Half-and-Half at the Little Bitty

Yes, it’s only March. Not yet spring here in Syracuse, N.Y., as our calendar will remind me for two more weeks. Winter has been holding on hard, too, with several snow spurts and temperatures in the 20s (F). That strength of the sun is stronger, stronger, stronger as the days get longer, longer, longer. Of…

The Sammys honor the dedication and music of many

The good people of Syracuse have been doing it right as far as it comes to music since a few heads came together in 1992 and Frank Malfitano opened up the grand Landmark Theatre for the first Syracuse Area Music Awards in 1993. Friday night in The Palace Theatre on James Street, the community came…

The big wind or a bad driver?

Spotted on the stroll from the parking lot to Destiny USA with my dear wife Karen recently was a flattened road sign. My mind started wondering about the Do Not Enter post and how it got this way immediately. Was it the big wind we’d experienced that sent this message prone? Was it a driver…

Eddie the Eagle won’t win history medals, but nails the landing anyway

By all accounts, writers Sean Macauley and Simon Kelton took a lot of liberties while crafting the story that director Dexter Fletcher brings to the screen in Eddie the Eagle. And they had a lot to work with to begin with, the way plucky but cash-poor Brit non-athlete Michael “Eddie” Edwards absolutely refused to give…

One more reason to root for the end of winter

They’re half-healed. They’re not. My fingertips usually give me problems during our cold winters, splitting to reveal raw and bothersome cracks because of repeated use to clear the snow off my dear wife Karen’s Mazda and my Chevy and shovel the driveway of the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Yes, I’m…

The Shop gets back together at Upstairs at the Dinosaur

Music lover and writer Chris Rapp sent over a message a couple of months ago to alert me about a favorite old Syracuse band of his that was getting back together next weekend. Rapp urged that I alert the world through my blog. He even sent the pictures here along with his text. Rapp wrote…

Sharing the layers to Jesse Owens’ Race to Gold

The legend of Jesse Owens has long and sadly been relegated to history text books, grandfathers’ knees and the occasional sports talk show. At best. And so it was with great pleasure that this former sports editor saw the seats full when my dear wife Karen and I walked into the biggest of the Regal…

A new Local joint for Yolks and more, and we hop to Mac’s

For more than a year now, my dear wife Karen and I have lamented the move of IHOP from its cozy corner location at the intersections of Erie Boulevard East and Route 5 to Syracuse’s mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA. The big mall is wonderful for many things, we both agree, but…

A painful boo boo for Ellie B

I had to take Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle to the vet the other day. After that frigid spell and a frozen backyard at the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, my dear wife Karen and I noticed that our beloved rescue mutt hopped back up to the back porch and trotted…

Coming soon, another bar for Cowboys and Cowgirls

I must admit, I was a bit sad when Toby Keith’s joint called it quits at Syracuse’s mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA. Not that I was a regular at the country music star’s restaurant and bar. But my dear wife Karen and I did share a meal and music at or three…