Josh Batstone gets his shot, and chooses Adam Levine

The singer from the Syracuse area picked the LA coach. It took the fourth show of blind auditions before Josh Batstone, the teenager from Fulton, a snowy burg some 20 miles northwest of Syracuse, got his first camera time on this season eight of NBC singing competition “The Voice.” I was ready with my iPad…

Photo 101: A State Street runs through Syracuse

Assignment No. 2 in Photo 101 is titled Street. It’s a challenge to our perspective. My Tuesday life took me from my dear wife Karen and I’s Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood to a half-business, half-pleasure trip that ended on State Street, a busy thoroughfare in downtown Syracuse. After I’d filled…

Shade Of The Day

I have other friends that have this orphan disease, sister Angie. My dear wife Karen’s mother, Caroline, died suffering from MS when she was in her 50s, when Karen was just in her 20s, way, way too soon and before enough advances were made by medical science. So I am in your court. Let’s get…

A Palooza of a time for Donna Colton

The community came through for Donna Colton on Sunday. DonnaPalooza was a sweet and vibrant success at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse, from the rich music that filled the air from the volunteer bands and musicians on stage to the buzzing fans and friends who hugged, talked, ate, drank and wished well to veteran Syracuse…

For the love of money or just love?

Will Smith and Margot Robbie most certainly look good together on the big screen in “Focus.” Why I even forgave Hollywood for matching up love leads that have a 21-year-old age difference, one of the great thorns in my side as I watch movies for my weekly Monday blog on the Syracuse New Times site.…

Getting set for DonnaPalooza and hanging out with Althea

Today’s the day when the Syracuse music community is going to pay tribute to the wonder that is Donna Colton. Donnapalooza will celebrate the music and personality of Donna Colton, the singer, songwriter and guitarist who’s been spreading her rich vibe of warmth in Syracuse and its surrounding counties through the decades. Donna has been…

Free Advice: How smart is smart?

Free Advice is a periodic feature in which I answer anonymous letters sent to markbialczak.com. Today’s reader asks for my opinion about the relationship between academic degrees and everyday intelligence. At least that’s how I interpret it. Dear Mark, I went to a very good college and have a high IQ, according to standardized tests.…