Ann Morrow

Lacks Bite

by Ann Morrow October 16, 2014

Dracula Untold is about Vlad III, the Wallachian warlord who was immortalized by Bram Stoker in Dracula, though Stoker used only a few details about the bloodthirsty ruler in his vampire horror story. Now we ...

0 comments

Albany History Sailing Away?

by Ann Morrow October 16, 2014

At the Corning Preserve last month, the trail along the Hudson River was turned into a reenactment of early Albany history, with displays and demonstrations ranging from blacksmithing to Native American practices. The capstone of ...

0 comments

Lacuna Coil

by Ann Morrow October 9, 2014

The Gothfathers of Italy are upon us: Lacuna Coil from Milan are en route to Clifton Park. Their newest release, Broken Crown Halo, is the band’s seventh, and comes in the wake of the irresistible ...

0 comments The Upstate Concert Hall

Fab Mab

by Ann Morrow October 9, 2014

It was game-on for family fun at Queen Mab’s Enchanted City, a Troy “steampunk-inspired street faire” held on Saturday (Oct. 4), despite a steady rain that forced the headlining band, This Way to the Egress, ...

0 comments Troy

Queen Mab’s Enchanted City

by Ann Morrow October 2, 2014

Do you believe in magic? The creative types of downtown Troy certainly do, and as proof, they present Queen Mab’s Enchanted City, a free “steampunk-inspired street fair for the whole family” on Saturday (Oct. 4), ...

0 comments Troy

The Bing Bamboo Room Shows Its Legs

by Ann Morrow October 1, 2014

“Never, ever, did I think it would last this long,” says Jim Romano, AKA Mr. James, of his burlesque show, the Bing Bamboo Room. “Every year, Guy Smiley and I would have to pinch ourselves ...

0 comments The Low Beat

Paris When It Drizzles

by Ann Morrow September 25, 2014

The old lady in My Old Lady is played by Maggie Smith, but don’t let the cast—which includes Kevin Kline and Kristen Scott-Thomas—lure you into this tepid-at-best family drama centered on a genteel apartment in ...

0 comments

A Vision of Nature

by Ann Morrow September 25, 2014

When residents of Albany go for a nature walk, more often than not it’s to somewhere outside the city, such as Five Rivers in Delmar or Dyken Pond in Grafton. Yet a preserve that offers ...

1 comment

Centuries House

by Ann Morrow September 18, 2014

At 48 Hudson Ave., where the Albany Convention Center was planned to be, a seemingly dilapidated building was festooned with fairy lights. Inside, past patchy brick walls and rough-hewn planks, there were streamers and champagne ...

0 comments

History Uncovered

by Ann Morrow September 18, 2014

“The most important thing now is to excavate it,” said John Wolcott, pointing to a map projected on the wall behind him. The longtime historical researcher, archeologist, and cartographer was referring to Fort Nassau, the ...

0 comments

Smashing Success

by Ann Morrow September 11, 2014

It’s a hit. When Annine Everson is performing, that’s as much a description as a compliment: Everson makes piñatas, and hitting and breaking her papier-mâché creations is part of the artistry. But it doesn’t end there, ...

0 comments

Sailing Back in Time

by Ann Morrow August 28, 2014

Five years after Henry Hudson made his return voyage to England, a Dutch privateer was hired to follow up on the explorer’s claims. His name was Adriaen Block, and what he is known for today, ...

2 comments

Operation Historic Salvage

by Ann Morrow August 21, 2014

Within gutted buildings surrounded by gaping holes, volunteers for Historic Albany Foundation are salvaging architectural elements for future reuse. Often just minutes ahead of the demolition crew, this fluctuating team of about 25 people have ...

0 comments

Nothing Up His Sleeve

by Ann Morrow August 21, 2014

In the sumptuous opening to Magic in the Moonlight, there is real magic, both on the stage—with a couple of grand illusions from a magic show—and in the film, which enchantingly captures the swank and ...

0 comments

The New Joint

by Ann Morrow August 14, 2014

“Your leg bone connected to your knee bone, your knee bone connected to your thigh bone . . .” Actually, the elements that comprise the human knee are considerably more intricate than the children’s song describes: ...

0 comments

Social Mobility

by Ann Morrow August 14, 2014

“It’s a neighborhood car,” said Nnenna Ferguson, the marketing coordinator for Capital CarShare. She was referring to a shiny red Prius in the parking lot, but also to five other cars that are available to ...

0 comments

Less Than Meets the Eye

by Ann Morrow August 7, 2014

The human eye: a window to the soul, inspiration for great poetry, evolutionary trump card and favored feature of advertising artists. In I Origins—yes, the title is used for all sorts of allegories—eyes are an ...

0 comments

The Past is Prologue

by Ann Morrow August 7, 2014

It was the war to end all wars—and we all know how that turned out. Which is one reason why remembering the outbreak of World War I is important: Since this first global conflict, not ...

0 comments

There Goes the Neighborhood—Literally

by Ann Morrow August 7, 2014

The scope of Albany Medical Center’s redevelopment of a large swath of the Park South neighborhood became a reality this week with the leveling of almost a dozen 19th-century houses. The reconstruction of the two ...

1 comment

Popcorn Gods

by Ann Morrow July 31, 2014

The ancient Greece of Brett Ratner’s enjoyably silly Hercules is mostly backdrop for an action-packed tale of a wandering warrior and his merry band of followers, and as such, the classical world works well enough ...

0 comments

Upcycling the Economy

by Ann Morrow July 17, 2014

On Monday, Parks and Trails New York released a new report on the Erie Canalway Trail demonstrating an economic impact of $253 million, from a volume of 1.58 million visits a year, and supporting 3,440 ...

0 comments

Of Soldiers and Shakers

by Ann Morrow July 17, 2014

On Monday (July 14), the Albany County legislature unanimously approved a resolution supporting an environmental review of the proposed site of housing developments for Solider On, a nonprofit organization that aids at-risk veterans. The group ...

0 comments

Industrial Evolution

by Ann Morrow July 17, 2014

The Preservation League of New York State has selected five historic industrial buildings for a collaborative Industrial Heritage Reuse program designed to breathe new life into upstate’s vacant and underutilized industrial properties. The press announcement ...

0 comments

The Nihilism Express

by Ann Morrow July 10, 2014

Snowpiercer is a train, but it might as well be called the Ark, for it contains the only survivors of an environmental apocalypse. This near-future scenario, starting 17 years after the Earth’s surface froze over ...

0 comments

The Final Caterpillar Ride

by Ann Morrow July 10, 2014

It’s the end of an era, a 1950s-steeped era of bumper cars, Tilt-a-Whirls, cotton candy, and the faces of little ones lighting up at the sight of a fairyland carousel. Hoffman’s Playland on Route 9 ...

0 comments

Ann Morrow

TWEETS!