February 7, 2010
Rosemond Jolissaint performs at Santos Party House, New York, 2010
Through the friend of a friend who works for the non-profit organization SOIL, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and hosting a young musician from Haiti, Rosemond Jolissaint.
He’s touring the U.S. to raise funds to support relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010. I met him for the first time after his performance at Santos Party House this past Friday night. He was also in the Democracy Now! studio on February 8th to record a couple of songs.
He could possibly be sharing the stage with The Dead at another benefit concert in the San Francisco Bay area in the coming week. I’ll update this post when I know details.
He is probably most well known following his winning Haiti’s Digicel Stars competition in 2007 (Digicel Stars is similar to American Idol).
See more photos here.
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Friends, New York, New York City, benefit, fundraiser, music | Tagged: benefit, Democracy Now!, fundraiser, New York, New York City, performance, Rosemond Jolissaint, Santos Party House | 
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Posted by threecee
January 29, 2010
Today, on the day before one of last major court hearings in the long and tortured arc that is Atlantic Yards, I had the joy of finding the above in my inbox from the design firm of Nicholl & Dhyme.
(I blacked out identifying info, as I’m guessing the poor schmuck who sent this is probably pretty low on the corporate food chain, has a crazy-ass boss and is on an insane schedule, is doing his job and his boss’s job and the job of the guy they just laid off, and is worried about getting fired and losing the crappy health insurance he does have. And, he lives in Kansas City.)
As I rely on Google and flickr for all of my marketing needs, it’s how many people know about me and my work. The downside is that I get “offers” with lots of phrases like “we can’t offer compensation.” Or worse, photos are used without permission nor attribution. So, in the scheme of things, at least Nicholl & Dhyme had the courtesy (or good legal sense) to ask first, as well as to promise there just might be some fresh schwag in it for me. Sweet!
However…
- This guy clearly has no idea who I am. Probably didn’t have enough time to google to find out that I’d probably be the last person to let him use one of my Atlantic Yards photos in a bid for a construction contract on the Barclays Center. The construction contract must be worth millions, and all I’d get is a lousy Nicholl & Dhyme t-shirt (not to mention the neighborhood-destroying megaproject almost literally in my back yard)?
- Nobody ever has any money to pay the photographer. Sure, we’d probably take the photos anyway cuz we’re crazy-addicted like that, but there is no Santa Claus: getting those pixels in front of your eyeballs takes time, effort, (hopefully some amount of) skill, and money. It’s one thing to let non-profits use photos for free. It’s a whole other ball game when it’s a corporation that would likely make millions constructing the arena’s “outer shell.”
- No disrespect to Kansas City, Missouri, but… Are there no local nor regional firms that could do this work and create local jobs? After all, Atlantic Yards is soooo all about Jobs! (Not so much) Housing! (Maybe later) Hoops! (The Nets? They play basketball?). Maybe Forest City Ratner “can’t offer compensation,” but promised reversible Nets/<Any-Other-Is-Better-NBA-Team> jerseys and free tickets.
- If this is the kind of outfit that’s involved in building a “world class” arena… They’re already cutting corners to slap together a proposal they’re “putting out in the next day or two to be the metal company that does the outer shell.” Then again, are we surprised?
2 Comments | Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, New York, New York City, Photography, Prospect Heights, Ratner, idiots, money | Tagged: Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, Bruce Ratner, eminent domain, ESDC, Forest City Ratner, New York City, Photography, Prospect Heights Brooklyn | Permalink
Posted by threecee
January 20, 2010
commitment (from dictionary.com)
- a pledge or promise; obligation: We have a commitment to pay our bills on time.
- engagement; involvement: They have a sincere commitment to religion.
I must admit, when I first moved to Brooklyn, I didn’t give News 12 Brooklyn much love. I thought at the time, like most local “news” stations, News 12 wouldn’t have much to offer in terms of what I had considered “real” news. I expected to see far too many stories about local crime, plenty of stories about cute kids doing cute things, and weather and traffic seemingly every 7 minutes. I do understand. It must be difficult fill 24 hours, 7 days a week without some fluff. Just ask CNN or Fox or MSNBC or …
However, I’ve come to appreciate New 12’s commitment, at least in covering the 6-year story of Atlantic Yards. There are certainly others following this story thoroughly and completely, but I’m singling them out as one of the few major media outlets in New York City that nearly always sends at least one reporter to cover any and all Atlantic Yards events.
That’s much more than I can say for the New York Times.
Leave a Comment » | Atlantic Yards, New York, New York City, New York Times, Prospect Heights, media, news, word of the day | Tagged: Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, media, The New York Times | Permalink
Posted by threecee
