Flatbush Gardener: Gowanus Lounge

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2009-04-07

Robert Guskind Memorial Video

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

This is the video that opened the Memorial on Saturday. If you didn't know Bob, or you're one of my distant gardener-readers who by now must be wondering why I've written so much about him the past few weeks, please watch this.

via Gowanus Lounge

Robert Guskind 1958-2009, Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. Directed by Stephen Duke

As it has been so eloquently stated in the past, the departed live on in the memories of the living.

[TinyURL]

Links

At the Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering: Heartfelt Thanks and Fellowship, Gowanus Lounge, 2009-03-06

2009-04-06

Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

The close of the Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering at the Brooklyn Lyceum on Saturday, April 4, 2009

Last Saturday I attended the Memorial Gathering to celebrate the life and work of Robert Guskind and mourn his passing. A recap, with thanks to the many organizers and contributors, is on Gowanus Lounge. My contribution was baking 20 dozen cookies for the event:

Steve Duke of Blue Barn Pictures compiled a video tribute of Bob's own photos, recorded interviews, and video footage. It was surreal to see him up there on the screen - There he is! - speaking to the camera, just like I remember him, as if it was a bad joke and he would step out and great us. Intellectually, I recognize that feeling as dissociation, a manifestation of denial, and part of the grieving process. That understanding doesn't diminish how it felt to be there that afternoon.

There were a lot of speakers. Some whose words stuck with me:

Jake Dobkin spoke of meeting Bob for the first time and being surprised, first that he was not a 20-something geek, and second that Bob treated him with respect, as an equal, despite their difference in age. Being Bob's age myself, I was struck that "young people" still get shit from "older people," but ageism is bidirectional.
Brenda Becker nailed it when she described Bob's love of "broken" things, such as Coney Island and the Gowanus Canal, and his ability to see the beauty in them.
Marc Farre, a friend of Bob's since their college freshman days, spoke at length. He provided important biographical background, and shared insights gained from practically a lifelong friendship. He spoke of Bob's hunger for "transcendence." He also admonished us (with more passion and anger than my words here convey) that the details of Bob's death don't matter, that whatever we write of Bob's life or death, it's really about us, the writers, and not Bob.

The event ran much later than I expected, well past the original 5pm scheduled end time. I stayed late to speak with others attending, and helped (a little) clean up.

When I RSVP'd, I indicated that I wanted to speak. Baking all those cookies was itself a kind of meditation. Line a cookie sheet, scoop out balls of dough, roll or shape them, place the tray, set the timer, remove the tray, remove the cookies, cool and wipe the tray. Repeat 20 times. So I had thought a lot about what I wanted to say.

But I hadn't written anything down until Miss Heather informed me that I would be second up to speak (I was third, I think). I scribbled some notes, and scrounged a wireless connection to lookup my own blog and copy some lines from my remembrance post. I'll try to recreate here some of what I spoke about.

I knew Bob only as "Gowanus Lounge," as he knew me only as "Flatbush Gardener." I related some stories about our early email correspondence, our few meetings. Mainly I talked about recovery, which - as I learned only after his death - was an important aspect of Bob's life, and something we had in common.

Two weeks ago was my 16th sobriety anniversary. But sobriety, or abstinence, is not the same as recovery. Recovery is not black and white, it's not binary. I got sober because drinking was interfering with my recovery, my need for which reaches from childhood with multiple, intertwined, roots. For me, sobriety was just part of my journey through recovery.

Recovery chooses life. Those choices take many different forms, as varied and creative as we are. Recovery is complex, and highly individual.

I don't know whether this is identification or projection, but I believe that Bob and I also shared a difficult relationship with community. Community can be a source of connection, and a source of betrayal. My model of recovery reflects that struggle:

I can't do it alone.
I don't have to do it alone.
I don't want to do it alone.

Our online personae are lenses, which necessarily magnify some aspects of our selves while leaving others in the shadows. I've been online a long time, and I've developed some skill of inference from this medium. I only knew Bob from Gowanus Lounge. But from what I could see through that lens, I believe that Bob was choosing life, that he didn't want to do it alone.

I wish we'd had more time.

I hate seeing photos of myself. In my mind, I'm still young and thin. I'm neither these days. Here's a photo of me speaking at the Memorial, taken by one of the many other Brooklyn photo-bloggers and Gowanus Lounge contributors who also attended the event.

Photo: Meghan Groome, Liberty on 10th Street (a fellow Brooklyn garden blogger), megunski (Flickr)

[TinyURL]

Links

Gowanus Lounge

At the Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering: Heartfelt Thanks and Fellowship, 2009-03-06
Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering: Saturday, April 4, 2009-03-27

Others

Best View in Brooklyn
Brooklyn 11211
Kinetic Carnival
Liberty on 10th Street
Lost City
Make No Assumptions ...
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Pardon Me For Asking
A Short Story

Bob Guskind, megunski (Flickr photo set)

2009-03-30

Guskind Memorial 4/4: Reminder, and Charitable Donations

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

This is a reminder that the Memorial Gathering for Robert "Bob" Guskind will be held this Saturday, April 4, from 2pm to 5pm at the Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Avenue, between President and Union Streets, in Park Slope, Brooklyn. RSVP via Evite.

In lieu of flowers, Bob's family and friends invite donations in his memory to four organizations which "were very close to his heart."

[TinyURL]

Links

Donations in Memory of Robert Guskind, Gowanus Lounge, 2009-03-27
Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering: Saturday, April 4, Gowanus Lounge, 2009-03-20
Brooklyn Lyceum

2009-03-20

Memorial for Robert "Bob" Guskind, April 4

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

A Memorial Gathering for Robert "Bob" Guskind, founder of Gowanus Lounge, has been scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, April 4:

A memorial gathering to honor the memory of Robert Guskind will be held from 2 pm to 5 pm Saturday, April 4 at the Brooklyn Lyceum, 4th Avenue between Union and President Streets in Park Slope.

Please RSVP if you can. (There is an opportunity to sign up to speak.)
There will be an opportunity to donate to charities in Bob’s name.

Thanks to Eric Richmond of the Brooklyn Lyceum for generously donating the space.
- Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering: Saturday, April 4, Gowanus Lounge

Space is limited, so RSVP.

Links

Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering: Saturday, April 4, Gowanus Lounge
Brooklyn Lyceum

2009-03-14

Remembering Bob

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

Thursday night I attended the Flatbush Development Corporation's (FDC) 34th Anniversary Benefit Dinner. In my remarks, as one of the honorees, I spoke of the connections and communities that had brought me there that night: my partner, my neighborhood, Flatbush at large, and the Brooklyn blogosphere. I also told the 200+ people assembled there that Brooklyn bloggers had lost one of our own last week: Robert Guskind, founder of Gowanus Lounge, a friend and supporter of this blog and of Flatbush preservation efforts.

I only met Bob in person a few times. We launched our blogs within one month of each other in 2006: Gowanus Lounge in April, Flatbush Gardener in May. Gowanus Lounge quickly became Bob's bully pulpit from which he could speak, as friend and neighbor Brenda Becker phrased so well, as "Fool-Killer and Weasel-Slayer." I don't remember when I first discovered Gowanus Lounge, but the first links from there to this blog appeared in November of that year.

Bob liked - or at least thought least unflattering! - this picture I took of him at the 2nd Annual Brooklyn Blogfest in 2007.

When the Second Brooklyn Blogfest came around in May 2007, we knew each other well from our online endeavors. We didn't get to meet at that time; it was too crowded, and too hectic. Bob, a speaker at the event, was an A-List blogger of the Brooklyn blogosphere, swarmed with fans, colleagues, and reporters.

Dave Kenny, another friend and blogging colleague, and I co-founded the Brooklyn Blogade as a way to continue the energy and relationship-building from the Blogfest, and expand into neighborhoods that were "underserved" by the Brooklyn blogosphere. Dave credits a discussion with Bob after the 2007 Blogfest as inspiring him to start the Blogades. With Anne Pope of Sustainable Flatbush, I co-hosted the first Blogade here in Flatbush in June 2007, and that's where Bob and I finally got to meet in person. The New York Times covered that first Blogade; a photograph from the event opens their article in this weekend's The City section on the future of Gowanus Lounge, the first time any of those photos have appeared.

I met Bob again on only two occasions after that. Most of our communication was online, through email, tips, and mutual links. I don't know how many scores of times Bob linked to this blog. I was especially touched by his last link at the end of January, in which he referred to me as "a friend and fellow blogger." As I write this, I still can't believe he's gone. We were the same age, and I wish there had been more opportunities and time for us to strengthen that friendship.

As many others have reported in their remembrances of him, Bob was generous in linking. He brought attention to many neighborhood issues that, I believe, without his support would have been overlooked not only by the general press, but other bloggers as well. He nurtured community in the Brooklyn blogosphere. When I reached out to him by email during lasts fall's hiatus on Gowanus Lounge, he said that he had received "hundreds of emails and comments." In response to his death, nearly 80 people have written their own condolences and memorial posts to Bob. There are many hundreds more comments across all those posts. That stands as a testament to the impact he has had, and will continue to have after his death.

He was generous and passionate, sensitive and courageous, humorous and outspoken, gregarious and private. I have learned only since his death that we shared a journey in recovery, different in the details, similar in struggle and spirit. I did not know Bob well enough or long enough to know the circumstances of his life or death. Whatever the circumstances, I have nothing but empathy for the man; they cannot diminish my opinion of him. Real people are complex, their circumstances, usually complicated. It's cost me a lot to learn that.

This was Bob's favorite of my photos. I know this, not only because the subject shows Coney Island - among Bob's greatest passions - in its glory, but because he chose this from the Flickr-Moo mini-cards I handed out at 2007's Blogfest and the first Brooklyn Blogade. If there is a heaven, may this be part of Bob's.

2009-03-06

Gowanus Lounge back online

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

I just discovered that Gowanus Lounge is back online. There is a placeholder post for future announcements:

With great sadness, a few of Bob’s friends, who were given access to his site, will try to update Gowanus Lounge with:

1) An obituary and other links

2) An announcement of a memorial service

Meanwhile, comments and questions are welcomed. They will be moderated. Please give us time.
- Gowanus Lounge Update & Bob Guskind Memorial, 2009-03-06

Links

Gowanus Lounge Update & Bob Guskind Memorial, 2009-03-06

2009-03-05

Robert Guskind, founder of Gowanus Lounge, 1958-2009

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

Update 2009.03.20: A memorial is planned for April 4.
Update 2009.03.14: Finally wrote my memorial post.
Update 2009.03.11: The official, authorized, and epic obituary for Bob, written lovingly by his family and friends, was published online today. Please read In Memoriam, Robert Guskind on Gowanus Lounge.
Updates 2009.03.06:

It's been all I can do just to keep up with the flood of online remembrances and other reports in response to Bob's death. As of mid-day, there are over 60. Reading everyone's posts brings back my own memories of Bob, which I hope to post over the weekend.
Changed the link for the Brooklyn Paper.

I just learned, from Windsor Terrace Alliance and Brownstoner, that Robert "Bob" Guskind, founder of Gowanus Lounge, was found dead in his home yesterday, March 4, 2009.

He was a colleague, and a friend. I'm stunned, and can't write anything else right now. See Links below for others' coverage of this terrible loss.

Robert Guskind, speaking at the second Brooklyn Blogfest in May 2007.

2009-01-14

IDT Energy scammers back and active in Flatbush

Update 2010.01.03: Removed all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain, which has since been appropriated by some parasitic commercial site.

Sent to the Flatbush Family Network (Yahoo Group):

Some guy just knocked on my door ... and claimed to be from ConEd doing a routine check and he needed to see my bill. I said send it in the mail/ make the request in writing and he scampered off. Smells like a scam and I thought I'd send out a heads up.

It is a scam, and it has been widely reported in other Brooklyn neighborhoods.

The company behind this is IDT Energy. Just do a Google search on "IDT Energy Scam" and you'll get an idea of the scale of what they're up to.

They will claim to be from Con Ed or anything else that will get you to give them information. They will forge your signature. They are scum. They will lie, cheat, and ultimately steal from you.

What you can do:

1) NEVER give any information to someone showing up at your door. Not a bill, not an account number, nothing. They WILL switch your service without your knowledge or consent, a tactic called "slamming," specifically ESCOS - Energy Service Companies - slamming.

2) To prevent your service from being switched, contact your provider - ConEd, National Grid, etc - and have them put a "block" on your account.

3) If you're comfortable, challenge the person showing up at your door. Ask for identification, name, phone number, take a picture with your cell phone, and share the information. Note that some of these folks have been aggressive and hostile, so simply closing and locking the door in their face is always a valid option. If they are aggressive, abusive, hostile, or violent, call 911.

4) You can try filing complaints, but so far this has not stopped the practice, nor brought meaningful charges or fines against anyone involved.

More tips available on this flyer [PDF] from Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights.

Additional Reports

I won't be trying to record every one, but a couple more came in after I posted this, including some reports of aggressive behavior.

A 20ish girl showed up at my door [in a multi-unit residential building] I looked through the peephole and saw she was carrying a knapsack & a clipboard. I informed her through the door(without opening i) that I would be giving Con Edison a call right then to inquire if they had been sending people to my area that particular day; also asked her if she had an I,D. badge she could slip under my door to prove her identity. Without a word, she walked away, and then had the audacity to knock on my next door neighbors door ! Their 2 dogs began barking, I was still watching through the peephole, she hastened off, did not even wait for the elevator, just took the stairs. BTW, this happened a bit after 6 PM [2008.01.15] as well.

A guy came to my house yesterday [2008.01.14] and persistently kept ringing the bell after I told him I was not interested. He seemed to think I should let a stranger into my house and pull out my Con Ed and Gas bills and share this info with him. I asked him (without opening the door) to leave me a card and I would call Con Ed and ask about it, and he kept referring to the ID around his neck as though that should be enough. I sent him on his way, and tried calling Con Ed, but elected not to stay on the phone for the 15 minutes the recording told me I would be waiting. I had not seen any of these notices as yet, and so was unaware of any scam going on. He said that if I pulled out my bill I would see a notice about him coming by to check this. I don't ever recall Con Ed having any interest in my Gas bill, which was my first clue that something was awry. The sales guy was very pushy. Needless to say when I checked my last bill there was nothing about this on it. Strangely, he had my name on a piece of paper with a Con Ed letter head that looked like a bill, and to a less suspicious home owner would certainly look like he was endorsed by Con Ed.

Links

IDT Back In Brooklyn, Working Their Door To Door Scamming Magic, Consumerist, 2009-01-05
Update on IDT Energy Scam, Brownstoner, 2008-10-20
Energy/Utility Scam Artists Working All Over South Brooklyn (link defunct), Gowanus Lounge, 2008-10-20

2009-01-09

R.I.P. Astroland, R.I.H. Thor Equities

Happier Days, September 2007

Gregory & Paul's, Boardwalk, Astroland Park

I just read on the New York Times that Astroland has been physically dismantled.

Astroland closed last year. The Albert family, which opened the park in 1962, still owns the fixtures but not the land, which it sold. Now, the property must be vacated. It is subject to a rezoning measure and may eventually be redeveloped by Thor Equities, though probably not in the foreseeable future.
- Blasting Off From the Coney Island Boardwalk, David W. Dunlap and Ann Farmer, City Room, New York Times

Rest In Peace, Astroland.

Rot In Hell, Thor Equities.

Here are some of my images of Coney Island in recent years.

Rides

Characters

Gay Pirate

Feed Me

Scary disco clown

Disturbingly racist bee

The End

Sunset

"The Future of Coney Island"

Links

Astroland Rocket Takes Off From Coney Island, Kinetic Carnival, 2009-01-06
Astroland Rocket from inside Astroland, Gowanus Lounge, 2009-01-08

2008-07-08

Brooklyn's Raccoons in the New York Times

Update 2010.01.03: Removed all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain, which has since been appropriated by some parasitic commercial site.

Flatbush Raccoon, June 26, 2008

Last week, I was interviewed by reporter Ann Farmer for the New York Times about my experiences with raccoons. The article is published in today's Times:

Raccoons have long been widespread in New York City, and there is no way to say with any statistical certainty whether there are more now. But Capt. Richard Simon of the Urban Park Rangers, which is part of the city’s Parks Department, said a rise in the number of 311 callers reporting sightings, encounters or interactions suggests that “the citywide population of raccoons has increased.”

One thing seems clear. In the leafy neighborhoods surrounding Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery, residents have been flooding the Internet with raccoon stories.
- The City’s Latest Real Estate Fight: Humans Against Raccoons, Ann Farmer, New York Times, July 8, 2008

That pesky Internet! Ms. Farmer cites the Brooklyn blogosphere as one source for the reports:

Chris Kreussling, a computer programmer who lives just south of Prospect Park in Flatbush, posted pictures on his Flatbush Gardener blog recently of several raccoons in his backyard. It elicited a quick round of similar testimonies.

Another Brooklyn blog, the Gowanus Lounge, chronicled multiple raccoon sightings in recent days (link defunct) in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace and Red Hook.

When contacted, many bloggers recalled raccoons rooting around in gardens and compost piles, traipsing into children’s wading pools and sometimes rearing up on their hind legs when startled. Many expressed awe at seeing the nocturnal mammals so close.

“People need access to wildlife in urban areas,” Mr. Kreussling said. “I consider it a bonus.”

That last quote is a reference to biophilia, literally "love of life or living systems." I think the way I expressed it in the interview was something like: People need nature around them.

Ms. Farmer also interviewed several of my neighbors. Check out Nelson Ryland's cautionary tale of the hazards of cat doors!

Thanks to my neighbor Brenda of Crazy Stable and Prospect: A Year in the Park for putting Ms. Farmer on the trail!

Rabies in NYC: Facts and Figures
Summer Nights, June 26, 2008
Raccoons

Links

The City’s Latest Real Estate Fight: Humans Against Raccoons, Ann Farmer, New York Times, July 8, 2008

2008-06-26

Summer Nights

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

I know it's summer when the fireflies are out in force. As are the raccoons (Procyon lotor).

Both made their first appearance in the backyard about two weeks ago: just two fireflies, and just one raccoon. Tonight, multiple fireflies in everyone's yards, front and back. And a family of raccoons, as we get every year. I saw three little ones at once. I saw the adult separately.

Here are, I think, two of the young'uns, one in a tree, and one on the ground. It could also be the same young raccoon. The one in the tree climbed down, shortly after which the "other" appeared on the ground.

The groundling was very curious about my camera, and came within four feet of me before it realized the camera was attached to a person.

Gowanus Lounge recently reported on raccoons sighted in Carroll Gardens. Some folks raised concerns about rabies. I left the following comment:

We love our Brooklyn raccoons!
They are annual visitors to our backyard. And our kitchen on the second floor. They climbed my neighbor’s apple tree to get there. They don’t scale building walls, they climb trees and other structures.
They’re scavengers, looking for easy grub. Don’t leave pet food outside. Don’t feed stray and feral cats and dogs. Keep garbage cans and compost bins and piles covered.
As for rabies, Brooklyn is the best off of all the five boroughs, with only 5 animal cases detected in the past 15 years; the most recent, in 2005, was a bat. Rabies is endemic in the Bronx and Staten Island.

Old news

Attacked by Raccoons, New York Times, September 12, 1897

2008-05-09

Blogfest 2008 Coverage

Here's a list of posts and articles about the 2008 Blogfest from those attending.

Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens
Brooklyn Optimist
Brooklyn Skeptic
City by Storm
Creative Times
cyclechicny.net
Flatbush Pigeon
Gowanus Lounge
Jaki Levy
Lost in the Ozone
Luna Park Gazette
miconian
New York Shitty
NY Daily News
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
outside.in
Oswegatchie
Prospect: A Year in the Park
Reclaimed Home
The Road to Nowhere
Stickymap
SuperVegan
Sustainable Flatbush
Urban Seashell
WNBC, Angela Freeburg reporting

The Brooklyn Blogfest 2008

2008-05-02

Thursday, May 8: The 3rd Annual Brooklyn Blogfest

The 3rd Annual Brooklyn Blogfest will take place next Thursday evening at 8pm at the Brooklyn Lyceum.

The Third Annual Brooklyn Blogfest 2008 is an event for bloggers, blog-readers, those interested in Blogging, and those passionate about Brooklyn. It is open to one and all and everyone is warmly welcomed. No need to RSVP or be personally invited.
- The Latest Blogfest Details, May 2, 2008

The audience, assembled and ready, at last year's Blogfest

This is a chance to meet the faces behind the blogs, learn about the state of blogging in Brooklyn, pick up some blogging tips, hob-knob with your fellow wizards, and all such as that. I'll be at the tail end of the program, speaking about the mostly monthly Blogades, started after last year's Blogfest.

Admission is $10, $5 for students.

WHEN: Thursday May 8th, 2008 at 8 p.m.

WHERE: The Brooklyn Lyceum. 227 Fourth Avenue (at President Street) [GMAP]

HOW: R train to Union Street

PROGRAM (subject to change):

Video: Place Matters: Blogging My World by Blue Barn Pictures
Brief Welcome: Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn (Louise Crawford)
Speaker: Creative Times (Eleanor Traubman)
Speaker: Bed-Stuy Blog (Petra S.)
Video: A Walk Around the Blog Promo by Brooklyn Independent Television
Speaker: New York Shitty (Miss Heather)
Speaker: Gowanus Lounge (Robert Guskind)
Speaker: Blogger Smackdown by Gersh Kuntzman, editor, The Brooklyn Paper
Video: A Word from WNYC's Brian Lehrer
Speaker: Top Ten Tips for New Bloggers presented by So Good (Heather Johnson)
Speaker: Outside.in, a resource for bloggers who blog about where they live
Video: A Tribute to Brooklyn's Photo Bloggers (produced by Brooklyn Optimist)
Speaker: Bloggers Reach Out: What is the Brooklyn Blogade? presented by Flatbush Gardener (Yours truly)
ANNUAL SHOUT-OUT: Your chance to share your blog with the world introduced by Luna Park Gazette

Links

The Brooklyn Blogfest "miniblog" on Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Brooklyn Lyceum

2007-12-02

First Snow, and Snowbirds, of the Season

Updated 12/6: Added Brian of Brooklyn, who has the most photos I've seen so far.
Updated throughout the day Monday, December 3, to add links to other blogs with photos of the first snow.

Slate-Colored Junco, Junco hyemalis hyemalis, in my Flatbush backyard

We had our first snow of the season overnight. It was in the 20s all day, gradually warming, and it will be in the 30s tomorrow, so it will all be gone soon. I didn't get any pictures of it myself, but others did:

A Brooklyn Life
Bay Ridge Rover
BK11201
Brian of Brooklyn
BushwickBK
Ditmas Park Blog
Gowanus Lounge
Loopweaver
McBrooklyn
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Pardon Me For Asking
Self-Absorbed Boomer
Sustainable Flatbush

I didn't get out of the house today. Too busy cleaning, getting ready for guests tomorrow evening. But I was keeping an eye on the bird feeders yesterday and today. The winter migrants are firmly established now: Juncoes, Chickadees, and a little crested one whose name escapes me at the moment. I was looking for nuthatches, my favorites, but I didn't see any this weekend.

American Goldfinch, Cardulis tristis, in winter plumage. I think this is a female. Thanks to Flickr pals megankhines and PhotoJeff for the id!

American Goldfinch, Cardulis tristis, in winter plumage

2007-06-24

The First Brooklyn Blogade, at Vox Pop in Flatbush

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

I hope to see many photos, and many posts, from this event. It was great fun.

[Confidential to New York magazine: We weren't all there, and we're not all "snarky!"]

Reportage:

Brit in Brooklyn
Dope on the Slope
Dope on the Slope, Special Audio Edition, a massive (24MB, 17 minute) MP3, featuring 12 or 13 minutes of audio interview with me (we laugh a lot)
Gowanus Lounge: Is Blogging Journalism or Therapy?
New York Shitty
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Self-Absorbed Boomer

The next event will be July 22 in Greenpoint, hosted by Miss Heather, New York Shitty. Watch her blog for more information.

Miss Heather, New York Shitty

Anne Pope, Sustainable Flatbush, was my co-host for today's event.

Anne Pope, Sustainable Flatbush

Many thanks to Sander Hicks and the staff at Vox Pop for hosting today's event.

Sander Hicks, Vox Pop, sander.gnn.tv

Damn Paparazzi

Petra, Bed-Stuy Blog

Claude Scales, Self-Absorbed Boomer

Rob Lenihan, Luna Park Gazette

Eleanor Traubman, Creative Times

Robert Guskind, Gowanus Lounge

Dave Kenny, Dope on the Slope

Adrian Kinloch, Brit in Brooklyn

Louise Crawford, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn

2007-05-24

Sources of Plants for Brooklyn Gardeners

2007-05-13

Blogfest Coverage

Update 2010.01.03: Removed all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain, which has since been appropriated by some parasitic commercial site.

To highlight coverage of last Thursday's Blogfest, I've moved all the links from my original post to this one and organized it by media. I'll continue to keep this up to date as I learn about more.

Video

Brooklyn Roundtable (Episode airing 9pm 5/18 will include a video montage from the Blogfest and interviews with OTBKB, BrownStoner, and No Land Grab. Update: I was in the montage!)
cruxy (I'm in this one, though not identified. They pan across me at the open mic before they move on to one-on-one interviews with attendees at the reception.)
NewsChannel4

Audio

(Watch this space)

Photos, mostly

Flickr (multiple contributors)
Brit in Brooklyn
Dope on the Slope (includes a heavily processed image of moi)
Gowanus Lounge (link defunct)
A Test Of Will

You can also look at my Flickr set of photos from the evening.

Words, mostly

2007-05-11

The 2nd Annual Brooklyn Blogfest, for real

[2007.05.23: Moved Back in the Day to its own post.]
[2007.05.13 23:50 EDT: Moved all links to their own post.]
[2007.05.13 10:50 EDT: Added still more links and link to video.]
[2007.05.12 04:00 EDT: Added several more links.]
[2007.05.11 23:30 EDT: Updated links, and wrote Back in the Day.]
[2007.05.11 20:00 EDT: Added one photo of me, and link love to other blogfest participants writing about the event.]
[2007.05.11 16:36 EDT: Added some photos.]

It was a great event. I was too exhausted, achy, and feverish when I got home to write anything last night. I'll be coming back tonight to write more. A couple of quick notes now.

Update 2007.05.11 23:30 EDT: I'm back. Only minor edits and links added to what I wrote earlier today. Some possibly closing thoughts here.

Back in the Day

[2007.05.23: Moved Back in the Day to its own post.]

Present Day

Ye Olde Stone House

I met lots of my fellow Brooklynites and bloggers. I am terrible with names and faces and, well, people, mostly, so if I met you or gave you a card, please leave a comment below to slap me a reminder! A special shout out to my neighbors Brenda of Crazy Stable, and Anne of Sustainable Flatbush, both of whom I met for the first time last night.

Our host(ess) for the evening, Louise Crawford, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, keeping time with the broom

Louise Crawford, keeping time with the broom

Robert Guskind, Gowanus Lounge

Steve Johnson, outside.in

Lumi Michelle Rolley, No Land Grab

Jonathan Butler, Brownstoner

Norman Oder, Atlantic Yards Report

Eleanor Traubman, Creative Times

Despite enduring a root canal from the dentist earlier in the day, my partner tuffed it out and accompanied me to the blogfest. His name tag read "Blog Widow" and he found others last night with whom to commiserate. He said "You're famous" based on the response I received at the open mic. And here I'd thought it was my natural charisma, wit and charm. Or, if not, that the response I received was for "Flatbush" more than me. Represent.

News12 Reporter Heather Abraham recording her voice-overs outside the Old Stone House before the doors opened.

NewsChannel4 Van outside the dog run in J.J. Byrne Park.

News12 Brooklyn, Brooklyn Independent Television (BIT), and NewsChannel4 (NYC NBC affiliate) were in the house. (A very crowded and cozy Old Stone House, it was.) BIT interviewed me on-camera along with several others at the end of the evening to get our reactions. And Dope on the Slope conducted a probing and humorous digital audio interview with me. (Note: I wasn't serious about hoping the Bradford Pears just planted on Cortelyou Road would die soon so they could be replaced. But I bet they will expire before our mortgage does.)

Battle Diorama inside Old Stone House

Update 16:36 EDT: BIT airs at 8:30pm this evening on BCAT (Brooklyn Community Access Television). I hope to try and catch it to see if I made any face time.

Update 19:45 EDT: And here is the man behind the blog, yours truly, Flatbush Gardener. Thanks to the blogfest participants who dared risk their lenses against my visage.

Flatbush Gardener, present day
Credit: Robert Guskind, Gowanus Lounge

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