Tickets are $15/$10 (members) and available here. Since your ticket includes a beer you must be 21 before camp starts.

Camp Wanna-Catcha-Train will be help on Wednesday, July 26, starting at 6 pm.

The Transit Museum is located at Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn.

The Gallery Annex is located in the shuttle passage, adjacent to the Station Master’s Office. The Gallery Annex is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and is closed for major holidays. and special events. Admission is free.

by Alexandra Bowie

Memoirs can be tricky to write: assuming one’s history has been public or interesting, there’s the problem of finding a voice, not too shallow, not too knowing. Then there’s the equally imposing problem of violating the privacy of everyone else in your life without alienating them. Eric Fischl and his co-writer Michael Stone have solved both problems in the clear-eyed and well-written memoir “Bad Boy.”

If you don’t know his work, Fischl is an American figurative and representational painter (and sculptor and printmaker). One of his works, A Visit To/A Visit From/The Island, a 1983 diptych, is included in the Whitney Museum’s exhibit “Fast Forward: Painting from the 1980s” on view through May 14. It’s worth heading to the museum to see this captivating painting whose subject appears to be the contrast between the grinding poverty of a Caribbean idyll and the oblivious enjoyment of the visiting tourists. Its resonance is deepened for the contemporary viewer because the painting evokes a refugee crisis Fischl could not have anticipated when it was painted. Many of Fischl’s paintings are similarly disturbing (see here, here, and here, all discussed in the book.) In Fischl’s apt description, his early paintings “dealt with the fallout from middle-class taboos, the messy, ambivalent emotions couples felt, the inherent racism, the sexual tensions, and the unhappiness roiling below the surface of our prim suburban lives.”

Tout comprendre c’est tout pardonner, the proverb says, and Fischl’s descriptions of his past and its reflection in his paintings provides a lens that helps the reader past the squeamish feelings and prompts another look. At first glance, “Sleepwalker” captures an adolescent boy standing naked in a child’s pool. A closer look reveals the boy’s hands on his penis. The contrast between the toy and the masturbation is shocking, and discomfiting for all kinds of reasons – the violation of privacy, the difficulty we have accepting adolescent sexuality among them. Fischl explains he was

[T]rying to explore the emotions behind that taboo. Though I knew I was being provocative and sensationalistic, I was sincerely trying to express what it felt like to be the boy at a time of momentous change. . . . I was trying to portray that transitional state in which a boy becomes a sexual being. . .

Fischl adds that he only figured out the boy was masturbating when he changed the setting to night, allowing him to make “the associations between darkness and privacy” that attend the boy’s coming of age. That’s also when Fischl added the chairs, bringing the viewer into the painting. “They pull the viewer into the pictures’ space, force him to bear witness, to anoint or condemn or identify with the boy’s action.” Without the explanation, the painting is something to pass by without engaging; with the explanation, that’s no longer possible.

There’s an argument to be made that the art should speak for itself, without the explanation, and on first glance at those early paintings it appears that Fischl is not a strong draftsman, though his use of color, mass, shadow and composition compensates. Unlike many artists, Fischl was not a childhood painter; he took up art only when he went to college. But his paintings are much more about what’s happening on the inside. He writes,

Painting is a process that guides me back through complex experiences that at the time I didn’t have words to describe or understand. It retrieves feelings and memories and brings them forward with clarity and resolution.

His experiences included sex, drugs, rock and roll, an alcoholic mother and distant father, and his mother’s suicide by car accident. But Fischl’s paintings are so close to our daily lives that the explanation, oddly perhaps, provides the distance necessary to engage with them more deeply.

After leaving school Fischl taught, and he sounds as if he must have been a demanding and creative teacher. He’s also thoughtful about the history of painting, and the place of his work and that of his contemporaries in it. In the late 80s Fischl gained fame and fortune – a blessing, but a decidedly mixed one, because, Fischl writes, it changed “my relationship to my work. Drawings and preparatory paintings began to look like money instead of studies . . The temptation to print money had entered my practice along with the cynicism to rationalize it.”

It’s not as if Fischl hasn’t enjoyed his celebrity – he writes of his friendships with John McEnroe (they traded tennis and painting lessons), Mike Nichols (who became a subject) and Steve Martin (ditto). Fishl’s painting has deepened and expanded since the 1980s, becoming more complex while still probing the difficult psychology behind the screens we show to the world. So it’s still not easy to look at. But it’s worth the look: as Fischl writes:

Art is cultural glue. It binds us to each other by revealing what is is we share, what we have in common on the most intimate levels of our being. But in order for art to work, an audience has to be able so see themselves in the artist’s creation . . . Artists create art because they are seeking resonance for their thoughts and feelings. They are seeking connection.

Do you agree?

Have a book you want me to know about? Email me at asbowie@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @abowie917.

You can watch a video from the 2012 show here.

The Annex is open 8 AM – 8 PM Monday-Friday, and 10 AM – 6 PM Saturday and Sunday; closed major holidays and for special events.

Tickets, ($10/free for museum members) are available here.

The Transit Museum is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights.

The screening will take place Tuesday, March 15 at 6:30 pm. Tickets ($10, free for museum members) available here.

The Transit Museum is located at Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights. For information on wheelchair access, American Sign Language interpreters, Assisted Listening Devices, or other accessibility matters, please contact Meredith Gregory at 718-694-1823 or meredith.gregory@nyct.com.

Admission is $10 for the general public/free for Transit Museum Members. Tickets available here.

The Transit Museum is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights. Doors open at 5:30 PM.

On Wednesday, October 7 John Lahr, drama critic for “The New Yorker” and author of “Joy Ride: Show People and Their Shows” will talk about his new book with one of its subjects, Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House, In the Next Room). A Q&A with the audience and book signing will follow the talk. Books, food and drink will be available for purchase in the lobby.

The talk starts at 7:00 pm at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, NY. Tickets are $10, general admission. More information and tickets are available here.

The Transit Museum is located at Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights.

The screening starts at 6:30 pm; doors open at 6 pm. Tickets available here.

The Transit Museum is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn.

Watch the Circle, Square, Moose trailer

Greenlight Bookstore is located at 686 Fulton Street at South Portland Street.

Each of them is exploring the meaning of loyalty, friendship, and the possibility of forgiveness. Sylvia’s is perhaps the easiest case. She would like to be independent, but the connections of childhood draw her back. Sylvia is determined to lose her virginity before she goes to college, and the arrival of a handsome young Mallorcan to tutor her in Spanish and to help her explore the island appears to give her the opportunity. But to whom does he owe loyalty, Sylvia or her parents who have employed him?

Charles and Lawrence are working out a different set of issues. They have been partners for some time, exclusive partners for much of it, but have only recently married. Yet Charles and Franny have been best friends since college 30 years before. To Lawrence, Charles behaves differently when he is in Franny’s company, and Lawrence would have preferred a different vacation. Charles is one of the few people in Franny’s circle (and in the house) to know the true reason that Jim has left his job, and he feels he must comfort and support Franny. Lawrence’s efforts to balance Charles’ loyalty to his friend with his commitment to their relationship are among the most skillful passages of this novel.

Franny and Jim are deeply connected through their children, and they worry about Bobby’s drift. The worry converts to anxiety and concern as Carmen pushes Bobby to do what they’ve agreed: ask his parents for help paying back his credit card debt. Sylvia and Bobby, though 10 years apart, worry the bounds of sibling fidelity: at the end of a night of clubbing together Sylvia witnesses some casual sex between Bobby and another tourist. Her loyalty to Bobby means that she won’t tell Carmen, but Bobby’s behavior pushes Carmen into confronting her feelings about the relationship all the same. Franny and Jim themselves struggle to work out their own relationship against this sea of desires, anger, and shared lives.

Straub structures this entertaining novel chronologically, and tells her story in the present tense. These choices allow her to tack between points of view quickly and logically, and the novel’s conclusion develops in a way that satisfies everyone, including the reader. It’s a nice reminder of how vacations can heal in unexpected ways. Let us know how your vacations restore you in the comments.

Emma Straub will be appearing at a panel discussion at the Brooklyn Book Festival Sunday, September 21, at noon. More information here.

Have a book you want me to know about? Email me at asbowie@gmail.com. I also blog about metrics at asbowie.blogspot.com.

Join us this Sunday (9/21) as the Montague BID stages its annual Summer Space Festival. The Brooklyn Bugle gang will be there starting at noon (in front of Custom House) and the BHA Dog Show starts at 3pm.

Here’s the official dispatch:

Picnic on a pop-up park on Montague Street? You can, and much more, this Sunday September 21st, during the free, outdoor Montague Street Summer Space festival.

This Sunday, from 12-5pm, Montague Street between Clinton and Hicks Streets is closed to traffic and re imagined as a pedestrian oasis, welcoming visitors to play, learn, and enjoy the day’s activities and events.

Visit and enjoy the Brooklyn Heights Dog Show, performances by Brooklyn Ballet Company, Etsy craft-making, a photo booth, pop-up park, chess demonstrations and tables, yoga class by Yoga People, pet adoption, and interactive learning for kids with the Brooklyn Historical Society. Local businesses are offering special promotions.

Visit montaguebid.com/summerspace for more information.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/70352

The ninth annual Brooklyn Book Festival will be on Sunday, September 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m at Borough Hall and Columbus Park (immediately north of Borough Hall). There will be readings by and discussions with writers, readings and activities for children, and books for sale. There’s more information here.

During the coming week and the Monday following the Festival there will be “Bookend” events held in various venues around the Borough. Among these venues are Book Court, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Historical Society, DUMBO Sky, the Powerhouse Arena, Smack Mellon Gallery, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, St. Ann’s School, and Vineapple. A full schedule is here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/70198

Despite Myra’s feeling that everything is satisfactorily arranged, things go wrong from the start. Eva is afraid to sleep alone downstairs in the room Myra had picked out for her, so Myra accommodates her by changing the sleeping arrangements. Adam is clumsy, both physically and emotionally, and his marriage is troubled. Omar and Eva develop a close relationship. Adam is fragile – “acrophobic, claustrophobic, equinophobic” – and has yet to sell a screenplay. He is absorbed with retelling the story of the Werner Herzog movie “Fitzcarraldo” but spends too much time (and money) on pornographic magazines. He and Eva, for reasons that he does not understand, do not get along.

Adam is not the only family member who works at home, of course. Eva and Myra do, too. When Eva begins spending some time in the chair Myra’s patients use it becomes clear to Myra that Eva needs more help than she can provide. But Eva, for reasons both personal and cultural, is reluctant to take any help that comes from outside. It’s the crossing of lines, from home to work to home, from personal to professional, that provide the themes of the novel. With their lives and work so tightly bound, each character also confronts the question: What does it mean to love someone? Even Rachida does, although she spends most of her time at the hospital on call, letting her work expand to fill time she doesn’t want to spend with her husband’s family. As you might expect, with so many different needs, and kinds of love involved, the situation explodes. What’s unexpected is the direction in which the many pieces fly: Morocco, Detroit, a country house, a cross-country trek, and Fifth Avenue. Gornick keeps all the threads clear and convincing through the many byways of this engaging novel.

Lisa Gornick will be appearing at a Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event, “Hot and Bothered: Writers on Fire” on September 16 at 8 PM at The Old Stone House, 336 Third Street. More information here. After you’ve heard the panel, take this book with you for a day at the beach or a weekend upstate to look at the leaves. You won’t regret it.

Have a book you want me to know about? Email me at asbowie@gmail.com. I also blog about metrics at asbowie.blogspot.com.

Peter turned 18 in 1972.  That’s pretty significant, and here’s why: American males who turned 18 in 1972 were the first 18 year olds not subject to the draft lottery, the system by which young men were randomly chosen for service in the military (which at that time likely meant a trip to Vietnam).  Prior to 1972, young American men lived with the idea that only a randomly chosen number stood between them and extraordinary hardship, sacrifice, and possible death imposed by the policies of their government.

I want you to take a moment and imagine what it would be like for a young person today if the draft existed; shit, imagine what it would be like for you.  What if you were walking around today thinking “Dammit, in eighteen months I could be standing in the desert while someone I never met tries to kill me.”

Also, this week marks three remarkable anniversaries:  September 2^nd was the 69^th anniversary of the official end of the Second World War (on that date aboard the battleship USS Missouri docked in Tokyo Bay, the official Instrument of Surrender was signed by representatives of the Empire of Japan); September 1 was the 75^th anniversary of the Invasion of Poland by the armies of the Third Reich, the date usually connected with the beginning of the Second World War; and it was on that same day, 75 years ago today, that the Free City of Danzig was annexed by the Third Reich, marking the first of many foreign cities to fall under the yoke of the Nazis.

As we watch our cat videos, it seems that we are extraordinarily distant from these events.  Possibly due to the 42 years we have gone without the draft, possibly due to the overwhelming plurality and ubiquity of the media (which is to say it is everywhere, all the time, dramatically altering our ability to filter the important from the trivial), war seems like some concept that belongs to someone else, or perhaps something we relate to fantasy novels or video games. Touched by the random horror of terrorism, we are certainly aware that there is a world out there that fights and dies for religious and political beliefs; but for 42 years, we have been removed from this reality, the idea that we might have to kill or be killed to defend our way of life, or to defend the choices of the government we live in.

But the extraordinary events of the 20^th century are within spitting distance of most of our lives.  War is only one burp of history away, one incident in the Balkans away, one over-eager button pusher in the Middle East away, one click of a keyboard from some zealous cyber terrorist away.  True: we are a cursor click away from another conflagration that will re-draw our maps, define the lives of our children and grandchildren, and leave a million civilians dead.  My draft-less generation were very, very fortunate, which only means that we must work even harder to possess and maintain two very, very crucial characteristics, as individuals and as a culture:

Memory and empathy.

All other factors – education, wisdom, the ability to make a reasonable assessment of the actions of your government and the actions of other nations, the ability to see military action within the context of history, the ability to assess the human cost of military action — all stem from a strong underpinning of memory and empathy.

I was 10 years old when the draft lottery was extinguished.  My entire adult life has been led without even the remote fear of conscription, or the idea that I may be called upon, involuntarily, to fight against a foreign (or even domestic) power for the beliefs of my country.  If another military event or engagement requires conscription, I will be too old for this.  In other words, I, like others of my generation, have lived without any real idea that we were going to have to fight in a war. My deeply fortunate and ultimately unrealistic generation learned to think of war as something distant, something fought by an economic underclass, something fought vaguely “for” us and in far away places, and only representing our interests or protecting our way of life in uncertain ways.  But memory can teach us that war is real, was real, will be real, must be real; when it is real, we can have an understanding of the motivations on both sides and compassion for victims and victimizers; when we can relate, say, the assassination of the heir to throne of Austro-Hungary by Bosnian/Serbian freedom fighters in 1914 to what’s going on in the Ukraine today, or when we can relate the atrocities of Isis in Iraq to the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire in 1683, we are at least one baby-step closer to understanding that today’s events are part of history’s community and continuity, and not isolated episodes of cultural narcissism.  Likewise, the wisdom of awareness of the past makes us see the human cost of history, and apply this to everyday compassion.

I doubt any other generation in American history will have this privilege, to have lived with no threat of conscription.  This underlines the need to somehow establish a strong foundation of empathy and memory within our culture.  Our children and our children’s children will almost without a doubt hold weapons and be fired upon, and they will need memory and empathy to negotiate the fear, hatred, and ignorance that are endemic to war. Our children, and our children’s children, will almost certainly know war.  It may not be war as us, our parents, or our grandparents considered it; it may involve entire economies or entire electrical grids being shut down via the click of one key on a computer, it may involve shadow armies belonging to no nation threatening civilian lives and infrastructure.

But like any “conventional” war, any reasonable approach will require grounding in memory and empathy, history and compassion.

Linda – under her DJ persona, DJ La La Linda – is DJ’ing tonight at The West End, 955 West End Avenue at 107th Street. The theme of the night is Party Like It’s 1979, and Linda promises to spin the music you would have heard in the clubs at that extraordinary time.

This got me thinking…1979 was my first year as a full-time resident in that grim and glittering, peculiar, perfect, slanting, shitty, shadowy, spectacular land that was New York, New York 1979.

In 1979, even if it was a chilly November of the Soul on the outside, the inner spirit smiled brilliant and full of bright pretension. The Soho Streets were still gold-dark and full of aqua-green stairways to paradise and art, the East Village was still gutted and hazy with the smoke from eight dozen garbage can fires, and the Upper West Side was still Needle-Park shabby and chilly with wind-tossed garbage; and there were a half-dozen clubs or more, dim cellars like TR3 or mirror-brite discos like Hurrah, where we watched bands and heard new records and cheered local heroes and conquering Britishers, 4/5/6 nights a week.

Inspired by Linda’s event, I considered the following question, and considered it quite gravely: when I walked into those clubs at age 17/18, WHAT SONGS WERE BEING PLAYED? What music – and I mean specifically DJ music, not the live music on stage – accompany the memories of my evenings in the music clubs of NYC during that extraordinary time?

So I tried to bring myself back to that time, tried to sense

those rooms (smelling of cigarette smoke and sweat and fruity alcoholic drinks and the odd rusty odor of tip-change piled on the bar),

and I tried to focus only on the DJ music, and not on

the bands (thin-legged and spiky-topped and clad in black or metallic blue),

nor the treasured trips to and from the clubs (cold walks down Canal Street, wide cruel and bright, and long 3:38 AM waits in briny and empty Columbus Circle Subway stations),

nor the company I kept on these visits (friends wide-eyed and NYU snarky like me, or kohl-black-eyed girls in long-white shirts and fishnets);

and I asked myself, which is to say I asked memory, that unreliable and ecstatic witness, to recall the DJ music filling the room. Oh, and I expanded the parameter through 1980 (and a wee bit of ’81 may have even limbo’d under memories’ shaky bar). So here’s what I came up with — not an attempt to reflect my favorite songs or favorite bands — but what I recall as the DJ soundtrack of those evenings:

1. “PLANET CLAIRE” THE B52s

I still cannot hear this extraordinary track without thinking of emerging from the gray landing at the top of Hurrah’s stairs onto the candy-lit, mirror’d dancefloor/bandroom. Perhaps this was playing the first time I ever walked into that historic room (I think – though I am not certain – to see the Yachts). The tic-tock signal indicator beat, the pronounced and well defined highs and lows, and the sinewy kitschy/sexy “Peter Gunn” riff makes this perfect for club play. As an aural-sensualists aside, the moment at 1:15 when the LOW bass comes in under the riff is one of the top 25 goose-bump moments in pop music.

2. “AIN’T YOU” KLEENEX

This beautiful, strange foreign artifact of punk/noise/screech/Kinks-riff via Wire/big beat anticipates about half a dozen different major movements in music; it’s a terrific 45, and a reminder that there were some brave discos where you could play this kind of muffle-drag garage holler right alongside the Chic songs.

3. “GANGSTERS” THE SPECIALS

The swooping, skipping bass – sounding like Wobble with a hot thumb up his ass – made this perfect for the big club sound systems, and the chop-chop-ska-cha-cha and whiney post-punk vocals made this just right for NME-reading trendsters eager to slap the slabby bottoms of their creepers onto the dance floor. I will also note this: the very first time I heard this song it was played at the wrong speed – at 33, instead of 45 – and I thought it was a very amazingly fucked up PIL song.

4. “ENOLA GAY” ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK

Just a gorgeous, emotive, evocative song, it moves and flies and gums up the memory apparatus, with a cinematic spread tailor-made for club P.A.s. From the time when us college-rock geek types made no real distinction between synth/drum machine driven music and the latest punk rock, post-punk, neo-soul, or ska song.

5. “BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD” BAUHAUS

See, a lot of these songs have GODDAMN BIG BASS on them, because that’s what sounded GREAT over the club sound systems, especially the well-tuned-for-dance ones at Hurrah And Danceteria. Once PIL and Joy Division opened the door for songs that retained a relic of punk’s attitude but were centered around bass and drums (and used guitar for color, not attack), a lot of intense and riveting music followed. Despite the clear PIL antecedent (for, indeed, Public Image Limited were the Ramones of space’n’bass post punk), this was, is, and always will be a very rare and compelling track.

6. “I WILL FOLLOW” U2

When this first came over the speakers in the fall of 1980, you immediately sensed that something very remarkable was going on: the bass – once again, bass, bass, bass, bass, bass – was all PIL (in fact, the bass part itself is virtually identical to “Public Image” by PIL, and that’s most certainly NOT an accident); but there was a skip to the guitars that recalled the Skids, a precision and poise to the vocals that bought to mind Ultravox’s Midge Ure (and like Ure, was completely removed from any of the grunt, groan, or hoarseness of punk), and a sheen to Steve Lillywhite’s production that seemed to have more in common with classic rock than the more brittle and close-mic’d work of popular punk/post-punk producers like Martin Rushent or Craig Leon. Which is to say, that this track really announced itself – it was not a desperate or overt plea for success, more like a charismatic appeal for timelessness — and made you very, very curious about what was to come.

7. “BABYLON’S BURNING” THE RUTS

I’m not sure a better true punk rock dance song was ever recorded; the hugely adept rhythm section is clearly rooted in rocksteady skip and are thinking they are making a dance song, but the vocalist and guitarist know this is a punk rock anthem (though the guitarists right-palm string-mute also alludes to UFO and Judas Priest). Wrap four stunning, sincere musicians in a ball, bounce ‘em down a staircase which starts in a punk rock pub but ends up in a disco, and add a stirring reminder that Ferguson, Missouri and all the Ferguson, Missouri’s are just a day away, and you’ve got a monster track.

8. ‘MODERN DANCE” PERE UBU

Like the Kleenex song discussed above, this was just one of those very fucked-up, metal-bucket-kicked-down-the-train-track songs that gorgeously passed for dance music at the dusk of the 1970s. Listening to it now, on one hand it sounds about thirty years ahead of its’ time, and on the other hand it sounds like the progenitor of every aspect of R.E.M.’s sound that wasn’t borrowed from the dB’s.

9. “OPTIMO” LIQUID LIQUID

When this herk-jerk hop-an’-bang big bag o’ rhythm came over the PA, you were happy and freaked out; there seems to be some allusion to Pere Ubu and the random snaps, clacks, honks, chugs, chimes, and thumps of New York City’s streets, but beyond that, this was all fucking new, and Liquid Liquid remain one of the most original bands NYC ever produced, and a delightful reminder of the amazing, random goldshit that was played in dance clubs back then.

10. “CHANGE” KILLING JOKE

Again, with one-third of a century past, it’s hard to visualize this as a popular song on the dance floor; but the beat, at least in the verses, is 100% neo-disco (even if the drums goes all flubby-wubby rock’n’roll in the chorus), the whole rhythm track shimmying over and under a rotating-motor of a riff that reinterprets the traditional James Brown funka-wunka over a Hawkwind chukka-chukka with a little bit of Steve Jones Pistolian slug-sound folded in (read that last sentence again, it’s really worth it, and I swear it makes sense). By the way, if you take this song plus “Babylon’s Burning,” you have a forecast for the future of heavy metal, but one that didn’t really come into fruition until well into the ‘90s.

Thanks for going down memory alley with me. P.S., isn’t Vaginal Ultrasound a pretty good name for a band?

Here’s a handy list of all of them via the BBP Conservancy:

A FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS – ALL FREE – FOLLOWS

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK 2014 SEASON SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ARTS & CULTURE

Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties presented by BRIC

Sponsored by Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

Thursdays, 7:00 pm, Pier 1

Sweeping views, great lawn, dance lessons, beer gardens, bike valet… and it’s free! Three spring evenings feature some of the coolest dance bands on the planet, the funkiest DJs under the stars, and the greatest view in the world on Pier 1!

Join us as we celebrate 15 Season of our movie series on Thursdays this summer! Shorts curated by BAMcinematek, DJs from Brooklyn Radio kick off the evening, and bike valet is provided by Transportation Alternatives.

July 10 – Duck Soup (G)

July 17 – Sharknado

July 24 – Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)

July 31 – Beetlejuice (PG)

August 7 – Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (PG)

August 14 – Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (R)

August 21 – The Birds (PG)

August 28 – Public Vote!

Books Beneath the Bridge

Mondays, July 8 – August 12, 7:00 pm, Granite Prospect

Second annual outdoor literature series curated by six local, independent bookstores.

July 7 – Freebird

July 14 – Greenlight Bookstore

July 21 – Powerhouse Arena

July 28 – Community Bookstore Park Slope

August 4 – Word Bookstore

August 11 – Bookcourt

 

Pier 1

A kiosk in a village square. What could be more ordinary? Join France’s Barolosolo Cirkus Company for an anything but ordinary New York premier of íle O, and watch as this intrepid team creates a delightful mash-up of modern physical theater around their kiosk-pool moving from comic to absurd in a universe filled with aquatic poetry and music. Presented in association with SummerStage. Kids presented by Disney.

Met Opera

Wednesday, June 25, 7:00 pm

Pier 1

This summer recital features three rising Met stars: soprano Amber Wagner, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, and tenor Russell Thomas, joined by pianist Dan Saunders.

Hindu Lamp Ceremony

Saturday, August 2, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Main Street

Help Aeilushi Mistry bring peace and harmony to our shoreline as she performs the traditional Hindu Aarti ceremony at the park! Presented with Brooklyn Arts Council.

Jazzmobile: Arturo O’Farrill

Monday, August 18, 7:00 pm

Pier 1

Join us for a performance by Latin Jazz artist, Arturo O’Farrill who brings swinging rhythms to the park!

Battle Of Brooklyn Reenactment

Saturday, August 23, 12:00 pm

Main Street

Join reenactors from Glover’s Marblehead Regiment to learn how sailors saved George Washington’s army during the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776.

Kite Festival

Saturday, September 13, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Pier 1

Watch your kite soar above the Manhattan skyline! Kites will be available for purchase or you can bring your own.

Photoville

September 18 – 21 & 25 – 28
Dumbo Arts Festival

September 21 – 28

Get Active on the Brand New Pier 2 Courts!
5 acres dedicated to active recreation, Enjoy basketball, bocce, shuffleboard and handball courts, a roller/inline skating rink, swings, fitness equipment, picnic tables and half an acre of play turf. Restrooms, skate and equipment rentals, lockers, water fountains and bike racks are also available on site. Take part in fitness classes, leagues, and free play.

Free Skate

Mondays & Fridays, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Sundays, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Pier 2

Cruise around the new Pier 2 roller/inline skating rink with Free Skate (kid approved) sessions during select hours each week.

Kayaking

June 7 – August 30

Saturdays, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Thursdays, 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm

Pier 2 Dock

Glide along the water while kayaking with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse at the Pier 2 floating dock! Children under 18 must have an adult guardian present.

Family Field Days

July 26 and August 23, 10:00 am – 1:00pm

Various locations

Come play games of all shapes and sizes from volleyball, basketball, and soccer clinics to potato sack and relay races with celebrations on each of the park’s active piers.

Pop-Up Pool

Daily, now through Labor Day

10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Pier 2 Uplands

Take in the sunshine and cool waters at the Pier 2 Pop-Up Pool! The 30’x50’ pool includes a sandy beach and play area with refreshing food and drinks from Lizzmonade. Swim lessons are available.

Pier 5 Fields

Check website for dates

Three turf fields invite soccer, flag football, field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, and ultimate frisbee players alike to play games looking out at the skyline. Check the website for open play time.

Conservancy Soccer Leagues: Get in the game. Coed and men’s adult soccer leagues play Wednesdays in spring, summer, and fall. Saturday morning youth leagues in spring and fall. Sign up for leagues at brooklynbridgepark.org.

Pier 6 Volleyball

Check website for dates

Walk-up Play: Bring your own volleyball.

League Play: Join a team for organized play on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and join in weekend tournaments.

Reserved Play: A limited number of courts can be reserved for an hour by individuals online at brooklynbridgepark.org.

Public Clinics: Brush up your game with free instruction for children, teens, and adults.

Bike NY Pedal Stops

Select Sundays, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Pier 1

Stop by the free rider assistance and information station where you can get a drink of water and healthy snack, then pick up safety instructions, bike maps, and route suggestions.

FITNESS

All Classes Are One Hour.

Senior Fitness with Dodge YMCA

Mondays, May 5 – June 30, 10:00 am

Pier 6

Outdoor Strength wth Brooklyn Strength

Mondays, June 9 – August 25, 7:00 pm

Pier 6

Sunset Pilates with Body In Balance

Wednesdays, June 18 – September 24, 7:00 pm

Pier 5

Pilates with The Fitness Guru

Tuesdays, June 24 – September 9, 7:00 pm

Empire Fulton Ferry

Early Morning Yoga With Dodge YMCA

Mondays, June 30 – August 18, 7:30 am

Pier 6

Zumba with Dodge YMCA

Sundays, July 6 – August 17, 4:00 pm

Pier 2

Hip Hop Aerobics with Dodge YMCA

Fridays, July 11 – August 22, 7:00 pm

Pier 2

Crossfit with Dumbo Crossfit

Sundays, July 13 – August 3, 2:30 pm

Pier 2

EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENT

Wednesday Night Tours

Wednesdays, May 7 – Oct 8, 6:30pm

 

Price is $7 adults/$5 for children 2-17 and seniors (62+). Advance registration recommended – to register call (718) 694-1848.

The New York Transit Museum is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights.

Cost is $50 for adults, $25 for children ($35 and $20 for museum members). More information and tickets here.

Wednesday, June 25, 6:30 pm, $10 members/$5 members at the NY Transit Museum, Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. More information and tickets here.

Brooklyn Bridge Park may be getting even more popular this summer — there’s a robust schedule of free events.

Here’s a handy list of all of them via the BBP Conservancy:

A FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS – ALL FREE – FOLLOWS
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK 2014 SEASON SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ARTS & CULTURE

Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties presented by BRIC
Sponsored by Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
Thursdays, 7:00 pm, Pier 1
Sweeping views, great lawn, dance lessons, beer gardens, bike valet… and it’s free! Three spring evenings feature some of the coolest dance bands on the planet, the funkiest DJs under the stars, and the greatest view in the world on Pier 1!
May 15 Electro-Jamz Dance Party: Cibo Matto I Javelin | JD Samson
May 22 – African Dance Party: Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars I DJ Chief Boima

Syfy Movies With A View
Thursdays, with music at 6:00 pm and movies at sunset, Pier 1
Join us as we celebrate 15 Season of our movie series on Thursdays this summer! Shorts curated by BAMcinematek, DJs from Brooklyn Radio kick off the evening, and bike valet is provided by Transportation Alternatives.

July 10 – Duck Soup (G)
July 17 – Sharknado
July 24 – Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)
July 31 – Beetlejuice (PG)
August 7 – Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (PG)
August 14 – Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (R)
August 21 – The Birds (PG)
August 28 – Public Vote!

Books Beneath the Bridge
Mondays, July 8 – August 12, 7:00 pm, Granite Prospect
Second annual outdoor literature series curated by six local, independent bookstores.
July 7 – Freebird
July 14 – Greenlight Bookstore
July 21 – Powerhouse Arena
July 28 – Community Bookstore Park Slope
August 4 – Word Bookstore
August 11 – Bookcourt

Danh Vo: We The People
Opening Saturday, May 17
Pier 3 Uplands
Presented by The Public Art Fund
A major new dual-site exhibition inspired by the Statue of Liberty, “We the People” is a full-scale copper replica of the statue in 250 individual parts fabricated over the course of four years using the original techniques and materials. Visitors to the Pier 3 Greenway Terrace will encounter a never-before-exhibited section of the statue: the draped sleeve of the statue’s right arm, which holds the golden torch. This colossal, 13-piece section will be assembled into three forms and presented alongside the ear of the statue. The exhibition continues at Manhattan’s City Hall Park.

John Street Pasture
Coming Spring 2014
John Street Pasture is a temporary living earthwork that celebrates green space, agriculture, and the transitional nature of urban land. This cover crop of crimson clover will bloom into a lush field of reds and greens all while creating a nutrient rich resource of nitrogenized soil for the now under-construction John Street section of Brooklyn Bridge Park. John Street Pasture is a collaboration of Andrea Reynosa, Alloy and Brooklyn Grange.

Pier Kids
Sundays, June 1 – August 3, 11:00 am
Pier 6
Sing, act, dance, and draw! Please join us on Pier 6 for a weekly family celebration of the arts. Engaging activities will vary each week and be accompanied by an outdoor pop-up reading room from the Uni Project. Each program is followed by art projects from Private Picassos and Project Art.

Walt Whitman’s Song Of Myself
Sunday, June 8, 4:00 pm
Granite Prospect
Annual marathon reading of Walt Whitman’s most critically acclaimed poem.

Shakespeare At Sunset
June 13-15 (King Lear) and July 18-20 (Taming of the Shrew), 7:00 pm
Granite Prospect
Free performances of King Lear by Theater 2020 and Taming of the Shrew by Random Access Theater.

BAMcinemafest Outdoor Screening
Thursday, June 19, Pier 1
Join BAMcinemaFest for an outdoor festival featuring live music, curated food and a special film screening! The films start at sunset.

Barolosolo Cirkus Company
June 21-22, 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Pier 1
A kiosk in a village square. What could be more ordinary? Join France’s Barolosolo Cirkus Company for an anything but ordinary New York premier of íle O, and watch as this intrepid team creates a delightful mash-up of modern physical theater around their kiosk-pool moving from comic to absurd in a universe filled with aquatic poetry and music. Presented in association with SummerStage. Kids presented by Disney.

Make Music NY
Saturday, June 21, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pier 3 Greenway Terrace
The 8th Annual Make Music New York festival returns June 21 with more than 1,000 free concerts in public spaces across NYC. More details at makemusicny.org.

Met Opera
Wednesday, June 25, 7:00 pm
Pier 1
This summer recital features three rising Met stars: soprano Amber Wagner, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, and tenor Russell Thomas, joined by pianist Dan Saunders.

Hindu Lamp Ceremony
Saturday, August 2, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Main Street
Help Aeilushi Mistry bring peace and harmony to our shoreline as she performs the traditional Hindu Aarti ceremony at the park! Presented with Brooklyn Arts Council.

Jazzmobile: Arturo O’Farrill
Monday, August 18, 7:00 pm
Pier 1
Join us for a performance by Latin Jazz artist, Arturo O’Farrill who brings swinging rhythms to the park!

Battle Of Brooklyn Reenactment
Saturday, August 23, 12:00 pm
Main Street
Join reenactors from Glover’s Marblehead Regiment to learn how sailors saved George Washington’s army during the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776.

Kite Festival
Saturday, September 13, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Pier 1
Watch your kite soar above the Manhattan skyline! Kites will be available for purchase or you can bring your own.

Photoville
September 18 – 21 & 25 – 28
Pier 5 Uplands
PHOTOVILLE will be a feisty mix of exhibitions, lectures, hands-on workshops, nighttime projections, photo dog run, and a summer beer-garden that will create a photographic destination like no other at the Pier 5 Uplands. In addition —and in collaboration with Photo District News—THE FENCE, Brooklyn’s premiere outdoor photographic exhibition will present the work of 40 talented photographers from around world. THE FENCE at the park measures 1000 ft in length and stretches along the Greenway. Presented by United Photo Industries.

Dumbo Arts Festival
September 21 – 28
Various locations
Brooklyn Bridge Park is participating in DUMBO Arts Festival again this fall! This three-day celebration of art and culture will feature a variety of scenic locations within the park hosting several of this year’s innovative art installations.

RECREATION

Get Active on the Brand New Pier 2 Courts!
5 acres dedicated to active recreation, Enjoy basketball, bocce, shuffleboard and handball courts, a roller/inline skating rink, swings, fitness equipment, picnic tables and half an acre of play turf. Restrooms, skate and equipment rentals, lockers, water fountains and bike racks are also available on site. Take part in fitness classes, leagues, and free play.

Free Skate
Mondays & Fridays, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sundays, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Pier 2 (Opening late May. Dates TBD)
Cruise around the new Pier 2 roller/inline skating rink with Free Skate (kid approved) sessions during select hours each week.

Kayaking
June 7 – August 30
Saturdays, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Thursdays, 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm
Pier 2 Dock
Glide along the water while kayaking with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse at the Pier 2 floating dock! Children under 18 must have an adult guardian present.

Family Field Days
July 26 and August 23, 10:00 am – 1:00pm
Various locations
Come play games of all shapes and sizes from volleyball, basketball, and soccer clinics to potato sack and relay races with celebrations on each of the park’s active piers.

Pop-Up Pool
Daily, Late June through Labor Day
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Pier 2 Uplands
Take in the sunshine and cool waters at the Pier 2 Pop-Up Pool! The 30’x50’ pool includes a sandy beach and play area with refreshing food and drinks from Lizzmonade. Swim lessons are available.

Pier 5 Fields
Check website for dates
Three turf fields invite soccer, flag football, field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, and ultimate frisbee players alike to play games looking out at the skyline. Check the website for open play time.
Conservancy Soccer Leagues: Get in the game. Coed and men’s adult soccer leagues play Wednesdays in spring, summer, and fall. Saturday morning youth leagues in spring and fall. Sign up for leagues at brooklynbridgepark.org.

Pier 6 Volleyball
Check website for dates
Walk-up Play: Bring your own volleyball.
League Play: Join a team for organized play on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and join in weekend tournaments.
Reserved Play: A limited number of courts can be reserved for an hour by individuals online at brooklynbridgepark.org.
Public Clinics: Brush up your game with free instruction for children, teens, and adults.

Bike NY Pedal Stops
Select Sundays, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Pier 1
Stop by the free rider assistance and information station where you can get a drink of water and healthy snack, then pick up safety instructions, bike maps, and route suggestions.

FITNESS

All Classes Are One Hour.
Senior Fitness with Dodge YMCA
Mondays, May 5 – June 30, 10:00 am
Pier 6

Outdoor Strength wth Brooklyn Strength
Mondays, June 9 – August 25, 7:00 pm
Pier 6

Sunset Pilates with Body In Balance
Wednesdays, June 18 – September 24, 7:00 pm
Pier 5

Pilates with The Fitness Guru
Tuesdays, June 24 – September 9, 7:00 pm
Empire Fulton Ferry

Early Morning Yoga With Dodge YMCA
Mondays, June 30 – August 18, 7:30 am
Pier 6

Zumba with Dodge YMCA
Sundays, July 6 – August 17, 4:00 pm
Pier 2

Hip Hop Aerobics with Dodge YMCA
Fridays, July 11 – August 22, 7:00 pm
Pier 2

Crossfit with Dumbo Crossfit
Sundays, July 13 – August 3, 2:30 pm
Pier 2

EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENT

Wednesday Night Tours
Wednesdays, May 7 – Oct 8, 6:30pm
Pier 1 Entrance
Take an evening’s stroll with New York’s finest scholars and learn about the extraordinary history, ecology, and design of Brooklyn Bridge Park!

The Brooklyn Bridge
May 7
Discover the epic story of this engineering marvel and New York icon as well as the men and women who built it.
David Frieder, The Roebling Museum

The Billion Oyster Project
May 14
Take a look at the park’s oyster gardens and discover the power of these ecosystem engineers.
Sam Janis, New York Harbor School

Natives & Newcomers
May 21
Explore the complex relationships between the Dutch and local Lenape clans as cultures collide.
Emma Nordin, New-York Historical Society

Bringing the Park to Life
May 28
Hear the story of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s creation and innovative approach to revitalizing urban space.
Regina Myer, BBP President

War on the Waterfront
June 4
From Ft. Hamilton to the Navy Yard, Brooklyn’s waterfront played a key role for America in WWII.
Andrew Gustafson, Turnstile Tours

Interactive Photography Tour
June 11
Explore the fundamentals of basic photography while capturing the beauty of the park. Topics covered: composition, lighting, and depth of field.
Alexa Hoyer, BBP Photographer

A Park with a View
June 18
Look across the water in an architectural tour of the historic and modern skyscrapers on the Manhattan skyline.
Kyle Johnson, AIA Architect

Native Plants In Designed Landscapes
June 25
Come on a tour of the park highlighting the use of native species and cultivars in a designed space.
Ulrich Lorimer, Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Abolition On The Water
July 2
Superstar minister Henry Ward Beecher gave voice to freedom and home to the Underground Railroad in 1850s Brooklyn.
Regina McIlvain, Plymouth Church Historian

Building A Sustainable Park
July 9
Gain an in-depth knowledge of BBP’s sustainable features from building materials to storm management.
Leigh Trucks, BBP Director of Capital Projects

The Atlantic Dock Co.
July 16
Learn about the men who built and ruled the docks spanning the waterfront from DUMBO to Red Hook.
Inna Guzenfeld, Historian

Coastal Wetlands
July 23
Where the land meets the sea, the marshlands along the park offer a unique habitat for a variety of wildlife.
Emily Maxwell, The Nature Conservancy

Infrastructure Intersections
July 30
Unravel the tangled histories and structures of all the bridges, tunnels, and highways that keep NY moving.
John Kriskiewicz, Historian

Whales In The Harbor
August 6
Discover a new era when whales, dolphins, and seals have returned to NY Harbor in surprising numbers.
Paul Sieswerda, Gotham Whales

The Golden Age Of Brooklyn Distilleries
August 13
Amble through the historic rise of Brooklyn distilleries of the 1800′s until the death knell of the Volstead Act in 1920.
Jill Paradiso, Culinary Historian

Designing Brooklyn Bridge Park
August 20
Hear directly from one of the innovative minds behind Brooklyn Bridge Park’s award winning design.
Matt Urbanski, Principal, MVVA, Inc.

A Key to the Continent
August 27
The waters of the East River acted as a strategic hub in the American Revolution and the Civil War.
Barnet Schecter, Historian

Blooms and Bugs
September 3
Learn about Pier 1’s native plant gardens including the freshwater pools, woodlands, prairie, and salt marsh.
Matthew Wills, Naturalist

What Was Where
September 10
A journey from colonial times to present day, particularly focused on the industrial dockyards.
Matt Postal, Architectural Historian

My Hand in Yours, Walt
September 17
A literary walk through the legacy of the Brooklyn Bridge in works by Whitman, Crane, Bishop, and Moore.
Adam Fitzgerald, Poet

Interactive Photography Tour: Fall
September 24
Explore the fundamentals of street photography while capturing everyday moments of life in the park.
Alexa Hoyer, BBP Photographer

The Billion Oyster Project: Fall
October 1
See how the park’s oyster gardens have grown and learn the power of these tiny ecosystem engineers.
Sam Janis, New York Harbor School

Docent Tours
Sundays, 12:00 pm
Pier 1
Engage with our docents on a tour about the history of the Brooklyn waterfront, BBP’s sustainable design, and how the park came to life!

Seining
Multiple Dates
Empire Fulton Ferry
Learn about the remarkable creatures of the East River as our scientists use a seining net to humanely catch and release these unique critters.

Wildflower Walk
Tuesday, May 13, 5:00 pm
Pier 1
Explore the parks spring blooms and the many buzzing pollinators that bring the park to life.
Rebecca McMackin, BBP Director of Horticulture

World Science Festival: From The Earth To The Stars
Saturday, May 31, 8:00 pm
Pier 1
It’s an outdoor party beneath the Brooklyn Bridge and the twinkling canvas of the night sky, and a night to explore and discover the vast wonders of the cosmos! Bring your telescope if you have one, or use one of the dozens we’ll have on hand.

Checkmate 101
Wednesdays, June 11 – August 30
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Pier 1
Come learn how to take your chess game to the next level! Best for beginners; limited boards available.

Journey To The Stars
Thursday Evenings, June 19 – Sept 18
Pier 1
The Amateur Astronomers will guide your eyes across the sky as you discover the wonders of the universe.

City Of Water Day
Thursday, July 12
Location and times to be determined
Join us for a celebration of the waterfront, with our free kayaking and seining programs!

VOLUNTEER EVENTS

Green Team
Saturdays, 10:00 am
Pier 1
Join this dedicated corps of volunteers who keep Brooklyn Bridge Park beautiful! The Green Team meets every Saturday to provide essential horticultural care to the park. The Green Team is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy nature and make the park look its best. Children are welcome to volunteer with a parent or guardian.

Coastal Clean Up Day
Saturday, September 20, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Pier 1
Team up with thousands of volunteers worldwide to combat pollution in our waterways and along our coastlines. Volunteers will care for our unique coastal environment by cleaning up the park’s beaches, shorelines, and salt marsh. It promises to be a remarkable stewardship experience.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/67225

BHB pal/podcaster Katharine Heller will be doing a live version of her popular Tell the Bartender podcast Thursday (5/8) at Union Hall.

If you’re a fan of podcasts from Marc Maron, the Moth or Nerdist and haven’t heard Tell the Bartender you’re missing out!

CATCH UP NOW ON ALL TELL THE BARTENDER EPISODES AT THE BROOKLYN BUGLE

Storytelling guest at the live show will be:

Wyatt Cenac, Comedian/Actor/Awesome Person (The Daily Show, King of the Hill, and many other amazing things)

Mara Wilson, Actor/Writer/Awesome Person (Welcome to Nightvale, Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, and many other amazing things)

WITH a special appearance by Matty Blake Actor/Writer (30 Rock, Orange Is The New Black)

It will be a night of stories, drinks and fun! One lucky audience member will get a chance to win a prize with the game, “Bar Talk”, PLUS we play everyone’s favorite game “Craigslist Ad or Casting Notice” with Matty Blake! Prizes sponsored by By Brooklyn.

Thursday, May 8th 8:00-9:00
Doors at 7:30
$10

Tickets:
http://www.unionhallny.com/event/542953-tell-bartender-live-brooklyn/

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/67071

The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival returns for a week of “Brooklyn‐born, Brooklyn-based and Brooklyn-centric films,” with many screened at Brooklyn Heights Cinema and St Francis College’s Founder’s Hall. Highlights include Bodies in Irreversible Detriment, starring Breaking Bad‘s Mark Margolis, and New York Dolls’ David Johansen; Balance, starring Stephen Baldwin; and Spoke: A Short Film About NYC Bikes by BHB’s Heather Quinlan. There will also be midnight screenings at Brooklyn Heights Cinema of PAN, described as “a sexy take on Peter Pan,” and Lapsus, “a creepy psychological thriller set in a Brooklyn laundromat.”

Tickets and schedules are available here, and you can watch a trailer here. See you at the movies!

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/66994

Hail Freedonia!!

It’s the 15th year for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Movies with a View which will kick off with the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup on July 10 on the Harbor View Lawn.

All films this year have an “animal” theme…sorta…

7/10 – Duck Soup
“I’m in a hurry! To the House of Representatives! Ride like fury! If you run out of gas, get ethyl. If Ethel runs out, get Mabel! Now step on it!”
The Marx Brothers take fictional Europe in this Depression-era classic. To stay afloat, the small, bankrupt country of Freedonia must borrow a huge sum of cash from wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont). But there are strings attached to her loan: she insists on replacing the current president with crazy Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) and mayhem erupts. [G] Short: Silo by David Soll

7/17 – Sharknado
Description TBD. [NR]
Short: Phoebe’s Birthday Cheeseburger by Will Lennon

7/24- Fantastic Mr. Fox
“One of those slovenly farmers is probably wearing my tail for a necktie.”
One of Roald Dahl’s classics hits the big screen in Wes Anderson’s quirky, stop-motion animated film. Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and his thieving ways are threatened by three mean farmers, but his friends, family and neighbors come to his aid. [G] Short: Font Men by Dress Code

7/31 – Beetlejuice
“I’ve seen The Exorcist about a hundred and sixty-seven times, and it keeps gettin’ funnier every time I see it!”
A young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) lead an idyllic country life until they accidentally drown and become trapped in their old house as ghosts. This ghost couple attempts to scare off a family of cosmopolitan New Yorkers that move into their home, eventually enlisting the help of an insane poltergeist, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). A darkly funny vision of the afterlife that made director Tim Burton a household name. [PG] Short: Passer Passer by Louis Morton

8/7 – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
“Careful Maggie, your claws are showing.”
The Tennessee Williams play comes to life as Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) and Brick (Paul Newman) duke it out while celebrating his the 65th birthday of his father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives). The temperatures are high, but the tensions are higher in this classic. [PG] Short: Unlocking the Truth by Luke Meyer

8/14 – Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
“All the rappers, they got names like that: Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, Q-Tip, Method Man. My favorite was always Flavor Flav from Public Enemy. He got the funky fresh fly flavor.”
Hip hop, samurai culture, and italian gangsters come together in this oddly quiet action movie by independent spirit Jim Jarmusch. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a reclusive hitman who lives by a strict samurai code. When his mafia employers turn against him, Ghost Dog must go to war against an gang of old-school Italians that simply do not understand his ways. [R] Short: The Roper by Ewan McNicol, Anna Sandilands

8/21 – The Birds
“The very concept is unimaginable. Why, if that happened, we wouldn’t stand a chance! How could we possibly hope to fight them?”
Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of horror, mystery, and slow-burning suspense. A beautiful socialite (Tippi Hedren) visits the sunny town of Bodega Bay, where the weekend’s peace is shattered by a series of inexplicable bird attacks, one more violent than the next. These attacks grow increasingly bigger and more gruesome until the entire town finds itself under siege from above. [PG] Short: Woodhouse by Fred Rowson

8/28 – Public Vote!
As is tradition, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and Syfy invite the public to vote on the last film of the summer. Stay tuned to www.brooklynbridgepark.org for details throughout the summer.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/67052

The event will be held Tuesday, May 13, at 6:30 pm at the NY Transit Museum, Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn. It’s free, but tickets, available here, are recommended.

A lot went on at Thursday night’s Brooklyn Heights Association Annual Meeting, much of which is touched on in our “Tale of the Tweets” coverage. I have a few points about the business side of the meeting to expand on. In addition to the awards for “best diner” to Clark Restaurant and to Patricia and John Duffy for their renovation of 265 Hicks Street, there was one to the extended Alperin/Lowe/Sullivan family for their various ventures, including Marissa Alperin Studio on State Street between Columbia Place and Willow Place (a frequent stop for your correspondent when shopping for presents for his wife), clothing store and art gallery Goose Barnacle, kids’ clothing shop Junior Lowe, both on Atlantic Avenue, and the re-opening of the Long Island Bar and Restaurant, also on Atlantic.

A new honor was the Martha Atwater Award, named for the Heights resident, TV producer, wife, and mother tragically killed just over a year ago when an out of control truck hit her on the sidewalk on Clinton Street. The first Martha Atwater honoree was Mary Frost, of the Eagle, who received the award in recognition of her coverage of the battle to keep Long Island College Hospital open. Finally, a “Best New Addition to the Neighborhood” award was given to Ted Zoli, with Brooklyn Bridge Park President Regina Myer accepting on his behalf, for his design of the Squibb Park Pedestrian Bridge.

Clay Shirky (photo above), who holds joint appointments as a professor in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and as Distinguished Writer in Residence in NYU’s Arthur. L. Carter Journalism Institute, was evidently prepared (he is a former resident of the area) for an audience heavily salted with geezers, like your correspondent. Hence he saw his mission as dispelling any notion that the internet is leading to the End of Civilization as We Know It. But what is it destroying? There are some distinctions that it is seriously eroding, if not ending.

Shirky said he was sure we were all familiar with the Iliad, the classic account of men at arms and warfare, while a photo of the cast of Hogan’s Heroes was projected above him. Similarly, he said, we knew the Odyssey, the prototypical tale of adventure at sea and on unknown islands; this was accompanied by a photo of the Gilligan’s Island cast. He then showed a typical example of internet trivia: someone’s tweet of their fast food breakfast. Next he showed a page of a blog, NeverSeconds, started by a nine year old Scottish schoolgirl, Martha Payne, who would photograph her school “dinners” (lunches to us) and rate them for taste, healthiness, presence or absence of hairs, and other qualities. Her blog went along for some time, and gained fairly wide readership, with no reaction from school officials until it got mentioned in a newspaper. This caused her to be taken out of class and told she could no longer photograph her school meals. Her “Goodbye” post went, as they say, viral, and generated so much protest that the county council reversed its decision, and Martha’s blog, complete with photos, continues. Shirky said this illustrates one of the cultural changes the internet is effecting: an erasing of the professional/amateur distinction. Once, to reach a wide audience quickly, you had to be a professional journalist. Now, thanks to the internet, even an amateur can.

Another distinction being lost is that between public and private – as Shirky discussed in this chat a few years ago with “Switched”:

Shirky noted that tweeting on Twitter is often used as a means of chatting with friends, as oppeosed to e-mail or text messaging, but that it isn’t private, as e-mail or texting is.

As to whether the internet is oblivious to, or drowning out, “serious culture” (like the Iliad or Odyssey), Shirky noted that the printing press was invented in 1450, that the first erotic novel was printed in 1495, but that serious philosophical papers weren’t printed until the 1600s. So, just be patient. (Actiually, the first thing reported to have been printed by Johannes Gutenberg was “a German poem”; after that he produced the first printed Bible. He also printed papal encyclicals, church indulgences, and Latin grammars.)

Since I’ve used Wikipedia as a reference, it’s worth noting an interesting statistic that Shirky used in his presentation. The total person-hours used to produce and edit the entire content of Wikipedia up to a fairly recent date is approximately 100 million, but the total time spent watching TV over the same period of time (I don’t recall if he said, but I’m assuming this is worlwide) is estimated at 200 billion person hours. So, the time used by amateurs to produce an encyclopedia is, in shirky’s words, a “rounding error” compared to couch potato (or stationary bike/treadmill) time.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/65931

The Impressions were the headline act for Saturday night’s “Free the Slaves” concert at Plymouth Church. Before the music began, The Rev. Al Bunis, Plymouth’s Interim Senior Minister, introduced Maurice I. Middleberg, Executive Director of Free the Slaves, an organization devoted to ending slavery in the contemporary world.

The Inspirational Voices of Abyssinian began the concert, opening with a spirited rendition of “Freedom’s Way,” and finishing their set with a rousing South African song that had the audeince clapping, shouting, and singing along.

Next up were Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. They opened with the classic “One More River to Cross,” followed it with Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” and finished with an intense “What have You Done?” Ms. Shelton’s vocal dynamics were enthralling.

Before the Impressions took the stage, there was a lively instrumental interlude performed by Daptone records’ The Dap-Kings, featuring Binky Griptite on guitar. The Dap-Kings remained on stage to serve as the Impressions’ becking band, with the addition of Fred Cash’s son on bass.

The Impressions started their set with “We’re a Winner,” a 1967 hit that was an inspiration to me during my first year of law school. Next came the 1963 classic “It’s All Right”, followed by “Keep On Pushing,” then by what is their signature song, the soul anthem “People Get Ready.” Just before the song’s conclusion, after the words “You don’t need a ticket,” Reggie Torrian stopped the music and delivered a brief sermon that would have done The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts proud, ending with the song’s final words, “Thank the Lord.”

Their next song, “Choice of Color”, waa released in 1969, a time when racial tensions were high. They were slated to appear on a late night talk show, The Joey Bishop Show, but before they went on they were told that ABC management had decided they should not do this song. They told Mr. Bishop, who said they should go ahead and sing it. “Choice of Color” was followed by a rousing “This Is My Country”.

After “My Country,” the Impressions left the stage, and Binky Griptite summoned Naomi Shelton back up for another song. The Impressions then returned and sang “Mighty Mighty (Spade & Whitey)”. The concluding song of their set, “Move On Up”, brought the audience to its feet:

Called back for an encore, they closed the show with the romantic ballad “I’m So Proud”, which showcased Mr. Torrian’s soaring tenor.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/65048

Plymouth Church is known for its pre-eminent role, under the leadership of Henry Ward Beecher, in the anti-slavery movement before the Civil War. While the Emancipation Proclamation declared the slaves free, and the Thirteenth Amendment abolished the “peculiar institution,” slavery still exists in the United States, and, on a larger scale, elsewhere in the world. Human trafficking for the sex trade is the best known aspect, but there is also slavery of the sort common in the antebellum South–men and women forced to do field or factory or domestic labor without pay and while held in bondage–in almost all parts of the world. Indeed, it is estimated that today there are more people held in slavery than ever in history.

The Brooklyn Historical society, Plymouth Church, and Free the Slaves, an organization that is combating slavery of all kinds throughout the world, are presenting two events, a roundtable discussion at BHS on Friday, january 10, and a concert at Plymouth on Saturday, January 11, featuring the Impressions (video above), the Inspirational Voices of Abyssinian Baptist Church, Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens, and members of the Dap-Kings. The roundtable discussion begins at 7:00 p.m. Friday, but the BHS doors will open at 6:00 to allow you a sneak peek at the new exhibit “Brooklyn Abolitionists in Pursuit of Freedom.” Admission to this event is free, but you must reserve tickets here. The concert, which is a benefit for Free the Slaves, starts at 8:00 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 or, for VIP seating, $150, and may be purchased here.

There is more information here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/64685