Primary Elections

If you’re registered with a party, make sure you get out Tuesday to vote in the primary! I love voting and find the less flashy elections give your vote more credence and power since, sadly, so few people turn out for them.

It’s disappointing how few people are up on politics and lack a desire to be part of the process. I have to say though, the lack of concise, unbiased, easy to find information about the candidates is a shame and makes the voting process less appealing to many. I spent the better part of a morning doing research once I could find the information about what I would even be voting on (our city’s website is messy at best).

This election we will also be using an entirely new voting system. I was initially excited until I heard about the major flaws. The font is supposed to be fairly minuscule (so bring your glasses) and if you accidentally over vote the scanning machine will greet you with the confusing option of casting or not casting. You do not want to cast – instead get a new ballot if you want all of your votes counted.

As a registered democrat, there are a few exciting competitions. I am most passionate about the one for State Committee. Lincoln Restler and Kate Zidar, who have reached out to our community are a breath of young, fresh air up against a tired machine. They are enthusiastic, environmental, and I fully endorse them. In other races, I am voting against Gillibrand, might stay with incumbent Lentol, and am not decided yet on perhaps the biggest and most up in the air race for Attorney General though I am leaning towards Schneiderman or Rice. If you have the power, I’d appreciate a vote against Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate.

See more: Spend a Couple Minutes Local Politicians

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Posted on September 12, 2010

Kudos, Dominic Carter for hosting one of the most informative local politics shows on TV – and certainly the most professional production on the beloved round the clock amateur hour that is NY1. With some significant elections coming up, there's no better place to see the candidates and listen to experts' debates.

See more: TV Shows Local News/Information Politicians

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Posted on September 7, 2009

The quilts of Paula Nadelstern make for a dazzling exhibit of exceptional craftsmanship at the American Folk Art Museum. You are greeted with a huge creation on the lobby level that boggles the mind. Upstairs, more vibrant quilts using different techniques are on display. The labor intensive art is even more impressive when you learn that Nadelstern, a Bronx native makes all her quilts in a small apartment as she says on her own site:

“Historians have suggested that the block-style method of quilt-making evolved in response to the cramped quarters of early American life. My family's living arrangement in an urban environment created similar considerations which, unwittingly, I resolved in much the same way. For over twenty years, my work space in our two bedroom apartment was the forty-inch round kitchen table”.

The most interesting look into the artist's craft is the segment along the hallway that shows the reverse side of the quilting, the literal toil to make such geometrically perfect images on the front. Be sure to peek into the kaleidoscopes by various artists too.

Upstairs is a much smaller, but equally fascinating, collection of hand carved wood sculptures by Southern barber Ulysses Davis. He not only captured historical and religious figures but created mythical creatures some of which would make Father Lankester Merrin tremble if he dug them up in Iraq.

Davis, who (like many folk and outsider artists) rarely sold his work,?never looked to his craft for financial gain. As he once said “They're my treasure. If I sold these, I'd be really poor.”

See more: Spend a Couple Hours 4th of July Galleries/Museums Local Midtown West

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Posted on June 29, 2009