Weekly Rochester Events #329: Is That Bacon Burning?

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Last Thursday I went to the Mayoral Forum at Hoyt Auditorium in The University of Rochester (Elmwood Ave. at Intercampus Dr., details on River Campus Map) to see candidates Robert Duffy, Tim Mains, Wade Norwood, and John Parinello have a debate/discussion with moderator Curt Smith. The discussion began with opening statements, then Mr. Smith began a round-robin questioning which — while it made it more difficult to compare candidates on any one topic — it allowed more topics to be covered and avoided the advantage one would have if they had a few minutes to ponder the question while their opponent was "on the spot." A lot of ground was covered in the two hours ... I guess I'll restructure my notes by candidate — alphabetically, following suit with Mr. Smith, and see how things shake out.

Robert Duffy opened by saying that he'd focus on the economy, education, safety, and retaining college graduates. I thought Duffy made some good points that were innovative and intelligent. About the fast ferry, he felt that it's here and we should make it succeed: the city should solicit support from the region in exchange for the benefits the entire region will receive from its presence. Concerning violent crimes, he noted that kids in gangs were willing to take real jobs over selling drugs since the drug problem is fueled by economic issues, not addiction. On the other hand, in response to a question from the audience about lowering business taxes, Duffy said the cost of doing business is too high, so we should get more money from Albany — an overly simple response because that would simply mean that state business taxes would go up to compensate.

Tim Mains opened by highlighting his goals to rebuild downtown, fix the schools, and reduce poverty. Commenting on the way other states entice businesses by spending money on good marketing, he felt we should copy that model and spend money to get businesses. About the The University of Rochester and its success in creating private enterprises, Mains said the city should keep the pathway to creating private businesses open and easy. On the other hand, he responded to the point about how New York is spending more money per student but getting less than in other states by summarizing that everything costs more here.

Wade Norwood opened by talking about how the city is in the midst of national economic change and we can't be among the "have-nots." While somewhat idealistically vague, his solution to stopping businesses from leaving involves building a knowledge-based economy, exploiting our cultural and social assets, and keeping in mind that our situation is the same as all of Upstate. In response to a question from the audience about how City Hall is not responsive to citizens, Norwood said he wanted to "shake up City Hall" by aligning departments' missions, make citizens valuable, and keep open dialog with state government. I thought he fumbled a bit answering a question about what he thought Rochester's marketed image should be by responding that we are a community of educated people to make the world a better place — a blandly obvious answer that casts a shadow of uneducated destroyers of society in all other lands.

John Parinello opened by noting that in 1972, he sponsored elected mayorship. He said that all the problems in the city today are the Democeats fault since they are in power, and that he'd work for a casino, better transportation, and revitalization. Parinello's brash style was significantly different from the other candidates, so I'll need to divine the good ideas from what I feel are typically poor implementations of those ideas. For instance, he feels bullying in primary schools is caused by a socioeconomic prejudices made apparent by the quality of clothing students wear; his solution is to have school uniforms — and to subsidize the purchase and cleaning of the uniforms for the poor. This is flawed on a number of levels, the first of which being that socioeconomic prejudice is only one of many factors in bullying, so fixing that won't stop bullying; the second being that we're in a budget crunch — especially in our schools — so spending significant money does not seem like a wise solution to me. He also feels we need a casino in Midtown, retail space in the old Sibley's building, and the Renaissance Square project — I find the conversion of Sibley's to retail a good idea and the casino and Renaissance Square projects terrible; but what's this got to do with being mayor anyway? It sounds more like a business plan. Finally, in what I'd qualify as a wholly negative trait, Parinello plays the "candidate for everyone" by playing both sides on a number of issues: he feels the fast ferry is a terrible project doomed to failure yet also says he supports it; and he says he fights to keep the Constitution alive, yet wants a "hit squad" with the ability to kick down the doors of "known" drug houses — is that with or without a court-approved warrant?

Back in February at a discussion at The Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave.) I had a chance to ask Dr. Ruth Scott about how decisions about projects like Renaissance Square are being decided mostly by wealthy, white, male business owners, so what can we do to ensure our entire community is represented? She suggested that I should ask this of our new mayoral candidates every opportunity I get ... and this was such an an opportunity. By the design of the Q-and-A, I had to pick a candidate, so I asked Robert Duffy who didn't really answer the question directly, but talked a bit about getting more people involved. John Parinello piped up and said Renaissance Square is private: a campus for MCC, a venue for entertainment, and a hub for transportation, but I didn't argue that, first of all, it affects the entire community and should be open for discussion, and second, that it's being partly funded with tax money which is public.

One guy from the audience said that as a homeowner and a family man, he was trying to decide who he'll vote for. He said that like in a company, upper management shouldn't be unionized, adding that the two councilmembers (Mains and Norwood) have not demonstrated the ability to carry out their plans. The money available to fund the things being discussed is drying up, and nobody seems to be thinking globally and acting accordingly.

None of the candidates answered his charge to drop the politics and speak about who they are and what they stand for.

On Friday, in honor of Earth Day, I went around the house hunting for "power vampires:" devices that use power even when off. I put most of the video equipment in my entertainment center that I don't use too often (DVD, VCR, video repeater, etc.) onto a separate power strip saving about 30 watts, set up the laser printer similarly (by default I'd just leave it on since it's "Energy Star") saving another 20 watts or so, and added remote computer control to the backup webcam I don't use very often (12 watts) and to battery chargers (10 watts, but now I just let them run an hour a day to keep the batteries topped off.) All told, that makes about 72 watts I turned off, or about 52 kilowatt hours a month. Cheers to me for saving the power ... jeers for having wasted it all this time ... not to mention all the other waste and "waste" (depending on if you're me or somebody else.)

That night I finally got back to Dicky's Restaurant (791 Meigs St.) for a cheeseburger and it's indeed quite good. Maybe not the best burger ever, but getting close to that "exceptional" range ... somewhere about as good-or-better than MacGregor's (381 Gregory St.) Later on I stopped by Lux Lounge (666 South Ave.) and they had new art going up. It's all quite good ... I particularly liked Jay Lincoln's portrait of Charles Bukowski and some of Andrew Fisher's surreal nightmares.

I stopped by Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) afterward and got to see Dr. Hilda Chacón perform Bossa Nova in Portuguese. Everything was really top notch ... I thought "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl From Ipanema") was even more sultry in Portuguese (then again, maybe its common English rendition is just sanitized.) The call-response between the sax and percussion in "I'll Remember April" made me laugh for some reason ... sometimes music does that. I also thought "Samba Numa Nota So" ("One Note Samba") was pretty funny in a more deliberate way even without the translation ... you get the idea pretty quick. I liked "É" (literally, "It Is," but "Yeah!" probably represents the spirit of the song better) was really catchy with its appealing pop sound: it's a bit of a patriotic song about the people of Brazil (if I remember right.)

On Monday I got to The Little (240 East Ave.) to see the latest Emerging Filmmakers Program. Delivery by Patrick Smith was a slow paced but slick animated commentary on materialism. I thought that Endless Winter by Aaron Weiss and Bryan VanCampen was kinda weak but fairly funny movie about snow shovelling. I really liked American Dreams #3: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Moira Tierney as an excellent meditation on 9/11. The pleasant-surprise-of-the-night was The Sleep Seeker by Jayne Morgan and Staci Swedeen which was a haunting twist on the Telltale Heart: it was well paced and the editing for the jarring scene transitions was brilliant and seamless. Parallel Worlds by Dave Puls, was a nice use of Dave's animation skills for a political end ... it documents his time working in the local psychiatric ward and how the abuses there reflected those in Abu Ghriab in Iraq.

I talked a bit with Dave afterward about my theories on people, actions, and good-and-bad. Basically, we can only judge actions to be good or bad, but even at that, the judgement can change based on circumstances or point-of-view. We can't judge things: there's no such thing as a good knife or a bad rope — morally, at least. Further, we can't judge people: it seems convenient to be able to add up the morality of someone's actions and claim that total is the morality of a person, but people can grow and they change. By assigning a total, it makes the transition to from bad-to-good insurmountable for any incremental step in one's present is miniscule compared to the sum of the past.

Anyway, to wrap things up, on Tuesday I made it out to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) to see the bands there. I liked them all. The Grievants played good high-energy punk-rock with a distinct ska influence. Tiger Cried Beef was still good ... I'm going to stick with my "1980's style perfect-rock" for a description ... I'm not sure how else to put it. The Shipping News finished things up ... they play excellent, thick, ambient-power-rock ... if that makes any sense at all.

T H U R S D A Y

This afternoon from 12:15 to 12:45 at The First Universalist Church of Rochester (150 South Clinton Ave.) will be Ballades and All That Jazz: Music of Chopin, Gould, and Alpert featuring pianists Vince Lenti and Tony Caramia. [source: University of Rochester Events Calendar] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Rebecca starting at 8 p.m. Hitchcock makes one strange love story, that's for sure ... (Remember that the Dryden Theater is one of the few places in the world you can still view these fragile and highly flammable nitrate prints, so get your butt out there!) [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 9:30 p.m. is Zach Broocke, and Honeycreeper. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+] Pure Kona Poetry Open Mic Night is at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) tonight starting at 7:30. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages]

F R I D A Y

Arbor Day John Akers will be at Johnny's Irish Pub (1382 Culver Rd., still smoke-free) starting around 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and again starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Johnny's Irish Pub calendar] Tonight at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is Chuck Abell starting around 7 p.m. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages] Tonight at The Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery (137 East Ave.) from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. is the opening reception for Play Off featuring works from Stephanie Ashenfelder and Holly Greenberg which runs until June 5, and The Joys of Oral Fixation by Heather Layton in the Lab Space that runs until May 16. [source: Rochester Contemporary e-mail] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Stupeur et tremblements (Fear and Trembling) starting at 8 p.m. A Belgian translator keeps making cultural fumbles in Japan leading to repeated demotions. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Over at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) starting around 9:30 p.m. is Sir Richard Bishop, and semi-melodic fast-paced noise (may change without notice) from Pengo. [source: artsound website] [all ages] Transmission Dance Party will be at The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Water Street calendar] [18+] Tonight at 8 p.m. at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St.) is The Eastman New Jazz Ensemble with conductors Bill Dobbins and Dave Rivello. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) is Dang starting around 10:30 p.m. If I get a chance I'll stop by and give them another listen ... to be honest, I didn't like them the last time I heard 'em.

S A T U R D A Y

Lunch at Patrik's Culinary Kreations (847 S. Goodman St., formerly You Dirty Dog pet grooming) at noon. Today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. is the Garage and Sidewalk Sale at The Genesee Center for the Arts (713 Monroe Ave.) [source: Genesee Center for the Arts calendar] Chris Squire will be at Abundance Cooperative Market (62 Marshall St.) starting around 1 p.m. [source: Abundance Co-op calendar] [all ages] This morning from 10 a.m. to noon is another Canal Path Cleanup for The Upper Mount Hope Neighborhood Association starting on Kendrick Road near Ronald McDonald House (333 Westmoreland Dr.) [source: Upper Mount Hope Neighborhood Association flyer] Marc-Charles McNulty's sound-and-image show Heimspeki opens tonight at 7 p.m. at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) and will run until May 17. [source: artsound website] [all ages] Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) will be hosting excellent acoustic duo Gillard and Coulter starting around 8 p.m. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing La Strada starting at 8 p.m. Ok, straight from the Eastman calendar again: Fellini's classic mixes neorealism with an allegorical fable in telling the tragic story of the brutal wandering strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn) and his childlike, goodhearted assistant Gelsomina (Fellini's wife and muse Giulietta Masina). The first of the legendary director's Oscar winners for best foreign language film, La Strada never fails to captivate and move an audience to tears. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) is good fast rock from The Franks, good punk-rock from The Staggers, and Mommy Super High starting around 10:30 p.m. [source: GaragePop Records website] [21+] Very good metal from Sulaco, Heuristic, Anodyne, and Skodag will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:45 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] Over at Water Street Music Hall (204 N. Water St.) starting around 9:30 p.m. is StrongHold. [source: Water Street calendar] [all ages] Tonight at The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) is The Assembly of Dust starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Water Street calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) is Lewis and Keller starting around 9 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages] Over at Richmond's (21 Richmond St.) starting around 10:30 p.m. is rock/rockabilly from Krypton 88. [source: Freetime]

S U N D A Y

May Day Today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is the annual Record and CD Show at The Bop Shop (274 N. Goodman St., in Village Gate Square.) [source: Bop Shop calendar] [all ages] Updated: Today at 12 noon is a meeting of The Rochester Outdoor Museum of Art at Roc City Hots (336 East Ave., formerly Gupp Signs below Tonic) — it was previously scheduled to be at Java's (16 Gibbs St.) [source: the proverbial grapevine] Updated: Today at 12 noon at The Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Ave., near Goodman St.) is the premiere of Identity through Art: Six Rochester Asian American Artists as part of Asian Family Day featuring demonstrations and history of art from Asia. [all ages] [source: the proverbial grapevine] Tonight (at 5 p.m.) is your last chance to see A Photographer's Path VIII at The Center at High Falls Fine Art Gallery (70 Brown's Race) [source: Genesee Center for the Arts calendar] [all ages] Today at 3 p.m. at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) is another Spring Musicale featuring vocalist Nadine Earl Carey, pianist Norman Carey, and guitarist John Wiesenthal [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing L'âge d'or (The Age of Gold) starting at 8 p.m. Luis Buñuel's surrealistic love story (aren't they all?) and they'll also be showing his Las hurdes (Land Without Bread), his only documentary. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) is hosting their weekly Open Mike Poetry tonight at 7 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages] Today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. is another Community Garage Sale at The Rochester Public Market (280 Union St. N.) [source: City Hall press release]

M O N D A Y

The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be having another installment of Surprise Cinema starting at 8 p.m. where they'll show some unique or rare film ... something for the cinephiles out there — plus, it's free to Eastman House members. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Tonight at 6:30 p.m. at St. Anne Church (1600 Mt. Hope Ave.) is the The Upper Mount Hope Neighborhood AssociationSpring Meeting featuring speakers Commander James Sheppard and Captain Joe Sturnick from the The Rochester Police Department's Eastside Division (30 Hart St.), Peter Saxe and Officer Kevin Adami and Officer Steven Edgett from the Neighborhood Enforcement Team (NET) Office. [source: Upper Mount Hope Neighborhood Association flyer] Apparently there will be Argentine tango dancing at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) tonight with Agustin Ramos from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. [source: Daily Perks calendar]

T U E S D A Y

Early today from 12:12 p.m. to 12:52 p.m. is another Books Sandwiched-In in Gleason Auditorium at The Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave.) with a review of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains: Healing the World: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer. [source: Freetime] [all ages] This evening from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. is Tasting for a Cause to support Help InterVol, a local organization that recovers and redistributes unused medical supplies at The Clarion Riverside Hotel (120 E. Main St., formerly Sheraton Four Points.) [source: Abundance Co-op calendar] Tonight at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) is Voodoo Organist, great hip-hop/rock/techno/expermental band Mad Happy, and power rock-and-roll from Bee Eater starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+] Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is hosting an Acoustic Open Mic from 8 to 10. For this one, there's no microphones and it's pretty open ended. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages]

W E D N E S D A Y

This evening, The Rochester IEEE Signal Processing Society will sponsor a lecture by SUNY Buffalo (17 Capen Hall , Amherst, NY) professor Lisimachos Kondi titled Video Coding and Cross-Layer Optimization for Transmission over DS-CDMA Wireless Systems in the Center for Optoelectronics and Imaging (COI) Auditorium at The Center for Optics Manufacturing (240 E. River Rd.) at 6:30 p.m. RSVP via The Rochester IEEE Signal Processing Society website if you'd like to attend. [source: University of Rochester Events Calendar] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing The Canary Murder Case starting at 8 p.m. In the first of their films highlighting costume in cinema, this classic whodunit was originally filmed as a silent film and voices added prior to its release in this early sound-era film. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Poor People United meets tonight and every Wednesday at 7 at St. Joseph's House of Hospitality (402 South Ave.) [source: the proverbial grapevine] Tonight from 8 to 10 is an Open-Mic Comedy Night at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) While once it was a workshop type of environment, it's now more-or-less a regular open mic ... by default it's still a place to try out new stuff. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages]