(MAP TO: 674 ELLICOTT ST)

Tonight we went to the single least cool place in Buffalo. It's not even the kind of uncool where you can go there and be ironically cool - there is no cool to be had, period. All the meat is pork, and all the vegetables are cabbage. Everything is either marinated in vinegar or fried in butter - or it's marinated in vinegar and then fried in butter, and served with a big dollop of sour cream. If you're there on the right night, you will be serenaded by accordion with tuba accompaniment. It is a happy place.

I speak of Ulrich's Tavern , the bar that's so German it wraps around to being Irish again. [That will make sense if you go there.] Good live music, great local brews, and just this totally insane Leberkase that looks more or less like a grilled sandwich if the bread were made of meat. They are celebrating 50,000 days [138 years] of continuous operation, and that does not exclude Prohibition. These guys are hard-core OG. They spit on your 'cool' and call it tartar sauce.

- Z

This morning my valentine surprised me with two thinly-veiled threats laid gently on my pillow, a heart-shaped box of chocolate-covered guilt, and flowery proclamations of inadequacy and thoughtlessness - all before I even left for work! It must be love.

I had composed a soliloquy about Valentine's Day - how it should be a happy holiday, not a sad or angry holiday as it's become. It should not be about desperately "Seeking same for LTR," but about celebrating the relationships we have with the people who make us feel special. It should be about demonstrating the appreciation we have for who we share our lives with - not demanding same of them. It should not be about flowers and chocolates and cards and trinkets bought out of necessity, but rather unique gifts and gestures that show that you know and care.

I didn't post it because I hadn't gotten a chance to edit it, what with all the craziness around the house lately. I don't think I'll bother posting it now, because I'm clearly insane.

But if anyone here shares my insanity, know that secretly* I'm totally with you. I wish you, above all, a happy Valentine's Day.

- Z

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• I guess it's not really that secret anymore, but it sounded poetic.

ps. New journal music. gather:0790574001171472480

...she looked up this joke on (WIKIPEDIA - Your Mom).

Fact: Every Subway restaurant is independently owned and operated. So why do they all smell like the same armpits?

- Z

So, we went to the roller derby tonight and saw (e:mrmike) there* - it was a really close game, and the Kissers beat the Sluggers 100-95. Despite grumblings about ticket price, they still sold out all 700 tickets, and then sold another 200 admissions. The place was packed, and the girls put on a good show. (e:dragonlady7) - er, B-17 - played so hard she busted her brand-new high-impact kneepad. The halftime skirmish between Metal Mistress and Mia Mauler was not staged [for future reference, do not get all up in the grille of a former kickboxing champion].

My aunt, whose birthday coincides with the next game on 31 March [and who remembers well the Bay City Bombers playing at the Aud in the 60s] has already made plans to bring everyone to the roller derby for her birthday, and all my cousins want to ref since the officiating was somewhat awful. Good times!

- Z

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• (e:mrmike) - sorry about the ticket situation. They began selling tickets online and doing will-call after I got yer ticket, and that would have been a much better way to do it.

This guy wants you to go to Slugs & Kisses.

::Download Flash Video::

Tickets are selling fast, and they think they're likely to sell out at the door.

- Z