2013 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony April 20, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Interviews, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, TV, Video.add a comment
Other Hall of Fame ceremony recaps: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2022, 2023
2/15/18 UPDATE: This post now includes video of the ceremony. Scroll to the bottom to watch it.
The second annual WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony featured the inductions of Maura “Bernie” Bernard, Steve Radoff, Harry Lowenthal, and Bill Mozer. Like the inaugural ceremony last year, this year’s ceremony was held at the Tilles Center Atrium. Unlike last year, the sun was shining brightly outside.
The Hall of Fame plaques:
Scott Perschke captured a conversation between Bill Mozer, Harry Lowenthal, and Harry’s son James:
Hank Neimark (who inducted Steve Radoff and Harry Lowenthal) and Pete Bellotti:
The ceremony began with WCWP station manager Dan Cox introducing an opening video:
Jay Mirabile was the Master of the Ceremony:
Bill Mozer’s induction of Bernie Bernard came in the form of an interview:
Next, Tracy Burgess conducted an interview with Bruce Leonard…
…and handed the mic to Jeff Kroll who read a statement from Joel Feltman:
Hank Neimark inducted Steve Radoff:
Next, Hank inducted Harry Lowenthal:
Dan Cox returned to induct Bill Mozer…
…but he wasn’t the only one.
Ted David pre-recorded an induction speech from Florida:
Then came a slideshow set to “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor:
It was finally time to bring Bill to the podium:
It was an emotional speech.
There was one more special video message for Bill…
There was still one more announcement to make…
…and that was made by Pete Bellotti:
The unveiling of the Hall of Fame plaque with the induction years and inductees listed on it:
“Let’s hear it for the 2013 WCWP Hall of Fame Class!”
Later at WCWP, Dan gave a tour of the newly renovated Studio 1:
It was quite a day! Congratulations to Bernie, Steve, Harry, and Bill: the WCWP Hall of Fame Class of 2013.
2/15/18 UPDATE: In addition to taking pictures, I also shot video for a DVD that I gave to Dan Cox and anyone else that wanted it. I reworked the video for YouTube and posted it tonight. Enjoy.
Busy Saturdays (and one Friday) ahead April 13, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, Video.add a comment
I have a busy pair of Saturdays (and one Friday) beginning next week.
Next Saturday, I’ll be at the second annual WCWP Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. As I noted in mid-October, this year’s inductees are Steve Radoff, Harry Lowenthal, Bill Mozer, and Maura “Bernie” Bernard. Like last year, the ceremony will take place at the Tilles Center Atrium. But unlike last year, it will take place in the afternoon rather than the evening.
The following Friday and Saturday, I’ll be up in Milford, Connecticut, for both nights of keyboardist Jay Rowe’s annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert. In the Friday show, for the first time since 2008, Jay won’t be the only keyboardist performing. Alex Bugnon is one of the guests scheduled to perform, along with saxophonist Nelson Rangell, and guitarists Marc Antoine and Nick Colionne. Saturday’s lineup consists of guitarists Jeff Golub and Chieli Minucci, and saxophonists Marion Meadows and Vincent Ingala. This will be the first time I’ve seen Jeff since he unfortunately lost his sight.
At both events, I’ll have the same video and audio equipment as last year, but I’ll be using a new digital camera. After getting the Nikon D3100 last May, I lucked into swapping it for a new D5100 earlier this week.
You know the drill: After each event, I’ll post a photo recap here at MikeChimeri.com. Crafting posts will be easier now that WordPress lets you post all the pictures at once.
Until then, so long.
Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2013 dates/lineup January 28, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.2 comments
You read the headline correctly. For the first time in Smooth Jazz for Scholars’ 11-year history, there will be two shows, both at the Parsons Complex Auditorium in Milford, Connecticut. Keyboardist Jay Rowe, the man behind SJFS, writes:
The Smooth Jazz For Scholars show will be held on [Friday] 4/26/13 and [Saturday] 4/27/13. The line-up for 4/26 is Alex Bugnon, Marc Antoine, Nick Colionne and Nelson Rangell. The line-up for 4/27 is Jeff Golub, Marion Meadows, Chieli Minucci and saxophonist Vincent Ingala. Tickets are $40 each for each night and $70 each for both nights. Tickets can be purchased by sending a check or money order payable to Smooth Jazz For Scholars Inc. to P.O. Box 3723 Milford, CT. 06460. Please be sure to include your return address and tickets will be mailed to you immediately upon receipt of order and payment. For additional info call 203-415-8878.
I will be on hand for both nights. This will be my seventh year in attendance.
Friday, April 26
Alex Bugnon (“boon-YON”)
Marc Antoine
Nick Colionne
Nelson Rangell (“ran-JELL”)
Saturday, April 27
Jeff Golub
Marion Meadows
Chieli Minucci (“key-L-e min-OO-chee”)
Vincent Ingala
Tickets: $40 each for one night, $70 each for both nights
Tickets can be purchased by check or money order payable to:
Smooth Jazz For Scholars Inc.
P.O. Box 3723
Milford, CT 06460
Include your return address.
For more information, call: 203-415-8878
Here is how the singular 2012 show went.
5/27 UPDATE: Sorry I didn’t share the links sooner, but here are recaps of this year’s first night and second night.
Matt Marshak “Colors of Me” release party November 19, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
Other Matt Marshak show recaps: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015
Saturday night at Houndstooth Pub, contemporary jazz guitarist Matt Marshak hosted a CD release party/show for his new album Colors of Me. It made for a great present for my 31st birthday.
This is my first show recap to include grayscale (black and white) pictures.
Matt played electric guitar:
Kenny Harris was on bass:
Carl “C-Man” Anderson on drums:
…and Daniel West on the keyboard:
I was at Houndstooth for the first set. Here’s the set list:
1. Down in Delaware
2. Cadillac Kid
3. Summerfunk
4. Teddy P (audience request)
5. Sanibel
6. Time for Takeoff
7. On the Rocks*
8. Funkology*
*-Alex Bugnon sat in on keyboard.
After “Time for Takeoff,” it was time for surprise guest Alex Bugnon to sit in on keyboard…
…which he did for “On the Rocks” and “Funkology.”
“On the Rocks” featured an intense call and response between Matt and Alex:
Alex’s “Funkology” solo:
…followed by Kenny’s bass solo:
…and the C-Man’s vocal solo with audience participation:
As the set concluded, Alex and I met in person for the first time. Then, my friend Dolly Moye took this picture:
What can I say that I haven’t already said in other recaps? I had a great time, as always; another unforgettable night.
My Sandy experience November 10, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, DVD, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.5 comments
The nightmare known as Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy was thrust upon my attention on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24, hours before seeing pianist David Benoit perform at the Iridium Jazz Club. The first report I read about the storm had a few scenarios, which included turning east out to sea and taking a sharp westerly turn toward the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S, combining with an approaching cold front. By the second report, the latter scenario became more likely. With each passing report, until it made landfall in South New Jersey on the evening of October 29, more and more models showed that worst case scenario. And with each passing report, I grew more and more paranoid and fearful of what would happen.
Sandy was so large that its effects were first felt through cloud cover on Saturday, October 27. The following day, October 28, showers and minor wind gusts began. I couldn’t stand hearing the wind plowing into the windows and wall from my Wantagh home’s east-facing bedroom. So, I slept in the basement that night.
When I woke up early on October 29, the worst still hadn’t arrived, but the wind was still strong, around 30 miles per hour with gusts in the 50s. Somehow, the power did not go out during the morning. By 1:30 PM, the power began to flicker off and on, and at 1:45, the power went out to stay and wouldn’t return until nine days later. Back in the basement, as the wind continued to howl upstairs, now approaching sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts to 60, I used my Sennheiser studio headphones to listen to audiobooks on my CD-playing Walkman. But spoken words were unable to completely drown out the sound of wind. So, rather than waste battery power on my iPod, I used the Walkman, which runs on AA batteries, to listen to music. I took two pairs of CDs that I used for my two recent WCWP Homecoming Weekend shows and a dozen albums. When I wasn’t listening to news radio for the latest on Sandy, or sports radio to forget about Sandy, I was listening to my CDs.
My parents, sister, and I were prepared with plenty of bottled water, bags of food, canned goods, AA batteries, C batteries, D batteries, and a generator. We didn’t use the generator until after the height of Sandy, which came around 8PM, shortly after it transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone. While the worst winds pummeled the house, gusting as high as 85 mph, we congregated in the living room where an extension cord ran from the generator in the backyard to the middle of the room. There, I plugged in a power strip and we plugged in a table lamp for light, and all our rechargeable electronics. For a time, we watched DVDs on my sister’s laptop. After a couple of hours, my dad turned off the generator and we all went to sleep. I returned to the basement for that.
Outside of a tree falling in my next-block neighbor’s back yard, two shingles falling off our roof, a toppled-over garbage pail on the side of the house, and branches and leaves on the grass, I was clueless about the extent of damage in my area. But a tree fell a block east of our house, which is why our power went out, and a few trees fell one block north and west.
At around 11AM on October 30, I walked around the exterior of my house to take aftermath pictures.
I began at my front patio, worked my way around the house, and then to the curb:
The pails on the west side of the house:
I fixed the pail that blew over about half an hour before taking pictures.
The container that covered the gas cans for generator fuel blew off:
When the power strip wasn’t connected to the extension cord, either the microwave or coffee maker were plugged in.
I turned this table upside down on Sunday and removed the tiles, stacking them on the ground near the wall:
The tile-less table was moved slightly by the high winds.
There had been a tree in the center of this empty space:
Part of it fell into our back yard:
Or it may have been from this tree which fell at around 6:00 the night before:
I was in the basement listening to a CD on my Walkman and could hear my dad in the kitchen saying “Tree down!”
You can barely see a tree down up the road to the east:
To the west, a utility poll was slanted (not visible in pic):
A week later, my sister took the following pictures on our street from east to west:
As bad as things looked on our block, the absolute worst hit areas were waterfront communities. Main floors and basements were destroyed. House and building fires that started after flooding began couldn’t be contained and had to burn out. Knowing all this gave me survivor guilt. I felt guilty that my house was hardly damaged and all I lost was power, while my friends in places like South Freeport, Baldwin Harbor, Island Park, Long Beach, Lido Beach, and Massapequa lost everything that wasn’t on the second floor or higher. The Rockaways and Staten Island were hit just as hard.
An example of how hard Freeport was hit can be seen in this video of damage to the Nautical Mile (Woodcleft Avenue), via The Weekly Freeporter YouTube channel:
Guilt aside, I developed cabin fever after two days at my powerless house (outside of generated power). So, on the night of Halloween, after riding out Tuesday night in my increasingly cold bedroom, I made the trip to a family friend’s house in Rockville Centre (power had just returned after only two days). I would spend the next week there while power was out at home. Of all the times for power to come back, on the afternoon of November 7, it was as a wet snow-producing nor’easter began to affect the Northeast. Unlike Sandy, however, the center of this nor’easter was far offshore and the winds were not too strong on Western Long Island. The wet snow bent but somehow did not break tree limbs, and it gradually melted or fell off the following day.
While power returned on November 7, cable did not come back until two days later.
After experiencing the March 2010 Nor’easter, Irene, and now Sandy, I can only hope that it’s a very long time before another major storm of Sandy’s magnitude hits the East Coast.
We’ll conclude this post with a few pictures in Rockville Centre on November 7 as snow began to accumulate…
…and a picture on November 8, hours after shoveling the driveway at home:
Also:
Laura Donovan: The Domino Effect Of Hurricane Sandy: Why One Natural Disaster Changed Everything For Me (dead link as of 10/29/18)
Peter Hoare: How Hurricane Sandy Ravaged My Town (Long Beach)
11/13 UPDATE: Yesterday, I walked my street from east to west to get a close look at the cut-up downed trees, and the damage caused by them:
As I took this last shot, Town of Hempstead sanitation trucks were making their way up the street to remove debris:
David Benoit at Iridium recap October 25, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
I was at The Iridium last night to see pianist and conductor David Benoit in concert. I hadn’t seen him since his show at Tarrytown Music Hall in May 2010.
It was a cloudy and damp night outside, but the sun shined on The Iridium’s stage.
On the way to Penn Station, I shot this picture as the LIRR train I was on passed over the Van Wyck Expressway (Interstate 678):
David was at The Iridium for two nights with two sets per night. I was at the first night’s first set.
David was joined by another David, David Hughes, on bass:
…and Jamey Tate on drums:
SET LIST
1. Beat Street
Originally heard on: “Full Circle,” 2006
2. Botswana Bossa Nova
Originally heard on: “Earthglow,” 2010
3. Will’s Chill
Originally heard on: “Earthglow,” 2010
4. Napa Crossroads Overture
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
5. Feelin’ It
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
7. Sunrise On Mansion Row
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
8. Kei’s Song Redux
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
9. Every Step of the Way
Originally heard on: “Every Step of the Way,” 1988
10. Waltz for Debby (Bill Evans cover)
Originally heard on: “This Side Up,” 1985; “Heroes,” 2008
The latter arrangement was played.
11. Dad’s Room
Originally heard on: “Professional Dreamer,” 1999
12. Freedom at Midnight
Originally heard on: “Freedom at Midnight,” 1987
I kept waiting for “Moonlight Sonata,” but this wasn’t “The Schroeder Variations” version on “Earthglow.”
13. Q’s Motif
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
The tempo was slightly faster than the album version.
14 (Encore 1). Carmel (audience request)
Originally heard on: “Shaken Not Stirred,” 1994
15 (Encore 2). Linus and Lucy
Originally heard on: “This Side Up,” 1985; “Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!,” 1989; “Here’s To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!,” 2000
“Electric guitar” keyboard solo on “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”:
David H. and Jamey’s “Q’s Motif” call and response:
Acknowledging the crowd at the end of the set:
Me and David after the set:
Listening to David Benoit, whether on an album or in concert, is a heavenly experience for me. I’m into every note and every measure. I usually know what the song is without David telling the audience what it is. Last night wasn’t any different. Thanks to David B., David H., and Jamey for a thrilling set.
WCWP Homecoming, 2013 Hall of Fame Announcement October 23, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology.add a comment
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
2/26/18 UPDATE: Video that I originally produced for DVD is now on YouTube. It’s embedded at the end of this post.
Half a day after CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri aired on WCWP, I headed up to LIU Post for Homecoming festivities and the announcement of the 2013 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame.
The WCWP tailgate table adjacent to the Pratt Center and Hickox Field:
After taking those three pics, I walked to WCWP, located in the Abrams Communications Center.
Following the LIU Post Pioneers football team’s 20-15 win over the Millersville Marauders, Bernie Bernard took over WCWP for the next three hours:
Meanwhile, outside, it was time for the big Hall of Fame announcement.
The announcement began with Pete Bellotti introducing Dr. Paul Forestell, the provost of LIU Post:
Then, Pete read off the names of the 2013 inductees: Steve Radoff, Harry Lowenthal, Bill Mozer (below)…
This picture was taken before Bernie came out to say a few words:
Jay Elzweig, Dan Cox, Pete Bellotti, Bill Mozer, Jeff Kroll, Dr. Paul Forestell:
Shortly after the announcement outside, Bernie broke the news on the air when she did a phone interview with Steve Radoff.
Later, Bernie was joined in the studio by Pete and Bill:
Mike Schanzer (aka Mike Hendryx) was also in on the conversation:
This picture was sharpened a few times to counter the blur:
Congratulations to Steve, Harry, Bill, and Bernie your induction into the WCWP Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 20.
2/26/18 UPDATE: I also shot video at Homecoming, originally made for DVD. I revised it for YouTube:
CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri on WCWP: 2012 edition October 20, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Technology, Video.1 comment so far
Previous CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri recaps: 2011
Early this morning at 2:00, CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri aired on WCWP 88.1 FM. It’s part of the station’s – and its university LIU Post’s – Homecoming Weekend, which started last night at 7:00 and ends late tomorrow night.
I recorded the show two weeks ago, on October 5, as seen in this picture…
And two vidcaps:
All of the above was shot on my Nikon D3100. The vidcaps were taken from behind-the-scenes video of the recording process. Here is the final cut of that video, which I produced last night:
And here is the finished aircheck, as recorded from the board.
As you listen, follow along with the complete playlist with written notes (click to view larger):
The “separate page” with the Jeff Lorber Fusion comparison table (click to view larger):
I’m heading up to LIU Post this afternoon for Homecoming festivities and the announcement of the 2013 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame. I’ll have a recap in a later post.
My experience at Day 2 of 2012 New York Comic Con October 15, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Books, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Other New York Comic Con recaps: 2014 Day 1, 2017 Day 1, 2018 Day 1, 2019 Day 1, 2021 Day 1
Friday marked my first time at the annual New York Comic Con, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on 11th Avenue on Manhattan’s West Side. The Javits Center stretches from West 34th to 40th Streets, but the main entrance is at West 37th.
My day at the event was scheduled around the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel, which was to be held at 6:45 PM. Bored at home, I left the house just after 1:00, 90 minutes earlier than I planned. I walked to the Wantagh LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) station (a 20-minute walk), bought a round trip off peak ticket in a ground-level vending machine, and waited on the platform for the train to arrive. I saw one person in costume, which meant I wouldn’t be the only one bound for NYCC on the train. With the air temperature in the low 50s and a stiff breeze, I was dressed for winter: a winter coat and a long sleeve shirt, but no costume. As the joke goes, I went as myself.
After an hour-long train ride to Penn Station, I walked up to the street and had two slices of pizza at Famous Famiglia on 8th Avenue, one of many locations in New York alone. It was an appropriate lunch on the day of the TMNT panel.
After passing the Houndstooth Pub at the corner of 8th and West 37th Street, the site of many contemporary jazz shows I’ve attended, I crossed west and then north to walk on the north side of West 37th. There were groups of people ahead of me also heading to Javits. Part of the walk featured an overpass above Dyer Avenue, which leads into the Lincoln Tunnel. Once at the Javits Center, I walked in the green entrance.
Friday was the second day of four of the Con. A sold-out crowd packed the Javits Center, making the indoor temperature feel like close to 80. If only I had chosen a spring jacket and short sleeve shirt.
According to my camera, I took the first picture in this post at 3:18 PM, within 40 minutes of arriving at Penn Station. Let’s see those pics, shall we?
I expected to see press conducting interviews, like Bill Schulz and Jesse Watters did last year, but I only saw crews passing by with their equipment off (seen here after I left the Show Floor):
Taking the escalator to the Show Floor:
Leaving the Show Floor:
The next few pics are LEGO displays built by LUGs (LEGO Users Groups) in New York and Connecticut:
Quidditch:
I put the camera down for the next hour and a half to take in the sights and sounds, and grab an early dinner at the food court.
By the time I got to the conference room where the TMNT panel was, there was a line. I took this pic of the schedule board while waiting on that line, which went on to extend well past me:
As the wait continued, Peter Hastings, one of TMNT’s executive producers, walked by taking pictures of the line. I recognized him from a Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulsen podcast back in May. As he passed near me, I asked him, “Are you Peter Hastings?” He said yes, then wondered as he shook my hand how I knew who he was. I told him it was from his body of work, and I cited Pinky and the Brain and TMNT; all I could think of offhand. I couldn’t tell if he was scared, shocked, or flattered that I knew of him. It reminded me of when I was at the will call booth at the old IMAC in Huntington before a Rippingtons concert in 2006. (You can see my pics with Jeff Kashiwa and Steve Reid here.) Musician Tom Huber was in line ahead of me and I recognized his name when he told it to the ticket taker. I told him I knew of him through his background vocals on two tracks from Steve Briody‘s (“BRY-dee”) “Keep On Talkin'” album. Tom’s response was, “Are you kidding?” In Peter’s case, he assured me the next day on Facebook that he was flattered. I thanked him for that.
NYCC staff opened the doors to the conference room just after 6:20. I managed to get an aisle a few rows in (behind a few reserved rows).
(After the above pic, I switched from my Nikon D3100 to a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 because I don’t yet have a long lens for the Nikon. I switched back after the panel.)
The panel began at 6:47 with the TMNT title sequence projected on screens and through theater-style speakers. The crowd erupted in cheers as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello approached the dais.
Donnie, Raph, Mikey, Leo:
The panel was moderated by Ray Rahman, a writer for Entertainment Weekly and “somehow, the senior Ninja Turtles correspondent, which is a title I take as seriously as you guys do”:
Here is Ray’s pre-panel write up.
The panel consisted of executive producers Ciro Nieli…
and the aforementioned Peter Hastings:
The rest of the panel was four cast members: the voices of three of the four turtles and their sensei.
Sean Astin as Raphael:
The aforementioned Rob Paulsen as Donatello:
Rob was also Raphael in the original TMNT series that premiered 25 years ago. (Talkin’ Toons podcast live: original cast reunion)
Greg Cipes as Michelangelo:
…and Hoon Lee as Splinter:
Rob acknowledged that TMNT voice director Andrea (“ahn-DRAY-uh”) Romano was in the audience. She stood up and waved to everyone:
(That was the best image I could get. Sorry about the poor quality.)
Greg, Rob, and Sean reenacted a fight scene from the show while watching the scene on screen:
What they were reenacting:
Greg and Sean looked at the screen to their left (above) while Rob looked straight ahead at the reverse side of a second screen.
It ended with Donnie screaming in shock!:
What the scream looked like animated:
Ciro, Greg, and Rob watching the sneak previews:
As quickly as the panel began, it was over.
An hour flies when you’re having fun.
As the crowd left, a music video set to “Gangnam Style” by Psy played on the screens.
Meanwhile, Greg stuck around to greet fans and sign autographs:
Some of my pictures from the panel were vidcaps (or screencaps), pictures captured from my computer screen while playing video, which I then edited in Photoshop (cropping, adjusting color). My camerawork was iffy because I used a mini tripod and tended to shake. Neil Vitale did a much better job than me. Here’s his video:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles airs Saturday mornings at 11:00 Eastern on Nickelodeon.
About ten minutes after the leaving the conference room…
…I was out of the Javits Center.
Fifteen minutes later, I made it back to Penn Station’s LIRR terminal. On the train ride back, I sat next to two people that also attended NYCC. One of them came with a group of anime fans and she was dressed as a character. But I don’t remember which one.
I arrived home at 9:45. It was quite an 8 1/2 hour adventure, one that I won’t soon forget.
We leave you with a picture of the ticket holder I wore and badge that it held:
10/16 UPDATE: Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times wrote on Friday about how New York Comic Con is catching up with the bigger Comic-Con (note the hyphen) International in San Diego.
10/19 UPDATE: Andy Levy of Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld was on the Show Floor last Friday when I wasn’t. Click here to see his report.
MikeChimeri.com 
2012 in review December 30, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
The following is an excerpt of an end-of-year post WordPress created for MikeChimeri.com. Scroll down for my editorial.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Click here to see the complete report.
This site began in 2012 as The Mike Chimeri Blog, but in May, I did something I should have done four years earlier: combine my blog and my original website that I created through Yahoo Sitebuilder. After two weeks of uploading files and recreating pages, the new MikeChimeri.com was born.
2012 was the year I switched to a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera, a Nikon D3100, improving the quality of the pictures you see in my posts. The first two posts featuring pics shot with the D3100 were Scenery Pictures in late June and the Brian Simpson recap in early September. The Matt Marshak recap from mid-November was the first post where all pics were shot with it. Despite the switch, I plan to hold on to my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 as a backup. In fact, my last regular post of the year, pics taken westbound on the Belt Parkway, was all shot on the Lumix.
Unfortunately, 2012 was the third year in a row where a major storm hit Long Island, knocked out my power for more than a day, and left me to relocate until power was restored. This time, Sandy was the culprit.
Whatever comes my way in 2013, there’s a good chance I’ll post about it here. Have a happy and healthy 2013, everyone.