Buzz: Fish To Fry, Pigs To Chase, Twinkle Lights To Plug In

And the mystery of the reclining lady

Twinkly blue trees on Nottingham Parkway. Photo by the Author.

The Mystery of the Reclining Lady

Spotted, and gawked at, by our friend Janet on Tuesday afternoon — a red pickup truck, on Elmwood Avenue by the AKG Art Museum, toting a massive sculpture of a nude. The nude in question was a reclining woman — huge, made out of stone, her arms stretched poetically over her head. And as an extra artistic touch, the sculpture was tied down with bright red ties.

Janet strove to get a picture, but traffic began to move. And so we must ask: Who and what was this? Someone in Buffalo must know. Whoever sees this, ask your friends. Answers, we need answers!

Sofa Art

Seen on Skillen Street by our friend Ryan: a guy in a small SUV hauling a big couch on the roof. No ropes, no straps — just one hand on the cushion. Seriously, he was attempting to hold it down with his hand. A wing and a prayer.

Only in Buffalo, kids. Only in Buffalo.

Fish Are Jumping

Wintertime, and the living is easy. Lounge Academy — the Happy Hour our husband, Howard, plays on Fridays at the Hyatt Regency downtown — is singing a new tune, a fish fry! Offered only while Lounge Academy is in session, this is one special special. A Buffalo fish fry is a hallowed tradition involving ritual, comfort, and civic pride.

You want rye bread and butter. Coleslaw. At least one starch —potato salad, German potato salad, macaroni salad, maybe all three. And the star of the show: a golden slab of fish so big it drapes over the edge of the platter.

We slaver. Bring it on! Howard plays Fridays from 5 to 9 at Johnny D’s at the Hyatt.

City Pig, Country Soul

Talk about hogging the news cycle! Channel 7 reported a pig on the loose on Victor Place.

One woman told reporters: “It came up to me and caused me to fall. Then it kind of came up to me and it grabbed me by my hair and was shaking my head like you would shake a bag of microwave popcorn.” She added: “I don’t know any pig language.” (Not even Pig Latin?)

Another neighbor: “No. No. No. I’ve never seen a pig in the neighborhood. It was like, ‘Follow me.’ I’m like, "No. I don’t know you.’”

The pig, nicknamed Breakfast, looked far too cute to end up as one.

The Buzz

Did our first snow mean we could jump the gun on Christmas? We say yes. Someone on Nottingham Parkway apparently agrees — on an evening walk on Tuesday, Buzz marveled at a grove of pines covered in blue twinkle lights. Deck the halls! If the better houses are plugging in their lights, surely we can too.

And speaking of beginnings, the holiday season always seems to start with Viva Vivaldi festival, that long-loved Buffalo tradition. Buzz went from reviewing Viva Vivaldi, as the Buffalo News’ classical music critic, to, ahem, performing in it. As part of the St. Louis Choir, we’ll be singing Vivaldi’s vocal roller coaster “Beatus Vir” with the Ars Nova Chamber Musicians, Sunday, Nov. 15, at St. Louis Church at 5 p.m. A donation of $20 is suggested, to benefit the orchestra. The Buffalo Suzuki Strings will shine in the concert’s second half.

And after that concert? We’ll be ready for eggnog.

In Case You Missed It

When was our first snow last year? It was much later. Click here to revisit that experience!

Click here to join the fun as we celebrate this year’s early snow and the magic of Eastern Standard Time.

Click here to join us as we explore the Buffalo Zoo’s historic reptile house, built in 1942 by Marlin Perkins, of “Wild Kingdom” fame. We’re going in!