tim russert: buffalo (and america)'s native son.

simply put, it's a western new york thing.

when you grow up in or around buffalo, and leave for school or work, you take with you a number of strong convictions, vices, and believes.

the buffalo bills and sabres are your teams; wegmans is your supermarket; real chicken wings are not created equal; bison chip dip is the only chip dip; the goo goo dolls are the best rock band ever; jack kemp was a quarterback first, vice presidential candidate second.

and of course, tim russert was the pride of wny, and the authority on all things of which he spoke. western new yorkers essentially held russert in such high regards for the same reasons that most of america did: he embodied the blue collar mentality that his beloved father, "big russ", taught him while growing up in south buffalo. russert exhibited this in a number of different fashions - his unparrelled preparation when analysing campaign results or grilling politicians on meet the press, the lack of "gimmick" when on camera - he kept it real and kept it simple.

also, it seems russert's compassion and charity matched his intellect. you certainly know the type of legacy a man left behind when friends, foes, and collegues alike gather on national tv in the immediate aftermath of his death to credit not only russert the analyst, the journalist - but the father, son, and husband.

as a member of the media and a western new yorker, the passing of tim russert certainly struck a number of cords with me. last night when i took to the air here in northeast pa, i spoke briefly about the tragedy, but mentioned how it certainly put things in perspective - on personal and professional levels.

i have "formal training" in journalism - whatever that means these days to you. of course, i attended the newhouse school of public communications, and dual majored at syracuse university in broadcast journalism and marketing. so for me personally, to see a guy without a communications degree succeed to the level that russert did in television, is a sign that russert really, really knew his stuff. as we've learned within' the past 24 hours, apparently no one did their homework as well as russert.

but added to his accomplishments in television are his contributions to family life in america. his two best selling books certainly brought a new dimension and definition to the father-son relationship in this country. it brings about more sorrow that russert died right before father's day, after celebrating his son luke's graduation from boston college.

then again, maybe that's the way the man above planned it - so we could all remember and celebrate the legacy of tim russert throughout this father's day weekend. although i know my fellow western new yorkers and many more throughout the country will remember russert for a long time to come, whether we are sharing a special moment with dad or tuning in to political coverage of an election.

or maybe for us buffalonians, cheering on our beloved bills - hoping that tim is talking to the big man about maybe delivering a big win.

maybe you found this out tuesday...

of course, when the dave matthews band rolled, no pun intended, through town.

but this new study says pot is as potent as ever.

too much!

britney spears - future emmy award winner?

who saw this coming after dating adnan? details here.

the olsens pose and prune...

so apparently mary-kate and ashley olsen have a (not-so-much-anymore) "secret" to their trademark smiles.

...quick pause for you to grab a pen and paper. you could also get with the times and copy & paste.

- according to reports, the twins say, "prune" when smiling.

i don't get it either.

clooney not a fan of (fake) boobies...

the new rumor is that george clooney broke up with ex-waitress sarah larson over her new boobies - yup, finally a guy with some credible standards.

us italians know whats really going on.

john mayer to play baseball?

perhaps round jen aniston's bases?

tmz's michael hundgen joins me just past 9 tonight to talk about this...

this NEVER gets old.

local reporter bloopers (STRONG LANGUAGE ADVISORY)...

am i the only one that goes on this tirade once a week?

personal musings...

- big thank you to everyone at geisinger for mending me up, and for bht for allowing me a sick night. cannot tell you how great i feel right now. by this time tomorrow i'll be all ready for this weekend - which is shaping up to be pretty fly!

- go buy the new coldplay and lil wayne cds - like yesterday. coldplay is my new favorite band. chris martin and the boys have released four straight dope LPs. much love. and lil weezy? dopest mc in the game, and he backs it up on this album. i love the way he handled this cd - the leaks, the mixtapes, all the different tracks/versions released. not only did weezy drop the biggest debut cd of the year in regards to sales, but i think he's set a new trend in the way major labels will look to market hip hop artists.

gonna go for a very abbreviated jog and run a few errands before popping in to the studio to get the big thursday night show in motion - be on the look out for a BRAND NEW segment at 10p - it'll be hot!

much love!
ralphie.

live from geisinger...

So I'm currently sitting less than a mile away from my apt. Cartoons are blaring obnoxiously loud over the TV sets as I wait for my name to be called.

Little did I know I couldve walked to my appointment this afternoon at the Kistler Clinic. Feeling awful and wouldn't be that fun to listen to tonight. Welcome D-Dubs with open arms tonight, he'll be filling in as I rest.

A nurse just called my name, hopefully this sore throat and fatigue is nearing a death.

nooo! flip-flops are bad for you?

according to this article, yes. i guess the lacrosse players above had more than one reason not to wear flip-flops in the white house...

p.s. - definitely wearing flip-flops as i type this...

bye bye bromance...

remote control, a blog published by mtv, "retired" the five most annoying phrases in reality tv. and the winners are...

1.) bromance

2.) fierce

3.) omfg
4.) seriously???

5.) hot tranny mess

explanations and examples here.

my interview w/ justin would've been different...

and way more intriguing. but this is still amazing in a weird, awkward kinda fashion...

i'm sure justin did a million interviews in that dark room previous to this one, but can hollywood makeup artists not make someone look less tired?

diddy is still diddy.

a few valid points made, a few not-so-much.

happy 69 day.

get it: 6/9? sorry i couldn't help it.

nkotb's summertime video...

judge for yourself...

is diddy a daddy again?

sean combs might have changed monikers, again. apparently he referred to himself as "puff daddy" in a recent myspace blog posting, only to change it to "p. diddy".

also on myspace, his cameo on the o'neal mcknight "check your coat remix" - where he also calls himself puff daddy.

does it even matter anymore? btw remix is okay - original beat was better - diddy's verse is nice.

hold the tomato...

i'm half-italian. i love tomatoes. but, not enough to eat the red fruit from mcdonalds...

apparently a recent salmonella break-out spurred the tomato recall. you say tomMATO, i say get outta here!

r. kelly defense rests...

and not in a conspicious video kinda way...

i can't believe this trial is nearing an end... finally!

lionel makes a funny - at nicole's expense...

here's what papa richie said after receiving the "icon" honor at last night's tv land awards taping...

“Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business,” Lionel Richie told the audience. “Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie has been a struggle-and-a-half, I want to tell you. I stand here as a survivor, I want you to know, for all the parents out there.”

wonder what his son-in-law thought of that?

thank you thank you thank you.

mucho gracias to everyone who made my 23rd anniversary of existence on this earth an enjoyable one. it was great seeing you friday night at the woodlands - lots of laughs and fun times, not to mention a nice mix of stogies, beverages, and some trademark woodlands cuisine. even one of my former roommates from syracuse made the trip up, and sam enjoyed his time inside the woods.

i owe a few people for the experience i had saturday. angela, will, and johnny damon all have drinks coming on me. okay will doesn't, he just accompanied me to the game - but ang picked out two amazing seats, and damon decided to turn in his best performance of the season, hitting a perfect six for six, including a walkoff single. the yankees trumped the royals 12-11 in the four-hour slug fest.

as tony would say, i boogied back to nepa in record time to continue the celebration with club bht inside colosseum night club. again, great times, thank you for showing up.

much love to my fellow staffers - adam, marino, a.j., and d-dubs danny waters. my boy anthony from afc media also covered some of the festivities. i couldn't have asked for two better venues and hosts than mitch & the woodlands and rob dale & colosseum night club. as always, the best.

and of course, if you were one of the hundred or so that left a facebook wall post or myspace comment, i appreciate it, and by now i've responded.

believe it or not, we don't have too many photos from the weekend-long extravaganza. i'm not sure if that's a good thing or not...