Ah, stupidy reigns again on Buffalo Rising....Sally, you know that's not Jay Leno...and Sony...you're just a loser. These carvings are great, are raising money, and no one is comparing them to masterpieces. Come on people, just play nice.

took the words out of my mouth perry...

"stupidy"

ha...

I know we've all heard a lot about Tim Russert over the last few days, but I'm of the mind we have not collectively grasped the significance of this loss to our city, and it's link to the rest of the world. Hundreds of posts about the falling Livery building (as if our city's future stands in the balance), and not that many posts on the Russert article, which truly does impact the marketing of our city across the country.

I'm partial to old buildings, but in the end it's just bricks. To hear '...if it's Sunday....", a reasonable person would trade a hundlred old buildings. Given the vapid nature of some of the responses above, and the number of posts about the Livery building vs. some other topics, one might conclude the number of reasoned individuals that frequent this site decreases by the day.

Amen, Ben. We lost our best advocate on the national stage. What other Buffalonian has been as well respected, widely admired, and so tirelessly pushed for his city? It'll be a long time before we have a person like him, in a postiion like that, again.

That's what happens when you do no neck sculptures.

Maybe the disparity has something to do with the fact that people can actually do something about the Livery? Ya think?

The livery is past the point where money will be wisely invested. The only way it remains is some combination of donations, and political maneuvering. That's what so many here seem to rely on. The mantra seems to be, how do we get government involved to provide some relief, some hope.

The Russert story is one of no whining, taking personal responsibility, and lifting yourself up. Those aren't lessons most here will find much value in. But again, as I said, and you only reinforced, most here are missing the big picture.

Sally...you are actually right on...they did have a "guess this carving" contest last year specifically for this carving.

A block of wood.

I don't know how many people guessed Tim Russert (the carving use to sit out in front of Globe Market)...I do agree that it could pass as Ralph Wilson. I like the fact that these carvings are not spot-on replicas of the subjects. It sort of adds to the funkiness of the sculptures.

Oh Sally...how miserable are you? One more thing...I am a board member of one of Buffalo's most acclaimed & celebrated arts organizations...but unlike you, I can rise (and see) above certain situations.

looks a bit like Louie Anderson

Ya see, this is exactly the reason that I don't support school bake sales...if they can't make a cupcake so fine as Pierre Herme's, then why should anyone be expected to pay for it! Jesus Christ, people; it's a far better representation than I could create, and I think that we should be thankful for anyone who actually does something...other than sip coffee and bitch to the world on BRO.

Insisting that the city do its job isn't whining. Neither is demanding that a property owner maintain his building. Your mention of personal responsibility seems out of place, since Livery protesters are asking for the owner to be held accountable for failing to live up to his. And yes, we are looking to the government to provide some relief -- would you prefer vigilante action?

Your faux-libertarian, anti-government philosophy died in New Orleans. You didn't get the memo?

Vigilante action would require a level of effort that would be atypical of your ilk. I'm not sure how you tolerate the level of frustration that must be the result of feeling you have so little control over outcomes that truly seem to matter to you. How do reasonable property tax rates play in your world of 'government-will-make-it-all-better'?

1. on level of effort -- how do you think this story has gained this kind of traction? Why is the building still standing, despite the fact that the city tried to knock it down a week ago? Effort! Press releases don't write themselves, media turnout calls don't make themselves, etc. It's the result of real work done by real people.

2. I never suggested that government should make it all better. But government should do what it promises to do, and chief among those promises is enforcing the law. They failed to do it here, and let this building rot despite ongoing protest. I pay taxes and vote -- I hold up my end of the bargain. Why shouldn't I expect them to hold up theirs? Demanding that they do doesn't make me a "whiner" or a baby in search of a nanny, or any of the other clever terms your ilk uses to disparage citizenship.

The worse than usual wind this winter removed some siding from a number of posts in front of a property that I own. Much to my surprise, these posts had been consumed by carpenter ants (the siding had made this damage hidden). The posts had turned to dust. I walked by these posts on a daily basis, but had no idea they had reached such a state.

Is it your point that the government should have inspected my property, and found that my posts had rotted? Should I have been jailed? Assets of all kinds deteriorate over time, some more quickly due to inattention or poor upkeep. The penalty would seem to be that I need to pay for the repair, which I'm doing. There are thousands of properties in Buffalo that the owners can't afford the upkeep, is it your plan to jail them all?

There's a bit of a difference between the long term decay of an entire massive building, and a short term smaller problem like you mention. Right? And for whatever reason, the city seems like it gives more leeway to the wealthy owners of large properties that are in real disrepair, than to the average homeowner with relatively minor maintainence problems. That seems backwards to me.

The city can't (and shouldn't) track every little failing by every little property owner. But if you own a property that dominates an entire block, and it rots over the course of 20 years, at some point the city should take some action. This doesn't seem like a radical request.