Snow Day!!!!

I live in Brooklyn, so when nature comes my way, I milk it as much as possible. I took a walk to Prospect Park where there was not only tons of sledding going on, but more snowmen per square foot than I have ever seen in my life, and some of the largest I have encountered, as well. People were building tunnels and forts. I am not sure who was having more fun, the kids or their parents. I went to my favorite secluded spot and was graced with the presence of many beautiful birds. It was a lovely day. I am now back home, nice and cozy, and getting ready for some hot noodle soup! Life is good.

Badass Brooklyn : Part II

I passed by this the other day. So simple. So obvious. So friggin funny!

Badass Brooklyn

Snowday!!! Thick wet snow everywhere. Tree limbs tired and sagging under the weight of it. Barely any cars. It was the perfect snowman snow. I took the first picture in Carroll Gardens and the second one is from Mike Spears. He takes great pictures. Check out his blogggg.

Seeking Inspiration

I recently closed my business which I have had for over six years. I am still as busy as ever. I mean, I have things to do (like, um, start a blog) but I find myself trying to fill every minute with a task or a mini-adventure so that I don't have any opportunity to sink into a pit of self pity. Really, if you give me just five minutes alone with myself, I start shredding myself to pieces. And really, I am a lucky person; things aren't that bad. Still, left with this identity crisis, I am in the process of trying to masterfully reinvent myself. I am searching everywhere for the answer to the question: what should I do next?
Now when I say I am searching everywhere, what I mean is anywhere where I can go for free. I have been taking long walks through Brooklyn. In the space of a few hours, I can visit China, Italy, Greece, Mexico, Puerto Rico... I am really into the Brooklyn China Town. It is not as crazy as downtown Manhattan, it smells a lot better (despite the huge selection of fresh seafood that is displayed in the open on ice) and it is huge. I have eaten some good, cheap meals there.
After these long walks - the last one culminated at Coney Island just as the sun was setting - my head is clear, but somehow also filled with ideas and inspiration as well.

as one journey ends, another begins

For me, the journey began something like twelve years ago. My friend Curtis Brown was visiting me in Brooklyn and he brought along a copy this movie he was working on... This was back in the days of VHS. A group of about ten or so friends gathered at my D.U.M.B.O loft (my rent at the time was $325.00 a month) to watch Otis N' Dwayne. I, for one, was certainly not prepared for the hours that followed. The movie was mashed together with "scene missing" flashing on the screen every few minutes. I had never watched a film-work in progress before and thought that this was all part of the crazy style of the movie. Anyway, it was more like a collage - a series of images and ideas held together with crazy glue. I really did not understand anything as I watched it. But I didn't care. It was visually arresting and I knew that I wanted to know more and would watch it again some day hopefully.
Fast forward some eleven or so years... Otis N' Dwayne director/producer /co-screenwriter Dylan O'Neil is visiting NYC and drops by a BBQ I am hosting in my back yard with his childhood friend and my old friend Curtis. I start telling everyone about how the two of them made this amazing movie... Naturally, I asked when they planned on finishing the film - seeing as it had been in production for over a decade already. Dylan asked my musician husband Tosso if he wanted to do the soundtrack for the movie and the collaboration was born. Soon after, I started writing songs with Tosso, recording vocals and cheesy keyboards... Over the past year, we created an entire soundtrack of original songs (except for one cover) and scored the movie as well. I never expected to be doing any of this.
We are putting the finishing touches on our baby right now, cleaning up the sound, pumping steroids into it. Soon, we will begin applying to film festivals and raising the funds we need to help finish what Dylan and Curtis started so many years ago.
Welcome to the Otis N' Dwayne blog. We hope you enjoy the ride.