John Lennon and Yoko Ono, seen here performing at the Sinclair Freedom Rally in December 1971, had just released the “Double Fantasy” album in 1980 shortly before Lennon was murdered outside the Dakota apartment building where they lived. Photo: University of Michigan/Wikimedia Commons John Lennon: In My Life Whenever Dec. 8 rolls around, I take time to reflect. It occurs to me that nothing is real and all you need is love and life... Voices 07 Dec 2023 | 07:02
Bob Dylan (right) was 22 years old when he appeared with Joan Baez on Aug. 28, 1963 during a civil rights March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech. Sixty years later, Dylan is on his latest live tour that includes a Nov. 16th appearance at the Beacon Theater. Photo: National Archives and Records Admin/Wikimedia Commons True Troubadour: Bob Dylan is Flourishing by Acting His Age At an age when Bob Dylan could be clipping coupons at home in Malibu, polishing up his Nobel Prize for Literature or sipping... Voices 16 Nov 2023 | 05:46
Taylor Swift (at mic) in concert in July 2022. Photo: Raph PH/Wikimedia Commons Would Taylor Swift Have Approved of Me at Her Movie? There was a strange vibe at the Imax AMC Theater when I saw the highly entertaining Taylor Swift concert film Eras. I went... News 25 Oct 2023 | 05:13
Robert DeNiro starred in “Mean Streets” a seminal movie about NYC fifty years ago. Photo: David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons As “Mean Streets” Turns 50, Is NYC on the Brink Once Again? Fifty years ago, “Mean Streets” was released, and it immediately branded itself into popular culture with its unflinching... Voices 11 Oct 2023 | 12:55
Rupert Murdoch accepts an award from the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, in 2015. Photo: Hudson Institute The Murdoch’s Can’t Afford to Shake Up Fox News Here we go again. When Rupert Murdoch, 92, announced he is stepping back and appointing his 52-year-old son, Lachlan Murdoch,... Voices 27 Sep 2023 | 04:38
Giants QB Daniel Jones (left) engineered a dramatic come from behind victory in Week 2 while Jets QB Zach Wilson tossed three interceptions in the fourth quarter. Photos: Wikimedia Commons After Week 2, Jets and Giants Both Sport 1-1 Records But QBs Moving in Opposite Directions In the second week of the 2023 NFL season, Daniel Jones saved the Giants’ season, in a scintillating, 31-28 comeback win.... News 17 Sep 2023 | 11:47
How the city’s two major tabloids covered the locals disastrous week one exploits. Crash Landing: Where Do Jets and Giants Go From Here? Charles Dickens famously wrote about “the best of times” and “the worst of times.” If Dickens covered the Giants and the... News 12 Sep 2023 | 05:15
The iconic photo of a young woman wrapped up by her boyfriend’s blanket became the cover of the Woodstock soundtrack album. The young couple, Bobbi Kelly and her then-boyfriend, Nick Ercoline, married a few years later and were together for 54 years until her death in March. Photo: Pintrest Mid-August Festival at Woodstock in ‘69 Forever Changed the Way World Looked at Younger Generation The year 1969 will forever be remembered for one of three major events: a) the three-day peace-and-love Woodstock extravaganza... News 25 Aug 2023 | 02:30
Robbie Robertson was the leader of The Band, which backed Bob Dylan as he transformed from an acoustic guitar folk hero into his all electric era. Photo: Wikimedia Commons The Band’s Robbie Robertson Lived in a Magical New York Robbie Robertson, the leader of The Band who died on Aug. 9, was a true New Yorker. Back in 1965 and 1966, he called Manhattan... News 18 Aug 2023 | 02:39
The New York Times is replacing its sports department with content from the digital sports site The Athletic, which it bought in 2022 for $550 million ( Photo: Ajay Suresh, Wikimedia Commons) Sign of the Times: Turmoil At NYT’s Sports Section Means Less Coverage of Local Teams The New York Times Co. recently made a controversial decision to replace its homegrown sports section with the Athletic,... Voices 04 Aug 2023 | 02:07
Janeane Garofalo performed at City Winery. Photo: Gaelen Hadlett, Wikimedia Commons Janeane Garofalo Musters Up A Stream-of-Consciousness Energy To Garner Laughs Janeane Garofalo is not slick. She is not smooth. She is not polished. She uses whatever manic, stream-of-consciousness energy... News 17 Jul 2023 | 12:22
Mr and Mrs. Met, the official mascots of the New York Mets, may be more popular than most of the players taking the field for the team that has been a major disappointment thus far in the 2023 season. Photo: flickr On 50th Anniversary of “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets, Can Current Crew Salvage 2023 Season? The Mets have been a disaster in the first half of the baseball season. As I write this piece, the prospects for the Mets’... News 10 Jul 2023 | 12:34
Bicyclists frequently head the wrong way down roads and bike lanes and are rarely cited for infractions. Photo: Keith J. Kelly How to Fix the City’s Cycling Crisis and Ease My Biggest Fear About Living Here I have lived in Manhattan for most of my adult life. This is the scariest time that I can remember. Sure, I am wary nowadays... News 22 Jun 2023 | 06:08
There have been four other winners of the Triple Crown in horse racing since Secretariat accomplished the feat by winning the Belmont Stakes 50 years ago. But no horse has replaced the chestnut mare in the minds of sports fans, who still hail him as the greatest thoroughbred of all time. Photo: Time magazine Why 50 Years Later We Still Love Secretariat, the Greatest Racehorse of All Time Fifty years after Secretariat won horse racing’s triple crown, we still revere him as the greatest horse in the history of... News 11 Jun 2023 | 03:33
Author Yossi Klein Halevi (far left), former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Ormen (center) and Jodi Rudoren, The Editor of The Forward, drew a crowd to a panel debating “What’s Next for Israel” at the 92nd Street Y on June 5th. Photo: Jon Friedman Writer Spent Half His Life Living in Jerusalem, but Will Never Shed His New York Roots Yossi Klein Halevi will always be a loyal New Yorker. Yes, he left his native New York City four decades ago to live in Israel... News 10 Jun 2023 | 05:20