Celebrating Community
A few months ago in this column, I examined the community board’s recommendations regarding the Gowanus rezoning plan that allows real estate developers to build 30 story luxury condos in the formerly arts and industrial (and polluted) Gowanus neighborhood. After the community board’s approval, the next step is the approval of the Borough President. We still actually have a borough […]
THE GREATS- Before Social Media My earliest entertainment memories include the likes of Boys II Men, Eddie Murphy, Micheal Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, and many more. Growing up I remember watching these entertainers and adoring their undeniable talent. The culture that I was raised in applauded talent and skill, to the extent that most could not ascend to […]
On Deck Truth, Prince and the American Way. Last month, the British newspaper The Guardian proudly declared Welcome 2 America the best album of Prince’s last two decades. They’re hardly alone in praising the record Prince shelved in 2010 and, fair enough, Prince never managed to surpass his remarkable album-a-year run from 1984’s Purple Rain to 1988’s Lovesexy. But Prince’s […]
There’s lots to love when it comes to Blue Note records, not the least of which is that the combination of the consistently fine music they recorded and released and the distinctive and influential graphic design of the record albums were some of the most important elements of creating what “cool” meant in American culture, before it was coopted and […]
All of it was inconceivable — the scale, the carnage, the optics. To watch the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in real time, especially on television, was to thrash desperately for order as everything fell away. For many of us, that tenuous toehold was Hollywood. “This is like something out of a movie” was a natural first reaction. With more […]
Jonathan Ames, author of several books (including You Were Never Really Here, adapted into a film starring Joaquin Phoenix), creator of two television series (Blunt Talk and Bored to Death), and sometimes boxer (fighting as “The Herring Wonder”), continues building an eclectic body of passion projects with his latest work, A Man Named Doll. This novel focuses on the improbably […]