Takeout was a really bad idea.   With the car smelling like a pot of simmering red sauce, driving from West Duluth to downtown with lasagna and a luscious porchetta sandwich sitting next to me was exquisitely painful. If I wasn’t on the interstate, I would have pulled over and tore into that lasagna in a most unlady-like way.  ...

By Timothy R. Smith   "Sinatra 100" is a spacious and mesmerizing picture book, documentingFrank Sinatra's life, from his birth in Hoboken, N.J., through his final years. It's full of the cool and class we expect from the Chairman.   We see him reading sheet music at a lectern, cigarette in hand; dressed as a sultan and riding a camel...

by Randy Cordova   Do not expect any "Daddy Dearest"-style revelations from Deana Martin. The singer considers herself blessed to be one of Dean Martin's eight children. "He was good at everything," Martin says about her dad. "He's just classic and timeless. The only negative thing about having him as a father is that we had to share hi...

by Cookie Curci   As a writer of nostalgia, I have a passion for things and events that have faded into the past: things such as the grand old Wurlitzer jukebox that once held a place of honor in my Dad's 1940's soda shop, and the classic chromed Seeburg jukebox that later took center stage in the 1950's and '60s. As the youngest child in my...

Local performer Jack Lynn will sing a host of Dean Martin songs during Dean Martin Night, Sunday, Aug. 30, 5 p.m., at St. Frances Cabrini Church Hall, 57 Pond Hill Road. Sing, socialize and enjoy the music of Dean Martin — the performance, which is $15 BYOB and open to the public, is sponsored by the North Haven Sons and Daughters of Italy Lod...

By Michele Zurleni   Un cognome italiano per New York. Bill De Blasio è il favorito per le elezioni del primo cittadino. Italiani d'America. Sono decine e decine i nomi di artisti, politici, scienziati, inventori, letterati, sportivi, giuristi ma anche di criminali che hanno contribuito a fare la storia degli Stati Uniti. Questa è una p...

by Russell Contreras   Popular Frank Sinatra tunes in Las Vegas hotel lobbies have been replaced by the likes of Sia and Rihanna. The final tower of the famed Riviera Hotel and Casino has fallen, and the Sands Hotel and Casino is long gone. A tribute show to the Rat Pack draws mainly retirees. True, Sinatra's Sin City presence is fading...

The problem with eating a home-cooked Italian dinner is that three days later you're hungry again. Fortunately, Enfield knows how to throw a four-day party. From Thursday to Sunday, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel hosts its 91st annual Italian Festival for family, friends, and anyone who wants to check out the "world's largest collection of Dean Martin memo...