Empty Suit

The guy running against our current County Executive has been described by several people I know as "an empty suit." I'm always willing to listen to other candidate's ideas and plans, but Greg Edwards proved he's an idiot this week. I apologize for the harshness of that statement, but when he began railing against Mark Thomas' efforts in regards to Medicaid reform, he showed that not only doesn't he pay attention to current events, he has no clue what's been happening in county government. See the September 27th entry on this page for his "Medicaid Reform" statement.

Fortunately, Mr. Thomas fired back on his blog regarding this issue.

I'll add that at a "meet the candidates" event, Edwards was asked what he would do to make sure what happened in Erie County didn't happen here in Chautauqua County. I'm told by people at that event that the color drained from Edwards' face and he stumbled through a response. They said it was very apparent that he hadn't anticipated a question like that. I think that's very telling in itself. Hopefully the rest of the voters in this county see it too.

I officially endorse Democrat Mark Thomas for Chautauqua County Executive in this November's elections.

As if there was any doubt that I would.

Arrrghh.. Matey!

Ahoy! Tis Talk Like a Pirate Day!

My pirate name is:

Dirty Jenny Cash

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Pure Nerd 82 % Nerd, 43% Geek, 26% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 91% on nerdiness You scored higher than 57% on geekosity You scored higher than 36% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid

Pressing Matters of National Security

Thanks to Wonkette and Reuters, we have a more clear idea of what was on President Bush's mind at the Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations. I am sympathetic since having the "urge" come on in a meeting you can't leave always sucks.




Credit: Reuters

Addendum: Apparently the note was photoshopped, but not the message part.

Passing Time

An idea from Meg.

Twenty years ago this month, in 1985, I began third grade at our middle/elementary school. This is the first time students can buy their lunch.

Fifteen years ago this month, in 1990, I began 8th grade. For the first time in my life, I "knew what I wanted to be when I grew up": a music teacher.

Ten years ago this month, in 1995, I started college at Baldwin-Wallace as a Music Education major.

Five years ago this month, in 2000, I was a radio news reporter/anchor for a local radio station. My future-husband announced he was leaving his news reporter job and taking a job in government.

Today, I'm doing public relations for a not-for-profit and some radio bits.

I still think of August and September as the beginning of a new year more so than January 1st. There's still enough that's happened in my life to reflect this line of thought.

Orangeville

Matt and I spent a lovely weekend in Orangeville, Ontario visiting our friends, Christa & Stewart. Since Kodak has done some fancy upgrading of EasyShare, I was able to easily upload all our pictures from the trip. No captions yet, but still worth looking at the fantastic scenery and downtown areas. The picture to the left was taken from the top of Mono Cliffs. We had hiked several kilometers before reaching the pond below, and then we hiked up to the outlook where this picture was taken.

Photo Album Here.

Impeachment Would Be A Good Start

I'm absolutely furious with the current administration. It was obvious from the get-go that the response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath was severely lacking. You may disagree, but here is a timeline of events that shows the incompetance of this president and his administration. Immediate dismissal of staff, such as Condoleeza Rice, Michael Brown, and Mike Chertoff; with the commencement of impeachment proceedings would seem pretty rational right now. Of course, this is just another piece of evidence of why Bush should be impeached, not the sole reason.

"One of the best concerts I've ever been to" - Matt

Until we go to the U2 concert in December, Matt has proclaimed last night's Coldplay concert the best concert he's ever seen. I've had the privilege to enjoy some fantastic performances by musical acts in my lifetime including Soul Coughing, Rusted Root, Tori Amos, and Def Leppard. This will rank near the very top in terms of quality of musicianship, stage show, and general good vibe at the concert. I got a little emotional when "Politik" came on since that was the song that sealed the deal for me when I saw it performed at the Grammy's back in 2003. When you live in Western New York, you can never be sure that you'll get to see your favorite bands perform live, and when you do get the chance it can be magical.

Here's the review in today's Buffalo News:

Coldplay is hot
Band brings passion to show that possesses feel of arena rock

By JEFF MIERS
News Pop Music Critic
9/2/2005

Based solely on its recorded output, Coldplay should be at once praised for bringing sensitive guy rock and an impeccable sense of melody back to the mainstream, and cursed for it.

There is the tendency for cookie-cutter bands to ride the wake of successful artists, and with Coldplay's success, that has meant a whole lot of overly earnest rock music that takes itself far more seriously than it should.

Coldplay's recent release, "X&Y," fits that mold, even though it would be ridiculous to accuse the quartet of copying itself. It has seemed imperative for something dark, edgy and ugly to break through the veneer of politeness that coats the band's records, as great as they are, harmonically and melodically. Remember, this is why punk rock showed up in the first place; things were getting much too safe, much too clean and neat.

Happily, on Thursday evening, before what sure looked like a sold-out Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Coldplay kicked whatever preconceptions might exist firmly and squarely in the buttocks, and proceeded to put on a highly impassioned, incredibly tight arena-rock show, with only a few missteps.

Most of these had to do with pacing. On occasion, tunes with similar tempos and all but dynamic blueprints butted up against each other, and that reduced the impact of both of them. But largely, Coldplay satisfied on the very level that the band is hoping to reach - the arena of large-scale, populist, mainstream rock music.

Opening with what can only be described as an incredibly powerful right-hand cut to the cranium, the band gave us the lead-off track from "X&Y," "Square One," and then proceeded directly into the rallying call that is "Politik," the tune that was more than likely the port-of-entry for at least half of Thursday's crowd.

Combined with what was surely one of the most exciting light shows this side of Pink Floyd, this opening was simply astounding.

It didn't let up from there, as "Yellow," the band's first hit, from its major-label debut, "Parachutes," was given an added kick singer/pianist Chris Martin's strapping on of a Vox Teardrop electric, and fat yellow balloons were blown into the crowd from the rear of the amphitheater.

Guitarist John Buckland is the guy providing the majority of the harmonic information, and he should be praised.He also sang harmony, as did uber-tight and incredibly driving bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion, who relentlessly drove this band throughout the show.

There were the requisite ballads, of course, at which Coldplay excels. There is always the presence of U2 hanging over this band, which is a bit unfair for a group touring behind its third record. But Coldplay welcomes this sort of comparison, and the band's desire to wear its heart on its sleeve, to create populist art that can somehow touch people deeply, and encourage sing-alongs that aren't completely mindless and cheesy is to be commended.

"Speed of Sound" was killer, and "Everything's Not Lost" and "Swallowed In the Sea" truly impressed, as Martin, at the piano, led the group through elegant chord changes that screamed of empathy and pathos. If we didn't know what for, we still felt it.

And that's the case with Coldplay now. The band is no longer a hipster Brit-pop act. It has gone mainstream, and has made every attempt to take its integrity along with it for the ride. In this, the band is succeeding on the same level as its biggest heroes, U2. Its music comes to life, and it touches the life of the listener.

And from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

September 2, 2005
Coldplay proves it deserves its fame
Jeff Spevak
Staff music critic

Oasis, Blur, Radiohead: Let's put 'em all on an island with some rusty pitchforks and have us a Battle of the Brit-Pop Burnouts.

But not Coldplay.

These guys are as real as U2.

Some 16,000 came out Thursday night at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center to see the much-hyped melodic-rock wunderkinds. Surely no one walked away without wondering how Coldplay could have gotten so good, so fast.

Like U2's recent tours, Coldplay's stage set was all business. The guitars, keyboards and drum kit sat on a stark stage, like a tray full of surgical instruments, backed by an array of penetrating lights and a huge video screen, projecting images often every bit as obtuse as Coldplay's lyrics.

Taking the stage in front of this huge screen, Coldplay looked like shadow puppets moving jerkily before a huge digital-clock countdown.

The video screen also engaged in a bit of mass-crowd prompting, urging people to get out their cameras and, at a countdown, snap a photo of the band.

The venue twinkled with tiny blue-white flashes.

Like U2's Bono, Coldplay's Chris Martin is a mesmerizing front man, although the guy he's really the most like is the Tragically Hip's Gordon Downie.

Martin's favorite move is a one-footed bounce, but he also skips lightly about, drops to his knees, gestures toward the sky, windmills like a little kid, plays acoustic guitar for "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," and rocks furiously on the piano stool for Coldplay's grand "Politik" and "Clocks."

Grand. Like U2, that's the word for Coldplay's songs. Vast soundscapes accompanied by Martin's onstage dramatics and soaring vocals. The dynamics ebb and flow within each song, a crash and then a whisper. For "Yellow," huge yellow balloons drifted down from the pavilion rafters onto the crowd, which batted them about until they discovered that popping the things released a shower of confetti.

Like U2, Coldplay's four members — Martin plus guitarist Jon Buckland, drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman — have distinct personalities of their own. Despite the fact that they were each wearing all-black outfits.

It's all happening fast for Coldplay. The band's 2002 album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, seemed a tough masterpiece to follow, but the new X&Y does the trick.

Fast, but unlike U2's Bono, Martin hasn't had a meeting yet with the pope. He is, however, married to Gwyneth Paltrow, which must be something of a religious experience.

An acoustic set included a tribute to Johnny Cash and his "Ring of Fire."

Martin's gymnastics also included climbing one of the tall support posts in the middle of the pavilion and engaging the crowd in a call-and-response sing-along during "In My Place."

Martin's self-effacing humor also included a comment that Coldplay was voted "Ugliest rock band" by the British public. "We're not the Backstreet Boys," Martin said.

Rilo Kiley was yet more evidence as to why you should never miss an opening band that you've never heard of.

A six-piece trip-pop with a trumpeter and female lead singer in calf-high white socks, Rilo Kiley's ragtime groove was curious and exotic, like a wedding band at Roger Vadim's wedding. While few of us have entry into the world of French film producers, I'd pay money to see this outfit play in a club.

Across the board, Thursday was perhaps the finest hour or three of rock this summer.

Songs I Actually Liked

I graduated from high school in 1995. I'm doubtful that my class will have any kind of 10-year reunion at this point. Part me is a little sad, while the other part says, "Thank god! Now I don't have to worry it." In the meme-scheme of things, here is the top 100 songs of 1995. I've bolded the songs I actually like:

1. Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio
2. Waterfalls, TLC
3. Creep, TLC
4. Kiss From A Rose, Seal
5. On Bended Knee, Boyz II Men
6. Another Night, Real McCoy
7. Fantasy, Mariah Carey
8. Take A Bow, Madonna
9. Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days), Monica
10. This Is How We Do It, Montell Jordan
11. I Know, Dionne Farris
12. Water Runs Dry, Boyz II Men
13. Freak Like Me, Adina Howard
14. Run-Around, Blues Traveler
15. I Can Love You Like That, All-4-One
16. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?, Bryan Adams
17. Always, Bon Jovi
18. Boombastic / In The Summertime, Shaggy
19. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Nicki French
20. You Gotta Be, Des'ree
21. You Are Not Alone, Michael Jackson
22. Hold My Hand, Hootie and The Blowfish
23. One More Chance-Stay With Me, Notorious B.I.G.
24. Here Comes The Hotstepper, Ini Kamoze
25. Candy Rain, Soul For Real
26. Let Her, w Hootie and The Blowfish
27. I Believe, Blessid Union Of Souls
28. Red Light Special, TLC
29. Runaway, Janet Jackson
30. Strong Enough, Sheryl Crow
31. Colors Of The Wind, Vanessa Williams
32. Someone To Love, Jon B.
33. Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie and The Blowfish
34. If You Love Me, Brownstone
35. In The House Of Stone And Light, Martin Page
36. I Got 5 On It, Luniz
37. Baby, Brandy
38. Run Away, Real McCoy
39. As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkins
40. He's Mine, Mokenstef
41. December, Collective Soul
42. I'll Be There For You-You're All I Need To Get By, Method Man-Mary J. Blige
43. Shy Guy, Diana King
44. I'm The Only One, Melissa Etheridge
45. Every Little Thing I Do, Soul For Real
46. Before I Let You Go, BLACKstreet
47. Big Poppa / Warning, Notorious B.I.G.
48. Sukiyaki, 4 P.M.
49. I Wanna Be Down, Brandy
50. I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
51. Dear Mama / Old School, 2Pac
52. Hold On, Jamie Walters
53. Keep Their Heads Ringin', Dr. Dre
54. The Rhythm Of The Night, Corona
55. Roll To Me, Del Amitri
56. Scream / Childhood, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson
57. Freek'n You, Jodeci
58. I Wish, Skee-lo
59. Believe, Elton John
60. Carnival, Natalie Merchant
61. You Don't Know How It Feels, Tom Petty
62. Back For Good, Take That
63. Tootsee Roll, 69 Boyz
64. You Want This-70's Love Groove, Janet Jackson
65. Tell Me, Groove Theory
66. Can't You See, Total
67. All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
68. This Lil' Game We Play, Subway
69. Come And Get Your Love, Real McCoy
70. This Ain't A Love Song, Bon Jovi
71. Secret, Madonna
72. Player's Anthem, Junior M.A.F.I.A.
73. Feel Me Flow, Naughty By Nature
74. Every Day Of The Week, Jade
75. The Sweetest Days, Vanessa Williams
76. Short Dick Man, 20 Fingers Featuring Gillette
77. Brokenhearted, Brandy
78. No More "I Love You's", Annie Lennox
79. You Used To Love Me, Faith Evans
80. Constantly, Immature
81. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, U2
82. 100% Pure Love, Crystal Waters
83. Ask Of You, Raphael Saadiq
84. Sugar Hill, Az
85. Good, Better Than Ezra
86. Brown Sugar, D'angelo
87. Turn The Beat Around, Gloria Estefan
88. 'Til You Do Me Right, After 7
89. 1st Of Tha Month, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
90. Like The Way I Do If I Wanted To, Melissa Etheridge
91. I Live My Life For You, Firehouse
92. Dream About You-Funky Melody, Stevie B
93. Cotton Eye Joe, Rednex
94. Thank You, Boyz II Men
95. I'll Stand By You, Pretenders
96. I Miss You, N II U
97. Give It 2 You, Da Brat
98. Best Friend, Brandy
99. Misery, Soul Asylum
100. Can't Stop Lovin' You, Van Halen

Politics Going to the Blogs

The County Executive's office is up for election this year, and current Executive Mark Thomas has re-launched his campaign website. And showing he's a forward thinker, or latching onto one of Howard Dean's better ideas, he has started a campaign blog. The blog is mostly just political articles about what Thomas is up to. I'm hoping he'll consider using it as op-ed space where posts are written in the first person. I've noticed that Thomas has a way of speaking in laymen terms when giving news interviews, which is helpfu. This is especially true when you start getting into topics like PILOTS, Medicaid, and various governmental finance stuff.

On a separate note, if Thomas wins the election, he'll be one of the first (if not the first) County Executives to win a third term. His current challenger is a lawyer named Greg Edwards. Edwards doesn't have a blog, yet. His site does have the usual info and political press releases.

2005 Book List

I've always meant to start a list of books I have read over the course of a year. There's the 50 book challenge you see on some blogs and then just a regular list of books. I don't have exact dates for when I tore through most of these, but I assure you I'm not slipping in any from previous years:

1. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling
2. The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella
3. Can You Keep A Secret? - Sophie Kinsella
4. He Loves Lucy - Susan Donovan
5. Sixteen - Megan McCafferty
6. The Body in the Attic - Katherine Hall Page
7. The Body in the Basement - Katherine Hall Page
8. The Body in the Belfry - Katherine Hall Page
9. The Body in the Big Apple - Katherine Hall Page
10. The Body in the Bog - Katherine Hall Page
11. The Body in the Bonfire - Katherine Hall Page
12. The Body in the Bookcase - Katherine Hall Page
13. The Body in the Bouillon - Katherine Hall Page
14. The Body in the Cast - Katherine Hall Page
15. The Body in the Lighthouse - Katherine Hall Page
16. The Body in the Moonlight - Katherine Hall Page
17. The Body in the Vestibule - Katherine Hall Page
18. Agatha Raisin & The Quiche of Death - M.C. Beaton
19. A Highland Christmas - M.C. Beaton
20. Death of an Addict - M.C. Beaton
21. Death of a Bore - M.C. Beaton
22. Death of a Cad - M.C. Beaton
23. Death of a Celebrity - M.C. Beaton
24. Death of a Charming Man - M.C. Beaton
25. Death of a Dentist - M.C. Beaton
26. Death of a Dustman - M.C. Beaton
27. Death of a Glutton - M.C. Beaton
28. Death of a Gossip - M.C. Beaton
29. Death of a Hussy - M.C. Beaton
30. Death of a Macho Man - M.C. Beaton
31. Death of a Nag - M.C. Beaton
32. Death of an Outsider - M.C. Beaton
33. Death of a Perfect Wife - M.C. Beaton
34. Death of a Poisen Pen - M.C. Beaton
35. Death of a Scriptwriter - M.C. Beaton
36. Death of a Snob - M.C. Beaton
37. Death of a Traveling Man - M.C. Beaton
38. Death of a Village - M.C. Beaton
39. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (the book) - The Writers of the Daily Show, Jon Stewart
40. Lost - Gregory Maguire
41. The Other Woman - Jane Green
42. What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew About Judaism- Robert Schoen
43. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank - Ellen Feldman
44. 44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith (It was sheer coincidence regarding the number 44)
45. Rosie Dunne - Cecelia Ahern
46. P.S., I Love You - Cecilia Ahern
47. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
48. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
    

But Will They Actually Find School Spirit?

I heard via a friend, and then from an LJ post, that there is a movie being filmed that will feature a "football scene" at my old high school. I thought maybe one of the local filmmakers was doing another movie, but no director has been credited on IMDB (Cherry Crush). I will note that the cast list includes one actor. He even has decent experience to boot. I wonder how long it'll take the local papers to do a story on this?

Semblance of Life

Matt and I are slowly getting back to a normal routine. Of course, we're immediately breaking it by going to visit friends in Buffalo for an overnight. I joked with my friend, Mike, yesterday when I called to confirm plans that our visit to see him and his wife, Londa, is our summer vacation. Possible plans range from touring Forest Lawn cemetery,



to taking in the new modern art exhibit at Albright-Knox,



or even dropping by the Erie Basin Harbor to check out the Waterfront Sailabration.



It all depends on the weather and pocket funds (Albright Knox would set us back $10 each).

Giggles

The first lesson anyone should have before running for office: Memorize the main parts of your campaign speeches. Here's GOP U.S. Senate candidate Jeanine Pirro demonstrating this lesson.

Many Thanks

I want to thank everyone who commented, sent email, or even came to my Grandma's funeral this past Wednesday. I think everyone in my family agrees that the service and party afterwards are just what she had hoped for. She even got a little more than she bargained for with Matt's eulogy. I will have to post that sometime because he caught the essence of my Grandma and what she stood for that day. All that and made people laugh. I was also fortunate enough and blessed to have Heidi and family friend, Ellen, accompany me on vocals and piano as I played "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" on the violin.

I'm still having sad moments and I know it will get pretty hard when we finally sell her house and the holidays approach. I am grateful for the time we had with her over the past nine months, even though most of that time wasn't so great for her in terms of the pains of cancer.

My Grandma

I got the call just as I was about to step into my workplace this morning that my Grandma died around 3am this morning. While I'm sad, I feel relieved for her that she has no pain and can be with the family members she's missed for many years. She was a fun, strong lady.

I know some people have asked about funeral arrangements (Wake 2-4, 7-9pm tomorrow-Tuesday, and Funeral Wednesday morning). Call me on my cell phone or watch the Buffalo News/Jamestown Post-Journal. I won't have access to my email after this morning since my Grandma wasn't one to embrace new fangled things like those darn computers.

A Great News Reporter Gone

Of the people I admire and consider role models, Peter Jennings was high on my list when it came to news broadcasting. I was saddened to hear that he has lost his battle with lung cancer. It is suprising to realize that in a very short time, all the major networks have seen their long-time anchors leave, whether by retirement or in this case, death. My thoughts are with Mr. Jenning's family.

Full Coverage from ABC News

The Coffeehouse that Sired a Blog

The coffeehouse that inspired this blog finally has a website. Even though I've hit a dry spell in visits to Rochester this year, I always try to make a stop by Java's Cafe for some of the best coffee I've ever tasted. Out of all the coffee shops I've frequented, Java's has the best coffee and best ambience.



Today's D&C has a review of this hot spot. I'm pretty sure the writer made a mistake though in saying that Mike Calabrese has been the owner of Java's since 1992, since I know that Joe Palozzi opened Java Joe's at the 16 Gibbs site in '92 and then sold it sometime in the late 1990s to Mike Calabrese. He still supplies the coffee though, hence why the coffee is still awesome.

Because It's Brilliant

I can't fully neglect my blog so I thought I'd treat you to a hack for elevators.

Our Other New Guinea Impatiens

Over Fourth of July weekend, my mom bought us a New Guinea impatiens hanging plant. I wouldn't say that Matt nor I have the greenest thumbs, but eventually we figured out that if you water the plant every day that it would magically spring back from a seemingly dead state.





I half-jokingly compared my Grandmother to a New Guinea Impatiens last week. I know it's been awhile since I've posted any updates on her. Last week was not a good week in the story of her life. My parents had to bring her to hospice in Buffalo because she had lost a lot of motor skills and was in a lot of pain. Hospice has a wing where patients are there more to recooperate or get their meds adjusted. When we went to visit my grandma the day after she was admitted, my mom said she was 100% better as compared to the day before. This gave us some hope that the doctors could further adjust her meds and that she could come home by the end of the following week.

The doctors tell my cousin, Valerie, who has been acting a stand-in for my dad when he has to work that they can't seem to give enough meds to make the pain better. On a scale of 1-10, my Grandmother's pain has been consistently around 8 this week. We knew it was likely that we only had until September, but I guess you always hope beyond that. The family conference between the doctors and my parents is tomorrow, so I guess we'll find out more then.

So I've decided that admist this and various craziness where work is concerned that I'm going to do my best not to think about the fact that we don't have time, nor energy, to get a lot done on our house right now. I have other things to be concerned about, like practicing violin in preparation for a performance that I don't want to do, but promised my Grandmother I would when it came time. I still plan to blog about other stuff but if I seem like I'm slacking, there's the reason.