Assonance

Dear Walter,
I see that Steely Dan is going on tour again. Over the years, Steely Dan has been one of my favorite groups, with truly exceptional songwriting, singing, and playing. If I’m not mistaken, those are your really fine guitar solos on Black Friday, Bad Sneakers, and many other songs - solos full of feel, fire, and inventiveness.

But in recent years, something seems to have gone wrong. I would surmise that when you’re rich and successful, the motivation slips away, and why put in time practicing when you’re loaded and chilling out on a beach somewhere? Besides, if you’re the boss, nobody’s going to say anything for fear of losing their high-paying, high-profile gig.
Read the rest of this entry »

Note - if you don’t care about crossword puzzles, skip to the next article!

I was pleasantly surprised to see that several Syracusans participated in the annual NY Times Crossword solving contest, which has gained considerable visibility from the fun movie about it, Wordplay. Not having any friends in the area who are similarly addicted to difficult crossword puzzles, I considered trying to call these people, but decided not to - I can’t assume that anyone would want unsolicited puzzle geek calls. Awhile ago I did have a pleasant conversation with a friendly gentleman in Panera who was doing some tough puzzles, but I didn’t get his contact information.

So I’ll put the word out here: to potential friends who like doing the tougher Times puzzles, let’s talk sometime! I’m not looking to form a club and get super-geeky or anything, but would enjoy exchanging ideas and maybe hanging out a little bit. And don’t worry about competition - I’m not up to a Tyler-like speed level at all. My time for the Sunday puzzle is gradually improving, but I’m happy to get it done in 2 hours, and the speed demons in Wordplay could probably get it in 3 minutes.

As a night-owl, I frequently channel-surf the late-night talk shows. I’ve enjoyed Letterman for years, and now and then I’ll switch to Conan, Jimmy Kimmel, or even Leno. Although Letterman is starting to lose it, and keeps saying “tremendous” over and over again about everything, some of his writers’ material is still excellent, and he can still get off a good ad lib now and then.

I’ll be forever thankful to Jimmy Kimmel for having the great guitar satirist Santeri Ojala on his show, and the recent Matt Damon and Ben Affleck bits were excellent.

But Craig Ferguson is the guy to watch! His wit is razor-sharp and frequently self-deprecating, and he’s great with guests. As often as not, when a guest comes out he’ll tear up and toss away the info-sheet his staff has provided. Oddly enough, he seems to be able to carry on a conversation that’s real and amusing, under his own power! I enjoy the chemistry between him and his guests.
Read the rest of this entry »

As you may have seen, I often write about places to eat in central New York. With Syracuse still figuring out its identity as it goes through some difficult times, I hope to help you find the gems in town here. But this time I’d like to mention Karavalli Restaurant in Latham (minutes outside of Albany), because our experience was exceptional!

We originally went there at the behest of our friend Owen, who is a food and coffee connoisseur, and had made a special trip to eat there. We were very glad we went, and have already been there a second time! Their emphasis is to have dishes from different regions of India, and someone with expertise in all these regions could comment on this much better than I. But having said that, wow, wow, wow, we were dazzled by every single dish!
Read the rest of this entry »

The Carrier Circle area in Syracuse is almost like a separate city. Motels are what you find there, and the businesses nearby tend to cater to the traveller. As a result, many people in that area are from out of town. For me, it’s easy to forget how many businesses there are up there, as well as restaurants.

As such, we don’t get to that area very often. But we happened to be near there the other night, and decided to check out Pronto Joey’s for a late-ish meal. As it happens, they were just closing, and they suggested we try Joey’s, the fancier part of their restaurant. We almost balked, as we weren’t looking for a fancy meal. We took a look at the menu, which looked enticing, and hunger won out.
Read the rest of this entry »