Greatest American Dog: The Pack Has Spoken
I know parents who confess they love watching shows like The Nanny and Wife Swap, because it gives them no end of vicarious pleasure to see how dreadful other people are at child-rearing and assorted family management. I was reminded of that odd bit of nasty pleasure while watching Greatest American Dog, currently running on…
Shear Project Runaway Genius
I’m finally off my sick bed, and back to weigh in a couple of summer shows that are already nearing their mid-point … Bravo, having discovered reality-formula gold with Project Runway, keeps churning them out in the same mold: Runway, now in its fifth season; Top Chef; Top Design (which appears to have been the…
Pittsburgh Sports Tour
You can’t visit Pittsburgh without someone asking you about sports, telling you about sports, or asking you if you want them to tell you about sports. But there’s no reason you can’t go out and see a little bit of it for yourself. The first stop for a good Pittsburgh sports once-over is the Western…
Kickin’ It Old School … or whatever …
Plan to be in Pittsburgh when the world ends, the old joke goes, because everything happens here at least five years late. Which just goes to show that although other cities may be more au courant, there’s plenty of pleasure to be had in enjoying the way things used to be. Some may call it…
Notes on the Local Music Scene
Pittsburgh’s greatest musical legacy is perhaps its jazz history. Any music lover’s tour of the city should begin with at least a mental nod to the greats who played the Hill District’s jazz clubs: Drummer Art Blakey and composer Billy Strayhorn are just two of the legendary musicians who arose from a Hill District scene…
Night Schooling
Unlike New York, Pittsburgh is a city that needs its rest. After all, we’ve got work tomorrow. But sometimes “last call” is the last thing you want to hear. Why should the fun stop at 2 a.m.? Whether you’re a late starter, day sleeper or 24-hour party person, when it comes to keeping the party…
People’s History Tour of Pittsburgh
You may have heard that Pittsburgh is celebrating its 250th birthday this year. There’s plenty of talk about the city’s innovative scientists and business leaders, its artists and actors, its foundations and benefactors. But what about the unsung millions upon whose shoulders those leaders stood? This is a town defined by, and proud of, the…
Green Tour
Compared to the big East Coast cities, Pittsburgh was carved into its wooded hillsides and river banks pretty recently. But after a couple centuries of heavy industry, the only thing “green” about our reputation was the bankrolls of corporate titans who flourished along filthy rivers, under sooty skies. Today, though, visitors are surprised by the…
Wear Abouts
There’s no need to resort to cookie-cutter chain stores to put together a good look in Pittsburgh. More power to ya if that’s your thing, but what follows is a guide to a few of our favorite spots to find that just-the-thing, eye-catching piece that you won’t see anywhere else. Some neighborhoods have more to…
Revising History
It’s not exactly a secret: Native Pittsburghers take pride in their city’s past, and they aren’t always enthusiastic about letting go of what once was. But where other cities have surrendered much of their heritage in the name of progress, some of the city’s most interesting destinations are the direct result of Pittsburghers’ desire to…
Traffic Patterns
The Wood Street “T” station is a busy spot: Every day, light-rail commuters traverse the stairways past artwork they might not even notice, like Sol LeWitt’s “Thirteen Geometric Figures,” a set of wall hangings inside the station that essentially live up to their name. But Kimberly Baker, who became the city’s first full-time public art…
Building Awareness
Pittsburgh has been, arguably, slow to appreciate the power of good architecture. Just ask Frank Toker. “I [saw] this brochure talking about the Blockhouse at the Point,” the University of Pittsburgh professor says, of the small stone building that is Pittsburgh’s oldest still-standing structure. “Yeah, we were putting up the Blockhouse, and Philly was building…
Second Life
Pittsburgh was built by hardworking immigrants who knew how to watch pennies. You’ll find those thrifty roots run deep here, and are complemented by today’s trendy exhortations to go green: One easy way to consume less stuff, and save more money, is simply to reuse. Those looking for secondhand bargains around town are in luck.…
Current Events
Pittsburgh may be landlocked, but it’s defined by water. It’s the busiest inland port in the nation, and as even the yahoos doing NFL play-by-play note, its distinctive topography is defined by the confluence of rivers at the city’s Point. The region’s numerous waterways also have an aesthetic — if not a psychological — effect…
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Real Estate
Unless you’ve been living under a rock — or in a nice rental property — you probably know that the housing market is in a tailspin everywhere. Everywhere, it seems, except Pittsburgh. “U.S. home prices continued to plunge in April,” screeched a recent business-news headline. According to one well-regarded index, in 20 cities around the…
Party Politics
It was September 2006 when Monica Avery and Jessie Holmquist, the founders of Pink Party Productions, held their first event, a party at a house in Millvale. By house-party standards, it was a success: The police showed up. It was a routine noise-ordinance call, but the party itself was a bit out of the ordinary.…
Pittsburgh FAQs
How does recycling work in this town? Am I supposed to sort, or what? In a nutshell: Recycling gets picked up every other week, on the same day as regular trash pick-up. There are no bins, and the only sorting necessary is between newspapers and everything else. Newspapers (not magazines) are either bundled together or…
Crying Uncle
I don’t have kids: Being City Paper’s editor is like being a monk, right down to the hairstyle. But I do have a 3-year-old nephew, and I’m gearing up for the day when my brother drops him off for an afternoon. I mean, eventually, the kid is going to tire of playing “Get Uncle Chris…
Pregame Warmup
Whether you’re new to town or have lived here for 100 years (hi, Sophie!), there’s no better way to meet your fellow Pittsburghers than by taking in a game. But whether you’re talking parking, tailgating or getting those hard-to-find tickets, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
The beauty of this film, adapted from the popular TV series, is its ability to stand alone as an intelligent, interesting and engaging thriller. Its pedigree is still solid and familiar: The film was directed and co-written by series creator Chris Carter and stars the two actors — David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson — who…
I Work at the Community Center
A poem by Deborah Bogen.
Activism: Youth rally to ‘Silence the Violence’
On July 22nd, more than 100 youths from Pittsburgh’s most violent neighborhoods gathered in Market Square for a peace rally.
Neighborhoods: Bloomfield tavern makes noticeable change
For roughly 20 years, the wall of the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern offered Liberty Avenue motorists the greeting, “Welcome to Bloomfield.” But tavern owner Steve Frankowski says that in July, he decided to make a change.
Dreaming Roofs
By conventional measures, the Garthwaite Center for Science and Art is as green as buildings get. The Cambridge School of Weston facility, in suburban Boston, maximizes natural lighting, uses renewable energy and discharges zero sewer water, for starters. As designed by Architerra, Inc., the Garthwaite Center snagged a top “platinum” rating from the U.S. Green…
Stepping Out
Anti-discrimination will soon become the law of the land in Allegheny County, if legislation proposed by councilor Amanda Green passes. And considering that ten other council members jumped on as co-sponsors when Green introduced the bill, passage seems likely. District 13’s Green, appointed to council in March to replace Brenda Frazier (who left to seek…
Leslie Anne Mcilroy’s Liquid Like This is passionate, well-crafted verse.
In “Dismember,” early lines thump with uds and ams, while latter lines hiss with esses and prick us with ocks and its, as we suffer punches then incisions.
Shakespeare’s Cymbeline is a machine of sorts — or so proposes Quantum Theatre.
“You are forced to consider whether that good guy is really all that perfect,” says Boos.
Red Hot & Cole
The songs sparkle, and that’s all that matters.
Annie Get Your Gun
The choreography hardly registers and the sets are practically nonexistent, but if you focus on the songs you’ll enjoy the abundance of fine singers who make up the company.
Riders to the Sea & The Well of the Saints
Through PICT’s cycle, we are exposed to personal, revealing perspectives on another culture in another time.
Local trio The Seeing Eyeballs release Who Always Puts Acid in My Coffee?
A heady froth of bluesy, porch-lit storytelling and psychedelic sidewalk rock.
Solitary explorer Bon Iver blazes a trail to the Rex Theatre
For Emma is an intriguing document of grand remoteness and solitary, scenic vistas, if not the thing itself.
New American Music Union festival takes over SouthSide Works Aug. 8-9
This past spring, when the locally headquartered American Eagle Outfitters announced with little warning that it would be hosting a two-day music festival in Pittsburgh, curated by Anthony Kiedis, the city’s music-lovers did a collective double-take. After all, Pittsburgh’s status as a secondary touring market would ordinarily make the appearance of even one of the…
SPACE studies place.
Her work beautifully conveys the complexity and patterned randomness of incident.
This Just In: July 31 – August 7
Girls Gone Idlewild! Summary: A teen-age boy is caught secretly videotaping females changing in the pool area of Idlewild Park. Station: WPXI Channel 11 Reporter: Timyka Artist, “Live” When It Aired: July 22 Running Time: 1 minute, 47 seconds Visuals: * Artist wielding the self-made contraption the teen used to spy on women. * Outside…
Party innovator Vince Masi opens The Key Room in Bellevue
“People go to stores like American Apparel just to get outfits for the party, depending on the dress code.”
Daisy’s Banana Stand
You scream, I scream: There’s a new ice-cream stand in Bloomfield
Savage Love
I’m a male sub looking for porn videos catering to a femme dom audience. I’m not talking about porn directed by men for submissive men, but porn targeting the appetites of the dominatrix. I’m NOT looking for softcore bondage pictures of men, or any other gay porn. I am looking for hetero femme dom porn…
Showing Colors
To a visitor passing through, the borough of Verona almost looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell print. A slightly faded print, perhaps, as if it had been taped to the inside of one of the empty storefronts along Allegheny River Boulevard … but a Rockwell print just the same. On a recent summer…
Edge of Heaven
Fatih Akin, the German filmmaker of Turkish heritage, has carved a niche making provocative films that navigate the experience of other German Turks. In this drama, Akin intertwines two narratives, each set in both northern Germany and Istanbul, and featuring the troubled adult children reacting to the “sins” of their parents, to examine the uneasy,…
Gatto Cycle Diner
A local diner gets a new home — and a revved-up menu.
The Wackness
It’s not that whacked: Writer/director Jonathan Levine has made a very sincere and often enjoyable movie, about Manhattan teen named Luke (Josh Peck) who deals drugs and has fallen in love with the step-daughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby) of his best customer, Jeffrey (Ben Kingsley). As Luke tries to make Stephanie love him, Jeffrey deals with…
