Do you remember how your spirit reacted immediately following, and then during several weeks after the World Trade Centers in New York City were destroyed with tragic loss of many, innocent American lives? Think about it. Recall your emotions. Now… Did cultural, socio-political, economic, gender, or even political correctness issues make you pause and differentiate one loss life from another? What was your Pulse like? Moving on… A few days after that unexpected attack on the United States of America, on an early Saturday morning, I made a wrong turn on my way from downstate to upstate NY, and inadvertently had the “opportunity” to drive through the World Trade Center devastation. I saw a ghost town with emergency service personnel and vehicles locked in isolation, fires still smoldering, and a manifestation of unnecessary destruction. I witnessed and felt a personal sense of loss and understood the evil that all too often lurks in some human beings who feel that their politics ...

Music, in all its specific styles and genres, has a way of elevating the spirit and enabling listeners to move through various levels of emotion and feeling. Venues throughout Auburn, NY (located in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York) and the surrounding County villages and towns continue to provide a caliber of music that enables residents to align themselves to a favorite band, musician, or style while discovering others to follow and support. And every so often, there are those rare performances that enthralls and captivates, and witnesses understand they are part of a unique experience. This past weekend was captivating. Theater Mack...Friday evening, September 30... embraced the return of Omar Tamez (guitars,) Angelica Sanchez (piano,) Harvey Sorgen (drums,) and Peter Mack (bass.) Their performance was a brilliant display of contemporary jazz with its point and counterpoint, call and response, subtle and daring improvisation, soaring solos and toe-t...

Blasphemous, unimaginable, heresy…using a baseball term especially during the USA’s Fourth of July holiday weekend, which is a time for cook-outs, beaches, fireworks, baseball, music fests, and family visits. But we have good reason to “borrow” a baseball term especially when The PiTCH is its own entity in the Finger Lakes region of central New York State. The PiTCH , in its 5th season, is the brainchild of The Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival based in Auburn, NY. This stripped down, limited run theatrical experience gives “writers and composers an opportunity to let their ideas take root and grow…..the creative team behind a new musical will “pitch” their new show….” to an audience. Joshua Katzker, PiTCH coordinator shares what an audience will see: Joshua Katzker, PiTCH coordinator You are going to see the writers themselves presenting a condensed version of their new musical. Staging, costuming, props, and sets will be minimal. The idea is for you to ...

When aaduna started publishing in 2011, the journal provided a direct link to information on an American hero, Harriet Tubman, who is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, NY, the home of aaduna , as well as the Harriet Tubman Boosters Club’s work to promote the legacy of Tubman.   Back then, the rationale was to ensure that as aaduna developed its expanding national and global audience, readers would get to know a cornerstone of American history – a woman dedicated to social justice, peace, human and equal rights, and the dynamic role of women in creating significant societal, political, and economic change. When Tubman’s 2013 centennial was   approaching, a year earlier, aaduna partnered with poetry contributor, Cyd Charisse Fulton, to present her original poems inspired by the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman titled, “Feeding Off of the North Star” at Tubman’s Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church located on Franklin Street in Auburn.    ...