The XX Files – 1.11.06
Layers of liars Maybe they’re not as exciting as the walls in HBO’s “If These Walls Could Talk,” but I’ve got some talking walls of my own. While fixing a hole where the rain got in — and then the ants and small mammals — we gutted the back of our house and decided to…
Reader feedback – 1.11.06
Debating Iraq,loving manga
Cost of war – 1.11.06
The totals: 2197 US soldiers, 201 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 27,787 to 31,317 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to January 7. American soldiers killed between December 30 and January 5: Staff Sergeant Ayman A. Taha, 31; Vienna, Virginia | Private Jonathan R. Pfender, 22; Evansville,…
Counting to Four
During her successful campaign for a seat on the Rochester School Board last fall, Cynthia Elliott promised to shake things up. She said the board has been too passive, and she supported mayoral candidate Wade Norwood, who wanted to have the superintendent report to the mayor instead of the School Board. At the board’s organizational…
Changes in store for controversial city program
On any given day, Joe Pizzo can see drug dealers and prostitutes hanging out on Lyell Avenue near his bar, Smokin Joe’s. “We call it ‘Lyell vision,'” laughs Pizzo mirthlessly. At 52, Pizzo, a Rochester native, has seen it all. “There are so many problems,” he says. “How do you address all these problems?” Pizzo…
Searching for President Pataki
It was either optimistic (albeit empty) rhetoric or a coded pitch to Republicans outside New York. Depending on your point of view, those were two of the most popular interpretations of Governor George Pataki’s final State of the State address on January 4. Predicting Pataki’s political future has become a popular pastime, and there was…
Winter Guide 2006
In this year’s guide to the winter season, we’ve focused on things to do. Much like the government’s odd, grammatical anti-obesity campaign (“VERB: It’s what you do”), City wants you to get out and get moving. Build an igloo, go to a museum, learn to ski, attend festivals, and absorb as much art, theater, dance,…
Hear
Yup, it’s DVD, CD, and fireplace weather for the next few months. But if you live alone, you might get a little lonely. If you live with someone, you might wind up killing each other. And it’s hard to dig a grave when the ground’s frozen. There isn’t a ton of shows blowing through town,…
Celebrate
The heartiest and most enterprising souls among us realize winter can be not only a time of fun, but a time of tourism! Why not get the people out of their huts and into the open, they reason, if only for a brief while? The sun-deprived masses are bound to shell out for a cup…
Family valued – 1.11.06
Going downhill fast Let’s face it. Anytime I’m compelled to get off the couch, I’m outside my comfort zone. In the past, when my kids whined about wanting to ski, I dodged the bullet due to the expense involved. They can shame me for being lazy, but they can’t argue with the checkbook. Then I…
Look
After some brief holiday downtime, local galleries and museums are back in full force. So you have an array of culture to choose from, if you’re into that kind of thing. At Rochester Contemporary, 137 East Avenue, Deborah Jack’s Lift/Left, an installation of video, sound, text, and still images, is on display January 13 through…
Fiz – 1.11.06
Plastic crack Collectors rarely announce themselves. After all, being a collector requires you to amass ungodly amounts of unpractical stuff. And detailing your unreasonable attachments to earthly surroundings isn’t going to get you far in most social settings. Sure, certain varieties of the collector are less offensive than others. But they’ve all got their detractors.…
Play
Spanking new year, same old story: we all peer outside from the warmth of our homes for a couple weeks and then, realizing that winter ain’t going anywhere anytime soon, concede that if we want to stave off cabin fever, we’re going to have to make with the bulky coats and really unattractive boots. So…
…or bust
Greg Townson is worn out. He just got back from a whirlwind weekend with his band, The Hi-Risers, playing shows in New York City and New Haven. Come Monday morning and he’s back at his straight gig, hawking records at The Bop Shop. The Hi-Risers have been on the road, and in the air, touring…
Listen
Hear that? Because so many local organizations and institutions go all out planning them for this slow time of year, winter is a great time to attend lectures. There’s politics, science, art, community relations, and cooking. Get a ticket and go learn something. The RochesterRegionalCommunityDesignCenter will this year hold its first lecture series, titled “Reshaping…
Hard day on the planet
Talkin’ existence blues with Loudon Wainwright III
Applaud
Here’s an outline to plan your ticket-foraging with. Scatter a few of these evenings through the season like little culture outposts and absorb some of the talent — both local and bussed in — at hand this season. The show’s about to begin. For dance, you’re in a hotspot: the quality dance program at SUNY…
Inbox – 1.11.06
Remarkable correspondence from the consistently unremarkable world of email Last reminder: the deadline for the best subject line contest ends next Friday, January 13. If you’re just tuning in, this contest is looking for the most unusual, funny, sad, and interesting subject lines. And that’s all, just send the subject line, no need to send…
Shelter from the storm
If you’ve lived in Rochester for any length of time, you’ve probably muttered nasty words under your breath about the weather. And during the five months we call “winter,” one of those words was probably “arctic.” You could go on complaining about this. Or you could embrace the opportunity that comes with being part of…
Don’t call it what it is
“Most Americans hate gay people” according to Jeffrey, a Hollywood suit played by Campbell Scott (The Exorcism of Emily Rose). As Craig Lucas’s filmmaking debut The Dying Gaul opens, the unctuous Jeffrey is doing his best to convince an unsuccessful screenwriter named Robert (Peter Sarsgaard, Jarhead) to straighten up his characters in order to get…
City’s winter choices
City’s winter choice: dancing There are plenty of ways to raise your body temperature this winter and have some fun doing it (i.e. you don’t have to use words like “cardio,” “reps,” or “ow”) That’s right, you should be dancing. Many local groups and venues offer dance nights in their genre of choice, often at…
The last of the red hot lovers
At least one new film should console those myriads of viewers who frequently complain about Hollywood that “they don’t make movies like they used to.” As Casanova demonstrates, apparently, in fact, they do. The picture actually owes so much to so many works that precede it that it resembles dozens of other movies from the…
Frozen in pictures
Our inaugural Winter Guide photo contest has been a success. We had great response to our call for photos of winter in the Rochester area. Many of you dug through your collections and sent us snowdrifts and icicles, things buried in snow and things made of snow. (And one guy who looked like he might…
