Universal wants their monsters to match

The folks at Universal know they have a lot of cha-ching in their monster movie closet. So they’re making a move they hope will make the most of it. Put on the job are the folks who’ve already tuned some cash register music with “Transformers” and “Fast and Furious.” First up with by “The Mummy,”…

Dinner with Daryl at Captain John’s

A week ago, my dear wife Karen and I took that short drive east for another exciting chapter of our Dinner with Daryl series. Not that barbecue in the backyard I’ve been rooting for since my wonderful stepson moved into his nice new house this winter. He’s yet to get a grill, and I know…

A good time on the rolling hills

My posts Saturday and Sunday about the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest concentrated on the music. Big time, big fun for the 32nd edition of the free-admission event. For my weekly community blog for Syracuse public media site waer.org, I commented about how the return this summer to the rolling hills of Onondaga Community College brought…

A King can still count on his court, B.B. shows

When they gingerly walked B.B. King out on the stage to join his big orchestra who’d been entertaining the five-figure crowd for the closing set Saturday night at the 32nd M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest for a good while, everybody stood and applauded as the American music legend took a seat. The 88-year-old King worked hard…

Funk Trombone, Good Voodoo, Guitar Noir, New Voice

The first day of the 32nd edition of the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest was all that in the headline above plus a shining sun, silvery moon, cheering thousands and a damned good beef quesadilla. From night to day: Headliner Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue drew the big free-admission crowd forward and into the aisles and…

Back to work on Monday, it’s only been 17 1/2 months

Monday morning, I’ll walk into an office and sit behind a desk. I’ll move fingers across my keyboard and work as hard as I can to reduce the pile my bosses put in front of me. I’ll keep all of the emotions inside. The touch of anxiety. The hint of Happy Dance. The inclination to…

I’m here to gasp about a really long trailer

My Movie News blog over at the Syracuse New Times site this week takes a minute or two to discuss a topic that’s without a doubt a sore point. The long movie trailer. Too much. Much much too much. I found two stories about a trailer that runs 72 minutes. It’s for a movie titled…

A big gap on my first day of college

Eight years. Ten years. When I’m 56, who cares, you know? Despite their protestations, my sisters Frannie and Dory are indeed catching up to me, in my mind’s eye, at least. But, oh, how the sibling age gap hit me when I saw this picture Fran has posted on her Facebook page, keeper of the…