Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Obituary: Peter Albrecht Troy’s ‘barroom Socrates’

    Troy’s master carpenter, “barroom Socrates” dies at 62 Master carpenter, 62, also was known as raconteur, rebel By Paul Grondahl, Times Union Published 7:27 pm, Thursday, February 18, 2016 TROY — Anyone who slid a pint of stout or slammed an empty shot glass onto an ornate wooden bar at one of several Troy pubs…

  • Lawyers’ Row

    < Previous Episode | All Episodes Photo courtesy of E. Stewart Jones Law Firm “No one would like to be in the position that my clients are, but if they were they’d like to have me doing exactly what I do for those people.” — E. Stewart Jones, Jr., Criminal Defense Attorney, Troy Play: TROY,…

  • Diamond is forever…

    He was gunned down 70 years ago in an Albany rooming house, but Legs Diamond left behind a glamorous persona that has been harder to kill. Note: The following article by A Small American City Host Duncan Crary first appeared in the September 2002 issue of Hudson Valley Magazine. It has been revised and edited,…

  • Impressions of Troy: Mark Nickita

    Impressions of Troy: Mark Nickita

    The following is A Small American City Q&A with Mark Nickita, president of Archive DS, a design firm specializing in projects and strategies for city building in Detroit and Toronto. Nickita is a city commissioner and has served as mayor of Birmingham, Michigan. He is co-owner of retail establishments in Downtown Detroit, including the Pure…

  • Reclamation

    < Previous Episode | All Episodes | Next Episode > Photo by Tonya Massey “Troy is better than Brooklyn.” — Vic Christopher, Brooklyn native Play: TROY, N.Y. — It’s been almost 10 years since Vic Christopher, 37, and Heather LaVine, 35, landed in Troy. They came here to recharge a minor league baseball team. But…

  • James Connolly

    < Previous Episode | Next Episode > Photo by Tonya Massey “We had a wee team of people in the City of Troy” — James Devine Play: TROY, N.Y. — In 1916, James Connolly led the Easter Rising in Dublin, which eventually resulted in the creation of the Irish Republic we know today. He was…

  • enjoy troy.

    enjoy troy.

    < Previous Episode | Next Episode > “It is a mandate. It’s an order. Enjoy Troy. Period.” — Linda Passaretti Play: TROY, N.Y. — When you first arrive in Troy, you can’t avoid seeing it. A playful sticker placed here and there. A black and white oval, with happy little lowercase lettering that says “enjoy…

  • Peter The Carpenter

    Peter The Carpenter

    < Previous Episode | Next Episode > “You and yer buddy there, you’re house cats. And I’m an alley cat…” Play: TROY, N.Y – As a carpenter, Peter Albrecht has built many of the “third places” in Troy, where the people come to life when they are out on the town. But as a barroom…

  • The Night Jack Quit Drinkin’

    The Night Jack Quit Drinkin’

    < Previous Episode | Next Episode > We all know that writers, the Irish, politics and booze go together…until they don’t. And eventually, Jack had all four strikes against him. Play: TROY, N.Y. — It’s been a long time since novelist Jack Casey had his last drink. But they say Troy stands for “Tell Right…

  • Pilot (Feat. James Howard Kunstler)

    Next Episode > Play: TROY, N.Y. — For many Americans, “The City” only refers to New York City, or one of the other major metroplexes in the country with populations in the millions. But North America is filled with smaller cities that were once just as lively, if only at a smaller scale. And they…

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