March 28, 2007
Eastman celebrates music of Steve Reich
by Stuart Low
Dated: March 28, 2007
SOURCE: The Democrat and Chronicle
| If you go What: Concert for Steve Reich's 70th birthday by Musica Nova and conductor Brad Lubman. When: 8 p.m. Saturday, March 31. Where: Kilbourn Hall, 26 Gibbs St. Cost: Free! Call: (585) 274-1110. |
His many fans find his tonal experiments hypnotic, energizing and unfailingly inventive. His detractors would rather hear a chorus of jackhammers drilling slightly out-of-synch on the Troup Howell Bridge.
Perhaps the dispute is a little dated. Minimalism — which Reich helped to launch in the 1960s — has seen many transformations in the music of Reich and fellow composers Philip Glass and John Adams. As Reich celebrates his 70th birthday, it's an ideal time to rummage through his arsenal of styles.
Saturday, the Eastman School of Music will join the worldwide festivities with a concert of his music at Kilbourn Hall.
For the full article, click here.
Posted by andrewanissi at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2007
Crispin Glover coming to Dryden Theatre
Dated: February 9, 2007
SOURCE: The Democrat and Chronicle
WHAT IS IT?
Find out at the George Eastman House's Dryden Theater on March 2-3
 |
Lanky, and typically dressed in black, with long, unruly bangs of hair, Glover has added an odd-ball sensibility to several projects and talk-show appearances. The 42-year-old actor’s offbeat nature and avant-garde interests have made him a cult figure.
At the House’s Dryden Theatre, Glover will present his directorial debut, What is it?, which is described by the Eastman House notice as “a surreal black comedy that tells the inner and outer struggles as a young man facing villains and demons on multiple planes.”
Glover has explained the film, which took more than a decade to complete, as his “psychological reaction to corporate controls of expression limiting the exploration of taboo.”
The screening will be preceded each night by The Crispin Hellion Glover Big Slide Show, featuring illustrations and commentary from eight of Glover’s books. The evening ends with a post-screening discussion of What is it? and a book signing.
Advance tickets are $20 ($15 members and students) and are at the Eastman House admissions desk or the Dryden Theatre box office; online at www.eastmanhouse.org; or by phone at (585) 271-3361, ext. 295. For information, go to www.dryden.eastmanhouse.org.
Posted by andrewanissi at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2007
Science and the Seance
Dated: August 30, 2005
SOURCE: BBC News
 |
But some of science's biggest names have not only dabbled in, but been entirely convinced by the world of the seance.
Guglielmo Marconi, Alexander Graham Bell and John Logie Baird are familiar to most for the household indispensables they invented. But the attraction to spiritualism they all shared is definitely not part of the GCSE science syllabus.
All three men, and many other Victorian scientific pioneers, became involved with the religion, which depended on strange forces being demonstrated through bizarre phenomena.
Legitimacy
But how did the world of certainty and precision collide and, in some cases, fuse with that of levitating spiritualists and voices from the "other side"?
To some, it was simply down to chronology. When the Fox sisters of Hydesville, New York State - widely considered to be the founders of modern spiritualism - first claimed to have communicated with the dead, the world was awash with scientific endeavour.
Just four years earlier a communication of a very different sort - the first electric telegraph - was sent across the Atlantic.
Science was challenging the old certainties about life - making the impossible, possible.
According to the biographer of the Fox sisters, Barbara Weisberg: "There was so much that was exciting and so much that wouldn't have been thought possible two decades before.
"If people could communicate over the telegraph, why couldn't this world and the next world communicate?"
This gave the sisters' claims greater legitimacy, she says.
As the spiritualist craze grew people from every level of Victorian society crammed into dingy parlours, where knocks and raps indicated the presence of spirits.
For the full article, click here.
Posted by andrewanissi at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2006
Rebuilding Rochester on Ideas
Dated: August 15, 2006
SOURCE: The Democrat and Chronicle
Andrew Slominski is our future. And that is a good thing.
The 21-year-old University of Rochester student is developing a plan for the re-use of Ss. Peter and Paul Church on West Main Street at Bulls Head. The church is one of several west side Catholic churches to close as five parishes have formed a new community at St. Monica Church on Genesee Street.
Slominski, a 2003 graduate of Pittsford Sutherland High School who now lives in Fairport, is learning to do what successful entrepreneurs do — transforming his personal passion into a tangible plan.
In the spring of 2005, he spent a semester studying in Italy. "My mother's family came from Italy, and this was a chance to immerse myself in the language and study the culture, history, architecture and engineering." Slominski, who is majoring in economics and political science with a minor in Italian studies, is also a talented photographer.
He displayed and sold some of his Italy photos at last year's Clothesline Festival, where someone stopped by and suggested he take a look at Ss. Peter and Paul.
"It's beautiful," he says. "I thought, 'How come nobody knows about this?'"
The church, built in 1911, combines both Romanesque and Renaissance features, with a vaulted ceiling that helps make it an acoustical gem. It would make a wonderful concert hall, he thought. City and county officials have talked of the need for a small performance hall in conjunction with the proposed Renaissance Center.
To test its potential, Slominski organized a benefit concert (for St. Peter's Kitchen, which feeds the needy from the former Ss. Peter and Paul School) in June, featuring three different musical groups. The sound was as good as it gets.
So Slominski is proposing that the UR and the city buy the campus from the diocese and use the church as a concert hall and the former school and rectory for a variety of programs.
"It would be a real anchor for the neighborhood," says parishioner John E. Curran, who'd love to see the basilica-style church used by a congregation for worship and also as a concert facility. "It would be a 24/7 type operation," he says, "which is what European basilicas once were."
For the full article, click here.
Posted by andrewanissi at 10:42 AM
July 15, 2006
Rochester Raging Rhinos Defeat Miami FC 5-4
by Andrew A. Anissi
July 15, 2006
 |
The first half of the game ended with Miami ahead 1-0. Determined not to be beaten again in their brand new stadium at Paetec Park, Rochester quickly scored three goals at the beginning of the second half. These goals were scored by Matthew Delicate, Connally Edozian, and Greg Howes.
Miami was furious at its rapidly diminishing hopes of winning and came back with two more goals of its own, and constant physical attacks on Rhinos players that resulted in multiple yellow cards Miami players and a red card ejection for Miami's Jeffrey Matteo.
Rochester scored its fourth goal and approached the end of the game with a 4-3 lead, but with about 2 minutes left in the game, Miami's Mario Rodriguez fell into goalie box and was awarded a penalty kick. Romario, a former Major League Soccer player and Brazilian legend, scored the penalty kick, tying the game at 4-4, but in the last minute of the game, during stoppage time, the Rhinos' Ricky Lewis scored another goal, winning the game for Rochester.
Posted by andrewanissi at 12:33 AM
June 03, 2006
Rochester leads in business strategies that add conscience to profits
by Misty Edgecomb
DATED: June 3, 2006
SOURCE: The Democrat and Chronicle
At Penn Yan Aero, a small Yates County company that rebuilds airplane engines, caustic, polluting solvents have been replaced by a giant dishwasher that uses pressurized water to clean grease, oil and paint off engine parts.
The company saves money on purchasing solvents and disposing of the waste.
Slowly a new breed of corporate leader is emerging, asking: Why spend time and money solving environmental problems when you can avoid them in the first place?
Known broadly as "sustainability," the effort to think beyond the production line and to balance profits with community and environmental concerns, is booming.
At Eastman Kodak Co., millions of pounds of plastic have been recycled as cameras once marketed as "disposable" are retrofitted for reuse. At Xerox Corp., new technologies have drastically reduced their products' energy use. At the Rochester Institute of Technology, students are helping smaller companies, such as Penn Yan Aero, develop strategies for replacing toxic chemical solvents with soap and water.
Rochester is developing a reputation as a hotbed for such long-range thinking, said Daniel Guide, a Pennsylvania State University economist who researches supply chain management.
"We are trying to solve the problems before they actually occur. If you wait until a product is in the marketplace, it's often too late," said Monica Becker, a senior program manager at RIT's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies.
Xerox and Kodak were both pioneers in sustainability efforts among large corporations, said the center's director, Nabil Nasr. "We have a tremendous history in this area. We have a lot of good know-how that a lot of companies around the U.S. don't have."
For the full article, click here.
Posted by andrewanissi at 09:27 PM
March 20, 2006
Who Needs New York City Style Housing?
by Erica Curtis
Dated: October 5, 2005
SOURCE: Rochester City News
Who needs New York City-style housing? People in Western New York tend to use city comparisons to denote sleek luxury and urban cool. But anyone who lives in New York City knows that the free-for-all that passes for real estate there is the bane of financial security and sanity. Shower in the corner of the living room? A kitchen smaller than a mini van? In the city, these are not deal breakers.
Luckily the jump in the number of urban apartments in Rochester has not led to insanity. The only thing approaching crazy about all the high-rent lofts, condominiums, and apartments cropping up downtown is that people can't get enough of them. In all the talk about how to attract people to the city's core --- Renaissance Square, a performing arts center, a casino --- a stream of people has quietly but steadily been strolling in and setting up house.
Continue reading "Who Needs New York City Style Housing?"
Posted by andrewanissi at 03:01 PM
February 25, 2006
Homestyle Bungalows: Cozy by Design
Americans took these homes to heart and fell in love with their organic beauty
by Lisa Hutchurson
Dated: February 25, 2006
SOURCE: Democrat & Chronicle
|
Built in Pasadena, Calif., it had foundations of boulders and clinker bricks, a ground-hugging profile and a huge front porch. The interior's wooden arches mimicked Japanese joinery, and the open, lodgey layout had a hearth called a "smokery."
The home's twin, built in 1912 in Rochester, is also worth studying, thanks to its owners. For 17 years, James M. and Marie Via have worked to restore it at 70 Bellevue Drive.
"Bungalows are just so cozy," says Marie, director of exhibitions for the Memorial Art Gallery. "It's not a big, expansive space that's sort of nonhuman in scale."
That's just one of the reasons bungalows are so popular. Since the 1980s, when they were rediscovered, there's been an explosion of books on bungalow style, the launch of American Bungalow magazine, and burgeoning communities filled with new bungalows.
"To some people, the word 'bungalow' just means a little house," says Cynthia Howk, architectural research coordinator for the Landmark Society of Western New York. The dictionary would seem to agree, defining it as a one- or one-and-a-half-story structure.
But the bungalow holds a specific place in history. The story starts in the Indian province of Bengal, where the common native dwellings and the geographic area both had the same root word, bangla or bangala. In the 18th century, British soldiers in Colonial India adapted these one-story huts with thatched roofs.
The English went on to develop the style, influenced also by the army tent, English cottage and Persian veranda. Along the way, in the 1870s, English artists such as William Morris ushered in the Arts and Crafts movement by rejecting the Victorian era's fussy ornamentation and mass-produced pieces. Bungalows there manifested these beliefs, with squared and simple woodwork instead of spindles, and casual, open layouts instead of cramped formality.
For the full article, click here.
Posted by andrewanissi at 05:59 PM
December 11, 2005
First Vision of Joseph Smith, Founder of Mormon Church - in Palmyra, NY (about 45 minutes east of Rochester)
 |
1 OWING to the many reports which have been put in circulation by evil-disposed and designing persons, in relation to the rise and progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all of which have been designed by the authors thereof to militate against its character as a Church and its progress in the world—I have been induced to write this history, to disabuse the public mind, and put all inquirers after truth in possession of the facts•, as they have transpired, in relation both to myself and the Church, so far as I have such facts in my possession.
2 In this history I shall present the various events in relation to this Church, in truth and righteousness, as they have transpired, or as they at present exist, being now [1838] the eighth• year• since the organization of the said Church.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL WRITTEN STATEMENT OF JOSEPH SMITH
Posted by andrewanissi at 02:14 PM
December 09, 2005
Grammy nominations sing praises of Eastman's elite
SOURCE: Democrat and Chronicle
December 9, 2005
John Pitcher
Staff music critic
Recordings featuring Eastman School of Music faculty and alumni netted nearly a dozen Grammy nominations on Thursday, with such notable personalities as Renée Fleming, Paul O'Dette and the Ying Quartet all appearing on albums recognized by the recording academy.
Also, Jars of Clay, a contemporary Christian rock band with Chili natives Matt Odmark and Charlie Lowell, was nominated in the best pop/contemporary gospel album category for Redemption Songs.
Continue reading "Grammy nominations sing praises of Eastman's elite"
Posted by andrewanissi at 08:45 AM
October 11, 2005
A Picture and 1000 Words: Joanna Scott
 |
Continue reading "A Picture and 1000 Words: Joanna Scott"
Posted by andrewanissi at 11:08 AM
September 27, 2005
Rochester sees some things a little (OK, a lot) differently
Lauri Githens Hatch
Staff writer
(May 1, 2005) — This started out as a straightforward piece: Walk around town, talk to the locals, have them rhapsodize about what they love here, write it up, print it.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum you're holding. No one said what we thought they might.
Sure, they got whimsical about our four distinct seasons, our luscious food, our sightseeing, our rich history. But their answers were — like the people here — just a little different. Unusual. Hilarious. Weird. Cool.
And in the end, this list was a great metaphor for Rochester:
Sure, some of the time it's predictably cold.
But virtually all year 'round, life here is unpredictably cool — cool in the same way that Levis 501s, black coffee and '57 Chevys are, and always will be, cool.
1. Natives, fascinatingly, say this city's name like no one else: "Raaachst'r." If you want to blend in, send that first syllable right through the nose 'til you sound like Felix Unger clearing his sinuses. If someone makes that vowel sound even remotely like an "O," they're from elsewhere and think they're just passing through but eventually wind up staying. And saying "Raaachst'r."
2. Want to fit in even faster? Refer to the small private school or the college as "Nyyyyaaah-za-rith."
Continue reading "Rochester sees some things a little (OK, a lot) differently"
Posted by andrewanissi at 09:30 AM
August 27, 2005
City Councilman Unearths Magical Zoning Amulet
Click HERE for the article.
Posted by andrewanissi at 08:02 PM
August 03, 2005
Downtown renewal stirs streetcar memories
By Wallace A. Krapf
Published by the Democrat and Chronicle, Aug. 3, 2005
(August 3, 2005) — As I listen to the plans for a renewal of downtown Rochester, my mind drifts back to 1940, when I was a boy of 8 growing up in Rochester, and how the downtown was alive with trolley cars. We called them streetcars, and they monopolized the city landscape, clanging down the middle of every major street right to the city limits on a shiny double set of steel tracks, partially buried in beds of cobblestones with macadam lanes at either curb side for automobiles.
Continue reading "Downtown renewal stirs streetcar memories"
Posted by andrewanissi at 04:12 PM
August 02, 2005
Every Euro Banknote Infringes a Rochesterian Patent; alleges lawsuit
Document Security Systems Inc., a Rochester, NY company, has filed suit against the European Central Bank, with the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, seeking unspecified monetary damages, claiming that every euro banknote in circulation infringes on its anti-counterfeiting patent. The complaint alleges that by 2006, the European Central Bank will have produced more than 34.9 billion notes, worth more than $1.5 trillion, that violate the patent.
Continue reading "Every Euro Banknote Infringes a Rochesterian Patent; alleges lawsuit"
Posted by andrewanissi at 10:17 AM
June 21, 2005
Rochester: 7th Cleanest City in America
According to Reader's Digest, Rochester (NY) is the 7th cleanest city in America. Sounds to me like it's made for living!
The Readers Digest article is here
Posted by andrewanissi at 08:57 PM
June 10, 2005
DID YOU KNOW::Rochesterian Screenwriter
Did you know that screenwriter Jeffrey Boam is from Rochester? During the late '80s, Jeffrey Boam was among the most sought-after screenwriters in Hollywood. He specializes in action adventures and is most famous for penning the script for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). His other successful efforts include Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, and The Lost Boys (1987).
Posted by andrewanissi at 01:31 PM
May 11, 2005
DID YOU KNOW?
by Andrew A. Anissi
Did you know that the most powerful laser in the world, the Omega laser, is located in Rochester, NY? And did you know that within two years, scientists in Rochester will finish building the Omega EP laser, which is 50 times more power than the Omega? Imagine, the greatest power in the world in the hands of Rochesterians!
Read the story here.
Posted by andrewanissi at 11:14 PM