Crazytown

PIZZA WITH MAYOR KOCH

By Gena Oppenheim (Writer)

"Besides his sister...Mr. Koch is survived by New York itself" So read the obituary of former Mayor Ed Koch in last Friday´s New York Times. Although I disagreed with much of his politics, Mr. Koch occupied a special place in my memories of growing up in Greenwich Village. The curmudgeonly former mayor was the perfect cast member of an ensemble of locals that included the folk singers by the Washington Square park fountain (who refused to believe that guitars were meant to be anything but acoustic) and the man who fed French pastries to pigeons (in a pinch pizza would do, but only Rays.)

Despite seeing him constantly at the bank or supermarket, I can remember one interaction where we spoke.  I was twelve or so and getting pizza at The Pizza Box (go there, now.) As a friend and I were sitting down to eat, Mayor Koch walked in. My pal, oblivious to who he was, kept talking about the latest episode of 90210, but I smiled as if to say "I´m only twelve but I totally follow local politics." He smiled back and asked me what my favorite kind of pizza was. When I pointed to my Sicilian slice, he ordered the same. He got his pizza to go, but before they put it in the bag he took a big bite and exclaimed, "Can´t beat the flavor of New York." I couldn´t have said it better myself.

 

GENA OPPENHEIM Gena is a fourth generation New Yorker who teaches second-grade. She is a graduate of Barnard College, and received her MFA from NYU Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. http://twitter.com/#!/genabeans

I HAD A BALL

Crazytown At The Inauguration Part II                                               By Gena Oppenheim (Writer)

I wrote last week about being in DC for the swearing of President Barack Obama. Although the swearing in was amazing, what was really Crazytown was the Inaugural Ball! Every since I was ten years old it has been my dream to attend, although then I thought Dylan McKay would be my escort. While getting ready I felt like Elizabeth Bennet heading to Netherfield.

Arriving at the DC convention center (which I used all my Austin-esque powers of mind control to transform into an estate with horse drawn carriages) I realized I’d never seen so many people in gowns actually happy to stand out in the cold. Once inside I came upon a harsh realization: the ball is not a ball in the traditional sense rather a concert. The food was not the delicious mini-quiches of my dreams either. Instead, we were served Cheez-Its and pretzels. But the funny thing was no one cared. Sure there were quips of, "I bet the Romney party would´ve at least had some Chik-Fil-A." But everyone was too full of the blue kool-aid to care. We elected a president who had said the word "gay" in his inaugural speech. Boom. When the main event started, we all rushed to the stage.

Alicia Keyes kicked things off with a twist singing, "Obama´s on Fire." Here's a little snippet from my Iphone:

                                  

Next up was Nashville star Brad Paisley. Although I’d never really heard much of Mr. Paisley´s work, his "Not all country singers are Elephant-ear wearing" mentality was pretty awesome. Plus the guy can play! He was followed by Stevie Wonder, who went through his greatest hits and movingly sang “Happy Birthday to Ya’” to Martin Luther King Jr. Soon came the main event. Jennifer Hudson strode out and the crowd went crazy, followed by The President and Michelle, who made the room positively shake. As Hudson sang the Al Green classic, "Let´s Stay Together" the Obamas took to the floor for their first dance and finally this thing looked like a ball:

 

GENA OPPENHEIM Gena is a fourth generation New Yorker who teaches second-grade. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received her MFA from NYU Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. http://twitter.com/#!/genabeans

POLITICAL SOAPBOX: THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Just when you thought we were done with politics for now...
By Gregory Jacobs-Roseman (Composer-Lyricst) 

On Monday, Barack Obama was re-inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America (well, actually, that officially happened on Sunday, but whatever). It was an historic event. I threw a little party:

We as a nation came together in November, made a decision on which direction to take the country, and in January we affirmed that decision. Because we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Because we believe in one person, one vote. For now.

This week, on the heels of the inauguration, Republican-led state legislatures in key battleground states have decided to take action to disenfranchise large swaths of the American electorate. They have tried dirty tricks like this in the past, but when voter ID laws, elimination of early voting, extended ballots, limited numbers of voting machines, and the like didn’t work last November, they’ve now turned their sights on the electoral college and have discovered a way to rig the election results so that the popular vote is irrelevant. They propose allocating electoral votes by congressional district, and now winner-takes-all as is currently done in 48 states (Maine and Nebraska already allocate by congressional district).

This could have disastrous results. In key swing states, such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan – states that went to Obama twice but have Republican majorities in their state capitols – this is already happening. The effect would give immense power to rural areas and diminish the importance of highly-populated urban areas, areas where minorities and young people tend to congregate – areas that elected Barack Obama.

Here’s what this past election would have looked like if this was how we selected the President:

Image courtesy of The Huffington Post

Romney wins with 273 electoral votes and 47.2% of the popular vote. Obama loses with 262 electoral votes and 51.1% of the popular vote.

WHEN A TICKET IS MORE THAN PAPER

Crazytown comes to DC...                                                                   By Gena Oppenheim (Writer)                                                                

One of my earliest memories is being asked what my religion was. Without blinking I answered, ¨Democrat.¨ From the time I could speak I have believed heart and soul in the beauty of democracy. Marching with my family in Washington DC for various causes, while being pulled in a wagon,it was empowering as a child to have a reason to believe in something bigger then myself.

This past year was I was reminded of that feeling again while working on the Obama Campaign (you can see life on the campaign trail here.) Today in Washington the feeling is electric. Maybe it´s not as wildly estatic as 2008 when we felt like we had accomplished the unthinkable. It´s more of a steady feeling of optimistic pride that a movement is still underfoot. This notion was cemented on the bus to D.C. My neighbor was a sweet women who had offered me peanut brittle at the start of the ride, thus cementing both friendship and teeth. She noticed me smiling and looking at my ticket to the innauguration ceremony (which I kept taking out and checking, as fearful of losing it as Charlie was with his golden ticket.) Giving me a lovely grin she reached into her wallet and pulled out another ticket. This one was from the swearing in of President Kennedy in 1961. She showed it proudly and stated "I carry it with me to remember that feeling that anything is possible." After watching the swearing in, I plan to take my ticket, put it safely in my billfold and do the same.

 

FISCAL CLIFF-ING

An Easy Way to Explain Economic Crisis                                         By Gena Oppenheim (Writer)     

Now that the election is over and we´ve all had the relief of knowing that Toronto need not be the site of a resistance movement..most talking heads are fixated on the current economic throw-down. Recently one of my former students, "Ned", sought me out at a neighborhood coffee shop and asked a question on this very topic:

NED: Where is the fiscal cliff?

GENA: Excuse me????

NED: Everyone´s talking about it. I figured you'd know.

GENA: Actually……

NED: It's okay if you don't know. It's just I like rock climbing.

GENA: It's actually really a mass of debt and-

NED: Cool! I'm gonna ask mom and dad if we can go there over winter break.

And with that he flitted off with his babysitter.

So next time someone asks you to define the fiscal cliff, tell them it´s a great place to go rock climbing during their winter break.

GENA OPPENHEIM Gena is a fourth generation New Yorker who teaches second-grade. She is a graduate of Barnard College, received her MFA from NYU Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and her favorite popsicle flavor is grape. http://twitter.com/#!/genabeans

DON'T SHOP BLACK FRIDAY

Because it's the worst.
By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer) 

I did not get the shopping gene.  I know lots of people who like to go to stores in their free time and browse around.  People who spend their work days flipping from spreadsheets to Facebook to Ebay.  People who like to shop for fun.  I do not do that.  It takes every fiber of my being to go to a shop and buy things I actually need.  If I get a tear in my jeans, I will patch those up until they have disintegrated.  I will wear sneakers until gaffe tape can no longer keep them together.  I even darn my socks. 

 
And now you can, too. 

Therefore, I have never seen the appeal of Black Friday.  Shopping as sport is terrifying! I live on an island twenty-two miles long with eight million other people.  Why would I voluntarily rush into crowds to buy things?  I understand there are sales on these days, and while I hate shopping I do love a bargain.  But working that hard for it does not appeal to me at all.

Um... no thanks.

So today, this Black Friday, here are my top five things to do besides go to the shops:

A IS FOR...

Happy birthday, Martha Plimpton!
By Gregory Jacobs-Roseman (Composer-Lyricist)

It’s Martha Plimpton’s birthday. I’m slightly obsessed with her ‘cause, duh, she’s a total badass and a tried and true New York City actor. Here she is on a recent episode of Chelsea Lately:

And here she is in one of my favorite holiday movies of all time, 200 Cigarettes which I will be watching on New Year's:

 

In addition to being one of my favorite performers, Plimpton recently founded the organization A Is For, an advocacy group for women’s rights. Here’s a video of her explaining the organization:

Unless you were living under a rock, you know the right-wing loonies in this country when on a full on assault on women’s rights this campaign. It got most ridiculous when grown Republican men displayed their complete ignorance on how women’s bodies work.

THE CAMPAIGN IN PICTURES

Gena shares photos of what she's been up to...                                  By Gena Oppenheim (Writer)

This week, when trying to write about my work on the Obama campaign all I could see were faces. Community organizers in Philadelphia, canvassers on the bus belting out folk tunes, kids who couldn’t phone-bank but who drew encouraging posters instead and so many others..so for now, I thought I'd just show them to you myself!

 

DISCOVERING AMERICA

I checked out Tatzu Nishi's Discovering Columbus exhibition this week.  We also had an election.  These things are related, I swear.
By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer) 

If you have not had a chance to see Tatzu Nishi’s Discovering Columbus, I highly recommend you go.  It’s free, but you need to reserve tickets in advance.  And it’s only running through November 18th.

Walking into the room, perched high above Columbus Circle, I was overwhelmed by the vast size of the statue.  I’ve been looking at this statue my whole life.  And yet seeing it up close was somehow new.

The statue was surrounded by what looks like a living room set from Gossip Girl.  It screams money and elite.  There are books sitting on shelves, classics of American literature like The Great Gatsby and Tom Sawyer, that appeared untouched. 

  

The walls were covered in a wallpaper with classic American icons like Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Mouse, and McDonald’s.  The television was playing CNN, which on that day, the day before the election, was airing a stump speech from Governor Mitt Romney. 

There were even very recent touches, like a magazine with the cover exclaiming “Is Global Warming STUPID?” just one week after Sandy made landfall.

And in the center of it all stood Christopher Columbus.  Weather torn by the journey, both historical and physical damage to the statue.  Still looking out to a new world and steering the ship towards a new land.  I looked at his face, and I thought of the horrors that happened to the native people of America from Columbus’ “discovery”.  I leave, and I think, “What an asshole.”

 

GETTING MY PREDICTIONS RIGHT

Or, how I spent Election night.
By Gregory Jacobs-Roseman (Composer-Lyricist) 

Let us travel back to Tuesday night just after 11pm. 11:12pm to be exact. When Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and intellectual guru of all things sexytime, announced that President Obama had been reelected as the 44th President of the United States.

Huge shouts and uproarious applause erupted from the guests assembled at my apartment. I immediately tweeted a photo of the TV screen.

And then I marked the momentous occasion as only a sommelier (read: dork) like me would:

It was a huge weight off of all of our shoulders, but unlike some of my friends who were experiencing a lot of anxiety leading up to Election Day, I had been calm. I had been doing research, following the polls, and listening to friends on the ground in swing states to discern what the outcome was going to be.