Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Well, the summer concert season has officially begun with the first Thursday at the Square concert in Buffalo. They kicked it off with Alejandro Escovedo last Thursday.

This week provides more choices in free outdoor concerts in the Erie-Niagara area. Artpark opens it’s Tuesday series with War with Then and Now billed as openers.

Thursday at the Square continues it’s run with Ingrid Michaelson. A. A. Bondy opens.

With only two concerts this week, the choice is pretty clear. If you want familiar, comfort-food music, you’re going to go see War at Artpark. If you’re the type that goes and sees America there every summer, (June 29 this year) and thinks The Boys of Summer is a great local band, then you know who you are.

But if you want to hear something new and embrace something that isn’t being spoon-fed to you by 97 Rock, (or worse, WJYE) then Thursday at the Square is the clear winner. I hadn’t heard of Ingrid Michaelson or A. A. Bondi, but a quick listen online (I’ve put MySpace links in above) has tweaked my curiosity. They’re both worth a trip to see.

Kudos to Buffalo Place for getting “It” and bringing in some new and upcoming talent, rather than just the latest in the milk-it-for-all-it’s-worth touring greatest-hits has-beens.

Incidentally, MySpace may be getting kicked around by Facebook when it comes to popularity in social media, but it’s still the best place to find and hear new music. Every band has a page there. It must be required by law or something. Even when they have other outlets for their online presence, a MySpace page is an integral part of any musicians self-promotion kit.

I’m still walking regularly along the canal in Lowertown. Not always every day, but I’ve been using the walks as fill ins between other activities, like cycling, now.

I took a few photos on my walk last Thursday. This boat was docked at the Exchange Street docks in Packet Park. That’s all I know about it. It looked cool, though, but I have no clue what it was doing here or where it was going. Continue Reading…

One of the things about a new bike is it’s not really yours, until you customize it. That’s a process that might never end, but a lot of it gets done while it’s pretty new. Later, the urge to change or add things tapers off.

I suppose it’s the same with a new car, but it’s much easier to do, and less expensive, with a bike.

I started at the shop when I asked for the rack. There was another TerraTrike that had a really nice rear rack on it, so I asked for one like it. It was the only one they had, so they simply took it off the other bike and put it on mine. It’s very sturdy and just the right size for it. Since I’d like to be able to carry things with me, it was a necessity.

After I got home, I continued my customization. I got a couple LED blinky lights and put one on each side of the back of the seat. I liked them, and they look pretty bright in the dark, but after riding with some other people, I found out they now make much brighter warning lights, bright enough to be useful in the daytime. I’ll have to look into them. Continue Reading…

After pouring all night and a dark and cold day most of the day, it cleared up in the evening enough for a after-dinner walk. My wife and I walked the usual two and a half mile loop around the canal.

I snapped this picture of a weed that had flowered along the canal banks, on the state-owned “Canalway Trail” side of things. I don’t know what it is, but it was very large and pretty. It also was gone the next time I went bye. Glad I caught it, even if it was just my cell-phone camera.

One of these days, I’m going to carry my good camera along. I often see things I think would make a good picture, but just can’t capture them with the cell. Of course, if I have a good camera, nothing will be seen worth shooting.

Did you know there was a lighthouse at Nelson C. Goehle Marina/Park (Widewaters)? I didn’t. I took this photo a month or so ago. I don’t remember seeing it before, but it might have been there for years.

It’s a scale model of a lighthouse standing maybe 6-8 feet tall at the edge of the canal near the marina docks. Someone put a lot of work into it. I think it may actually light up, but I haven’t been there after dark to see.