July 24th, 2008 Christopher Byrd

I like the selection of Wrigley Field in Chi-town for the next hockey Winter Classic.

Inside my ByrdBrain…I kinda hoped the Sabres could have co-opted the Classic into a Buffalo thang…like Thanksgiving football with Detroit and Dallas…but in reality, the chances of that happening were next to zero.

Wrigley Filed hosting hockey will be cool…

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July 23rd, 2008 Christopher Byrd

Seriously…when I first read that the group organizing the DNC was getting tax free gas in Denver, I thought it was a joke…well…in a way, it is a joke, but not of the funny variety.

From the Rocky Mountain News…

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has used the city’s gas pumps to fill up and apparently avoided paying state and federal fuel taxes.

The practice, which began four months ago, may have ended hours after its disclosure. An aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper released a statement Tuesday evening saying that Denver 2008 Host Committee members would pay market prices for fuel and would also be liable for all applicable taxes.

However, Public Works spokeswoman Christine Downs told City Council members just hours before that host committee members were fueling up at the city pumps. The city does not pay taxes on the fuel for its fleet, and Downs said the host committee would not either.

Nice…

This is the party who thought it bad to give people a break on the gas tax when he prices soared to $4.00 a gallon.

More from the Rocky Mountain News…

City Councilman Charlie Brown raised the question of whether the host committee would be paying fuel taxes, and Downs said it wouldn’t.

“There’s something there that just doesn’t seem right to me because, in a sense, you’re saying then that the officials who pass the laws are not willing to live by them,” said Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz.

You got that right sister.

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July 22nd, 2008 Christopher Byrd

Too bad they didn’t hold there model train show at the Central Terminal…how cool would that have been?

The Terminal has a train show in September though…all is not lost.

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July 22nd, 2008 Christopher Byrd

…who could have predicted this?

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July 22nd, 2008 Christopher Byrd

[click here for hi res Windows Media Version]

Finding Zawadzki…

I have become fascinated with the B-F work of architect Wladyslaw H. Zawadzki. His designs respresent some of the most beautiful and signifigant buildings in the neighborhood.

After looking into more of what he had done, I decided to start photographing his buildings and put together a series of slideshows to highlight the various B-F structures he created.

His legacy touches many different parts of B-F and Polonia…it is amazing…the volume of buildings is amazing as well.

Some of the buildings in the slideshow definitely need some TLC, but nonetheless, are representative of his body of work.

Please share your thoughts.

The following biography on Zawadzki was extracted from the ”Intensive Level Historic Resources Survey of Broadway-Fillmore Neigborhood” completed by Clinton Brown Company Architecture in August 2004.”

Architect W. H. Zawadzki (1872-1926) was the most important Polish-American architect in Buffalo. 11 He designed a number of buildings in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood that as a group constitutes his best work. The current survey identified 18 buildings attributed to Zawadzki in the neighborhood; the largest concentrated collection of his work, known to date. He designed a variety of buildings for a wide range of uses such as religious, residential, social, commercial, and industrial. During his career, Zawadski employed different materials and styles of the period for his designs. Born in Poznan, Poland in 1872, he immigrated to Buffalo with his parents as a young man. His education background included private study with Mr. Schmidehuazena. He later attended architectural school in Buffalo. Before opening his own practice in the neighborhood, he worked for the American Bridge Company and then at Lackawanna Steel Company for six years. In 1898, he married Stanów Zjednoczonych. Zawadzki served in World War I. The prominent East Side architect purchased the house at 798 Fillmore Avenue (1895) for his own residence and office, where he remained until his death in 1926.

[read rest of story...]

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July 18th, 2008 Christopher Byrd

From WGRZ…

The Department of Defense reported Thursday, Jamestown native, Staff Sgt. David W. Textor died in Iraq in a vehicle accident.

This soldier has 5 kids…stuff like this breaks my heart.

Say a prayer for him and his family…

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July 17th, 2008 Christopher Byrd

Thin Lizzy…great band…great sound…shame Phil Lynott died too young.

“The Cowboy Song” is one of my faves by them…

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July 17th, 2008 Christopher Byrd

Well Chico Escuela, at least it was last night for me!

Major League Baseball’s All-Star game is probably the best all-star gathering in professional sports…last night’s 4-3 15 inning affair at Yankee Stadium did not disappoint in the least…from Tampa Bay’s rookie Evan Longoria driving in the game tying run during the 8th inning to Botson’s Jonathan Papelbon getting the business from the New York crowd…all of it good stuff.

Last night was a reminder as to why I love baseball.  The sport is just so different than any other pro sport…the in-game strategy from inning to inning…the pace of the game adds intrigue…the pitcher vs. the hitter…just cool.  I wish I followed it the way I used too…so it goes.

Still hard to believe that Yankee Stadium will be no more…fitting that this year’s all-star tilt was played there.

Oh…the AL won.

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July 16th, 2008 Christopher Byrd

Had Byrd type daughter college orientation to attend last few days…

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July 11th, 2008 Christopher Byrd

Wow…I love it…you should check it out…I stood on the Central Wharf trying to visualize what the rest of the project will look like…glad Bass Pro is not on the Central Wharf…hopefully in a few short years everything will be complete…was surprised by the number of people there today as well…think about this, we (we meaning Buffalo) will have this large stretch of inner harbor between Erie Basin through the Erie Canal Harbor which will be totally open to the public…I had to pinch myself today…I know the project is far from complete, but I am excited.

I just wish I would have brought my good camera…

No floaters either!

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