With my job, I move with a diverse group of folk when getting out of the office. The ones in the office are pretty cool too, but the nature of what we do has you mixing with a number of different publics. One of my favorite on-going collaborations is with the good folks at Visit Buffalo Niagara. The former CVB took a lot of grief from internet wags about their "Buffalo: For Real" slogan and that is unfortunate because it doesn't really touch on the big picture of this weirdly, wonderful pace we call home. They do tremendous work getting people to come see the place, but something struck me in watching the various reports, tweets, stories leading up to the premiere of "Buffalo:Unscripted," the documentary about life here.
A lot of folks here don't venture beyond their own self-inflicted boarders a lot and you need to play tourist in your own backyard now and again. There is a lot happening, but sometimes you have to be curious enough to go get lost. It's been on my mind a lot as we try to find the right mix to get folks to come see what we've been up to at my place of employ.
Wanderlust is in invaluable thing. My folks still live in the house that I grew up, but that neighborhood is shifting and the bulk of the landed immigrants are younger than me and more than once I've heard the comment about "Coming all the way out from the city." Like to get to Clarence from where I reside in the city, you had to stop in Cheektowaga for rest and provisions before completing the journey.
The key to seeing the big picture is to know some things and not care about others, and to occasionally try something new for the heck of it. Stride into Gigi's on the east side and you know what evil, what torture, what torment you'll face? A breakfast that will make you wonder where it's been all your life. I don't know how many trips I've taken down Niagara Street on various missions over the years, but had to remind myself to go explore Squaw Island on a early September afternoon. It was a left turn worth taking.
Between Buffalo: Unscripted and the National Preservationist Gathering, there is a upshot of feeling that we do indeed have some pretty good stuff around in these parts. What I take away is the feeling that people are looking around a little more, which hopefully means less of "I haven't been there (zoo, museum, fill in attraction here) in years." And, you know, hopefully, you start with the Zoo, just sayin."
So, I hope the preservationist conference attendees go back to their homes and talk about what they found, but hopefully the resounding energy of discovery can translate into somebody from Hamburg curious to see the evolution of Canalside or at least lunch at the Niagara Cafe, or gasp, even a little christmas shopping on Elmwood or Hertel. And then maybe dinner in Blackrock!
Imagine.
Mrmike's Journal
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10/22/2011 11:36 #55350
Where Buffalo RoamsCategory: random
10/08/2011 18:07 #55268
"You Never Give Me Your Money"Category: random
It's an epidemic, I tell you. All these buildings are throwing themselves in front of senior citizen drivers. Apparently it is a call for more drive through lanes. Just to be safe, I'm going to park behind the folks car when I go visit next.
As I write this, the Sabres are 2-0, the Bills 3-1 and it is 75 degrees on an October day in Buffalo. I can't help but wonder if some other Rust Belt city lost a bet.
I'm beginning to think that people watching the people occupying Wall Street might have a complete grasp as to why the original occupiers (occupiees?) showed up in the first place.
And speaking of capitalism faux paws (intentional), I can't fathom the logic in some "entity" chasing the Whole Hog Food truck away from the Bidwell Farmers Market last saturday. If it was a market-eer, maybe they would be some of your Kale for their awesome breakfast sandwich if you weren't sticking the cops on them. If it was another restaurant, then shame on you. Make good food and people will come to your place. There are plenty of stationary competitors too. Do good work and people will come. People are buying from these rolling merchants because the stuff is good quality. That might be a key, doncha know?
Back to the Wall street stuff for a moment, Peter King is quoted about not wanted to give the movement legitimacy. Well, Congressman, people are upset and making their voices known. Ain't that a good thing? Isn't that what a democracy is supposed to be about? People need heard. When the main republican leadership is and has been nothing more than to take down the President, the democrats mealymouth their way around so it isn't clear what they stand for and the executive branch spends a lot of time just trying to be liked, and none of them are representin', yo, people are going to get ticked.
On more mundane matters, I'm curious to see the new films on Paul McCartney and George Harrison, despite both having mixed reviews. Always liked the music of both guys and the possibility of learning a little more is intriguing, but not enough to sign up, even temporarily, for either pay channel they were getting shown on. I've always been a more "trust the art, not the artist" guy, so I've never really had a handle on those who fling themselves on the cars or things like that, but seeing what might have gone into building a portion of my life's soundtrack is a curious thing.
As I write this, the Sabres are 2-0, the Bills 3-1 and it is 75 degrees on an October day in Buffalo. I can't help but wonder if some other Rust Belt city lost a bet.
I'm beginning to think that people watching the people occupying Wall Street might have a complete grasp as to why the original occupiers (occupiees?) showed up in the first place.
And speaking of capitalism faux paws (intentional), I can't fathom the logic in some "entity" chasing the Whole Hog Food truck away from the Bidwell Farmers Market last saturday. If it was a market-eer, maybe they would be some of your Kale for their awesome breakfast sandwich if you weren't sticking the cops on them. If it was another restaurant, then shame on you. Make good food and people will come to your place. There are plenty of stationary competitors too. Do good work and people will come. People are buying from these rolling merchants because the stuff is good quality. That might be a key, doncha know?
Back to the Wall street stuff for a moment, Peter King is quoted about not wanted to give the movement legitimacy. Well, Congressman, people are upset and making their voices known. Ain't that a good thing? Isn't that what a democracy is supposed to be about? People need heard. When the main republican leadership is and has been nothing more than to take down the President, the democrats mealymouth their way around so it isn't clear what they stand for and the executive branch spends a lot of time just trying to be liked, and none of them are representin', yo, people are going to get ticked.
On more mundane matters, I'm curious to see the new films on Paul McCartney and George Harrison, despite both having mixed reviews. Always liked the music of both guys and the possibility of learning a little more is intriguing, but not enough to sign up, even temporarily, for either pay channel they were getting shown on. I've always been a more "trust the art, not the artist" guy, so I've never really had a handle on those who fling themselves on the cars or things like that, but seeing what might have gone into building a portion of my life's soundtrack is a curious thing.
09/30/2011 16:38 #55219
New Office DecorCategory: random
What do you think? Will it clash?
Every once in awhile, you get to let your inner child run amuck at work. It was an awful day for it and the wet look is not one of my better ones, but what the hey? It was pretty cool.
But, they did make me give back.
Every once in awhile, you get to let your inner child run amuck at work. It was an awful day for it and the wet look is not one of my better ones, but what the hey? It was pretty cool.
But, they did make me give back.
metalpeter - 10/01/11 16:27
@(e:tinypliny) yes Paul is correct in Hockey Terms It is the Stanley Cup aka the Trophy The Team gets for winning the Championship....
@(e:tinypliny) yes Paul is correct in Hockey Terms It is the Stanley Cup aka the Trophy The Team gets for winning the Championship....
paul - 10/01/11 16:20
Its the Holy Grail - obviously!
Its the Holy Grail - obviously!
tinypliny - 10/01/11 16:15
Okay I have to ask since everyone else seems to know. What is that?!
Okay I have to ask since everyone else seems to know. What is that?!
metalpeter - 10/01/11 16:12
Oh germs they won't kill you but I see why you don't want to...... Just thought that if you had it and you did drink from it if it was like bad luck or looked down on and that was saved just for champions and players......
Oh germs they won't kill you but I see why you don't want to...... Just thought that if you had it and you did drink from it if it was like bad luck or looked down on and that was saved just for champions and players......
mrmike - 09/30/11 23:29
Pete, The nhl has a flickr account and it was involved in a beer pong tourney a week or so ago so nope, I don't wanna
Pete, The nhl has a flickr account and it was involved in a beer pong tourney a week or so ago so nope, I don't wanna
mrmike - 09/30/11 23:28
Got the estrip for android, but didn't get a 3d picture. Such crappy weather, notice the great hair..
Got the estrip for android, but didn't get a 3d picture. Such crappy weather, notice the great hair..
paul - 09/30/11 20:27
Oh I meant to mention before there us an estrip app in the android marketplace. It makes posting way easier. After you install it you can click on photos in your gallery, click share an it will allow you to share the pics with estrip.
Oh I meant to mention before there us an estrip app in the android marketplace. It makes posting way easier. After you install it you can click on photos in your gallery, click share an it will allow you to share the pics with estrip.
paul - 09/30/11 20:25
Is there a 3d version of this?
Is there a 3d version of this?
metalpeter - 09/30/11 17:02
Now are you allowed to drink from it or is that only winners of it?......
Now are you allowed to drink from it or is that only winners of it?......
09/24/2011 09:55 #55189
Tom Waits and the Cookie MonsterCategory: random
Best youtube mashup ever
metalpeter - 09/24/11 10:46
By the way if you go on Google today they have some Muppet like creatures for Jim Henson's Birthday....
At least in this song He sounds Like Nathan Explosion or I should say he sounds like him wonder if Dethklok was set up like that on purpose or if they just sound that way.....
By the way if you go on Google today they have some Muppet like creatures for Jim Henson's Birthday....
At least in this song He sounds Like Nathan Explosion or I should say he sounds like him wonder if Dethklok was set up like that on purpose or if they just sound that way.....
09/23/2011 11:24 #55183
TruckinCategory: random
The food truck battle in Buffalo reinforces some ridiculousness that I foolishly thought was disappearing. We spend so much time thinking about what might happen, almost nothing ever actually does.
The notion that the downtown restaurants “are sick†of the food truck “invasion†is rather nutty. It reminds me of the anuerysms that coffee shop owners had when Starbucks entered the region. Those shops made good product and everybody was fine. There has yet to be a food truck park right outside the Ellicott Square Building or right in front of the local pizza chain, but apparently that has to be guarded against. I guess my question is why. The acclaimed taco truck does lunch time business at the corner of Main and Mohawk, an intersection served mostly by the occasional homeless guy. The others go to spots where there aren’t much in terms of alternatives.
It amuses me that one of the leading squawkers is a former tea-party less government is better candidate for state office.
I can’t help but think that if people are walking past reheated pizza slices to stroll a couple of blocks for a freshly made lunch, perhaps those screeching should look at their own operations instead of screaming for regulation.
If people aren’t buying your stuff, maybe your stuff needs to improve. If you are worried about people continuing to buy your stuff, maybe you need to find a reason to keep them buying your stuff.
Reading about the permit process that the Ice Cream Bicycle dudes had to go through when nobody else was vending was mind boggling and we haven’t evolved any further when one truck got ticketed for a law that didn’t exist yet. Um, what??
Things get unnecessary hard when paranoia has people staking turf out instead of trying make something that doesn’t suck.
This is a battle riddled with inconsistencies as a local brick and mortar pizza chain had no problem dragging a trailer next to the food trucks at the Music is Art fair last week. That’s all well and good, and I hope everybody made money and a grand time. My son ate pizza, I had a nice burger from the truck next door and we were happy.
Choice is good, folks.
The notion that the downtown restaurants “are sick†of the food truck “invasion†is rather nutty. It reminds me of the anuerysms that coffee shop owners had when Starbucks entered the region. Those shops made good product and everybody was fine. There has yet to be a food truck park right outside the Ellicott Square Building or right in front of the local pizza chain, but apparently that has to be guarded against. I guess my question is why. The acclaimed taco truck does lunch time business at the corner of Main and Mohawk, an intersection served mostly by the occasional homeless guy. The others go to spots where there aren’t much in terms of alternatives.
It amuses me that one of the leading squawkers is a former tea-party less government is better candidate for state office.
I can’t help but think that if people are walking past reheated pizza slices to stroll a couple of blocks for a freshly made lunch, perhaps those screeching should look at their own operations instead of screaming for regulation.
If people aren’t buying your stuff, maybe your stuff needs to improve. If you are worried about people continuing to buy your stuff, maybe you need to find a reason to keep them buying your stuff.
Reading about the permit process that the Ice Cream Bicycle dudes had to go through when nobody else was vending was mind boggling and we haven’t evolved any further when one truck got ticketed for a law that didn’t exist yet. Um, what??
Things get unnecessary hard when paranoia has people staking turf out instead of trying make something that doesn’t suck.
This is a battle riddled with inconsistencies as a local brick and mortar pizza chain had no problem dragging a trailer next to the food trucks at the Music is Art fair last week. That’s all well and good, and I hope everybody made money and a grand time. My son ate pizza, I had a nice burger from the truck next door and we were happy.
Choice is good, folks.
uncutsaniflush - 09/24/11 17:22
Well said.
Well said.
metalpeter - 09/23/11 17:36
Glad to see you posting on this... And it reminds me that on my post about this article that there is something I left out...
1. Are those Building land lords upset or is it Just Paladino ?
1A. Reason I ask that is in the article it doesn't mention what places are upset I found that odd
2. I don't think this really has to do the food truck might take away some business
2A. Just pizza is mobile and you see them at all the festivals you know those things that say are one thing and half the people just eat there... I think that they want to there name to be Valuable so they can sell Pizza at a high rate and charge others to sell it aka pimp out the name...
2B. The landlords (notice the article said land lords it didn't mention a Cafe or Tim Horton's or some place) know that they can charge a certain and have certain conditions like maybe even a cut of the profits or maybe they even run the place... Now if a food truck is out front of say Taki's or even a Hot dog Vendor at the corner it takes the value out of that spot... This is more true of bringing a place in... The Roaming Buffalo is a great example (great burger buy the way and pretty girls want to try the Roast beef) if it is in one spot at a building if not every day at least every other day... Would Red Osier move into that spot? Well they might but with someone who sells the same food right out in front of the building that spots value drops... So what they are more likely to do is move to a spot where you have just as many people who would buy your stuff........
I think at some point someone and I don't know if it will be addressed so I will now the 600lbs Gorilla in the room... There is a perception that food trucks are dirty or don't face all the same health code stuff sit down places do... Or that since they are mobile regulations are less or harder to enforce... That is why many years back (don't remember what I was there for) after some event in Toronto it was dark and I wasn't going near that food truck.... In the article in the news Paladino says something that I don't get about them not being taxed... Don't know the tax laws so don't know if they pay less tax or not maybe vs a building someone owns that tax is less but they still pay tax not sure what he was getting at...
Now one other thing that I think drives this is: there is the Idea that food trucks take away your customers and yes that can be true. But what is also possible is that it will also help you out I will give both examples.....
I love my Burger King I really do... Now if I go there to get a burger and I saw Roaming Buffalo I'm going to the food truck even If I have to stand... But this all so works the other way around. Say Lloyd's sends out a thing on every social network they will be at Bidwel Park.... Awesome I get there 20 people in front of me screw this over to ETS... A good example of this is all the places that Have Pizza on Elmwood... If you want pizza you can get it anywhere on elmwood to bad 2-4-1 isn't open any more yes it was cheap as fuck but you sure got a lot of it... If you walk into just Pizza (use to have 2 elmwood locations) and 10 people are in line for slices everyone else is walking out and going down to Casa and this what these people don't get...
Glad to see you posting on this... And it reminds me that on my post about this article that there is something I left out...
1. Are those Building land lords upset or is it Just Paladino ?
1A. Reason I ask that is in the article it doesn't mention what places are upset I found that odd
2. I don't think this really has to do the food truck might take away some business
2A. Just pizza is mobile and you see them at all the festivals you know those things that say are one thing and half the people just eat there... I think that they want to there name to be Valuable so they can sell Pizza at a high rate and charge others to sell it aka pimp out the name...
2B. The landlords (notice the article said land lords it didn't mention a Cafe or Tim Horton's or some place) know that they can charge a certain and have certain conditions like maybe even a cut of the profits or maybe they even run the place... Now if a food truck is out front of say Taki's or even a Hot dog Vendor at the corner it takes the value out of that spot... This is more true of bringing a place in... The Roaming Buffalo is a great example (great burger buy the way and pretty girls want to try the Roast beef) if it is in one spot at a building if not every day at least every other day... Would Red Osier move into that spot? Well they might but with someone who sells the same food right out in front of the building that spots value drops... So what they are more likely to do is move to a spot where you have just as many people who would buy your stuff........
I think at some point someone and I don't know if it will be addressed so I will now the 600lbs Gorilla in the room... There is a perception that food trucks are dirty or don't face all the same health code stuff sit down places do... Or that since they are mobile regulations are less or harder to enforce... That is why many years back (don't remember what I was there for) after some event in Toronto it was dark and I wasn't going near that food truck.... In the article in the news Paladino says something that I don't get about them not being taxed... Don't know the tax laws so don't know if they pay less tax or not maybe vs a building someone owns that tax is less but they still pay tax not sure what he was getting at...
Now one other thing that I think drives this is: there is the Idea that food trucks take away your customers and yes that can be true. But what is also possible is that it will also help you out I will give both examples.....
I love my Burger King I really do... Now if I go there to get a burger and I saw Roaming Buffalo I'm going to the food truck even If I have to stand... But this all so works the other way around. Say Lloyd's sends out a thing on every social network they will be at Bidwel Park.... Awesome I get there 20 people in front of me screw this over to ETS... A good example of this is all the places that Have Pizza on Elmwood... If you want pizza you can get it anywhere on elmwood to bad 2-4-1 isn't open any more yes it was cheap as fuck but you sure got a lot of it... If you walk into just Pizza (use to have 2 elmwood locations) and 10 people are in line for slices everyone else is walking out and going down to Casa and this what these people don't get...
"...curious enough to go get lost..."
I love that sentiment!
~.~
There is a new Italian place near the Sushi place on lexington apparently. I thought it was going to be another pizza place but apparently they are serving "authentic italian food" whatever that means.
And there is that upcoming SO+EXCITING+TO+HEAR+ABOUT ramen place on the Utica/Hodge Elmwood block.
There have been a lot of stories of things going on with this in the Buffalo news for anyone who wants more info... I think my favorite place to is at smortsmens good wings and great Burger.... I want to try that new place up by 464.. I wish I was better at the getting lost thing.....
@(e:tinypliny) I haven't been to the zoo in a long time since I was a kid I think part of it is that I know where it is but don't really know how to get there? It is to far to walk really... The Botanical Gardens is a cool place even if it is just to take a B&W picture of the checker board or watch the Koui no idea how to spell it or maybe just huge gold fish swim for 20 minutes.... It isn't to hard to get to either... think it is like the #16... I should remember it wasn't so long ago the wedding.... Also if you like to look at churches the Basilica is right there also.......
hehe, I walked ALL OVER the place when I first came here but work seems to have consumed me completely from within. I need to finish and get back to being "normal" and get to the zoo and botanical gardens at least once!