ISLAND JOY
Haitian-American comic brings special to Gowanus
HBy Ben Verde e’s come a long way for
this show!
A Bedford-Stuyvesant
comedian will record his first
hour-long special next week, at
Gowanus club Littlefield on Jan.
2. Tanael Joachim, who performs
as TJ, grew up in Haiti, and says
that his comedy resonates with
those who have been through the
immigration experience, but also
offers Americans the perspective
of an outsider looking in.
“A lot of immigrants like what
I do, because I’m an immigrant
and I speak to that community,”
he said. “Americans also like
it because I present a different
experience.”
TJ’s comedy often comments
on things that may seem normal
to Americans, but are strange
to immigrants and visitors,
such as Americans’ excessive
consumerism, which he often
contrasts with conditions in
Haiti. In one bit, he examines
the absurdity of thinking that
“emotional eating” is a real
problem.
“Do you realize what that
means?” he asks. “That means you
have so much food that you have
food for specific feelings.”
TJ said he has spent years
preparing for this show, presenting
the very best version of material
he has been working on his entire
career.
“This is the first big set that
I’m putting on record,” he said. “I
really had to pick and choose what
goes on the record.”
The comic pokes fun at his
homeland, but he is also the first
to go to bat for it. After President
Trump reportedly called Haiti a
Have a Coney New Year!
COURIER LIFE,38 DEC. 27, 2019-JAN. 2, 2020
“s------- country”, TJ penned an
op-ed for the New York Times in
which he argues that the citizens
of the island nation are the best
humanity has to offer.
After performing for years,
TJ says he knows how to handle
Brooklyn audiences, which he
says can be more sensitive than
audiences in other areas.
“There’s this overriding thing
like ‘Oh we can’t talk about this,’ ”
he said. “New people who moved
to Brooklyn want to control the
narrative.”
He will share the stage at
Littlefield with Patrick Schroeder,
Reggie Conquest, and Mia
Jackson, comedians he was worked
alongside for years, he said.
TJ at Littlefield (635 Sackett St.
between Third and Fourth Avenues
in Gowanus, www.littlefieldnyc.
com). Jan. 2 at 8:30 pm. $10.
Red-y or not: TJ will record his hour-long record at Littlefield on Jan 3.
Witch way: Author and mystic Sarah Lyons will launch her book tour at
Catland Books in Bushwick on Jan. 3. Photo by Sarah Lyons
Spell check
Modern-day witch writes a
book about magical activism
CBy Jessica Parks all her a social justice
warlock!
A modern-day witch
will kick off her book tour with
a night of spells and rituals
in Bushwick. The author of
“Revolutionary Witchcraft: A
Guide to Magical Activism,”
at Catland Books on Jan. 3,
says that her book will teach
the basics of adding some
occult energy to your protest,
and the grimoire’s launch
party will really unearth some
eldritch mysteries, with a
lecture, workshop and guided
meditation.
“If my book is a ‘101,’ then
the tour is sort of a ‘102,’ ” said
Sarah Lyons. “It’s to give people
more of an in-depth look into
some of the topics I am talking
about in the book.”
“Revolutionary Witchcraft”
focuses its crystal ball on social
justice issues and environmental
activism, describing inclusive
rituals and magical actions that
can help the planet, while also
describing mystical movements
that have proved powerful in
the past.
“Magic to me is not
something I separate from any
part of my life,” Lyons said. “It’s
for people who may be interested
in activism and not know too
much about witchcraft. Or may
have an interest in witchcraft
but doesn’t know how it can
relate to politics.”
Lyons discusses a
protest by AIDS activists
in Washington DC, where
protesters marched the streets
while carrying the ashes of
their dead loved ones, as a
magical ritual that looped in
the spirits of the dead as a
“force to be reckoned with.”
Would-be witches can
refer to the book for spells
that can be incorporated into
everyday life, including a “land
acknowledgement” ceremony,
designed to honor the land the
spell casters stand on, and the
indigenous people who once
called it home. The “Trans
Rite of Ancestor Elevation”
is a nine-day ritual practiced
from Nov. 12–20 for gender
non-conforming individuals
to acknowledge their spiritual
ancestors, which non-magical
people generally acknowledge
with the one-day Trans Day of
Remembrance.
Lyons said magic is
coming to an exciting time in
history with more and more
people opening their eyes and
welcoming the mystical world
into their lives. She credits this
change of climate to an increase
in political engagement and
young people having a clear
image of the changes needed to
better the world.
“Revolutionary Witchcraft
2020 Winter Tour” at Catland
Books 987 Flushing Ave.
between Bogart Street and
Evergreen Avenue in Bushwick,
(718) 418–9393, www.
catlandbooks.com. Jan. 3 at 7
pm. $15.
By Bill Roundy This is the weekend between
Christmas and New
Year’s, so there is not a lot
happening. You can use this time
to gird your liver and add an extra
layer of blubber — because you
are going to need them both to get
into 2020!
On New Year’s Eve, Coney
Island is the place to be! Retro
hepcats should head to the Coney
Island Brewery (1904 Surf Ave.
at W. 16th Street in Coney Island,
www.coneyislandbeer.com), which
will welcome 2020 with a 1920s
theme, turning its taproom into a
full-blown speakeasy, featuring a
raucous jazz band and sideshow
acts. Your $40 ticket will get you
four drink tickets and some latenight
bites — it all starts at 8
pm, and will last well into
the New Year.
If you are
watching your
wallet, you can
still enjoy a
spectacle at the
seaside amusement
district! Just make it to
Steeplechase Plaza (at W.
19th Street and the Boardwalk
in Coney Island) by 11:59 pm!
The Parachute Jump will light up
with a countdown to midnight,
and the skies will light up with a
10-minute fireworks show as soon
as we start the new decade.
And on New Year’s Day, we
are heading back to the beach.
The annual Coney Island Polar
Bear Plunge will feature
thousands of revelers who
have decided the best
way to start the year
is to jump into the
frigid waters of the
Atlantic. I think the
best way to enjoy
this is to show up
warmly dressed on
the Boardwalk and enjoy
the many colorful outfits, and
then to point and laugh at the
dripping people coming out of the
water, but if you want to join the
masses, sign up with the Polar
Bear Club (Stillwell Avenue and
the Boardwalk, polarbearclub.org)
between 10 am and noon. The
Plunge starts at 1 pm, and there is
a $20 suggested donation.
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