E M P T Y | V E S S E L | P R O J E C T | N E W S # 23 | JAN . 23 . 06
We shepherd chance and possibility...
U P C O M I N G
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29
1st Street Clean Up
New public access for EV will be from 1st Street where it dead-ends into the Gowanus Canal. At the moment, the street is coated with a film of fascinating debris. Come inspect, document, collect, and help us haul it away. Let's turn this little street end into a beautiful perch for waiting for the swan to come back for the whole neighborhood. Bring gloves, trash bags, rakes, shovels, stencils, if you have them.
1-5p
**EV at 1St Street
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Empty Vessel Project fills up Proteus Gowanus Gallery, A Musical Showcase with Cameron Hull and a few more of our friends (TBA)
An evening tunes with fabulous musical guests and cheap wine in a beautiful Gowanus space. Details soon.
8pm, $5., cheap bar
**Proteus Gowanus Interdisciplinary Gallery & Reading Room, Nevins & Union, Brooklyn
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
Sea Hag Ball
A night of dancing, games, projections, performances, sea shanties and tree saplings. Plan to be here.
10pm; $10-25 sliding scale
**TBA
Brooklyn
We are accepting proposals for events and collaborations. Email
as@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org to discuss your wintery watery scheme.
W H E R E I S T H E B O A T N O W ?
Access to the Empty Vessel is from the west side of 1st Street, one block south of the Carroll Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal.
To take a look at a bird’s eye view of the boat’s location, check out the
http://maps.google.com satellite image at
http://tinyurl.com/7eu5q.
For directions by train:
http://www.hopstop.com. We are 2 1/2 blocks
from the Carroll Street Stop on the F and G trains.
H I S T O R Y
Grog
No maritime history would be complete with out a little note on the libation that lubricated ship life for nearly two and a half centuries.
Grog is named after it's inventor Vice Admiral Edward "Old Grog" Vernon of the Royal Navy. He got his nickname for the Grogam raincoat he often wore.*
During open sea voyages, water stowed in wooden casks would grow algae and become unpleasant to drink. To make the water more palatable it was mixed with beer or wine. This, however, posed a space problem on the longer trips to the New World. "Old Grog" Vernon replaced the wine and beer with Rum (a newly found favorite from the Carribean) and first served it to the sailors on August 21, 1740. Given to the sailor straight, this caused illness and disciplinary problems. Some sailors would save their rations for days and then drink them all at once to get drunk. As a solution to these complications, the rum was mixed with water. Later a dash of lime juice was added to fight scurvy with a blast of Vitamin C. The new concoction was served twice a day to the sound of "Muster for Rum."
Robert Smith, US Secretary of the Navy from 1801 to 1809, introduced the drink to US sailors, only instead of rum he used Rye Whiskey. The drink was called a "Bob Smith".
The American Navy discontinued the "Rum Ration" in 1862 and the last grog served in the Royal Navy was on July 30, 1970, which will forever be known as "Black Tot Day".
Cheers
A (more modern) Grog Recipe:
1 shot rum
1 teaspoon sugar (preferably superfine)
Squeeze of lime juice
Cinnamon stick
Boiling water
Stir all ingredients, adding enough boiling water to fill mug or glass.
* "Groggy," meaning slowed or weakened as by drink or sleepiness, is the desired effect of the concoction on a shipload of feisty sailors.
S H I P ’ S L O G
The focus for this week is on our access point at 1st Street. At the moment it is a grey corridor ending in a garbage pile. Let's pretty her up!
Watch for changes at emptyvesselproject.org. Our website re-launch is imminent.
For updates on ongoing projects, check out our TWiki at
http://log.emptyvesselproject.org. Advice is always appreciated. Don’t be shy.
Please post.
F U N D R A I S I N G
Grants grants grants.
We have found several that would be perfect for the Empty Vessel Project. We need some help getting them written, formatted and turned in before their deadlines. Are you a grantwriting champion? Or just want practice and resume padding? Want to hang out with the EV crew over spiked coffee? Get in touch. We really need your help as soon as possible. Email
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org.
Sea Hag Ball may need a new home. Do you have a space available?
A night of dancing, games, projections, performances, sea shanties and tree saplings in the large silo adjoining EV's new home. Plan to be here. Email
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org to volunteer or suggest a location.
Friday, February 17, 2006
10pm; $10-25 sliding scale
Dinner and a movie was a beautiful evening and a fundraising success. Through the generosity of friends and strangers, we raised $600. in one night and were able to pay for 1/4 of our annual liability insurance policy. Three more dinners would cover the rest. We are looking for unique locations and inspired chefs. Some potential dates: Sunday, January 29 or Sunday, February 12. Contact
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org if you want to help.
We are $370. towards making warm water run through our lovely heating loop and radiate warm air through the vessel. We have bought a temporary diesel heater with $200. of that money so that work can continue on the boat through the cold and dreary. Thank you!!!
You can make a financial contribution to the EVP on our website at
http://log.emptyvesselproject.org or by clicking here:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=info%40emptyvesselproject%2eorg&item_name=Empty%20Vessel%20Project&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8
Thanks to the Madagascar Institute, we have a 501c(3) Non-Profit number we can provide you for your contribution.
Give to the Empty Vessel Project = save on your taxes.
W I S H L I S T
DOCUMENT THIS: We know that the EVP is a documentary waiting to happen. There is drama. And chaos. And love. And resolutions. We are inviting proposals from anyone with the skills, time and inclination to document this. Email
tk@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org for more info.
MATERIALS: We are creating a practice of re-use and salvage. We would like to
give your old materials new life. Specifically, we are looking for:
**2 steel drums (ASAP)
**fire extinguishers
**10 gallon plastic buckets with lids
**toaster oven
**vegetable steamer
**wet/dry vac
**50,000 –100,000 BTU oil or gas burning
boiler OR a diesel stove!!!
**solar panels
**12V batteries
**a transformer 120V to 12/24V
**another small boat (canoe, kayak, motor)
**life rings
**marine paint
**small fans
**beautiful material in bulk to face ceiling (about 12' x 42') - tin would be
fantastic
**plywood for skinning the ceiling (about 12'x 42') - 1/2" or 3/4"
**pretty old single-pane windows
**handles, hooks, small cleats
**steel
**aluminum for constructing a gangplank
**railings
We will haul away any material contributions. Please forward widely. Contact
tk@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org to donate.
MATERIAL DONATIONS:
We are partnering with companies that have ecologically friendly materials and getting material contributions to the Empty Vessel Project.
BuildItGreen? (www.bignyc.org), a salvaged building materials warehouse in Astoria, has contributed some great slotted floorboards to face the cabin walls.
Mojo Fine Art Moving has been very generous with their trucks.
Do you know a company that might be interested in showcasing their products on
EV? Contact
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org.
H E R O E S
A history of heroes:
Danny, GDM, Captain Jim, Fictional Company, Ed, Michael, Madagascar Institute,
Cindy Vanden Bosch, Dirty Fingers, Porkchop, northguineahills, Front Room
Gallery, DJ Olive, Steven, Ed and Brooke, Paris 1968, Corey and the Free Store, Christian, Mike Topper, Alisa Blanter, Jesse Green, Leo Raphaely, Peter Field, Jeff Stark, Stephen, Lee Azzarello, Nathan,
ToddP?, Dan and Elizabeth, Trevor, Brian Spinks, Andy Baker, Shellshag (Jen and Shell), Urban Stitch (Alessandro and William), Paul Ford, Bez, Brian, Alex Lucas, Leah Beeferman, Brent Arnould, The Dave Carter Quartet, Estee Pierce, Alison Prete, Jason Enghert, Rosie Weinberg, Johns Manville, Black Label Bike Club, New York Harbor School, Eric Forman, Gregory Zaslavsky, Leslie Stem, Andres Colapinto, Anney Fresh, Justin Green,
BuildItGreen?, Mojo Fine Art Moving, Dave Sharps, David & Sharon Lefkowitz Hannah Marcus, Ruban, Cameron Hull, Bill Wasik, Alyssa Abeta & Zeb Stewart of Union Pool, Dylan, Arnie at the Puppet Lending Library, Josh Wienstien, Dept. of Transportation Bridge operators, The Doctor
W H A T I S T H I S ?
The Empty Vessel Project is an action, art, and sustainability experiment. We
salvaged EV, a WWII rescue boat, to create a space for re-imagining the
post-industrial urban environment. We are a non-profit, volunteer-run organization and encourage participation on all levels.
EV is moored on Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. The boat is our first project. We
invite you to come join us on board to work and play.
We host work parties, movie nights, seminars, concerts, dinners, and workshops.
The Empty Vessel is available to realize your dreams and schemes.
This newsletter is your guide. It appears in your in box at the beginning of
each week, listing events and tracking changes. Can it be better? Contact
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org with suggestions.
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