Downtown’s next in Center’s sights
The downtown bus garage is not a place Audrey Stewart frequents late at night
A troubling transition at City Hall?
By the time this article hits the streets, the 12-year administration of Mayor Bill Johnson will have less than 20 days left Robert Duffy|WilliamJohnson|Rochester mayor Although Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson was a strong supporter of Bob Duffy, so far he’s not happy with the changes his successor is making in City Hall. In a recent…
Cost of war – 12.14.05
The totals: 2141 US soldiers, 201 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 27,383 to 30,892 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation toDecember 10. American soldiers killed between December 2 and 10: Staff Sergeant Daniel J. Clay, 27; Pensacola, Florida | Lance Corporal John M. Holmason, 20; Suprise, Arizona…
Family valued – 12.14.05
‘A Year With Frog and Toad’ This weekend, enjoy some good company before the relatives descend. Check out Rochester Children’s Theatre’s production of A Year with Frog and Toad. Those guys are welcome at my house anytime. Especially Toad. I sensed we were kindred spirits when Toad bludgeoned his alarm clock after it wakes him…
Fiz – 12.14.05
Aw, he only has three crucifixes! It was stumbled across at the Alternative Fair. There it was, seriously tie-dyed, seriously groovy, a little pack of goodness, and the last one left in the bin. Series #2 of the Psychedelic Republicans Trading Cards. Oh my. The people at chickenhead.com may be seriously disturbed. (The Infant Assessment…
Funky like a Foxxe
Funk is a feeling that’s hard to describe. During a recent basement rehearsal, funkster Andre Foxxe conducted his new backing band with things like “feel it,” “just hang back,” and vague, circular motions. There were no charts. Foxxe doesn’t confuse music theory with the music. That would just clutter the honesty and feel. And funk…
The Lindy Limp
Old school hip-hop night got off to a slow start Thursday at The Montage Music Hall (recently re-named and printed on t-shirts ala CBGB’s). The music pumped and jumped nonetheless. And I like this stuff better. Guess I’m just old school. I hope more of these nights start popping up around here. I hip-hopped from…
Inbox – 12.14.05
Inbox is going to be holding a contest. In addition to collecting emails, we are going to dedicate one column to The Best Subject Lines Ever Written. There is a certain poetry in the abstractions of subject lines and we’d like to compile an experimental list of the best out there. So, disregard any other…
The exquisite corpse drinks the new wine
In 1924 Andre Breton, the “father” of Surrealism, defined the new movement as something “[d]ictated by thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason [and] exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.” For the Surrealists, truth was not the thing that was in front of us but was hidden and buried from view.…
Will Shortz is not a fiend
Roars of laughter and approval billowed from the Downtown United Presbyterian Church last Thursday night as Will Shortz, the New York Times crossword puzzle editor, charmed the sell-out Rochester Arts and Lecture crowd with secrets of the trade. He had the normally polite and reserved audience shouting answers to tricky crossword clues and volunteering to…
Music Reviews 12.14.05
John Coltrane One Up One Down: Live at the Half Note Impulse One Up One Down: Live at the Half Note is a 1965 performance by the classic John Coltrane Quartet recorded for radio and now captured on two thrilling discs. The group (McCoy Tyner, piano; Elvin Jones, drums; and Jimmy Garrison, bass) was near…
And good will towards men
“This is a true story but it is filtered through the imagination of a child who was acutely sensitive to the tragic events around him in German-occupied France.” French filmmaker Claude Berri would achieve international renown with arthouse hits like Jean de Florette and its sequel, Manon of the Spring, but for his 1967 film…
It’s our world and welcome to it
Although it presents a most convincing picture of current conditions in the Middle East, the political thriller Syriana may disappoint opponents of the Bush administration by its deliberate omission of any reference to particular people or political parties. At the same time, the movie shows the familiar faces of those in power, the corporate and…
XX Files – 12.14.05
Merry Democratsmas With all the gifts the Republicans have been giving Democrats lately, I think we should change Christmas to Democratsmas. I know: there’s been a big hue and cry about taking Christ out of Christmas, and here I am replacing him with Democrats. That’s probably heretical to some. Others might say the energy and…
Metro Ink 12.14.05
Sounds of the swamp Terry Lindsey loves all styles of music, but he has a particular fondness for Cajun and zydeco, the ebullient sounds of southern Louisiana. “It’s good-time music,” he says. “It’s rootsy. It’s music to dance to, not just sit and stare at. You drink a beer, get out on the floor to…
Reader Feedback 12.14.05
Bush as mis-leader, Cash in black
