I was a little slow getting to the Buffalo News today. So, thanks to our friend Alan for letting us know about the story that was done on our friends over at
Buffalo Rising today.

As you already know, we here at RB are HUGE (sorry, I couldn’t resist) supporters of the whole Buffalo Rising Crew and love everything that they’re doing. No sooner did they just have their summer/fall issue of BRM out, but they’re finishing the deadline on the next one! And you have to visit their website several times a day because they’re always posting something new - something positive about Buffalo!

So, here’s to Newell, George, Rich, Zack, Bronwen and the rest of the crew…keep up the truly amazing work!!!

As a life-long “middle of the road” kind of guy, November has always been one of my favorite months of the year. I guess it’s because November is free from the extremes of other, more flamboyant months. November’s weather is pleasant and crisp, without the oppressive heat waves of July or the crippling blizzards of January. November’s major holiday, Thanksgiving, has 76% as much food as Christmas yet only causes 18% of the stress. Talk about a win/win situation! But November’s long-time status as a moderate among months is being threatened by the increasing importance of its second-string holiday, Election Day, and as you know, Election Day is right around the corner. This Tuesday we’ll choose the next Mayor of Buffalo. It’s an important choice; a choice which will affect the future of our city. But, as important as this choice is, I’m even more concerned about what happens on Wednesday.

When I attended the mayoral debate at Hamlin House, I saw five candidates who each brought strengths and skills and important viewpoints to the table. I saw five candidates who have a role to play in moving Buffalo forward. Those strengths and skills won’t just disappear into thin air on Wednesday morning, so I call on those candidates who lost to stay involved, stay working and fighting for the future of our city. I know, it won’t be easy. Running for public office is tough. It’s expensive, it’s hard work, it’s emotionally and physically draining. So go ahead, take some time to recharge your batteries if you must, but then get back into the fight.

And I call on us, the voters, to do the same thing. If your candidate wins on Tuesday, don’t consider your job completed and sit back and relax for the next four years. Stay involved, stay informed, and make sure the next Mayor delivers on his/her promises. If your candidate loses, your job is a bit tougher. I call on you to give the winner a chance to succeed. Don’t walk away from the process. Don’t give up. The road to a better Buffalo stretches long and twisting ahead of us. On Wednesday morning, the next leg of our journey begins.

I call shotgun!

Jarhead

Originally uploaded by dotsara.

I just got back from an afternoon movie. I am not typically a fan of war movies, but if my brother - who served 5 years in the Army - wants to go, I’ll usually go with him.

Today we went to see “Jarhead.” Now, this is not your “usual” war movie. There is very little violence and killing in this movie. It’s the story of Anthony Swofford who served in Desert Shield/Storm, based on his book, “Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.” I have not read the book.

The movie was very interesting. It starts out very much the way “Full Metal Jacket” starts out…you are expecting to see R. Lee Ermey emerge as the Marines line up for formation.

Instead, it’s Jamie Foxx, who gives an excellent performance as the staff sergeant who leads his platoon to Saudi Arabia. Jake Gyllenhaal is Swofford, a 20-year old who joined the Marines on his way to college. Gyllenhaal is brilliant in this movie, playing an emotionally devoid grunt until a scene late in the movie. Peter Sarsgaard is great as a Marine who wouldn’t have anything else to do otherwise.

It’s worth going to see if you’re interested in military movies…it gives an interesting look into the political machine that is the military.

Leaves

Originally uploaded by effpunkt.

Yesterday, one of my friends called in the late morning and these were her exact words. “It’s November and I’m sitting on the front porch, reading the paper.” I love that! Today with the exception of the winds, was even better. I headed out of the house, checked the thermometer in my car and it read 68 degrees. It’s November 6 and it’s 68 degrees.

I was driving down Main Street and the leaves were flying all over the street. If you haven’t, it’s the perfect time to go apple picking, get that gallon apple cider to have cold or warm with spiced rum (yummy!) and just enjoy what is an amazing season in Buffalo.

Check out Alan’s post about the Artvoice and WKBW (Channel 7) produced movie “On The Run”, about next week’s mayoral race. It’s a great documentary piece only showing for the next 3 nights at the Market Arcade. I got to watch it with some of the Buffalo Rising Crew tonight.

It’s worth the $7 and shows at 7 PM Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. If you haven’t already made your decision, it’s your last chance to hear and see the candidates talking about the issues. Oh and if you haven’t already, check out Harvey’s interview with Kevin Helfer…

Tuesday, November 8

Revitalize Buffalo realizes along with all of you that this is the most important election Buffalo has seen in almost 30 years. And your participation is imperative!!! Voting is absolutely a necessity in this election. And as our friends over at
New Millennium Group remind us, Vote with intention. Do your research. We’ve made it easy for you. Take the time to really find out all you can about the candidates. An educated vote is our best vote…

Below are the links to the Mayoral candidates respective web sites in alphabetical order. Find out where the candidates stand on the critical issues and what their specific strategies will be to achieve success.

Byron Brown http://www.byronbrownformayor.com
Judy Einach http://www.judy4mayor.org
Charles Flynn http://www.flynn4mayor.com
Kevin Helfer http://www.kevinhelfer.com

It’s up to us to make a statement at the polls on Tuesday…so please make sure your voice is heard!!!!

So it’s 7:30 on Halloween night. And I’m now inside my friend’s house. We’ve already run out of candy…and it’s not because we only bought 1 or 2 bags. We had 9 bags of candy…NINE BAGS!!!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays…I used to love getting dressed up and going door-to-door with my friends…Things seem to be quite different from when I was a kid. Here’s how things seem to have changed:

-Parents coming up and collecting bags of candy along with their kids who are collecting bags of candy…with an expectation of receiving candy.
-Kids being dropped off in carloads…now I know that maybe some neighborhoods don’t give out candy, but are we really expected to provide treats for an extra 50 kids??? That doesn’t seem fair to me…
-Kids, OLDER kids, without costumes…when I asked a couple of them what their costumes were, I got a shrug along with “I’m a model”…which clearly, she wasn’t…What happened to the fun of picking out a costume at the store or having your mom make you a costume?
-Very few kids say thank you anymore…and that’s not really their fault…it’s their parent’s fault. If a child doesn’t say thank you when something is given to them for free, it’s very likely that it’s because their parents haven’t taught them proper manners…I was brought up to always say please and thank you, NO MATTER WHAT!!! Some kids (and some adults for that matter) seem to walk around with this “you owe me” kind of attitude and it really bothers me…

I’m not really angry with the kids because they’re only doing what they’ve been brought up to do…it’s the fact that the parents don’t seem to care…

Now, obviously, I don’t mean this about all kids…some of the kids were very polite and clearly a lot of time had gone into putting their costumes together…just my take…

I admit it…I am a sports junkie! I just got home from the Sabres’ game. They won 3-1 over the New York Rangers. It’s nice to have hockey back on the radar after the lockout last year! And the new rules make the game a lot more fast-paced than they used to be. You aren’t stopping for icing every few minutes. What’ll be interesting to see if how the game flows in a few months, once the players have settled into the season. There wasn’t much checking in tonight’s game, based on the elimination of the red line and the fact that the game is very end-to-end.

I was at the Bills’ game last week where they beat the Jets. Another great game to be at (minus the obnoxious fans, of course).

Give me football, hockey, baseball…I’m a happy girl!

My favorite part of tonight’s game came after the game was over. We were sitting behind the player’s bench where the Sabres walk back to the locker room. There were several kids sitting near us. They were all sticking their hands through the gates hoping to have the players hi-five them. One little boy was even luckier…he was awarded the puck by Rory Fitzpatrick and it had been signed by Ryan Miller! Even though sports get wrapped up in salaries, contracts and negotations, it was fantastic to see that some of the players haven’t lost sight of who matters the most - the fans!!!

Nationally known local artist Susan Ryan is offering a special take on her unique home portraits for the 2005 holiday season.

Any new home portraits commissioned during the months of October, November and December will include an original, ready to frame, reverse painting on glass of your home along with a set of 25 holiday cards and envelopes. Discount will be given to commissions ordered before November 15th.

Susan Ryan’s artistic interpretations also include mixed media & paper pulp “rock” creations of shelves, chairs, benches, and freestanding sculpture.

Susan’s work has sold in museums and gift shops throughout the United States–including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, Tops Malibu, Gumps-SF and the Folk Art Museum of NYC. She has also produced a large body of work on private commission, including works for Hollywood “notables” like Cher and Mrs. Freddie Fields.

Examples of Susan’s work can be seen online at www.susanryanart.com

Interested parties should contact Sarah Neundorfer, Representative for pricing and more information at: 716-805-9646.

Originally posted by the Why (Not!) Guy:

If Buffalo was a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?

I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
There’ll Be Some Changes Made by Ann-Margret
All Shall Be Well by Virginia Astley
It’s Getting Better by Cass Elliott
They Don’t Know About Us by Kirsty MacColl
Funkytown by Lipps, Inc.
But You’re So Beautiful by Future Bible Heroes
Take a Chance on Me by Abba
You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to by Julie London
The Luckiest Guy on the Lower West Side by Magnetic Fields

Bonus Track Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot (ok, it has nothing to do with Buffalo but come on, it’s the best song ever)

So what are your choices?

posted by The Why (Not!) Guy @ 11:29 PM
3 Comments:

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At 6:39 AM, david s said…

How ’bout the entire “Best of Wierd Al Yankvitch”

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At 8:21 AM, KT said…

Wasted On The Way~ CSN

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At 12:11 AM, The Why (Not!) Guy said…

Oh, and just to save you the trouble of looking… there’s no such song as “The Mayor Is a Stinky Doo-doo Head.” Maybe there should be.