Movies tell us what’s troubling, but true
In the brief lull between the avalanche of ImageOut films and the onslaught that is High Falls, I decided to unwind… by watching a bunch of movies. To be honest, it was the last thing I wanted to do, but the films I saw helped to remind me of some troubling yet fundamental truths. 1.…
The fascination of addiction
Despite considerable evidence from the past century in cinema, the formulaic nature of the Hollywood approach to its subjects does not necessarily doom a movie to the usual slick pageant of stereotypical characters and situations, with appropriately shallow thought and emotion. Innumerable works of art, both high and low, without descending into the hackneyed repetition…
The XX Files 10.12.05
It wasn’t until I heard the cup clatter on the street behind us that I realized the panhandler had thrown his coffee. I whipped around and saw the jumbo plastic travel mug bounce up, splash coffee toward us, and hit the ground again, the lid rolling away. My first thought was: it’s a good thing…
Reader Feedback 10.12.05
Poverty and parenting, Landsburg talk-back
Taking care of (bad) business
Illegal. Arbitrary. Unconstitutional. These are just a few of the printable adjectives being thrown at the city’s new “certificate of use” program in the conflict it has touched off. On one side of the conflict is the City of Rochester. Last November, City Council overhauled the program the city uses to license certain small businesses.…
Reclaiming rationality
Can a new enlightenment dawn in a Buffalo suburb? Open a newspaper or turn on a news broadcast: everywhere, it seems that religious fundamentalism is gaining ground. In several US school districts, fundamentalist Christians on school boards are insisting that science teachers discuss “Intelligent Design” when they teach evolution. Across the world, Islamic fundamentalists are…
Cost of war 10.12.05
The totals: 1954 US soldiers, 198 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 26,457 to 29,795 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to October 5. American soldiers killed between September 29 to October 5: Specialist Lee A. Wiegand, 20; Hallstead, Pennsylvania | Specialist Oliver J. Brown, 19; Carbondale, Pennsylvania…
Music Reviews 10.12.05
Various Progressions: 100 Years of Jazz Guitar Columbia Legacy If you love jazz guitar, make room for the most comprehensive collection ever assembled. Columbia selected vintage tracks from 33 labels to present 78 guitarists on four discs. Included in the oversize package is a 148-page lavishly illustrated book with an excellent essay by guitar historian…
The new swing
Kevin Mahogany has been heralded as the heir apparent to the great male jazz vocalists of the past, from Johnny Hartman to Joe Williams. But if there is one thing he is not, it’s a purist. “I wasn’t going to be a jazz snob because you’re going to miss out on so much if you…
Family Valued 10.12.05
‘Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ You know how funny movies usually aren’t? Too much gross isn’t very funny, pop culture references are so 2001, and sexual innuendo was tapped out decades ago. What happened to funny? Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park has it locked up in a hutch with a bunch…
Fiz 10.12.05
Theater of the mind One of my fondest childhood memories is riding back from camp and listening to the old time radio shows on WRVO 89.9 out of Oswego. We would lie on our backs in the dark and listen to The Shadow, The Jack Benny Show, You Bet Your Life, and Fibber McGee and…
War orphans
In late summer, you drive along Waterport’s winding country roads past fields of tall corn swaying in the breeze. Kids hang out on the small bridge spanning LakeAlice while several men lazily cast their fishing lines nearby. The town’s peaceful, nobody’s in a hurry, and there doesn’t seem to be much trouble of any kind.…
Inbox 10.12.05
To coincide with the George Eastman House exhibition of daguerreotypes by Southwarth and Hawes, here is a little insider’s look. The following email was sent to me during the preparation of the show, where the chief preparator discovered some tattered, barely legible notes attached to one of the daguerreotypes. The notes are an observation of…
Joining the thread of family
Roosevelt Scott stands behind the grill at Scott’s Original Food Stand and orchestrates the madness. Sisters, children, nieces, and nephews call out orders in no obviously organized way, and Roosevelt executes, occasionally pointing at someone and demanding clarification. In seven years of serving me weekly, they’ve never missed my order (breakfast sandwich with Canadian bacon).…
