So Last night I got to watch SNL live on Thursday and thought it was good. (to watch the entire thing). The high lite to me was the opening. Will Farrell played George W. Bush I thought it was awesome, with out giving to much away he endorse Palin (Tina Fey) and McCain who can't be found but is brought onto stag, I again thought it was great.

I myself Like adds that are based on other adds but the question is what does that say about us as a Society. I think that all it really says is that a lot of people watch a lot of TV. But it could also mean that people like comedy in there adds as well. I think when one add is based on another it assumes that the person watches enough TV to know the previous add and to understand the new add. I know this isn't a new concept but in the past it was kinda reserved for the beer companies where one would mock out the other or even the Cola Wars. The Most recent Versions of this is one for I think it is miller lite not sure. There is this pretty famous Bud ad where this horse tries out for the Budwiser wagon but isn't good enough so a dalemation trains the horse and he makes the team that same kind of dog has been on a couple other ads. Well the ad that plays off that dog the show the budwiser wagon and the horses and you know what it is with out them showing the company the then the dog jumps off what you know is the budwiser truck onto there truck, I thought it was funny. Another version of that is MAC has all those great ads bashing PCs and most of them are pretty funny but now Windows has one with a guy who looks like the PC guy where he says He has been made into a sterotype and there are a couple if maybe not 3 versions of the same people saying different things.

The other type of ad is where a company comes out with an add and then bases other ads of the original one. The its so easy a cave man can do it has spawned a lot of those. That however is not an original idea by the way, in my mind. Anyone who used to watch SNL remembers a bit called "cave man lawyer" the guy would act like he didn't understand like one of those famous court shows and go "But I'm Just a Cave man". I think the first one based of the idea that the cave man was upset was him with a shrink and he is supposed to talk to a doll and he says it doesn't talk back. Then based off of that there has been a series of some caveman getting up set by Gieco. There is one at an airport, tennis match with billy jean king, Party where the one guy is called a sell out for trying to save money, one on motorcycles where they wear the racing suits but aren't on Japanese racing bikes, on the beach and a plane goes by with an ad and that breaks up the romance and the I think the newest one the guy has a metal detector on the beach and he thinks he found something and it is a gieco key chain all very funny. But see if you didn't see the original one where he gets upset none of these would make any sense. Another example is Mac, I love all there Mac vs. PC ads they are all pretty good. The recent turn of ads have all been vista based and things along the lines of not calling it vista. So there is one ad where they show all this money on the table and how it is used to advertise Vista in stead of like fixing it so PC then throws that other little portion over into the ad budget. But there newest ad is based of that and the PC dude is having a bake sale to raise money so he can get Vista fixed, I think it is pretty funny.

This is just a small example from the ads I have seen. What I think it says is that we are a nation of TV watchers. That isn't to bad really there are a lot of stations and options for kinds of shows and info to watch. I could make the leap that we are not a reading nation any more but that isn't true. Often the ads we see for movies where best selling books, or comic books before. I could say that people are very sedintary. I don't agree completely because to be able to have cable or dish you need money so you must be working. But what I do think is that what it shows is that more people stay in at night then going out as a family for family events. I think if you looked closer you would see that a lots of families watch TV together but that more often Kids watch shows by them selves and sometimes both parents do to. I'm not saying that TV causes families to be less close, kids would play video games or listen to music to not be around there parents. What I think is that TV has become a big entertainment device as opposed to going out side and playing or doing stuff out side. I admit I not sure if philosophy was the right term to put this under but it is close enough.

So (e:MrMike) posted about the Aud Yesterday. What I want to say is that it is to bad that there is no way to reuse it, it really is but here is a story about it from the Buffalo news.

During a final look at Buffalo's Aud, 'I'll never forget the time . . .'
By Sharon Linstedt
News Business Reporter
Story tools:


Bill Wippert/Buffalo News Debris surrounds one of the old turnstiles in the Aud, which for 12 inactive years has been nothing more than a symbol of events long past.Bill Wippert/Buffalo News The site of the Aud Club, longtime social nexus for a sports-intensive city, is a shell of its former self during final tour. More photos on Picture Page, C10.
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Memorial Auditorium, arguably Buffalo's most beloved white elephant, has a November date with destiny.

After nearly six decades of use as a sports and entertainment venue, and a dozen years of stagnation while politicians and planners debated its future, the massive landmark will soon be demolished.

By this time next year, a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store, museum and public plaza are expected to be under construction on the five-acre site.

"We all have memories, we all have sentiments about this building, but life goes on. It's time to move on," said Jordan A. Levy, chairman of Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., who led a final tour of the venerable arena Tuesday morning.

Dark, chilly, with walls torn open from asbestos removal and with open spaces at its rooflines, the Aud hasn't totally lost its identity.

The arena's scoreboard still hangs from the rafters. Concession stand menus are frozen in time from the days when the Canadian exchange rate was 35 percent in favor of the greenback.

The Aud hosted its last hockey game April 14, 1996, when the Buffalo Sabres beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-1. The team has played in nearby HSBC Arena since the start of its 1996-97 season.

The last concert in the Aud was Sept. 11, 1996, with R&B ensemble Bones Thugs-n-Harmony as the final act in an entertainment history that included Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra, the Ice Capades and the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Levy, who heads the agency overseeing redevelopment of the inner harbor site, has more than his share of personal memories of the Aud, having worked at the arena from 1970 to 1976.

"I was here for some amazing hockey and basketball games, and fantastic concerts. I'll never forget the time I spent in this building," said Levy, whose jobs included patching up the ice between periods of Sabres games and operating the escalators on concert nights.

Levy was joined by Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo; Mayor Byron W. Brown; and Erie County Executive Chris Collins in a final walk through the 69-year-old building, and all of them shared personal memories.

Collins recalled seeing his first hockey game in the Aud in 1976. "I had moved here from Alabama and didn't even know what hockey was. I kept asking, 'What are they doing? What's a blue line?' " Collins said, noting that he is now so hooked on hockey that he purchased 26 full season ticket packages to Sabres games for use by his family and his businesses.

For Brown, memories center on the Aud's hardwood floor and Buffalo Braves basketball. The mayor's first trip to the Aud was to see the Braves as a Buffalo State College freshman, when he dreamed of playing college basketball and going on to the National Basketball Association.

Memorial Auditorium: One Last Look
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"Some upperclassmen brought some of us to the game, and we sat in the nosebleed section. It was wonderful," Brown recalled.

Higgins, who grew up in South Buffalo, said Aud events were always part of his life. "I couldn't tell you how many times I've been in here, too many to count," he said.

But the outspoken advocate of waterfront redevelopment said it's time to look forward. "We have an unprecedented opportunity to remake Buffalo's waterfront and seize a once-in-a-lifetime economic-development opportunity," he said. "Let's hold onto the memories and step into the future."

A six-month-long environmental abatement, which will result in the removal of about 2,000 tons of asbestos and other hazardous materials from the Aud, is set to wrap up in the next two weeks. Demolition crews will arrive by mid-November.

Jon Williams, co-owner of Buffalobased Ontario Specialty Contracting, said his firm is drafting demolition plans as it waits for the state to sign off on its $1.5 million contract. "Exactly when we start depends on getting the paperwork through Albany," he said, "but the expectation is we'll be on the site by the middle of next month."

The crews will dismantle the 450,000-square-foot auditorium piece by piece. Much of its steel and concrete structure will be recycled.

Developers are expected to unveil details of the Canal Side project, a $400 million effort that covers about 20 acres of the inner harbor, including the Aud parcel. The development will include more than a half-million square feet of retail, entertainment, hotel, office and residential space.

The first phase of construction will follow completion of a state environmental review, which is expected to take six to nine months.

City-sponsored live and online auctions of Aud "blue" seats and dasher boards are scheduled for Nov. 15-16. The "Farewell, Old Friend" event, which will be held in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, will also feature guest appearances by former Sabres and Braves players.

slinstedt@buffnews.com

Check out the web page looks like there is some nice stuff there.


I know that Wal-Mart does get a lot of bad press and that they are evil and do a lot of bad stuff. Some of that is depending on how you look at, hey if you need a job and you get one there you are better off. But that isn't what I'm talking about they gave a big donation to food banks in NYS and it looks like a big boost to buffalo here is the article.

Wal-Mart gives Food Bank big boost
$577,000 to aid operations here and across the state
By Deidre Williams
News Staff Reporter


Wal-Mart and the Food Bank of Western New York joined Tuesday to announce a new partnership to feed the hungry across the state.

Wal-Mart executives came bearing a $577,000 check to help address the problem.

The Food Bank of Western New York will get about $65,000 of that amount, as well as any food collected from a drive Nov. 22-23 in 10 area Wal-Mart stores.

The partnership between the retail giant and the Food Bank Association of New York State is called "Feeding New York: Rolling Back Hunger One Meal at a Time." The initiative will provide funding, food and volunteers to the eight regional food banks in the state.

The check from the Wal-Mart Foundation was presented at the Food Bank distribution headquarters on Holt Street.

In addition, Wal-Mart delivered canned soup, vegetables and fruit, cereal and rice to the local food bank.

It comes at a much-needed time, officials said, as the Food Bank has seen an 11 percent increase in food distributed to member agencies since last year, said John T. Evers, executive director of the Food Bank of Western New York.

Wal-Mart chose Buffalo as the site to announce the statewide initiative because of the city's dedication to philanthropy, said Steven V. Restivo, a director of corporate affairs for Wal-Mart.

"The Buffalo area is No. 1 in terms of contributions to the Children's Miracle Network," which is sponsored by Wal- Mart and supports Women and Children's Hospital, he said.

Besides the food drive next month, Wal-Mart staffers will make a commitment to volunteer at the local Food Bank next year.

dswilliams@buffnews.com

The reason why I give both the story and the link is because if you want to read the story then you can. But also with the link there is sometimes links from that page to other stories. But with the Buffalo News once it goes into archives then the link won't work and you have to pay to see the archives.

So it has quickly gotten cold. Last night on my way home I had a little scar or freak out a bit. As I was heading home I saw what looked like a giant gray cat cross the street and it walked in front of me and I stopped cause that was one fat cat it turned it head and it was a raccoon and I stopped in shock, I didn't go near it and then is walked into the darkness. I was thinking about that this morning when I left at 5am and as I was looking around what I thought felt like rain kinda looked like snow in the sky and it kinda floated like snow. So then later I get off my bus in Chektogwaga (how ever it is spelled) and again I can see the stuff float so I say today was the first snow fall. I know most people count when it sticks but I say it is today.

So in my previous post I mentioned I wanted to post about something but forgot what it was, I remember now. I had this idea well it was long ago but I remembered it this morning of a cool idea for a photo shoot. I admit it isn't to original it sounds like something Spencer Tunic would do but it really isn't. The idea would be to have some take pictures of me or of a chick completely naked but in a setting where you wouldn't notice the nudity. Of course Guerilla photography can be dangerous and could get one arrested. Part of doing it good is using a tripod and having all the lighting set ups preplanned and written down so the person could set up the camera then yell go and then the person runs out of the van and the person with the camera takes the picture. The picture would be of City Hall with someone nude it front of it one close up to confirm the person is nude then zoom out and get most of the building and then all of. The point of the picture would be that you would get the entire building and the only person in front of it would be nude but compared to the rest of the building you would hardly be able to see the nudity at all. I don't know what that says from an art point of view but I kinda like what it says. Of course any location would have to be prescouted. I think other places in Buffalo that might work but not sure are HSBC Arena maybe since it isn't to tall maybe laying down, maybe some form of Dunn Tire Park might work but again Height is a problem, ECC Downtown and the HSBC tower would work for sure. There might even be a bunch of churches with there tall towers would work pretty good. Not saying I would do this and I'm not recruiting anyone to take the pictures but it is kinda a cool idea. I think that it might work some place like NYC where there are more iconic places like the statue of Liberty and places like that. It might even be cool to travel to cities to do and only do it in front of famous places. If some goes through that much trouble someone might as well get someone else to video it. So if anyone needs a cool art project there you go. I wouldn't be surprised if this has all ready been done. The difference though between me and Tunic is it isn't about the nudity or the mass of bodies it is about being out side and in the nude but making so you don't notice the nudity because of what is being shot in the background. By the way if what is in the background of the picture is the point of the picture does the terminology change.