When the home team stinks up the joint as a whole like the lads did on home ice, we moonlighters have a little time to watch the little things.

I was grateful to trade in the polyester blazer from the previous bank for blatantly blue, almost azure, of the new bank’s pullover, an infintely more practical change.

While the drinkers still astound me, it was a treat to watch a couple of different sets of parents bring little kids to their first games. The kids in both cases were old enough to know where they were and what they were about, but young enough to be unable to hid the joy of being there. You have to be made of stone not to find that heartwarming. You know at least a few folks weren’t sarcastic in their wave appreciation.

The new daiquiris come in some pretty interesting colors.

The pizza did look pretty good, from a distance, but I’m not sure what will make it artisian, hopefully that is a step from, well, bad.

Hopefully, the guys who came in Sabres costumes get a little better next time out.

Hope everybody had fun at the 24 Halloween party and (E:Ladycroft)'s baby shower. Work and reasons domestic got in the way of both for me, but I still have two days left of this long weekend, so we're gonna make the best out of it.

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.

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.

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.

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