I’m no Brooklyn historian and neither am I a baseball historian. While I may know some random obscure facts about both Brooklyn and baseball, it was only yesterday that I found out that the Dodgers was known earlier as the Trolley Dodgers. I know of the other nicknames like the Bridesgrooms, but Trolley Dodgers seem to make perfect sense with at the time when trolleys criss-crossed Brooklyn streets . Now that they’re in LA, the name Dodgers is undoubtedly inappropriate. Perhaps the LA Pornos? LA Blondes?

A new comic bookstore, The Brooklyn Monster Factory, is opening up in da slope. The Grand Opening party tomorrow comes complete with pole hugging dancing chicks, along with djs pumping hardcore and punk rock. A couple of actresses from Seduction Cinema will also be there for viewing pleasures.

A 3-course meal in some of the nicest places in the borough for $20.06! This couldn’t come at a better time since karen and i decided to try every restaurant on 5th ave that we can afford.

The list of restaurants we’d love to dine in during the week:
1-Blue Ribbon
2-Blue Ribbon Sushi
3-Bar Minnow
4-Brawta Caribbean Café

Hmmm… they all start with B (for Brooklyn of course!) Let’s see how much cash we have. I’ll be happy even if we just have Blue Ribbon Sushi.

This June will mark the 12th anniversary of my high school graduation from Brooklyn Tech. It’s 12 years since I last wandered around Fort Greene, bought turkey sandwiches and mystic at the deli by Ashland Ave, skipped class so I can hang out in park with the dealers from Myrtle Ave, and ran laps and played football on the dilapidated field at Fort Greene park. I’ve been back before, but mostly just passing through.

Coming back from the Socrates sculpture garden this afternoon, karen and i decided that we should swing by the neighborhood we spent 4 of our teenage years in. It was nice to reminisce that we had first met there and to remember the old haunts. Academy diner is still standing, but shares the block now with Corcoran and Brooklyn Properties–2 sure signs that gentrification has arrived. It also got a fresh facelift. The deli by the G train where karen and bettina went to drop their cash after school continues to sell the same delicious junk food to those Tech kids. Over in the DeKalb Ave side, the pizza shop around the corner hasn’t changed. The bodegas haven’t given way to organic health food stores or wine shops that sell bottles in wicker baskets. In fact, DeKalb pretty much looks the same. And of course, that behemoth with the rooftop antenna that is Brooklyn Tech is still standing tall and proud on that stretch of Fort Greene Place that also known as Brooklyn Tech Place. On the other side though, wine bars, nice restaurants, brunch spots, cafes, boutiques, and pricey home goods stores dot Fulton Street.

I’m not going to engage in the fierce debate over gentrification and the displacement of peoples. I’m actually thrilled to see that my old stomping grounds have transformed from a struggling neighborhood to one dynamic New York hotspot. Despite the transformation, Fort Greene still retains a deep rooted NYC feel and appearance.

After dropping off those taxes to the accountant on Saturday, I decided to walk home from chinatown. I grabbed a quick lunch, headed south towards city hall, stopped by ground zero, rounded back up Broadway, and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to head home.

Each time a tourist took out a camera to take a picture, I stopped to see what they were photographing. It was all Manhattan skyline. No big deal to me, but must be really fascinating and romantic if you’re visiting. Manhattan was that big a deal to me. It was some of the stuff on Third Avenue in the Gowanus that caught my eye. The walk was a mere 2 hours, including a bathroom break at Barnes & Noble on Court Street. All this cost me was the left glove from the new pair I bought like 2 weeks ago.

Here are all the pics.