Weekly Rochester Events #457: Nostradamus Starts Predicting

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Last Friday I got to see some movies at the Dryden at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) First was a film by Ken Loach and the second (Carry On Ken) was a pleasant documentary about him. Which Side Are You On? documents the British miners' strike of 1984-1985. It gave a sympathetic eye to the plight of the miners — particularly highlighting police abuse. The movie itself was a pretty vanilla documentary, but the history that it's bracketed within is what makes it fascinating. Coal mines began closing one after another as Great Britain migrated to nuclear power. The miners' union went on strike to little avail — scabs were adequate to shut the mines down. The media apparently marched in step with the government by declaring how good it was that the move be made to nuclear, and how the police were noble and the miners savage. London television had commissioned the project but held off on showing it to the public until after the strike had been defeated.

It's interesting how my thinking has changed on this kind of topic. Five years ago I would have declared that the miners should have seen the writing on the wall and found other work — adapt or perish. Now I see it differently. I see them as having made a handshake-agreement with their employers: in exchange for reliably doing dangerous work for modest pay, they expect a certain amount of job security. Great Britain did not need to migrate to nuclear power overnight, and may have been planning its introduction for decades prior. If they had cared for their workers, they would have helped them retrain and find new work rather than rely on the workers to figure it out for themselves.

I mean, almost everybody thinks of just "having a job". They go and work and get paid and they'll do the same thing tomorrow — alternatively, some people stay fairly nimble and take on work as they find it, knowing they'll have to do something else later. But for most people, there are a couple factors that play into how people behave, particularly the amount of skill necessary and the transferability of those skills.

For people working jobs requiring little skill, or for those who have highly transferable skills, they are relatively nimble and can simply find work elsewhere for about the same pay rate. Thus, jobs like picking fruit, moving boxes, or mowing lawns are low-skill jobs and people who do those kinds of work can switch to any of the other jobs relatively easily. Jobs like automobile mechanic and appliance installer are jobs that require a lot of skills, but many things learned in one profession is applicable in another. But mining is a job that has a lot of specific skills that don't transfer well to many other professions, leaving a miner to retrain or to work for a much lower pay rate.

I keep thinking, "so what's so different between miners and computer programmers"? In both cases, there's low transferability of a lot of skills — I mean, if there weren't a need for people to program computers, what could programmers do? I think there's a belief that the problem-solving skills would be useful, but a programmer's skill also relies heavily on their ability to fully understand their tools. Another argument is that computer programming isn't going anywhere. But yikes: that's exactly what people think before they get blind-sided by something new that completely obsoletes their line of work. I wonder what it'll be ...

Anyway, back in the modern world, I am uneasy about Mayor Robert J. Duffy's response to increased violence. In the press release from October 5, he calls for the usual increase in police activity and such. The last paragraph reads, "The Mayor has instructed the RPD to aggressively police and patrol neighborhoods throughout the city. 'I have told the police to respect the laws and the Constitution of the United States and New York State. However, if you are stopped and questioned by the police, please comply with the officers and understand that they are trying to save lives and stop this insane violence,' concluded Mayor Duffy."

The "please comply with the officers" is the part that ruffles my feathers: I say know your rights. Flex Your Rights is a good place to start. What I took away from that is three things: (1) if you are asked by the police if they can search your belongings (your car in particular), say simply, "I do not consent to searches of my private property", (2) if you are asked any question about your behavior by police, ask in response, "am I being charged with a crime or am I free to go?", and (3) if you are ordered by police to do anything, comply. The basic rule is don't be a dick, but know that the people in the uniforms are people too. I think of it as a favor to them that they are not burdened with too much power. It may seem counterintuitive, but think of it this way: the more power you give somebody, the bigger the mess is when they inevitably make a mistake.

But second — and the part that is bugging me so much more — is that there is no plan to address the root causes of the increase in crime. Rochester consists of more than the southern neighborhoods, East and Alexander, High Falls, the Crime Crescent, and Charlotte. The part that is conveniently ignored all the time is the "huge middle part of the city blighted by poverty and crime". For crying out loud, try something other than treating it like a gigantic jail! If not that, then at least support people who are trying something. I mean really support them. Get a city task force in there to find out what they need and give it. We definitely do not need another group of consultants coming in to tell us that crushing poverty, lack of employment opportunities, and lack of educational resources are at the root causes. Those are the root causes. Increasing force against crime alone does nothing but maintain a stalemate. If you don't believe me, observe the last 40 years of poverty, studies, and inaction.

But anyway, back to our program ... on Saturday I got back to my usual morning routine and got a bunch of apples at the market and stopped at O'Bagelo's (165 State St.) for lunch. Ali and I got together that night to try and check out ReHouse, Inc. (1473 E. Main St.) but it was closed just as we got there ... thus, the only option was to go to The Corn Hill Creamery (290 Exchange Blvd.) for ice cream. Afterward we went to her old friend's parents' 30th wedding anniversary party. We hit the town after that, stopping at Lux Lounge (666 South Ave.) and finishing the night off at Vertex (169 N. Chestnut St.) Sunday morning we had the best thing to get on a Sunday: Indian buffet ... this time at India House Restaurant (998 South Clinton Ave.) near Ali's new place.

Monday I got together with Ali for her dad's birthday. We went to The Crystal Barn Restaurant (2851 Clover St., Pittsford) because he liked going there. Well, it is definitely expensive. Very expensive. I had the "Mixed Grill of Game" which included antelope, quail, and a wild boar chop. I thought the antelope was like lamb or beef, but the quail and boar were very unimpressive. Overall, I consider the place to be amazingly overpriced. Ali and I spent about the same at Tapas One Seventy Seven (177 Saint Paul St.) and had a much more enjoyable meal.

On Tuesday Ali and I got back to the Dryden to see Staircase. It was a sweet movie about a bickering gay couple and very warm and natural. I was surprised that it was so frank in its portrayal of the relationship given it was made in 1969 ... well, then again, it was the 1960's and "risque" wouldn't mean the same thing for 50 years.

You'll see.

T H U R S D A Y

Today at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Curtis Theatre is a lecture with Kathy Connor titled How Archives Affect Our Everyday Lives. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] This evening at 7 p.m. at The Baobab Cultural Center (728 University Ave., formerly on Gregory St.) is a screening of The Harder They Come. [source: Baobab website] Tonight at Kilbourn Hall at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St.) is a performance by Ossia New Music at 8 p.m. [source: Ossia New Music calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) is The Lovetts starting around 8 p.m. [source: Boulder Coffee MySpace site] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing BMX Bandits starting at 8 p.m. In it, a group of kids finds stolen radios, sells them to buy better bikes, and get involved with a group of criminals who stole the radios in the first place. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Tonight and every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Learning Center at Brighton Memorial Library (2300 Elmwood Ave.) is a meeting of The Rochester Movie Makers Club [source: AIVF Salon Rochester Yahoo! Group] Drinking Liberally meets at 8 p.m. tonight at Monty's Korner (355 East Ave.) [source: RocWiki calendar]

F R I D A Y

Over at The Flat Iron Café (561 State St.) starting around 5 p.m. is Debbie Kendrick and The Mo' Mo' Betta Bluez Band. [source: Flat Iron Cafe webstie] Tonight from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Storefront Anti-War Crisis Center (658 Monroe Ave.) is the opening reception for a photo exhibit by Richard Hart titled Photos of Vietnam in Wartime which runs through October 30. [source: Rochester Against War website] Tonight from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Image City Photography Gallery (722 University Ave.) is the opening reception for A Wandering Eye featuring works by Jim Dusen. The exhibit is on display until November 4. (Let me take this opportunity to mention that I hate e-mails that contain an image that is a representation of informational text, removing the possibility of using the copy-and-paste feature to ensure accuracy.) [source: Image City Photography Gallery e-mail] This afternoon at 5:30 p.m. at The Distillery (1142 Mount Hope Ave.) is the 1st Anniversary and Official Happy Hour for MEETinROCHESTER. [source: MEETinROCHESTER calendar] Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) will be hosting The Quinn Lawrence Trio starting around 8 p.m. [source: Boulder Coffee MySpace site] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks starting at 8 p.m. with writer/producer/star Ian Ruskin on hand to introduce and discuss the film. It's the film-version of "a wonderful one-man show about the life of Harry Bridges, an Australian native who became one of the most influential and outspoken American labor leaders of the 20th century." The film will be preceded by Indonesia Calling. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Bodhi's Cafe & Lounge (274 Goodman St. N., in Village Gate) will be hosting excellent, pure instrumental funk from The Filthy Funk starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Bodhi's Cafe MySpace page]

S A T U R D A Y

Today at 10 a.m. at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) is a Driving Tour of Eastman's Rochester for members of Eastman House who pay the admission fee. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Today at 10 a.m. (registration starts at 8:30 a.m.) at Bishop Kearney High School (125 South Kings Hwy.) is Walk A Mile in Her Shoes to benefit Alternatives for Battered Women. (Men can get a 50% discount at Annabelle's Closet (808 S. Clinton Ave.) by presenting their sponsorship sheet.) [source: Craigslist Rochester events] Today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Casa Larga Vineyards (Turk Hill Road, 223-4210) is 3R's Saturday: Ravioli, Radicchio, and Riesling. [source: Craigslist Rochester events] Today at 4 p.m. Ali's Housewarming Party so maybe you're invited. [source: the proverbial grapevine] This evening at The Oxford Gallery (267 Oxford St.) from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. is the opening reception for Daydreams and Diversions featuring works by Zevi Blum, Alexandra Blum, and Amy Williams McLaren The exhibit runs through November 10. [source: Oxford Gallery website] Over at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) starting around 8 p.m. is The Noise, On Vinyl. [source: Boulder Coffee MySpace site] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Kiss the Bride starting at 8 p.m. as part of The ImageOut Film Festival Closing Night Gala. When a man is about to get married, his high-school lover returns to save him from a "banal heterosexual existence". [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Over at Bodhi's Cafe & Lounge (274 Goodman St. N., in Village Gate) starting around 9 p.m. is Meg Ruby. [source: Bodhi's Cafe MySpace page] The Graham Kerr Trio will be at The Flat Iron Café (561 State St.) starting around 10 p.m. followed at 1 a.m. by The After Hours Jam Session featuring The Quinn Lawrence Trio. [source: Flat Iron Cafe webstie] Excellent attention-deficit rock/funk/jazz band Gaylord, Captain Cutthroat, and Rich Eliot will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:30 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [21+] Betty's Sing-a-Long is regularly scheduled at Betty Meyer's Bullwinkle Café (622 Lake Ave., a.k.a. "Bullwinkle's") starting around 10 but since September, 2007 people have reported they were closed.

S U N D A Y

Columbus Day This evening at 7 p.m. at The Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Ave., near Goodman St.) is a lecture titled Daring to Resist by Barbara Schieb. [source: Memorial Art Gallery calendar] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Fitzcarraldo starting at 7 p.m. in which a music aficionado decides to bring opera to the jungles of Peru. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages]

M O N D A Y

Updated: This evening at 7 p.m. at The Rochester Visual Studies Workshop (31 Prince St.) is a presentation of motion picture works by Roger Beebe. [source: Croquet Shows e-mail] [all ages] Updated: The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) will be hosting The Gunshy, and Fences starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Croquet Shows e-mail] [18+] Tonight at 8 p.m. at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) is Pure Kona Poetry. [source: Boulder Coffee MySpace site] [all ages] Bored? Why not check out 1980's DJ night at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 11 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar]

T U E S D A Y

This morning at 7:30 a.m. in the cafeteria overlooking the arboretum in Bausch and Lomb (140 Stone St.) is the Artists Breakfast Group meeting ... anyone interested in art or creativity is invited. Today from 12:12 p.m. to 12:52 p.m. at The Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave.) is another Books Sandwiched-In in the Gleason Auditorium. Robert Brown will be reviewing Al Gore's The Assault on Reason. [source: Rochester Public Library calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Verb Café at Writers and Books (740 University Ave.) at 7:30 p.m. is Course/Discourse hosted by M. J. Iuppa which gives "area writers an opportiuity to present their scholarly papers on different aspects of the writer's craft." [source: Writers and Books calendar] [all ages] The Great White Jenkins will be at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) starting around 8 p.m. [source: Boulder Coffee MySpace site] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Oktyabr (October) starting at 8 p.m. — a film about the events leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 9:30 p.m. is John Mossey. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+]

W E D N E S D A Y

The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Lektionen in Finsternis (Lessons of Darkness) starting early at 7 p.m. followed by Burden of Dreams. The former is a documentary of destroyed oil fields in Kuwait following the Gulf War. The latter is a documentary about the making of Fitzcarraldo shown on Sunday. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Tonight in the Welles-Brown Room of The Rush Rhees Library in The University of Rochester (Library Rd. at Intercampus Dr., details on River Campus Map) is a lecture by Randall Stone titled The Cold War as History. Consider this from the press release: "The Cold War is only a topic in history books for today's teens and college students—many who were just born in 1989 when the war ended. They never knew a time when Europe was divided, the United States and the Soviet Union faced off from opposite sides of the international system, and the world lived under the awful specter of nuclear war." [source: University of Rochester website] Java's (16 Gibbs St.) will be hosting The Jeremy Siskind Trio starting around 9 p.m. [source: Java's calendar] [all ages] Tonight at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) is Grampall Jookabox starting around 10:30 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+] Poor People United meets tonight and every Wednesday at 7 at St. Joseph's House of Hospitality (402 South Ave.) [source: the proverbial grapevine] There's an Open Mic for Acoustic Music at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) tonight around 8. [source: the proverbial grapevine]

Polls | Other Projects

DreamHost Web Hosting
I use DreamHost to run JayceLand.com. Click the ad to buy hosting and I'll get money to run my site. Hooray!

Store at CafePress
Buy some JayceLand junk at sky high prices!