In wondering where Bernie Madoff got the chutzpah to swindle $65 billion from friends and associates, he must have thought they had it coming.
"You can't cheat an honest man," the saying goes. Did any of these people not occasionally suspect they were part of a swindle? Mr. Madoff never gave any information about any investments their profits were coming from, since there were no investments, except investments into his personal lifestyle.
Apparently the swindle is alright with everyone as long as it pays. Someone was getting cheated, but everyone figured it was someone else, which is fair, it seems, in such circles.
We know a lot of hard-working and honest people got caught up in this. We're not saying anyone deserved it, even those who perhaps reckoned it out. We're just speculating, you should pardon the expression, on Madoff's mentality.
The one thing we can't figure out at all is why Mr. Madoff never thought, hey, I could get in a lot of trouble for this.
Maybe it's like smoking. You figure it's going to kill you. But you also figure this particular cigarette is not going to kill you. So, strike a match. Maybe Madoff got ensnared that way: it hasn't hurt me so far. When it starts to, I'll deal with it.
He must have been charming, because he doesn't seem smart. He hired for his defense a lawyer whose parents once invested money with him. He gets a sentence of 150 years. I could have gotten him that. Maybe this particular lawyer, for some reason, wasn't trying too hard.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ithaca Music, June 25 - 28
Thurs. 6/25: It's raining sweet peas and horseshit, as Grandma used to say, which probably puts the kibosh on tonight's free music on the Commons by Jimkata, scheduled for 6 pm. But it should clear up in time for Steve Selin and the Creek Dippers, 7:30 at Six Mile Creek Vineyard; and a 10 pm triple-bill at Castaways, of Driftwood, Hee Haw Nightmare, and Nate & Kate.
* * *
Fri. 6/26: Free music on Cornell's Arts Quad by Sim Redmond Band, 7:30 pm.
Modern rock - not the WVBR kind, but the Brooklyn/Baltimore sort - with Magic Markers, Mouthus, and American Sphinx, at the Lost Dog, 9 pm.
* * *
Sat. 6/27: Boy With A Fish and Mary Lorson at Castaways, 10 pm.
* * *
Sun. 6/28: a winery gig by Urban Horse Thieves, at Americana Vineyards, 4 pm.
Dee Specker and Tres Swing at Maxie's, 6 pm.
Johnny Dowd Project at Felicia's, 7 pm.
have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
* * *
Fri. 6/26: Free music on Cornell's Arts Quad by Sim Redmond Band, 7:30 pm.
Modern rock - not the WVBR kind, but the Brooklyn/Baltimore sort - with Magic Markers, Mouthus, and American Sphinx, at the Lost Dog, 9 pm.
* * *
Sat. 6/27: Boy With A Fish and Mary Lorson at Castaways, 10 pm.
* * *
Sun. 6/28: a winery gig by Urban Horse Thieves, at Americana Vineyards, 4 pm.
Dee Specker and Tres Swing at Maxie's, 6 pm.
Johnny Dowd Project at Felicia's, 7 pm.
have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
TCAT To Accept Ithaca Hours
After a meeting last month with the Ithaca Hours Board, TCAT has announced the county's bus system will start accepting Hours for fares.
Details are still unformed. Most likely, Hours will at first be accepted as partial payment for passes, rather than in the fare box.
Time magazine is researching an article on community currencies across the country, and suggests that this is the first collaboration between a community currency and a government entity.
The Time article is scheduled for publication this month.
Developing details about Hours and TCAT will be posted on www.ithacahours.org.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Details are still unformed. Most likely, Hours will at first be accepted as partial payment for passes, rather than in the fare box.
Time magazine is researching an article on community currencies across the country, and suggests that this is the first collaboration between a community currency and a government entity.
The Time article is scheduled for publication this month.
Developing details about Hours and TCAT will be posted on www.ithacahours.org.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Music Writer Jim Catalano Leaves Ithaca Journal
Jim Catalano announced in his music column in today's Ithaca Journal that he is leaving the paper, "due to the continuing cutbacks."
Jim has edited the Journal's weekly "Ticket" entertainment section since 2003, and written about music for the paper since 1992.
Jim has been a major contributor to the local music scene, as a champion of local musicians and venues.
It's a sad and pound-foolish move by the Journal. A lot of local businesses - many of them Journal advertisers - relied on Jim's press. A lot of readers only consistently buy the Journal on Thursdays, for the Ticket.
Jim's work was always constructive, instructive, and comprehensive, and will be missed.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Jim has edited the Journal's weekly "Ticket" entertainment section since 2003, and written about music for the paper since 1992.
Jim has been a major contributor to the local music scene, as a champion of local musicians and venues.
It's a sad and pound-foolish move by the Journal. A lot of local businesses - many of them Journal advertisers - relied on Jim's press. A lot of readers only consistently buy the Journal on Thursdays, for the Ticket.
Jim's work was always constructive, instructive, and comprehensive, and will be missed.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Ithaca Observations By Outsiders
You know how it is, that other people can sometimes see your situation clearer than you can. It goes for cities as well as people, we reckoned, in the midst of a visit this week from some friends who moved away from Ithaca five years ago after a brief tenure here, and were making their first return.
The observations are pedestrian rather than poignant, maybe, but usually we prefer that.
1. There is a lot of good food, close together, in Ithaca. On Tuesday, we bought an early take-away lunch from Collegetown Bagels on Aurora Street. We also wanted some fruit, so we went a block, to GreenStar Oasis in the Dewitt Mall, and got organic peaches and local apples. We noticed that the Farmers Market was setting up at Dewitt Park, so we went there and bought strawberries from an Amish vendor. Then we noticed the beautiful offerings from Macro Mama. So we bought another whole lunch. Why not? Dinner was hours away.
2. Restaurants are noisy. Lost Dog, Viva, and Maxie's all had decibel levels that challenged conversation. At Lost Dog, it was the piped-in music; at Viva, the structure: close-together tables, and brick walls with bad acoustic properties; Maxie's, live music that was a little too amplified (but was ultimately adjusted). On the other hand, Moosewood is quiet - the cafe part, at least, where the seat-spacing is generous. (We discovered there a killer house specialty tea, of ginger, with a splash of lemon and orange juices. We went back for it a second night.)
3. Cops can be genteel. We were misery-lighted down for, oops, driving without lights (at 10:30 pm). The driver, a high-strung type (charmingly so, though) started "shit, shitting" as she pulled over. The passenger, who comes from cops, partly, said, don't worry, just explain it's a rental, and you're unfamiliar with it. All he really wants to know is if you're drinking. (We weren't.) The officer asked for license and registration, and the driver couldn't produce the registration for the rental (for her nerves); so the cop just asked if she had a clean record. She said yes. "You haven't had anything to drink, have you?," he asked. She said no. He said, turn on your lights, and have a nice night.
4. Politics Pervade. There is a Peace and Justice Gift Shop on the Commons. The 10,000 Villages fair-trade franchise in Ithaca is, per capita, the organization's highest-grossing store. Gas stations have organic coffee. Every friend our guests called had to check their meeting schedules, for various political, civic, and volunteer groups, before making plans.
I have a GreenStar meeting to attend now. (True!) And I'll be coming back with triple-filtered water, in a refilled gallon jug, for 25 cents, to brew locally-roasted Gimme coffee in my local/world music shop (oh, yes, another observation: there is a lot of music here).
Thanks to our friends for their good-natured subjecthood -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The observations are pedestrian rather than poignant, maybe, but usually we prefer that.
1. There is a lot of good food, close together, in Ithaca. On Tuesday, we bought an early take-away lunch from Collegetown Bagels on Aurora Street. We also wanted some fruit, so we went a block, to GreenStar Oasis in the Dewitt Mall, and got organic peaches and local apples. We noticed that the Farmers Market was setting up at Dewitt Park, so we went there and bought strawberries from an Amish vendor. Then we noticed the beautiful offerings from Macro Mama. So we bought another whole lunch. Why not? Dinner was hours away.
2. Restaurants are noisy. Lost Dog, Viva, and Maxie's all had decibel levels that challenged conversation. At Lost Dog, it was the piped-in music; at Viva, the structure: close-together tables, and brick walls with bad acoustic properties; Maxie's, live music that was a little too amplified (but was ultimately adjusted). On the other hand, Moosewood is quiet - the cafe part, at least, where the seat-spacing is generous. (We discovered there a killer house specialty tea, of ginger, with a splash of lemon and orange juices. We went back for it a second night.)
3. Cops can be genteel. We were misery-lighted down for, oops, driving without lights (at 10:30 pm). The driver, a high-strung type (charmingly so, though) started "shit, shitting" as she pulled over. The passenger, who comes from cops, partly, said, don't worry, just explain it's a rental, and you're unfamiliar with it. All he really wants to know is if you're drinking. (We weren't.) The officer asked for license and registration, and the driver couldn't produce the registration for the rental (for her nerves); so the cop just asked if she had a clean record. She said yes. "You haven't had anything to drink, have you?," he asked. She said no. He said, turn on your lights, and have a nice night.
4. Politics Pervade. There is a Peace and Justice Gift Shop on the Commons. The 10,000 Villages fair-trade franchise in Ithaca is, per capita, the organization's highest-grossing store. Gas stations have organic coffee. Every friend our guests called had to check their meeting schedules, for various political, civic, and volunteer groups, before making plans.
I have a GreenStar meeting to attend now. (True!) And I'll be coming back with triple-filtered water, in a refilled gallon jug, for 25 cents, to brew locally-roasted Gimme coffee in my local/world music shop (oh, yes, another observation: there is a lot of music here).
Thanks to our friends for their good-natured subjecthood -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Free Movies Tonight at New Cinemapolis
Tonight, Cinemapolis celebrates the opening of its new, bigger theater with free screenings of 5 classic movies.
In betaalphacal order, the movies are The Last Waltz, Little Miss Sunshine, City Lights, Cinema Paradiso, and Chinatown.
Check www.cinemapolis.org for screening times, and details about the new facility, located behind Ithaca Center, on the street level of the Green Street parking structure.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
In betaalphacal order, the movies are The Last Waltz, Little Miss Sunshine, City Lights, Cinema Paradiso, and Chinatown.
Check www.cinemapolis.org for screening times, and details about the new facility, located behind Ithaca Center, on the street level of the Green Street parking structure.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Friday, June 12, 2009
Ithaca Weekend: Outsiders Looking (and Coming) In
We have a couple of friends, ex-Ithacans, visiting this week, and we thought it might be instructive to tell some of what erstwhilers plan to do while here on a long weekend.
Friday 6/12: (1) June Drucker and Friends at Felicia's happy hour, 5:30 pm. (2) NHL Stanley Cup final, and Mets vs. Yankees, at Benchwarmers.
Saturday 6/13: (1) Lunch from GreenStar and Wegman's for trip to Buttermilk Falls. (2) Short winery tour, as far as Sheldrake, at least. (3.)Movie at new Cinemapolis?
Sun. 6/14: The Hold Steady at Castaways, 8 pm.
Mon. 6/15: Benefit Dinner for ABC Cafe, 6 pm.
Tues. 6/16: Maxie's Shuck'n'Jive, with music by Crow Greenspun, 6 pm. Traditional Irish Music at Chapter House, starting at 7 pm.
gia sou -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blo0g
Friday 6/12: (1) June Drucker and Friends at Felicia's happy hour, 5:30 pm. (2) NHL Stanley Cup final, and Mets vs. Yankees, at Benchwarmers.
Saturday 6/13: (1) Lunch from GreenStar and Wegman's for trip to Buttermilk Falls. (2) Short winery tour, as far as Sheldrake, at least. (3.)Movie at new Cinemapolis?
Sun. 6/14: The Hold Steady at Castaways, 8 pm.
Mon. 6/15: Benefit Dinner for ABC Cafe, 6 pm.
Tues. 6/16: Maxie's Shuck'n'Jive, with music by Crow Greenspun, 6 pm. Traditional Irish Music at Chapter House, starting at 7 pm.
gia sou -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blo0g
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Roxana Robinson, Award-Winning Author, Reads in Ithaca, June 20
Acclaimed author Roxana Robinson comes to Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca on Saturday 20 June for a reading and signing of her novel, "Cost", which is newly issued in paperback.
"Cost" was named among best books of the year by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Washington Post, which named it #1.
"Cost" is the story of an accomplished family in idyllic Maine suddenly confronted with the heroin addiction of a son in Brooklyn.
We find Ms. Robinson's writing elegant and pleasurable even when her subjects are discomforting. The Wall Street Journal says it is "both lyrical and unsentimental" and "of uncommon stature."
We are told that her public readings are, similarly, exceptionally good.
The reading is at 3 pm. For more information, contact Buffalo Street Books - the new name of the Bookery II in the Dewitt Mall.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
"Cost" was named among best books of the year by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Washington Post, which named it #1.
"Cost" is the story of an accomplished family in idyllic Maine suddenly confronted with the heroin addiction of a son in Brooklyn.
We find Ms. Robinson's writing elegant and pleasurable even when her subjects are discomforting. The Wall Street Journal says it is "both lyrical and unsentimental" and "of uncommon stature."
We are told that her public readings are, similarly, exceptionally good.
The reading is at 3 pm. For more information, contact Buffalo Street Books - the new name of the Bookery II in the Dewitt Mall.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Lou and Peter Berryman: Fun Music at New Venue in Old Church
A folk music duo featuring a guy on guitar and a woman on a piano accordion probably ought to be very serious or else very funny.
Tom Paxton says of Lou and Peter Berryman, "They don't come any funnier." Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion (where they have been repeat guests) calls them "a couple of wonderful songwriters."
L & PB come to Ithaca on Thursday 25 June for a 7:30 pm concert.
Or, actually, to Enfield. Yes, Enfield, at a new performance venue in an old church, at 7 Enfield Center Road West.
The performance is a benefit for the new locale, called the McMillan Art Center.
Tickets are $15 at the door. There are no advance tickets. Cornell Folk Song Society members get a 20% discount.
For more information, check www.mcmillanartcenter.com or www.louandpeter.com, or call 277-3147, or 330-1892.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tom Paxton says of Lou and Peter Berryman, "They don't come any funnier." Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion (where they have been repeat guests) calls them "a couple of wonderful songwriters."
L & PB come to Ithaca on Thursday 25 June for a 7:30 pm concert.
Or, actually, to Enfield. Yes, Enfield, at a new performance venue in an old church, at 7 Enfield Center Road West.
The performance is a benefit for the new locale, called the McMillan Art Center.
Tickets are $15 at the door. There are no advance tickets. Cornell Folk Song Society members get a 20% discount.
For more information, check www.mcmillanartcenter.com or www.louandpeter.com, or call 277-3147, or 330-1892.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Super Sale at Small World Music for Ithaca Blog Readers
From now (3:45 pm Thurs.) through the end of our weekend here at Small World Music (6 pm Saturday), we are offering you, dear Ithaca Blog readers, sale prices of 25% off all new CDs, and 50% off all used CDs, and all LPs.
This means literally thousands of titles, you know. It could really blow your mind. But not your bank account.
The only fine print exception is new CDs by local artists. We can't mess with their monies. But we will take 10 % off local CDs, out of our modest cut.
One more bit of fine print - the sale is for you Ithaca Blog readers, and not advertised anywhere else, including in the store. So, just mention the offer to get it. Ask and receive, so to speak.
We hope to see you here at Small World Music, down the driveway (not facing the street) here at 614 W. State St., between Meadow and Fulton Streets, across the street from Kinko's and Finger Lakes Beverage. You can save enough here to go buy beer and make copies, too.
Steve Burke
for Small World Music
and Ithaca NY Blog
This means literally thousands of titles, you know. It could really blow your mind. But not your bank account.
The only fine print exception is new CDs by local artists. We can't mess with their monies. But we will take 10 % off local CDs, out of our modest cut.
One more bit of fine print - the sale is for you Ithaca Blog readers, and not advertised anywhere else, including in the store. So, just mention the offer to get it. Ask and receive, so to speak.
We hope to see you here at Small World Music, down the driveway (not facing the street) here at 614 W. State St., between Meadow and Fulton Streets, across the street from Kinko's and Finger Lakes Beverage. You can save enough here to go buy beer and make copies, too.
Steve Burke
for Small World Music
and Ithaca NY Blog
Weekend Picks in Ithaca, June 5 - 7
Fri. 6/5:
ABC Cafe has benefit performances tonight and tomorrow for itself, trying to pay off some debts before its closure this month. Tonight is a bayou dance party with Zydeco Trail Riders. 9 pm.
* * *
Sat. 6/6:
GrassRoots favorite and emerging star (or emerged, already) Eilen Jewell, at the Rongovian Embassy, 8 pm.
The Macgillicuddies reunite, at least for the night, at Castaways. 9 pm.
Another benefit performance for the ABC, at the ABC, with Les Forces Atomique, Johnny Dowd, Rocket Morton, Ken Hallett, and Cosmo Alpern. 10 pm.
* * *
Sun 6/7:
Teachers Lounge provides extra incentive for making a foray to the wine trail. At the Americana Winery, which features a comfortable listening room with modest food offerings and good libations. 4 pm.
cheers
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
ABC Cafe has benefit performances tonight and tomorrow for itself, trying to pay off some debts before its closure this month. Tonight is a bayou dance party with Zydeco Trail Riders. 9 pm.
* * *
Sat. 6/6:
GrassRoots favorite and emerging star (or emerged, already) Eilen Jewell, at the Rongovian Embassy, 8 pm.
The Macgillicuddies reunite, at least for the night, at Castaways. 9 pm.
Another benefit performance for the ABC, at the ABC, with Les Forces Atomique, Johnny Dowd, Rocket Morton, Ken Hallett, and Cosmo Alpern. 10 pm.
* * *
Sun 6/7:
Teachers Lounge provides extra incentive for making a foray to the wine trail. At the Americana Winery, which features a comfortable listening room with modest food offerings and good libations. 4 pm.
cheers
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Bikes, Yikes: the Extremes of Expertise
In his new book, "Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities", Jeff Mapes suggests that the growth of biking for ordinary people is thwarted somewhat by the image of bikers as spandexed gearheads obsessed with equipment, paraphernalia, and feats of endurance - more a cult than fellow travelers.
Not that our own personal bike is like an Irish farmer's, which it is, nor that we ride about as fast as one coming from (not going to) the publican's (we're just trying not to make everyone else look shabby). But we understand Mr. Mapes's point.
It hit home today when we saw an ad for a bike on Craigslist. It advertised a Fuji Espree, with "steel-lugged, 45-centimeter frame", "12-speed Sountour ARX derailleurs", and "Dia-compe 500 brakes".
Because we don't know what any of that means, except "brakes," we figured this is probably a $500 vehicle. Right?
Wrong. It is an $80 bike.
To us, these are the specs for an $80 bike:
"White. Wobbly. Upright handlebars, not the curled-over kind. Brakes on handlebars, plus on peddles."
We would feel comfortable buying that. Not the one we have to study on before climbing on.
It reminds us of an interview we read once with Paul McCartney, the prominent bass guitarist, in a specialty magazine for musicians. They asked Mr. McCartney what kind of strings he used.
"Silver, I think," he said.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog
Not that our own personal bike is like an Irish farmer's, which it is, nor that we ride about as fast as one coming from (not going to) the publican's (we're just trying not to make everyone else look shabby). But we understand Mr. Mapes's point.
It hit home today when we saw an ad for a bike on Craigslist. It advertised a Fuji Espree, with "steel-lugged, 45-centimeter frame", "12-speed Sountour ARX derailleurs", and "Dia-compe 500 brakes".
Because we don't know what any of that means, except "brakes," we figured this is probably a $500 vehicle. Right?
Wrong. It is an $80 bike.
To us, these are the specs for an $80 bike:
"White. Wobbly. Upright handlebars, not the curled-over kind. Brakes on handlebars, plus on peddles."
We would feel comfortable buying that. Not the one we have to study on before climbing on.
It reminds us of an interview we read once with Paul McCartney, the prominent bass guitarist, in a specialty magazine for musicians. They asked Mr. McCartney what kind of strings he used.
"Silver, I think," he said.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog
Thursday, May 28, 2009
J. Robert Lennon: Good Notice For Ithaca Author
J. Robert Lennon is an author living in Ithaca, who writes about it, in a sense, tempered by an imagination that sees mystery and trouble in the mundane life of a small (and officially fictional) upstate town.
His two most recent books, "Castle" and "Pieces For the Left Hand: 100 Anecdotes", received good notice in the NY Times this week.
The Times cites a dichotomy in Lennon's work, calling it both "morbid" and "fun."
Lennon will be interviewed tonight on Out of Bounds With Tish Pearlman, the weekly interview program on WEOS radio. The program will also be archived on the WEOS website.
Lennon is also a musician, recording under the name Inverse Room. His recording "Pieces For The Left Hand: 100 Songs" is advertised as "a musical companion" to his book. It is available at Small World Music, in the store or by mail order.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
His two most recent books, "Castle" and "Pieces For the Left Hand: 100 Anecdotes", received good notice in the NY Times this week.
The Times cites a dichotomy in Lennon's work, calling it both "morbid" and "fun."
Lennon will be interviewed tonight on Out of Bounds With Tish Pearlman, the weekly interview program on WEOS radio. The program will also be archived on the WEOS website.
Lennon is also a musician, recording under the name Inverse Room. His recording "Pieces For The Left Hand: 100 Songs" is advertised as "a musical companion" to his book. It is available at Small World Music, in the store or by mail order.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Ithaca Festival Highlights
Everyone knows, we guess, about the financial woes from the over-reaching Ithaca Festival of 2008.
The Fest is still here, thanks to some massive, active good will and acts of charity. It needs and deserves everyone's support, so by all means, buy a button, smile, and get out there to celebrate our community.
Some highlights, by our lights:
Thursday: The lead event is the Parade, which we think is the hippest part of the whole fest. Not many towns our size have enough going on to throw an hour-long parade in homage to their own character(s), communities, and causes. The parade starts moving south on North Cayuga Street at 6:30. Integral to the parade each year is a happenstance of rain. Be prepared.
* * *
Friday: Irish music doesn't get much reeler or more jiggy than with Traonach. At the Aurora Street Pavilion on the Commons, 4:30.
The TalkToMes play that cockamamie local style in the Bernie Milton Pavilion at 6:30.
Adonai and I scratch that Hebrew-reggae itch. Aurora St., 7:30.
* * *
Saturday: Is it really the return of the Hog Tie Sessions? Bernie Milton Pavilion, 4:30.
Pan-Gypsy music from Gadje, Cayuga Street, 5:30.
Mike Brindisi and the New York Rock, and they do, on Aurora Street, 6:30.
* * *
Sunday, at Stewart Park.
All day long goes a new Jam Tent, featuring varied styles: Folk (noon), Bluegrass(1:00), Old-Time (2:30), Contra (4:00), Cajun (5:30), and Irish (7:00).
Jomo and Johnnycake play jug band music with an assortment of instruments, some they've invented, and a yodeling dog. Small Pavilion, noon.
Jali Jobateh plays Malian music on kora. Large Pavilion, 4 pm.
Ithaca's ambassadors, the Sim Redmond Band, on the Ballpark Stage at 8 pm.
have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The Fest is still here, thanks to some massive, active good will and acts of charity. It needs and deserves everyone's support, so by all means, buy a button, smile, and get out there to celebrate our community.
Some highlights, by our lights:
Thursday: The lead event is the Parade, which we think is the hippest part of the whole fest. Not many towns our size have enough going on to throw an hour-long parade in homage to their own character(s), communities, and causes. The parade starts moving south on North Cayuga Street at 6:30. Integral to the parade each year is a happenstance of rain. Be prepared.
* * *
Friday: Irish music doesn't get much reeler or more jiggy than with Traonach. At the Aurora Street Pavilion on the Commons, 4:30.
The TalkToMes play that cockamamie local style in the Bernie Milton Pavilion at 6:30.
Adonai and I scratch that Hebrew-reggae itch. Aurora St., 7:30.
* * *
Saturday: Is it really the return of the Hog Tie Sessions? Bernie Milton Pavilion, 4:30.
Pan-Gypsy music from Gadje, Cayuga Street, 5:30.
Mike Brindisi and the New York Rock, and they do, on Aurora Street, 6:30.
* * *
Sunday, at Stewart Park.
All day long goes a new Jam Tent, featuring varied styles: Folk (noon), Bluegrass(1:00), Old-Time (2:30), Contra (4:00), Cajun (5:30), and Irish (7:00).
Jomo and Johnnycake play jug band music with an assortment of instruments, some they've invented, and a yodeling dog. Small Pavilion, noon.
Jali Jobateh plays Malian music on kora. Large Pavilion, 4 pm.
Ithaca's ambassadors, the Sim Redmond Band, on the Ballpark Stage at 8 pm.
have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
YouTube Film: Timmy Brown at GrassRoots, 2003
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xn1dK7vt1Y
As posted by Timothy's good friend, my brother Patrick.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
As posted by Timothy's good friend, my brother Patrick.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Friday, May 22, 2009
Music in Ithaca, May 22 - 24
Friday 5/22: noted folkie Jamie Notarthomas does a tribute show for Bob Dylan's birthday, a tradition at Castaways. 8 pm.
* * *
Saturday 5/23: There is likely to be music at the gathering for the late Timmy Brown (see previous post), which starts at 3 pm and will likely last late.
Andy Culpepper receives favorable notice in this week's Ithaca Times for his CD of flamenco guitar. He plays at the Smart Monkey Cafe on Elmira Road at 6:30.
Hee Haw Nightmare plays rollicking old time at Castaways. Lazy Devil opens the 9 pm
show.
* * *
Sunday 5/24: Mary Lorson leads a new band, the Soubrettes, at Felicia's, 7 pm.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
* * *
Saturday 5/23: There is likely to be music at the gathering for the late Timmy Brown (see previous post), which starts at 3 pm and will likely last late.
Andy Culpepper receives favorable notice in this week's Ithaca Times for his CD of flamenco guitar. He plays at the Smart Monkey Cafe on Elmira Road at 6:30.
Hee Haw Nightmare plays rollicking old time at Castaways. Lazy Devil opens the 9 pm
show.
* * *
Sunday 5/24: Mary Lorson leads a new band, the Soubrettes, at Felicia's, 7 pm.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Gathering For Timmy Brown, Sat. 23 May
Friends of Timmy Brown will gather in his memory on Saturday 23 May, starting at 3 pm, at the off-site campground of the GrassRoots Festival, on Agard Road, a half-mile east of Route 96.
Everyone is invited, and encouraged to bring food or drink to share.
There will be a bonfire at nightfall.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Everyone is invited, and encouraged to bring food or drink to share.
There will be a bonfire at nightfall.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Timmy Brown, Rest In Peace
We have received a visit and then an e-mail from close friends of Timmy Brown to tell us that Timmy passed away early this morning.
Timmy had been battling the effects of a brain aneurysm, as noted here in Ithaca Blog over the past months.
Recently, reports came from Timmy's caretakers in North Carolina that Timmy had taken a turn for the worse and his prognosis was not good.
Timmy was an influential and beloved musician in Ithaca since the 1970's.
Like many others, we admired Timmy's musicianship and spirit, and were proud to call him friend.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog
Timmy had been battling the effects of a brain aneurysm, as noted here in Ithaca Blog over the past months.
Recently, reports came from Timmy's caretakers in North Carolina that Timmy had taken a turn for the worse and his prognosis was not good.
Timmy was an influential and beloved musician in Ithaca since the 1970's.
Like many others, we admired Timmy's musicianship and spirit, and were proud to call him friend.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog
Friday, May 15, 2009
It Takes A Lot To Lead, It Takes Dick Cheney To Mislead
A corollary to the idea that it takes a lot to laugh, but not much to cry (yesterday's discussion) is that it's a lot easier to do bad than good.
Doing good is relatively static and cumulative. It's hard to do a whole lot of noticeable good at once. You can in sports, where with one stroke you can win a contest and make people love you, and they even keep records of it. But of course it's not a very important kind of good.
Doing bad is more immediate. It's explosive. It satisfies itches, from the simple and biological, to the complex and pathological.
Thus, in public life, it is easier to be Dick Cheney than Barack Obama.
Barack Obama is obviously not antithetical to money and power, but his values seem higher, reflecting a background battling poverty and prejudice. His successes have been in spite of challenges, not because of privilege. Against the odds, he went to Harvard Law School. He graduated at the top of his class. He went to work not on Wall Street, but as a community organizer.
That type of character makes it harder to get things done in politics than for a man like Cheney, where lust for money and power fuels a career of destruction, lying, and hate.
Obama is having a hard time finding his way now that he represents insiders at least as much as outsiders. This is why he doesn't support single-payer health care anymore, as he did as a community organizer. Now he has to represent the current health care industry as well as people, and the industry is rather more focused in its demands and its ability to extract them.
It seems the thing for us to do now is to recognize the realities of power, and keep calling out, so Obama might recall his way of old.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Doing good is relatively static and cumulative. It's hard to do a whole lot of noticeable good at once. You can in sports, where with one stroke you can win a contest and make people love you, and they even keep records of it. But of course it's not a very important kind of good.
Doing bad is more immediate. It's explosive. It satisfies itches, from the simple and biological, to the complex and pathological.
Thus, in public life, it is easier to be Dick Cheney than Barack Obama.
Barack Obama is obviously not antithetical to money and power, but his values seem higher, reflecting a background battling poverty and prejudice. His successes have been in spite of challenges, not because of privilege. Against the odds, he went to Harvard Law School. He graduated at the top of his class. He went to work not on Wall Street, but as a community organizer.
That type of character makes it harder to get things done in politics than for a man like Cheney, where lust for money and power fuels a career of destruction, lying, and hate.
Obama is having a hard time finding his way now that he represents insiders at least as much as outsiders. This is why he doesn't support single-payer health care anymore, as he did as a community organizer. Now he has to represent the current health care industry as well as people, and the industry is rather more focused in its demands and its ability to extract them.
It seems the thing for us to do now is to recognize the realities of power, and keep calling out, so Obama might recall his way of old.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Senor Wences Versus Ennui, Via Dylan
Somehow, in the past few weeks, we've twice been asked about the meaning of the Bob Dylan song title, "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry."
Maybe this is not so unusual when one works in a music environment. Certainly it will be much less usual outside such an environ, so it will not exactly be a red-hot service to clarify this matter publicly, but we will do so anyway, as it happens to be raining, and a little slow in this music environment at the moment.
Here's what we wrote on our friend Mike Hanson's "Facebook" page about it. Mike plays banjo, and occasionally puzzles over Bob Dylan.
"It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry" means that life is essentially sad. How much in life reliably makes us laugh and feel joy? Not much. Senor Wences, and that's about it. But all it takes is something as mundane as a train (lonesome whistle; going away) to make us sad.
So, the more explicit song title would be, "It Takes A Lot To Make One Laugh, Or Feel Life's Joy, But It Takes No More Than the Mere Thought Of an Ordinary Transportation Vehicle, For One Example, To Make Us Feel, Quite Disproportionately, the Fundamental Tragedy of Life"; but that would be too long.
(P.S. Senor Wences was a big guy in my hometown, NYC. The block of 54th Street where he lived is named for him. He died in 1999 at age 103.)
Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YJLGOBLvfE)
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Maybe this is not so unusual when one works in a music environment. Certainly it will be much less usual outside such an environ, so it will not exactly be a red-hot service to clarify this matter publicly, but we will do so anyway, as it happens to be raining, and a little slow in this music environment at the moment.
Here's what we wrote on our friend Mike Hanson's "Facebook" page about it. Mike plays banjo, and occasionally puzzles over Bob Dylan.
"It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry" means that life is essentially sad. How much in life reliably makes us laugh and feel joy? Not much. Senor Wences, and that's about it. But all it takes is something as mundane as a train (lonesome whistle; going away) to make us sad.
So, the more explicit song title would be, "It Takes A Lot To Make One Laugh, Or Feel Life's Joy, But It Takes No More Than the Mere Thought Of an Ordinary Transportation Vehicle, For One Example, To Make Us Feel, Quite Disproportionately, the Fundamental Tragedy of Life"; but that would be too long.
(P.S. Senor Wences was a big guy in my hometown, NYC. The block of 54th Street where he lived is named for him. He died in 1999 at age 103.)
Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YJLGOBLvfE)
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
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