Fixing Buffalo (Again)

 Driving through the City of Buffalo you will see houses with cracked windows, boarded up doors, and sagging or collapses roofs.

That's right folks, according to YNN, Buffalo is a disaster zone. Come to think about it, the (nutcase) Paladino was right on this one: Cuomo should have declared Buffalo and the surrounding area in an economic state of emergency. I would of. If you fix Buffalo, the rest will come.

I agree with Tolbert: something needs to be done. People should be living in those home, and not letting them fall into that shape. Buffalo needs companies, employers and thriving businesses and they should be able to come, whatever it takes.

I try not to drink the GOP kool-aid, but if unfunded mandates and other taxes are not only brought under control, etc, there won't be an upstate New York left for our kids.

I hate saying this, but Cuomo should be focused on getting upstate New York back on its feet and less time with gun control.

If elected to public office, I might be the only politician who will work under Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs should also apply to politics and what people want. As much as I'm for social reforms and the like, the economy, jobs and making sure people's basic needs are attended to is the first thing.

I can't believe I'm actually going to have to write to the governor about how the economy stinks in New York.

Something I thought of this morning:

As a person, I'm willing to take risks because there's something I enjoy doing: pushing the human race forward, even if it is kicking and screaming along the way. Progress has become quite stale to the point kicking and screaming is necessary.

Sasha's Commentary for May 11, 2013 (OLD NEWS)

Old news, but...

Southwest is indeed no longer about cheap flights as much as a flight where you'll get fare service. But the day Southwest starts charging for bags is the day I will lose near complete faith in the airline industry. I have a feeling that for the majority of Americans, bus and rail travel will be making a comeback. I think my generation will be the first in where air travel is a luxury. At the same time, I do see Southwest losing big time when they start charging for bags. There will be customer backlash, and at Southwest, it tends to work.

I would like to see some airline re-regulation occur, to protect passengers, smaller airlines and large airlines from making stupid business decisions. And sadly, the airlines that make stupid business decisions still manage to stay afloat. Sir Richard Branson, keep Virgin America alive for as long as you can. We need choice, and we're running out of them. If I was flying cross-country, I'd probably fly Virgin America.

In general, our nation is going through a rough time. And of course, our elected officials aren't helping. All crappy service from the airlines can do is help Amtrak and bus operators. And a big issue I have with the airlines is the pricing schemes. Book months in advance and you can get a cheap fare, but if you book a few days in advance, be prepared to pay an arm and a leg. The pay by the pound thing makes sense, because as an airline you want as light of a plane as possible. That being said, if you're going to spend more than a few weeks somewhere (let's say more than a week; an extended vacation), best bet is to take Amtrak, the bus or drive. There are some situations you can't help, like going to the Caribbean and overseas. But within America, forget about a nice quick trip. I'd say, it's time the industry figure out how to operate in this "new economy". The airlines change their business models more than I change my underwear (which is daily, if you care about the TMI fact).

A survey done by Farleigh Dickinson University showed that 44% of Republicans they surveyed believed that armed rebellion might be necessary to maintain civil liberties (TRANSLATE: to get a point across to our elected officials that we don't want our guns taken away, that we are suspicious of our current President) I believe that many Republicans outside the liberal areas of the nation are paranoid of President Obama. I think it stems from the GOP's inherent racism (not all GOPers are racists, thankfully), but I think that it's a matter of that many Americans are uncomfortable with having a president that is non-100% European-American, who is an intellectual, well-spoken, doesn't come off as arrogant and cold (I'll debate the coldness factor), someone who is not your ordinary American. I also think it comes down to this: Mainstream America sees nationalism and patriotism extremely important, and I bet that most Americans see the Democrats as the less patriotic party.

Do I think it's time for a woman as President? Yes, even if it is (GASP), Hillary Clinton. Maybe it's me, but I don't see (in a majority of cases, there are exceptions) a woman so quick to launch nukes. Get the testosterone out of politics. If Hillary's elected, I'd imagine shit getting done. Just, for God's sake, leave Bill in Chappaqua.

A quick blurb on copyright and YouTube

People wouldn't post episodes of TV shows on YouTube if the companies made them available for streaming. The wonderful folks at South Park have made almost every episode of the series available for viewing whenever you are in front of a computer. How to make fans happy? Simple things like those.





That's the reason I find it funny that people who upload episodes of TV shows to YouTube not quite violating copyright law, especially if there is no other way to stream the episode (Netflix, Hulu, etc).

If it means I can watch on demand, heck, I can deal with the ads, especially since it's free.



But then again, I have a serious disdain for the entertainment and multimedia industry right now. It's run by people with arrogance, at least that's my perception.

*This means you won't see a reality show on my life anytime soon, because the demand that I have complete control over distribution would kill the idea faster than you can say "Action". And not to mention that my life doesn't need a reality show, nor does anyone's.

Sasha's commentary for May 9, 2013

It seems that once the year 1950 rolled around, bad luck started to affect the city of Buffalo.

It seems that WIVB, despite being one of Buffalo's news stations, is quite pessimistic. "Buffalo ranks as a city that should quit [professional] sports". Sure, their teams have pathetic losing records, but c'mon, it's all the town has these days. Buffalo really needs a turnaround artist.

And New York as a whole doesn't rank well: we're the second worst state to do business in. Does Governor Cuomo read the news? If not, I'll send him a letter suggesting he do so, and if he does, then do something about it! There's not going to be a New York left if he doesn't. Living in New York has the same feeling of being in love with a drug abuser. It's hard and you want to help them, also out of loyalty, but at the same time, you feel as if you want to leave them. New York is my home, and I feel I have an obligation to fix my home, not leave home. If it weren't for that I'm not 30 yet, I'd run for Governor myself.

If I was Governor Cuomo, I'd declare a state of emergency on Western New York, just to get the luster back into the place. Bring some hipsters in. Sure, they're as annoying as sin, but they tend to make crapholes livable. I don't think Buffalo is a craphole, it just needs some TLC. At least Buffalo has some of the cheapest airfares in the nation. Of course there are cities as big as Buffalo that have twice the air service.

My Bucket List for the Summer of 2013

So, this will be a post I'll continuously update through the summer. I hope you like it!


BUCKET LIST

-land a new job
-spend time in the Adirondacks, enjoying the outdoors
-spend quality time with friends
-make new friends
-take a girl on a nice, not-too-fancy date
-spend time at the beach
-make the move to the Catskills

Sasha's commentary for May 8, 2013 (Promenade Edition)

Farrah Abraham is already making a fool of herself, but now, on top of being a teen mom, she now gets a porn deal? Okay, MTV's making celebs out of teen moms is exactly why the rest of the world mocks us. Being a teen mom does not give you license to be a porn star.

I had two years worth of shitty proms. TWO. I would die to be a high schooler with Asperger's today. It was much harder a half decade ago. Not for these two high schoolers. I'm just saying, Maddi Colbeth is my new hero. Of course, her prom date was much more severe on the spectrum than I am, and for her date, Jon Larson, to not understand the concept of a prom? It's a dance! I don't know what there is to understand. Of course, prom for me was almost a joke though.

Renee Fleming is yet another reason why I'm proud to be a Potsdam grad. Sadly, the New York Times wrote a review that easily stenched of "we're appealing to Americans who can afford to go to the opera." It's Brahms, so I'll listen. Turns out he (if I heard my mom correctly) never felt he got his own work quite right.

Upstate New York is still an AWESOME place to raise a family. That being said, nine Onondaga County high schools made Newsweek's top 2000 best high schools in the nation list. Kudos to the other upstate high schools that have made the list. Overall, for being one of fifty states, New York is home to nearly 10% of the nations best high schools. I think we could do better though.

And finally, a memo to Google: I don't mind my missing YouTube history, but I don't like being interrupted when I'm working on my blog.

Prom. Don't get me started with prom. Why did everything that I was supposed to experience in high school happen in college? My first kiss? My first date to a dance that I liked? Honestly, high school sucked, and Kevin Brennan explains it well in his stand-up routine I Said It. I couldn't even ask a girl to prom. Of course, I had it rough, as yep, I was the new kid in town. In fact, when my junior prom hit, I had been living in Brushton for not even a year. Of course, I shouldn't bash high school too much, as I did meet some neat people in Brushton, and it was the first place I had lived where I hung out with groups of friends. Mrs. Kemp's Speech (public speaking) class made that all worth it.

Anyways, this is my semi-pathetic life in a nutshell: asking a girl I like JUST to hang out with me, as simple as something like hanging out in the city is as complex as a promposal. A promposal? Fuggedaboutit! I think part of my "asking girls out" is a matter of that I have bad timing. Anyways, it turns out the new fad is "going over the top" when asking a girl to prom. What happened to the old fashioned "[insert name here], do you want to go to prom with me?" Simple, if you want, sneak a letter into her locker. Or girls, how about you ask us guys out (whether it be a date, prom, geeze!)

And if anyone doesn't think I'm developmentally delayed, try again. I'm going to, until the day I have a family of my own/get married/anything like what I just said, I'll be playing catchup. Honestly, I don't understand how girls end up with three sexual partners by the time they're seventeen. I could be the least severely autistic person in America and I still wouldn't understand.