A boy falls off his bike, and our cell phone is ready

The scene across New Court Avenue looks at first blush to be a slice of urban Americana as Ellie B and I hit the homestretch of our Sunday afternoon walk. A mom oversees her helmeted young son riding his bike in the lot that stretches behind several businesses. Suddenly, mom is a flash of movement.…

Come on, dog owners, it’s obviously not a public park

Grumpus Bialczak will now officially begin this civics lesson. We’ll start with a multiple choice question: The green space in the accompanying photo looks like: A) An empty lot between two Eastwood houses. B) A green space that neighbors sometimes use when special summertime occasions yield a guest list too large for just one yard.…

I’m not buying this odd attraction to flat-brimmed hats on our green playing fields

It’s crossed over into televised sports, this relatively new fashion called the flat-brimmed hat. How odd. It’s not the name that’s peculiar in any way, mind you. You stick it on your noggin. The big brim has not a bit of a curve to it. Yep, it’s a flat-brimmed hat. (My first urge is to…

‘Go On’ won’t. ‘The New Normal’ was too different. NBC killed them both off

It’s the time of year when the networks announce to the world who made the 2013-14 team and who got cut. Bad news for me this year, on the list of shows hit by NBC’s hatchet. Two shows in particular earned my audible “oh, no!” Bye-bye, “Go On” and “The New Normal,” two comedies that…

Woo, doo, boo, be-doop-da-boop: Giacomo Gates will bring vocalese to M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest

One more addition to the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest has become official. Executive director and founder Frank Malfitano has announced that Giacomo Gates will sing at 5 p.m. on July 5. On Sunday, Malfitano revealed that Manhattan Transfer vocalist Cheryl Bentine will team with lyricist, vocalist and hipster Mark Winkler at 5 p.m. July Fourth,…

‘West Coast Cool’ of Cheryl Bentine and Mark Winkler added to M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest lineup

One TBA at the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest has officially become WCC. The addition to the national lineup for the July 4 date of the three-day, free-admission festival at Jamesville Beach Park has been announced by executive director and founder Frank Malfitano. Manhattan Transfer vocalist Cheryl Bentine will team with lyricist, vocalist and hipster Mark…

Lunch with an old student reveals great dreams for a new beginning

Keep in touch, I told my smiling students that final day of Music Journalism classes. I meant it. We’d just spent a Le Moyne College semester exploring the glory of words and music together. I hoped they’d gotten as much out of our collective efforts as their teacher had. I was the one who shined…

To save The Sound Garden in Syracuse, go to college

Listen to the people. Do not force The Sound Garden to shut down its Armory Square store. News accounts in the Syracuse morning daily told of a crowd of 50 or so folks that gathered in front of City Hall in support of the record store. The nub of the matter is an ordinance that…

Time to check in on “American Idol” and “The Voice” before they butt heads at 8 p.m.

Call it the Singing Show Showdown. The three singers left on this season of “American Idol” perform for the spots in the coveted finale. The FOX cameras were rolling as Kree Harrison, Angela Miller and Candice Glover traveled home to face stunning adulation, too. The hometown visits have proved to be one of the most…

Hi, bud! I see you like your new location

Two weekends ago, we lovingly placed our new flowering Robinson Crabapple tree in the hole I’d dug in our front yard in Eastwood. Last night, my dear wife Karen burst through the door upon her return from work with one of those emphatic sentences that gets both a question mark and exclamation point. Did you…