|
« December 2010 |
Main
| February 2011 »
 The Paper Bag Players have been performing for kids in New York at least since I was going to elementary school in Queens in the 1970's. (Since 1958, actually. - Ed.) Their latest production - Whoop-De-Doo! - is being performed this Thursday and Friday at the Kumble Theater at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus. That's the good news. The better news is that the theater is offering FREE tickets for the Friday afternoon show.
According to our source, Whoop-Dee-Doo is "a fun and interactive play with music and dance for young people."
There is a show this Thursday, February 3 at 10:30 AM and shows on Friday, February 4 at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM, but the afternoon show on Friday is the one that we've heard can be seen for free. Reserve tickets for that show by emailing info@kumble.org or by calling the Box Office at (718) 488-1624. I can't figure out if the other shows are also free - either on the Kumble website or the Paper Bag Players' website - so those might be free also. If those shows are more convenient for you, it is probably worth a call.
The Paper Bag Players present
Whoop-De-Doo!
Kumble Theater at LIU-Brooklyn
Flatbush Avenue between DeKalb and Willoughby (check the campus map)
Thursday, February 3 at 10:30AM
Friday, February 4 at 10:30AM and 12:30PM
The show is recommended for kids aged 3-9. Enjoy!
Thanks, Fatima.
 It looks like the PLG bloggers at PLOG got the scoop that we couldn't: The Farmers Diner isn't coming to Brooklyn any time soon. While Brooklyn is still part of the long-term agenda, they are focusing on going to San Fransisco first.
PLOG quotes co-owner Denise Perras:
Our hearts are still there, as we fell in love with PLG, and most importantly, the residents. At this time we are focused on the other piece of our expansion project, San Francisco area specifically. Our first location set to open in the spring.
Reading between the lines of her extended quote, it appears that while there was a lot of local enthusiasm about the project, it wasn't backed up with a willingness to invest. I confess that we were among those who were very excited about the project but didn't feel financially secure enough to put our own money into it.
I also have to give credit to PLOG for this: I have a few pages of a notebook full of restaurant Board of Health ratings from the neighborhood but they went out and created an integrated map with ratings, including ratings for some restaurants that I'm pretty sure still have "Grade Pending" signs in the window. I have to remember to send them some of my notes for Rogers and Nostrand, since it seems that they only covered Flatbush and west.
You can also consider this a much-belated Welcome Aboard to PLOG, which has been doing a very good job since they started blogging in November.
 If you are willing to travel a bit to send your child to public school, there is an information session being held tonight at 6:30 at The Co-Op School in Clinton Hill (87 Irving Place, between Fulton and Putnam (gmap).
Joyce Szuflita from insideschools.org and representatives from PS 20, PS 11, PS 46, PS 9, Academy of Arts and Letters, Ethical Community Charter School, Community Partnership Charter School and Leadership Prep will be giving presentations. Beyond the opportunity to hear about the range of options, Joyce Szuflita is a great resource; an opportunity to talk to her for free is one that parents should take.
If you don't mind a little (a lot) of snow, that is.
Public School Information Session
Wednesday, January 26th 6:30PM
The Co-Op School
87 Irving Place
FREE
 Ditmas neighbor Ian Rapien informs us that he is now hosting the weekly Jazz Groove Jam Session, Monday nights at Rhythm Splash. (673 Flatbush between Winthrop and Hawthorne)
Rapien's band, Spectral Awakenings, will open the night at 9 and at 10 it will become a jam session for anyone who wants to join in.
The next CB9 meeting is on Tuesday, January 25 at 7PM. You can find the agenda here. The two main agenda items are:
1. Representatives from the city Department of Design and Construction will discuss the plans for the reconstruction of Eastern Parkway from Grand Army Plaza to Washington Avenue, due to begin this Spring. A pdf of the plan is here.
2. A presentation from a representative of Achievement First Charter Schools. The closest Achievement First school to PLG is the Crown Heights Middle School, at 790 East New York Ave., between Troy and Schenectady. The representative will talk about the schools and the enrollment process.
Community Board 9 Meeting
Tuesday, January 25 7:00PM
Middle School 61 Auditorium
400 Empire Boulevard, between Nostrand and New York Aves.
Mike Hudson and Seth Mnookin, two journalist/authors in our neighborhood, have recently published must-read books about contemporary crises.
 Hudson, a staff writer at the Center for Public Integrity, wrote The Monster, an account of the complicity of Wall Street in morally bankrupt predatory lending and fraud led to the global financial meltdown. The deal that gives the book its name, a complicated fraud perpetrated on the economically unsophisticated, was the basis of a fascinating (albeit depressing) talk that Michael gave at Adult Education in November. You can read an excerpt of the book here. For what other people have said, check out these raves:
"Magnificently and heartbreakingly told. . . . What I appreciated most about this tremendous, well-documented book is that it shows vividly that really filthy, face-to-face fraud and hard-sell bullying are the original ingredients, the required counters, in the increasingly abstract financial instruments that brought the economy down around our ears."--The Boston Globe
"Whereas much of the reporting of the economic meltdown has been focused on Wall Street, Hudson has a talent for describing what was happening on the ground. He takes us on a tour of the financial carnival tent pitched by subprime factories like Ameriquest… Did some people borrow beyond their means? Certainly. But as Hudson demonstrates, the public was no match for an industry that lived off deceit fueled by Wall Street."—Time Magazine
You can read more praise for The Monster here and here.
 Seth Mnookin's history of the dangerous anti-vaccination movement, The Panic Virus, came out earlier this week. Mnookin, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, seeks to analyze not only the history of the anti-vaccine movement but the psychological and sociological reasons behind the persistence by so many people of a link between vaccines and autism despite the lack of any credible scientific proof. The Wall Street Journal calls the book "a brilliant piece of reportage and science writing."
This afternoon, Seth participated in a Q&A with the readers of Gawker, after that site posted an excerpt. You can read the excerpt and the Q&A here.
The praise has been rolling in:
Mnookin presents a thorough and lucid debunking of the claims of a link between vaccines and autism and the charlatanism and profiteering of those who publicize it. The result is a hard-hitting contribution to the debate and a troubling portrait of a public sphere that elevates intuition and emotion above reason and evidence. – Publisher’s Weekly
Mnookin has written a well-documented history of how this scare grew from a fringe phenomenon to a widely accepted part of the public discourse. That he manages to explain some difficult science and also maintain a page-turner narrative is a tribute to his storytelling skills. The result is devastating. To paraphrase Ross Perot, if the story Mnookin documents doesn’t scare you to death, nothing will. – The Herald-Sun, Durham, NC
I have read neither book yet, but hope to do so soon (I'm staring at my copy of The Monster as I type). Congratulations to both authors for taking on such difficult topics with such good results.
 Earlier this week we stopped in to Brooklyn Pita, an Israeli joint on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, to grab a quick bite. We had very good good falafel and shwarma, and then, after what we considered at the time a frivolous question, found out that they deliver to PLG.
With a $30 minimum order, they'll get on their horse and bring some Middle Eastern goodness to your door. They have the standard assortment that you'll find: falafel, kebabs, shwarma, a mix of simple sides (Israeli salad, beet salad, grilled eggplant, etc.) all done very well. With just the two of us, the $30 target is a bit high for dinner but it is definitely something to keep in mind for when we are having, say, a poker game at the house. (Note to self: have more poker games at the house.)
The number for delivery is 718-832-7482 and the menu is here. Happy eating.
The Lefferts Gardens Charter School (601 Parkside Ave.) is holding open houses for parents who'd like to learn more about the school and its environmental science program. This is the elementary school's first year, and from what we've heard, things seem to be going well. If you'd like to attend, you'll need to call the office at 718-284-2093 and register in advance.
January 20, 2011 (Thursday), 9 am - 10 am
January 25, 2011 (Tuesday), 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
February 10 (Thursday), 9:00 am – 10:00 am
February 15 (Tuesday), 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
March 10 (Thursday), 9:00 am – 10:00 am
March 15 (Tuesday), 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
 Delroy "Fatty Boo" Wilson was a fixture outside of his shop, the Unique Mini Mart at 65a Fenimore Street. Whenever the weather would allow it, he was in front of his market cooking jerk chicken on a small oil drum grill. Sadly, Mr. Wilson passed away over the New Years' weekend. His viewing and funeral will be held later this week (details below).
PLG resident Carmen posted her memories of Mr. Wilson - "Mr. D" as she called him - at her blog Talking Out Loud, and I'll excerpt from her eulogy here:
When we first moved to the neighborhood, Mr. D was one of the very first people we met. He owns a bodega on my block which at the time had two other mom & pop shops on either side. As gentrification took hold on the neighborhood, the two stores on either side of his were brought out and new, hip businesses emerged. Mr. D stayed put, and continued to cook his tongue-tingling BBQ-jerk spicy chicken just like he'd done for almost twenty years. From the very beginning, we hit it off with him. Kai grew very fond of Mr. D and even though she was only nine months old, she thoroughly enjoyed his cooking, particularly the spicy chicken. In fact, there have been times where Kai wouldn't eat any meat unless it came from Mr. D's grill. No matter what the weather, Mr. D's store was always open six days out of the week. His grill, located right outside his store, was in service from Memorial Day until it got too cold to cook outside. Each day that we left our block, we had to pass by Mr. D's store. We always said hello and he would always stop what he was doing to chat with Kai. Last summer he even offered to let her grill some chicken, but she declined, wanting instead to watch him work his cooking magic.
 A viewing of Mr. Wilson will be held on Friday, January 14th from 5pm - 8pm at the Home for Funerals (169 Empire Boulevard, east of Bedford (gmap)). The service will begin on on Saturday, January 15th at 8:30am at the Pilgrim Father Church (1338-44 Broadway in Bushwick (gmap)).
(If someone could send us a photo of Mr. Wilson, we'd love to add it to the post.)
 I'm not a big fan of writing about violent crimes since since the media's over-emphasis on covering violent crimes has the counterintuitive effect of making the streets less safe, not more... but I'm aware that we're in the minority in this view and therefore we bring you this news tidbit on the arrest of the alleged "Flatbush rapist."
Police: Flatbush rapist in custody (News 12)
The news here is not only that a suspect has been arrested but that he was living right here in a coop building on Ocean Avenue!
Video from News 12 and more info here.
(Thanks, Ellen!)
|
Search
- brooklynite282 (at) gmail.com
|
Recent Comments