Here’s a look at the recent  NBA trade deadline breakdown on the major deal, with some added attention to our local New York and New Jersey Teams:

ROCKETS ACQUIRE

Hasheem Thabeet, Center

DeMarre Carroll, Forward

First-round pick

GRIZZLIES ACQUIRE

Shane Battier, Forward

Ishmael Smith, Guard

This is a pure playoff push for the 8th place Memphis Grizzlies.  With only a half game up over the self destructing Utah Jazz, the Grizzlies needed to add another presence in the middle, especially if they plan on playing a team in the West with a presence in the middle. The Rockets really get a first round pick in this, which may or may not be in the lottery. Hasheem Thabeet, as probably no one remembers was the second overall pick a few years back from UConn, who has spent time in the D-League and at the very end of the bench.

Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns

ROCKETS ACQUIRE

Goran Dragic, Guard

Suns first-round pick

SUNS ACQUIRE

Aaron Brooks, Guard

Goran Dragic and Aaron Brooks are both signed for one more year each. I don’t see either team making the playoffs this year, so once again, now with 2 picks acquired, both first rounder’s for Houston, they are obviously in rebuild mode. They’ll certainly look for a more powerful Center soon, no offense to Jordan Hill, but he is not a Center in this league right now.

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Having lived in the NY Capital Region off and on for more than 15 years, I’ve seen my share of shows at Northern Lights. I’ve seen metal shows, rock shows, and hip hop shows. I’ve been there on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Never before have I seen the place so full and never before have I seen so many people lined up outside an hour before the show as there was for Flogging Molly. Maybe it was the holiday weekend. Maybe it was because their last show in the area was canceled. Or maybe it’s because they fill the airwaves with hard rocking Irish cheer.

Sunday night, February 20th, exactly at 7:30, the first opening act, The Drowning Men, took the stage and powered forth with 30 minutes of California indie rock, sounding not unlike a higher energy Arcade Fire (minus all the annoying screaming and about 7 instruments). Prepared to be underwhelmed, I was pleasantly surprised by the overall tonality, drive, and, even more so, how well the band was compatible with Flogging Molly. Lead singer, Nato Bardeen, struggled with hitting some of the higher notes early in the set but his passion for his music was clear and the effect of being off pitch actually helped to illustrate this. Everything about their sound seemed right and when they ended their set, I felt myself wanting more.

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Bonilla, Alindato, and Sims at the Knickerbocker Film Awards, March 2010

What a week it was. BASKnickerbocker Inc. (parent company of BAS News, the operator of the Knickerbocker Ledger) saw one of its co-founders resign from day-to-day responsibilities and its signature event, the Knickerbocker Film Festival, fall into uncertainty due to a booking conflict with its venue.

Joseph Alindato, who co-founded BAS with Joe Bonilla and Antwuan Sims, officially resigned as Chief Media Officer and Chair of the Knickerbocker Film Festival Organization Committee this past Wednesday. In an e-mail that was sent to employees and board members, Bonilla stated, “(Alindato) has been profoundly instrumental and critical to the foundation and growth of BASKnickerbocker Inc. from our preceding company’s founding on December 22, 2005 as Valley Voice Media, the incorporation (in which he funded) on November 22, 2006, as well as the numerous financial contributions to ensure that the dream of “challenging tomorrow” could be sustained and could continue. Most importantly, Joe conceived the Knickerbocker Film Festival and no doubt the first festival could not succeed without Joe’s vision. Joe and I have been friends for many years and after several discussions, we found this to be the most mutually benefit move in order to continue.”

Alindato has been integral to the company since its founding and had recently served as Chief Executive Officer from September 1 through December 12, 2010. From conceiving the Knickerbocker Film Festival, director of production for “After Hours with Joe Bonilla,” and one-half of ‘the two Joes,’ the company will no doubt see a significant change in how it conducts business moving forward.

In Alindato’s place, Vice President of Knickerbocker Entertainment Heather Hart has been named Interim Chief Media Officer while our very own Jaqi Cohen has been named Chair of the Knickerbocker Film Festival Selection Committee.

In addition to Alindato’s departure, the company has been facing a dispute with the Madison Theater regarding its booking arrangement. The festival had been set to premiere February 25th, but this past Monday, the Knickerbocker Film Festival Facebook page abruptly changed the venue to “TBA” and had posted a delay in the dates until the middle of March. In the same e-mail that went out concerning Alindato, Bonilla stated that the delays and unconfirmed status left it “unacceptable” and called for a change in venue.

Possible venues such as the Spectrum 8, UAlbany’s Page Hall, Pine Hills’ Steamer 10 Theater, and the Hudson River Coffee House have been thrown as potential venues.

“It’s only art!” This is the one statement that I have resented the most in my career as a HS Art teacher. Despite how often (or seldom) it is heard, the words are always knifelike. This statement has implications that can be felt across many modalities and without understanding just how important art is to our cognitive development we run the risk of creating a society of stagnant thinkers.

Ponder this thought: There has never been a culture that has not had some evidence of artistic expression; conversely, there have been quite a few that have existed without literacy. Where does this place art in the spectrum of basic essentials for survival? (Sousa, 2006.)

Both Howard Gardner and Benjamin Bloom place the visual and performing arts in a place of high importance regarding its relevance to learning. Both have come to the conclusion that art is essential to the development of the other intelligences. Bloom believed creativity to be the synthesis of the knowledge gained. (Sousa, 2006) Similarly, Gardner argues that doing art is a means of thinking as well as demonstrating the process of thought. (Jensen, 2001) Intensive involvement in the arts during secondary educational experiences can be associated with higher levels of achievement, such as the completion of a higher level of education (college) and community involvement, both philanthropic and civil. This was found to be across all socio-economic boundaries including the most disadvantaged. (Catterall, 2009) Studies have also suggested that study in the arts overall has a more significant impact on brain development and health than sports. (Catterall, 2009) Yet we, as a culture, place little importance on arts education. It is often one of the first subjects to be cut in budget crunching measures and alluded to as window dressing.

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The supporters of the Fort Orange Club’s plan to demolish two nineteenth century buildings like to make bold statements.  They articulate thoughts about individualism, private property and the ‘meaning’ of history that are probably better off left unsaid.  What else?  Oh yes: some of their rhetoric has been profoundly asinine.

To be fair, I took a peak at the buildings in question, located on 118-120 Washington Avenue.  My first impression: they looked to me to be like sizable quantities of meshagaas.  Yet apart from the top two stories, which have been renovated or—to put it crudely—ruined, seemingly around the 1960’s or 70’s—that was the heyday of slumlords and architectural ruination in Albany—they appear, in my humble opinion, to be, at least partially, constructed in both the neo-Romanesque and Federal schools of architecture, very similar to the State Capitol building, less than two blocks away.

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According to the Associated Press, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek, under siege for the last month to resign from his 30 year long presidency, has resigned, according to Egyptian Vice President Sulieman.

The Knickerbocker Ledger will have more later today regarding transition, commentary regarding how Egypt’s situation could be replicated in other areas of the world, and additional details. Stay tuned.