International Women's Day 2013: End Violence Against Women, Gaining Momentum, Remembering Women In Prison (including Members of Music Group Pussy Riot and Protestors Arrested in Moscow Today)

The UN theme for International Women's Day 2013 is "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women," while International Women's Day 2013 has declared the year's theme as The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum.

LInks here and here

On 2013 International Women's Day, the [International Committee of the Red Cross](ICRC)draw attention to the plight of women in prison. All over the world, women and girls living behind bars often face particular hardship in terms of protection, privacy and access to basic services, including health care.

20 WOMEN ARRESTED IN MOSCOW FOLLOWING PROTEST MARKING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY AND THE CONTINUED DETENTION OF MEMBERS OF MUSIC GROUP "PUSSY RIOT"

In reflection of the above, 20 women were arrested in Moscow today following a protest of the continuing incarceration of members of the Russian music group, Pussy Riot, who were themselves arrested for protests against Vladimir Putin.

"MOSCOW -- At least 20 supporters of Russia's feminist protest collective Pussy Riot have been detained at a Moscow demonstration marking International Women's Day.


Dozens of activists staged the protest outside the Moscow headquarters of Russia's prison service on March 8.

They held placards calling for the release of two jailed members of Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina. Both women are serving two-year prison sentences after being convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred."

Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, was among those at the demonstration.

"March 8, as Nadya [Tolokonnikova] said in her message to me today, is not just Women's Day but it is also the day of women's liberation," Verzilov said. "It is indeed very important, because Nadya and Masha [Alyokhina's] situation shows that women's rights still need to be fought for."

Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina, along with a third member of Pussy Riot, Yekaterina Samutsevich, were arrested in February 2012 after staging a protest performance against President Vladimir Putin inside Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral.

Samutsevich, who received a suspended sentence, attended the demonstration as well. She held a giant placard reading "Freedom for Pussy Riot."

"It's an act of support for Nadya and Masha and, of course, [March 8] is a day of solidarity in the fight for women's rights," Samutsevich said. Many of the activists adorned their placards with pictures of flowers to honor International Women's Day, a Soviet-era festival that is still a national holiday in Russia and celebrated with enthusiasm.

The protest came after the 23-year-old Tolokonnikova asked a regional court for her release on parole on several grounds -- including the fact that she has a 5-year-old daughter.

Meanwhile, police arrested several other feminist protesters in a separate rally at Moscow's central Novopushkinsky Park on March 8. Dozens of feminist activists and members of the opposition Yabloko party gathered in the park to demand equal rights for women in Russia.

Police intervened at that demonstration and began arresting people after a group whose members identify themselves as Russian Orthodox Christian activists confronted and scuffled with the feminist demonstrators.

Link here

A Centennial of Contemporary Art: The Armory Show Comes to NYC's Far West Side

Beginning Thursday, March 7, through Sunday, March 10, The Armory Show at Piers 92 and 94 (52nd Street and 12th Avenues)  on New York City's West Side once again takes front and center stage as a focus and source of excitement, creativity, inspiration and sometimes provocation. The original Armory Show in NYC in 1913 rocked the art world. This Centennial Edition commemorates and remains a leading international contemporary and modern art fair and one of the most important annual art events in New York.

The Armory Show is devoted to showcasing the most important artworks of the 20th and 21st centuries. In its fifteen years the fair has become an international institution, combining a selection of the world's leading galleries with an exceptional program of arts events and exhibitions throughout New York during the celebrated Armory Arts Week

For information, visit the link here

You can also check out a great preview of this year's Armory Show online at ArtSy here

As a personal metaphor, perhaps, for the anticipation of the art and excitement that the Armory Show engenders, below is the video of "King's Lead Hat" from Brian Eno's 1977 "Before and After Science":

Friday Musings: "As the Days Keep Turning Into Night"

Link here

Happy March. A reflective time here, as the changing seasons remind us of the changes in our own lives. The joys and sorrows inherent in the relentless rush from now to later, from morning to evening, from today til tomorrow, and the present to the future...

A beautiful rendition by Alexi Murdoch of his reflective and soulful "All of My Days"...."

..even breathing feels alright.."

have a great weekend.

-Anthony Napoli
Deep in the Heart off Brooklyn

New from David Bowie: The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

David Bowie and Tilda Swinton.

From his forthcoming album, The Next Day. More here

Shake it-- Do the Harlem Shuffle

All of the recent news about correct and incorrect, legal and "illegal" flashmob performances of the "Harlem Shake" served as a reminder of the "Harlem Shuffle."

An R&B song written and originally recorded by the duo Bob & Earl in 1963, the tune has been covered by numerous bands including Booker T and the MG's, and, more recently, by The Rolling Stones on their album Dirty Work (1986). Here is the official promo version from the Rolling Stones' "Harlem Shuffle"..

Ai Weiwei: Creativity and Responsibility

Nam June Paik: Global Video Riot on the Electronic Superhighway

Great retrospective of videos, video-embedded constructions, sculpture, installations, Deep Text-card ephemera from the brilliant New York-based, Korean born, visionary, video pioneer and global media phenomenon at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum in Washington DC

Winter's Night in The District

The White House 2/16/13

Pop Rocks: Asteroid Flyby Upstaged by Russian SkyFall

BBC reported that a meteor crashing in Russia's Ural mountains has injured at least 950 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings. Most of those hurt, in the Chelyabinsk region where the meteor fell, suffered cuts and bruises but at least 46 remain in hospital.

A fireball streaked through the clear morning sky, followed by loud bangs. President Vladimir Putin said he thanked God no big fragments had fallen in populated areas. A large meteor fragment landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in Chelyabinsk region. The meteor's dramatic passing was witnessed in Yekaterinburg, 200km (125 miles) to the north, and in Kazakhstan, to the south. "It was quite extraordinary," Chelyabinsk resident Polina Zolotarevskaya told BBC News. "We saw a very bright light and then there was a kind of a track, white and yellow in the sky."

"The explosion was so strong that some windows in our building and in the buildings that are across the road and in the city in general, the windows broke."

Officials say a large meteor partially burned up in the lower atmosphere, resulting in fragments falling earthwards.
Full article from BBC News here

Asteroid 2012 DA-14 Cometh at 2:25 PM Eastern time today (from Space.com)

Later today, of course, at around 2:25 PM Eastern time, NASA will be tracking the flyby of Asteroid 2012 DA14, which will pass into Earth's orbit as close as an estimated 17,000 miles from us. While the asteroid's approach has been in the news for a little while, the meteorite strike in Russia is an even clearer indicator that there's plenty of space junk (Natural and artificial) out there that can and will make its way to the Earth's surface from time to time.
More on the asteroid here
--Anthony Napoli, Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn

The Rubio Moment: Coming to Ya Straight From....

If the fact that CNN offered a split screen of the leadup to the State of the Union along with the manhunt for Christopher Dorner in the mountains of California wasn't bizarre enough, the Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) presentation of the GOP response to President Obama's speech seemed to surreally send everything up, up, up into the stratosphere, like the sparks and flames of the burning log cabin where Dorner was believed to have been hiding out.

Rubio's unwavering gaze from the camera, and his understandable, if obvious case of nerves, as he pleaded with listeners to understand how the President and his party have got it all wrong, did look like an opening skit from SNL. When his eyes began to turn upward and inward, that coenethesia-type body awareness, perhaps that something was caught in his throat, well you had to wonder where things were going next. So when the poor jooch stooped down to grab a bottle of agua from off-camera, and took a slug, well, the message went out the window and it was just a matter of time before the tweets and commentary rolled in. New York Magazine gives a delightful assortment here
-Anthony Napoli, Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn

Vatican report: Pope Resigning Feb. 28

Health reasons cited for shock announcement by 85 year old pontiff who assumed leadership in 2005. The last papal resignation occurred in 1415 to end The Great Schism.

Washington post reports here: http://m.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/vatican-says-pope-resigning-on-feb-28/2013/02/11/2d7ef7fa-743b-11e2-9889-60bfcbb02149_story.html?wpisrc=al_national

http://m.nydailynews.com/news/world/pope-benedict-xvi-resign-feb-28-article-1.1260614

El Anatsui: Flowing Light and Form

Ghanaian-born, Nigerian based artist El Anatsui's work that came to prominence at the Venice Biennial opened at the Brooklyn Museum this weekend.

Anatsui was born in Anyako, and trained at the College of Art, University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi, in central Ghana. He began teaching at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1975, and has become affiliated with the Nsukka group.

Anatsui's preferred media are clay and wood, which he uses to create objects based on traditional Ghanaian beliefs and other subjects. He has cut wood with chainsaws and blackened it with acetylene torches; more recently, he has turned to installation art. Some of his works resemble woven cloths such as kente cloth. Anatsui also incorporates uli and nsibidi into his works alongside Ghanaian motifs.

Flowing forms, metal that captures and plays with light filled with color and evocative of folk art, a mixed bag of Western and African implications and references with a deep strain of post-industrial wonder.

--Anthony Napoli, Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn

Photos by Tony Napoli

"When the City Freezes Over...": Donald Fagen's "Florida Room"

Perhaps, ath te moment, it's the idea of Miami, more so than the reality. And especially when the Northeast faces a Big Freeze, cold, snow and ice over the next few days. Riding the subway, longing for the a shot of that hot tropical sun. Atwing of envy of the idea of lucky friends who are walking along Collins Avenue, then pass the Versace Mansion, down to the blue blue blue waters, with a chaise longe and a crisp white towel and a drink, gazing at the horizon, where you can almost see Cuba in the distance. Palm trees. Houses in the Spanish style.

But for now, it's back to business. And the local National Weather Service forecasts. Sigh.  ANd of course, Donald Fagen's classic funk jazz "Florida Room."

-Anthony Napoli, Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn

So It's Sounding Like NYC May Not Get Off So Easy This Winter

Cold, snowy, blustery weather likely late Thursday through Saturday. Rain and snowy mix could initally reduce accumulations but could become "moderate to significant" Friday night, according to the National Weather Service which of course is continuing to monitor the forecast here

-Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn

NYC Forges Complex and Unique Politicians

“If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.”
-Ed Koch

A warm and sincere appraisal and reminiscence by his friend and colleague former US Senator Alphonse appeared in today's NY Post.

‘He was loyal to his family, his friends, and his causes’
By AL D’AMATO
Last Updated: 1:50 AM, February 2, 2013

To me, Ed Koch will always be “Mr. Mayor.”

Ed Koch was a living legend. He loved New York City, fought for and defended it every day. He was a New York City icon and, throughout the years, remained a sought after voice on the important issues of the day. His number one priority was always fighting to make our communities and our country better places.

I have known the Mayor for over 30 years.

Up until last week, we saw each other twice a week, sometimes more, as we bantered on NY1 and Bloomberg Radio. I will always cherish our friendship and the good laughs we had together.

The Mayor was loyal — to his family, his friends, and his causes. He was loyal to Israel and the Jewish community. He was loyal to the Democratic Party and stood for its principles but was not afraid to cross party lines and support those who he thought would best serve our country — George W. Bush, Reps. Peter King, Bob Turner.

That is the mark of a true political leader. He could distinguish between partisanship and true leadership.

He didn’t feel the need to be all things to all people. When he was Mayor, he recognized that no one was going to agree with him on every issue. He famously said, “If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.”

The Mayor loved to come to Mama D’Amato’s house each summer for one of her famous meals. He once asked her how much she was paid for doing those great TV ads for me, wisely telling her that she won me re-election with those ads.
I was always the small, funny-looking kid from Long Island with the funny accent, but when I was in the Senate, we were one in our fight for New York City.

Like most New Yorkers, I closely followed the transit strike of 1980. Not everyone agreed with the Mayor’s position on it, but no one will forget the infamous story of the Mayor’s standing on the Brooklyn Bridge, yelling at the people of New York to walk over the bridge because “we’re not going to let these bastards bring us to our knees!” It is so befitting now that the 59th Street Bridge bears the great Mayor’s name.

When the people of New York City voted him out, he said, “Now they must be punished.” I have to say this is a line I still use to this day.

Ed Koch was never about partisanship. He always said he was much more moderate than his supporters, and he was right. We agreed more than we disagreed.

He was a liberal with sanity!

Hizonner was the consummate New York pol, and there was never a parade that he didn’t enjoy. One of our most memorable was the Steuben Day Parade in Manhattan. During my first campaign, like every other candidate, I was desperately trying to get to the front of the parade, where all of the reporters were.

Mayor Koch was right in the front, and I attempted to get close and introduce myself. To my surprise, I was completely body-checked and upended 20 feet into the crowd by none other than former Congresswoman Bella “The Hat” Abzug.

The Mayor never let me live that down! I did eventually squirm my way in, and this was the first time I formally met Mayor Koch.

I am sure we will hear many other “Kochisms” over the next few weeks. There will never be another Mayor Ed Koch.

How are you doin’, Mr. Mayor? Just fine. RIP, my dear friend.

Al D’Amato is a former senator from New York.