Three huge TV screens loomed above the stage. A basso TV announcer voice boomed throughout the arena. Fireworks exploded, competitive stadium chants roared out, spotlights raked the ceiling as though this were an opening night in Hollywood. A worship leader exhorted the crowd to “Give it up for the Lord!” There was even a smoke […]
Th. Metzger
Posted inMusic
Tales of the mundane
Harvey Pekar creates extraordinary art out of ordinary life. His ongoing comic book stories use the mundane detail of everyday existence. But in the flat nowhere zone he’s inhabited all his years, he also finds joy and meaning and sometimes revelation. He started writing comicsin the ’70s, providing text for a series of illustrators (including […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The dead are ever with us
Most of the time, the living leave the dead alone. We might take a walk in a beautiful cemetery such as Mt. Hope. Or we might wave a little flag on Memorial Day. Elvis imitators resurrect The King for fun and profit. At a Spiritualist church you might find the dead speaking through a glassy […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Gathering home the harvest
It’s about dirt. That’s what some people will tell you. “There’s something therapeutic about sticking your hand in the freshly turned earth,” says one member of Genesee Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture, the largest community supported agriculture collective in our area. It’s also about produce picked in the morning and on the table that […]
Posted inCulture
Sex and science fiction
Forty years ago, Samuel R. Delany changed the face of science fiction. He won the field’s highest honors as a young man, and was seen as the most promising writer in a genre struggling to redefine itself. His book, The Einstein Intersection, which won the Nebula Award in 1967, is both action adventure and […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Funky tongue
There’s Pimping Sam and Konky Mohair. There’s the Mighty Dolomite, Stackerlee, and Toledo Slim. There’s Piss-Pot Pete “with eighteen pounds of red-hot meat.” There’s Mr. Shine, who fights off sharks with one hand, Cocaine Shorty, and even a black-skinned Jesse James. They swagger endlessly. They fight and swear and use their sex appeal like […]
Posted inMusic
You vs. terrorism
You may not think much of Rochester Gas and Electric during a blackout. But at least the utility’s helping to fight the War On Terrorism. RG&E has included a booklet recently with electric bills that should allay all your deepest fears. It proclaims “You Can Help Prevent Terrorism, Too.” Yes, now every one of you […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Cartographic bliss
Every map is a treasure map. For those initiated into their secret language, maps promise much and often deliver. Every map can be an explanation, a revelation. For instance, I’ve pondered for years why Rochester was a boomtown in the early 1800s, the Young Lion of the West. Why it reached a then-impressive population […]
Posted inCulture
They won’t stay dead: Pure Kona Poetry celebrates 10 years
There are wild mood swings. One minute it’s a somber kid with too much metal in his face. Then there’s a slightly out-of-focus Vietnam vet. Religious nuts, fey singer-songwriters, schizophrenics, jittery college students, even some yuppies. Pure Kona Poetry may be Rochester’s best and longest-standing forum for spoken expression. Norm Davis has been the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Rumble in the Roc
In the ring, two young hopefuls are thrashing each other around. A powerbomb is followed by a suplex. Pile driver, D.D.T., arm drag, suicide dive — the moves come fast and fluid. Outside the ropes, another dozen or two are yelling, joking, kibitzing, and making small talk. Pre-show practice at Roc City Wrestling is […]
Posted inMusic
Hypnotized by that golden pulse
The Eastman Gamelan is exactly the kind of endeavor that Rochester should be crowing about. It’s an example of true multiculturalism: people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds coming together to enjoy the beauty of a little-known culture. It’s cooperative, not about competition or big egos. Though the Eastman Gamelan is affiliated with an […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
This zine rules in hell!
The local DIY rag Dunk and Piss is the bastard spawn of two Chili kids with punk rock on the brain and too much caffeine in the veins. It’s funny, and packed with tales of adolescent frustration, obscenities, weirdly charming anecdotes, zine reviews, curmudgeonly quotes, and an ongoing section called “Short Stories for Short Attention […]
