Al BadawiSee what I mean about flower banks?Al Badawi
March 26, 2022
Remember the Palestinians? For them it was the usual week of torture, injustice, being made homeless, being jailed- kids and adults – for being Palestinian. Meanwhile we throw money at Israel.
We went to Al Badawi, a Palestinian restaurant in Brooklyn. It’s a large, gently lit space filled with flower banks and sturdy wooden tables. So much is large: terra cotta water jugs that weigh more than you do, menus that have five or six pages, ample portions of food. The staff is professional and courteous, very helpful with suggestions. The red pepper and the eggplant appetizers were delicious. We shared a six layer beef dish that had many other ingredients, BYOB! It was a delightful evening.
What a busy week! Tuesday, March 15 was Trinity Irish Dance Company at the Joyce. I adore the Joyce. You never know what you’re going to see. The first act of the Trinity Company was so boring. I felt like a chaperone at a junior prom. The guys strummed violins and guitars and hung together. The girls jiggled around. Something happened during intermission. The girls learned how to dance and the boys learned how to play their instruments. The second act was spellbinding. Billed as a hybrid of Irish step and American tap, the stage and the audience were alive, dancing together.
Thursday, St. Patrick’s, a friend and I went to Highlights in Jazz at Manhattan Community College. As its creator, Jack Kleinsinger, never tired of reminding us, its New York’s oldest running jazz concert. Ellington Everlasting was the show. It was tired jazz. You had to be at least eighty-five to appreciate the memories of long ago.
I have borrowed text and an image of a remarkable Ukrainian woman from Sotherans, the fancy-schmancy London bookstore.
Lesia Ukrainka (1871-1913) was an extraordinary Ukrainian woman. She spoke all major European languages, was well-versed in the Classics and wrote pro-Ukrainian poetry and poetic dramas. She reached her literary heights in her poetic dramas. Ukrainka’s first drama was Blakytna troianda (The Azure Rose, 1896), which describes the life of the Ukrainian intelligentsia. In further dramatic works she developed a new genre, that of the ‘dramatic poem.’ The first such work was Oderzhyma (A Woman Possessed, 1901). Particularly important among her works are the dramatic poems on the subject of prisoners in Babylon, which were meant to serve as symbols of the imprisonment of Ukrainians within the Russian Empire’ (Encyclopedia of Ukraine, online).
A little bragging and a lot of hope…I’ve edited D. M. Barr’s email.
The New York Chapter of Sisters in Crime released an anthology of sixteen short stories titled, Justice for All: Murder New York Style 5..
The anthology is eligible to be nominated for the Anthony Award, to be given out at Bouchercon later this year. If you are eligible to vote, please consider nominating this book for Best Anthology. The information is:
Justice for All: Murder New York Style 5
Edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. DeMarco
Published by Level Best Books
If you especially enjoyed some of the stories, please consider nominating them for best short story. Here are the titles and authors, in the order the stories appeared in the book:
LEADING LADIES – Lori Robbins
THE TEACUP – Catherine Siemann
THE ART OF PAYBACK — Cathi Stoler
THE NEW GUY–Anne-Marie Sutton
A TRIAL FOR THE BOOKS–D.M. Barr
DAVID AND THE GARMENTO–Roz Siegel
THE THANKSGIVING RAGAMUFFIN–Kathleen Marple Kalb
RISKY ASSUMPTIONS–Ellen Quint
FAMILY MATTERS–Mary Jo Robertiello
WHEN THE CAGED BIRD FLIES–Catherine Maiorisi
WHAT MATTERS MOST–Nancy Good
WINDY WILLOWS–Nina Mansfield
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO LUCY–Susie Case
INJUSTICE IN BROOKLYN–Stephanie Wilson-Flaherty
LAUNDRY AFTER MIDNIGHT–Nina Wachsman
HARBOR LIFE AND CITY SILT–Elle Hartford
Also, please encourage your friends to read the anthology and leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. It would go a long way in helping us bring well-earned kudos to the contributing authors.
We’re in the month of mad March hares, Caesars in fear of Ides, and St Patrick to quote Sotherans, an upscale English book store.
At about three a.m. I was pulsing through my cell’s photos and came across Dr. Willie Parker’s 2017 visit to Judson. Dr. Parker is a Black southern physician who aids women who want/need abortions. His book, LIFE WORK: A MORAL ARGUMENT OF CHOICE, says it all.
The one thing it doesn’t do is extol Dr. Parker’s courage and modesty.
Dr. Willie Parker and Judson guests 1917
Last Friday I raced to the Met to see the Walt Disney exhibit, Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts. There’s nothing like art history to dampen enthusiasm. The early Disneys – I’m thinking of Pinocchio, Bambi, Snow White – were fun, full of adventure and gaiety. The exhibit was weighted down with ponderous expositions on the influence of French design on the early films. Bored yet?
Snow White and Dopey cutting a rug. Is that Grumpy on the horn? 1937 movie
Yesterday, my museum pal and I stumbled upon the Met’s Costume exhibit. Such fun. Like the elderly teenagers we both are, we had a fine time criticizing and praising the various costumes. Here’s one of my favorites.
A little bragging and a lot of hope…I’ve edited D. M. Barr’s email.
The New York Chapter of Sisters in Crime released an anthology of sixteen short stories titled, Justice for All: Murder New York Style 5..
The anthology is eligible to be nominated for the Anthony Award, to be given out at Bouchercon later this year. If you are eligible to vote, please consider nominating this book for Best Anthology. The information is:
Justice for All: Murder New York Style 5
Edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. DeMarco
Published by Level Best Books
If you especially enjoyed some of the stories, please consider nominating them for best short story. Here are the titles and authors, in the order the stories appeared in the book:
LEADING LADIES – Lori Robbins
THE TEACUP – Catherine Siemann
THE ART OF PAYBACK — Cathi Stoler
THE NEW GUY–Anne-Marie Sutton
A TRIAL FOR THE BOOKS–D.M. Barr
DAVID AND THE GARMENTO–Roz Siegel
THE THANKSGIVING RAGAMUFFIN–Kathleen Marple Kalb
RISKY ASSUMPTIONS–Ellen Quint
FAMILY MATTERS–Mary Jo Robertiello
WHEN THE CAGED BIRD FLIES–Catherine Maiorisi
WHAT MATTERS MOST–Nancy Good
WINDY WILLOWS–Nina Mansfield
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO LUCY–Susie Case
INJUSTICE IN BROOKLYN–Stephanie Wilson-Flaherty
LAUNDRY AFTER MIDNIGHT–Nina Wachsman
HARBOR LIFE AND CITY SILT–Elle Hartford
Also, please encourage your friends to read the anthology and leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. It would go a long way in helping us bring well-earned kudos to the contributing authors.
St. Lysia Ukrainka & St. Olha Kobylianska. Blessed be their names.
Ukrainka and Kobylianska are both important Ukrainian women writers who helped cultivate Ukrainian national identity, advocated for gender equity, and whose works espoused feminist ideals. They were also in love, as revealed by years of intimate correspondences. Read more at www.queersaints.com
When the Russian invasion started a few days ago, I wanted to find a way to uplift a Ukrainian queer ancestor, but I didn’t know anything about Ukrainian queer history. It’s a fascinating and rich topic, and it continues to prove that queers are everywhere, making moves, creating history, and making the world better. This is my first time doing a duo icon featuring two saints, but I was so moved by Lysia and Olha’s love story: two fiercely creative minds, bonded by art but separated by illness.
