Off Main Street: Always a gentleman
The offbeat side of the news
Much has been written in recent weeks and months about favorite son Tim Russert since he died on June 13. Off Main Street feels the need to share just one more amusing Russert story that came to us out of Indiana through a standard-issue Buffalo connection.
Katie Zarich, who has family in this area, is a staff member at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
She and other museum employees have long held that the subject of one of their paintings, “Portrait of a Gentleman,” bears a striking resemblance to Russert.
She mentioned this in an e-mail to producers of NBC’s “Meet the Press,“ and they wrote back asking questions about the work, which was painted around 1705 by Hyacinthe Rigaud, according to a blog item Zarich wrote earlier this summer.
When Zarich found out that Russert and “Meet the Press” would be coming to Indianapolis in early May in advance of Indiana’s Democratic presidential primary, she invited them to stop by the museum.
The next morning, May 3, she got a call, telling her Russert and a producer were on their way. Zarich raves in her blog about how kind and friendly Russert was during his brief visit, which she still remembers as a personal highlight.
“I think he really got a kick out of seeing the portrait that he looked so much like,” Zarich wrote.
Glutton for punishment
In what for some may be a warmup to the chicken wing eating contest at next weekend’s National Buffalo Wing Festival, 12 contestants will take on beefed-up burritos this afternoon at 3 p.m. at a Getzville restaurant.
It’s the 5th annual Glutton Bowl, sponsored by Burrito Bay, home of the 3-pound burrito known as the Glutton.
The first competitor to finish the burrito will receive a $100 gift card to the restaurant at 2341 Millersport Highway, according to Burrito Bay co-founder Joe Petix.
“We probably sell about 15 a day,” Petix said. “A lot of people start it, and then take the rest of it home.”
The best time ever is 3 minutes and 59 seconds, set by Justin King in the 2004 Glutton Bowl. “It’s going to be tough to beat,” Petix opined.
The burrito contains beef, beans, rice, lettuce and tomato. Contestants have their choice of salsa, mild, medium, hot and Punishment.
How many Os in that?
It’s not easy to come up with the perfect headline, to convey a sometimes complex story or idea in a few words or less.
So give credit to the person who came up with the headline on a news release announcing the first day of the school year at the Charter School for Applied Technologies: “Students: ‘NOOOOOO!’ ”
Speaking of headlines
Newspapers around the state treated the Sam Hoyt cringe-inducing e-mail and marital-vow breaking story a little differently, as evidenced by the headlines they chose:
Albany Times-Union: “NY panel investigates lawmaker over e-mails.”
New York Times: “Intimate E-Mail Prompts Inquiry in the Assembly”
New York Post: “I’D BE YOUR ‘LOLLIPOP’ ”
