Buzz Blog

First "Twilight," then "Breaking Dawn," then "Eclipse," and now we rejoice in the final saga.

The Twilight of "Twilight."

Goodwill.

The wave of library closings a few years ago was like a bad novel. North Buffalo was hit the hardest. We lost that cute 1800s Fairfield Branch (a historic Unitarian church charmingly converted to public use) and then the 1920s North Park Branch. The North Buffalo branch library is now -- O shameful day! -- a storefront in a strip plaza.

However.

Now there is the new Little Library at 120 Greenfield Street!

Buzz is guessing this is in line with a movement called Little Free Library.

Organizer Rachael Vella is sending around a notice:

"Our Parkside heroes stocked it with some starter books.  Feel free to take a book, take one and drop one off, or just look.  You can keep it as long as you want and we'll never come after you for a late fee.  I will be keeping an eye on things and stocking it up with some faster moving materials as often as possible.  We're hoping to eventually appeal to all ages and I added some young adult books this afternoon. For those of you house bound, send me a note and I'll deliver something."

Power to the people!

Who needs the county?

Today Buzz got an anonymous package. A letter fell out. "Congratulations!" it said.

Beautifully typed and faultlessly spelled, the letter continued:

"You have been chosen to receive the 'Mary's A Grand Old Name' Award. It is presented, occasionally, only to women of outstanding merit whose name happens to be Mary. Since your name is Mary, and your accomplishments have come gently to our attention, you qualify on all counts to join the very short list of awardees. The Academy (that's me) is pleased to express its gratitude for your important contribution to our fair community through your excellence in print journalism, humor and music criticism."

A CD was enclosed with 25 Mary songs, starting with Jimmy Cagney singing "Mary's A Grand Old Name" and Bing Crosby's "The Rose of Tralee," on through Jimi Hendrix' "The Wind Cries Mary" and on and on, ending with "Mary, Mary" by the Butterfield Blues Band.

Special thanks was given to the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library and there was also a notice reading: "Dedicated to the memories of Mary Lyon -- Mary Smith -- Mary Wollstonecroft."

Mary Wollstonecroft, a colleague points out, was married to the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and wrote "Frankenstein." That is she at the top of this post! Mary Lyon (1797-1849) was a pioneer in women's education. She founded Mount Holyoke College and Wheaton College.

Were they, and this Mary Smith, previous recipients of this award? If so we are in good company.

It makes us think of this old Scottish ballad known as "The Four Marys."

That song was not on the CD, and we can see why. It's a lovely song but the Mary it is about comes to a bad end.

Not like us!

We will go on in glory! In this wonderful town of Buffalo, home to magical things, like anonymous awards.

Thank you, Anonymous Awarder!

Here are Buff State students dancing and doing back flips for Bucks4Books. Bucks4Books must be having a contest because these videos are all over the Internet.

It is too funny how the gals in the Buff State video throw themselves over backwards one by one! Then you have that last girl left just shaking her rear. Haha! Well, it is for an intellectual cause.

Here are their rivals at UB.

Buzz can't help noticing that melody is a lost art. How about Bucks4Music Lessons?

One final video because Buzz just loves the name "The Buffalo 716ers."

Hahahaa! Love that old cartoon music. Such talent in our schools!

It makes us want to sell our textbooks at Bucks4Books.

We must have some kicking around somewhere!

How do shoppers top the excitement of Black Friday? With the History Museum's annual book signing! Local authors turn out to sell and sign their books. It is turning into a big shopping event.

Above, celebrity vocal coach Andy Anselmo, who taught Liza Minnelli, Mandy Patinkin, Tony Bennett and so many other stars. He is promoting his entertaining memoir, "A Star-Crossed Life." That is his nephew with him.

Mike Rizzo was there with his latest book, about the Mafia in Buffalo. It was arguably the hottest sell in the room. People want to read about the mob! They cannot get enough of it.

Rizzo is a common name in Buffalo and so Mike Rizzo was constantly being asked if he was related to other Rizzos. Hahahaa!

Here we give you Buffalo News food critic emerita Janice Okun, right -- with her book, "Buffalo Cooks With Janice Okun" -- and celebrity historian Cynthia Van Ness, author of "Victorian Buffalo."

Front and center were Steve Cichon of WBEN-AM, left, and Ed Kilgore of Channel 2, with his book "As I've Seen It: Wide Right, No Goal and Other Buffalo Sports Sagas." When you walked in they were the first people you saw, framed in the doorway.

But where was Kilgore's turtleneck? The Buzz column has praised Ed Kilgore's fashion sense for years, in particular his taste in turtlenecks. Steve had on his trademark bow-tie. Where was Kilgore's trademark turtleneck?

Kilgore laughed at us as, God love him, he always does.

"If I'd known you were coming," he said, "I'd have worn a turtleneck."

Next year we'll make sure he does!

Who came up with this seating arrangement?

Buzz was at Budwey's last night and we see this whole magazine devoted to Twilight.

Hilarious, you know? These people look like the Addams Family.

We joined the young woman behind the cash register in laughing at the magazine and marveling at the number of people she said bought it. Then we went on our merry way. And we forgot all about it.

Until today, when we learned about another magazine hitting the streets later this month.

Ha, ha! Sometimes we think we should read Mad more often.

Every once in a while, it comes through for you, you know?

It's Vol. 1, No. 1 of "The German Citizen," Buffalo's newest ethnic newspaper!

It comes out four times a year. In the first issue Martin Ederer, historian and Buffalo State College professor, talks about being hounded by reporters when he went to the annual German Mass at St. Ann's Church and Shrine.

"What's it like to be German?" they asked him.

His answer?

"I was reeling. The reporter seriously expected me to sum up all things German in a five-second sound bite?! Thankfully, my initial impulse was to choke down the answer I wanted to give: a very similar -- but very sarcastic -- question in return. It would have been so concise, so rhetorically elegant and so memorable -- in short, all attributes that journalists hold dear. But that answer would have also poorly represented St. Ann's Church, the German mass, Germans, and quite possibly all of Catholicism.

"I don't fully remember the polite answer I finally gave."

Neither do we, because we got distracted by a photo on the next page of "The Flying Rhinos of Dortmund." Dortmund, Germany, is Buffalo's sister city.

Apparently these rhinos are like our fiberglass bison.

Perhaps they can make us some Flying Rhino beer to go with our Flying Bison!

Anyway. The Citizen's Telefon number is 831-8013, should you wish to reach out to them in a spirit of Gemuetlichkeit.

Lots to chew on, in "The German Citizen," along with your bacon and bratwurst.