The list: 5/11/09

Wednesday:

William Elliott Whitmore: Whitmore heads to Nietzche’s with special guests Frontier Ruckus and 2 local bands. Nietzche’s. 248 Allen Street, Buffalo, 7pm

Thursday:

Louis C.K.: Emmy Award-winning stand-up comedian, actor, writer and director has been seen on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, HBO and more. Buffalo State’s Rockwell Hall, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo 8pm.

Friday:

Canisius vs. Niagara Baseball: Demske Sports Complex, Canisius College, Noon

Annual Area Artists Show: The Collectors Gallery at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s prestigious exhibition - rare, once-a-year opportunity to see a selection of works from more than one hundred accomplished Western New York artists. Artist reception: 5 pm

Los Lonely Boys: Grammy award winner brothers bring their signature sound to Seneca Allegany Events Center at Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel, Salamanca, N.Y. 8 pm.

Colm Wilkinson: A celebrated international and Broadway star, he originated the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. Wilkinson also starred in The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto for more than 1,700 performances. UB Center for the Arts, Amherst, 8pm

Saturday:

Niagara Frontier Collectors Gun Show: The Niagara Frontier Collectors present the show featuring 200 tables of collectibles, and rare one-of-a-kind items. Expo Hall, Hamburg Fairgrounds, South Park Avenue, Hamburg, 9am-4pm

Buffalo & WNY Poultry Show: Hopefully the folks at the gun show won’t need target practice, Livestock Arena, Hamburg Fairgrounds, 7am-5pm

2nd Annual Walk With Angels: The Angelman Syndrome Foundation ‘s benefit, Chestnut Ridge Park, Orchard Park. 10am

Kenny Award Ceremony: Awards recognize local high school talent for excellence in producing and performing musicals. Shea's , Main Street, 4pm

Puttin’ on the Ritz: Black-tie dinner followed by, an evening of glamour and giving presented by the ECMC Lifelime Foundation, Hyatt Regency Buffalo, 6pm

B. Teams Beach Party: AKA “Summer Lovin', Buffalo Blast”. According to one of our interns, “This is going to be the new party of the summer.” More than 400 people are expected. Town Ballroom 7pm

Caroline Rhea: The original host of The Biggest Loser, Caroline Rhea is a wonderful actress and comedienne with many awards to her name. Seneca Niagara Casino, The Bear’s Den Showroom, Niagara Falls, NY, 8pm

Heart: We have a photographer for this show but not a writer. I must know by Tuesday morning at 9am if you’re interested. The Wilson sisters (not Ralph’s daughters) perform “These Dreams” and “Barracuda” at Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, NY 8pm

Buffalo Jills Congratulatory Party: The new Jills have just made the squad and they want to celebrate! Club Paradise in Blasdell, 3950 McKinley Pkwy

9pm

Disco Party: Organizers are expecting 250-350 people is at the LaSalle Yacht Club in Niagara Falls, NY, 8pm

Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band, with A Potter’s Pield: Tralf Music Hall, Main Street, Buffalo 8pm

Sunday:

Niagara Frontier Collectors Gun Show: The Niagara Frontier Collectors present the show featuring 200 tables of collectibles, and rare one-of-a-kind items. Expo Hall, Hamburg Fairgrounds, South Park Avenue, Hamburg, 9am-3pm

Buffalo & WNY Poultry Show: Hopefully the folks at the gun show won’t need target practice, Livestock Arena, Hamburg Fairgrounds, 9am-3pm

Spring Bird Walk at Penn Dixie: Wild Birds Unlimited will lead a free bird walk to view some of the 143 nesting and migratory birds that have been identified at the site. Penn Dixie Paleontological & Outdoor Education Center 4050 North St., from Bristol Rd off of Big Tree Rd, Blasdell 9am-11am

Walk MS Lockport: Over 400 participants will come together to walk

and raise funds to help create a world free of MS. Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises, 210 Market St., Lockport 9 am

Hospice Memorial Walk. Begins (and ends!) at the Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf, near HSBC Arena and the Naval & Military Park 10am

11th Annual Parkside Tour of Homes: Only once a year is the public afforded an opportunity to view the interior of the stately homes surrounding Delaware Park. The tour starts at the Church of the Good Shepherd, on the corner of Jewett Parkway and Summit Avenue.

11:30am-4:30pm

Paint the Sky Kite Fly: Great Lakes Kitefliers Society presents the 22nd Annual event, Gratwick-Riverside Park, 1200 River Road, N. Tonawanda, noon to 4pm

Cockeyed Today: The reading is followed by a discussion with the cast and director. Alleyway Theatre, One Curtain Up Alley, Buffalo, 5-7pm

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express: A jazz pianist who fuses jazz with rock, pop, R&B and soul into an amazing sound. Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, NY 7pm

Nicely done, everyone

Buffalo.com photo by Andy Butcher.

I may be a bit of a wet sock sometimes, what with my constant harping on the need for "smile for the camera" shots and using the AP style guide and such...but I wanted to tell all the writers and photographers who got out this weekend (and there were many) for Buffalo.com - you did a great job. Spotted looks really good. So do the new YourHub stories. I appreciate the effort! Well done, everyone.

...and a special atta-boy to Holland High School's Andy Butcher, who stepped up in a pinch and shot a nice Spotted gallery from the Holland Tulip Festival Queen Pageant. Thanks, Andy! Excellent first gallery.

Intern in the market for a used SLR...

One of our Spotted interns is looking for a used, professional-grade digital camera. If you or anyone you know is looking to sell, please email me and I will put you in touch with the potential buyer.

Aud Demolition photo contest

Buffalo.com photo by Dan Ruggiero.

The Aud is tumbling down and will be gone before we know it...so one of us may as well take advantage of the loss of this piece of civic history, right? Check out the Erie Canal Harbor Aud Demolition photo contest for your chance to win some interesting Aud-related prizes. Go for it if you're interested...

Dinosaur up in my face

I have to admit that I was a little freaked out when I shot this footage this morning at HSBC Arena...I mean, you know it's not a real dinosaur...but still.





Tom Kuenzi also shot a great gallery at a Walking with Dinosaurs press conference at the Buffalo Museum of Science this morning...check out his photos when you have a chance.

Out at the yard sale

Buffalo.com photo by NL Valler.

There's a new event this weekend that may interest you - and Buffalo.com was just invited:

WORLD’S LARGEST YARD SALE
SATURDAY, MAY 9TH
HAMBURG FAIRGROUNDS

8:30 AM – 4PM Over 300 Booths…Great Gift Ideas for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Graduations The Best Day of Shopping in WNY….6,000 Shoppers!

Inside the Agri Center & Outside along 42nd Street behind the Ag Ctr.

For more info, go to: www.theworldslargestyardsale.com

If this looks fun to you, let me know - we can definitely get a photographer and a writer out to this one...

...and here's a tip for the writers

Buffalo.com photo by Tom Parry.

I have been noticing this quite a bit lately, and wanted to make a quick note -

I know that when writing for online media, you don't necessarily want to be voluminous - you want to keep it relatively short and sweet.

However, please do not feel like you need to sacrifice key details in order to keep your word count down.

Writing a news story for an online outlet is the same as writing for print - you still need your who, what, where, when, why, and how.

If you're writing a review, you still need to include both a summary of the event and your own personal critique.

If you're posting a blog, you still need to follow the rules of grammar - words need to be spelled correctly, abbreviations are still a no-no, and so on.

I know I have mentioned this many times, and I will harp on it again and again - buy an AP (Associated Press) style guide and read it. Learn it. Know it. Use it.

If you want to write professionally, you will need to know AP style. If you do not know AP style, you will not get writing jobs. It's that simple. Editors will not have the patience to make these changes. An AP style guide costs less than $20, and if you plan to write in the future, it is the best investment you will ever make.

It is intensely frustrating to see the same style mistakes over and over again, and if you get one thing out of this internship, it is this message: LEARN AP STYLE.