if you go to one opening in nyc this year, be it this one.

Announcing Radical Spirit, a pirate television broadcast, monumental sculpture, and video installation by James Case-Leal built inside the sanctuary of Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The exhibition will be open to the public September 28 - October 2. The broadcast signal will be receivable by the local public on their television sets on analog channel 17 during these times. Please join us for a performance and opening reception on Tuesday, September 28 from 6 to 9pm.

Lutheran Church of the Messiah - 129 Russell St. Brooklyn, NY 11222

i spent the day volunteering for james case-leal yesterday, helping to install his incredible, 'Radical Spirit' show at the Lutheran Church of the Messiah. this is the church i look out of my kitchen window to see every morning, the church the full moon rises over every month. and because i take a purely heathen and aesthetic pleasure in (most) churches, what better place to see art?

james case-leal is a sweet and talented artist i met in cuba when i was doing this (staging the first st. pat's parade in havana) and that (falling in love). he and his wife maggie also happen to be raising twins in new york city! i take my hat off to them!

so when i heard about james' amazing-sounding show and that he needed help, i came out to volunteer despite being on the upswing of an ass-kicking cold because, do you know how many volunteers i've requested, enticed, begged and bribed with mulberry cocktails during my tenure as CEO of DRI? (that's the boss's new title for me--use your imagination). hundreds. people have ridden in the back of box trucks, threshed reeds, carried ships, bundled chigger-infested plants, painted stripes on zebras, made batches of fake blood, torn down wood paneling to make oars, BAGGED SAND for chrissakes! in short, i owe the world, specifically the art world, some volunteer hours. big time.

and though i will tell you, pews are damn heavy, i had so much fun helping out yesterday because i believe in art and community...and karma. and i would also be telling the truth if i said that tonight's opening and performance, will be the best in new york city, of all of 2010. it's really cool. worth even a trek from the L train in a thunderstorm. and the show is only up for five days, cause, you know, people gotta go to church.

so come on, art-believers, come out to church!

ah, beautiful morning

living in new york has introduced me to the true exhileration of spring. yes, spring is beautiful in california when it rolls around in mid-january. but so is summer and fall and winter--in a here's a different kind of flower way. in new york you can appreciate the quiet blanketing of snow, feel awed by the slicing power of the cold wind of winter, dig the monochromatic black white and grey color scheme. but green of grass or colors in flowers? you won't see any of in winter. it may sound sad, but the silver lining to a severe winter is the total euphoria experienced when this city starts to thaw. even prussia feels it, running from window to window, sniffing the warmer air, freaking out about the sudden symphony of ecstatic birds. no matter how goth our winter-loving souls are, we are all singing for spring.

one of my favorite traditions of new york city spring is opening day of greenpoint little league, and the myriad of little random brooklyn neighborhood parades in general. they are always a surprise. they are not advertised. you are simply suddenly barraged with the sound of snare drums and brass coming ever closer as legions of pipsqueaks carrying banners dressed in miniature baseball uniforms waddle and march down nassau avenue. these parades used to wake me up from surreal slumber, but alas, in my old age, they now hit me around breakfast time. when i heard the drums this morning i immediately smiled, the sunshine intensified, and out the back window i noticed my neighbors grass had turned green, the forsythia bushes bright yellow and the magnolias a bright pink. the farmer's market at mc garren park grows in booths by the week (in winter you will only find the yogurt, the bread and the apple people shivering around pots of hot cider) and the hipsters come out to prep-their tans. ah...spring.

okay, so maybe not the perfect choice of image--the little leagues are more of a moving crowd than a spectating crowd. this was the nyc marathon back in november....

i'd like to thank god, the academy & evan

this post serves duals duty as:

1) something ridiculous to share with my adoring audience

2) a big fat thank you to evan, who 'loaned' me his canon powershot a95 point and shoot when he upgraded to a gorgeous leica p&s.

why, you ask, would i want a point and shoot when i spend all my loot on my nikon dslr system? the answer is the above photo, taken last night at midnight as emre and i tottled back from our favorite new bar, the mark bar, WHICH HAS SKEE BALL, darts, pool, candyland, an ouiji board and very often FREE FOOD. emre had a true 'beginner's luck' moment, nailing the impossible 100 slot on his first ball, which crushed his heart with each subsequent 10er. the sad news--no tickets for redeeming swirly candy sticks.



anyhoo, in another part of greenpoint, where i don't often tread, we came across the above 'chinese musician' restaurant. wow. what a name. where did it come from? was it opened by a proud chinese musician? can you only eat there if you are a chinese musician? or are the diners graced with the music of a chinese musician? first i had my usual, 'man--i wish i had a camera with me!' moment. my d70s is just to bulky and valuable to tote everywhere i roam in this city. then disappointment gave way to excitement and supreme thanks to evan for the loan. yeah, i suppose, relating to my last post, that a camera phone would do the trick. but did i mention how much fun i'm having with the video?

i just want to mention that the following segment was not coached (except i asked her to repeat it for the camera). one day my friend kim reported that ginger just came out with the following statement, and now periodically declares:

a piece of greenpoint history

while walking one day in february, less than a block from my apartment, past a building which had formerly been covered in the plague of my neighborhood--aluminum siding--i encountered a hidden piece of greenpoint history. it was a painted advertisement pointing to my local liquor store. the nasty skin of aluminum was ripped off, and i breathed in another time. but as quick as i took that breath, the construction workers moved to cover the wall with plywood, soon to be "pseudo stucco", a disgusting process disguising styrofoam to look like stucco! ah, but what a beautiful moment it was that i was transported back in time! i didn't have a camera, but luckily i was walking with arda, whose point-and-shoot i commandeered. now the wall lives on, as the wallpaper of my mac.

p.s. the hair goes tomorrow.