Archive for December, 2007
Merry Christmas: Quotes in Pittsburghese!
Da translation is:
“Love is wah’s in da room wit yinz at Christmas if yinz stop opening presents and listen n’at.
~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby
“Anna Grinch, wit his Grinch-foot ice cole in da snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It come witout ribbons. It come witout tags. It come witout packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then da Grinch thought of sumpin he hadn’t before. wah if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. wah if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
~Dr. Seuss
“Da only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.”
~Helen Keller
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it allsa year.”
~Charles willieens (I’m so keeping it like this because I LOVE that the Pittsburghese translator replaces
the term ‘dick’ with ‘willie’)
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
~Norman Vincent Peale
Normal English Usage:
Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
~Dr. Seuss
“The only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.”
~Helen Keller
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
~Charles Dickens
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
~Norman Vincent Peale
Translation courtesy of the Pittsburghese translator. Thanks!
A Lofty Promise For Pittsburgh Students
 While many of us have made it through college with or without the help of our parents, it sure would have made it a lot easier on all of us to not have to do so. As we know, the cost of a college education has risen dramatically over the last few years and that doesn’t even include housing, books, food, gas, bills - all of which also cost a lot for those poor college students and their families. But, making life easier on college-goers is one of the things that the recently announced “Pittsburgh Promise” aims to do.
The Pittsburgh promise is a promise to Pittsburgh public school students that as long as they stay on the straight and narrow, they will receive full college tuition. While many were unsure if the program would get off the ground - as soon as UPMC made the commitment to contribute 100 million dollars in funding to the program, it became evident that it would indeed happen - and that the city was well on its way to the goal of 250 million dollars raised for the program.
What a great pull to revitalize the city and increase home prices! This sure makes me want to stay in Pittsburgh for my son’s education. Wait…Mom, Dad - that education fund you were going to start for the little man for Christmas? Cancel that - I could use the money instead! Full Story »
ATTN: Caring Pittsburgh Landlords Needed
Oakland Series Continued…
“The majority of the current owners appear to use the properties strictly for investment purposes, and once sufficient return is generated by the real estate, it is sold to the next willing absentee landlord” – a study by Pitt’s Graduate School for International and Public Affairs, on Meyran Ave, a popular student rental street in Central Oakland.
As I’ve written before, the arrival of student renters into the Oakland community has unleashed a string of problems. The renters’ property is owned by absentee landlords who make a huge profit, but do not make necessary repairs due to the negligent enforcement of local building codes. The depreciating property values result in a loss of tax revenue on many local properties.
Based on the aforementioned study and other focus groups conducted by OPDC, it seems that the older residents are in agreement that the main problem is the absentee landlords, not the college students themselves. “They [landlords take care of their house in Upper St. Clair or Mt. Lebanon but they forget, they think Oakland is trash so let’s damage [it] and you know students live there, so let’s trash it,” one long-term resident said. A major concern is that landlords who do not live in the neighborhood do not maintain their properties suitably and any of us who have lived there and suffered through trying to get a hold of an absentee landlord for housing repairs know that this is indeed a problem. Full Story »
Are you still debating what to do in Pittsburgh this New Year’s Eve? Well, stop worrying - I can tell you exactly where you SHOULD be!
The place to be is Molly Brannigan’s in the South Hills. This will be the first time in months that Pittsburgh’s most established funk jam band JAZZAM will be playing together and I can’t wait to see the most talented and amazing local band onstage in the area again!
Molly Brannigan’s is a great authentic Irish pub on Rte 19 in Mt. Lebanon. Molly’s has great drink prices, fantastic food, and a large enough establishment with plenty of room for people to sit and congregate at tables to talk; to sit at the bar for easy drink access; to dance on the floor; or to simply stare at the amazing talent on the stage in your very own backyard!
And, for those of you who have never seen JAZZAM - this is one show that is not to be missed. After their recent stint touring with Rusted Root (some of you may have seen them at the Homegrown Hoo-Ha with the Clarks and Rusted Root at the Post Gazette Pavilion this summer), JAZZAM had taken some time off to re-group. Luckily for all of its fans, this is their first show in months…and let me tell you again - you will be sorry for missing this band!
Anyone interested in listening to JAZZAM can go to their Myspace page (link above), listen to a live show on Archive.org, watch a video on YouTube, or simply purchase their CD online (if you haven’t heard it - it’s AMAZING). The duet with Liz Berlin of Rusted Root, who also does all background female vocals, will truly knock your socks off. Even if you can’t make it this time around, do keep an eye out for JAZZAM shows and other great Pittsburgh bands (more posts on them to come). Support live music!
I hope to see you all there, but even if not, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’s to all!
So, in what seems to have become a theme on this Web site, I must ONCE again rant about Pittsburgh’s bad drivers. The first (and a half) snowstorm came this past week in the Burgh and I managed to encounter (once again) the worst of the worst of Pittsburgh drivers.
Bad weather Pittsburgh drivers, I beg you:
- When you come to the end of a side street in bad weather, please do not pull out INTO the street so that other cars have to swerve around you. It’s best to avoid swerving in bad weather - simple, but obviously misunderstood around here.
- Along those lines, when you are trying to turn left in an intersection and there are cars going straight coming DOWN A HILL (think Potomac Ave and Banksville here people), please do not try to creep left in front of those cars driving down the hill. They are sliding already and SHOULD NOT HAVE TO slam on their brakes to avoid your dumb self or swerve additionally. Speaking of, lady in the BMW SUV doing this the other day at the aforementioned intersection should read this and learn a lesson (if our beeping didn’t teach you one already).
- You don’t have to drive under 5 miles an hour on the heavily traveled roads that aren’t slippery. This only worsens traffic.
- Lastly, if you hear someone beeping at you from behind, get the heck out of the way. (This is the most important for accident avoidance).
Pittsburghers - if you follow this advice, the incidence of bad weather accidents in this city will decrease. And, so will my blood pressure.
The University of Pittsburgh Men’s Basketball Team has done a superb job this year in continuing the tradition of stellar athletics from the University of Pittsburgh. After a great defeat of neighboring Duquesne University this week, Pitt’s 9-0 record earned them the ninth position for NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball teams. I remember when I broke my leg really badly in college and had to move home for a few months in March. Honestly, if it wasn’t for March Madness and Pitt basketball - I may have well been driven into insanity, so they certainly hold a near and dear place in my heart. So, having said that - I dont’ have anything else to say except “GO TEAM!”
Pitt SMASHES West Virginia; Wannstedt Stays
In response to Jared’s (guy who doesn’t really live here) recent posting on this site regarding whether Dave Wannstedt should remain head coach for the University of Pittsburgh football program, I’m going to have to say that despite his absence from the city, his judgment was not at all impaired. Jared said, and I quote:
“With the exception of West Virginia, no one has really blown out the Panthers since he joined the school. I think Pittsburgh is fully underrated and the aforementioned WVU will get a big surprise when it visits Pitt later this year.”
After DEFEATING West Virginia in the always legendary Backyard Brawl, Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt was rewarded a three year extension for his coaching contract. Turns out Pitt answered our question as to whether he should stay or go. He will remain head coach for the Pitt Panthers for an undisclosed salary amount, which (of course) has got some twittering. But I say… who cares? Don’t tell me you’re not all REALLY impressed by the WVU kill!?!? Full Story »
Venturing Outdoors around Pittsburgh
 Many residents of our great city don’t know that within an hour and a half’s drive radius, there are opportunities to participate in almost every outdoor sport imaginable, from rock climbing to caving to kayaking to hiking and biking. Many more also don’t know that Pittsburgh was rated as National Geographic Adventure Magazine’s #1 Urban Adventure Town in September 2006.
It is the mission of Venture Outdoors, a ‘Burgh-based, not-for-profit organization, to change that trend. More specifically, Venture Outdoors seeks to transform our region into one where the outdoors becomes an integral part of our culture, identity and lifestyle. They hope to achieve their mission by increasing local residents’ and visitors’ participation in outdoor recreation in the hopes that it will foster a greater appreciation for and deeper understanding of the region’s natural resources. Venture Outdoors offers a great number of themed public programs each year (over 400, to be more specific) designed to get beginners and experts out-of-doors and having a blast.
That’s right, I said ‘themed’ events. They range from Doggie Day Treks (designed to get you and your pup outside having fun together) to Tyke Hikes (meant to introduce your wee ones to the stroller-friendly trails of the area) to Full Moon Paddles and Happy Hour Paddles (great social kayaking events) to Beer-Tasting and Wine and Cheese Hikes (some people require this extra motivation to get them out in the wilderness *wink wink*). Winter events include snowshoeing and cross-country skiing (provided there’s enough snow). They also offer geocache trips and a weekly lunchtime fishing session in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh during the summer. And more. Full Story »
“As my career has progressed, I’ve had the pleasure of playing with the baddest jazz cats on the planet. But that doesn’t change my desire to entertain folks. That’s really who I am.”
George Benson, Famous Jazz Guitarist from Pittsburgh
A Favorite Pittsburgh Family Activity
The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is tied in first with the Pittsburgh zoo as my favorite Pittsburgh place to take my 17 month old son. I highly recommend a weekend trip to the Children’s Museum for any family with kids aged 10 and under (it way beats watching TV).
The Children’s Museum is grouped into rooms, which include the following: The Attic, The Studio, The Garage/Workshop, The Theater, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Waterplay, Toonseum (museum of cartoons), The Backyard, Interactive Art Room and The Nursery (for the wee ones). Plus, outside of the rooms, throughout the whole museum, there is a variety of interactive art to play with. For example, the screen with falling letters that you stand in front of to block the letters with your shadow - we were making some serious words with our heads and having more fun than the kids here! Full Story »
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Rant and Rave!
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