Day1 of the 2018 World Tavern Trivia Championships

We’re ready. We’re set. And it’s time to go. Once a year, I team up with several trivia competitors from the Hudson Valley, and we compete at the World Tavern Trivia National Championships in Atlantic City.ย  The events are fun, the questions are tough but fair, and we all have a good time. But the…

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Premiere night of The Minor League Mecca, the Albany Patroons documentary

Several years ago, Brendan Casey and I met for dinner at Brown’s Brewing in Troy.ย  He told me about this idea he had – he wanted to put together some sort of movie about the history of the Albany Patroons basketball team, and he asked if I had any stories about the team. He might…

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7 and 7 on Saturday, September 22, 2018

Good morning all.ย  It’s going to be a full day today for me – I have to drop off my entries at the Durham Fair in the morning, and tonight is the premiere of the Albany Patroons documentary at the Palace Theater.ย  I do not want to miss this. But there’s one more thing to…

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Please don’t go, Silver Fox Salvage…

Although I understand why this must happen … I wish it wouldn’t. Although I understand the reasons for this notice … I wish there was another option. But unfortunately, Silver Fox Salvage – the parts and supply emporium in Albany’s Warehouse District is now on its final weeks. This Facebook post from last Wednesday sums…

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The Albany Patroons and a phone call threat in 1985

This Saturday, the Albany Patroons documentary will debut in a screening at the Palace Theater in downtown Albany.ย  The documentary features several Patroons players and coaches, past and present, and looks like a tremendously well-detailed and documented history of our beloved basketball squad. In honor of this documentary – and in anticipation of the Patroons’…

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You Can’t See ‘Round Corners: The Vietnam War as a rare TV miniseries

There are very few examples of the Vietnam War used as a backdrop for prime time episodic television.ย  I know of two instances from American prime time TV shows in the late 1980’s / early 1990’s – the action drama Tour of Duty, and the emotional war drama China Beach. Recently, I came across an…

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A trip to the Big E, 2018 Edition

I can never win with the Big E parking lot. I get there early, I get shuttled off to the farthest reaches of the parking lot. Every other parking lot in every other Fair that I attend either ha a really good parking situation, or they offer shuttles.ย But for the Big E … it’s a…

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