Got invited to a "Michigan State Fair" way, way out in the boonies in Gowanus, Brooklyn, it took me over an hour to get there. I was amazed to find a capacity crowd of ex-Michigan residents. It's a sad time for my home state if all the kids are moving away. Average age was about [...]

Why are two Brooklyn public house projects shown so prominently on Google Maps? Marcy Houses are famous for where Jay-Z is from. Breukelen Houses (pronounced Brookline) is the original name for Brooklyn; other than that they are just regular housing projects. Neither are vacation spots. Most people are trying to get out of that insanity. [...]

"Va Fa Napoli, Hipster" from Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. on Vimeo. Share

As you may or may not know, I work at B&H Photo and 99% of my co-workers are  Ultra Orthodox Hasidic Jews. It's been quite the education - hello, ist meshuggah?! Miene yiddish is nisht geferlech! These guys are really great. We often have a lot of fun and laughs, even if I struggle - [...]

Here's a hilarious e-mail I got from a buddy of mine, who is white and lives in the very black, often dangerous Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. This is where Everyone Hates Chris, Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn, Clockers, and Summer of Sam were filmed.  The Notorious B.I.G Biggie Smalls is from here. Not exactly suburbia, [...]