albany ny

Having the chance to watch curling up close was a really cool experience.

Ever since I first saw the sport in the Olympics, I’ve been fascinated by curling. I don’t know why, being many people consider it quite silly. But there’s something about it. In every Winter Games since it returned as an official sport in 1998, I’ve tried to watch as much of it as I could.

All the yelling and screaming and sweeping for some odd-looking stones on a sheet of ice.

Crazy.

Releasing the stone.

Curling is thought to have been invented in Scotland in the 1500s. Curling artifacts from that time period have been found that support this claim. The sport has become much bigger than one country, however. Many countries from around the world play it.

A few years ago, I was at a geocaching event. When there, a geocacher mentioned being part of a curling club. I’m pretty sure it was one of the ones — Schenectady maybe — in the Capital Region in New York. Alas, I never followed up on it as I had mentioned having interest doing some photos.

I put that in the back of my head and moved on.

I always caught curling when on TV with the Olympics and such. And with that, I always said if I hit a lotto, I’d try and hire a world-class coach and grab some friends and find a way to try and get good enough to play in the Olympics.

Needless to say, I haven’t won the lotto.

However, earlier this year, one of the guys in the Capital Region disc golf group mentioned an open house at the Albany Curling Club. Turns out besides being a disc golfer, Deric was also a curler.

That triggered my mind — I still wanted to get photos of this wonderful sport. And while I was at it, maybe learn a little about the game, too.

So I reached out to Deric and inquired about doing some photography. He eventually set it up for me to come watch one his team’s matches against his coaches team.

Let me tell you — this sport is pretty cool.

Sweeping in front of the stone.

It actually looks easy when you watch on television. Of course when you see it, you’re seeing world-class professionals. Take in mind that what I watched this past week was a local league. Think local softball or baseball. Or football. Something not at the top level.

But there’s something special about things at that level — regular people playing the sport. And understanding it. And knowing what is supposed to happen. That, of course, doesn’t always happen, but that’s what makes it even better.

With this being the only match being played when I was there, I had the chance to walk around the second sheet of ice as I took photos. This gave me the opportunity to watch the eight people — four per team — play the game. There were five males and three females among the two teams.

Though I didn’t understand everything going on, I got the gist of it. Watching the releasing of the stone and the sweeping was interesting. It’s definitely a sport that has grabbed my interest.

One thing I know — it’s a lot colder on that ice than I thought. I’ve been in many an ice rink, but it was cold! Should I go again, I’d have gloves and a winter hat!

It’s definitely a game I’d love to try one day. Hopefully, wherever I end up in this job hunt has a curling club as it seems like a great way to stay active and get out and do something fun and cool during the colder months.

You can see all the photos I have up from this past week by clicking here.

I’m also posting a few of my favorite shots below.

Sending the stone.

Some brooms.

The action.

Watching after the release.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Steve Caouette performing at The Comedy Works in Albany in 2010.

In 2006, several of us took a trip to Montreal.

This trip was somewhat of an annual thing. A guys weekend, if you will. We’d bar hop a little, check out different things each year and whatever else. I’d always find a way to do some photography and it was a nice weekend away from it all.

I have always thought of Montreal as being able to visit Europe in North America.

This year was a bit different than normal, however. Two of us went up even earlier, making it a five-day trip. The others came up Friday.

Steve’s note that he wrote in my “Montreal 2006 Travel Notebook.”

One thing I decided to do during this trip was take a notebook with me and have people sign it. It could be people we meet, or each other, or whatever else. But the idea was to capture the trip in that notebook with the idea of being able to one day check back at it, remember the trip and smile.

It’s where I met Steve Caouette.

Caouette is a comedian. And, to be honest, he’s one of the funniest comics I’ve ever watched — and I’ve had the fortune to see many. I don’t know where I’d rank him among my all-time favorites who I’ve seen live, but I would be willing to bet he’d easily make my top-5 without a doubt.

His act is hilarious, he interacts with the crowd well and his noises and imitations he does are fantastic.

But I digress…

It was the second night of the trip to Montreal and we were sitting on the outside patio of our favorite Montreal watering hole, the Mad Hatter. The bar was emptying and we got chatting with these two fellas nearby.

We got the two of them to sign the book and they mentioned Steve was a comedian.

I’m willing to bet we asked him to say something funny. We were probably idiots like that. Ahh well, it happens, right?

Anyway, we were asked to come to the Comedy Nest the next night to see Steve perform. And, we were told there would be tickets waiting for us. For some reason, I didn’t buy it. But we agreed to go to the Comedy Nest the next night.

We arrived expecting to have to pay for tickets. We saw Steve’s poster plastered all around the area and we went to the front door. The conversation basically went like this.

Me: I believe there should be tickets for us?

Door guy: Name?

Me: P.J.

Door guy: Yup, here they are.

I was shocked, I won’t like. Further, we were seated at a table in the front. And what a treat that was. Talk about hilarious.

We hung out with Steve one or two more times that weekend. We even went back and checked him out a second time. And after that, I’ve kept in touch with Steve through the years, whether it be through Facebook or texts or whatever else.

Steve Caouette at The Comedy Works in Albany this past weekend.

A year or two after Montreal, he was scheduled for a show in Albany. So a couple of us went up. There wasn’t much of a draw for the second show that night, so we didn’t get to see him perform. Instead, it was a stroll to visit some fine establishments downtown.

I then got the chance to see him in 2010 when he hit Albany again, this time at The Comedy Works newer spot. He was hilarious, as per normal. I was in stitches just watching. The photo at the top of this post is from that show.

Steve was performing in Albany again this past weekend and I had the chance to get up there Friday night to see the show, which was held at The Comedy Works new spot. Let me say that the new spot for this club is outstanding. I’m sure it will take a little time for it to catch on at this locale, but it’s comedy only now. The food was excellent, the showroom felt like a great comedy club and the people working were all top notch and personable.

Back to Steve.

His show was, as it has been every time I see him, outstanding. But taking photos, I started realizing one thing that Steve is amazing at — his facial gestures. These sell his jokes so well and when interacting with the crowd, the faces he makes work for the situation at hand.

And that’s what I will be ending this post with — Steve and his countless faces. Below is a selection of those faces from the show in Albany this past Friday. I am leaving these images without captions — I hope you enjoy.

If you want to see more on Steve, visit his website.