The Reconnecter Roundup, Volume 29 -

By Seamus Gallivan

Notes & Events for Social Connection & Beloved Community

Sharing is caring!
Calling all tooligans!
Week in Review will return next week!
Musings on Music – new EP from Roger Bryan & the Orphans
Featured Events – 40+ this week, submissions welcome!
Listening Links – boosting Buffalo while buckling up for the next few months
Reading Rundown – local, national, international

Welcome to the Reconnecter Roundup! This free weekly email connects people, places, and causes by featuring events, news, and notes.

Happy Monday, y’all! With Buffalo summer in full swing, I ran out of time to put everything I’d planned in here before heading out to my first Slow Roll since lovingly resigning from my cofounding role last year – I’ll write about that and much more next week, meantime enjoy the longest list of events yet and please keep sending your events, ideas and new subscribers!

The Tool Library Shows How Sharing is Caring

Need a drill or a ladder, a table or a tent? Got something broken that you’d rather repair than replace, but don’t know how to fix it or where to take it? Call your local “tooligan,” or become one yourself!

I’ve found abundant inspiration and support from the friendly folks at The Tool Library, a volunteer-powered nonprofit that serves to “share the tools our neighbors need to create the change they want.” The tinkerers at their Dare to Repair pop-up events have revived multiple vacuums, clocks and so much more of mine and hundreds of neighbors, regardless of our capacity to donate $30 annually for access to their thousands of tools.“At The Tool Library, we believe that cost shouldn’t be a barrier to fixing up your home, growing your own food, and improving your community,” they say – and they show it from their Main Street headquarters with thousands of tools for the borrowing, to their Dare to Repair cafes spread around the region, to the countless community cleanups and gardens that have been bolstered by their resources, including the power of people united in purpose.

Lines like this are my love language: “We foster collaborative consumption of shared goods, which shifts the focus from wanting more stuff to wanting more access to stuff.”This Saturday brings their fourth annual Gather, Garden & Grow fundraiser, taking place at The Plot Flower Farm at 3233 Main Street, which was “built from the ground up with Tool Library tools, come see the power of sharing in action!”

If this Saturday won’t work for you, please consider visiting their new HQ at 2626 Main and even contributing to the capital campaign to buy the building; become a member, bring something broken to an upcoming Dare to Repair cafe and watch em work their magic!

photos by Tool Library cofounder and director Darren Cotton

Become a paying member to help us promote beloved community!

Musings on Music

Roger Bryan & the Orphans Release New Album and Return to Mohawk

Much more ado in the weeks to come about the jazz scene featured here last week – including new live videos!

Let’s now look to rock n roll, specifically around the gritty glory of Mohawk Place, the downtown dive where the likes of My Morning Jacket, the Black Keys and the White Stripes have played on their way to international fame.

All along – except for those dark days of its two-year closing more than a decade ago – the ‘Hawk has been the home hang for a bevy of burgeoning Buffalo bands such as Roger Bryan & the Orphans, arguably the “grand champeen” of the humble and sincere Harvest Sum Records.

“All Them Years” indeed – cheers to the Orphans on the release of their latest EP Days or Nights, pressed to vinyl alongside their previous release That’s Life now available online and in person this Friday for a release party complete with two Columbus groups in continuing camaraderie between the ‘Hawk and Ohio bands.

These five new songs – tightly recorded by John Angelo and Marc Hunt, mixed by Angelo and Michael Crow and mastered by Angelo – extend the Orphans’ earnest 16-year run of “merging classic American songwriting with both grace and recklessness,” a familiar yet fresh addition to “a catalog of ragged glory that continues to grow and evolve while managing to keep a heart still stitched on its well worn sleeve.”

Props to whomever wrote that – it’s right on for a band that does it from the heart and for the music. Dig Bryan’s reflective hook on “All Them Years”: “21 years, I’m learning to fight; 31 years, figuring out what’s right; 41 years, if I make it, I’ll see you in time.” Here’s to the latest harvest from Harvest Sum, and to many more to come!

Encore plug for the next night at Mohawk – Buffalo band Whitetails, fresh off of releasing a sweeping new single “The Garden,” bringing another multi-city bill this Saturday – dare you to make a weekend of it!

Events in the Week Ahead

Thanks to all submitting their events – Welcoming event submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.

Listening Links

As we prepare to launch the Reconnecter podcast and a section for podcasts on our website, adding weekly listening links that align with the intentions of Reconnecter.

Cooperating to Make Change in Buffalo and Beyond – WBFO What’s Next – “Cooperation Buffalo is an organization that engages its community in training and education in cooperative economics, works to grow economic democracy, and creates an ecosystem of cooperatively owned enterprises in Buffalo.”

The Lingering Questions about the Attempt to Kill Trump – The Daily – “In the week since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the security mistakes that led to the shooting have come into sharp focus, prompting Kimberly Cheatle, the head of the Secret Service, to resign.”

Pete Buttigieg Thinks the Trump Fever Could Break – The New York Times – “Sometimes when you explain what you believe to somebody, even if they don’t completely agree with you, they respect you more, and are inclined to maybe trust you and give you the benefit of the doubt.” Buttigieg has risen rapidly through his 2020 Presidential campaign and appointment as Secretary of Transportation to become a leading messenger in national politics; for those interested, I’ll be happy to share in future editions here a counterpoint from a surrogate for Trump.

The Kamala Question – What Now? with Trevor Noah – “Sociologist and NYT columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom joins Trevor, Christiana, and Josh as they unpack Biden dropping out, Kamala’s nomination, and where we’re at in this ever evolving (some might say devolving) political landscape.”

What Does Friendship Mean To Us? – House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy – “The Surgeon General invites an old friend and House Calls producer to talk about how their deep connection has seen them through the best of times and the worst of times, sustaining them both personally and professionally.”

What’s Next? | Reconnecting to Prevent Social Unrest – WBFO – Leaving this link up for a while, as I’m honored to have been invited onto this profound program – this went real deep from the jump, please listen! Here’s how they described it: “Seamus Gallivan’s latest endeavor is Reconnecter, a ‘social connection space’ that aims to bring people together in person and online ‘by illuminating the ties that bind us.’ That means music showcases, variety shows, and media elements — all to help provide a need that he believes can help prevent social unrest. Gallivan sits down with Thomas O’Neil-White to speak about the power of reconnection and his plans for the new project.”

Reading Rundown

With intent to connect, inform, and inspire action, every Reconnecter Roundup closes with links to other sources and stories that deserve more attention. Always welcoming links to read and share at seamus@reconnecter.org.

Advocates call for change after latest fatal bicycle crash in Tonawanda – WGRZ – “Thursday morning, 15-year-old Luke Guetti passed away from the injuries he suffered after he was struck by a pickup truck while riding his bike Tuesday night.”

Video shows sheriff’s deputy shoot and kill an unarmed woman in Springfield, Ill.– WBEZ Chicago – “Sonya Massey called 911 to report a potential prowler before being shot inside her home. Footage shows she was cowering and holding a pot when the deputy opened fire.”

Disabled activists leave Disability Pride Flag Raising early in protest – WBFO – “On Wednesday, the City of Buffalo held a flag raising to celebrate the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Disability Pride Month. However, a group of disabled leaders say they left the ceremony early after a ‘insulting and disrespectful’ decision, they say, to have a care agency speak at the event.”

Recite the Pledge of Allegiance … or leave – Investigative Post – “Every public body is allowed to have rules of conduct, but I’ve never heard that someone not saying the Pledge is something someone can be removed for.”

Rick Dudley’s Stanley Cup moment was worth the long wait – The Buffalo News – “I saw the way he played, I saw the way he treated people as a coach and manager. The fact that he invited fans here is spectacular. It just confirms to all of us what a great person he is and how he cares about people.”

I’m a daughter of Holocaust survivors. These German students and I are learning about the power of listening – CNN – “Can we find a way beyond the noise, beyond the shouting, beyond the forest?”

Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!

Please share with friends to sign up for next Monday’s Reconnecter Roundup, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome – we’re just getting started!Copyright (C) 2024 Reconnecter, Inc. All rights reserved.