A Brooklyn Beat: Celebrate Brooklyn, Maceo Parker, Laurie Anderson
Prospect Park's outdoor music, film and dance series, Celebrate Brooklyn, kicks off with big names this weekend. Horn legend Maceo Parker opens the fest Thursday night, a Latin music night keeps the ball rolling Friday, and Saturday finds Laurie Anderson gracing the bandshell with always-keen lyrical insight, mostly brillant music, and never-changing hairdo, in a performance that will reportedly meld old and new material -- maybe "Superman" for Father's Day? Overall, the fest's schedule this year looks a little less dazzling than in previous years (Los Lonely Boys?), but I'll definitely pick out some highlights as they come up. With all the free summer music happening across New York, what's your favorite fest?
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I'm sorry that this comment is a bit overarching, but after stumbling (and commenting) upon your l&b entry, and thereafter quickly realizing that this blog should be called a (i'd rather never go below prospect park in) Brooklyn Life, though below the park is the real brooklyn, I feel the need to suggest a few things in the faint hope you can take a step down from the ol' high horse, stop judging so much, and see some real shit.
How about instead of calling the Coney Island beach Brighton Beach but never actually setting foot in the neighborhood, you go see it? All the little food stands next to the ostentatious night clubs..you'll feel like you're in Odessa...yes, you'll feel completely ignored and isolated, but if you can show some actual interest, that will change. Down the road you can see Manhattan Beach, probably the quaintest little neighborhood in Brooklyn (regardless of whether or not you've ever even heard of it). From there you can cross the bridge into Sheepshead Bay, go to Randazzo's for the best clams and fresh air seating in Brooklyn. Maybe you can take the bus to Kings Plaza and see what every native brooklynite thinks of when you say the word "mall." Take a walk through Canarsie or Midwood. Go see Brooklyn College. Take the bus back across Avenue J. Get a bagel in Bensonhurst. When I search your blog I get TWO entries for Bay Ridge. Unreal. I wonder if you realize how many people think of Bay Ridge FIRST when they think of Brooklyn? Maybe you'll find some decent italian ice there too. How about 8th Avenue? That's the real chinatown in New York. Maybe before you say there's nothing worthwhile in Coney Island a block removed from "Brighton Beach," you'd go see where people live, where they grow up, where they go to school. "Needs a little economic kick-in-the-ass." If that means importing people who don't realize high heels won't work on beaches and boardwalks, no thank you.
I suppose I'm barking up the wrong tree here. Sadly, however, I'm sure many people today are getting their information about an entire Borough from this blog and blogs just like it. I guess in the long run, though, it's probably better that both you and they don't both with the places I just mentioned. Leaves a little enclave of sanity for the rest of us. See you at Maceo Parker.
I don't see how any mom and pop blog that is not otherwise written for profit or self promotion could cover all of Brooklyn AND cover it well. In my mind (which is small and fried), ABL covers their own Brooklyn - mostly their 'hood and the places that they travel to. They do it well.
For the other places that Mike mentions, I'd suggest other blogs, like some of the blogs linked over there to the right of this page.
I agree that ABL is the out of towner's guide to the Borough of Kings, but please...I live in Manhattan Beach and the last thing I want is for my neighborhood and beach to be overrun with hipsters. Please! Stay in Park Slope, Williamsburg, Carroll Gardens, and the downtown area.
PS: If the ABL blogger is going to insult L&B, they're asking to be taken to task for their "oh so hip" postings.
I miss the Williamsburg I grew up in not this contrived hippie existance these artist have tried to carve out. My apartment is co-op please stop trying to get me to sell it at a price way less than its worth just because my face is brown, does not mean I don't know the value of real estate, be careful bushwick you are next.
Re: The OTHER Brooklyn, and the "douchebag" who posted on craigslist, if you don't like our blog.. and the "oh so hip" postings.. don't read it! Go start your own damn blog and bitch about how much the world sucks there. If you're worried about the rest of "real" Brooklyn not being covered properly, get off your ass and go do it! With all that seething obvious hate in your comments, you could be far more productive than just being another schmuck.
And yes, I can delete your comments and block your IPs, but what would that prove?
Annabelle, what makes you think that I'm out trying to buy your out of our coop? Shit! we're still trying to cover our own bills and make rent. Honestly I have much better stuff to do with my time, like piss off people with posts about L&B.
I'd also like to add that, sure, not everyone who posts here has lived here for years, but so what?! We're still learning the borough, bit by bit, and this blog should be about the fun of discovering it. It's called "a" brooklyn life for a reason: it's just one slice of our particular experience. We all have other jobs, and we do this cause we enjoy it. If you're looking for "the" definitive Brooklyn life, go live it, and keep telling us about it here. But if you're looking for it in blogs, you're gonna be let down every time.
Calling someone a douchbag for leaving their comments on a blog is childish, WTF do you have a blog for if you cannot deal with people's comments?
Actually, I was just flipping the childish douchebag comment back to the source.. If I couldn't deal with the comments, I'd be deleting, editing, or turning them off completely. I'll admit, I did just edit my previous comment (added some quotes) so nobody would be confused of the source.
Edit your previous comment? like 10 times you did...plus this new one you edited too...come on man, just go with your gut. your first (or first seven) thoughts are fine, trust me :)
Regardless (since I only get one shot at this comment), I'm just gonna say I'm not here to hate, but I do think that blogs like this have a responsibility to readers to go a little deeper and do things right (for example, no one eats at the restaurant part of l&b for the pizza, and don't judge a place like coney island completely on the surface). All I wanted to do was to lend perspective to your stated mission - hopefully you'll think twice about your next destination and what you do while you're there - that's all.
PS "Honestly I have much better stuff to do with my time, like piss off people with posts about L&B." - good stuff..ill give u props on that, this douchebag laughed a lot at that comment
PPS Also, good job for not deleting. Many would, and that's wrong. That doesn't help any situation.
I edited my own comment 10 times because I could ;) I have a tendency to piss-off Crafty (the main writer) with my comments. I'd rather not sleep on the couch tonight.
After being inspired by this site, I thought about starting "aMinnesotaLife" blog, but my friends quickly pointed out that entries such as "Albino Moose Shot!" or "Look! No bugs in our mesh tent!" would be boring.
The thing about ABL is that it's *A* Brooklyn Life. Not *Your* Brooklyn life. It's about the interests and reflections of a couple individuals living their life here - they aren't responsible for representing your life.
Brooklyn is growing into a worldly, sophisticated place full of people from all over the world - everyone I know who was born in Brooklyn appreciates that. Trolling looking for a fight about how you hate the changes here seems like a shitty waste of time to me.
I have one three-hour meeting at work and it seems the whole world gets excited about Brooklyn!!!
'Tis true, I haven't spent a lot of time in Bay Ridge. It's not a personal thing, just a matter of geography,but I'm always excited to try something new, in Carroll Gardens or elsewhere. I think the regular readers know that ... hopefully the craiglist posting (http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/rnr/171535098.html) will bring some new people to the discussion.
Don't know the exact Coney Island post you're talking about, but I (heart) Coney Island in general and the Coney Island Mermaid Parade something fierce. Also, I think Totonno pizza could take any of the Manhattan favorites any day. i have, however, walked several blocks off the CI boardwalk and been harassed (and no I don't walk around in a bizarre legging-accented "hipster" outfit), and you'd have to be blind to think that the region is thriving economically.
It's also true, I don't like L&B's pizza, nothing personal, but the pizza itself is not that great (the people may be great, the patio may be great, even the spumoni may be great, but the pizza is not great). I suppose that my trip to Greenwood Cemetery to see Brooklyn parrots, or my love of quirky Gowanus culture doesn't count as being "real" enough for some. What I love about Brooklyn most--and I've posted about this many times--is its diversity and its spirit. There's enough of Brooklyn to keep us talking (and blogging) for a long, long time. Peace out ;)
Just leave it to me to kick up a shit-storm...
the beauty of the internet, and the essence of a blog, is the ability for an individual to express their thoughts on something - such as their little ol' neighborhood. i suggest that mike create a "the brooklyn most of you transplants from places like cleveland never see" blog. i'd read it.
Ryan your comment "Brooklyn is growing into a worldly, sophisticated place full of people from all over the world " shows you have no clue of Brooklyn and it's long history, my friend... Wow these out of towners make me laugh...