Brooklyn Nets Turn Up The Heat: A History, Part 2

By Wyatt Erchak

After joining the NBA in 1976, the New York Nets lost their star player, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, to heavy-handed association politics (some would say extortion). In their first season in the new organization, the team finished with the worst record in the league after their other big player, Nate Archibald, was injured. Fortunately, new talent, particularly in the form of European star Dražen Petrović, would help the Nets reclaim some of their former glory.

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Superman at 75: Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster and the Jewish Roots of the Man of Steel at the Center for Jewish History

Did you know Superman was Jewish? Well, not quite, but his creators, comic book giants Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, certainly were, and they imbued the world’s first superhero with more than a little bit of Jewish identity.

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Stand-Up With an Edge: A Taste of Cringe Humor at The Stand Comedy Club and Restaurant

Originally Published in Town & Village

Southern Manhattan is not lacking in full-time comedy clubs and bars.. Until now, however, it has not had a stand-up venue quite like The Stand Restaurant and Comedy Club. This thoroughbred comedy club was sired by Patrick Milligan, founder of Cringe Humor, which garnered the reputation of presenting excellent stand-up comedy shows in several NYC comedy venues as well as colleges around the country.

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With Second Inaugural, President Obama Lays Out Broad Vision for Progressive Change in Second Term

Obama’s second inaugural address was, in turns, more modest and bolder than his first. On the one hand, gone were the calls for bipartisanship and, by implication, the idea that an opposition party dedicated solely to thwarting his aims can be counted on as a viable negotiating partner. Changing the political culture in Washington, it seems, is not within the power of the President. John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin of Politico point out that “Obama made no mention of transforming the political and governing process in his speech.”

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Nothing But Nets: Brooklyn Nets’ History & Why Knicks Rivalry is More Than Clash of Boroughs

By Wyatt Erchak

Where Brooklyn at? It’s BK, all day, currently in Nets Nation. As Barclays would have you know, sports and entertainment have been brought back to the borough after 55 long years, following the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers’ sad departure. As someone who would be a Dodgers fan if they were still residents of the Empire State, it warms my heart to see a team take up the mantle.

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Furthering the Legacy: How President Obama Can Live up to MLK’s Dream in His Second Term

Despite the re-election of an African American president, it is ludicrous to claim Martin Luther King’s social philosophy, a historically-rooted mix of political and theological precepts that combines the best of the liberal American tradition with Ghandhian non-violence and civil disobedience, has been fully realized.

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Flatiron Hot! Review: “Stoned and Starving” off Parquet Courts Light up Gold

Originally published on indie shuffle

Brooklynites by way of Texas (hence their self-proclaimed label of “Americana Punk”), Parquet Courts fit right in among their noise rock neighbors.  Nowhere is this more apparent than on the track “Stoned & Starving.” The subject matter is exactly what it sounds like, but somehow the music is exhilarating where it should be mundane.

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Justified Season 4 Premiere: Recap/Review

Season 4 of FX’s Justified starts out just as long-time viewers of the series should expect it to: with a bang (in both senses of the term) and a whole lot of style. At this point in the TV show’s lifespan, the writers and the actors have nailed every character down to the most minor vocal cadences. It’s a credit to the amazing talent behind Justified that its season premiere can hook us while offering no more than a few tantalizing hints about the overall narrative direction. Elmore Leonard couldn’t ask for a better adaptation of his novels.

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