Inbox 6.15.05
Remarkable correspondence from the unremarkable world of email
Summer’s the thing
Looking for a bandwagon? Summer’s very hot right now. Everyone’s loving the whole less-clothes, more-fun thing. Not sure you can pull it off? We’ve put together a guide to all a Rochester summer has to offer: from movies to music, festivals to swimming, garage sales to bouldering. Read about the area amusement parks, wines, accidental…
The spaghetti stands alone
Lovers of food and film are generally fans of Big Night, the 1996 film in which Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci play Italian-American brothers who run a sad, little restaurant. Shalhoub plays Primo, a master chef who accuses a more successful restaurant of “rape of cuisine!” Tucci’s Secondo appreciates his older sibling’s artistry, but wants…
You don’t have to go inside
Hardcore fans of live music don’t ever let the local inclemency keep them housebound. Slogging through the mush and over mountains of snow is a small price to pay for good live music in clubs throughout Rochester. Most people, however, only venture out of their foxholes when weather is balmy. And even though the indoor…
The couple that kills together, stays together
The release of the new movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith provides a kind of quaint lesson in the long, often dishonorable history of motion picture publicity. To draw its audience the flacks have naturally employed the time-honored methods of advertising: print ads, television commercials, movie trailers. But they’ve also resorted to some other charmingly ancient…
Learn how to sell it
There’s really only one valid reason to get out of bed early on summer weekends, and that’s to hit the garage sale circuit. In the past I’ve been rather diligent about it (as long as the preceding evening didn’t involve too much in the way of booze or boys, or that tricky combination of both),…
Behavior modification
The American Ballroom Theater’s 10-week Dancing Classroom program teaches 7,000 fourth through sixth graders from over 60 New York City public schools how to cut a rug. The course culminates in an annual borough-spanning competition at the World Financial Center in which five couples from a number of the participating schools vie for the top…
Find the nooks and crannies
In the Jazz Fest afterglow, it might be easy to view the rest of the summer concert season as a letdown. Don’t be fooled — you’ll really miss out if you don’t dig in the nooks and crannies. Rochester practically bursts with music, especially during summer, when you can gorge yourself on a dizzying range…
Opening notes: Jazz Fest in review
Four years along and the Rochester International Jazz Festival seems to be doing just fine. Throughout opening weekend, almost every Club Pass venue was filled to capacity as late-comers were turned away. But our music writers were there for all of it. Following is a compilation of their impressions from the festival’s first couple days.…
Everything’s going swimmingly
You don’t need to wait for an invitation to dip into your neighbor’s pool when there are at least 15 pools around the city that are open to the public. Many community and recreation centers around Rochester use their indoor or outdoor pools to offer free-swim times and lessons to the community. Genesee Valley Park…
Still bopping
Three months ago Down Beat magazine ran an extensive article titled “Where to buy jazz.” It wasn’t about large chains that deal in volume; it focused on those small, idiosyncratic stores you might find in the hippest neighborhoods of New York City, Boston, or Chicago. But the picture illustrating the article had a two-word caption:…
There’s no need to follow the beaten path
Okay, so Western New York may not be Bend or Boulder, or even Lake Placid. But for the precious few months that summer visits these parts, the discerning outdoor enthusiast can find plenty of challenges. If you know where to look, that is. Whether you’re new to this area or just tired of hoofing it…
A way cool spectacle
Herb Gross & The Invictas dialed it way back to the beginning of garage rock time two weeks ago at The California Brew Haus. The boys in the band still tool around in a Cadillac hearse. They played a two-night stand to a packed — and diverse as I’ve probably ever seen — house. Former…
School’s out? Guess again
Afraid your kid’s brain will turn to mush over the summer but don’t have the bucks to pay for tutoring? Fear not. There are economical options beyond book logs and workbooks. Hey, you parents in Penfield, Rochester, Brighton, Greece, and anywhere else fuzzy math has infiltrated. Is your kid a little vague on mental arithmetic…
The XX Files
Spring arrived and as our thoughts turned to the birds and the bees, a new book came out and rained on my parade. The book claims female orgasms do not play a role in evolution because a woman can get pregnant without having one. (Male orgasms, of course, are directly tied to reproduction.) Dr. Elisabeth…
Your money’s no good here
Like fun? Low on cash, or just hate to part with it? It’s cool; leave your wallet at home. Because despite all the pessimistic talk to the contrary, there’s a whole lot of stuff you can get for nothing. Be entertained Movies are so expensive these days, aren’t they? But who says they have to…
Metro ink 6.15.05
Comp time “In the six-county Rochester Metro area, there are 147 counties, cities, towns, and villages, 188 school and fire districts, 23 local public authorities, and 59 special purpose units.” That’s from a press release heralding a forum on regional government cooperation that the state comptroller’s office hosted here last week. The idea was to…
The accidental camper primer
Camping can happen to anyone. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Each year, millions of Americans are struck by the urge to camp. Three years ago, I never thought camping would happen to me. After all, my parents raised me right. It was Holiday Inns and HoJos all the way. Of course, as so often…
Reader feedback 6.15.05
Cutting costs in the county, protesting Bush policies
Tourism Toronto
Sure, it’s been a comedy of errors. (Maybe we’ll all be laughing about it later.) Do you think nicknaming our giant labor of love “The Breeze” was a jinx? Something akin to saying, “There shouldn’t be any traffic,” right before getting on the expressway? We may never know. But with a new nickname just to…
The Cost of war
The totals: 1,701 American soldiers, 185 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 22,248 to 25,229 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to June 13. American soldiers killed from June 7-13: Staff Sergeant Justin L. Vasquez, 26; Manzanola, Colorado | Specialist Eric J. Poelman, 21; Racine, Wisconsin | Private…
What’s so amusing?
Seabreeze Park 4600 Culver Road This Rochester tradition enters its 125th year adding another new attraction to its already world-class lineup, the Cirque En Vol acrobatic show. Parkgoers can take part in their own acrobatics when they ride a formidable stable of coasters, including the spinning cars of the new Whirlwind, the upside-down Screaming Eagle,…
(Tele)vision quest
Public broadcasting’s getting plenty of attention these days, nationally and locally. Corporation for Public Broadcasting chair Ken Tomlinson made headlines by applying political pressure to the Public Broadcasting Service to correct a perceived liberal bias in the network (see “What Next,” June 8). That incident and a push by local activists to influence public-radio programming…
You don’t have to be stupid to like summer movies
Hi, boys and girls! Do you know what time it is? That’s right — it’s Summer Movie Preview time! And we totally love summer movies, what with all the car chases, naked chicks, gore galore, bells, whistles, and other shiny stuff! Plus there’s popcorn! And candy! And cupholders! How lucky we are! I’m sorry. You’re…
Judge not
Memo to Bob Duffy and Tim Mains: Joe Morelle’s got your number. Morelle’s held the Democratic Party’s top job for less than two weeks, but he’s not waiting to build political capital before twisting a few arms. Exhibit A: Deb Crowder. Crowder was one of four people vying for the party’s nod to seek a…
California is right around the corner
It’s one case where wine and lawmaking do mix: A recent Supreme Court ruling may change how New York State wine lovers get their wine and how local wineries sell it. In May the Supreme Court decided that in New York and Michigan — two states being sued for unfair trade practices — both interstate…
City’s Summer choices
City’s choice: Bills Training Camp There are only 32 teams in the National Football League, and every summer Rochester plays host to one of them. If you love football, don’t miss the Buffalo Bills’ annual training camp at Saint John Fisher College (3690 East Avenue), July 29 to August 23. You can learn a lot…
On stage 6.15.05
Stratford’s opening week showed eight fine, greatly varied productions with seven to come. This season completes Artistic Director Richard Monette’s presentation of the entire Shakespeare canon and continues expanding the contemporary repertoire. Monette’s staging of Shakespeare’s The Tempest is dominated by its towering Prospero. Supposedly the final farewell performance by William Hutt — at 85…
Family valued 6.15.05
‘The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D’| This week for families | Girl, you’ll be a woman soon
Little Theatre, big changes
I started scooping popcorn at the Little Theatre in the fall of 1994, and my first encounter with Bill Coppard was completely underwhelming. The whisperings I had heard about the cofounder of the Little suddenly made sense: crabby, humorless, blunt. But he was running one of the most profitable arthouse theaters in the United States,…
Fiz 6.15.05
Public displays High school obsession? Anonymous love for everyone? Admiration for the telephone repairman? An art project? The new bunny? There’s a slew of telephone poles (and some trees) out in Chili and Gates with “I [heart] you” spray-painted on them. I’ve been noticing these tokens of affection for the past couple years, but never…
