For 50 bucks, maybe your winter Destiny does await

Always on the lookout for new stuff, my iPhone 6 came out of my pocket as I approached the parking-lot-side entrance to the pedestrian bridge at Syracuse mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA. The windows to their world were pitching the winter entertainment this time around. Quite the idea, thought I. Throw down…

A drive 70 miles north of Syracuse finds real cold and snow

I had the opportunity to head the Chevy Cruze north Tuesday morning for a 70-mile drive up Interstate 81 to the city of Watertown. It was a rather pleasant 20 degrees F when I pulled out of the driveway of the beloved Little Bitty my dear wife Karen and I share in the Syracuse city…

Everybody’s talking about ‘American Sniper,’ good and bad

Normally I’d shy away from leading my Thursday Film News blog with the same movie I reviewed to start the week. I can’t help myself in the case of “American Sniper.” To call the blockbuster about the life and death of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle increasingly controversial is somewhat of an understatement. To read today’s…

A little bit of Elvis aura to celebrate what would have been his 80th birthday

I saw a band from Albany play the songs of Elvis Presley at a bar in Syracuse last week. The Lustre Kings were on tour to celebrate what would have been the King’s 80th birthday. The rockabilly band led by guitarist and singer Mark Gamsjager had a fun time entertaining the fans at the Dinosaur…

Christiane Page’ mixes folk, Quebecois for all that jazz

Christiane Page’, “The Road” Hondo Mesa Records Christiane Page’ splits time between New York and New Mexico, according to the liner notes to her debut CD just released by the Hondo Mesa label of Syracuse, N.Y. A bit of research reveals that Page’ was a scholar and educator at Syracuse University, a natural discovery considering…

‘American Sniper’ and all these feelings about war

I know I am a man for peace. And against war. I know I am a man who supports the soldiers who fight for our country, without question. The conflict within those two beliefs reared its emotional and complicated head in my stomach again as I sat with hundreds of other folks rapt in attention…

A delightful flash of Cardinal red in winter

I’ve spent the two summers since I’ve started this blog ready to grab my iPhone or iPad for its camera whenever the Cardinal red flashed by the backyard of the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood Little Bitty shared by my dear wife Karen and I. I’ve never been quick enough to get a good shot.…

Dr. Dog sounds cool and has one guy who looks familiar

I’m digging the CBS weekend morning news’ Saturday version more and more. It takes me a while to get comfortable with personalities and style, I readily admit, and weekdays I am an avowed “Today” follower over on NBC. CBS, though, is wise enough to schedule the weekend morning shows to start and last a couple…

Another trip to Trader Joe’s might lead to a third …

When I wrote about my dear wife Karen and I’s first trip to Syracuse’s new Trader Joe’s in November, it moved many people to pitch in with helpful suggestions. I so surely agree that three-buck wine that people I trust swear is drinkable is an idea whose time has come. And then we discovered that…

So you wanted to know more about the Diner and that mural

I know a good question when I see it. So when commenter Nancy C. let loose with, “Mark, who’s the artist” during the strong string of thoughts at the tail end of my Tuesday post about the colorful mural that adorns one whole wall of a diner we’re blessed with here in Syracuse, N.Y., I…