Road tripping, part 2

Just got back from exotic Verona, NY where I manned a booth for the Zoo at a regional travel trade show. Whoever said getting there is half the fun is a butthole. I got some affirmation that I am not a casino guy, as I wandered into to work a little before 8 yesterday and the amount of people at the slots inside the Turning Stone Casino was impressive.

Setup the day before was the bigger deal. The Turning Stone facility is impressive in its vastness. I found the door I thought I needed to go. I asked one of the valets the best route to my exhibit and he did indeed send me to it “Family Circus” style, wandering through all sorts of hallways that I didn’t need to be in. At the registration table, they couldn’t find me because apparently The Buffalo Zoo was registered under “The.” Set up my table all nice and neat and went back to my cheap hotel, “The Inn at Turning Stone,” where my reservation was fucked up and I needed my own card which had just enough sitting on it to cover the night. The Inn was right along the highway so it was laden with trucks and other sundry casino driven folks, most of whom were primed to lose what was left of their shirts sometime in the immediate future.

Back to the Turning Stone, where exhibitors got a reception/dinner (Yay! free food), but I had some time so I wandered the shopping mall, tried to understand craps (ain’t happening) and generally killed a little time. One of the clubs was a sports bar where I went and had a seat to watch Wolf Blitzer (for a broadcaster, dude says um an awful lot) talk about Ted Kennedy. This is where the Oneidas are genius. They don’t or can’t serve alcohol publicly. They’ll take the money but you can’t get a beer to cry into, brilliant! The ultimate screw you. Upon receiving the knowledge, I started to feel like I was Clark Griswald in Vegas vacation.

The private exhibtors reception had a couple saranacs to soothe my gradually ruffling feathers to go along with the nice dinner. Drove back to my Inn, did some email and relaxed a little, and retired for the night.

About an hour later, a thump against the wall from next door. Then another, and another followed by the requisite moaning. A lovely couple was celebrating their casino fortunes with enough vigor that I wanted to have a cigarette. They were not making love, they were performing some serious stress tests for their headboard. Perfect end to a malaprop of a day.

Yesterday, as the show was getting to start after that restless night, I’m prettying up my booth when the guest relations manager wants to know my thoughts on my stay. His mistake, I told him. He handed me a $20 match card for card games, like I was staying after I finished working. Show starting packing up at 2:45. I was on the 90 by 3.

Like most of those gatherings, I’m all set for writing implements now, but was glad to be able to keep an appointment at Pearl Street at 6 last night.

Life in show biz.

Road-tripping

My dad used to travel for work quite extensively. Now, I realize that for every cool sounding destination like London, there were quite a few Denton, Texas journeys. You could do worse as those folks do have the Ponder steakhouse. Some of these jaunts sounded like adventures

Me? My travels got off to a good start thanks to the American Booksellers Association shows. Being underwritten by a tight fisted employer took some of the anticipation away from it. That is a trade show so huge only a handful of cities can host it.

Of late, let’s say it hasn’t been a glamourpuss type of experience. Made it to my first convention in my current vocation, the location being Milwaukee, which looks a lot like Buffalo, just has the lake on the wrong side. Oh, and instead of sueing each other, they’ve at least built some stuff. I get the nod this week to head to Verona, NY for the New York State Travel Expo. The area has permanently scarred members of my immediate family.

The whole show is based in that den of excess, the Turning Stone Casino.

I’m staying at the decidely less uppity Inn down the road. At least in my car, I can ration the snacks instead of some attendent telling me he is out of the blue chips. It’s a bit of a fools errand as any direct business is unlikely, but hopefully we might creep into some travel agents’ consciousness.

I’m not a big casino guy, but I would imagine the people watching should be quite spectacular. As people head West into greater Syracuse for a big city, there might not be much else to write home about.

Monday, Monday

Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin??? running for something??? You mean they aren’t casting for Dumb and Dumber ll: the Wrath of Khan.

Speaking of which, this might be the best facebook status update ever: “is taking his Doctor, his Chief Engineer, his Science Officer, 1 maybe 2 expendable crewmen, and then beaming down to the Planet for a look around…” wish I’d thought of it.

Helluva way to start the week, with two Buffalo Firefighters not emerging from a fire on Genesee Street. The police circulate a bumper sticker about pay them like your lives depend on it. The firemen back that up. Your heart can’t help but ache for all at scenes like that including the off-duty folk and the press covering it. Having the mayor and his mobile podium show up doesn’t ease the hurt.

The impending Bills season is filling me with almost no anticipation at all. Pre-season goes on for way to long, but what we’ve seen so far doesn’t exactly warm any cockles.

If it is truly the season where the grown ups can get to the movies once more, why am I most looking forward to the new Mike Judge movie along with Funny People. I think Inglorious Basterds may have to happen quickly too.

If loving the Wegmans dark chocolate minicake is wrong, I’ve lost interest in being right.

Is it truly a “Health and Wellness Fair” when I nearly get pneumonia from standing in the torrential rain? More to the point, why does every vendor feel compelled to stop and chat about the rain. I know it is raining from the uniform shirt I had on weighing 50 pounds. No poncho would have helped.

Traveling for work later this week to a truly uninteresting destination, my biggest concern is for my car. I want it to have a good time.

This will be one of those trips that I can justify the 8000 songs on my Ipod as the Silver Comet has no CD changer.

Not a casino guy, but I suspect the people watching will be a treat.

Something evil this way came….

Because I’m never too far from my inner twelve year old….

I went down to the marina to watch this come in. I had a meeting after work and stopped by Wegman’s on the way home and the long, yet-fast moving dark clouds turned the sky a solid jet black. It reminded me of the old Warner Brothers cartoons when the storm was brewing that the clouds would form an angry face throwing lightening bolts with force.

Marina looked like a whole different world

How about them Cowboys?

Sports franchises can evoke really passionate reactions from folks, even if you follow somebody else. Sometimes that bloodlust is temporary say with the Detroit Pistons of the early 90s, but some teams inspire love or hate regardless of how well they may or may not be doing. The Red Sox and Yankees could both play like the Bad News Bears and still inspire impassioned debate from barstools up and down the eastern seaboard.

The Dallas Cowboys are like that in football. They are always competitive and inspire fierce loyalties, sometimes even more fierce the farther away from Dallas you go. I don’t have any strong feelings one way or the other about them, but the recent stories about their new playpen have been circulating. I suppose I should hate them but stripping the Bills of their manhood in two Super Bowls, but upon reflection the Bills sort of helped that process along.

It’s an impressive place, bordering on decadent. It costs serious dollars to go to a pro game pretty much in any city. I have to give Cowboys owner Jerry Jones some credit. He does have his ridiculously overpriced seats, but he has some $29 spots for real people to be in the building too. Given the enormity of the HD video boards, that run between the 20 yard lines, it has come up that some might watch the proceedings on the screens. My question is: “Can you blame them?”

Inglourious Basterds

A colleague of mine complained that he sees President Obama “constantly campaigning.” He’s pretty much an arch-conservative and I respect that, so I’m never going to change his mind, but he has a point. Where we disagree is that I think it’s a great thing to see our leader talking to us, explaining what he wants to do.

Too many of our representatives are scared to talk about the Health Care Plan with anyone but each other. The Buffalo News correctly pointed out that only a southern tier legistator has else any kind of “town meeting” locally to talk about the possibilities of Health Care Reform. Because everything pertaining to health care is an understandably hot button issue, there have been some impassioned exchanges, protests and near brawls. I think a lot of that comes from not many people actually talking. As usual there is a lot of bluster, soundbite posing, but a dearth of people actually talking to us and telling us what is being entertained.

I used to be a bit of news junkie but the current lack of backbone among the electronic press might save the newspaper, so I’m all for the President getting out there and bypassing the incestuous Fox/MSNBC relationship and speaking to the people.

As one of my favorite fictional characters wondered “What could be better than seeing our leaders talk to us?” The southern tier legislator scored points with both sides just showing up. It’s good for people to talk instead of drawing imagined conclusions. It’s also really good politics.

Monday Morning Mental McNuggets

Some thoughts for a monday while the caffeine in settling in.

It used to be you had to register under a political party to guarantee yourself a voice in primary elections. As I strongly considered saying the hell with it and becoming an independent, it dawned on me that with party chairman like Len Lenihan annointing candidates like he does, the process is getting screwed. You’d think they would adher to endorsing the guy who wins the primary. Instead, announcements come out and guys who might shake things up like Michael Kearns are knee-capped financially before anything gets rolling.

Has there been a social networking workshop that hasn’t been complete nonsense? I actually have respect for guys who run them as they have found a way to spend too much time on the internet cloaked in knowledge? The line between Dork and Consultant gets that much finer.

Heard a U2 concert recording from this tour and it sounds like their hearts aren’t in it yet. The music was played well enough, just not exactly a overabundance of soul in the performing. Hope that changes as they get ready to come this way.

I’m a happy guy as “Top Gear” starts its new season tonight. It’s a british car show (for the uninitiated) whose hosts stock answer for every car issue is to repair to the pub. Along with Anthony Bourdain, Mondays are looking good for television, which is good because it is so hot out, I fell asleep during the “Mad Men” premiere last night.

I’m in the only industry possible to successful connect a yard full of tigers with wireless internet and have that be a successful day as opposed to a “WTF?” moment.

The best meetings have cookies involved, so even when nothing of any real substance gets discussed, there are cookies afterwards to share with colleagues.

I cover the Waterfront

One of the more fascinating parts of town for me is the Bird Island Pier at the foot of Ferry Street. I think the pier itself is something like almost two miles out and another two back (don’t quote me). That area is such a microcosm of possibility and decay jockeying for the same space. You can find gasp inspiring beauty and acid inducing nausea often not too far apart, sometimes just a little adjacent from the rapid moving water on the river side.

That said, I like the walk, despite the yahoos who insist on bringing a bike on the narrow pathway. It felt just to get out for the walk the other night. I posted a bunch of photos on facebook afterwords, but the place still makes you wonder, from the snack bar building that never seems to be open, to the many fisherman to the kids swimming on the canal side.

There are some parts where it looks almost inviting to tumble right in and float away, other sections like you shouldn’t touch for all the lil’ rubber booties in Gowanda.

Course you then have to make the walk back.

It’s always faster if you can hitch a ride. I think that was the Miss Buffalo in the distance.

And as always…

It’s both good for body and spirit.

“That squirrel can waterski, great story”

“Very rich, I’m Ron Burgundy.”

Because this appeared in the London Telegraph, I smell a little photoshop at work, but it is still a pretty funny picture. The squirrel bears a striking resemblence to the Caddyshack gopher, but why nitpick.

Makes me think a little about the Geico ad where the squirrels were high-fiving after causing a car to careen off the road.

I might be too media exposed reading this.

50 artists/bands seen live

This is one of those Facebook thingys making the rounds, but since we are talking about bands and great concerts I helpfully dive right on in.

1. Bruce Springsteen at Shea’s Buffalo in 1978, first show of his tour, first in a still thriving category in my live collection. (Many more times after this first one)

2. Rush at the Aud, 1979 — my first taste of that feeling the Aug forced on your ears after a show.

3. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, 1980, Night 2 of a three night stand in Buffalo (People actually played multiple nights in Buffalo, imagine)

4. The Kinks, 1981 — legends didn’t come this way often

5. Electric Light Orchestra, 1981 — my long time guilty pleasure band

6. Aerosmith, 1981, Stage One, it paid to know the bouncer

7. J. Geils Band, 1981, in Kleinhans Music Hall

8. The Who, 1982, Rich Stadium

9. U2, 1983, Shea’s buffalo (again in 87 at the Aud)

10. REM, 1983, Rooftops, Buffalo

11. Psychedelic Furs, 1983, Rooftops, Buffalo

12. Kenny Loggins, 1983, St. Bonaventure

13. Crosby, Stills and Nash, 1983, Buffalo

14. The Romantics, 1984, St. Bonaventure

15. Genesis, 1983, Buffalo

16. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, 1984, Rooftops

17. Santana, 1984, Darien Lake

18. UB40, Darien Lake

19. New Order, Darien Lake

20. The Roches, Tralfamdore Cafe

21. New York Dolls, Towne Ballroom

22. Todd Rundgren, Connecticut Street Armory

23. Tuck and Patti, Tralf

24. The Ramones, Uncle Sam’s Niteclub, Cheektovegas, NY (1 x more at Fredonia State)

25.Sting, Darien Lake

26.Tracy Chapman, Darien Lake

27. Eric Clapton, The Aud

28. Steve Miller, Rich Stadium

29. The Grateful Dead, Rich Stadium

30. Dave Matthews Band, Darien Lake (4x more after this)

31. Lenny Kravitz, Shea’s Buffalo

32. Inxs, North Park Theater

33. Asia, The Aud

34. Tori Amos, Shea’s Buffalo

35. Peter, Paul and Mary, Shea’s Buffalo

36. Phil Collins, The Aud

37. B.B. King, Kleinhans

38. Buddy Guy, Buffalo Waterfront

39. Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Lafayette Square

40. George Clinton, Parliment/Funkadelic, Lafayette Square

41. Goo Goo Dolls, Niagara Square

42. Ani DiFranco, Niagara Square

43. Great Train Robbery, Elmwood Arts Festival

44. Them Jazzbeards, Elwood Arts Festival

45. Utopia, Tralf (I know I said Todd Rundgren earlier, but this was billed as a Utopia show, so it’s different.

46. The Pixies, the Aud (opened for REM, my third REM show)

47. Billy Bragg, UB

48. Shriekback, Buff State

49. Institute, HSBC Arena, opening for U2

50. Norah Jones, Darien Lake, opening for Dave Matthews

There were a few multiples in there and I’m forgetting plenty (wonder how that happened) but these came to mind first