Views of a born and bred Brooklynite. (umbrooklynborn@gmail.com) This blog satisfies my need to hear and air feelings of B'klyn from the people whose life experience were born here. Hopefully it'll balance to some of the revisionist historical musings I've seen as if Bklyn barely existed before the 90's. Brooklyn as Tabula Rasa. If we can all live as best possible while appreciating the past and neighbors we've inherited that would be great too.
Sewage overflow. Sound bad? it generally is, its the term for and what happens when a huge amount of water from say sudden and epic rainfall (as is seen in this AWESOME photo
Photo by Dhani Jones / https://twitter.com/DhaniJones/status/225644233309163522
now famously snapped by former NFLer & Travel Channel star Dhani Jones as his flight was in a holding pattern over Long Island waiting to land at LaGuardia) is dumped into the sewers and drainage of NYC.
Yesterday's epic downpours dropped nearly an inch of rain within an hour's time.
When this happens the actual floodgates are opened and the sewage, a combination of toilet waste, street run off and other less than pleasantry and the sudden rain are dumped, into our rivers. That's bad enough, but worse of course is that we live in an interconnected world and so what goes into the river yesterday will be around the beaches this weekend, and in smaller amounts remain for days to come.
Sewage overflow does have to go somewhere or it will back up into your home, but this is the only solution we as a city have available for when there's heavy rains like yesterday. We let it pour into the rivers and eventually beaches and either don't know or don't think about the results.
That is until someone records one sewage release point (above) this one into the Hudson River, great music select from 4Sespeciallywho posted the video on youtube.
yeh.... the insta-hailstorm was a few days ago and lasted for all of 15 minutes but life's been busy for this Brooklyn born boy so finally here's some video showing what happens when the subway is your only refuge from the angry balls of ice hailed down Brooklyn last week.
Check for the guy with the umbrella, to
see the velocity of the hailstones:
unfortunately I'm posting this from my iphone so I'm not able to make it viewable but the link should lead you there.
Finally had time to get the video up, enjoy:
As mentioned in last week's post, this past Saturday was Habana Outpost's Annual Block Party, and on top of an afternoon of good food, beautiful sun soaked people churning around the intersection at South Portland and Fulton St. there was also a near endless amount of music. The performances were headlined by Bajah and The Dry Eye Crew (who will be on stage with The Roots July 11th at Celebrate Brooklyn) and as if B&DEC's blend of Sierra Leone inspired Hip Hop was not enough, along came a surprise special guest in the form of the Original Human Beat Box, Doug E. Fresh. Doug dropped some classics, played a little music history, led a light hearted call & response, busted some fly olSkool moves and of course, spread love the Brooklyn way. Video below...
Last year as I wandered along the NYC Marathon route I met an amazing bunch of people and one story, demonstrating the positive potential of random New York City encounters particular stood out. Here's that story in video and written form. Hope you have a good view of the Marathon.
Music:"Reach Out I'll Be There" by The Four Tops
Today's running of the New York City marathon will offer many intense and passive means of bystander participation. Some ways are almost as involved as running the race itself. But you don't have to be one of the hundreds of water bearing volunteers passing out hundreds of ounces of H2O to the masses. You don't have to play an instrument as is done at various points along the route, although it can greatly enhances the mood if you're belting out great sounds adding to the runner's sonic cacophony. You don't even need to bring a flag, although it's cool when people put on a giddy display of national backing.
However if you want low cost high impact results, I'd say pound for pound clasping hands (or giving five as we'd call it in the old neighborhood) with a marathon runner is one of the most fulfilling actions of the entire passive marathon watching experience. You, leaving your hand out to be slapped by a marathon runner you may never even see is the best is the greatest interaction for the generally uninitiated because it requires so little of the bystander. You only need extend your arm, hand and palm open, fingers spread like a wide welcoming smile. the runner stretches their hand out and in that brief contact you're able to offer good luck, hope, praise and allegiance to dozens maybe even hundreds. Which of course stimulates you as well, to embellish if nothing else. After all if you give "five" to a deflating runner who surges on after and wins, how can you not claim having had a hand in the victory?
But it's gotta be more empowering for the runner. Perhaps after six or nine or fifteen, certainly after twenty or so miles the mind must begin to peer dimly through a tunnel vision that can enhance focus but is just as able to become so transfixing as to block awareness and motivation. I imagine the runner in those fixated stretches, then a hand reaching out before them inviting, waiting passively. Then crack! It happens.
I've never run the marathon so I can't know from the runner's perspective, but it's gotta be more empowering for the runner. I've seen something happen when runner and bystander make that manual contact. Yours and their hands crash like human cymbals. A sudden jolt of focus, an explosion of unexpected encouragement. You become a pacemaker encouraging their required rhythm. And then it's over but the runner is sharper, more aware, redirected.
Amazing that it happens at all given the physics of the event. Marathon runners travel at an average of twelve miles per hour. If a moving car hit a parked car at that speed expensive damage would result. Despite the meaty mitt encircling much of our palm, it seems likely to think having somebody run their hand into yours at twelve miles an hour is gonna sting at least. So overcoming risk aversion is the first hurtle. Then there's the issue of aim. Again think twelve miles an hour. And consider it's not the comparably smooth ride of a car but the up and down, back and forth, bumpity jumpity of running. You'd be a head bobbing in a sea of bobble heads. Packed as well, so add to that a visibility limited to the back of the person a few inches in front of you. Objects are flashing into view, then gone. Salmon have an easier time locating things.
From my observations, of the hand-shake/clasps,pounds,fives I saw it was fifty-fifty between last minute sudden clasps and runners deliberate honing in on the supportive hand like a targeted missile.
During last year's marathon I was in Brooklyn, where Fort Greene tumbles down into Clinton Hill which promptly runs into Bedford-Stuyvesant. I took note of the many people giving that supportive hand to the runners. Eventually I reached the corner of Bedford and Lafayette avenues, across from KFC in what is usually accepted to still be Bed-Stuy. I noticed a spectator whose entire method of handshake, hand clasp, high five giving, separated him from the rest and that was Danny. Clearly he chose his spot, that corner where literally and sometimes figuratively the race turns. His hand remained aloft, just enough into the race as to matter, all the time I was there and I imagined long before and after. He was the Grizzly of the stream for that corner, except that instead of destroying hope with a swat he seemed to pound life and good will back into the runners he caught.
I was curious and spoke with Danny he explained that he held his hand out as a half target half energy boosting social connector because he made the runner's happy and that at the very least it made him happy. Then Shereen, the lovely woman standing beside Danny added it was also a showing of support. Shereen would know, thirteen years ago she and Danny met on that very corner.
On that day years ago Danny and Shereen exchanged numbers, courted, eventually married and have returned to that same spot every year since to continue their marathon watching tradition and share the love.
After meeting them I began to see, probably for the first time in 30 years of viewership how the New York City marathon strengthens and demonstrates that very New York City phenomon of possible, sudden, sometimes emotional bonds being created instantly between the diverse millions of New York's passing strangers. Often with lasting effect. While at the same time for those more deeply invested in New York City day in and day out, the marathon offers a warm touchstone for relationships that run and never lag.
Ugh. It's Friday and I wanted to lead off on a less ugh note, yet there it is. My bad, I shouldn't have read the news before posting. Btw today's ugh and yesterday's rant it's time to purge I think. A few years back I started surrounding myself as much as possible with images of spring more and more as winter approached and during the winter itself. So for your pleasure and mine here's an example:
I like the contrast between this video from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the Fall Photo Series I've been putting up. Maybe that should be my Friday feature, chase the grey away Fridays. I've been meaning to express a little more about the Fall Photos, more on that later.
And of course the weekend is starting and I'll be posting happ'nings later today.
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