TomServo0

Building on the Past for Our Future

2010-03-13T21:28:00.001-05:00

In 2009, Preservation Buffalo Niagara worked with filmmaker Diedie Weng on this documentary as part of Squeaky Wheel’s Channels program. Through this film, Diedie Weng aimed to promote a conversation about low income communities’ efforts and struggles in revitalizing neglected historic Buffalo neighborhoods.

Minneapolis

2009-11-26T14:31:00.001-05:00

Song by that dog. Thanks to Ed and Mollie

Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Celebration

2009-06-14T23:48:00.002-04:00

We made it into Pittsburgh ten minutes before the Penguins won the Stanley Cup and the place exploded. There were riot police and emergency personnel everywhere but things stayed pretty cool.

I Have An Autotuner

2009-04-24T00:56:00.000-04:00

A Song That's Been In My Head For 20 Years

2009-03-19T23:09:00.000-04:00

Pinky & The Brain's Kicky Sack Socko Sack Kicker

2009-03-08T22:49:00.000-04:00

Photo ID

2009-02-06T17:10:00.004-05:00

"I have a drawing by Alexander Levy, my grandfather. I was wondering if you could identify the building in the drawing? I belive it may be in Buffalo but I am not sure. Thank you....Jon Levy"

Miniature Classics For Two Trumpets - Cowboy Robot

2008-12-31T00:16:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

80 Minutes for 12/27/08

2008-12-27T22:36:00.002-05:00

In what may be my very last regular blog post (I'll come back once in a while, so don't get too excited) I thought I'd put together one more mixtape.

The .zip file is 100 megs. You can download it here. Below is the tracklisting, and lucky you, there are some related videos (but not perfect matches) as well.

01 Temple City Kazoo Orchestra - 2001 Sprach Kazoostra

02 Raveonettes - Aly, Walk With Me

03 Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

04 Iron & Wine - White Tooth Man

05 Foo Fighters - FFL

06 Holy Fuck - Safari

07 Spoon - You Got Yr Cherry Bomb (alternate version)

08 !!! - Heart of Hearts

09 Animal Collective - Peacebone

10 Yogi Yorgesson - Who Hid The Halibut On The Poop Deck?

11 Richard "Groove" Holmes - Groovin' For Mr. G

12 My Brightest Diamond - Freak Out (Gold Chains remix)

13 Kings of Leon - My Party (Kenna and Chad Hugo remix)

14 Ben Gibbard - Thriller (Michael Jackson cover)

15 Samuel L. Jackson - Stack-O-Lee

16 Wally Cox & The Natives - Zu Zu

17 Gokben - Siribim Siribom

18 Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks

19 Nina Simone - Sinnerman

Vertical Pizza

2008-12-23T22:10:00.002-05:00

Then add the most popular search terms of 2008:

1) Poker
2) Paris Hilton
3) YouTube
4) Golf
5) Sarah Palin
6) Britney Spears
7) Clay Aiken
8) Pamela Anderson
9) Facebook
10) Holly Madison

Boom! You got yourself a blog post with built-in web traffic!

The Carol of the Christmas Pickle

2008-12-12T21:20:00.001-05:00

This story is 100% Biblically accurate.

Jazz Odyssey

2008-12-06T17:43:00.000-05:00

Dad's Thanksgiving Plate

2008-11-27T23:49:00.004-05:00

We should've put a little American flag at the top.
Have a happy Black Friday!

The Most Horrible Day of my Life.

2008-11-21T19:03:00.002-05:00

Everybody knows that January 27, 1991 was worse.

Somebody's Watching Me

2008-11-10T21:12:00.002-05:00

I have magical powers that enable me to see what people type into search engines to find this blog. Here are the last 245 entries for your amusement. And no, I'm not making any of this up.

72 29.39% tina fey nude
9 3.67% fred schrock
4 1.63% tina faye nude
3 1.22% tina fey nude photos
3 1.22% french colonization 1500's
3 1.22% tomservo0
3 1.22% salem colonial superstitions
3 1.22% rappin with gas
2 0.82% livery
2 0.82% guamindang
2 0.82% www.savethelivery.com
2 0.82% world civilizations chapter 7 notes
2 0.82% nationalist movements between wwi and wwii
2 0.82% linda stouffer nude
2 0.82% why was japanese angry at u.s. for supporting china in ww2
2 0.82% beck sessions at west 54th
2 0.82% miragh addis
2 0.82% crooked as a warped
2 0.82% linda stouffer nude pics
2 0.82% 4 guys 1 cup
2 0.82% linda stouffer
2 0.82% tina fey, nude
2 0.82% tomservo0 schrock
2 0.82% tina fey nude pictures
1 0.41% angry banana youtube
1 0.41% buffalo bills boogie
1 0.41% david hill iii
1 0.41% linda stouffer nude pictures
1 0.41% dr wheelock's little red school
1 0.41% fred schrock genesee
1 0.41% dan the automator-wanna buy a monkey? blog
1 0.41% the role of men in colonial america
1 0.41% haale
1 0.41% ding ding a dang a long ling long why why why
1 0.41% media plai 8.0
1 0.41% fred schrock buffalo university
1 0.41% he's as crooked as a warped
1 0.41% maritime revolution of the 15th century
1 0.41% benny goodman sextet blogspot
1 0.41% tina faye nude photos
1 0.41% weezer illustration where's waldo
1 0.41% neighborhood
1 0.41% h.h. richardson complex
1 0.41% linda stouffer biography
1 0.41% tina fey pictures
1 0.41% as crooked as a warped shillelagh
1 0.41% he?s as crooked as a warped shillelagh
1 0.41% tina fey - nude
1 0.41% mary jemison movie
1 0.41% subway letterhead
1 0.41% world civilizations since 1500 syllabus
1 0.41% fredliner trailers
1 0.41% alcohol production colonial america
1 0.41% megan herbeck
1 0.41% blog, you're a woman, i'm a machine
1 0.41% richardson complex tour
1 0.41% dubyamovie.com
1 0.41% the bens ep blogspot
1 0.41% picture of jerod the subway guy
1 0.41% fidel castro overtakes cuba/ bay of pigs mission
1 0.41% price of alcohol in colonial america
1 0.41% aol hometown
1 0.41% colonial witch protection in salem
1 0.41% french colonization 1600's
1 0.41% rottweiler8
1 0.41% ashley judd 2002
1 0.41% andy milonakis 29 old
1 0.41% frederick c schrock buffalo
1 0.41% rappin' with gas
1 0.41% mccain likey
1 0.41% mst3k randomizer
1 0.41% youtube tractorshows france
1 0.41% fredline family
1 0.41% nude tina
1 0.41% stable and in complaint letter
1 0.41% david hill take it easy
1 0.41% science fair bridge creation
1 0.41% dr. wheelock's little red school summary
1 0.41% jabba pet part 3
1 0.41% anal thermometer lyrics
1 0.41% mary jemison colonial women
1 0.41% tina fey free nude
1 0.41% as crooked as a
1 0.41% chapter 21 world civilations
1 0.41% sarah palin nude
1 0.41% frustrated nationalism in italy after ww1
1 0.41% there
1 0.41% renegger spelling
1 0.41% wwi and wwii defeated what country
1 0.41% about brad swanson organ
1 0.41% kino ede snyder architects
1 0.41% marie vahue
1 0.41% notes on mid atlantic colonies
1 0.41% slip and fall complaint letter
1 0.41% down down down down doobie down woah woah woah
1 0.41% the crooked shilelagh
1 0.41% frodo graph vid
1 0.41% mary jemison compared to women settlers
1 0.41% poll booth invented in chautauqua county
1 0.41% h.h richardson complex
1 0.41% spain was kicked out of fl in 17oos
1 0.41% tina fey nude slip
1 0.41% power jeffrey
1 0.41% liam lynch - fake songs blogspot
1 0.41% algonquin 1600s indians effects of colonisation
1 0.41% french colonists america
1 0.41% black teen bootymeat
1 0.41% clipper do biafra
1 0.41% craiglist batavia, ny
1 0.41% church auction new york
1 0.41% batavia mall
1 0.41% matthew lyon, national debt vote
1 0.41% communism in china during wwi
1 0.41% site:blogspot.com mashed potatoes smashing pumpkins
1 0.41% peace bridge busti
1 0.41% tina fey newd photos
1 0.41% linda stouffer 2008
1 0.41% total war notes wwii
1 0.41% free pictures of linda stouffer nude
1 0.41% peanut butter breaks, styles, crews, flows, beats blogspot
1 0.41% mr. greg moyo promotion manager
1 0.41% linda stouffer cnn headline news, pictures and bio
1 0.41% german famine during ww1
1 0.41% fredliner parts
1 0.41% early america colombian exchange
1 0.41% undefeatable rifftrax
1 0.41% livery stable buffalo white
1 0.41% digital archive mst3k
1 0.41% crow t robot rutherford b hayes
1 0.41% tina fey nudes
1 0.41% disintegration is the greatest album ever! sound clip
1 0.41% peace bridge
1 0.41% blogspot you're a woman, i'm a machine rock album
1 0.41% wwi notes
1 0.41% tina fey nuda
1 0.41% on this very night...10 years ago...along the same stretch of road...in a dense fog...just like this...i saw the worst accident i ever seen...there was this sound...like a garbage truck!
1 0.41% notes of italy wwii

Jozin z bazin

2008-11-09T21:08:00.001-05:00

BearToy [TotalFark]:

"It opens with some sort of fantastic fart horn that converts the player's grimaces into trumpeted staccato bursts of gastrointestinal distress. We are then presented with an absolutely startlingly nauseating black & white jacket that stuns the viewer into a mild coma that we can only assume is an unintentionally benevolent form of anesthesia to prevent full reception of the rest of the performance. We then are subjected to a bearded guy who is having a type of seizure that causes him to jerk about in between episodes where he is caught recovering from being on his knees for reasons which, quite thankfully, refuse to be explained. This continues until an event at 2:01 that, unless you have installed cerebral circuit breakers, may cause your brain to explode. Cieszą się!"

Obama Girl Remembered

2008-11-06T00:44:00.002-05:00

How did he do it? Isn't it obvious?

It's Time

2008-11-02T01:37:00.004-04:00

The first website I ever made was called TomServo0's Work In Progress, started on February 5, 1997. It was an AOL page that branched out into some Tripod and Angelfire sites when I ran out of free space. I stopped updating it in 1998, right before college. This Halloween, AOL hit the switch on its "Hometown" pages and mine was deleted. It was time for it to go. There remains plenty of TomServo0 detritus lying around the internet, none of it exceptional, that has also been ignored over time. Even this Geocities site features a picture taken in a building that burned down four years ago.

It's also time to let go of this blog. I originally started posting after college in 2002, thinking I could use this as a tool to practice writing about myself for job or grad school applications. Just like the first site was created before AOL even had a "Hometown" section, I had a blog before most people called them "blogs." (I transferred the original posts from a message board I set up). Six years later I have an actual job becoming of my education and I do little more than embed YouTube videos. So what's the point anymore?

I'll continue to put up things from here to there, and I'm not going to delete anything (you could have E-mailed me, AOL, instead of having me find out on FARK two days later), but pretty soon there will be no more regular updates. The only site I'll continue do dabble in will be the one I'm paid to update. I figure I'll really give it up after 25,000 hits or 100 posts in 2008, or at the end of the calendar year, whichever comes last.

He's as crooked as a warped shillelagh!

2008-10-16T20:41:00.003-04:00

Looks familiar, doesn't it?
Wannnh wannnh wannnh!

Sarah Palin and Tina Fey nude photos

2008-10-05T17:53:00.002-04:00

No, not really. But they look pretty similar with their clothes on. You betcha!

Spirograph Redux

2008-09-22T22:58:00.001-04:00

Breaking News: Series Of Concentric Circles Emanating From Glowing Red Dot

Don'cha Know

2008-09-16T16:38:00.001-04:00

McCain Likey

2008-09-15T00:27:00.001-04:00

Boys, Always Competing

2008-08-30T21:17:00.000-04:00

This one's for Dave.

I Think it was the 4th of July

2008-08-10T11:08:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted much in a long, long while, so. . . . On July 4th the weather was perfect at Tonawanda's Niawanda Park. Thousands came out for the fireworks, music, and food. Pics!

(taken at Tops afterward)

Hey

2008-07-24T23:34:00.002-04:00

I started a new job with these people. Keeps me busy. I'll post something later.

Until then, experience this very moving PowerPoint.

Livery Stable Collapse Part IV

2008-07-05T01:00:00.005-04:00

Stable Saved
SaveTheLivery.com

It seemed impossible but the Livery Stable was saved at the last minute. On Tuesday, Sam Savarino of Savarino Construction announced their $1 purchase of the building from slumlord Robert Freudenheim. They will also inherit city demolition costs of up to $400,000. The idea is to keep the back and front walls assuming nothing more falls down. Savarino wants to turn the top three floors into apartments and keep the ground level for parking. The neighbors forced from their homes due to falling debris can't return just yet.

Search Artvoice TV for "White Brothers Livery Collapse" and see just how many people it takes to fight City Hall.

An NPR interview of Buffalo Rising writers discusses the Livery for the first few minutes. You can still download it here. (Let me know if the link breaks.)

Livery Stable Collapse Part III

2008-06-24T17:14:00.005-04:00

www.savethelivery.com
A possible buyer?
City plans legal action against owner

A growing number of community members have been able to stave off the destruction of Livery Stable on Jersey Street, and may actually get it preserved. This is a big turnaround from just a week ago, when the city was knocking (more) holes in the roof. There was a third court date this morning but there the only ruling was that there will be no ruling for two weeks. This afternoon there was a staged press conference/protest in front of the building.

Just to recap: Bob Freudenheim bought the 100-year old livery stable for $40,000 about twenty years ago. He never kept up the building. He tried to sell it for $400,000 and got offers, but for some reason never sold it. Neighbors and the city complained about Freudenheim's housing violations for years. Now that the building's instability has left five families homeless, the courts must act now. In two weeks or so. Maybe. As bad as this is, it has taken years to get to this point with other properties.

Motor City

2008-06-22T22:19:00.003-04:00

There are plenty of cars in the Detroit. Last week I took pictures of some of them. Sorry for the poor lighting. Remember, "car" is another word for "carriage." And the first pictures are of a bus, but it's the bus Rosa Parks was on so it's cool. Music: Radiohead, "Bangers & Mash."

Cheesewagons

2008-06-21T23:23:00.002-04:00

cheesewagonderby.com

A Town, A Team, A Dream

2008-06-18T21:54:00.001-04:00

put these on your blog, no one reads mine. --Joe

Detroit Barack City

2008-06-16T23:53:00.003-04:00

Today was my first day in Detroit. My schedule was packed but I knew there had to be something to check out before I left. Who knew it meant being in the eighth row to see Al Gore endorsing Barack Obama? Video later.

Livery Stable Collapse Part II

2008-06-15T02:10:00.004-04:00

SaveTheLivery.com

The city began demolition of the Livery Stable today, stopping several hours later due to a court injunction from nearby residents. That means everything is up in the air again. While saving the building is far from likely--it's missing a good chunk of its roof now--activists are also concentrating efforts against the slumlord who let this happen. A meeting/press conference is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. This is something I'd like to follow up on.

Neighbors have been using a twisted sense of humor against Freudenheim's poor property management.

What do you do with a unique, irreplaceable, historic building?

Meanwhile, here's a generic photo of today's Allentown Art Festival.

Livery Stable Collapse

2008-06-13T20:51:00.004-04:00

By the time you read this article, this building will probably be gone.

Buffalo Rising article
Buffalo Rising article 2
Buffalo News article

I could go into the finer points of the building: it is a rare, 1890s structure and one of only three liveries remaining, for example. It was built by Richard Waite, a man from Buffalo best known as the architect for Ontario's House of Parliament. I could also rant about the owner, Robert Freudenheim, who will most definitely skirt the $300,000 cost of demolition that the city will have to foot.

Note the rotted, broken roof and gutters, and how it nearly hangs over the next house

More importantly we should remember the impact of building neglect on communities. Freudenheim owned a building in Allentown up until January, when police found a homeless man had frozen to death inside. It was demolished soon after. The livery stable could have easily been converted into apartments, condos, or a small business. Instead of fixing the roof, Freudenheim tried flipping it for $400K with no repairs.

The owner bought this property almost twenty years ago and says he's done extensive repairs. So why has the building been exposed to the outdoors since I moved in a year ago?

Who wants to pay $400K for a structure missing parts of its roof and whose gutters leak onto the floors? One neighbor said that from their vantage point they could see two trees growing inside.

The back of the building is covered in vines, greening several backyards

To days ago the wall began to collapse, right where roof holes have been viewed from the street. The wooden supports inside rotted. Within hours community members organized a task force to A) save the building or B) string up the owner so this never happens again. Nearby houses have been evacuated. The neighborhood, consisting of one-way side streets and homes dating back to at least 1829, will suffer plummeting real estate values. Hopefully values will drop because of a vacant lot, not because a wall fell on someone's home. Freudenheim lives in a $615,000 home near the Albright-Knox, so why are we paying his bills?

Tim Russert RIP

2008-06-13T19:05:00.001-04:00

The Crystalline Entity

2008-06-10T23:53:00.004-04:00

TNG#104

I finally made my way to Toronto and saw the new entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum up close. You know what? I don't know. Is there something I'm not getting? The outside is okay . . . I guess. It does look tacked-on. The inside is lousy as far as I'm concerned: white everywhere, and it appears more constricting than spacious. Not that I really know anything about architecture, but the ceilings seem lower than they actually are. Maybe I expected more glass from Mr. Liebskind, or maybe it looks better at night. Tell me what you think.*

*not that you care

The Slip

2008-06-10T01:26:00.003-04:00

Buffalo's Commercial Slip opened during Memorial Day weekend. Though it's far from complete (whatever that means) it's shaping up to be an interesting spot getting a lot of visitors. Revitalization efforts began about ten years ago when the original terminus of the Erie Canal was uncovered and the city had the foresight to capitalize on the find. Expect some commercial/recreational/historical-themed construction in the next few years. The old Memorial Auditorium will be demolished within the next year to make way for a Bass Pro store, so expect to see more fishing on the pier.

I also visited the new "beach" near the Buffalo Marina. It looks about fifty feet wide and swimming is illegal. The point? Buffalo needs a beach, I guess. The newspaper and all three news channels did pieces on it. At least the fixed-up naval park looks good.

Music is from the Nine Inch Nails album The Slip. Get it? Ha ha. I picked the song 1,000,000 because of the millions Buffalo's spending to put this all together. The Slip is on sale for zero dollars on the artist's official site. Thanks for the album, Trent! Now please stop mentioning "getting on your knees" in every record.

Rally for the Peace Bridge Neighborhood, Part II

2008-06-06T01:26:00.004-04:00

Several posts ago I mentioned a press conference by the National Trust for Historic Preservation declaring the Peace Bridge neighborhood one of the "11 most endangered" historic areas in the US. I biked to Front Park and attended the conference. Despite the cold rain and winds about eighty people showed up, as well as every media outlet in the city.

For more information, visit the Trust's dedicated page. Basically, in order to prevent terrorists from coming into our country and destroying more buildings, we have to increase our presence at the border by destroying more buildings first. There are better alternatives, but why use public input?

It should be noted that while the Peace Bridge Authority has worked on bridge plans since the early '90s without anything to show for it, it took them 24 hours to find my post. What they're looking for I have no idea.

If you were lucky enough to watch the Channel 4 News at 5 that day you would have seen a full body shot of me for about three seconds, staring off into space. The fame has really gone to my head.

Fillmore's Kids

2008-06-05T20:43:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday morning I helped give a tour of Buffalo City Hall to about 100 second graders. They had a blast. Here's a few of them posing with the thirteenth President. (Click to enlarge.)

Artists & Models

2008-06-02T22:52:00.002-04:00

Artist & Models, Buffalo Central Terminal, Hallwalls.
Here's some video of that.

Music by Foot Village

461

2008-05-26T23:52:00.003-04:00

Y'all know how I'm down with the Scrabble. Sunday I posted my all-time best score against a guy who never knew what hit 'em. It won't win me any tournaments but I think I deserve a cookie. And that triple word score on turn 8? Damn.

WoW

2008-05-26T16:38:00.004-04:00

Bowling Dance Party!

Where's the video of me? Aw shucks it must be lost.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T01:51:00.001-04:00

Taken at the Buffalo Naval Park, 24 May

Rally for the Peace Bridge Neighborhood

2008-05-21T21:41:00.003-04:00

Not to make this site a depository for press releases, but I think I'll go to this. Thanks to Rebecca for the info.

RALLY FOR THE PEACE BRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD - ONE OF 2008'S 11 MOST ENDANGERED HISTORIC PLACES

Yesterday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that it has listed the Buffalo neighborhood in the vicinity of the Peace Bridge among the 11 Most Endangered Places in America.

The proposed expansion of the border entry plaza at this location threatens to destroy a vital historic neighborhood, to displace families and businesses, and to impact nationally significant Olmsted parks. Viable alternatives exist to minimize impacts to people and heritage, including other plaza configurations and other locations, but they have not been meaningfully considered. With a coalition of other Buffalo and Western NY organizations, we are calling on the responsible federal agencies to properly analyze less destructive alternatives.

At noon on Thursday, May 22, the National Trust for Historic Preservation will host a public event in Buffalo to mark the announcement. We are reaching out to the community leaders, organizations, and individuals who have worked to safeguard Buffalo's quality of life and its history, our friends and supporters, to ask that you join us at the Picnic Shelter in Front Park (corner of Porter Ave. And Busti Ave.) for a media and public event to mark this listing, featuring Wendy Nicholas, Director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Northeast Office, and our partners in this effort.

Questions? Contact Roberta Lane at roberta_lane[AT]nthp.org Tel: 617.523.0885

Auto-Obituary

2008-05-20T12:31:00.003-04:00

New World Propaganda to me
May 14 (6 days ago)

Hello friends,

Well, we're down to the wire. We have only 5 days of regular business left, and then we start packing up the store to bug out. Even so, we brought in a few copies of the new DCFC (that's Death Cab for Cutie) for the true believers. Plus a new Bonnie Prince Billy is on the way.

What a long, strange trip it's been. I thank you again for sharing the road with us, and invite you to make a last detour to visit us in these last days, say hi, and maybe reminisce a bit. We still have some fine titles in stock, plus thousands more used CDs have recently hit the sales floor--average net price $4.19! Many odd, cool collectibles have turned up, and we're ready to sell them all (pretty much). The huge 4 x 4 posters? For sale. The CD bins? for sale. The gold records? For sale (some of 'em, anyway) The kick-ass JBL speakers? For sale.

We have a good selection of New World t-shirts for $10-12; our rockin'hoodies are $22.99, and we have a very few knit caps, for $15-ish. Plus a wild assortment of t-shirts new and old, ranging from Wilco to Paramore to Syd Barrett to General Public.

We'd be remiss if we didn't point out that Sunday the 18th will also be Mondo Video's final day. Our best wishes to fellow traveler M. Faust.
Sadly, on Monday the 19th, Buffalo will be just a little bit... less.

On a personal note, I'm thrilled to tell you that I will be hosting a wee radio show on WBFO 88.7 starting the week of May 26th. It will be an hour-long show on either Monday or Tuesday night at 8pm (right after Fresh Air) and I plan to have each episode center on a theme-- lyrical, melodic, historic, we shall see-- please listen, I think it'll be great fun.

Don't be a stranger.
Namaste.

Govindan

British Sea Power/Jeffrey Lewis/The Rosebuds/The Stay Lows

2008-05-20T01:57:00.003-04:00

Four bands? Twelve dollars? At the Tralf? This show was good before it even started.

The Stay Lows - Pretty much missed them. Heard good things about it but the singer sounded flat.
The Rosebuds - I think I liked them better than BSP. Catchy stuff. Their merch guy solved a Rubik's Cube on stage.
Jeffrey Lewis - Cut from the same cloth as pre-Bong Load Beck, if you can remember that stuff. NYC anti-folk. Makes his own coloring books, or something. He bootlegs his own CDs and I bought one from him for $6. Want to hear?

Back When I Was 4

British Sea Power put on a great performance. Their songs got into a decent groove after a couple minutes. Near the end I thought "Hey, I should video record the last song." Then a soccer game broke out. It's here in two sections because YouTube has time limits. Can you tell I was next to the speakers?

For kicks, here's another song from the show.

Finally, speaking of rock stars, look at Obama in Oregon. Holy crap.

The Hunt For Linda Stouffer

2008-05-13T15:32:00.002-04:00

Near the bottom-right of this page is a hit counter. It doesn't change much. But as the owner of the counter I'm privy to some neat info. Yesterday I got the following visit (bold added for emphasis):

Manassas Virginia United States
b249-138.house.gov (143.231.249.138)
Referring Page: www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS265US265&q=linda stouffer whereabouts

Why do people keep visiting this site for Linda Stouffer info? What does the Federal Government want with Linda Stouffer? Is it because she's against troop increases? Does she know Congress is looking for her? Is she in trouble?

Linda, call me. I'm worried. Are you on drugs again?

Search for Linda

Vote Schrock!

The Biggest Ball of Twine In Buffalo

2008-05-11T22:21:00.002-04:00

It's on Hertel Avenue.

Memories

aaaaAAAAHHHHH!

2008-05-11T21:28:00.002-04:00

Caminito del Rey

Vote Schrock 2008

2008-05-06T22:17:00.003-04:00

It's never too late to save America

Spring Cleaning

2008-05-06T19:26:00.002-04:00

Today I gutted my browser bookmarks. Try some of the new links on the right, especially "Google Helps Me Find The Goods" and WFMU's amazing site. One of my bookmarks also went to the oddity below. Don't play it.

On Tour

2008-05-05T23:42:00.004-04:00

You can find this photo and more at Buffalo Rising. I'm in the back and slightly to the right. The 2008 Buffalo Tours docent training finished up this weekend. This year I was declared a Master Docent, and I'm trying in vain not to let the power go to my head.

Stop by the Market Arcade Building on Main Street and pick up a brochure. There are about 30 different tours offered about 500 times this year. As Bill Cosby used to say on Fat Albert, "If you're not careful, you may learn something before it's done!"

Then again, as LeVar Burton used to say on Reading Rainbow, "You don't have to take MY word for it." Check 'em out!

Tokyo Police Club/Smoosh/Meligrove Band

2008-05-01T03:08:00.002-04:00

I just came back from a pretty darned good show at Showplace. All three bands put on great sets. Probably the biggest surprise was Smoosh, ironically performing songs more complicated than people twice their age. The videos below sound lame because of our location next to the speakers. Oh well. Even when muted, the Tokyo Police Club just plain looks cool.

Smoosh:

Thanks for nothing to all the moshers out there, especially the guy who cared enough to heckle the other bands and jump on my feet all night.

Delicious Dishes

2008-04-29T20:21:00.003-04:00

My birthday usually coincides with an all-out, completely nonathletic marathon at a Chinese Buffet. This once-a-year event requires planning (no food for a day before or after) and dedication. I'm no Takeru Kobayashi but I get an E for effort.

The MSG plate

The Sushi Plate

Some Dim Sum

Dessert

As a special birthday treat I also bought myself a Garbage Plate two nights before.
MMMMM!

On Monday I started exercising again.

Her Name Is Alberta, She Lives In Vancouver

2008-04-27T23:40:00.006-04:00

Recently cousin Jasson (link updated) discussed the joys of a short trip across the border to Toronto. Oh, but what about the joys of having family in Canada, and visiting several times per year for a lifetime?

Good things about binationalism:

1. Poutine. Definitely poutine.
2. Learning applicable use of the word "eh."
3. Canada ends about fifty miles north of the border. Any farther and you're in Narnia.
4. The greatest sports show in history, Hockey Night in Canada. It's on public television, meaning hockey fights are practically subsidized by the government.
5. Toronto: the city New York could be if it got rid of all that pesky poverty and crime.

Bad things about binationalism:

1. Having to spend more than ten seconds explaining what country you're from. (Just say "American.")
2. Having to hear both sides of the most boring ethnic dispute possible: "Who won the War of 1812?"
3. A dollar isn't worth a dollar. The dollar used to be worth a lot more than a dollar but for a while it was less than a dollar. A dollar is about one dollar now, but you have to exchange dollars for dollars and there's usually a fee making dollars more than a dollar.
4. Being reminded that I'm one-half of the Shreddies duo.

5. I have to know all the states AND provinces, miles AND kilometers, Presidents AND Prime Ministers, and who won the Super Bowl AND the Grey Cup.

The best part of all:

Making fun of both countries without remorse.

Special thanks goes out to Sarah G for the year's best birthday card. We've been to a ton of Canadian shows and stayed awake for two day to see the Pope visit Downsview Park. Good times all.

Avenue Q is at Shea's all this week.

Smoking for Two

2008-04-27T23:02:00.004-04:00

I recently celebrated a birthday. Most people receive birthday gifts bought at a store. Because of my chosen field of expertise, however, that's not the case. For example, my sister trekked to the Salvation Army and found a set of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on 78, circa 1930. Not too shabby.

My parents picked this up: a copy of the Saturday Evening Post from September 9, 1950.

The ads really date the periodical. A black and white, 16" mahogany television set? Who needs a screen that big? But you'll love this one:

Enlarge and discuss!

Bwa bwa bwa-bwa bwa

2008-04-24T23:37:00.003-04:00

Miss Othmar

Thanks to a hook-up from my agent, last night I recorded several takes for John's newest film production. I did a voiceover for the part of a chemistry teacher in what I'm sure is a very important scene. Look for the film's premiere in Nashville, Tennessee in the near future. John's last work played at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival several weeks ago.

And here is the greatest video ever recorded: Lion vs. Buffalo vs. Crocodile!

From Jerry

2008-04-23T13:53:00.001-04:00

Fred,
Put this on your web........If you want.

Fred Schrock's Grandfather, Tobias Schrock

Buffalo Museum of Science

2008-04-22T21:49:00.002-04:00

1. Take too many pictures at the Science Museum in February
2. Put them to music
3. Profit!

Uh

2008-04-21T20:10:00.002-04:00

This election needs to end NOW.

Bel Cibo is not a Disco

2008-04-20T23:03:00.003-04:00

So I was taking a picture of these wonderful people:

When I bumped into this wonderful person. Phil, how long has it been?

The weather was nice so I walked around this weekend. Here's a small art gallery on Allen Street:

Here's the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site:

New World Record is closing soon, but they threw a party for Independent Record Store Day. Where am I going to buy concert tickets when they're gone?

Soundlab had a Communist Party, whatever that means. Good times, and a homeless dude to boot.

Terminal Art

2008-04-16T23:04:00.007-04:00

Some UB students exhibited their work at Buffalo's Central Terminal last Sunday. While still decrepit, much of the ground floor is now accessible for the first time in years. That leaves plenty of unique open spaces for each artist. My favorite was the Chocolate town, of course. The giant wall o'mall shoes was pretty impressive, too. The art can speak for itself.

Bricks From The Wall

2008-04-16T22:36:00.005-04:00

For any fellow Canisius College grads, you probably wondered about that kids' school attached to Lyons Hall. For any fellow elementary school grads (sorry Tennessee!) you must have dreamed of the day your school was destroyed by an awesome display of heavy machinery. In this post, EVERYBODY WINS. St. Joe's has been relocated and the facility demolished. Canisius plans to build new classrooms and dorms (read: worsen parking) in the near future.

When I last checked this former gym/temporary garage had also been leveled.

Holy Thursday

2008-04-15T22:20:00.004-04:00

Way back before Easter, best bud Dave and I toured Buffalo's East Side to check out some Catholic churches. Church lighting makes photography a pain but here's my slideshow anyway. I highly recommend you do this next year. Between St. Patrick's Day, this, Easter at the Broadway Market, and Dyngus Day, you now have a month's worth of events bringing in outsiders to the East Side.

Fabulous

2008-04-14T21:19:00.005-04:00

Gay Bingo is just what it sounds like. It's also for a good cause. I arrived an hour early with several other people and could barely find seats. (That's 250 seats by the way.) There's no real difference between regular bingo and gay bingo except when somebody screams "BINGO" everyone else yells "BITCH!" Also the drag queens.

And remember: drinking and bingo don't mix.

It's Not News

2008-04-13T20:42:00.002-04:00

Over the weekend this page's counter passed 20,000. Thanks to everyone for making the site such a hit. Get it? Hit? Ugh.

Roommate Dave recently picked up a story for the Tonawanda News about a handicapped man who fell out of his bed. Instead of helping him, his girlfriend brought him food for a month while he defecated on himself. Dave's story was picked up by the newswires and published in several papers across the country. Hey, if Bill O'Reilly's career took off from Inside Edition, the sky's the limit for Dave!

An eerie similar story came to light on CNN last week. A mentally ill woman didn't leave her toilet for two years because she was too afraid. Afraid of what, exactly? Her boyfriend doesn't know, and he didn't think of getting help until now. I found out about this story because for some reason, CNN linked the article to my blog. Thanks, CNN, for my 20,000th visitor!

In celebration, here's a special video by Paula Polinski. The music is Mrs. Miller's recording of "Downtown" from Rhino Records' The World's Worst Records Vol. 2. Isn't it sad I know that?

Haale & Friends

2008-04-12T15:40:00.003-04:00

Last night I revisited Haale at an intimate show in the Tralf. Haale combines Persian music with Sufi poetry and Jimi Hendrix-inspired guitar rock to make a distinctive but very fluid sound. It'd be difficult to capture the mood of her performance in text or video--especially her explanations of each song's origins--so I won't try. Have you ever heard extended live versions of Led Zeppelin's No Quarter? That's a starting point.

For the heck of it, here's my video of her at Nietzsche's last year:

Check out Haale's official site for a stream of her new album No Ceiling.

Stephen's Last Night In Town

2008-04-06T22:11:00.007-04:00

There's nothing to do in Buffalo? First and foremost, American hero STEPHEN COLBERT spoke at UB. Guess who got a free ticket?! No, guess again! Well, yeah, he got a ticket too. But I also went!

Nate and I then headed to the casino to celebrate Li's move to NYC. I didn't bet any money this time, making it my most successful night ever.

Saturday morning was docent training. We took a walking tour of Buffalo's Theater District (Theatre?). Today I realized architecture is just Lego appreciation for rich people.

Everybody must get stoned!

Lunch marked my first time at Laughlin's: three floors of dark wood and good food. Apparently it's also owned by the Pearl Street people.

Later I went out with Rebecca and two of her friends to a wine tasting. The cranberry wine was something else. Y'know what else was something else? The 47-year-old grandfather that hit on Rebecca for twenty minutes. I commiserated with him afterwards.

Dude: I tried but she blew me off.
Me:
Dude: Hold on to that.
Me:
Dude: You're a lucky man. Shakes my hand.
Me: There's plenty of fish in the sea, man.
Dude: You're right. You're right.

This gang introduced me to Sidebar and Hoegaarden, a beer so good its website's not in English. These people are wonderful, whoever they are.

Maybe it was the wine, but wasn't Christopher Walken awesome on Saturday Night Live last night?

Sunday meant, among other things, a trip to Mississippi Mudds on the nicest day of the year. Sadly we have video proof.

Finally, beaver. While walking around the park we found a beaver . . . eating Dairy Queen! A perfect ending to a perfect weekend. There's nothing to do in Buffalo.

Besmirched Correspondence

2008-04-06T00:42:00.004-04:00

James Paulsen's Corrupted Affinities is showing at the Big Orbit Gallery on Essex Street, so last week I was there. Paulsen blows up images of dollar bills and splices in everyday commercial icons. The splices are often in patterns or other weird images. Check it out sometime, or at least check out the restored studio space.

The Muppet Show - Rare Pilot Episode Found

2008-04-01T01:22:00.002-04:00

Beeker has a different voice! Amazing stuff.

Jabba the Cat

2008-03-30T23:18:00.002-04:00

Jabba the Cat watches the Buffalo Sabres.
Jabba the Cat does not like the Sabres' playoff chances.
Jabba the Cat wants us to stop talking about health care proposals and pay attention to the came.
Jabba the Cat is not interested in game delays.
Jabba the Cat promises to slim down.

Debbie Holds Drinks Next to Very Hard Games of Beer Pong

2008-03-30T10:18:00.002-04:00

Trimania!

That's Not Funny

2008-03-27T00:38:00.005-04:00

Tuesday I attended world premiere of John Ferguson's epic short film That's Not Funny at the historic Riviera Theater. I got the honor of hobnobbing with the director AND one of the film's stars afterwards. Despite what the title says, That's Not Funny is a hilarious laugh riot that will keep you rolling in the aisles and is two-thumbs-up fun for the whole family. Along with That's Not Funny the Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival also screened the Russian black comedy Fat Stupid Rabbit. The plot of that one I had no idea. Something involving vodka?

Wok With Tom

2008-03-26T23:05:00.004-04:00

Here's something I tried tonight. It was actually quite good! Almost makes the $7 I spent on that wok at Ikea worth the money.

Green Monster Stir-Fry*

4 cups rice
Olive Oil
3 cups chopped chicken
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green peppers
1 can peas
4 tablespoons fancy dijon mustard
1 cup pickle juice

Cook the rice separately. Coat the bottom of a wok with olive oil and cook the chopped chicken. When chicken is nearly cooked, add everything else. The pickle juice (sounds gross, doesn't it?) will almost completely evaporate.

If I try this again I'll substitute green beans for the peas, use a little less pickle juice and add some chopped tomatoes. It was hearty and kind of tangy but not overpowering thanks to the white rice. Who knew mustard and pickles went so well together? I should mention that the pickle juice idea came from Rachel Ray; not that I spent a chunk of Spring Break watching morning television or anything.

*"Dave, what would you call this? It needs a name.
Dave: "'The Green Monster.'"
"Um, can you think of a better name?"
Dave: "No."

Dyngus Day '08

2008-03-25T01:41:00.004-04:00

There's a Polish word to describe all the fun I had at St. Stanislaus' on Dyngus Day. I think it's "biegunka." Wait, that's not it. Oh well. In any case I had a blast.

Big Crack

2008-03-25T01:11:00.003-04:00

For the first time I invited my family over for Easter and not the other way around. At one point my father asked to use the bathroom, emerging later to ask how long my toilet seat had been damaged. Umm, two minutes? Dad is not a lilliputian. He complained that the seat was of, pardon, crappy quality because it was made of pressed wood. I replied that his crappy butt was made out of pressed bacon. He went out and bought me a new seat.

Easter present!

Field Trip

2008-03-21T23:03:00.003-04:00

Several moons ago my buddy Joe, my sister and I went to the Buffalo Botanical Gardens. Thanks to an NEA grant and some backing by Mel Gibson I was able to create this YouTube video.

Proud.

2008-03-18T12:35:00.003-04:00

Transcript of Obama's speech on his pastor, race, puppies and sunshine

Today I got my first greenlit article on FARK. It's not news. UPDATE: In fact, it has achieved 1300 responses in the past nine hours, making it the most commented thread on FARK in at least a week. In perspective, however, Obama's speech may be the most important in a generation.

From The Archives

2008-03-11T01:18:00.002-04:00

October 23, 2004: Eliot Spitzer is the MAN (again)

Well ain't that something. My old MySpace page says Spitzer is my hero. I won't bother editing it, since I love irony.

Good Grub at Shannon Pub

2008-03-09T05:21:00.003-04:00

Page 9 of the Thursday, March 6 edition of the locally published Night & Day features yours truly in a restaurant review of the Shannon Pub in Tonawanda. "Fred," a man whose belly seems to have an infinite expansive capacity for pasta, ordered the pasta primavera ($11.95)," the article states. "It was a large portion, and the vegetables were fresh and crisp."

Accurate to a tee. Pick up a free copy at a food or music venue near you. What did buddies Kazu, Joe, or David (article and photo) eat? I don't want to spoil the surprise! Shannon's has the best fish fry around, by the way.

In other news my old hometown of Akron was hammered by a magnitude 2.7 earthquake. The seismology station at my old alma mater broke the story. Residents report possibly feeling something and promise to embellish their experience for the next 20 years.

Electioneering

2008-03-09T05:11:00.002-04:00

Hell Freezes Over

2008-03-05T17:10:00.003-05:00

Freezing rain stuck an inch-thick sheet of ice on my car, and passing snowplows did little to help the issue. This morning required a good 15 minutes of chipping, scraping, and defrosting for just two windows. I unlocked the trunk but couldn't open it and focused my energies on the driver's side door. My frozen rear-view mirror cracked after trying to adjust it.

During the day ice melted from the heat of the engine and the cab, so while driving down the road this afternoon the entire sheet of ice from the cab slipped down over the windshield. I went completely blind going down a four-lane road.

Somehow I pulled into a movie theater driveway to pull the glaciers off the glass. When I got out the ice encasing the hood fell, en masse, onto my feet. Then the trunk door popped open.

Two thoughts:
1. Always clean off the whole car, no matter how long it takes.
2. Is my car trying to kill me?

Wheel of Misfortune

2008-02-24T03:40:00.001-05:00

Darn Good Time

2008-02-20T23:21:00.004-05:00

Ig Nobel

There are some great shows coming up. Who wants to go? Drop me a line.

2/23 (Sat) Bedouin Soundclash @ Mohawk Place $16
2/26 (Tue) Medeski Martin & Wood @ Town Ballroom $25
3/8 (Sat) Black Lips @ Mohawk Place $12
3/9 (Sun) MSTRKRFT @ Tralf $17
3/17 (Wed) Justice @ Toronto
4/1 (Tue) Stars @ Tralf $16
4/4 (Fri) Stephen Colbert @ UB $40
4/11 (Fri) Haale @ Tralf $12
4/30 (Wed) Tokyo Police Club @ Soundlab $15
5/6 (Tue) Reverend Horton Heat @ Tralf

Rock!

Scandalous Scrabulous

2008-02-19T23:35:00.003-05:00

Not fabulous?

Too much of my long weekend was wasted playing online Scrabble. Hit me up on Scrabulous; my name is TomServo0 and I just finished a 6-game win streak. Don't worry, I'm really not that great. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to memorize all the 2-letter words.

Speaking of streaks, how about Barack Obama? Tonight he just won Wisconsin and it looks like he'll take Washington too. Not only did he win Wisconsin by a bigger margin than McCain did on the Republican side, Obama got three times more votes than McCain. I should name my first kid Barack Schrock. That would rock.

Bear Attack!

2008-02-17T17:18:00.001-05:00

The Truthiness about bears

ePhone

2008-02-13T23:24:00.006-05:00

I leave the worst phone messages. Isn't talking to a machine defeating the very reason phones were invented anyway? That and having to wait for a return call when you expected an instant reply can make messages more nerve-wracking than actual calls.

Anyway, the other day I signed up for a free trial at GotVoice.com. Now (and for the next 14 days) the service will convert my messages to .mp3s and E-mail them to me. The convenience! This also allowed me to download some messages I've been saving. Here's one from last summer: my roommate slept through his alarm and didn't show up for work. His job called his mother, and his mother, fearing he'd been murdered in his new apartment in Buffalo, called me.

Finally, an oldie but a goodie. A friend of my brother's once called and forgot to hang up after leaving a message. Ten years later he's a born-again Christian but the recording lives on. This takes forever to load, but turn it up and check it out.

Powered by Castpost

My other messages are either too private or--you know who you are--were drunk and called me 24 times one night so now they're deleted. To fill the space, here's David Lee Roth's cartoonish singing without Van Halen's help, and then the new video by the Melvins. If you can figure out what the hell that video is about please let me know.

Lincoln Log

2008-02-10T21:41:00.000-05:00

Today would have been Abraham Lincoln's 199th birthday, and though I forgot to buy him something nice I did visit the Historical Society for festivities. What constitutes "festivities" is a matter of opinion, but hey: here's a mold of Lincoln's face!

Irony #1: To celebrate Lincoln's birthday they displayed a replica of his casket. Irony #2: To celebrate Lincoln's life they held festivities on the site of another president's assassination. Irony #3: A Lincoln impersonator re-enacted the Gettysburg Address in front of people dressed as Confederate soldiers. They applauded.

Abe laments the Buffalo weather

Celebrants

I got an awesome head shot of Lincoln from the balcony!

Kenmore East high schoolers whistlin' Dixie

BULLSHIT

THAT'S more realistic.

An action shot of the miniature train set. The end!

80 Minutes for 10 February 2008

2008-02-10T00:06:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is coming, so I went through the old hard drive to find songs to find songs with the word "baby" in them. I found 255 tracks. Then I shortened it so songs that started with "baby" and cut those down to one CD. It seems that "baby" is a poor litmus test of how romantic a song is, because it's also a term of condescension and loneliness (eg., "my baby left me").

But that's too much work to give up on, so here's my mix tape. Since the Grammys are also coming up I gave awards to each song. You can download the whole list as a .zip file or each individually. Hit me up if there's anything you're looking for!

The 5 Royales - Baby Don't Do It
*Best Use of Saxamaphones

unknown - Baby Girl Motion
*Best Sample of an Actual Baby
*"Found in my System Files" Award

Barbara Lewis - Baby I'm Yours
*Best Female Backup Singers

Bob Dylan - Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Bootleg Vol 4)
*Angriest Fans Award

Danko Jones - Baby Hates Me
*Best Use of One Note in a Riff

The Echoes - Baby Blue
*Best Example of Stuttering While Spelling

Elvis Costello - Baby Plays Around
*Most Depressing

Four Tops - Baby, I Need Your Loving
*Best Use of Strings in a Pop Song

Fratellis - Baby Fratelli
*Best Song to Skip Along With

G Love & Special Sauce - Baby's Got Sauce
*Grooviest

Jan & Dean - Baby Talk
*Best Legal Suggestion of Underaged Romanticism by an Adult

Jimmy Reed - Baby, What You Want Me to Do
*Most Generic Blues Progression

Led Zeppelin - Baby Come On Home
*Best Reason to Plop Down $100 for a Box Set to Get Only 4 Unreleased Tracks

Liz Phair - Baby Got Going
*Best Song Overheard on an Episode of Felicity

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Baby C'mon
*Best Lead Vocals by Someone Who Can't Sing

Pavement - Baby Yeah [Live]
*Simplest Lyrics Award

Pizzicato Five - Baby Love Child
*Best Song You Think You Hear After a Blow to the Head

Raja - Baby
*Best Use of the Word "Baby" in a Non-English Language

Rufus Wainwright - Baby
*Mopiest
*Most Unoriginal Title (Tie with Raja)

Shirelles - Baby It's You
*Eeriest Piano Award

Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back
*GREATEST SONG BY ANYONE EVER ABOUT ANYTHING

Sonny & Cher - Baby Don't Go
*"Happy Harmonica" Award

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Baby Wants A Diamond Ring
*Most Swingin'
*Lindy Hoppiest

Travis - Baby One More Time (live)
*Best Cover of a Britney Spears Song
*Only Possible Way to Enjoy a Britney Spears Song

Ween - Baby Bitch
*Bitterest Song Award
*Most Sarcastic
*"Normal for Ween" Award

The Bunny Hill Show

2008-02-09T13:18:00.000-05:00

Yakety Sax

I skied, all by myself! And I only hit the fence once!

The Whigs at Mohawk Place

2008-02-05T02:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight I checked The Whigs at Mohawk Place. Solid show! I didn't know anything about the band except for their recent Letterman performance but I left impressed. I also can't hear much now, but what I did hear beforehand was pretty good.

Local rock/blues band Handsome Jack played after The Whigs, which didn't make much sense to me. Still, they ripped it up. Heck, they were almost as good as Sloshy's Super Bowl halftime show. Wanna see?

For the heck of it, here's The Whigs on Letterman.

Eli Manning's Miracle Play to David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII

2008-02-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

My original prediction was Giants 31, Patriots 28. Close enough!

Bonus: Highlights from Puppy Bowl IV.

Pictures of Paintings

2008-02-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

Today I got into the Burchfield-Penney for free. Don't ask how! Also don't ask why I took pictures of what I saw and combined it into a slideshow using retro J-pop pioneers Pizzicato Five. Soon I will post a mixtape of songs whose titles start with "Baby," but I had to get this tune out of the way.

Queen City Roller Girls

2008-02-03T00:32:00.000-05:00

Sports aren't interesting unless someone's getting hurt. That's why the Rainbow Rink in North Tonawanda was packed to capacity tonight: Mardi Brawl at the roller derby! My pictures and video don't do it justice but the official site might.

This was my first time at a roller derby so I had a lot of questions. What are the rules, anyway? Why are the announcers wearing costume gowns? How do you score points? Why are loaves of bread thrown into the stands during intermissions? Not all of my questions were answered but who cares? You only watch to see the crashes, anyway. It's like NASCAR . . . on wheels.

Buffalo Wind Storm '08

2008-01-30T10:32:00.000-05:00

Sixty-to-seventy mile per hour winds are rocking Western New York. Channel 4 News put two reporters on different sides of a news van to discuss each piece of wood that flew by. Our own staff reporter, David Q. Hill, did some guerrilla journalism of his own.

Rick Nash & The Goal Of The Century

2008-01-28T19:58:00.000-05:00

So I can play it again and again and again . . .

Bonus clip:

80 Minutes for 27 January 2008

2008-01-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

Ain't.

Your second grade teacher said it wasn't a real word and threatened to make you stand in the corner for using it. Recently I started listening to everything in my MP3 player and found ain't inspired some decent songs as well. A few of these tracks are covers, or in Bob Dylan's case a complete revision of his own original. Most are several decades old. You can download them all at once or individually.

Benny Goodman Sextet - Ain't Misbehavin'.mp3
Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine.mp3
Blues Magoos - (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet.mp3
Bob Dylan - It Ain't Me, Babe (live, The Rolling Thunder Revue).mp3
Bobby Blue Bland - Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Heart Of The City).mp3
Carmen McRae - Ain't Misbehavin'.mp3
Clarence Frogman Henry - Ain't Got No Home.mp3
Clipse - Ain't Cha.mp3
Coasters - T'Ain't Nothin' to Me.mp3
Ella Fitzgerald - It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).mp3
Fats Domino - Ain't That a Shame.mp3
Four Tops - Ain't No Woman (Like the One I Got).mp3
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Ain't That a Shame.mp3
G Love & Special Sauce - This Ain't Living.mp3
Gits - Ain't Got No Right.mp3
Jane's Addiction - Ain't No Right (live, from Kettle Whistle).mp3
Marvin Gaye - Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing.mp3
Matt Mays and El Torpedo - Ain't So Heavy.mp3
Meat Loaf - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad.mp3
Temptations - Ain't Too Proud to Beg.mp3
Tom Morello - Ain't Nothing Da Fuck Wit (Feat. Wu Tang Clan and Chad Smith).mp3
Turtles - It Ain't Me Babe.mp3

And don't forget a Denver favorite during the Colorado Rockies' recent World Series run, Hot2Death - Rockies Ain't Leavin' Without The Trophy.mp3

G Love & Secret Service

2008-01-24T01:09:00.000-05:00

My buddy Dave wanted to see G Love & Special Sauce perform at the Town Ballroom. The band played an excellent 2+ hour show. Meanwhile, some jackass threw up on the floor to our right and passersby slipped all over the place. To our left, drunks spilled enough beer on the steps that several people fell down them. Management was too inept to clean the floors, but they took care to confiscate my camera and return it without the batteries. Just think if security took their jobs seriously and busted the 50 folks taking videos on their cell phones. They patted me down at the entrance while I held the camera in my hand, so what's the big deal?

Here's what Dave snapped on my camera before security ruined his birthday.

All The Small Things/Change Clothes

2008-01-21T17:52:00.001-05:00

Last year I thought up a ton of New Year's resolutions. There's a year's worth of blog entries to that effect which I don't wish to reiterate. This year, however, I had only two goals:

1) Quit my job, and
2) Say goodbye to my favorite shirt

As of Friday afternoon at 12:20 pm EST, mission accomplished.

My previous job required me to get up at 3 in the morning. On Friday I tore down the curtains in my bedroom. From now on I'm sleeping when it's dark out!

I also took advantage of the last day of my company discount to buy a new set of towels. You laugh, but I've used the same towels for ten years now. My towels are older than Eminem's career. Think about it, won't you?

Even better, I got to throw out the work khakis I've worn every weekday for the past two years! You know, the ones that I bought at a rival department store because they had better prices?

When I was fourteen the world obsessed over grunge, flannel, and an amazingly successful football team called the Buffalo Bills. Also that year, I went to an Ames store in Alden to pick out a heavy-duty plaid, lime-green flannel shirt in XL that over time became the Best Shirt Ever. Sure, it was formal wear, but I could also use it for school or play or volunteer house construction in West Virginia. In recent years it became too worn for outdoor use. I only let it out to see grunge pioneers The Melvins before forcing it into the purgatorial category of "pajamas."

But amidst all this fun, I knew I still delayed the inevitable. The shirt had to go. I threw it out with the work pants. I don't miss the job, but the shirt? Man. Give me a minute. . . .

Wiggum '08

2008-01-15T19:26:00.000-05:00