Well at least it isn't something bad.

It is victories like the one mentioned above that enabled the Elmwood Village Association to be included in the roster of neighborhoods that made the 2007 list of Great Places in America. It's a big deal for Buffalo, and the award will act as a lure to draw more businesses and people to the district.

I am sure this will really boost the city moral just like being an All America City did.

Here is the whole write up about the "Elmwood Village." Read it, it is actually nice

I am going to go ahead and say that I don't see this award as such an a big deal for the City but a recognition that when a neighborhood costs somewhere around $200,000 to live in that it becomes a "good neighborhood". Everyone knows that. It is just becoming more upper middle class suburdban style. It is reflected in the comment on buffalo Rising yesterday when someone asked if the good news was if the "Gays and Hippies" were leaving the village.

Today, Elmwood Avenue is one of Buffalo's busiest commercial districts with some 200 boutiques, restaurants, and taverns.

Does that count all the ones that have closed or are closing?

The thing this award certainly does not do - is solve any of the tax issues or shortage of skilled labor that really is affecting Buffalo. I saw ont he news only a couple weeks ago that Buffalo was rated the wrost city to open a business besides dDetroit and two other cities. It was 47/50. ya 47/50.

If they are talking about tourists being the saving grace, I think it would take a lot of tourists to attract business and why would anyone choose here over anywhere else t tour.

Now to live here is another matter, I would choose over just about any city I have lived in, but to tour. Come on , no one besides friends , relatives and exchange students come to tour Buffalo, do they?

I mean does anyone put the Elmwood Village on there vacation plans. What so they can go to a bunch of trendy boutique and clothing stores. There isn't even a real grocery store/ music store anymore. Name one thing the Elmwood Village offers a tourist that they just can't find somewhere else.

So yeah - just like St. James - all of the Elmwood village is a better palce to live. Good for the freakin elmwood Village.

Now it can get even more overpriced for the same old shit.

It is basically saying that a section of the city priced way beyond the reality of Buffalo city household budgets is a great place to live.

On a side note from the article:

To encourage an economic and cultural renaissance, the nonprofit Elmwood Village Association was formed in 1994.

Is that true? I could swear there was Forever Elmwood but I didn't hear any of this talk abut an Elmwood Village until only a few years back. Its not like I just don't rememebr either because I have live one block form Elmwood just about my entire life until I moved on down to Linwood. Remember, it used to be called the Elmwood Strip.

Soon we are going to have Village history books about when the foudning father created the Elmwood Village after the Indians gave it to them for Christmas their first winter in 1784. I really don't think the Elmwood Village is really a village. It is just a section of the city. I grew up in kenmore, which is a village and it is very different. the idea being that in a village everything is kind of isolated and self contained. Self governance, etc. I am not saying I am a fan of it, but seriously, is the Elmwood Strip really a village now? Are the village going to succeed from the City of Buffalo.

NYS DEV7521




I love having a super fast point and shoot camera.

(e:enknot) also pointed out this is the new vision for Panos which I have to say looks pretty nice.


In an unrelated asian restaurant...

It started like this: We waited like 5 minutes to be seated in the restaurant but it was full accept for the patio in blazing sun with no one on it - or this one five person tablet that was empty in the back corner.

We ask for a table, the dude says, "How many?" I say, "three" and he says, "no table." I say, "What about that one?" and he says, "it is for five." I say, "Oh it is reserved, he says, "no it isn't, but would you like to sit outside?"

Now if I was a rational human being I could have just gave in and said no thank you and told him I was takig my business elsewhere or insisted on being seated there . Instead the sicilian in me took over and I said, "Then I will not be eating here and proceeded to leave while spitting on the inside of the glass door. Maybe, I do need anger management classes.

Its better than the time I threatened to burn down a hotel in downtown phoenix and the police had to come. Man, I used to be such a freak.

First of all I am using Google Picasa for importing and resizing images on my laptop. I suggest it for anyone who has a digital camera. It lets you do everything you could ever need with photos, touchup, rotate, resize, tag, sort into collections, etc and best of all it is free. You can get it here



We went to FWS this weekend, where I once again was not able to dress up my home for less. It seems like every time we go there it costs ~$1000.

My new rug brings out the brighter tones in my office. (e:matthew) got a nice new rug for the living room too.







Also seems like the road signs are taking a beating this year.


I can't believe anyone still buys this type of technology. It seems totally inappropriate for 2007.


While we were at FWS, I noticed the porn store next door now sells "420 smoking products" and "dancer footware." Notice the smaller sign to the right. What a weird combo, or maybe not.

I left work early to take (e:hodown) to the airport. I got clinique crème from her for christmas. I know it sounds so fagtastic but really I think any man could enjoy this unscented smooth crème and all the pleasures it can offer.



Positively Lame Ass
On another note, Positively Main Street on elmwood sucks. They ban mobile from their junk store for everyone except doctors. I used to spend a couple hundred there each Christmas but not anymore.



It's 2007, that is ridiculous people are going to have to just learn to integrate other people's mobile tech into their space.

It seems really weird that a small junk store like that would ever put limits on the customers.

Why does rack of lamb cost $44.00 uncooked at the coop?

Chaos Erupts Inside North Buffalo Movie Theater -
As quoted from Channel 4 news

(Buffalo, NY, December 26, 2006) - Chaos erupted inside a North Buffalo movie theater Monday night. It was the scene at the Regal Cinemas on Elmwood Avenue around nine o'clock Monday night.

Police say several fights broke out involving dozens of teenagers.

It apparently began in both the lobby area and inside several theatres, and then quickly spilled outside...

Sounds like the regal is going to go the way of the disco theater that used to be across the street.

I was just watching the television news and they had a story about a woman who parked her car outside the coop filled with donated presents for underprivileged children. While she was in the store, the car was broken into and the donations were stolen. I find it unbelievable that someone could carry out such a robbery right on elmwood. Did nobody see it or say anything?

Home of the Hits
I wonder what the elmwood strip will be like without Home of the Hits. I will always fondly remember it as the first place I got to buy blue hair dye during my rebellious years. I used to love having blue hair. I am not sure why because blue isn't anywhere near my favorite color. I probably looked like gonzo.

I wish I could say that I remember all the music I bought there but I think I have never purchased music in my life. Maybe one year for christmas I got a gift certificate for a CD and I bought a german learning on.

Headaches
Tonight I had another massive migraine. That makes like 5 in a month. I know they are gonna start because I get dizzy and it hurts to look at light. Then my nose runs a bit and bam. I feel like I am gonna puke. It has something to do with my my neck look at the ocmputer screen at weird angles. Especially, the laptop.

Luckily, a study came out today saying there is no connection between brain cancer and cell phones. Yet the doctor whose study it was still sai don TV today that he likes to change sides of his head that uses and use speaker phone. Oh that makes me feel freakin' better.

Tasty Animals Are Smart Animals
I ate octopus which was nice. I like to eat the smartest animals, which makes me think that monkey's and dolphins probably taste good.



Running Back and Forth
Last night running home was so cold. My hair filled up with ice because for once I forgot my hat.





Luckily, work is so close to work. I really thought I was gogin to get hypothermia. I came home and sat right by the heater. These are the worst videos I ever took I think. I am glad I went to school for computer art instead of video.

::Download Flash Video::

::Download Flash Video::

I wonder what it like to have so many people blog about your dissapearance.


Matt and the squirrels in the zoo



I get so excited about my heater. It can get my office to 90 degrees of moist heat. Now it just needs a sofa kind of thing. I am going to buy one soon.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the place referred to as the Elmwood Village, I just the new name. I think it expresses an aire of pretension by trying to exclude itself form the rest of the city possibly to align it with a more suburban flavor.

This doesn't mean that I am not going to capitalize on it like everyone else. Maybe I shouldn't even care now that I live in Linwood Shire.

I think the sign that says, "Welcome to the Elmwood Village" on the front of We Never Close is what did it for me.



Frankly, it is a strip - it is a straight street that goes from one end of the city to city center and business does not travel much in any perpendicular direction.

Is the point of the name change just to make real villagers more comfortable with shopping there? Or is to make the people that live there feel like they live in a village. Is Hertel/North Buffalo going to become the Hertel Village in it's footsteps?

It seems like it takes credit away from the City of Buffalo be declaring Elmwood to be a Village. "This part is revitalizing, but we are not really part of the city."

On a totally separate note but still in the Elmwood Village - Atak (e:trish,83) has officially gotten lazy?



Why has nothing become of the old platos at ELmwood and Forest Avenue? The new Platos in the Village of Kenmore always looks busy. Myabe it is because that part of elmwood is really in a village, lol.



The house where (e:iriesara) lived and the murder occurred. It was a spooky place, I will let her tell you about it.


The Indian Buffet is yummy as ever. I love that place and the tasty red chicken legs.


The old estrip house on Lafayette still looks like shit. I wonder if Jim Leong will ever paint the outside. I love how on the front there is that big area of white that has been there for about 3 years. Across the street from him it looks like the boarding house has turned into some commercial spot with luxury apartments? The dude that used to live in the back part of that house was insane. Does anyone else remember him. I wonder where he will go when it is luxury apartments?


Totally non-related - naked babies at Amvets.

The crazy lady on elmwood was extremely riled up today. Frankly, she seems like she is starting to be dangerous. She was screaming at people and got in the coop and started freaking out. Then she marched outside and started screaming at the top of her lungs. I recorded a bit but then decided to get the hell away from here. (e:mike), it the one that freaked out that you weren't fighting in Iraq.

Anyways, she seems like she really need help, like maybe she forgot to take her medication but I think everyone is so afraid of her that she will never get help. I can't imagine what she must feel like. Does anyone know her story?

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

After the recording some guy out front of the laundromat told her to shut up and she freaked out on him too. You can hear him say shut up at the end of the recording. She told him that he doesn't even care that he ripped her off and stole her money because he is just going to get in his starship and fly away. She has seriously lost it.

Coop food is too damn expensive. I think I am done shopping there again. I can't afford a mansion and yuppy food. It's one or the other.
I mean it cost about $30 for some fruit and a couple thai soup packs.

I never said I was for the Hotel [inlink]dragonfire1024,16[/inlink]. Apparently, I am part of a radical anti-progress fringe group. Having grown up along the various parts of elmwood I have to say that this along with the coop's box and the giant box house store extravaganza across the street from the coop are really changing the atmosphere of the elmwood strip. How many of you residents actually go to Abrahams Jewlers? Ok now compare that to how many of you went to Home or the Hits, Mondo Video, or Don Apparel?

For all you people that keep complaining about the condition of those houses, you cannot overlook that person who wants to have the hotel built is the one who owns them. He also tried to build a walgreens there in the past. It's just like complaining that the Atwater house in in bad condition so they should let Pano tear it down, even though Pano owns it and let it get really run down.

I am totally anti-progress and anti-change - at least in the direction it is going. Just as the coop ripped down and put up their box, and the hotel will do the same, what is going to stop a walmart or a rite aid?

Speaking of which, if we could bring in some bigger chain stores like have in other urban cities, we would be set with the mall. Maybe a gap, how about a banana republic, a rainforest cafe, a glass ceiling and oh ya security guards to keep it "safe" and drug free. What about a foodcourt? It would definately need a McDonalds in it, but not just any McDonalds - a fancy upscale appearing McDonalds that appear to be "elmwoodfied" would be required. Maybe they should dhave a thing that the workers need to appear urban too.

Just as I said before with the coop it is setting up an example for the tear down and suburbanize policy.

Pretty soon, it is going to be too upscale for all the people that made it elmwood the place it is and become a lot more like a fancy mall with upscale stores.

My question is why does elmwood need to be upscale to attract tourists? The whole Ithaca outdoor mall/ elmwood reality is coming true and once it's complete I am moving to Williamsville. I really want a place by glen falls. How about Williamville.com? I mean by the time I decide to purchase a house in my newly gentrified neighborhood it will cost about $300,000 anyways. Already so many houses are hitting the $200,000 mark in the area all around the coop.