Celebrating Community
District 38 Council Member Alexa Avilés knows how hard the Trump administration’s immigration policy is hitting Red Hook. Avilés, who is Chair of the Immigration Committee, says that community providers have noted drops in undocumented people accessing services and a lot of talk about moving away. People do not feel safe, according to Avilés. “There’s unfortunately an enormous amount of vitriol […]
A descent into the maelstrom There is a short story written in 1841 by Edgar Allen Poe called “A Descent into the Maelstrom.” It tells the tale of a mariner at sea caught in a giant whirlpool. IMHO we ourselves are currently spiraling downward in a similar predicament. Hard to say when this malevolent spin of events began. […]
David Lynch sat in a strange seat of power during the 1990s. He had put a tale of psychic terror about a victimized cheerleader addicted to cocaine on network television. He then retconned the notion of Elvis Presley movies to include shocking levels of physical and sexual violence and took it to Cannes. And he syndicated a comic strip that […]
Each year, I meticulously keep track of every book I read, writing a short blurb to capture my primary feelings and responses to each book. I do this for many reasons, but mostly because my short term memory is so faulty. I also do this so I have recommendations at the ready when asked the loaded question: “What have you […]
2024 has seen a high degree of political instability in France, with four different prime ministers, the rise of the far-right, a snap election called by Macron in June, and a successful no-confidence vote passed in December by the left- and right-wings together. The political impasse led France not to pass a budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which has […]
Wraptor Restaurant and Bar, 358 Columbia St., is located right on the street corner where Seabring Street. becomes Coles Street. in Red Hook. One of the things that stands out about Wraptor is that while most of the options for food in the area are closed at night, this restaurant is open from 10 am to 2 am seven days […]
I’ve been going to bars lately because it’s cold outside, people in bars have loose tongues, and it’s easy to talk to them. Today I went into the Strong Rope Brewery on the waterfront and asked customers and bartenders a provocative question for the January issue: What are your feelings about the Luigi Mangione phenomenon? For those of you who […]
In our last issue, I wrote about how we (many of us, at least) celebrate Christmas in Sweden. I went through it all, from Dec. 1 and Swedish Public Service’s advent calendar TV show, through the celebration of St. Lucy and bingo on the night before Christmas Eve, to the sales on Boxing Day. And while these are all key […]
2025 has happened. The 21st century has officially begun his quarter life crisis. According to many psychologists, that is a time when young adults enter the real world and experience anxiety, sorrow, insecurity and doubt. In other words, the world has just graduated from college and still does not know what to do for a living. Older generations do not understand these problems, […]
I was working the late shift at the Star-Revue HQ on Van Brunt Street, trying to finish my 2024 Year in Review piece (Spoiler Alert: It Sucked) when an argument about the current drone issue over New Jersey heated up over by the dry bar. It got so noisy that I decided to pick up my things and head over […]