Seeing Signs For No Fracking

We had some friends from Brooklyn here for the weekend. Sunday we enjoyed the Porchfest in Fall Creek.

Most Ithacans probably take for granted the creativity behind such an event. Our friends didn't. They were impressed by the do-it-yourselfness and sociability.

As we strolled the neighborhood, what also came to light is the political activism in Ithaca. Alongside the "Porchfest" signs on many porches were "No Fracking" signs on lawns.

Our friends didn't know what this was. A quick explanation brought no flicker of recognition. But the next time they hear of it - which they inevitably will, downstate - they will remember.

The signs are a good way to spread the word about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing in our area. They are available for a $5 donation from the Shaleshock group organizing opposition to fracking.

Shaleshock's office space is in the Peace and Justice Center, on the 3rd floor 115 The Commons (in Autumn Leaves Books).

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Rhinefest and Porchfest Weekend, Sept. 11 & 12

Ithaca is a festive place, and this weekend brings two newish but seemingly entrenched celebrations of Ithaca neighborhoods, one past and one present.

On Saturday, the 2nd annual Rhinefest honors the historic West End waterfront district, once a rough and tumble area known ironically as the Rhine. The festival features costumed street theater, a silent movie hall, an antique car show, and lake cruises. In the evening there is a "speakeasy" recreation at Castaways, featuring musical group the Bill Murray Experience.

On Sunday, the 4th annual Porchfest brings local musicians out of their houses and onto their porches for performance. More than 70 musical acts participate in the event, scheduled from 1 to 5:30 p.m., in the Fall Creek and Northside neighborhoods.

After the ambulatory listening, there will be picnics, and more music, in the Auburn Street triangle park.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Labor Day Picnic at Stewart Park

The Tompkins County Workers Center sponsors its 27th annual Labor Day picnic at Stewart Park next Monday, 6 September, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

TCWC provides beverages, ice cream, and a cook-out that includes vegetarian fare.

There are speakers, awards, games for children, and music by local hip-hop artists, Gunpoets.

For more information, call the Workers Center, 269-0409.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Cuomo Wants It Both Ways, Three Ways

Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for New York governor, came to Ithaca last week and proved a politician, but no leader.

At least two hundred people turned out for his appearance, on a weekday morning. The main issue was the proposed drilling for gas with toxic chemicals, called fracking, in our area by corporations such as Halliburton.

Cuomo tries to have it both ways on the issue. He does not oppose fracking. Unless, he says, it is unsafe. But he does not say what he thinks about safety issues, nor what he would do to ensure safety.

Mr. Cuomo met some boistrous criticism here in activist Ithaca. On the issue of activism, he also tries to have it both ways. He lauded his critics. Activism is "so important," he said. But not important enough to let anyone speak at his meeting - not even to ask a question.

That is the third way Mr. Cuomo tries to have it both ways. He styles himself an anti-politician, while his tactics are those of the ultimate hack.


Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Independent Record Label In Ithaca

Angry Mom Records, Ithaca's independent vinyl and CD store, is creating a record label for local artists of note.

The new label celebrates its first releases with a concert by its artists at the Chapter House, Saturday 21 August.

AwesomeAwesomes, BLOW!, and Johnny Dowd will perform.

The event begins at 9:45 p.m.

More details are available on Angry Mom's page on Facebook, and in this week's Ithaca Times.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Andrew Cuomo Meeting (Demonstration?), Thurs. 19 August

Danny Burns, a prominent community activist in Ithaca, reports that Andrew Cuomo, candidate for governor in New York, is a supporter of chemical gas drilling in upstate New York, and that Cuomo will visit Ithaca on a campaign tour on Thursday, 19 August.

It is a good opportunity for upstaters to demonstrate their opposition to the drilling planned by Halliburton and other energy corporations.

According to Danny, Cuomo's visit is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Women's Community Building.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

New Poetry Magazine For Ithaca?

Recently we read again, after many years, a book of poems by an old teacher of ours at Cornell, and realized after a while that the poems stunk, although we still like the guy all right.

We figure everyone has bad as well as good poems in them, and it is good to get them out, either way.

Our old teacher might have been suffering compared to Yeats, whom we had been reading, and is always good, whether you know Irish mythology or not. We don't, but admire how his poems sound, and the fact that he seems to be trying to say things, not hide things.

We have a friend in Ithaca who is a serious poet, by which we mean hard-working, and he is planning a new poetry magazine, which is laudable, and while it might seem anachronistic, we hope and trust it isn't.

We think that poetry is poised to make a comeback, as peoples' attention might swing back from the Internet. The Internet is not going away, and is fine, but it tends to favor and feature the new and immediate, rather than the lasting.

Poetry lasts. It does not need a link. Its link is the mind.

We don't want to jinx our friend's project any more than we already have. We will keep you posted on the prospects for the new magazine as they come around.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Roller Derby "Wheel-A-Thon" Benefit, Sat. 31 July

Women's roller derby returns to Cass Park this Saturday with a benefit bout featuring Ithaca's new BlueStockings team, mentored by the veteran Suffer Jets.

So far this season, Ithaca teams have played their home bouts in Cortland. Renovations to their true home in Cass Park are now complete.

Special pre-bout events include a group jaunt from the Waterfront Trail, at 5 pm, to Cass Park, with the squads. Bike, skate, roll or stroll with the teams, their publicity says.

At 5:30 there's a Chicken BBQ Tailgate Party. Your $10 donation for dinner benefits the Meals On Wheels program, distributing food to the elderly and housebound.

Music is provided by the Johnny Russo Trio.

Angry Mom Records/Small World Music, 115 The Commons (in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books) are proud sponsors of the Suffer Jets and BlueStockings. We are exclusive sellers of their wide array of fine merchandise.

For more information, see www.ithacarollerderby.com.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog and Small World Music

Outdoor Bans on Smoking Start August 1

Beginning this Sunday, 1 August, the city of Ithaca begins a ban on smoking on central areas of the pedestrian mall Commons, and in Cass and Stewart Parks.

We own a business on the Commons (Angry Mom Records/Small World Music, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books), and applaud the move. We think it's the right thing to do, in terms of creating a clean environment and promoting health.

We don't think it will hurt business any. You can't smoke in the Pyramid Mall, either.

We are happy with the idea of no cigarette butts littering the Commons. We once heard that it takes 7 years for a cigarette butt to disintegrate, although we do not know who watched it.

A few years ago, our friend Rafiki was helping us move. We got out of the car and went to my building. Rafiki stopped at the entrance.

"You go ahead. I'll be right up," he said. "I'm going to smoke."

"It's alright," I said. "You can smoke inside. It's February." It was cold.

"That's alright," he said. "I'm used to smoking between buildings and cars."

Now, in Ithaca, it gets a little harder. But a little better.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

"GrassRoots Preview" on Ithaca Commons, Wed. 21 July

Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band will perform free on the Ithaca Commons as a "GrassRoots Festival Preview."

The performance is scheduled for Wednesday 21 July, from 6 - 8 p.m.

Keith Frank, from Lafayette, Louisiana, a leading figure in zydeco music, is a stalwart of the GrassRoots Festival, now in its 20th year.

Mr. Frank first performed at GrassRoots 19 years ago, as a young boy playing guitar in a band lead by his father, accordionist Preston Frank.

Keith Frank has returned to GrassRoots each year since. As a young man he took up accordion, the lead instrument in zydeco, and began fronting his own ensemble.

Mr. Frank will appear multiple times throughout the four days of the festival, from Thursday through Sunday.

Other performers of note at the festival include Merle Haggard, on Thursday; African musician Oliver Mtukudzi, on Friday; and reggae legend Burning Spear, a contemporary of Bob Marley, on Saturday.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Last Few Days For Cheaper GrassRoots Tickets

Online ticket sales for the GrassRoots Festival have ceased.

Advance tickets, which are cheaper by about $20 than tickets at the gate, will be available for the next few days at Autumn Leaves Books, Ithaca Bakery Collegetown Bagels, Ithaca Guitar Works, and a couple of other places that don't come to mind, but you can find at GrassRoots web site.

Don't wait, because if a particular locale runs out, they will probably not be replenished at this late date.

Outlets will generally not reserve tickets for you via a phone call. First come, first served, is generally the rule.

Also, you will need to pay by cash or check; not charge card.

Of course, the benefit is cheaper price than at the gate ; plus, avoiding a long line there.

See you at the show -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

New Radio Plays on the Commons, Friday 9 July

WITH-FM radio, 90.1 on the dial, continues its evolution into Ithaca's own public radio station, after years for 90.1 as a re-transmission site for Geneva's WEOS.

WITH will broadcast live from the Ithaca Commons this Friday, 9 July, starting at 9 a.m., into the afternoon.

The broadcast will feature live performances by members of Donna the Buffalo, at noon; Mary Lorson, 12:30; Dave Davies, 1:15; and Johnny Dowd and Hubcap, after 4 p.m. (The station will interrupt the Ithaca fun for its regular broadcast of World Cafe from 2 til 4 p.m.)

Festivities will include a drawing for tickets for the GrassRoots Festival, wines from local vineyards, and food from local farms and businesses.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

My Final Childhood Complaint About the Weather

When we were kids, in the midst of heat-wave days like today, we would moan, as kids will about things they don't like and can't control, which is many or most things, of course.

Something like hot weather is a wonderful topic, because your parents don't like it either, and your complaining makes it worse, which helps you a little.

I'm thinking about this as I am trying to write (have been writing) about growing up in postal zone 3, Brooklyn, New York.

To my friends here in Ithaca I can say that as bad as the heat might be here today, it is much, much worse in inner-city New York (or inner-city anywhere, I guess), where there are few trees for shade, little open space, and certainly no water; and concrete and asphalt, which comprise your natural environment, store heat all day and release it at night.

It is a perfect setting for a child to splay on a couch, or a living room floor, and moan. "Mom, it's so hot" is wonderfully evocative and little embellishment is needed.

In our house, however, it was not as fun as it could have been, as my parents were such succinct debaters. "Stop whinging," my mother would say, disarming you with her command of language not strictly English, so far as we knew.

My father, in my recollection, was worse. My mother's parents were from Ireland (thus her enriched vocabulary), but my father was just as robustly Irish-Catholic.

"Dad, it's so hot," I said to him one day.

He looked at me thoughtfully but with utter lack of emotion. And he said,

"It's hotter in Hell."

They gave me pause to think, those two, and as you see, still do.

You can see further at another blogspot here on Blogger.com, called brooklyn3newyork.blogspot.com.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Obama's Vietnam Starts Now

This week, tens of thousands of Americans soldiers are leaving for Afghanistan to fulfill the Obama's administration's planned surge there.

It is wrong, strictly, to speak of a plan. Events of the last week have shown that at the highest levels of the government and military, there is no plan whatsoever.

It seems hackneyed at this point, or at least painfully obvious, to draw comparison to Vietnam. Yet the case is exactly the same.

The only thing different is the volunteer army. This is the sole lesson the government learned from Vietnam. Make sure only poor people die. That will quell dissent.

Last week, addressing the nation about the oil leak, President Obama asked Americans for prayers. He hasn't asked for any for the war. Here his hope is for silence.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Little Kids Don't Wear Watches

Little kids don't wear watches and they don't use calendars, because they are not interested in the passage of time. They haven't experienced enough time yet to notice or care.

We overheard a conversation today between a 7-year old and one of those adults who don't know how to talk to kids very well. This type of adult struggles to think of interesting topics for kids - or, worse, doesn't, and either talks to the kid as an imbecile, or as another form, like a larva, rather than as a real person with proclivities.

These adults will fall back on the passage of time as a topic.

"What grade are you in at school?," we heard this well-meaning adult ask a kid out in public today.

"Second grade."

"Uh-huh," the adult says. A long pause. "Well. Do you know what's really scary? I can remember when I was in second grade."

Another pause, as the kid waits - patiently, but to no avail. Finally, he asks: "What happened?"


Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

First Annual Peter DeMott Trot, Sunday 20 June

The inaugural 5K "trot" to honor the memory of peace activist Peter DeMott will be held on Fathers Day, Sunday 20 June, at the Cornell Plantations. We excerpt a statement about the event from the Ithaca Catholic Worker group:

When Ithaca peace activist Peter DeMott died suddenly on February 19, 2009, the community and the nation lost one of our greatest advocates for peace and justice. Peter died while working in a tree. He left behind his wife, Ellen Grady, and their four daughters, Marie, Kate, Nora, and Saoirse.

Peter did not run competitively, but was an avid distance runner. To honor Peter's memory, his friends and family from Ithaca and beyond will gather on Father's Day, June 20, on the Cornell campus for the first annual "Peter DeMott Peace Trot," a non-competitive 5K race that will serve as a fundraiser for the Ithaca Catholic Worker group.

The event begins at 1 p.m. in the '64 Grove of the Cornell Plantations. Registration begins at 11 a.m. Those wishing to register in advance can go to www.myspace.com/peterdemottpeacetrot.

T-shirts to honor Peter's memory will be available to all entrants. The winners in the men's and women's divisions will receive a carpenter's hammer to disarm any weapon of war or for construction purposes.

For more information, call 607/277-6932 or email demottgrady6@gmail.com.

Energy Spills, From La. To Pa.

First Louisiana, now Pennsylvania.

In Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania state government ordered a halt to all natural gas drilling in the state by a Houston-based company whose "out-of-control well" spewed explosive gas and polluted water in plumes 75 feet high.

The company, EOG Resources, is hydraulically fracturing about 70 wells in Pennsylvania.

EOG did not notify county officials until three hours after the blast. A 911 dispatcher reported being told by the company of "a small problem and it was being handled."

The well remained uncapped for 16 hours.

State officials ordered electric service cut in the area to prevent the gas from catching fire.

About 35,000 gallons of polluted water have been collected. Monitors in a nearby spring show signs of the toxic solution.

The day before the blast, EOG reportedly performed a test of the well's safety mechanism, which it called successful.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca Festival Inside, A First This Year

Ithaca Festival is unofficially, and informally, but fervidly, expanding into a nighttime event, too, with many clubs and other public spots hosting music and arts events after the free daytime events on Friday and Saturday.

An easy way to partake of the gamut, called "Ithaca Festival Inside," is with a pass that provides admission to all dozen-plus events for one low price of $20.

The passes are laminated ducats on a lanyard you wear around your neck, so you get to feel like a V.I.P., which of course you are.

The passes are available at Angry Mom Records, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, on the Commons. They are also available online at theithacapost.com.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

A Catholic Way to Diet?

I went to Farmers Market this morning with my friend JD and her daughter Emily, who is 20. They told me they are on a diet, together, for support.

They told me they are allowing themselves a restricted amount of calories daily, which they will tabulate loosely, but no junk food, and no eating between meals, except healthful things like produce, and dessert just once a week.

They said one aspect of the togetherness thing is that if one goes off the diet, they have to tell, and then the other gets to go off, for the same amount, or thereabouts, and then they start over.

I had to think about it but I knew right away something was wrong with this strategy. Then I realized what.

"That's no good," I said. "It should be that if one of you goes off, you have to tell, but then the other one gets denied that amount of food or calories. So say Emily has a second dessert this week. She has to report it, and the consequence is that J. gets no dessert. Emily ate yours. Or if J. eats Doritos or donuts in the afternoon at work, Emily gets kale for breakfast, and has to run three miles. Something like that."

Probably there are lots of good ideas that stun listeners into silence. That happened here.

"What is wrong with you?," J. said.

"Hmm," I said. I had to think. "Catholic school, I guess. But let's say, what is different about me, shall we?"

You have to admit, this Catholic way, if that's what it is, would work much better. But some people don't react well to guilt, or even the idea of it. At the Market, I bought a bag of lettuce. They bought a burrito.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

GrassRoots Fest 2010 Announces Schedule

The schedule for GrassRoots Festival 2010 has been posted on www.grassrootsfest.org.

Highlights include Merle Haggard on Thursday, Rusted Root and Oliver Mtukudzi on Friday, and Burning Spear on Saturday.

Advance sale tickets are available at the web site, or at various locations in Ithaca, including Autumn Leaves Books, home of Small World Music, where you can find recorded music of many GrassRoots musicians and their ilk(s).

Small World Music shares space in Autumn Leaves' basement with Angry Mom Records, and opens at noon, 7 days a week.

Steve Burke
for Small World Music and Ithaca NY Blog

Bonus Day Today at Small World Music

It's Wednesday, and we don't know what that means to you, but to us it means the day we staff Small World Music/Angry Mom Records, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, at 115 The Commons.

Last week we made an offer we reprise today. Come in today, Wednesday, and pick up not one, not three, but two free CDs from our table of used bargain bin CDs. No purchase necessary. See details at last week's posting, if you must, because you don't believe the magnanimity of this gesture, and need more confirmation.

Then, come in! We're here til 8 p.m.

Steve Burke
for Small World Music/Ithaca NY Blog

Waffle Frolic Pleases

We finally made a trip this weekend into Waffle Frolic, the new eatery on the Commons, and happily issue a report of good favor.

The place offers homemade waffles in variety (classic buttermilk, buckwheat and hemp, etc.), with toppings a la carte you order specially.

We had had a light and healthy breakfast, and no lunch, so we had some nutritional room to manoeuvre by late afternoon, which meant we felt fine going for the most dietetically border-line combo we could contrive, the buttermilk waffle with whipped cream and chocolate chips.

The ingredients (also, the coffee) were fresh and first-rate. The prices reflect this but are not onerous and, you know, there's that old saw about knowing not just the price, but the value, of things. We were happy to pay what we paid for fun, fine food in a nice, clean spot that we are delighted to have unvacanted on the Commons by a bright and pleasant crew who laughed at our jokes, which of course is the simple but salient barometer of good service, all you people thinking about starting your own business.

Our friend had a panini-style sandwich, also great.

We hear there are further menu developments coming, such as chicken and waffles, which is a classic of southern cuisine, and we think would be a first on any menu in Ithaca.

Congratulations and good luck to the nice people at Waffle Frolic.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog

I Could Be An Oil Technician

The oil industry guys trying to stop the geyser they made in the Gulf of Mexico remind me of me. I can't fix anything, either.

The NY Times today reports, "Companies will try a method that involves pumping items like plastic cubes and knotted rope into the well's safety device."

They got that one right out of my book. That's pretty much how I try to fix anything that's leaking, too, whether it's a car or household plumbing. I never thought to refer to it is a "method," but I will from now on.

What I would like to know is how did they decide on plastic cubes and knotted rope. But I think the answer is in the phrase, "items like." In other words, "any scheiss we have laying around, of which plastic cubes and knotted rope is at the moment the most plentiful."

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Free CDs For Fans Of Ithaca Blog/Small World Music

Ithaca Blog operates largely out of 115 The Commons, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Bookstore, while we keep shop for Small World Music, our other enterprise.

You might remember Small World Music from 614 W. State St., in a stylish garage. Well, we've moved on up, while also down (basement), but we're doing very good in this new space, which we consign with (from?) the best place around, by far and even farther, for music on vinyl: Angry Mom Records.

But not everybody knows we're here. We want everybody. We want you.

We have so much to offer. Oh, yes indeed. All the best newest releases: Pat Metheny, Shelby Lynne, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Drive-By Truckers, Yeasayers, Gil Scott-Heron, David Byrne, music from the upcoming Doors movie soundtrack (with Johnny Depp), Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard (of GrassRoots Festival, this year), and the proverbial much more.

Busy Steve Burke of Ithaca Blog/Small World Music currently serves the store's public - that is, personally staffs the store - only on Wednesdays. That's today. So:

Come to the store today, and pick up a used CD, from our bargain bin containing hundreds for $5 and less, Absolutely Free. Tell you what: pick up two.

Where else you going to go today for an offer like this? Are you kidding me? Nowhere.

Come on in. It will be fun.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog & Small World Music

Cavs May Put LeBron on Rondo

The headline above is not original, and does not pertain to anything here.

It's a headline I saw in a paper today and really liked, because it means someone got a headline past an editor that many people will not understand one bit.

Tomorrow's lead story: It's Crackers To Slip a Rozzer the Dropsy in Snide.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

New Era For Car Sharing?

Everyone but Geico agrees that there are too many cars in the world. Too many for the ozone layer. Too many for the roads. Too many for safety.

Or even for nice attitudes. Usually in my life I never utter the words "Way to go, douche bag," but I did yesterday. When driving, of course. It can turn Jekylls into Hydes.

Car sharing efforts have developed in the past decade to help people let go of extra cars. It's good, but it's not enough.

Such operations tend to be in larger cities. Ithaca is among the smallest cities to have one, largely due to participation of the colleges.

A new era in car sharing is, perhaps, about to begin. The idea is to let individuals share cars they own, on their own, as an alternative to car sharing businesses.

The main hurdle is insurance regulations. As things stand, there is no legal provision for sharing a car that is not registered for commercial use.

Legislators in California are trying to change that now.

There may be a leadership role for us here in Ithaca, too, as there has been in car sharing already.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Lack of Big Mac Downtown Draws Film Maker Note

From Europe to Ithaca came a guy last week making a documentary on these global economic issues.

He had been in Boston, to talk to Noam Chomsky, and was going to Princeton, to talk to some cat there, whose name we didn't quite catch.

He was in Ithaca to film a segment on Ithaca Hours, and to ask questions about local currencies in the wide, wide world, and whether they could do any good. It was us he was asking. We're on the Hours Board of Directors.

Our position, in sum, was that the world might come around. You know, there aren't many sharp places to go, these days. Goldman Sachs turned out to be not so great.

We mentioned buy-local movements, and the locavore phenomenon, as indications that people were investing and spending explicitly within their communities as a way forward.

We mentioned the fact that there is no McDonald's in downtown Ithaca, although there used to be, right on the Commons.

This he found to be the most amazing thing of anything we discussed.

"On this Commons was a McDonald's? And it close?"

"Yeah," we said.

"But that is impossible. McDonald's opens. It does not close."

"Yeah, but here it did."

He looked around furtively, like he had just found out a big secret, and he didn't want anyone to hear.

"Listen," he said. "You are absolutely sure of this fact?"

"Sure," I said. "It was right: there," and I pointed.

"Why do they close?"

"Nobody went there."

"Why do they not?"

"It's no good."

"If you can assure me with your personal guarantee of this knowledge," he said, he was going to make this a big part of his film. So I did.

Then I took him to the Gimme Coffee outpost on Green Street. I waited til he took a sip of his drink to tell him that, in downtown Ithaca, Gimme Coffee outnumbers Starbucks three to one. I wanted to see if this knowledge would provoke a spit-take. It didn't. But maybe it will provoke another segment for the movie.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Our New Blog, Maybe Book

Our postings on Ithaca Blog have slowed lately, as we scheme on a new writing project we hope will eventually become a book.

Our idea is to use Blogspot for first inklings, as Nabokov used index cards.

The subject will be Brooklyn, a large metropolis and frequent literary subject. Some might say too frequent, and we're not sure that's not true.

Many recent books mythologize the place. Born and raised there, we know we lived no myth. We would like to write about the place and the people realistically. We wouldn't mind writing a book degreed people would read, but more than that we would like to write one that our family, friends, and old neighbors would appreciate. Them, and maybe Jimmy Breslin.

It's called "Brooklyn 3, New York", and the URL is brooklyn3newyork.blogspot.com.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog, etc.

Earth Day Resolutions

Earth Day is a little like New Year's, in that we think about ways to make our lives healthier and better.

We saw a piece in the Huffington Post today that emphasized "real" (i.e., big) things you can do, along with turning out the lights, etc.

Three of these things impressed us as things that are part of the Ithaca lifestyle already, so hitting them a little harder now and in the future might be relatively easy, with support
around.

1. Use cars less. Actually, HuffPost advised "give up your car," which of course is easy to say. But in Ithaca, reduced car use is easier than in most places, with the Carshare organization, and a good public transit system in TCAT.

2. Eat more vegetables. HuffPost emphasizes the amount of water used, and waste created, in meat production. Ithaca is about as friendly a vegetarian town as exists, with the Moosewood restaurant, and the Giving Tree (the new ABC Cafe), and Food For the Planet, plus vegetarian options at almost every eatery; and with no Golden Arches nor any other fast-food burger chain downtown. And, of course, there is GreenStar Coop, which emphasizes healthful vegetarian eating, and the Farmers Market.

3. Buy local. It helps your neighbors, and it helps the planet in reducing the use of fossil fuels to bring you apples, books, CDs, dentifrices, eggs, fans, gum, hats, etc. Ithaca has organizations promoting this concept, in Local First Ithaca, and the Ithaca Hours local currency system.

Keep your resolve, and enjoy you planet and your life!

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Big Day on the Commons

At Angry Mom Records/Small World Music, we generally open at civilized noon. Today it was 10, specially for National Independent Record Store Day. We were pleasantly surprised, arriving at about 9, to find a line of dozens of people waiting for opening. (We let them right in, of course, as "getting that party started" is our philoso-phee, generally.)

It was a big day all over the Commons, with the Cornell Marching Band visiting. They were right outside our store and chances are people thought we hired them. We do think they should record. We like the very specific marching band kind of repertoire ("Jesus Christ Superstar", "You Can Call Me Al").

We were too busy to visit, but 2 new stores opened today - one, in the old Juna's Cafe, featuring coffee and waffles; another, a few doors from there, featuring, we guess, high-end lifestyle accoutrements. All we know right now is what we heard from a customer, that they had a smoking device made from the jaws of a pirhana, that was quite striking and cost $500. He might have had it wrong, though. We will do our own research soon - of a limited variety, to be sure - and report it here.

We hope you had a good day, wherever you were, and if it wasn't here, that it will be soon.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
and Small World Music (in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, with Angry Mom Records)

Free Coffee, Music, at 115 The Commons, Sat. 17 April

Maybe you are not the kind of person who needs a week's notice for free coffee.

But that's what the Owl Cafe, in Autumn Leaves Books, is offering on Saturday 17 April, to celebrate their new ownership.

April 17 is also National Record Store Day, and Angry Mom Records/Small World Music, also inside Autumn Leaves Books, will have plenty of specials and activities to celebrate, including sales, new releases, and live music.

All this takes place at 115 The Commons. Opening time is 10 a.m.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Anti-War Activist Cindy Sheehan in Ithaca Tonight

Cindy Sheehan, among the most strident and uncompromising of American anti-war activists, speaks in Ithaca tonight, at the Women's Community Building.

Ms. Sheehan's activism is personal. It began with the death of her soldier son in the line of duty in Iraq.

It continues, past George Bush, into the Obama administration.

Sheehan went to Norway to protest the Peace Prize award to President Obama. Last month, she created an encampment at the Washington Monument to protest continuing American presence in Iraq, and increased military action in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

More than twice as many Americans - 332 - have been killed in Afghanistan as in Iraq in the past year. The number is expected to escalate drastically as most of the 30,000 troops President Obama ordered to Afghanistan will be sent this summer.

Is it possible to be too strident against war? Decide for yourself tonight, at 7 pm.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Alan Greenspan Says It's A Funky, Funky System

The Financial Crises Inquiry Committee met this morning in Washington to focus on the subprime mortgage crises and the attendant collapse of many banks and other institutions, and the financial ruin for untold numbers of Americans.

Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman who presided over the whole thing, was there to make plenty of sense of it.

But he fell a little short of expectations.

The NY Times summed up his statements thusly: he "warned that preventing future crises would be nearly impossible."

How many degrees does a guy need to come up with a prescription like that?

It makes us wonder who ghosted his initial job application, way back when.

One lesson for us is not to trust experts who run big institutions. In the event they even know the right thing to do, they probably won't do it anyway, if it closes any doors on fast profit.

Instead, cast your lot with people you know and can trust. In Ithaca, we are lucky to have such opportunities, in the Alternatives Federal Credit Union, and the Ithaca Hours currency system. Check them out on the web. And put some good distance between yourself and guys like smart Al.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Spotlight in Ithaca on Women Political Writers

Naomi Klein, columnist for the Nation magazine and author of "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" and other political works, speaks at Ithaca College on Wednesday 7 April, 7 p.m., in the Emerson Suites.

Cindy Sheehan, who began speaking and writing against war in the Mid-East after the death of her soldier son, will be at the Women's Community Building on Saturday 10 April, at 7 p.m. The program also features music by the Grady Girls.

The Ithaca Journal announced today that it will begin regularly publishing the syndicated column by Amy Goodman, the host of the "Democracy Now!" radio and TV broadcast.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Grassroots Festival Announces 2010 Performers

The Grassroots Festival maintains its reputation for diverse offerings with its two headliners for 2010, Burning Spear and Merle Haggard.

The festival is from Thursday 22 - Sunday 25 July.

Tickets are available at Early Bird prices (through May 1) at www.grassrootsfest.org.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Frida Berrigan in Ithaca With Nuclear-Free Efforts

The Obama administration has announced a new nuclear disarmament agreement with Russia. The pact is called the most significant advance in the past two decades.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, nuclear-free activist Frida Berrigan comes to Ithaca with a Walk for Nuclear Free Future.

No doubt Ms. Berrigan will have insights on the new agreement, and ideas for future progress.

On Tuesday, there will be a talk at the Unitarian Church, from 7 until 9 p.m. On Wednesday, there will be an interfaith service at the Baptist Church, at 7 p.m.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

P&C On Hancock Street To Close

Tops Supermarkets, the new owner of the bankrupt P&C chain, plans to shut the P&C store on Hancock Street.

The closing is set for April 18.

Only one other store, in Cortland, has been designated for closing.

The Ithaca closing will leave downtown without a full-service, mainstream market - a hardship for city families in general, and the elderly, poor, and working-class in particular.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog

Some Nice, Cheap, Produce at GreenStar

Andy, produce manager at GreenStar Co-op, is sure doing something right. He finds great, organic produce, and prices some at less than other stores charge for much inferior stuff.

Right now, organic navel oranges and grapefruit are 99 cents a pound. Cheaper than commercial at Wegman's.

The oranges are great; I've eaten two today. I haven't eaten a grapefruit yet from Monday's shopping trip. They are smallish and thin-skinned. Smallish is not a problem because, let's face it, grapefruit is great, but it's not sushi or shrimp, where you probably can't afford the humongous pile you are surely capable of eating, and it wouldn't be good for you, anyway. With grapefruit, you can. The thin skin I am taking as a good sign, that the fruit has not been bred or sprayed to develop Naugahyde for profitable shipping.

Best of all are the organic avocados, at 99 cents each. Avocados approach sushi/shrimp status, for me.

Thanks to Andy at GreenStar for helping us strive for five so nicely.

Steve Burke
Mr. Lifestyle
for Ithaca NY Blog

The Unknown Noun, Now Known

Our magna cum laude readership has provided the answer to our last post's ringing question: as seeing is to sight, speaking is to speech, and feeling is to touch, hearing is to "audition."

We had to look it up, because to us, "audition" is something our band did in high school and got laughed at. But, sure enough: audition is "the act or sense of hearing."

Audition is Latinate, and not a nice, tight word like sight, speech, or touch. But it's better than smell and olfaction, we guess.

Thanks to our erudite readers!

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Unknown Noun

Okay, here's one for you smarty-pants people who miss school tests, and listen to NPR for quiz satisfaction, etc.

We think of it as our friends' kids took SAT's today.

We also think of it, we admit, from being in a bar tonight, with loud, loud music.

The bartendress told us she had lost her hearing. We had to order in sign language.

It made us think this:
seeing involves the power of sight.
speaking involves the power of speech.
hearing involves the power of ... ??

Know what we mean? Fill in the blank in our head, if you can.

Hey, by the way: no gerunds. Nouns!

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

A Word From Our Sponsor, And Free CDs For You

It's been a while since we've boosted Small World Music, physical home of Ithaca Blog, so here goes.

As you might be aware, the store has moved to the basement of Autumn Leaves Books on the Commons, sharing space with Angry Mom Records. Angry Mom does vinyl, and Small World does CDs.

There are plenty of great new releases in stock. Here are a few.

In Rock and Pop: Peter Gabriel, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Galactic, John Hiatt, Dave Matthews, Joanna Newsom, David Rawlings Machine, Spoon, Swell Season, U2, and Tom Waits.

In Country: Johnny Cash's "American VI: Ain't No Grave," Lady Antebellum.

In Gospel: Holmes Brothers' "Feed My Soul."

In Jazz: Jamie Cullum, Corinne Bailey Rae, Gil Scott-Heron.

We also have many hundreds of used CDs, including a table and bins with CDs priced from $1 - $4.95. Our little gift to you, dear reader and desired shopper, is to come in and take not one but TWO of the bargain area CDs for free, no purchase necessary!

If Steve is not minding the store, just remind the helpful staffer (George, Lee, or Mason) of this Ithaca Blog offer, and you will receive smiling solicitude with your nifty nab(s).

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog and Small World Music

Community Meeting on Fatal Shooting By Police, Tuesday 9 March

The Southside Community Center is hosting a community meeting on the shooting death of Shawn Greenwood in a police operation late last month.

The meeting is from 6 - 8:30 p.m, Tuesday 9 March.

Mayor Caroline Peterson and district attorney Gwen Wilkinson are scheduled to attend.

Southside Community Center is at 305 S. Plain Street.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Howard Zinn Film on Sunday 7 March

The Tompkins County Workers Center is having a fund-raising showing of "You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train," a documentary on historian Howard Zinn, at Cinemapolis this Sunday, March 7, at 2 pm.

Zinn passed away last year. In 1980, he wrote the million-selling "A People's History of the United States," a progressive view of U.S. history.

Admission is $5 for Workers Center members, $10 for others.

The film will be followed by a discussion with historian Richard Polenberg and others.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Todd Saddler: "I'm Going To Live A Hundred Years"

We recently ran a poem by our friend Todd Saddler here on Ithaca Blog, about Haiti.

Here's another, more generic, called "I'm Going To Live A Hundred Years."

* * *

I'm going to live a hundred years
out of pure spite and defiance

Long enough for medical science to cure all my ills
and long enough to see universal health care in the United States of America

Long enough to watch people tooling around on Mars
possibly even long enough to see farm workers get their rights enshrined in law

Long enough to celebrate the end of the last war
and surf on the wave that washes ashore when the last mighty empire falls into the sea

I'll attend the funeral of corporate personhood
and join the choir as we sing "the quiet joys of anarchy"

My wife and I will celebrate our 66th wedding anniversary by walking across the dry river bed
of what used to be Niagara Falls (Canadian Side), the water evaporated, the nations retired,
the border dissolved at last

And for my one hundredth birthday I'll celebrate by drinking my age in pints of beer
Why don't you join me? Consider yourself invited

Then we'll finally have time to toast the downfall
of every principality and power that ever we railed against

To shed a tear for every species that went extinct during our glorious lifetime
and to throw a bushel of rose petals from the top of a space elevator

And when I slice off my ear building a piece of furniture
out of oak that I myself handled as an acorn
then a zero emissions ambulance will swing low and sweep me to the hospital
where that ear will be mended almost as well and fast
as if Jesus himself took pity on me in spite of everything I've been accomplice to

And when my ear is thus restored I'll whistle high and wee
and saddle up my donkey for the ride home

Yes, if we will but endure and hold true we will see all this and more:
All bad things must one day end.

- Todd Saddler

Beckett at the Baseball Game

THE OTHER GUY: All right!

SAMUEL BECKETT: What happened?

THE OTHER GUY: Guy hit a home run.

SAMUEL BECKETT: So what?

THE OTHER GUY: Yeah, so what.


* * *
Thank you.
Nevertheless, spring training has begun.
My father called this morning to discuss the second-string catcher the Mets just signed.

cheers
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Vermont Demonstrates Democracy With Anti-Nuke Vote

Vermont's senate has voted to close the state's Yankee nuclear power plant when its license expires in 2012.

The vote follows revelation of lies by plant operators to regulators about safety and structural issues.

Nuclear industry officials express dismay that state representatives are superseding federal officials.

Vermont gave itself that power in the original license, with a provision to opt to renew, or not, in 2012.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Sign On For Ithaca Money, Tuesday 23 Feb.

Ithaca Hours, the country's oldest local currency system, holds its 19th annual membership meeting on Tuesday 23 February, 6 - 7:30 pm, on the 3rd floor of Autumn Leaves Books.

Start or renew a membership at the meeting for one Ithaca Hour, or $10, and receive 4 Ithaca Hours, worth $40.

Members get a listing on www.ithacahours.org to advertise goods or services they will provide for Ithaca Hours, or (most frequently) a combination of Hours and dollars.

The membership includes hundreds of businesses and individuals, including accountants, carpenters, computer repairers, contractors, gardeners, general laborers, graphic designers, massage therapists, painters, web site designers, and yoga teachers.

Prominent businesses accepting part Ithaca Hours include the Alternatives Federal Credit Union, Angry Mom Records/Small World Music, Autumn Leaves Books, Cayuga Medical Center, GreenStar Coop, Ithaca Bakery, Ithaca Health Alliance, Lightlink (internet service providers), and the public library.

Come for any or all of the meeting. See the Hours web site for more details.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Chili Cook-Off Traffic Alert

If you are planning to attend the Chili Cook-Off on the Commons today, and are driving, we recommend taking the first parking spot you see.

Mild weather has brought the crowd to extravagant size.

The Chili event always does well, anyway, with Ithacans mad to conquer unfriendly weather getting together to eat outside in February.

There is plenty of music, and tabling by do-gooder groups, along with the food and drink.

Autumn Leaves Books has a live mannequin display of members of the roller derby Suffer Jets posing in the front window.

The Jets are promoting merchandise to fund the team. It's on sale at Angry Mom Records, in the basement of Autumn Leaves, which is also the new home of Small World Music, which is also the home of Ithaca Blog.

Stop in and see us!

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Mardi Gras (In Ithaca) Means Maxie's

Today is Mardi Gras, and of course we wish tonight we'd be at the Maple Leaf Bar on Oak Street in New Orleans, where we used to be.

In Ithaca, we will be at Maxie's instead.

All the time, Maxie's has a New Orleans feel, and clear inspiration. We don't know if they are doing anything special tonight. We guess yes. But it doesn't matter, we'll be there.

Maxie's reminds us a little of the Maple Leaf, just cleaner. Pressed tin ceiling. Better-looking staff.

We'll have a Turbo-Dog draft so some of our tab will go back to the Big Easy.

have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Live Music in Ithaca, Thurs. 11 - Tues. 16 February

A sense of nepotism leads us to do a listing of weekend music, which we sporadically do, and to start it early, in order to squeeze in a Thursday show that we like to promote pretty nicely.

Also, there seems to be lots to do in the recent future, with Valentines Day on Sunday, and Mardi Gras on Tuesday.

Thurs. 2/11: Burke, Burke, and Bone's Three Night Stand, Part 1, at the Wildfire Bistro, 106 S. Cayuga St. We know the band, but don't get the title. Nobody in this family ever tells us anything. Country blues, and fun. 10 pm.

* * *

Fri. 2/12: Johnny Dowd Band, at the Rongo in T-burg, 8 pm.

* * *

Sat. 2/13: Sim Redmond's Annual Valentine's Show, Wildfire Bistro, 9 pm.

Nate and Kate's Valentine's Show, at the Giving Tree Cafe, 306 Stewart Av. A good occasion to visit the new place in the old ABC Cafe.

Hubcap, with Papership, at the Chapter House, 10 pm.

Haiti Benefit at the Nines, 10 pm. The entertainment is DJ Josh and the cunningly un-PC named Everybody Here Gets Laid Tonight.

* * *

Sun. 2/14: The Grady Girls at Felicia's, 7 pm.

Mustard's Retreat at Bound For Glory, Anabel Taylor Hall, Cornell, 8:30 pm. Arrive early for (free) seating.

* * *

Mon. 2/15: The Grady Girls again, at the Shop coffeehouse, 312 E. Seneca St.

* * *

Tues. 2/16: Mardi Gras parties at Maxies, with The Bicycle Thieves of Berlin - we like that name, too - 6 pm; Oasis, with Blue Sky Mission Club, 6 pm; and the Haunt, with Dixie Cats, 8 pm.

have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

A Poem of Haiti, By Todd Saddler

Todd Saddler is married to Laurie Konwinski, whose advice about donating to Haiti we recently posted. Todd and Laurie met while working in Haiti.

Last week at a community meeting Todd read a poem he wrote in Haiti in 1991, when he left Haiti after his first stay. We asked him if we could post it. It is titled "Voodoo Ceremony".

#

Carrying a pot out to the rear of the shrine,
I was silent.
When the women and children congregated for the cooking of the yams,
I was there.
I held little Sadya on my knees while Florence gathered mango twigs and coconut husks
for the fire.
Lwisna was sent to find a burning coal.

Flo squatted by the yams and began to peel them with an old broken blade.
She said I was happy to be leaving them in Haiti.
No; I am hidden on a mountain of sorrow.

The fire licked the scorched pot full of water which sat on three large stones.
"A white person licking a Haitian's ass," Flo said.
"Fire under a pot," I answered.
Verline grinned at the riddle and threw salt into the water.

The flame became the focus of our group
as the night thickened around us.
For almost the last time I enjoyed the deep color
of the skin stretched over their elegant frames.
The yams went into the pot.

Polson pulled out a burning twig and traced fire snakes in the air.
I wanted to speak but it was too big; words wouldn't go around it.
They still won't go around it today.
Can you see it in my eyes?

At any rate, the yams got done.
Poor Verline whimpered as she lifted the pot off the fire with the heels of her hands
and set it aside.
The children laughed and slapped their thighs:
"Did you burn yourslf, Verline?
Look, she's crying!"

I accepted the yams they gave me.
I accepted my hiding place.
I swallowed my yams.

Help For Haiti On Local Levels

Over many years, Laurie Konwinski of Ithaca has lived and done development work in Haiti.

We asked Laurie about Haitian groups she would recommend for donations from people looking to support Haiti's infrastructure, along with immediate relief efforts.

We excerpt her reply (and hope she will not mind the editing) :

(Laurie writes):

I co-directed a group called Beyond Borders. They are involved in putting together an emergency medical team. They have a special focus on children, and are planning a system to reconnect kids with their parents in the midst of the chaos. http://www.beyondborders.net/

Fonkoze is a bank that serves the poor, in places the commercial banks wouldn't dream of going. They set up savings accounts, make loans, and run business skills and literacy programs. They are also a safe, inexpensive way for Haitians abroad to send money home. http://www.fonkoze.org/

Partners in Progress supports an amazing small farmers organization in Fondwa, a rural community outside Jacmel. They fund agricultural training programs, and a school. Their buildings have been decimated. http://www.piphaiti.org/

Although I provided web sites here, I would like to make a pitch that, if you're donating, do it by check. This avoids fees to the credit card companies - the groups will get more of your donation.

This is a culture and a people of resistance. Do not pity them. Just be in solidarity with them with your thoughts, prayers, and sharing from the abundance that we have in this country.

#

Thank you, Laurie -

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Key To Ithaca: Galumpha at the State Theater

If it is possible to learn what a place is like by what it likes, one can learn a lot about Ithaca by seeing Galumpha, the dance/acrobatics/joke troupe, at the State Theater on Saturday, 20 February.

Galumpha has performed at the State many times;, the GrassRoots Festival, too.

They have also performed their death-defying Velcro hat routine on the David Letterman show.

Their art is serious enough for adults, and whimsical enough for children. Or vice versa.

The show at the State is family-friendly, starting at 3 pm, with tickets $15 for adults, and $10 for children.

Find out more at the web sites for the State, and for Galumpha.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

"Benefit Jam" For Haiti Tonight

Samite, Richie Stearns, and Nate Richardson are performing a "Benefit Jam" tonight for relief for Haiti.

The event is at Gimme Coffee, 506 W. State St., from 7 - 9 pm.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Thanks For The Pepperoni, J.D. Salinger

J.D. Salinger sought the private reader, who "read and ran."

His work was like his character Bessie Glass's chicken soup: consecrated, for the spirit in which it was offered. Nothing to be analyzed. Only drunk.

We liked his work very much.

Now, must run.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Give to Doctors Without Borders For Haiti

Laurie Konwinski of Ithaca has lived and worked extensively in Haiti over many years as a development volunteer.

Ithaca Blog has asked Laurie to share her insights on the situation in Haiti. She has responded, and we await word for publication.

In the meanwhile, Laurie endorses Doctors Without Borders as a seminal relief group for donations.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Supreme Court Jesters

Now that the Supreme Court has decided that corporations are people, what if one drives another out of business? Is it murder?

Can corporations get married?

What if they're gay?

The Supreme Court shows itself to be a politicized joke, so you might as well laugh.

Maybe the sensible thing, anyway, is to make it illegal for politicians to take bribes that corporations are now allowed to offer.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca Musicians Raise $5,000 For Haiti

A benefit concert on Sunday by Ithaca musicians raised over $5,000 for relief efforts for Haiti.

The money will be donated to the Doctors Without Borders organization.

Thanks and congratulations to the performers and organizers, especially Mike Stark, Jennie Lowe, Castaways bar, and the Suffer Jets roller derby team.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

It's Your Bet, Barack

Chances are that when candidate Barack Obama promised change, he didn't mean changing historically Democratic seats in the Senate to Republican.

But this is what he's delivered, by going from the candidate of change to the incumbent of compromise.

Voters in Massachusetts showed they are upset with the lack of progressive change, and even conviction, from a Democratic party that has held all the cards in Washington for a year, but folded time and again.

The message is that if Obama won't act, the electorate will.

As the song says, "I never saw a winner that didn't bet." It's time for Obama to take back the deal.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Concert for Haitian Relief, Sunday 17 Jan.

The Ithaca music community is reacting swiftly to the tragedy in Haiti.

There will be a Haitian Earthquake Relief Benefit this Sunday, 17 January, at Castaways.

Among the dozen or so performers are some of the biggest names locally, including Sim Redmond, Jennie Stearns, Mary Lorson, Johnny Dowd, and Hank Roberts.

The concert starts at 6 pm.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Martin Luther King Day(s) in Ithaca

On Saturday 16 January, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) hosts its annual Martin Luther King Day breakfast, from 9 - 10:30.

Derrick McQueen of Union Theological Seminary in New York City will speak on eradicating poverty. Community members will entertain with poetry and song.

The breakfast is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and students, $10 for families of 4 and more.

For details or to volunteer, call GIAC at 272-3622.

On Monday 18 January, GIAC and other organizations from downtown and the colleges host free workshops and a lunch at the Womens Community Building. Workshops are from 9 - 11 and lunch is from 11:30 to 1:45.

Find more information at mlkdayithaca.com.

Flours From Finger Lakes Wow NYC Foodsters

A new line of fresh ground flours from our area are garnering big sales among foodsters at farmers markets in New York City, and notice in the New York Times.

Farmer Ground Flours are organically grown on Finger Lakes farms, and milled in Trumansburg. The grains - corn, spelt, and wheat - feature heirloom varieties.

The New York Times says, "to the delight of professional and amateur cooks and bakers... the flours are fresh, and have not sat for months in warehouses."

Farmer Ground Flours are sold at NYC Greenmarkets by Cayuga Pure Organics, a partner in the project. Cayuga Pure Organics has previously attracted notice from the Times for its dried beans, which are also sold immediately after processing, rather than stored.

Cayuga Pure Organic beans are sold locally at GreenStar Co-op, in the Bulk department and for considerably less than in Manhattan and its environs. We imagine the flours are at GreenStar, too, or shall be soon.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Big Changes at TCAT Will Include Partial Acceptance of Ithaca Hours

TCAT, the county's bus system, is implementing major changes in routes and in fare collection.

Computerized, renewable passes will replace disposable, paper ones.

TCAT is also planning to accept Ithaca Hours, the local cash currency, in partial payment for passes.

Details about Hours acceptance are still under review, but the new passes are available now, and their use will be fully implemented by Monday 18 January.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

New Years Eve Style Party on January 8

For those still smarting from the paucity of party opportunities on 12/31/09, a wang-dang-doodle type affair has been announced by Angry Mom Records, right on the heels of New Year's.

The 3rd Angry Mom Dance Party is scheduled for Friday 8 January, 10 pm, at the Chanti Lounge, above the Chanticleer Bar, on the corner of W. State and S. Cayuga Streets.

The motif for party #3, says co-ordinator Lee, is Afrobeat/dub/reggae.

More details are available at Angry Mom's page on Facebook.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca New Years Eve, 2009

We know two things about New Years Eve in Ithaca.

One is that Ithacans, inveterate socializers, keen on celebration, love New Years Eve.

Two is that bars and clubs don't do much special for NYE, probably because they don't have to.

Some striving exceptions:

Felicia's has live vocal and piano music, early, from 6:30 - 8:30. After that, it is drink specials, and whatever comes with that. No cover.

Castaways hosts a bona fide concert, with local (and international) favorites The Sim Redmond Band, and opening act the Gunpoets. Doors open at 8 for the 9 pm start. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, if any remain.

WildFire Lounge hosts popular rockers Revision and Solstice, starting at 10 .

Don't get drunk and lose all your money -
& Happy 20/10 -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Small World Music: No Place Like (Our New) Home for the Holidays

This morning we met yet another old customer of Small World Music who didn't know that our music emporium (physical home of Ithaca Blog) has moved to the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, on the Commons. And so she hasn't got that new Karan Casey CD she wanted to buy for her sister. Well, she will have it later today.

It is the busy season for buying music, so we would be derelict, not to mention meshuga, not to mention with special yuletide emphasis that Small World Music is at your service.

New CDs include Beatles reissues (and box set), Bob Dylan, Fela, David Gray, Norah Jones, Rickie Lee Jones, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Monsters of Folk, Pete Seeger, Sting, Streisand, Swell Season, and Tom Waits. And Karan Casey.

Small World Music shares space in the basement of Autumn Leaves with Angry Mom Records. We're open seven days a week.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog and Small World Music

Bumper Sticker Urges: No Barking

Not that we would ever put a bumper sticker on our car, any more than we would our shoes, but we saw one today we liked.

"Wag More, Bark Less," it said.

We imagine it came from a dog owner, but of course here it was meant for the reading, i.e. strictly non-dog, population.

It seemed to us a particularly good message as people are racing around anxiously with errands to do for the holidays, and possibly feeling a bit barky. But remember, really, if the holidays are not a time for wagging, when is?

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca Music Scene Somewhat Short-changed by "Cafe"

Yesterday we got a press release about the World Cafe radio program broadcasting, today, a performance by Lyle Lovett at Ithaca's State Theater. The show was also supposed to offer discussion of and selections from the Ithaca music scene.

The former was fine. The latter was missing.

To tell the truth, we had a feeling from the start that the promise of Ithaca-centrism was maybe a little played up. We reported it anyway. Oh, well.

One out of two isn't bad, we guess. Or is the proper response, "That's show biz"?

In any event, we were disappointed by that, but enjoyed the broadcast anyway, and appreciated the visit last month and the effort by both Mr. Lovett and the World Cafe.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog

Ithaca Music Goes National, Thurs. 17 Dec., on NPR's "World Cafe"

National Public Radio's "World Cafe" program will spotlight Ithaca in its broadcast on Thursday, 17 December.

The show will feature excerpts from a concert by Lyle Lovett taped at the State Theater in Ithaca, along with discussion of and selections by local musicians.

World Cafe is carried by 185 NPR affiliates nationally. In Ithaca it is broadcast on WEOS, 88.5 on the FM dial.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Big Money Comes To Fracking, With Exxon Purchase

Exxon Mobil has spent $31 billion to buy XTO Energy, a leading speculator in shale gas drilling.

Exxon Mobil brings considerable resources to promote shale gas drilling in U.S. fields discovered by smaller companies such as XTO in the past decade.

The smaller companies have indicated they might not have the resources to meet legal and environmental challenges when controversial drilling practices (known as hydrofracturing, or "fracking") come to populated areas, such as central New York, where citizen groups have formed to protest degradation of local landscapes, infrastructure, and water supplies.

Exxon Mobil's buyout certainly changes the political landscape. The company is the second-largest (behind General Electric) corporate spender in federal lobbying. It has recently come under fire for its efforts to discredit global climate change science, which it considers harmful to its financial interests.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

No Dime Dropped Yet On Ithaca Restaurants With Labor Violations

A press conference held by the Tompkins County Workers Center and the New York State Department of Labor finished minutes ago, with the revelation that 17 area restaurants have been found in violation of labor laws.

The violations include failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, and misclassification of workers as general contractors, thus denying them workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, and other rights.

22 restaurants were investigated. State officials said that finding violations among 17 of 22 is a higher than average rate, though perhaps not a large enough sampling to be statistically significant.

The press conference brought much media to the Workers Center on the Commons, and scores of spectators. Those hoping for resolution to the political drama, in the form of names, were disappointed. The identities of the implicated businesses were not disclosed.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca Gives 10% Off, On Dec. 10th

Dozens of businesses in Ithaca participating in the "Local First" campaign are offering 10% off all purchases on the 10th of December.

The "10 off on the 10th" promotion started at GreenStar Co-op earlier this year. If you have been at GreenStar on the 10th of a month, you know it is a big deal. GreenStar does Thanksgiving-week type business every 10th. They have to put someone in the parking lot to direct traffic.

The list of participating businesses can be found at www.localfirstithaca.org, or at Local First Ithaca's page on Facebook.

Small World Music/Angry Mom Records, physical home of Ithaca Blog, is among them. In fact, loyal reader, come in today and mention this and we will give you the jump by giving you 10% off on the 9th.

SWM/A. Mom is in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books at 115 the Commons. We're open til 8 pm tonight; from noon til 9 tomorrow.

Steve Burke
for SWM/Ithaca NY Blog

"Local First Ithaca" Builds Area Economy

It is a little disconcerting to see the word "only" in the headlines alongside " 11,000 U.S. jobs lost in November."

But the reality is that this is - only - 10%of the number of jobs lost in either October or September.

President Obama is supposedly rolling up his sleeves now to create a jobs program.

We like the guy; but his record so far, on war and Wall Street, is weak, to say the least.

Maybe on jobs, the one-time community organizer will finally hit his stride.

In the meantime, in Ithaca, we have our own model for helping ourselves and one another: the Local First Ithaca campaign is in its second season of promoting local businesses at holiday time.

Take a look at their web site (http://www.localfirstithaca.org/) and Facebook page for all their activities and promotions. Among them is "10 % on the Tenth," where many participating businesses (there are over 100) offer 10% off all purchases on December 10th. There is also a drawing, at the end of the month, for gift cards, for the proverbial lucky winners, of $50, $100, and $250.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

The Anti-Fracking Effort Needs You: Big Benefit Concert, Sat. 5 Dec.

Judging by Ithaca, the campaign against "fracking" - that is, hydrofracturing, a toxic chemical drilling procedure proposed for natural gas extraction in our region - seems a sure winner. A thousand people turned out at a hearing at the State Theater last month, on a weeknight, to speak against the dangerously unregulated practice.

Remember, though: Ithaca is different. In 2000, more Ithacans voted for Ralph Nader for president than for George Bush. In 2008, Tompkins County was the only county outside of New York City to vote for Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.

When a group of Ithacans left the county last week for a public hearing on fracking, they were the only voices in opposition. The others were for taking the money the gas companies are offering, and worrying about poisoned water later.

So: it will be an uphill fight. Whatever support you can give is crucial.

On Saturday 5 December, the three leading bands from Ithaca play a benefit for the effort. Donna the Buffalo, the Horseflies, and the Sim Redmond Band unite for "Life Is Water: A Concert to Defend the Finger Lakes Against Unsafe Gas Drilling" at the State Theater.

Show time is 8 pm. Reserved seating is $12.50 - $24.50.

Proceeds benefit the Shaleshock Citizens Action Alliance: www.shaleshock.org.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is foremost among holidays at withstanding commercialization. Funny, as it is the prototypical American holiday, and commercialization is practically our national hobby.

Last week in Ithaca a Native American man speaking about the history of Thanksgiving said he sure does celebrate the holiday, as it was originally half his peoples', and its intent is to celebrate peace.

It can be a particularly peaceful day, or at least quiet, as it is a secular holiday, so almost everyone observes it, and almost no one works. We remember a Thanksgiving morning a few years ago with a light snow on the ground at about 9 a.m., and absolutely no tire tracks on downtown streets. None. That is a quiet morning.

We wish you a happy day, with a full table in a full house, and a heart full of peace.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

All 3 Ithaca P&C's To Close?

News came this morning that the parent company of P&C supermarkets is bankrupt, and will close its three Ithaca stores.

Apparently there is a possibility that a store, or stores, could re-open; but the parent company is in the middle of, not beginning, bankruptcy proceedings, so from outside it seems unlikely.

It is hard to imagine that the East Hill branch does not make money, with its favorable geographic and demographic location. But it might be more valuable to the company to sell than operate.

We are sorry for P&C's workers, who number over 100 in Ithaca.

Certainly, P&C has a legacy in Ithaca. But, among other factors, the arrival of Wegman's signaled a new era of high standards among food markets here.

For the sake of its workers, and the community at large, we hope the management of Tops is thinking hard.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Review Preview: Wildfire Lounge

Ithaca Blog has been getting copious hits by people searching for info on Wildfire Lounge, the new restaurant in the old space of the Lost Dog Cafe, on S. Cayuga St.

We will have a chance to provide knowledge and insights after tomorrow, when we will visit the place, not only to meal up, but also to see a show created by Natasha Pickowicz, the talented writer and energetic promoter who apparently will soon leave Ithaca.

Natasha's niche has been presenting emerging musicians in appreciative settings for not much admittance fee, reflecting her own DIY sensibility, enthusiasm, and knowledge and love of music.

The headliners tomorrow are actually pretty much emerged. Richie Stearns will grace the stage, playing, we gather, experimental and new rather than old-timey stuff. Matt Valentine and Erika Elder, who have worked and toured nationally with acts such as Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, purvey what Ms. Pickowicz describes as rural blues/psych rock/free folk. The duo has an affinity for Michael Hurley, which is enough for us.

Admittance is $5. Doors open at 8 and the show is scheduled for 9.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog

New Gimme Coffee Opens On Green Street

Gimme Coffee has opened a new shop on Green St., in a space leased from TCAT.

TCAT solicited a coffee shop to accommodate bus patrons at its Green Street terminus, where every bus starts, stops, or passes.

Until now, there was no inside space accommodating commuters at Green Street.

The coffeeshop is located between the library and Urban Outfitters, across the street from the new Cinemapolis.

Hours are 7 am - 9 pm.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Gas Drilling Rally & Hearing, Thursday 19 November

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation holds a hearing tonight on proposals for chemical drilling for gas deposits in our region.

The hearing is at the State Theater, at 7 pm.

Doors open at 6 pm for persons who wish to sign up to speak.

Organizations against the drilling urge citizens to arrive early, claiming that industry representatives have packed other hearings, to keep opponents out.

Shaleshock, a local grassroots group opposing the drilling, will hold a rally on the Commons before the hearing. The rally starts at 4:30 pm.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca Hours on Local TV News Tonight

News 10 Now is scheduled to air a segment on Ithaca Hours, the local currency, tonight.

The first showing is at 6 pm. It repeats throughout the night, on a schedule we are not quite aware of.

It was quite a blow to Ithaca when channel 10 became a regional news show rather than local. These days there is a lot more about Syracuse, Binghamton, and even Watertown than us. So we like to alert people when we know of an Ithaca segment.

Of course, we generally only know of them when we appear in them. Part of tonight's segment on Hours was shot here at Small World Music, physical home of Ithaca Blog, and an Ithaca Hours business.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Ithaca Weekend, Nov. 13 - 15

Fri. 13 Nov.: A band named Hee Haw Nightmare doesn't figure to be scared of Friday the 13th. Neither does eternally intrepid Ani DiFranco. They are at Felicia's at 5:30. She is at the State at 8.

CDs by both these performers are available at Small World Music, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, on the Commons.

* * *

Sat. 14 Nov.: 17th Annual Tibetan Cultural Day. Tibetan food, art, and performance. 10:30 - 3:30, St. Paul's Methodist Church, 402 N. Aurora St. For tickets, call 273-0739 or 351-6257.

* * *

Sun. 15 Nov.: Celebration of African and African-American Art. Johnson Museum, Cornell, 1-4 pm. Free.

Enter the Haggis. Off-kilter Celtic, at Castaways, 8 pm.

have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Gimme Coffee, Mott Street

We recently spent a week in New York City and in order to show off our provincial pride in Ithaca we took our Manhattan hosts to Mott Street, to the Gimme Coffee outpost there.

Gimme's first foray into NYC was a branch in Williamsburg, the first stop in Brooklyn on the L train from Manhattan. It didn't take long for the accolades to come. Entry into Manhattan might not have been inevitable, but must have beckoned big the while.

The Mott Street location is small, like half a subway car. The block is stylish, which means a lot of stores selling expensive things no one needs; the good coffee at Gimme is the exception.

Inside, it looks like Ithaca, with familiar Gimme accoutrements and design, including the fonts on the menu board.

It felt funny to be inside a seeming slice of Ithaca within Manhattan, as if a Wizard of Oz type tornado had swept the place up and plunked it down, far off.

Even the swirl on top of the froth was familiar. Of course, the coffee was great.

Will you go? If you do, we have something else on Mott Street to recommend: the Buddha Bodai restaurant.

The Buddha Bodai is one of those only-in-NY type places: Chinese, vegan, and kosher. A true, and unique, triple threat.

It is all the way down Mott Street, at #5, near the street's southern end. It's a pleasant walk through Chinatown, which burgeons in earnest south of Canal Street.

The restaurant is bright and spotless. The menu is simple, with vegan takes on American-style Chinese food. The food is fresh and delicious. The prices are too low.

We had lunch specials that were so filling, fine and cheap that I don't recall exactly what they included or cost. I just remember great plates of food, excellent hot and sour soup, fortifying tea, and an easy, light exit.

Mott Street also has a bunch of bakeries with pastries that average about a dollar a pop. There is nothing refined about them but the sugar. They are great and we bought what amounted to a few pounds worth for less than a saw.

Mott Street has character and centuries of history that you can feel. We congratulate the Gimme crew on joining it.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog

Three Seatings for Benefit Latin Dinner on Tues. 10 Nov.

Mary Anne Grady of La Cocina Latina was at Farmers Market this morning buying more garlic for her catering gig this Tuesday.

La Cocina Latina is cooking for a benefit dinner sponsored by CUSLAR (the Committee on U.S. - Latin American Relations)to close the School of the Americas.

The School of the Americas, in Fort Benning, Georgia, is a taxpayer-funded military facility that trains right-wing Latin American forces implicated in brutal killings of civilians - including religious workers, and U.S. citizens.

The annual Convergence on Fort Benning is November 20 - 22. Proceeds from the dinner benefit the action.

Mary Anne Grady is a well-known peace activist - and Latin American cook. Her black beans and chicken are renowned around town. Not to mention her flan.

There are 3 seatings for the dinner: 6, 7:30, and 9 pm. Tickets are $12, or $25 for families, or call Mary Anne at 273-7437 for sliding scale rates. The location is the Oasis Dance Club (formerly the Common Ground), 1230 Danby Road.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

We Like That Samurai Sushi, Toaster Oven Or Not

$2.95 sushis make a pretty resplendent lunch, and that's what we had today, as posted earlier.

We will remark upon the salmon skin sushi. We like to try new things, and liked it well enough, though we noticed that a toaster oven was involved in its preparation, which seemed strange. Isn't sushi raw?

We didn't ask, because we didn't want to start anything, plus what do we know? The first time we ever prepared guacamole, we included the skin of the avocado, because the recipe didn't say not to. (We were only 19, but, and figured out the mistake pretty fast.)

on the culinary forefronts,
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

More Sushi

Okay. The name of the sushi restaurant on the Commons, next door to us here at Small World Music/Angry Mom Records/Autumn Leaves Books, is Samurai.

We could probably even have guessed that, rather than keep readers waiting after our semi-pro review of the place here last month, where we wrote favorably of this place without knowing its name. It's Samurai. Like a lot of pizza places are Vesuvio.

The timely update today is that Samurai has Wednesday lunchtime specials. About half a dozen menu items are at half-price.

We put in an order for California roll, which we're familiar with, and Salmon Skin roll, which we're not. We didn't even know salmon had skin. But we figured we'd try something new, at $2.95.

we'll let you know -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog

Angry Mom Records/Small World Music at the Social Soul of Town

Angry Mom Records/Small World Music is a new entity in town developing the reputation of a place that fun follows around.

Angry Mom and Small World share store space in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books on the Commons. Angry Mom sells choice old vinyl, and Small World sells CDs - the local, hip alternative to Borders, Barnes and Noble, et al.

Small World moved into the space with Angry Mom about two months ago, from an obscure but popular space up West State Street. Since then, it has been nothing but fun in a bustling bohemian scene in the heart of downtown.

In our previous posting here, we mentioned an informal Angry Mom/Small World Music movie night at Cinemapolis this weekend. Formal ones are now in the works, to promote convivial company pursuing the arts, and active social times.

A music series is also planned. The first installment is an "all-vinyl" DJ party at the Loft above the Chanticleer bar, this Friday night.

Vita brevis, ars longa - so plan to meet some fun-loving people through your friendly neighborhood music store this weekend, and beyond.

Steve Burke
for Small World Music
and Ithaca NY Blog

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