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Year-End Wind-Down
There is a period in the Central New York seasonal cycle between when the last of the fall foliage drops from the trees and when the first serious snow accumulation arrives. It’s a time of dreary landscapes filled with bare tree limbs silhouetted against drab skies, dampened by cold drizzle and fog. Generally, that is Continue reading
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Black Hat
Black hats are tricky. They come with a whole host of associations and connotations, ranging from several religious groups to western outlaws to any number of pop-culture villains and antiheroes. Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark wore a black hat, as did Walter White, The Shadow, Waylon Jennings, and Lee Van Cleef, to name Continue reading
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Antiquing With the Chief Executives
These past few weekends, the Missus and I have been on a little antiquing spree. I never gave a lot of thought to antique shops when I was younger but have started enjoying them more now that I arguably belong in one. (Just as an aside, one of the many ways that I’m reminded of Continue reading
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The Ideal State
When illusion spin her netI’m never where I want to be – Peter Gabriel One of the marketing courses I have taught over the years is Consumer Behavior — an overview of the psychological and social factors that influence how and why we buy. In that course, we talk about how everything starts with the Continue reading
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Time Passages
One of the many odd byproducts of moving back to my hometown to raise a family was that my kids attended the same elementary school and the same high school that I did. When I would go to those buildings as a parent for open-houses, parent-teacher conferences, or performances, some ghosts of the past would Continue reading
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Cahill Pier
In recent years, the City of Oswego has been redeveloping areas along its waterfront as part of a broader urban renewal initiative. So far, the results have been impressive and have really added value to the city’s greatest natural asset. The latest project in this effort is the William S. Cahill Pier, a waterfront park Continue reading
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Beaver Lake Nature Center: Deep Woods Trail
October in upstate New York is for leaf peeping. You can drive around and view the foliage from a distance along the roadside, or you can go straight to the source. On this particular crisp Saturday morning, I chose the latter with a trip to Beaver Lake Nature Center’s Deep Woods Trail. The Deep Woods Continue reading
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Beaver Lake Nature Center: Bog Trail
On Sunday afternoon, I figured I was overdue for a nature hike. It was a chilly, wet, and gray day, so I decided to lean into the dismalness of it all and walk through a bog. Onondaga County’s Beaver Lake Nature Center is my go-to option for walking in the wilderness. Its Bog Trail is Continue reading
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Owl Be Seein’ Ya
A few months ago, I wrote about how I could not bring myself to end my continuous-days streak on the Duolingo app. I’m proud to report that upon hitting the milestone of 731 days (two years plus one day), I disabled all of the notifications on the app and am finally taking a break from Continue reading
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October
I’ve heard it said that tourism is all about collecting clichés. When it comes to the enduring clichés associated with the fall season, I don’t need to engage in tourism to collect them. They are right outside my front door. Central New York has all of the stereotypical/archetypical ingredients of American autumns in spades: pumpkin Continue reading
About Me
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 