Chris Carosa, Author at Chris Carosa

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

Ode to a Fallen Tree

By Chris Carosa on May 15, 2018

I remember buying it. It was, maybe, eight inches tall. Despite its size, it formed the perfect shape of a tiny Christmas tree. It didn’t look like a Bonsai Tree. Its needles were full size, out of scale and too big for a Bonsai Tree.

The little blue spruce wasn’t the only tree I bought that day. It was the fall of 1986 and my house was brand new. I had no furniture of my own. I had no family of my own. I had no lawn, no landscaping, no home, really.

I was in the process of making my house a home. The first thing I needed to address had Continue Reading “Ode to a Fallen Tree”

Posted in Boy Scouts, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life Tagged Betsy, Catarina, Dad, garden, grandpa, house, Kenny, landscape, Peter

The Problem with Ambition: Sometimes You Don’t Need It to Succeed

By Chris Carosa on May 8, 2018

We often think of ancient Rome as a patriarchal society. That may have been true then, but from what I’ve seen, in Italian culture it’s been the women who run things. Whether its grandmothers, mothers, or wives, they represent the backbone of the family and the community. Sure, it seems like the men are in charge, but that’s exactly what the women want them to think. In reality, if the men are the pillars, it’s only because the women are the solid foundation.

Do you recall one-word themes of your youth that have forever shaped you?

Growing up, my grandmother regularly imparted to me and my brother her formula for success. It wasn’t enough to possess talent, you had to possessContinue Reading “The Problem with Ambition: Sometimes You Don’t Need It to Succeed”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life Tagged ambition, grandma, mom, share, success, think