Items tagged with 'cool'

The Berkshire Bird Paradise

Bird.jpg

Hello!

If you have a couple of hours before the end of October, check out the Berkshire Bird Paradise. Yes, we said bird paradise. It's about 40 minutes from Albany, easy to find, and totally worth it.

Over 30 years Peter Dubacher has collected/rescued more than 100 species of birds from all over the world and made a home for them at his bird sanctuary in Petersburgh (near Grafton). Don't leave without talking to him (and make sure you ask him how he met his wife).

What will you hear and see?

(there's more)

The art vending machine in Troy

Art_Vending_Machine.jpg

The art vending machine.

By Jessica Pasko

Art? From a vending machine?

Yes, IPods aren't the only things that come in vending machines here in the Capital Region. A vending machine* in Troy has been refitted to dispense miniature pieces of art by emerging artists.

Yeah, we know It sounds a little weird, but it's actually kind of cool.

(there's more)

The Circle Museum

Circle_Museum.jpg
By Jessica Pasko

Updated October 17, 2008.

If you've always wanted to visit a sculpture museum that evokes an auto body shop (and really, who hasn't), here's your chance.

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Sgt Dunbar's drive-by Albany-ing

Sgt Dunbar outside Merge Records

Outside Merge's windows in Durham.

Check it out: AOA faves Sgt Dunbar and the Hobo Banned are currently on tour through Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina, so they stopped by the offices of famed indie label Merge Records in Durham, NC to play an impromptu show. It sounds like the Merge folks were just sitting there when they started hearing music and looked out the window.

We like how Matthew Loiacono described it: a drive-by Albany-ing.

UPDATE: The Hobo Banned reports that the South is different but awesome!

Earlier on AOA: Sgt Dunbar and the Hobo Banned live

(Thanks, Matthew!)

photo: Merge Blog

What your neighbors are reading

Coldestwinter.jpgWhat's the most widely circulated book in the Albany Public Library system? A 10 year old coming of age novel by hip hop artist and author Sistah Souljah. Librarians at APL tell us the The Coldest Winter Ever, a novel about a young girl growing up in Brooklyn, is the most requested fiction book in the system. And apparently it's been that popular for a couple of years.

What other books are your neighbors checking out of the APL?

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The little yellow school bus

little yellow school bus

Admirers slowed traffic Wednesday along Lower Hudson in Green Island.

Check out this vintage school bus we spotted this week in Green Island. It's a fully-restored 1941 Brockway bus, seats eight (plus the driver), and is probably the only one of its kind left.

You know there's a story behind this (pictures, too).

(there's more)

Arbor Hill's Tivoli Nature Preserve

Tivoli 1b.jpg

Tivoli Lake in A-Town's Arbor Hill/West Hill neighborhood.

By Jessica Pasko

New York's largest urban nature preserve is Central Park in Manhattan. Where's the second largest? Albany's Arbor Hill. Yeah, we had no idea either.

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Google Transit makes a stop in the Capital Region

Google Transit example

The downtown Albany to St. Peter's example.

As ThisQualityLife reported in a comment earlier this week, coverage of the Capital Region on Google Transit started today. And it is pretty cool.

You plug in where you're at, where you want to go, and Google figures out which bus to take, how far you'll have to walk, and how long the whole trip will probably last. (Check out this example for a trip from downtown Albany to St. Peter's.) Another interesting feature is the ability to plan/map a trip if you just want to walk. (See that same downtown to St. Peter's trip via foot.)

We can see this being really helpful for bus riders -- especially people who ride only occasionally (it's probably easier than getting a coach). But even if you never ride the bus, it's kind of fun to play around with these maps.

The Carbeque

Carbeque.jpg

Hey look kids... it's "The Carbeque"

If you're passing through Saratoga on a weekend, here's something you might want to check out. Emil Onzo and his Carbeque have made the Saratoga Auto Museum their weekend "base of operations." The car-be-what? The Carbeque. It's just what it sounds like. A combination car/barbecue.

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Albany Rickshaw

Ricshaw.jpg

Yes, that's a rickshaw at the corner of State and Lark.

Check out what we found while we were having dinner on Lark Street the other night! (Unfortunately all we had handy was the camera phone, but you get the idea.) Yep, there's a new way to travel in Albany. A very, very old new way to travel.

Right now Albany Rickshaw is a one man company, and that one man is in pretty good shape. Loren Grugan is an Albany police officer, but in his off-hours he'll pull you around the city in his new rickshaw. Loren doesn't stay still for very long, but he put the breaks on to talk with AOA.

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The Round Lake Pipe Organ

Round_Lake_Pipe_Organ.jpg
By Jessica Pasko

The little village of Round Lake is home to one of the biggest pipe organs in the country. It's also one of the oldest pipe organs in the country.

Turns out the village once served as a Methodist meeting camp in the late 1800's. The organ lives in the Round Lake Auditorium, which at one time was used for church services. Today it's used for concerts, antique fairs, plays and other village events.

Organ experts will tell you this impressive instrument with it's massive array of sounds is a Ferris three-manual tracker, but really, do you know any organ experts? We don't either. So we checked into a few interesting details ourselves . Here's what we learned.

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Take a left on Western, head for heaven

Western Ave sunset

Up, up and away.

We love this picture by Flickr user iessi (we think her actual name is Jessica). It's like Western Ave leads off into the sky.

Be sure to check the Albany photo set by Jessica -- we particularly liked this funny picture of Nipper.

photo: Flickr user iessi, used under a CC license

The Scoop

Ever wish you had a smart, savvy friend with the inside line on what's happening around the Capital Region? You know, the kind of stuff that makes your life just a little bit better? Yeah, we do, too. That's why we created All Over Albany. Find out more.

Recently on All Over Albany

More people looking for work?

The state released last month's unemployment data today. The short story: the Capital Region's unemployment rate in October was 4.9 percent -- that's up from... (more)

Saratoga cinema?

Two of the three proposals for a new Saratoga Springs public safety building also include plans for a movie theater. One proposal puts the theater... (more)

Craig and his wonderful list

The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window... (more)

The records keep spinning at Blue Note

Vinyl aficionados and amateurs alike have long known that Central Avenue's Blue Note Record Shop is where it's at when it comes to finding elusive... (more)

Morning Blend

David Paterson and other top state officials were in DC yesterday lobbying for federal aid -- with little progress. Chuck Schumer said help -- if... (more)

Recent Comments

Who would have thought that the city of Troy could have chosen a building uglier than the one they're already in as the location of their new city hall? It's okay, actually. If the plans for the future of the current City Hall site pan out, they can put the new city hall in Cohoes for all I care.

The B3nson Family Funsgiving

...has 6 comments, most recently from Pete

What can we expect The Standard to be?

...has 18 comments, most recently from Beaver

The records keep spinning at Blue Note

...has 2 comments, most recently from jess

Trader Joe's update

...has 33 comments, most recently from Ron

Scenes from a breakdown

...has 1 comment, most recently from jb

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