On this holiday in which we pay tribute to the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., today I pay tribute to a very special high school play. See, the year before I arrived at Street Academy, the students in that school’s history classes wrote a series of vignettes on the history of African-American…
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The Buffalo Stampede never gave up
I’m not a fan of losing streaks. They’re demoralizing, they’re painful, and they make the recipient of a losing streak the butt of jokes and the pity of everybody else in the league. You may not have heard of the Buffalo Stampede. They play in the Premier Basketball League, the nine-team minor league circuit for…
Read MoreDon’t Mix Your Coolants. Don’t. Just Don’t.
Taking care of a 1991 Pontiac 6000 with (as of today) 149,000 miles on it can be a daunting task. There are issues that can be minor annoyances – I have to replace the weatherstripping on the front passenger door – and issues that can be major concerns, and that’s what brings me to today’s…
Read MoreWeek 16 of the Elbo Room Trivia Tournament
We’re coming down the home stretch. There’s still a chance for teams to make the finals – in fact, before tonight began it was possible for a team to walk into Elbo Room for the first time – right off the street, don’tcha know – and win both weeks and get into the tournament. And…
Read MoreRemembering Teddy Pendergrass
When I received the e-mail from Maxine Porter, my heart froze. Maxine is the widow of Bill Pinkney, the last surviving member of Clyde McPhatter’s Drifters, and she and I have worked together on projects involving the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. So when I opened my e-mails this morning and saw the news –…
Read MoreWolf’s 1-11 Trivia: The Return
It would take some getting used to. The “Wall of Foam” – the trophy panel honoring the name of each person who tried one of the 101 beers from the establishment that previously operated at this location – is now covered with a Guinness advertising mirror. The bright lights are now replaced with more subdued…
Read MoreThe Changes at Revolution Hall Monday Night Trivia
As the headline mentions, Revolution Hall is undergoing some changes in their Monday night trivia setups. First off, trivia has moved up from a 9pm start to an 8pm start. Since the NFL’s regular season has endd, and Monday Night Football won’t be shown on the big Rev Hall digital projection screen, instead we get…
Read MoreRemembering Utica Club’s Talking Beer Mugs
The advertisements were a combination of kitsch, cornball humor and hardsell – a beer with such a full taste that even the steins holding it would sing its praises – but between 1959 and 1965, two “spokesmugs” shilled for Utica Club beer in an award-winning commercial campaign. Viewers throughout the Northeast watched bowling and boxing…
Read MoreRemembering Art Clokey, Gumby, and Davey & Goliath
A part of my childhood passed away last Saturday. Art Clokey, the creator of the wonderful and imaginative Gumby television show, as well as of the reverent and thoughtful Davey & Goliath films, died at the age of 88. How many times did we watch those surreal stop-motion clips of Gumby and his friend Pokey…
Read MoreAlbums I Want to Be Buried With: James Brown, Live at the Apollo Vol. 1
Do I even have to defend this selection? No. You can argue that the greatest live concert ever captured to vinyl would be a live album by Bruce Springsteen or Peter Frampton. But the truth is, for all intents and purposes, one of my favorite albums of all time is the classic concert by James…
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