The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Archives - Page 37 of 56

The Difference Between a Reporter and a Columnist

By Chris Carosa on April 3, 2018

I interviewed a prospective intern the other day and she asked a very interesting question. I was explaining how, because our vast publishing empire does so many things – from print to digital, from text to video, from social media to books – we have the flexibility to design an internship program customized to her specific needs and wants. I asked her, “What should you have on your resume that would most impress your future employer? Chances are, you can get that by interning here.”

She was contemplating a different question, though. Something I had told her about what I do intrigued her, and she wanted to explore that. So, instead of answering my question, she asked me one of her own.

“What’s the difference between a reporter and a columnist?”

I leaned back in my chair. Wow, I thought, what a great question!

I had told her I did both. She wanted to know specifically how the two journalism functions Continue Reading “The Difference Between a Reporter and a Columnist”

Posted in Media, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Batman, Buffalo Evening News, Cicero, columnist, Dragnet, Fiduciary News, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, NSNC, reporter, Riddler, Sergeant Friday

How Has Your Life Changed in the Past 30 Years?

By Chris Carosa on March 20, 2018

By Raphaël Thiémard from Belgique (Berlin 1989, Fall der Mauer, Chute du mur) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Where were you in 1989? Were you glued to the television watching the Berlin Wall come down, symbolizing the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the dawning of democracy in Western Europe? Perhaps, instead, you marveled at the picture of the one lone protestor in Tiananmen Square stare down a column of tanks as China decided it would not experience the same fate as its communist rival. Back on the brighter side, evil nemesis Ayatollah Khomeini died, although that didn’t seem to change much. Oh, yeah, and George H. W. Bush was sworn in what many expected to mark the beginning of Ronald Reagan’s “third” term.

Maybe, rather than the geopolitick, you preferred the here and now of the budding world of technology. You probably couldn’t believe this “486” chip just introduced by Intel could make “home” computers (that’s what they were called then) operate so fast. Little did you know you’d need that extra power to best use Microsoft’s new entry into the business software market with its product called “Office.” (And, if you were like most of us, you’d have thought only a fool would believe Excel could supplant Lotus’ 1-2-3.) Less interested in home computers? How about home video games? Nintendo releases something called a “Game Boy,” an 8-bit handheld system featuring interchangeable cartridges that revolutionized the industry.

High tech not your gig? No doubt you spent time waiting in line at the post office to buy a Continue Reading “How Has Your Life Changed in the Past 30 Years?”

Posted in Media, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1989, 486, Al Michaels, Batman, Berlin Wall, Bickering Bills, China, excel, Game Boy, George H. W. Bush, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Intel, Loma Prieta, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Office, Ronald Reagan, Soviet Union, The Little Mermaid, The Sentinel, Tiananmen Square, Toyota Lexus, World Series

The Power of Losing Positively

By Chris Carosa on February 13, 2018

“Into each life some rain must fall.” Do you recall when you first heard this time-honored adage? Recording artists from Ella Fitzgerald to the Ink Spots to Queen have crooned serenades featuring this famous phrase. It was referenced in Steve Martin’s movie “My Blue Heaven.” But the true source of this inspired wisdom harks back to the early America of the nineteenth century. For it was, in 1842 – undoubtedly on a dark and dreary day – that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sat down at his desk and penned his classic poem “The Rainy Day.”

What might have moved Longfellow to write these words? Perhaps he still mourned the loss of his first wife Mary, who died in 1831. Maybe he had become despondent over his near decade long courtship of Frances, the woman who would eventually become his second wife. What ever the source, the expression packs power. It’s the kind of power the Continue Reading “The Power of Losing Positively”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 2018 Winter Olympics, dark, depths, dreary, Ella Fitzgerald, Erin Hamlin, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Marv Levy, My Blue Heaven, New England Patriots, Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, power, Queen, self-esteem, Shani Davis, Steve Martin, Super Bowl LII, The Ink Spots, The Rainy Day, Tom Brady

Did Shirley M. Collado March in the Women’s March?

By Chris Carosa on January 23, 2018

While last year’s Women’s March reflected a strictly partisan nature, organizers purposely tried to broaden its appeal by focusing on the current #MeToo campaign against sexual assault. Granted, some continued to view it as strictly an anti-Trump event, but others did not. You no doubt saw in your FaceBook feed a picture of a local resident marching in Washington DC’s march carrying a pro-life sign. If that isn’t a sign of inclusiveness, I don’t know what is.

All across America and Canada (at least), the #MeToo movement permeated the event. Speeches referenced the proliferation of sexual harassment stories coming from Hollywood, Washington, and high-profile media personalities. It’s a theme that unifies across the political spectrum, from conservative to liberal. Perhaps that’s why so many participated in the Women’s March this weekend.

One person, however, who should not dare include herself among the participants in any Continue Reading “Did Shirley M. Collado March in the Women’s March?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

Carl Foss (1927-2018): Remembrance of a True Community Ideal

By Chris Carosa on January 16, 2018

Communities are not defined by mere words and platitudes of the chattering class. Though they endure through the dedication of their residents, communities only attain lasting permanence through tangible structures. These include both physical and philosophical constructs people can rally around. They are forged by the grand ideas from the active minds of singular individuals. Carl Foss was one of those individuals. He thought big, achieved big, and left us all with a better community. He represents an ideal we should all strive for.

The following is a personal remembrance. As such, it reflects only my feelings, limited as they are, on the impact this great man had on his community.

I don’t remember the first time I met Carl Foss. I do remember his reputation preceded our actually meeting. It was the late 1980s. I was just getting involved in the Town of Mendon. Jack Leckie, then Town Supervisor, told me I should get to know Carl Foss. At the time, Carl was the Chairman of the Zoning Board. I had zero interest in Zoning, but I had heard Carl was quite knowledgeable about the subject – and he took it quite seriously.

Again, I don’t remember when I first met him, but I do remember I was immediately Continue Reading “Carl Foss (1927-2018): Remembrance of a True Community Ideal”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Arlene Cluff, Bill Fletcher, Carl Foss, Chuck Meisenzahl, Dick Dehm, Jack Leckie, Jeanne Loberg, Lucy Parsons, Mendon Foundation, Mendon Station Park, Mendon Town Board, Pack 105, Rochester Junction, St. Catherine's, Troop 105, Warren Wallace

Old-Time Hockey Meets New Era Field

By Chris Carosa on January 9, 2018

In a stadium half filled with distinct Canadian accents, I overheard the following comment: “It doesn’t snow like this during football games.” Obviously, that visitor wasn’t present just a few weeks earlier for the Blizzard Game against the Colts (see “Live from the 2017 Buffalo Bills Snow Bowl,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, December 14, 2017).

This night, however, wasn’t a football game, it was a hockey game. And not just any regular hockey game, it was an outdoor Continue Reading “Old-Time Hockey Meets New Era Field”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Buffalo, Canada, Dit Clapper, Eddie Shore, hockey, New Era Field, Orchard Park, snow, Snow Belt, Toe Blake, USA, World Juniors

2017 in Review: The (non) Story of the Year

By Chris Carosa on January 2, 2018

There’s a common adage among skeptics the world over: “Who watches the watchdog?”

Decades ago I had the honor of serving on the HFL School District’s newly formed “Technology Committee.” This group was tasked with the job of trying to determine the best way to integrate the then new technology of personal computers (and related software) into the learning environment. We quickly saw one of the greatest advantages as the enhanced ability to conduct research from direct sources. Librarians saw this as an opportunity to free up rare shelf space by replacing printed (and quickly outdated) encyclopedias with their digital (and instantly undated) equivalent.

For every upside, however, there’s a glaring downside. In this case, it was the credibility of Continue Reading “2017 in Review: The (non) Story of the Year”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 2016 election, ABC, BuzzFeed, Encyclopedia Britannica, facebook, Fake News, Founding Fathers, Russian Collusion, Technology Committee, Woodward-Berstein Effect, YouTube

Live from the 2017 Buffalo Bills Snow Bowl

By Chris Carosa on December 12, 2017

Photo courtesy of Catarina Lena Carosa

Unless you grew up on the western shores of Lake Erie, it’s kinda hard to describe just exactly what “lake effect” conjures up in the brain. I was reminded of this last Friday, when I traveled once more to the land of my youth. I left merry old Mendon with nary a hint of the white stuff anywhere to be found. By the time I had arrive in Amherst ninety minutes later, the mushy roads were only then being plowed. In three hours – smack dab in the middle of the morning rush hour – a devilish lake effect band targeted the North Towns of Buffalo.

I was “lucky” enough to be there before the plows to witness first hand the blissful blessing of the new fallen snow. It was Christmas card perfect. Pristine and sparkly, with the look of a soft blanket, it almost took me back to those fuzzy days of yore, but then I Continue Reading “Live from the 2017 Buffalo Bills Snow Bowl”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abbott Road, Blasdell, Buffalo Bills, Christmas, hamburg, Ilio DiPaolo's, Indianapolis Colts, Jack Nicholson, Lackawanna, lake effect, Lake Erie, New Era Field, Orchard Park, Pepsi, The Shining, thundersnow

‘tis the Season

By Chris Carosa on December 5, 2017

If the forecast is correct, there may be snow on the ground by the time you read this. Still, even if the dullish green grass and crumpled brown leaves remain, there’s no denying we’ve entered that special time of the year – the Christmas Season.

There. I said it. I said “Christmas” instead of “Xmas,” instead of “Holiday,” instead of “Winter.” instead of “Xmas.” I don’t say “Christmas” to ignore practicing Jews, who celebrate Hanukkah beginning on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev (which falls on Tuesday, December 12^th this year) and lasts for 8 days (December 20^th this year). I say “Merry Christmas” because that’s what my family celebrates (and has celebrated for generations). If my family had celebrated Hanukkah instead, I would be wishing everyone a “Happy Hanukkah” rather than a “Merry Christmas.”

Well, maybe I’d still say “Merry Christmas.”

Why? Because, despite efforts by Christian groups to deny this and by anti-religious Continue Reading “‘tis the Season”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged A Christmas Carol, Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas, Ellis Gimbel, Hanukkah, Lucy Van Pelt, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Pew Research, Shipper and Block Department Store, The Night Before Christmas

Why I’m Thankful for The Sandlot

By Chris Carosa on November 21, 2017

Take a step out into the fall air. There’s a faint rustle in the stillness. Falling leaves flutter to the Earth’s floor. Their slow decomposition releases an arousing aroma. It’s the smell of autumn. It’s the smell of coming things. It’s the smell of football.

There comes a time in the late school day afternoon, when the homework is finished, that the smell beckons. When this siren calls, the boys come out.

Or at least they used to. There was once an age, well before organized youth sports, when neighborhood boys would regularly convene. Together, they would decide the game, the boundaries, and the rules. Then they’d play. Sometimes deep into the darkness. The score never mattered. The camaraderie did.Continue Reading “Why I’m Thankful for The Sandlot”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Dortmund Circle, football, Thanksgiving