“So You Think You Can Dance” 2012: Top 20 Redux
For the first time, the performances are eliminations were rolled into one show – and it was a jam-packed box of sweets. But even the best box of chocolates has a few nut clusters you’ve got to suffer through to enjoy the goodies. The opening routine started out with a disturbing “Mirror, Mirror” moment, with…
MUSIC BLOG: Lydia Loveless, Scott Biram, Moho Collective, Subsoil, and Roots Collider
Certain guitars beg to be played certain ways. A Gibson J-200 wants to be strummed, while a Les Paul is there to reward your efforts with miles of sustain. You pick up a Gretsch 6120, and you can practically hear it say, “Chicken pick me, fool.” So when Bloodshot beauty Lydia Loveless took to the…
NEWS BLOG: Burglary snapshot for Rochester
Burglar Arrests Although crime is at historic lows in Rochester, the recent spate of shootings and a not-insignificant jump in robberies has many people worried. During a recent budget hearing, City Council member Jackie Ortiz said that Rochester feels like a war zone. Another area where Rochester has had trouble is burglaries. According to the…
NEWS BLOG: Lessons on government’s role from LBJ
I’ve embarked on reading way too many really long books lately, but the one I just started is going to be a treasure, regardle I’ve embarked on reading way too many really long books lately, but the one I just started is going to be a treasure, regardless of its 614 pages (plus source notes).…
GAME REVIEW: “Pokemon Conquest” (Nintendo DS)
When it comes to Pokemon spin-off games, I’m usually wary. Some of them, like “Pokemon Snap” or Pokemon Pinball,” made great uses of the license, while others, especially more recently, have fallen into the avoid-at-all-costs category. But then, a wild “Pokemon Conquest” appeared. The game, a crossover between the Pokemon series and strategy series “Nobunaga’s…
NEWS BLOG: The presidential campaign and our war on terror in Yemen
If you haven’t read Ibrahim Mothana’s “How Drones Help Al Qaeda” in today’s New York Times, do so. Mothana is an activist and writer in Yemen, and in his Times article, he argues that the Obama administration’s use of drones in Yemen is doing far more harm than good. It is, Mothana writes, “leading to…
NEWS BLOG: Romney’s Obamacare scare
Even before the Republican primary season was underway, Mitt Romney was promising to slay the Obamacare beast on his first day in office. Earlier this week, while campaigning in Florida, Romney talked about the reforms he would put in place after repealing the Affordable Care Act. As the Nation’s Ben Adler writes, “Romney gave a…
NEWS BLOG: Vandals and valedictorians: the School of the Arts incident
Hearing about the vandalism at School of the Arts, handiwork by mostly school seniors, many of people probably shook their heads and thought, “What can you do? Kids will be kids.” SOTA’s principal, Brenda Pacheco, said she was saddened by what appeared to begin as a prank escalated to damaging the school. But I couldn’t…
NEWS BLOG: COMIDA vs. the Greece School Board
The Greece School Board is taking a stand against proposed tax breaks for the Greece Ridge Mall. The county Industrial Development Agency is proposing a plan that would limit future property tax increases on the mall for 25 years. The mall’s owner, a subsidiary of Wilmorite, plans to reconfigure the former Bon-Ton space into several…
Feedback
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. We edit selections for publication in print. Highland Park deserves better With better weather, and despite the lilacs blooming before its start, attendance at this year’s Lilac Festival rebounded from last year,…
Times: Cuomo plan would allow Marcellus Shale fracking in some counties
A New York Times article says state officials are discussing plans to allow natural gas extraction via high-volume hydraulic fracturing in some counties. But it would only be allowed in communities that support the technique’s use. The Times says the proposal would limit high-volume fracking to sections of the Marcellus Shale deeper than 2,000 feet;…
The latest buzz
All you ladies who’ve been accused of insanity upon voicing an opinion that doesn’t set well with the nearest man can take comfort in the fact that you’re part of a long, ignorant tradition of wholesale dismissal. Not so very long ago the (largely male) medical establishment attributed things like discontentment, anxiety, and moodiness to…
Ghosts in our cells
The art chosen for the Memorial Art Gallery’s “5th Rochester Biennial” exhibit seems to reflect something like a sampling of the different breeds of ghosts carried by artists. These include the aesthetic influences of other times; the spirit of artistic materials; the specters of once-thriving domiciles; the eternal striving of human will against all manner…
The quest for creation
Although the form certainly deserved serious attention practically since its beginnings, Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” conferred a certain dignity on science-fiction film. Its length, its cinematography, its soundtrack, its depiction of the machinery of the future, its incomprehensible conclusion, and its determined, dreary pretentiousness provided a wonderful opportunity for the more intellectually inclined…
Exitmusic
Brooklyn duo Devon Church and Aleska Palladino met each other in the smoking car of a train while both were backpacking across Canada. Palladino is the daughter of a New York opera singer; her own vocal talent may not be utilized in the execution of arias, but she has every bit of the necessary range…
White, hot, and blue
When Anonymous Willpower’s Suzie Willpower takes on a song, she sinks her teeth in and devours it. Once inside it joins her searing soul and guts before getting belted back out in a blast of psycho-sexual seduction and wail. The instruments behind her lay out a frenetic r&b shag and groove that’s white hot and…
Mambo Kings
Thursday will see the final concert of the season in the Hochstein “Spotlight on Faculty” series, and it promises to be a hot night of Latin jazz. Mambo Kings has been presenting music that is a fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythm and contemporary jazz since 1995. Many of the group’s compositions are original to Richard DeLaney,…
Cracking wise
I dug into my roots (half of them anyway) and spent the weekend at Festa Italia at Edmund Lyon Park in East Rochester. Besides the copious amounts of food I consumed, I was there for the music. Ray Massa’s EuroRhythms got things going Friday night as the accordion-driven band from Columbus, Ohio, ping-ponged between traditional…
Sean Patrick McGraw
He grew up in Rochester, but Nashville’s home now. And it’s the home of his music. Sean Patrick McGraw’s sound is a little closer to the bone and a little closer to the ground without grandstanding or kowtowing to country tradition. The man has spread himself out, as a support act for Toby Keith, by…
Questions on care of Hemlock, Canadice land
Two years ago, the state bought city-owned land around Hemlock and Canadice Lakes. Rochester had acquired some of properties more than a century previous in order to protect its drinking water supply. The state may own the land, but the city still maintains it. The state pays the city to perform tasks including mowing and…
Dream Theater
Despite a revolving supporting cast, prog-rock heroes Dream Theater’s retains two of its core members — John Petrucci and John Myung (founding drummer Mike Portnoy departed a few years back). Since its birth in 1985, the group has mixed orchestral majesty with metal riffs. It’s going to sound huge in the armory. Dream Theater performs…
Pathways stops street work
Pathways to Peace, the youth gang and violence intervention arm of city government, has stopped much of its street-level outreach services due to a lack of resources. But a lower street presence for the four-person agency has some City Council members worried and confused, since Rochester’s problem with youth violence is well-documented. And the situation…
Walt Wilkins And The Mystiqueros
Songwriters like Walt Wilkins have fine bands like The Mystiqueros behind them to help the medicine go down. Now, some of you that are fans of this tenacious Texas troubadour’s tunes a la carte can tolerate the heartache and honesty. Perhaps you temper it with a shot. But his songs’ tug and mule-kick remain; “Trains…
Taking back the neighborhoods
The vacant lot next to Vicky D’Augustino’s home on Webster Avenue looks decent these days, and D’Augustino doesn’t mind taking some of the credit. “In the past I’ve had to fight tooth and nail to get [the grass] cut,” she says. “And when they did cut it, it was disgusting. They would mow around the…
North Highlands
Brooklyn’s North Highlands crafts dreamy indie pop that rivals its home borough’s better-known act, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. This five-piece isn’t as reverb friendly as its contemporaries, but its 2011 release, “Wild One,” does showcase the band’s knack for infectious songwriting and sing-along melodies. Lead vocalist Brenda Malvani anchors the band’s sound…
Vargas proposeslonger days at schools
Superintendent Bolgen Vargas is focusing on extended school hours and a longer academic year in his attempt to reform the Rochester school district. The new All City High School, which opens in September, will have a longer, more flexible school day. And it will be open on Saturdays. Now Vargas says he wants longer hours…
Maplewood Rose Festival
“In the center of the city of Rochester, above the bank of the river which has shaped the region’s history, lies a jewel of a garden.” So goes Duane Reid’s history of the Maplewood Rose Garden. Celebrate horticulture and heritage this weekend with the Maplewood Rose Festival, which takes place Friday, June 15, through Sunday,…
Bay proposal avoids eagles
Any large-scale development along Irondequoit Bay has significant potential to disrupt or harm the area’s sensitive environment. The developers proposing a 358-unit apartment complex on Empire Boulevard, next to Bazil, say they are aware of that fact. | During a presentation to the Penfield Town Board last week, project engineer John Caruso of Passero Associates…
Buggy Bonanza
One of the only things I adore about the deep winter is the lack of insects. But when I find myself being bugged by the creatures during the warmer months, I remind myself that the strange-to-us insects each play an important role in the world’s ecosystems. Besides their usefulness, insects are truly fascinating to learn…
The skinny on Stratford
It’s too soon to tell if the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 2012 season is a momentary departure from previous years or an accelerated veering off in new directions. It’s also fair to assume that some things won’t change. It’s still the same four and a half hour drive to the small (and often hot and humid)…
Stache Dash
Longing to feel the wind running through your proud, glorious whiskers? Or maybe you’d just love to run a 5K surrounded by some fine mustachioed fellows. In any case, join the 2nd Annual Stache Dash 5k Race on Sunday, June 17, starting at the Elk’s Club (19 Niagara St., Canandaigua). The race begins at 9…
Film, discussion on 1964 riotsTalk with Sudanese activist
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library will show the film “July ’64” on Thursday, June 14. The film looks at the underlying causes of the riots and urban insurrection in African…
Base Ball Then & Baseball Now
Celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, June 17, with a favorite father/child tradition — take Dad out to a ballgame. Can you imagine catching a fastball with your bare hands? That’s how they played the game of base ball in the 1800’s (they also spelled it differently). On Sunday, go back in time to watch Genesee…
Rochester’s students andour crisis of commitment
For years, the Rochester school district has been working hard to boost its graduation rate. On Monday, the state Education Department released its latest report, and while overall, the state’s rate inched upward, it fell in some districts. One of them was Rochester. So if you wanted more evidence that what we’re doing isn’t working,…
Rochester Real Beer Week
Nothing says summer like sipping on a cold, crisp beer on a hot sunny day. Combine that same satisfaction with a festival atmosphere, stretch it over eight days, and you’ve got Rochester Real Beer Week, running Friday, June 15-Saturday, June 23. Through Real Beer Week you can partake in events at venues across the Rochester…
Commission advances fracking moratorium
The City of Rochester’s Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council pass a one-year moratorium on natural gas exploration and extraction within city limits. City Council will consider the moratorium at its June 19 meeting. University of Rochester faculty and staff lost a significant financial benefit: free tuition for their children. Starting in…
Polite Company
Nothing brings out tears, laughter, and the crazy quite like a wedding. Join local sketch/improv-comedy group Polite Company on Saturday, June 16, for its show “A Wedding to Regret” at the Multi-use Community Cultural Center (MuCCC, 142 Atlantic Ave.) Polite Company is the creation of local actor/comedians Karen Craft and Abby DeVuyst, who have been…
Rock The Lakes
Rock The Lakes kicks off its summer tour in Rochester with some of Christian music’s finest artists scheduled to perform over two days. This festival updates the tradition of the Billy Graham crusades and a message from Franklin Graham will be presented each evening. Concertgoers will experience everything from Christian indie rock to holy hip-hop.…
A series of unfortunate events
Tiny catastrophes can put a restaurant off its stride: a new menu, new management, a late delivery or a shortage in the kitchen, the sudden and unexpected departure of the chef. Any of these could throw a wrench into the works of even the most seasoned of places. But when all of this happens at…
Report alleges wrongdoing by crime lab director
UPDATE: Janet Anderson-Seaquist has been fired. A county spokesperson said this afternoon that Anderson-Seaquist was put on leave in May after the county received a draft copy of the inspector general’s report. The spokesperson also said that the county worked with the inspector general’s office on a corrective action plan for the crime lab. ORIGINAL…
E3 2012 Day 1: Microsoft Conference
Microsoft didn't start the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo (a.k.a. E3) on quite the note I had hoped. I feel like I could have guessed my way through the company's entire conference. It didn't really throw any surprise punches, though there were a few big game announcements nonetheless. There was a big focus on multimedia this…
