This past Sunday was the 2010 Buffalo Marathon, and I was one of thousands who ran it! I know what you’re thinking: “Gee whiz Allie, 26.2 miles sure is a lot, however did you do it?”

Well, I didn’t. I chose to run the equally daunting 13.1 mile Half Marathon, and believe it or not, it was fun!

My cousin came to a family party a few months ago and announced she was running the half and invited anyone who wished to join to tie up their runners and come along! I was the only one to really jump at the offer.

I have been running for a few years now, I was on the track team in High School, but mostly stuck to sprinting (the idea of running three+ miles at top speed was too much for me to handle in my adolescence). This past November I ran the Turkey Trot, and was not in any condition to be doing so, but I still had a blast. Now seemed like a good time to push myself a bit (or a lot) further.

I trained hard for a little over a month, and trained less hard for a few weeks after that (life just always seems to get in the way!). By Sunday I was more or less ready!

The race itself was amazing. The energy created by everyone running was truly unique. Much to my surprise, I felt GREAT! I mean that. I honestly felt like a couple million bucks, a runner’s high is no joke! By no means am I chomping at the bit to run the full marathon, but I am already making plans to run another half in October.  If my legs would quit their protest on all movement, I’ll be out running again soon.

For anyone considering running the marathon next year, I HIGHLY recommend it.  It is surprisingly fun to push yourself and accomplish something, especially before 10am!

You can check out my very professional form in this photo and at sportphoto.com.

I HEART RUNNING

Til next time, with less lactic acid,

-Allie

Have you ever watched an outdated video and laughed yourself sick at the unintentional hilarity that ensues? If so, you are in very, very good company!

Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, two comedy writers from Wisconsin, have been touring the United States and Europe for the past six years presenting a collection of such videos. They have named it the Found Footage Festival, due to the way in which they discover the videos.

Videos are submitted by people across the country, or found by Nick and Joe themselves.  They are then reviewed before being added to the website website or included in the touring festival.

There are only two rules that apply to all submitted footage:

1. Footage must be found on a DVD or VHS, YouTube is out of the question.

2. The video must be trying to accomplish something, at which it fails miserably (to our delight).

Luckily for us in Buffalo, Nick and Joe will be bringing the event to Buffalo on May 22nd! I was fortunate enough to chat a bit with Nick via Email in preparation for the event. My questions are in bold. His answers are the witty responses in regular typeset.

Firstly, what was the first video you “found” and how did it inspire the festival?

Nick Prueher (Co-creator and host, Found Footage Festival): I was working at a McDonald’s as a freshman in high school and stumbled across a training video for McDonald’s custodians in the break room one day. Out of boredom, I popped it into the little TV-VCR combo unit and couldn’t believe my eyes. It was one of the most ridiculous things I’d ever seen on videotape: a dim trainee on his first day as a janitor, an overly perky crew trainer, and a cloyingly cute plot. My first thought was, “The world needs to see this video,” so I put it in my backpack and showed it to [fellow FFF founder] Joe, who also fell in love with the video. We’d host screenings of the video in my parents’ living room, making jokes the whole time, and it kind of became this cult thing. And that got us to thinking, if there are videos this silly right under our noses, imaging what else is out there.

Is the sole purpose of the festival to be funny, or does it accomplish something more?

NP: Well, our background is in comedy so we definitely try to make the show as funny as possible. That said, there are other things that people can take away from it. These sort of regrettable and forgotten moments captured on VHS can say a lot more about us as a culture than can some of the greatest films of the last 100 years. I mean, if you’re only looking at “Citizen Kane,” you’re getting a pretty incomplete picture of who we are as a people. We also release videos called “How to Toilet Train Your Feline.”

Can we expect to see different videos than the ones posted online?

NP: Yes, the videos in the show are things you can’t see anywhere else, including our own website.

Have you had success in other towns across America?

NP: We’ve been touring all over the country, and sometimes in Europe, since 2004, and we’re continually surprised that anyone beyond our immediate friends shows up to our shows. But for whatever reason, the show really strikes a chord with people, so we have great sold-out shows in most cities. We’re hoping for a nice turnout of VHS enthusiasts in Buffalo.

Have you ever offended anyone with the videos, such as the “stars”?

NP: Quite the opposite. All the people we’ve tracked down from the videos have been almost flattered by the attention. This is footage they’ve long since forgotten about, so when they find out that people all over the country are getting so much joy out of it, they seem to enjoy it as well. We were doing a show in Minneapolis recently and a guy came up to us afterward and said, “Do you recognize me?” It took me a second, but then I knew exactly who he was. He was the guy who got hit by a car and fell off a tall ladder in this series of safety videos. It was like meeting a celebrity. My hand was actually trembling when I shook his hand.

How often do you receive footage?

NP: We’ve been lucky enough to have people bring their own found footage to our shows each weekend and send stuff in the mail each week. That’s the most gratifying part of what we do: meeting other video collectors and hearing the stories of their finds. It’s how we keep the show going, so if anyone has found anything in the Buffalo area, we’d highly encourage them to bring it to the Squeaky Wheel on Saturday.

Where are your favorite places to look for footage?

NP: We usually get to town early on the day of the show and hit all the local thrift stores. Salvation Army is by far our favorite of the chain stores. They don’t filter their tape selection at all, so you find a lot of home movies, instructional videos and other oddities in the VHS section. Estate sales are also good places to look. Sometimes people sell their camcorders there and leave the tapes inside.

Do you have a favorite video?

NP: It changes from time to time but I’m currently in love with this raw footage we found from a local furniture commercial in Corpus Christi, Texas. It stars this older bearded man called Bargain Bernie whose catch phrase is “All I want to do is save you money!” But he just can’t seem to get it right, so we cut together our favorite outtakes into one pretty hilarious clip.

Will the festival continue past this tour?

NP: Oh yeah. We have so much material that I don’t think we’ll ever stop doing the show. This summer, we’re taking some time off to go through all the footage we’ve collected over the past year and edit together our favorites for Volume 5 of the show. As long as people have bad ideas and access to video equipment, we’ll be in business.

You can join me and check out the festival at Squeaky Wheel on May 22! I’ll be there with bells on (not literally because that would be hugely distracting and uncomfortable)!

‘Til next time, with a chuckle,

Allie

We are one month closer to summer, which means we are one month closer to some of my favorite events in Buffalo. Thursday at the Square should release it’s schedule soon, which is always something to look forward to! Buffalo Place Rocks the Harbor already has their line-up, and with O.A.R., Slightly Stoopid and Citizen Cope, it looks like it is shaping up to be a great summer concert series! I can almost guarantee I will be there (don’t be shy, feel free to say hello!).

Besides concerts, the Allentown Art festival is one of my absolute favorite summer events. Last year was one of the best in my recent memory, it was sunny and warm, I can only hope that this year is as gorgeous, weather wise. Just the thought of the Art Festival gets me anxious for all of Buffalo’s summer events!

With the weather becoming increasingly pleasant and the days getting longer, you can be sure to see me out and about around Buffalo and Western New York!  I’ll be updating the website often with videos and blogs on my many adventures, so definitely check it out!

‘Til next time, with much anticipation,

Allie

What is CEPA Gallery?

That is a question I found myself asking just over a week ago. Listed in Buffalo upcoming events, I found the CEPA Gallery’s Biennial Auction. The link was posted next to a very striking photograph, so I clicked on it and was directed to www.cepagallery.org. As a list of artists appeared on the right side of the screen I glimpsed CINDY SHERMAN! Could it be? A Cindy Sherman photograph being auctioned here in Buffalo?

I quickly discovered that many well known artists had donated to this year’s auction, which got me wondering, how did such a small gallery acquire pieces by such influential people? I came to lean CEPA is a large gallery that has been in Buffalo for over 35 years. CEPA is not just a gallery, but a center for art education. They have several dark rooms that can be rented and used by aspiring artists (a feature I cannot wait to try out). It provides a great space for local and international artists, and I am honestly embarrassed not to have known about it sooner.

The auction takes place this Saturday, but CEPA will be around and open for years to come. I highly recommend stopping by and checking out what they have on display. It is well worth your while!

‘Til next time, with more culture,

Allie

It is hard to believe I have been at the CW for over two weeks now! There has been loads for me to learn and do, some of it fascinating,  some of it typical new-job-stuff, all of it really exciting. I am sure you are wondering how filling out tax forms could be exciting, but I assure you they truly can be!

Until recently I was working at a restaurant, not using my degree, but having a wonderful time and contemplating my next move in life. Well now that I have made that next move, I couldn’t be happier! Everyday I feel as if I have accomplished something new and very cool. I do, however consider finding the hot water spigot on the coffee maker to be cool and exciting, so it may be more accurate to say that every day I accomplish multiple things that are cool and exciting! I am discovering places in Buffalo I never knew existed and finding out I am pretty good at things I never knew I had the ability to do!

In the coming weeks I will be venturing out into the WNY area and posting videos explaining what I’ve done and where I have gone (promise not to include the hot water adventure in this segment). I wouldn’t want to spoil any of the fun by telling you what I’ve done now, so I suppose you will have to wait, visit the website often and see!

Til next time

-Allie

Yesterday I headed on down to Shea’s for Gowns 4 Proms, an event that is sponsored by News 4 and CW23, Colvin Cleaners, The Boulevard Mall, Shea’s Performing Arts Center, TT NY, and Enterprise.

Through Gowns 4 Proms, people and businesses are able to donate new or gently used prom dresses to girls who may not otherwise be able to have a gown. The dresses are cleaned and displayed on the main stage at Shea’s and girls from local high schools can come in, try on gowns, pick one they love and have it tailored to fit them and delivered to their school!

When I arrived, the stage was crowded with hundreds of gorgeous dresses (which I couldn’t help but browse through and wish I was going to my prom all over again). For a few minutes it was mayhem as girls with their friends or parents came in and rifled through dresses in search of that one perfect gown. I was a little upset that girls didn’t gauge out each others eyes for my favorite dress (which oddly remained on the rack, untouched) but it seemed as if everyone I saw ended up with exactly what they wanted.

I was fortunate enough to speak with Cyndee Billoni of Colvin Cleaners and  Tony Conte of Shea’s. They were able to explain to me how this amazing event got started and has grown exponentially over the past 5 years.

To hear their amazing stories and check out some great behind the scenes action, check out the video!

Hope to write again soon with my next exciting adventure!

One week down, many more to go! As you all may imagine I was tremendously nervous Monday morning (to be honest I was nervous all of Sunday as well). But everything seemed to go pretty smoothly my first day. I got tossed right into the action on day 1 and headed down to Dyngus Day Buffalo to check out all of the festivities. Apart from being doused in water and pelted in the face with parade candy, it was a ton of fun and I wished I could have stayed through the night. I’m still learning the technical aspects of the job.  It is a miracle if you are reading this because that would mean I have managed to use the site correctly, VICTORY!

Right now I am spending a lot of time researching interesting events around Buffalo and have already discovered a boat-load of great things coming up! I will be venturing out across Western New York and covering interesting places and events! If there is any event you may know of in the near future you think I may be interested in, don’t hesitate to toss me a suggestion!

I have a few online interviews set up for the coming week, so make sure to check out  to CW23.com and see whats happening around Buffalo!

Hello world!