Niagara Gazette - Features

UNITED WAY: Are you giving or receiving?
Vandy Van Deusen was surprised that he could still be surprised.
Van Deusen, who has been volunteering for United Way agencies since the mid-70s took a tour recently of all 16 agencies that receive funding from the agency and was pleasantly reminded that his nearly 40 years of volunteering reaches deep and wide into the region.
FOOD: Iron-willed chefs: My day at the cooking contest
I was the one who came up with the idea for the French toast dessert. The chef leading our team looked at me, nodded and said, “great idea!”
I hope you can imagine how exhilarating that felt.
MUSIC: Performer’s tunes win applause from Niagara seniors
Bruce Engelhart really just wants to sing to people. He says it makes him feel blessed to do so.
But, according to those who have watched him work a room of senior citizens, strumming on his guitar and singing tunes like “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” or “God Bless America,” he has quite an impact on his audiences as well.
LIFESTYLE: Bills museum exhibit scores
If you remember the O.J. Juicer, “Machine Gun Kelly” Bills poster, Thurman Thomas sports drink or Flutie Flakes, then you need to get to the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society sooner rather than later.
BOOK REVIEW: A new look at the old ball game
Released in time for the World Series and for Christmas, “Baseball Americana: Treasures from the Library of Congress” offers several hundred pictures — photos, engravings, drawings, panoramic views of long-gone ballparks and an assortment of ephemera — the majority of which have never been published elsewhere.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Life with kids, five years later
I don’t know precisely why, but 5 years sounds so much older than 4. Maybe it’s that I can no longer call him a toddler, or a preschooler, or any one of those terms that sounds so much less intimidating that simply “boy.”
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Savings to be had in States
A recent comparison shopping trip by a Canadian newspaper found several deals to be had on this side of the border.
LIFESTYLE: A peek at the Tonawandas' hidden history
Every local native knows North Tonawanda’s lumber-rich past and that CNN’s Wolf Blitzer attended Kenmore West High School.
But how many Tonawandans know that one of college football’s pioneers hailed from the region, or that a saint once walked through Kenmore?
ARTS: Native expressions
It’s not like he had never done such a thing before. In fact, as a professor of English, he often had asked his writing students to do just that. Look at a picture and find the words to tell me what you see.
But this was different.
LIFESTYLE: Nt native burns up Atlanta
Like the bass player in a rock band or stuntman, a TV news producer has to have a certain mindset in order to pursue a career in the background.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Lost Symbol’ flawed, but fun
Who knew symbologists led such interesting lives?
CRIB NOTES: From the mouths of babes
About a decade ago, Bill Cosby hosted a show called “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” On it, he would ask young children questions, to which they would offer cute and/or silly responses.
I was in college when the show aired, and thus I never got the attraction to children ... well, talking.
After spending some time with Penny and Rigby the past couple weeks, I am no longer skeptical about the power of a child’s word.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Britons enjoy Niagara apples
Little do many British apple-lovers know that they have a Niagara County company’s labor to thank for their fruit.
LIFESTYLE: Frighteningly good times in film
For nearly as long as there have been motion pictures, there have been people scaring themselves with said motion pictures.
LITERATURE: No secret to Web site’s success
Frank Warren is a hard man to shock.
The founder of Postsecret, the online community art project that calls for people to anonymously mail never-shared tidbits on postcards, Warren has received nearly 500,000 postcards since creating the Web site Jan. 1, 2005. So he’s literally seen pretty much everything.
CHEF'S CHOICE: Trio of chefs create Smoke on the Water
One chef is considered a trendsetter by many local sushi lovers, the other two are winning acclaim at many local cooking competitions.
Together, the trio will be preparing a unique gourmet feast featuring fresh seafood flown in from New England and Hawaii just in time for dinner Wednesday at the Aquarium of Niagara.
JUNK MAIL: Why pay more? Why not?!
For as long as there have been consumers, there have been manufacturers making products that overcharge for devices that perform functions we can do more cheaply via other means.
BOOK REVIEW: WNY’s ghostly origins explored in Winfield work
Imagine Western New York in the early 1800s. Settling within a mile or so of the Niagara River, people formed tiny hamlets that would in time become Buffalo, Niagara Falls and every other town from Lake Ontario south to Lake Erie.
Within one week in 1813, British forces decimated just about everything in that stretch.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Sometimes we all need cupcakes for dinner
I always wanted to be the "cool" mom. It’s a good dream ... but not one that often stands up to the reality of parenthood.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Report: Buffalo lacks brains
Compared to the nation’s other large cities, the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region falls short in the smarts department, according to a recent analysis by a national publication.
LIFESTYLE: Circus is in town this week
If nothing else, circus life apparently gets its performers prepared to handle even the most extreme situations.
YOUNGSTOWN: Students “recruited” to learn about history
The line of grade schoolers grabbed their muskets.
They all pointed their guns at their commander and he shouted, red-faced: “Has anybody heard me say, ‘aim?’ ” he asked.
Joyce Carol Oates comes to town
The John S. Koplas Memorial Lecture Series inaugural event will be held at the Palace Theatre this Friday, and it features a live appearance by Lockport’s homegrown literary superstar, Joyce Carol Oates.
EVENTS: Scaring ourselves silly
Halloween isn’t like the other holidays.
It’s not about goodness and light. It’s not about beauty and hope. It’s about scaring the daylights out of ourselves. In a good way.
FOOD: Chefs seeking Halloween treats ideas just need a bit of Internet inspiration
When it comes to making scary foods to delight children at Halloween, a grocery store’s bulk food section is a great place to turn the sweetest dish into a creepy creation.
Gummy worms look magnificent creeping up or hanging off cupcakes or climbing out of pudding cups.
BUSINESS: Skateboarder is mission driven
Jason Salfi, wearing blue jeans, a work shirt and sporting a cast on his right arm, waved the injured limb at his small audience of area business people.
“Yes, I did break it skateboarding,” he laughed. “I was going about 40 miles an hour down a hill and had a terrible crash.”
BUSINESS Q&A: Youngstown man helps families find college money
Andy Leardini used to be a bank loan officer.
His partner used to work at a college’s finance department and also was a loan officer. Between the two of them, they believe they know all the ins and outs of finding money to pay for college.
MAKING MOVIES: Lights, camera and action in Niagara
State tax iniative encourages Hollywood and Bollywood to make movies right here in the region.
ETIQUETTE: Maintain manners in public
Here, we will cover some of the basic but essential skills needed to navigate the waters of modern public living, including negotiating necessary evils of contemporary life that nobody likes.

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