Results tagged “housingworksbookstore”

Starting at 7 PM tonight, the Housing Works Bookstore and Café will host the release party for the fourth issue of the New York-based Alimentum, a literary magazine focused exclusively on food and eating. Since issue #4 contains a special feature about bananas, free banana splits will be served after tonight’s readings from five writers: Diana Abu-Jabar, Gary Allen, Robin Hirsch, Joanne Jacobson, and Scott Seward Smith. Like much of what appears in the scholarly journal Gastronomica, the writing in Alimentum explores different kinds of food experiences, from a short story about eating a pet guinea pig in Peru, to poetry gleaned and reclaimed from recipe cards. One of tonight’s readers, Scott Seward Smith, will read from his piece in the current issue of Alimentum on a topic that’s a perennial thorn in the NYC food blogosphere- the plight of the solitary diner. An excerpt from his short story, The Art of Eating Alone:

I sat there waiting for my food and feeling quite proper in my loneliness, quite relaxed. I felt the propriety of my loneliness. It's all in the attitude: don't keep recrossing your ankles, don't bite your cuticles, don't twist your glass so much, but don't look catatonic either. Just look like you know something everyone else doesn't.

SCIENCE: Since we spent the weekend thinking about the Earth, spend tonight learning about Mars with NASA Solar System Ambassador Dr. Ken Kremer. He'll take you on a tour of the planet through 3-D orbital views.

THEATER: The talented Michael Gladis, who theatergoers may recall from the hit 2000 revival of Brecht’s Baal, is currently appearing in ‘nami at The Kirk Theater. This darkly humorous drama is about a suburban woman’s belief that she has uncovered a plot to sell a child of Tsunami-ravaged Indonesia into sex slavery by her neighbors. Sounds heavy, but Martin Denton at nytheatre.com hails ‘nami as “indie theatre at its very best” and the “most exciting play” he’s seen so far this season. That’s saying something, because Denton goes to enough shows to make him the Brooklynvegan of New York theater. - John Del Signore

SPORTS: Does it seem like everyone you know is suddenly wrapped up in their fantasy leagues? If you're fully engullfed in your own, or if you're feeling left out because you just don't "get it" - head over to Housing Works for a discussion on fantasy baseball. Experts Ron Shandler (Baseball Forecaster), Sam Walker (Fantasyland), and Nate Silver (Baseball Prospectus) will let you know what it's all about.

On Sundays, Gothamist publishes opinions pieces by New Yorkers. The views expressed below belong only to the author-- who in this case is actually, um, me.

ART: For The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Gary Baseman taps into the id, the psyche of primitive impulses. Influenced by “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, a renaissance masterpiece by Hieronymous Bosch, Baseman creates what he calls "pervasive art". He uses both the channels of mass media TV, Film, Print, and fine art. [Right: Anita 11" x 8.5" Ephemera, mixed media]

If you find yourself in Soho this weekend, peel yourself away from the windows full of expensively shiny trinkets and browse instead at the Housing Works Bookstore, which is offering some especially good deals at two great events. Saturday they hold an Open Air Book Fair on Crosby between Houston and Prince. There will be live music, free coffee, and incredible discounts on books and records. Sunday brings the fifth annual Literary Magazine Fair, where you can meet the editors of many publications and buy dozens of titles for just a few dollars a copy—a fantastic way to discover new magazines and writers without breaking the bank.

The program is hosted by Katherine Lanpher, who also co-hosts "The Al Franken Show" on Air America. In the continuing series she will entertain authors, singer-songwriters and artists in an evening of conversation and performance.