Syracuse
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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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Suos Cultores Scientia Coronat
Prior to the Syracuse-Colgate football game, I spent about an hour wandering around the Syracuse campus. My walk was partially an emotion-laden stroll down memory lane and partially a photo safari. Some of the landmarks I captured on camera are places filled with a great deal of personal significance to me, going back to my… Continue reading
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Game Day
Ah, the great college football rivalries: Ohio State vs. Michigan! Army vs. Navy! Auburn vs. Alabama! Syracuse vs. Colgate! Okay, so you’re snickering at that last one, but consider that Syracuse and Colgate played their first football game against each other back in 1891. Going into today, the two schools had squared off against each… Continue reading
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Sleepy Time at the Zoo
Jen and I went the Syracuse’s Rosamond Gifford Zoo this afternoon. We are members and go there a few times a year. It’s a good thing that we can go see the animals any time we want because today’s visit was a decidedly low-energy affair. Not all of the animals were dozing off, but many… Continue reading
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Burn On, Big River
There is a saying that every great city has a great river. While the greatness of both cities and rivers is subjective, it is certainly true that most larger cities tend to be located on rivers; at least that’s the case here in the water-abundant Northeast. In New York, almost all of the state’s biggest… Continue reading
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Shoot!
It’s interesting to me when a community claims to be the birthplace of an everyday item or product. There’s often an element of boasting civic pride that feels oddly out of step with the nature of the item itself. I lived for a few years in Shrewsbury, Mass., which many regard as the birthplace of… Continue reading
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And to Think That I Saw It All on Wyoming Street
I work on Syracuse’s West Side, in a building at the corner of West Fayette and Wyoming Streets. The neighborhood used to be a manufacturing center back during Syracuse’s industrial peak. These days, it has transitioned into something of an extension of downtown with office space co-existing alongside some of the more poverty-stricken residential areas… Continue reading
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An Art Deco Beauty
I had the opportunity to attend an opening-night sponsor event for Syracuse Jazz Fest the other night. It was held at the historic Niagara Mohawk Building, which is probably my favorite piece of architecture in Central New York. The building (originally known as the Niagara Hudson Building) is widely considered to be a classic example… Continue reading
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Goethe & Schiller in the Salt City
During a 2016 trip to Germany, my son Grant and I were walking through Frankfurt am Main. We happened across a statue of the great 18th-century polymath Friedrich Schiller. I took a picture and remarked to Grant that one really doesn’t see statues of poets or philosophers in the U.S. It turns out I was… Continue reading
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536 A.D. Vibes
Because I am a history nerd, I have a tendency to liken current events to some historical precedent. Because I am a modern-day American, living in 2023, I am prone to catastrophize and think of the present moment in apocalyptic, end-times, “this is the worst thing ever!” terms. Therefore, since this wildfire-induced haze engulfed my… 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.