Ms. Lipnik,accompanying herself on a mini-keyboard that sounded like a harmonium,shared some healing verses followed by a requiem of sorts for the hole in the Gulf of Mexico, with a haunting and lovely refrain of "Deepwater Horizon." Despite the insufferable heat of a summer evening on the lower east side, both poets had the audience transfixed. It was a sweltering, but decidedly cool evening, at the FusionArts Museum


FusionArts Museum

57 Stanton Street between Forsyth and Eldridge Streets
3 blocks from the New Museum of Contemporary Art
New York, NY 10002
212.995.5290

12 - 6 pm SUN, Tues - THURS, 12 PM - 3 PM FRI
MON by appointment only
closed SAT
http://www.fusionartsmuseum.org/

Hey, No Place Cooler -- Brooklyn Public Library

Back in the day, as a Brooklyn kid during the sweltering summer months, before I was shackled to this life of endless, if (arguably) ennobling, workitude, I would love to visit the Brooklyn Public Libraries as a way of simultaneously escaping the heat and enriching the mind. I would visit the various branches in walking distance from my family's Windsor Terrace  home, especially the phenomenal Central Branch, and check out all of the great stuff to read, or just browse the stacks, even from a young age. As a matter of fact, one of my first jobs was as a part-timer in the Grand Army Plaza branch's Audio Visual Department under the funny and wise Mr. Kenneth Axthelm and Mr. Joseph Scherer, and some of the other wonderful staff there. What started as a fun summer job, being around books and films, later morphed into part-time work in high school and early college. I fondly remember those BPL days and the BPL remains an important source of learning, enrichment, and enjoyment for me.

Today, BPL reminds Brooklyn residents that its branches are open and available, and provide a great way to escape the heat and enjoy the many educational, multi-media and cultural benefits that the Library has to offer.  Music, art, film, and an amazing assortment of reading material are available for in-branch use, or borrowing (with a library card). 

For Brooklyn Public Library branch hours link here.

Or call 718-230-2100 for more information.

For Brooklyn Public Library events calendar link here.

Branch schedules vary so be sure to check the schedule for the branch you are  visiting before stepping out!

Coney Island: Blue Vistas of a Summer Day

photos by Brooklyn Beat/TN

Visiting Coney Island for a stroll early in the spring, it was still hard to tell where the "old" Coney Island ended and the "new"Coney Island began. I had apparently beat the hype machine to the punch, and my post was followed by a number of emails reassuring that despite the  construction, gates, and  lack of info, Coney Island would be back in business this summer.

Flaneurs and peripatetic urban wanderers that we are, My Better Half and I took a stroll through Brighton Beach yesterday, stopping for a leisurely salad and vareniki lunch at Cafe Glechik. We made our way to the Boardwalk, starting at Little Odessa and made our way down to Coney Island. Well, despite all of the hype, the Coney Island Boardwalk, as far as  I can tell, remains its good old self. There is the addition of the new amusement park section with newer kiddie rides which supplements, not supplants, the old standbys: Deno's, Shoot the Freak, Ruby's...there are some new smaller concessions on the Boardwalk, and sections are still under construction. But happily, Coney Island, crowded on a sweltering Saturday remains Coney Island. We took a walk out onto the pier (which still haunts in the memory in its super-real portrayal in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for A Dream)  and there were the fisherman and tourists, locals and visitors. Kitschy tzatzches, hot dogs and french fries, beautiful, oil- free water, and the blue vistas of a summer day. Environmental activitists. The occasional drunk and druggy, kids with melting ice cream, teenagers in love, seniors with zinc'd noses and  skin already tanned like leather.

Still not sure where the hype begins and ends, or what the future holds, but for now Coney Island remains  a delight. Despite the sagging economy, it's a place for an inexpensive outing, a little respite from the summer sun, some fresh ocean breezes, and a place to mingle with other New Yorkers.