The Neighborhood
What people are talking about around the Capital Region's online neighborhood.
Discover: Juice Junkees
The Juice Junkees have been performing together since January of 2007 and have played dozens of gigs since then in places ranging from the Tugboat Tavern and Black Cat Ale House (in Cohoes) to Savannah’s, J.T. Maxie’s, and J.J. Rafferty’s to name a few. Back in May we also competed with Venomality, one of [...] ... (read the rest)
more unexpected smiles
the universe has been sending me smiles lately and i’m loving it! ... (read the rest)
Summer Send Off
I feel like it was just a few days ago that I was writing about welcoming summer, but already we are facing the beginnings of Fall. To send off Summer in style we have a multitude of events happening in the next few days that will hopefully help take your mind off cooling temperatures and turning leaves. Both the Flutterbox concert on Friday and the Retro Soul Dance Party on Sunday are going to be great events but I wanted to focus a little of my blogging attention on the last Moonlit Movie of t ... (read the rest)
Gluten-free bakery celebrates first birthday
Sherry Lynn’s Gluten Free, a bakery in Haynersville, east of Troy, will celebrate its first anniversary on Monday (Sept. 1). Festivities, including food specials, prizes and rides, run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sherry Lynn’s makes bread, rolls, pizza dough, cookies, soft pretzels and its own gluten-free cookie mix. The bakery is located at 1691 Route 7. ... (read the rest)
Bike ride to benefit Habitat for Humanity
The Albany Pump Station is sponsoring the second annual Tour de Habitat, a fundraising bike ride to raise money for Capital District Habitat for Humanity. Scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 14, the ride starts and ends at the Pump Station, located behind Quackenbush Square in downtown Albany. Routes of 10, 50 and 100 miles have been mapped out, with the longest going out to the Helderbergs and Alcove Reservoir. Ride times start from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with all cyclists returning to the Pump Statio ... (read the rest)
Presidential suite
Talk radio and cable network news killed the zeal of presidential politics. Once, there was a time when people could freely trade half-baked ideas about candidates over a few beers. Then came the Rush Limbaughs, the Wolf Blitzers and a veritable cornucopia of call-in lines, live chat programs, all-day, all-night, all-year-long in-your-face coverage that has made discussing presidential elections a bit of a bore at the very least; a brain-cramping, unnerving simulation of schizophrenic psychosis ... (read the rest)
Wine dinner at La Serre
La Serre Restaurant in Albany is hosting a “Roaring ’20s” wine dinner at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20. Wine commentary by Ed Greenstein of Empire Merchants North, menu by Chef de Cuisine Jeffrey Mesick. The price is $62 per person, plus tax and gratuity($78 total). Advance payment required by Sept. 12. Send checks La Serre Restaurant, 14 Green St., Albany, NY 12207 or call 463-6056 to charge by credit card. “Vampy” period attire encouraged. The lineup: Hors d’oeuvres: Cats Meow Billi-Bi, Bee’s K ... (read the rest)
Wine-tasting fundraiser for rowing center
The Albany Rowing Center will hold a wine-tasting fundraiser from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13, at a private home at 22 Manning Boulevard in Albany. (Rain date is Sept. 20.) Wines from California’s Sonoma Valley will be featured, along with “the finest cheeses of the East.” Rowers, enthusiasts and supporters are invited to attend. The event will also be the official welcome for new head coach and program director Michael Gilbert. Tickets are $50 and must be reserved by Sept. 10 by mailin ... (read the rest)
$ign o’ the times: Filet 7 West closes for lunch
The four-month-old steakhouse Filet 7 West in Latham stopped serving lunch earlier this month, the latest example of a larger trend in the industry. “The lunch business just wasn’t there,” general manager David Loysen tells me. Management is considering reopening for lunch in the fall, Loysen says. Glen Sanders Mansion stopped lunch service on Aug. 1 because of declining business, Forno Toscano in Saratoga Springs made the move last September, Sperry’s in Saratoga did so in the winter, and even ... (read the rest)
Mystery tomatoes
To the mystery person who left these on my porch... thank you, thank you, thank you. So if someone left you a bag of upwards of 20 beautiful tomatoes, what would you do with them? ... (read the rest)
Breakfast at Gio’s studio
Starting Sept. 14, Gio Culinary Studio in Voorheesville will offer to-go breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon on Sundays. Fare will include doughnuts, an assortment of breakfast pastries, grilled breakfast panini, coffee and espresso drinks, Italian biscotti and classic American cookies. The studio is located at 22 South Main St., Voorheesville. Call 391-2323. ... (read the rest)
SPAC releases outline for food and wine fest
Update: Full list of farms and restaurants participating in the Saturday, Sept. 6, Grand Tasting is after the jump. The Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s annual Saratoga Wine & Food Festival returns next weekend, Sept. 4-6, with restaurant dinners, a gala on the SPAC stage and a wine-and-food tasting on the arts center grounds. The days, events and details: Thursday, Sept. 4: Restaurant dinners. All begin at 6:30 p.m. and cost $120 per person; price includes food, wine, tax and tip. Call 584 ... (read the rest)
thirty days of birthday
While I was quiet last week, my thirty days of birthday came to an end. What is that you ask? Thirty days of presents for one of each of my thirty years of being present on this earth. From my parents, the people who singlehandedly invented the term "birthday observed." Birthday observed is the day you celebrate the birthday if it falls on a day when we cannot all be together for festivities. Example, my birthdays in Philadelphia would sometimes be almost retreats where I would wander the city, ... (read the rest)
I sharpen mine to a razor edge, I’ll have you know
This is going to happen to me one of these years. I just know it. I haven’t flown anywhere in over two years, but I did have to go through security at the courthouses I visited during my Excellent Courthouse Adventure for work last week. I took a few camera phone photos when I wasn’t busy being sent to the wrong place and getting a sunburn. I don’t go downtown at all anymore, and I almost miss it. The security checks brought back fond memories of working at the complete opposite end of t ... (read the rest)
Tell me what I want to hear. No, not *you.*
If the original screencap isn’t some sort of Photoshopped thing trying to make Fox News look stupid, I think I’m going to cry. ... (read the rest)
Discover: The Crayons
The Crayons - 2008 “whats wrong with you” The long awaited follow up to “What Color Are You?” has arrived!! Once again produced by The Churchills. This 12 track effort has the melodic hooks, harmonies, and lush guitars The Crayons love so much but with songs that are more intimate, evoking an even darker, moodier [...] ... (read the rest)
Joy, Wonder, Petco
This post is wonderful. Not just because it’s about hamsters. ... (read the rest)
No Biking!
Qualifiers are over.Better pictures on the way in the coming week.....I hope. ... (read the rest)
it's heeere!
skfl and i enjoyed happy hour tonight while landlord showed our apartment to prospective tenants. i thought the mandatory hour out of our place would mean that wed get in a good walk. skfl thought it meant a cold one at a bar with outdoor seating for two people and a dog. we compromised and got a bit of both. its kind of tough to take a long walk when you are starving for dinner. sucking down a cold one while hungry? no problem at all.we wandered into an empty bar with so many options on tap, wh ... (read the rest)
The Week In Irony
WAL-MART NATION I needed to find goody bag loot for Zack’s birthday party, no naturally I went to Wal-Mart —and that’s where I got the Billy Bob teeth in this picture. As if people shopping at Wal-Mart need fake Billy Bob teeth? One time I found a folding chair in the store with a warning label that said “Not to be used by persons weighing over 300 pounds.” I’m pretty sure I was the only person in the store under 300 pounds. SHUFFLE OFF Helped move Alex off to college in Buffalo over the weekend ... (read the rest)
A broken relationship (and a life-altering decision) Part X
This story is being told as a serial. It’s the tale of Sarah, an OTE reader, her broken relationship and a pregnancy. To backtrack, and read the first part, click here. For the previous entry, click here. Readers, Sarah appreciates all the advice and help she has been given. But, at this time, she has decided to proceed from here with the help of family and friends. She will continue blogging about this on her own (she’s a blogger and has been keeping an online diary, which started well be ... (read the rest)
Learn more about Badlands
On Thursday, September 4 at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, our curator Denise Markonish will give an illustrated lecture about her exhibition Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape. After her talk, Denise will lead a walk-through of the exhibition Hudson Valley Artists 2008: The Medium is the Message for which she was the juror. Regional artists represented in the exhibition include Kathleen Anderson, Allen Bryan, David Bush, Deborah Davidovits, Tasha Depp, Dara Greenwald, Matthew Harle, ... (read the rest)
No “bang” in the dryer
Yes, this is another dryer post, but this time it doesn’t involve a toad. Know how when you throw sneakers or soft toys in the dryer they tend to bang around? This product may help: the “No Bang!” clothes dryer strap, an adjustable, elastic Velcro strap stabilizes shoes and soft toys via suction. Using heat-resistant suction cups, the “No Bang!” adheres to the inner-rim or inside door of a dryer, maintaining a strong grip during the tumble process. The product also ... (read the rest)
Huge hood
We present for your delectation, envy or derision what is believed to be “the world’s largest ever copper island range hood for residential use,” from RangeCraft Manufacturing in New Jersey. The monster — more than 10 feet wide, 7 feet deep and 4 feet high — cost about $30,000 and is going into a house in Georgia with a kitchen island that includes a custom cooking suite built from multiple cooktops. More details after the jump. (more…) ... (read the rest)
Pork, corn from Sheldon Farms
The excellent folks up at Sheldon Farms (4363 State Route 22 in Salem, Washington County) raised pigs this year, feeding them on the farm’s abundant sweet corn. They’ll have a variety of pork products available, or you can buy a half-pig ($2.85 per pound; estimated hanging weight of 100 to 125 pounds) and specify how you want it cut, smoked and packaged. The farm’s annual fall pig roast is scheduled for Sept. 27. After the jump is Albert Sheldon’s method for freezing last-of-the-season corn for ... (read the rest)
Super Happy New Camera Celebration Time!!!
Woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo! I got a new camera! I think it is super-cute. It is everything I wanted in a camera – small, obnoxiously pigmented, and easy to use. Goodbye white balance adjust! Hello point-and-shoot! (I think I just heard Albany John and his entire family cringe)Man, I was really hurting without any camera, and the one we generously received from our neighbors was really a camcorder, and my hands couldn’t keep it still enough to get a clean photo out of it.I was so excited to get a ... (read the rest)
RuPaul at ‘eloquent’ dinner
A big AIDS fundraiser in Albany next month will feature very tall ’90s drag sensation RuPaul. Tickets are $75. The poster (click at right to blow it up to full size) features a typo and a brain fart (below). Oops. ... (read the rest)
blogland
A few new to add to my blog roll:The talented Laura, a fellow art student from RWC days. D.M. Stith, new MFA student and indy musician, also from RWC. Bread and Honey, hmmm, delicious.Sugar City Journal--two sister in laws cover a lot of sewing, design, and life. ... (read the rest)
Go see a man about a horse
How do you put the finishing touches on a lukewarm racing season that was nearly washed off the map by Mother Nature? Well, you present an over-sized key to the city to a creature lacking an opposable digit to hold the damn thing and who has little, if any connection to Saratoga Springs other than the fact that he’s a horse that has shacked up here for a few summers.And if that’s not going bombastic enough, you proclaim a semi-official “Curlin Day” while hoisting banners proclaiming “Curlin is c ... (read the rest)
Wedding help: Saratoga-themed gift bags
We have the track T-shirts to include in Karen’s hospitality gift bags for out-of-town guests, but we’re thinking about what other (Saratoga-themed) items to include. There’s been talk of a bag of potato chips (the fried potato originated in Saratoga Springs), Stewart’s rootbeer, Saratoga water, gift certificates to that new cupcake place (Karen and her beau are huge cupcake fans), etc. But, we’re open to suggestions. Readers, what kind of (less than $10) items woul ... (read the rest)
Follow up: Kris Reckner Benefit
This blog is a follow up on the “One Note at a Time” Kris Reckner Benefit that took place as an all day Sunday event at Northern Lights on August 24th. It takes a lot of dedicated people to sucessfully pull of a benefit. Personally, I’d like to thank: – Northern Lights for the great location and [...] ... (read the rest)
One-hour whitening
From Dentovations—a supplier of private label tooth whitening products —comes Luster, the at home tooth whitening system designed to whiten up to six shades in one hour. This dentist-invented system consists of three components that work synergistically to revitalize your smile: Step 1: Rinse with the Accelerator Mouth Rinse, which will enhance the efficacy of the professional strength whitening gel. Step 2: Brush on the Super Whitening Gel, the same whitening agent used by dentists during prof ... (read the rest)
Discover: Valerie Webb
Valerie Webb - In January 2005, Valerie founded “Venomentality”. For over three years now, songwriter Valerie Webb, along with lead guitarist Peter Kansas, and drummer Ben Zeigler, have consistently played 1-4 shows per month, including high profile events such as the Union Square Virgin Megastore Mashup, opening for MINK at the Union Square NYU Back [...] ... (read the rest)
Vanishing Point
Life on a train leads only one way. ... (read the rest)
stay classy, nene
yup, i drank fancy wine out of a bottle. did you expect something more from me? the glasses were all in use (or something) and i wanted a taste. i was with my familywhere else am i allowed to act like this? certainly not the company picnic! the wine was delicious, the food was simple and tasty, the company was wonderful, and the memories are everlasting.microblogging is where its at these days (a term i learned about over the weekend [is this the part where i am supposed to give credit and dont? ... (read the rest)
Lark Street, Hudson Avenue, 9 p.m. - ish
It's an even year. It's and EVEN YEAR. They'll win. It's an even year and the Jets will win nine or ten...(guy, 30s, front stoop, to cell phone)I am outside of the place and I'm going to wait for you but not for three hours ... I did so good in Long Island, I was doing so good. (Woman, early 20s, in front of Bombers Burrito Bar, to cell phone).What is a dog doing in here? (Kid, male, in the Ben and Jerry's).I was there with Shawna and Nina, who is like, five months pregnant. Naw. Nina's pregant? ... (read the rest)
Broken engagement: how long till dating resumes?
A reader asks: I know this question really doesn’t have an answer, but how long typically should you wait to get in to a serious relationship after breaking off an engagement? Some guy just told me he doesn’t think he is ready for a serious relationship because I was very similar to his ex-fiancé and was afraid to make the same mistake again. ... (read the rest)
The First Rule of Meat Club Is…
This year’s BOMB party was a blast (no pun intended). You may recall from last year’s post that BOMB stands for Boys Only Meat Bash. The sagacious party-organizer, Mark, designed this mono-gender meat-up meet-up this way because he felt that excluding the ladies was the only way to have a truly hassle-free party. Now now, let me explain on his behalf; he adores the company of the fairer sex (as do we all), but he knew his wife could not tolerate a party where plates are absent, napkins are s ... (read the rest)
A broken relationship (and a life-altering decision) Part IX
This story is being told as a serial. It’s the tale of Sarah, an OTE reader, her broken relationship and a pregnancy. To backtrack, and read the first part, click here. For the previous entry, click here. Sarah pulled in the driveway and Chris’s truck was already there. He was early. She expected she’d have some time between work and this meeting to relax, decompress, gather her thoughts. The sight of his truck, and of him behind the wheel, made her shake. Her body, and her heart, f ... (read the rest)
PedEgg goes pink
Regular readers know I love pink, am a huge advocate for breast cancer research and love the PedEgg. So, when I saw all three come together with the Pink PedEgg, I was elated. With Breast Cancer accounting for more than one in four cancers diagnosed among American women, PedEgg has stepped in to help fight for a cure. With each purchase, a portion of Pink PedEgg’s proceeds helps fund Breast Cancer Research. Pink PedEgg, engineered with more than 135 micro files, makes your feet smooth and “callu ... (read the rest)
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... said Amelia about local college rankings