Because of issues involving my family relocating from time to time, and the years I spent growing up involved relocating to different cities and staying with different relatives because my home life was just too toxic to survive, I attended twelve different educational institutions from kindergarten to high school. I think the joke goes that…
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Former Patroons Head Coach in Critical Condition from Fire
Admit it. You clicked on this link and you already had an idea as to which head coach it was. But it’s one you completely forgot about. When the Patroons first played in the 1982-83 season, their first season in the Continental Basketball Association, their head coach was former New York Knick Dean “The Dream”…
Read MoreThe Tragedy of Frosty the Snowman
Figured I’d share this little holiday moment with everyone. It’s essentially my attempt to relate the worst holiday experience I ever had. Compared to the true story below, Rob Madeo’s Worst Christmas Ever blog post is about as depressing as a Hallmark card. Spin back in the WABAC machine with me to Christmas 1969. At…
Read MoreRon Guidry is Pitching Tonight at Heritage Park!!
In a five-year span, covering the last two seasons of the Albany-Colonie Yankees (1993, 1994) and the first three seasons of the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs (1995, 1996, 1997), I wrote several articles for those teams’ game yearbooks. I received some cash for my efforts, as well as opening-day tickets at Heritage Park. One of those…
Read MoreRemembering Ruth Wallis and her naughty songs
It’s the late 1990’s. I should be home watching the Super Bowl. The Patriots are facing the Packers, and it promises to be a sterling matchup. But instead, I’m driving to eastern Connecticut, with the hopes of interviewing a singer whose most popular songs never received a stitch of mainstream radio airplay. A person who,…
Read MoreHow Grandmaster Flash Became my DJ Hero
DJ Hero, the brand new chapter in the Guitar Hero series of rhythm video games, came out last Tuesday. And it’s a blast. You get to be the DJ at the club, you get to spin a replica Technics turntable and scratch and cross-fade and mash-up, and it’s a blast. I really enjoyed playing the…
Read MoreWhen the Beatles Played in Albany… their movies, that is…
There’s a store in Crossgates Mall where, if you’re feeling nostalgic about Albany’s past history, you can purchase an old photograph of Albany’s legacy, and hang it on your wall. Want a picture of downtown from the early 20th century? They’ve got it. Want a picture of the Empire State Plaza’s Egg in mid-construction? They’ve…
Read MoreThe 10 Goofiest Drama Shows of the 1970’s
I spent some time recalling several of my favorite old-time television shows of the 1970’s. Shows that were full of escapist fantasy, shows that took me away from the destructive reality of my home life. Shows that today, if I happen to catch them on some obscure channel high up in the 1900’s of Time…
Read MorePhoto Essay: The 2006-07 Albany Patroons
I honestly thought these photos were lost forever. About a year ago, one of my storage devices suffered a hard drive failure – it came down with the despicable “click of death.” That’s when the read head inside your hard drive just bounces back and forth like a windshield wiper, and your data is irretrievable.…
Read MoreIs that a naked woman on a horse, on stage in Albany?
While researching the old newspaper microfilms for a recent blog post, I came across what may have been the most scandalous event in 19th century Albany entertainment history. Yes, even more scandalous than the time the Petit Cine 1-2 had an exclusive engagement of The Devil in Miss Jones. Step into the magic time portal…
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Chuck The Writer 
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