With Keanu Reeves wrapping his last day of filming in Buffalo, I think it’s a fitting time to point out what a great way this is to end the year for everyone in Buffalo. Although he wasn’t here very long, he did make several trips to visit and had nothing but good things to say about the city, and even better, the community. The people of the city were what he said impressed him most and his usually stone face was lit with excitement as he told reporters about the movie. It’s nice to see someone excited to be here for once, and then actually follow through. Hopefully this movie makes Buffalo out to be the gem we all know it can be, rather than an embarrassment. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, until then, I know we’re all grateful it was filmed here in the first place. Not only did it give jobs to locals at what could be a very stressful time of year, but it gave even more holiday spirit to those who got to feel the thrill of catching a glimpse of a star, or maybe even being an extra.
I’ll admit, I had no idea what this movie was about when it first came here. After some digging, this is what the NYTimes movie reviews said:
“Henry, a toll booth worker, is unknowingly roped into a bank robbery by acquaintances, and when the police show up, Henry is the only one who gets caught. During a four-year jail stint, he befriends Max, a wise, older gentleman, who leads Henry to consider his purpose in life. Upon his release, Henry returns to the bank he didn't rob, and realizes he went to jail for a crime he didn't commit. So, he might as well go ahead and commit the crime. ~ Baseline StudioSystems”
Other sites have called it a romantic, but darkly twisted comedy, which everyone loves. I can’t wait to see if Reeves did our city justice and captured everything about us that we love. Maybe it will open the doors to Buffalo being considered more often?
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Bike-by, you say? It's the hottest thing since the drive-by.
I'm back, finally. Sorry for the disappearing act, school demanded all of my time for a bit but now I'm back and ready to catch up on all the wonder that is Buffalo, starting with something I recently read in the news...
Is anyone besides me deeply disturbed by the rise of "bike-by" shootings? Yes, by "rise" I mean I've read about two incidents in the last 8ish months, but that's just a minor detail. Up until the first one, I had no idea this even existed. I don't think that makes me overly sheltered, in fact, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering what I'm talking about. What we're dealing with is one of two possible scenarios (in my opinion) and both are as absurd as the act itself.
Scenario #1: "Half-Baked Gets 'Er Done"
In this situation, our Buffalo gang members (here, nicknamed "Half-Baked") and criminals are so bad at their "jobs" that they are incapable of either stealing a car or straight out buying one with their drug money, thus leaving them unable to commit an actual drive-by shooting. I guess it has to be considered that they did manage to get guns somehow, so they did exert some effort. C- for effort, Half-Baked. Now it is entirely possible that someone's mother took the car without telling aforementioned thug, thus leaving him in quite the pickle. Don't worry folks, that won't stop him; he's focused on the bigger picture- somebody needs to get shot, one way or another. Half-Baked is forced to improvise- run? Risky, he could stumble over an untied shoelace or a crack in the sidewalk. Ah-ha! Half-Baked's little brother, Half-Baked II, has left his Huffy unattended in the front yard. Problem solved, my friends. Just take a minute to picture this- a grown man rolling down the street, ready to attack with a gun in his basket. It's horrific, but hysterical, especially because he got away! That's right, whoever committed this recent "bike-by" got away, on his bicycle, in broad daylight. Both times.
This brings us to Scenario #2: Real- life Possibility.
In this scenario, the picture I'm painting is slightly more horrific and not quite as funny. This situation is one where there are now children, not even old enough to drive, shooting rival gang members as the go by on their bikes, no one suspecting them because they’re just kids. I know that this unfortunate idea is the more likely reality because it seems like every week there’s a new story about teens shooting other teens.
Faced with these situations, you can either let yourself drown in the sad reality that Buffalo gangs have come to include children, or you can take a step back and accept it for what it is, life. And if you can’t laugh at the absurdity of life, then I’m sorry for you because that’s part of living. Is shooting people funny? Of course not, unless it’s you shooting yourself in the leg Plexico, then we’re all going to laugh openly at you. But it is an absurd situation we’re faced with, there’s no denying that, and if you look at it how I do, you can find the humor in it. Besides, since the shooter got away, no one can actually prove it wasn’t Scenario #1.
Is anyone besides me deeply disturbed by the rise of "bike-by" shootings? Yes, by "rise" I mean I've read about two incidents in the last 8ish months, but that's just a minor detail. Up until the first one, I had no idea this even existed. I don't think that makes me overly sheltered, in fact, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering what I'm talking about. What we're dealing with is one of two possible scenarios (in my opinion) and both are as absurd as the act itself.
Scenario #1: "Half-Baked Gets 'Er Done"
In this situation, our Buffalo gang members (here, nicknamed "Half-Baked") and criminals are so bad at their "jobs" that they are incapable of either stealing a car or straight out buying one with their drug money, thus leaving them unable to commit an actual drive-by shooting. I guess it has to be considered that they did manage to get guns somehow, so they did exert some effort. C- for effort, Half-Baked. Now it is entirely possible that someone's mother took the car without telling aforementioned thug, thus leaving him in quite the pickle. Don't worry folks, that won't stop him; he's focused on the bigger picture- somebody needs to get shot, one way or another. Half-Baked is forced to improvise- run? Risky, he could stumble over an untied shoelace or a crack in the sidewalk. Ah-ha! Half-Baked's little brother, Half-Baked II, has left his Huffy unattended in the front yard. Problem solved, my friends. Just take a minute to picture this- a grown man rolling down the street, ready to attack with a gun in his basket. It's horrific, but hysterical, especially because he got away! That's right, whoever committed this recent "bike-by" got away, on his bicycle, in broad daylight. Both times.
This brings us to Scenario #2: Real- life Possibility.
In this scenario, the picture I'm painting is slightly more horrific and not quite as funny. This situation is one where there are now children, not even old enough to drive, shooting rival gang members as the go by on their bikes, no one suspecting them because they’re just kids. I know that this unfortunate idea is the more likely reality because it seems like every week there’s a new story about teens shooting other teens.
Faced with these situations, you can either let yourself drown in the sad reality that Buffalo gangs have come to include children, or you can take a step back and accept it for what it is, life. And if you can’t laugh at the absurdity of life, then I’m sorry for you because that’s part of living. Is shooting people funny? Of course not, unless it’s you shooting yourself in the leg Plexico, then we’re all going to laugh openly at you. But it is an absurd situation we’re faced with, there’s no denying that, and if you look at it how I do, you can find the humor in it. Besides, since the shooter got away, no one can actually prove it wasn’t Scenario #1.
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