Chris Carosa, Author at Chris Carosa

A Tribute to Animal House 40 Years in the Making

By Chris Carosa on July 24, 2018

The year was 1978. For some, it was to be remembered as “Peak Disco.” For others, (like me), it represented the beginning of the end for Disco. We kind of hoped the whole fad would blow over, but then that Beatles-wannabe group – the Bee Gees – went and made disco go mainstream with their soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever. For many fans, this was the low point of rock and roll. Thankfully, by the time Paul McCartney & Wings succumbed to Disco Fever when the band released “Goodnight Tonight” in 1979, the genre was already past its prime.

Music doctors officially called Disco on the night of July 12, 1979, when the Chicago White Sox hosted a Disco Demolition Night. The promotion featured an explosion of Disco records in between games of the twi-night doubleheader. Enthusiasm for the death of Disco turned out to be far greater than anticipated. The fans rushed the field following the fiery demise of those discs. The resulting damage to the playing surface caused the White Sox to forfeit the second game.

In the summer of 1978, that fiasco was still a year away. That summer, a different culture-defining event occurred. On July 28, Continue Reading “A Tribute to Animal House 40 Years in the Making”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Bee Gees, Chicago White Sox, Disco Demolition Night, Doug Flutie, Gates-Chili High School, John Belushi, John Landis, Kentucky Fried Movie, Marlon Brando, Paul McCartney, Rebel Without a Cause, Saturday Night Fever, The Wild One

A Confession from a Hypocrite: Alas, I, too, am a Free Rider

By Chris Carosa on July 17, 2018

It was the most regrettable thing I had ever done in my entire life. At the time I thought it was a giant step forward, a statement that, because of who I was, because of who we were, would make a difference.

Organizing the protest had other alluring advantages. Our teacher encouraged us. We respected her and she respected us. She treated us like adults. We liked that. It presented us with the ultimate reward: greater self-esteem. In addition, the entire class participated. That meant we could be with our friends, and all the social rewards that brings. Finally, only our class was allowed to participate. It was a reward for getting our schoolwork done in a timely fashion. There’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishment to fill the soul with self-confidence.

Of course, it helped that we hooked our wagon to a national movement. It was the first Continue Reading “A Confession from a Hypocrite: Alas, I, too, am a Free Rider”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Absolute Power, Ben Franklin, Bethlehem Steel, Bill of Rights, Bishop Mandell Creighton, CBS Evening News, checks and balances, Earth Day, English Bill of Rights, Founding Fathers, Gaylord Nelson, gun, King James II, Lackawanna, Lord Acton, Magna Carta, Santa Barbara Oil Spill, second amendment, self-defense, Thomas Jefferson, United States Constitution, Walter Cronkite

Why 7-15-60 is the Winning Combination of Every Group that Wants Lasting Influence

By Chris Carosa on July 10, 2018

Civic associations represent the backbone of a vibrant democracy. They have fueled American Exceptionalism since the very beginning of our country. But don’t take my word. Read what one of history’s most quoted experts had to say on this very subject.

“Among democratic nations, on the contrary, all the citizens are independent and feeble; they can do hardly anything by themselves, and none of them can oblige his fellow men to lend him their assistance. They all, therefore, become powerless if they do not learn voluntarily to help one another. …if they never acquired the habit of forming associations in ordinary life, civilization itself would be endangered.”

“Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations… The Americans make associations to give entertainments, to found seminaries, to build inns, to construct churches, to diffuse books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they found hospitals, prisons, and schools… Wherever at the head of some new undertaking you see the government in France, or a man of rank in England, in the United States you will be sure to find an association.”

Continue Reading “Why 7-15-60 is the Winning Combination of Every Group that Wants Lasting Influence”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Alexis de Tocqueville, civic association, Democracy in America, Dunbar's Number, George Miller, group dynamics, group psychology, Miller's Law, psychology, Robin Dunbar, social psychology

Today’s Columnists Find Their Roots in Revolutionary War Era Pamphleteers

By Chris Carosa on July 3, 2018

On the afternoon of June 9, while chasing the fugitive sloop Hannah, the unthinkable happened. The HMS Gaspee ran aground in low waters off the Rhode Island shore on what was then called Namquit Point. Unnamed Sons of Liberty, once alerted, sprang into action. In the early morning hours of June 10, before high tide could rescue the British man-of-war, the rebels boarded it, shot its commander, and burned the ill-fated vessel to its waterline.

The year was 1772 and the newspaper industry was dying. Of the thirty-seven weekly broadsheets published in the thirteen colonies, only eleven reported on what came to be known as “The Gaspee Affair.” By 1783, primarily due to lack of revenue and the logistical problems caused by the Revolutionary War, the Colonies would be down to only about twenty newspapers.

Still, the story of the Gaspee Affair stirred the American patriots. Why? Because an itinerant Continue Reading “Today’s Columnists Find Their Roots in Revolutionary War Era Pamphleteers”

Posted in Media, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged American Revolution, Bernard Bailyn, Daniel Fowle, Founding Fathers, HMS Gaspee, James A. Oliver, James Otis, John Allen, Jonathan Swift, journalism, Moses Coit Tyler, newspaper, Oration on the Beauties of Liberty, pamphlet, Patriot Tory, Revolutionary War, Sons of Liberty, Star Chamber, Thomas Paine

Merrymaking in the ‘Nati

By Chris Carosa on June 26, 2018

The Championship Winners flank either side of the affable play-by-lay announcer. NSNC Photo

As I sat down to write this account, a profound thought struck me: It’s much easier to go from writer to talker than from talker to writer. I’ve been both. I’ve had fun at both. But never, until now, have I ever attempted to shift from play-by-play announcer to sportswriter. But here goes…

Named for George Washington’s Roman protégé, with a nod to that ancient empire’s capital the city of Cincinnati has long been called the City of Seven Hills. Indeed, for a hundred or so of the nation’s finest columnists, the undulating topography of Cincinnati’s inclined streets no doubt left an ache in the shins that echoed for several days.

Nonetheless, it was in this Queen City of the West that they gathered. At once to dine at the Mecklenburg Gardens – a dinner that lasted well past its “sell-by” date – and to cavort with the giraffes during happy hour at the Cincinnati Zoo.

For many, though, the highlight of the event wasn’t Jerry Springer apologizing for ruining the culture, or even George Clooney’s equally famous dad Nick regaling the crowd with stories of Walter Cronkite and ruffage. For attendees, and at least a handful of the hotel staff, the pinnacle of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Annual Conference was Continue Reading “Merrymaking in the ‘Nati”

Posted in Media, Memoir of a Real Life Tagged Cincinnati, Corn Hole, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, NSNC

Graduates: How to Let Your Passion Become Your Talent

By Chris Carosa on June 19, 2018

It’s a perfectly acceptable question: How does a trained astrophysicist become a nationally recognized newspaper columnist? The answer, obviously, is by spending three decades working as a registered investment adviser.

OK, OK, maybe this requires some explaining.

Let me begin, however, by talking about you. You and I are very similar. We both want things we can’t have, we’re not “supposed” to have, and we aren’t even at the right station in life to come close to having. And there’s nothing wrong with desiring more – more renown, more wealth, more satisfaction. Don’t ever let someone tell you “You can’t do that.” Dream. Dream big. Never stop dreaming big.

Why?

Because such dreams spur you to far greater heights than you can imagine. They possess these three critical components for consistent success: Continue Reading “Graduates: How to Let Your Passion Become Your Talent”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

You Can Create a Pleasant and Unforgettable Memory by Following These Three Rules

By Chris Carosa on June 12, 2018

It was a small planting bed, not more than 20 feet wide and three feet deep. Located beneath the cantilever on the north side of the family’s newly built raised ranch, the moist topsoil glistened in the summer shade. “You’ve got to mix it in with the old dirt,” said my father.

You could tell the difference. The dusty brown dirt stood apart from the rich loam we had just imported from the nursery. We spent that morning doing the rough work. We dug the hard clay and turned it over. Actually, Dad did that job. The dense dirt proved too tough for me and my brother, then mere pre-schoolers.

Our father, aware of our physical limitations, knew precisely the kind of activity that motivates young bucks like us. “OK, boys,” he said, “after I turn it over you come in behind me and Continue Reading “You Can Create a Pleasant and Unforgettable Memory by Following These Three Rules”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abbott Parkway, Blasdell, Dad, Kenny

Buffalo’s Mystically Magic Resurgence

By Chris Carosa on June 5, 2018

With twin Romanesque columns towering over either side like two rooks joined at the hip, Henry Hobson Richardson’s 19^th century creation looms like full scale Gotham City prop. Traveling along a long-abandoned side road that circles the vast complex, one sees up close the details from the decades of decay. Unattended since 1994, New York State left what remained of the old Buffalo State Asylum to the elements.

The wind-swept snows of Lake Erie would take its toll on the buildings as well as the 200 acres of once elegant grounds laid out by none other than Frederick Law Olmstead. Western New York’s famous winters have only enhanced the eerie feel of the place. Built in oversized fashion from garnet-colored Medina Sandstone and industrial-red brick, the institution carries the burden of its initial purpose.

Elisabeth Stevens once wrote of the building (The Baltimore Sun, Saturday, August 11, 1979, page 7), “…one can conveniently imagine the character such as Mr. Rochester’s wife (in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte) screaming wildly at one of the uppermost windows of the twin, medievalizing towers of the central Romaneque-style building.”

Yet, for all this creepy sensation, Richardson’s realized vision remains alluring. “It’s haunted. There’s a history here that you have to experience,” says Kelly Reitnour of Continue Reading “Buffalo’s Mystically Magic Resurgence”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged Adam Stumpf, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Bill Prohn, Brad Watts, Brenna Gilbert, Buffalo, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Buffalo Psychiatric Center, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo State Asylum, Buffalo State Hospital, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Canalside, Chrtine Jurusik, Comedy Hall of Fame, Craig Muni, David Corbett, Diane O'Donnel, Donna Blaufuss, Doug Miller, Elisabeth Stevens, Elmwood Village, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frederick Law Olmstead, Geri Gaumer, Henry Hobson Richardson, Hobnob, Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center, Jamestown, Jane Zaremski, Julie Kruger, Kelly Reitnour, Louis Sullivan, Lucille Ball, Lucy & Desi Museum, Mark Gacek, Meghan McDonnell, Melanie Marotto, Michelle Lorenc, Nick Massimiian, Robert Redford, Sean Leber, The Natural, Whitney Singleton

Here’s How to Get the Latest… on Everything

By Chris Carosa on May 29, 2018

Kids are great. They offer so much. They give you a reason to excel. They force you to look deep inside yourself. They make you laugh, smile, and (sometimes) cry, but, always leave you filled with a sense of satisfying purpose.

They also do one other thing. Kids, especially those that are a little older but not too old, act like a canary in a coal mine.

Now, before you get to scrunched up in your high heels, I don’t mean they’re something you can use as a sort of human shield. (Truth be told, when they were very young, just before they went to sleep our children would often ask us why we had them. Even before Betsy could break an adoring smile, I blurted out my quick, simple, and direct answer: “To be there so the monster could eat you first.” Soon after, Betsy insisted that only she tuck the children in for the night. I love it when a plan works.)

Here’s what I really mean. They may be the clue to the Fountain of Youth. Kids act like a Continue Reading “Here’s How to Get the Latest… on Everything”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Allegory of the Cave, Ella Winter, Fountain of Youth, Glaucon, Hulu, Plato, Republic, Socrates, Spotify, Thomas Wolfe, You Can't Go Home Again

Are You a Laurel or a Yanni?

By Chris Carosa on May 22, 2018

A few days before it went viral, Peter asked Betsy and me to listen to something and tell him what we heard. This was the now famous “Laurel/Yanni” audio illusion.

An audio illusion is like an optical illusion. You use your eyes with optical illusions and your ears with audio illusions. With optical illusions, the same drawing reveals two completely different pictures. What you see depends entirely on what you’re looking for. In an identical way, an audio illusion contains one string of sounds. You hear what you want (or expect) to hear.

In the case of the Laurel/Yanni audio illusion, listeners convince themselves the string of sounds says “Laurel” or “Yanni.” Although the sound is the same, different people hear different things. Some people (like Peter) can hear either one, depending on what they’re listening for.

And therein lies the critical lesson of this latest internet sensation, the audio version of the Continue Reading “Are You a Laurel or a Yanni?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged audio illusion, bioware, Confirmation bias, optical illusion, quantum physics