2000 and one: a band odyssey
The brassy funksters in Atlas still count
Our Rochester
“There are two cities of Rochester today. Both with very different looks, very different realities, and very different opportunities for the people that live there. One city is prospering and vibrant, the other poor and struggling. “One city sparkles with quality housing, strong neighborhoods, jobs, and access to a rich cultural life. The other city…
The XX Files – 4.26.06
The Condi man can “I have a crush on her,” my husband said one Sunday morning last spring while pouring batter on the waffle iron. That kind of comment would normally disturb me, but he was talking about someone on TV. Just a harmless fantasy crush, the kind of thing that keeps a marriage lively.…
Maggie’s big gamble
The county is at a crossroads. In the next six months, decisions will be made here and in Albany that will determine the direction MonroeCounty’s finances take, maybe for a long time to come. Inevitably, politics will drive whatever decisions are made. This is one case where that could be either a good thing —…
Metro ink – 4.26.06
TREK IN EFFECT If you’ve ever watched CBS’ addictive reality show The Amazing Race and thought, “Hey, I could do that,” High Trek Adventure might be for you. You’ve got your teams of two, your clues leading you from place to place, etc. But in this case you’ll be in a race around Rochester instead…
Reader feedback – 4.26.06
ATTENTION PAID Mr. Kunstler’s statements about the future are interesting. They deserve and shall receive from me more thought than I have been able to devote to them so far. This letter is actually a comment about the editorial decision made in the highlighting of one of Mr. Kunstler’s statements. Why, from a thoughtful and…
Dig that crazy horn, man
The ol’ bump ‘n’ grind and the rock ‘n’ roll had me reelin’ this weekend. I rolled up on Tilt where the Saints And Sinners folks were throwing their second burlesque show. The joint was packed with the promise of T&A serving as a tractor beam. Fortunately this troupe — though generous with the T…
Home/Design 2006
PRESERVATION. The old saying goes that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. But why wait that long? Rochester is blessed with a rich stock of buildings with historic importance. Some are more obvious, like the charming Victorians and Queen Annes that still populate certain sections of the city. Others are more unexpected,…
Endangered places
Much of our region’s character can be found in its architecture: the homes, industrial buildings, schools, office buildings, and churches that were built when Rochester’s star was rising. Now many of these buildings are abandoned or are facing vacancy or bankruptcy, while new developments and building projects crop up all around. If these older structures…
Family valued – 4.26.06
He doesn’t look a day over 399 Rembrandt at CornellUniversity. It just doesn’t get any classier than that. Rembrandt at 400, an intimate exhibit of richly detailed etchings, runs through June 18 at Cornell’s Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca, less than two hours from Rochester. A videotaped introduction explains similarities between Rembrandt’s…
20 is the new 19
Sid and Barbara Braverman were on their annual winter trip to Florida when they received a call about their house in Brighton. Nothing was wrong with the Thackery Road residence. To the contrary, something was very right: the Landmark Society wanted to add the property to its upcoming house and garden tour [see sidebar]. The…
Fiz – 4.26.06
Why celebrity parents suck You have to give Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes some credit: they did OK when picking out a name for their new baby girl, Suri. Sure, it’s exotic. Maybe even a little pretentious. But ultimately the spawn of TomKat could have fared much worse, as evidenced by some of the truly…
Right for the part
You love your old house — it has charm, it has character, it has significance. But you don’t love it when, say, your antique doorknob breaks off and the only replacement options at Home Depot are slick, modern numbers that scream “2006” rather than “1916.” Finding period-specific replacement parts for your historic home requires a…
Music Reviews 4.12.06
MADRIGALIA Music from the Emerald Isle MAD 00 Like a shot of Bailey’s, Irish folk songs can be cloying. In Music from the Emerald Isle, Rochester chamber choir Madrigalia serves them up sweetly, but not sickeningly so. If you’re used to the Cambridge Singers’ recordings of part songs by Charles Villiers Stanford, you may appreciate…
Casting their vote
Residents of the Susan B. Anthony Preservation District have a history of working cooperatively for the greater good. In the parlor of her Madison Street home, Anthony herself worked with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass tirelessly campaigning for women’s suffrage and civil rights for all people. And rumor has it that years later, Buffalo…
A question of competence
Hanging on the wall in retired Army Major General John Batiste’s office at Klein Steel is a framed sheet of paper asking: :Who Needs to Know This?” Batiste is president of Klein Steel, a Rochester company he joined in November 2005. And the phrase, which he says is one of his favorites, is a typical…
29 Girard Street
At Home in the ABC Streets: 29 Girard Strolling east of Park Avenue’s restaurants, cafes and shops, one encounters the quiet ABC streets of Park Avenue: Audubon, Beverly, Calumet, etc. In this pleasant neighborhood stands the gray and white American Foursquare at 29 Girard Street. Built in 1920, it offers all the charms characteristic of…
Playtime is over
When Charles Bronson died someone should have shredded the blueprint for the revenge flick and sprinkled the confetti in his crypt. It’s a distasteful genre, showcasing frustrated victims who get “justice” by stooping to the same lows (and often lower) as their guilty targets. Hard Candy is the latest film to embrace the vigilante storyline,…
Laura Bush and the Secret Service agent
In these politically charged times, any movie showing a fictional President of the United States inspires some sort of contemporary connection, which usually translates into the blowhards of the right-wing media spouting their customary vitriol. Because Independence Day, Air Force One, and The American President, for example, depicted a president in a positive light during…
Our Rochester
“There are two cities of Rochester today. Both with very different looks, very different realities, and very different opportunities for the people that live there. One city is prospering and vibrant, the other poor and struggling. “One city sparkles with quality housing, strong neighborhoods, jobs, and access to a rich cultural life. The other city…
