Reader feedback 11.19.03
The Johnson defeat, ‘pseudo-feminist’ Popick, Iraq and abortion
Gay marriage: untying the ‘not’
You could be forgiven for thinking of Galileo in the dock. Up in Ontario this June, perceptions of the universe changed radically when a provincial court legalized gay marriage. But in September, Bishop Ralph Spence of the Anglican Diocese of Niagara effectively declared his solar system would continue to operate by previously accepted moral…
Holiday Guide 2003
It may seem too early, but we at City know the truth: The holidays are coming. Before diving into the rush, take a moment and plan your attack with this handy guide. You’ll find plenty of useful information to help you keep your cheer. Want to take your holiday celebrations gourmet? Michael Warren Thomas…
Crafting friendship
In the dimming days of winter, many of us turn to the screen for warmth and comfort, much the way our ancestors turned to the hearth. Movie rentals increase, video game sales spike, and computers — with their instant access to e-mail and the Internet — take on new significance. It’s easier to stay inside…
Holiday treats about town
The malls might provide one-stop convenience around the holidays, but for some of us, they have little appeal. Malls smell, sound, and look essentially the same, and have similar mixes of stores selling the same old mall stuff. Our idea of a holiday treat is to visit lots of the unique, family-run, often ethnic,…
A world full of cheese
The six o’clock news was showing footage of the military campaign in Iraq. My three-year-old daughter saw something that looked familiar. “Dad, what’s that thing?” she asked as she pointed to US troops firing a field artillery cannon. “It’s a cannon,” I replied. “But what’s it for?” she insisted. “It’s a bad thing, like…
Classical holiday concerts
Brighton Symphony Orchestra Holiday songs, Sun and Wed, Dec 7 and 10, John Marcellus, conductor, Sun: 3156 East Ave, 2:30 p.m.; Wed: 1500 Portland Ave, 7:15 p.m. 248-0680, www.brightonsymphony.org. Brockport-Community Chorus Christmas Fantasy, Sun, Dec 7, First Presbyterian Church, 35 State St, Brockport, 7:30 p.m. Free. 395-2787 Genesee Valley Orchestra and Chorus Handel’s Messiah, Wed,…
Guide to overcoming sloth
So many movies, so little time. In anticipation of our readers becoming hopelessly addicted to SSX3, we’ve prepared this handy film calendar which will tell you when to put the controller down, wipe the Doodle dust from your trousers, and head for the theater. Some of these dates are subject to change, so you might…
You know what to do
Theater A Christmas Carol Nov 28-Dec 28, Dickens’ holiday tradition, Geva Theatre Center,75 Woodbury Blvd. Tix: $13-$47.50. 232-4382, www.gevatheatre.org. Cinderella Nov 22-Dec 20, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, Blackfriars Theatre, 28 Lawn St. Tix: $20-$22. 454-1260, www.blackfriars.org Holidays on Ice Sun, Dec 14. Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Genesee Valley Figure Skating Club, indoor fireworks, Blue Cross Arena,…
‘Pyretown’ smolders and disturbs
There’s a lot of resonance in John Belluso’s title, Pyretown. The community he looks at is full of combustible elements that fuel not only personal dramas but also hot issues. Geva Theatre Center commissioned and developed this thoughtful, affecting play, and is now presenting its world premiere production with considerable fire. Belluso set his…
It’s an international life
Calling certain aspects of “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” inconvenient sounds blasphemous, but Santa and his elves don’t shower their pointy-toed pep on everyone. Internationals — students and non-students alike — often find themselves in Rochester during the winter season, feeling a twinge of homesickness and craving home-cooked holiday celebration. Even for locals…
Soul man
You’ve heard “Bernadette” by the Four Tops, “Back Stabbers” by the O’Jays, and “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin more times than you can count. You probably think you know soul music pretty well. Think again. What you know are the relatively few soul tunes that have made it into the Top 40 over the…
A supa super stupor
Nothing makes me want to climb a tower with a rifle quicker than premature holiday music. The first set of yuletide yahoos I plan on admiring through my crosshairs and blowing apart like bowls full of jelly will most assuredly be the pagan programmers at WBBF. All Christmas, 24 hours a day? Already? Are you…
The professor and the working girl
Along with its satirical and sometimes angry portrait of academic life, Philip Roth’s novel, The Human Stain, confronts some complicated cultural issues revolving around race and the delicate and often ridiculous notion of political correctness. While adhering to some of the essence of Roth’s book, the film version of the novel mostly touches on those…
Shattering your expectations
Back before Jayson Blair, Matt Drudge, and Fox News made America question the legitimacy of their media outlets, a 24-year-old wunderkind named Stephen Glass dealt a staggering blow to the notion of journalistic ethics. It was discovered that the majority of the entertaining and enlightening articles he wrote for a plethora of this country’s most…
Top secret: Monroe County budget
I’d say the county budget process this year reads like a dime-store novel, but that wouldn’t be fair. It has more literary merit than that. And there is so much more at stake. There’s pathos aplenty, to be sure. See the throngs of desperate people who’ve been turning up at lej meetings, alternately begging…
News briefs 11.19.03
Soul sweating You knowyou’ve got soul if you can let it all hang out on Saturday mornings. While the majority of the working class is going extra rounds with the sandman, Tamiko Byrd, her sister Tamala David, Rob Johnson, and Miss Imani lead health-conscious urban folks in Soul Fitness. It’s a pro-active attempt to get…
