Writer’s Block and 2020

February 28, 2020 — 2 Comments

Wawaweewah hello!

It has been a while since there has been any new writing on here…life got a bit sticky and I lost the je ne sais quoi thats required for my writing process. Maybe for me, thats personal space? I think so. From living in a windowless room in a hipster storefront with 8 other quasi-functional human beings, to briefly finding respite in an essentially doorless closet-disguised-as-a room in a place called “Hell’s Kitchen,” I have finally settled into a space that is seeming to work, somewhere I can comfortably live and do creative work without having to cohabit-ate too closely with other people. Who knew “other people” would be such a problem for me. Actually, “other people” are often a problem for me. That’s something I shall explore more later, along with a concept that that the outside world reflects the inner world…that idea has me stumped lately. What is going on in this noggin?!

Happy 2020, folks; thank you for staying tuned in~

I wanted to start off by revisiting my intentions for this blog, which was started in July 2017.

This blog is a platform to share short stories of life’s experiences. I will also share creative projects and develop ideas to promote ape conservation through electronic waste recycling and tap dancing, somehow.

Almost 3 years later, the mission is the same.

This post will focus on Electronic Waste and Ape Conservation, while I intermittently loose focus and step away to tap dance.

This past year, I received a grant from the NYC Citizen’s Committee to promote electronic waste reduction, reuse, and repair. My proposed project, “The Electronic Waste Awareness Project” ultimately seeks to increase electronic waste recycling rates and landfill diversion.

The project is multifaceted and involves:

1. Hosting workshops to raise awareness of electronic waste issues (recycling, reuse, and repair)

2. Collecting E-waste litter and delivering it to recycling centers

3. Writing a report to explore the electronic waste stream

This is the summary of my project as outlined by the Citizen’s Committee, I’m including it here to use as a reference for myself to ensure the program is stuck to.

The Electronic Waste Awareness Project is teaching others how to recycle electronics and is making e-waste recycling easier. The group is collecting electronics from the curb and households, hosting a free e-waste drop off site, transporting electronics to recycling facilities, and conducting workshops to teach participants how to repair electronics.

When I applied for the grant, I had been living in that windowless hipster spot which included a community event space. Thats where I intended to establish a free e-waste drop-off spot. Since moving however, that part of the project is on hold until another drop-off/collection site can be established. The research aspect of the project will explore whether this is even necessary as I identify and evaluate current e-waste disposal options. Apparently there is a municipal service for e-waste collection in NYC and drop off events throughout the city, but I have yet to come across an easy way to dispose of e-waste and hope, through this project, to develop some solutions for myself and the general public.

Thus far, I am 2 months away from the mid-year report being due. I have poked around for places to host workshops and have two sessions planned for a group of youngsters in March. I am waiting for one elementary school to get back to me to schedule a few more workshops before the school year is up and have one printer, plus a bag of batteries, all found as litter on the street, stored under my sink, that need to be taken somewhere for recycling.

In short, I have a lot of work to do for this project. This post was my first effort in getting the ball rolling on the reporting side. So, there we have it, the ball is rolling.

To finish off, here’s a musical break for you. This song below was recorded 100 years ago, in the 1920s, by Bix Beiderbecke who used to live in Sunnyside, Queens, near where I am now living.

And here is a video from a tap class I went to the other day. It was taught by the reigning Queen of Tap dance, Miss Sarah Reich, who is based out of LA. I am not in this video because, honestly, I could not hang with the class, at all. It was enjoyable nonetheless.

Bye for now!

~Kelly

Summer Updates: Chimpanzee Party and Tap Dancing in Red Hook

August 12, 2019 — Leave a comment

Hello Readers,

Its been a while, hopefully everyone is doing a-ok this summer. I just about melted in New York, so am now spending some time cooling off and rewiring in Santa Cruz where the beach plumbs abound. YUM. Anyone else out there in love with a summer fruit? Do tell…

Meanwhile, let me let you in on some summer updates:

This year marked the Second Annual World Chimpanzee Day Celebration on July 14th, which last year I managed to commemorate in writing here.

This year, the party grew, as I was fortunate enough to team up with two like minded, organized, and driven ladies: Tina DeSanto of the waste awareness non-profit, The World is Your Dumpster, and Maria Molino of the up n’ coming textile recycling company, Marimole.

Together, and funded through a grant from the Jane Goodall Institute (Bravo!!), we hosted a free community event at Big Irv’s Art Collective featuring art by yours truly and a talented visiting artist and sailor- Madalyn Freedman. The photo below depicts my collection of garbage art, Madalyn’s work can be found on her website, click here to check it out!

The event drew a small crowd including some neighbors I’d seen a bajillion times before but never had the chance to speak with, a few innocent passersby that we rangled in with the promise of cold beverages and snacks, and another few people from the Brooklyn Fixit community. We were lucky enough to receieve a generous beer donation from a company called Toast that makes beer out of bread scraps from local bakeries and also provided an educational component: two speakers who enlightened us with information about fixing electronics and current Right to Repair Legislation.

The important takeaway information from the speakers was this: you can fix your own electronics! Yes, you! There is a great company called I-Fixit based out of California that has created step-by-step how-to manuals to guide you through fixing anything from a broken track-pad on your computer to a broken screen on your phone and much more in between. They sell all the equipment you will need to fix your own devices including toolkits and replacement parts. Check them out next time you’ve got a problem with your device, you might be able to fix your item on your own before scrapping it completely, and you’ll defienitely learn something in the process.

Here are a couple photos of our speakers in action at the event:

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DSCN9881 — Vincent Lai, Fixer Extraordinnaire, Brooklyn Fixer’s Collective

By the end of the day, we collected about two boxes of e-waste from the community which were later brought to the Gowanus E-waste Warehouse for recycling. Discussions were had about the impact of electronics on chimpanzee habitat, facilitated by artwork and fixing discussions, and the connection was made between our event and World Chimpanzee Day. All in all, the event was a great success!

Stay tuned for World Chimpanzee Day III, July 14th, 2020, when I hope introduce tap dancing into the mix for a true great ape extravaganza.

Speaking of tap dancing, I have a few updates to share on that front.

This summer also marked the 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. Struck by inspiration at the original site of the festival, fellow tap dancer transplant Liz Cousins created a show which premiered this summer at the American Tap Dance Foundation. I got to be in it, which was cool. To prepare for the show, the cast (pictured below) all got together one rainy weekend and visited Bethel, NY, the site of the 1969 festival, to learn about the festival and its historical context.

As soon as I get footage from the show I will share it since it was groovy and different.

Lastly, here is a sound clip from a bluegrass jam I got to participate in a few weeks ago in a breezy spot in New York City called Red Hook. The jam took place in the back of a bar called Sunny’s Bar and was a lot of fun! Take a listen here, if you listen long enough you will here some strange thumping, which is me playing my shoes. If you want the quick and dirty, jump to minute 55. Enjoy!

All the best,

Fire Safety for DIY Spaces, Nina Simone’s B-day, and E-waste News

February 25, 2019 — Leave a comment

Hello All,

First off, I’ll start with the fun stuff!

This past Thursday was the late, great, crazy Queen of Soul Nina Simone’s birthday. I was lucky enough to catch this celebration on the radio, hearing many songs she recorded that I’d never heard before. So good!

I’m not sure when I first heard Ms. Simone’s work, but have grown to really love and enjoy her music over the past few years, since one of my favorite tap teachers (Derek Grant) used this song for an improv exercise in a class. This was the song:

Crazy piano!

Another favorite teacher, protégé of Mr. Grant, the young and always so lovely Chirstina Carminucci, used the following song in a class once, which was great for whatever across the floor excercise we were learning at the time that got me all turned around, as usual. This was that song: (ignore the smoking, its bad mmmmkay)

And another great example of Nina Simone in a live recorded performance:

So good! Ok ok, one more video which I love because it uses glitter! Plus it will give you a visual for Christina Carminucci (red pants), a dancer that I’ll likely be mentioning in the future because she performs a lot and is just great:

Alright, next topic:

Fire Safety for DIY Spaces

Tonight I went to a free talk hosted by an NYC artist and fire safety expert Tara McManus. I’m mentioning this because I learned some basic fire prevention tips that I’d like to share with you in case you don’t know, and especially if you’re like me and reside in communal spaces that may or may not follow official codes but want to be safe.

#1 Fire Extinguishers: know where your fire extinguishers are and check them frequently (maybe once/month) to make sure they have pressure. It is important to keep them in a place near an exit as opposed to in a dead-end space like a bedroom; you want to be able to spray the fire as you are making your exit, as opposed to getting stuck in a bedroom.

#2 Extension chords: if you’re plugging in equipment or appliances like heaters that take a lot of energy, plug them into wall outlets and disperse them, so they’re not all plugged into the same outlet. If you have to plug something like a heater into an extension chord, make sure you use a chord meant for higher powered appliances, as opposed to the dinky 2 pronged ones. Also, unravel the chords as opposed to keeping them in a coil (in a coil the chords will get hotter and are more likely to catch fire). And finally, if using multiple extension chords, do not mix 2 pronged chords with 3 pronged chords.

Those are the two main things I think are useful for anyone to know…here is a link to more information if you’re hungry for it: Fire Safety Resources.

Which leads me to my next point:

E-waste News

https://mymodernmet.com/zayd-menk-scale-model-computer-recycling/

**E-waste Art: Model of NYC by Zayd Menk

The Jane Gooddall Institute (JGI) has released a new campaign to encourage people across the globe to become more aware of the impacts of technology on wildlife. That’s what I’ve been talkin’ bout! This campaign is called “The Forest Calls” and I’ll include a snippet from their latest email update to clue you in:

The forest is calling, can you hear it? It’s been a long time since you’ve listened – really listened – to its call. What is it saying? It’s a faint mummer, but if you try you can still hear it’s message: It’s saying that our endless consumption and reliance on new technology is silencing ecosystems, humans and wildlife. It’s saying that you are the only hope the forests have. The forest is calling, and the power is in your hands to answer the call.

The international technology industry is devastating human and wildlife communities, while destroying vital habitats, particularly in the Congo Basin in Africa. Right now, you can do something about it. JGI is launching ‘The Forest is Calling’, a campaign to inspire action around recycling, reduced consumption and extending the useful life of used electronics. The annual campaign will culminate with Mobile Recycling Day on February 26th, getting JGI’s friends and supporters around the world to help protect chimpanzees, people, other species and their habitats.

–http://news.janegoodall.org/2019/02/11/the-forest-is-calling-answering-the-call-is-our-only-hope/

So, if you’ve got any old, broken, un-used phones tucked away somewhere, February 26th: Mobile Recycling Day is a decent choice of day to recycle them, or at least research how/where to do that and get the ball rolling. Also, its a good time to think about if you really need a new phone or if your current phone can still serve you. The Chimps will benefit from your conservation efforts as will the chimp part of you (ecopsychology concept to be expanded upon).

More info about The Forest is Calling can be found here.

That’s all, have fun out there, be safe, be creative, and locate your fire extinguishers!

**Find out more about the E-waste art pictured above: Teen Spends 3 Months Building Scale Model of Manhattan from Recycled Computer Parts