A Boy and His Dog

This sad tale has more pathetic plot twists that an O. Henry short story

To publisher Art Zimmer: Congratulations on your 25th anniversary with The New Times. You and the folks there have done an incredible job! I’ve heard many comments about the picture from the Freaky Flix and Food episode {when Art sliced his finger during a cooking segment} in the Sept. 9 “Art Issue,” and thanks for including it. Real blood definitely made things a bit freakier that night! I like a guest who gives his all! Here’s to another 25, at least!

—Ron Curtis Jr.

New York City

The Rights Stuff

Does a government “of the people, by the people, for the people,” conflict with God? Does it conflict with the Conservative candidate for Congress? We all know the phrase “God-given rights” and associate it with our First Amendment right, free speech and freedom of religion.

Check out responses to our ongoing photo project. Think you can do better? Send some shots to urpix@syracusenewtimes.com!

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Keep on Trucks’in Guitarist Derek Trucks drops by Syracuse for a Sunday gig at the Mulroy Civic Center

Because he’s been on the scene for quite a while now, six-string virtuoso Derek Trucks may seem like an elder statesman of the blues, but he’s only 30. Rolling with the adage that it’s the experiences on life’s highway that gauges one’s age, Trucks has already marked more miles than most musicians in the autumn of their years flicking the blinker toward the off-ramp sunset.

Since age 19, Trucks has regularly played more than 300 gigs a year, splitting time between the Derek Trucks Band (DTB), and the Allman Brothers Band (ABB). His uncle, drummer Butch Trucks, is an original member of the ABB, and that familial liaison set the scene for the young guitar prodigy. By age 9, he was hip enough to try imitating the slide guitar sounds of Duane Allman (1946-1971), one of the founding members of the ABB who is considered by many to epitomize the highest order of acclaim on the ax. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Duane No. 2 on their 2003 list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All-Time,” behind Jimi Hendrix.