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Archive for March 5th, 2009

R.I.P. – Robert Guskind (1958-2009)

Posted in Brooklyn, DUMBO, New York City, Obituaries, Urban Affairs, World Wide Web, Writers & Writing on March 5, 2009| 1 Comment »

bobguskindBob Guskind, the legendary Brooklyn blogger and founder of Gowanus Lounge, has died:

“After days of speculation inside and outside the blogosphere, much-liked journalist Robert Guskind died on Wednesday, the city Medical Examiner confirmed this morning. . . .

“In his prime, Guskind’s blog focussed a keen eye on city development projects with an objectivity and a level of reporting rare in the blog world.” (via The Brooklyn Paper)

The following video of Bob Guskind is via newyorkshitty, a blog about Greenpoint, Brooklyn:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Memorials to Guskind on other Brooklyn blogs can be found at: Dumbo NYC, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn.

Guskind’s “flikr” photostream, featuring numerous sets of Brooklyn neighborhoods, can be found here.

Flatbush Gardener is maintaining a running list of online tributes to Guskind. The list gets longer by the hour.

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Quoth Poe, “Nevermore”: Edgar Allen Poe Apologizes for Drunkenness

Posted in Books, Literature, Museums & Exhibitions, Poets & Poetry, Writers & Writing on March 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

PD*5068633“Edgar Allan Poe apologizes to his publishers for drinking too much and asks them to buy an article because he’s ‘desperately pushed for money’ in an 1842 letter acquired by the University of Virginia for an exhibition marking the author’s 200th birthday. . . .

“‘Will you be so kind enough to put the best possible interpretation upon my behaviour while in N-York?,’ Poe asks New York publishers J. and Henry G. Langley. ‘You must have conceived a queer idea of me — but the simple truth is that Wallace would insist upon the juleps, and I knew not what I was either doing or saying.’ . . .

“The U.Va. Library released the letter this week ahead of an exhibit opening Saturday that highlights Poe’s enduring literary works, brief life and mysterious death at the age of 40. Poe attended the Charlottesville university, but had to drop out after less than a year in part because of financial difficulties, which plagued him the rest of his life.” (via Associated Press)

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NEA Report: Artists & Unemployment in a Year of Recession

Posted in Art & Artists, Economy, Literature, Photography, Plays & Playwrights, Writers & Writing on March 5, 2009| 1 Comment »

nea“Unemployment rates are up among working artists and the artist workforce has contracted, according to new research from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Artists in a Year of Recession: Impact on Jobs in 2008 examines how the economic slowdown has affected the nation’s working artists.  The study looks at artist employment patterns during two spikes in the current recession – the fourth quarters of 2007 and 2008.  This downturn reflects larger economic declines: a Commerce Department report last week noted a 6.2 percent decrease in the gross domestic product in the last quarter of 2008.

“Among the findings:

  • Artists are unemployed at twice the rate of professional workers
  • Unemployment rates for artists have risen more rapidly than for U.S. workers as a whole
  • Artist unemployment rates would be even higher if not for the large number of artists leaving the workforce
  • Unemployment rose for most types of artist occupations
  • The job market for artists is unlikely to improve until long after the U.S. economy starts to recover” (via mediabistro)

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