CREATE GOOD KARMA: HELP THIS ARTS-LOVIN' BLOGGER FIND A JOB

Hi Friends, and Happy 2010!

As I was also recently affected by a big round of layoffs at The Brooklyn Children’s Museum, I'm writing to let you know about my search for part-time work. If, after taking a look at my Four Basic Criteria for a New Job, you have an idea of someone you would like to introduce me to, feel free to call or email me with your brainstorm. I value your creative ideas!

ELEANOR'S FOUR BASIC CRITERIA FOR A NEW JOB

1. Up to 25 hrs/wk
2. Involves lending my skills to a team of people who work together directly (face-to-face) with other people
3. The work has an element of physicality or a hands-on element (moderate physical labor is fine, as is an outdoor setting)
4. Process-oriented (e.g. is not intensely deadline-driven)

BONUS: I am helping/teaching/inspiring small groups of people
BONUS: I get to be around the arts (communication, visual or performing), - includes dance, tv/radio, dance, theatre)
BONUS: I get to be around books, nature, or teens/pre-teens
BIG BONUS: I get to be around Sesame Street or the Muppets

PS: Doesn’t have to be a fancy title or position, just something satisfying.


SAMPLES OF WORK PROJECTS:

* Managed PlayNet, a grant-funded project at The Brooklyn Museum designed to increase educators’, parents’, and caretakers’ understanding of play and capacity to facilitate play with children. Model how to follow childrens' lead in play.

* Interviewed Sesame Street cast and crew members for my blog, Creative Times

* Interviewed long-time Housing Works volunteers for the HW website

* Co-Produced The Brooklyn Blogfest, an annual gathering for 300 bloggers, artists, local community activists & politicians who write, speak, organize, and make art about their neighborhoods and the world beyond

* Organized The Brooklyn Blogade, a monthly gathering of Brooklyn Bloggers who care deeply about their neighborhoods and about creating good environments for people to work, play, and live in.

* Lead Creative Connections, a support group for women artists and entrepreneurs who want to stay on the edge of personal and professional growth.

* Coach individual artists and entrepreneurs to grow their communities of clients and collaborators through both in-person and web-based relationship-building


HOW TO CONTACT ME:

Thanks so much for your support! Please feel free to email with questions or ideas.

Eleanor Traubman
creativetimes.blogspot.com
917-499-7395
etraubman@aol.com

I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE

I know that New York is known for its nightlife, but honestly, I've never been part of it - at least on week nights. This week, however, I've discovered how great it is to go out on a "school night." There is an intimacy about night that I love, a space carved outwhere people put aside the worries of the work day and focus on hanging out together or going to cultural events.

Tuesday, I went to Comedy Night at Housing Works Book cafe. On the plus side, some of the comedians me falling out of my seat. On the minus side, some of the material was downright racist.

Wednesday (tonight) I went to the premier of the VH1 documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America. I'll be reporting back on that in the next day or two. Fun standing inches away from The Sugar Hill Gang! It was followed by a panel of people who were part of Soul Train in some way. The event took place at The Paley Media Center, which is a hidden gem of Manhattan.

Tomorrow, Thursday, I'll be heading out to a party for volunteers of Housing Works. I can't wait to meet everybody!

Lesson learned this week: don't wait 'till the weekend to do something fun. Week night outings are energizing and keep the week going strong. Makes me feel like I'm living every day to the fullest.

MIKE SORGATZ EXHIBIT OPENING FRIDAY, FEB.5

Mike Sorgatz Exhibit Information

Date: Friday, February 5, 2010
Time: 8pm - 12am
Location: Breukelen Coffee House, 764A Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY

Event Description:
Spread Love, It's the Brooklyn Way!

The Breukelen Coffee House proudly presents it's first official art opening, complete with Brooklyn artists of all mediums and walks of life.

A Brooklyn-based DJ, will be spinning fly tunes, and a Brooklyn-based bartender will be slanging drinks for those who wish to partake in libations!

In addition to the party and press -- there will be an Independent documentary film crew there -- taking footage for their docu on the 6 month progression of the Breukelen Coffee House starting this month and forward.

THE YEAR OF THE TIGER STAMP IS OUT!

The Year of The Tiger Stamp is out! If you want to learn more about the man who created the stamp, feel free to view my interview with artist Kam Mak.

Here is information about the stamp, taken directly from the USPS website. (By the way, have you ever ordered stamps online? Saves that trip to the post office!)

This is a Souvenir Sheet for the 44–cent Celebrating Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger commemorative stamp release.

On January 14, 2010, in Los Angeles, California, at the El Pueblo Historical Monument, the Postal Service™ issued a 44–cent, Celebrating Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger commemorative stamp in a souvenir sheet of 12 stamps, designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland. The $5.28 Celebrating Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger souvenir sheet may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually.

The U.S. Postal Service® introduced its Celebrating Lunar New Year series in 2008. This is the third stamp in that series, which will continue through 2019 with stamps for the Year of the Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar.

Art Director Ethel Kessler and artist Kam Mak, who grew up in New York City’s Chinatown and now lives in Brooklyn, worked on the new series and decided to focus on some of the common ways the Lunar New Year Holiday is celebrated. To commemorate the Year of the Tiger, which begins February 14, 2010, they chose narcissus flowers, considered auspicious at any time of the year and, thus, especially appropriate at this time of renewed hope for the future. The illustration was originally created using oil paints on a fiberboard panel. Kessler’s design also incorporates elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps, using Clarence Lee’s intricate paper–cut design of a tiger and the Chinese character — drawn in grass–style calligraphy by Lau Bun — for “Tiger.”

BLOGGING EVA ZEISEL: THE SAGA CONTINUES

I interviewed living design legend Eva Zeisel just after she turned 100 and I turned 37. (We share the same birthday.) Since then, I have exchanged some emails with her grandson son and head of Eva Zeisel Originals, Adam Zeisel. I also was contacted by Pat Moore, who runs The Eva Zeisel Forum.

Some recent activity let me know that Eva is still alive and kicking:

Eva Reference #1

In the February issue of Oprah Magazine, Eva Ziesel showed up as #58 on a list entitled "100 Things That Are (Actually) Getting Better".

58. Eva Zeisel
With, among other things, her classic dinner service still flying off the shelves at Crate & Barrel, her new line of Royal Stafford dinnerware, the teakettle she created for Chantal, and the lounge chair of our dreams, the Hungarian artist, at 103, is being lauded like a midcareer phenom.

Eva Reference #2

I just received a kind note from a geriatrician who had read a letter which Eva had sent this month to The New Yorker. First, Eva's letter:

A letter in response to Louis Menand’s article (December 21, 2009)

January 18, 2010

According to Louis Menand’s review of Michael Scammell’s new biography of Arthur Koestler, I converted Koestler to Communism in Berlin in 1931 (A Critic at Large, December 21st & 28th). This is silly. I was never a Communist, and never encouraged Koestler (or anyone else) to become one, or to “lurch to the left.” I worked in Russia, and in many other countries, but I was apolitical. My arrest in Russia, in 1936, for “conspiring to kill Stalin,” was a trumped-up charge, as were many arrests during the Stalin purges.

Eva Striker Zeisel
New York City

Here is Dr. Murray Bratt's letter to me in response to Eva's letter and my blog post about her:

1-15-10

Dear Ms Traubman,

Thank you so much for your blog of 1-13-2007, interviewing Eva Zeisel, which I accessed this evening, after reading her feisty letter published in this week’s New Yorker, in response to Menand’s review of the new biography of Arthur Koestler.

Had I not found your blog, and the other info available on line about Ms Zeisel, I would have believed the letter was a put-on. Who could possibly still be passionate about events that happened to them in 1931 in Berlin?

Evidently, Ms. Zeisel can be!

I am a geriatrician. Not all of my patients of 104 are as alert as she appears to be.

If you ever interview her again, please let me know how to access the interview. She seems like a lady one couldn't read too much about.

Best wishes,

Murray Batt

THIS WED AT PALEY CENTER: SOUL TRAIN, THE HIPPEST TRIP IN AMERICA

It definitely pays to skim Voice Choices, the spotlighted events listing in The Village Voice. That's where I found out about this Wednesday's screening of the premier of a great-sounding documentary called Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America.

Growing up, I watched this show along with Dance Fever and Solid Gold.
So this is gonna be a fun trip back in time.

Here's info in case you want to go. What better way to get through the Wednesday hump?

Also: The Paley Center of Media (formerly the Museum of Radio and Television) is an amazing, if under-utilized resource right here in New York. I have been there for different exhibits about Jim Henson and the Muppets, and have watched great programs in their screening booths all about Jim's work as a pioneer in film and tv as well as in the art of Muppeteering.

Premiere Screening: VH1 Rock Docs

Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
6:30 pm ET
New York

In Person

Questlove, Drummer for the Roots; Music Producer
Tyrone Proctor, Dancer/Choreographer
Danyel Smith, Music Journalist
Others to be announced.

Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, Soul Train was one of the most influential and innovative music series of all time, providing a unique window into the latest trends in music, dance, and fashion. The charismatic host of the Soul Train party, Don Cornelius, became a television icon, bringing contemporary African-American culture into the national living room. This documentary, executive produced by Academy Award nominated director Lauren Lazin, spotlights performances and great moments from the show, as well as memories from cast and crew. Among the musicians featured include Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Sly Stone, Snoop Dogg, David Bowie, and Chaka Khan, all with “a groove that will make you move real smooth.”

Participants subject to change.

• This Event

  Members: $10
  General Public: $15

  Buy Tickets

THE TYRANNY OF EMAIL - THIS WED. AT SYMPHONY SPACE

People and Their Letters & The Tyranny of Email

• 

Symphony Space says:

Novelist and essayist Mallon talks with Freeman, critic and American editor of Granta, about the great, lost art of letter writing and the current frenzy of electronic messaging. Jane Curtin and Isaiah Sheffer will read a unique assortment of historical letters. A discussion with the audience and a book signing will follow. While you enjoy the event, have a glass of wine and a light evening meal in the intimate cabaret atmosphere of the Leonard Nimoy Thalia.

Price: $20

Buy Tickets

When: Wednesday Jan 20 (7:30pm)

Where: Symphony Space

2537 Broadway

212.864.5400

Directions: Subway: 1,2,3, B, C trains to 96th Street (two stops from Times Square on 2,3 trains). Bus: M104 up- or downtown to 94th Street; M96 crosstown to Broadway

The letter has been all but replaced by email and texting, to the point where writing seems kind of quaint, reserved only for the most formal occasions — weddings, funerals, court summonses, and the like. Tonight, Granta editor John Freeman and novelist Thomas Mallon discuss this shift and its impact on our everyday lives. According to Freeman, we now spend 41% percent of our day reading and responding to emails. To illustrate the way things used to be, Original SNL cast member Jane Curtin and Selected Shorts artistic director Isaiah Sheffer read a selection of famous letters. A Q&A follows the program and allows the audience to weigh in with opinions on the issue.

- Chris Kompanek

GETTING TO KNOW HOUSING WORKS

For years, I've been the biggest fan ever of The Housing Works Book Cafe in SoHo. I tell everyone I know about it, especially dedicated readers and writers. It is truly a haven, a cross between an old library, a literary salon, and a fun cafe where you can order anything from quiche to an Italian soda.

The Book Cafe, along with the Housing Works thrift shops sprinkled throughout the city (and now in Brooklyn), is totally reliant upon volunteer labor.

I've had it in my mind for a while that it would be a good thing to volunteer for HW. So shortly after The New Year, I went to an orientation for potential volunteers. After it was over, I asked the coordinator if he needed help with the blog. He asked if I would assist with a specific project - interviewing folks who have been volunteering with HW for a decade or more.

Tonight, I had the honor of going to the Chelsea HW thrift store to interview the teen or more year folks.. What a kind, loyal, and creative bunch. You cannot be a diva and volunteer for that long. It's not glamorous work - a lot of it involves physical labor - and volunteers see a lot of paid staff come and go like any other retail setting. So in a way it's the volunteers who provide the institutional memory of Housing Works.

Stay tuned to see these volunteer profiles in the Housing Works website.

Can't wait for the upcoming HW party for volunteers on January 28th!

BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC IS PLACE TO BE ON MLK DAY

Whether you live in Brooklyn or elsewhere, I encourage you to celebrate Martin Luther King day in some way.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to get into the Martin Luther Day Tribute at BAM, featuring Minnie Jean Brown Trickey of the Little Rock Seven. This year's morning-of tribute will feature actor and activist Danny Glover. The program starts at 10:30 and I suggest you show up EARLY if you want to get a ticket. It's FREE and also first-come, first serve.

Programs Tribute to MLK

	Neighborhood, Exhibitions Picture the Dream Jan 15—18 BAMcafé	.
	Music BRC 25th Anniversary Celebration: The Civil Rights Songbook of Curtis Mayfield Fri, Jan 15 & Sat, Jan 16 at 9pm	.
	Neighborhood, Repertory Soundtrack for a Revolution Mon, Jan 18 at 1pm BAM Rose Cinemas	.
	24th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mon, Jan 18 at 10:30am BAM Howard Gilman Opera House

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE MUPPETS ON 30 ROCK

DAY SEVEN: TAVIS INTERVIEWS MORGAN FREEMAN

I am on day seven of a thirty-day fitness challenge. The challenge is to exercise for 30 minutes a day for 30 consecutive days. I'll tell you why I am doing this: I always write goals for every area of my life before Jan.1 rolls around. The problem is, my energy gets diffused with multiple goals.
I kept reading about the idea of doing a 30-day challenge around a particular new habit or goal, and realized: Yes, this is what I need to do around exercise to stay focused and inspired. SO I started a new blog called Brooklyn Fitness Challenge.

Here is my BFC post from Day 7 of the challenge:

DAY SEVEN: TAVIS INTERVIEWS MORGAN FREEMAN

Tuesday, January 5, 2009

By the time I got to Stretch Class, the room was packed. So I backed out and created an alternative plan. First: free weights. Then: 30 minutes on the treadmill.

While on the treadmill, I got to watch Tavis Smiley interview acting star Morgan Freeman. Tavis asked Morgan what it was like to act for so many years and not "hit it" until he was 50. Morgan said it was fine, because he knew he was "all that" for all the years he was acting (since age 8) prior to turning 50. Yay for Morgan. Why do you have to wait for mass public approval before knowing in your mind that you are great?!!!

Also today: I met with the Fitness Director of the Y to discuss ideas for a monthly get together for Y members who want to support each other around their fitness goals. Can't wait for it to start!

PAINTER MICHAEL SORGATZ MAKES PARK SLOPE 100 LIST

Painter and Brooklyn blogger Michael Sorgatz deservedly made the Park Slope 100, "an annual list of 100 people, places and things that make Park Slope Park Slope. 100 Stories, 100 ways of looking at the world."

Here's what Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn had so say about Mr. Sorgatz:

Michael Sorgatz because your site "Art in Brooklyn" promotes the work of local artists, and that’s a positive and generous thing to do (especially in these times). You are also a talented artist in your own right and a really great guy.

CHECK OUT SESAME STREET 40TH YEAR EXHIBIT AT BPL

Here's the scoop on this great exhibit, which I personally visited today, taken straight from BPL's website.

Introduction

1, 2, 3, plenty to see! At Central Library, enjoy a rare, up-close look at this legendary show's history of sunny days.

This exhibition is made possible in part by The Jim Henson Company and The Jim Henson Legacy.

"Sesame Workshop"®, "Sesame Street"®, and associated characters, trademarks, and design elements are owned and licensed by Sesame Workshop. ©2009 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.

Sesame Street : A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street
curated by Sesame Workshop
November 14, 2009 –
February 21, 2010
Central Library, Grand Army Plaza

Grand Lobby
Original Sesame Street book art from Sesame Workshop's Publishing Archive, featuring a range of illustrators' works in a variety of styles from the 1970s to the present.

Foyer Cases
The story of Sesame Street, from its inception to its present and future, told through photographs, scripts, original sheet music, celluloid animation and show props. Also featuring a special collection of Sesame Street Muppets, built by The Jim Henson Company over the show's 40 years.

Youth Wing
A variety of Sesame Street stories, illustrated with photographs, show props and Sesame Street Muppet materials. Also, the international reach of Sesame Street is highlighted through photographs and books from around the world.

Sesame Street exhibitions at BPL

Limited Edition Library Card

Beginning November 14, visit your local library to sign up for your first library card, featuring one of your favorite furry monsters!*


* Limited edition card. While supplies last. Please ask your librarian for more information.

THIRTY DAY CHALLENGE MORE INTERESTING THAN NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Over and over, I've been reading about taking on 30-day challenges. Let's face it, most people set New Year resolutions which lose their luster in about 10 seconds.

It's way more fun and interesting to set goals and to break them down into projects which in turn can be broken down into daily habits.

My Daily Habits for the month of January are twofold:

(1) Call or email a friend, family member, or colleague each day to say hello and/or initiate a get-together.

I already got a jump start on this by calling my great aunt to see how she is doing after the awesome Happy Hour she hosted after my recent wedding in San Diego. (She also came up to the front of the room and danced The Hora with us to the theme song of Sean the Sheep. Great aunts do not get better than this.)

(2) Exercise every single day - be it by taking a class at the YMCA or going for a brisk walk. I am serious about fitness this year, y'all.

Again, got a jump start by taking a modern dance class at the Y yesterday (which left me in pain, but well worth it) and by taking a stretch class today.

For more great tips on setting goals for the year, read Diane M. Scholten's Be Your Own Life Coach: Dream It! Plan It! Do It!

EBONY POWER 150: CHANGE AGENTS WE CAN BELIEVE IN

For the past 45 years, Ebony has compiled a list of who they feel are the Black Americans whose work most powerfully shapes and influences the country. The list is divided into these categories: Government& Politics, Activism, Health, Business, Sports, Philanthropy, Religion, Arts & Letters, Environment, Science & Technology, Entertainment , Media, New Media, Academia, Fashion & Beauty, Military.

This is a particularly inspiring edition of Ebony. One person I would personally add to the Arts section is tap dancer Ayodele Casele. Check out her Dancer Spolight on the International Tap Association website.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM BAM'S SESAME STREET FILM CELEBRATION

I was so excited to find out that the Brooklyn Academy of Music was hosting Sesame Street: A Celebration! - "A weekend of films and clips celebrating 40 years of Sesame Street."

I had been looking for a way to participate in the celebration, and this was just perfect. I set aside two full evenings to attend four of the films, and here are some of the highlights of the event:

• First of all, I scored this awesome Alex Ross Super Grover litho (pictured above) along with the book It's Not Easy Being Green by anwering some Sesame Street trivia questions thrown out to film audiences by the event's co-programmer, Craig Shemin. Craig and his wife, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, opened each of the four films I attended by joking around with the audience and providing some nice inside scoops on the films. They were naturals for the job, as Craig is a Muppet historian and Vice President of the Jim Henson Legacy. Stephanie is a Sesame Street puppeteer, as well as a an Emmy-nominated Avenue Q performer.

• The World According to Sesame Street was an amazing documentary directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton & Linda Hawkins. These two women traveled around the world to show how people bring Sesame into countries around the globe, including Bangladesh, Kosovo, and South Africa.. What I learned is that each country goes through a process of figuring out what content and characters will best work for their particular culture. One of my favorite scenes was of a master puppet-maker in Bangladesh staying up in until the wee hours of the morning to create a character in time to start shooting the show there.

• Next up, Jim Henson and Friends: Inside the Sesame Street Vault was Craig Shemin's compilation of Jim Henson and other star Muppeteers' (along with the Muppets themselves) appearances on talk and variety shows from the 1970s.
  
  
• Sunday night's first feature was Sesame Street at 40: Milestones from The Street. This gem showed lots of highlights from the show's history, including the very touching treatment of Mr. Hooper's death as well as the marriage of two of the show's human characters. Elmo was the ring bearer - of course!
  
  
• Lastly - and what a great way to end the weekend - was Sunday's Sing! Sesame Musical Moments - a compilation of Sesame's musical numbers. My favorite pieces were the ones from the disco era - "Me shaggy, me blue, me know how to groove.....................Cookie!" - and Pre School Musical, a spin off on High School Musical wherein the Troy-like Muppet espouses the supremacy of the block corner while the Gabrielle-like Muppet argues that the dress-up area actually rules. I had never seen that piece before and could not stop laughing!
  
  
• Other highlights included a special guest appearance by Bob McGrath, a beautiful singer and long-time Sesame cast member. I also had a nice chat with audience member Bonnie Erickson, who was part of the original design team for The Muppet Show and also Creative Director of the Product Division of Children's Television Workshop.

KAM MAK: THE MAN BEHIND THE LUNAR NEW YEAR STAMP

Meeting Kam

For two years in a row, I saw Kam Mak unveil the Lunar New Year stamp in front of the teachers, students, parents and grandparents of PS 124 in Chinatown during their annual New Year celebration.

I remember Principal Alice Hom introducing Kam to the children, saying to them "Maybe someday, this could be you." So great that the school would publicly acknowledge the accomplishments of an artist. And being a lover of stamps, I thought it would be worthwhile to interview him for Creative Times at some point.

During this past summer, I kept seeing someone who looked a lot like Kam in the Carroll Gardens Park. He was usually playing basketball with two boys. Finally, I approached him and it did turn out to be Kam with his son and son's friend. Little did I know, he lived only a few streets away from me!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Kam in his artist studio in the top floor of his home, and gathered some information about his work and his life.

How Kam Landed the Job of Designing the Lunar New Year Stamp Series

As Kam shares, "There is little in the U.S. that celebrates the contributions of the Chinese to this country." It was this fact which motivated the OCA (Organization of Chinese in America) to lobby the United States Postal service in the 1980s to do something which would acknowledge Chinese heritage. The USPS decided that the Lunar New Year would be a good vehicle to celebrate the richness of Chinese culture. After the first series of Lunar New Year stamps was completed in 2004, the OCA lobbied for a second series and Kam was chosen to do this next group of 12 stamps which would run from 2008 - 2019.

Kam, who has worked in conjunction on the project with USPS Art Director Ethel Kessler, states that the Lunar New Year stamps have been a huge source of pride for the Chinese community. "The stamps have been mentioned in most Chinese newspapers in New York," Kam shares. He also relays his hope that people in the U.S. who don't celebrate the Lunar New Year will develop an appreciation for Chinese culture and history.

Kam is sometimes asked why he does not make the Chinese Zodiac animals more central to the design of the stamps. His response? After decades of celebrating the Lunar New Year, he feels that the animal is just a small part of the symbolism of the celebration. According to Kam, There are actually other symbols which just as powerfully convey the essence of the New Year and the beauty of the Chinese culture.

A Little About Kam's Life

Kam is also a celebrated children's book illustrator who wrote and did the artwork for My Chinatown based on his own experiences growing up there. In 1971, when Kam Mak was 10 years old, he and his family moved from Hong Kong to New York's Chinatown. Kam said it was quite the dangerous neighborhood back then, full of gang violence. His mom worked 6 days a week 12 hours a day in a sweatshop. His dad lived mostly in a bunkhouse in Long Island, where he worked in a restaurant. He came home one day a week to be with the family.

Kam's dad, who passed away a few years ago, ultimately became the person who took care of Kam's children when they were very young. The death, according to Kam, hit his now teenage son particularly hard.

Kam's mom, who lives in Chinatown, is extremely proud of the fact that her son has been publicly lauded by Chinese organizations and newspapers for his honor of being chosen to create the Lunar New Year stamp series. According to Kam, the public recognition helped his mom feel connected to her son's choice to make art his central work.

Kam is married to illustrator Mari Takabayashi, who created the children's books I Live in Brooklyn and I Live in Tokyo. Kam and Mari have a son in middle school and a daughter who is in high school.

For more information about Kam, visit his website: http://www.kammak.net/

WHEN SPECIAL OCCASIONS ARISE, FACEBOOK DOES NOT CUT THE MUSTARD

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm of the opinion that if you've become accustomed to sending messages to people on special occasions via Facebook, then you've gotten lazy!

If you have a real connection with someone, or you are building a connection to someone, then an occasion like a birthday, wedding, engagement, or birth merits either a paper card (trips to the stationary store can be fun! and you can even pick up cards at your corner drug store!) or a phone call.

A Facebook congratulations, especially if you know someone well, should be an "extra" on top of the more personal form of contact.

Think about how much personal notes and calls mean to you, and consider making them a part of your personal practice.

PINK MONKEY AND BURRY THE SQUIRREL WISH YOU A HAPPY HANUKAH

Photo Credit: Michael Sorgatz

ALPHABET OF HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2009

I make this list every year and send it out to friends, family, clients and colleagues. Enjoy!

Anticipation of seeing both my and Mike’s side of the family in San Diego at a December party to celebrate our November marriage. I love that we will all be together under the same roof!

Watching Charlie Brown and Sean the Sheep DVDs. (And now I can’t get the Sean the Sheep theme song out of my head!)

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street.

Baking cookies to honor my Dad Len’s 70 years of life.

Interviewing inspiring people like Atiba Edwards, co-founder of the arts nonprofit F.O.K.U.S., for my blog.

Watching lots of good Dance Films and live dance shows including: The Wiz, Planet B-Boy, National Dance Institute’s Tribute to John Lennon, and Every Little Step (a documentary about the making of “A Chorus Line”).

Getting married to my best friend, Michael Sorgatz, in a small ceremony in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Check out our wedding website: http://wedding.mikesorgatz.com/

Heartfelt phone and written messages I received on my 40th birthday.

The perfect blend of good Information about personal and professional development in my friend Colleen’s new(ish) blog Newvine Growing – exploring evolution, revolution, and living intentionally. As I told her in an email “I like the way you are thoughtful with being fruity or crystal-waving.”

Jumping for joy when an all-female dance group, We Are Heroes, won the championship title in America’s Best Dance Crew.

Laughing as Mike and I watched chickens chase each other in and out of rows of Kale on an animal sanctuary/mini farm on Block Island.

Celebrating the Lunar New Year at Public School 124 in Chinatown. Just amazing to see young people participate in traditions that have lasted for thousands of years.

Going to MOMA for Friday night dates. Nothing beats Café 2 on the 2nd floor.

Visiting my nephew Niko’s Surfer Top 100 website to see what he’s been up to in the world of surfing. I am always cheering you on, Niko!

Remembering what a great and historic thing it is that Obama is our President.

Planning the Fourth Annual Brooklyn Blogfest with a dozen or so of some very creative, fun, collaborative Brooklyn bloggers. Check out http://brooklynblogfest.com/

Getting to convene monthly with a group of women artists who enjoy each others’ company while pursuing our respective creative Quests.

Photo and email updates from my brother Adam and sister-in-law Raychel about their family adventures.

Surprise marriage proposal from Mike while we were visiting Block Island.

The great people I met while working at The Brooklyn Children’s Museum. What a smart, kind, and caring bunch of folks. And what an amazing place for parents and caregivers to bring their young ones.

The memory of my Uncle, Chris Linn. He was a wonderful writer and world traveler.

The satisfaction of placing bouquets of fresh flowers of the Vase that lives on our kitchen table. I am grateful for all the corner flower stands in New York! Recent discovery: Gerber daisies can last for two weeks!

Watching Mike Sorgatz build his community on Artinbrooklyn.com, a place where he showcases the work and biographies of other Brooklyn artists.

EXtreme love and support from my mom, Libby, around planning wedding festivities.

Continuing to enjoy swims and steams at the awesome facilities of the Dodge and Chinatown YMCAs.

The idea of driving a Zambone at top speed across Wollman Rink with all my friends, family, and the whole slew of Muppet characters on board.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wish you a 2010 full of love, growth, adventure, and joy.

Hugs,
Eleanor

PS – Keep in touch!
I’d love to hear about what you’ve been doing, thinking, and dreaming about.
I welcome recent photos of you with friends, family, loved ones, and pets.

Drop me a line via email: ETraubman@aol.com