There’s a certain time of year when it seems like Amy and I work for entire month without a day off. Oh wait, that’s THIS time of year! Tonight, we’re hosting the annual Mystery, Malt, and Merlot fundraiser to benefit the Advocates for Upstate Hospital at the OnCenter. Tomorrow, Amy is helping out with the Spirit of Women: Day of Dance at Destiny to benefit Crouse Hospital. I’ll be at the huge Stickley Furniture sale in Fayettevill from 10-noon and then we’re BOTH hosting the annual JDRF Diamonds and Denim Gala at the Turning Stone. On Sunday, I’ll be out in chittenango for the Sun Chevy April 900 from noon to 2pm. I’m kinda looking forward to Monday when I can relax in the studio again. Hope you get a chance to say hi!
TAKE A FOOD TOUR OF SYRACUSE
We talked to Kate Gillen, founder of the “Saampling Syracuse Food Tours” this morning. The food tours are starting up again next week. Here’s the deets:
– The Food Tour covers two miles walking with stops at five downtown restaurants (Kitty Hoynes, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Freedom of Espresso, Pastabilities and Gannon’s Ice Cream).
– Guests learn about Syracuse’s history and culture along the way during the three hour tour.
– The tour route includes Armory Square, the Creekwalk, Franklin Square, and Clinton Square.
– This season, we will walk through the The Pike Block’s new public walkway from Salina Street to Clinton Street.
– Tickets are $39 and can be purchased at: www.syracusefoodtours.com
You DO need to make reservations and there are a limited number of spots available, but how fun would that be? Great food and a lesson on where we live. Cllick below for more information!
NEW STAR WARS TRAILER
If you’re even just a casual “Star Wars” fan, the new trailer that was released yesterday is guaranteed to give you CHILLS. It stars with a voiceover from MARK HAMILL a.k.a. Luke Skywalker saying, quote, “The Force is strong in my family. My father has it, I have it, my sister has it. You have that power, too.” When he says, “My father has it,” you see a busted-up Darth Vader mask. Why he says “HAS” instead of “HAD”, when Vader is supposed to be dead isn’t clear. But the lines are actually from “Return of the Jedi”, when Luke first told Princess Leia they were brother and sister. And the trailer shows what LOOKS like one woman handing a lightsaber to another woman. What we’re assuming here is that it’s Leia handing the lightsaber to her DAUGHTER and she’s the one Luke is talking to in the voiceover. We’re also assuming her dad is Han Solo, because you KNOW he hit that.
Then there are a bunch of action scenes. But like all good geek porn, they saved the MONEY SHOT for the end . . . HARRISON FORD as Han Solo, side-by-side with Chewbacca, saying, quote, “Chewie, we’re home.” SO COOL!!!
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NEW MOVIES OPENING TODAY:
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (Rated PG) … Starring: Kevin James, Neal McDonough, Shirley Knight, Raini Rodriguez. After six years of keeping our malls safe, Paul Blart has earned a well-deserved vacation. He heads to Vegas with his teenage daughter before she heads off to college. But safety never takes a holiday and when duty calls, Blart answers.
Child 44 (Rated R) … Starring: Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Vincent Cassel, Paddy Considine , Jason Clarke, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman. A politically-charged serial killer thriller set in 1953 Soviet Russia, “Child 44” chronicles the crisis of conscience for secret police agent Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy), who loses status, power and home when he refuses to denounce his own wife, Raisa (Noomi Rapace), as a traitor. Exiled from Moscow to a grim provincial outpost, Leo and Raisa join forces with General Mikhail Nesterov (Gary Oldman) to track down a serial killer who preys on young boys. Their quest for justice threatens a system-wide cover-up enforced by Leo’s psychopathic rival Vasil (Joel Kinnaman), who insists “There is no crime in Paradise.”
Monkey Kingdom (Rated G) … Disneynature’s “Monkey Kingdom” spotlights the gripping reality of a newborn monkey and its mother, struggling to survive within the competitive social hierarchy of the Temple Troop, a dynamic group of monkeys who live in ancient ruins found deep in the storied jungles of South Asia, alongside a rich cast of forest characters. Life is grand, food is plentiful and safety is assured if you’re lucky enough to be born on the higher rungs of the Troop’s social ladder. But this young mother and her infant find themselves in a constant state of hunger, dodging threats from higher-ranking monkeys determined to keep them on their assigned rung. It’ll take a lot of ingenuity, hard work—and a little luck—if this little family hopes to change their place in the world.
Unfriended (Rated R) ... Starring: Courtney Halverson, Jacob Wysocki, Will Peltz, Shelley Hennig, Renee Olstead, Moses Jacob Storm, Heather Sossaman. Ushering in a new era of horror, Universal Pictures’ “Unfriended” unfolds over a teenager’s computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to kill herself a year earlier.
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk In Washington, DC …. Starring: Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins. Over four years in the making, “Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC” (1980-90) is a documentary film that examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation’s Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows—without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry’s subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC’s original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.
MALARKEY FOR TODAY:
Signs banning these have been posted in New York City in hopes to cut down on this uncomfortable occurrence:
1) Spitting
2) Horn blowing
3) Catcalls
***Signs that read “No Catcall Zone” and “No Catcalling Anytime” have been posted in New York by Feminist Apparel, a non-profit clothing company that wants to end street harassment.
