MetaFilter posts tagged with Brooklyn

"Good seltzer should hurt. It's the truth."

R. Mutt — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:37:23 -0800

“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?" With video of The Gomberg Seltzer Works

Keeping us safe from racist literature

Toekneesan — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:04:16 -0800

The Brooklyn Public Library reshelves a children's book—behind locked steel doors

You were lookin' in the mirror and you wish you had some pot?

rottytooth — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:52:51 -0800

Potbellies: the fashion must-have hipster accoutrement for the summer, according to the NYTimes. Rebuttal from Flavorwire. via reddit

The Shadowy back alleys of Brooklyn

mattbucher — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:08:36 -0800

The Unnamed Streets of Crown Heights. Another scintillating journey through NYC's back alleys with the movie scout from Scouting NY.

Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla

filthy light thief — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:29:44 -0800

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.

poets of everyday life

nickyskye — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:14:55 -0800

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. Morris Engel wrote and directed three films: "The Little Fugitive" (1953), "Lovers and Lollipops" (1956), and "Weddings and Babies" (1958). Little Fugitive is a paean to the sights, smells, and sounds of New York, from the cramped but somehow comforting streets of Brooklyn to the dazzling chaos of Coney Island as seen through a child’s eyes. An interview with their daughter, Mary Engel. ( This site includes entertaining interviews with a variety of other New Yorkers.) Related.

The Hipster Grifter

R. Mutt — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:56:46 -0800

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.’”

A Coney Island of the Mind? Nah. Just Coney Island.

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:47:49 -0800

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.

Nerd Herd!

ocherdraco — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:09:46 -0800

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.

Brooklyn Revealed

Miko — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:29:23 -0800

Brooklyn Revealed

Eagle Ager

geos — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:30:44 -0800

E a g l e A g e r

Brooklyn Signs

netbros — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:22:40 -0800

Signs that point to both a tenuously emerging future, as well as the dusty fingerprints of the neglected past. Brooklyn Signs.

New York on Tap Bar Map

shivohum — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:39:09 -0800

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.

An except from a new book, American Nerd: The Story of My People.

fixedgear — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:25:41 -0800

The Cool Nerds. It's hip to be square, or something.

Got No Milk and No Honey

Navelgazer — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:06:29 -0800

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!

Time-Lapse Digital Cartooning

clango — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:41:59 -0800

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. Before anyone asks, she's using a semi-obscure app called Manga Studio on a Cintiq monitor. I've never met anyone else who can make MS work this well. I'm posting this partly in the hope of tricking her into doing an online tutorial.

the gray train

The Jesse Helms — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 11:47:17 -0800

"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."

Working Cats in NYC

milquetoast — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 07:42:22 -0800

Working Class Cats documents the lives of gainfully employed felines in NYC. There is, of course, some controversy. [via]

Wanna get ripped off? Buy from these guys!

Sukiari — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:55:45 -0800

Brooklyn thrives on ripping off unaware camera buyers. Here's where these guys operate from...

Touch not my anointed.

sklero — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:45:25 -0800

Brooklyn Storefront Houses Of Worship. Amateur photos of 100 storefront houses of worship in Brooklyn, NY.

Columbidae Love

R. Mutt — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:57:06 -0800

The Brooklyn Pigeon Serial Killer vs The Brooklyn Pigeon Advocate. Related to The Brooklyn Pigeon Blowdart Attacks of '98?

The Feminist Art Base

R. Mutt — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:24:17 -0800

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.

Life in the Enclave

digaman — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:14:32 -0800

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?)

Marquee anagrams / aqua ear man germs

tepidmonkey — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:19:05 -0800

After the Flatbush Pavilion theater in Brooklyn closed down, people started rearranging the letters on the marquee to spell their own messages. It looks like they come in two sets: anagrams made out of the letters in “Van Helsing” and “Man on Fire,” the last movies to be screened at the theater, and the letters in “Now open! American Apparel,” the store that moved into the building. Of course if you’re dissatisfied with the anagrams in the photos you can always roll your own.

voudou party in Brooklyn

nickyskye — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:21:11 -0800

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]. Other videos by Stephanie Keith. Voudou entry on Wikipedia. Haitian pantheon.