16 July 2008

So, the lead singer of the Barenaked Ladies was arrested on drug charges while in my hometown of Syracuse...actually in Fayetteville, an eastern suburb which is a stone's throw from where I grew up in E. Syracuse. The story is HERE. There in the 'Cuse to perform an impromptu concert at Syracuse University for VH1.

Kind of strange.

15 February 2007

Saw this picture on Syracuse.com. Snowmobiles--replacing the usual line of motorcycles--outside the Dinosaur BBQ in downtown Syracuse. There's about 3 feet of snow in the Salt City--with more on the way. Not as much as the folks up north in Oswego, though--they have about 7-8 feet. Makes me feel a little bit better about my struggle with the 2 inches of packed ice on my front walk.

The Dinosaur is one of the few establishments that actually started in Syracuse and then opened a second restaurant downstate in New York City. In addition to amazing BBQ (for a city north of the Mason-Dixon line), it's an awesome blues joint. (My brother's band has played there several times.) Even Bill Clinton stops by whenever he's in town with Hillary--and he KNOWS bbq. On a visit back in 2000 he said this: "I come from a place where barbeque is not food; it is a way of life. It is a philosophy of human nature. I have rarely had any as good as this." Pretty high praise, coming from him.

Here's the Dinosaur--in NON snowy times.

9 February 2006

The crazy snowfall hitting upstate New York is making national headlines. Some areas have up to six FEET of snow (one area: 123 inches), if you can believe it. The biggest amounts are about 45 minutes north from my hometown of Syracuse--though the Salt City has certainly gotten its fair share. The only good part of the whole story is the rest of the nation (and New York City folks) are being educated that "upstate New York" isn't just the area between Manhattan and Poughkeepsie.

On the Syracuse.com website there are amazing pictures about the snowfall in the area. Including one of people ice fishing on my believed Oneida Lake.




I'm so used to seeing my lake like THIS--which I MUCH prefer. Only four and a half months away. Sigh.

5 January 2007

COURTESY AP
There MAY be something to this whole global warming thing. (I'm sure the folks in Denver may disagree...) Not only was it a green Christmas in Syracuse and the weather just beautiful up there...it's been VERY warm here. Temps are supposed to be over 70 degrees tomorrow. Even the CHERRY BLOSSOMS are starting to come out. I'm glad to read that their premature blooming won't affect them come spring. (There's a story HERE, if you're interested.)

4 January 2007

Happy Birthday to Me!

My day started at 4:00am in East Syracuse, New York (I caught a 6:20am flight back to DC) and went right to work since I have a show tomorrow and it's the first day of the new Congress. It was VERY early...but my mom made me breakfast (she's the BEST!), I had a nice chat with my cab driver..and I watched the sunrise from 26,000 miles up.

I'm not a huge fan of Nancy Pelosi's but I must say it did give me goosebumps when she said "To our daughters and granddaughters....the marble ceiling has been broken." I guess I have a soft spot for sassy Italian women.

But then Pelosi invited her grandchildren and others up to the rostrum to "touch her gavel" at which time we all snapped back into our 5th grade mentality and started laughing.

Spending a quiet birthday night at home with the girl catching up, eating home-made pizza, and watching "Ugly Betty." Sounds PERFECT to me.