2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony May 5, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Country, Education, Internet, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Rock, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
Picking up on the format from the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary weekend, the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony was part of a three-day celebration, from April 24 to 26, 2026. This was the format for Hall of Fame Induction Weekend:
- Friday, April 24, 7-9PM: Welcome reception at the Abrams Communications Center
- Saturday, April 25, 6-9PM: Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Roosevelt School
- Sunday, April 26, 10AM-1PM: Farewell coffee and bagels at the Abrams Communications Center
Once again, the Roosevelt School‘s East Room dining hall was the site of the ceremony. The 2025 inductees were:
- Chris Maffei (2013)
- Tony Traguardo (1986)
- Ellyn Solis (1981)
- Cande Roth (1980)
Midway through the ceremony, 2026 graduate Avery Cochikas of The Wave, WCWP’s student-run internet station, received the Arthur Beltrone Founders Award. Art helped found WCWP, which signed on as a carrier current station at noon on October 18, 1961. In the role of program director, Art was the first student voice heard at sign-on.
This recap will include photos during and after the ceremony, along with an aircheck of April 24’s The Rock Show, hosted by Dan Reagan, 2022 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee and chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee. (I have served on the committee since 2022, two years before Dan’s chairmanship began.)
Before all that, I present the 2025 ceremony video, with a running time of 2:09:10.
After an adventurous Lyft ride, I arrived at the Roosevelt School well before 6PM; at around 4:45. Let’s just say it involved a northbound detour up and thin, private road. A few minutes later, we turned west and found ourselves on campus by the intramural baseball fields. Gold Coast Road soon followed and we turned south (left) for our destination.
It would be another hour before attendees and inductees began filing in.
I took these photos during the wait after unpacking my equipment:
Two photos featuring Ellyn Solis and her posse before the ceremony:
2025 inductee Ellyn Solis, Yvonne, Ed, Jill, 2022 inductee Kim Dillon 
Chris Poppe, Ellyn, Esme
Dinner was served at 6PM, and the ceremony began shortly after 7PM.
The master of ceremonies was WCWP station manager Dan Cox. 
The first 2025 inductee honored was Chris Maffei. He was presented by 2020 inductee Christina Kay. 
Chris Maffei and Christina Kay 
Chris Maffei’s acceptance speech 
Dan Cox looked on proudly 
Chris and Dan 
Loni and Rich Frazita introduced the next inductee: Tony Traguardo. 
Tony Traguardo’s acceptance speech (after the brief return of his Post Serial character, Swami Origami) 
Rich Frazita sneaked in bunny ears over Tony Traguardo’s head as he and Loni posed with the plaque 
Dan Cox and Tony Traguardo 
Time for the Arthur Beltrone Founders Award, presented to Avery Cochikas. Avery was introduced by his two station managers. First, Pete Bellotti, a 2019 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee. 
Pete’s speech was followed by one from Dan Cox. 
Avery Cochikas and Pete Bellotti 
Avery Cochikas and Dan Cox 
Avery Cochikas’ acceptance speech 
The last two 2025 inductees each had three presenters. First to present Ellyn Solis was 2022 inductee Kim Dillon. 
Second was Cande Roth. 
Third to induct Ellyn was Chris Poppe. 
Ellyn Solis with his plaque and her posse: Cande Roth, Kim Dillon, and Chris Poppe 
Ellyn Solis’ acceptance speech 
Ellyn Solis and Dan Cox 
Kim Dillon returned to present the fourth inductee, Cande Roth. 
Ellyn Solis donned her Midnite Progressive t-shirt when she inducted Cande. 
Third to present Cande was Phathead, her co-host on their eponymous weekday morning radio show on My Country 96.1 WJVC. Phathead is also WJVC program director. 
Cande with her plaque and presenters: Phathead, Kim Dillon, and Ellyn Solis 
Cande Roth’s acceptance speech 
Cande’s family and friends looked on from their tables 
Dan Cox and Cande Roth 
Dan’s closing remarks 
Ed, Chris, KC (Cande’s son), Yvonne, Evan (Cande’s son), Cande, Jill, Ellyn, Rodrigo, Esme (Ellyn’s daughter), Kim, Brian (Cande’s husband), Phathead 
Chris Maffei and Jeff Kroll 
Chris Maffei and Mike Chimeri (2021 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee) 
Christina Kay, Pete Sacoulas, Sami Jo Negron, Julian Wilson, Tessa and Chris Maffei, Charlie and Margaret Moehler 
The same people as above, but with Dan Cox 
Dan Reagan (2022 inductee), Jeannie Moon (2024 inductee), Gina Reagan 
Dan Reagan and Jeff Kroll (2015 inductee)
Jeff ran the board during Dan’s edition of The Rock Show the night before the ceremony: Friday, April 24. It was so good that it went beyond the usual two hours (2 hours and 17 minutes). Here is my scope of Dan Cox’s aircheck (thanks to Jeff for forwarding me the unscoped original):
In one of the talk breaks, Dan Reagan noted rain was in the forecast for the day of the ceremony. It did rain, and it poured. That’s why my mom Lisa suggested a pack my tripods and bag of camcorders in a tall suitcase to shield them. Thank you, Mom, for the idea. She and my dad Bill were attending the annual Freeport Fire Department installation dinner, in the vein of WCWP’s Hall of Fame ceremony, which is why took Lyft rides to and from my home.
Quick tangent: Before I packed up and left the East Room, Cosmo Leone, another 2022 inductee, congratulated my dad. I told him he was just attending the dinner as all FFD members do each year. Little did I know Coz had reason to congratulate. Bill Chimeri – ex-captain of Freeport Truck Company One – was honored for 25 years of active service, as shown in this photo:
End of tangent.
Dan and his wife Gina were kind enough to drive me from the Roosevelt School up to the Abrams Communications Center where our fellow alumni and this year’s inductees looked around WCWP’s renovated home. It also allowed for a more convenient Lyft pickup spot. (The ride home was conversational rather than adventurous.)
2019 inductee Lew Scharfberg talking to the Reagans and Lamendolas 
Dan Cox shows off Studio 3 to 2022 inductees Cosmo Leone and Kim Dillon, Kim’s husband Craig Ruttle (to her left), and Jeff Kroll 
Tony Traguardo and his wife Winifred Boyd (“Winnie”) with Rich and Loni Frazita in the student lounge 
Kim Dillon, Lew Scharfberg, Larry Lamendola, and Jeff Kroll look at the Radio Dataroom (transmitter room) 
Pete Sacoulas tours the Radio Dataroom with Craig Ruttle looking from the outside; Sami Jo Negron is to Craig’s right 
Cosmo Leone with Dan and Gina Reagan 
A tour of Studio 2 
Outside the new Studio 4, Pete Sacoulas, Sami Jo Negron, and Christina Kay view the Hall of Fame plaque listing all inductees to date
That’s a wrap on the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony recap. Congratulations again to Chris Maffei, Tony Traguardo, Ellyn Solis, Cande Roth, and Art Beltrone Founders Award recipient Avery Cochikas.
Thank you to Ellyn and to Julian Wilson for identifying who was who in a few of the photos (last names withheld).
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights at Tilles Center March 31, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, smooth jazz, Travel, TV.add a comment
Wednesday marked a twice in a lifetime experience for me. I got to see Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, mere steps from the Abrams Communications Center, home to WCWP, on the campus of LIU Post. I was part of a capacity (sell-out) crowd!
Here is the Tilles Center exterior, as seen in December 2025:
The Paumanok Stompers Traditional Jazz Band played in the Goldsmith Atrium, but were finished by the time I got inside.
51 weeks and one day had passed since the first time I saw Herb and his band at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Read the linked recap for more information on the set’s songs and their etymology.
Thanks to Bobby Guthenberg for giving away two tickets for me and my dad Bill. Bobby’s daughter Katie was also with us in row J. I was in seat 134, the aisle seat, with Dad in 133, Katie in 132, and Bobby G. in 131. Lori Downing and her friend Regina sat ahead of us in row H, and Jeff and Pat Kroll were in row G. (Jeff’s the biggest Herb Alpert fan I know.) For Bobby, Lori, the Krolls, this was also a twice in a lifetime experience after seeing the Lincoln Center shows. (Jeff and Pat were at Herb’s 90th birthday show last March 31.)
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge meeting fellow WCWP and then-C.W. Post alumnus Joe Townley outside the Abrams Communications Center before reaching Tilles’s south entrance. Joe is currently EVP of content, programming, and new business for the production company MyEntertainment.
As for the show, I was much closer to the stage at Tilles Center, and I have a better smartphone: an iPhone 17 Pro. (My Canon EOS R7 wasn’t allowed, meaning a return trip to Dad’s car before going inside.)
Admittedly, some photos required enhancements in Photoshop, and not just color filtering. I think you’ll like what you see, though.
The show began 13 minutes past the scheduled 7:30 start, but it was nonstop action after that.
The modern Tijuana Brass was made up of:
- Herb Alpert – lead trumpet
- Kris Bergh – trumpet and percussion
- Ryan Dragon – trombone and percussion
- Bill Cantos – piano, synthesizer, marimba; music director
- Kerry Marx – acoustic and electric guitars
- Hussain Jiffry – bass
- Ray Brinker – drums
My dad loved Ray’s drumming, and Bill Cantos was delighted when I told him after the show that I knew Jay Rowe. Clasping his hands together, he said “tell him I said hi,” which I did (via text message) as Dad and I exited Tilles Center. I spoke to Jay on the phone back in the fall and mentioned the Herb Alpert concert on my pre-Smooth Jazz for Scholars itinerary. That’s when Jay revealed that Bill is another friend from his days at the New England Conservatory. (I already knew about Nelson Rangell and David Mann.)
The set list was mostly identical to last year’s. In fact, the first 12 songs were the same and in the same order. From there, the set diverged. Herb’s wife Lani Hall couldn’t make it this time, which meant no Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 medley. (Hearing their music on the sound system before the show made up for that.) Otherwise, four songs were new to this set: “Route 101,” “Mae” (partial), “Casino Royale” (partial), and “Up Cherry Street.”
Compare and contrast the set on this night with the one from last year. Some tidbits have been recycled. (The original album and release years are in parentheses.)
- The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro) (The Lonely Bull, 1962) – Original composition by Sol Lake
- The Work Song (S.R.O., 1966) – “Work Song” was by cornet player Nat Adderley
- Memories of Madrid (What Now My Love, 1966) – Another original TJB composition by Sol Lake
- Whipped Cream (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – One of two music cues used on The Dating Game
- Spanish Flea (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – The other Dating Game cue – Original composition by TJB member Julius Wechter (also leader of the Baja Marimba Band)
- Ladyfingers (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – As alluded to last year, this song found new life in TikTok videos
- Lollipops and Roses (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
- Bittersweet Samba (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Still another Sol Lake composition for TJB – Serves as the theme to All Night Nippon, a Japanese radio show
- Mexican Shuffle (South of the Border, 1964) – If you’re keeping score, that’s four Sol Lake compositions in the set – Used in TV ads for Clark’s Teaberry gum (shown on the monitor), where it was known as “The Teaberry Shuffle”
- Tangerine (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
- I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – Preceded by Ray Brinker drum solo (photos below were upscaled from video freeze frames)
- Love Potion No. 9 (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – The album’s requisite striptease song
- This Guy’s in Love with You (The Beat of the Brass, 1968) – Herb’s lone vocal song of the set – Contrary to popular belief, the song was later reworked as “This Girl’s in Love with You” for Dionne Warwick and other female singers, not the other way around for Herb
- Route 101 (Fandango, 1982) (solo album) – One of several Juan Carlos Calderón compositions for Fandango
- Rise (Rise, 1979) (solo album) – Rap fans may recognize one part from its sampling in “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. – The performance this year was almost as long as the original thanks to many solos
- A Taste of Honey (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Again, Ray Brinker perfectly matched The Wrecking Crew member Hal Blaine‘s drumming from the original, right down to the bass drum taps to note the 4/4 time signature
- Zorba the Greek (Zorba’s Dance) (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – A clip of the titular film‘s dance scene (with Anthony Quinn as Zorba) was shown during the slow middle (seen below in an upscaled video freeze frame)
- Encore 1-1: Smile (Midnight Sun, 1992; Catch the Wind, 2021) (solo albums) – Requiem for departed friends, including Sergio Mendes, Karen Carpenter, Burt Bacharach (co-writer [with Hal David] of “This Guy’s in Love with You”), and A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss – “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin is not to be confused with “Sweet, Sweet Smile,” which was introduced and popularized by The Carpenters
- Encore 1-2: Medley: Mae (!!Going Places!!, 1965); Casino Royale (Sounds Like…, 1967) – another Bacharach/David composition; What Now My Love (What Now My Love, 1966); A Banda (Herb Alpert’s Ninth, 1967) – Fittingly preceded by band introduction (“a banda” literally means “the band”); Tijuana Taxi (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – original composition by TJB guitarist Ervan “Bud” Coleman
- Encore 1-3 (True Finale): Up Cherry Street (South of the Border, 1964) – Second composition of the set by Julius Wechter
Now that you’ve seen the set and know the band, it’s photo time.
“The Lonely Bull”:
“Mexican Shuffle” with Clark’s Teaberry Gum commercial clips:
Herb talking to the audience between “Memories of Madrid” and “Whipped Cream”:
He noted that this was his first performance on Long Island since 1984 at Jones Beach Theater. Jim Carrey, then a stand-up comedian, opened for him.
Herb and Louis Armstrong in an episode of Kraft Music Hall:
Bill Cantos vocalizing at the piano during “Tangerine”:
Ray Brinker’s drum solo between “Tangerine” and “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”:
Ryan Dragon’s trombone solo during “I’m Getting Sentimental…”:
“Love Potion No. 9”:
Despite Lani Hall’s absence, Herb Alpert still spoke of how Sergio Mendes played Cupid and matched him with her.
Sergio Mendes explaining the Brasil [year] origin in Portuguese:
Herb’s “translation” turned out to be the origin of the Tijuana Brass:
Sergio replied in fluent English that isn’t what he said at all.
Perhaps because an audience member requested it, the Sergio segment dovetailed into the origin of “This Guy’s in Love with You.” Prompting the audience to sing along, Herb performed a moving rendition of “This Guy’s…” (in a lower key).
And there was another after “Rise”!
“A Taste of Honey”:
What do you think happened afterward?
The last song before the encore was “Zorba’s Dance,” known on !!Going Places!! as “Zorba the Greek.”
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass gathered at center stage and took a bow:
Then, it was back to their posts – no pun intended at LIU Post – for the encore.
Encore song 1 was Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.”
The mood lightened back up for the five-song medley that featured a little bit of “Casino Royale”:
The medley ended with “Tijuana Taxi,” featuring a marimba solo by Bill Cantos:
He also played a horn honk on his synthesizer.
A night to remember ended with “Up Cherry Street”:
The end!
One last ovation! 
Herb Alpert has left the building…or at least the stage. 
Before departing, I grabbed two selfies. One with Regina and Lori…
…and the other with Katie, Bobby G., and my dad Bill:
Tilles Center marked a 7-day resumption of Herb Alpert’s tour. One night later, he and his modern Tijuana Brass were in New Haven for another sell-out show at College Street Music Hall. The rest of this paragraph was revised on 4/1: The week concluded with the 51st consecutive sell-out, fittingly on Herb’s 91st birthday, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Ryman just happens to be where Brass guitarist Kerry Marx serves as music director of the Grand Ole Opry. The tour resumes on May 10 at The VETS (Veterans Memorial Auditorium) in Providence, Rhode Island.
My next music event will be down the road from New Haven in Milford, Connecticut, at Jay Rowe‘s 23rd anniversary Smooth Jazz for Scholars on May 1 and 2, held in a different Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Parsons Complex.
April 25, exactly one month after seeing Herb Alpert at Tilles, I’ll be at the Roosevelt School the south end of LIU Post for the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony Dinner, honoring the Class of 2025 (revealed on Homecoming Weekend last September) and this year’s Arthur Beltrone Service Award recipient. Until I recap that, thank you for reading.
February 22-23 blizzard, February 23-24 aftermath February 25, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Video, Weather.add a comment
For the second month in a row, an inconsequential weather event with a little bit of snow was followed by a more significant storm. And thanks to one influential computer forecast model that wooed all other models to its side, this storm was even worse than what we got January 25. A historic blizzard took shape off the coast of New Jersey and Long Island. Between dusk on February 22 and early afternoon on February 23, it left around 2 feet of snow that was blown around by strong gusty winds. Gusts generally peaked around 50 mph, but some areas exceeded 60. As for snow accumulation, 22 inches fell here in Wantagh. That’s not from me putting tape measure in the snow, but rather from an amateur radio report to the National Weather Service at 12:51 PM on the 23rd. A full list of totals throughout the tri-state area can be viewed here. (In case that isn’t a permanent link, I saved it as a TXT file.) This was a wet, dense snow with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
I began preparing for the blizzard on February 21 by shoveling any leftover snow in the driveway onto the front lawn. I then put our recycling pail and secondary garbage pail in the garage on either side of the snow blower. On the morning of the 22nd, I moved spare pails on the left side of the house to the right side, bracing them against the backyard gate. I stacked the backyard deck chairs and put them on their side along with the chaise lounge. Finally, I brought the primary garbage pail onto the front porch, turned the porch chair upside down, and brought its cushion inside.
Sunday, February 22
Preparatory photos taken around 7:25 AM:
Jumping ahead in the chronology, I experimented with interval recording by the guest room window on my secondary camcorder, seen here at 1:50 PM:
I would change the perspective and tripod orientation around 7PM and stick with that until I stopped recording Monday afternoon. You’ll see this in a YouTube video at the end of the post. It’s 1 frame every 10 seconds. The rest of that video is at normal speed on my primary camcorder (and one instance on my camera).
Before we get to the video, I have more photographic timelines. Here is Sunday’s short timeline:
7:30 AM, before any snowfall 
12:25 PM, after snow began to fall 
4:11 PM, as the snow began to stick 
7:12 PM
My parents brought my sister’s car to leave in the driveway so that it wouldn’t be parked in the road where she lives. Local, county, and state officials urged residents to keep their vehicles off the road to make plowing easier for trucks as they make their rounds.
I put in earplugs at 8PM and went to sleep. I gave up sleep about six hours later and went back to documentary mode. I risked the life of my equipment by periodically putting it in the elements. I also periodically used a hand towel to wipe snow off the guest room window, limiting obstructions for the secondary camcorder.
Back to the photos.
Monday, February 23
2:43 AM 
4:39 AM (The ISO is at 32000) 
4:41 AM 
4:53 AM (The ISO is again at 32000; all other night photos were at ISO 6400) 
5:02 AM 
7:05 AM 
9:36 AM
As the snow slowly tapered off, my dad brought out the snow blower and went to work clearing the driveway. He then used a brush to clear his car and shoveled parts of the driveway and porch. The photos below were taken between 10:34 and 11:25 AM.
After Dad left for work, I took over the shoveling and brushed snow off my mom’s and sister’s cars.
I took this photo at 11:53 AM before getting dressed for shoveling:
Remember, the snow was wet and dense. Since there was so much of it, that made shoveling laborious. After 1 hour and 25 minutes, I gave up. In hindsight, I clearly made a difference.
Back in my room (at 1:40 PM), I took two more photos with my camera and one more video on my primary camcorder. Then, I stopped the interval recording on the secondary camcorder.
I wasn’t finished with photos. At 2:01 PM, after I’d showered, a snow plow truck came up the street and undid whatever my dad cleared at the curb.
Aside from a snack and dinner, the rest of my day centered around making a video compilation of the interval recording (minus some unflattering frames) and the normal recordings taken before, during, and after the blizzard. I still have aftermath photos to show, though. Those and all other photos were edited on…
Tuesday, February 24
I couldn’t give up entirely on shoveling. So, I went back out at 7:25 AM to shovel the sidewalk, clear what the snow plow left, and expand the clearing on the left side of the driveway. 1 hour and 11 minutes was all I could take. These photos taken 8:37 to 8:40 AM show my work from Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
I didn’t have the stamina to shovel beyond the property line. 
Now, you can see the results of my porch and left side shovel job. 
8:45 AM, back in my room:
Aftermath photos of the backyard at 1:42 PM:
I gave driveway shoveling one more try at 2:10 PM. 35 minutes was the limit this time, per these 2:46 PM photos (where you can’t tell my hand was shaking):
The last photo of the post was back in my room at 2:51 PM:
If I do any other shoveling, don’t expect an update with after photos. Two more inconsequential periods of snow are expected today (Wednesday, February 25) and tomorrow (Thursday, February 26). God forbid we end up getting another blizzard next week.
Until the next post, which I hope is a recap of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights at Tilles Center, here is the interval/normal recording video compilation of the February 22-23 blizzard.
January 25 winter storm, January 26-28 aftermath January 29, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, Photography, Video, Weather.add a comment
One week after an inconsequential weather event left 2 inches of snow with only half of that accumulating on pavement, a more significant storm impacted not Long Island, but most of North America. You can read the full details in the Wikipedia entry. Long story short, and I’ll repeat this later, about 11.2 inches of snow (topped off with sleet) accumulated at my Wantagh home between the early mornings of January 25 and 26.
Now for a series of photographic timelines with written wraparounds, and even a video.
Sunday, January 25
6:01 AM, right after waking up 
7:28 AM 
10:13 AM 
1:04 PM, with snow at its peak 
2:34 PM, after the changeover to sleet 
4:13 PM
Minutes later, my dad Bill decided to get an early start on snow blowing. The photos below were taken between 4:21 and 4:55 PM.
I took two more indistinguishable sleet photos before calling it a night and going to bed.
7:16 PM 
8:53 PM
Snow was reportedly still mixing in with the sleet, but I couldn’t tell. Either way, I wore earplugs to bed to drown out the sleet pelting my east-facing window. All the photos you’ve seen so far are from my south-facing window. At one point when my dad noticed that window was closed, he intentionally aimed the snow blower chute in that direction, sending a blast of snow my way. As he later told me, he wouldn’t have done that if he saw me camera in hand with the window open.
Monday, January 26
When I looked outside for the first time after sunrise, I noticed remnant flurries falling. This set of photos was taken between 7:32 and 7:38 AM. The location of the photos is noted in the captions.
South-facing bedroom window 
East-facing bedroom window 
North-facing window in my sister’s old bedroom 
Looking north from the kitchen… 
…and the den 
Facing south at the front door
Less than an hour later, I prepped to go outside and shovel. Once I was properly dressed at 8:33 AM, I measured the snow and sleet with an 18-inch ruler from an untouched spot on the front lawn, and took a before photo on the front porch.
I had to pound through the sleet coating. Assuming I reached the grass, the ruler measured about 11.2 inches. 
In a 48-minute span, not counting when I paused my watch’s stopwatch feature, I could only clear the front porch, porch steps, pathway between the porch and driveway, the edge of the driveway by the garage door, and a path to the oil tank fuel cap on the left side of the house.
I was physically drained. Not only did I have to shovel, but scraping and chiseling were also involved thanks to the sleet mixture. The left side of the house was the easiest (least difficult) to shovel because it was untouched.
It was up to my parents Bill and Lisa to clear their cars. The residual snow blowing would wait until sunset.
Next photographic timeline:
10:04 AM, after a shower 
10:11 AM 
10:14-10:18 AM 
10:36 AM 
1:46 PM
The snow blower made its encore appearance at 5:02 PM. The photos below were taken through 5:20.
Then, a two-minute video conclusion:
Once my dad put the snow blower back in the garage, I went outside to photograph the aftermath. The time frame was between 5:26 and 5:29 PM.
5:31 PM, back inside
Tuesday, January 27
I volunteered to follow-up on Dad’s snow blower work by completely clearing as snow as I could that remained on the driveway and sidewalk. Phase 1 occurred last Tuesday afternoon. Without my Canon EOS R7 on hand, I used my iPhone 17 Pro for aftermath photos at 4:08 PM.
Wednesday, January 28
I was somehow able to get a decent night’s sleep with the prospect of finishing what I started on Wednesday morning. After breakfast, I did just that. The final photos of this recap were taken upon completion at 8:05 AM.
8:20 AM, back inside
That was as much as I could shovel away ahead of whatever comes next. As of publication, another storm is possible Saturday night into Sunday (January 31 into February 1) and would only be snow. If you don’t see a blog post, it missed us.
Nature’s confetti: New Year’s morning snow squall January 2, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, New Year, Personal, Photography, Video, Weather.add a comment
I suddenly heard gusty winds outside my house just after 6:30 AM on New Year’s Day 2026. A check of weather.gov explained why: a snow squall was barreling through.
I immediately grabbed my camera, and then my camcorder, for photos and video, which I’ll show below.
The squall lasted about 80 minutes, but only left a coating that the sun melted away within five hours. The snow and wind were like nature’s confetti, its way of ringing in the new year.
Before I embed the video timeline of the squall, here is a photographic timeline of the squall and subsequent melting.
6:33 AM 
7:09 AM 
7:53 AM 
10:34 AM 
12:02 PM 
1:19 PM
Now, the video, which is 5:23 long.
Unbeknownst to me before publication, déjà vu struck outside early this morning (Friday, January 2). The wind was lighter, but flurries left another coating. I’m not taking photos this time. It should melt just as quickly as yesterday. This will probably even happen early on Sunday, January 4, as the current forecast calls for a 30% chance of snow after 1AM, followed by cloudy and mostly sunny conditions after dawn. Beyond that, no snow expected through Thursday, January 8.
So, until more significant snow falls, thank you for viewing this post.
December 26-27 snowstorm December 29, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
Less than a week after the first snow of the season (before winter officially began), another round of snow hit the New York metro area Friday afternoon into Saturday morning (December 26 to 27).
The initial forecast of 3 to 5 inches ballooned to 6 to 9 inches and a winter storm warning. While that scenario rang true in parts of Suffolk and Westchester Counties, and throughout Connecticut, Western Long Island was spared the worst. The snow even ended much sooner than 1PM Saturday and the winter storm warning was canceled. I wouldn’t know that until I woke up around 6AM. My 12-inch ruler measured 4 inches of snow accumulation on the front lawn at 8AM, matching the initial “3 to 5” forecast.
My photographic timeline begins with three photos on Friday, December 26.
4:52 PM, after snow had begun 
6:33 PM 
8:08 PM, before going to bed
We continue on Saturday, December 27, after learning my neck of the woods, so to speak, was spared the worst.
6:26 AM, as snow tapered off 
7:28 AM, after snow ended 
A brief cloud break at 7:30 AM 
7:58 AM, before shoveling 
At exactly 8AM, I stuck the 12-inch ruler in the grass (bottom left) and measured exactly 4 inches. Rather than wait for my dad to use the snow blower, I figured “less” accumulation wouldn’t take too long to shovel off the ground and clear off Mom and Dad’s cars with a snow brush. I was wrong. The strenuous solo task took one hour and 42 minutes, but I do not regret going it alone.
The remaining photos range from the immediate aftermath at 9:44 AM to early melting at 12:27 PM. My iPhone 17 Pro’s stabilization successfully countered my post-shoveling tremor in the ground-level photos.
As you’ll see, I shoveled in the usual spots: driveway, sidewalks to property lines, left side of the house to the oil burner fuel cap. I couldn’t shovel much of what I cleared off the cars.
9:44 AM, after shoveling 
9:51 AM, back inside 
Melting underway by 11:06 AM 
One more melting photo at 12:27 PM
At the time of publication on the morning of Monday, December 29, the snow is melting rapidly thanks to mild air and incoming rain. Seasonably cold weather returns tonight and beyond.
Until the next round of snow, thank you for reading. Happy New Year.
Instrumental Invasion, Christmas 2025 Edition (12/24, 5PM; 12/25, 9PM) December 25, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Baseball, Bluegrass, Christmas, Classical, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, New Age, Personal, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Technology, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
A special three-hour Christmas 2025 edition of Instrumental Invasion was recorded principally on December 1 with pickups recorded during quality control on the morning of the 3rd and again that afternoon in case the show didn’t only air on Christmas. Indeed, it aired Christmas Eve at 5PM and reran on Christmas at 9PM. (I use the past tense despite publishing on Christmas morning.)
Before I say more, here is the scoped aircheck:
What I said in the outro is true. WCWP/WXBA station manager Dan Cox hosted a Microsoft Teams meeting for alumni on October 27. When he opened the “floor” to questions, I had two:
- May I contribute to the rotation of legal IDs voiced by alumni?
- Would it be okay if I recorded a special Christmas show?
Dan said yes to both. Right after the meeting I recorded VO for the ID, which turned out this way:
I didn’t start work on the Christmas Instrumental Invasion until the following Monday, November 3, when Dan answered a follow-up email about show length. He said it could be as long as I wanted. So, I chose to make a three-hour show. The playlist, created and tweaked between November 3 and 15, was reworked from the playlist for what would have been the fourth and final Christmas show of my Wednesday night run. (2020, 2021, 2022 recaps) The renovation hiatus ended that run sooner than planned. 22 of the 23 songs from the unused playlist were incorporated into this one with minimal rearranging. 15 songs were added to pad out the three hours (all under an hour in length), and the 23rd song from the original playlist was changed due to time constraints in hour 2.
Annotations drafting began November 5, when I completed my first playlist draft, and tweaks followed along through the 15th. For the first time ever, I’m sharing the script. Work on that began when my initial annotations draft completed on November 10. Tweaks continued all the way into recording and pickups.
I had planned on doing as I did for the last two Homecoming Weekend prerecords (2024, 2025), by recording and mixing live on my Twitch channel from December 4 to 6. I even did like this year’s HCW show and preloaded the music and liners into Adobe Audition multitrack session files. However, I developed an obsession with the video game PowerWash Simulator 2, for which I have the Xbox Series X/S port. I wasn’t about to halt gameplay for three days when I was on the verge of completing the game’s career mode. (I did that on December 6 and completed the game entirely [in its initial form] two nights later.) So, I recorded and edited all 15 talk breaks (five per hour) in a three-hour span on December 1. Then, I mixed them into the preloaded sessions. All three hours were within the 58:00 to 59:59 range Dan Cox asks of show files with hour 1 skewing closer to the minimum at 58:20, which I reworked to 58:36. Hours 2 and 3 required reworking in the opposite direction to reach run times of 59:58 and 59:57.
The December 3 quality control session required a handful of pickups with truncating in the last two hours for even shorter times. I misinterpreted an email that afternoon, leading me to think the show either might not air on Christmas or wouldn’t be limited to Christmas. The resulting evergreen pickups worked in my favor as Dan chose to premiere the show Christmas Eve at 5PM and run it again on Christmas at 9PM. The end result hour by hour: 58:39, 59:52, 59:54. There was no dead air between files as legal IDs bridged the gaps. That meant the show after mine began before the top of the hour.
This paragraph was written December 9 after learning that Gordon Goodwin died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 70. His Big Phat Band were part of my show with “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It’s too late for me to redo the talk break for the set with the song as I’ve already sent Dan the show hour files. Gordon will live on through his music, not just with the Big Phat Band, but for the TV shows and films he scored.
“You wanna have a catch?” in the intro was a quote from the end of Field of Dreams where Ray gets to play catch with his father. The Colin Mochrie joke about “foreplay” (not Fourplay) is a sound command for my Twitch streams and was sourced from this Whose Line video:
And lastly, pianist Bill Evans crediting “Joe LaBarbera on drums” was from the end of a live performance of “Days of Wine and Roses” at Keystone Korner in San Francisco. It’s part of a posthumous box set called Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2.
I’ll leave you with screenshots of each completed multitrack session on the morning of December 3 (before the evergreen revisions):
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2026 dates/lineup December 18, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, smooth jazz, Travel.add a comment
On December 5, Jay Rowe announced the lineups and dates for the 23rd anniversary of Smooth Jazz for Scholars. This annual two-night benefit in Jay’s hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefits the Milford Public Schools music department. Each night opens with a performance by one of the schools’ jazz ensembles, followed by Jay and the headliners. There will be five headliners on Friday, May 1, and four on Saturday, May 2. Doors to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium open at 7PM, and the shows begin at 8PM.
Here was Jay’s Facebook announcement:
This will be the sixth year in a row for Marion Meadows. Timmy Maia is headlining for the third consecutive year. Althea René is making her second appearance, twice in three years. Alex Bugnon, Steve Cole, and Steve Oliver also return for the second time in three years. Alex and Jessy J are appearing for fourth time overall, Steve Cole for the fifth time. It’s Brian Simpson and Steve Oliver’s third time overall. Chieli Minucci is as much of a Smooth Jazz for Scholars mainstay as Marion and Timmy, appearing too many times to count. It will be a treat to see all of them.
Repeating the information in Jay’s announcement:
Friday, May 1
Marion Meadows
Brian Simpson
Jessy J
Steve Oliver
Timmy Maia
Saturday, May 2
Alex Bugnon
Chieli Minucci
Althea René
Steve Cole
Location:
Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Parsons Government Center
70 W. River St.
Milford, CT 06460
Tickets: $55 for one night, $95 for both nights
General admission tickets can be bought through Eventbrite.
Reserved seating must be ordered by sending funds to Jay via apps or a check.
Venmo: John-Rowe-43
PayPal: funhouse63@aol.com
Zelle: 203-415-8878
Otherwise, send your check to:
Jay Rowe
P.O. Box 3723
Milford, CT 06460
I’ll end this promotional post with recaps of last year’s first night and second night.
3/29/26 UPDATE: The official hotel this year is the Hilton Garden Inn. Go to Jay’s website for a link to a special rate.
December 13-14 winter storm December 16, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Photography, Video, Weather.add a comment
It’s been nearly five years since Long Island had a major winter storm before the winter solstice. That storm began as rain on the night of Saturday, December 13, and ended as several hours of powdery snow on Sunday, December 14. It finally ceased at noon, and contrary to my belief while watching it fall, this was not a wet snow. Wet snow doesn’t sprinkle into fluff when you toss it in the air with a shovel. More on that later.
Rightly expecting the worst, I rearranged items in the garage Friday afternoon (December 12). I moved the snow blower to the front of the garage and placed two shovels and three scrapers on the front porch.
As usual, the end result went against what was initially forecast, and what the winter weather advisory first called for. 1 to 3 inches became 2 to 5 with locally heavier pockets of 6 inches. Even that was low, at least for Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The further north and east you went, more snow accumulated on the ground. I measured 6 3/4 inches on the front yard grass with my 12″ ruler before shoveling at 11:40 AM. Adding whatever fell in my first 20 minutes outside, I estimate 7 inches of snow accumulated in my section of Wantagh. The same amount was officially reported by the National Weather Service in Levittown, East Massapequa, Bethpage, Glen Cove, and Jericho.
So, it was a good thing I planned ahead on Friday, except for bringing out a bag of rock salt.
My current sleep pattern sometimes has me going to bed in the early evening, and that was the case on Saturday. I went to sleep at 5:30 PM and was in and out of sleep until 4:30 AM. After catching up on DVR’d content, I began my photographic timeline.
5:25 AM 
6:40 AM 
8:43 AM 
9:58 AM 
11:13 AM 
11:36 AM, before shoveling
From 8:17 to 8:20 AM, I took a series of videos with one of my camcorders (overcoming two system errors), and pieced them together in Adobe Premiere Pro.
I’d grown impatient by 11:30 AM. Even though the weather radar indicated the clearing line had not yet reached Eastern Nassau, I geared up to start shoveling. Within minutes, my dad Bill prepped the snow blower for use. Once the machine was working, Dad went to work.
These photos were taken between 11:59 AM and 12:07 PM on my iPhone 17 Pro (which is why I didn’t watermark them).
I shoveled by the garage and on the left side of the house. I stopped while Dad used the snow blower before shoveling further at the curb, clearing snow off Dad and Mom’s cars, and shoveling as much of what I’d cleared unless it was too packed in to move.
The after photos:
12:51 PM 
12:59 PM, back inside 
There was a brief period of snow showers after I came inside, thankfully with no accumulation.
Temperatures are below freezing as I type this last paragraph on the afternoon of Monday, December 15, but milder weather and rain are in the forecast starting Wednesday. That will go a long way in melting and washing away Sunday’s snow.
Does this storm mean we’re in for a busy winter? Only time will tell. Until I recap the next one(s), thank you for reading.
My photos from day 1 of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black September 29, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Food, Golf, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, Politics, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.add a comment
Six years ago, I said this at the end of my 2019 PGA Championship recap:
Bethpage Black’s next big event will be the 2024 Ryder Cup. [All Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups were pushed back a year due to COVID-19.] The last thing I’d like to hear that Sunday, whether in person or on TV, is the “Olé” song, indicating Europe won again.
Not only did I hear that song endlessly in person on Friday, September 26, but it was sung as Europe defeated the U.S. 15 points to 13. The U.S. teams lost too many foursome and four-ball matches Friday and Saturday to make a complete comeback Sunday. (10/2 UPDATE: Europe clinched when Shane Lowry, who you’ll see front and center in a few photos, halved his singles match with Russell Henley with a birdie at the 18th hole. That gave a Europe a 14-11 lead over the U.S., rendering all other matches inconsequential.)
Even though my dad Bill and I were deferential to visiting European fans and respectful of Team Europe golfers, vice captains, and captain Luke Donald, the loss still hurts. So, this won’t be an in-depth recap, at least not verbally, and I won’t link to any media articles. The extensive gallery below will speak a thousand words per photo. That includes photos of players, caddies, vice captains, and captains of both teams. (St. John’s University alumnus Keegan Bradley was Team U.S.A. captain.)
First, the backstory.
The 2025 Ryder Cup was held at Bethpage Black Course within Bethpage State Park. Despite the name, the park is in Old Bethpage, not regular Bethpage, and uses a Farmingdale ZIP Code. Portions of the park cross out of Nassau County and into Suffolk.
Having played the Black many years ago, my dad can attest it is the most difficult of the four color-coded courses – Red, Green, and Blue are the others. That makes it perfect for major golf championships. Bethpage Black previously hosted the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open and the aforementioned 2019 PGA Championship. It also hosted The Barclays, a now-defunct first leg of the FedExCup playoffs, in 2012 and 2016.
The four men’s golf majors are won by individuals. This Ryder Cup was the first time Bethpage Black hosted a team championship with bragging rights on the line for one country – the United States – or one continent – Europe.
Perhaps it was foreshadowing when my dad purchased Friday tickets shortly after Rory McIlroy won The Masters on the evening of April 13. Either way, we were going. Good thing, too, because I’d purchased a hat and short-sleeve polo from the Ryder Cup online shop in March. I proudly wore those at Bethpage Black, per these selfies with and without my dad:
We were prepared for enhanced security checkpoints due to President Trump’s presence. However, we were nowhere near him and only passed one checkpoint at the entrance without needing to empty our pockets. I brought along a portable phone battery charger that I’d bought on Amazon in advance of our trip, and it really came in handy. Three charging sessions – two on-site, one on the shuttle bus ride back to Jones Beach State Park – ensured I wouldn’t miss much photographically.
To that end, let’s get two other key photos out of the way before I let the rest of them speak a thousand words each.
Fans cheered and chanted “U.S.A.!” as Air Force One flew by on its approach to nearby Republic Airport. President Trump sat in a designated area in the grandstands by the 1st tee for the start of afternoon four-ball matches. The U.S. only got 1 1/2 points from the four matches, winning one match 6&5 and tying another. The score through Friday: Europe 5 1/2, U.S. 2 1/2.
(This parenthetical was written Sunday at 11:53 AM. The fighter jets just made one last Bethpage Black flyby, whizzing over my house seconds later.)
Food and non-alcoholic drinks were free! Dad and I ate lunch before going to the 2nd fairway and then I had dessert before we waited between the 15th green and 16th tee. I washed down each meal (cheeseburger, two two-packs of Grandma’s chewy chocolate chip cookies) with a can of Bubly cherry seltzer sparkling water, otherwise having two bottles of Aquafina pure water.
I bought one thing from The Ryder Cup Shop on the way back to the Jones Beach general parking shuttle bus: a screenprint pin flag. I’ve gotten one for each major event at Bethpage Black and hung it on my wall. Even in defeat, I’m keeping it up.
I said my dad and I were deferential to any European fans we encountered and were respectful of Team Europe. (My dad’s friend Mike even worked as an attendant in Team Europe’s locker room.) If only every fan was the same. The arrogant harangues by some U.S. fans, not all of them drunk, made me wince. Team member Sepp Straka moved from Vienna, Austria, to Valdosta, Georgia, when he was 14, played for the University of Georgia, and talks like a native southerner. Didn’t matter to those fans. I feel the harangues played a karmic role in Team Europe’s win. I’ll keep what/whom I feel also played a karmic role to myself. Inside the ropes, however, Team Europe was just better. Full stop. (“Period” is a U.S. thing.)
Side note: Other Europeans who are U.S. college golf alumni include Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg (“O-berg”) (Texas Tech University) and Jon Rahm of Spain (Arizona State University). I won’t fault any fans who gave Jon flack for defecting from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. My mind blocked out any criticism toward fellow LIV defector Bryson DeChambeau of the U.S. (University of Texas), but he probably got it, too. Honestly, I’m detached enough to be a LIV Golf agnostic, even with the matter of who funds it. To date, I’ve only seen parts of two tournaments, including highlights of one in Miami.
Okay, enough digressions. Now, the rest of the photos.
Bethpage Black’s next major is a women’s major: The 2028 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The men’s PGA Championship returns in 2033.
The next Ryder Cup will the centennial, in 2027, at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland. (I’m sure you saw the promotional tent.)
And the next major here on Long Island will be the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. My dad and I already have third round tickets. I should have better stamina than in ’18 and not want to leave after 2 1/2 hours.
It’s been a long 18 days, what with Homecoming Weekend at LIU Post (and WCWP), the Ryder Cup, and all the post-production (no pun intended). Now, I can decompress until the next big event on my social calendar.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end, and thank you to my dad for another great experience together at a New York area golf tournament.
MikeChimeri.com 