Items tagged with 'people'
Really, who needs another toaster?
This is cool: when Martha Kronholm and Frank Moscowitz got married last fall they registered not for gifts, but for donations -- to the health law clinic at Albany Law School. Said Martha Kronholm in an article published by the school:
"We never wanted to prompt any of our guests for a gift of any kind, just coming to the wedding and sharing in the day was more than enough ... But for people who wanted to give us a gift, my husband and I were confident that our guests would happily redirect their generosity to a great cause."
According to the clinic's web site, "The Health Law Clinic is designed to teach student interns to identify and address the legal issues which poor individuals living with chronic health conditions often face."
You might know Martha and Frank by another name: Princess Mabel. The two musicians have been a part of the local music scene for a long time. They moved to Brooklyn in 2008 after Martha graduated from Albany Law and got a job at a firm in Manhattan.
According to the ALS article, the wedding gift donations were matched by the firm -- and the money has gone toward a fund to endow an annual award for a health law clinic student.
Kevin Craig West
He plays Reverend Sykes in Mockingbird.
Kevin Craig West could easily win the title for hardest working guy in show business. The Arbor Hill native and Troy resident is an actor, producer, director, writer and editor who is constantly networking.
West recently named best actor at the Knickerbocker Film Festival for his work in Mike Feuerstein's film The Greatest Man Alive. And he's currently appearing in Capital Rep's production of To Kill A Mockingbird.
We got together with West last week to talk about the strange way he backed into his career, Arbor Hill, the growing film scene in the Capital Region and car chases with Angelina Jolie.
What's up in the Neighborhood
Among the topics in this most recent spin around the Capital Region's online neighborhood: John Sweeney, ice cream, a mustache party, burritos, eggs, soda bread, Amtrak, Schodack Island, garbage, hats, a national title and turkey.
My Exit: Michael Medvesky
Every Monday night our friends at WEXT do this thing called My Exit -- local listeners get to come into the station and program an hour of music. So we thought it'd be fun to find out a little bit about these people and why they picked the songs on their play list.
Here's tonight's person:
Capital Region Oscar winners
Gloria Swanson was ready for her close-up because of a writer from Saratoga Springs.
Oscar weekend is here, and it got us wondering about Academy Award winners from the Capital Region.
We did a little poking around and found some local folks who took home the coveted statues.
And the winners are...
Hello Pretty City update
We heard from our friends over WEXT this afternoon that Laura Glazer's Hello Pretty City show will make its Exit 97.7 debut on April 4. The show will run Sundays from 8-10 pm.
Hello Pretty City has long been a staple on WRPI, but a change in Laura's schedule prompted her to make the move to WEXT. As she wrote on her blog:
Please, kind listener, know that I'm not leaving WRPI for any reason other than my schedule is changing and I need to be at work on weekday mornings. I am truly thankful to be able to find a way to continue doing the radio show, even though it will be on another station.
Laura's planned a "celebration concert" for the show this Friday at Valentine's featuring Brown Bird, The Charlie Watts Riots, Pony in the Pancake, and The Landlines. Tickets are $8. Show starts at 8 pm.
Made in Schenectady: personal care for your derriere
Earlier this week saw mention of a product called MB3 on Twitter -- and it seemed to have a local connection. Hmm... what's MB3? So we checked out the web site. From the product page:
MB3 is a soothing external perianal cleansing lotion designed to achieve that "bidet fresh" feeling on the go. When applied to toilet paper for the final wipe, MB3 will leave you clean, comfortable, and confident.
OK, so we have to admit we thought at first this might be a joke. But it seemed to check out. So who was, uh, you know, behind this product?
The answer: Steve Markham . He's a remodeling contractor (by day) in Schenectady -- and now a personal care product developer (by night).
We emailed Steve a few questions and he bounced back answers about the origin of the idea, getting his start at a business incubator in Schenectady, and his home-brew setup for MB3.
What's up in the Neighborhood
Among the topics in this most recent spin around the Capital Region's online neighborhood: Shanghai, openings, Hattie's, quesadillas, maitre d's, wings, sea urchin, cheesesteak, spicy salmon, suits, Severe Severe, urban discovery, coffee sleeves and a superhero.
AOA Birthday 2 photos
Midtown was packed for the party.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Midtown Tap and Tea Room last Thursday for the AOA birthday party. It was a really fun time! It was great to see so many people again -- and meet a bunch of others for the first time.
There are a whole lot of photos from the party after the jump. Also, here are recaps by Albany Jane and The Exile. And you can read most of the party tweets by searching for the hashtag #AOA2.
My Exit: Keegan Farone
Tonight's My Exit DJ, Keegan Farone
A new season of My Exit starts tonight at 8 at WEXT. On My Exit, local listeners get to come into the station and program an hour of music. We thought it'd be fun to find out a little bit about these people and why they picked the songs on their play list.
Here's tonight's person:
What's up in the Neighborhood
Among the topics in this most recent spin around the Capital Region's online neighborhood: milk, an apple orchard, the TNL, 677 Prime, yellow chicken, menus, happy hour, heavenly soup, the Pine Bush, before and after, cheap gas, car detailing, bargains, and good from bad.
Phantogram "amplified"
Phantogram was recently featured on ABC's "Amplified," a series in which Dan Harris awkwardly interviews indie artists. Harris is apparently a big fan -- he says "Mouthful of Diamonds" was his favorite song of last year:
The interview also includes Josh and Sarah talking about playing in Saratoga (people "want to hear songs they know") and the glamour of life on the road (sleeping in the car and tuna fish sandwiches).
Phantogram will be touring the West and Midwest in March. And they're playing at the Sasquatch Festival in Washington State in May.
[via @albstudentpress]
Rewriting the bible in Columbia County
Phillip Patterson beneath the willows. (photo by Laura Glazer)
Phillip Patterson is hand-writing the Bible.
Yes, the entire bible. The 1611 King James bible, to precise. The Columbia County resident hopes to complete it by next year, the book's 500th birthday.
Intrigued?
Laura Glazer was. Yes, that Laura Glazer. The host of Hello Pretty City.
What's all this about?
A mix of things, really.
What's up in the Neighborhood
Among the topics in this most recent spin around the Capital Region's online neighborhood: sweets, 8 Tables, Katrinella's, flowers, Valentine's Day, salad hair, reservations, MASS MoCA, laser eye surgery, Franklin Plaza, the middle of nowhere, contrabass, Troy, a winter carnival, puppets and surprise.
Troy is underrated
Kim's block in North Central
A few weeks ago after a post about median home prices around the Capital Region, Kim M commented that she thought people undervalue Troy. We were interested to hear more about why she thought that, so we asked her to write a post about it.
I love Troy. If you don't know that about me then we've never met.
Sometimes I feel like a crazy evangelist for Troy, but I just can't help myself.
Because Troy is underrated.
The Puppet People of Schenectady
Michelle, Mark and a few of their friends.
Schenectady's Michelle Smith-Carrigan and Mark Carrigan advertise themselves as "your puppet professionals."
Seriously, how much fun must they have at parties?
"So what do you do for a living?"
"Well, actually, I'm a puppet professional..."
Kickstart Sgt Dunbar to SXSW
A thousand dollars gets a date with Donna.
Locals Sgt Dunbar and the Hobo Banned got accepted to play at this year's SXSW music festival, which is great. There's one problem: they don't have the money to fund the trip.
So the band has set up a Kickstarter project for their trip. Here's how it works:
Every project has a funding goal (any dollar amount) and a time limit (from 1 - 90 days) set by the project creator. When the deadline is reached, there are either of two results:
1. Funding Successful: If a project has met or surpassed its funding goal, all backers' credit cards are instantly charged and funds go directly to the project creator. Project creators are then responsible for completing the project and delivering rewards as promised.
2. Funding Unsuccessful: If a project has NOT met its funding goal, all pledges are canceled. That's it.
Sgt Dunbar's goal is $3,000 and the deadline is March 3. They're already up to more than $700. Pledges of $10 or more get CDs and other rewards.
If you haven't seen Sgt Dunbar live (and you should), they'll playing Lark Tavern February 27 with Scientific Maps.
[via @albstudentpress]
Earlier on AOA: Sgt Dunbar's appearance at SXSW last year led to them being highlighted on NPR
photo: Sgt Dunbar
What's up in the Neighborhood
Among the topics in this most recent spin around the Capital Region's online neighborhood: Amtrak, parking garages, Siro's, a gallery, snowstorms, Chowderfest, cold weather meals, local taverns, fresh eggs, a new shoe shop, the Troy Photo Center and Vroman's Nose.
Eyelid Movies out today
Phantogram's first full-length album, Eyelid Movies, is out today in the US.
To mark the occasion, Matthew Loiacono's posted an account of the Saratoga Springs duo's beginning -- including the story of how one of the best songs on Eyelid Movies was almost lost to red wine.
Also: Paste has a kind of silly Q&A with Sarah and Josh (it also tags them as "best of what's next"). [via @thehiddencity]
Also also: A review for Spin calls Eyelid Movies "often gorgeous and never soothing."
Also also also: The whole album is still available for streaming from NPR It seems that NPR stream has now ended. You might try Lala. If you haven't heard the album, yet, you should have a listen -- it's good.
An ode to Siena's maestro
"Undersized" -- but he's a big-time player.
Siena point guard Ronald Moore got some well-deserved national attention yesterday in a NYT profile. The piece has some interesting bits -- about how Siena was able to land Moore; and what he said to Rick Pitino during last year's second round game in the NCAA tournament.
Moore is a remarkable player in that he may very well be the MVP of this year's excellent Saints team -- and yet he's only their fifth leading scorer. But he contributes in other ways. Moore leads the nation in assists per game -- he also controls the tempo of the game and keeps teams from pressuring the Saints.
As Ed pointed out recently, Siena is having a great season -- even by the standards of the last few years. It has a 14 game win streak going, most recently an 88-68 victory over Iona -- the second-place team in the MAAC. The Saints continue to get votes in the AP Top 25 poll. And they'll take on #18 Butler in the showcase "Bracket Buster" game on ESPN later this month.
Siena faces Fairfield tonight at the TU Center at 7 pm. The game will also be on MSG (ch 73).
[Thanks, Rob!]
photo: MAAC Sports
What's up in the Neighborhood
Among the topics in this most recent spin around the Capital Region's online neighborhood: drivers, a cold night on the Capitol steps, rolls, Chipotle, salmon, burger joints, t-shirts, a swap, Vermont, skating, cards, eagles and heckling.
Meet Mr. Debbie
Tom Reiner, AKA, Mr. Debbie
A couple of weeks ago we told you about the sale of the Albany institution Debbie's Kitchen.
Well, Debbie, queen of sandwiches has turned over her scepter.
The sandwich king apparent is Tom Reiner, a 28-year-old Colonie native with a management background.
Meet Mr. Debbie.
What's up in the Neighborhood
Among the topics in this most recent spin around the Capital Region's online neighborhood: soup, Kevin Marshall, sheep, an odd ad, side dishes, Irish pizza crust, cannoli, dog park etiquette, rest stops, a bald eagle, bargains, music lust and old New Yorkers.
From Saratoga to LA
We stumbled across this a while back and it made us smile. It's singer/songwriter -- and Saratoga Springs native -- Jes Hudak singing a cover of T.I.'s "Whatever You Like":
(Here's "No One in the World," one of Hudak's own songs)
According to Hudak's bio, she went to Saratoga Springs High School and used to perform at Caffe Lena open mic nights. She's since moved to LA and -- all that sunshine aside -- seems to be doing really well.
[we're pretty sure this is via @anorginal]
Hearts for Haiti
Victoria Van Der Laan, the local artisan who sells on Etsy as ex libris handmade, has organized an Etsy shop called Hearts for Haiti. The shop has been up for just a week -- and its page reports that it's already raised more than $8500.
Wrote Victoria on her blog:
... Having no money to donate I was feeling helpless and desperate to do my part. Somehow I ended up on the Etsy forums and it struck me that a charitable shop should be organized to help the people of Haiti in some way.
So I started a forum thread. The response was immediate and incredibly inspiring. So many amazing people stepped up to help in all of the many ways that were needed. Throngs of Etsy sellers offered up amazing items. I got swept up in all of the camaraderie and the amazing spirit of charity and before I knew it I was well on my way to opening a shop!
As of this afternoon, the shop had more than 650 items for sale -- all donated by other Etsy artisans. The proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders.
(Thanks, Leah!)
Earlier on AOA: ex libris handmade was featured in the holiday gift guide
... said Jackers about David Paterson finishing out his term