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You have to wonder how Francis Bellamy (1855-1931) would greet todayís fracas over the Pledge of Allegiance. The Mt. Morris native --- who, as historian John W. Baer relates, attended Rochester Theological Seminary, married Wayne County native Hattie Benton, preached in Boston, became an editor and later an ad man, and eventually retired to
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The Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it includes the phrase ìone nation, under Godî? When I heard about the California courtís ruling, I thought: Well, yeah. Who could argue with that? Never underestimate the insecurity of religious folks, though. And never underestimate
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Administrators of the Monroe County Library System are ìsitting on pins and needlesî these days, says MCLS director Richard Panz, but not in anticipation of the long-delayed fifth Harry Potter book. In this case, itís the figures for the countyís share of
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A gentle, quiet pillar of the community, Ted Altier, died June 21 after a long and brave struggle with illness. Ted epitomized a special kind of Rochester civic leadership: fiercely committed, and fiercely low profile. He was active in numerous organizations --- board
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PK coverage I was pleasantly surprised by the remarkably fair treatment the Promise Keepers event in Rochester received in City (ìThe Cross and the Y Chromosome,î June 19). Admittedly, I expected the worst when I saw the front cover. I paused for a second
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The back lawn was knee-high before the Fourth of July, and the garden hose, which Iíd snaked out along the grass weeks earlier, was as good as buried. I went down on all fours, searching with my fingers through clumps of greenery --- darkery, considering it was 10 p.m. A foolís errand. But then
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In the wake of the World Trade Center's destruction, are celebratory fireworks still OK? More than ever. For one thing, fireworks can be used for Freudian sublimation: Take that, you rotten, sub-human terrorist scum --- POW! ZAPP! and BANG!! And just to show that our spirits (of í76) arenít dampened, nor our ability to
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I had to drive to Toronto to see one of last summer's most overlooked films, but this Saturday night, thanks to the Dryden Theatre, you'll be able to treat yourself --- without leaving the country --- to Wet Hot American Summer. Itís a brainy spoof of those popular bawdy teen sex romps from the
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In the course of his relatively long but somewhat subdued career in the cinema, John Sayles has pretty much done it all, and now and then even, as they say, had it all. Beginning, like a lot of filmmakers of his generation, with an apprenticeship with the legendary schlockmeister Roger Corman, he may not
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What you need to understand before we begin is that hiphop is a culture. Itís a theory, a philosophy. But like the Tao, or trying to define exactly what ìpornî is, it's hard to nail down. Hiphop incorporates breakdancing, MCing, DJing, and graffiti, but it is not defined by those elements alone. It's a
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You know what drives me nuts? Honkys. I donít think Iím coming down too heavy on my pale brethren when they sell themselves short. Allow me to explain. Last Thursday Vince Neil (sans the Cr¸e) played the Water Street Music Hall to a tragically small crowd. The band sounded great and seemed stoked to
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Federico Garcia Lorca's great modern classic, The House of Bernarda Alba, has no visible rooster, though males are all that these women think about.We hear the men going to work and notice the women sneaking peeks at them through the windows, and hear
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Joe Robach says he doesn't want to be a member of the Republican majority in the state Senate so much as he wants to be the "Commissioner of Getting Things Done." Given the paltry progress he and his fellow state legislators made this year on a host of important issues --- reform of the
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Steve Buscemi, one of the greatest character actors of his generation, will come to the Dryden Theatre on Saturday, July 13 to introduce local film fans to the latest phase in his plan for cinematic world domination: direction. You may know him as the squirrelly guy from Fargo, the guy with the crazy eyes from
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In its own accidental, absurd, and strictly for-profit way, Men in Black II provides something of a service for the movie audiences of today, suggesting some perhaps unsuspected truths and a continuing metaphor for its time and place. Following the amazing success of the first film (it was the biggest hit of 1997),
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What if? In response to Jack Bradigan Spula's "Just a Child: Learning the Facts of Death" (June 19): What if Craig Heard was "a wonderful little, smiling little (white) person"? What
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Imagining ImageArt There's more here than meets the eye. ImageArt, which is billed as the only annual juried exhibit of art by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) artists in Western New York, isn't just a bunch of pretty pictures. ImageArt "gives gay and
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Avenue A to the Great White Way: Yiddish and American Popular Songs 1914-1950 Tanz! With David Tarras and the Musiker Brothers Sony Legacy Anyone who has listened to National Public Radio's "Yiddish Radio Project" on All Things Considered knows the story: While visiting the crowded office of an elderly radio show host, Klezmer scholar Henry Sapoznik literally stumbled
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Rhinos get regional Last time out. Rochester (8-2-3, 34 points) hosted Richmond and Montreal and thrilled fans with a pair of exciting (and, at times, excruciating) 1-0 overtime wins in a mini-homestand last week. Everybody who hopped on the We Hate Dan Stebbins bandwagon can now jump right the hell off because the Rhinos forward came
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There was a time when the idea of transplanting human organs was the stuff of science fiction and cheesy horror films. Today, organ transplants are a standard feature of the medical landscape. But out of success has come crisis. Would-be transplant recipients in Rochester and throughout the country face a disparity of supply and
