http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/index/ Block Club Online. Buffalo neighborhoods and beyond. en brandon@blockclubonline.com Copyright 2008 2008-10-10T19:26:00-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/an_adam_lippes_pop_up_store_in_wny/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/an_adam_lippes_pop_up_store_in_wny/#When:18:26:00Z Western New York isn’t exactly the first place you should expect to see a pop-up store.  Aside from the Halloween or Christmas stores that briefly open in our malls during the holiday season, pop-ups are a rarity; this is especially so when it comes to fashion retail.  Called pop-ups because they seem to pop-up out of nowhere, these stores are open for limited time.  Much like an opening of a new show at a gallery or theater, pop-ups are typically met with a good amount of public hype.  I have seen a variety of pop-ups in New York City from a myriad of companies seeking to quickly promote a new product or concept.  Upon reading our friend Erin’s blog, I was surprised thrilled to learn that an ADAM pop-up store will be opening in Williamsville.  With an ADAM flagship store in Manhattan, this will be the first pop-up for designer Adam Lippes.  You might ask, why WNY?  What’s the connection?  Adam had the pleasure of growing up in our fair region.  While he left the area to attend Cornell University and subsequently moved to New York City, it is apparent that the designer hasn’t forgotten where he came from.  According to the ADAM website: Adam Lippes began his career in fashion at Polo Ralph Lauren in the public relations department. In 1996, he moved to Oscar de la Renta, where he quickly grew to be one of the youngest creative directors in the luxury fashion world. As the worldwide creative director for Oscar de la Renta, Ltd., where he was employed from 1996 to 2003, Adam worked closely with Mr. de la Renta on every aspect of the brand, including design, marketing, and new business development. In 2003, Adam decided to pursue his dream of creating wearable yet luxurious cotton basics. His desire to “fuse fashion with the perfect white tee” began with a global search for manufacturers of the finest cottons, cashmeres, and wools. Adam launched his eponymous label at Saks Fifth Avenue in spring of 2004. Since then, the business has grown from luxury basics into a full sportswear collection. 2007 has proven to be quite the year for Adam and the company. In August, he was inducted as a member of the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Adam staged his first formal runway show during New York’s Fashion Week in September to great critical review, gracing the cover of Women’s Wear Daily the following day. In the October issue of Vanity Fair, Adam was chosen as a member of their elite list, “The Next Establishment,” named as one of the most important young designers of today. In December 2007, Adam opened his first freestanding boutique in Manhattan’s trendy Meatpacking District where his men’s and women’s collections will be showcased alongside a selection of hand-picked lifestyle items. Adam is 33 years old and lives in New York City. I think an ADAM pop-up is well suited for Williamsville, as it will complement many of the other high-end boutiques in the village. Located at 5454 Main Street in Williamsville, the ADAM pop-up will be open through the New Year.  2008-10-10T18:26:00-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/world_on_your_plate_food_forum_this_weekend/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/world_on_your_plate_food_forum_this_weekend/#When:15:20:00Z There’s dinner underneath us.  You just have to dig for it. Starting today and continuing tomorrow is the fifth annual World on Your Plate Food Forum, held at Daemen College.  The idea of the event, and host organization World On Your Plate Coalition, is to promote the benefits of growing, eating, cultivating and preserving the food that is grown in the Earth’s ground.  If it sounds too much like farming, you’re only partially correct.  It’s about finding a cohesiveness with our agricultural world, knowing about and benefitting from the food we can grow ourselves, and all that goes into making seeds grow into meals. I received an e-mail from Coalition member Eveline Hartz about the event.  She said this:  ”We promote local, fair trade, justice, sustainability and organic lifestyles.  It is a grassroots organization with the intention of education people around food issues and to promote networking among like-minded folk but from different walks of life.” The keynote speaker for this year’s forum is Derrick Jensen.  There will also be about 30 workshops, an organic lunch and plenty of food vendors and information tables.  Tonight at 7 p.m. there will be a movie screening of ”King Corn.” Consider this for your weekend events.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful, even warm, so an hour inside to talk about the food outside won’t be a bad thing. 2008-10-10T15:20:00-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/the_fast_and_the_furious/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/the_fast_and_the_furious/#When:19:27:01Z There’s another Jewish holiday hitting the streets tonight.  Get yourself a big plate of brisket tonight, because it’s going to be another whole day before you get another bite to eat. Tonight marks the beginning of the second important day of the Jewish high holy days, Yom Kippur.  I won’t get into it too deeply, as it is based on a simple idea:  Ten days after the celebration of the Jewish new year, a day of atonement is had, where in contrast to the joy of welcoming another year you ask for forgiveness of your wrongdoings of the last year.  It’s another way to strip yourself clean of the actions and misdeeds you feel badly for.  You’re asking God for forgiveness, essentially—this is a religion, after all—but you are also asking yourself and those in your life for a sort of spiritual and emotional cleaning so that the next year may be brighter and more prosperous. The thing about Yom Kippur that everyone knows is that you fast for 24 hours (after dinner tonight to the beginning of dinner tomorrow) as a reminder of the pain you’ve caused others.  It’s not a stretch for most young people, those who generally only eat when they’ve woken up after a night of drinking (or before going to bed after a night of drinking), or when their parents feed them for free.  I suppose you could commemorate said suffering any way you choose, however it probably makes more sense to give up something you usually depend on to get you through your day.  Anything that can remind you that as easy as it is to hurl not-nice words and commands out to those we know and love, it still causes pain and distress. To break the day’s fast, families have a special celebratory meal after a day in temple.  It’s called, amazingly, the “break the fast.” You’ll hear people mumbling to each other as they’re saying hello at temple:  “Hi darling.  Happy new year!  How are the grandkids?  Where are you breaking the fast?” or “Well hello there sir.  Did you hear the rabbi’s sermon?  It was marvelous.  I completely agree with everything he said.  Say, where are you breaking the fast?” And more of the same. I will be breaking the fast with close family friends with whom we’ve broken the fast for the last many years.  They always make great food, their friends bring even more great food, and we always leave with a full stomach of good eats, all ready to savor for the next 364 days until next Yom Kippur rolls around. Photo of a “break the fast” meal, replete with bagels, lox and cream cheese (the Jewish Culinary Trifecta) courtesy this guy. 2008-10-08T19:27:01-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/doubt_a_parable_now_onstage/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/doubt_a_parable_now_onstage/#When:14:41:01Z Just in time for the holidays, “Doubt” explores faith in an invigorating and uncomfortable way. It’s easy to argue a point when you actually have one.  It’s more tedious when all you have to go on is your intuition, your gut feeling that something isn’t right. John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play, ”Doubt: A Parable,” confronts this entanglement of confidence, intuition, faith and doubt.  The one-act play is now onstage at Alleyway Theatre, produced by Buffalo United Artists.  A long-awaited film starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams will be out this winter. The play is a dark tale of a nun and her strong belief that a priest, a teacher at the Catholic day school of which she is principal, has had improper relations with a young male student.  (Sexual relations, just to get that out of the way.) The priest categorically denies it, insisting that the so-called evidence she has is nothing more that circumstantial observations of the boy leaving the priest’s rectory and a few other details.  It becomes clear that the nun, even with her staunch insistence and cold demeanor, has only her thoughts to go on, and not the tangible or confessional evidence she would need to have the priest let go and the boy counseled.  Two supporting characters infuse the situation with their own baggage, only enabling the doubt that the nun—and the audience member—has.  It’s a mess, and not one that’s solved at the conclusion of the play’s hour.  You’ll be wondering and guessing all the way home. The strength of this play is in the language, these terse and wholly uncomfortable conversations between nun and priest, nun and teacher, nun and mother, and ultimately, everyone and God.  The backdrop of the play’s action within the Catholic church is poetry and scandal all wrapped up into one.  Though the events are set in 1964 and not the 1990s, when so much of the church’s sexual abuse came to light, the tale is just as eerie and devastating, if not more so.  What we have here is one person’s word against another’s, their faith in God as both a barrier to the truth and an an open door to more suspicion. Local actors Lou Colaiacovo and Lisa Ludwig are at their best as the priest and nun, each giving performances that are transformations of their preceding stage reputations.  Colaiacovo is the charming priest that students and parents would each call a friend, and Ludwig is the cold, weathered, indestructible sister who believes wholeheartedly that children need to be taught by adults, not befriended by them.  Each are really wonderful here, giving performances that I would say—in my limited but comprehensive survey of each actor’s careers—are the best they’ve given in a long time.  Katie White and Arianna Boykins are both so strong as a new teaching sister and less than concerned mother, respectively. See this play, you won’t be disappointed.  There’s a lot of material in this play, a discussion that will give you lots to talk about, think about and surely doubt about. ”Doubt: A Parable” runs through October 25 at Alleyway Theatre, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. (and Sunday, October 12 at 7 p.m.).  For more information and tickets, go here. 2008-10-07T14:41:01-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/auction_block_a_success/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/auction_block_a_success/#When:14:30:00Z Block Club’s first ever art auction fundraiser was a big hit this weekend.  Read more for some deets and photos from the evening. Woah, there.  It’s been a few days since we last talked.  We’ve been so busy with getting our first ever Auction Block ready, and now that it’s over we are happy to report that it was a success of many fronts.  We’re back in full swing now here, so let me fill you in on some details of the last few days… We did something we’ve never done before, in hosting an art auction.  Sometimes it sounds silly even saying that.  We’re not a gallery; we’ve never held an auction before.  What made us think we could do it?  I’ll tell you—we’ve always been able to attract an eclectic mix of people from various walks of life, artists, business people, youngsters, our parents, etc.; we have some very artistic and creative friends, friends who could speak (through their work) individually about a given topic or point of interest; and let’s be honest, we throw a great party too. Vera Parker Kennedy, Catherine Parker’s granddaughter, discusses her grandmother’s artwork with designer Michael Tsanis. But surely an event like an art auction is far more than just a party.  Over the summer, we compiled a list of a couple dozen or so artists who could create a piece for this auction (and who could be patient with our first shot at it).  In the end we had a wonderful group of 12 artists and designers in the show, each of them contributing something that was inspired by the theme of “community”—an element unique to this event.  We had photography, editorial cartoons, handmade jewelry, graphic design, painting, t-shirt design, illustration and book art.  The crowning pieces of the night, the two live auctions in a night of silent lots, were a book/box with 21 pieces of artwork and design by local artists, typographers, poets and illustrators; and an exclusive Catherine Parker painting, made for Auction Block, of an autumn harvest. Annie Adams’s LOCAL necklace, which inspired a new line of letters and words now on sale at her store. The contents of Richard Kegler’s donation from the WNY Book Arts Collaborative.  Auctiongoers had a great time looking through the individual pieces of artwork contained in the book. Contributing artists to this year’s Auction Block: Catherine Parker, Richard Kegler, Penny Wyatt, Catherine Linder Spencer, Linda Gale Gellman, Stephanie Robb, Annie Adams, Karol Kirberger, Tom Rooney, Adam Zyglis, Michael Tsanis and Michele Conley Vogel.  Local organizations which benefitted from the sale of the auctioned artwork: Art Committee of Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, CEPA Gallery, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Paint Box Project of Roswell Park, ReFind Arts of Buffalo ReUse, Starlight Studio, Ujima Theatre Company, Vive La Casa and WNY Book Arts Collaborative. A room full of wonderful food from Tempo. All of our pieces sold, over $2,500 was raised for local arts and cultural organizations, and fun was had by all.  We had delicious food by Tempo, wine from Clearfield Liquor, and wonderful help from a great group of volunteers.  Block Club would like to thank everyone who came, all of our artists who put so much time and thought into their pieces, our volunteers who helped to make sure things ran smoothly, and all of our vendors.  Special thanks to Annie Adams and Elisabeth Samuels who helped make sure our pieces were displayed so beautifully. We look forward to more fundraising efforts in the future, to more art, more food and wine, and more friends.  Thank you everybody! Photos by Jennifer Ulrich. 2008-10-06T14:30:00-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/heres_hoping/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/heres_hoping/#When:18:27:01Z All you have to do is trust.  Oh, and show up. Times are tough right now.  I know because I was told that.  Money is tight, gas is expensive and scarce, people are losing the values of their homes, student loans are about to become extinct, and as a country we have little expectation that any of that will be resolved in the immediate future. So what do we do with ourselves in the meantime?  As constituents in our federal, state and local governments we have a responsibility to know all that we can about the issues that we are voting for; to know what our representatives stand for, to vote for what we believe in, and to somehow trust in our infrastructure that it won’t crumble if we don’t.  That’s the ideal.  We can’t all trust in that which we don’t have any reason to trust to begin with.  Our government has been known, almost since its existence, as a machine completely removed from the heart of the voting public.  It does what it wants to, when it wants to, and sometimes without any significant reason or justification.  We just have to keep believing and trusting.  It’s not an easy task, when you really look at that sentence.  But somehow, we must try. I say that not because I don’t believe in our government or our leaders.  I believe that they all—no matter which side of the aisle they fall on—want what is best for our country and people.  We just want different things, but guess what.... we put those people in power so we have no one to blame but ourselves.  It means that we have to be more aware of our power as a voting public.  Do you live in a state that is, in all likelihood, going to an already established political party come Election Day?  That doesn’t mean you don’t vote, and it doesn’t mean you don’t continue to campaign for your candidate of choice.  It doesn’t mean you give up.  It might not lead to the outcome you wanted, but it means that you can stand up and say, without uncertainty, that you did what you had to in order to make your point clear.  And just imagine, if more people did that, then maybe their voices (and yours) would be heard more clearly. Just think of it...we might, some day, be able to trust in something that is built on the foundation of trust and hope.  And not just dream of it. Here’s hoping. Image courtesy this guy. 2008-10-01T18:27:01-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/happy_new_year/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/happy_new_year/#When:13:15:00Z Today is the Jewish New Year.  If you don’t celebrate, have an apple in honor of the circle of life.  Or listen to “The Lion King”—that usually works for me. If you’ve been noticing people wishing each other a happy new year this week, it’s because today is Rosh Hashanah.  This is the Jewish New Year, the day when Jews around the world celebrate the beginning of the biblical year.  It is, along with the other “high holy day,” Yom Kippur, the holiest of days for the whole year.  Today we celebrate that which we have been thankful for this past year, look forward to that which we can be thankful for this coming year, and prepare for another year of highs, lows and inbetweens.  Yom Kippur, which follows 10 days later and is marked with a day of fasting, is the Day of Atonement, when you recall the misdeeds and missteps you may have made since last year’s high holy days, and ask God and yourself for forgiveness.  The 10-day cycle is meant to refresh and rejuvenate your spiritual soul, giving room for what will come next. As is the case with most Jewish holidays, there are foods and traditions that are symbolic of this holy day.  As it is the head of the new year—Rosh means “head”; Hashanah means “of year”—we use our head for thought and reflection as we prepare for the coming year.  We also signify our day in meals—a practice we take up on most days of the year, celebrating with food—with round foods to symbolize the circle of life, the cycle of the new year, the completeness of completing another year.  Therefore, we eat round challahs, instead of the traditional loaf style (of delicious egg bread, challah) with raisins for a bit of sweetness.  We also eat apples and honey, the apple being round and the honey being a sweet wish for the year. So even if you don’t celebrate Jewish holidays, or if, maybe, the idea of the holiday is curious to you then think about something you were thankful for this year and something you would like to be thankful for next year.  Have yourself an apple, put some honey in your tea, and remember where you were last year.  Reflect, think, feel and touch the new year with honesty and sincerity.  As we say to each other, in salutation, “L’Shana Tova!” (luh-sha-nah toe-vah). Photo of apples and honey courtesy this guy. 2008-09-30T13:15:00-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/a_weeks_end/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/a_weeks_end/#When:13:53:01Z Everybody’s working for the weekend.  Even Dewey the Library Cat. Whenever I think of the much-needed respite that only a weekend can bring, I think of that Loverboy song that proclaims what everybody with a 9-to-5 life is thinking:  Everybody’s working for the weekend.  And that’s all there is to it: Before you go questioning my loyalty to my work, my co-workers and my job, I don’t spend my workweek counting down until Friday at 5.  I love what I do.  I love coming to work, I love working with some of my best friends, and I love that I have more fun in my office than I have stress.  However, I am not unlike any other happy employee out there who looks forward to a 24-hour period when I can do whatever I want, however I want, with whomever I want.  Come on...it’s the weekend!  It’s “you” (or “me") time, when you can do all of those little mundane tasks like cleaning underneath your toilet to getting groceries to doing laundry and everything in between; or, if you’re like a lot of people—more than would admit to it, I would say—you can do absolutely nothing at all.  Sleep until it’s too late for breakfast, until the thought of doing any chores sounds too laborious to consider.  This is what’s called “being a slob.” This weekend I spent too much time doing nothing.  Friday night I spent with my friends watching the first Presidential debate, eating a delicious meal and drinking good wine with good friends.  Saturday I did not much, except some laundry and going to a play with some other friends.  Stop by the New Phoenix on the Park theater and catch “Dusty Springfield...With You” until October 11.  Two of Buffalo’s best—Lorraine O’Donnell and Eric Rawski—serve up a 60-minute biographical tale of the latter days of the British blonde bombshell’s husky-voiced career.  Both O’Donnell and Rawski are wonderful, and the music (with Lorraine’s superb live singing, which in any show, on any stage, is a treat) is nostalgic and eye-opening at the same time. Yesterday I volunteered as a house guide at the Elmwood Village Association’s annual Tour of Kitchens.  This is when the Elmwood district opens up 15 or so kitchens for visitors to take a tour through.  Participating homeowners this year included kitchens made with elements of green design, which ranges from energy-efficient appliances to recycled glass tiles to much more.  It was fun to see how other people decorate their homes, especially in their kitchens which are the central meeting places for so many families.  It was also nice to see so many people out and about in our neighborhoods, walking and enjoying the season with each other.  After a nice meal at Globe with a friend, I came home and did even more laundry, catching up on my favorite weekend pleasure, CBS News Sunday Morning.  Did anyone else see the story about Dewey the Library Cat in Iowa? Ahh....I love weekends. 2008-09-29T13:53:01-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/oops_correction1/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/oops_correction1/#When:14:33:00Z It was pointed out to us that we made a slight blunder in the current issue of Block Club Magazine.  We apologize for our error, as it was nothing more than a typo but it inadvertently gave our interview subject an incorrect biographical fact. In the DESIGNERS interview story, we interviewed the fabulous Tom Rooney from Pavlov’s Togs on Elmwood Ave.  In the interview, Rooney was quoted as saying he started his t-shirt design company in 1987, when in fact Tom started the company in 1997.  We apologize for this error, as it was merely a typo. Speaking on Tom Rooney, be sure to check out his awesome store at 734 Elmwood Ave. where you can find original t-shirt and accessory designs.  Tom’s work is also featured in Block Club’s upcoming Auction Block, taking place a week from today at 810 Elmwood Ave. in The Neighborhood Collective.  The evening will raise money for various local arts organizations, and will include more than a dozen local artists and designers and their work reflecting the theme of “community.” The auction starts at 7 p.m. with a silent auction, food from Tempo and wine, and a live auction at 9 p.m.  Come on down, and see all the great work that your local artists and designers are making. 2008-09-26T14:33:00-05:00 http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/now_and_forever_exotic_cat_rescue/ http://blockclubonline.com/index.php/site/now_and_forever_exotic_cat_rescue/#When:21:06:00Z Because everybody needs to think about their retirement early.  Even tigers. I was thumbing through a book of local non-profits and resource centers, and something came up I had not expected...I’ll be gentle here, as I don’t want to ruffle any feathers.... it was....the..... EXOTIC CAT RESCUE CENTER!!!!!!! Seriously, this is for real.  This resource center and animal rescue facility is at home in Williamsville and takes in big, fancy exotic cats for rescue and—get this—retirement.  That’s right, this place has a retirement home for tigers.  I’m not making this up.  Take a look here and make sure your speakers are on.  It sounds fantastic. I’m going to let you look through the site and discover this on your own.  It’s.... um..... spectacular. Image of tiger courtesy this guy. 2008-09-24T21:06:00-05:00