Dusting off Bluesky for a very important callout: I'm looking for Albany/Capital Region Heated Rivalry fans who are going to the Heated Rivalrave at Empire later this month for a story. If ya wanna obsess over Connor and Hudson/the show, lemme know here or at [email protected]. 🏒

The TU is asking the big questions because, apparently, The #Rapture is upon us: www.timesunion.com/food/article...

The Arts Center of the Capital Region, concerned that a $50K federal grant to support a public art project in South Troy would come with anti-DEI-and-what-have-you strings attached, told the NEA to keep its money. @katkiessl.bsky.social reports.

What doth it mean to be an original practices traveling Shakespeare troupe in the year of Our Lord 2025? For Will Kempe's Players, it's embracing the basics of the Bard to best connect with audiences (and maybe a laugh-out-loud needle drop or two courtesy of some merry minstrels). shorturl.at/Rg25o

I was fascinated by how zines' aesthetics and themes transcended time. Things I read in the state library's massive archive could easily be in zine libraries today. And as a physical media girly, the insights on how zines are a rebellion against the social media era were *chef's kiss*

I'm kinda the worst at remembering to use social media, but I've worked on a couple of fun and fulfilling stories lately, so here's a little roundup.

And in more local theater news: Playhouse Stage is launching a new works program this weekend with a folk musical co-created and composed by Clifton Park's own Maria Isabella Andreoli and her longtime creative partner EmmaLee Kidwell.

The Capital Region is a hidden theater paradise, thanks to roughly a zillion historic and brand-new companies. To spotlight this, Patrick White created the Capital Region Theatre Fest (aka CRFT). Four days of workshops and performances kick off tonight. www.timesunion.com/festivals/ar...

Spent a day with some self-professed "boat nerds" and maybe became one myself? Fifteen years ago, crews working on One World Trade Center unearthed a Revolutionary War gunboat. Now, it's being reassembled IRL at the New York State Museum. www.timesunion.com/art/article/...

Amidst all the federal arts and culture cuts that just keep coming, this was a ray of joy. Everyone should have the opportunity to try art just because they want to. I love that Shaker Pointe and resident Dick Holmes are making that happen. Creativity and community have no age limit.

This month's Creative Corners column takes on Live Nation, its 25-year relationship with SPAC and how the good and the baggage of that partnership are tightly woven with one of the biggest and most controversial mergers in live entertainment history. www.timesunion.com/music/articl...

Even after reporting on this, I made the rookie mistake of not bringing tissues to today's concert.

Here is the pre-RFK vaccination schedule for your kids. Please download it before he is confirmed and changes/deletes it. Give it to your pediatrician and say this is the schedule you want your kids on. Making this my pinned post.

“Community is such a big part of how art is made and why it gets made.” -- Edie Fake Two floors + over 150 queer artists = the biggest Tang exhibit to date. So many things stuck with me from Edie Fake's convo with Tang Director Ian Berry, most of which I managed to fit in here: shorturl.at/1PDCj

New Orleans, I'm so sorry for your telephone poles. #gobirds

me whenever brady is speaking

The CGI seal Seal might be my new paralysis demon.

If you have time over the next two days to see "Parade" at Proctors, go. The chilling modern-day parallels are impossible to ignore is this beautifully staged and performed production, which officially launched its national tour last night. www.timesunion.com/theater/arti...

It's Saratoga Jazz Fest announcement szn (outside lawn chairs included). www.timesunion.com/music/articl...

The City of Albany and the New York State Museum could get a combined $400 million facelift under the governor's latest proposal. www.timesunion.com/news/article...

NY Court of Appeals declines to delay Trump sentencing www.timesunion.com/capitol/arti...

Shoutout to the Los Angeles Times reporters who are doing essential journalism under very difficult circumstances. They’ve dropped their paywall, but their ongoing coverage is a good reminder of why local newsrooms need support — and what we lose when those outlets are hollowed out.

Is the fire inside babygirls actually Sonic the Hedgehog? Inquiring minds want to know.

Getting "rex appeal" and "Triassic tryst" into print was a pretty rad way to kick off 2025. Being on set for "Books" would've been delightful even without inflated dinos. Market Block Books - and indie shops like it - are special, and the creators know it. www.timesunion.com/movies/artic...

I think at least a third of my childhood was spent screlting "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" and "That Don't Impress Me Much" with my mom in the car, so I am thrilled. www.timesunion.com/music/articl...

In honor of the Santa Speedo Sprint returning this weekend for its 19th annual half-naked run down Lark Street, I thought I would revive my story from last year unwrapping the charm (and insider tips!) of the second oldest festively Speedo'd dash in the country. www.timesunion.com/preview/arti...

Hi Editor and Journalism friends! We’ve got a feature we're looking to assign and on the hunt for a writer who has some expertise/knowledge of the history of the Gilded Age. If you know someone (or are that someone) we’d love to connect!

Interviewing Jerry Grant of the Shaker Museum marked a first for me: instead of diving into questions or a tour, we began with rocking, relishing in the quiet for a solid five minutes or so. “We don’t spend enough time thinking,” he said. And he's right. www.timesunion.com/art/article/...

When tasked with creating a list of holiday events beyond the traditional Dickensian strolls, I was instantly drawn to how the queer community was making the season their own, starting with A Big Gay Market & Context Collective's collab on "A Big Gay December."🌈 www.timesunion.com/preview/arti...

At @albanynylibrary.bsky.social, you can check out experiences alongside books thanks to its pass program, offering low or no cost entry to museums, parks and more across the region. Thanks to a new partnership w/Albany Symphony, the program now includes concerts. www.timesunion.com/music/articl...

Sad to discover my three straight nights of playing nothing but owl sounds to coax a bat out of my apartment didn't make my Spotify Wrapped.

At the top of “MJ,” a reporter asks Michael Jackson if it's possible to separate his life from his music. For a bio-musical about the King of Pop, it's a loaded question, and one "MJ" shies away from in favor of eye-catching spectacle surrounding the man in a rose-tinted mirror. tinyurl.com/msmxwfbd

Dear Editors — If you’re considering publishing an article about issues related to transgender people, then perhaps you should consider assigning that article to a transgender journalist. Don’t have any transgender journalists in your newsroom? @transjournalists.org has several valuable resources:

At Lenny's Latin Nights, I learned strangers don't stay strangers long, wallflowers (even those there to report) are expected on the dancefloor and joy reigns supreme. The eponymous Lenny designed the socials to be a haven for all, and that's what they've become. www.timesunion.com/theater/arti...

I am seated.

Today, work took me to the small village of Middleburgh as part of the TU's "Stopping By" series. One of my favorite parts of this travel series is seeing how even the smallest of towns find ways to uplift artists, like this art park filling up what would otherwise be an empty, grassy median.

I was not prepared to cry into my tortellini soup while watching the newest episode of "Dan Da Dan," but here I am in my feels slurping up some suddenly salty broth.

me logging on to yet another social media platform where I'll irregularly post, regularly lurk and hopefully never have to abandon when it's sold to some other white man trying to go to space to feel special