Just another wild and crazy year for the city of Buffalo. And a big one for allthingsbuffalo.wnymedia.net as well. It’s hard to be a frequent blogger when you actually have a life, but somehow…I pulled through and made it happen. It only took me over a year of having a blog before I actually updated it with normal frequency and now that I have, let’s take a stroll down memory lane…

Here are some things I did and learned in ‘06…
*Ralph Wilson is crazy…crazy smart that is!
*Came up with the concept of taking construction photos.
*A new hotel on Elmwood? That’ll be awesome! Oh okay its dead.
*WB49 news’ Sarah Bishop is hawtttttt but not enought to save the newscast’s existence.
*Giambra likes the reefer
*The Bisons lost their Japanese Gay Porn star/pictcher
*Joined WNYMedia.net (AKA best online decision I’ve ever made)
*Statler AND AM&A’s purchased!
*New skyscraper too?!!?!
*Buffalonians made me laugh
*And then Buffalo got on my nerves. Not gonna lie. I fled in late July…until Buffalo sucked me back in again a month later. I don’t know how this place does it to me.

So 2006 was quite the year for me. The blog finally took off and I’ve gotten to know comrades who also have a very unhealthy love for this city. This whole blog thing has even given me a secondary education of sorts…totally extreme!

Thanks to every single person who reads this, especially those who comment (even the ones who never have anything nice to say). Being a volunteer fake journalist is no cup of tea, especially someone who pretends to be a GOOD volunteer fake journalist! So thanks for ‘06, and here’s to an awesome 2007 for you, me, and especially Buffalo.

Disclaimer: I’m not a scene kid. So I don’t know those random musicians who jam in their mom’s basement and are known only by the wannabe hippies who hang out at Spot all day. I only know the ones who have major to big-indie to local-major labels.

I did it last year so I have to do it again, right?
Last year, Ani Difranco’s “Knuckle Down” blew away the pretty solid list of local talent to choose from and this year there was even more new stuff to choose from.

In ‘06 some of the biggest kids from around town released new stuff like the Goo Goo Dolls, Ani, Cuteiswhatweaimfor, This Day and Age, and Last Conservative.
The Goo’s was over produced but catchy, Ani’s sounded like a more tired version of Knuckle Down, CIWWAF isn’t really my cup of tea, and LC took a serious fall from their ‘05 which is one of my favorite 20 albums ever.

Who didn’t I speak ill of? This Day and Age’s “The Bell and the Hammer”. Their ‘05 release, “Always Leave the Ground” was fresh sounding piano-rock that made small waves all over the country after a serious tour with the Spill Canvas.
Their ‘06 however, took their music to a much more mature and much higher level. Maybe not as happy and catchy as ALTG, but the sounds are the sounds of a band ready to go to another level. Sadly, their next level is broken up. TDA’s lead singer called it quits and the remaining members are coming up with their next musical project.
The Bell and The Hammer came out on top of some big names but lacking efforts.

On January 2nd, Mark Goldman (author of “High Hopes” and “City on the Lake” as well as the man who almost single handedly turned around Chippewa to what it is today) has his third book about the plight and potential rise of our fair city titled “City on the Edge” coming out.

PS notice the increasing lack of confidence in each title…
80’s “High Hopes”
90’s “City on the Lake”
00’s “City on the Edge”

They say never judge a book by it’s cover but damn the cover looks too sexy to say no to. So I pre-ordered it.

I was reading BRO tonight and the lead story had a photo of a man holding some baseball cards and BAM. MEMORIES. Wow. It’s the guy who runs “7th Inning Stretch” on Hertel. I haven’t been there since 1997 but I used to spend some serious time in Buffalo during the summers after the family packed up for DC. My uncle Matt would take me here twice a week during his lunch break and I remember the owner being freinds with my uncle and really friendly to me all the time. I completely forgot about all of this until I saw the BRO article tonight.

Thanks to this store my baseball collection took a serious turn for the better. Glad to see he’s still around doing his thing. It’s hard to run a small retail business in Buffalo, especially one for sports cards…a dying industry in itself.

I have this policy that whenever I dream about my blog I make myself take a day or two off. Because dreaming about your blog is one of the more pathetic things I can think of.

And two nights ago I dreamt about the discussion going on in my BRO yum page post. So yeah, took some time off.

Stories coming though!

The old Neisner’s (sp?) facade is no longer as the renovation continues to move along at a slow but steady pace.

According to the News, Courtyard Mall won’t be getting a rehab center for the mentally ill.

Now correct me if I’m wrong but I only knew about a Parole office coming to the old Courtyard Mall/Baker’s Shoes project being done by Paladino.

Whoa can you imagine a building that has an parole office AND a rehab center for the mentally ill AND luxury apartments all in one?!?!

That my friends, would be an “Only in Buffalo” type of deal right there.

All kidding aside, having the rehab center in the downtown core wouldn’t be very smart anyways…good to see they’re looking to move near the medical corridor instead.

What would you say if you only knew of one source for food reviews in your city. And then today you find out their official policy is to NEVER give a bad review?
I don’t know…I still see BRO as a primary source for news involving most things in the city but this doesn’t sound like solid journalism.

Basically BRO is a hype-machine. A hype-machine I check 10 times a day and enjoy thoroughly, but a hype-machine…from things as big as downtown development all the way down to a dish at an unknown restaurant…and thats a bit of a dissapointment.

According to WCP on Buffalo Rising, the Tishman Building is going to get some tenants to fill in the many empty spaces left by National Fuel.

This was one building I wrote off for dead as soon as National Fuel left. It’s not new, it’s not historic, its just kind of a bland looking building with a non-descript interior. With a market like Buffalo’s, I was thinking this was going to go down the drain especially with the rehabs of old office spaces and new office buildings being built.

For comparison, the Main Place tower which is at least somewhat of a landmark (its kinda tall, okay?) hovers around 50% occupancy. And if all goes as planned, the Tishman will be around the same level.

PS. Pretty sure that Nat’l Fuel still occupies the 1st floor, can they fix the signage please? Don’t make me go “Dragon-Express” on your ass too

6-3. We dominated. No one I went to High School with is calling me or invading my facebook wall to tell me how awful Buffalo is or how amazing the Capitals are.

Just back to the good ol’ days where we always blowout the Caps. Every. Single. Time.