A US Federal copyright panel upheld a contentious decision on Monday that would increase royalty fees Webcasters must pay to record labels.

Instead of looking at this as bad news for webcasters you could look at it as good news for non-commercial music not on labels, as more webcasters will want to play label free music. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure it just means webcasters will pay more.

How are they going to enforce this on foreign servers?

I am so tired of chasing estrip.com. It all goes back to when it was a Korean photography site back in 2002. I wrote to them to ask for it then but they would never respond. I got this email from contact@estrip.com today.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your interest but we have the domain listed on several premium sites and are holding out for a better offer. I will however keep you on file should our situation change.

Best wishes for the future,

Daniel

I wrote back to ask the how much they are looking for. I can't find the domain name purchase offer anywhere.

First of all, just want to point out that I love Buffalo and I love preserving historical architecture. However, I was reading more about the Central Terminal on the web and I am still not convinced it is worth restoring.

Here is an interesting site on the history of it

Buffalopundit even called it

Buffalo's unofficial convention center

.

Why dwell on a building so far removed from the downtown area and in such bad condition? After attending an event at the "neo convention center" it seems like suburbanites would be much ore likely to flee home to the suburbs than to go out downtown. Especially for some non-city people, downtown would seem downright freakin' scary if that neighborhood (e:paul,38905) was their view of Buffalo.

It seems like it was always too distant to serve downtown.

The New York Central had agreed in 1926 to build an additional Buffalo station to satisfy the city officials who believed that the East Side location was too far uptown to effectively service downtown Buffalo. This promised downtown station was never to be built.

The Environmental Question
How much would it cost not only to rehab it, but to make it hospitable, environmentally sustainable and cost effective in our winter climate. When people talk about how this type of rehab happens all the time in places like San Francisco, they fail to note that it gets to freezing temperatures here most of the year. I am just saying be realistic. According to one of the comments on Buffalopundit's journal

The building was once heated by a separate coal plant behind the terminal that pumped steam heat into the building was torn down in the early 80's.

Even then, would it even change the neighborhood around it. Why would we not invest in things closer to areas that are already succeeding and let it expand from their instead of planting seeds in this distant, broken location.

At the two events I attended there during the last week, I heard so many people say, "Wow, I had no idea it was still so crappy and cold."

What do all you rehabbers propose as a responsible and sustainable heating mechanism in a cement chamber with 100+ foot ceilings in a place where winter is nearly perpetual?

Does anyone think that if the Central Terminal is renovated, that businesses are really going to sprout up all around it and a light rail system will connect it to the city?

The need to be switzerland

I try and remain neutral. On one hand I could be Hitler and have ten fabulous years only to end up killing myself when I realize I killed 50% of the jewish people. On the other I could be Ralph Nader and be a great person who keeps trying to run for president and fails. I would rather be switzerland where they have great chocolate fabulous banks. says (e:lilho)

I just posted three journals, one after the other - so keep reading down the page if you are interested.

On the way home from the central terminal for (e:tina) 's art show (e:paul,38904) I took a picture over like 10 blocks every time my camera was ready This is not a selective or staged picture taking of all the boarded up crappy houses but rather as many shots as I could get on the way from The Central Terminal to downtown.

I can't believe people actually live there - maybe they don't from the looks of it. When did it all start looking like this? Having spend a lot of time in Love Joy as a kid (that's where my dad is from) I never realized what surrounded it until I was an adult. We always took the thruway to get there. I guess I know why.








It's sad how I always think Buffalo is getting better and then I remember that I never leave but about 20% of it to see the rest.








On the way home we stopped on Allen to buy some wine for dinner and I saw these notices on what used to be Second Skin - the building at the end of Allen next to Days Park.

Apparently, the guy who bought it wants to open a restaurant there but the neighbors are fighting him on it. I really don't see why as it is all commercial restaurants and bars there anyways.



I also noticed that Frank's has new management. What kind of bar is it?

We went to go see (e:tina) 's final art thesis show at the Central Terminal. I have no idea how I end up in the god forsaken building so much.

It always looks like it is going to be great and then you realiize how fucking freezing and nasty it is in there. I think playing it in as a kid was more fun that going in it now.









The art show itself was pretty awesome.



(e:tina) and (e:lilho)


Here are (e:tina) 's prints - I really like them.


I tried to take more close ups of them but it was hard with the light reflecting off the glass. (e:matthew) might have gotten some better pics with the fancier camera.


I didn't understand the carpet puffs but I liked the visual they created



The plastic wrapped bride. I felt bad for her that it was so cold, she had a heater right on her but still.


I hate this dirt pile. It was so completely lame.


Here is the description for it.


Frankly, I thought this wood pile directly across from it was much more compelling although it was not even a display.



This one reminds me of something (e:robin) would make. I wonder if they were inspired by her work.


I really liked the look of this one but the interaction was ueber lame. It was a maya 3D scene rendered to quicktime VR, which is no where near as cool as it sound. The visuals were way too dark too.





This guy Tom was trying to make himself famous online as his project. Being a famous online personality I could understand his desire but he was a little too cheesy.

Well TJ now that your an alcoholic celebrity its probably gonna be even harder to stop drinking.

Ironically, I got this picture of him at the beer tap.


Some of the comments people left on his site are so mean. e.g.

Cathy wrote
at 5:58pm on March 10th, 2007
TJ I miss you come back to me. I even miss the smell of your farts you sick little leprechaun. Just kidding, I hate you, die.

This one reads, "Local Internet Celebrity (e:lilho) seen in front of some anonyous man at the Buffalo Central Terminal."



The eyeballs were compelling to look at, but eyes are generally so compelling that it wasn't surprising. Still, I liked it. My favorite were these paintings made with dirt, animal parts, and hair. I know that sounds sick but they were amazing and I forgot to take a picture of them. Tom is in it too. I wonder if my stalkerish picture talking made him feel more celebtritiesque.



Here we got (e:mike) in glasses.


(e:terry) looking cafeinated

First off, there is this hole in the ground behind HSBC on main street near Allen that sees to go nowhere. At first I saw it in the dark and it seemed to go on forever. When I saw it in the light it had an end, sadly as I was hoping it was a portal to fraggle rock.





On Wednesday night we went out to eat with (e:jenks) and (e:imk2) at Trattoria Aroma on Bryant near elmwood. My artichocke and mussel appetizer was amazing but the risotta was too crunchy (pronounced: undercooked) for me.






The next morning when I woke up, the Latina's shopping cart that was parked across the street from us at the Lin-nor was parked on our lawn with the garbage bins. Did anyone think that the garbage an was going to take the shopping cart with them. (e:matthew) moved it back across the street. I am all about the new law that would fine stores for their stray shopping carts even though I know it isn't exactly their fault that the shopping carts are such attractive possessions.

Golombek maintains that stray shopping carts have become a public nuisance and an eyesore, blocking sidewalks and impacting quality of life. He wants to ban abandoned shopping carts, and target enforcement of the proposed new statute at what Montague refers to as "the Source"-that is, the supermarkets which provide carts to customers. Golombek suggests the city ought to impound the offending carts and fine the supermarkets from which they came. In Tuesday's session, Golombek said that between 50 and 100 carts are discarded per week in his district alone. (Though Golombek would not name the principal culprit, he indicated that Wegmans on Amherst has been a "good corporate neighbor." That, of course, leaves Tops.)

The other night after the gym (e:lilho) and I saw this sign which she kept talking about. Look at the date on the billboard for the event at level. I can't believe they still bother lighting it up considering it is over a year old. Isn't it a high value spot being right at the corner of Franklin and Chippewa.



The weekend started out with an easter basket from my mother that included toxic waste and chocolate chicken legs.



Toxic waste candy - she knows me well (e:paul,30660)


Chocolate chicken legs made me want real fried ones.


That led to a day of grocery shopping with the ho and finally some fried chicken with sausage gravy which really ups the anti for the new fruit fly position (e:paul,38465)




Here she is before getting ready to go out, the after pictures are going to wait until after.

Back in 1997 I spent October in Morocco. Recently, I was saying how I did that at just the right time before it seemed especially scary but the person I was telling said, Morocco is not the middle east. After giving me a cup of mint tea and a cigarette, I remember one of the merchants in marakesh telling me that I had nothing to worry about because they had a law that if someone messed with a tourist, they would be executed. While I thought it sounded quite extreme, I guess I felt safer in a way.

That kind of law means nothing to the kind of people that actually blow themselves up as happened this week in Casablanca.

By JOHN THORNE AP Writer. © 2007 AP. RABAT, Morocco - Two brothers strapped with explosives blew themselves up near an American cultural center in Casablanca Saturday, and police arrested another three suspects - including one wearing ... explosives.

Honestly, I still felt uncomfortable there and wore one of those traditional, hooded, one-piece outfits the whole time. It was dark brown, I was really tan and had a full beard so I blended ok. It's sad to think I would never visit there again, but I really don't think it is worth it.

We went to dyngus day the Central Terminal. It was kind of a stupid place to be in freezing cold weather and I can't believe it is "safe " - I had figured they had cleaned it up more until I got inside. When I saw asbestos wrapper furnace piping all shredded up in the ceiling of the room that had food I knew it was as craptastic as ever.

I still think they should just knock it down, even though I got a death threat (e:paul,31900) for saying it before (e:paul,31144) . To me it represents one of those absurdities about Buffalo. I am all about preserving history, living in the city, preserving architecture, etc but I think you have to also learn to say when its too far gone. I still cannot believe they let kids in paper masks clean that nasty shit up.

::Download Flash Video::

Okay, on to other topics.

Like snow in April

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The day before easter, (e:lilho) tried to kill us with a heart attack. This was the second breakfast for the day that came before noon.



Easter night I tried to punch a hotel in the wall of my office closet to see how much bigger it could be. I want to put a bathroom there this summer so that we can open up the space under the foyer stairs and return it to its free standing glory. That way (e:terry) can have a piano underneith it, but we can still have a bathroom on the first floor.





(e:lilho) tried to pretend to be Dolly Parton and (e:matthew) took pictures of it, I wish we had a video instead it would have been much more entertaining.





On the way home rfom lunch today I saw this dolly in the window in one of the closed down shop fronts on main street near Allen. What is up with that building, why are all those store front vacant and why did they leave just this doll in this awkward position and is it black or tan?

I saw this online tonight and thought seeing as my mother is the director of Call for Action, I should probably also advertise their call for volunteers here.

Call for Action is seeking volunteers for one day a week commitment from 10 am to 1 pm. Volunteers are especially needed on Monday. Basic computer knowledge is necessary. Call for Action is a non-profit network of consumer hotlines affiliated with local broadcast partners. Contact: Maria Visco at (716) 879-4968

On another note I have no poctures of easter food this year. I forgot to bring my camera ;( I think it is the first holiday I haven't taken pictures of the food in like 5 years. We celebrated at my cousin's inlaws and had traditional polish food, yum.

Is anyone else going out for Dyngus Day tomorrow?