With last Friday’s vote in the New York State Senate to legalize same-sex marriage, marriage equality advocates are now targeting the Garden State as the next battleground for equal rights.

The victory in the Republican-controlled State Senate, with four Republicans – Sens. James Alesi, Stephen Saland, Roy McDonald, and Mark Grisanti – breaking ranks with their conference to join 29 Democrats in support of the bill, gives supporters hope that New Jersey will follow the Empire State in allowing same sex marriage.

Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.), who’s been cited as a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, said on NBC’s Meet the Press, “I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman,” Christie said. “That’s my view.  And — and that’ll be the view of our state because I wouldn’t sign a bill that — like the one that was in New York,” Christie continued.

New Jersey – with its nearly nine million residents – is a natural next-step due to its proximity to New York State, its location between both New York City and Philadelphia (a major reason why media campaigns in New Jersey are among the most expensive in the country). James McGreevey – the former openly gay Governor of New Jersey – remains hopeful in his home state’s prospects.

“I think ten years ago what (Governor) Christie said was the norm by Democrats and Republicans and I think that will change,” said former Gov. McGreevey on CNN’s In the Arena. “I think Gov. Christie, or whoever’s governor across this nation, they will catch up with the decency of the American public.”

Friday’s 33-29 vote of the Senate made the Empire State the sixth and largest state so far. The most significant part of the passage is that New York State has no residency requirement for marriage applicants.

New Jersey has a civil union law in place, a law that Christie endorses. On CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, Christie stated, “But I am in favor of making sure that homosexual couples have the same type of legal rights that same — that heterosexual couples have.” LGBT rights group Lambda Legal plans on holding a press conference in Trenton to address the issue this week.

Similar to California, supporters in New Jersey are looking to the courts instead of the legislature for an answer.

“Last year, the Supreme Court invited our side to file a lawsuit to prove that the civil union law was not providing equality to same-sex couples in New Jersey,” Steve Goldstein, the chairman of Garden State Equality said. “That seems like a very wise indication to accept.”

It’s outta’ here!

MySpace, the flagging social network that has become a hotbed for musicians in recent years, has been sold to Specific Media for $35 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

News Corporation, whose subsidiary News Corporation Digital Media had run MySpace, will retain a small stake in the web site. In 2005, the Rupert Murdoch-led media giant bought MySpace for $580 million in what was then considered a blockbuster deal for the owner of FOX. Since then, MySpace has far fallen behind current social media leader Facebook in the years since.

The Company had been reporting divisional losses of over $100 million in recent years.

When I write “Cavalcade,” I typically venture along something about public relations or politics (sometimes a wondrous intertwining of the two). After last week’s uber-emphasis on things Capitol-related, I’d rather shake it up a bit.

When you form a business or an organization, your goal is not only to do what you want to do, but to be solvent, profitable (whether in the sense of actual money or in realization of your organization’s mission), effective, and forward-thinking. But when you do decide to start something, ensure you do everything right – one mistake or one ill-gotten move can be the bane of your existence.

Six years ago (when I was 19 years young) I formed my first business – a d/b/a for what was then Valley Voice Media. I’ve always had the news “bug” – in high school, had been the arts & entertainment editor and eventually the co-editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, in addition to forming my own “tabloid.”

It was for our then-new publication, the Valley Voice. Joe Alindato and I set to change the world of publishing through our twice-a-week print newspaper (we were brash, ambitious – not a whole hell of a lot of money, but some). We found challenges immediately from the time we got the first issue out a month after we formed. Printing costs, constant news, distribution deliveries, marketing – all of this costs money, which wasn’t flowing as we had expected. Joe became less involved and my commitment to the enterprise increased – the long days and nights type-setting each issue, proofreading it, reaching out to potential ad customers, distribution, writing a number of stories, producing each issue (printing, putting together, and folding) was my modus operandi at the time. It was the argument of consistency I was fighting – in order to be credible, one has to be consistent with the product. A week or an issue we ever fell behind? Forget it, we would be toast.

After a few months, I looked into the future of the publication – how could it be relevant, a player in awareness, as well as reducing any costs where we could. The future was with the internet – having a constantly updated website full of information about the happenings in the Capital Region would be ideal. So – we formed valleyvox.com and knickledger.com (the original Knickerbocker Ledger – not the new one). Still, we found limited success in our efforts.

The question then was: when will we see the light? When do you know, truly, whether your “baby” – your business – is on the path of success or the road of destruction? It’s hard to tell. Basing upon profitability, attendance, membership, or another measure can only be so indicative to a degree. There’s no clear definition of what that path may look like. Some businesses take years of losses before hitting it big. Others may get that spark early, only to see if fade due to lack of innovation.

Continuing or closing an organization is an intensely personal decision (again – relate the “baby” reference here). Sometimes, it’s better – on a personal level – to shut down an enterprise, especially one that is affecting your personal life to a significant degree. Continuing while you’ve been battered or beaten with no hope in sight – trust me, I’ve been there and it’s not by any stretch the McDonald’s Play Place of yesteryear. It’s a bitch to decide.

Sometimes, the light is an illusion, a fantasy dreamt up to coddle the mind. The imaginative flowing capital, the ghostly hard working, unpaid employees – you may get lucky, but typically the world won’t let you get by so easily. As a business owner, you get so wrapped up in your product or service, you can’t see the outside perspective – do people really care to have another news publication when there’s already so many other sources out there? Do they actually want another set of papers to bring home or to read at their favorite coffee house or bar? Not everyone shares your particular preference of how they should perceive your product – thus the quid pro quo of handling enterprise decisions.

With seeing the light or believing a light will arrive comes faith in yourself and your partners. Deep down, you know you are doing what you want to do with the tools and skills equipped to do it. And if you have business partners, you’d hope the same from them too. Having faith and the belief that you can overcome the obstacles of assembling an enterprise is a requirement – without it, why do it in the first place? But that continual belief is overpowering and will make you do things you didn’t think were possible. Sometimes things that may not be so good – I’ve made a ton of mistakes in business that I knew was not the right thing, but at the time felt like an alright move. Do I regret it? Sure, but did I at least make an attempt to resolve it, therefore building problem-solving skills? You bet. Why? Because I believed in myself.

Our experiment with news production didn’t necessarily end, but it evolved to include web development and entertainment offerings. With that came new challenges that were unforeseen – things such as new legal complexities, the need for more capital, the need to set goals and deadlines more stringently. The light at the tunnel remains there – it remains strong, but sometimes the destination in this situation is not the light, but being prepared on the journey to accomplish so much more.

The University at Albany College Democrats have been chosen as the College Democrats of America’s 2011 Chapter of the Year.  The award is a national honor that recognizes the outstanding work a single College Democrats chapter has accomplished in promoting Democratic ideals and values.

Over the past year, the University at Albany College Democrats knocked on over 7,000 student doors to get out the student vote, campaigned in federal, state and local races, hosted numerous campus-wide events, helped register over 1,000 students to vote, and coordinated issue-based lobbies in the New York State Capitol.  Most recently, along with the College Democrats of New York, the University at Albany College Democrats gained national attention when they knocked on over 3,500 doors for Congressional candidate Kathy Hochul (NY-26) helping ensure a Democratic victory in the May 24, 2011 special election.

Read more

What happens if you take the culture of Cars, mix in a few spies, some villains, and a  World Grand Prix Race with legs in Tokyo, Japan; Porto Corsa, Italy; and London, England?

Cars 2!  The latest G-rated installment to the Pixar franchise.

When a message is received from an American agent before he disappears, it is up to Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) of British intelligence to investigate. Meanwhile, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) change their summer plans and enter the World Grand Prix. Their paths collide as a series of mishaps lead to Tow Mater being mistaken for another American agent with important information by new agent Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer).

Intrigue and car racing combine as the Pacers and Gremlins of the world meet for nefarious purposes. The villainous lemons seek world domination by discrediting alternative fuels as directed by their leader. But who is their leader? Time will tell.

There is plenty in this film for those who enjoy the action and adventure of a Bond film and the humor of mistaken identity films as “The Man Who Knew Too Little” or “The Man with One Red Shoe”.

Car enthusiasts should find the “Carization” of many characters amusing. Sumo wrestling cars and Geisha Girls in Tokyo, The Pope car in a protected Pope mobile in Italy, and the Queen and Prince William in England. There are many inside jokes to be found in the background of many scenes such as the film playing at the Radiator Springs Drive-In  – “The Incredmobiles”.

Stay for the credits to see more of Mater and McQueen’s world travels. While the animation style changes as is typical of Pixar films, the representations of the Sydney Opera House and the Sphinx along with other cultural icons are worth staying in your seat a little bit longer.

Cars 2 is an enjoyable film that should please children of all ages while providing plenty of entertainment for the inner child of the adults in the audience.

When I first moved into Albany, I called New Scotland Ave in the Helderberg Neighorhood home. I remember just before they broke ground over by the Medical Center when there wasn’t much there and remember watching St Peter’s go from under construction to finish in what seemed like merely four months.

Park South, in my opinion, is a pretty drab neighborhood that needed some help and I feel the approach here–more commercial business (or rather the medical center expanding which would therefore attract more commercial business like Panera) is far more effective than building ugly dorms. Notice how even though these high-rises don’t necessarily fit into the aesthetic norm of the whole neighborhood, they don’t blight it (which you can’t say the same about Myrtle Ave, with its view of the ass-end of the Albany Medical Center). The buildings are actually rather nice and at street-level, you can see the pedestrian was considered.

To read the rest from Sean Collins at the UAlbany Sentinel, click here.

Fourth of July weekend is next and there’s probably no better Downtown Albany bar location with a better view of the fireworks at the Empire State Plaza than the City Beer Hall (42 Howard Street).

A compelling concept – the City Beer Hall occupies what has become a challenging location to open up an establishment. It’s Howard Street building has been home to Ballinger’s (first incarnation as an upscale nightclub and second as a go-to spot for Latin music) and Ogden’s – Kaelin Ballinger and Kenny Schachter are hoping that the location, as a beer garden, provides an Downtown alternative to the North Pearl Street nightlife scene. The two business partners are leasing the space from Ballinger’s uncle, Doug Ballinger, who owns and operates Webster Hall in Manhattan.

South Pearl Street area bars such as Savannah’s, Pagliacci’s, and Broadway Joe’s have been generally overlooked compared to their neon cousins Jillian’s, Pearl Street Pub, Blue 82, Bayou Cafe, the Assembly, and R Bar. It’s one-block-away location from the Times Union Center make it prime to become a pre-show/game gathering point.

The City Beer Hall, however, is making a serious bid to become a “destination bar” (think Wolff’s Biergarden) that guests will travel to. With sixteen beers on tap (ranging from recognizable names such as Guiness and Brooklyn to obscurities such as Weihenstephaner, a wheat German beer) ranging from half-pints, pints, quarts, half gallons, and gallons, in addition to thirty kinds of bottled beers and well-priced cocktails (for those non-beer drinkers), the establishment features a mechanical bull upstairs (reportedly named Angus – seems kinda like a cruel joke name) and a free personal pizza per each drink (although when I went about a week ago, no ticket was given but they didn’t prohibit the handing of said pizza over).

The picnic table concept works – the only complaint with that is that there seems to be almost too many inside, which isn’t a bad thing when business picnics up, but allows some room for congregation would be preferred. Outside, the patio remains the jewel of the location – a huge, open space without restraint. The outdoor wicker chairs – a left-over element from Ballingers – works for the location.

A bit of personal preference, I always enjoy a location that has a bar per floor – City Beer Hall doesn’t disappoint. Part of the evolution to becoming a “destination bar” for the City Beer Hall is the reported speakeasy in the basement (back when it was Ballinger’s, it had a more parlor feel). According to reports, the speakeasy is by permission only, no photographs, and no cell phone use (good luck “checking-in” to Facebook there). Seems apt for the hipster crowd, but part of the allure of exclusivity sometimes is not knowing the place, especially for a speakeasy-style floor.

Overall, it was about time that this beautiful building reopened back up, it’s huge patio intact, and the owners’ better sense of understanding the Albany crowd will work in the location’s favor.

The City Beer Hall
Rating: Four out of Five Pints
42 Howard Street, Albany (phone: 518-449-BEER)
Facebook: The City Beer Hall

Hello MIRKins

We have completed another very busy weekend in the land of MIRK. On Friday we kicked off our 3 day gig run at The Best Damn Sports Bar on Broadway in Albany, NY. Needless to say, there is not much to say about this one… Gigs like these are always good to knock us down a couple of pegs and reinforce that we are just fam-ish (hence the title of the blog).

On Saturday, we ventured back to Pearl Street to The R Bar. If you haven’t been here yet, it is where The Envy Lounge used to be, but this place it waaaay nicer. It is definitely worth a trip!

If you know Pearl Street, you know it only comes alive after midnight, so we chilled on their outdoor seating before the show. But since we had been there since 7ish, we were starting to go a little crazy…

To read the rest of MIRK Mondays, click here. Column represents the sole statements and opinion of the band MIRK and is not reflective of the opinion or statements of the Knickerbocker Ledger.

Two years of close call votes and nearly forty two years after the Stonewall Riots in New York City, the New York State Senate approved Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Marriage Equality Act.

Four GOP Senators publicly broke ranks with their conference in order to allow same sex couples the right to marry. Earlier this month, Sens. James Alesi and Roy McDonald expressed they would vote in the affirmative. On the floor Friday night, Sens. Stephen Saland, Mark Grisanti, and Carl Kruger – three undecideds – voted in favor of the bill after negotiations completed regarding religious exemptions to the bill.

The bill will go into effect 30 days after Governor Cuomo signs the legislation. New York becomes the sixth state and the largest so far to allow same sex couples to marry. New York – unlike Massachusetts – does not have a residency requirement for marriage.