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22nd Annual Indie And Small Press Book Fair

by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 5, 2010

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Admission is free!

March 6th & 7th from 10:00 – 5:00

General Society Library
20 West 44th Street
(btw. 5th & 6th Aves.)
10:00 am – 5:00 pm both days

Saturday, March 6th:

11:30 – 12:00 PM
Maria Filice of  Food & Fate Publishing will presents Breaking Bread in L’Aquila
Reviewed in Library Journal as a “wonderful book…will appeal to foodies and cooks looking for effortless Italian cooking.”

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Two Turns Adaptation Of Henry James’ Novella Successfully Merges Theatre & Philanthropy

by Diánna Martin on February 18, 2010

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Christina LaFortune and Vince Gatton

Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw is one of my favorite works committed to paper, being a wonderful macabre pastime that my Grandmother and I used to share together, acting out the roles as we read along. I feel it is truly one of the most important staples of Gothic Literature. With every read or artistic version (such as the film The Innocents) a new strata of possibility can be found in the characters, who are as fascinating now as ever. Two Turns Theatre Company’s amazing adaptation of this piece has put their finger on the pulse of these characters, and found an innovative way to share a classic tale.

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Book/Movie Tie-Ins: Alice In Wonderland

by Diánna Martin on January 15, 2010

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Tea, Anyone? (Photo courtesy of Screenrant.com)

I’m very excited about Tim Burton’s new take on Alice In Wonderland. I honestly can’t think of anyone else who could bring the tale to the screen and give it that surreal (read: trippy) quality that it properly deserves. The cast is amazing and includes Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Mia Wasikowska, Stephen Fry, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway,  Christopher Lee, Matt Lucas, Alan Rickman, and Michael Sheen. I’m about as excited to see Rickman as the Caterpillar as I am Depp as The Mad Hatter! (“Whoooo Are Yooooou?” lol)

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A Stocking Full Of The Happiest Holiday Media Just For YOU!

by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 23, 2009

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More Retro Cards @ Fenderskirts Vintage

More Retro Cards @ Fenderskirts Vintage

Before heading off for a long winter’s nap, I thought it would only be fitting to send you into the holidays with visions of sugarplums and such. So, here is my Christmas wish for you all, and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, here’s hoping the Internet waves simultaneously translate my wishes and retrofit them to the holiday of your choice, whatever your faith or creed.  Whatever holiday language you speak: May these days be merry and bright.  And if it’s a little bit of fun you’re wanting, keep reading for some ideas on holiday Theatre, Film, TV, Books, Art and Music.  You may find a few surprises …

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Meet Julie Powell

by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 17, 2009

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Who wouldn’t want to read a book with a subtitle as searing and juicy (yes, I’m going for a steak vibe here) as “A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession“?

One part of Julie Powell‘s life has just been immortalized on film in “Julie & Julia“, but Ms. Powell has a lot more memoir in her, and Cleaving tells the tale of her marriage, her infidelity, and her journey to learn to cut meat (um … I don’t think I need to point out the subtext there) the way the experts do from the butchers at Fleisher’s Meats (“We follow a nose-to-tail cutting program so we use every part of the animal” their website boasts.)
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Once Upon A Time … An Evening With Charles Strouse

by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 30, 2009

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The Man and The Music - Charles Strouse

The Man and The Music - Charles Strouse

Charles Strouse isn’t a name that immediately rings a bell with most people the way, say, Andrew Lloyd Webber does.  If you say “the great musical composer, Charles Strouse”  people don’t go “Ahhhh, right, of course”.  But mention some of his iconic songs and right away the “wow, I didn’t know he wrote that“s and “seriously, that was him?“s come rolling in.  So, for those of you who don’t know and need me to hum a few bars …

… Once upon a time a girl with moonlight in her eyes / Put her hand in mine and said she loved me so …
No?  Not yet?  How about
… Grey skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face! / Brush off the clouds and cheer up, put on a happy face!
Warmer?  Well you’ve gotta know this one …
… Boy the way Glenn Miller played / Songs that made the Hit Parade / Guys like us we had it made … those were the days
Yeah?  Starting to come together?  Want the big finish?
… Tomorrow!  Tomorrow!  I love ya, tomorrow!  You’ll always a day away!
OHHHHH!  THAT’S Charles Strouse!  Yes … THAT’s Charles Strouse, writer of musicals such as Bye, Bye, Birdie, Annie, Applause and composer of movie scores and TV scores like “All in the Family”.   With writing partner Lee Adams he penned half a dozen musicals, and even after that collaboration ended he went on to create a half dozen more with other lyricists (most notably one of my 2nd favorte Muscial Theatre Stephens after Sondheim — Stehen Schwartz for RAGS).
… Once upon a time a girl with moonlight in her eyes / Put her hand in mine and said she loved me so …

No?  Not yet?  How about

… Grey skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face! / Brush off the clouds and cheer up, put on a happy face!

Warmer?  Well you’ve gotta know this one …

… Boy the way Glenn Miller played / Songs that made the Hit Parade / Guys like us we had it made … those were the days!

Yeah?  Starting to come together?  Want the big finish?

… Tomorrow!  Tomorrow!  I love ya, tomorrow!  You’re always a day away!
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Meet Lidia Bastianich

by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 29, 2009

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In the early part of the century (yes, that would be the year 2000) I became fascinated with Lidia Bastianich and made a point of telling everyone that I wanted to go to her restaurant, Felidia (243 E. 58th New York, NY 10022).

People tend to like me (what can I say?) so everyone made a point of trying to get reservations there.  When I went for lunch with some co-workers my boss asked if Lidia was around and would she sign a cookbook?  We were told that Lidia was back in her office, but the book was sent back there and arrived at our table at the end of the meal autographed, with a personal inscription, wrapped in tissue paper.  We were thrilled.

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Mmmmm … Cake

by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 25, 2009

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under neat that

If you’re like me, you love cake.   And the internet.  And laughing at other people’s mistakes. So chances are you’ve come across Cake Wrecks already and I’m not about to tell you anything new.  This tip is not for you.

This tip is for those among us who have technology-averse loved ones who say things like “I saw that secret code you sent me in your email, but it didn’t make any sense” … and you reply “That was just a link, dad.  All you have to do is click on it.”  And anonymous loved one says “Oh, I didn’t want to break the internet.  Can you just print it out and send it to me in the mail? ”  But how do you mail an ENTIRE WEB SITE of funny images?  Well … now you can …

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Eating Healthy and Living a Life of Positive Change: An Interview with Jared Koch

by Kimberly Blozie on September 22, 2009

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Clean Plates


Last month, I had a conversation with my friend Jared Koch about his new book which he recently published called “Clean Plates”.  Jared was born in Brooklyn, and currently resides in West NY, NJ.  He used to own a high-end events/entertainment company, but he sold the business about 10 years ago and has been “entreprenuring” in and around the NY area ever since.  He is currently building Clean Plates into a national brand with major online presence.  He is also a serious spiritual practitioner and has sincere interests in forward thinking spirituality.  I met Jared about 4 years ago, based on our mutual interest in EnlightenNext and we have been good friends ever since.   What follows is a conversation I had with Jared in between book talks and signings.

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Post AACC Wrap-Up with Keith Chow

by The Happiest Medium on August 20, 2009

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Keith Chow

Keith Chow

Paolo Javier chats with Keith Chow about the inaugural Asian American Comicon in post-convention glow.

Asian Americans have been vital contributors to the American comic book since, well, its birth, a fact rarely acknowledged by an industry that continues to uphold a homogeneously white and hetero imaginary on the covers and in the panels of its mainstream and independent titles. With this in mind, I cannot thank the BSG gods enough for the editors of Secret Identities, the first-ever anthology of Asian American comics published earlier this year, who followed-up their historic publication with an equally groundbreaking event on July 11th at the Museum of the Chinese in America: the inaugural Asian American Comics Convention. The AACC felt more like a day-long celebration; I got to participate in the morning as a reader on the panel ‘Every Comic is Asian American’, then geek out in the afternoon and evening as a reader and fan. (During my panel, I shared excerpts from obb, my on-going poetry comic collaboration with artist Ernest Concepcion that’s partially inspired by our lifelong interest in underground comic art and artists.) And I loved AACC for all the reasons that Keith Chow, co-organizer of the event and co-editor of Secret Identities, gives in our post-convention interview below.

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