Summer in the City
From Kennywood to spray parks, from sunrise to dusk, local Instagram collective @SteelCityGrammers returns this week with “Summer in the City,” a photo essay of their favorite summer sights around Pittsburgh. If you’ve seen their neighborhood photo essays, you won’t be surprised to see some cute animal photos in the mix. And for those already missing…
Pittsburgh writer Bob Hartley revisits the tumultuous 1970s of his childhood in Chicago in North and Central
Dogbreath, Fatboy, Railroad Bob and The Skeletons are a few of the hardscrabble personalities that populate North and Central, the second novel by Pittsburgh writer Bob Hartley. It’s the story of a West Side Chicago neighborhood grappling with crime, white-flight and massive job losses in the tumultuous 1970s. At the center is the less colorfully…
Six arrested protesting for redistricting reform at state Speaker Mike Turzai’s home in Marshall
Turzai has the power to move gerrymander reform through the state House, and protesters are demanding he does.
This Streetcar does right by Blanche DuBois
A faded woman carrying a faded suitcase stumbles into a seedy corner of the French Quarter and says, “They told me take a streetcar named Desire.” And with that, Tennessee Williams introduces one of the America theater’s most indelible heroines, Blanche DuBois, in his 1948 Pulitzer winning A Streetcar Named Desire — now in production…
Great Lakes and Southern Tier to premier pickle beers at 2018 Picklesburgh
Gose-style beers with fresh dill and some spices added will slightly-salty refreshing brews to enjoy outdoors during the festival.
Gov. candidate Scott Wagner uses South African stock video in ‘struggling’ Pennsylvanians ad
A left-leaning campaign media company says campaigns typically avoid foreign-shot stock footage.
@Housesofpittsburgh Instagram account features local neighborhood gems
I’ve recently started feeling like I should follow more localized Instagram accounts. While I love following celebrities and their insane workout schedules, it would also be nice to keep up with the community in which I’m directly involved. @Housesofpittsburgh is an account posting exactly that: photos of houses across the city that stand out for…
Free Will Astrology
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I pay tribute to your dizzying courage, you wise fool. I stage-whisper “Congratulations!” as you slip away from your hypnotic routine and wander out to the edge of mysterious joy. With a crazy grin of encouragement and my fist pressed against my chest, I salute your efforts to transcend your past.…
Mai Tai from a chain restaurant might surprise drink enthusiasts
Discerning drink enthusiasts tend to sneer at chain restaurants’ bar programs. A usual charge is these types of eateries offer drink menus that are uninspired, derivative and geared to a lowest common denominator. Signature cocktails at chains are also assumed to use less-than-ideal ingredients, creating a double-whammy of drink disappointment. So, what happens when a…
Savage Love
Longtime Savage Love fanboy with a bit of a conundrum — and it’s your fault! I’m a bi man in my 30s. To use Charles M. Blow’s word, my bisexuality is “lopsided.” This means that I fall in love with women exclusively, but I love to have sex with men occasionally. My current girlfriend not…
Pittsburgh a big part of Daniel Bryan’s story
Daniel Bryan is a superhero to many. And any opportunity for him to perform in front of the WWE Universe is sure to generate headlines because everyone thought his career was over. Bryan wasn’t actually a superhero. He was seriously injured and unable to perform because of damage from years of hard bumps in the…
Polish Hill Arts Festival returns for its 11th year
Polish Hill funk and soul musician Elias Khouri is only 17 and already becoming “Pittsburgh famous.” He looked and sounded like a young Jimi Hendrix while jamming on stage earlier this summer at Three Rivers Arts Festival. His Elias Khouri and the E.K. Band was recently featured at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Night Market and…
Box office struggles, fan remakes and oversaturation: The state of Star Wars
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … those words meant nothing. There was a time when Star Wars didn’t exist, when the names Obi-Wan and Leia meant nothing, when George Lucas was a young director who had failed to land filmmaking rights for his beloved Flash Gordon comic books. It’s quite…
Modern Western Damsel fails to twist helpless woman trope
Modern Westerns often try to tackle tropes. In the slapstick dramedy Damsel, directors David and Nathan Zellner hone in on the “damsel in distress,” twisting the classic image of a heroic cowboy rescuing a helpless woman. The movie dips its toe into an interesting subject, but it never fully commits to a message or tone.…
The Prince Project strives to take fans back to the 1980s
One Halloween a few years ago, DaVaughn Weber dressed up as Prince and won a costume contest. And a second. And a third. And a fourth. People had been telling Weber that he was a dead ringer for the late pioneering pop icon since his early teens, but those contest wins — and $2,000 in…
A Case For Not Staying In Your Lane
Hedy Lamarr runs naked through a forest in Czechoslovakia, dark wavy hair flowing to her shoulders. Her movements are as joyful and jubilant as her ebony mane. She enters a lake and swims with the grace of one who belongs in the water. Breaching through the surface, her bare breasts are exposed. We see all…
How Legends of the North Side has maintained its popularity in a changing Deutschtown
A poster on the wall outside of Legends of the North Shore tells you all you need to know: “Best New Dining Spot.” The quote is attributed to a Post-Gazette issue from 2003, but this old school Italian joint is still among the city’s best restaurants in 2018. How did this North Side restaurant maintain…
The Full Monty pops in Pittsburgh
If there was ever the wrong man at the wrong time, it’s composer/lyricist David Yazbek. He hit Broadway in 2001 with his adaption of The Full Monty. Reviews and business were great and a lot of Tony awards seemed in the offing. But then Mel Brooks opened The Producers … In 2005, Yazbek provided music…
Lawrenceville’s fast-casual restaurant Ki Pollo offers crispy chicken, tangy sides
I’ve said aloud more than once there isn’t enough good fried chicken in this town. Enter Ki Pollo, a Lawrenceville fast-casual fried chicken and empanada restaurant that opened late last year. It’s from the same folks who own neighboring noodle shop Ki Ramen. The menu is divided into two sections: chicken and the empanadas. You can…
Jeff Goldblum: An Appreciation
What makes Jeff Goldblum … well, so Jeff Goldblum? Is it the way he can pull off a sweater so bold most of us can’t look directly at its pattern? Maybe it’s how he transforms a simple Hawaiian button-up into chic, stylish formal wear. Part of it has to be that hair — you know,…
