The week-long citywide OpSail event kicks off at 8:11 a.m. Wednesday May 23, with the Majestic Parade of Ships—17 tall ships and 10 U.S. Navy and foreign military ships—sailing beneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Ships will arrive from Spain, Mexico, France, Japan, Canada, Finland, the U.K. and U.S. ports. More info is below:

Where: Red Hook Marine Terminal, Columbia Street entry at Congress Street
Public transportation is strongly suggested: B61 and B63 to Atlantic Avenue and Columbia St.

When: Saturday, May 26, Sunday, May 27 and Monday, May 28, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Ships
Tall Ships
Juan Sebastian de Elcano, schooner, Spain
Cuauhtemoc, barque, Mexico
Etoile, schooner, France
La Belle Poule, schooner, France

Navy Ships
HMCS Iroquois, destroyer, Canada
JS Shirane, destroyer, Japan
FNS Pohjanmaa, mine layer, Finland
RFA Argus, hospital/cargo, United Kingdom

US Coast Guard Cutters
USCG Seneca
USCG Willow

The event planners note: “It is a time honored tattoo parlor tradition to commemorate an auspicious date or event with a themed tattoo.” Shops have long been inking $13 “13″ tattoos when that date falls on Friday the 13th, or $31 Halloween images on October 31.

And thus, Brooklyn Tattoo at 99 Smith Street, will again honor one of its biggest inspirations three days after the Bridge’s 129th anniversary on May 24. The Urban Folk Art Gallery, adjacent to the shop, will host a group art show commemorating the Bridge through the eyes of 20+ local painters illustrators, educators, photographers, comic book makers and tattooers, opening Friday, May 25, 7-11 p.m.

The Brooklyn Bridge tattoos draw from several flash (pre-drawn) images that evoke the spirit that has defined New York’s iconic skyline. Tattoos will be etched into your skin by Brooklyn Tattoo staff on a first come, first serve basis. Copies of the flash design sheets will also be available for purchase, as well as a limited edition book by Adam Suerte showcasing 50 Brooklyn Bridge tattoos he’s done in the past. And: Brooklyn Bridge t-shirts, pint and shot glasses, and other themed merch will be sold in the gallery, as usual.

The third-annual, two-part event is sponsored by Bar Great Harry at 280 Smith Street.

Brooklyn Tattoo has been operating in South Brooklyn for more than a decade. Its gallery opened in January 2011. For more information, contact Adam Suarte at 718-643-1610.

Owners of The Royal Palms, a grocery-store sized club featuring regulation-size shuffleboard courts and a full bar, is set to open their new venue in a 17,000 square foot repurposed Gowanus building—location not yet disclosed—featuring a nostalgic bent with lounge music, bingo, Yahtzee, key lime-flavored cocktails and episodes of “The Love Boat” on TV.

The Brooklyn Paper reports that the coming shuffleboard club will offer a dozen regulation-sized courts and a potential roof deck. A final leasing agreement is in the works, thus co-owner Ashley Albert declined to give away the exact location, but she says it will “likely be a super-affordable spot to channel your inner snowbird. We want it to feel like a Florida hotel from the ’70s. It’s a fun vintage thing for 20-and-30-somethings to try. There’s just something kind of cool about old time-y activities.”

(Photo: TV My Wife Watches blog)

Venues include Zombie Hut (273 Smith Street), Knit Lit (253 Smith), People’s Republic of Brooklyn (247 Smith), BookCourt (163 Court Street), Last Exit (136 Atlantic Avenue) and the After Party at 8 p.m. at 61 Local (61 Bergen Street).

Special events include: * Armchair/Shotgun enacts a live old-timey radio show. * The Liars’ League NYC acts out the latest story by Mark Haddon, author of “The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime.” * The Cambridge Writers Workshop presents Literary Cabaret.

The inaugural NYC Lit Crawl took place in September 2008. Last year’s event in Manhattan drew more than 1,200 crawlers, enjoying 70+ authors at some 20 events. This is its first extension into Brooklyn. The full schedule is here, with all info here.

“Brooklyn is so literary, it seemed like a no-brainer,” founder Suzanne Russo tells the Brooklyn Paper. “There’s so many friendly venues and so much going on in the literary sphere there, we thought it’s really the place we should be. The venues are smaller, there’s an energy in Brooklyn, a creative spirit that’s more of a go with the flow, we’ll-do-whatever kind of thing.”

The event’s assistant producer Deborah Monlux tells CHB, “It’s like a visit to NOLA followed by some Acadiana without leaving Brooklyn. Bring your dancing shoes!”

Also featured: The Bayou-born sounds of Louisiana native and fiddler of the year winner Al Berard; young rising star Forest Huval; former File’ Darren Wallace; Brooklyn’s own Catahoula Cajun Band and Doctor Zsa’s Powdered Zydeco; Creole fiddler Cedric Watson teaches a tune or two on the fiddle; and on Sunday at noon, Offshore Aces, a rousing mix of twin fiddle, accordion, guitar, bass, frottoir and the opportunity to join in and play. In addition, 2012 event “Cajun Mom” poster artist Eric P. Richardson will feature his humorous paintings along the music hall walls.

The Cajun & Zydeco Music Festival also showcases dancehall bands, workshops, Culture & Community Jam sessions and Gumbo dinner.

Day passes are $15 or $35 for all three days. Children under 12 are admitted free. Workshops are $25. Festival pass includes all night dance hall bands, community jam sessions, art show and “Un-Written Stories” culture session.

The festival is sponsored in part by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Louisiana Culture, Recreation & Tourism, celebrating 200 years of Louisiana.

For more info and to pre-order tix, click here.

The show features the culmination of a three-year project on gender selection focused on India, which was first offered to the public in 2011 at the Holy Daughters exhibition in Paris. The multimedia exhibition comprises sculptures, installations, photographs and videos, which will take over the entire ground floor of the Invisible Dog.

Included in the opening night exhibition: Dance curated by Simon Dove (performed by Preeti Vasudevan),sound by Mitchell Yoshida, smell by Olivier Delcour and taste by Michael Hamilton of Kingswood.

For more on the exhibit, which runs through May 27, see here. For more on Prune Noury, look here. Read all about the Invisible Dog here.

“It’s very unique,” manager Ryan Domingo tells the Brooklyn Paper. “People drink beer on ice in Thailand, but not like this.” The machine is reminiscent of those in wine stores that utilize a salt and ice solution around a bottle that chills it to perfection in about 4 minutes.

Pok Pok’s Bia Wun—or jelly beer—is made with low-alcohol content brews like Singha or Chang and served with a straw. The new restaurant, which originated in Portland and was named one of the 25 “Most Anticipated Restaurants of 2012″ in March by Eater, is located at 127 Columbia Street at Kane Street in the Columbia Waterfront District.

(Photo: Eater.com)

Rides are $2 apiece and an all-day pass is $25, benefitting the non-profit Families First organization, which offers classes for children 0-7, support groups for parents and parenting workshops. Families First is based in Cobble Hill at 250 Baltic Street.

(Photo: Pardon Me For Asking blog)

There was plenty for Smith to celebrate when she discovered the news of her award April 16: It was also the Princeton University Assistant Professor’s 40th birthday. Published by Graywolf Press in 2011, “Mars” is Smith’s third published book.

In its review, The New York Times notes, “Smith is quick to suggest that the important thing is not to discover whether or not we’re alone in the universe; it’s to accept—or at least endure—the universe’s mystery. Publishers Weekly says “Life on Mars” “blends pop culture, history, elegy, anecdote and sociopolitical commentary to illustrate the weirdness of contemporary living.”

The prize-winning collection follows Smith’s 2007 “Duende,” which won the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and the first Essence Literary Award for poetry; and 2003′s “The Body’s Question.”

(Photo: New York Daily News)

A secondary piece showcases Brooklyn’s best “brewers, bakers and beef-jerky makers,” and includes Carroll Gardens’ own By Brooklyn, at 261 Smith Street near Degraw. Featured is its Binxgoods Genuine Vanilla, with the descriptor: “How to arrive at vanilla extract as fresh and pure as Binxgoods? First travel to India and befriend a bean farmer. Then let your imported beans steep for six weeks in your South Brooklyn kitchen.” The By Brooklyn website is here.

The couple currently resides in a townhome in the West Village on Charles Street, near West Fourth Street, with their son James Wilkie, 9, and twin daughters Marion and Tabitha, almost 3. A source told the Daily News, “They loved the West Village but wanted something more private, laid-back and discreet.”

When construction is completed, the two adjoining State Street townhouses the actors purchased will create “an urban mansion of 7,000-plus square feet with a suburban-size backyard,” the News reports. Both were an “off-market” transaction, meaning the houses weren’t officially for sale, according to Sheftell. City records show both are owned by Mark and Diane Baker.

Parker and Broderick paid $18.995 million for the East 10th Street townhouse two years ago, and fully remodeled the home, which the News says is now on the market.

CORE senior vice president Doug Bowen noted, “Brooklyn Heights is the city’s first official historic landmark district; that’s how beautiful it is and what it means to New York. The price difference between the West Village and Brooklyn Heights is sometimes two, three, four times the amount. That’s why even big names are deciding to live here. It’s an easier financial commitment.”

(Photo: New York Daily News)

The list—which you can see with full descriptors here—was compiled by Jonathan Pogash, a.k.a. The Cocktail Guru, a beverage consultant, writer and educator. He notes, “Cobble Hill, with its well-kept brownstones and vast dining selections, is also a hot-bed of activity in regards to beverages.”

Pogash’s top five are as follows:
* Last Exit Bar, 136 Atlantic Ave.
* Downtown Bar and Grill, 160 Court St.
* Watty & Meg, 248 Court St.
* Henry Public, 329 Henry St.
* Waterfront Ale House, 155 Atlantic Ave. #A

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

The Big Movies series is hosted every other Monday at 4 p.m., following the public school calendar.

In the flick, “the irreverent Pippi is back! Never a damsel in distress, the strongest girl in the world moves into Villa Villakulla with her monkey, Mr. Nillsson, and horse, Little Old Man, and the adventures begin.” (1969; Not Rated G, Color, 90 minutes)

Bonus at this showing: A giveaway from Cumbe Dance. See more at bigmoviesforlittlekids.blogspot.com.

The project is produced by Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton), with all 12 cuts co-written by Jones and Burton. “Hearts” will be preceded by single “Happy Pills,” which you can listen to here.

Jones first emerged on the world stage a decade ago with No. 1 album “Come Away With Me,” which fostered the mammoth hit single “Don’t Know Why.” The disc ultimately sold 25 million copies worldwide. Follow-up albums “Feels Like Home” (2004), “Not Too Late” (2007), and “The Fall” (2009) were all also platinum-plus sellers.

In 2009, Jones paid $4.9 million for a 4,100 square foot Amity Street Greek Revival townhouse in the Cobble Hill Historic District. She immediately rattled preservationists with a request to cut 10 windows into the side of the home, which was eventually downsized to seven. Later attempts by neighbors to do the same were deemed “pulling a Norah Jones.”

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

“The Hundred Story House” is a collaborative public artwork by film producer Julia Marchesi and public artist Leon Reid IV. It is a miniature Brooklyn brownstone whose windows open upon shelves of books (about 100 of them), which can be borrowed by the community. Situated in the Cobble Hill Park on Clinton Street, the House is a tiny lending library open to all and operating on the honor system — take-a-book, leave-a-book. This is an effort to celebrate the BOOK as a physical object, and the pleasure of holding it in your hand. Or better yet, placing it in someone else’s.

To fund this project, Ms. Marchesi and Mr. Reid have turned to the arts funding website Kickstarter, where they will gratefully accept any donations.

NY Post: “Bored to Death” creator Jonathan Ames racked up a $1,600 bar tab by throwing a boozy wake for his canceled HBO show Wednesday. “Welcome to the premiere — I mean, the funeral,” Ames told one of many well-wishers who packed Boerum Hill’s Brooklyn Inn after he tweeted followers to come “at 10pm & i’ll buy you a drink!” The turnout surprised Ames. “I was not expecting this. I’m gonna lose a lot of money,” he joked, adding, “Everyone gets one drink. Don’t abuse the privilege.” The writer earlier treated the show’s crew to brews at nearby 61 Local. Borough President Marty Markowitz called during the Brooklyn Inn bash to say he wanted pictures for his newsletter. A flack said Markowitz and his wife were “huge fans” and “very disappointed and angry” the show was scrapped. Ames ambled out at 1:30 a.m. in search of an ATM: Like many Brooklyn hotspots, the Inn is cash-only. Stars John Hodgman and Heather Burns were on the scene. Ted Danson, Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galifianakis were in LA.

Curbed: Jon Sherman, founder and head designer of the wallpaper firm Flavor Paper,packed up and moved himself and his business to the commercial hinterlands of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, he must have known the new place would have to make a splash. The new industrial-looking building, designed by Jeff Kovel of Skylab Architecture, is kitted out on the interior with some of Flavor Paper’s most striking designs. The roof garden is bordered by bright purple paneling, the master bedroom of Sherman’s personal penthouse is done up in faux fur, and the skylit living room features a deeply textured modern fireplace. Quite a showplace for Flavor Paper’s products, enough to keep clients like Lenny Kravitz and Frank Gehry coming across the river.

NY Post: They had been living in Cobble Hill and needed more space.

“We had looked at about five places, and then we went to get dinner [at a neighborhood Thai restaurant on Court Street owned by a friend]. And our friend’s like, ‘You guys look bushed,’” recalls De Marrais. “He told us, ‘I’m moving out of my apartment; you should go check it out. Here’s the keys. Go check it out now.’”

They did, and it was love at first sight. “We were walking around like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ This place is amazing, and we would dance around this place the first few years we lived here.”

Brooklyn Ink: Food for Occupiers in Zuccotti Park is being cooked in Boerum Hill and East New York, shipped to Lower Manhattan in donated vans and, occasionally, yellow taxi cabs.

The amount of food required to meet demand has reached a peak since the protests began in mid-September, Chef Eric Smith said. The voluntary kitchen staff, constantly shuttling food in from Brooklyn, is now preparing three meals a day for nearly 2,000 people.

Sean Dolan, chief cook at the protest, says one problem organizers face is an inability to “discriminate” between protestors and freeloaders.

“Rich people can come looking like homeless men, protestors can come in suits,” he explained. “We have to serve everyone.”

 

This week’s episode of Bored to Death has many twists and turns but it will probably go down in history as coining the phrase “baby cocaine”.

One of the episode’s main plotlines begins when Ray (Zach Galifianakis) visits Cobble Hill Park with his son Spencer.

Watch the episode? Comment below!

Our prodigal daughter Ryoko is coming back to NY from her travels in Europe. She is only here from the middle of Dec to the beginning of Jan, so if you are looking to finish something, add, or get something new,check with us quick, she is sure to book up quickly.

Record Collecting for Girls: Unleashing Your Inner Music Nerd, One Album at a Time

Smith’s book gives some solid advice to young female music fans just discovering music beyond Miley Cyrus.  Ironically, Smith warns her audience to steer clear of dating fans of… The Smiths saying, “Seriously. Think about your mindset when you listen to The Smiths. Do you not put them on when you’re depressed and self-indulgent? When you feel the world has done you wrong? When you feel unloved and sulky? I absolutely indulge in The Smiths now and then, when circumstances demand it. However, a totally-in-love superfan? No, I don’t want to date that. It’s just not my cup of tea. We can still be friends though. Possibly.”

Last week’s episode of Bored to Death featured “faux” Jonathan, played by Jason Schwartzman, spinning on a wheel while having knives thrown at him during a book signing at (where else?) Book Court.  Here’s a video of the REAL Ames doing a similar stunt last year.

So, how you likin’ this season so far?

The Kin

The Brooklyn Bugle rounds up bands featured in its performance series who are playing shows this week at the annual CMJ Music Marathon.

Check out performances by The Kin, MyNameisJohnMichael and more here.

Also playing CMJ is We Are Augustines.  See their Brooklyn Bugle Sessions performance after the jump.