Blackbird 1, snowstorm 0

When I first acquired my 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS, the car I’ve colloquially nicknamed “The Blackbird,” one of my readers saw a picture of the car and made a very astute observation. “the car looks great, but i can see that you need to get to a tire store soon…even with fwd, those tires are…

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Christmas snows at Schuyler Flatts

December 25th.  Time to wake up.  Rise and shine. I glimpse out the window.  Snow.  First Christmas snow.  The snow’s loose and powdery – enough to coat my car, but not enough to build a snowman or a snow fort.  But there’s enough white powder on the ground to convince me to get out of…

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Things to do while you’re in Memphis

A few days ago, I received word from my daughter Cassaundra that she and her girlfriend Katie were going to spend the Christmas holidays in Memphis. “Make sure you visit the Sun Studios,” I said.  “And don’t forget a trip to Graceland.” Eventually Cassaundra and Katie made it to the Sun Studios, and according to…

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The dog and the puffed wheat

It’s Christmas, 1969.  At that time, I was living with my maternal grandparents in a small Cape-style house on Kenwood Avenue in Slingerlands.  And Christmas was coming. I’m sure my aunts purchased things from the Friendly Home Parties catalog for all of us, and I’m sure my grandparents wrapped everything the night before Christmas.  I’m…

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Santa Claus comes to Green Island

Man, what a Sunday.  My Pittsburgh Steelers got knocked out of the playoffs – memo to Dan Rooney: draft a new quarterback NOW, the old one ain’t cutting it any more – and it’s just been a dreary, boring Sunday afternoon.  I’ve done my holiday shopping, Cassaundra got her gifts, and I picked up a…

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K-Chuck Radio: Motivation and Energy!!

There are times when I need a pick-me-up. A pump-me-up. A “get-out-of-bed-and-kick-my-troubles-in-the-tuchus” motivational push. And this weekend, I’m going to achieve that very goal. And it never hurts to have a musical soundtrack help you get to that point. Case in point. This edition o fK-Chuck adio THE TEMPTATIONS feat. DIANA ROSS Rhythm of Life…

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Santa looks like a reddit-eyed alien

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the social media site reddit.  I was on the site for a while, gave up on it, and then decided to go back to it on my own terms. Recently I signed up for Reddit’s “Secret Santa 2012” event, in which nearly 60,000 Redditors worldwide play the “Secret Santa”…

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Week 15 of the $2,000 2012-13 Elbo Room Trivia Tournament

Do my eyes deceive me? Are they back? Yes they are… back again… it’s the Skids… tell a friend… The trivia team known as the Skidmarks have returned to the Elbo Room for the trivia tournament.  Sure the tournament’s three-quarters of the way done, but they said they were going to win big tonight and…

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“Amish Mafia” and televised hypocricy

When I saw the initial “coming attractions” trailer for the new Discovery Channel series Amish Mafia, a reality television series that focuses on an enforcement organization that protects the innocent Amish people in Lancaster County, Pa., I couldn’t believe what I saw.   And when I say “couldn’t believe,” it’s not a good thing. At first…

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