A life reforged
Rochester firefighter and family man John Grieco has found a hobby in art forged from iron. Weremember his past life as drummer for Rochester’s pre-Grunge rock group Down With People. Grieco’s studio is operated out of a Quonset hut at 153 Railroad Street at Rochester’s Public Market. On a frosted, clear-blue Saturday morning he’s got…
Reader feedback 12.29.04
Fascism in America, youth in distress
Body count 12.29.04
To honor the war dead and fill an information gap in US mass media, City Newspaper will run weekly lists of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed during the occupation of Iraq. The totals: 1,321 American soldiers, 151 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 14,927 to 17,124 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq (a recent survey…
Following the money and the benefits
To some people, it’s just another way government can help the business community improve things for all of us. For others, it’s a form of corporate welfare, public money headed to those who need it least. The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency, an arm of county government, provides assistance to businesses that are expanding,…
The ballad of Sheila and David
The afterthought of David was more powerful than the presence of David. What Sheila was trying to say was that after he moved the last of his things out of the apartment — the boxer shorts and shaving cream, the rye bread and loose change — she kept wondering when he’d be back. But when…
Lake effect
If you stand alone in the quiet of winter among the naked vines of a vineyard, you might understand the story of the New York grape better than from savoring a glass of its best wine, or watching experienced hands pluck grapes more beautifully than a machine could. The dark-reddish woody vines are leafless,…
Family valued 12.29.04
Reading resolutions Early in each new year, the American Library Association (ALA) gathers for its annual midwinter conference. Usually the hottest ticket is a seat to hear the announcements for the Newbery and Caldecott Awards, two of the most prestigious literary prizes for works written and illustrated for children during the previous year. Rochester’s Linda…
A pie is just a pie
It’s just coconut cream pie, and besides, I’m awfully full, having just eaten. I’m interviewing Flour City Diner owner Jerry Manley, and he’s insisting that I try his pie, a type of which I am not especially fond and at a time when, as I said, I’m stuffed to the gills. A bite to be…
I might offend you, but…
Classic New York sportswriter and syndicated columnist Jimmy Cannon used to write a potpourri piece under the headline, “Nobody asked me, but…. ” His observations were sharp and often visionary. For instance he wrote in 1968, nobody asked me, but “all football has to do is play its games, and the baseball owners will chase…
Sex, science, and American culture
Anyone who believes that the nation has progressed intellectually, educationally, or culturally in the last 50 years should take a long, hard look at Kinsey. The film biography of the pioneer sexual researcher Alfred Kinsey provides an important lesson in American attitudes toward sex, science, and especially truth, and in the surprisingly contemporary facile politicizing…
Less than scientific proof of life
There’s a scene in the early ’90s Cameron Crowe film Singles where Bridget Fonda’s character Janet goes to toss a paper towel into the trash and bases whether she should call this guy she likes on whether she sinks the shot. It always stuck with me because I have often sought answers using the “If…
Also playing…
“It’s often ‘oh those goofy glasses’ syndrome that we get,” says Daniel Symmes, whose Dimension 3 Company is the world’s largest manufacturer of 3-D glasses. “The bottom line though, is the public lines up to see 3-D whenever it’s done. It’s always a successful phenomenon.” 3-D movies came about somewhat accidentally in the 19th century.…
Cash Mattock catharsis
A stranger walked up and handed me a package. It was a standard press kit stuffed with CD, photo, and bio. I waited for the big pitch that usually follows, but it didn’t come. “This is not me,” he said simply. Needless to say, I was intrigued. “This is Cash Mattock,” he said. Cash Mattock…
Bold steps? Here?
Maybe it’s too early to start celebrating, but City Council’s endorsement of the mayor’s ferry plan was mighty good news. I’m grateful for the scrutiny and skepticism of Councilmember Brian Curran, who cast the sole vote against the rescue plan. Curran’s worried about the risk to city taxpayers, and there is indeed a risk. But…
