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May 2008
May 26, 2008
Rebirth in Buffalo: Erie Canal Harbor
This past Friday was a quiet landmark day for the City of Buffalo with the quiet opening of the Erie Canal Harbor, including the new Central Wharf! Alison and I had the opportunity to walk around the area this morning, and I can tell you that I haven't been so hopeful for Buffalo and the waterfront in particular for a long time! You can see my pictures of the Erie Canal Harbor and Buffalo Naval Park here.
The picture posted here is of the excavated Commercial Slip, the end of the Erie Canal where it met the Buffalo River and Lake Erie. When the canal opened in 1825, it created a link between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes, enabling the rapid movement of people and goods to the lands beyond. Rapid westward expansion was in part due to "Clinton's Ditch", the ridiculed dream of then New York Governor DeWitt Clinton.
So what's the big deal? Well, considering that this area of Buffalo's waterfront has been a barren wasteland for years, seeing Buffalo from this perspective is somewhat of a revelation. The Commercial Slip had been filled in years ago as canal traffic dwindled, and all traces of the formerly vibrant (and seedy) wharf district were left but to memory. With the Commercial Slip restored, foundations of original buildings uncovered, the old Whipple Truss design bridge in place and the new Buffalo Naval Park Museum facility open for business, there is just a feeling of rejuvenation. People who were there with us to see this minor miracle agreed; it was great to see anybody in Downtown Buffalo on a Sunday morning!
There's been a plan for this area for years, and there was a controversial plan some years ago to build a replica of the Commercial Slip, rather than excavate the original. Knowing that few people would show up for an ersatz landmark, preservationists fought for authenticity, even in the face of geologists brought in by the opposition who swore the original stone canal walls would "explode" if exposed to Buffalo winter weather. To no one's surprise, that didn't happen!
Much more development is needed as shown in my photos. Bass Pro Shops is still (apparently) committed to building a store on the site of the old Memorial Auditorium as a retail anchor and the Buffalo Naval Park is adjacent to the site, but various factions are still at odds as to how to most appropriately develop this important historical district. The sooner decisions can be made the better, but judging by what we saw today and the reaction of others, this is definitely the start of something good and glint of pride should come to the eye of any Buffalonian!
May 25, 2008
Goodnight, Jimmy Six-Pack!
Former Buffalo Mayor James D. "Jimmy" Griffin died today at age 78.
When I was 18 during the Blizzard of '85, Jimmy implored Buffalonians to grab a six-pack and stay home. If there was ever an essence of of a man and his philosophy, that was it. Plain, working class and controversial, Griffin tried his best save the Queen City from the fate of so many Rust Belt steel town with mixed results. Yes, there were new hotels, the new ball park and the marina but there was also the partisan squabbling, the downtown-killing Metro Rail, the fractious "Spring of Life" and the ridiculous affair over "Green Lightining".
While Buffalo was "Talkin' Proud" in the early 1980's, by the time Jimmy left office in 1994, Buffalo was suffering the exodus of thousands of citizens for warmer climes and better opportunities that continues today.
Could someone else have done better in those years and circumstances? Who knows. Love him or hate him, Jimmy left his indelible mark that many of us will be discussing over that six-pack in the days to come.
Goodnight, Jimmy Six-Pack!
May 23, 2008
You're No RFK, Hillary
I've been trying to keep politics out of this blog, but as a New Yorker, I really need to say that Hillary Clinton just needs to go away. Her Presidential bid - by any measure - is over for 2008, and the longer she stays in this race, the more petty she becomes.
Tonight was the kicker. In trying to justify staying in the race until June, HRC stated "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it." I'll say you don't understand it, Hil.
These aren't the types of errors you make when you are ready for prime time. This is the type of error that happens when you start thrashing in desperation. Both 1992 and 1968 were different circumstances than the 2008 Democratic race, and to invoke the name of an assassinated candidate (and New York Senator no less) is bizarre at best, macabre at worst.
With the announcement this week that Senator Ted Kennedy is battling a malignant brain tumor, it makes this reckless remark all the more distasteful. Perhaps even more disturbing is the implication that she could be the nominee if Obama were to be assassinated. Unbelievable.
I make no bones about the fact that I haven't been an HRC supporter as I see little that she's done for the Western New York area, but I'm sorry. This is what we can expect more of for another month? I'm done with the Hillary. Done with Bill. Done with the Clintons. Sayonara.
UPDATE: Keith Olbermann's Special Comment from Friday 5/23:
May 22, 2008
May 21, 2008
Coffee Kludge
Bruce Andriatch commented this week in The Buffalo News about the problem of traffic congestion around Tim Horton stores, dubbing the drive-up lines snaking their way out onto local streets, "Traffeine Jams".
I've attached here the aerial view of our local Tim Horton in Williamsville NY clearly showing an early morning shot of the store with 8 cars in line at the drive-up, but the number can easily double, spilling out onto the main thoroughfare (appropriately named Main Street) in the 7:30 - 8:30am hour.
As I have to pass this shop on the way to work every morning, I've had the most glorious bouts of schadenfreude watching the uninformed/unaware drivers permanently idling behind a line of cars in the right lane that never seems to move solely due to the idlers' need for an angry fix.
I drink my coffee black, so my preference is for the Starbucks up the street.Tim Hortons coffee black to me tastes like a cup of once-good coffee stuffed with cigarette butts and citric acid. Starbucks? No, they don't have a drive-up and you can stand a spoon up in a cup of their joe, but thank god! Plus, I actually have to have a human interaction to get my coffee. Drive by this Tim's and you will see 15 cars in line and no one at the counter inside.
Poor.
lazy.
bastards.
Get out of your cars, already! And stop blocking traffic.
Tim Horton's is now looking for zoning for stores to accommodate drive-thru lines of up to 20 cars. All I can say is that it is good for suburban planning, but bad for people who want coffee that doesn't taste like ass.
I'm just holding out for the day the SPoT Coffee finally opens down the street from me.
Tim Horton. Good hockey player. Bad coffee shop.
Morgan Spurlock - 13 Days to "30 Days"
For my money, Morgan Spurlock has become the 21st Century's answer to Upton Sinclair.
First with "Super Size Me" and now, with the third season of "30 Days" starting on June 3rd, Spurlock asks us, as did Sinclair, to confront the more uncomfortable and ugly sides of America, including bigotry, poverty, obesity and religious intolerance.
I hate horror movies, and I've always been one to watch through my fingers. I do the same with "30 Days", but out of a mix of outrage and embarrassment. I'm not sure why I am looking forward to this show again, except that perhaps I wish I had the insight and courage to do what Spurlock has done - put human faces on controversies so that the battle lines are blurred and turned on end.
This season he's tackling subject such as coal miners, same-sex parenting, life in a wheel chair and animal rights.
Whether you agree with the positions or not, it is an intellectual exercise in challenging your own thoughts, beliefs and assumptions. If you can't do that, what good is having free will? Or a brain? Or a life?
May 19, 2008
May 18, 2008
NPR you, or NPRn't you?
When you hear those letters, do you think of your 5:30am morning alarm? Pleasing, rounded voices delivering your news fix? The clacking of Daniel Schorr's dentures? Mysterious bumper music? Irrational Puzzlemaster tension? Schwetty Balls?
If so, then you understand why Alison and I were so excited to be in Washington DC on a Wednesday night and finding out that NPR offers studio tours, but only on Thursday mornings @11am. And best of all? It's free! (I know. This may not be an enticement for some. Just go with it.)
NPR-heads know the kind of rabid following it inspires, and at 10:55am, every stereotype of NPR listenership showed up in the lobby of their HQ at Massachusetts & 7th. I already had my Starbucks and New York Times with me, so I was Stereotype #1- NorthEastern Liberal. In succession came the over-stimulated woman with the Peruvian purse and mom jeans, the pony-tailed techies, the retired couple with fanny packs and Birkenstocks, the 20-something detail freaks, the socialist conspiracy theorist and the mousy say-nothings. All of us were placed in the capable hands of Alan, the Man in Black with a bushy shock of salt & pepper hair and matching beard. The circle was now complete.
...oh my god, is that Nina Totenberg in the pink coat? Whaddya mean no photos on the tour?....
We had two hours before our tour of the Capitol building, and as the NPR tour was billed as an hour, we thought we'd have plenty of time. Uh-uh. We started at the 6th floor and would work our way down. Eventually. The first 30 minutes were spent in front of windows looking into the rooms that handle all the phone lines, audio and satellite uplinks. Critical to be sure, but it was just a bank of flashing lights with some PC screens. We learned everything we needed to know about ISDN lines, off-site server storage, sharing bandwidth on the PRSS system, what the pulsing green level meters meant... ::sigh:: The conspiracy theorist asked who owns the content - NPR or the Government? Sadly for him, NPR does - no conspiracy here.
Luckily, a woman from NPR Music came by to answer questions about the aforementioned bumper music, how it is chosen almost on the fly (!) and how it helps pad out the extra minutes needed for timing purposes. She also put in a plug for the new All Songs Considered website, which is a great source for finding new tunes.
With the first half-hour gone, we were worried about getting through the rest of the tour, but we stuck with it as we walked through the research pen and staff desks. Ooo! There's where Julie Rovner sits! And Allison Aubrey! And Joanne Silberner! We know these names! And boy are some of these desks messy...
In Studio 4A, the set-up was beginning for a taped appearance by the Montreal band, Plants and Animals. The studio was large and sound-deadened, with a newly purchased green screen to be used for some new video effects. Questions flew hot and heavy from our tour group - "Do you know what the music was playing between those stories at around 6:40 this morning?" "Do you use Pro Tools for sound editing?" Do you answer the calls for Click & Clack?" ::sigh:: We were leaving the studio as the band was arriving, toting their own gear. I guess NPR doesn't supply roadies...
...oh my god, that's Scott Simon who just said hello!...
Down in the Morning Edition area, things were just wrapping up as we walked into the broadcast booth. I must say that the explanation of how affiliate stations can pick and choose programming and how it is all timed was impressive, more so as you see how tightly timed everything is timed out on the whiteboards dotting the walls. The over-stimulated woman from our group excused herself to use the bathroom, and upon her return shrieked "Oh my god, I just met Steve Inskeep! I knew his voice when he asked if I was lost! Sometimes its good to have to pee!". I hope Steve knew this before he shook hands with her... ::sigh:: We saw the little booth for the newsreader, and watched as Michele Norris set up for an interview. Faces with voices at last.
...and no, NPR does NOT reuse material on subsequent days. That's the affiliate station's doing, OK?...
Last stop - 90 minutes from the start (!) - was the media library and archive room where they still have reel upon reel of reel-to-reel tapes storing shows from the pre-digital age. All are being digitized we're told, then shipped off for storage at the University of Maryland. Hope they still have the equipment to play them. Blerg.
The tour came to an abrupt end back in the lobby. We bade farewell to Alan and we raced off to catch a cab for the Capitol building. Were we glad we did the tour? Absolutely! I have a greater appreciation for the split-second timing needed to support the programming we take for granted (after membership dues to our affiliate, WBFO, or course!) I'd say this tour is for any real NPR fan, but budget more time that you expect and expect to hear more than you really wanted to know. Behind it all though, is passion - from the staff, from the tour guide and from your fellow tourists whom you just might want to kill by the end!
...what? No gift shop? No wonder you have to have fund drives...
