Shilts at Houndstooth Pub recap 2 May 14, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Hockey, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.add a comment
Previous Shilts recap: June 2011
Two nights ago, for the second Saturday in a row, I saw saxophonist Paul “Shilts” Weimar perform. Last week, Shilts was part of keyboardist Jay Rowe’s tenth annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert. This time, he played solo at the Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station. It was a busy night in that area. In addition to Shilts, there was the Bolder & Fresher Tour (Bill O’Reilly and Dennis Miller) show at the Town Hall six blocks north (and two east) of Houndstooth, and Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals was taking place at Madison Square Garden. The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals alternated wins and losses in the first six games and the winner would face the New Jersey Devils in the conference final beginning two nights later. Both floors of Houndstooth had TVs tuned to the NBC Sports Network where Rangers and Caps fans alike that could get into MSG watched.
Before we get to Shilts’ performance, I have a few pictures to share from my train ride in to Penn on the LIRR.
Forest Hills station:
BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway):
A view of Manhattan from Long Island City:
I thought one of those buildings was One World Trade Center, but that’s to the south, and I was in a north-facing seat.
Long Island City rail yard:
Not only was this a concert, but it was also a release party for Shilts’ upcoming album, All Grown Up. Copies were available, but sold out fast, just as tickets for the show did.
I got a premium seating ticket back in March and ended up right next to the stage!
Shilts was joined by Abdul Zuhri on guitar:
Ken Stacks Richardson on keyboards:
Thomas Gooding on bass:
And Eric Brown on drums:
SET LIST
SET 1
1. See What Happens
2. Lambeth Strut
3. Good Evans
4. Seeing Things Clearly
5. Sugar
6. Look What’s Happened
SET 2
(NOTE: I left between sets, but saw the set list printout from my seat. If I made any mistakes, let me know in the comment thread.)
7. All Grown Up
8. 2 Pesos For Bud
9. Soul Eyes
10. Eyes Down
11. Blues
12. Back On The Hudson
Neal Newman, audio engineer, assisted by his son Dale (not pictured):
Eric Brown’s “Sugar” drum solo:
I left between sets, but not before getting my copy of All Grown Up signed by Shilts and grabbing a picture with him:
Cheers to Shilts, Abdul, Ken, Thomas, and Eric for another great show.
I’ll conclude this recap on the topic of the Rangers.
Just as I approached 34th Street, I heard wild cheers coming from the top floor of Lucy’s Cantina Royale. The Rangers had held on to beat the Capitals 2-1 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Devils.
Here are the happy Rangers fans leaving Madison Square Garden to head home:
Game 1 of the EC Finals is tonight.
5/25, 11:17 PM UPDATE: Unfortunately for Rangers fans, like myself, the Rangers lost to the Devils in six games. They took a 2-1 series lead and then lost three straight. The Devils will face the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals.
SJFS 2012 recap May 7, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Film, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Video.add a comment
Jay Rowe‘s tenth annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars began with:
1. Hit the Bricks
Featured musicians: Foran High School Jazz Band
Jay came out at the end of the song. Hidden from view was Dave Anderson on bass, seen here one song later:
Rounding out Jay’s band was his Special EFX bandmate Lionel Cordew on drums:
And Steve Scales (left) on percussion:
It was an overcast evening outside the Parsons Complex Auditorium in Milford, Connecticut. But inside, the sun was shining. This year’s show featured guitarists Rohn (“Ron”) Lawrence, Nick Colionne, and Chieli Minucci; and saxophonists Paul “Shilts” Weimar, Paul Taylor, and Nelson Rangell.
After we “Hit the Bricks,” Kevin McCabe and keyboardist Jay Rowe introduced the rest of the show:
Then back to the music:
2. Rosemary’s Tune (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: “Live at Daniel Street,” 2011
Featured musician: Rohn Lawrence (guitar)
Video:
3. Lambeth Strut (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “Going Underground,” 2010
Featured musicians: Shilts (tenor saxophone), Nick Colionne (guitar)
4. Seeing Things Clearly (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “Going Underground,” 2010
Featured musician: Shilts
At the 2010 SJFS, someone in the audience requested “Rainy Night in Georgia” for Nick Colionne. Unfortunately, that wasn’t on the set list that night, but on this night, the audience got their wish:
5. Rainy Night in Georgia (Nick Colionne; Brook Benton cover)
Originally heard on: “It’s My Turn,” 1994; “Keepin’ It Cool,” 2006
Featured musician: Nick Colionne (vocals/guitar)
6. Pleasure Seeker (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “Pleasure Seeker,” 1997
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor (soprano sax), Chieli Minucci (guitar)
7. Uptown East (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Slice of Life,” 1986
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci, Paul Taylor
8. Exotica (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “On the Horn,” 1995
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor, Chieli Minucci
9. Mystical (Chieli Minucci & Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Sweet Surrender,” 2007
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci, Shilts, Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
10. Good Evans (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “HeadBoppin,” 2006
Featured musician: Shilts
“Good Evans” began with solo piano from Jay:
With a little help from Steve Scales:
Then, Shilts and the rest of the band joined in:
11. Free as the Wind (Nelson Rangell; The Crusaders cover)
Originally heard on: “Soul to Souls,” 2006
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell
Nelson originally performed this song on tenor sax, but he went with soprano here:
Nelson also had a very involved solo:
Video:
12. The Warmth of the Sun (Jay Rowe; The Beach Boys cover)
Originally heard on: “Jay Walking,” 1997
Featured musicians: Foran High School Select Ensemble Chorus (Director: Theresa Voss), Nelson Rangell, Rohn Lawrence
In a move many didn’t see coming, at least not me…
Marion Meadows made a surprise appearance!
13. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Player’s Club,” 2004
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows, Rohn Lawrence
14. Funky Broadway (Wilson Pickett cover)
Featured musicians: Rohn Lawrence (vocals/guitar), Paul Taylor (alto sax), Shilts, Nelson Rangell
Paul switched to alto sax for the rest of the show:
15. The Night is Ours (Chieli Minucci & Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010
Featured musician: Chieli Minucci
Nelson Rangell introduced the next song this way:
This next tune that we’re gonna do for you is something that I wrote. And the title is not for the new movie that’s out, but it’ll do. This is called “A New Avenger.”
16. A New Avenger (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: “Soul to Souls,” 2006
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell
“A New Avenger” featured solos by Lionel Cordew, Steve Scales, and Dave Anderson.
Lionel went first:
Steve was next:
And then, it was Dave’s turn:
Getting back to Nelson:
(NOTE: Pictures from the next two songs, and some from the finale, are screencaps, which I cropped, sharpened, and magnified in Adobe Photoshop 7.0.)
17. Sonora (Nelson Rangell; Hampton Hawes cover)
Originally heard on: “Destiny,” 1995 (alto sax); “My American Songbook, Vol. 1,” 2005 (whistling and piccolo)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell, Chieli Minucci
It wouldn’t be a Nelson Rangell show without whistling:
Dave Anderson switched acoustic bass for this song:
Nelson switched to piccolo (below) after Chieli’s solo (above):
After a quick applause, Nelson whistled solo for about a minute before the band rejoined him.
He took a bow as he got another round of applause:
Video:
18. Prime Time (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “Prime Time,” 2011
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor, Shilts, Nelson Rangell
19. Some Funky (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “Feel the Heat,” 2011
Featured musicians: Nick Colionne, Rohn Lawrence
20 (Finale). Godfather J (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “No Limits,” 2008
Featured musicians: Everyone (Nick – vocals)
“Godfather J” is a tribute to James Brown. Nick channeled the Godfather of Soul throughout the song.
Back on stage, Chieli played lying down for a while:
Kevin McCabe came out to drape Nick’s jacket on him:
Jay briefly left his keyboards to “play” Chieli’s guitar:
That’s it!
This was the wildest Smooth Jazz for Scholars I’ve ever attended! Who knows what next year’s show (or shows?) will bring? Here’s to ten more years, and many more after that!
2012 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony April 29, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Music, Photography, Radio.add a comment
Later Hall of Fame ceremony recaps: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2022, 2023
Thursday night, I was at the Tilles Center Atrium at LIU Post for the first ever WCWP Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The inaugural inductees were Art Beltrone, Hank Neimark, Dr. Herb Coston, and Prof. Virgil Jackson Lee. The latter two were inducted posthumously.
You can see the rest of my pictures from this fantastic night in my public Facebook photo album. Enjoy!
10/17 UPDATE: On Saturday, at Homecoming, the WCWP’s 2013 Hall of Fame class will be announced. That has inspired me to post pictures from the 2012 induction ceremony to this post rather than refer you to Facebook.
Desserts, coffee, milk, and tea were served:
Pete Bellotti, Mike Phillips, Jeff Kroll, Phil Lebowitz:
The view from where I placed my camcorder:
(Too bad I had an incompatible memory card.)
Pete Bellotti and Tracy Burgess:
The plaques:
Roger Luce was the host:
Dr. Paul Forestell, LIU Post Provost:
Noel Zahler, Dean of Post’s School of Visual and Performing Arts:
Dan Cox, the WCWP Station Manager, read a statement from a relative of the late Prof. Virgil Jackson Lee:
Twice during the ceremony, Tracy Burgess interviewed a WCWP alum. First up was Bernie Bernard:
Bernie got a round of applause:
Hank Neimark was introduced by two friends. First, Jay Elzweig…
And then Jon Korkes:
Bill Mozer introduced Art Beltrone:
Then, Roger concluded the ceremony:
I didn’t want to create photo confusion between the professional photographer and myself. So, after this one, the remaining pictures are candid shots:
It was quite a night at Tilles. Congratulations to the inaugural inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame.
Will Donato & Elan Trotman at Houndstooth recap March 12, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Basketball, Hockey, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
Saturday night, to coin a borrow a previously used term, was saxtacular! Saxophonists Will Donato and Elan Trotman performed at Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station. It was the first time I’d seen Will in concert, but the second for Elan, who I saw last April with Brian Simpson.
But before taking the LIRR to Penn Station and walking those few blocks to Houndstooth, something noteworthy occurred in my neighborhood and another thing in my family. It was my mother Lisa’s birthday. My presents to her were two scratch-off lottery tickets, she won $2 with each, and a Chicago CD. As for the noteworthy neighborhood event, a curbside tree by my neighbor’s house was taken down by a crew from what I assume was the Town of Hempstead. They also removed a tree a block north and west away on Thursday.
Here are two before vidcaps. This one is from February 5, 1995:
And from November 11, 2011:
The next three are after pictures that I took before going to Wantagh’s LIRR station:
I suppose the next step is to redo the sidewalk.
With that business out of the way, on to the show at Houndstooth.
Backing Will and Elan up were Jay Rowe on keyboards:
Kenny Harris on bass:
And Chris Marshak, brother of guitarist Matt Marshak, on drums:
I was on hand for the first set. Elan went first. Here’s what he played:
Elan Trotman:
1. Lil’ Too Late
2. 100 Degrees
3. Heaven in Your Eyes
4. Last Dance
Jay’s second solo on “Heaven in Your Eyes”:
Elan made way for Will Donato:
Will Donato:
5. New Life
6. I’ll Be Around
7. Jaywalking
8. Always You
9. Funkability
Guitarist JJ Sansaverino joined the band for Will’s portion of the set, seen here during his “New Life” solo:
Will went into the audience multiple times:
“Jaywalking” began with a bass solo by Kenny Harris:
And he had a simple “it’s you” vocal on “Always You”:
That song also had a wild guitar solo by JJ:
Back into the audience during “Funkability”:
He even went behind the bar!:
After “Funkability,” the set was complete.
And what a wild set it was! Elan was exciting and Will was lively! I can only imagine how much wilder the second set must have been. Before I left, I got to meet Elan and Will in person for the first time. Elan told me he liked my Brian Simpson show recap and I thanked him for the compliment.
On the way back to Penn Station, I remembered that the championship game for the Big East Tournament was taking place that night at Madison Square Garden. Before walking into Penn, I took a picture of the tournament’s banner:
In the championship game, the Louisville Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 50-44. About twelve hours later on the same basketball court, the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers squared off. Unfortunately, the Sixers won. After the game, the court was taken apart and the hockey rink was set up as the Rangers faced the Islanders a few hours later. The Rangers won 4-3 on a Marion Gaborik goal with six seconds left in overtime.
Back on Saturday night, the 10:45 Babylon-bound train was a few minutes late, but I made it back to Wantagh on time.
Thanks to Will, Elan, Jay, Kenny, Chris, JJ, Steve Butler, and Ed Tankus for another great night at Houndstooth.
11:47 PM UPDATE: After posting this recap and linking to it on Facebook, Elan had this to say:
Nice job – yet again. Really nice work.
Thank you again, Elan. I’m very glad you liked it.
I also got this from Will:
Mike I really enjoyed your amazing blog. The photos really captured the night and I am honored to be reviewed with such passion and care!
Thank you, too, Will.
Jessy J at Iridium recap February 11, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Broadway, Hockey, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, TV.2 comments
(2/25 UPDATE: Jessy has posted video of six songs from the 8:00 set to her YouTube channel, including two in one video. They are embedded in the set list below the corresponding titles.)
I was at The Iridium jazz club Thursday night to see saxophonist/vocalist Jessy J perform. There were two shows: 8:00 and 10:00. I went to the earlier one. It was the first time I’d seen her solo since I first saw her with Guitars and Saxes in 2008.
I had originally planned on seeing Jessy at the Daniel Street club in Milford, Connecticut back in late July, but I was unable to make it. I was unaware she’d be at The Iridium until the previous Monday, January 30, when the date was listed in her latest newsletter. Not about to let this opportunity pass me by, I immediately bought a ticket. (6/22/12 UPDATE: Daniel Street closed one month before The Iridium show.)
Before we get the show recap started, I’d like to share a funny thing that happened after I bought that ticket. The site I bought it through, TicketWeb, listed my hometown, with the 11793 zip code, as Briar Park rather than Wantagh. I had never heard of that alternate name and a Google search was inconclusive. I reached out to my Facebook friends from Wantagh or North Wantagh through a status update, but none of them commented. A comment in this old message board thread helped slightly, but not much:
… While my neighborhood is served by the Levittown School district, I am 110% positive that my development is considered (for intents and purposes) North Wantagh. Just north of me is the “R” section of Levittown, and the Briar Park section of Wantagh; and south of the parkway is the “T” section …
I walked through that “T” section of North Wantagh earlier today, so called because most of the street names begin with the letter “T” (i.e. Twin, Tally, Toll Gate, Tumble, etc.). So, apparently, Briar Park is a section of Wantagh, but I still don’t know where. If anyone happens to read this and knows the answer, please leave a comment.
On to the recap:
I was dropped off at the Wantagh LIRR station at 5:30, 29 minutes before my Penn Station-bound train arrived. I killed some of the time in the adjacent McDonald’s, buying a small meal, before returning to the platform. The train I was on was an older model, an M1, the predecessor to the M7, which features an automated voice recording – which I do a good impression of – and synthesized bell. When I arrived at Penn Station, I immediately walked to the 34th Street subway station to take the uptown 1 train to 50th and Broadway. I barely missed one, but another arrived four minutes later. Finally, I arrived at The Iridium, 45 minutes before showtime. Since I was early, I got a great seat: a table on the left side of the stage. After a spaghetti and meatballs dinner, it was finally time for Jessy J and the band.
Jessy was on the tenor sax:
Her pants look pink, but they’re red.
She was backed up by Jay Rowe on keyboards:
Mike Nunno (“NEW-no”) on bass:
Jon Roundtree on drums:
And Rohn (“Ron”) Lawrence on guitar:
8:00 SET LIST
1. Fiesta Velada
2. Sin Ti
3. Mas Que Nada (Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 cover) – Jessy, vocals; Rohn, background vocals
4. Tequila Moon
5. Tropical Rain
6. Remember the Night
7. Hot Sauce
8. Conga (Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine cover) – Jessy, vocals; Rohn, vocal solo
9. Oye Como Va (Tito Puente cover, arrangement similar to Santana version) – Jessy, vocals; Rohn, vocal solo
10. Baila! – Jessy, vocals
1-4 are from Tequila Moon (2008).
5 and 10 are from True Love (2009).
6 and 7 are from Hot Sauce (2011).
A few songs featured a call and response, wild at times, with Jessy and Rohn Lawrence. Here’s a sample:
The view from the HD monitor behind me:
Jessy wore two musical hats for “Mas Que Nada,” “Conga,” “Oye Como Va,” and “Baila!”: saxophone and vocals. Here she is during “Mas Que Nada”:
Rohn backed her up:
Mike Nunno’s “Mas Que Nada” bass solo:
Rohn’s “Remember the Night” guitar solo:
Clapping in the middle of “Hot Sauce”:
Jessy switched to alto sax for “Conga” and “Oye Como Va”:
“Conga” vocals:
Rohn’s “Conga” solo:
Miami-style clapping:
Vocal solo…
…with audience participation:
Jay Rowe’s “Oye Como Va” keyboard solo, first seen from a monitor:
The end-of-solo glide:
Jessy switched back to tenor sax for the last song of the set – “Baila!”:
Jay’s “Baila!” solo:
Then, it was Rohn’s turn:
And finally, a drum solo by Jon Roundtree:
The last note:
The end!
Afterward, Jessy and I briefly caught up with each other and shot this picture:
She asked if I still had my blog and I told her I do. I also met Rohn in person for the first time and caught up with Jay and Mike, who I’d previously seen on bass for drummer John Favicchia’s Dharma All Stars. Outside of the band, I saw my friends Katherine Gilraine, who came for the 10:00 show, and Kat Sarracco who was at the 8:00 show, but I didn’t even notice during it because I was focused on the stage the entire time.
Going back to Penn Station, I was unable to find the entrance to the 50th-Broadway subway station’s downtown platform. So, I gave up and planned on walking all the way down to Penn. I didn’t realize it, but I would be walking through Times Square. The tourists were out in full force and I was one of them, shooting these pictures:
My last picture of the night was the exterior of the Times Square station:
I was finally able to board the downtown 1 train, but had to walk a bit above ground before finding the LIRR entrance. I ran to catch the 10:05 Babylon-bound train. The New York Rangers hockey team had a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden that ended moments earlier. (The Rangers won 4-3 in overtime.) So, the train I barely made was packed. I stood by the car door until Jamaica when one of the fold-out seats next to me was vacated. I got back to Wantagh just after 11:00, ending a great night of music and travel.
Thanks to Jessy, Jay, Mike, Jon, and Rohn for a wonderful, exhilarating show. It was a blast!
Steve Cole at Houndstooth recap; Fall Foliage November 13, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Later recap: October 2013
Updated at the end with feedback from Steve.
Last night, saxophonist Steve Cole performed at Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station. For me, Houndstooth has become the new IMAC. December 4 will mark one year since my first show there.
I didn’t have a ride to the Wantagh LIRR station. So, I walked there in the late afternoon around sunset. (The days are short this time of year.) Along the way, I took pictures of noteworthy foliage.
This is a tree on Briard Street:
The corner of Briard and Island Road:
Stephen Lane:
Ella Road:
Beech Street:
Across from Wantagh Elementary School:
South of Bunker Avenue:
Then, I put the camera away and didn’t take it out of my travel bag until 8PM at Houndstooth.
Ed Tankus of Blue Plate Radio welcomed the sold-out crowd, introduced Steve Cole, and then Steve introduced himself:
Steve played tenor sax:
He was joined by Carl Carter on bass:
JJ Sansaverino on guitar:
Steve Williams on drums:
And Bill Heller on the keyboard:
When I walked down the stairs, I saw a Kurzweil PC3x keyboard and knew Bill would be in the band. It was a pleasant surprise.
SET LIST
SET 1
1. Off Broadway (NY LA, 2003)
2. So Into You (Between Us, 2000)
3. Just A Natural Thang (True, 2006)
4. Undun (The Guess Who cover) (Moonlight, 2011)
5. Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover) (Moonlight, 2011)
6. Got It Goin’ On (Between Us, 2000)
SET 2
7. Thursday (Spin, 2005)
8. Curtis (True, 2006)
9. When I Think of You (Stay Awhile, 1998)
10. Sugar (Stanley Turrentine cover)
11. Our Love (Stay Awhile, 1998)
“Got It Goin’ On” featured solos from Bill…
…and Carl:
JJ had a guitar solo on “Thursday”:
“Curtis” had a long and interesting backstory, which Steve told before playing it:
Steve invited up his friend Dave Hiltebrand to stand in on bass for “Sugar”:
Steve Williams’ drum solo:
The last song of the night was “Our Love”:
The last note:
This night is history.
Steve Cole is very entertaining, funny, wild, sensitive, and soulful. We saw all sides last night. Thanks to Steve, Steve Williams, Carl, JJ, Bill, Dave, and Steve Butler of Mighty Music Corp. It was a fun few hours.
11/14 UPDATE: This album began with foliage pics on my walk to the train station. I took a few more this afternoon in my front and back yards:
11/15 UPDATE: I linked to this recap on my Facebook wall and tagged Steve in the link description. Today, he left a comment:
Thanks for the kind words Mike! I’m so glad you came, and had a great night….
Video from around the house: 1994 and 2011 November 11, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Video, Weather.add a comment
July 25, 1994, was the beginning of my videography life. When I used my camcorder regularly, between 1994 and 2004, I would occasionally shoot video around my house. This was usually reserved for special occasions like a deep blue sky (especially in the middle of summer), fall foliage, and during or after a snowstorm. The videos below represent the first and second examples.
November 11, 1994, was a day off for me. I was in eighth grade at the time. Like today–also November 11, Veterans Day–trash and recycling was not picked up. We didn’t realize that in ’94, as you’ll see in the first video, but I checked the pickup schedule earlier this week and knew not to bring stuff to the curb. I feel sorry for those that didn’t know. I saw many houses with uncollected trash and recycling on my walk this afternoon. But I digress.
Earlier this year, I captured my old home videos on VHS (dubs of VHS-C), VHS-C masters, and MiniDV masters. I felt nostalgic enough today to retrace my steps (minus the primitive camera work).
Here then is what I shot on November 11, 1994:
And here’s what I shot today, November 11, 2011:
Today’s video was originally shot in 1080p, but I mixed two MTS files down to one MPEG4 file in 720p.
Snowtober in Wantagh October 30, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, News, Personal, Photography, Politics, TV, Weather.add a comment
What was billed as “Snowtober” was “Rain-and-snowtober” or “Wintry mix-tober” in Wantagh for much of yesterday and last night. Just to the north and west (within Nassau County), more wet snow fell. The precipitation changed to all wet snow after 11PM.
What fell at my house only stuck to the cars in the driveway and to parts of the grass. Any cold surface accumulated snow.
Since it was the first snow we had in seven months, I took out my camera and took a few pictures. The first three pics are from around noon:
The last two were taken at 11:30, nearly twelve hours later:
A bigger concern for me was the strong gusty winds. The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning for Nassau and Suffolk until 6:00 this morning. This was, after all, a Nor’easter. So between that and wet snow accumulating on tree limbs, I feared downed trees, limbs, and power lines. I simultaneously flashed back to the Nor’easter of March 2010 and Irene of nine weeks ago. But the worrying was for nothing. The winds died down early this morning and the power never went out. That’s not to say it didn’t go out elsewhere on Long Island, but it wasn’t on the scale of either storms I flashed back to. I wish I could say the same for people north and west of the Island (2/11/13 UPDATE: The page I linked to in the previous sentence no longer exists).
11/3 UPDATE: Somehow, a link was made between this storm and climate change last night on NBC Nightly News:
BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: Everybody out East said the same thing about this freak snowstorm, “This kind of thing didn’t used to happen. This never happened before.” And while that is true, it may also be true that we’ll all have to start getting used to this kind of thing over the long haul.
I didn’t hear that. What I heard is what is noted later in Noel Sheppard’s NewsBusters post:
Yet October snows in the northeast though infrequent do occur. As AccuWeather reported Monday:
The last time that Central Park recorded measurable snow was on Oct. 21, 1952 when 0.5 of an inch fell. Prior to that, 0.8 of an inch fell on Oct. 30, 1925. […]
A record snowfall of 6.0 inches was set at Bangor, Maine, on Sunday. This broke the old record of 5.0 inches set back in 1963.
The point being that it does snow in this region in October.
…
One can only imagine what kind of storms hit this region during the Little Ice Age of the 16th through 19th centuries. But since Williams and Thompson weren’t alive, and snowfall records began in 1869, weather events earlier than that seem unimportant.
This of course is common for climate alarmists, so we shouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised.
In their view, whatever is happening today couldn’t possibly have happened before records starting being kept, and therefore all weather events outside “the norm” are considered extreme and therefore proof of climate change.
You think those still without power in Connecticut, New Jersey, and other affected areas care about that? Of course not. They just want their power back.
12/30 UPDATE: This storm was the #2 tri-state area news story in WCBS 880’s countdown of the top 11 stories of 2011:
Nineteen inches of snow in October? Even WCBS 880’s cautious chief meteorologist Craig Allen couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“There’s no way you can play this down based upon these weather maps. Almost everything is in agreement,” Allen reported.
And these flakes were falling on full foliage. All it took was a couple of inches of snow to start bringing branches down.
Hundred-year-old trees snapped like twigs. Mother Nature’s mischief night was the Halloween snowstorm of 2011.
Three million people lost electricity. …
You can read and listen to the rest here.
Matt Marshak with Oli Silk & Joey Sommerville recap October 2, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Other Matt Marshak show recaps: 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015
I was at the Houndstooth Pub last night to see Matt Marshak with Oli Silk and Joey Sommerville perform. Thinking the show was at 7:00, I left for the Wantagh LIRR station at 5:00 for the 5:18 train to Penn Station. Before I left the house, it still felt warm and barely humid outside, but on the platform at the train station, it felt cool and dry. It’s a good thing I brought a jacket. I also brought an umbrella, which came in handy for the four-block walk to Houndstooth. For the second day in a row, small bands of rain developed and moved their way north-northwest. The tri-state area was on the northeast side of an upper-level low pressure system centered over Pennsylvania. That’s still the case as I type. When I got to Houndstooth at 6:25, I was informed that the show was at 8:00 rather than 7:00. So, I had to wait in the entrance for close to ten minutes until the lower level, where the show was, was opened up.
Once the doors opened, the seats at the tables and bar (where I sat) gradually filled up. There were few empty seats left by show time. After an introduction from Eulis Cathey of WBGO (whose show I put on for a few minutes while writing the early part of this post), it was time to begin.
Matt Marshak played guitar:
Oli Silk on the keyboard:
Joey Sommerville on trumpet:
Kenny Harris on bass:
And Carl “C-Man” Anderson on drums:
I was there for the first set before they took a break. Here’s what they played:
(NOTE: Joey came to the stage after song 2, did not play on song 7.)
1. On the Rocks
2. S.O.S.O.S.! (Oli Silk)
3. Swag (Joey Sommerville)
4. Teddy P – Kenny Harris, vocals
5. A Silent Knowing
6. Moonshadows (Joey Sommerville)
7. Get Out Claws (Oli Silk)
8. Like You Mean It (Joey Sommerville) – Joey S., vocals
9. I Will Be With You – Kenny Harris, bass solo; Carl Anderson, drum solo/vocals
(singing): “Swing yo’ hips (4x) like you mean it!”
Joey took to the audience midway through “Like You Mean It”:
“I Will Be With You” had two major solos. First from Kenny Harris…
…and then Carl Anderson:
The C-Man got a standing ovation:
The last note of the set:
You couldn’t ask for a better night: a packed house and outstanding music from outstanding players.
10/4 UPDATE: Check out Katherine Gilraine’s recap.
MikeChimeri.com 
Read the manual! May 1, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Video.1 comment so far
As I noted in my previous post, I was at WCWP’s first annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony Thursday night at LIU Post.
What I didn’t tell you was I brought my recently purchased JVC Everio GZ-HM320 HD camcorder to record the ceremony, which lasted about an hour, in addition to candid chatter before and afterward.
Unfortunately, I didn’t read the camcorder’s manual when I bought it in October. After a few successful, short test recordings in October and November, I didn’t use it until Thursday night. I was able to get two minutes of chatter and the first nine minutes of the ceremony, but then, the memory card stopped working. Everything recorded after LIU Post Provost Dr. Paul Forestell talked about when he first met WCWP station manager Dan Cox was corrupted and could not be viewed or recovered. At least I had the pictures I shot on my digital camera.
My first reaction the following day when I learned of the file corruption was to look for a better camcorder with internal memory of at least 32 GB (gigabytes). But tonight, it finally dawned on me that it wasn’t the camcorder that was the problem. It was the memory card: a Kingston Class 4 SDHC 32 GB card. Before I considered buying a SanDisk card of the same class and size, I looked at my camcorder’s manual.
In the middle of page 9, it said “operations are confirmed on … Panasonic, TOSHIBA, SanDisk [and] ATP” cards. For video, “Class 4 or higher compatible SDHC card (4 GB to 32 GB).” And then, the money quote: “Using cards other than those specified above may result in recording failure or data loss.” Bingo!
So, I went ahead and bought that SanDisk card to replace the Kingston. If I get uninterrupted video for more than ten minutes the next I record an event like the WCWP Hall of Fame ceremony, I’ll know I made the right decision. And I’ll save a ton of money.
The moral is simple: Read the manual!
5/3 UPDATE: The SanDisk card arrived this afternoon. Putting it in did the trick! My camcorder successfully recorded about an hour and a half of video while I went to and from Sunrise Mall (Westfield Sunrise) in East Massapequa. There was no corruption; all files (3.89 GB at a time) played and could be scrolled through in Windows Media Player.
I also tested my Tascam DR-03 audio recorder while I was out. It recorded the same length of time as the camcorder successfully with a SanDisk 16 GB microSDHC card.