Photo Wed: 4/22/09 : Down by the Docks

When I was about 16 or 17 I found D.U.M.B.o.

It had no name then. Vinegar Hill was essentially still lost to time, yet to be recovered.

Of course there were no state parks, no grass actually except for the sculpted hills surrounding the BQE, no condos of course, not even the art studios that last longer in memory than they did in reality had been brought into existence yet.

With the exception of a few fellow Puerto Ricans I saw in the windows of a squat apartment building on the corner of Front Street, there were essentially no residences. It was no where. Basically if someone asked me that first day where I had been I would have said,"the waterfront, down by the docks".

On my soon to be stolen bike, I bumped slowly over cobblestones, tracing the path of phantom trolley cars along actual tracks, trying so hard to get my tires to fit into their grooves.

At night, down by the docks in brooklyn, I'm reminded of that unrefined place.

PhotoWed: 4/15/09 - a Bridge too...

we're all travelers


Brooklyn Born is in transition on this photo/wednesday

Spicy Taco Talk: La Taqueria

So I'm walking down Washington Ave on the razor's edge that used to be the border between Crown and Prospect Heights. (I'll never stop pointing out that it used to all be Crown Heights) And I come across "La Taqueria" just south from the corner of St. Marks and Washington Av, next door to the Thai spot.

And for some reason I never noticed La Taqueria before, the interior empty of patrons and the handwritten sign in the window convinced me it was new. Reading about it on Yelp I see the place has been around since at least last summer. Brooklyn Born needs to get out more often...

So I'm gonna skip the installment on new businesses "blooming" which was the point of this post. This also makes me realize I need to start writing reviews of eateries...
I've felt random and infrequent reviews are useless to you, there are so many constant reviews out there after all. So I never bothered but I recently tried out a oft talked about fringe cafe (coy, no?) and I think I found the angle for my critiques. So food/experience reviews are coming.

Meanwhile, above is the pic I snapped and here's the Yelp debate about whether La Taqueria is the high maintenance partner who makes you pay for the special sauce...that really is special or whether it's left Coast sloppy seconds.

My words but that's basically the point. Yelp Reviews of La Taqueria

Sometimes it snows in april

we are blossoms all, but not forever.

rest in peace Mateo.

Itching for some scratch: From the NY Times: Fired? Just DJ!

Photo credit: Earl Wilson/The New York Times

AHH HA HA HA! Yup, I didn't even read it. The headline alone is enough for me.
Apparently the work force' loss is nightlife's gain (or at least weddings and Bah Mitzvahs) Lost your job? "Just bust a move"!! AHHH HA HA.... It's funny cause it's not true... The grey lady continues to amuse me.
Enjoy: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/nyregion/08dj.html

Photo Wed 4/8/09: Spring's back When's Koch coming?

This park bordered by Fulton St, Carlton Ave and start of Greene Ave in the Fort Greene swath of Brooklyn, has a rich history, which is detailed on the park's plaque.

But more recently (I believe in 1982) was rebuilt and rededicated in a ceremony that Mayor Koch was supposed to attend (as my cubscout master was told, who then told us cubs) it would have been a big deal seeing hizzoner in the Fort Greene of that time but whatever, he didn't show and the park still opened.

Photo Wed: Spring emerges, random images follow

Ah ye PhotoWednesday again and I have so many thoughts, not so cohesive, with one thin common thread and that's spring and repurposing. I'll let the photos talk from here.












Taken in and around Clinton Hill, Williamsburg & Prospect Heights during the last week in March 2009.