Timeless Greenpoint

Greenpoint Photos

A Good Friday in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

From the spring of 1984 to the summer of 1985, I lived on Monitor Street in Greenpoint, the northern-most section of Brooklyn, along the East River.

I happened to travel there to acquire a piece of audio recording equipment, on Good Friday, March 29. I only now had time to get the photos off of my camera.

I found the insular Polish neighborhood much as I remembered, and even found an abandoned luncheonette, soapy windows revealing twentieth-century prices and a bit of a time capsule inside.

Greenpoint Brooklyn

You can see full size photos here.

Happy May Day Everyone!

In a time when more and more people are working harder and longer for less benefit to anyone but their billionaire overlords, it is fitting to take the time appreciate those who work hardest to feed their families, and do their part and whose labor helps make our society a decent place to live.

For those in civilized nations that actually give their workers May Day off for rest, relaxation and remembrance, I hope you have as lovely a day weather-wise as it is here in New York City.

And for those who enjoy music and good spirits, I hope you find time for both, even if you had to work today.

 

Homemade Granola MMM mmm!

Homemade Granola smells great when its cooling

My homemade granola beings by mixing together 3 cups of old fashioned oats, 2-1/2 Tablespoons of organic coconut oil, 1/2 cup of organic raisins, 1/2 cup of sliced almonds, freshly crushed, 1/2 cup of a trail mix with cashew pieces, punkin and sunflower seeds and several types of dried berries, a pinch of sea salt, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Then I baked it on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 300 degrees, gave it a raking and baked for another 4 minutes.

It smells good enough to eat right now. But it is actually going to get mixed with a large box of cheerios, put in glass jars, on its way to many a good breakfast, with the addition of a fresh banana.

While I do use yogurt sometimes, lately I have been using organic oat “milk”, which I like every bit as much as almond milk. It has more sugar, but also more protein.

Homemade granola costs a lot less

In the short haul it seems like a good bit of money to get all the ingredients together. But I have enough to make months of the stuff for about the price of 3 weeks worth of the store-bought variety, if that. Pre-made granola has tons more sugar and fat, even the health food store versions.

CD Review of Howard Emerson’s It Ain’t Necessarily So

“Emerson’s style is easily recognizable, by its authoritative thumb-driven rhythms matched with an intelligent use of mid range and treble that weave texture and highlight around simple yet fresh melodies. And there is always that impeccable timing, with flow and tension, space suddenly appearing and just as quickly filling up again. That is all notably present on tunes like “Pop Top” and “That’s What She Said.””

Read Full Review over at One Man’s Guitar

Catch the Impressionists and Contemporary Fashion Exhibit in NYC or Chicago if you can!

We finally had a chance to go see the wonderful exhibit Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity.

It is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 27, when it moves to the Art Institute of Chicago, which was a co-organizer of the show, in addition to the Musée d’Orsay, in Paris.

In several galleries of paintings, dresses, and historical artifacts, one may explore how the painters in the Avant-garde of the later nineteenth century used non-traditional portraiture and the most cutting edge fashions in a revolutionary movement to promote “la modernité.”

To our twenty-first century eyes, they may appear like scenes from a period drawing room drama, but Monet and his fellows were presenting their women in the skinny jeans of the day.

As a result they were considered both renegades and trendsetters. Few exhibitions bring that home like this one.

I recommend it to everyone. But if you a know any little girls fond of dressing up in pretty frocks, or former little girls for that matter, you should bring them to see the amazing gowns, both in the paintings and the genuine articles displayed in cases throughout the galleries.

Read the Full Review (with links to many of the paintings.)

New guitar review

We present our latest featured review, of an exquisite Lowden O50C, our first taste of African Blackwood. (at One Man’s Guitar)

“From the beautiful, master grade woods, the obvious expert craftsmanship, the sensual display of light and line, of arch and symmetry, of plane and undulation that make up the understated, woody aesthetic, everything suggests the best of the very best. And it has a voice every bit as good as its looks.”

Read Full Review (with video)