Happy Birthday, (e:Matthew)!!

Happy Belated St. Paddy's Day!

Today, i did my usual. I went to the store and got a newspaper (part of me is very much looking forward to the day in which the Buffalo News is a morning paper.. even though another part of me will miss the morning walk). I also went to get bread at Luigis. They were really busy. I asked the woman behind the counter if this was a traditional way to recover from St Patrick's Day, or was there a holiday i missed? She laughed and said St. Joe's. I shrugged and said i am not catholic... that i have irish tattoos, that i am part Ukranian and i have a Polish last name. She said i should be catholic then. And she had me there. But i am not. And i have no idea what St. Joe's is. I was born in St. Joe's hospital in downtown Hamilton Ontario, but i don't think that is what she meant. Is it the Italian St. Paddy's? We had some yummy cannoli for breakfast because of it! Ah, the breakfast of champions. Well, even though i am not sure what i am wish, exactly, let's all have a...

Happy St. Joe's!

I don't make much of a secret that one of my favie bands is the Buzzcocks. I got the new album... oops... they are cd's nowadays, flat-pack philosophy ... the other day. It's ok.. i think it might be one of the ones that grows on me. But there is no way i wouldn't buy it, even if i knew it sucked. I support my favortie band, even if they are getting old and creaky.

No confirmed word yet if they are playing anything in North America, but CFNY said sometyhing about them playing the warped tour? Interesting...

They are playing shows in the UK right now. Played Sheffield tonight.. i highly doubt my friend, David, will go see them. I think the only thing in common David and i have musicly is Morrissey/The Smiths. But that is a different story... I do know the Buzzcocks are playing in Leeds on the 19th. Oh, how i would love to be there. I have been to that club, too... the Cockpit. Just south of the arcade, on the other side of the tracks. The wrong side, of course.

Hope they play Buffalo... wanna come if they do, (e:Twisted)?

Need to know the time and just do not want to bother to turn around or look up from your computer or to another part of your computer to consult a clock? Well, then this site was made for you...

RIP Maimie

On Saturday, a dear friend from Knoxville, Chris, sent (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i an email letting us know about the passing of another dear friend of ours.

Maimie the african elephant at the Knoxville Zoo. We would visit her and her friends once or twice a week (one year we got a letter from the zoo because we were one of the members that visited the most in a one year period!) and i very much considered them extended pets of ours. Once we got to know which elephant was which, we very much recognized their personalities. Maimie was the older, wiser elephant. Not the matriarch, she was too quiet and mild mannered for that. When the zoo built the new exhibit for the elephants, i was very happy for them.. and me. I, and other visitors, got the chance to see all the elephant cows indoors, with a mere piece of glass between us, in the morning and evenings, and Maime's enclosure was right up at the front. I loved watching her eat, looking at what she would choose out of the big huge pile of food.

Some of the elephants at the Knoxville Zoo paint, Maimie included, and when it came time to choose one for myself, i decided on one by Jana, since i heard the matriarch was going back to the zoo she was from, in Louisville, KY. She was the first elephant i came to recognize and she was the most prominent, since she was taller than the other cows (but not the bull, Tonka, he is a giant!). I don't know if she ended up going back to Louisville.. we left before she did, and although i read the quarterly magazine, Wild Wonders, online, that the zoo publiushes, i have yet to see any mention of Jana leaving. Maimie was supposed to show Jana the ropes and teach her how to become and be a mom, but i don't think that ever happened. I miss my elephant friends in Knoxville. I now wish i had a painting of Maimie's to go along with my painting of Jana's. RIP Maimie. I miss you already...

Here's a pic from the article of Maime painting..


Here's the painting i have, done by Jana.



Because Saturday was such a nice day, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i thought we would go to Rochester, to the Seneca Park Zoo and we found out more sad elephant news. Seems the pregnant afriacan elephant there, Genny C lost her baby about a month before she was due. Poor thing. We have been there once or twice and i was looking forward to seeing a baby... but more than that, i feel bad for everyone that spent so much time and energy invested in the life of this baby. I have heard that elephants mourn. I hope Genny C is doing ok, medically as well as emotionally.

Boss Mom

My mom's birthday is coming up next week. And the poor thing has to have oral surgery the day before! Not too long ago, she had some tooth pain. She went to her dentist and he said he couldn't figure out why she was having pain where she was having pain. Unlike me, my mom can pinpoint exactly where she has tooth pain. All i can ever say is that it is "around here somewhere and it hurts, please just make the hurt go away." My mom is brave when it comes to her mouth. Her dentist sent her to another one (scary when one specialist has to refer to another, if you ask me) and he took some xrays. Turns out that in a tooth with a crown that had a root canal in it, her mouth has decided to grow new side roots. They were infected. YIPES! She was (probably still is) on antibiotics and once the infection is clear, on to the surgery. She doesn't want to loose that tooth, or the crown, so they are going to root canal those side roots surgically. Cut open the gum and go in from the side. Oh, the thought just makes me queasy! Talk about a happy birthday f@ck you, eh? I think (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i are going to go visit her on Sunday.. we thought about surprising her on her birthday, but she might not be up for much visiting. So, we think it will be a more pleasant surprise on Sunday. Since she loves shopping when she is here, we won't be giving her much that would take away that fun. Instead, i thought it would be cool to give her food. Stuff she can't find easily in Canada... Mrs T. Pierogies, Triscuit Rye crackers, Duncan Hines Spice cake mix (the spice ones are really hard to find.. i mailed ordered one for her birthday before i moved here), Snickers Icecream bars, and some booze infused stuffed olives from Premier. She will have a chance to munch on these things before her surgery that way, too.

(E:Hodown)'s post the other day [inlink]hodown,223[/inlink] that included Cute Overload :) lead me to Kitten War. .

I am hooked. May the cutest kitties win!

The Sonnet
Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLDf)

Romantic, hopeful, and composed. You are the Sonnet. Get it? Composed?

Sonnets want Love and have high ideals about it. They're conscientious people, caring & careful. You yourself have deep convictions, and you devote a lot of thought to romance and what it should be. This will frighten away most potential mates, but that's okay, because you're very choosy with your affections anyway. You'd absolutely refuse to date someone dumber than you, for instance.

Your exact opposite:
Genghis Khunt

Random Brutal Sex Master

Lovers who share your idealized perspective, or who are at least willing to totally throw themselves into a relationship, will be very, very happy with you. And you with them. You're already selfless and compassionate, and with the right partner, there's no doubt you can be sensual, even adventurously so.

You probably have lots of female friends, and they have a special soft spot for you. Babies do, too, at the tippy-top of their baby skulls.


ALWAYS AVOID: The Stiletto, The Battleaxe, Genghis Khunt, Half-Cocked

CONSIDER: The Peach

Thanks for the link, (e:Robin) .. it sure is keeping us (e:peeps) occupied!

It is funny how life turns out sometimes. I decided to make a Cornbread Casserole the other day when we had some leftover Veggie ChiliMac i made the night before. I hadn't made the casserole in a while. Made me think of the person that gave me the "recipe" (in quotes because it was more of a general guideline).

I used to be a bit sad that i am not friends with her anymore. We were never very close, and now, looking back, i see we never could have been. I know we both tried, in our own ways, to be better friends. We would talk on the phone from time to time. But i never felt like she was interested in getting to know me. Things always seemed to be more about her, her life, her drama. We hung out together in a group a few times, but attempts for it to ever just be a couple of girls bonding never really happened. I was warned by people that knew her or were friends with her that she could be very manipulative and i found out for myself how true it ended up being. When one of our mutual friends told us that he could no longer remain her friend, i knew that the person i thought i knew wasn't there anymore, or she never was. Sad. I guess me wanting to retype the recipe and have my own copy with more specific instructions is a way for me to not have to think about her and what could have been every time i want to cook this..

Southern Sweet Corn Bread Casserole

1 box corn muffin mix (i got mine at Aldi)
1 8 oz can (1 cup) cream style corn
1 16 oz can (2 cups thawed fozen) corn
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 stick melted butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk*

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly grease (i use the paper from the butter) a 8 x 11 1/2 x 2, 2 quart casserole dish (square casserole dishes run the risk of a gooey interior).

Mix together all ingredients in any order that suits your fancy. Don't overbeat, or your bread will be a bit on the tough side.

• I highly recommend leaving the milk until last. Sometimes, it needs a touch more milk. The consistency should be similar to slightly loose cake batter.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes on the middle rack of preheated oven. Done when toothpick inserted in top comes out clean and top is a golden brown (i like it when the bottom corners are slightly browned too, so i usually go for the 35 minutes in our oven).

Notes: Most of the measurements of this can be altered. It is fairly foolproof. If we don't have much sourcream around, i use less.. if i am in a corny mood, i add more corn. I haven't tried this, but i reckon it would be good with some red peppers or red pepper flakes in it, if one likes food with a bit of a kick. Because it is a bit on the sweet side, this goes really well with spicy chili.

(E:Dragonfire)'s post entitled Hotel Shmotel Reply [inlink]dragonfire1024,22[/inlink]

Possibly, but he has owned these properties for twenty years. For twenty years, he has not made a single major repair to any of those properties. As a landlord, he is required BY LAW to keep them to code.

So, you think it is only a possibility that the tennants got lower rent because no repairs were made? You don't think that if the repairs were done he would have raised the rent at least 10 fold in 20 years? Hmm. OK. Interesting. I figure if the guy is a scumbag, then he would up the rent the second any tiny repair was done, law or not. I thought that was a given. Seems it's not as obvious to others, including you. Cool. I do agree, though, don't get me wrong, that if the law states that he should do repairs, then he should. Period.

What would change if he was in jail? The business owners would not go anywhere. They pay rent. He broke the law, not them. The buildings could be better, but also keep in mind that any repairs done to the buildings were done by the tenants. Also keep in mind, that people live in these buildings too.

Well, if the dude was in jail, he would still be profitting if he was getting the rent and things were going on the same way. So, i guess the answer to your question is nothing would change if he was in jail. He would still be getting rent checks coming in and when he got out of jail, things would be exactly the same. Same slumlord scumbag with tennants living and doing business in shitholes. Could it be the buildings might be condemned and all the tennants would be ousted anyway? That would be terrible for them!

Remember Elmwood and Auburn?

No, i don't remember Elmwood and Auburn. I have only been living in Buffalo for about 16, maybe almost 17 months. Got no idea what you are talking about with that one, but i would venture a guess that it used to look bad and now it looks better?

The city could yes. Have you heard of Rocco Termini? read my previous enteries or see my article here:link you can scroll to Related Wikinews and see the oldest article at the bottom of the list. Anyways, there is one about Rocco in there and a picture of what he wants to do.

Yes, i have heard of Rocco Termini. And no offense, dude, but you so sound like you're his PR man. I have read your previous posts and they don't make this Rocco Termini's ideas any more clear to me, sorry. Certainly don't make them seem any better than the idea of a hotel. Least not for the people that are currently renting there now. I really think the tennants will be displaced, even if only for a while as the new place is being built and they will end up paying more, even if they have a place in this design, because market rate, or fair rent, is way more than any scumbag slumlord would be charging.


The End

For me, this is a lot of debate. I don't tend to get into debates with people. I am not particularly confident with my skills in this department on almost any subject. So, to be clear, i want to say that if i did, i really never meant to stir up anything more, particularly anything of any ill will, on this issue for anyone involved. I may not agree with anyone or everyone on this issue, but i respect all of us here and our respective opinions.

In a comment to (e:Jenk)'s journal, [inlink]jenks,86[/inlink], (e:Dragonfire1024) wrote:

Well again, we would not be where we are today if Hans Mobius would have kept his peoperties to code...ok so fine build the hotel. Whil we are at it lets reward every slum lord in Buffalo.

If Hans Mobius had kept his properties to code and wasn't such a slumlord, then perhaps all the tennants in those houses would have had way way way way higher rent, perhaps even not been able to afford to do business or live there?!?

So, the options are for him to sell the property to someone else and be rewarded or continue to be a scumbag slumlord? Neither are attractive. If he ends up in jail because he is a slumlord, what happens to the buildings and the tennants? Does the city take over? What the heck would they do with the buildings? Condemn them and boot out the tennants? Or sell them to the highest bidder and then the tennants would be out anyway?

Instead of telling me what is wrong with Hans Mobis and him being a slumlord and wanting to sell to a developer that will do things you thing aren't good for you, your neighbourhood and the tennants of those buildings, how about what you are hoping will happen? What is your suggestion in an ideal world? Really, i am not being sarcastic or arguing, i really want to know...

Some of ya'll are getting sick and tired of the "Hotel on Elmwood" debate... heck, i think some of ya'll got sick of it before it really got started. *waves to (e:Paul)*

I thought i was gonna stay out of it. Then, (e:Metalpeter) posted the Buffalo News story about revitalizing things over here on the westside at Grant and Ferry. [inlink]metalpeter,581[/inlink] Thanks, by the way, (e:Metalpeter), appreciate you posting about that.

Personally, i don't have any issues at all with anyone wanting to build a hotel on Grant. Closer to Buff State, that might even be a good idea (as per a comment from the lovely and talented (e:Uncutsaniflush) [inlink]metalpeter,581[/inlink]). Hell, build it at the end of our street, on the corner of Bird and Grant. I could work there as a maid (have i ever admitted to ya'll that when i was a kid, my parents asked me what i wanted to be when i grew up and i got all excited and said "a maid!"). It would be so close, no long bus (i don't drive) commute.. Ok, who wants to build a hotel at Bird and Grant?

I understand why some people would not want a hotel on Elmwood. I understand the reasons... not wanting to see Elmwood change, not wanting to see tennants misplaced. I get it.

In a comment to (e:Metalpeter)'s post [inlink]metalpeter,581[/inlink] (e:Dragonfire1024) wrote:

No one would stay in the hotel on grant no, but you know what, its not about the looks. I am not going to use the hotel and neither will anyone in the area. It does not benefit the neighborhood, since no one will use it personally. I will not shop there, eat thewre or stay there. As far as I am concerned, if I or anyone else will not use it, then its NOT beneficial to the community.

One of the things you have mentioned a few times, (e:Dragonfire1024) is that no one you know will use the hotel. I agree. Locals don't use hotels in their neighbourhoods. It's the people that live out of town that use a hotel. Like maybe on Elmwood it would be people who are want to visit the gallery for an opening, but don't want to stay way out in the 'burbs. Or because the woman that walks her dog down the street has the cutest top that she got on some street in Buffalo and look at that, there is a hotel right there...! And look, there is a college right there.. i wonder if little Billy would want to go there when he grows up!?! There are so many reasons for a tourist to want to stay in a hotel on Elmwood. The same reasons you and i and so many others think it is a cool place to be are the reasons people might want to visit.

Saying that no one in the neighbourhood would benefit from a hotel just isn't true. Not everyone would. Some wouldn't. But some would. like maybe me... i might want a hotel job. Might be my dream job.. i did want to be a maid when i grew up! Now, i just need to grow up!