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It seems that every time I write about an Eclipse I emphasize the idea that it leaves a point in your chart that will be activated by a transit at some point in the following months. Despite that, an Eclipse can trigger surprising events at the time it happens. Case in point: the recent sudden death of Matthew Perry who died within hours of the last Eclipse on October 28th, 2023.

In 1936, two years after Prohibition ended, Julia Solarczyk applied for permission to sell liquor in a restaurant at 73 Hamburg St. to be named Hamburg Tavern.  Neighbors have gravitated to the corner of Hamburg and Republic in Buffalo’s Old First Ward ever since, to eat, drink, maybe even sing along with their neighbors.  ncG1vNJzZmien6q%2Fo7XTnqpnq6WXwLWtwqRlnKedZL1wrdNmnp6mlWK6pK%2FAq6uhsaNivK2wjJ%2Bgq6ukYsSivsM%3D

Welcome to REPLY ALT, the only music newsletter in the world. Sometimes it also serves as a podcast. Today, it’s a podcast. Subscribe and get more of these in your inbox! I’m gonna say something that may be deemed controversial by some, but… 2023? A good year for music in my opinion! This month alone saw releases from The Armed, Jeff Rosenstock, and Ratboys. Might just be the trifecta of my musical tastes right there, all putting out some of their strongest work to date.

In the wake of too many (mostly) women literary icons passing in recent weeks, many of us naturally turned our attention to worrying about another high priestess of creative expression who’s getting on in years: 78-year-old Joni Mitchell. Concern for Mitchell’s health unfortunately seems warranted. She’s a life-long smoker (although apparently she now smokes e-cigarettes instead) who contracted polio as a child, struggles with a weird skin condition called Morgellons Disease, and in 2015 survived a brain aneurysm from which she’s never fully recovered, making it difficult for her to walk.

Time to learn Turkish, Buffalo eaters. Western New Yorkers have had little reason to, lately. One Turkish spot opened on Elmwood Avenue in 2003, closing 18 months later. Two months in 2016 for a Tonawanda outfit. I did the math. In this millennium, Buffalo’s had a Turkish restaurant 6 percent of the time.  (Editor’s note: This email has a lot of images, so you might have to click “See More” to get the rest of the story.

Thank you so much for reading The Wilder Things. If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter so far, please consider becoming a paid subscriber! $5 a month gets you every single newsletter, the ability to comment, and access to the archives. Also —if you get even just three people to subscribe, you get a discount! So smash that subscribe and share button. I am so grateful for your support. I can’t remember the last time I was as excited for a Monday night as I was yesterday.

Tab Daulton made his restaurant bones serving thousands a day for decades in Delaware North venues across America. In 2007, he arrived in Buffalo, to feed fans in seats and suites at then-HSBC Arena.  Along the way, he met a server forenamed Cherryl, with two Rs, working at Cleveland’s Northfield Park harness track. They bet on each other, and got married. Now Cherryl and Tab Daulton run Winfield’s Pub. He’s in the kitchen, she’s out front wrangling customers, while son and metal guitarist Thomas Daulton serves as bar manager and cocktail whisperer.

Ben Teusch recently published a great guide on how to calculate attrition metrics. If you are new to people analytics, it is a great guide, no matter how incomplete it is. Ben describes differences in different types of attrition, such as annualized attrition versus year-to-date (YTD) attrition versus trailing attrition rates. If you are not familiar with these terms, you can stop here and read up on this and then come back here.

Not enough to have some of Chicago’s best restaurants, including Au Cheval with its famous griddled cheeseburger that has been named the best in America, Hogsalt Hospitality looks to create a name for itself across the pond. A couple of weeks ago, the restaurant group quietly opened its first in… ncG1vNJzZmiZop6vprrDnqmso6ljwLau0q2YnKNemLyue89opJqtlJrAbrzAq6Cs