Skip to content

Page Header

Posts from June 2010

Bloggedy Bloggedy Brooklyn

Bloggedy Bloggedy Brooklyn published on 2 Comments on Bloggedy Bloggedy Brooklyn

img_0569.jpg
Brooklyn Boro President, Marty Markowitz trying to steal the show.

The Brooklyn Blogfest was super professional this year! Not that Louise Crawford aka Madam OTBKB didn’t do a fabulous job in the past, it was just totally streamlined last night. Of course, having Absolut Brooklyn as a sponsor and Spike Lee to launch the new vodka flavor might have had a little something to do with it.

img_0565.jpg

There was a performance by Aaron Costa Ganis, Charlotte Maier and Natalie Paul for starters. “Blogs Aloud” was adaption of posts from several Brooklyn blogs through the years. Video: Part 1 and part 2.

After a photo blogger video tribute by Adrain “Brit in Brooklyn” Kinloch, Lemon Anderson came out to rap his ode to Brooklyn. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it looks like that’s the Absolut Brooklyn ad.

Then it was time for Spike. He skirted the issue of gentrification and let us know that Fort Greene was fine just the way it was back in the day. He only hinted at the divisive issue and spoke mainly of Absolut, his relationship with Brooklyn and took questions about breaking into film.

Andrea Bernstein of WNYC was the moderator for the panel discussion. Panelists included Heather of So Good TV, Atiba from Visual Stenographers, Brokelyn‘s Faye, Jake from Gothamist and Petra of Bed Stuy Blog.The question was posed to the panel “Why does Brooklyn breed creativity?”Some nice anwers…. (I’m putting them in quotes but they’re not the exact words. My bad.)”It has attitude.” Heather”Newcomers feel we must live up to the reputation.” Petra

“People have an attitude problem 2 minutes after moving here. We’re always giving advice. We wanna tell people how to live.” Jake

“We’re full of ourselves.” “Everybody gets a chance to show their stuff.” Faye

“Brooklyn made NYC in 1898…..People will defend Brooklyn to the death.” Atiba

Towards the end of the evening, we broke up into smaller groups. I’ll post part II tomorrow and fill you in some awesome new blogs in the works!

How To Help With Oil Spill

How To Help With Oil Spill published on

maximounds.jpg

1. Volunteer for surveillance and clean up with National Wildlife Foundation.

2. Get a haircut! They take pet hair too.

3. Adopt a bird.

4. Text 20222 to donate $20 to NWF.

5. Donate to Sierra while giving Rush Limbaugh a what for.

BP is getting much of the blame and rightfully so! Let’s not forget that we’re all guilty of oil consumption. Just like poachers and fur trappers wouldn’t be killing innocent animals if there wasn’t a market for it, oil drilling wouldn’t be necessary if nobody was buying.

The obvious thing to do is cut down on driving. Walk, bike, take the train. But FYI, there are sooo many things made from oil….it’s pretty scary.

Are you ready for this? It’s gonna blow your mind….

1. Plastics. This means your water bottles, TV, phone, the computer you’re looking at right now, condoms….CONDOMS!

2. Pills. That’s right, honey. That Advil you take for cramps? Oil.

3. Faux Fur and Leather. I’m guilty. Don’t want to kill the animals, but I’m helping to kill the environment.

4. Ink

5. Dog Toys

6. Paint

7. Floor Wax

8. Soap, some of which has animal fat too. Dr. Bronners is safe, y’all!

9. Cosmetics. Yuck! Keep painting your faces, you harlots.

10. Breast Implants

So, what to do? It’s impossible to live without oil by-products. There are alternatives and solutions, so consumption can be cut down significantly. Shut lights and a/c when not in use, refill your water bottle, wear natural fabrics or vintage clothing, shop for eco-friendly cleaning products, um…use the pull out method.

Every little bit helps. And can you imagine if each of us did one little incy wincy thing to cut down? It would make a difference!

Open House on Sunday!

Open House on Sunday! published on

4566712436_aae80b444c.jpg

So, after just 4 weeks, we’ve decided to reduce the price on our Beacon house. We are motivated sellers! Although, not so motivated that we’ll go down much more because we haven’t left ourselves with wiggle room now.

A 4 BR friggin drop dead gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian for $379,900. We already hate the people who are going to buy it because they’re ripping us off. But it was our decision to make. We’ve moved on, so holding onto the house for several months just to make a few more bucks isn’t going to do us any good.

This Sunday will be the first (hopefully the only) OPEN HOUSE! So, if you’re thinking of moving to Beacon but didn’t want to bother realtors because you’re not ready yet, here’s your excuse to check it out.

I’ll even plan your day for you….

Take Metro North.

Go to DIA.

Walk up to Main Street. Lunch @ Homespun. Continue to walk through the crappy mid section of town….there’s more at the other end. Make sure you get to the waterfall on the east side of Main.

Ok, so if you’re too tired, take the loop bus back down Main because the house is back on the west side.

Hit the open house. Put in a really, really high offer because of the bidding war that will undoubtedly be going on.

Walk back to train. Feel superior to all the people in their cars because they don’t live within walking distance to public transit.

The Deets:

When: Sunday June 6th, 1-4pm

Where: 1189 North Avenue (that’s Rt. 9-D south side) Beacon, NY 12508

How: Metro North to Beacon station. Front of train (That means walk to the back at Grand Central). Walk up the hill to W. Main, take left, then left on 9-D. House is third in from corner of Tompkins. There is a 33 on the door, but no 1189. JonCar Realty sign out front and if the agent is any good, there should be balloons or something.

Driving? 9-D South from Rt 84. Park on Tompkins (beyond the house) as it’s a tight driveway for too many cars.

* Don’t forget to bring your mortgage pre-approval and check book! 🙂

101 Uses for Vodka

101 Uses for Vodka published on

vodka1.jpg

Who knew vodka can be used for lots of stuff other than getting sloshed? Well, I didn’t. Vodka is the new vinegar! You heard it here first.

Actually, I heard it from Retro Renovation. Someone wanted to get the smell of cat urine out of a vintage sofa and everyone was recommending vodka.

So, I did a search and sure enough, vodka does it all!

1. Mix with water and spray on stinky clothes, rugs or upholstery.

2. Dab it on poison ivy undiluted.

3. Insect repellent

4. Mix with shampoo for oh-so-shiny hair.

5. Spray on mold as you would bleach.

6. Polish chrome, porcelain, jewelry and cutlery.

Ok, that was just 6, but I bet there are 95 vodka drinks I could come up with if I had the time.

See also: Daily Green’s 12 Uses for Vodka

James Cameron To Fix Oil Spill

James Cameron To Fix Oil Spill published on

07-james-cameron-best-picture-1998-speech-021610-lg-108748.jpg

Wow, James Cameron really IS King of the World. I suppose by now you’ve heard that he was tapped by the feds to help clean up that oily mess in the Gulf.

As stupid as it sounds, it’s probably better than what BP is doing at the moment. I mean, yeah, we laugh at the concept of some Hollywood dude plugging the hole, but some Hollywood dude was POTUS for 16 years and some bulked up Hollywood dude with a funny accent is the governor of a rather large state.

So, don’t laugh just yet. One of the very first things I learned in photography school was that “photographers are problem solvers”. They have to take any situation and figure out how to deal with it, whether it’s lighting, crying babies or stop motion. I would imagine a film director has to solve problems a million times more difficult than a still photographer. Plus, this guy knows his under water stuff. So, I’m rooting for him.

But if that doesn’t work out, there’s always the Facebook petition to let the MythBusters fix the oil disaster. Now, THAT would be awe-some!

Either way, here’s the FB link to boycott BP, which of course you could do without joining the group.

And this kinda pissed me off. Times UK reports that BP faces criminal charges and the commenters are freaking out about it. Huh? You know, because America is the big evil.

New Paltz Crafts Show Find

New Paltz Crafts Show Find published on

4659733574_815fed74e9.jpg

So, remember how I previously mentioned that we are forced to attend the New Paltz Crafts every year and every year it’s the same tired vendors? Tired as in they haven’t updated their work since 1986. Well, we found one new vendor! Woo-hoo!

After running through the show in record time, we came across Bill Finks and his upcycled doll art. Bill and his wife Marcia have a company called Primitive Twig. The website hasn’t been updated in a few years and there is no doll art on display, but it’s cool stuff anyway and has current contact info.

As a craftsperson at a decidedly unhip crafts show, I was curious to find out how Bill was doing. He said he had done well on Saturday! It was still early when I spoke to him on Sunday.

*Editor’s note: Sorry if I’m coming off as snobbish with my “unhip” nonsense. It’s the same country crafts, color animal photographs, dichroic glass jewelry, stoneware pottery and tie dyes I’ve been seeing since the 80’s. They’re a little dated. But then again, the show brings people in who go crazy for stuff like that, so who am I to complain?

Anyway, back the the Reclaimed Home approved vendor….

Bill was telling us that he has tons of the same antique porcelain doll head. They come from Germany and there are so many of them around because the doll maker would throw them out if there was a tiny flaw. They are still being dug up today.

He sometimes gets people dumping their old junk on him (which he gladly accepts) so he can bring new life to it.

Prices were fair. I believe they ranged from the mid fifties to $700 range.

Primary Sidebar