Big Snowstorm … where??

February 5th, 2010

There’s a huge storm moving across the country, expected to dump up to two feet of snow in places like Washington D.C. In Dreamtown? Not so much. Maybe some light flurries.

This is the second big storm to hit the east coast this winter. Neither hit Dreamtown. Yet I’ve been stuck in New York City for both. Go figure.

So the next time someone you know associates snow with Buffalo, tell them they must be thinking of Philadelphia or other east coast cities. You know, the places that can’t handle the snow. Heh.

Sponge-Worthy

January 31st, 2010

Courtesy of a Dreamtown fan from Northern Virginia comes a reference to Dreamtown food that was heard on NPR a couple weeks ago and is not about wings.

It comes from a program called The Splendid Table in a piece featuring Jan and Michael Stern of Roadfood.com called “A Most Sponge-Worthy City“. (Seinfeld’s influence is everywhere.) It’s about, of course, sponge candy with an extra shout-out for hot fudge sundaes at Alethea’s. Nice to see (or hear) kudos for more than just the ubiquitous wings and the lesser-known but still highly touted beef-on-weck.

Extreme Makeover on Air

January 20th, 2010

At long last, the Dreamtown episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is due to air on Sunday at 8 pm. ABC has turned it into a two-hour special because hey, it’s Dreamtown. Designer Paige Hemmis was interviewed about the episode, which she called “definitely Top Ten.”

One of her more interesting observations: “Everyone told us it is going to be so cold in Buffalo … it was warmer than all of our other shows. We had wonderful weather …” And that was in November. Are you getting this, ABC News?

Get your VCRs and DVRs ready!

Snow?

December 28th, 2009

Snow storms on the east coast and in the midwest. Here in Dreamtown? Another no-snow Christmas. It rained. That makes four of the last five Christmases being not-white, I think. That’s a bummer, but makes you wonder why so many people think it’s so snowy here.

Extreme Makeover

November 13th, 2009

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is in Dreamtown, enjoying the beautiful weather and wonderful people. But because this is Dreamtown, instead of just a home, an army of volunteers is making over a neighborhood.

Brady Connell, the show’s executive producer, said the community effort has been unlike any other in the six-year-old show’s history.

..

“We couldn’t have done this in other cities, even the same size as Buffalo, because the volunteer spirit here is off the charts.”

Welcome to Dreamtown, USA, Brady!

September to Remember

September 20th, 2009

So far this month, no measurable rainfall. But no drought issues either. Today was sunny and 77. Just another wonderful day in Dreamtown.

Un-fatties

August 27th, 2009

The September issue of Men’s Health ranks “Urban Waistlands“: their attempt to find “fast-food addicts” in the top 100 U.S. metro areas. Guess who finished at #100, meaning the least fatty (based on fast-food, obesity levels, and eating fruits and vegetables)? Dreamtown, of course. The only city to rank an A+.

But hey, Men’s Health, why was their no mention of our lofty status? Usually in these things, both the “winner” and “loser” gets called out. In this case, only the loser (Arlington, TX) got extra mention. What’s up with that?

Of course, their goofy study does leave some things out. Like all the Tim Horton’s (donuts — and remember the real Tim Horton whose number is retired for the Sabres) and wings available on pretty much every block. Oh well. It’s Dreamtown after all. A+ sounds right to me.

Garden Walk

August 3rd, 2009

The annual Garden Walk was a big hit again this year. Read about it online at finegardening.com and marthastewart.com among others.

What bad weather?

June 16th, 2009

Last night on the evening news was a story about the lousy weather this spring all around the country. Didn’t mention Dreamtown … we’ve had a lovely spring. How about you?

JetBlue and Weather

April 16th, 2009

I regularly fly between Dreamtown and New York on JetBlue. I can’t tell you how many times a pilot or flight attendant has felt the need to make some crack about Buffalo’s weather prior to departure from JFK. But they’ve never, ever made a remark heading to New York when the weather is worse there. And yes, it happens often.

But my last flight was a first. The pilot felt the need to make a crack about Buffalo’s weather being nice, adding the comment, “That doesn’t sound right, does it?” This after another day of crappy weather in New York, and on a flight that was four hours late.

So I had to send them a nasty-gram. They sent an appropriate response, but really, it’s kind of sad. You’d think a pilot would know better. Or maybe he just never noticed all the nice days and only remembered the snowy ones. But it’s time to pay attention! Oh, and it was really nice again today, and will be even nicer tomorrow. See what I mean?

In fact, there was an opinion piece in today’s News about the annual convention of the American Solar Energy Society being held here in May. The piece lists a number of the area’s notable green energy projects, and also mentions:

One of Buffalo’s best-kept secrets is the fact that we have more sunny days from May through September than any other city in the Northeast—a factor that helped, along with combined efforts by organizers and the Buffalo Niagara Convention& Visitors Bureau, to bring the intercollegiate “Solar Splash” solar/electric boat competition to Delaware Park’s Hoyt Lake five years in a row.

Read it and learn, JetBlue pilot!