Cashing in on the gift cards puts us in the Red

My smart and beautiful daughter Elisabeth and her terrific boyfriend George know I like lobster. My stepson Daryl knows I like lobster. My sister Dory knows I like lobster. I squirreled away their presents from my December birthday and Christmas for one big night with my dear wife Karen. I figured the $100 total plus…

Feeling like a bogey man in Syracuse

It happens every year at this time. I always put on my TV thinking it may make me feel better. The PGA Tour golfers are at the Kapalua Plantation Course in Hawaii for its annual Tournament of Champions. I dialed in my iPad Air at 5 p.m. Friday to snap a photo from round one.…

Great to see you, Kitt Crescendo, write again

When I read in one of her December posts that Kitt Crescendo was in Syracuse, N.Y. because of her new day job, I started a back-and-forth in her comment section. We already knew each other in the WordPress world, so I felt comfortable enough to give her a bit of grief for not letting me…

Now the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ are imaginary cartoon characters

I have to hand it to James Gunn, keeper of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” flame. While reading up on movie world happenings for this week’s installment of my film news blog for the awesomely attractive Syracuse New Times site, I came upon the Cinema Blend story that reported how the director had posted on…

The Hotel Syracuse remembers the old as it faces the new

They called this “Suite Stories Ghostwalk,” and indeed the Hotel Syracuse had some stories to tell. But it wasn’t the kind of ghosts of folks who famously die and hang around these old buildings of ours. No, when I signed up as a “back guide” on the last Saturday of 2014 and walked the grounds…

A Modern Philosopher’s Birthday Wish

Originally posted on The Return of the Modern Philosopher:
Happy Tuesday, Modern Philosophers! If I’m reading my birth certificate correctly, today is my birthday. How cool is that? Okay, bad choice of words. It’s -5 degrees outside this morning, so a word like “cool” should not be tossed around lightly. How awesome is it then…

Yeah, I’ve seen that talented young singer on the flat screen

Sitting around talking to the kind and happy family of four in the Syracuse suburb of Baldwinsville on one of the final days of 2014, they all were quite excited about a TV program that was coming on New Year’s Eve. I agreed to put it on my must-watch list. It fits right in with…

For a political volleyball, ‘The Interview’ has no airs

I went to a real movie theater to see “The Interview” on Friday afternoon in Auburn, N.Y., and my dear wife Karen and I sat among 60 or so people who were clearly happy to be there on a snowy day, choosing this particular event out of many available theses or thoses available. There were…

Flat screens, empty stools at the bar and my dear wife Karen

Our tummies full from a great New Year’s Eve dinner at Rico’s Ristorante and the clock still more than three hours from the ball-drop, my dear wife Karen and I headed to our favorite neighborhood bar just blocks from the Little Bitty in our Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. The lights were on along James…

Rico’s Ristorante does it right on a New Year’s Eve

My dear wife Karen and I have had good times and not so good times while eating out on New Year’s Eve. It can be a tough night. Big crowds. Tense wait staffs. Smaller menus. Frustrated Mark. I come here today to praise Rico’s Ristorante of East Syracuse, N.Y. I’d chosen Rico’s as our New…