Astoria Characters: The Woman With a New Life

Wow! There have been a lot of changes – boom, boom, boom! — in Tiffany Gentry’s life lately. So caught up has Tiffany been in the whirlwind of everything new that she hasn’t really had time to process her dramatic metamorphosis. Just when she’s about to expound upon her transformation, Achilles, her adorable 4-and-a-half-year-old beagle, tells her it’s time to take a walk. Tiffany, a tallish woman with a lion’s mane of light brown/blond…

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Astoria Characters: The Monster Maker

Somewhere sinister, in a secret lab, Dr. Cube, a mad scientist intent on ruling the universe, is making a malevolent monster mob that can crush cities with a single stomp. When the bad doctor, who wears a box-like mask to hide his hideous face, unleashes his formidable force, the planet kneels before the likes of Kung Fu Chicken Noodle (a factory worker who’s a soup can) and Dusto Bunny (a hare-sage who needs a body Swiffer). Will the earth be pulverized by these…

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Astoria Characters: The Art-Foundry Owner

What’s your title? It’s not meant to be a funny question, but it makes Michael Perrotta of Sculpture House Casting laugh. “We’re a family business,” he says. “We don’t have titles. I’ve done everything from sweeping the floor to doing the patina on a bronze. Nothing is above or below anyone here.” Michael, who handles the business aspects of the foundry, is sitting at an art-scarred antique oak desk. It belongs…

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Astoria Characters: The Voice of Chinamerica Radio

The first time Steve Warren stepped in front of a radio-station microphone, he was wearing a bow tie. “I was in third grade and sang ,” says Steve, a tall man with an easy-going, ear-pleasing voice. “An organist in a suit was playing the music live. They gave me a wristwatch.” The timepiece, which Steve wishes he had preserved as a souvenir, turned out to a prescient present. Steve, the host of Envision Radio Network’s The Country Oldies Show,…

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