This beauty, showing the Hudson River, the Palisades, the George Washington Bridge and NYC will be auctioned off June 15 to support the Hastings Public Library. Continue reading

My grandfather, Bengt Paul, having flow into Honolulu from Bromma, Sweden. Looks like he just arrived. Note the ever-present camera around his neck. Here's a slide show about his trip. Continue reading

I love this shot of Mamie Moran, my grandfather Paul Nolan's sister. Here she is with my Uncle John at my christening. What style! Click here to see a photo of Mamie as a young woman. She was beautiful then, and beautiful in this picture. Continue reading

A panel from "Cartoons for Caregivers." Isabella Bannerman will be selling her new book today, Saturday April 27, at the Hastings Station Cafe (134 Southside Ave., Hastings, NY 10706) from 11-5 as part of the 2013 RiverArts Studio Tour. Isabella's paintings and other cartoons will also be displayed. Come and have a cup of Avi's excellent coffee and check 'em out. Continue reading

Get there early if you want this beautiful painting by Isabella Bannerman. It's on display tomorrow at the Hastings Station Cafe from 11-5. The Cafe is on the Metro North Hudson line, in Hastings. The address is: 134 Southside Avenue, Hastings, NY 10706. Isy will also be selling her new book, "Cartoons for Caregivers" and other cartoon drawings. For more information, read the RiverArts Studio Tour website. Continue reading

As part of the RiverArts Studio Tour, Isabella will be displaying some beautiful paintings and terrific cartoons at the Hastings Station Cafe (134 Southside Ave., Hastings, NY 10706) this Saturday from 11-5. Buy 'em and bring 'em home. Isabella will also have copies of her new book, "Cartoons for Caregivers" to sign for you. The painting below will be there. It's called "Jiminy Peaks." Continue reading

On a recent Delta flight, I became obsessed with this game. You can hear about it below. Thanks as always to Ken Meyer for the engineering help. At 37,000 Feet, Nothing Is Trivial (3:00) Continue reading

Thanks to Isabella's cartoons, Ken Meyer's audio engineering, and you for reading. To see more content, see the Categories section on the right column. If you'd like, you can subscribe for email notifications over to the left. It's easy to unsubscribe, too. Continue reading

The perfect gift for Mother's Day, May 12. Over 80 hilarious Bannerman cartoons about the hazards of parenting. To order, use PayPal to send $14.95 to Isabella2@optonline.net. Shipping included. Write address in the "note" section and whether you'd like it signed. Continue reading

Pat's taken the blower apart. Looks a little rusty. Thanks for the shot, Pat. Keep us posted on your progress. For more information on Buffalo Forge grills, see the Categories section in the blog's right column. Continue reading

Photos by: Mikael Paul. Click to enlarge. These photos were sent to me by my Swedish cousin Mikael who, like me, is a grandson of Bengt and Hildegard Paul. Mikael explained to me that there is egg rolling in Sweden, just like there is on the White House lawn. As Mikael explains, Hej Jim and Isy Hope you all are well and will have a good Easter. Here in Skåne we still have snow and cold weather which is very unusual for this time of the year. So we don’t expect to be able to sit outside this year to... Continue reading

Two big bottles for $5.69. Below, what to do with them: Harley Spiller's best chicken wings recipe ever. Click to enlarge, you won't be sorry. Continue reading

Photo: Lewis Hine, "Tenement House with Children in Front," 1910 An interview with scholar Barbara Sicherman about why her father and other children on the Lower East Side of New York loved the library. Wash Hands Before Reading (2:31) Continue reading

Photo: University of Chicago Special Collections Ida B. Wells: How Reading Created a Crusader (6:21) Continue reading

Cartoon by: Isabella Bannerman Buffalo ex-pat and scholar Barbara Sicherman reveals that books clubs were perhaps even more popular among women in the Gilded Age. Reading in the Gilded Age and Age of Oprah (5:05) Continue reading

Illustration by Isabella Bannerman for Forged in Buffalo. The first of four interviews this week with scholar Barbara Sicherman discussing her book, Well Read Lives: How Books Inspired a Generation of American Women. Little Women influenced readers in the Gilded Age, and ever since—including Patti Smith and J.K. Rowling. Audio by Ken Meyer. Little Women, Big Impact (3:23) Continue reading

Adam's blower and grill ready for paint. Going to be nice! Continue reading

Adam, a former Buffalonian, lives in Charlotte and was looking for a project to do with his sons. He found one—an old BF grill he bought on Craigslist from a man in Kenilworth, NJ. Adam has already made some progress, and I will post more pictures soon. Like Pat Reilly, he is missing the heat shield and tray, but is going to have them fabricated. Adam also purchased a rotisserie for the grill. You can see what one looks like in a photo for an ad for the grill sent to me by Phil Marino. Really cool. Thanks, Adam, and... Continue reading

My friend Pat Reilly recently bought a Buffalo Forge grill on eBay that he's going to restore. It's missing a few parts, but Pat can fabricate them in his shop. It's going to be nice when Pat's all through, no doubt! Continue reading

My grandmother, Isabel Curry Nolan, lost her father to lightning, her brother to a sniper, and kept the rest of her life safely tucked away in scrapbooks. Continue reading

My mom, Christa Nolan, and her friends Marcy Brett and Connie McCreery enjoy a three-hour cruise on the Niagara River, 1969. Groovy pants, Mom. Niagara River Death Cruise Continue reading

From Janet Wetter and Missy Taylor. Click to enlarge. I recently discovered Western New York Heritage Magazine. It's just terrific. I ordered a subscription and a back issue from its Circulation/Development Director, Janet Wetter. Janet checked out the blog and saw my skiing essay (below), and thought I'd like to see this ad from Glenwood Acres. It was sent to her by her friend Missy Taylor who, along with her brother Billy, learned to ski there and ended up on the U.S. Junior National Team. Not bad! If you're interested in Buffalo history, you have to subscribe. It's just 24... Continue reading

Photo: Jim Nolan/Forged in Buffalo I took this quickly before the light changed on 5th and I think 47th, on Tuesday 2/5/13. It is a House of Hades "tile." I found an article about one spotted in Buffalo in 2008 on Delaware. Here's a Facebook page with others from the Queen City. Apparently, the House of Hades tiles are a "copycat" of Toynbee Tiles, which I used to see every once and a while. There's a movie about them. Doesn't the asphalt on 5th look surprisingly colorful? Continue reading

Photo: Jim Nolan/Forged in Buffalo I took this Wednesday morning around 8:50 on my iPhone. The skater was just terrific, all alone practicing his routines. I cropped in for this image. I wish he was just a smidgen more to the left. The hand of course belongs to Prometheus, who is bringing us fire stolen from Zeus. Here's another photo. Photo: Jim Nolan/Forged in Buffalo Continue reading

You don't see a lot of Zambonis in midtown, but I saw this one Monday morning around 8:20—The Rink at Rockefeller Center opens at 8:30. Prometheus was keeping an eye on him. Continue reading