Memorial Weekend *Free*dom

Memorial Day weekend. If I had a yard myself I would be lying in a lounge chair sipping a refreshing beverage but since I live in an apartment in Brooklyn I'm not.
In honor of all our dead veterans I would like to say BRING OUR TROOPS HOME! Enough have died already (4400in Iraq to be exact).

The world feels like it's spinning off it's axis and I know you are all feeling it too. Wars, Earthqaukes, Oil spills, Floods, Recession (depression?)budget cuts for education, libraries closing down and the list goes on. On the bright side, it is in hard times such as these creative thinking and resourcefulness often flourishes. A prime example of this would be the swap meet at the Yard that F.I.B attended over the weekend.

This was not a flea market, this was a FREE market! And F.I.B hauled home a bunch of high quality merch.

What did I get? Since shopping confessions are all the rage on YouTube, I know you want to know!

I took away:

1. A RCA dvd player. It works and is the newest looking appliance in my house, all slim and black and shiny. Crazy how that is already outdated to someone!
2. Two pairs of Levi's that actually fit
3. A really nice drinking glass
4. An elegant crystal paper weight that is also a magnifiying glass
5. A stunning black and white print silk Liberty of London top

Hard to believe folks gave these things up! But then again I saw people fighting over a pumpkin orange leather jacket from the 70's that sat in my closet for three years untouched(which was found on 3rd Street in Park Slope. Was it yours once?) validating that old cliche about one's trash being anothers treasure.

While at the swap I stepped back and watched and was blown away by the quietness of the crowd. These freegans were FOCUSED!

This idea was brilliant. We have so much STUFF we don't want, when things get put to the curb they just go to the landfill, Knowing and actually seeing that your unwanted goods go to some one who appreciates them is awesome. What remained at the swap meet got donated to charity and all textiles were recycled.

Kudos to the Yard for hosting this fab event.

"The Jazz Stripper" on Thursday at Coney

As it is getting warm, naturally my thoughts start turning to Coney and low and behold when I checked the haps on the Coney Island USA website I saw that they are kicking off the season in their usual inimitable style. I am psyched for another great summer and look forward to seeing the new Luna Park amusement area which opens on Saturday BTW but anyway.....this one is too good not to mention and it needs mentioning because it is happening waaaaaaaaaaaaay out in Coney Island on a Thursday night, this is an event that will draw one of the most interesting crowds that perhaps will ever mingle..burlesque devotees and Neil Diamond fans!

From the press release:

Brooklyn is famous for many things: hipsters, a bridge or two, the Dodgers - and of course, Neil Diamond. On Thursday, May 27th, Sweet and Nasty Burlesque brings THE JAZZ STRIPPER to Coney Island's Burlesque At The Beach for a night of tassel-twirling tributes to the greatest singer-songwriter ever to come out of Kings County.

THE JAZZ STRIPPER will feature old favorites, new surprises, the return of the Neil Or No Neil trivia contest - and a special finale tribute to Mr. Diamond, as only Coney Island can do it. So turn on your heartlight, thank the Lord for the night time, and travel down those Brooklyn roads with Nasty Canasta and Sweet and Nasty Burlesque: Creamy Stevens, Gal Friday, Sapphire Jones, Bastard Keith and Tigger! will make you a believer at THE JAZZ STRIPPER, a Diamond-studded night of burlesque on Coney Island

Neil or No Neil Trivia?! It is a MUST see!
Starts at 9pm- 10 dollar admission

Burlesque at the Beach
Coney Island USA
1208 Surf Ave.

Go to Coney Island USA to see all the other fab events happening. There is more burlesque on friday and a screening of the film, Escape from New York on Saturday. Five bucks includes free popcorn.

Take the A Train

Who needs Cape Cod?

Snapshots of Far Rockaway from inside a speeding A Train on a rainy day last week.

Made in Red Hook

Perhaps you shall be wandering around Red Hook and Carroll Gardens on Saturday for the open studios. If so, pop into Lucky Gallery's one year anniversary celebration/opening reception to check out their recreation of a Parisian salon which will showcase not art from across the pond, but from right here in Red Hook, USA baby!

The details:

“Made in Red Hook” Opening Reception, May 22, 7-10 PM

After a brief hiatus – Lucky Gallery is back with the biggest group show to date.

Help Lucky celebrate our one-year anniversary, and the Brooklyn Studio Tour with our opening of “Made in Red Hook” a traditional salon exhibition by Red Hook artists Todd von Ammon, Laura Arena, Maria Baraybar, Andy Vernon-Jones, Christina Kelly, Heather Phelps-Lipton, Nate Luce, Rachel Mosler, L. Nichols, Julia Oldham, Anna Ortiz, Joshua Ray Stephens, Eric Taylor, Elizabeth Tomasetti, Tonky and Beriah Wall.

“Made in Red Hook” is curated by gallery director and participating artist Laura Arena and Ana Bogdanovic, who plan to transform Lucky Gallery into the traditional setting reminiscent of Salon de Paris, the annual public exhibition of the French Royal Academy in the 18th and 19th century that displayed the actual artistic production and presented the cities most established artists at the time.

Artists’ works will be exhibited floor-to-ceiling and the artists and visitors are invited to spend time in our seating area where there will be literary materials and videos to view.

Exhibition Dates: May 22, 2010 – June 13th, 2010
Opening Reception: May 22, 7-10 PM
Gallery Hours: Sat/Sun 1-6 and by appt. only
Gallery Address: Lucky Gallery, 176 Richards Street, Brooklyn, NY. 11231

Fairey Visits Gowanus

Shepard Fairey or one of his minions has recently paid a visit to the Union Street Bridge. Anyone know how long this has been up? I saw it for the first time last night.

He has been in town for his big May Day show at Deitsch Projects in Manhattan and to cover the wall on Houston Street that used to have that big Keith Haring mural. Honestly, I haven't been following it. I never really liked Fairey until I saw him in a skateboarding documentary and he seemed surprisingly unpretentious and true to his beliefs and was into hardcore punk in the 80's so naturally I liked him. He is for the people. I also like that he does his images by hand stencil, he doesn't use a computer.

ANYWAY. I am no art critic.

Frequent F.I.B contributor David Kaplan actually had a conversation with Fairey on the street a few weeks ago in front of that wall (what a schmoozer!). You can read all about Fairey's battle with the Associated Press over his Obama/Hope image in David's interview here.

This is the perfect moment to mention that David's lovely wife, Cat Weaver, has a new art related blog, focusing on the business end, called The Art Machine...The Art Machine!

Old News but Freddy's Last Night Was Really on Saturday.....

These boots were made for stomping on Bruce Ratner!!!
I think I am sort of still in the denial stage. Yes I know that Freddy's was on shakey ground. And yes I know most of the neighborhood had left or been knocked down for Atlantic Yard blight but for some reason it was just so hard to imagine Freddy's actually closing down forever. I know I know, it was a "victory" party because they are going to move and continue the "grand idea" of Freddy's but is still unreal to me...probably because Freddy's was so "real". F.I.B had a first anniversary show at Freddy's about 3 years ago. Funny, the next couple years passed with no notice but for some reason that year I was all hot to party. There was a "Found in Brooklyn" art show and a bunch of great bands played (Les Sans Cullotes, The Anabolics, The Susquehanna Tool & Die Co., read my gushing blog post recap here. Y'know Freddy's still had the poster up for that show in the backroom on their last night and it is now hanging in my livingroom. Anway I knew all along that Fred's was really closing on Saturday, the media was all over the story (myself included if you consider "media") and the management wanted a night a little less crazed as a send off. Although "the management" worked their asses off all night and looked utterly worn out, it was a fine retrospective of many of Freddy's best musical acts...anyway I think 24 bands played. I got home at dawn and my camera died at about midnight. Spirited videos to come.

Daniel Goldstein was in the mosh pip for the Spunk Lads that evening..
The Saudi Agenda
This wall will soon be no more.

LONG LIVE FREDDY'S!

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