“How do I get delivery?” I asked. “Who is this?” Ronny asked, as if I were a crank caller. “How’d you get this number?" [more inside]
posted by R. Mutt on Sep 26, 2009 - 67 comments

The Brooklyn Public Library reshelves a children's book—behind locked steel doors
posted by Toekneesan on Aug 20, 2009 - 78 comments

Potbellies: the fashion must-have hipster accoutrement for the summer, according to the NYTimes. Rebuttal from Flavorwire. via reddit
posted by rottytooth on Aug 15, 2009 - 70 comments

The Unnamed Streets of Crown Heights. Another scintillating journey through NYC's back alleys with the movie scout from Scouting NY.
posted by mattbucher on Aug 11, 2009 - 25 comments

A Horror Film that will Stiffen You with Laughter! The jungle is jumping, with gals, gags, and goofs! And a gorilla! It's not the set-up for an awkward joke, but an honest to goodness motion picture, starring Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist, and nightclub comedians Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo as themselves, though in roles approximating Martin and Lewis. It was the comedy duo's only movie (possibly due to the cease and desist request to Sammy Petrillo from Jerry Lewis), and was one of Bela Lugosi's last movies. Some classify this movie as a z-grade budget film, while others claim it to be staggeringly unfunny. But don't take their word for it. You can watch it all online, or download it from the Internet Archive.
posted by filthy light thief on Jun 12, 2009 - 17 comments

A creative New York couple and their wonderful, vintage photographs: pioneering filmmaker, Morris Engel, and award-winning photojournalist, Ruth Orkin, who is renowned for her iconic American Girl in Italy. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on May 31, 2009 - 5 comments

Kari Ferrell is on Salt Lake City's Most Wanted List. Apparently Ms. Ferrell has moved from Utah to New York and has been hanging out with the hipsters in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Within the space of a half-hour, Ms. Ferrell was peppering him with questions about his sexual history—how many women he’d slept with and so on. “She was coming on to me, and I was super into it for the first part of it,” he said. “I realized I could have fun after work—but then I was like, ‘Let me check this girl out.’”
posted by R. Mutt on Apr 15, 2009 - 147 comments

Here's a wonderful and visually creative document (complete with a curious and elaborate musical soundtrack and voices of actual barkers) of one full day in the life of Coney Island USA 1952. A fascinating glimpse of a bygone era! See also: Coney Island of the 1940s, and this color amateur film (with some surprisingly arty shots), Springtime at Coney Island 1944.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Apr 13, 2009 - 12 comments

A group of middle-school-aged self-proclaimed nerds from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, who won the New York City FIRST Lego League Robotics Championship with their motorized robot called Thingamajig are embarking on a trip to the Robotics World Festival in Atlanta. After a lack of funds nearly scuttled their journey, they've been bailed out by British vacuum cleaner exec James Dyson, and have been given the kind of sendoff most young nerds can only dream of: an all-school nerd-cheering pep rally.
posted by ocherdraco on Apr 10, 2009 - 52 comments

Brooklyn Revealed
posted by Miko on Mar 6, 2009 - 21 comments

Eagle Ager
posted by geos on Oct 30, 2008 - 16 comments

Signs that point to both a tenuously emerging future, as well as the dusty fingerprints of the neglected past. Brooklyn Signs.
posted by netbros on Aug 30, 2008 - 18 comments

Want to find a bar in New York near you? Try New York on Tap's Google mashup map. Most entries have pithy homegrown reviews attached, and all entries have links to reviews from other websites.
posted by shivohum on Aug 4, 2008 - 40 comments

The Cool Nerds. It's hip to be square, or something.
posted by fixedgear on May 21, 2008 - 96 comments

Bemoaning the state of music today? Might you try a little bit of NaNuchKa, a Brooklyn-Based, Isreali-born rock trio well outside of the fray. Start things out light with Red, before moving on to some experimentalism with Oh Yeah, Says Who. And if you really want an emotional punch, try Mediterranean, "a song about Isreal." Enjoy!
posted by Navelgazer on Apr 29, 2008 - 24 comments

Ever want to watch a comics page get drawn at ridiculous speed? I've been reading Mer's comics since day one, but seeing an entire strip drawn and inked as a movie is almost better than watching an animated cartoon. [more inside]
posted by clango on Mar 13, 2008 - 45 comments

"Google “brooklyn writer” and you’ll get, Did you mean: the future of literature as we know it? People are coming in from all over. In fact, the physical act of moving your possessions from Manhattan to Brooklyn is now the equivalent of a two-year M.F.A. program. When you get to the other side, they hand you three Moleskine notebooks and a copy of “Blogging for Dummies.” You’re good to go."
posted by The Jesse Helms on Mar 1, 2008 - 37 comments

Working Class Cats documents the lives of gainfully employed felines in NYC. There is, of course, some controversy. [via]
posted by milquetoast on Dec 22, 2007 - 36 comments

Brooklyn thrives on ripping off unaware camera buyers. Here's where these guys operate from...
posted by Sukiari on Dec 19, 2007 - 32 comments

Brooklyn Storefront Houses Of Worship. Amateur photos of 100 storefront houses of worship in Brooklyn, NY.
posted by sklero on Dec 19, 2007 - 17 comments

The Brooklyn Pigeon Serial Killer vs The Brooklyn Pigeon Advocate. Related to The Brooklyn Pigeon Blowdart Attacks of '98?
posted by R. Mutt on Nov 12, 2007 - 24 comments

The Brooklyn Museum's Feminist Art Base presents online the work of over 150 artists "whose work reintroduced the articulation of socially relevant issues after an era of aesthetic formalism", including Janine Antoni, Tracy Emin, Ghada Amer, Ida Applebroog, Sue De Beer, Guerrilla Girls, Yasumasa Morimura, Carrie Moyer, Eva Hesse, Pipilotti Rist, Sheila Pepe, Faith Ringgold ... and of course, an online tour of The Dinner Party, and a Feminist Timeline.
posted by R. Mutt on Nov 5, 2007 - 19 comments

The SY Empire: A rare and fascinating look inside the secretive Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn, which has drawn a bright line against assimilation called the Edict that casts out for life any "SY" who marries a gentile, even if they convert. (Crazy Eddie -- who knew? Seinfeld's mom -- who knew? Isaac Misrahi -- who knew? "J-Dubs" -- who knew?)
posted by digaman on Oct 15, 2007 - 84 comments

After the Flatbush Pavilion theater in Brooklyn closed down, people started rearranging the letters on the marquee to spell their own messages. [more inside]
posted by tepidmonkey on Oct 11, 2007 - 25 comments

Stephanie Keith met a Vodou priest at a Buddhist interfaith event in New York. He invited her to photograph and experience the religious world of his Haitian culture. Ten ceremonies later, she offers her images and reflections on these late-night rituals [5 minute video]. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Oct 3, 2007 - 25 comments

'These are a few of my least favorite things.' Melvin Jules Bukiet shares his thoughts on some contemporary writers, some of whom call the borough of Brooklyn home. Writers with names like Foer, Sebold and Eggers, among others. His thoughts are mostly negative. [via]
posted by From Bklyn on Sep 26, 2007 - 123 comments

If piss were oil, 10 Midwood would be Saudi Arabia. It is a poorly managed, under-maintained, out of date, dirty, smelly bunker which makes the worst college dorm seem like the Governor's Mansion. [language and images may be nsfw]
posted by brain_drain on Sep 6, 2007 - 43 comments

Newsfilter: A detective from the New York Department Intelligence Division noticed a strange-looking submarine in the vicinity of the at the cruise ship terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The submarine's design appears to be similar to that of Bushnell's Turtle, the first submarine used in battle.
posted by rush on Aug 3, 2007 - 74 comments

Hipster librarians. What, exactly, do these archivists do?
posted by four panels on Jul 6, 2007 - 80 comments

There goes an a**hole. Brooklyn neighborhood security camera set to music.
posted by eddydamascene on Jun 15, 2007 - 34 comments

First discovered by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1978, the Greenpoint spill has been estimated at anywhere between 17 million and 30 million gallons—three times more oil than the Exxon Valdez spill. [NY mag permalink, with ads]
posted by mr_crash_davis on Jun 10, 2007 - 40 comments

No rest stop? Try latex. From consumerist.com, a tale of... what can i say? Just a funny story. With pictures.
posted by paulinsanjuan on May 16, 2007 - 24 comments

Yesterday, Design*Sponge added a city guide for Toronto to their small but growing list of Guides. The list also includes a Letter Press Guide, an Affordable Art Guide, a Gift Guide (2006), and guides for Brooklyn and LA.
posted by dobbs on May 12, 2007 - 9 comments

The first rule of Milk Club is you don't talk about Milk Club. Some nameless neighbors of mine, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, are really in to raw milk. So much so that they risk transporting the stuff across state lines...in violation of federal law.
posted by digiFramph on Apr 11, 2007 - 52 comments

Blue Heaven: a tribute to Dodgertown. [ESPN link via]. Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL became the spring training headquarters for the Dodgers and their many minor league teams in 1948. The site, which prepares the Dodger major and minor league clubs for the season, is being abandoned by the Dodgers for presumably less green pastures in Arizona. Voiceover narration is a bit maudlin, but the photographs are excellent.
posted by Tommy Gnosis on Mar 30, 2007 - 5 comments

Brooklyn's Black Fire Percussion: bringing high school marching band drumming to a whole other level of funky expression. [All links YouTube]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Mar 16, 2007 - 40 comments

"Two years of twisting my back for 15 bucks an hour as an artist's model convinced me that modern sketch classes weren't nearly as sexy as they were cracked up to be."

Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, hosted in Brooklyn and with branches around the World , gives artists the chance to draw burlesque performers like The World Famous *BOB* , Dirty martini , and Amber Ray , and make real pretty pictures . A return to glory days? Or just another tired trend?

Oh, and there is a book.

(Possibly NSFW if your job doesn't like pasties. )
posted by juliarothbort on Oct 29, 2006 - 39 comments

Book. For thirty-six weeks, a sketchbook was sent in random order between four artists: two in Brooklyn, two in Belfast. Every Wednesday, one participant would receive book. In order to maintain schedule, it was sent out the following Monday, giving each artist five days to complete a spread in response to the one that preceded it. A small portion of each entry extends on to the following page. Beyond this, there was no communication between the artists concerning the content of book during its making. Book's first trip across the Atlantic was on 2 June, 2003. Its final trip was on 2 February, 2004. By the time it was completed, book had travelled over sixty thousand miles.
posted by amro on Aug 24, 2006 - 12 comments

Brooklyn (via Grow a Brain)
posted by caddis on Jul 16, 2006 - 40 comments

The War For Hasidic Williamsburg: Immediately after the recent death of the Satmar Grand Rebbe his two sons went to war over over which one will be the new leader of what is perhaps the largest Hasidic sect in the United States. This sect is extremely anti-modernist, even compared to other Hasidic groups, and it also strongly anti-Zionist. A former leader of the Satmars once blamed the Holocaust on the Zionist campaign for a Jewish homeland. But this internal battle is not the only threat to the community. The gentrification of Brooklyn (warning: pdf link) has both driven up the price of land, making it extremely difficult for the large families of the Satmar to obtain additional housing, and made it far more difficult for the youth to escape the corrupting moral values of the outside culture.
posted by spira on May 6, 2006 - 35 comments

Gloria Trembicky is a bad landlord. Ever wish you knew more about your new landlord before signing the lease? Hopefully Gloria Trembicky won't have any more unsuspecting tenants. This well-documented story of disrepair, deceit and disorder should keep any landlord-Googler away (especially with the growing contributions emailed from former tenants). Also, it provides some great Schadenfreude for those of us not renting in NYC.
posted by davebug on Jan 17, 2006 - 66 comments

Fulton Street Trade Card Collection at the Brooklyn Public Library consists of 245 late 19th and early 20th century illustrated trade cards, all emanating from businesses in Brooklyn's historic commercial thoroughfare. [via Gothamist]
posted by riffola on Dec 13, 2005 - 6 comments

Bike Kill 2004 - a 5 min QT clip documenting the Black Label Bike Club’s annual Bike Kill in Brooklyn, recently shown at Bicycle Film Festival 2005. These guys party hard. via in case of mishaps
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 28, 2005 - 15 comments

Bizarre child support battle in Brooklyn A Brooklyn, New York man who stopped paying storage fees for his frozen sperm after divorcing his wife has filed suit against the sperm bank, his ex, and a notary public after learning she picked up the payments and used the sperm to get pregnant. Deon Francois, who now must pay child support, says he didn't want a child and never gave consent for the use of his sperm.
posted by halekon on Jul 27, 2005 - 110 comments

The Wild Parrots of Brooklyn. "I'm amazed at how many people living on the island of Manhattan regard these birds as urban legends, just like the crocodiles once reputed to live in the sewers. But these birds are real, they're thriving and yet they're also endangered." Theories, studies, photos and an audio sample of these non-native birds, which are found elsewhere in the US, throughout the world and on film. [prior discussion, first link via memepool.]
posted by myopicman on Jul 15, 2005 - 42 comments

“Martin Meyer shoots what remains. The material of everyday life and death on the street. A dead pigeon, cat, rodent, squirrel. Accidents of everyday expression. A plastic doll fallen in a cake, her nose white with frosting. Jesus Christ's senior picture hanging from the rear view mirror. The fallen and the raised. Religious paraphernalia. Nationalistic displays. Epithets in aerosol. A dashboard hero pirouette. There's a story being told here.” And his Flash virtual tour of Brooklyn is amazing, too. [Probably safe for work, but definitely includes some disturbing imagery. YMMV]
posted by Man O' Straw on Mar 8, 2005 - 7 comments

Six decades of Brooklyn as chronicled by the paper that Walt Whitman edited for two years. The Brooklyn Public Library has made available a searchable version of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1841-1902. Among other things chronicled, Brooklyn's version of Draft Riots, the death of Lincoln as well as many bits and pieces that simply illuminate urban life more than a century ago. And, of course, there are ads.
posted by BT on Oct 24, 2004 - 8 comments

C'mon People Now, Shine on Your Hipster • "A new and disturbing trend has sprung up as of late in our great city (NYC): beating up hipsters for sport. Sucker punching Williamsburg trendsters is the new Whack-A-Mole. It's cow-tipping for urbanites. It's blowing up mailboxes, but with less angst and more anger." (more inside)
posted by dhoyt on Oct 31, 2003 - 44 comments

Brooklyn Tenant Is Charged With Murdering City Marshal "As the marshal, Erskine G. Bryce, lay injured and disoriented, the police said, Ms. Jones bounded down the steps, beat him with an aluminum rod and stripped him of his .380-caliber pistol. The attack ended, the police said, only after she splashed him with a flammable liquid, took out a cigarette lighter and set him afire." (Free NY Times registration required)
posted by dayvin on Aug 23, 2001 - 29 comments

If anyone is (or will be) in New York and have nothing else planned for this evening, may I suggest a trip to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. BMA is free on every first saturday of the month (from 5 PM - 11 PM). Today's theme for the evening entertainment revolves around their special exhibition, Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes and Rage. There will be an outdoor dance party (at the BMA parking lot) starting at 9 PM featuring samples from 20 years of Hip-Hop music. You can also walk through their current exhibitions, of which the Robots and Space Toys seems promising.
posted by tamim on Oct 7, 2000 - 5 comments