New Ghostbusters won’t let you forget the original

Will this new Ghostbusters stand on its own? With the small-print tag line Answer the Call added to the famous sequel to the 1984 comedy blockbuster, that’s even more of a natural question. Could it? Some originals become so ingrained on a culture’s psyche over time that a sequel stands little chance. And No. 1,…

Rubber Ducky, you’re the one

Organizers for the first ever Onondaga Cup and LakeFest billed the star as the biggest Rubber Duck. Ever. Period. How could my dear wife Karen and I not meet terrific daughter Elisabeth and standout significant George for a look-see Saturday afternoon at Onondaga Lake’s Willow Bay? Organizers did not lie. OK, maybe Cusey, as they…

Penny

My friend from north of the border takes his foot off the gas pedal just a tad in this week’s guest column. Even with the topic a tad less incendiary in that sense, Paul Curran’s writing flame still burns brightly. Welcome to the weekly coffee and tea garden. My name is Paul, I’ll be your…

Nichols of Liverpool gets my dear wife’s approval

I’ve got my morning routine down before I settle into my desk at the Liverpool Public Library. I leave the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood at least 10 minutes earlier than needed. I like the cushion of time, one. And two: After pulling into my spot in the underground garage, I…

Modern Malt shows some downtown chic

Out of the corner of my ear, I’d heard the buzz building about a new joint in the downtown Syracuse neighborhood of Armory Square. A couple blocks down Clinton Street from the fountains of Clinton Square sits Modern Malt. It’s part of the blocks resurgence, along with Funk ‘N Waffles Downtown. More young professionals are…

Melinda decides Santa Barbara’s call needs to be answered

For so many years, the smiling face and wise words of Melinda helped me through my days at the big daily. We investigated and co-wrote big projects together. She knew her fine arts. More than that, she’s wise in the ways of journalism. Best of all, Melinda is a smart friend about what’s right and…

My swing at the 6-word challenge is borderline

I was scrolling through my Twitter feed the other day, and a six-word challenge from writer.ly hit me over the head like a two-by-four. I had to take a crack at the topic: Crossing the border. Because something non-fiction came to my mind. Not the type of border crossing that most people would think of…

Quietly following Fred Funk

It’s been, oh, a quarter-century now that I’ve had the pleasure of following a guy I share an alma mater with around the hills of Endicott, N.Y. No, I’m not stalking pro golfer Fred Funk. But once again I was able to send an email to my friends that host Fred when he plays in…

Screen gem presentation

I floated the idea right here just a few days ago. It was a dream, really, that notion that it was time to trade in my iPad Air 2 for the iPad Logic 12-inch model. You can pretty much guess what I’m using to compose this blog post this wonderful Saturday afternoon, can’t you? It…