randombrooklyn

new home, same snark

2007-03-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Random Brooklyn will be officially moving over to www.craftsofthedamned.blogspot.com

There are lots of people who are far more passionate about blogging Brooklyn than I am. Thanks to:

Gowanus Lounge
a Brooklyn Life
Curbed
Brownstoner

Do your borough and your friends and yourself a favor: Support local Brooklyn artists and Arts organizations.

Again, please point your browser over here. Just don't call me Crafty.

Lovely, Isn't it?

2007-01-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture I took yesterday of the new "Boutique Hotel" on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn.
I'm trying to figure out the architecture, particularly the balcony railings. They look suspiciously like the rails on a coffin. Is this some sort of homage to the Brooklyn Casket Company?And of course, there's the side view. Looks strikingly similar to the architecture of the Gigundaplex movie theatre on Court & State Streets. I suppose if the luxury you are looking for is located between a 24/7 taxi garage and a stand-up MRI place (with views of the Pep Boys AND the U-Haul out the back windows), then this really captures the feel for the area.

I have no guesses who the rooftop restaurant belongs to, but I have no doubt there will be an Area Kids boutique in the lobby.

Time for a Change?

2006-12-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

I've been rethinking and overthinking this whole blog thing - what it's all about, what it means to me (insert snarky comment here). And the answer is: nothing. Well, not really nothing. Just nothing about Brooklyn. I love you, Brooklyn Bloggers, I really do. I want to be you. But the fact is, I am so tired of real estate, eminent domain, SUV strollers, Park Slope, gentrification, local politics, Park Slope...no insult intended.

I just can't keep up, and I am racking my brain to find something to say that hasn't already been said by you guys, who are far more eloquent and "in the know" than I am. Besides, I'm a pussy. I'm afraid of my neighbors (don't worry Curbed, I am an excellent tipper - keep the change). Gosh, maybe even a little bored of the Borough of Kings. Have we truly gentrified ourselves into Montclair, NJ? How many AREA stores (and their clones) do we need? On the other hand, why does everyone complain about yet another new Starbucks, and then there is a line out the door? Freakin' hypocrites.

Most of you know I'm a fine craft potter. I didn't start out this way, but here I am. Look for a change of focus in 2007, when the Random Brooklyn family will include Crafts of the Damned. There is not a whole lot going on there yet, but you can peek. I still haven't decided how to dress it, but I'm working on it. And for my potter & craft pals out there, I do intend to to give you the lowdown on shows. I'll expect to never get into one again after this, but hell. If I can figure out how to migrate this blog into that one, I will, just to confuse you all.

It will be a lot more interesting than the Food Co-op. Let me warn you, there are tons of people making freaky shit here in Brooklyn, and damn it, it needs to be seen. I'll also let you know where to get it. Face it, do you really need another Brooklyn Industries satchel? You're boring, people. There is so much interesting, unique and handmade stuff out there for you.

People like to make shit. My one resolution for the New Year is to show it to you. Like it or not.

Last Minute Holiday Crush

2006-12-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

We don't really do the gift thing in my house, except for the kids. Between my husband and I, and our extended family, the general rule of thumb is to graciously and readily accept gifts any time of year, no reason needed. We usually manage to exchange some small, meaningful trinkets during the holidays.

Although I love to buy stuff, I hate to shop. My route home from the studio takes me down Smith Street, and boy, were the windows pretty this year. I stopped into Hasker. This is the stylish home goods store that replace Zipper, an LA transplant that never really took.

Having never been in before, I was expecting the usual jumble of stinky candles and Jonathan Adler crap. Much to my surprise, I found a jewel of a store. Roomy, but not bare or sparse. Warm and inviting, but not made to look like a living room. All of the items were unique, and everything looked like it "belonged".

The biggest surprise was art. Not the usual knockoffs, cheap and highly designed production ware or or useless hipster wall junk. Real art. Little paintings. Handmade ceramics. Information about the artists.

If I had to recommend one thing to buy this weekend, it would be one of these cups by potter Tom Spleth. He calls them "profanity cups", and some of them are really profane, which I happen to appreciate. Made of delicate and durable slip cast porcelain, each is different. These not only go in the "I Wish I Thought of It First" category, I wish to hell I could even make something this witty and highly crafted. Amazing.
Needless to say, several friends will be the lucky recipients. As for me, I'm waiting until after the holidays to add them to my collection. Maybe a custom phrase. Something really really profane.

Happy whatever it is you celebrate.

I don't need no fuckin' reason

2006-12-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

I love New York. I always have, and I always will.

This week, New York Magazine gives us a whole list of reasons to love New York. But if you have to look for a reason, you're lame. You don't get it. You're a loser, or, more likely, what we used to call "Bridge and Tunnel". (OK, I know...Brooklyn doesn't count as B&T anymore.) Or from the Midwest, hoping to find more meaning to life than whatever kind of hick town you grew up in gave you.

But I don't need a reason. With the exception of high school, when my family moved to Jersey so we could have "a better life", I have always been from New York City. I am passionately from NY. I loved it as a child, in the 60s. I love it even though they experimented on us with "New Math" and I have never been able to multiply. I loved it in the late 70s, with the dark doorways, graffiti and skanky clubs. I loved it in the 80s, when fashion was everything and boomboxes ruled the subways. We all moved to the same beat, whether we liked it or not.
I got a new tattoo this week, which has nothing to do with that stupid article. While contemplating a potential move to LA, I wondered what I could have with me that would always be New York. This tattoo around my left ankle is the result. it was done by Myles Karr at Bowery Tattoo. It's the skyline as if it was drawn by Dr. Suess. It's exactly my New York. All you newbies and tourists, welcome to Paradise. There is a reason this is the Greatest Show on Earth - and you don't need a reason to define it.

The Lights of Chanukah are 60W bulbs

2006-12-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, the big toy craze was cooking by light bulb - EZ Bake Oven for girls ('natch), and Creepy Crawlers for boys. A wildly simple idea, and fun for the whole family. You could make a cake the size of your pinkie nail, or a gooey bug. The best part was burning the shit out of your fingers as you removed your concoction from the light bulb.

This was particularly true of Creepy Crawlers, which was basically a hot plate with a metal tray. No light bulb technology for the Creepy Crawlers back then - you just plugged the sucker in! Pour your goop into the tray, put it on the hot plate with a special metal tong-like device, and watch it cook. Remove from heat, place into a dish of cold water (watch it steam!!) and voila! My kids received one of these from my brother. I was especially moved (sincerely!) because I remember it being my brother's favorite toy in the whole world. These days, they make it a lot tougher to burn yourself. I always felt that was a right of passage in kid-hood, but i guess it's necessary in our over-litigated world. The Creepy Crawler maker has a safety device door. It won't turn on unless the door is closed and latched. The light bulb (60w chandelier) turns itself off when it reaches temperature. And then....you have to wait for the damn thing to cool before you can get your bug out. There is a little arrow that goes up and down to indicate temperature, and the latched oven door won't open until it's cool. After that, you get to dunk the thing in water and pull out your bug. On the plus side, they seem to have perfected the goop for easier removal. I seem to remember we used to pull off a lot of bug legs. And yes, the kids love it.

Unexpected Holiday Gifts

2006-12-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

Part on in my search for unusual holidays presents. For the sake of brevity (and because we've all seen them before), I have eliminated the usual crocheted toilet roll cozies, baby bottom casting kits and make-it-yourself voodoo dolls. Please feel free to email me with your finds and handmade stuff. And please, nothing with poop. We've all seen it, and we're all bored with it.

Crochet My Crotch
Plumber's Menorah
Tampon Angels Ornaments
Holiday Embroidery Kit
give the gift of "you"

Lonely for Brooklyn? Try this!

2006-12-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

Found this clip during a YouTube search of "brooklyn". In between several thousand clips featuring birthdays parties for babies named "Brooklyn" (really!), I found this little gem. The poster appears to found his calling in capturing the NY subway experience, sans roving guitar players looking for handouts.

I take this particular ride somewhat regularly, but it has never been as strangely beautiful as it is here.

Random Street Art of the Day

2006-12-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

1st and Bond

Boerum Hill: the urban(e) Utopia of Brooklyn

2006-12-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

Many of you out there are all to aware of Park Slope - mecca for smug parenting, lactation, bloggers, wanna-be writers, nannies, SUV strollers, shrinks and organic everything. But are you aware of the urban utopia known as Boerum Hill? Or "Boring Hill", as some of us prefer to call it.

Like Park Slope, Boerum Hill possesses the same "I lived here when it was all crack and hookers" attitude, but they are fighting back. If you need a little entertainment one day, log onto the Boerum Hill Yahoo group. Over 800 strong, these urban toughies fight to turn their enclave into nothing short of a suburban subdivision, complete with rules about where to park, how to bag your trash properly, and cute little windshield cards that residents MUST place on their dashboards on alternate side day. A handwritten note won't do. You need an official card or you're seriously fucked.

I mention it because, like the Park slope Parenting group (which we all know far too much about), the BH group is equally mesmerizing. This week, a very nice fellow named Jason kindly asked:

"I have a sincere question about "curbing" ones dog.
I am a dog owner and try to be considerate of where my dog urinates because, as it was pointed out in another email, I live in the neighborhood too. I have never quite understood 'curbing' because the curb is lined with cars. I can not walk in the street so my dog will go on the curb because of the cars and if I walk along the sidewalk at the curb my dog would go on the cars which I don't image anyone would be happy with. I don't understand where 'at the curb' is. Could someone clear this up for me?

Then, all hell broke loose. There was much banter about the origin of the word "curb"

(The word "Curb" in the old original ordinance for "Curb your Dog" means (and only means) restrain your dog.Further, the ordinace defined that to mean a "6' long leash." It came to mean to the public the sidewalk curb but that was not the intention of the ordinance.The word curb was intended only to mean "restrain ". )

Then, of course, someone took it further, citing Article 167; 161.03 "Control of Dogs and Other Animals to Prevent Nuisance". Wow. Lots of free time there.
The light note was someone making the world's most fabulous typo:

I definitely agree that "allowing one's dong to urinate on other people's garbage cans" is not mannerly. Let's draw the line at that!

Push came to shove. Finally, someone put the whole thing into perspective by writing

Dear Friends,
This entire discussion of the word “curb” is most distressing. It is fraught with wildly disparate opinion that clearly reflects the venomous effects of factionalism and the devious application of historical perception as well as the distortion readily accepted tradition. Such harried discourse can only lead to bloodthirsty controversy which is strictly prohibited regardless of the actual circumstances.
A concerned member of the BH community

Now, 2 dry gimlets and a xanax later, I am ready to face the world anew, blessed with the undeniable knowledge of where the curb actually is, how to approach and define it , the origin of it from 3 different dictionaries (all of them wrong, apparently) and the certainty that, should i ever get a dog, i will walk it in Dumbo - or on Mars. Any place but Boerum Hill.