Chris Carosa

First They Came for Our Plastics Bags…

By Chris Carosa on February 4, 2020

First they came for our plastic bags, and I did not speak out – because I am but a small voice and could do nothing.

I offer this allusion because Martin Niemöller’s poem remains as profound today as it was when the Lutheran pastor penned his post-war confession in 1946. It’s language of persecution, oppression, and injustice, along with the attendant feelings of shame, regret, and the aura of culpability, ring true today in the Empire State as they once did in the totalitarian morass that immediately succeeded the Weimar Republic.

More on that in a moment. First, a bit of (more) recent history.

By the time Mr. Maguire whispered the word “plastics” into Benjamin Braddock’s attentive, albeit naïve, ear in the 1967 hit movie The Graduate, it had already been two years since Continue Reading “First They Came for Our Plastics Bags…”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, Benjamin Braddock, Cellopast, Cuomo, Empire State, Gustaf Thulin Sten, Kroger, Martin Niemoller, Mr. Maguire, New York, plastic bag, Safeway, T-shirt plastic bag, Wegmans, Weimar Republic

Ode to Larry Pierce: Forever Among the Colonnade of Community Pillars

By Chris Carosa on January 28, 2020

They are few and far between. Any vibrant community is blessed by no more than a handful. They’re unassuming when you see them. But the moment they speak, you know them.

They are the bedrock of any sustainable community – the foundation upon which everyday folks like us can confidently build our everyday lives. They allow us to assume a comfortable regularity of our surroundings. This makes our lives more pleasant. This makes our lives easier. This, indeed, makes our lives.

Yet, they are much more. Beyond the rock of a common foundation, they represent the solid stone pillars that uplift our community. In doing so, they not only make our lives Continue Reading “Ode to Larry Pierce: Forever Among the Colonnade of Community Pillars”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Boy Scouts, empathy, Larry Pierce, leadership, listening, Mendon, Mendon Firemen, Mendon Town Board, self-confidence

Why the Hamburger is Who You Are

By Chris Carosa on January 21, 2020

I had the most enjoyable of times a couple Thursday evenings ago. Perhaps a bit too enjoyable.

I was honored to have been invited to speak to the Mendon/Honeoye Falls Historical Society about a subject near and dear to my heart: the history of the hamburger. Not only is it the topic of my most recent book, but I have been lucky enough to talk about my research at events across the nation.

You can understand why I may have enjoyed myself just a tad more than I should have during my Historical Society presentation.

Oh, I tried and tried to maintain my sober scholarly best. But, as is wont to occur when I talk about matters I’ve pursued down rabbit holes of research with extreme vigor, passion inevitably gets the better of me. And when that enthusiasm inspires audience interest, it Continue Reading “Why the Hamburger is Who You Are”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Hamburger, success, the meaning of life

Condemned to Repeat It: This 200+ Year Old Concept Rises Again in 2020

By Chris Carosa on January 14, 2020

“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
– George Santayana in his 1905 series, The Life of Reason: the Phases of Human Progress.

It’s not new. It’s been with us since George Washington ended his second term as President. You might have heard it ended once and for all during the nadir of the American experiment.

But it’s still here. And for all its association with evil, the worst of our proud heritage, people continue to embrace it like a badge of honor.

Yet, it began with such promise…

No one ever questioned George Washington. He’s our first and probably last Continue Reading “Condemned to Repeat It: This 200+ Year Old Concept Rises Again in 2020”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1796 Election, Adam Bello, Alien and Sedition Acts, Civil War, compromise, Compromise Tarriff of 1833, drivers license, Federal Immigration Law, George Santayana, George Washington, Henry Clay, James Madison, John Adams, John Calhoun, Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, Michael Kearns, New York State, nullification, Sanctuary City, second amendment, The Life of Reason, The Nullification Crisis, Thomas Jefferson, tribalism

Bills Fans May Be Hurt, But We Are Not Slain

By Chris Carosa on January 7, 2020

This is not the Commentary I had planned to write. Nonetheless, I write it with reluctance because a community cries out for it. Not our entire community, so if this doesn’t apply to you, feel free to skip it.

Of course, to ignore this piece betrays a certain detached coldness many of your neighbors would find less than appreciative. Read it to understand them. Read it to empathize. Read it to sympathize.

Those within the portion of our community to which this column addresses – especially those new to the cause – will read this to recognize the true meaning of resiliency.

By the time you receive this, Saturday’s heart-breaking loss will be nearly a week old. A lot of stuff has happened between now and then. A lot of stuff that separates you from that pain. A lot of stuff way more important than a game.

Nonetheless, it’s important to capture the emotion of that moment when an overtime field goal ended a Cinderella season. That feeling must be bottled. Not bottled-up, but Continue Reading “Bills Fans May Be Hurt, But We Are Not Slain”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind

Mike Alcorn: A Helluva Guy

By Chris Carosa on December 31, 2019

There’s something about a fraternal bond that is indescribable. It’s like a secret sauce that forever bands brothers together. And I’m not talking “brothers” in the genetic sense. It’s more a sense of kindred, a fundamental commonality that goes back, way back. It goes so far back our conscious mind can’t explain, can’t predict it.

But we know without a doubt when it’s there.

Like many, I knew Mike Alcorn. For certain not as well as others, but I knew him as a fellow-traveler, like most parents with kids the same age know each other.

Perhaps a little more given our shared entrepreneurial experience.

I can’t remember when I first met Mike, but I’m almost certain it was well before we knew Continue Reading “Mike Alcorn: A Helluva Guy”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 50 Hidden Gems, beer, CBS, Custom Brewcrafters, Dan Poliziani, erie county fair, HFL Youth Football, Honeoye Falls Chamber of Commerce, Josh Alcorn, Luanne Alcorn, Mike Alcorn, West is best

Contrition, Forgiveness, and Redemption: An Alternative (and Better) Ending to The Man in the High Castle

By Chris Carosa on December 10, 2019

If you watched the fourth and final season of Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle and you found yourself saying “Huh?!” at the end of the last episode, you’ll enjoy this.

WARNING: If you haven’t watched the entire fourth season, this article contains spoilers.

Let’s recap a couple of important plot points in the fourth season. These will come into play as we twist to a more satisfying conclusion.

The season opened with Juliana in the “real” timeline. (By “real,” we mean the timeline where Continue Reading “Contrition, Forgiveness, and Redemption: An Alternative (and Better) Ending to The Man in the High Castle”

Posted in Movie Reviews, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

Out of Moves: The Man in the High Castle Finale Rooks Fans

By Chris Carosa on December 10, 2019

I don’t often do critical reviews of movies, but I have done them. I can’t, however, remember ever doing a review of contemporary episodic television.

Well, there’s always a first time. And this is it.

I’ve been a fan of Philip K. Dick ever since Ridley Scott transformed the author’s novel Do Androids Dream an Electric Sleep? into the cinematic classic Blade Runner. The movie combined stunning visuals with a deeply compelling drama. The sights, the score, the screenplay; they all melded together into an irresistible film.

So, when Scott decided to take on Dick’s The Man in the High Castle as an Amazon series, I simply couldn’t pass it up.

The Man in the High Castle falls under the “alternative history” genre. The concept revolves Continue Reading “Out of Moves: The Man in the High Castle Finale Rooks Fans”

Posted in Movie Reviews, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged alternative history, Blade Runner, character development, Do Androids Dream an Electric Sleep?, drama, Philip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, story arc, television series, The Man in the High Castle, World War II

Should Yale (and Other Elite Colleges) Require Students Take a Kobayashi Maru Test?

By Chris Carosa on December 3, 2019

When it comes to “The Game,” precedent has no say. The annual Yale-Harvard ritual evokes a rivalry that transcends the ages, as well as the win-loss record of the season’s previous games. So it was in 1979 when the heavily favored undefeated Yale Bulldogs fell to the Harvard Crimson in the season’s ultimate game by the score of 22-7.

Even the final score means nothing. In 1968, when Harvard scored 16 points in the final 42 seconds to earn a tie, the Harvard Crimson headline read: “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.”

This year, the 136^th edition of The Game was much anticipated. ESPN had it moved up an hour to a noon start since the Yale Bowl has no lights. Yale, with a record of 8-1, scoring an average of 37.4 points-per-game and fighting for the Ivy League title, was the odds-on favorite to defeat Harvard, losers of four straight. Was anyone surprised, then, that the first half ended with Harvard beating the Bulldogs by a solid 15-3 margin?

The halftime show changed everything.Continue Reading “Should Yale (and Other Elite Colleges) Require Students Take a Kobayashi Maru Test?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Alumni Assembly Convocation, Buffalo Bills, Campusland, Doonesbury, ESPN, football, Harvard, Kabayashi Maru, M*A*S*H, Marv Levy, Peter Salovey, resilient, Scott Johnston, Star Trek, The Game, YAA, Yale, Yale Bowl

What Every Leader Wants (and Better Have)

By Chris Carosa on November 19, 2019

When we think of leadership, we think of power, authority, and influence. We often assume these three traits are interchangeable, that they mean the same thing.

They don’t.

According to Merriam-Webster, those with “power” have the “ability to act or produce an effect.” In addition, the dictionary also says power may be a “legal or official authority, capacity, or right” that possesses “control, authority, or influence over others.” Despite this, don’t confuse “power” with either “authority” or “influence.” You can possess power without having either authority or influence.

How is this so?

Merriam-Webster fails to help here, as it defines “authority” as the “power to influence or Continue Reading “What Every Leader Wants (and Better Have)”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged authority, Influence, leadership, power, success