Rusted Root Front-Man Michael Glabicki to Perform at Hilbert College

The Concrete Central, Agway, The Great Northern, The Marine A, The Lake and Rail, Kellogg, Pillsbury, H&O Oats, Exchange American, Electric Annex — these are just a few of the “Grand Ladies of the Lake” whose fascinating biographies and arresting photos are the subject of a new book on Buffalo’s grain elevators edited by landscape architect Lynda Schneekloth.

“Reconsidering Concrete Atlantis: Buffalo’s Grain Elevators” (2007, Urban Design Project and Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier) tells a colorful and deeply researched historic, economic and cultural story of the elevators through essays and articles by Schneekloth, professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo, and several notable preservationists, urban planners and historians.

The book, rich with scores of photos, drawings, maps, floor plans, charts, history and anecdotes, also presents proposed projects for adaptive reuse of the 13 abandoned elevators that still stand on the Buffalo waterfront. The proposals are by 12 authors from the UB School of Architecture and Planning, Cornell University and Columbia University.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Comedian, satirist, actor and writer Stephen Colbert has been added to the spring lineup of the University at Buffalo’s Distinguished Speakers Series.

Colbert will speak at 8 p.m. April 4 in Alumni Arena on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Award-winning actor James Earl Jones, who originally was scheduled to speak on that date, has cancelled his appearance to star in a new Broadway production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” UB hopes to invite Jones to participate in a future season of the series.

Back in September, I was fresh off an incredibly unpleasant purchase of a Jeep from Joe Cecconi’s Chrysler Complex on Military Road in Niagara Falls. This is what I had to say then:

The customer service at Joe Cecconi’s Five Star Chrysler Complex is no better than One Star. We traded in the old Jeep for a new one and my beloved Kane Doyle Jeep has recently closed its doors, thus forcing us into the arms of Mr. Cecconi. Not a pleasant experience. If you need to buy a Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler, I’d recommend you go somewhere else. The salesman was disorganized, the sales manager couldn’t find my car for three days, and the entire experience was just a mess.

What follows is a lengthy dissertation on awful customer service and is written for the sole purpose of my personal venting. Read at your own risk of being bored.

At the time, it was just another in a long series of mildly unpleasant sales transactions that have littered my life over the past ten years. Customer service is in a general state of disarray in America, so I stopped really getting worked up about the minor slights and rudeness years ago. However, the purchase process was a mere prelude to the incredible rudeness, arrogance, and outright lying that I have had to deal with over the past couple of days. Absolutely incredible.

Winter sucks up here in Buffalo, and Toronto gets even chillier. While we bundle up in layers or furry coats, the homeless are left to huddle in alleyways with absolutely nothing. Whatever they have, they stuff with newspaper to keep as warm as they can. You can only stuff so many tabloids into a ratty sweater, though.

Enter 15 Below, an innovative marketing ploy charity operation created by Toronto ad firm Taxi. They’ve developed a lightweight jacket that is waterproof, windproof, and has multiple bubble pockets all over that can be stuffed with newspaper to provide an effective shield against the cold. 3000 of these jackets will be distributed around Toronto. I wonder if Buffalo can get a few for Sly and the other unfortunates that will end up sleeping in my apartment foyer this winter.

So how well does this work? Continue reading to catch a video and specs on the coat.