Isella Ramirez and Casey Wang, program managers from the Hester Street Collaborative in NYC, visited Syracuse yesterday for the Visioning Voices Community Speaker Series. Hester Street uses design as a tool for neighborhood planning and change. Before the presentations the two planners joined a small group of residents on a brief tour of the Brighton/Salina Corridor. They are pictured here resting outside Dunk & Bright Furniture.
Raging Bullz mascot (circa 2007)
Southside Communications Center
Carl Schramm,economist, author, professor and founder of Global Entrepreneurship Week, gave a lunchtime talk at Bird Library on Monday.
Some ways to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, according to Carl Schramm, Syracuse University Professor and LeMoyne College grad, are as follows:
More start-ups equals more jobs, and at their best entrepreneurs are synthesizers, he said.
The Syracuse-native and former head of the Kauffman Foundation started Global Entrepreneur Week back in 2007. As part of his remarks on Monday, he also talked about our legacy of innovation here in the Salt City. Syracuse , now known for eds and meds, was once fertile ground for start up enterprises. In the days of the Erie Canal, he said, New York State was like Silicon Valley. Together pioneering ventures such as Sanderson Bros. Steel and LC Smith Typewriters helped solidify our region’s national reputation back in the day.
One business leader in the audience hinted that manufacturing may be poised for a healthy resurgence in these parts.
The ideas and dialogue from the Global Entrepreneurship Week at Syracuse University continues thru Nov. 18.
Mural, Connective Corridor
Professor Louie and the Crowmatix paid tribute to singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen during their show in Homer, NY. Cohen passed away earlier this week.
Celebrating Veterans, Onondaga County War Memorial
Miss Marie & Professor Louie (Center for the Arts, Homer, NY)
We visited the artsy, but reverent space known as the Center for the Arts in Homer for the first time on Friday. The Veterans Day tribute featuring Professor Louie & The Crowmatix was a blast. The Pride of Peekskill (aka The Professor) oversaw the wonderful performance either seated at the keys, and or flexing his shoulders to play his vintage accordion. We particularly enjoyed his vocal chemistry with singer Miss Marie (pictured above).
The show featured a generous 2-hour plus performance, including tributes to Leonard Cohen and Buckwheat Zydeco. As an added bonus, we noticed some familiar faces in the horn section, and their intro paved the way for a truly sonic performance in the formerly sacred space.
Gary Burke
Gary Burke drummed up a fuss the entire night, including a great solo on the cut “Mr. Luck.” Meanwhile guitarist John Planania put the crowd under his spell, especially on the Van Morrison hit “Domino.” Frank Campbell also kept things steady with his trusty bass and background vocals.
The venue featured a spacious lobby as well. The acoustics sometimes suffered from the vaulted ceiling, but there was not a bad seat in the house. We found the post-it seat reservation system a pleasant dose of nonconformity.
Special thanks to Tom Honan and Live Space Entertainment for the invite.
National Anthem
Jeff Stockham (second from left) led the Syracuse Horns as they huffed and puffed, and nearly blew their faces off as a gusty adjunct to Professor Louie and Cromatix last night at the Homer Arts Center.
Outside the Onondaga County War Memorial