Singing the National Anthem at a sporting event can be a harrowing experience. You’re up at the microphone, you’re already nervous, and you worry about hitting that one note during “And the rockets’ red glare” without your voice cracking. That’s the American national anthem. Now if you’re going to sing the Canadian national anthem –…
Read More“Why would Windows contact me when I have a Mac?”
Aw, you poor, pathetic telemarketers and scammers. You don’t get it, do you? You’re that thick in the head. Dumber than a bag of wet mice. And you haven’t figured out that if you call me, I’m going to take out my frustrations on you. I will make you feel like you are stupid, and…
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One month in with Dracourage…
It’s been a month since my car crash in North Carolina. I have a new car, and, for the most part, new car payments. And so many people, the minute they see me, ask me, “Hey Chuck, how do you like your new car?” And my response is the same… I’m getting used to it.…
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Competition Season 2016: The Washington State Fair
Two years ago, I entered some pictures in the Washington State Fair’s Northwest International Exhibition of Photography competition. One of the photos I entered, The Three-Two Pitch, earned honorable mention status. That’s nice. We now move forward to 2016. And I thought about entering some more pictures in that competition. Now here’s the cool thing. …
Read MoreRemember the Dallas police officers’ names…
The world woke up on Friday morning, and heard tragedy from the beautiful city of Dallas, Texas. During what started as a peaceful protest against the recent murders of black men at the hands of police officers, something that night went horribly wrong. And by the time Friday morning arrived, five Dallas police officers were…
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Recovery of the Milky Way files
Last week, after photographing the nighttime sky up in the Adirondack Mountains, I came home, popped the SD card into my computer, and – the card crashed. I couldn’t pull any files from the disc. In fact, the only files I was able to retrieve were a few scattered images that my computer automatically uploaded…
Read MoreBest of our TU Community Blogs, July 7, 2016: Ten for Thursday
How are you dealing with the summer heat? Are you cranking up the air conditioner to Spinal Tap levels? Are you bathing in blocks of melted ice? Are you taking cold showers for no specific ulterior motive? Well, hopefully you will enjoy these cool blog posts from the Times Union’s best community and independent bloggers. …
Read MoreWeek 1 of the 2016 Summer Trivia League at Graney’s Stout
No, your eyes do not deceive you. The trivia recaps are back. Years ago, in the early days of this weblog, I recapped the success of my bar trivia team, Street Academy, at the Elbo Room multi-week big money trivia tournaments. My team won two of those tournaments back in the day, and after each…
Read MoreStop sharing the “shoplifted item explodes in woman’s vagina” stories!
Be warned. What I’m about to share this morning is both disgusting and offensive and racist and stupid. And I’m only doing this because I’m sick and tired of stories like these populating my Facebook feed. Last year, the website Now8News.com reported that a Greenville, North Carolina woman had allegedly stolen a canister of holiday…
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Empire State Plaza Fireworks, 2016 Edition
One rule of photography. Always have backup plans. Let me explain. I had an idea to photograph the 2016 Empire State Plaza fireworks show from a faraway distance – perhaps over the bridge in Rensselaer, with high-powered lenses and such. That way, I could get the entire fireworks show, with the backdrop of the ESP’s…
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Chuck The Writer 
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