The Williamsburg Nerd

2016: A Peek at Our Internet Future

"Along with a change of mindset will be a generational shift. By the year 2016, no one under the age of forty will remember a world without personal computers. The average twenty year old will find it hard to imagine a time when there wasn't any email to check or Web sites to visit. When we reach this point, even the novelty of the term "Internet" will have long since faded to join such golden buzz-words of yesteryear as "space age" and "atomic".""

Coffee makes us more likely to say 'Yes'

If you're looking for a way to make someone say 'yes', coffee can help. Moderate amounts of caffeine can have an impact on the extent to which we can be persuaded, finds research published today in the European Journal of Social Psychology.

The Australian researchers from the University of Queensland found that with caffeine consumption we are more likely to attend to, and agree with, persuasive arguments.

The experiments involved asking people their attitudes about voluntary euthanasia before and after reading persuasive arguments against their initial beliefs. Prior to reading the arguments, the participants consumed orange juice with either caffeine (equivalent to two cups of coffee) or no caffeine (placebo).

The level of 'systematic processing of the message' was found to be increased by caffeine as shown by increased agreement with the arguments, greater message-related thinking and better argument recall.

So maybe it's a better idea to meet a date for coffee rather than at a bar?

read more | digg story

The owner of the Brooklyn warehouse that went up in flames last month was served with criminal environmental charges Wednesday, the same day a homeless man was charged with arson in the case. The Brooklyn DA has charged Joshua Guttman and his son, Jack Guttman, with 434 counts of failure to maintain privately owned waterfront property where the Greenpoint Warehouses stood.

That's one count for each day they allegedly failed to make repairs to deteriorating piers and bulkheads after being ordered by the city to do so. They face up to $5,000 in fines for each misdemeanor, or more than $2 million total. The Guttman’s refused to comment on the charges.

Flier coming home

At the age of 87, Frank Cunningham of Queens figured he'd go to his grave never knowing exactly what happened to his brother George during World War II. The only solid facts he knew were these: Air Force Cpl. George Cunningham was a radioman on a C-47A cargo plane that vanished 61 years ago on a flight over New Guinea.

"After a while, you think they'll never find him," Frank Cunningham told the Daily News yesterday. Then two weeks ago, a call came out of the blue from an official at the Defense Department who said his brother's remains had been recovered and positively identified.

And some backstory on George Cunningham:

George Cunningham was born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the fourth of six children. When their mother, Alice, died from pneumonia in 1936, he dropped out of school and got a job as a truck driver to help support his family.

"I went in the Army in March of 1942, and he went in the Air Force in August 1942," said Frank Cunningham, who was a awarded a Purple Heart and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He said George, who hadn't married, was the only one of his four brothers who didn't come home from the battlefield.

Is Smart coming to the U.S.?

You can see tiny Smart cars, those egg-shaped two-seaters, doubled up in parking spaces or sitting on city sidewalks all over Europe, where they have been sold since 1998. But Smart has never come to the United States. The Mercedes-Benz unit has struggled to make money from the day it was conceived, and writeoffs to date run to the billions of dollars. With losses so steep, plans to sell the car here have been repeatedly delayed as Mercedes has struggled to find a profit-making formula.

Now, DaimlerChrysler chairman Dieter Zetsche is dropping hints that Smart will make its way to the United States. Speaking to reporters in Portland, Oregon last week at an event marking the 25th anniversary of Daimler's acquisition of Freightliner trucks, Zetsche said a final decision on Smart for the U.S. would be made this month, once a verdict was reached on how to distribute it.

He added in his German-tinged English, "The tendency is positive in this regard."

Translation: Consider it all but done.

It looks like they are thinking of selling them for $12k and they get 70 miles per gallon. I'd love to see these cars on the streets of Williamsburg!

Here are some related links:

http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/

http://www.threepointmotors.com/smart/index.asp

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_30/b3793092.htm

Here are some samples of her work (I hope she has a show in Williamsburg, as I'd love to see her artwork upclose):

Sick Of Clubs, Hipsters Revive Old-Style Dinner Parties

Involving a strict yet mixed guest list, a non-negotiable dress code, an adherence to rules of outdated etiquette, and forcible socializing with a roomful of strangers - some famous, some poor, all fascinating - the new happening known as "The Dinner Club" has become an underground phenomenon.

Inspired by similar happenings in London and Argentina, Jaksic - a self-described "food history dork" - and her equally dispirited pal Amy Burgess became obsessed with the idea of restoring the right mix of grandeur and frivolity to New York City nightlife. Because, as Burgess puts it, "Right now it's all about drunk girls throwing up. Everything's too loud. And I hate being pushed by people. Literally, pushed."

They describe their mission as an attempt "to revitalize the dispassionate New York social scene." It's fair to say this is an understatement.

Their first event, thrown a few months ago in Burgess' 3,000-square-foot Williamsburg loft, was a literal, deeply researched recreation of a 1920s New York high society bash. Hard invites were sent to a carefully cultivated guest list of 20 (total attendance was 40, with plus-1s).

Those invited were directed to the Web site, dinnerclubnyc.com, where Jaksic and Burgess posted images from books and fashion magazines so guests would have reference points for the evening's dress code. "We didn't want it to be a hipster event," Jaksic says. "We wanted to get the message across that it isn't a bubble-gummy dress-up party. It's based on history, it's very detail-oriented, and we expected our guests to put in the effort."

"Novelist Jonathan Lethem, author of Fortress of Solitude and avid Brooklynite, has written a stirring open letter to the architect Frank Gehry over plans to create a towering "neighborhood from scratch" in the middle of the low rise, homey buildings of Brooklyn."

read more | digg story

The Animation Block Party

The Animation Block Party, devoted to showcasing the work of independent professionals and students from around the world has set its schedule for the 2006 Summerfest. Taking place in New York City July 22-24, the event will feature everything from "giveaways" to "discussions with industry survivors." Ticket information and the excellent shorts lineup for the festival will be announced on the Animation Block website on July 3rd, 2006. Read on for the entire three day agenda.

Opening night, July 22nd, at Rooftop Films will feature a special performance by Vic Thrill and the Saturn Missle. Doors open at Automotive High School at 50 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with cool giveaways from ABP sponsors, great food and animation booths. This is followed by two hours of animation exclusives including New York and world premieres from artists of all nationalities.

The second night, July 23rd at Galapagos Art Space begins with an Animation Survivors Panel. Four animation originals talk about the genesis of the New York City animation experience. This will be a one of a kind discussion with industry survivors Howard Beckerman, Irra Verbitsky, Doug Crane, and Don Duga about their careers, personal work, and what inspires them today. These four artists were sewn into the fabric of Manhattan's animation universe as they began their careers in the era of Rankin and Bass, Terrytoons, and UPA continued through the classic MTV and Nickelodeon age, and are still thriving in the new millennium of internet video and Flash. This panel is followed by 80 minutes of diverse genre shorts ranging from experimental to student work and is capped off by Rock Star Karaoke with a live band, featuring Sid and Buddy Karaoke.
July 24th, the final night, is at Bam Cinematek and will feature the best narrative shorts of the festival as well as a handful of other ABP originals.

http://www.animationblock.com/

Brooklyn theater lobbying for new artist aid

In an effort to keep up and coming artists in New York, Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg plans to meet with the Department of Cultural Affairs tomorrow to begin lobbying for government aid for emerging artists. Executives at Galapagos, which presents 140 performances a month attracting an average of 8,000 people, say New York City is at risk of losing its status as an international cultural capital because beginning artists can't afford to live here anymore.

"There's not the inflow of young artists moving in the city like there used to be," says Robert Elmes, director of Galapagos. "The conversation at this point isn't whether or not there's opportunity in New York, but just what other city they should go to."

Mr. Elmes says his theater has already seen a significant drop in proposals from college students or recent graduates to come there and present their work. Instead, young artists are heading to places like Pittsburgh, or even oversees to Berlin, which has been aggressive about promoting itself as an affordable hub for emerging arts. The main problem in New York, Mr. Elmes says, is the cost of real estate. That has led to a slew of off-Broadway theater closings in recent months.

But here is the part that hurts for those of us who love Williamsburg:

Galapagos itself has started looking for a new space as its lease expires in two years. Mr. Elmes is worried he won't be able to find anything affordable, and that his theater too will be forced to leave the city.

It would be sad if they can't find a new space in Williamsburg. Perhaps with any luck the market will cool, but even the odds aren't good for anything near the waterfront. Yes perhaps Galapagos can go out to Bushwick and live again, but a bit of what makes Williamsburg special will be gone as of 2008.

http://www.livefromthewb.com/

Parts Of Brooklyn Rezoned For Residential Use

New housing is in the works for a section of Brooklyn waterfront. The mayor says it'll give lower-income families the chance at a good home, but some say the plan doesn't go far enough.

It doesn't look like much now, but a former industrial site in Greenpoint-Williamsburg, Brooklyn, will soon be the location of mixed-income housing, now that the city's expanded rezoning program has turned it into a residential area.

Developers are building three apartment towers that will sell at current market prices. But a fourth building - Palmers Dock - will contain affordable rentals.

"A family of four with an income of no more than $56,720 a year will be able to live in Palmer's Dock and will not have to pay more than a third of their income for rent," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The mayor and other city and state leaders broke ground on the project Monday. In the first phase, almost 300 residential units will be built, and a third will be affordable.

...wouldn't it be better if the major setup a city owned company to create more afforadble housing which would generate direct income for the city instead of giving away the land?