Missed it Mondays 060313 - Bushwich Open Studios 2013

Bushwich Open Studios the massive open invite local artists put out to the public, ringed by a schedule of musical events and parties was this past weekend and that's the subject of today's Missed it Monday feature. 

(Above "Bushwhich" 2013 Digital media: flier art, recontextualized googlemap, bedazzled with confusion. 36"x96". $9,000. or you could just steal it.)

Because I missed it. Because Bushwich is literally far out, and well, I couldn't find it.
yeh... I know.

I decided to trek from Crown Heights over and it never fails to shock me how much longer it takes to get to Bushwich central, than it takes to get to almost anything in Brooklyn not sitting on the shoreline. I've lived in or traversed about 75% of this borough in my years and i still can't find my way through Bushwich's layers. I rode in circles so lost even google's servers could clear my confusion.

I was specifically trying to get to a few artists studios and before I even left the apartment I was caught in a self-induced whirlwind of confusion worried that I got the date of the mermaid parade wrong and it was somehow going on yesterday, or that perhaps dance african hadn't ended and i was missing something and nagging appetite led cravings for Brooklyn Crab or Smorgashburg, while at the same time my mind was filled with certain dread that it was 1st saturday which i love except that, well i go to bars near by and can't find my favorite seat, after the sea of humanity flows down from the Brooklyn Museum's cultured hilltop.  

In short I was suffering for the luxury of living in one of the most awesomely dynamic places on earth Brooklyn on the edge of summer. (yeh 1st art world problems, woe is me)

Of course this is just the beginning. Celebrate Brooklyn hasnt even started, June is just opening, there's even a Zombi Crawl on the calendar (why...) so as it is most every summer there will be something great, worthwhile and possibly magical happening every weekend in Brooklyn from now until its time to take my sweaters back out of cider infused mothballs (what you don't do cider, c'mon son, biological loss prevention at it's finest) so yeh that.

So now I pretend I went to the Bushwich Open Studios, instead of wandering the streets like a person off their meds in a foreign country and one Artist person i want to mention is Coby Kennedy. 

here's some of Coby's recent work:

(above from cobykennedy.com : ©Coby Kennedy)

Why because beside intending to see his creation space, Coby's a dope artistic-muthernucker and one of the peoples who studio was open in bushwich this past weekend and I've seen much of his recent work is a melange.. (nah I'm not finishing that sentence)

Heres what Coby's recent work says to me, "the world ended, you missed it, we're still here and now with nothing to lose, lock and load." and they say that with practical objects crafted as much from raw materials and street architecture as imagination and they're likely to make you wonder if you'll have enough ammo in the after life.

So what have we learned, (you, probably that I can write an egregious run-on sentence like no one's business) and me that maybe it's time I get over the time specific hype of events and realize the true mission of open studios events, to introduce people to cool artists who because of social-economic pressures work (and often live) way the fuck out on the fringe (where the rainbow ends) and just visit some artists studios regardless of what the date is. Annnd I came across more wild condos, crevasse dwelling subcultures and thick tree lined streets than I give Bushwich credit for. A photographic  revisit is in the works.

Missed it Monday: Easter Sunday Edition

Easter Sunday in Brooklyn

I got around yesterday but not over to "Ch'uch" which I guess was just as well that I didn't because none of my clothing even comes close to the finery that families were styling all over the borough. I caught up with one of those families after making a painful dash in search of a B45 bus stop (resulting from another Atlantic Yards failure, which I will be raising the ruckus about soon) anyway once I was on the bus, and basic levels of oxygen returned to my mind I met the Vann family, fresh from Church full of the Eucharist Spirit and they were kind enough to pose for this picture.



Apparently sunday was also an unofficial day of 花見 meaning Hanami" which means "cherry blossom watching". Even though the official Hanami is a month away and the dense grove of cherry trees which produce near firework like bouquets were not in bloom there was still a lot of color to see.

(My apologies for this post being up without photos, I tried to blog it from a moving subway train on Manhattan Bridge, and it worked, but not so much.)

Photo Wed: 10/14/09 : the late belated Roots pics Edition!

whooo... "plans; and the mice and men who make them" on the next maury... that's how this blog has been lately. better you don't know my plans, then you can less know and suffer the pain of my crushing fails.

anyway last weekmonth was a most excellent music exhibition at WillyB's own Brooklyn Bowl, which I need to write about because I thoroughly dug the place. The Legendary Roots Crew (not "band" unless you preside over a recording label or you're a smartass, perhaps if both) headlined and held sway, and hands down rocked the joint in at least three genre's of flow.


Talib Kweli came on (at one point baring a birthday cake in hand) Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew, Ursala Rucker, Moisturizer and Rev Vince, and host of other ascendant talents followed suit and collabo'd the night away.


All for $10 beans. Yup. 10. friends on mine were fed to miss it. so give a shout if you wants to know bout next time, meanwhile if you missed it, here go some blurry iPhone pics...(after a long delay..sigh)








Ursala Rucker

Missed it? Mondays: Wknd of 8/22-8/23 Love, Park and Soul Summit edition Edition

This past weekend started with the threat of messy storms and ended (for me at least) with a purifying rain dance.

The weekend was just getting going Friday when I can across this young brother,

I don't know the specific why he was at this bus stop near Classon Av, but he was playing a soulful brand of bluesy sound all of a sudden.

Like to hear it, here it go!
(warning there will be a loud burp, not me, but my apologies)


After last Friday's controversial debate which resulted in the Michael Jackson/Spike Lee Block Party being moved from Fort Greene to Prospect Park I decided Saturday to refresh my memory of the area and see if it was as far from a grocery store, deli, bodega, restaurant and or cafe as I remember. It is.


As you can see from the pix, it's a lovely plot of land, but expect a walk to get to the back of the bus park, Nethermead.

My travels through the park brought me close enough to the heart of Flatbush, to be lured by nostalgia. I lived a lot of years in Flatbush and yet somehow it doesn't make it's way into my blog as much as it's in my heart.


I'm reminded every time i pass this way how much of a shopping/commercial center this part of the borough is, on pare with Fulton Street(Downtown and Bed-Stuy), Pitkin Av, in the way retail centers used to be arranged but not totally unified, the way a strip mall would be. It's also impressive to see the amount of people and business that are still out here, from Sears, to Staples, Rainbow shops these are the businesses local residents rely on for their shopping needs. One aside, it never made sense to drive through this part of Flatbush, and as you can see, it still doesn't.


And then I decided to look for food, and I really was looking for some Jerk Chicken, or Veggie Roti, but my fave Jerk spot has gone (was on Flatbush between Clarkson and Lenox Rd) morphed into a vegetarian restaurant called "Zen" (but no Palet). So I trekked on seeking Caribbean culinary flare and wound up here:


Why? Because I haven't had a slice here in at least a decade and if memory serves this is the first place I was introduced to pizza. I used to live (everywhere in Brooklyn) and among many addresses I lived just off Cortelyou Road with my Mom, as a child. We'd take the bus from Crown Heights, and wait forever for the B23 (which used to start it's run right in front of the pizzeria) to come take us down to East 3rd and Cortelyou. I remember one particularly long wait led my mom to go in and the rest was history, or at least the subject of a longer post, which I'll write later.

So I stopped. And thought to myself,"how many years have these guys been here?" And in answer to my query there was the sign adorning the top of the joint, signaling it's 40 year anniversary. So I went in. The place is changed, but then when I lived here there were still solid vestiges of the 40s and 50s visible in this part of Flatbush. For example a theater on the slender side of Cortelyou at Flatbush Avenue had been there since vauville, it was closed when I was a kid but still very prominent in it's antiquey details. The Albemarle was still there and it's where I saw the Empire Strikes Back (I came out of that screening so despondent at Luke's predicament that my mom consoled me with the very first McDonald's "Happy Meal". It worked. When the Albermarle closed in the 80's it became this church:

Not to be confused with the long dormant Loews Kings Theater (below), one of the few things I truly agree with the Boro Prez on, (that the theater should be preserved and reused as such.



These are a few examples of why it's so amazing that Antonios' Pizza is still going. Up until the 70's this area was a mix of Italian, Irish and African-Americans with trace amounts of Middle Easter and Hispanic pops, now if I don't hear a Caribbean accent I feel almost certain I'm listening to a new-comer.

Anyway as I'll detail later, I had a little convo with the workers there, before gobbling down my slice with sausages (not how I used to but times change) and taking off again.

Eventually I was surrounded by residences and block parties:

and I was so far from the city side of Brooklyn that it only made sense to head for the sea. I was especially curious if I'd see any effect from the then Hurricane Bill on the shore.

I headed aimlessly on to Midwood, another place I've spent a chunk of life-time and all I got was the remembrance that Midwood streets (in addition to being well served by the city, thanks to an influential constituency) are really wide. Insanely wide. It most have been part of the planning when these tracts of land were made, to create boulevard style lanes, but damn, you could build new blocks in the center of these streets.

Ocean Parkway isn't much different, but at least it calls it self a parkway:


On the way, I had to stop in Brighton Beach.

After all if I shows love to my Caribbean Gangsters (not really) how can I neglect my Russian Mobsters (really not really). I strolled down the ave and this is what I saw:



Russian Signage! The next time the "English as official Language" choir starts up, demanding all Spanish language signs come down, I'd like to see them pitch their shtick out here in "Little Odessa". If Boris doesn't have to write signs in English, why should Juan have to?
Gawking ate signs gave way to staring at rows of pastries

which I ate

and ate


Btw this placed just opened:

and they were having beer specials

(shout out to my comrades!)

Finally I reached the ocean (not really) and at Coney Island there was...Dancing!

I'd totally forgotten about the long running Coney Island Dancers' Boardwalk Dance Party.


It's free, fun and every Saturday during the summer. The Coney Island Dancers (who dance in many places actually) have a myspace page with event info, you can also join the Organic (dance) Movement, another group dedicated to social dancing, here.

Saturday ended with nightfall at Coney, no Hurricane in sight, but I did spot a Cyclone.

Followed by a frigid Q train home.

Sunday
Three words. Soul Summit, baptismal.

I got confirmation earlier that yesterday would be the last Soul Summit of the year and peoples and nature proved yet again that Fort Greene Park can handle a party.

As hearts, hours and rhythm pulsed on, all things were joined by a trickle of rain that became a downpour. Each boost of rain intensity was answered by joyous shouts and enraptured words from the crowd. Then the music stopped, and the party..?
See for yourself.


And that was my weekend. Only a few summer weekends left, don't miss them.

Missed it Mondays: Wknd of 8/16-8/17 Bushwick Edition

What an amazing weekend! Hope yours was amazing too, here's what I caught and what I missed:

Spread love is the Brooklyn Bushwick Way?!?

So I don't get out to Bushwick a lot. Fact is the first time I hit up the hood there it was 1989, and it's not fave of mine, but maybe I need to change that opinion, cause with all things and peoples being squeezed out everywheres else, Bushwick is providing a welcome to a wide range of happ'nings...

So it was Saturday night and first I went down. The "Rock the Block" massive music festival jumped off in D.U.M.B.o. I attended, and it was a lot of venues and a lot of parties/performances, good stuff, but rather than nesting under the Bridges (where in between partying I managed to stumble into a wedding uninvited at Power House Books, and then into a music video shoot (also unvited, but I was welcomed in both cases) instead I got live out in Bushwick. All day, from various sources, in various counties in and out of NYC I was hearing about "The Rooftop Party". Considering how many rooftop parties are going down on the average day in just about every part of summer NYC, that's some serious hype.

Finally I strolled down a sketchy part of Flushing Av, and frankly, though I'm a lover of all things Brooklyn, what part of Flushing Av isn't sketchy. The particular stretch I walked was industrial, post apocalyptic, pre-bubble condo all at once.(redundant?)
And then I saw a fringe of silhouetted shapes pulsating along a distant rooftop like a giant flowerbox of backlit dandelions. A few minutes, ten dollars and 80,000 steps later I was here:

Great views:








(barely visible, cops in the background shutting it down...)

Non-stop parting, until it was stopped, thanks NYPD! Your true blue instincts were right, I was having too much fun!

Before I strolled to the rooftop party and after I left Rock the Block" I decided to peer into the speakeasy-esque spot that straddles the board of BedStuy and Bushwick, a place that seems to have no name, and floats much the same over several underground NY eras.

I won't say where, I won't say how (perhaps you already know) but if you're industrious and can spot the lone doorman (who also needs to spot you to show you the way in) than you too can indulge your late 80's lower east side fantasy party/performance venue jones.

Once in I was surrounded by kids (20ish from the looks) for whom Hipster is an aspiration instead of a diss...



There were barely functioning facilities and something that passed for a stage.

A Dj played to through a slightly overblown sound system that had the useful effect of forcing conversations to be held cheek to cheek.
Here's a last look, maybe you'll spot your interns, an upcoming designer or just your lecherous older brother....




Things I missed this weekend: Chico Mann, DJ Ian Friday and Brand Nubian @ Littlefield (really sorry I missed that!) the Brooklyn Flea, another round at der Schwarze Kölner biergarten, and the sunday night movie at Habana Outpost.

BTW I've heard a rumor that the Soul Summit will be back for a day at Fort Greene Park next week. If anyone can confirm I'd appreciate it!

I missed it monday, here's last weekend

A good weekend takes days to respond to. so sayeth me. Last weekend was a great weekend so much so that I totally missed my "Missed it Mondays" edition.

Without much ado here's the highlights:

Friday was a movie with the fellahs, (avoid GI Joe)

followed by a rubberneck moment at this accident and the accident heavy intersection of Vanderbilt and Atlantic (is it right-of-way on turns causing the uptick?)


it seems the sedan was from Evelyn car service, located on Vanderbilt a few blocks south. (overheard but not confirmed)

finally a quick wander through Franklin Park.

Saturday I didn't get to see Big Daddy Kane at Prospect Park, but I did see some big air and daddy's on boards at the Skate Park Jam held by Park Delicatessen on Saturday(which was so popular the cops decided to visit not once but twice).

The event was held across from Park Delicatessen (the skate and floral shop's inherited name)


Obama Deli had work done was stepping down, in name at least the Times FG/CH Blog has the deets:


There was no lederhosen but Der Schwarze Koelner BierGarten finally opened to a packed house. Much bier was consumed, happily.

Under the Brooklyn Bridge (and yet still D.U.M.B.o) the Brooklyn Flea Sunday edition was under way,

which gave me a chance to (again finally) sample the Lobster from the Red Hook Lobster Pound.

Yummy as all hell (if hell were delicious)

This was the only pic I took of the food that didn't make it look like starving termites with dynamite had attacked it.

(Photo src: www.brooklynmuseum.org)

I finally got to the see the pomposity that is Yinka Shonibare MBE at the Brooklyn Museum and I really enjoying his brand of Art, ego unleashed and all. My fave part was in the accompanying video in which he described something as beautiful as he is. Plus Mannequins in a threesome, how can you not like that?