THE re(CYCLE) PLAYS at Socrates Sculpture Park, Saturday 9/15

Come to Socrates Sculpture Park on Saturday, September 15 for an afternoon-long theater experience that sounds really unique: THE re(CYCLE) PLAYS. Here's what I've been told:

THE re(CYCLE) PLAYS is a free festival of shows related to sustainable development at Socrates Sculpture Park. The format of the festival hearkens back to the tradition of the Medieval Cycle Play, and gathers a number of talented young theater artists and companies for a common cause. Every set piece and prop is recycled, and the lights and sound equipment are powered by bio-diesel.

Socrates Sculpture Park
32-01 Vernon Blvd.
Long Island City, NY 11106
(718)956-1819


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Kaufman-Astoria is Super Bad

Saturday morning Wesley and I wake up bright and early, as is our wont these days. We're not sure at what point we morphed into senior citizens but our circadian rhythms seem permanently set on "wake up early and have a fun day." I blame it on the pregnancy hormones, which really doesn't seem fair because I have pregnancy insomnia to boot. I will never sleep again.

So anyway, on Saturday, after drinking coffee, reading the paper, doing the NYT crossword puzzle (that's right, suckers, I can do Saturday), enjoying the infonot, eating breakfast, doing a little light housecleaning, going to Nita's for pregnant lady's second breakfast, reading a few chapters in my book, and clearing out my email inbox, Wesley had a suggestion.

"Wanna see Superbad?"

Fuck yeah, I want to see Superbad. (You do, too, by the way).

We chose the 11:05 at Kaufman Astoria so we could get back in time to do some more Time Warner Digital Cable surfing before the Mets game at 3:30.

We get to KA at 10:50, because we believe that you should be early for a movie. (We also believe that you should shut the fuck up and turn off your cell phone, but it's much more rewarding to believe in things you can control.)

There was a crowd outside, and the gates were down. There appeared to be no signs of life inside. We really didn't know what to do. Later shows would cut into our Mets game. Wesley said, "maybe we should go get waffles?" We've never gone for waffles before, so I guess he was joking, but it was coming up on time for my third breakfast so I was having a hard time concentrating on willing the movie theater to open because of the steady hum in my head, going "waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles."

At 11:02 the gates open and all 50 of us bumrushed the entrance. I headed for the ticket line, wishing I had body armor to protect my belly from the people who were diving over and under the line to get as close to the front as possible. I don't blame them because there was only 1 woman selling tickets.

Wesley joined the mob at the machines, even though that is a true fool's errand because only 2 of them ever work at any given time and it's never the same 2. I was easily 8 people back and still got my tickets from the 1 slow lady (who even disappeared for a few minutes) before the people in front of Wesley had scored a successful swipe.

At least they started the movies on time, because that's what's important. Screw the audience, right? We made it just in time for the 100 minutes of awesome vulgarity that was Superbad. I'd say it was worth it but I'm too hungry to keep writing.

Museum of the Moving Image--New Podcasts

The ex-video store clerk in me is kind of freaking out at the Museum of the Moving Image's online offerings. They've got panels and Q&A sessions with all sorts of amazing people, from David Cronenberg to Terry Gilliam to Todd Haynes (twice!) to Martin Scorcese and a gazillion other people. They're audio-only, or you can get a PDF of the transcript.

Newest offerings are Michael Moore (Sicko), Sarah Polley (Away from Her) and a tantalizing panel called Considering Horror.

Seriously, did you guys know about this and not tell me? I'm so pissed at you for leaving me out...

Katrina Comes to Socrates Park

Check out The Blog of Joy for some cool photos from her trip to Socrates Sculpture Park to see by sculptor Takashi Horisaki's replica of a New Orleans house destroyed by hurricane Katrina.

Thanks for the heads up, Joy!

Live Music in LIC

Check out The Wallace Brothers next Friday night in the 'hood:

FRIDAY, August 24
9 pm
The Creek and the Cave
10-93 Jackson Ave (Long Island City)
1 stop from Grand Central on the 7

The Creek and the Cave is everything you could ask for in a nitespot: Mexican grill, bar, theater, lounge, pool room and patio all under one very large roof.

much love,
Mark + Carey

Hidden Queens--Huzzah!

Lots of our favorites on here--and some egregious oversights.

The Hidden Queens roundup from the New York Post is a great celebration of our borough. I'll be adding this link to our "In the Neighborhood" sidebar for easy reference.

CSA Killed My Contact Lenses--and I Liked It

The box from the Sunnyside CSA this week contained the usual goodies from the Golden Earthworm farm, including three lovely green peppers and two wondrously fragrant onions.

I decided to make steak sandwiches for me & Wesley. I carmelized the onions and sauteed the peppers, browned some flank steak in the cast iron then cut it across the grain and served it on a toasted baguette with some olive oil and goat cheese. With potato chip and a nice salad made from the CSA red leaf lettuce & tomato (and Foodtown cucumber), it was a delicious meal. I'm getting hungry just remembering it (though being almost 7 months pregnant it doesn't take much).

As we sat down to eat, I noticed that the skin between my fingers was burning, but I didn't remember touching any of the pans I used. As we were eating our sandwiches, we discovered that one of the three green peppers was a hot one. I am very sensitive to capsaicin (what makes the hot pepper hot) but I wasn't having much trouble with this one, possibly because it was cooked down & I had removed all the seeds. The fire was a quick flash that faded just as quickly.

However, as the night progressed, the burning on my hands spread and I realized that I was going to be in trouble.

See, I wear contact lenses. I learned once the hard way what careless jalapeno handling will mean for my ability to remove my contacts at night. So I'm always careful when handling hot peppers not to touch any part of them but the skin. This sneaky pepper, however, I'd been handling without care--that is, pulling out the ribs, brushing off the seeds, and cutting it up with my usual culinary abandon. I basicaly wiped it all over my hands.

That night, I braced myself for contact lens removal. There is nothing like having that on fire feeling directly on your eyeball. The last (only) time this happened I ended up discarding the lenses but I'd just switched to this pair on Friday and I hate to see a good pair go. Plus I had only just gotten used to my schedule--I am very flaky and can never remember when it's time to switch to a new pair. So I put them in the case.

In the morning, I pulled out contact lens number one and rinsed it beyond thoroughly, then stuck it in my eye. My poor assaulted eye immediately flooded with tears and began to swell up. I ripped out the lens and through both of them out. There was enough capsaicin left on my hands that even putting in the new pair caused some pretty intense burning, and for most of the morning I looked like I'd been crying.

My hands were burning for most of the day, even though I kept washing them and washing them and washing them. I finally put some burn ointment on and that helped. A friend suggested I dip them in milk, but that didn't really help.

Last night, over 24 hours since I'd handled that pepper, I took my contacts out and experienced a brief flash of burning.

Fortunately, this morning, when I put my contacts in, there was no burning at all, and my hands are back to normal.

But man, I tell you, that sandwich was awesome.

Manda Bala at MMI--Video Interview with Director Jason Kohn

I was at Sundance this year, and I kept hearing tremendous buzz about a little documentary called Manda Bala (Send a Bullet), which is screening this Saturday at 6:30 at the Museum of the Moving Image.

Here is a video interview with the director:



The interviewer, Reid Rosefelt, is a veteran publicist who helped launch the careers of such filmmakers as Pedro Almodovar and Jim Jarmusch. He wrote a lot more about the movie here, saying:

There are two basic strands to the story. One involves the super-violent world of kidnapping in Sao Paolo. We meet a woman who had both her ears cut off by kidnappers. It seems ear amputation is the preferred method of terrifying families into paying huge ransoms. There is a plastic surgeon that has developed a practice of reconstructing ears. A businessman relates that nearly every person of wealth has been a victim of crime or kidnapped. Some have been kidnapped more than once. Kidnapping is a booming business in Sao Paolo: it has the most bullet-proof cars, and the most private helicopters. Technologies.

The second part of MANDA BALA is about Jader Barbalho, Brazil's most powerful politician. It's really hard to think of too many people in the the world who are more outright evil than this man. Kim Jong-il? In a nutshell, he stole over two billion dollars from a public works project, thereby plunging the entire northeast of the country into starvation and death. I kept thinking, "what is he going to do with two billion dollars?" If he had considered stealing only one billion instead of two billion, it would have had a titanic impact on the ability of tens of thousands of people to survive.

Save the Library!

From Queens Crap:

"The Queens Library last year received $5.09 for each library patron visit, about two-thirds of the amount received by the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library, which serves Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, says the report, "Library Funding: Subsidies Rebound, Disparities Remain."

I don't know about you, but I think that the library is one of the greatest public places ever devised by humankind. I'm not joking. See, they have books. And you can get a card that lets you take them home for a couple of weeks. Nowadays, using this thing called the internet you can even get your library to order books that they don't have, then hold them behind the counter just for you and nobody else. They'll even send you an email when the books come in!

And I'm not just talking fusty old classics like that broad who wrote the book they based Clueless on. I'm talking Harry Potter. I'm talking Stephen King, Nora Roberts, Oprah's Book Club, Neil Gaiman, Spiderwick, Laura Ingalls Wilder... just to name a few who may never have appeared together in the same sentence before.

The library doesn't have to be pretty, though that helps. It ought to be quiet--but that's a post for another day, because today I come to praise the library, not to bury it. Many offer woefully underfunding continuing education and ESL classes.

And if you hate to read, did you know they have CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks? Try one of the latter for your August trek in the rental to Grandma's. Who needs an SUV with a DVD player when you can have an Oscar-winning actor read you a good story?

Has this post moved you to action? Then buy the library a book.

Buy-A-Book for Queens Library
Celebrate the Library's 100th Anniversary

Funds for new books are needed more than ever. The library's budget to buy books has decreased by $4 million, while the demand for books and materials continues to increase each year!

Make your special “Buy-A-Book” gift for Queens Library’s 100th Anniversary today! Until September 30, your gift will be worth twice as much through a very generous $150,000 challenge grant provided by The Louis Calder Foundation.

Donations of $25 or more will buy books for the Library to be enjoyed by toddlers, teens, seniors, or you! As a thank you, your name, or the name of the person or organization you choose to honor, will appear on a special, limited edition commemorative 100th Anniversary bookplate in a new book.

So Cute

The YMCA has an indoor track that runs in a circle above the pool. On Saturdays, you can see the kids having their swimming classes. Everything from dads with tiny babies to kids bumping into each other while trying to master the backstroke to little ones with floaties and kickboards.

I mean, seriously. Can anything be cuter? Except maybe the little ballet class I saw in the 2nd floor classroom last week. Tutus and everything.

Bring the Funny to the Grind

Are there funny people in NW Queens? The Grind thinks you'll find them from 9 to 11:30 on Thursday nights. No cover, 2 drink minimum--and they're claiming to have cocktails now.

If you're really masochistic--er, in the mood for homegrown entertainment, warm up with Open Mic night, starting at 7pm, also on Thursday night.

I totally, totally dare somebody to check this out. Best reader review wins a rice ball from the Cheesteak Factory and bragging rights. Send submissions to clairedeveronNOSPAM@gmail.com (make sure to delete the NOSPAM part).

WNBC-TV report on the future of Sunnyside Rail Yards

Thanks to "New Yorker" for sending Queens Rocks a link to ABC News's video report on this hotly contested issue.

Ropes Course--In Queens!

CITY’S FIRST PUBLIC…AND THE NORTHEAST’S LARGEST…HIGH ROPES ADVENTURE COURSE OPENS IN ALLEY POND PARK

DATE: Friday, July 20, 2007

TIME:
12:00 p.m.

LOCATION:
Alley Pond Adventure Course, Enter at Winchester Blvd. (under the Grand Central Parkway; north of Union Turnpike); Head to the parking lot, Alley Pond Park, Queens

EVENT & PHOTO-OP: Commissioner Adrian Benepe and approximately 50 kids will "cut the rope" and traverse the new Alley Pond Adventure Course—the first adventure ropes course in a New York City park and the largest of its kind in the northeast. Press is invited to participate in the course.

DETAILS: The Alley Pond Park Adventure Course, also called a ropes or challenge course, is a challenging outdoor activity course that is open to individuals and groups and consists of 20 high and low elements—zip lines, a climbing grotto, a web, balance boards and more.

The course is a program of the Urban Park Rangers and was funded with a $250,000 grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and a $120,000 grant from the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation.

A Silly Storytelling Hour at Starbucks

Night Light Works Presents:

A Silly Storytelling Hour at Starbucks

Come and join us for an hour of milk, cookies and Silly Storytelling!

WHAT IT IS: A Silly Story is a story where anything can happen! And it's sure to be silly because children are encouraged to help tell it! Silly Storytelling is a great way to build children's literacy skills and develop their imaginations!

WHO: All ages are welcome, but Silly Storytelling is especially fun for ages 3 to 10.

WHEN: Wednesday July 25th from 6pm to 7pm.

WHERE: Your local Starbucks! 46-09 Queens Blvd

HOW: Sign up at Starbucks to let us know that you are coming! There is a sign up sheet behind the counter and on the bullentin board. Sign up on either sheet.

For the Grown-ups we have a special treat as well... COFFEE and A FREE RAFFLE!

Warm Up in LIC: And Unlike Last Summer, LIC Residents Aren’t Paying For It

In New York City the word “beach” means as much as the word “grass.” There’s not that many opportunities to lay in the sun, on a hammock, with cool music, (not your ipod), with overly attractive friends and a summer-y drink. Until now--P.S.1’s Warm Up Saturday series is in full summertime swing.

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is the sexier, or rather x/y/z generation counterpart of the MOMA. This hip counterpart set in a old school building, offers a party in a rather unexpected place, right at the foot of the 45 Road Court House Square subway stop. The party grounds are impressive— a concrete beach with full hammocks draped from an overwhelming art exhibit called Liquid Sky, chilled summer drinks at the bar, live music and DJ’s that spin while you're relaxing, socializing, dancing or trying to stay dry under the aforementioned “sky.”

In addition to the party fun, LIC/Sunnyside residents get in free—which is a steal, since regular admission is ten bucks. However, be sure to bring a proof of residence, such as a bill or lease and form of ID— they will not let you in otherwise. With this golden ticket, you are given access to P.S.1’s indoor museum which offers everything from an art exhibit in the historic building’s own boiler room to a painstaking tiny dot masterpiece.

So, on Saturday, get off your couch and turn off the AC-—Warm Up at P.S.1.

Dates & Times

Each Saturday through September 1, from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Address:

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is located at 22-25 Jackson Avenue at 46th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, across the Queensboro Bridge from midtown Manhattan.

Click here for full line up and info.

Lollipop Garden Closing

From the owners:

Hello everyone,

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the closing of Lollipop Garden.
As many of you know, we have faced financial difficulties since the warm weather has arrived and we have been trying to come up with a temporary arrangement with our landlord. Well, we did have an arrangement but late Friday we have received a phone call from the landlord who simply said that (for whatever reason) the arrangement we had will not work for him and asked that we be out of the premises by the end of next week. Needless to say, we are devastated. We asked for a little break on the rent and were led to believe that our request was accepted. The landlord's change of mind on Friday caught us totally off guard and now we have no choice but to close our doors for good since we do not have sufficient funds to cover the rent.

I know this may sound really "cheap" but we would like to ask for one last and final support from the community to help us out with this sudden move. We will be open for open play all of next week at regular admission price so please stop by and say hello. All classes however have been canceled. We are also selling everything at Lollipop Garden. We will say our final good-bye on Thursday and will be open until 8:00. We want to say thank you to all of you who have supported us in the last 7 months and we apologize to those who just found us in the last few weeks.

Rate the 7 Train Online

Too bad there isn't a place to write in comments:

"During rush hour, I love that I can wave to all the people on the 46th Street platform, knowing that all of us will still be there when the train comes by."

Take the survey here.

Lemonade!

I just drank a delicious fresh squeezed lemonade from The Grind (Queens Boulevard & 39th Place, South Side). I watched her squeeze it myself. Real lemons, and you add the sugar yourself so I could get the perfect level of tartness. Delicious & refreshing after a walk through the neighborhood.

Also, I noticed that The Grind has ice cream sodas on offer. I have not had one yet, but this has been one of my pregnancy cravings. And since my boyfriend Mr. Softee no longer comes up my street at 9:15 pm, I've been despairing of having to rely on Baskin Robbins for my fix. I mean, the Foodtown can't manage to stock mint chocolate chip of ANY BRAND WHATSOEVER. I can't be the only person who has a problem with this.

I'll report back tomorrow after I have a float. I'm thinking Dr. Pepper with vanilla ice cream...

SOUTHERN QUEENS GOSPEL FEST

DATE: Saturday, July 14, 2007

TIME:
3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION:
Baisley Pond Park, Rockaway Blvd., Sutphin Blvd. and Baisley Blvd., Queens

DETAILS: This free festival will feature performances by Brother Al Smith of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church, Brotherhood Choir, CTH Mass Choir of St. Albans Baptist Church, Echols Temple, GBC Inspirations, Growth Christ Community Choir, and others. Parks & Recreation will also offer free refreshments, arts and crafts, face painting, and raffle prizes.

The event is hosted by Black Families International and WLIB Radio with sponsorship by Sam Ash Music Stores and KFC. The Southern Queens Gospel Fest is part of a larger initiative to increase programming in southern Queens parks.

Seeking vendors for upcoming Sunnyside Gardens Craft Fair

Calling All Handmade-Craft Vendors to the
Sunnyside Gardens Park
1st Annual Craft Fair


Seeking artisans of fine quality, handmade crafts


Date: Saturday, September 8, 2007
(Rain date September 9)
Time: 11AM – 3 PM
Location: Sunnyside Gardens Park
48–21 48th Street, Sunnyside, NY


To request an application:
E-mail: sunnysidegardenspark@nyc.rr.com
Phone: 718-672-1555
Submission deadline: August 18, 2007
Tables: $50
Booth Size: 10 x 10