Send out the troops
It was the most heavily scripted, carefully choreographed Democratic convention I can remember. The signs, the chants, the singing, dancing delegates; all were made for TV, though TV, for the most part, was ignoring them. But I’ll tell you what: there were exquisitely inspiring speeches, and genuinely emotional moments. There were times when you felt…
Communication between the communicators
In their first meeting this past winter, a dozen writers, photographers, and editors sat around a sticky food-court table at Marketplace Mall. Speaking above the din was a challenge, but the group was still able to talk about the stories, poems, art, and interviews in their most recent publications. Black, glossy copies of HazMat Review…
Body count 8.4.04
To honor the war dead and fill an information gap in US mass media, City Newspaper will run weekly lists of American soldiers killed during the occupation of Iraq. The totals: 917 American soldiers and 122 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to Aug 3. More…
The pressure’s on
It’s not going to be pretty. Faced with a projected 2005 budget deficit of nearly $55 million, County Executive Maggie Brooks has lived up to one campaign promise: to gather recommendations for county savings from a handpicked Budget Advisory Team. But some of the team’s key recommendations — like multi-year budget planning and stabilizing the…
From the ground up
For John Billone Jr., incorporating environmental values into his commercial practices is no conflict at all — it’s simply good business. The Flower City Management developer had this in mind when he began making plans to renovate the Medical Arts Building at 277 Alexander Street as a mixed-use facility. The 10-story building, constructed in 1929…
Little political party is winning big
Brightly-colored T-shirts and posters adorn the walls of the Working Families Party’s small offices at 681 South Avenue. Flyers of the group’s main campaign of the summer, “Defeat Bush,” are stuck in a row on the front window. They sport a grimacing face of President Bush that stares at visitors and passers-by. The room and…
Bringing out the stars of musical comedy
If there is a musical comedy masterpiece, it is Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, and Jo Swerling’s Guys and Dolls. Swerling and Burrows’book adapts Damon Runyon’s stories offunny, flavorful lowlifes with wit and zest. Loesser’s tasty lyrics and wonderful music are even better in the plot-oriented songs that have no life outside this show than the…
Paranoia strikes deep
Have you ever been at a party, taking part in a lively discussion about politics and world affairs when, suddenly, someone seems to have it all figured out? He or she proceeds to unravel a huge plot involving the Trilateral Commission, the Masons and the New World Order. And, by the way, it’s no coincidence…
Oh Ricky
I stood in the Bills’ locker room after a practice, sort of listening to what Ruben Brown was saying, but paying more attention to the things in his locker. The lockers have no doors, so I sometimes quickly examine them to get a glimpse into pro football players’ souls. Usually, there’s little of interest. Many…
Building and breaking the vision of utopia
In his latest movie, The Village, M. Night Shyamalan again displays his own distinctive combination of suspense and horror, which differs in both kind and degree from the work of his fellow toilers in the dark mines of dread. His best known work, successful or not, often blends the humdrum and the ordinary with genuine…
Also Playing…
The director behind Dude, Where’s My Car? updates the brand with two smart ethnic guys in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and here’s the twist: Oh wait, that was the twist. Dude, I am so stoned right now. Just kidding, but one of the small revelations of this purposefully dumb road flick is…
Take four
With the Rochester International Jazz Festival concluding a successful third year, a 24-hour jazz radio station (WGMC 90.1 FM), and world-class jazz educators at area colleges, few can doubt Rochester’s prowess when it comes to jazz. But if further proof is needed, consider this fact: over the past few months four excellent jazz CDs have…
Mexican bar mitzvah
Dave Alvin gave everything he had and everything we wanted at his Montage show a couple of weeks back. The sound was incredible — fairly loud but distinct enough to pack a punch. The band played with such whisper-to-a-scream dynamics that it continuously brought the SRO crowd to their feet and to their knees. Blasters…
Reader feedback 8.4.04
WHO’S LYING? I would like to respond to Mary Anna Towler’s “The war of Lies” (July 14): • Fact: A lie is a deliberate, intentional telling of a falsehood. Bi-partisan investigations in both the US and England have found that no one attempted to alter the information from the intelligence agencies. All parties — Bush,…
Family valued 8.4.04
A chapter a day When I was younger I had a dear friend who was an avid reader and very much one who lived by the rules. She could never understand how I could not finish reading a book. In the first place, I preferred non-fiction titles and read for information and facts that I…
