The Cool Cats: The Resurgence of the Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers are second in the NHL. That hockey team that you (and everyone else) might’ve forgotten existed has 12 wins with just three losses and two overtime losses as of Feb. 23. Just two seasons ago, the Panthers missed the playoffs, finishing with a 36-32-14 record and were only fifth in the Atlantic Division. Now they’re in their best start to a season in franchise history. So how did Florida get here?

Krishna Chetan: Childhood Friend Turned Budding Musician

That same sly and goofy smile I knew from years ago greeted me when he picked up my FaceTime call. Krishna Chetan, 21, was slumped in his bed with his white Adidas baseball cap struggling to cover his long, curly brown locks. The brim of his hat and his intense stubble shadowed his face, which was revealed when he broke into a toothy smile upon my informal hello. Within 30 seconds of greeting me, Chetan eagerly suggested I see his finished basement. He walked me down a flight of dark gray stairs...

Saratoga Couple Partners With 9 Miles East Farm to Create Seedlings Baby Food

A local couple has entered the baby food–making business, thanks to a memorable dream and subsequent partnership with 9 Miles East Farm. Dr. Jennifer Lefner, chair of the department of pediatrics and chief of newborn medicine at Saratoga Hospital, and her husband, John, have launched Seedlings Baby Food, a company that produces farm-fresh baby food products, for a range of ages, on a weekly basis. The idea for Seedlings literally came about from a dream Dr. Lefner had in which she created and...

Unpopular Opinion: Music-less, Sunrise Driving is the Best Therapy

Silent early morning drives are truly some of the best experiences one can have. And no, I’m not talking about that cloudy 8 a.m. commute to your part-time job or driving to that local brunch spot with the girls on the weekend. I’m talking about driving at 5:30 a.m. when it’s basically as dark as midnight out or when the sun is just barely peeking through the blackness. And there’s a twist to this: no music. I hear you now. Are you insane, Jared? Why would anybody in their right mind want to...

Top 10 Most Memorable and Well-Done Album Interludes

We all know about interludes. They’re the little songs placed between the “real” songs on an album, the short morsels of sound that bridge the gap from one theme or mood to the next. They’re often around or under two minutes long and serve as “breaks,” making many of them forgettable due to their typical sparse arrangements or lack of substantial lyrics. Taken out of the context of an album’s theme, they can feel underwhelming. Yet in my long history of listening to the same, like, nine artists...

Motorsport Corner: Lewis Hamilton Makes Formula 1 and Black History

The inevitable has happened. Lewis Hamilton now has the most wins of any driver in Formula 1 (F1) history. On Oct. 25, Hamilton earned his 92nd F1 win in Portugal, surpassing the previous record of 91 wins set by the prodigal Michael Schumacher back in 2006. Like just about every other race this season, Hamilton comfortably led the pack for most of the grand prix, beating his teammate Valtteri Bottas to first place by over 25 seconds. “I could only ever dreamed of being where I am today,” Hamilton said...

Women’s Tennis Team Trains Hard Even With Uncertain Future Ahead

The SUNY New Paltz women’s tennis team are sort of like the NHL’s 2004 Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning; they both came out on top yet had no chance at a repeat title the following season. In the case of both teams, their seasons after their championships were canceled, bringing their winning momentum to a grinding halt. “It was two days before we were supposed to depart to Florida when we were told that our trip had been canceled, and a day after we were told our spring season had been completely...

Motorsport Corner: Honda Cuts Ties With Formula 1 to Lower Global Carbon Emissions

Out of seemingly nowhere, Honda announced on Friday that they are pulling out of Formula 1 (F1) at the end of 2021. Yes, Honda, the same company that makes your cute little Fit or Civic, also makes race engines capable of producing close to 1,000 horsepower and propelling an F1 car around a three and a half mile track in under 90 seconds. Hard to believe, right? In a press release, Honda revealed that their decision was driven by their goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. To do this...

Women’s Volleyball Coach Matt Giufre Steps Into New Role as Interim Athletic Director

It was seemingly overnight that Matt Giufre transformed from being the women’s volleyball coach to becoming the figure that oversees all athletic activities at SUNY New Paltz. Giufre is the new interim athletic director (AD) at the university. He replaced the former AD of 19 years, Stuart Robinson, who stepped down effective Aug. 3 to serve as the assistant vice president and AD of New York University. With not enough time to conduct a full-fledged interview process for a new director over the summer...

New Paltz Athletes of Color Create Space for Non-White Athletes

A new safe space for student athletes of color on SUNY New Paltz’s campus is in the works. The New Paltz Athletes of Color, or NPAC for short, is a forming collective that will promote inclusion and represent all non-white student athletes. “We want to focus on representation and inclusion while also spreading awareness on a lot of things that not only go on in school but in the world we live in,” said NPAC co-founder and third-year basketball forward Brandon Scott. The roots for the group’s creation...

Get to Know Hot Crispy Oil, The Capital Region's New 'It' Condiment

Move aside, Tabasco: There’s a new spicy condiment in town. When the pandemic forced Albany’s family-owned French restaurant La Serre to temporarily close back in March, co-manager and Saratoga Springs native John Trimble passed his time in its kitchen, concocting a new condiment made from fresh garlic, shallots, chili pepper and blended olive oil. He shared his creation with his friends and family, who loved it. Then, when John’s mother, Anne, decided to close the 43-year-old restaurant down...

Saratoga's Upstate Coffee Collective Launches Flagship 'All Day ADK' Blend

Are you a java connoisseur who’s been stuck sipping the same old blends in a COVID-created coffee rut? Have you already sampled every brew Uncommon Grounds has to offer, and loved Death Wish Coffee, well, to death? If so, you’re in luck: Saratoga Springs–based coffee club Upstate Coffee Collective (UCC) recently released its own self-described “drinkable as heck” flagship coffee blend, All Day ADK. The new blend was created in partnership with Nick Furnia, co-founder of coffee e-wholesaler...

Understanding the Scars of My Non-Alcohol-Related Blackout

Peacefully napping in a hospital bed crammed into Vassar Hospital’s emergency room hallway with an IV needle stuck in my arm was the last place I expected to be in on a Saturday morning. “How did you end up there?” you ask. Was it because of a long night of binge drinking at Cuddy’s? Nope (I was only 20 at the time and, hence, no bars for me). Was it an allergic reaction to something? Guess again. I’ll paint the picture for you. It was late in the spring semester of 2019 when I developed a dry cough...

An Out of the Ordinary F1 Race: The Story of the 2005 United States Grand Prix

Picture this: you’re sitting in the stands at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a warm June afternoon. You and over 100,000 other fans are eagerly awaiting the roar of 20 screaming Formula 1 (F1) V10 engines to blow out your eardrums at the start of the race in a moment of pure bliss. The cars are finishing their warm-up lap and are approaching their grid slots near the starting line. Why are most of the cars driving into the pitlane? And returning to their garages? In shock, you look over at...

Ratlung Worm Takes the Stage and Explores 'Morbid Curiosity of the Unpleasant Human Experience' Through His Lyrics

Ratlung Worm appeared imposing when he took to the carpet stage in the basement of the New Paltz “DIY” venue, Sanctum House, on Feb. 20— baggy camouflage pants, large Timberland boots and a thick tan jacket, all rounded off with long, flowing blond hair. He launched into his set screaming into the mic over a caustic hip-hop beat, strutting across the front row of the intimate crowd. The crowd looked on in awed confusion, wondering what sort of outlandish performance they were witnessing.

The Oracle Hall of Fame: Jules Bianchi

In lieu of the upcoming Formula 1 (F1) season, this week’s Hall of Fame features former F1 driver Jules Bianchi, who sported the No. 17 on his car during the 2014 season. His death stemming from the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix remains the most recent fatality of an F1 driver due to an on-track accident since Ayrton Senna’s passing, caused by a crash in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. On the afternoon of Oct. 5, 2014, Bianchi was driving around the rain-soaked Suzuka Circuit when Sauber’s Adrian Sutil...

Smith College beats New Paltz, advances to first Division III Sweet 16

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — The Smith College basketball team defeated SUNY New Paltz, 62-60, after a tension-filled fourth quarter to move on to its first Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament, Saturday at the Hawk Center. The Pioneers trailed by 10 with 5 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in the final frame. They rallied to tie with about one minute left, then freshman guard Amelia Clairmont’s driving layup with 1.8 seconds left give the Pioneers the victory. New Paltz took two timeouts following Clairmont's...

Smith College downs DeSales in first round of NCAA Tournament

NEW PALTZ, New York — Amelia Clairmont finished with 24 points as the Smith College basketball team pulled away from DeSales in the third quarter to win its NCAA Division III Tournament opener, 81-72, Friday at the Hawk Center. “I would say we definitely do a lot of celebrating,” said Elle Jo Whalen, who had eight points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Pioneers. “I think we have learned as a young team to celebrate each other and the little things. We are definitely turning our heads to...

Something Borrowed: What All the Cool Plants are Listening to

MA: Listen, I’m weird, I know it. I like “weird” music, as some may say. I enjoy anything that’s calming, atmospheric, psychedelic, you get the gist. I don’t know where I was when I first heard of Mort Garson’s Mother Earth’s Plantasia, but I was recently reminded by my friends. It started off with my good friend Dylan and I listening to some album by a 1970s Russian drummer, then stumbling onto this album completely composed for plants. It must have struck a melody within our mitochondria...

The Oracle Hall of Fame: Pastor Maldonado

It’s the unlucky issue of The Oracle (13), which means it would be ideal to feature an unlucky athlete in this week’s Hall of Fame. We turn to former Venezuelan Formula One (F1) driver Pastor Maldonado, who briefly drove sporting the No. 13 on his car. The Venezuelan began his F1 career in 2011, driving for Williams. The following year, he earned his first and last win in the Spanish Grand Prix in one of F1’s closest seasons yet. Unfortunately, his struggling FW34 never finished higher than eighth...
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