I had an epiphany the other day, all because of a bag of jelly beans. It was a small bag; really more a packet than a bag if you get right down to it. This small bag with its dozen or so jelly beans was sent to me by Michael Lucas. Don’t worry, up until a few months ago I’d never heard of him, either.

Michael Lucas is a porn star. And he’s big. Ewww, not like that. Ok, actually, yes, very much like that, but that’s not what I was talking about. Michael Lucas is a major player in the world of gay porn. He produces, directs, and stars in his own films. His movies sell millions of copies all around the world, and I’m finding out just how devoted his many adoring fans are. Michael Lucas is a star. And he sent me a bag of jelly beans. Which brings me back to that epiphany: I stood at my mailbox, holding this bag of jelly beans, a gift from one of the biggest names in gay porn, and I thought to myself “my life is really strange.”

Of course, it’s slightly less strange when you know the full story. The magazine I publish* is running a profile of Michael in the premiere issue, and since he’ll be coming to Buffalo for our gala weekend of kick-off events, we’ve been in regular contact. The jelly beans were included in a press kit from Michael’s studio, a large envelope stuffed with publicity photos and xeroxed announcements of new releases.

Still, it got me thinking. Life really is strange.

We live in a world filled with miracles. They’re everywhere, and that’s almost a shame because it’s far too easy to take them for granted. I have to make a conscious effort to stop and really appreciate the magic and wonder that surrounds us all the time. Did you notice Mars a few weeks ago? The distance between Earth and Mars was smaller than usual, and the red planet shone especially bright in the sky. Whenever I happened to look up and see it, I was struck: I was actually looking at Mars, from right here in Buffalo. I was standing there, on Delaware Avenue or Symphony Circle or wherever, looking up into the sky and seeing another planet. How amazing is that? And yet how everyday. The next time you see the moon, stop for a moment and really appreciate it. Appreciate that you’re looking at an ancient chunk of rock spinning around the Earth more than 200,000 miles away. Wonder at the incredibly complex laws of physics that keep the moon tethered to the Earth, or the Earth to the sun. We’re surrounded by miracles, from the moon and the sun to the birth of a baby to microwave french fries to our capacity for love and cruelty to the fact that Phil Collins had a singing career.

Life really is strange.

* For dramatic effect in this post, I talk like I’m putting out this magazine single-handedly, but that’s definitely not the case. There are five of us, all working very hard. Also, for the record, I threw out the jelly beans. Call me uptight, but getting food in the mail from a porn star is a little too “life is strange” even for me.

I just had what could be described as the perfect Buffalo evening…I had drinks with an old friend at one of my favorite bars and it’s snowing outside…covering the streets - simply beautiful…what more could I ask for??!!! It’s nights like these that make me feel very lucky to live here! Thanks Mark…

Snow in the Trees

Originally uploaded by Felix the Cat.

Wishing all of you a happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends…

Thanksgiving is just hours away, and while most of my brain is focused on delicious roasted turkey and yams and stuffing and mom’s absolutely sublime pineapple pie, there’s still some mental energy left over to reflect on my many blessings and reasons to be thankful. They say contentment is life’s greatest gift, and hopefully this Thanksgiving we’ll all find reasons to be content. Here are some of mine:

I’ll close with one final thank you to Revitalize Buffalo, both for the great work they do here in Buffalo and for providing another forum for people to express and share ideas. Amy and the other RB members should be very very proud of all they accomplish every day. Thank you!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some roasted turkey to daydream about.

I just got home from a good friend’s birthday party…and as you can tell from the title of the post…we were surrounded by our good friends, a lot of scotch (among other things), chocolate cake and we viewed “Haunted Movie”.

It was a lot of good conversation about Buffalo and how we’re all doing our part to improve things here…

The coolest part was the movie though…it was taken at the Richardson Complex on the Buffalo State campus…and all I can say is it is freaky!!! Go now and check out the
Haunted Film website and view the film yourself. You’ll probably have to watch the films a couple times to catch everything. The website gives a great explanation of what to look for…none of it is doctored (hard to believe, but true) and it definitely goes to show that the Psych Center is haunted!

Happy Birthday N - and many more!!!

I spent Thursday night in bed with John Lennon.

Sadly, it wasn’t nearly as sordid as I make it sound. Michael Meldrum invited the Real Dream Cabaret to perform at his annual John Lennon tribute. Since none of us are musicians, we decided instead to recreate John and Yoko’s 1969 Bed-In. For reasons I’d really rather not discuss here, I landed the Yoko Ono role. Now, I’m not much of a fan of either the Beatles or John Lennon, so trying to stay in character during an endless parade of overly-earnest accoustic versions of the same four songs was a challenge for me. But even so, I had a blast. We met some great people, and the event itself was a textbook example of why Buffalo rocks so hard. Here are just some of the reasons:

1. Buffalo’s music scene goes a lot deeper than the Goo Goo Dolls and Ani. But you knew that already. Didn’t you?

2. The event was a fundraiser to support music education in Buffalo schools. Our “bed” was right near the door, and all night I watched people throw a few extra bucks in the donation jar, without even being asked.

3. I saw a guy I went to high school with in Syracuse. Now, I realize a long time has passed since we graduated from high school, and I didn’t typically attend classes dressed as Yoko Ono. But still, it would have been nice if he’d recognized me. On second thought it’s probably best that he didn’t.

4. Alison Pipitone.

5. Watching someone from out of town trying to order a cappucino at Nietzches. Yeah, good luck with that, honey.

The only downside? I missed Soup Night.

…And if you read my post from Wednesday, I’m not talking about snow…I’ve been ready for snow for weeks now!!!

I’m talking about Christmas music! Normally, radio stations are kind enough to wait until Thanksgiving…one in particular plays Christmas music literally all day long on Thanksgiving. However, I just heard Christmas music on my ride home from the office…wasn’t it just Halloween?

The holidays are my favorite time of year…getting together with friends and family…it’s all great, but do we really need a reminder that it’s almost Christmas?

I’m up late…and watching “The Late Show.” Howard Stern is on talking about his move to satellite radio. Stern just mentioned that he has done sub-part shows for the past 10 years (he’s been on the radio in NYC for 20) and this move to satellite will mean he will get back to doing his show the way he wants to do it…not the way the FCC regulates it. I don’t know much about satellite, but from what I understand, it’s pretty brilliant! I think our friend
Buffalo Pundit knows quite a bit about it…

And kudos to Stern’s “subtle” plug for his start date on Sirius…his sweatshirt simply says “1-9-06″ - very clever, Howard!!!

Tonight, was the first official snow fall (at least in the city). I was driving back from Clarence and it was snowing all around me. Snow is one of those things that is synonymous with Buffalo. And although I know a lot of people hate the snow, I love it.

I love the winters here. The winters here make the other three seasons that much more meaningful, especially the summers. I think we can appreciate the other seasons even more because we have to get through the winters to get to them. And yes, the winters here can be long…they’ve been known to start in October and go all the way to June. But it isn’t always like that.

The winters bring skiing and snowboarding. The winters bring snowball fights and hot cocoa by a roaring fire. The winters bring gatherings with good friends in the warmth and comfort of each other’s homes. The winters here are bearable. You just have to have the right frame of mind…

We here at Revitalize Buffalo are not in the habit of asking for money…but in this case, I’m going to ask. I’m actually just going to echo BuffaloPundit’s sentiments about WNYmedia.net. While I don’t know the circumstances behind Buffalo Watchdog and WGRZ parting ways, I do know that WNYmedia.net maintain our website/blog at no cost to us.

So if you can give, please do so and do so as generously as possible!