Old Fort Niagara 1812 Encampment

Old Fort Niagara will host its last re-enactment of the summer, “War of 1812 Encampment,” on September 2 and 3 at the National Historic Landmark. This annual event portrays the British attack on Fort Niagara during the American occupation in December 1813 and includes a unique evening battle and activities for visitors.

Lockport Asked To Help The Displaced Pets Of Texas

Lockport, August 29, 2017 – Much of the state of Texas, along with other portions of the southern part of the United States, has been devastated by Hurricane Harvey and the torrential floods that follow the storm. Some residents of Lockport are teaming up with the animal rescue group Rescued Treasures out of Rochester, NY to put together supplies that will be used to help displaced pets and animals in need throughout the region. Donations will be taken starting Tuesday August 29^th through Friday September 1^st.

Looking At Movies - Leap! (2017)

I love a good cartoon, or even a bad one, so me and my grandson set out to go see Leap! only because it is a cartoon. This is one of the few movies I have gone to see in my life where I knew absolutely nothing about it before I went to the drive-in. A lack of promotion is only one thing that will prevent Leap! from making a profit. It is a fun little cartoon, but it lacks any kind of personality that a cartoon needs to be successful. It misses the mark in so many little areas that it was kind of frustrating to think about what the movie could have been if they had put a little more time into it.

Let's Eat! - Cammarata's Restaurant

Cammarata's Restaurant is one of those places that many people in Lockport have gone to on a regular basis, but it still remains one of Lockport's best kept secrets. I think one of the reasons more people don't go to Cammarata's is because it looks like an expensive place to eat. If you do not give Cammarata's a try at least once, then you are denying yourself a dining experience that is truly unique to Lockport.

Tuesday, August 22nd, Jamestown and Pocahontas

The Bacon Vacation adventure continues. Yes, I did get to Historic Jamestowne, and we were there way longer than the average stay that was posted on the internet by visitors. We took almost twice as long. And then we went to the beach. It was next to impossible to get them out of the water after nearly three hours. It was another day packed with fun, adventure, and learning. And it sounds like the weather back in Lockport was nothing to write home about. I guess that makes this a win for us.

What Is A Bot?

I like to go to the Lockportians page on Facebook to see what people are talking about and satisfy my annoying need to correct people from time to time. If I have ever corrected you, please do not take it personally. It is like a disease I have that I cannot seem to get rid of and I really do not mean to be insensitive. During some recent conversations, the idea of bots came up a couple of times and many people seemed confused. I'm going to try and explain what bots are and help you understand who uses them. A lot of you are not going to like what I have to say, but, as they say, the truth hurts.

Monday, August 21st, The Vacation Awakens

We went to Jamestown on Monday. Well, we went to Jamestown Settlement rather than Historic Jamestown. I really want to get to the actual Jamestown settlement and the James Fort. When we left the big museum at Jamestown Settlement, I wanted to see where the actual site was. It was literally on the other side of the trees, just around the corner. We were so close. Now we must look at our schedule to see if we can somehow fit it in. Here’s keeping fingers crossed.

Looking At Movies - Assassin's Creed (2016)

This has been a rough summer at the Root house. We are normally dedicated to our weekly jaunt to the drive-in, but this summer has conspired to keep us at home. We have finally broken free of the viruses that have kept us prisoners in our own home, and we will be back out at the movies this weekend. For now, I finally got to see Assassin's Creed, and it is a movie I have wanted to see for some time.

On Confederate Monuments

Gettysburg. It’s the granddaddy of all the Civil War battlefields in the United States. We spent a portion of Sunday touring the battlefield and visiting the new visitor’s center. We had plans in place to be in the area long before the troubles in Charlottesville and other areas where there are statues venerating Confederate generals. While, in the back of my head I had some doubts about the wisdom of making this stop in the midst of all this social turmoil, we did not see anyone protesting the statues anywhere on the battlefield.

Reminiscing: A 1950 Wedding Announcement

I’ve said it many times before -- they don’t write newspapers like they used to. I’ve read a lot of newspapers from the 19th century, but it also includes some 20th century writing also. Recently, I ran across a wedding announcement from when my grandparents got married. It’s a rather long article with a lot of great detail. I thought I would make it this week’s Reminiscing article, both as a way to honor my grandparents, and as a way to honor the writers from those long ago newspaper days. This is a perfect example of why local papers are so much better than corporate conglomerates. Local papers knew their communities.

Did You Know? The Remick Observatory at Lockport High School

With the upcoming solar eclipse that has most of America a-flutter, I thought I would write something about the observatory that we have here in Lockport. What? You didn’t know there was an observatory in Lockport? I would bet there are quite a few people who had no idea. I had the pleasure of visiting it once when I was a kid, and again about three years ago when Lockport High School principal, Frank Movalli, gave me a quick tour.

Best Intentions Tragically Averted

I had the best of plans for an article today. I’ve been cleaning out my library so that it is actually usable rather than a catch-all for everything in the house that needs a permanent home. I ran across a folder with writings and drawings from when I was 10-13 years old. There was a report I did on John Smith, some drawings, and my first attempt at fiction. This attempt was what I had planned on posting.

Literally the Best Reviews: American War

American War -- Omar El Akkad

Knopf Publishing

352 Pages

Post apocalyptic novels always fascinate me. I tend to lean towards those books if I have two books in hand, and only have time or space to choose one of them. I always wonder what the future will look like, especially with the spectre of rapidly rising seas and widespread oil shortages looming over our heads. Add to that the increase of mob mentality and sabre rattling between world leaders who have the bomb, and the future could be very bleak indeed.

Howie Balaban: Earth 2059

Twice in my career, when I was fortunate enough to be working full time, I took a famous song (Pinball Wizard) and a popular song (Let It Go) and rewrote them for something that fit a current event of that particular week or month. I'm going to try to do it again here.

Reminiscing: An Explosive Imagination

Many of you who are the parents of boys will understand this. If you are a guy, you will still understand exactly what I’m talking about. No, I’m not talking about farts, although that could honestly be an article on its own. And it would be funny. Today, I’m talking about that other bane of existence for the parents of boys everywhere. I’m talking about the chemistry set.

Quick Thoughts of Bacon Vol 12

I am a news junkie. I still get a newspaper delivered to the house on the weekends, and I have a seven-day subscription online for the paper. In addition to all that, I regularly check news websites from around the world. I’ll tell you the one place I rarely get my news -- Twitter. Well, I guess we can add youTube to that equation, too, despite what my daughter thinks.

Disney's Plan Keeps Moving Forward

Go ahead and read this link and then I will meet up with you after the page break:

https://www.moviefone.com/2017/08/08/disney-starting-streaming-service-pulling-netflix-movies/

Literally the Best Reviews: Armada

Armada - Ernest Cline

Broadway Books

384 Pages

My good friend, Howie Balaban, loaned me this book, and it took a long time for me to get to it. For some reason I kept putting it off. I had already read Ready Player One by the same author, so I knew how good the books could be. Plus, Howie had been raving about it for some time. I can’t explain why I delayed picking up this book, but it was a mistake. Once I started Armada by Ernest Cline, I could not put it down.

Looking At Movies - The Dark Tower (2017)

It all started when hardcore Stephen King fans found out that The Dark Tower movie was only 95 minutes long. The cries went up to the heavens; "How can they possibly cover all of that material in just 95 minutes??"  The studio never intended to tell the story of King's epic as it was written in the books. Actually, the movie compliments the readers of the books by using the foundation of the story in the books to take the story to the next level. If King fans would stop screaming about what is not in the movie and realize that what is in the movie is pretty good, then maybe they could relax enough to enjoy it.

REMINISCING: So Many Roads

I have a confession to make. I’m a geek. Now, most of you who have known me for awhile already know this. For you newbies, you’ve probably already figured it out after reading some of these articles each week. This article today will definitely cement that idea in your minds. At the same time, I’m sure many of you have the same affliction even if you won’t admit it.

Let's Eat! - One-Eyed Jacks

It had been a while since I had been to One-Eyed Jacks, but I used to go fairly frequently. I was reacquainted with this restaurant about two weeks ago and I started to kick myself for ever taking it off my regular rotation. One-Eyed Jacks has been in the Lockport area for a long time, and only one visit there will tell you why it has remained popular all of these years.

Literally the Best Reviews: Gone Without a Trace

Gone Without a Trace -- Mary Torjussen

Berkley Publishers

348 Pages

I love psychological thrillers that keep you wondering until the end. The interesting thing about this book is that the mystery is solved before the ending, but the story keeps going. I was a little put off by the story after the big unveiling, but while it was a bit odd, it put the rest of the story into perspective. This is definitely a book that will keep you wondering what the heck is going on almost the entire way.

Just A Word About Uber

I think the concept of Uber is a great one, and it seems so simple too. All people have to do to make money is sign up for the Uber app and then pick up people who need rides. The driver and passenger agree on a price, and the whole thing is done on their smartphones. It is truly a great idea, but it is not as simple as it seems. My goal here is not to talk anyone out of Uber. My goal is to help drivers understand exactly what is going on with Uber and the risks you assume the moment you make yourself available for an Uber client.

Gone But Not Forgotten - Brenda J. Gardner

Brenda J. Gardner

June 21, 1966 - July 28, 2017