Movie based on Kathryn Stockett's best-seller examines a great film subject, the unique perspective, in an era of strict separation of the races, that was available to white children who were cared for by black women in domestic service.

In August, all roads lead to Lewiston, a summer arts destination that includes this week's production of "Fame," the Lewiston Art Festival this weekend and more.

About 70 young people march in Niagara Square, protesting industry effort to recruit new smokers.

Image via Wikipedia

ABC News did a story Thursday night asking if President Obama should take his scheduled vacation on Martha’s Vineyard despite the Wall Street craziness going on and the sorry state of the economy.
The story fairly pointed out other Presidents who played golf or headed to their ranch during difficult times. President Reagan, for example, took a month off on his ranch during difficult economic times.
I vote for giving the President a break with his family to recharge and hoping he comes back with some fresh ideas.
Who among us doesn’t need a break?
I certainly do.
This is all my way of telling you that StillTalkinTV is taking several days off from writing to recharge and work around the house (I don’t own a ranch) before college classes and the new TV season begins.
I expect I’ll get more rest than President Obama will.

See you sometime next week.
pergament@msn.com

Chatsworth’s Fiat 500 Jolly It’s not often you’d see a car on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. But here’s rich kid Chatsworth Osborne Jr. driving into the park in his Fiat 500 Ghia Jolly in a 1962 episode of the popular sitcom. Not often seen on the street (or in the park!), the Jolly [...]

It’s been a most unusual offseason, but with all of the headlines about negotiations and mediation now in the rearview mirror, the Bills can begin their first and final stages of preparation for th...

1. After watching last night’s Republican Presidential debate on Fox, I’m more certain than ever that we are but a few years away from total Idiocracy. Aside from Jon Huntsman, there wasn’t a single sensible person on that stage. The illogical political conclusions based on misinformation and anti-intellectualism that make up the basis of right wing politics were on full display throughout the night.

As progressive writer Cliff Schecter noted in a column yesterday,’

The Republican Party is no longer the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, or even Reagan – the GOP in its current form is nothing more than the party of Ted Nugent – hopefully with somewhat better hair.

2. Why do young people generally not give a shit about politics in America? The youthful energy of the 1960′s has now become the ambivalence of the new millennium.  A clinical psychologist lists a few reasons why…

Young Americans—even more so than older Americans—appear to have acquiesced to the idea that the corporatocracy can completely screw them and that they are helpless to do anything about it.

How exactly has American society subdued young Americans?

EXAMPLE: In a more democratic and less authoritarian society, one would evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher not by corporatocracy-sanctioned standardized tests but by asking students, parents, and a community if a teacher is inspiring students to be more curious, to read more, to learn independently, to enjoy thinking critically, to question authorities, and to challenge illegitimate authorities.

A very interesting article, please give it a read.

3. Song for Friday, Part 1: “Come On Over” by Veronica Falls

4. Here’s an innovative idea, how about an aptitude test for Congressional candidates and incumbents? No pass? No seat!

Universities, private organizations, and various other professions require rigorous testing of their candidates before positions are allotted to them. Sure, most (if not all) people in Congress have been to college, some have a laundry list of professional experience, and others, like our president, are actually lawyers from some of the most highly esteemed institutions of higher education in the world.

This is not enough, especially when public politics in a capitalist republic are concerned.

The ugly truth is, some of our leadership gets elected simply because they’re master orators catering to the lowest common denominator of public intelligence, and that is extremely dangerous.

An unlikely idea and one which would be dismissed out of hand in the halls of power, but it makes a lot of sense and I like to write about things that make sense. If nothing else, it would rid us of mouthbreathers like this guy.

5. Here’s a good example of the headline not matching the story.

Headline: “HSBC sale of credit card unit won’t lead to local job cuts”

Pretty definitive, right? “Won’t” as defined by Merriam Webster means “Will Not”; As in “won’t happen”. Well, the actual story tells a different tale.

Just 10 days after agreeing to sell its upstate New York branches, HSBC Holdings Plc agreed Wednesday to unload the bulk of its U.S. credit card business, selling $29.6 billion in loans to Capital One Financial Corp.

HSBC’s national card business employs about 140 in the Buffalo area, mostly in card fraud prevention and investigations, said bank spokesman Robert Sherman. But under the agreement with Capital One, all employees of the card business, known as HSBC Card and Retail Services, will be given an opportunity to join Capital One. It’s unclear where those jobs will be located.

Just so we’re clear for the people in Akron, “won’t” or “will not” ≠ “unclear”.

It seems that The Buffalo News is working overtime to disabuse people of the notion that this massive HSBC disinvestment in the American retail banking market and, in turn, the WNY business community is a problem. Here’s what’s happening folks, the writing is on the wall.

HSBC has divested its retail banking and consumer credit card holdings which were primarily run out of Buffalo and WNY. The entire HSBC information technology infrastructure has been moved to Chicago. The bank has floated the trial balloon that One HSBC Center will soon be vacated and that operations will move to the Atrium building down the street. The mortgage operations (since the purchase of Household Financial Corporation in 2004) has been a sucking chestwound of red ink for the bank also has operation centers in Tampa, Vancouver and Chicago.  HSBC has been coy about their intention for their mortgage service center in Cheektowaga, but the business has been demising for five years and the future is not bright.

HSBC will have but a minor presence in Buffalo within 24 months. The tower will be empty, the Walden/Dick center in Cheektowaga will be empty and thousands of people will be out of work. Get used to it. Wrap your head around it. Plan for it. Expect it. Know it. Oh and by the way? It would be nice if The Buffalo News would stop throating the hog of the First Niagara CEO.

He is simply plumping up his bank to be an acquisition target for a larger player. No more, no less. The fact that he absorbed so much debt as part of the HSBC retail bank acquisition will actually slow down that process for a few years. But, when one of the big boys comes calling to acquire First Niagara, it’ll be an unemployment bloodbath.

Happy Friday!

6. Song for Friday, Part 2: “Some Children (ft. Michael McDonald) by Holy Ghost!

7. If U.S. is serious about debt, there’s a single-payer solution

If America truly is serious about dealing with its deficit problems, there’s a fairly simple solution. But you’re probably not going to like it: Enact a single-payer health care plan.

See, we told you weren’t going to like it.

But the fact is that everyone who has studied the deficit problem has agreed that it’s actually a health care problem – more specifically, the cost of providing Medicare benefits to an aging and longer-living population. The bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform reported last December: “The Congressional Budget Office projects if we continue on our current course, deficits will remain high throughout the rest of this decade and beyond, and debt will spiral ever higher, reaching 90 percent of GDP in 2020.

“Over the long run, as the baby boomers retire and health-care costs continue to grow, the situation will become far worse. By 2025 revenue will be able to finance only interest payments, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Every other federal government activity – from national defense and homeland security to transportation and energy – will have to be paid for with borrowed money.”

8. Corporate cash holdings are up 59% since 2008, so where are the jobs from the “job creators”?

The Wall Street Journal noted today that “non-financial companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index were holding $1.12 trillion in cash and short-term investments in their most recent reports, up 59% from $703 billion in the third quarter of 2008.”

9. Rebuild the dream, a new contract for America. 125,000 people put together this list of ten priorities for America, I was part of that group and I support the platform. Sign on and support the effort, let’s make America great again.

Have a day! Have a weekend!

Foster the People leads a new pack of social media superstars

Byron W. Brown vetoes measure that would have increased rates by a dollar or two for individual skaters at three rinks; city lawmakers had passed the rate 7-1

The two-building, $2.7 million apartment project at 305 W. Utica Street held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday.  The development was undertaken by contractor Paul Johnson, attorney Michael Ferdman and architect Karl Frizlen.  It is located a half-block west of Elmwood Avenue.

The westernmost "A" Building will reach full capacity this month, with all eight luxury apartments and one studio apartment leased.  Interior construction of the twin "B" Building continues with two of the nine apartments pre-leased.

Simply known as 305 Utica, the property is within easy walking distance of shops, restaurants, entertainment, galleries, outdoor festivals and concerts, and more.  The buildings are highly energy-efficient, offering daylight harvesting, energy-efficient mechanical systems, low-voltage electrical fixtures, Energy Star-rated appliances and water-use reduction with low-flow plumbing fixtures.

The residential units at 305 Utica offer a sophisticated design that features open living space, dining and kitchen areas. Units also offer appliances, high ceilings, a central heating/ventilation/cooling system, individual gas and electric metering, garage parking, bonus/storage room, security and pre-wired high-speed internet capabilities.

Each building contains one studio apartment on the first floor with 350 sq.ft. of lviing space.  Both have been leased.  The other sixteen apartments are two-bedroom units with approximately 1,000 sq.ft. of living space and private garages.  Rent for the studios is $500/month and $1,375 to $1,525 for the larger units.

Get Connected: Kristen @ Frizlen Group, 716.220.3322

visit site to read more]

New York City, NYC
Pretty mean when it wants to be
Song lyrics, late at night
Can't think of things to write
About this episode
Filler words oh ho ey oh
Feels like Motorhead
When they wrote that song about
When they wrote that song about
RAMONES!

The Northwest Buffalo Community Health Care Center is now the Neighborhood Health Center.  The new name and brand was unveiled at a press event with local and state elected officials as part of National Health Center Week, an initiative to raise awareness about how federally qualified health centers are delivering a unique approach that targets the health care needs of local communities while saving taxpayer dollars.

Among the elected officials attending the event were New York State Senators Mark Grisanti and Tim Kennedy and Buffalo Common Council members Joseph Golombek and the Reverend Darius Pridgen.

"Our new name and look truly reflect what Neighborhood Health Center is all about and that is a strong partnership of people, and community who work together to meet the unique and diverse health conditions of the people we serve," said Joanne Haefner, executive director of the Center.

The Neighborhood Health Center provided care to more than 11,000 patients with over 40,000 visits in 2010. The Center anticipates serving more patients in future years with a target of 20,000 patients by 2015.  Haefner also states "We also want to assure our community and supporters we continue with our plans to expand farther into the West side later this year.  Even with Tuesday's disappointing announcement from HHS on recipients of the New Access Point grants that completely left out the eight counties of Western New York out."

"The bottom line is that federally qualified health centers are a vital link to the health care continuum if we are to achieve our collective goals of a healthier community, a more affordable health system and most importantly a better quality of life for all citizens," Haefner concluded.

Bottom Photo: Common Council Member Joseph Golombek, Jr. joins Joanne Haefner, MS, FNP, executive director, Neighborhood Health Center to unveil the health center's new logo.

A quick look at what's happening today in Western New York

Veteran receiver has told teammates he expects to be traded, according to a source.