If I were a rich man …

You can’t get to the bagels without passing the huge flat screens. I think these folks know what they’re doing, the way they plot your entry way to the goods at BJ’s Wholesale Club. My dear wife Karen and I stopped at the need-membership-to-shop store yesterday afternoon. Their gas is about 20 cents cheaper a…

The Swimming Gorilla – Mark

The Swimming Gorilla – Mark. Don Charisma allowed me to participate in the second installment of his Blog Impro volley. (I know, over hear in the States we call it improv, but because Don is a Londoner now living in Thailand — love his pictures! — I’ll go with impro.) Feel free to take a…

It’s time to play a guessing game

Let’s have a little fun this Sunday morning. I will call it: Guess what this is? On my mall-walks this winter, a new corner establishment has caught my eye every time. The name of the joint is Revolutions. Here are three good looks at the business located in the Syracuse, N.Y., mega entertainment, dining and…

Those of us born in 1957 will turn 57 this year

Update: I have discovered that this special match is now called the Beddian Birthday. Find out why by clicking to my story here. Before another day of 2014 slips by, I must weigh in on a fact that’s quite intriguing to me. All of us born in the year 1957 will experience our 57th birthday…

I’ll take a case of that full moon, please

Sometimes our weekly trip to the supermarket yields more than we ever knew we had on our shopping list. My dear wife Karen and I took a moment tonight to appreciate the winter sky before we took the cart into Wegmans, on the east side of Syracuse, N.Y. It was about 7:30, a pretty evening…

Get ’em while it’s hot: Kevin Hart joins Ice Cube for ‘Ride Along’

Every now and again, it seems like every other movie trailer that pops on the screen features the same actor. I’ve been feeling like this is the winter of Kevin Hart. The latest for the funny man is ‘Ride Along,’ in which he plays security guard who tries to prove he’s worthy of taking the…

After an initial jolt, the Chevy Spark leaves me feeling unplugged

On a trip to the credit union this week, an ostentatious little car caught my eye. I would call the color Godawful Green. To each their own. But that wasn’t the only reason I stopped and stared for a bit. This was my first encounter with the Chevy Spark. The urban-ready little vehicle was not…

Passing along the Sunshine Award

When you’re sitting out a Syracuse winter and somebody nominates you for the Sunshine Award, well, you may get hit with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I’d like to thank Don Charisma for taking time from his careful planning for this weekend’s round of Impro on his great and busy blog, DonCharisma.org to include me…

A teen singer from Norwich, N.Y., Kaitlyn Jackson, makes ‘American Idol’ night one intriguing

Part way into the Boston auditions that opened this new season of “American Idol” on Wednesday night, a 15-year-old singer introduced herself. Kaitlyn Jackson was her name. And she told of the night her grandpa fell ill while she was performing at the Chenango County Fair. My ears perked up. That’s just down the road…

A good neighbor at your side can make life easier

The next time I’m in a bit of a homeowner’s pickle, it will not surprise me one bit when my next door neighbor is ready to lend a word of advice or even more. In the decade that my dear wife Karen and I have lived in this Syracuse city neighborhood of Syracuse, Tim Garriques…