Once upon a time, there was a man named John Lydon. For a short period in the 1970’s, he was the lead singer of the seminal punk band the Sex Pistols, operating under the nom de plume of Johnny Rotten. You might know their hits, “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the U.K.” The…
Read MoreDid Forged in Fire have a neo-Nazi as a contestant?
Yeah, I’ll admit it. I got hooked on the History Channel competition series Forged in Fire a few years ago. If you haven’t seen the show, think of it as Chopped with bladesmiths. Contestants are challenged to make specific types of knives in a short period of time, and then after the knives are tested…
Read MoreWhat’s Up in the Neighborhood, November 21 2020
Good morning, it’s time for another weekly recap of the best blog posts and articles and photos from my personal blogroll. This list includes many former members of the Times Union blogging crew (as well as some who are still on the TU portal, only because they’ve been “grandfathered” over and they’re not staff bloggers).…
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The Nightowl Radio Show playlist for November 20, 2020
The following is a playlist for the broadcast of the Nightowl Radio Show, a one-hour college radio show on station WHCL-FM. The show can be streamed tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern at whcl.org. Time Artist Song Release Label 8:01 PM Ray Barretto A Deeper Shade Of Soul The Latin Soul Man Fania 8:04 PM Urban…
Read More♫ ♪ Andrew Cuomo’s coming … to town. ♫ ♪
Political reporter and all-around good guy Jon Campbell posted a funny tweet yesterday. Seems that in the request by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s request to keep crowds small during this COVID-19 pandemic, including recommending that Thanksgiving dinners be limited to small gatherings of less than ten people, Campbell noted that someone had created a…
Read MoreLynda Carter and Anand Giridharadas both walk into a room…
So I had an interesting day yesterday. By a sheer stroke of good luck and good fortune, I was able to communicate – albeit briefly – with one of my favorite TV stars from the past, and a writer whose work I currently enjoy reading. Let’s start with the actress. As you can imagine, being…
Read MoreWerewolf – the Fox TV series that lasted longer than its concept demanded.
Back in 1987, the Fox television network put together a weekend broadcast package of nine different TV shows. Some of them lasted for years (Married … With Children, 21 Jump Street), others spawned shows that are still in production today (The Tracey Ullman Show helped spin off The Simpsons), while other programs died a quick,…
Read MoreWendy Carlos doesn’t need THIS biography.
In the mid-1960’s, Esquire writer Gay Talese wrote the incredible profile, “Frank Sinatra has a Cold,” in which he crafted a massive cover story about the Chairman of the Board – without ever interviewing or speaking with him. Instead, Talese interviewed members of Sinatra’s entourage, as well as friends and acquaintances. It was considered a…
Read MoreClean your hands. This is the Way.
I’ve been hooked on the Disney+ show Star Wars: The Mandalorian for the past year and a half. I enjoy this “Spaghetti Western” in space, and really packs a lot of action into every hour. I dig the main character, who is essentially the equivalent of the 1960’s “Man with No Name” that Clint Eastwood…
Read MoreAt least there will be a Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Concert this year.
For the past twenty years, Canadian Pacific has operated its Holiday Train across North America, bringing Christmas cheer and joy and holiday music to its communities, while in turn raising millions of dollars and tons of food for local food banks and pantries. And for the past three years, I’ve chased the train as it…
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