Kaitlyn Jackson shares the news that she advanced again on ‘American Idol’

Kaitlyn Jackson has made it through the notorious group night on “American Idol.” The only way I know this is because the 15-year-old country music singer from Norwich posted the news on her Facebook open fan page. She told the world that the Shotgun Angels — the name the trio of singers gave themselves for…

Meet the Beatles music … in Syracuse comes a celebration

A big batch of Syracuse musicians are gathering Saturday night at the beautiful Landmark Theatre to celebrate the wonder that is the Beatles. A couple of players of international note, Joey Molland from Badfinger and Phil Solem from The Rembrandts, will join in the festivities, too. It is sure to be special, a long and…

George Clooney’s monument to persistent treasure hunters opens this weekend

Art will imitate life on the silver screens this weekend. George Clooney’s historic project “The Monuments Men” opens. It tells the tale of the good soldiers tasked with saving so many treasures of the art world from the grasp of the Nazi regime, so they won’t be destroyed. There was a book about it first.…

Good news, Kaitlyn Jackson fans. She made ‘American Idol’ group night

One of the most maddening pursuits in “American Idol”-land is the hunt-and-search for a favorite contestant during Hollywood week. After the successful audition by Kaitlyn Jackson, the teen country singer from Norwich, N.Y., I promised here more to come about her progress in season 13. I could not spot her last night as FOX made…

Don’t you know it’s cold out here this morning?

Funny thing about Ellie B, aka Dogamous Pyle. Every day, no matter the season, she wakes up with sunny-and-70 in her doggie brain. A trip out the back door and out the porch should always bring her greener pastures, right? Or at least, her grassy backyard in our Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Then she…

More snow. Repeat, more snow. Did I mention it was snowing …

OK, more snow in Syracuse is a no-news item. Even when it’s come down all day, since overnight. Even when I just got done clearing the driveway for the second time this Feb. 5. Yet I couldn’t help but snap this shot with my iPhone 4 after this most recent flurry of snow-throwing. The white…

Did ‘The Biggest Loser’ winner drop too much weight?

When Rachel Frederickson came to the stage near the end of the finale for NBC show “The Biggest Loser” last night, I truly did a double-take. The 24-year-old from Los Angeles looked thin. And it wasn’t just when they had her stand next to that hologram of herself at the start of the season, a…

In Syracuse, it’s the Orange that brings folks together in winter

Isn’t it quite a good thing when a community comes together in spirit? The Syracuse men’s basketball team is 22-0, and the unanimous Associated Press poll choice as the No. 1 college team in the nation. The Central New York community is rallying around this squad. And it has been one huge wave of support.…

It’s time for the nominees to start hoping for a Sammy

All it took was the voice and keyboard work of Ronnie Leigh to get me excited about the Syracuse Area Music Awards all over again. In Syracuse, jazz singer Leigh has been The Voice for many decades before NBC started a singing competition named “The Voice.” To start the festivities to announce what’s-what for this…

Get your Seahawks, Syracuse, Sox, Yanks, Mets stuff now

I know good marketing when I see it. My Favorite Sports Store had a quick thinker out front on Monday morning. The T-shirt, jersey, collectable and more emporium in the Syracuse, N.Y., mega shopping, entertainment and dining complex Destiny USA had a full table of boxes out front. To the left sat Seattle Seahawks stuff,…