There are some days when things just don't seem to be going your way. Maybe someone you love is moving away or a friend is angry with you and you can't seem to understand why or how to fix it. Maybe it's worse and your car broke down on the 33 or someone stole your laptop.
Whatever the scenario, dwelling on it, of course, is never the best way to deal with it. But wallowing in that deep, earthen hole of self pity certainly feels good sometimes, doesn't it?
I might be having one of those days, but instead of trudging through it with a frown and a heavy heart, I tried to improve my mood: I bought chocolate milk. I promise I won't be extolling the nutritional value of chocolate milk, or say that well, I'm a woman so sometimes I need chocolate.
No. The reason I turn to the smooth and satisfying beverage is because it's comfortable. It feels like childhood and macaroni 'n' cheese, playing outside in the summer and surprise visits from the ice cream man. Even among all of the not-so-great things that may pop up during the day, having a bottle of chocolate milk complete my afternoon was really cheering.
Grilled cheese, Flinstone's orange push-ups, my dad's homemade stuffing, hearing the song "Red Rubber Ball," smelling bug spray. These things could probably smack a smile on my face no matter what state the rest of my life is in, even if just for a few minutes.
What are your comfort things?
-- Kristen Rajczak
What makes you decide to spend ten times the amount that you normally would on one hamburger?
Temptation, curiosity and/or lack of self-restraint.
Those are the only things I can think of when I hear that some people are actually entertaining the idea of shelling out $200 for a new record setting Burger King burger. Sure, I understand we're not talking your average whopper-this specialty consists of Wagyu beef, white truffles, Cristal onion straws, Himalayan rock salt, organic white wine and shallot infused mayonnaise, but still, my budget isn't even designed to acknowledge the possibility of making such a purchase.
But BK isn't the only eatery trying to push the price on traditional American staples; New York City is seeing an expensive spin too. There was the $62 Japanese Kobe Beef burger served by BLT Burger, and recently the obscure $95 Italian barley beer sold at Brooklyn's Beer Table. The New York Times reports that the latest ordinary item turned into an expensive edible trophy is the humble TV dinner. No more Swanson's or Hungry Man; the Loews Regency Hotel is serving porcelain tray $30 TV dinners with fried free-range chicken, pot roast braised in pinot noir and Asiago and Parmesan mac 'n cheese.
All of this has made me try to think of the most expensive traditional dish I've ever ordered around here. The funny thing is, nothing too extravagant comes to mind. I've paid $14 for mac 'n cheese, and it was extraordinary but not bank-breaking. The most I've ever paid for a cheeseburger was probably a little less, and after searching some of the finest restaurants in Buffalo, this seems to be the norm.
What's the most you've ever indulged on a fancy dinner dish, and was the taste actually worth the price?
-Molly Hirschbeck
It didn't take long for the detractors to start complaining about what they perceived as "excessive" Tim Russert coverage these past few days -- like TV Critic Hal Boedeker in Orlando.
I grew up in Buffalo and now attend John Carroll University (Russert's alma mater), so needless to say, I think Russert deserves every memorial and tribute that he's gotten and will continue to get.
But, I also understand the complaints from those who believe the Russert coveragedistracted from stories like flooding in the Midwest and the 51 people killed by a car bomb inIraq. Is one man's death as important as these issues? It's interesting to see what everyoneelse around the country thinks about the coverage, aside from cable news. The fairest criticism I've heard is that Russert wouldn't have wanted to be the news - he would have wanted the resources to have been spent tracking down bigger stories.
That's probably true of the humble and fair South Buffalo native. I doubt Little Russ would have asked for, or ever wanted, the days worth of remembrances he gotten. Russert's death probably got as much coverage, maybe more, as former President Gerald Ford's did around Christmas 2006.
Obviously there are a lot of other factors behind the impressive amount of coverage. If Russert was an amazingly influencial print journalist, he probably wouldn't have gotten as much attention. But, because a camera was rolling to capture a lot of his life, there was a lot of material for TV tributes and memorials.
I thought it was all appropriate, though sometimes repetitive. "Triumphant in public, tragic in private" is a phrase that applies to a lot of the big names we know. But Russert was an exception to that, keeping not only his family close, but also his home. The Russert coverage showed how respected he was, and anything less wouldn't be enough for us to understand how rare people like him are.
The first time I saw the phrase "Buffalo media elite" I had to laugh. Bloggers mad at Russert for how he grilled Hillary Clinton when she appeared on "Meet the Press" earlier this year said that Russert and Wolf Blitzer were part of the "Buffalo media elite" that was trying to destroy the Clinton campaign. Really? Buffalo media elite? If only this city could be so lucky. If it's true, the Buffalo media elite were dealt are harsh blow on Friday.
What do you think? Was the Russert coverage too much?
Confession time: I have been watching MTV's "Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods."
I am what my friends would call a "theater geek" (though I will fight tooth and nail not to be labeled in the same league as the I-have-to-wear-my-Hairspray-shirt-under-my-Wicked-hoodie "theater geeks") and it's kind of in my blood. I have a whole bunch of performers in my family, including a cousin living in NYC doing the starving actress thing.
But I am embarrassingly into the show. I've been following the show on MTV's loaded Web site. On it, I can watch Monday's episode after it airs. I can see the full nine singing performances of "Omigod You Guys" because vocal talent in a Broadway star is incredibly important to me, even secondary to looking the part. On the Web site, I was able to see the casting reels of my favorites, who are, in no particular order: Natalie, Bailey, Lauren and (probably as the dark horse) Rhiannon.
The show has me on pins and needles. Last week, I was Emma's biggest fan, but she is just so negative and her diction is not so great. And Cassie S., really, who do you think you're fooling? Elle Woods would never be as catty as you are.
I feel bad for Celine and Autumn because they aren't going to be Elle...but they are both really good. Celine should be Ellen in "Miss Saigon" and Autumn is probably bound for great things. However, these "casting directors" or the show's judges are harsh critics. They are the real casting director for the show, the writer and one of the male performers, and boy do they ever take their ruthless job seriously.
But for this I'm glad. Watching "American Idol" lost its luster for me because no matter what Simon says, Randy and Paula love everyone, every one of the last performances is "off the hook" and I just get tired of that. An Archie lover until the end, even I saw that he was getting votes more because he had the cute factor than because of his phenomenal pipes. And after "Grease"(which also had a reality show about its casting) did a pretty mediocre job the Tony's, I don't trust the American public to know who has Broadway staying power.
Isn't reality TV great? No, for the most part it's not! After watching the first episode I even vowed I wouldn't watch it.
However, I found myself glued to my computer screen for almost two hours last night catching up. Criticizing that as time poorly spent is unfair, seeing as the season finale of "Lost," though arguably a better show, was four hours.
But, omigod you guys, it's just so pink!
-- Kristen Rajczak
It is easy to rail against Toronto these days, given the city's sports connections to Buffalo teams. The Leafs are bitter rivals to the Sabres, and obviously there is fear that someday the Bills will become the Toronto Bills (better than the Los Angeles Bills, in my opinion, but that's for another post).
I think as Buffalonians, we have a minor league-type inferiority complex at times. This is especially the case with our neighboring metropolis to the north. My colleague Mike Harrington blogged about it a couple months back, indicating why he thought the Bisons might have some reservations about having the Blue Jays as their parent club. Check out the comments in this post -- we even lash out passionately against something as simple as a logo.
Despite all that, I am thrilled Toronto is merely a two-hour drive away. In the last four months, I have been up to four concerts and a ballgame. I am taking in another show Thursday and plan on catching Van Morrison next month. Some great shows come through Buffalo, but having a major destination a short distance away is a huge plus. Van Morrison is not coming here anytime soon. And music and baseball are a small part of what you can do for entertainment in a city like Toronto.
When I ordered a Blue at the beer stand at the Cubs-Jays game Sunday, the woman behind the counter looked at me and said, "You're not American are you?" When I said I was, she replied, "Usually I can pick you guys out because you ask for Labatt's, while Canadians just say Blue." I explained my ordering a Blue by noting I was from Buffalo, which is sort of half-Canadian, anyhow -- especially in terms of beer drinking habits. I take pride in the influence Canadian culture has on us here.
Buffalo has plenty to offer, and I think we are kidding ourselves if being close to Toronto is not one of those benefits. What do you think? Can you look past the sports hatred and give the city some love?
---Geoff Nason
A few weeks ago, I wrote a story about people's reactions to the opening of Erie Canal Harbor. Comments from visitors during the waterfront attraction's first open weekend were pretty much the same: We love it! There should be more!
But after the article ran I became aware of another response to the new development: We love it! How do you get there?
I received four or five e-mails from readers who said they couldn't figure out how to get to the harbor. For my part, I did my best to guide these disoriented waterfront lovers. Let me say, just because a reporter has obviously been to a location, doesn't mean she can provide intelligible directions, especially when she just moved to Buffalo a month ago.
But in my quest to be Mapquest for my readers, I realized that while the City of Buffalo does much to publicize new waterfront developments, it could do more to help prospective visitors reach them.
Mapquest, Google Maps and Yahoo Maps don't recognize either Erie Canal Harbor or Erie Basin Marina
Beach. Mapquest and Google Maps can locate Erie Basin Marina, which visitors could infer is
near the beach, and Google Maps also knows about Buffalo & Erie Naval Park, which is adjacent to
the harbor.
Buffalo's Web site for the waterfront does provide decent maps, but that would require tourists to know that site exists. And honestly, all that is asking too much of tourists.
People who live in Buffalo proper may scoff at those who are befuddled by the waterfront, an area marked by nautical street names and a large body of water.
My first thought when I received those e-mails was to write back, "Go to downtown Buffalo. Go toward the water. Stop before your feet get wet." But learning where these people live … towns like Lockport and Amherst … I realized what was going on here.
Being from the suburbs of Detroit, I'm quite familiar with suburbanites who don't often visit the main city. So, in a way, it seems the new waterfront attractions are doing their job; they're drawing people from the suburbs into the city.
But Buffalo's tourism personnel need to wise up and realize one confusing Web search for directions could drive potential visitors to spend their money elsewhere. There has to be a way to contact Mapquest and other engines with a request to add locations to the sites' knowledge base. It's in the Web sites' best interest to have a better detailed record of any city. For now, I'll link to a map that shows the area well.
--- Jessica Vosgerchian
During the past few years, the girls at Sacred Heart Academy have had a very special relationship with
an older man. And this is not the time for a joke about the school's recent misfortunes, which fell awfully close to home for my classmates from 2005 and I.
This is a different guy, a Buffalonian of such repute that the entire country turns to his white board to track the election. Any girl of the Keifer-era … that is, was taught U.S. Government and Economics by Mr. Jonathan Keifer … found herself glued to "Meet the Press" every Sunday morning, pen in hand, in preparation for "Meet the Press" quizzes given every Monday.
Mr. Keifer, now a teacher at Bishop-Timon (his alma mater), wanted us to be exposed to a close-to, unbiased presentation of politics and government in action. And we all grew to adore the cuddly South Buffalo boy whose smile graced those that deserved it and whose stare penetrated those who tried to slip around the hard questions.
A class below me even hopped on the T-shirt train and made "Tim Russert is my homeboy"
shirts their senior year.
With discontentment, I write about losing someone who made the world of politics bearable, even interesting, to a group of young women who did not yet have their patriotic ideas defined. He made that slippery, sometimes slimy world of Washington somewhat accessible and relatable to upper-middle class white girls who (most of us) had yet to open their eyes to that world and the importance of understanding it. Tim Russert never let us down; I can attribute a good chunk of my political interest to watching him.
Tim Russert was a son of Buffalo who "made it," and that inspired me. What are we going to
do on Election night now?
---Kristen Racjzak
It's been a half hour now since the news broke, and I'm still numb as I sit and watch Brian Williams, David Gregory and Andrea Mitchell share personal and professional stories about their colleague and friend Tim Russert.
When my boyfriend first called me with the news, I felt as though I'd been punched in the stomach, and looking back, I'm surprised at this reaction. I've always respected Russert, but I never realized just how much I valued him until I heard that he had suddenly passed away.
As an aspiring journalist, Tim Russert was, for me, the ultimate role model. Though I have no intentions of delving into the complicated world of political journalism, it was simply Russert's style of reporting that impressed me most. He was aggressive without being offensive; he could debate his opponents without screaming at them Crossfire-style; he asked many questions because he truly believed we all would be better off with the answers. He seemed to value accountability, intellect, passion and spirit, and his genuine personality made all of these traits that much more treasured.
Although he was a cornerstone of Washington, Russert never seemed to forget about his Buffalo roots. The fact that he was a real family man with a love for the Bills, baseball and the entire community makes his passing that much more difficult. As the 2008 election progresses, I can't imagine watching the analysis without Russert's commentary.
Buffalo, and the entire nation, has suffered a blow today, and it just might take awhile to recover.
-Molly Hirschbeck
But for the first time in 21 years of living, I was called a "woman," and a "lady." I've been called the "lady from the newspaper." I even interviewed high school students who called me "ma'am."
I graduated high school in 2005. I felt old that moment. But I never thought I'd be called any of those titles before I was a wife. I expected that to change afterward.
Walking around and interviewing people, calling myself a reporter with The News, seems to have changed my feminine status.
When I called myself a reporter for my college paper I was always called a girl, young woman, kid and even one time, I swear, a toddler. I'm definitely not used to being treated like an adult by those sources.
Where I work defines me as a person - literally.
I've always assumed that my status as woman would change when I had a ring on my finger. Right then, I was no longer a woman or a lady, but a child diving in during adult swim.
Someone I was interviewing would ask: "You're getting married? You're a child."
Well, first off, the problem with that weird moment is that it distracted from the interview I was conducting, and secondly, I wasn't a child a minute ago.
Apparently to people I'm somewhere in between career woman and child bride. To some, you can be old enough and responsible enough to work at a newspaper, but you're not old enough and responsible enough to build a marriage.
--- Natalie Morera
Women's magazines tend to focus on three things: health, home and, well, sex. Those aimed at twentysomething females seem to edge even more toward the last of these three, which makes me wonder if that's really the true preoccupation of women in their 20s.
Gender-focused linguistic studies report that men speak to "report" and women speak for "rapport." Part of this also means that women are relationship-centered speakers while men are information
centered speakers.
Somehow, in popular culture, relationship translates into sex -- no wonder the Washington Post reported that efforts to keep teens from having sex were not going so well. Magazines like YM and Seventeen tend to keep content pretty age appropriate, at lease when I read them in high school. But what's the next step? Cosmo, which features a "sex position of the week" on its Web site?
I'm not going to jump on the way the media portrays "the image of women," but I hate to be categorized as another sex-crazed twentysomething woman simply because my friends and I like to talk about our dating situations.
I think it's admirable that these magazines have, in recent years, made an effort to educate women about other issues like cervical cancer and date rape. But somehow I feel that those stories are read about as much as the science fiction stories in Playboy. Still, I can't completely knock magazine content because I was just as excited about "The Sex and the City" movie as the next cosmopolitan drinking woman.
Nonetheless, since speaking with an outraged friend about the content that reduces women to only their post-1970s liberated sex drives, I, like her, have made the commitment not to buy these magazines.
Do you think women's magazines like Cosmo are influencing young women, or do they just reflect the modern women's ability to embrace their personal freedom?
--- Kristen Rajczak
