Lower East Side Girls Club: Girl Power Bars!
My LUMA blog debuted yesterday. The goal is to have a fluid place — and Tumblr is close to effortless (tho’ it does help to have learned Wordpress first) — that connects and highlights my writing for my book with my other writing and blogging (and throwing in some p.r.) skills. It gives me a place to connect with people and further write about what I love to write about!
Does anyone else out there remember LUMA, a restaurant that existed in Chelsea in the ’90’s on Manhattan’s Ninth Avenue? Well, I do! I loved it there. My LUMA blog is devoted to the spirit of LUMA – or how I remember it.
Here’s how I describe LUMA blog:
Luma was a restaurant in the ’90’s on Ninth Avenue in Chelsea. It was gourmet macrobiotic; the atmosphere upscale yet comfortable, the food simple, pure. It may have been ahead of its time and would fit in perfectly now. Yet it had a certain spirit plus I always loved the name. This blog exists to capture that spirit and focus on things NYC (the Village), Brooklyn, and issues affecting the world beyond.
My first LUMA Blog post (6/21/10) featured photos from the annual Mermaid Parade that took over Coney Island in Brooklyn on Saturday — I like it because it reminds us that being a bit zany can be good for the soul.
Charming Sierra Williams who greeted me
Today’s post was on the Lower East Side Girls Club which debuted the Celebrate Cafe in the Bowery Poetry Club on the Bowery in Manhattan yesterday! I attended the opening.
Celebrate Cafe adds to the list of unique ventures The Lower East Side Girls Club operates in the neighborhood. The goal is to give girls and young adults who have traditionally been under served a place for community and to learn skills which they can then take into the world, with a sense of purpose and heart. The food is mostly locally sourced organic and the coffee is fair trade, organic and shade grown!
Read more about it at LUMA Blog here.
I’m reading this book “Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper” by SARK about writing. SARK has such a whimsical way with her words and provides unique inspiration. One page contains “A Quote to Remind You” and it’s sage advice especially when you are writing or taking on a project of any kind:
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Note: I added in “The King said, very gravely” because it’s actually Lewis Carroll’s words from * Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland * which I am now going to re-read for further inspiration.
I love this quote too.
Visit Planet Sark.
Beautiful Flower Arrangement from Gorgeous and Green, Berkeley, California (featuring local, and/or organic, fair trade flowers).
Washington Square Park, NYC
Post-Kickstarter!: I’m now writing, organizing the material, editing, looking at illustrations, and more! I am conceptualizing what question(s) my book will answer and how the topics in the book tie together – how my own story (publicist-activist-blogger-etc.) interrelates to it all. The book is called “The B-girl Guide: In The Context of Now” and it covers “Living Your Life in Environmentally, Animal & People-friendly Ways.” I am excited about completing it!
Kickstarter seemed to take over my life for those close to two months. It ended February 19th! It was never exactly easy (who ever said raising money was easy??) but I learned a lot during that period — about perseverance and things not going exactly as I planned (particularly in relation to creating and finishing my video for the site)! I panicked which probably isn’t the best thing to do. I realized it’s important in moments like those to recognize that the process is sometimes as important as the final result and to take a moment to appreciate what you accomplished. Believe me, I was very happy when that video was finished!
I am so appreciative to everyone for their support! Thank you! It really does make a difference.
This photo above is of the subject of my other blog, The Washington Square Park Blog. Writing that citizen journalism blog (for two years!) gave me the skills to know how to navigate this blog! Creating a place where everything related to NYC’s (controversial) redesign of this historic park – and other issues related to development and public space — would be contained gave me a systematic place to write (with a small audience) as part of the burgeoning blogger movement. It’s been hard work but often a lot of fun!
This blog has a different focus – more personal, more about the book, the process of writing the book and some of the topics in the book. I want to offer a place in my book and on my blog where people can navigate the twists and turns of trying to stay informed and meaningful in an increasingly commercialized and (at times) insane world.
I am going to update this blog with new links and sites and blogs that relate to the material I will be covering and that I find useful.
More to come!
Photo: Walking Off The Big Apple
- Gorilla Coffee, Park Slope
I’m a big fan of the coffee shops of Brooklyn. As a writing space, they feel very old school meets new school — a whole world unto themselves. An instant network of people! — on computers, studying, meeting to conspire about fascinating projects they are about to launch to change the world (or so it seems!). It all happens in coffee shops. The quaint coffee shop of today as incubator for the hi-tech revolutions of tomorrow.
Yes, one has to avoid – or give in to – the pressure to buy things beyond the bare minimum needed to sit there for hours (and feeling guilty about the exorbitant rents they pay to which a lone cup of coffee doesn’t do much to contribute to); and, yes, there are often seemingly endless rivers of moms and nannies — with babies in tow and children scampering everywhere (but maybe they, too, are conspiring to change the world, in their own way!); and yes, the music is too often blasting and keeping this delicate writer from concentrating (tho’, yes!, I have discovered some good music that way), but, This is BROOKLYN and there is hidden history and a wealth of attitude in every stare.
- Tea Lounge, Park Slope
Much of the early stages of my book was written huddled intently over my white (now silver) Mac laptop as I became a regular in the many disparate coffee shops of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Writing in the coffee shop became a part of my identity. I’d decide my destination (there were so many choices!) based on my prevailing mood as I set out for the day. (My favorites: Park Slope’s Tea Lounge on Union Street and the now defunct Lonelyville of Windsor Terrace. My list of others follows.)
Last year, I left behind the coffee shops of Brooklyn for a “writers’ space” in Manhattan. Located near Union Square, this new venue offered a seemingly ideal combination of quiet, focus and other writers, all stationed within a large, beige-colored room with 25 foot ceilings, the floor adorned with jute carpets (which somehow you always ended up tripping on). Each of us sat in our separate cubicle spaces, industriously writing – or attempting to. A doorway leading to the space wore a sign admonishing: no cell phones! no talking! no food! Perfect, right? I’m sure you know where this is going. Because, yes, while there was quiet, focus, and other writers, those elements occurred at the expense of the quasi communal spirit and the swirling, uncontrolled energy that is the coffee shop. The austere cubicles and (overly) regulated space couldn’t compete with the well worn sofas and continuous stimuli of the Tea Lounge.
These days, I romanticize the coffee shop from afar, as I write in the confines and comfort of my home with nothing to distract me but myself. I have a wonderful space to work in, the centerpiece being my grandparents’ magnificent and stately mahogany dining table, grand in its way, yet familiar enough to offer me comfort and peace. It commands attention as an anchor in the space, located in the entry room of the apartment. Every day, I place my computer at the head of the table, my organic coffee (or Kukicha tea!) beside it, and I settle in for a good session of writing. The shiny surface of the table is soon decorated with files and notebooks and pages for my book, eventually covering the vast expanse to the empty seat across from me.
Years back this table was surrounded by people and food, laughter, and more food as my Aunt Sophie cooked for our traditional Polish family dinners in Irvington, New Jersey. It now seems lonely by contrast, but it serves a renewed purpose. I still hear the laughter and the bustle, if not in my memories then on the occasional jaunt; as I leave it behind now and again for the teeming energy and renewed experiences that await beyond the doors of my other writing partner, the coffee shop.
* Part II, with a list of some favorite Brooklyn and Manhattan coffee shops, follows, or Click Here.
Photo #1: Cathryn ; Photo #2: Oso
Admittedly, I am a bit obsessed with the whole notion of “the coffee shop” to the point where, now, I can’t walk by one without stopping, venturing in, and doing my own on-site assessment of its culture, what qualifications it presents as a writing space, and what could be improved in general!
Nonetheless, my time accrued in the coffee shops of Brooklyn and Manhattan unquestionably makes me qualified to present this list of favorites! Note: since I have not tried every coffee shop in NYC, this list is non-scientific.
A Bonus: More and more of the Brooklyn coffee shops offer fair trade, organic coffee.
Tea Lounge on Union Street (across from the Park Slope Food Coop) is my favorite — cozy and yet very large. If you can get a spot with your very own table against the wall where the elevated seating is, beneath the constantly flapping – left, right, left, right – wall fans, those are the choice spots. People wait for hours for one of them. From that perch, you can survey the room, constantly absorbing something new, some curious dynamic transpiring between the diverse groups of people. From 5-7 p.m., the Tea Lounge happy hour offers $2 beers! A good deal!
Gorilla Coffee – Wow, absolutely delicious coffee which they roast themselves in their location on Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue. Decor is simple and clean. Fairly young, hipster vibe. Sometimes the staff is a bit, um, curmudgeonly. Maggie Gyllenhaal revealed recently in NY Magazine that Gorilla Coffee’s her favorite cafe — and yet they weren’t even nice to her.
There are many others! 7th Avenue’s Cocoa Bar is a good spot to write (tho’ the atmosphere is a bit, um, sedate.) And Vox Pop in Ditmas Park — with its political, grassroots vibe – has the smoothest organic espresso in Brooklyn, according to poet/activist Mitchel Cohen.
Sadly, one of the best coffee shops, Lonelyville Coffee (pictured above), in Windsor Terrace (on the cusp of Park Slope) closed last year — without warning I might add! (I still haven’t recovered from the shock of it.) Perfect location along the rim of Prospect Park, perfect name, perfect vibe. I still have numerous accumulated coffee cards which held the prospect of free coffee, tea or wine! (buy ten cups, get one free!) The shuttered Lonelyville storefront until this week had been bearing a “For Rent” sign and I dreamed of opening it up, as it was — everything had been left behind, ready-to-go, behind its gates. But the sign is now gone, and I await news of what will replace it. Another coffee shop perhaps? I can only hope.
** Other Good Coffee Shops for Writing, Meet Ups, and, Coffee/Food **
Brooklyn:
Oak & Iris, Windsor Terrace/Kensington; Ozzie’s (Fifth Avenue), Park Slope.
Manhattan:
Think Coffee, Greenwich Village; 88 Orchard, Lower East Side; Grounded, West Village.
What’s your favorite?
See Part I: The Allure of the Coffee Shops of NYC: Great Backdrops for Writing
Photos: Cathryn
"Do or do not. There is no try." -Yoda
Updated 4:37 p.m.
“Kickstarter is focused on creative ideas and ambitious endeavors. We’re a great way for artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, writers, athletes, adventurers, illustrators, explorers, curators, promoters, performers, and others to bring their projects, events, and dreams to life.” – from Kickstarter site
Why did I turn to Kickstarter? Well, the truth is I determined I needed the funds sooner rather than later. Plus I was excited about the idea of a grassroots, DIY-approach to things. And I really liked the site! It felt a bit like being the indie band vs. the corporate mainstay. (Or at least starting out that way.) I was in an image-driven industry for a long time (pr, music biz) and B-girl Aromatherapy started getting media attention almost before I was ready for it! (One minute I was blending oils in my living room on Hudson Street, the next the line was being written up in ELLE magazine, sold in LA’s Fred Segal, and I was traveling on a tour bus selling it on the Lilith Fair! It sort of did happen that quickly.)
More recently, since I’d focused on blogging/citizen journalism, and activism, it seemed natural to turn to this route - a grass roots kind of way – to raise funds to complete my book.
At Mira’s List Blog, she has an interesting article, Finding Money for Your Dreams. Her blog provides info on grants, fellowships and residencies for “artists, writers, composers and others in the arts.” Mira writes: “The best remedy for fearing rejection is to not apply for one thing but to apply for five to ten things at the same time. … In time, you will get used to the ebb and flow of yays and nays. The Audacious Act of asking for money will become as easy as taking a breath or turning on your computer, opening up a tube of paint or sitting down at the piano to practice your scales. Something natural that is part of the process of creating.”
Natural, eh? It seems most everyone finds the task of asking for money a bit daunting. (It is!) It’s a bit different asking a foundation or an organization for money … that’s what they DO. They give money! They have boards and donors and review processes. But what about an individual person? What inspires us to give money to help someone out … to fund a project?
That’s what Kickstarter is all about: You turn to people you know, or don’t know, and hope that they’ll be as jazzed about your project as you are to help fund it and pledge anything from $1 on up! The project creator offers “incentives” with levels of donation in the form of rewards. It’s giving but also getting – the satisfaction of helping someone out – but also a few perks to make it interesting.
If you’re able to help support me and my project, I am beyond appreciative! Thank you! I NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO GET TO THE NEXT STAGE. A lot of time and thought went into the creation of my Kickstarter site (and it’s not 100% complete yet! A video is coming!). So, do check it out here!
Here’s a few of the rewards: Level I, Pledge $15: Behind-the-scenes updates and thank you on web site. Level 3, Pledge $50: Behind-the-scenes updates, thank you on web site, and a finished copy of The B-girl Guide: In the Context of Now. Level 4, Pledge $100 or more: Behind-the-scenes updates, thank you on web site, a finished copy of The B-girl Guide: In the Context of Now and a B-girl t-shirt. Level 6, Pledge $500 or more: Behind-the-scenes updates, thank you on web site and in the book, two finished copies of The B-girl Guide: In the Context of Now, two of the original B-girl organic aromatherapy oil blends and a B-girl t-shirt.
My Kickstarter site.
A New Year's Eve at the Eiffel Tower, Paris
“Now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.” – Rilke
Wishing you a wonderful New Year 2010! 2009 was a bit of a strange year. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. Most everyone I know hasn’t been too thrilled with it (along with some people I don’t know via Facebook and Twitter where it’s been a big topic of conversation and status updates). I have decided to interpret it as the year that’s the wake up call – a time to make some changes. Whatever we didn’t like in 2009, we can look to change in 2010. These things are so vivid right now as we enter this next decade.
For some clues about 2009 and why it was so, um, perplexing, I looked to the 9 Star Ki astrology system. I first learned of 9 Star Ki when I was following a strict macrobiotic dietary and lifestyle program. According to 9 Star Ki, which charts the year from February 4th, 2009 to February 3rd, 2010, this year is not over yet! But we’re pretty close. So, I think, on this one, we can honor our own calendar system while acknowledging that there might be some residual after-effects until early February. Many of us are ready for a new year!
Michio Kushi’s 1991 book with Edward Esko, Nine Star Ki, describes this astrological system as such: “Originating thousands of years ago in the Far East, Nine Star Ki provides an accurate guide to the movement of life energy, or ki, in nature and human affairs. The most comprehensive of ancient astrological systems, Nine Star Ki Study is based on a recurring cycle of nine distinct atmospheric conditions. Each stage is assigned a number, from 1 through 9.” 9 Star Ki is also the system underlying the I Ching and other ancient cosmologies. It divides people into nine “star” types based on their birth years. Feng Shui uses a similar ’system’ of 9.
In 9 Star Ki, 2009 was a 9 Fire Year. At the great site, 9StarKi.com, Wayne Weber wrote about the influence of the 9 Fire Year:
It [9 Fire] is a time of superficial distractions that cause diversions from the most practical path. Most diversions, however, being benign and of passing interest. This … energy is brilliant and active; all flash and charisma. Fire is bright, strong and ever-changing on the outside, yet without substance at the center. It is kinetic energy at its peak. This is strikingly different than the ki of the previous year (1 Water). This is the ki of sensational news and ostentatious advertisement.
New ideas and options will flourish! But will they be sufficient to turn the tide? That is entirely up to us and cannot be foretold. Only time will tell.
It did sort of feel that way, didn’t it? There were all these crazy celebrity-laden media stories and nothing felt too substantial. I mean… they bombed the moon this year! So we were all trying to navigate amidst this intense 9 Fire energy. Nonetheless, good things can still transpire – it may just have been a bit trickier. And it does feel like, underneath it all, new ideas and options have been flourishing.
This (coming) year is an 8 Soil year.
So what is an 8 Soil year like? I checked in with Wayne and he stated that “8 Soil is the ki of revolution and change.” But not necessarily, he clarified, the kind of revolution that’s in your face, people out-in-the-streets; more so, a quieter, “hidden energy” which is “rising.” He wrote that the ki [energy] of 8 Soil is akin to “late-winter and late-night, think about what happens at these times. What is the intrinsic quality of the time between midnight and sunrise, between winter and early spring? Think 3:00 a.m. Think February.”
These are all times where it may seem quiet but it is a time of regenerating in nature and for ourselves, a time of preparation. Shortly after 3:00 a.m., we start our days. February may be a quiet time, it’s colder for most, the trees are devoid of leaves, but after this period comes spring. Wayne states, “It follows that, if 8 Soil is the ki of revolutionary change, it sometimes generates the change naturally (hurricane, earthquake) but, mostly, it creates the conditions that are right for us to make our own changes. WE decide what to do.”
That sounds empowering and perfect for those of us ready to make some change.
Welcome New Year 2010! You will be full of things that have never been.
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* To learn more about 9 Star Ki, visit Wayne Weber’s site, 9StarKi.com.
* Yes! I’m writing a book. You can find more about it here at this site, but also at my recently launched Kickstarter site!
Photo: ViZZZual.com
So… I’m writing a book, The B-girl Guide: In the Context of Now. It’s an idea I’ve had for awhile and I’m excited about completing it in 2010!
In that spirit, to kick off this site as a place to record my final progress, this is one of my favorite quotes which I find so inspiring. Just taking that first step of imagining impossible things can make us do – or contemplate doing – something we might not otherwise do.
From Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass:
“I can’t believe that!” said Alice.
“… one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,”
said the Queen.
“When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why,
sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
More to come on my book…
Photo: Brandon Christopher Warren
This site is still a work in progress. Check back in the New Year!
