Joel Johnson of Boing Boing Gadgets walked around my neighborhood to test a military-spec computerized language translator. The resulting video is pretty amusing. Check it out here.
Archive for the ‘Brooklyn’ Category
One way to judge a piece of art is to consider how it makes you feel. Let’s check out the Telectroscope. This public art installation/gee-whiz gadget is on display in two cities, Brooklyn and London, through June 15.
The lens of each Telectroscope displays a live video picture of the people gazing into the other one. One is aimed at the Tower Bridge (from the south side of the Thames), one at the Brooklyn Bridge (from the Fulton Ferry Landing). Artist Paul St George has developed a whole story, a fake history, explaining his creation.
Two big Brooklyn cover stories this week.
- Marc Ferris does a fine job explaining the Brooklyn country music scene in the Village Voice.
- In New York magazine, writer Adam Sternbergh examines Brooklyn through the prism of the Brownstoner real estate blog.*
If you read these stories, you’ll think they’re about two different cities.
The borough I know is the one in the first story, a place where all sorts of people manage to live in close quarters and get along, everybody listening to their own style of music. It’s not a nervous hive of interlopers bickering about real estate.
*Get your hands on a print magazine to fully appreciate the Seussian illustrations by Zohan Lazar that accompany the article.
The Brooklyn Bridge turns 125 tomorrow. Like most Brooklynites, I have fond feelings about this bridge – an irrational sort of love that people don’t usually feel for a piece of civil engineering.
Below are some Brooklyn Bridge photos I’ve taken over the years, beginning with my first visit in 2002.
Now usually I don’t do this. But I’m trying something new at work: Video. These clips are shot with a crew of one (me) on inexpensive video equipment (a Canon FS100 digital camcorder) and consumer-grade editing software (iMovie). It’s a start.
Below are links to some videos I recorded Wednesday and Thursday at the New York Photo Festival in Brooklyn. Feel free to poke fun as I channel my inner Kurt Loder.
Video: Lesley A. Martin at NYPH
Video: Tim Barber at NYPH
Video: Kathy Ryan and Simon Norfolk at NYPH
From an MTV press release:
“Riding high on the successful launch of an accelerated, action packed 13-week episode cycle with more favorite Real World drama packed into 1-hour episodes, MTV has greenlit the hit reality series for a 21st season. Production will move from the west coast to the east coast as Bunim-Murray Productions begins shooting in Brooklyn, NY this summer. Continuing with the new format of expanding the episodes to one-hour, the network has ordered 12 episodes of ‘The Real World: Brooklyn‘ which is scheduled to premiere in Q1 2009.”
Unclear at this time where in Brooklyn the show will take place; some blogs are guessing Carroll Gardens or Williamsburg. If I were in charge, I’d put it in Dumbo.
Also: The 21st season! The Real World first aired in 1992. Wow, I feel old.
I’m pretty cynical about branding, but for some reason I’ll buy any food product that says “Brooklyn” on it.
Unfortunately, most of our native products aren’t especially healthy. Off the top of my head… Fox’s U-bet chocolate syrup. Brooklyn beer (as well as Coney Island Lager and anything brewed by Six Point). Gorilla Coffee. Manhattan Special soda (made in Brooklyn). Jacques Torres chocolates. Uncle Louie G’s Ice Cream (to which I’ll add 5 Boroughs Ice Cream, even though its from Astoria).
It gets ridiculous. Some stores near me have started selling Brooklyn chewing gum. A local wine shop called Red, White & Bubbly sells wine under the label of “Brooklyn Wine Company,” complete with a Brooklyn Bridge logo on the bottle. The wine inside comes from California.
We’d eat healthier if Brooklyn were famous for tomatoes or apples or fresh fish… rather than beer and pizza and cheesecake and chocolate.
Last week I wrote about how film crews were shooting the remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123″ along Park Avenue above Grand Central.
Yesterday I spotted signs in Dumbo (around the intersection of Jay and Front streets) noting a “Pelham 123″ shoot taking place on Tuesday. What the heck are they doing in Brooklyn?
I also hear they were shooting scenes around 41st and 42nd streets on the East Side in Manhattan. More: The AM New York Urbanite blog has details about shooting on the 7 platform at Grand Central (they got permits for that?!) and Second Ave. Sagas has pics of Denzel Washington at the Park Ave shoot.
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