What are y’all up to today? I’m off to the grocery store soon. The mister is a couple of hours north with his family as they keep watch over his ailing father. He’ll be home tonight, and I thought I’d make him something impressive for dinner to cheer him up. I’m thinking Steak Diane (which I’ve never made, but it sounds good) and Caesar salad.
I’m also trying to solve a mystery for my mother-in-law: My father-in-law is a retired fireman. Once he and a few colleagues were honored by the city (Buffalo, NY) for a particularly harrowing rescue of some people from a burning building.
We have newspaper clippings from the event honoring the firemen and some photos taken at the ceremony. The newspaper clippings don’t say what year the fire or event occurred, though they do give a month and day. Guessing from the fashion clues in the photo, I think it must have been mid-to-late 70s or maybe even early 80s, which dovetails with my mother-in-law’s recollection.
I can’t find anything at all on Google about it or anything in the city’s newspaper archives, though it’s possible the clippings are from a now-defunct paper. Where else should I look to find out the year?
rikyrah
Is there a fireman’s association that you can call? they might have a historian
Gorgon Zola
I’m launching a FB page for a new nonprofit my friend dreamt up: a campaign to encourage people to purchase a Native American product for the Thanksgiving Table.
Maybe BJ will help me spread the word a few weeks before T-Day?
Elizabelle
You will have already done this, I think (d’uh), but type a passage or two from the articles into Google and see what pops up? Article might have been picked up on another news site, or someone’s personal webpage.
I’ve had luck with that.
OR see if there’s a Buffalo Underground site – something hyperlocal — and put your question up.
Steak Diane sounds heavenly. Dinner, the bride, boxers, chickens. How can the DH not cheer up?
rikyrah
The Victimology of Hillary Clinton
Even though her 2008 campaign took advantage of racially charged attacks on Barack Obama, she still think she’s the one who had it tough.
David Frum
Jun 20 2014, 12:36 PM ET
……………..
The better Obama did in the Democratic race overall, the more strongly white Democrats rallied to Clinton, sometimes by margins greater than 60 percent.
Almost to the very end of the race, Clinton looked to racial politics to swing the 800-plus Democratic superdelegates to her. On April 30, the week before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, she gave an interview to Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly. He asked about the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, whose controversial “God damn America” remarks had just erupted into the news. Clinton said, “I’m going to leave it up to voters … but I wouldn’t have stayed in that church. I take offense at it. I think it’s offensive and outrageous, and I’m going to express my opinion. Others can express theirs.” (Clinton went on to win more than 60 percent of white Democrats in Indiana.)
In their detailed campaign book Game Change, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann reported that Clinton was “obsessed” (their word) with rumors of a videotape of Michelle Obama denouncing “whitey” in a sermon at Wright’s church. Reporters who covered that campaign had that story repeatedly shopped to them by a high-level Clinton aide.
In their minds, members of the Clinton team surely never thought of themselves as inciting racial divisions. They believed they were merely anticipating Republican incitement. In the face of impending right-wing racism, what choice did liberals have but to rally around the white candidate, in pure self-defense? (I heard this argument myself from a famous movie director and generous Clinton donor at a dinner party in 2008.) It was a highly convenient self-exculpatory argument. I’m not myself suggesting that Barack Obama is an alien with no right to sit in Washington’s chair … but other people will think so, and so what choice do I have but to urge the media to work harder to find a tape of Obama’s wife denouncing white people?
Of course, America did elect and reelect Obama. The Clinton team’s warning (“You can’t win with only eggheads and African Americans,” as Paul Begala instructed Donna Brazile on CNN) proved wrong. Looking back on it now, Hillary Clinton perceives that the true victim of bigotry in the ’08 cycle was … herself.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/the-victimology-of-hillary-clinton/373129/
Thursday
The given month/day combo should only have a few valid years in the time frame. Should help narrow it down.
Elizabelle
Can you scan a few articles and put them up here? Would be a hoot, and maybe some wicked smart types could identify the year.
Gorgon Zola
Betty have you checked with the Buffalo Fire Historical Society?
Baud
Searching for the truth behind an old newspaper clipping? Sounds like the plot of a novel that will be made into a movie staring Julia Roberts.
Amir Khalid
Someone at Buffalo FD might remember the fire/ceremony, or know someone who does.
Schlemizel
@Gorgon Zola:
I was thinking along that line. Also, I would guess these are union guys, if that is right check with the local they probably have it.
@Thursday: That is a very smart idea, June 22 would limit the event to a small number of years.
Keith P
You could set another fire in the same location and then deduce the year when the newspaper says, “A similar fire occurred here in 19XX”. Unless there was another fire in between, in which case the arson charges will be for naught.
Baud
Have you tried contacting the city? They may have records going back that far.
SiubhanDuinne
All good suggestions. Also, Buffalo City Hall might have records.
ETA: Jinx, Baud!
RobertDSC-iPhone 4
I just watched the season finale of Orphan Black. The first half of the episode, deeply gratifying and so great.
The second half? Grotesquely disappointing. The writers have lost their way and I’m upset by that.
Tommy
Call the paper and ask.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne:
I don’t know. I think Keith P‘s suggestion is just ok.
Cassidy
Call the union, ask for the historian.
Schlemizel
@Schlemizel:
Odd, my comment is in moderation. It does not contain any of the naughty words and only 2 links to other comment.
Amir Khalid
@Tommy:
It seems Betty Cracker’s MIL doesn’t recall what newspaper the clippings are from, since Betty thinks it could be a defunct newspaper. But there can’t have been that many newspapers in Buffalo in the 1970s.
WereBear
@RobertDSC-iPhone 4: Why I tend to pick up series and binge watch them only after all the shouting is over.
Speaking of which, I’ve just started Justified and I’m loving it. Nice tribute to Elmore Leonard.
Valdivia
Mellow Sunday here. Trying to settle into Radt Coast time with futbol and reading.
Hope your FIL is out of the woods soon. Hard times dealing with illness in the family.
NotMax
Oh, my stars and garters.
By their works shall ye know them.
Welcome to the Corporate Dystopia.
Betty Cracker
@Schlemizel: I rescued it. FYWP has been hyper-FY lately. I have no idea why.
Thanks for the good suggestions, all. I will get to the bottom of this one way or another.
Valdivia
East coast time. Damn it autocorrect.
Tommy
@WereBear: I do the same. How far are you into Justified?
NotMax
Steak Diane?
No bottom shelf off-brand cognac or brandy. Have’ta, gotta use the real good stuff.
Brother Dingaling
@Keith P: Not at all, my friend. Any working journalist knows you need three instances of something to write a trend piece. Set that fire, solve the mystery!
jeffreyw
Thawing some chicken wings for dinner, going the buffalo route, I think, but the Asian influenced soy/honey baked wings would work.
schrodinger's cat
Have you tried
1. Lexis Nexis
2.A call to the reference librarian at the Buffalo Public Library
Ultraviolet Thunder
Spent Saturday driving round trip across Michigan to go to a nephew’s high school graduation party. Hung out with Grandma (97 y/o) at her house, which is exhausting because no normal human can keep up with her.
Had a great drive home with my wife. I was struggling to stay awake on the road for 3 hours when I would normally be asleep so my wife played Radio DJ, picking stations and instigating loud disagreements about music. It was ridiculous, juvenile, and one of the big reasons I adore her.
Svensker
Reference library is a good idea. Also, the local historical society and/or genealogy group. They will often have access to that kind of stuff and volunteers who will gladly look things up.
NotMax
@jeffreyw
Tried sprinkling them with sesame seeds in addition to the spices/sauce?
(An abodemate used to insist that sesame seeds were harvested from hamburger buns.)
WereBear
@Tommy: Only watched 2 episodes! Savoring them.
Also started The Shield because I’m a big Michael Chiklis fan. The man has reinvented himself so many ways.
gbear
I may go back to the Germanfest celebration a couple blocks from my house to get a brat and potato salad for lunch and then go watch the Dachshund races at 1:00, and then get a bowl of Grand Old Creamery ice cream (the best) for desert.
Frankensteinbeck
Editing. It is just maybe possible I will finish this miserable, week-long process today. It’s for a very good cause – my publisher thinks they should rerelease Quite Contrary, that it has potential to do well and was underserved the first time around. However, chaos prevented it from being properly edited on the first release, and I wrote it at the peak of my dialog tag difficulties. The editing has been long, slow, and unpleasant. I pray I will see it finished today and can go back to enjoying my job again.
Joel
@rikyrah: Frum did a terrific job at not obviously alluding to Steven Spielberg in that article.
nellcote
@Gorgon Zola:
linky?
jeffreyw
@NotMax: I have some, try toasting them lightly first.
NotMax
@Frankensteinbeck
Dialogue in prose? Dunno if perhaps you are of an age to remember the very brief popularity and subsequent plummet of same for Tom Swifties?
“Who called for a plumber?” he piped.
NotMax
@jeffreyw
Yuppers. Like to quickly toast them in black butter made with cider vinegar in place of lemon juice.
Elmo
Second free day in Anchorage, and this one looks like it won’t be completely grim and rainy like yesterday.
Off to Denali! Wish me luck, it’s at least 4 hours each way and I have a meeting at 9 am tomorrow. But I have to try to see the big mountain.
MattF
1983 propane explosion?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Division_Street_explosion
Iowa Old Lady
I’m reading a Harry Dresden novel.
It’s thundering again, and there’s once again water at the bottom of the steps from my garage to my basement.
Also, I’m avoiding messages from my MIL demanding to be taken “home” from the assisted living facility. Fortunately for me, she lives in NJ.
A Humble Lurker
@Iowa Old Lady:
Skin Game? I ordered that from a library something like two weeks ago and it’s STILL not here. *grumble* Meanwhile I’m trying desperately to avoid spoilers.
@RobertDSC-iPhone 4:
It feels like this season suffered from ‘we have to get all of this in there’ syndrome. I’m not giving up on it yet, though. At least one more season before I do that.
WaterGirl
@RobertDSC-iPhone 4: Sorry to hear the last episode is disappointing! I haven’t watched the last two episodes yet because I watch Orphan Black with a friend who is out of town until July 2.
Are you familiar with Danielle Henderson? I found her earlier this season – she writes great reviews of the orphan black episodes in what I think is a very fun style. I particularly like that she seems to be thinking what I’m thinking as I watch an episode – like: you are hiding out in a cabin with a million windows, what are you thinking?
Maybe you can see if she agrees with you on the final episode:
http://www.vulture.com/2014/06/orphan-black-recap-season-2-episode-10.html
In case you like her work, here’s an archive of her reviews from this season. (She also reviews Orange is the New Black and Louie, but I haven’t read those.)
http://nymag.com/author/danielle%20henderson/
StringOnAStick
I’m recovering from climbing Colorado’s highest 14,000′ peak yesterday. I went along thinking that I may or may not hike, or would only go until I felt too weird since I am still recovering from the serious contact allergic reaction that started 2 weeks ago. The rash is winding down and I still have some weird nerve responses in my skin, but it is the steroids you take that make you want to crawl out of your skin. I took my last one yesterday and though I felt really, really strange, I just kept trudging and made it to the top of Mt. Elbert, near Leadville, CO.
Actually I feel pretty good and my legs are just a bit sore, only one blister.
This afternoon I’m getting together with 4 lady friends to chat and nosh, something we all agree we need to do more of and more often. I’d better go make my contribution to the noshing part.
WereBear
@Frankensteinbeck: Dude, that’s the kind of problems you want to have.
raven
@StringOnAStick: I once (in 1972) made it to within 50 yards of the summit of Mt Quandry at 14,265 feet. We watched a storm blow in and it was just too dangerous to continue.
JPL
@MattF: The article you linked to has a source of references. The site has a search engine so it might be of help. http://archive.eriecountyfireblotter.com/
WaterGirl
@Frankensteinbeck: If I found the right book on amazon, Quite Contrary was published in 2013. And they want to release it again already? I suppose to pick up on the mad popularity of Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain ?
I read the blurb – it sounds fun. I haven’t heard from my niece yet on how she liked Supervillain, but I only gave it to her at the end of may, so I must be patient.
P.S. Are you just a youngster? You look so young in the author photo!
Botsplainer
My dad had just left the bank and was sitting in the Wendy’s across the street when this shooting happened.
http://www.wdrb.com/story/25836307/police-respond-to-fatal-shooting-on-poplar-level-road-2
I know the shooter. He has a hotdog cart across the street from the courthouse. Seems pleasant enough, in his old white guy way, but can easily see him as one of the “fearfuls” who gets overly assertive and confrontational due to the secure feeling his dick extender provides.
Frankensteinbeck
@NotMax:
I remember Tom Swifties. I remember the invention of dirt. I had to give Darwin a lot of hints. Global Warming is ‘back to the good old days’ for me.
@WereBear:
It is, but sweet Sun Pony, is it unpleasant as fuck during the process.
EDIT @WaterGirl:
Old photo. I am not photogenic, so I don’t have a lot of current photos lying around. I haven’t actually changed much. After I hit 30 the process kinda stopped.
EDIT EDIT @WaterGirl:
They seriously messed up the initial release. Brand new publisher at the time, lots of reorganizations, didn’t understand marketing yet. Yes, leveraging Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m A Supervillain is a big part of it.
Schlemizel
@Betty Cracker:
Thanks BC! I hope you have luck in finding what you need.
My dad’s brother retired as a Captain from the St. Paul FD and I spent a few years with the Minnetonka department so I feel a small bond with the people who do that job & do it well.
I also hope the situation your husbands is having with his father dose not cause you all too much grief. It can’t be zero but I hope it is not unbearable.
WaterGirl
@A Humble Lurker: I think Orphan Black has been really great this season. (1-8, which i have seen) I think it’s one of the best shows on TV. I hope they didn’t muck up the season finale too much, though. That’s frustrating.
gbear
Well the Germanfest visit might get delayed: The sky just went dark and some pretty ominous thunder has been rolling in. Rain is just starting but no winds. I know I’m going to have to shut all the windows on one or two sides.
OK, winds kicked up and it started pouring. All of the SW windows are now closed and the sills wiped dry.
The Mississippi is going to be well above flood stage in St. Paul this week when all of the brutal rain that the whole state has been getting finally flow through the city. A fourth of July music fest that’s sited at a riverside park is scrambling to find a new location because the park is expected to be under water that weekend.
Mnemosyne
So I have a bit of a career dilemma and can’t decide what to do. I really love the department I work for, but I really hate my job role as secretary and, frankly, I’m not that great at it and it would take me a fairly large effort to improve thanks to my ADHD. But one of the advantages is that the hours are surprisingly human for the Giant Evil Corporation (8:30 to 6:00) and moving to another job would mean having to go back to working until 8:00 or 9:00 every night, because that’s usually how the place rolls.
I was talking it over with G and I think I’ve narrowed it down to two choices: stay where I am for now but re-dedicate myself to writing my screenplay and blog and see how far I can get with that while I have a steady day job, or go to another department/division where I might find the job role more fulfilling but would also have much less time to work on my own projects. Thoughts? Opinions? Advice?
ETA: Also, too, I just turned 45, so this would essentially be a career change if I decided to pursue another role.
Schlemizel
@StringOnAStick:
I did that a couple of years ago & had an odd reaction. I felt a pressure in my chest & what I thought was some numbness. Went to the emergency room for a 5 hour visit. They said it was altitude sickness and us flatlanders should not be doing stuff like that after only 5 days in country.
raven
@Mnemosyne: Would going to another division solve your issue? How easy is that?
raven
@Schlemizel: My nose bleeds like mad up there.
WaterGirl
Three questions:
Is there another job available or are you just planning an overall strategy?
If there is a job available, is it also as a secretary or does it move you more to the creative side of things?
Would you describe yourself as more of a “work to live” person or a “live to work” person?
Gorgon Zola
@nellcote: Here ya go. Please like, comment, share, wash rinse, repeat …
(A regular website is coming soon…)
Thanks!
WereBear
@Mnemosyne: I went through the same thing at about the same age; and decided to dedicate myself to my own interests.
But then, my workplace is small, my area is rural, and I’ve already had Corporate yank the rug out from under me in past lives.
It would have to be how much you trust them on follow through. Doing your own thing can be its own reward. What do you want from Giant Evil which could compare?
A Humble Lurker
@WaterGirl: Oh, don’t get me wrong. I really love it. And I think I liked the finale more than some others have. This season just felt a little less sure-footed than the last one.
Schlemizel
@Mnemosyne:
I hate to offer advice to someone I don’t know, particularly career advice. When you say you are bad at your job, do you mean you think you are or your boss/co-workers do? If they are happy with you learn to give yourself credit for sneaking by on what you see is not so hot performance. Screenplays are a dicey adventure, would you be happy enough in 10 years if you still had this job & the screenplay never got optioned?
Do you think a different job would be more fulfilling, enough to abandon the hope the screenplay gives you? Do you think you would be better at one of these other jobs?
I’d suggest answering those questions out loud with someone that will just shut up and listen, maybe ask a couple of questions if you appear to be stuck. I find for myself I usually know what I want but have to articulate the process to another person and then I realize what I thought all along.
Good luck
PhoenixRising
@Mnemosyne: Stay and keep your eyes on your own work.
I have no regrets about the hours I spent finishing a book last year. In fact, what’s happened is that my day job has shrunk to fit that time & I’m working on a new project. Long form, not yet clear whether it’s ebook or article or…what. But because I turned down the ‘growth opportunity’ in the business that pays my bills, I have the space to hammer it out.
Mnemosyne
@raven:
That’s part of what’s holding me back — going to a different division but doing the same job role would definitely not solve the issue. I would need to figure out what job role I should pursue that would be less difficult.
@WaterGirl:
This is mostly an overall strategy — I applied for a few different positions but didn’t even get an interview, which kind of freaked me out, especially since they were primarily lateral moves (though with a potential to move up).
I’m interested in getting into script development, but those roles are few and far between and it looks like the heads of those areas have been looking for “professional assistants” (ie assistants who have no ambition to move up) rather than people who would want to move forward. There may be other jobs out there that I would like and be suitable for, but I don’t know what they would be.
I’m not sure if I’m “live to work” or “work to live” — I’ve done both and been okay with both before. I don’t necessarily think that my title defines me, but doing the basic “secretary” stuff of calendars, taking phone messages, herding cats, etc. does NOT come naturally to me. At all.
Schlemizel
@Gorgon Zola:
I followed them & shared on my wall. baby steps, baby.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
raven
@Mnemosyne: But you can learn to do those things especially with all the electronic “aids” available. On the other hand I have quit perfectly reasonable jobs to go back to school with no clear goal in sight and it worked out great.
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
I think I can trust my current boss not to yank the rug out from under me. I’m the sole admin for an office of 22 people, so I have pretty decent job security on that front, even at the GEC, which loves to re-organize (ie lay people off) just for the hell of it. But my instinct is usually to hide out and do the safe thing, and I’m worried that that tendency is not serving me well here.
@Schlemizel:
I have current, ongoing issues with job performance. They have improved since I started taking ADHD medication and getting ongoing therapy/coaching, but my boss is still not entirely happy with my performance. I’m technically not in any danger of being fired (which is a long and involved process that requires at least a couple more years of paperwork for them to do), but it sucks to go to a job every day that you know you’re not very good at and are constantly worried that you’re going to fuck up.
There are really fun/cool things I get to do at my job (right now, I’m helping catalog story sketches from a classic animated feature), but it’s that basic stuff of calendars/phones/staying organized that I have such a tough time with and find a little draining.
And I think I should say that my boss and I have had very open talks about this and she’s very happy to give me a good recommendation to a new position (she even reviewed my resume for me before I sent it off to a job listing). But, to put it crudely, she wants me to shit or get off the pot rather than dithering around.
gogol's wife
I haven’t had time to read the thread, but my husband suggests you try these people, who he says are very nice:
http://www.buffalohistory.org/
nellcote
Dog Regains Vision and Couldn’t Be More Excited to See His Family Again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og1nMDl1K7g
RobertDSC-Power Mac G5 Dual
@WaterGirl:
Thank you. I read all of her reviews, one after another. Just like when I got hooked on the show, I watched the entire first season in one day. lol
Josie
@Mnemosyne:
Are there smaller companies that do the same work as your big evil corporation? If you are looking at a move and feel stymied by the possibilities where you are, maybe a look at other places could be in order.
Gorgon Zola
@Schlemizel: Wonderful. Many thanks(given)…
Janet
hi Betty, try this website: http://www.timeanddate.com/
I know this may have already been suggested, but I couldn’t wade through all of the responses. You can enter a day of the week and a date (Monday the 5th) and get of list of years with that combination.
I hope you find it and I hope the steak Diane turns out well.
Higgs Boson's Mate
Here’s a trick for considerably extending the range of your car’s remote key fob. The video explains how to do it and why, scientifically, it works.
Anonymous
Buffalo had two major papers up to about 1980: The Buffalo News and the Courier Express. The News is still around and is the one whose archive I presume you went through. The Courier Express went out of business in the early 1980’s. As this was before digitizing, there is probably no way to search back versions of the Courier Express except for microfiche. The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library has microfiche from that era for the newspaper, so if you know the date, then it is only one paper to search each year for about 5 years. Maybe a librarian would be willing to help this in a long distance search.
WereBear
@Mnemosyne: Thing is, I’ve found corporations in general to be absolutely terrible at figuring out what someone is good at.
Right now, sounds like you would have some difficulty convincing the powers in charge that you would shine in something else because you aren’t shining where you are now.
To me, that means you would actually look better to corporate if you did use that extra time to do your own thing, shine where you can shine, and down the road you will have something to show them that you ARE good at.
Schlemizel
@Mnemosyne:
OK, that helps me understand your situation a bit better. You are lucky to have what seems like a good boss anyway. I know what you mean about having to go to a job you are not good at. Back after the tech collapse the consulting firm I worked for was taking any jobs they could get & sent me out on a gig I was not right for. It was painful but I am good at BS’ing my way though. Hated every minute of it though. I don’t think I could have done that for years OTOH, I have no novel or screenplay to keep me warm at night so you may be able to fight through the day job.
If your boss is so understanding would she let you talk to other bosses and see if thre is a place you would fit better before moving?
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I’ve changed careers three times. Only once was a move that I wanted to make. The other two were due to situations way, way above my pay grade and completely out of my control. And now I’ve gone full circle and am back doing the work I used to do when I started working. I’m not perfect at it but I am pretty good. @Schlemizel: Put it best “When you say you are bad at your job, do you mean you think you are or your boss/co-workers do? If they are happy with you learn to give yourself credit for sneaking by on what you see is not so hot performance.” I work with a fella who is actually pretty good at his job but has so little self confidence that he thinks he sucks at everything. If he did the boss wouldn’t keep him around.
The question of live to work or work to live is in my mind a first order question, one that at a juncture like yours is very, very important. I’ve been both but until I answered this I struggled trying to figure out what was important to me, why I was happy or unhappy with work. And it can change, depending on age, life situation, and yes the job.
WaterGirl
@RobertDSC-Power Mac G5 Dual: Yay!
Yeah, Orphan Black is not the best candidate for a show to watch one episode every week. We had 8 episodes to catch up on before my friend left for France. We watched 3 in one night and then watched the other 5 episodes in one night a week later. That was one late night!
Schlemizel
Yesterday was the first day in 11 without rain. It is raining now & the forecast is for the same all week. I’m thinking of building an ark. Its starting to get to me!
Ruckus
@Schlemizel:
I thought you mentioned the other day that you had already started on the ark.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: Does your giant evil corporation (which I assume is disney, but what do I know?) have a history of moving secretaries to creative positions?
My guess is that they have a million people who will take a job as secretary to get their foot in the door, with an eye toward moving on within the company, which is inconvenient for the giant evil corporation, ’cause they just want a damn secretary that wants to be a secretary!
I presume that you like working at this place because you get to be AROUND the field you want to be in, even if that’s not the content of your work. Is that correct? If so, then…
given that 1) you really want to stay with this corporation, and 2) that there are ongoing issues with your job performance, my advice is this: Focus on being a really good secretary between 8:30 – 6:00 monday through friday and put your energy into the creative side of things the rest of the time.
Just my two cents, worth every penny you spent on it.
Schlemizel
@Ruckus:
I might have, that joke never gets old! Sorry.
mayim
Two newspapers in Buffalo at that time : the Buffalo Evening News ( now just the News ~》my father was very annoyed when they stopped the evening edition ) and the Courier-Express, the morning paper, which went defunct in the 80s IIRC. If you scan the article I might be able to tell you which paper ~ different fonts/overall look.
The central branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Library has an excellent genealogy / local history department ( well, had. …haven’t been back since we finished selling the condo after Dad died). Guessing the extensive card file hasn’t been digitized ~ stuff like that often isn’t.
The historical society also has an excellent reference library.
Mnemosyne
@Josie:
It depends on if I want to stay with feature films or try to get into TV. If I decide to head towards TV, there are other companies locally (that are still giant behemoths) that do similar things on their own channels that I could head towards. But that would definitely involve starting from scratch, and I’m not totally sure I want to do that at my age.
@WaterGirl:
Ix-nay on the Isney-day. ;-) I try to keep a low profile about exactly where I work because I know some people from the same division lurk on here. (But you did remember correctly.) It’s pretty common for secretaries to move up in entertainment — heck, half the business is built on starting at the bottom and working your way up from the assistant or mailroom position.
I’m going to email an in-house recruiter on Monday and see if she has time for coffee or lunch next week and see if I can get a sense from her how hiring is going in her division, which is another one I would be interested in. The good thing about a Giant Evil Corporation is that there are always jobs you didn’t know exist hiding in the nooks and crannies (they have a whole section that copy edits the TV listings, which is something I could totally do). The bad thing is, you have to ferret out those positions and then convince the attached recruiter to send them your resume.
Thanks, everyone — this has been really helpful! I have to go help my retired boss with a Keynote presentation, but I’ll check back later to see if there are any other strong opinions. :-)
Steeplejack
@Mnemosyne:
Unless you are moving to another department because you will have a specific, different, better job than what you are doing now, I would say stay where you are and work on the screenplay and blog. Your boss is understanding and relatively sane (I seem to remember some complaints about fussbudgeting and last-minute-change-itis), the hours are semi-reasonable (9½-hour workday?—I hope that means you get 90 minutes for lunch, but somehow I don’t think you do), and you (and your boss) seem to have an acceptable (to both of you) plan for working on your performance issues.
If you make a lateral move to another department, doing what you do now but hoping to “move up,” I think you will be disappointed. From what you said, it seems you’ll be working longer hours—doing something you don’t like and feel you aren’t good at. You said, “It sucks to go to a job every day that you know you’re not very good at and are constantly worried that you’re going to fuck up.” How much worse to go to that job when it has longer hours and potentially more pressure (because that’s how that department rolls)?
Your new boss may not be as understanding as your current boss, or could just be worse in general. And, most important, there is a “typecasting” effect in play. If you are (perceived as) not good in the new slot, management’s attitude is: “You’re flailing now; why would we promote you to something with more responsibilities?” All too often corporations don’t think in terms of “What’s a good fit for this person?” They tend to think in terms of “If you’re not good at job A, you won’t be good at job B.” And, if you are good in the new slot, management’s attitude all too often is: “Thank God, we finally found someone who can handle all this admin shit; we’re not letting her get away.”
Finally, if you think you’re having trouble working on your screenplay and blog now, it will be much worse when you’re getting home at 9:00 p.m. So if you go to that other department you’re definitely making a career choice, in favor of GEC and against screenplay/blog. If you were moving because of a specific, better job—e.g., something to do with script development—even at a low level, I might say go for it. But to make a lateral move into an admin position with just the hope of getting something better down the road seems like a frail reed to me.
Thought experiment: How would you feel if you came home from work at 6:00 every day and worked on your blog or screenplay until 9:00 p.m.? Like a formal commitment—“this is part of my job.”
azrev
Bell and Howell used to microfilm every daily in the country and indexed quite a few of them – nothing in Buffalo though. However, you might be able to track down the microfilm somehow – I don’t believe B & H is even in business anymore but someone might have taken that over.
rikyrah
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Republican rhetoric is dangerous
Over the last six years, we’ve seen challenges to the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency take the form of demands to see his birth certificate, threats to blow up the global economy if he doesn’t comply with Republican demands, and a government shutdown with this as an accompanying visual.
The latest craze has been to call the President “lawless.”
…………………………………………….
And now George Will has joined the chorus with a column titled Stopping a Lawless President. The means Will is advocating to do so would be for the Republican-led House of Representatives to challenge President Obama in court for his failure to adequately implement Obamacare. This is one of those times that I’m tempted to echo the President’s words and simply say, “Please proceed, Mr. Speaker.” The idea that Republicans would mount a constitutional challenge to the President’s implementation of a law that they were trying to sabotage and/or repeal would present an interesting spectacle.
But that ignores the fact that – especially in our polarized political climate – this kind of talk is dangerous. I hope I don’t have to lay out why. I’ll simply say that promoting the idea of a “lawless” president in the minds of those who are already considering “second amendment remedies” is a recipe for disaster. While establishment Republicans attempt to calm the fires they ignited with their radical fringe back in 2010, this kind of rhetoric simply throws gasoline on the flames.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/06/republican-rhetoric-is-dangerous.html
rikyrah
just finished watching one of my guilty pleasures: Malibu’s Most Wanted.
cracks me up everytime.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: @Steeplejack: I think Steeplejack just gave you some excellent advice.
J R in WV
@StringOnAStick:
Exercise while taking st3roids is a great thing. I had a couple of episodes of terrible exemia back when I worked across the parking lot from a Monsanto chemical plant and was exposed to Carbon BiSulfide (IIRC) and my family doctor gave me a shot of 2 st3roids and a scrip for predniz0ne. The shot had one fast acting but short lived med and one that came on slow but lasted quite a while.
I had quit itching by the time I left the medico staff building. The next day I flew to Denver, and spent the next 3 weeks hiking and climbing to collect rocks in the rockies. We got all the way up into Wyoming, went up Mt Antero to the continent’s highest gemstone deposit.
I lost nearly 30 pounds and gained a ton of muscle mass from all the exercise. The altitude whipped us for the first week, but we got used to it after that.
I learned why atheletes are so fond of the stuff, it really helps buils muscle mass, and it makes you feel good even though you have worked so hard every muscle group is burning a little.
Glad you need a script. Only had that dose twice, about a year apart, when the plant released its poison in a higher than normal dose. Should have put in for worker’s comp, like a dolt I assumed it would all go away with treatment – NOT SO!
I still have a scaly scabby spot that gets worse from time to time, and can burn with itch at the worst times. I do have a high-powered cream that beats it back pretty well, but nothing seems to actually cure that spot on my shin.
Cassidy
@J R in WV: The biggest reason is the recovery.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
On the newspaper article, maybe try putting a name and city into Ancestry’s search engine and see what comes up in their newspaper database?
Jewish Steel
@Mnemosyne: This was said elsewhere upthread, but it’s something I ask my own students. If you could know for certain your band doesn’t “make it,” would you do it anyway? Because, just statistically speaking, your band is not going to make it.
Also, have you had good critical feedback on your work? From people who have no interest in encouraging you? This is quite important. I know that in music and in fiction writing there are whole industries that prey on deluding the untalented. Making contact with real professionals in your field who can give you a thumbs up or thumbs down might save you a lot of bother.
Mj_Oregon
@Betty Cracker: Could it have been the
December 27, 1983 propane explosion? Try this link for more info: 1983 Buffalo Propane Explosion
Tim I
The only major fire I can find in Buffalo around that time is the Kensington Theater Explosion. This was a 5 alarm explosion and fire which took place in 1983. I haven’t been able to find much information about the fire. I do know the theater was completely destroyed.
I hope this helps.
rikyrah
Monday, June 16, 2014
Authenticity
I doubt that anyone has ever honestly used the word “authentic” to describe Hillary Clinton. And so as far as I’m concerned, if she decides to run in 2016 and gets the Democratic nomination, it will be back to politics as usual.
In contrast, we are living in an era where the President of the United States is described this way:
He doesn’t do schtick well, right? It goes back to that authenticity thing. He knows who he is, he believes who he is and he’s not going to put on some facade just because he’s supposed to glad-handle someone.
When a person is authentic you can trust them, whether you agree or disagree on any particular issue.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/06/authenticity.html
kc
@rikyrah:
“Game Changer?” Really?
Feel free to vote for Santorum or Paul Ryan.
Jane2
Get in touch with the Buffalo Public Library Reference Dept….they’ll find it for you.
Jewish Steel
@rikyrah: “Authenticity” arguments nudge this provisional, fence sitting Hilbot further into camp Clinton.
Chris T.
@J R in WV: That’s a very different kind of steroid: the ones that keep you from itching to death are “glucocorticoids” like hydrocortisone. The ones that build muscle are “anabolic steroids” (testosterone and various trade name items like Dianabol … here’s hoping this doesn’t trigger moderation :-) ).
Although they are related, glucocorticoids don’t have any muscle-building effect. If anything, they depress it somewhat by inhibiting the actions of prostaglandins (this is another large family of cellular signaling chemicals but some of them cause pain and inflammation, while others are involved with muscle repair and growth).
(Aspirin works in part by inhibiting two specific prostaglandins, called cyclo-oxygenase 1 and 2 or COX1 and COX2. The newer, expensive and hence pushed heavily, and then in some cases recalled—think Vioxx—pain pills are specific to COX2. Turns out this is not actually a good thing. However, it’s a bit of a shame they pulled that one as each individual person has weird variations that make some pain relievers work for some and not others. For those for whom that was the only thing that worked, they might want to accept a bit of stroke-and/or-heart-attack risk to get some pain relief. Another case of greed poisoning the well, much like today’s fracking except that the latter is literally poisoning wells.)
Keith G
@rikyrah:
First, I’d like to see the statistical backup on that bromide.
Second, even if the above premise is true in all cases, what is it’s correlation to the ability to be an effective political leader?
You love Barak and you (vigorously?) dislike Hillary. We all get that. Is it possible that two entirely different types of personalities can find equal success at the same task?
Chris T.
@Keith G: “Sincerity and authenticity, those are the keys. Once you can fake them, you’ve got it made!”
Bill Krueger
Google has a newspaper search site that might work. Check out:
http://news.google.com/newspapers
With its own search.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Mnemosyne
@Steeplejack:
That’s exactly the Catch-22 I’ve found myself in: assistant jobs are the way to move up, but assistant-type duties are more difficult for me than they are for other people of equal intelligence, so I do get judged based on my various administrative failures. But if that’s what’s on your resume, those are the jobs that people look at you for. And around and around it goes.
To flesh things out a bit more, my full plan would be for this to be a “rebuilding year” where I would finish my screenplay, have an entry at least once a week on my movie blog, and plan to enter the Austin Film Festival‘s contest (deadline is usually late April) and attend their conference next fall. This would also allow me to be around to help complete the big China project for 2015 at my current job, which is one of the things my current boss wants me to commit to. But, yes, this would require me to stop goofing off on Balloon-Juice alla damn time and do some actual work when I’m done with my day job.
@Jewish Steel:
Others have judged that I have enough raw talent that I was able to get into a top 10 school for screenwriting (Loyola Marymount) and turned down a waiting list slot at USC. If I made a serious go of it, I doubt that I would ever win any Oscars, but I could probably have a decent career as a script doctor or genre writer. But my problem is the same one that a lot of people with raw talent have: I need to sit down and do the work. As my screenwriting professor Steve Duncan liked to say Ass + Chair = Screenplay. But my ass has not been in that chair lately.
That’s also why part of my “making a go of it” plan is to enter the Austin Film Festival contest. A finalist or semi-finalist slot would be enough encouragement to keep going. Getting knocked out in the first round would be a serious wake-up call.
Josie
@Mnemosyne:
I bought a little book for my kindle – Mini Habits by Stephen Guise. It is very helpful in getting you to create new and productive habits. I used it to get myself moving physically, but it would work equally well for you in working on your writing and blogging.
val
Well, if it had happened in Mobile, Alabama, I could probably find it for you. :) I work a couple of days a week at our Local History and Genealogy division of the library, and we have the main local newspaper on microfilm going back to 1819 (plus a few other papers not so long-lived). I do that kind of thing all the time, and i love it. I have stumbled across so many interesting items looking up articles and obituaries and the like for customers. (I once came across an article from 1942 in which four students from the local high school were interviewed about what they were doing for the war effort, and one of them was my 16-year-old dad, pictured in his band uniform. :) I had no idea such an article existed; no one in the family had a copy of it).
The newspaper itself actually doesn’t maintain a historical library anymore. They send people to us. Some years of the paper are online and searchable at Newsbank, but a good many of them aren’t, and we can only search microfilm reels by date. If you have such a division of your library there, they can probably track this down for you.
Many such libraries also maintain clipping files in certain categories, and major fires would likely be one of them. Libraries are wonderful resources.
Steeplejack
@Mnemosyne:
To me, this adds more weight to the argument to stay where you are and work on your screenplay and blog. Why take on more work that is stressful and for which you are unsuited in the hope of possibly getting something better down the road? Especially when the threshold for the better job is how well you do the job that is stressful and for which you are unsuited. It sounds crazy. Better to opt out of that game and spend your time and effort on what you really want to do—write a screenplay and work on your (excellent) blog.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Seconded! (again)
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
Thanks!
Jewish Steel
@Mnemosyne:
Love this. Concrete deadline, tangible results. You will definitely learn something here. Especially about your own process. Buena suerte!
HRA
The correct name is Buffalo Courier Express. There is a collection of the paper at http://library.buffalostate.edu/digitalcollections.