On Air Guitar, Jimmy Page: "It Might Get Loud" at Cinemapolis

A contingent of friends and acquaintances from Small World Music/Angry Mom Records enjoyed a foray to Cinemapolis this weekend for the new music movie, "It Might Get Loud".

It is, ostensibly, a documentary about the electric guitar. But it is more about three players: Jimmy Page, the Edge, and Jack White. And, beyond that, it is at heart an exposition of creativity: where it comes from, and how it is sustained.

You don't have to be a music lover to enjoy this film. We are not particularly big fans of any of the three subjects. We will admit to getting a kick out of the portrait of Jimmy Page - because he is presented not as 70's rock god, but 70ish rock fan. A scene of him playing an old 45 on his home record player, and air guitaring along with it, with a big boyish smile, said a lot about what inspired him to begin with, and through all the achievements since.

We will sustain some surprise, which we hope we haven't spoiled in discussing this scene, by declining to reveal the record he plays. (But it is a good one.)

Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog

Suffer Jets Merchandise at Angry Mom Records/Small World Music

The season is over, but roller derby spirit rolls on in Ithaca.

Angry Mom Records/Small World Music has a big, new batch of great-looking, high-quality Suffer Jet merchandise.

T-shirts in different colors and styles are $20 - $25. Beanies are $20 and brimmed wool hats are $25. Bandanas are $6, 2-paks of lapel buttons are $3, 3-packs of tattoos are $2. There are lunch boxes, travel mugs, and more.

Angry Mom Records/Small World Music is in the basement of Autumn Leaves Used Books, 115 The Commons. Hours are 12 - 8 pm Monday through Saturday, 12 - 6 Sundays.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog and Small World Music

For the Fall Classic, Rooting Locally

By defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers and advancing to the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies have done their part to make the Series an all-east coast classic.

Now it is the New York Yankees turn, as they battle the Anaheim Angels for a berth.

The Series would interest us no matter what, but the prospect of such an intensely regional contest as Philly-NY is especially tantalizing, to be sure.

Our friends include strong partisans of either squad. We are already planning where to watch games together, in an atmosphere as of camaraderie, cheer, and occasional slander.

Benchwarmers on the Commons is the favored spot, with multiple screens, comfortable space, good food, pleasant service, and reasonable prices.

Considering the difference a Yankee win should make in their business, we imagine bars throughout the east are making New York Novenas against the Angels this weekend.

may the best team win,
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

"Rhythm and Reading": Poetry and Performance at Cornell Tonight

Ithacan music and literature meet tonight at Cornell in a free performance by some large local luminaries.

The music is provided by Richie Stearns and Johnny Dowd. Readings are offered by H.G. Carrillo, J. Robert Lennon, and Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon.

H.G. Carrillo is a Cornell graduate and the author of popular, if complexly-structured, novels.

J. Robert Lennon lives in Ithaca. His novel, Castle, was favorably reviewed in the New York Times this year. He is also a musician, and his self-released CDs are available at Small World Music, 115 The Commons.

Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon teaches at Cornell. Her most recent book of poems, "Open Interval", has been nominated for the 2009 National Book Award for poetry.

The event is at Barnes Hall at 7:30 pm.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Four Things Visitors Like About Ithaca (And One They Don't)

One of the rewarding experiences in our work for the Ithaca Hours currency system is meeting the many visitors who come to Ithaca to study the system.

As we have mentioned on these pages before, we particularly like seeing Ithaca from a visitor's view, and learning what we take for granted, as well as what could be better.

This past weekend, we had a visitor from Chapel Hill NC, and one from Brooklyn NY. Four things linger in short-term memory of what they really liked about Ithaca. And the one thing they found surprisingly bad.

The good things:
1. the Library Sale. It impressed in size, variety, and in physical quality of the books themselves.

2. the broad recycling and composting options in public places and businesses.

3. the buttered popcorn at Cinemapolis.

4. the little sushi place next door to Autumn Leaves Books. It was our personal first visit. Good quality food at very reasonable prices ($2 cup of miso, e.g.). Our NC visitor went back on her own on Monday.

Monday was also the day of the bad experience in Ithaca, which was: the post office. Our NC guest went there to mail back books she bought at the Library Sale. She stood in line 20 minutes.

It was after this that she went back to the sushi place, to boost herself up.

(Next time we are at the sushi place, which will be soon, we will try to catch the name, and mention same here. Maybe we'll also mention to the owners that they need to trumpet that name a bit more. Usually we notice and retain such critical info.)

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

American Electorate Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama stood in for the American electorate as the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The award goes to American voters for repudiating not just the war-mongering of the Bush adminstration, but politicians such as Hillary Clinton, who voted to wage war against Iraq because it was politically expedient.

Americans gave the world a chance for peace by electing someone as different as anyone could be from George Bush: articulate, intelligent, risen from single-parent poverty to the heights of achievement, a Harvard Law School graduate who rejected money for community organizing.

In 2008, Americans realized the opportunity Obama represented for growth and change. In 2009, the Nobel committee realized the same.

The prize is really for Americans, for making the opportunity a reality by electing Obama. For Obama, it's an encouragement- and a reminder, now, to walk the walk.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Suffer Jets Final Bout on Saturday, 10/10

The Suffer Jets, the female Roller Derby team who have taken Ithaca by storm, have their final bout of the season on Sat. 10 Oct at 7:30 at Cass Rink.

Doors open at 7 pm, and there figures to be a crowd. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Angry Mom Records/Small World Music (home of Ithaca Blog) are discussing marketing arrangements with the Suffer Jets for their stellar merchandise. We hope an in-store appearance by the team will be part of the fun. Check back for details.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Contamination of NY Water: Define, We Guess, Then Prohibit

On the Democracy Now news show today, a representative of the gas industry promoting drilling for natural gas in New York was asked about reports of contamination of water sources in Pennsylvania by the practice.

He said, it depends on your definition of contamination. Not very reassuring.

Maurice Hinchey, Ithaca's representative in Congress, is concerned. He has sponsored legislation, the Frac Act (Fracking Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act), to revoke the gas industry's exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Frac Act would repeal legislation that exempts the industry from disclosing what chemicals it uses in hydraulic fracturing.

That would make it easier to define contamination of the drinking water of millions of New Yorkers. And to prevent it.

In Ithaca, a grassroots group called Shaleshock is at the forefront of citizen activism on issues of chemical drilling of the Marcellus Shale in New York. Their office is on the third floor of Autumn Leaves Books on the Commons. Their website is http://www.shaleshock.org/.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Peter Stampfel at the Spot, 10:30 Thurs.

Late bulletin: Peter Stampfel will be guest performer at a "picking party" after his show at the State Theater tonight. The party is at the Spot coffee shop on E. Seneca St.

Other performers include Johnny Dowd, Richie Stearns, Pat Burke, Steve Selin, et al.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Peter Stampfel Update

Regarding our posting yesterday about Peter Stampfel in Ithaca:

It seems one promoter in town has found an outlet for Mr. Stampel: he will appear tonight with Zoe Stampfel at the State Theater, opening for They Might Be Giants.

We're not sure if another, subterranean gig is still in the offing, or if this appearance will be the only one. We are reasonably certain that another promoter is at least trying to set up something small and homey, as described yesterday.

We will stay on the case as best we can, and post new info if and when we get it.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Reopenings: Lost Dog as Wildfire Lounge; the Rongo as the Rongo

Two popular restaurant/clubs in town have recently re-opened.

The Rongovian Embassy in Trumansburg has new management, but historic identity intact. The Lost Dog Cafe in Ithaca is re-opening this week as the Wildfire Lounge.

Both spots are back with a bang, featuring notable music acts.

The Rongo is hosting the Horse Flies on Thursday and Friday. Thursday's show is all ages and begins at 8 pm. Friday is 21+ and starts at 9.

The Rongo's kitchen is still closed, and last weekend the bar was not operating at full strength.

Wildfire Lounge hosts the Silent League on Saturday. The Silent League, from Brooklyn, features members of Arcade Fire, Beirut, and Mercury Rev. The 18-and-over show is at 9 pm. Admission is only $5.

Peter Stampfel, Underground Old-Time Music Legend, in Ithaca

Peter Stampfel, legendary figure of '60s folk music in New York City, will appear in Ithaca this week.

The time and place are not yet set. Ithaca Blog will have the information as soon as it is available.

Stampfel played, sang, and wrote for the Fugs and the Holy Modal Rounders when, from the Lower East Side, they brought off-color, often off-key anarchy to the Village folk scene. Their rawness - perplexing or distasteful to many - was authentic and liberating to others.

The enfant terrible pose obscured Stampfel's genial nature, able playing, and real devotion to music. He remains a fascinating and fun figure, half a century into his career.

Plans for his visit to Ithaca include collaboration with Johnny Dowd and Richie Stearns, among others.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Keep That Utility Social

Like many people I know, I like Facebook pretty nicely, and look at it when I am near a computer, which is often.

I don't post there very often, though - like unless I am doing something relatively exceptional.

I generally don't feel compelled to alert people to the fact that I have read Paul Krugman's latest column, and supply it so they, too, can be requisitely informed on world topics, until Paul Krugman's next column, which I will also supply when it appears; like it's a secret hard thing to get; maybe I'll send Bob Herbert's, too? Yeesh.

Maybe the reason Facebook is called a social utility is because it prevents the very unsocial in-person reaction that would come from me to any friend who finishes reading a newspaper column and then tells me I gotta gotta gotta gotta read this. At the breakfast counter I might make like James Cagney with the Facegrapefruit.

It's a finite world, so you have to wonder about the things you might have missed, but you saw that YouTube clip of the baby with a big diaper dancing to Beyonce on TV.

It's ironic that it's called YouTube because it has nothing to do with you, personally, except You can have fun wasting time there.

Luckily, for You - and Me - all we have to do to have real, personal, unique experiences is to think. To talk. To choose music we like, and play it. To write: write somebody, write in a journal, write something original for Facebook. To go outside, where it will never again be exactly the way it is right now.

The haughty bird on the lawn will be gone. The sun will be lower, or done.

The Internet can wait. And will, forever, of course. So let it.

be the boss -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Apple Harvest Festival, Ithaca Commons, Fri. 25 - Sun. 27 Sept.

Sometimes it can feel like "another weekend, another festival" in Ithaca, but of course this is supremely short-sighted, as the long, light days recede, and hibernation hovers. This weekend's Apple Harvest Festival is the last big fest of the year, and a nice one.

The homey festival celebrates New York's emblematic fruit in particular, and harvest in general. Agriculture is Tompkins County's second-biggest industry, after education.

There is bounty, and eating. Eating contests, even.

Of course, this being Ithaca, there is also political tabling - for single-payer health insurance, against fracking, etc. If you don't know what fracking is, here's your chance. And of course, being Ithaca, there is plenty of music.

There is Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy - possibly the scorchingly hottest juggler in the land right now, after a long, front-page article about him a few weeks ago in the New York Times Sunday Arts section.

There is a Ferris wheel. (Careful of your candy apple and cotton candy consumption before spinning.)

There is also the new incarnation of Small World Music, earthly home of Ithaca Blog - on the Commons, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, sharing space down there with Angry Mom Records. Steve works there this Saturday, from 12 - 8 pm., and hopes you'll come say hi.

The festival - the 27th annual, by the way - gets going about 10:30, and goes til about 6:30. More info is available at http://www.downtownithaca.com/.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca Hours Live on National Radio, Friday 25 September

On Friday 25 September, Joe Wetmore of Autumn Leaves Books will talk about Ithaca Hours, the local currency, on the Thom Hartmann Radio Progam, the #1-rated progressive radio talk show in the U.S.

The program will broadcast live from Ithaca College. The Ithaca Hours segment is scheduled for some time in the 1:00 hour.

Hartmann's program has over 2 million listeners nationally. It airs locally on WNYY, 1470-AM.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Get Sleep, Not Sick

Regular flu and cold season is approaching, with Ithacans already concerned about the prevalence in town of the H1N1 flu.

One hears the sensible advice to get vaccinated, and wash hands. A recent report by the Archives of Internal Medicine also stresses the importance of sleep.

Their research claims that people sleeping only 5 to 7 hours a night are three times as likely to get sick as those sleeping at least 8.

The main reason seems to be that the body produces more disease-fighting white blood cells in sleep.

Of course, it might also be that, in bed, one is isolated and safe.

Years ago, as a youth at Cornell - now the site of hundreds of cases of H1N1 flu - the smart guys I knew all recognized the value of sleep in fighting sickness, although some of the preferred methods of inducing sleep were probably counter-productive.

One that seemed to have the stamp of medicine was to drink an entire bottle of Nyquil, and then go to sleep for a long, long time, and wake up feeling fresh, but my guess is that the Archives of Internal Medicine did not even consider this an aspect worth studying, and without such reputable research, I can certainly not recommend it.

Instead, we are recommending simple common sense, such as the idea that you won't get sick while sleeping. So forget David Letterman, and go to bed.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Rhine Fest Looks Back, and Forward, On Ithaca's West End

The first annual "Rhiners Festival" celebrates the history of Ithaca's west end waterfront area on Saturday, 19 Sept., from noon until 1 a.m.

The festival is sponsored by the Waterfront District Association and the History Center of Ithaca.

"The Rhine" was an ironic nickname given long ago to the flood-prone flats of Ithaca, far removed from the prosperity of Cornell. The area was home to many of Ithaca's poor, including many houseless.

The festival explores the area's neglected history, and its potential for commercial and community activity.

Ironically, the step-child status of the neighborhood persists. Festival organizes note that the relative lack of parking and bus service in the area make walking to the event perhaps the best transportation.

Details are at www.thehistorycenter.net.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

3rd Annual Porchfest, Sunday 13 Sept.

Celebrating Ithaca life in general, and music in particular, are naturally popular pastimes here. The 3rd annual Porchfest brings these impulses together on Sunday 13 Sept., from 1 - 5:30 pm.

Porchfest is local musicians playing on their own front porches. The event takes place mostly in Fall Creek and Northside.

Participants include Mary Lorson, Hubcap, The Small Kings, The Black Walnuts, Diana Leigh Jazz Trio, The GoCats, Nate and Kate, the Yardvarks, and many more.

The event ends with a party at the Auburn Street Triangle Park. You are invited to bring an instrument to play, and a dish to pass.

Maps are available at GreenStar, Gimme at Cayuga, and www.porchfest.org.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Don't Drink Bees

One of the potential hazards of summer, we realized yesterday, is bee drinking.

We were sitting on the Commons with a visitor from Japan, here to study Ithaca Hours. I had coffee. He had a bottle of Reed's Ginger Ale.

After 45 minutes of nice talk, I went back to work in Small World Music, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books.

All of a sudden, our guest comes running into the building. He had chugged down the corner of his soda, for a stinging sensation stronger than his prior sips. He spit out a mouthful of bees which had apparently descended into his soda bottle while we talked.

He wasn't sure if he had swallowed any. But the ones that had stung his tongue and mouth roof were bad enough, at the moment.

He said he didn't know if he was allergic to bee stings. He had never even been bitten by a Japanese bee.

So I called 911, and they sent all the trappings of an emergency, including a hook and ladder. Apparently this is standard, in case you get so crazy by your bee stings that you set a fire, or jump off a roof.

Anyhow, the emergency professionals were very nice, comforting, and competent. They took our visitor to the emergency room, in case he reacted badly.

We figure, for our part, we can pass along a warning for something we never even thought about before. Let summer be days of soda and pretzels and beer. Not bees.

(By the way, our visitor is fine. As he got into the ambulance, I gave him my card, with home phone, and told him to call if he needed help with anything. He called that night to say he was okay. In halting English, but very sweet, he said his name, and left a message saying, "Maybe you remember me, by, bees in the mouth. I am getting better. Thank you for helping me.")

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Music in Ithaca, Sept. 10 -13

Thursday 10 Sept.: Promotional powerhouse Popcorn Youth presents an all-ages show at the Community School of Music and Arts, with Desolation Wilderness, Mountains, Duane Pitre, Other People, and Tzar. Doors, 7:30. $10, or $8 with student ID.

The Grady Girls and Friends play traditional Irish music at the Scalehouse Brew Pub, 23 Cinema Drive, 7 pm.

* * *

Friday 11 Sept.: The Rozatones, jazz and funk, with Wonderboy. Castaways, 9 pm.

* * *

Saturday 12 Sept.: John Brown's Body and the Black Seeds, at Castaways, 8 pm.

Evil City Trio, with Hank Roberts, the Chapter House, 10 pm.


* * *

Sunday 13 Sept. : Crow Greenspun at Maxie's, 6 pm.

Jennie Lowe Stearns at Felicia's, 7 pm.

have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog