February is Black History Month and the Brooklyn Art Museum (BAM as the lovely locals call it for short)  is going to be holding a lot of great events and exhibits to celebrate. From musical events  to book discussions and signings, there are a few things already set up fort the beginning of the month and more events will  be added on as the days progress.

This week coming up, the night of the 7th, there will be a talk hosted with Simon Critchley about his new book, ”The Faith of the Faithless: Experiments in Political Theology” . Tickets are only $15 so it’s definitely worth checking out.

If you haven’t been to BAM, first of all, shame on you! Second, make plans to go. It’s located right on the Eastern Parkway, a main thoroughfare of Brooklyn, and has a ton of great exhibits, besides the ones set up for for this month specifically. Everyone should add a bit of art and sophistication into their lives so it is well worth the visit.

A few weeks ago, I heard about a restaurant in Brooklyn who was beginning a “Pay What You Want” campaign. This was the Santorini Grill on Grand Street. At first I thought, oh wow, how cool is that! Then I thought that this poor woman who runs this great Greek restaurant is going to be taken advantage of.

I try not to be pessimistic when it comes to human actions but I’ve seen enough people try to get something for free to know that this poor lady was going to get swindled out of a few meals.

Paula Douralas the owner of this three-year-old Brooklyn, NY establishment says that yes, some people have left without paying for the food. But what is interesting about this experiment is how the people feel about it.

Apparently some people are skittish about the whole idea. Many ask “what’s the catch?” Douralas says that some of her customers are paying more for their meals than they used to. It seems that people are worried about paying too little for their food. This has prompted the lovely cook to provide two menus to those who ask. One contains the prices she used to charge and one contains no prices at all. But she doesn’t provide that luxury for the check.

Williamsburg in one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and Bedford Ave. is the heart of the enclave. Bedford Avenue has amazing places to eat, especially between N.5th and N.7th. One such spot is Fabiane’s Cafe and Pastry Shop. Even if you are not really into the Williamsburg scene, you will be into the delicious delectables offered at Fabiane’s. 

Additionally, it is not overrun by hipsters, but is frequented twenty-somethings of all different lifestyles as well as long-time residents and families. The eatery, which also offers a wide selection of desserts and serves breakfast all day, offers a multicultural menu of food that is strongly influenced by the owner’s Brazilian heritage and French culinary training.

This combination inspires a uniquely delicious selection of standard and new world dishes and desserts. For example, if you are interested in a classic French breakfast, you may enjoy a baguette served with fresh jam and butter on the side. Or, you may enjoy ornate French toast with fresh strawberries and freshly made whipped cream.

You may have to wait a minutes to snag a table inside, but it is well worth the wait. Through big bay windows, you may observe passersby on the street as you enjoy your meal. And, in the warm weather, Fabiane’s offers outdoor seating, so you may simultaneously enjoy your meal in the fresh air.

Only in Williamburg can you find a children’s playground with a theme of rock ‘n’ roll. And to this writer’s delight, I mean old school, real rock ‘n’ roll and not the obscure indie rock flooding the music scene today. Founders Julia Dawson and Carey Balogh created Frolic! hoping to merge their past lives with their present. Think of it as a less sad/creepy version of The Banger Sisters. The two were originally in the fashion industry and met in Williamsburg after popping out some children. They left the business to open up the 5,000 square foot space hoping to bring classic rock into their children’s lives.

With a Rolling Stone tongue-inspired slide, an old Volkswagon van, and some Velvet Underground bananas lying around, it’s hard not to send your kids here. But it’s easy to not fall in love with their prices. You can sign up for membership on a monthly basis which essentially gives your child the freedom to roam the playground whenever he wishes. Birthday parties are offered for as “little” as $750 a month. But if you can afford to hang out in Williamsburg, that’s a steal! Your kids can even sign up for music lessons and be on the lookout for fun events everyday.

Start your kids off right, with amazing classic rock in Brooklyn.

It has been a long time since there was a clear victory for unionized workers in New York. It seems that over the last few decades politicians have vilified labor unions more and more, making  workers less and less likely to vote for unionization even as their wages have done a poor job of covering expenses and benefits have become increasingly scarce.

So any fans of labor unions would be proud of some local Brooklyn news coming in this week. This week Brooklyn Cablevision workers have voted to unionize. 282 workers mostly  technicians and dispatchers voted on Thursday to join the union the Communications Workers of America. The union is the largest telecommunications union in the world and includes 700,000 other workers. Cablevision of course released a statement that they were “disappointed” about the results of the vote.

The effort to unionize apparently began on December 2nd 2011 when more than 70% of the company’s workers submitted union registration cards. The results of this vote could reverberate throughout the cable industry and have an affect on customers prices. For the workers the results will be a leg up in contract negotiations.

While Brooklyn’s shipyards have been closed for years, that doesn’t mean that the history has been forgotten. In March of 1862, the USS Monitor was pitted against the CSS Virginia (which was formerly named the USS Merrimack) in the very first battle against two ironclad ships in the history of the United States.

History geeks like me get a little bit of a thrill hearing those names brought up over a century after the battle actually happened, but those in Greenpoint, Brooklyn are getting more than a little thrill. They’re excited to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the commission and building of the USS Monitor (the Navy’s very first ironclad commision.) In a celebration in Brooklyn this weekend ancestors of the builders of the ship will be dressed in Civil War garb and participate in Civil War inspired activities including a wreath laying.

The USS Monitor later sank in a storm on New Year’s Eve in 1862 but the inhabitants of Brooklyn still celebrate the great triumph it was to build. From start to finish, keel to turrets, the entire boat was finished in 118 days. A great achievement that certainly deserves it’s own parade.

If you’re a history buff and looking for something to do in Brooklyn this weekend, I think you’ve found the place to be.

With a wealth of non-native New Yorkers forever influxing to the five boroughs and especially Brooklyn etiquette that should have long ago been established as consistent and never wavering sometimes gets mucked up. Staying to the right on the sidewalk for example to allow the faster and crazier New Yorkers to jut around you is a pretty standard “rule” that gets ignored all too often.

More significantly though is the new New Yorker’s disrespect of bagel culture. It is not that they do not appreciate the greatest carbohydrate New York and Brooklyn have to offer, it’s that they do so all wrong. Some of these people do something that would have any self respecting Brooklynite feeling defeated and angry. They have the nerve to toast perfectly good bagels ruining their doughy softness and making them into just some regular old toasted bread.

A Brooklyn bagel is not the same as those dumb things you get in a frozen bag at your local supermarket and to toast one is a crime against culinary justice. A nefarious and vile act that should be grounds for sending people to some Brooklyn salt mine deep in East New York.

This might not be Brooklyn news but apparently it is to some.

To protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) Wikipedia, Reddit, and a host of other sites will conduct a blackout of their sites today.  Bored you won’t be able to find funny articles on Reddit?  Worried you won’t have anything interesting to read or edit on Wikipedia.  Fear not!  There are lots to do in Brooklyn!

Start off the day by visiting the Brooklyn Museum.  There you’ll see the “African Innovations” exhibit.  This exhibit houses a collection of 200 pieces of African art which spans over 2500 years of history and the entire continent.  Arranged chronologically, you will see everything from ancient to contemporary works of art.  While in the Museum you can also visit the “19-Century Modern” exhibit which boasts 40 items from its collection of American and European decorative arts, which spans the early to late 1800s.

From there you can take a trip to the Brooklyn Historical Society where you can see the “Inventing Brooklyn: People, Places, Progress” exhibit.  This exhibit showcases a collection of documents, artifacts, photographs and more spanning over 400 years.  These works on display examine how ethnic groups, places, and historical events in Brooklyn have shaped it.

To end the day you can take a trip to Brooklyn Public Library and attend the “Made in NY” Industry Series where you can learn the ins and outs of breaking into the film and TV industry.  Who knows, maybe you can have a shot at showbiz!

It’s Brooklyn! Home of the artists, home of the greatest slice of pizza, home of the newest App… or maybe not…

Sorry, yo, it looks like the next Apple “Staw” is hitting Queens, not Brooklyn. As it stands there are five Apple Stores in Manhattan– on 5th Ave, 14th St, Grand Central Station, The Upper West Side, and SoHo respectively. One exists in Staten Island. The next one is going to be situated in the quaint neighborhood of Forest Hills on Austin Street. Although Brooklyn’s Williamsburg seems like an opportune and appropriate location, it looks like it will have to wait.

This just goes to show that even the borough of Brooklyn gets overlooked sometimes. The borough has plenty of awesome stores anyway so it’s not like you’re missing out too much. Take for example their massive Buffalo Exchange thrift store. You can find designer clothes at a fraction of the cost. Brooklyn also has some of the best restaurants in the city.

It’s pretty much a guarantee that Apple will open a store there soon enough. In the meantime soak up the culture at the art galleries and try your hand at shopping at the Atlantic Center and Brooklyn Flea. That should suffice.

The best place to find love these days isn’t at a bar. Apparently it’s not even online on websites like Match.com or OKCupid. It’s at Brooklyn Bowl on Wednesday nights. Brooklynites who are tired of the bar scene might want to try their hand at a singles bowling league. Jake Reuben, founder of Singles Social Sports, wanted to launch a winter league after the success of his softball league.

There are about 100 members divided into eight teams, four guys and four girls on each team. The league lasts seven weeks, giving you plenty of time to potentially find a mate, or at least some people who know how to handle large balls. But don’t feel ashamed if you need bumpers. No one is expecting you to be that great. Actually, the worse you are, the more adorable you look to others. Or at least that works to a woman’s advantage. Even if you don’t find your soulmate, the fee is only $100 which is much cheaper than going to Brooklyn Bowl on your own.

Get a cute pair of bowling shoes, because those ugly shoes are totally in, and see if you can manage a love strike –dorky pun intended.