11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Brooklyn $1 Million Beggar's Death; People Killed All Over; and More Brooklyn Briefs
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- Police say $1 million beggar’s death a suicide, despite conflicting evidence and lack of an autopsy. Failed Messiah
- As Brooklyn gentrifies, some neighborhoods are being left behind. NY Times and NY Magazine
- Dead man on bench on Atlantic? The Local
- 3-year-old boy shot in the leg in Bed-Stuy, and teen killed in Prospect Park. NY Daily News
- Brooklyn ‘scam’ rabbi tries to pull a fast one. NY Post
- Couple arrested for dancing on subway platform suing city. Gothamist
Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.
I'll rest my eyes to the rivers in the sea
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Friday night we finally got to see The National. I don't know why I was so resistant to listen to this band, but when I finally did, High Violet hit me like a load of bricks (a sad, beautiful load of bricks). I listened to it constantly last summer and slowly made my way back through the older albums. I briefly considered driving to Boston or Philly to see them, when they didn't have any shows scheduled in New York for the longest time, but they finally they set a six-night run at Beacon Theatre and by the luck (which is usually unluck) of ticketmaster, I got tickets in the third row, front and center, for the fifth night.You can see the setlist and more pics here. I was particularly pleased that they played "Think You Can Wait." I sort of felt like I was at a "rock show," especially in comparison to the opener, My Brightest Diamond, but I didn't really care at all. So good.
Friday night we finally got to see The National. I don't know why I was so resistant to listen to this band, but when I finally did, High Violet hit me like a load of bricks (a sad, beautiful load of bricks). I listened to it constantly last summer and slowly made my way back through the older albums. I briefly considered driving to Boston or Philly to see them, when they didn't have any shows scheduled in New York for the longest time, but they finally they set a six-night run at Beacon Theatre and by the luck (which is usually unluck) of ticketmaster, I got tickets in the third row, front and center, for the fifth night.You can see the setlist and more pics here. I was particularly pleased that they played "Think You Can Wait." I sort of felt like I was at a "rock show," especially in comparison to the opener, My Brightest Diamond, but I didn't really care at all. So good.love's such a delicate thing that we do
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We spent the long holiday weekend in Arkansas with our families, mostly to celebrate baby brother David's graduation. All five siblings graduated from Little Rock Christian (or Walnut Valley), and with David being the last (I'm not going to say empty nest, but), it just seemed best that we would all be there (NB: I went to every one of my sibling's graduations with the exception of John, who was VALEDICTORIAN. I'm sorry, John).
It was fun to be home with everyone and it be not Christmas. And I'm excited that we will all be home again soon.
[Unfortch, airplane travel just seems to be getting worse (almost lost luggage, stuck in Chicago overnight, 2-hour delays on plane, and of course, PAT-DOWNS!). We managed, it was just the two of us, but imagine if Desmond had been along? Or if we [in the hypothetical future] have a child? How do people do this? Please please please build me high-speed train.]
We spent the long holiday weekend in Arkansas with our families, mostly to celebrate baby brother David's graduation. All five siblings graduated from Little Rock Christian (or Walnut Valley), and with David being the last (I'm not going to say empty nest, but), it just seemed best that we would all be there (NB: I went to every one of my sibling's graduations with the exception of John, who was VALEDICTORIAN. I'm sorry, John).It was fun to be home with everyone and it be not Christmas. And I'm excited that we will all be home again soon.
[Unfortch, airplane travel just seems to be getting worse (almost lost luggage, stuck in Chicago overnight, 2-hour delays on plane, and of course, PAT-DOWNS!). We managed, it was just the two of us, but imagine if Desmond had been along? Or if we [in the hypothetical future] have a child? How do people do this? Please please please build me high-speed train.]
an airport birthday and welcome home
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We really have been celebrating since April. So honestly by the time Elliott's 29th birthday rolled around last week, our gusto for sparkling wine and fancy dinners had slightly fizzled. Truth be told, I did not have a single birthday present for Elliott to open and we didn't even eat cake. I feel kind of badly about this, and hope that this is not the beginning of the end, as they say. I promise we'll eat cake next year.And really, the main thing we wanted to celebrate on the 26th of June was Lilli's return from overseas. After 11 months in 11 countries, we were quite ready to welcome her home.
something with the sun is just different
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We spent a good portion of the 4th of July holiday cleaning and organizing (me), and cooking (E). I guess it runs in the family; the holiday just seemed like the perfect time to clean out the cabinet under the sink that had been slowly collecting Sephora samples and expired sunscreens and etc. While extremely satisfying to purge, it's still baffling--we live in a relatively tiny apartment and yet still manage to collect so.much.stuff.
Later in the afternoon we went to a cookout with a gallon of margaritas (we modified the recipe a bit, as is, it's quite strong) and a pickley potato salad in tow. We enjoyed macaroni salad, cole slaw, corn salad, sausages, grilled chicken, and some of the best pie I have ever tasted.
We spent a good portion of the 4th of July holiday cleaning and organizing (me), and cooking (E). I guess it runs in the family; the holiday just seemed like the perfect time to clean out the cabinet under the sink that had been slowly collecting Sephora samples and expired sunscreens and etc. While extremely satisfying to purge, it's still baffling--we live in a relatively tiny apartment and yet still manage to collect so.much.stuff.Later in the afternoon we went to a cookout with a gallon of margaritas (we modified the recipe a bit, as is, it's quite strong) and a pickley potato salad in tow. We enjoyed macaroni salad, cole slaw, corn salad, sausages, grilled chicken, and some of the best pie I have ever tasted.
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Tuesday Evening in the South Bronx: SummerStage presents José Alberto "El Canario" at St. Mary's Park
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The stalwart Bx19 bus got us into and out of Riverbank State Park in Harlem last night, and going the other way this evening, the Bx19 got us to St. Mary's Park in the South Bronx for a spectacular SummerStage show featuring José Alberto, "El Canario," the peerless Dominican singer of salsa romántica, who wowed the enormous crowd in a full-length performance of grace, soul and charm. 
It was a terrific show, and we're grateful we got to be in St. Mary's Park tonight to see El Canario.
For some of us, it brought back great memories of the 1970s. Dreams, too.
The stalwart Bx19 bus got us into and out of Riverbank State Park in Harlem last night, and going the other way this evening, the Bx19 got us to St. Mary's Park in the South Bronx for a spectacular SummerStage show featuring José Alberto, "El Canario," the peerless Dominican singer of salsa romántica, who wowed the enormous crowd in a full-length performance of grace, soul and charm. It was a terrific show, and we're grateful we got to be in St. Mary's Park tonight to see El Canario.For some of us, it brought back great memories of the 1970s. Dreams, too.
Thursday Afternoon in Downtown Brooklyn: BAM Rhythm and Blues Festival presents Van Hunt with Ruthie Price at MetroTech Commons
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Despite the heat, we had a comfortable seat in the shade of the trees at MetroTech Commons in downtown Brooklyn for a lunchtime concert by the brilliant R&B vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Van Hunt, joined by Ruthie Price, doing superb accompaniment on drums.
This show was part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's wonderful annual BAM Rhythm and Blues Festival, now in its eighteenth year. 
Van Hunt played some old favorites -- old being relative, since his debut album arrived in 2004, instantly establishing him as a distinctive and original talentwith its idiosyncratic amalgamation of R&B, neo-soul, funk, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll and earning him a 2005 “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” Grammy nomination for his breakthrough hit single, “Dust.” 
The equally inventive On The Jungle Floor followed two years later, highlighted by the single, “Character.”
Today Van hunt played some of the terrific tracks from his new album What Were You Hoping For?, featuring Ruthie Price's amazing drums work. 
The Vancouver Sun said the album 
We were bowled over by Van Hunt's iconoclastic sounds and startlingly versatile range and equally impressed with Ruthie Price's ace work on drums. 
This was an incredibly enjoyable show, and we're grateful to BAM's R&B Festival for continuing to bring great musicians to downtown Brooklyn on summer Thursday afternoons.
Despite the heat, we had a comfortable seat in the shade of the trees at MetroTech Commons in downtown Brooklyn for a lunchtime concert by the brilliant R&B vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Van Hunt, joined by Ruthie Price, doing superb accompaniment on drums.This show was part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's wonderful annual BAM Rhythm and Blues Festival, now in its eighteenth year. Van Hunt played some old favorites -- old being relative, since his debut album arrived in 2004, instantly establishing him as a distinctive and original talentwith its idiosyncratic amalgamation of R&B, neo-soul, funk, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll and earning him a 2005 “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” Grammy nomination for his breakthrough hit single, “Dust.” The equally inventive On The Jungle Floor followed two years later, highlighted by the single, “Character.”Today Van hunt played some of the terrific tracks from his new album What Were You Hoping For?, featuring Ruthie Price's amazing drums work. The Vancouver Sun said the album fuses Hendrix/Kravitz/Mayfield stylings with a punk/funk-driven guitar edge akin to Neil Young, the Stooges and cult Detroit proto-punk trio Death, which was rocking the underground in the early ’70s.
What Were You Hoping For? is where Hunt really finds his groove. . . "Watching You Go Crazy Is Driving Me Insane" [our favorite] barrels along at incredible speed with a mighty crunch,
"Designer Jeans" boasts a gritty bump-and-grind, blown-out psych-blues fuzz [the lunchtime crowd today adored this],
and Plum incorporates surrealistic poetry and ramshackle guitar noodlings.
The album’s lo-fi esthetics also work to Hunt’s advantage on ballads like the Isley Brothers-tinged "Moving Targets.
We were bowled over by Van Hunt's iconoclastic sounds and startlingly versatile range and equally impressed with Ruthie Price's ace work on drums. This was an incredibly enjoyable show, and we're grateful to BAM's R&B Festival for continuing to bring great musicians to downtown Brooklyn on summer Thursday afternoons.
Thursday Night in Park Slope: Piper Theatre presents "Xanadu" outdoors at the Old Stone House in Washington Park
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Tonight we sat out back of the Old Stone House in Park Slope for the opening night of Piper Theatre's majestically silly, irresistible ball of fluff of a musical, Xanadu, which recreates the 2007 Broadway reworking/sendup of the laughably abysmal 1980 roller-disco-of-the-gods movie starring Olivia Newton-John. 
As one of the over-the-top characters exclaims, "This is like children’s theater for 40-year-old gay people!” -- a pretty good match for the large and enthusiastic Park Slope audience sitting on blankets in the renovated Washington Park.
In its twelfth season of productions -- it's been at Old Stone House since 2005 -- Piper Theatre made an offbeat but wise choice in selecting this campy, self-parodying delight, directed with dynamism by Piper Theatre founder/artistic director John P. McEneny, with choreography by Karen Curlee and musical direction by Megan Jonynas.
This Equity showcase production featured a fun-loving, energetic, and musically talented cast who look good in ancient Greek attire, gym shorts and knee socks, or : Alissa Laderer (Kira), Jamie Roach (Sonny Malone), M.X. Soto (Danny McGuire/Zeus), Kelly Blaze (Calliope/Aphrodite), MaryAnne Piccolo (Melpomene/Medusa), Jake Mendes (Talia), Ricky Dain Jones (Terpischore), Matthew McGloin (Hermes/Dance Captain), Jennifer Somers Kipley (Euterpe/Thetis), Linnea Larsdotter (Erato/Hera), Emily Bodkin (Thalia), and Arielle Vullo (Urania). 
Sarah Edkins’ scenery design recreates the Venice Beach of the late ’70s, paying homage to the street art and visual style emblematic to that place and time, a West Coast counterpart to New York City’s more famous underground art scene, only with more pastels.
We were a bit skeptical about Xanadu at first, but the show is so winningly self-deprecating, so filled with irreverence and charm, with plenty of tasty 70s and 80s musical numbers, so it didn't take long to win us over. It's quite a delightful production, and it made us forget all about the heat and humidity.
More coming . . .
Tonight we sat out back of the Old Stone House in Park Slope for the opening night of Piper Theatre's majestically silly, irresistible ball of fluff of a musical, Xanadu, which recreates the 2007 Broadway reworking/sendup of the laughably abysmal 1980 roller-disco-of-the-gods movie starring Olivia Newton-John. As one of the over-the-top characters exclaims, "This is like children’s theater for 40-year-old gay people!” -- a pretty good match for the large and enthusiastic Park Slope audience sitting on blankets in the renovated Washington Park.In its twelfth season of productions -- it's been at Old Stone House since 2005 -- Piper Theatre made an offbeat but wise choice in selecting this campy, self-parodying delight, directed with dynamism by Piper Theatre founder/artistic director John P. McEneny, with choreography by Karen Curlee and musical direction by Megan Jonynas.This Equity showcase production featured a fun-loving, energetic, and musically talented cast who look good in ancient Greek attire, gym shorts and knee socks, or : Alissa Laderer (Kira), Jamie Roach (Sonny Malone), M.X. Soto (Danny McGuire/Zeus), Kelly Blaze (Calliope/Aphrodite), MaryAnne Piccolo (Melpomene/Medusa), Jake Mendes (Talia), Ricky Dain Jones (Terpischore), Matthew McGloin (Hermes/Dance Captain), Jennifer Somers Kipley (Euterpe/Thetis), Linnea Larsdotter (Erato/Hera), Emily Bodkin (Thalia), and Arielle Vullo (Urania). Sarah Edkins’ scenery design recreates the Venice Beach of the late ’70s, paying homage to the street art and visual style emblematic to that place and time, a West Coast counterpart to New York City’s more famous underground art scene, only with more pastels.We were a bit skeptical about Xanadu at first, but the show is so winningly self-deprecating, so filled with irreverence and charm, with plenty of tasty 70s and 80s musical numbers, so it didn't take long to win us over. It's quite a delightful production, and it made us forget all about the heat and humidity.More coming . . .
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