Reader: Feb 9

- The staff of life is endurance. I will remind this to myself everyday.

- Highlights on Michael Pollan’s Food Rules : An Eater’s Manual, which suggests”Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.” “Cook.” “Stop eating before you’re full.” “No snacks, no seconds, no sweets — except on days that begin with the letter S.”

- Jenny Kessler teaches “Food. Land. You” at Automotive High School where students get to visit farms and butcher shops and learn the varieties and benefits of learning about food production and consumption. She also helped the school build an organic garden at its perimeter. She is amazing and this article proves it.

- Hitler learns of Deitch’s MOCA christening. hysterical. (via c-monster)

- Old Masters are the new it thing, chalking up record breaking auction results.

- I want some chocolate anus for vday.

- What I wrote about iPad a few days ago (which then I thought was just called apple template, duh) is reflected here as well. I’m really glad I’m not the only one unenthusiastic about it.

- 6 Full of Shit Professions, art critic being #4. (via c-monster)

- Artist and friend Ryan speaks with fellow artists about being artists today. Jokes and inquisitive thoughts abound.

- Art History poster

- Looking forward to X’s art fair Independent New York. Mostly intimidated by all the fairs during that week.

- Mehretu in her studio. She has very intense eyes.

- Two months of Ethics in Art. From using animals to appropriating images, paying artists and their subjects to institutional rights for artists. Art as unethical is more fun than the other way around, but, how do we determine the fine line between the two? And who is to determine what is ethical and now? Surely Deitch & Koon’s ethics must differ from say, an underpaid or never paid blogger or never been shown artist?

- Are you a puma? via Nicole

- The artist as a failed researcher. “How to research is not taught in studio art classes, but it is a skill artists in the accuracy trade need to acquire.” Really?

- Artspeak is complicated.

- A director’s grudge: “My day starts at 8 in the morning. I have meetings through the day into the evening and very often dinners and benefits at night. This is nonstop. You go for every half hour, every 15 minutes, from one curator coming in to talk about an exhibition or an acquisition to one or two people discussing a donor issue or a fund-raising issue. . . . It’s like a marathon.” Run Campbell Run.

- Loving these paper cuts by Charles Clary.

- I heart sketchbooks.

- Fixed bike gymnastic dance. wow.

- Gifting.

- So, shouldn’t Seghal’s show be banned, for all those artbloggers and sites that don’t list or visit galleries not allowing photography? What’s the diff?

- Looking forward to Dalton and Powhida’s #class. I’ve been thinking of ways I might be able to participate but feel too dumb as an artist.

- art boobs.

Birthday Wishlist

So the list of wants will never decrease. But my birthday is coming up and I’m going to GO THERE and be as obnoxious as to share with you all the covetous items I dream about possessing. You know, just in case you want to be my sugar mama.

- Pollan’s Food Rules

- Hickey’s Invisible Dragon

- Obrist’s dontstopdontstopdontstopdontstop

- Shafia’s Lucid Food

- Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow

- Journals of Gide

- Perec’s Life

- Dinner at Vinegar Hill House

- Subscriptions to Saveur, Meatpaper, Diner, n+1, Believer, NYT

- A set of Le Creuset

- A painting by Janaina

- New Clothes

- New Boots

The Greenhorns Need Land to Farm

The Greenhorns is a documentary on young farmers in America. They are an amazing group of young folks who tend farms and educate others to join. They have a blog that is an amazing resource, not to mention a guidebook for prospective farmers. They are looking for land to tend this year. They apparently got fucked over by a previous landlord and are in an endless search for land in the Hudson Valley to tend veggies and animals. I want SO badly to help them find a spot, if you’ve got any leads, shoot them an email!

From Severine:

Dear Allies, Greenhorns+ Friends.

You are our network, and we need your help

Smithereen Farm is still looking for a new farm location. We have had a lot of conversations, but no match yet. We’d like to stay in the Hudson Valley, preferably near a train station.

Specifically:
a kindly landlord who likes the greenhorns mission, on-board with sustainable agriculture
kitchen, housing + office space for farmers and greenhorns (pref 2+ bedrooms)
ok with carnivory + animal processing
Barns with water access for rabbits, brooding chickens, dairy goats, cow
1+ acre good arable farmland for culinary herbs, veg, flowers
4+ acres fenced pasture for dairy animals
10+ acres unfenced pasture for laying hens+
woodland for 12 pastured pigs
ok with delighted young farmer visitors+guests, able to work in partnership

We are willing to pay reasonable rent/ be official ag exemption/ work alongside another farming operation, willing plant orchard for landowner, willing to care for landowner animals, willing to help with farm stewardship and planning. We are willing, eager workers: but we’ve got a lot of greenhorns projects on the go and so cannot take a CSA/farm manager position, or oversee fancy horses.

Greenhorns operates with a revolving crew of volunteers, partners and collaborators: we have dinner parties, visitors, press, outdoor meetings+ picnics.  We are a merry coalition of young farmers, organizers, activists, designers, filmmakers etc. The trick is to find a landowner who is delighted by this energy, ok with the press, glad for the visitation and educational outreach,  and very importantly: not afraid of animal manures.

Since our landlord decided to break our lease in December, it is not at all sure that we’ll be able to farm this coming season. Tyler Sage, my farm partner, has gone to work at another farm, and friends Sean Stanton, Dina Brewster + Marina Michaelles have kindly adopted our rabbits, chickens + herbs as we navigate our departure from the current (quite contentious) scene.

Our ideal land scenario seems thus far elusive, but we’d rather not concede defeat. Instead we are coming to realize that our story of injustice at the hands of an arbitrary landlord is quite common to the experience of farmers across the country, and particularly in places where land-values are high.  Farmers young and old are telling us similar stories. Having now driven circles around the backroads of the Hudson Valley investigating leads, we are infuriated by the omnipresence of under-utilized farmland, the hundreds of dairy barns teetering on the edge of collapse: this situation needs more attention. There is farmland. We want to farm it.

Current tax structures + settlement prejudices are insufficiently hospitable to new farmers.

What about a tax-break for landowners leasing to beginning farmers?
What about a tax-slap for landowners who break their contractual obligations with farmers!
What about a national conversation about neo-feudalism?
What about a cultural commitment among conservationists to focus attention on supporting new/existing/organic farm businesses!

Young farmers are not just a tax-write off, we are not share croppers, we are community servants who deserve dignified land access, sensibly termed leases, and rights under the law. America is a young nation, we’ve got to allow our ambitious young people to find opportunities in farming. Otherwise we’ll get bitter and grumpy- and probably not be able to keep farming.

Average age of the American farmer is 58.
I am 28, Tyler is 24. Please help us farm.

Any networking you can do on our behalf might bring us closer to a stable headquarters for our work, and a fertile field in which to practice agriculture.
Grateful for your help,

Severine von Tscharner Fleming,
on behalf of smithereen farm + greenhorns crew.

Trinity Project

There are many reasons to be inspired by Pastor Griffin Thomas and the cascade of events he hosts at Church of Messiah, including FEAST and the food market. I’ve seen music shows and dance performances there. A superb baker makes some yummy foodstuffs there. The local csa is hosted there. Bands practice there. They used to have ping pong tournaments (Griffin, please bring that back!) I get emails all the time from friends who come with some amazing ideas and need a space to host them, ranging from dinner parties (which I’ve done there and it was pretty trippy), dance lessons, writer’s salon, pop up shops, amongst many many others. The church is a gratuitous contributor to the creative community in Brooklyn, specifically adding to Greenpoint as a hub of crazy awesome culture. It’s a place for happenings, the good kind.

And then there’s the Trinity Project. Inspired by the Church of Messiah, a few folks got together and approached a church in Bushwick to turn their unwanted space to folks like us who just need the space to do the awesome stuff we do. They are currently in search of volunteers to put in a few hours to clean up the place to be utilized. Read below, be inspired, come up with ideas, contact the project and make some shit happen.

**

Trinity Project peeps came out this past Saturday to do volunteer time at Most Holy Trinity and started accumulating hours for future space use. We cleaned out the fire-damaged boiler room in Haggerty Hall and started cleaning St. Mary’s. You can see Amy Maguire in the attached photo, working hard:) Thanks to everyone who lent a hand!

We will be holding another volunteer session this Saturday, February 6th from noon to 4pm, so pull out some work gloves and dingy threads and mark your calendars. Details to come later this week.

THE RUNDOWN:

The Trinity Project: Connecting community through creative exchange.

The Trinity Project is a program inspired by an article in the Times about Pastor Griffin Thomas at Church of the Messiah in Greenpoint who has opened up his church for bands to practice in, Todd P to throw shows in, a greenmarket to use, and F.E.A.S.T. to host dinner parties at to raise money for artist’s projects. The article is here

I contacted Friar Santo and Friar Timothy at Most Holy Trinity Church on Montrose Avenue to see if they would be interested in starting a similar program in our community, and they’re down.

Basically, the program is an exchange– unused church space which can be used for rehearsal/performance/events in exchange for volunteer time in community service. I believe strongly that this will help to bridge the gap between the non-artist East Williamsburg/Bushwick community and the arts community. We are organizing the program so that artists who are involved can give back to the community with what they are good at– guest teaching at the attached Catholic school, painting, carpentry, the possibilities are pretty endless. This is an opportunity for artists to have space to work on their projects for free or at low-cost, while giving back to this wonderful area of Brooklyn. The Franciscan Friars we are working with are kind-hearted and generous souls and it is imperative that artists involved are reliable, respect the space, and are down with the idea of giving back to the neighborhood.

If you are interested in putting up a project in any of the spaces that you saw, please send an informal proposal by letting us know:

-Who you are and what you do: a brief description of your lovely self and your arts background.

-What you’d like space for: rehearsal, performance, fundraising event, band practice, exhibition, etc.

-What you’d like the space to be like: how big?, does it need to be open or are poles ok?, do you need a kitchen?

-When you’d like the space: dates, times, some alternatives as well, please.

-What you’d like to give back to the neighborhood:
Do you prefer to work with the church community?:
Carpentry, electric, finishing, hauling, filmmaking, ESL, general volunteering Saturdays from 12-4pm, etc.

Do you prefer to work with the school?:
What would you like to teach?
What age group? (PK-8th grade)
During school? (8am-3pm) Or after school? (3pm-6pm)
What days are you available?

**We are looking for some affordable, or better yet, pro bono web design, as well as some fundraising gurus… just sayin.

*Please feel free to send us your thoughts, ideas, questions, suggestions.

*Please feel free to let us know if you don’t want to receive these emails.

Peace,
Monica and Megan

monica@thetrinityprojectbk.org

Goddamn Cobras and Meerkat Media on the Train

Goddamn Cobras are awesome. They are a film collective I met when they shot Pearl and the Beard’s Will Smith medley at the food market. Ever since we’ve been chatting, eating, laughing, planning, what have you. O and they make the best vegan pate and sell them at the market. There is nothing they can’t do. Including, hopping on a train going cross country with a fellow film collective and making a movie about it. They need help funding this project, if you would be so kind to show them some love and support on kickstarter. I guarantee it will be a joyous, raucous of a ride.

From jbls:

The train film (remember, the reason we all gathered to dance?) is chugging along too. We’ve created a fancy page on the awesome website Kickstarter that highlights the $$$ we need, what we need it for, what you’ll get if you donate and allows you to pledge a donation.

Check it out here

You’ll be supporting a truly independent and collaborative film making process with your donation.  We’ve asked for a relatively low amount but could always use more than we’ve asked for, especially considering that post-production isn’t yet factored into our budget.   So don’t let our meager goal stop you if you want to donate more.

PLUS! you’ll get a personalized mix from the Goddamn Cobra DJs! You give us a theme, and we’ll make a customized mixtape (yes! even on a real tape if you so choose), artwork & all. Cuz that’s how much we love you.

Please do help spread the word.
We couldn’t do any of this without your support.

Sparkseed for young innovators

Jenny is a force in nature. She makes parties happen. She makes stuff swapping sexy. She is also a fellow Greenpointer. She also works with a non-profit called Sparkseed, which helps students and youngens foster and grow into amazing independent entrepreneurs. Do you have a younger sibling who is a deadpan and can use a boost to get their shit together and see the potential in themselves through Sparkseed? (just kidding Julie, you’re not a deadpan, I love you!) Then forward this along and to anyone who is a generation (or two or three) younger than you and will strive to be the next best sexiest entrepreneur. I am so tempted to write aren’tyouamanure. There, I said it.

Oh, and the deadline to apply is Feb 7th, but initial application is super easy so don’t get scared. Just do it!

From Jenny:

As many of you know, I work with a non-profit called Sparkseed. Our mission is to invest in student innovation — we provide funding and intensive training to college-aged social entrepreneurs. Students accepted into our program receive up to $11,000 in seed money, and we offer them over $20,000 worth of services: personal business coaches, legal services, skill-building workshops, etc. At the end of 6 months, these students leave our program as lean, green, CEO machines! It’s pretty awesome to watch.

Currently, we are in the midst of our application process to select venture leaders for this year.  We are looking for the best and the brightest, so if you know of an undergrad student (younger siblings? friends of friends?) who would be interested in applying, please forward this email along! Or, if you know of professors, faculty, or other academic leaders who could forward this to their students, feel free to share with them as well. Details below-

* * *
Win $11,000 in seed money, $20,000 in pro-bono consulting, and mentoring from entrepreneurs and executives!

Sparkseed is now accepting applications from extraordinary students who are leading or will launch ventures that tackle today’s toughest social issues. If you have a bold and innovative idea to make a difference, we invite you to apply. Deadline: February 7, 2010.

Click here to APPLY!

Sparkseed is a nonprofit organization that supports the next generation of social entrepreneurs. Over the past two years, Sparkseed has provided over $100,000 in seed money, pro-bono consulting, mentoring, and skills-training to 50 social innovators across the country. Sparkseed has been featured on Change.org, Social Edge, CSRwire, Campus Entrepreneurship, Social Earth, GreenVC, PopTech, All Day Buffet, and The Huffington Post.

Sign up for Lyceum Spring Food and Craft Market

Brooklyn Lyceum is a community center in downtown Brooklyn that hosts a myriad events from chess to dancing to theater amongst others. I’ve attended their holiday craft market two years in a row and they are now preparing for a spring market that equally combines food and crafts. If you’re a crafty with food, stationary, fabric, junk, whatever, then I suggest you sign up!

Calling all Handmade Crafters and Foodmakers!
OPEN CALL TO VENDORS:
The Lyceum builds on its craft market series with the newly expanded
BROOKLYN LYCEUM SPRING FOOD AND CRAFT MARKET
Saturday and Sunday, May 1 and 2, 2010      11am-7pm       FREE ADMISSION
Stay tuned for sponsors, and our market poster design coming soon from our favorite Nate Duval.

ALL INFORMATION AND APPLICATION AT:  BKCraftCentral.com

Brooklyn Lyceum.   227 4th Avenue in Park Slope.   Right atop the R train station at Union Street.
BrooklynLyceum.com     718-857-4816

Brooklyn, NY -  Expanding into both 4,000 square foot levels of the building -  former NYC Public Bath #7 – we announce our heady new creation: The Lyceum Spring Food and Craft Market 2010. Taking place the weekend of May 1 and 2, we are including all manner of “Handmade” to mean both Crafts and Edibles, so dig in.

Our intent with this Market is to highlight the full expansive array of fantastic, artisanal goods available all throughout the Northeast, and get them into the homes, shops, mouths and consciousness of the thousands of discerning NYC patrons who will cross our stoop that Spring weekend, and exit with a healthy armload of gorgeous products they can feel good about. Clothing, clocks, art, gifts, jams, chocolates, cheeses, craft beer. We make it a point to ensure a successful AND fun shopping event. ALSO NEW: Workshops and Demos – Learn to bind a book or grab a basic lesson in chocolate making, among many others. Full Schedule will be included when confirmed.

The Venue:
Over the last year the Brooklyn Lyceum has, so far, put on four highly-attended Craft Markets, as well as the successful inaugural NYC Zine Fest and KingCon: Comic & Animation Fest, where thousands have come together to shop, make crafty connections and enjoy the historical Lyceum space.  Our Market Series has enjoyed great success, and we’re excited to bring you another fine event. Cavernous yet cozy ‘vintage’ indoor marketplace. An easily accessible location right on the R train at Union Street.  Lunch from local vendors. The Lyceum Cafe now serving Intelligentsia coffee, great service from our spunky baristas.

Catch ALL the details at www.bkcraftcentral.com.

A Few Things Up My Sleeve

I’ve been scheming my ass off the last couple days, brainstorming and planning a few events. I hope you can join me in all:

First and foremost:

Greenpoint Food Market returns February 13th. It will be a love day extravaganza with enough hearts installed to keep you nauseous for days. There will be aphrodisiac inspired treats, a secret foodmirer bulletin board, and a kissing photo booth courtesy Color Me Katie and my dearest Hyla. Also performance by Rifle Recoil and music provided by dj Jimmy T. I am very excited.

Then on the following day is another love day inspired event. Greenpoint Girls Group’s FUCK LOVE BRUNCH AFFAIR. I really like the invite I made, which is just paper I held with my mouth whilst sticking up my finger and forming a heart on photobooth. All you Greenpoint Ladies, single or tied, come forth and let’s celebrate the death of love. just kidding…

And finally, I am very proud to present Work It Brooklyn. My dearest Aja originally thought of this event where freelance creative types in North Brooklyn would get together and share their skills and contacts for potential gigs and collaborations and healthy competitions. She brought me along and I brought dearest Briana along and we made this baby called Work It Brooklyn to happen February 24th at the Arsenal. There will be stations pertaining to your field (art, dance, graphic design, etc) as well as speed networking (like speed dating but productive and less awkward). It’ll be fun, join us. Add us to your facebook groups too.

Apply, Sign Up, Attend, Enjoy

Few things from the inbox:

The Wassaic Project, a public art project in Wassaic upstate put together by a few artists, is accepting applications for a summer artist residency. Deadline is in a few days, Feb 1st. Residency from May – August. I wish I were an artist.

Brooklyn Lyceum’s Holiday Market was Awesome. Their next food & craft oriented market, called Brooklyn Craft Central will be held May 1 + 2. If you are a foodie or crafter and have a thing or two to show off, register. By the way, I LOVE LOVE LOVE their postcard designs.

LES’ Grand Opening is currently storing Trade School, where you can take a class every night through end of February with a range of topics from foraging to swing dancing to throwing an art fair, all in exchange for stuff and services. Barter and learn! Too bad the swing dance is filled up.

Reader: Jan 27, 2010

- Like the looks of this house. Like the looks of this work/craft space.

- Yoga for foodies. “Ssssmell the squassshhhh waaaafting through the air.” Another culture consumed. Pity. omg: “Yoga, a noun, is also used as an adjective by many American yogis, as in “That’s so yoga.”

- Village Voice’s 18 Gotham Best Blogs includes Art Fag City and New York Shitty.

- This is the best food blog ever. A post on donut plant and farting on despicable women on the subway. Also, fish and squatting on public toilets. I can learn from this dude.

- Bourdain “calling Waters a “visionary” who “says some stupid shit sometimes.”

- Unhappy Hipsters are images taken from Dwell magazine with some amazing captions added.

- Behold, the slant ruled notebook.

- Susan Sarandon spanks pigs onstage at of montreal concert.

- How art can be used to contextualize and understand environmental concerns. Example: Dave Olsen studies the pollution that is Newtown Creek under an alter ego, the vulture. I will contact him in hopes to meet and speak one day.

- Ecosexual cake contest. (via c-monster)

- When a journalist asks you how much you make blogging : “None of your fucking business” isn’t polite, so I suggest joking evasion such as “I’m making in the low billions, thanks for asking.”

- Sex in art.

- Astoria’s scum river bridge.

- The Onion on Haiti. Also, intro to Haitian music.

-  Whitney Biennial?