Desert Island Comics
By Ava Dakota Kim
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On a chilly February afternoon, I was walking by the barren storefront on 540 Metropolitan Ave. where T-Mobile's probably worst-performing store used to be. A passerby and I laughed at what happened to the sign of an old Italian bakery, which now read, "Sparacino's Bakery/Italian French Sicilian Bread/And Comic Booklets," followed by a small icon of a book. Whoever added the words, I thought, is funny, full of attitude and is going to open a cool shop. The proprietor might also be trying to say something about history and community by revising the old awning instead of getting a fresh one. I recently ventured into the shop. Although it’s small, it’s packed with enough art for hours of browsing. I was surprised to see it full of customers at 8 p.m. I sat down with its owner, Gabriel Fowler, who made me a cup of strong coffee and shared his thoughts for the store and the community that patronizes it with Block Magazine.
Block: You've got some amazing artwork in here, who did the piece hanging from the ceiling?
Gabriel: Marie Lorenz did the chandelier, and Chris Patch did the ice-cave window display. They're both artist friends living in the area.
Block: So you don't just have comics in here. You've got some art books, some punk books, some zines.
Gabriel: Yeah. I wanted to have work in here that's affordable art. We've got limited-edition prints, some imported from the South of France. We've got serials, which are all independent. There are zines. We have some art books. It's not exclusively about comics.
Block: Why so independent in all your selections?
Gabriel: It's about community and the quality of the stuff. Big comics have market research, production coordinators. This is like indie film, where you create a voice, and it's done when it's finished.
Block: How are you finding the indie artists whose goods you sell in your shop?
Gabriel: I've been doing it the hard way - by contacting small artists and individuals, which is something Barnes & Noble and big comic book stores will not do. We have an open door policy about people bringing stuff in here.
Block: So what kind of a crazy guy opens up a comic book shop?
Gabriel: I guess I do. I'm a lazy artist. And it was really needed. I've lived in Williamsburg a couple years. I went to the Art Institute in Chicago and did my MFA in Video. In Chicago, we had Quimby's. So I expected to see a supermarket size Quimby's here, but there was nothing.
Block: Well, there's Rocket Ship in Carroll Gardens, St. Mark's Comics in the city...
Gabriel: Yeah, but Williamsburg didn't have anything.
Block: How has the reaction from the community been?
Gabriel: Really positive. There have been a few cynical people questioning whether you can be successful. I want to create a store well-curated enough for people to have faith in my selections. We're making an effort to make it more friendly to people who wouldn't normally want to go into a comic book store, where you feel crowded and uncomfortable, and don't want to stay. I wanted to make it pleasant. I mean, I have to be in here by myself all day.
Block: Is that why you named the shop Desert Island, because it has the feeling of an oasis that's a space of its own?
Gabriel: It was more because of the Desert Island game. That's when you and your friends try to decide what you would bring if you had to live the rest of your life on a desert island. You can only bring the very best, most amazing stuff. It's like having a small store!
Block: Was it at art school that you first started getting interested in comics, or were you a kid when the spell took hold?
Gabriel: It started when I was eight years old, when I discovered Mad Magazine and Wacky Packages. They changed my life!
Block: Have you noticed a resurgence lately of popular attention to comics and graphic novels? Adrian Tomine on the cover of The New Yorker, feature films being made from graphic novels like Persepolis and Art School Confidential?
Gabriel: It's definitely more visible. But it has taken a long time for it to be taken more seriously as an art form. There's also been a big move to look back through history to reprint stuff lately.
Block: I have to admit, one thing that I always felt like prevented me from getting more into comic books when I was a kid was that they slated me into the female role. I could be Mary Jane, but I couldn't be Spiderman. It's not like that anymore. I like [Marjane] Satrapi, but who else is there?
Gabriel: Now there's tons. Leah Hayes, who has a new book. Lauren Weinstein. Gabriel Bell, who has a beautiful comic here. Julia Wertz. I could go on and on.
Block: So is it like that scene in Chasing Amy amongst comic societies, at comic conventions? Mostly dudes and kinda weird for a gal?
Gabriel: It can be. It's a very male thing. I've only been to a convention with MOCA (The Museum of Comic Art). But it was amazing, you see a lot of indie stuff on the second floor, where things are self-published, and people make stuff for the purpose of selling it there.
Block: Do you sell stuff online for those fans in Nebraska?
Gabriel: I don't know if I want to. I think it takes away some of the specialness of the store. Things that you can't get anywhere else, not even online. When you're online, you're just looking at a computer. It's hard to curate a web page like a store, and hard to escape the feeling of the computer. They've tried to make electronic book readers, but they haven't really worked. Books are tactile.
Block: What's on the Desert Island calendar?
Gabriel: We're thinking about a Show & Tell every month. Bring whatever you want, artwork, stories, whatever!
Check them out at www.DesertIslandBrooklyn.com
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The Doctor Is (Always) In
The Practice of Dr. Jay Parkinson
By Meghan Mahar
Imagine being able to call up your primary physician and getting a personalized home visit within hours, complete with follow-up care including video chat, instant messaging, and emails. Then picture having all labs done in the comfort of your abode and having access to your medical records whenever you want. This is the reality of patients of Dr. Jay Parkinson. Parkinson, based in Williamsburg, is on the frontlines of a new kind of health care, which is personalized, accessible and convenient to patients of all ages.
Dr. Parkinson, a graduate of Penn State College of Medicine and trained at both Johns Hopkins and St. Vincent’s in Preventative Medicine and Pediatrics, mixes the old-fashioned care of a small town doctor with new and innovative ideas about how health care should be run in the United States. He does not have an office, but rather schedules home consultations through phone calls and email. He will come to your home or meet you at a coffee shop, park, or wherever you feel comfortable in a way appropriate to your needs.
“I am basically the Zip Car or The Geek Squad, but with doctors,” explains Dr. Parkinson. “The health care system in the United States is broken, and we need to make a change in the way we care for patients.” Dr. Parkinson has no age restrictions for his patients, but he does ask that you fill out an online questionnaire before you meet so that he can screen potential patients. “I don’t take insurance, but I will work with you to submit the claim so that you can be reimbursed,” says Parkinson. A typical home visit runs about $200, and Dr. Parkinson frequently gives out free generic medications and refers patients to the most affordable and high quality places for X-Rays, MRIs, and specialists.
Dr. Parkinson has regular business hours during the week, but he is available 24/7 for emergencies. “I can do all lab tests in the privacy of your home,” explains Dr. Parkinson, “Everything from a pregnancy to an HIV test.” The tests will then be processed in a lab and you will be contacted with the results. After the initial visit where Dr. Parkinson takes a detailed medical history, subsequent visits can be conducted via video chat or even instant messaging.
For minor conditions such as acne or a cold, it may not be necessary for a visit in person. Dr. Parkinson is able to access his patient’s medical records and notes on his iPhone wherever he is. Instead of spending hours in a waiting room at the doctor’s office with other sick people, you can get advice and medication without leaving your bed. “In the future we are planning on having one office in Williamsburg for gynecological care and other check ups,” says Dr. Parkinson. Also in the works is a network of like-minded doctors and specialists working together throughout Brooklyn.
“All home visits are recorded on my laptop, and my patients have access to these recordings in case they want to remember something I told them during the visit,” he describes. Patients also have access to their medical records and all information taken while under Dr. Parkinson’s care. This take on modern medical care has caught the eye of major health organizations all over the country. “I am on this month’s cover of the American Hospital Association Magazine,” he boasts. When not caring for his patients in Williamsburg and beyond, the good doctor travels to give talks and spread the word on his new ideas for quality health care. As he states on his website, “I am not your typical doctor. I am your easily accessible doctor.”
For more info and to contact Dr. Parkinson check out:
www.jayparkinsonmd.com
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Texting Your Way out of Brooklyn
By Matt Kiser
On a lazy overcast Saturday afternoon, sitting in a Williamsburg, SMS Cab founder Michael Guthrie pulls out his Blackberry, punches in "N 3rd and Wythe. Thx" and shoots the text message off to 767222. He sets his phone down and takes a sip of his amber ale. We both look at each other, then around the bar and finally out the window. "There's nothing I hate more than talking on the phone," he says as our conversation drops to silence. Less than a minute later, his PDA buzzes to life: "Thanks for trying us out," the text message reads. "We'll send a car ASAP."
In mid-January, Guthrie and a partner launched SMS Cab, a service in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg/Bushwick area that lets you "call" a car by simply texting your location. No more busy signals. No more being put on hold. Though currently confined to a few miles on either side of the Willamsburg Bridge and with an arsenal of roughly 40 cars in its fleet, the service will be expanding to over 200 cars with coverage to all of Brooklyn by summer's end. "It's pretty unusual," he admits. "Nobody's introduced a service like us," noting an expectation to eventually expand nationally. "People are always texting theoretical questions to us to find out how much it costs to get places." The astonishing thing about this tech-friendly service is that there is no fee for it. If it costs you $10 to get home from your bar de jour, it'll cost the same through SMS Cab. Plus, if you sign up for their mailing list, you'll receive a coupon for $2 off your next ride.
Two minutes after his initial text, Guthrie receives another message: "Rolando is coming to pick you up," followed by his car number, cellphone and ETA. In the span of three minutes, we called a car by way of a short text message, know when to expect it and who our driver is--a far cry from the 20 minutes you may spend trying to get through a busy signal on a Friday or Saturday evening, only to be put on hold, have to wait another 20 minutes to actually get your car. Assuming you're in a quiet enough place to actually talk and listen in the first place. Plus, if there is ever a problem with the driver or service, both you and SMS Cab know the specifics of the driver and car assigned to you, making logging a complaint quick and efficient.
"It took two minutes to get a response back to us, but it felt like 20," Guthrie says. "Since there wasn't anything else to distract you in that time, you get fidgety." He's right, not having to contend with busy signals and being put on hold makes the entire process slightly jarring, though liberating. If the ability to text a request for a car from the bar wasn't enough, Guthrie and company even provide one additional great service: "You can sit inside and drink your beer and we'll text you when your car is here."
What you do:
Text your location to 767222 at anytime, 24/7, and SMS Cab will respond to your request within three minutes on the status of your car. You'll receive your driver's information, including car number and cellphone. You will be sent a text message when your driver has arrived.
www.smscab.net
