Everything’s better with a lightsaber

It was mentioned by name only once in the Star Wars movies, and it was the first time we saw this elegant weapon. The “lightsaber” was identified when Obi-Wan Kenobi gave Luke Skywalker the glowing sword of energy, as seen in this clip from Star Wars IV: A New Hope. Over the years, technology has…

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“Art Saves Animals” and L-Ken’s

As my “competition season” for my photographs winds down, my “charity season” – where my artworks are donated to various charities and fundraisers – ramps up. In the past, I’ve donated framed photos and artworks to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, as part of their “Art Saves Animals” annual charity fundraiser and auction.ย  If anything…

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Sha Na Na and “Grease for Peace”

What if I told you that the retro 1950’s movement – that occurred in the 1970’s – was started by a bunch of Columbia University graduates in the 1960’s? Yes, Chuck knows what time it is.ย  And he also remembers the classic doo-wop tribute revival band Sha Na Na. The band we know as Sha…

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K-Chuck Radio: One-Hit Wonders of the 1990’s

As Labor Day weekend continues, I’m reminded of some songs from the late 1990’s, a collection of one-hit wonders that exploded onto the radio, appeared in heavy rotation on music video channels – and then the song, and the band, disappeared as if it never existed. And I thought it might be nice to hear…

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“Tubular Bells” is an album I want to be buried with

I’m not really sure where I was the first time I heard Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.ย  Maybe it was on the radio in a heavily edited 45 RPM version, where it was touted as the theme from The Exorcist. Or maybe it was in college, when I was a disc jockey for WHCL (88.7 fm),…

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Did Phish get ripped off by a tween-pop star?

All you Phish fans, pay attention.ย  This is important. Apparently, someone out there likes one of your hits.ย  So much so, in fact, that the melody of one of your hits is remarkably similar to their breakout hit. This is not new.ย  Imitation is the sincerest form of plagiarism, and I’ve chronicled in past blogs…

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My 2014 Vermont State Fair entries are…

Resolved.ย  We are NOT going to have what happened last year happen again. Last year, two of my pictures were initially disqualified from the Vermont State Fair’s photography competition because the dimensions were too narrow on one side (the pictures needed to be a minimum of 8×10, and two of them had widths of about…

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Collarworld: The Shore

“How far can you go?” Jackson the golden retriever asked of his friends. “I’m not a water cat,” purred Vincent the tabbycat.ย ย  “I’ll stay on the shore, thank you.” “How cold is the water?” asked Bate, the terrier. “Not very cold,” barked Jackson, as the waters form the Shore of the Cedars rippled over the…

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“Do you know the way to Puyallup?”

This year, in addition to entering my photos in the usual locations – Altamont, the New York State Fair, and the upcoming Vermont State Fair and Big E – I tried to send some of my images to new and different fairs and photo competitions. Sometimes it worked – I did get a silver award…

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