Boom de boom de boom de boom boom
It’s the beat, the beat, the beat. OK, so Chuck Berry had the licks and Elvis got all the chicks. Buddy Holly had the twang and Little Richard made ’em shake that thang. But Bo… Bo Diddley had the beat. The Bo Diddley beat. If you’ve ever heard the Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy”…
A letter to our readers
This year’s presidential election will be one of the most important in the nation’s history. Voters will decide whether to re-elect a man whose policies are destroying much of what the nation stands for, are alienating other nations of the world, and are fueling terrorism. Many Americans — perhaps most — continue to support…
Skating in social circles
The Genessee Valley Park Ice Rink offers adult skate times on weekday and Sunday mornings, and Frank Binsack is usually there all six days. Binsack, who retired from Kodak in 1994, started skating the same year to get in shape. He’s still skating 10 years later because he loves the sport, and the regulars. …
Reader feedback 2.11.04
George Bush|burgers| Voter madness White House reporter Helen Thomas calls George W. Bush “the worst president in American history.” One look at how we go about selecting our presidents indicates why we’ve done such a poor job recently. A rational voter would take a hard look at the candidate’s history and performance in public life,…
The Livable Communities myth
Don’t know much about the Livable Communities Initiative? Bet you know even less than you think. You can stop looking for that pot of gold at the end of the LCI rainbow. Not only is there no gold. There’s no rainbow, either. “Bill Nojay [former Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority chairman] basically sold…
Bush’s other urban warfare
During a recent “Tuesday Topics” talk at the Central Library, Rochester Police Chief Robert Duffy laid out the causes of urban homicide. “Look into our homes,” he said, referring to family relationships or the lack of them. “It all starts there.” Yet the day before Duffy spoke, a hefty document packed with data and…
A letter to our readers
Around the beginning of every year, this newspaper’s publishers and editorial staff review their efforts from the previous year and outline goals for the coming year. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be filling you in on those reviews and plans — and asking for your comments. Our news writers’ work in 2003 covered…
Portrait of a slave trader
“Abolitionist” and “suffragist” are two terms that describe Rochester’s early heroes. We can now add a third: slave trader. Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, the businessman who made his fortune in grain, nails, rope, and banking in the South before moving to Upstate New York,also made money buying and selling slaves. Rochester’s involvement in the…
Fighting the Cold War with hockey
The appearance of Miracle, a docudrama about the remarkable victory of the United States hockey team over the USSR in the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, provides an occasion to teach a lesson in the history of the later 20th century. A long initial montage sequence features newsreel and television footage of a great many…
Ten days at Sundance
For the past three years, Rochester filmmaker Matthew Ehlers’ short films have been selected to be part of the Sundance Film Festival. At the 2004 Festival, January 15 to 25, he was there promoting his most recent entry, a three-minute comedy called Who’s Your Daddy? Ehlers kept a diary of his journey: 10 days filled…
