Main Street has struggled to keep an identity over the years. The street has lost infrastructure and trees – sometimes these losses were unpreventable while other times the losses were caused by decades of neglect. Even now, when certain sections of the street are on the rebound, thanks to the growth of Medical Campus and Canisius, we still see cover ups like the one shown here at Delta Sonic. Why, when the rest of the city is planting trees, does Delta Sonic (and/or The City) decide that this urban block is better without them? How much money is The City…
Author: sabshink
Buffalo & Erie County Public LibraryStaff Review by Carol Ann StrahlA totally new exploratory look at the Pilgrims and Puritans–who they were and what their behavior patterns were like. The reader will never celebrate Thanksgiving again with the same mindset after reading this adventure! It is a story of intrigue, greed and power abuse. Perhaps the American sense of “Manifest Destiny” had its birth upon the Mayflower’s landing. Why? Because it is a quintessentially American story — a struggle for land and control of land. The Pilgrims and Puritans were two distinct groups and their aims delineated. Their treatment of…
By: Simon HustedWhen Marissa Robinson taught at Buffalo Public Schools, she was always reminded of how little status quo teaching engaged a student’s mind.”You open up a schoolbook and it talks about the Depression,” Robinson said, illustrating an example of a status quo lesson. “Well who wants to learn about the Depression?”In class, Robinson said she strived to make connections between the class lessons and personal stories. One day for example, Robinson brought a 1912 family portrait of her grandmother with nine brothers and sisters to class.”Even the boys were interested in looking at the short pants,” Robinson said. “(The…
By: Mackenzie LambertThere was much indication of the audience’s anticipation for the July 22nd line-up for Thursday at the Square. Rogue Wave gained nationwide attention for their single, “Eyes,” which was featured in the Ryan Reynolds comedy Just Friends. G. Love & Special Sauce earned internet meme cred in the past few years for their song, “Milk & Cereal.” The final result was a great concert in the summer series if not without a flaw or two.Rogue Wave opened with a track, “Stars & Stripes,” off their new album, Permalight. Other tracks in their set included “Good Morning (The Future),”…
It’s that time of year again! Time to get dressed up in crazy outfits and comb the city looking for all sorts of random objects. If you’re familiar with the city, that’s great for your team. If you are looking to learn about the city, and want to meet people and have a fun time doing it, that’s good too. This is a race. This is a contest. This can be as crazy as you want it to be, or you can go at your own pace and enjoy the day as it presents itself. I was curious about how…
By Peter Burakowski:Over the last two weeks, a lot has happened on North Parade Ave. in Buffalo.Landscapers transformed all 19 front yards on the block between Fillmore Ave. and Northampton St., donating more than $200,000 of labor and materials while sweating it out in 90 degree heat.More than 1,000 members of the community voted for their favorite yards in person and online at www.nationalgardenfestival.com.And on Wednesday, July 21, the landscapers and homeowners came together at the Western New York State Nursery and Landscape Association’s annual picnic to learn the final results of the National Buffalo Garden Festival’s Front Yard Garden…
By event photographer Joe Cascio:Close to 6,000 athletes from across New York State, young and old, have descended upon WNY this week to challenge themselves and others in a wide variety of ways.The teams marched into the stadium at the UB North Campus to the cheers of the crowd – not as many as they talked about, but not a bad group, and you could see the excitement on everyone’s faces. Steve Mesler winner of Gold in the recent Vancouver Olympics led the Western Region team into the stadium to the delight of all in attendance.There were some brief speeches…
By: Simon HustedMichael Langan knows very well how sometimes film festivals can result in unique opportunities.In 2007, Langan had an exciting day when his film, Doxology, was showcased at the Ottawa Animation Festival. Doxology, which he created for his senior year thesis at Rhode Island School of Design and won Best Undergraduate Film at the show, is a compilation of several wacky experiments that utilize still photography to generate stop motion animation. Even more amazing, at the end of the festival he was approached by Michelle Higa, an author at Motionographer.com. Higa was blown away by Langan’s work and posted…
By: Tom TarapackiIf you stopped at the the Buffalo Subaru Chase post-race party on Bidwell Parkway, you may have noticed a unique practitioner. David Ireland of One Hand, One Foot Massage was there with his massage table. As you can see, it has an overhead bar apparatus which enables him to massage with his feet as well as his hands. He was giving massages to many of those in attendance, including marathon great Bill Rodgers.Ashiatsu (ashi means foot and atsu means pressure) is an ancient form of massage developed by Buddhist monks. In Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy the therapist supports…
Reader Submission: Joanna GillespieHallwalls Contemporary Arts Center will host its 36th Annual Members Exhibition on Friday, July 30th from 8:00-11:00 p.m. Earlier this summer, Buffalo Rising caught up with Hallwalls Visual Arts Curator, John Massier, to discuss this year’s rather enigmatic and playful theme, “Faster Pussycat, Spill! Spill!” Any current member of Hallwalls is invited to submit artwork (and non-members may join Hallwalls when submitting artwork) for inclusion in the show “about oil, about spillage, about cats, about fast cats, about faster cats…,” Massier explained. Admission to the exhibition is free and open to the public.What makes this year’s Hallwalls Members Exhibition…