Reader feedback – 11.23.05
Debating Bliss on intelligent design
‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’
With her fourth Harry Potter book, J. K. Rowling took a decidedly darker turn. The evil Voldemort finally shows up in the flesh, with murder and gothic gore figuring into the process. It’s a scary and exciting ending, upping the ante of the whole series. We wondered how appropriate it would be for our children,…
Fiz – 11.23.05
The design of magic Magicians make good copy. They do stuff that no one else can or wants to. They perform, leading lives filled with illusion, deception, and hares. During the ’70s, Doug Henning represented magic in American popular culture. He was at the forefront of a new generation reinvigorating the mysterious arts. Many other…
Cost of war 11.23.05
The totals: 2085 US soldiers, 201 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 26,994 to 30,420 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to November 20. American soldiers killed between November 4 and 15: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas A. Wren, 44; Lorton, Virginia | Master Sergeant James F. Hayes, 48; Barstow,…
Mayday! (Are we shuffling off to Buffalo?)
For Monroe County, next year marks the end of an era. After 2006, the county’s annual budgets will almost certainly top a billion dollars. In fact, we may even top that mark in 2006. The budget proposed by County Executive Maggie Brooks and adopted by the legislature in a 24-5 vote last week totals $998.9…
Find a way tojump over the moon
I’m not a big fan of modern movie musicals. While I can explain the oh-so-subtle nuances of the Munchkins to a 6-year-old and warble neighbor-taxing selections from My Fair Lady, I’ve found recent productions like Moulin Rouge and Chicago to be soulless and smug. As a professional, however, one must approach a film like Rent,…
Unhappiness and addiction, in the time honored tradition
For any veteran viewer of American cinema, the new Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, raises some serious questions about the relationships between life and art, and which one really imitates the other. According to the movies, all famous singers and musicians undergo pretty much the same troubles and travails on their journey to fame…
Looking for allies
Even with the doors shut, the sound of excitement from the meeting room roared out into the hallway. More than 100 people — students and their families — were gathered inside, applause and laughter rising above the clatter of a screeching microphone as students walked to the front of the room, accepted awards, and posed…
Land of the sweets
A little girl watches her Christmas dreams come to life on a magical journey through a land of dancing toys and sweets. By now this is a familiar story for most: The Nutcracker is performed on stages across the world year after year. And this year the Rochester City Ballet and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra…
‘Shear Madness’: the ride
‘Shear Madness’: the ride Warning to those suffering from vertigo: Do not ride Shear Madness. The largely improvisational comedy, now at Geva, runs at a frenzied pace, thrusting the audience through an enervating and hilarious trip. The evolution of the play began in Rochester in 1976 when Geva put on a play called Who Dunnit?.…
Inbox – 11.23.05
Here are two unrelated gems. The first one is ancient, from 1997, and the second one is timeless. The note from Jim Coleman recalls the pioneer days of web communication and smacks of a child playing with a new toy. Even though it’s only eight years old, it’s from the equivalent of the Paleolithic era…
I ain’t hip
Slinger Francisco swung and sang pretty low for a cat with the nickname Sparrow. Regardless, The Mighty Sparrow — “King of the Calypso World”— enthralled the packed Kilbourn Hall last Tuesday. At 70 (and with 70 albums to his credit) he is still a riveting and majestic presence. His style of hopping around the stage…
Urban journal – 11.23.05
The Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld attacks on critics of the Iraq war have been vicious, but not surprising. Nor is it surprising that some Republican members of Congress have joined in, or that the Republican Party — as concerned as the administration about eroding public support for the president and the war — is producing television ads targeting…
Metro ink – 11.23.05
‘Gotta do something’ Driving down Alexander Street, it’s impossible to miss the emerging mural of random images and implied figures on the side of Boulder Coffee Co. The bright acrylic paint of this giant pastiche stands out from the dull brick and faded wood that pervades the neighborhood. Come spring it will cover the entire…
