The MPAA recently released its list of "Top 25 Movie Piracy Schools." Rochester is well-represented, with RIT cracking the Top 10, and U of R coming in at a commendable #17.
I, for one, am appalled and ashamed. Hollywood is continually producing such high-quality films as the recent masterpiece Wild Hogs, and you people expect it for free? Tsk tsk.
Mmmm...those animal rights activists sure are tasty!
Every year Frontier delivers a new, thick yellow pages, chock full of lawyer ads. This year, one enterprising ambulance-chaser had a color post-it attached to the front of the book, just to make sure any of us who had been injured on the job or in an accident would have every opportunity to consider his services first.
If you're looking for a less-biased source than the Yellow Pages, the Monroe County Bar Association has launched a new site, howtochoosealawyer.com, which includes some common-sense information as well as a phone number. For 40 bucks, you can talk to someone who will connect you with the right kind of lawyer for your case. That fee includes the first half-hour of consultation.
I have to give the Bar credit for trying, but ever since they banished Jim "The Hammer" Shapiro from our TV screens, late-night cable just hasn't been the same. I understand that Jim did try to solicit business from a comatose patient, but they should have taken entertainment value into account before suspending him for a year. Also, Jim's impressive list of publications, (best-known: "Sue the Bastards"), and his modest claims ("I can't rip out the hearts of those who hurt you. I cannot hand you their severed heads.") should have offset whatever harm his actions may have caused.
New York, New York, Rochester is not, but for a brief Thursday eve, hundreds, nay thousands, even ten thousand stroll the walks, ride horse-drawn carriages, nibble fire-roasted chestnuts, and enjoy caroling along Park Avenue. Pedestrians everywhere, so desperately missing here but for only a moment, romantically conjure bright lights, big city.
Tomorrow, Thursday, 5–9p
Park Avenue, Rochester, New York
Let's do it again!
technorati tags:Rochester, calendar, events, civic, social, urban, urbanism
I don't know what they put in the water cooler at Klein Steel, but perhaps it should be added to the city-wide supply. In addition to employing retired General John Batiste, one of the most vocal critics of the execution of the Iraq war, the CEO, Joseph Klein, isn't afraid to say what he thinks and damn the consequences.
Yesterday, Klein got the "Business Person of the Year" award from the Rochester Business Alliance (i.e., the Chamber of Commerce). Instead of the usual "I want to thank the Academy" speech, he apparently gave a barn-burner, criticizing politicians at the head table and speaking inconvenient truths.
I say "apparently" because the D&C coverage is so focused on the reaction to the speech that it wasn't clear what was so offensive. Here's a bit of what he said:
He noted challenges, including workers' compensation, laws unfavorable to business and the state's lack of job growth[...]"Our young people won't come back because they can't find jobs[.]"
Isn't that just the plain old truth? Are the so-called "leaders" of this burg so goddam calcified and unapproachable that their panties wad up when someone speaks it? And is the "newspaper of record" so far in the Chamber of Commerce's pocket that they would rather cover hurt feelings than the truth itself?
If so, we're in much bigger trouble that even Mr Klein might believe.
Rochesterian Maj Gen (Ret) John Batiste was interviewed this morning on CNN and discussed the Geneva Convention:
Webster Schools have decided to pull Rainbow Boys, a book about gay teen life, from a reading list after parents complained. Apparently, a few moms and dads got the vapors when they saw that the book was part of the summer reading program.
Never mind that little Johnny only has to pick two books from the hundreds of choices, or that he can choose another book by filling out a "permission to read off-list" form. The unadulterated homosexuality of Rainbow Boys polluted that list by its very presence. It was getting gay all over the place, and it had to be stopped!
I guess life is worth living in Webster -- if you're straight. If you're gay, well, not so much.
Thanks to the hard work of Rottenchester, and Phil, as well as some bungling by FarMcKon, the (in)fameous RocWiki.org now has integrated google maps on pages where the address macro is done right (such as Mamasans).
Just click on the "Map" icon in the Page-Title bar, and watch the mysterious magic of javascript unfold.
I <3 Web 2.0.
Over the past few days, I've noticed something kind of funny with my iTunes recommendations list.
"Too big to be small, too small to be big." Those are the words of the owner of the Messenger Post Newspapers , who put those papers up for sale this week. The MPN publishes 10 suburban weekly papers and a daily in the Finger Lakes.
The MPN sale is one indicator change in the traditional media market. Yesterday's launch of Her Rochester, the new Gannett (owners of the D&C) free glossy magazine, is another. Her, and Gannett's other recent experiment, the Insider , represent a big investment in our local media market.
Both of these moves are attempts by large media companies to adjust to Internet-driven media market fragmentation in Rochester. The au courant explanation for this fragmentation is the Long Tail . Or, as the media outlets probably see it, the Rochester herd is no longer happy eating from the same trough.
