on ice

Hello again blog.
Mostly, I think, I'm writing this to no one in particular, or mostly to myself. But I guess if nothing else, it's a diary of what is happening - or not - on the project.
I let the blog slide mostly because life has been busy, and little is happening on the cinema project, aside from research.
As I think I mentioned before, my timing on this couldn't be more ironic. I put my business on the market as the national economy turned from precarious to Icarus (going down in flames, or at least in melted wax and feathers).
So I'm not really expecting a whole lot of movement anytime soon on the big prerequisite to opening a movie theater in Saranac Lake: selling my existing business. In the meantime I'm spending at least a few minutes a day looking up interesting stuff like square footage, where to find used theater seating, classic theater interiors, all kinds of stuff.
On the positive side of all this, a bum economy is a good time to be in the army & navy surplus business. I sell good, durable, utilitarian, and necessary items (mostly), and have always done my best to keep prices reasonable. I'm not trying to sell high-end merchandise, not trying to sell stuff that people don't need. Increasingly, when people are looking for value, they're coming my way, knowing if I don't have what they're looking for, 1) I won't try to sell them something they don't need instead, and 2) if I don't have it, I'll likely point them towards somebody who does.
So, that being said, I'll make a quick comment on the recently completed Saranac Lake 2009 Winter Carnival, the theme of which was "Pirates of the Adirondacks". It was a fantastic carnival this year, and its high point had to be the parade on Saturday the 14th. The theme really got the creative juices flowing, float- and marching-unit-wise. But not only that. This was also a heck of a year for swag. Perhaps it was because the Pirate theme just invites all kinds of dressing up, or perhaps it was because this year I chose to carry a lot of related merchandise, but one way or another, pirate related "booty" flew off the shelves and racks. It was like Halloween when everybody's wearing the same costume. I was pretty wiped out by the end of the day Saturday, following two days of large crowds. But I took the Monday holiday off (no big Prez Day sale for me!) to recuperate.
Anyway, my business is doing pretty well, and I'm prepared to hang in there with it until such time as somebody - perhaps a former hedge fund trader who got out before everything blew up - walks in wanting to take over.
So now on we go with the rest of winter. Many folks I've talked to agree that once Carnival's past, we're ready to get on with spring. Personally I could use a little more ski time, but won't mind time off from worrying about ice buildup on my roof. If nothing else, the days are getting longer. To take this back to the theme of the Carnival, I've got to relate one anecdote.
One morning just before the start of Carnival, as I drove past the almost-complete Ice Palace (on my way from making a deposit at the bank), I glanced over at the main archway, over which was written in frozen slush "Pirates of the Adirondacks" on one line, and "2009" below it.
Some enterprising soul had, during the previous night, apparently gotten out with an ice scraper and carefully removed the "P" from Pirates. so we were left with a whole new theme: "Irates of the Adirondacks". Hey Winter Carnival Committee, I think we've got an idea for next year!

Anyway, I nearly drove off the road when I saw that. It was repaired by that evening.

So I'll check in a bit more often in the future. With any luck (and that's what it'll be) I might have some movement before too long.

Thanks for your patience.