The passing of two high-profile figures on the same day (Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson) reminds me of another such day: November 22, 1963. Everyone can tell you immediately who the most famous person was who died on that day, but while many people know who C.S. Lewis was, few people realize he […]

I have sometimes considered where in New York (or the Northeast) I might like to live if I weren’t living in Syracuse. It might seem crazy, but in addition to the usual factors (jobs, politics, weather etc), I find myself considering the history of a place. To me, it’s like the character of […]

This is Jacks Reef. I almost grew up right here (just outside the frame) - on the banks of the Erie Canal.

During this time of turmoil, let’s close our eyes and imagine New York as it once was, and could someday be again… a murky, stagnant breeding ground for mosquitoes, that no longer leads […]

This is apropos of nothing, but I have been meaning to link to these for some time and want to do it before I forget again… Filmmaker Errol Morris has been writing at the NY Times in a fascinating occasional series where he takes a single photograph or image and spends a few consecutive days […]

…or is it just the whirligig of Time?
Citigroup: Destiny spent $18 million on consultants, ‘gimmicks’
Bob Congel gets spanked by Daddy Citi.
“That amount has largely gone to pay expenses for Destiny personnel, Web site creation, high-priced marketing consultants and marketing gimmicks such as painting the existing Carousel mall green, with only approximately $5.4 million […]

Hey kids! Have you heard about the trouble at the State Senate? Is it making your mom and dad confused? Would you like to learn more about how your state government and democracy works? Don’t worry… Johnny the Friendly Senator is here to explain it all for you. Gather round, […]

Wilmers quits ESDC (HT Buffalopundit)…
Just one year after becoming the state’s economic development czar, Robert Wilmers is stepping down from the post, the latest in a growing line-up of officials departing the Paterson administration.
Wilmers, who is also chairman of the Buffalo-based M&T Bank, made his resignation known in a letter to Paterson, a government official […]

WTF?
ALBANY – Republicans seized control of the New York State Senate on Monday, in a stunning and sudden reversal of fortunes for the Democratic Party, which controlled the chamber for barely five months.
A raucous leadership fight erupted on the floor of the Senate around 3 p.m., with two Democrats, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx […]

John DeFrancisco can spin the coup as “necessary for reform” all he wants, but in the end it was all about personal power and perks.
If anyone with money can set up their own government in New York, people without money should be able to do it as well. I mean, anything goes […]

I watched part of ABC’s Earth 2100 last night. It struck me as this generation’s version of The Day After… soon to be distributed on DVD with study guides to cowering junior high school classes nationwide, although with wind farms and skyscraper-top gardens filling in for “duck and cover.”
In the end of the story, […]