The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Archives - Page 15 of 51

How To Be A Successful Writer (In Five Easy Steps)

By Chris Carosa on February 1, 2022

To begin with, most people ask the wrong question.

This doesn’t happen too often locally, but because I also write for national publications, I often get this question: “What do I need to do to become a good writer?”

This question comes in many flavors. For example: “How can I become a better writer?” “What should I do to improve my writing?” “How did you learn to write so well?” That sort of thing.

These are all the wrong questions. Their common mistake: they all assume good writing is the key.

Here’s what most people (and most writers) don’t realize. There’s a difference between Continue Reading “How To Be A Successful Writer (In Five Easy Steps)”

Posted in Great Writing Tips, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

This Is More Important Than Being ‘Tolerant’

By Chris Carosa on January 25, 2022

No matter where you are, there it is. It’s called by a lot of different names, but it all means the same thing.

The trouble is, it doesn’t. And that can hurt people.

You may have heard this story before.

Decades ago, before I had the joy of children, I was assigned as the Town Board liaison to the school district. It was during the initial hype of political correctness. At the time, and not so different from today, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing the maxim “Be Tolerant” plastered somewhere.

During one meeting, (a strategic planning discussion), we were asked to brainstorm on Continue Reading “This Is More Important Than Being ‘Tolerant’”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Axis Powers, Captain Kirk, City on the Edge of Forever, commonality, Crusades, Edith Keeler, HFL School District, Hue de Tabarie, King Saladin of Egypt, Nazi, Ordene de chevalerie, Order of Knighthood, Prince Hugh II of Tiberias, Star Trek, Tolerance Paradox, Town Board, World War II

What’s Your Dream? (Here’s How To Capture It)

By Chris Carosa on January 18, 2022

The original vision that was my “sure winner” in the Florence Brasser art contest. It didn’t win. Then. But The Vision ultimately prevailed.

You have a dream. It may be new. It may have been lingering in the back of your mind for years. Either way, you have a dream.

And it’s compelling.

If you’re like most people, you’re wondering “How can I achieve this dream?” If you’re ambitious (and who isn’t?), you’re wondering, “How can I accomplish my LIFETIME Dream?”

Many years ago, I wrote a column about an ironic first-place award I received in an art contest (see, “Sometimes Second Best Turns Out To Be the Very Best,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, March 20, 2016).

I say “ironic” because the winning drawing was a throwaway picture not meant for the Continue Reading “What’s Your Dream? (Here’s How To Capture It)”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abruzzi, Dad, Florence Brasser, Fontecchio, grandfather, Kenny, L'Aquila, Lifetime Dream, three mountains

Josh Allen Had His In Tampa, Where Did You Have Yours?

By Chris Carosa on January 11, 2022

Something happened in the second half of the game in Tampa Bay on Sunday, December 12, 2021. After being outscored 24 to 3 in the first half, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills battled back by besting the Buccaneers by the identical score of 24 to 3.

Although Tom Brady would bring the Bucs victory in overtime, the second half turnaround marked more than a turning point in a single game, it signaled the start of a mid-season adjustment that sparked the Bills on a winning streak that ended with them standing atop the AFC East for the second year in a row.

So, what exactly happened in that second half? And why is it important for you to know?

It’s called the “Thermopylae Moment.”

OK, nobody calls it that. I just made that up.

But it works.

To fully appreciate the term, you’ll need to go back in history a little bit. And by “a little bit” Continue Reading “Josh Allen Had His In Tampa, Where Did You Have Yours?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 300 Spartans, AFC East, Alamo, Athenian, Athens, Battle of Marathon, Bickering Bills, Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills, Darius, Greece, Greek, Hades, Hollywood, Josh Allen, Leonidas, Malian, Marathon Race, Persia, Persian, Pheidippides, softball, Sparta, Tampa Bay, Theban, Thebes, Thermopylae, Xerxes

Brighton’s Council Rock Primary School Must Change Its Name Immediately!

By Chris Carosa on January 4, 2022

This is not the kind of column I like to write. Still, there’s an obligation as a journalist to sometimes cross a line your mother would not like to see you cross. Alas, this is one of those times.

Our story begins where most stories begin: at the confluence of two well-worn travel routes. No one knows the origin of these two intersecting paths. Most likely, they began as something equivalent to a deer run, a track blazed by animals as they wandered from one watering hole to another in search of food.

It was only a matter of time before man followed those beasts, hunting them down for Continue Reading “Brighton’s Council Rock Primary School Must Change Its Name Immediately!”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged A. Emerson Babcock, Avon, Ban, Brighton, Canandaigua, Council Rock, East Avenue, Evelyn Sharp, Genesee Falls, Indian Landing, Indian Trail, Irondequoit Creek, Iroquois, Jingle Bells, Orringh Stone, Politically Correct, Revolutionary War, Seneca, Stone Tolan House, Tryon, William Billinghurst, Woke

Just Say ‘No!’ To Drugs

By Chris Carosa on November 30, 2021

On March 31, 2021, then Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). According to the official State website, “The legislation created a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) governed by a Cannabis Control Board to comprehensively regulate adult-use, medical, and hemp cannabis. The OCM will issue licenses and develop regulations outlining how and when businesses can participate in the new industry.”

What does this mean?

Well, there are several gears in motion here. The first pertains to private use by adults. Here, the State says “The Office of Cannabis Management needs to draft and issue regulations to implement the law before adult-use sales can begin. However, while there Continue Reading “Just Say ‘No!’ To Drugs”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Cuomo, Cannabis, CATO Institute, consumption, dispensary, Marijuana, MRTA, opt-out, tax revenue

Busting The ‘If We Ain’t Growing, We’re Dying’ Myth

By Chris Carosa on November 16, 2021

Daedalus carefully showed his son how to apply the wax to affix the feathers to his shoulders and arms. “These wings will work,” he said. “We will finally be free of this prison.”

Ironically, it was Daedalus himself who had created the Labyrinth, a vexing array of “intricate passageways and blind alleys” (at least according to Merriam-Webster). Anyone – or anything – imprisoned in this complicated maze found it nearly impossible to escape. Indeed, mythology claimed only Theseus was able to find his way out of Daedalus’ Labyrinth (primarily because Daedalus gave him a big hint).

Why did Daedalus build the Labyrinth? To imprison the Minotaur, a half-man/half-bull monster (whose origin story is not fit to print in a family newspaper). BTW, Theseus went into the Labyrinth to kill the Minotaur (something to do with the ancient Greek version of Continue Reading “Busting The ‘If We Ain’t Growing, We’re Dying’ Myth”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged acquisition, Ariadne, Aristotle, business strategy, Daedalus, debt, Doctrine of the Mean, growth, Icarus, Labyrinth, Minos, Minotaur, risk, The Nicomachean Ethics, Theseus, virtue

Remembering Armistice Day and Celebrating Veterans Day

By Chris Carosa on November 9, 2021

Today is Veterans Day. At the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918, an armistice between opposing sides formally ended the fighting of ‘The Great War.” This was called “the war to end all wars” because the world realized the deadly nature of technology had finally convinced everyone that there was no romance of war.

Perhaps the fact that America learned this lesson a half century earlier in its own Civil War explains our country’s late entry into “The World War” (yet another name used to define the conflict that raged from 1914-1918. Indeed, it was William Tecumseh Sherman who Continue Reading “Remembering Armistice Day and Celebrating Veterans Day”

Posted in Great Speaking Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Armistice Day, Calvin Coolidge, chemical weapons, Civil War, Decoration Day, Dwight D. Eisenhower, lost generation, Memorial Day, Michigan Military Academy, tanks, The Great War, The War to End All Wars, The World War, trench warfare, Veteran's Day, William Tecumseh Sherman, Woodrow Wilson, World War I, World War II

Abandon All Bond, Ye Who Enter Here

By Chris Carosa on November 2, 2021

I don’t usually do movie reviews, but I when I do, I drink water. And I also usually write them immediately after seeing the film. I did that in this case. The editorial calendar, has the review coming out a month later. On the bright side, at least everyone who watched the movie will have done so by now, so I don’t have to warn you about spoilers.

For James Bond aficionados, there’s always been an obvious choice for “Worst Bond Film Ever.”

Following Sean Connery’s “retirement” after the box office smash You Only Live Twice, the film series’ producer Albert Broccoli had to look for a new Bond. It’s said he considered over Continue Reading “Abandon All Bond, Ye Who Enter Here”

Posted in Movie Reviews, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Adam West, Albert Broccoli, Batman, Burt Bacharach, Burton K. Wheeler, Captain Kirk, Casino Royale, Charles Feldman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, City on the Edge of Forever, Daniel Craig, Dante Alighieri, David Niven, Dick Van Dyke, Dr. No, Fry's Chocolate, George Lazenby, Hal David, Ian Fleming, Inferno, James Bond, Jimmy Bond, Marquess of Queensberry, MI6, No Time To Die, Oliver Reed, Peter Sellers, Roald Dahl, Sean Connery, Star Trek, The Look of Love, The Magical Car, Timothy Dalton, Ursula Andress, Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Family, Woody Allen, You Only Live Twice

A Memorable Week of Cottage Pranks

By Chris Carosa on October 26, 2021

Before there was The Purge (2013). Before there was The Hunger Games (2008). Before there was Rollerball (1975). Heck, even before there was the Star Trek episode “The Return of the Archons” (1967), upon which writer-director James DeManaco based his movie The Purge.

Before all these fictional dystopian fantasies, there was real-life Bladderball.

Bladderball was (notice the past tense) a massive (thousands of participants) game played at Yale from 1954 to 1982. It involved a large (6-foot diameter) leather “exercise” ball and Continue Reading “A Memorable Week of Cottage Pranks”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries