November 2, 2016 - Pittsburgh City Paper

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

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The changes are coming

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

11.02/11.09.2016 VOLUME 26 + ISSUE 44

[EDITORIAL] Editor CHARLIE DEITCH News Editor REBECCA ADDISON Arts & Entertainment Editor BILL O’DRISCOLL Music Editor MARGARET WELSH Associate Editor AL HOFF Web Producer ALEX GORDON Staff Writers RYAN DETO, CELINE ROBERTS Interns STEPHEN CARUSO, MEGAN FAIR, IAN FLANAGAN, LUKE THOR TRAVIS

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{COVER ILLUSTRATION BY NATHAN MAZUR}

Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Production Director JULIE SKIDMORE Art Director LISA CUNNINGHAM Graphic Designers JEFF SCHRECKENGOST, JENNIFER TRIVELLI

We have you covered.

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[COVER STORY]

Our Bus Issue tackles all of the big topics in local public transportation.

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Director of Advertising JESSIE AUMAN-BROCK Senior Account Executives PAUL KLATZKIN, JEREMY WITHERELL Advertising Representative BLAKE LEWIS Classified Manager ANDREA JAMES National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529

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“Comics are a different language, but the beats and rhythms felt familiar.”

Your L ogo

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Here

Circulation Director JIM LAVRINC Office Administrator RODNEY REGAN Administrative Assistant STEPHANIE DRISCOLL Interactive Media Manager CARLO LEO

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“You grow up — at some point, life kills your dreams.”

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News 06 Weird 18 Music 20 Arts 31 Events 36 Taste 40 Screen 45

Sports 47 Classifieds 49 Crossword 50 Free Will Astrology 52 Savage Love 53 The Last Word 54 NEWS

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GENERAL POLICIES: Contents copyrighted 2016 by Eagle Media Corp. All rights reserved.

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THIS WEEK

ONLINE

“I HOPE WE CAN GET EXPANSION; I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO WORK FOR.”

www.pghcitypaper.com

In honor of our Bus Issue, public transportation is the topic of this week’s podcast.

Tune in for some heated debate at www.pghcitypaper.com.

Next week, we’re hosting a live-election night podcast from the City Paper offices. Listen in for serious and humorous political analysis, as well as reports from election events around the city at www.pghcitypaper.com.

Bricolage’s production of Midnight Radio: Night of the Living Dead N’at continues through Nov. 12.

{CP PHOTO BY LUKE THOR TRAVIS}

Starr Magwood (third from left) with other Mifflin Estates residents who requested bus service on Oct. 28

Read our review on page 34, then check out our photo slideshow of its Halloween-night production at www.pghcitypaper.com.

SERVICE GAPS

CITY PAPER

INTERACTIVE

Our featured Circles photo from last week is by instagrammer @sheenailene.

This week’s theme is Orange. Tag your local photos of all things orange with #CPReaderArt and we just may re-gram you.

Receive the latest from City Paper straight to your inbox every day by signing up for our newsletter at www.pghcitypaper.com.

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N OCT. 28, a group of passionate Authority set up an online, mail-in and

West Mifflin residents went before the Port Authority of Allegheny County board to plead for bus service.

The group lives in Mifflin Estates apartments, which consist of many Section 8 units and are a mile walk down a sidewalk-less road to the nearest bus stop.

“Public transport is something everyone needs,” said Mifflin Estates resident Starr Magwood at the meeting. “We are stuck on this island and we don’t want to be stuck.”

Over the past few years, many groups from throughout Allegheny County have spoken at Port Authority board meetings to request bus service, at times filling the boardroom to capacity. In response, Port

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

call-in request system, and the results have been overwhelming.

What can be done to expand public transit to underserved communities? {BY RYAN DETO} From mid-September through November 2015, more than 1,550 requests and 85 unique ideas were received for service additions for the next fiscal year. Port Authority even instituted an equity-score system that weighs populations of seniors, low-income residents, minorities, and persons with disabili-

ties together in an attempt to make the fairest decisions.

In 2011, Port Authority made drastic cuts due to insufficient funds; service was reduced by 15 percent, and about 30 bus routes disappeared. Act 89, the state’s comprehensive transportationfunding bill, passed in 2013, and the authority has since begun to restore service, but at a trickle.

“We are going to have a large list of requests and only limited money, relatively speaking, to enhance service,” says Port Authority spokesperson Jim Ritchie.

“We are trying to do the best we can with what we have, but unfortunately we just don’t have enough to tackle all the transit issues in Allegheny County.”

This year, almost $600,000 was spent

PITTSBURGH COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS

to increase service to Garfield and western Penn Hills. But many other requests weren’t addressed. With growing demand and limited dedicated funding, how can the region increase its bus service? There are options, and each comes with its own plusses and minuses.

COMMUNITY MEETING

Increase State Funding By 2019, Act 89 will have contributed almost $500 million to public transportation. While this seems like a lot, it’s actually not enough to significantly expand Port Authority, or any transit system in Pennsylvania.

“The funding of Act 89 lets us take care of the status quo, but how do we take its momentum and expand?” says Carly Dobbins-Bucklad of business coalition Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which is analyzing strategies to increase public transportation in the Pittsburgh region.

Since Act 89 passed, no attempts have been made in the state assembly to increase funding for public transportation.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald says the promise of economic development could be used to encourage state legislators to increase funds, but won’t be easy.

“I hope we can get expansion; I think that is something we need to work for,” says Fitzgerald. “But I think we are going to need more political will or political pressure to incentivize the legislature.”

Fitzgerald points to future development of the Almono site in Hazelwood as a possible source of economic growth that will need more transportation options. On Oct. 27, the Almono site announced Pittsburgh’s first planned and designed Complete Street that emphasizes alternate transit options like public transportation, biking and walking.

But Molly Nichols, of the advocacy group Pittsburghers for Public Transportation, says Act 89 barely passed in the first place. She is skeptical of state legislators becoming public-transit champions.

“Getting Act 89 through was down to the wire,” says Nichols. “We passed Act 89 by the skin of our teeth. Getting a bill through to increase public-transportation service any time soon seems very [unlikely].”

Join us for a discussion on how

DISCRIMINATION affects YOUR community!

WHEN

Monday, November 7, 2016 6:00pm

WHERE

CCAC Homewood-Brushton Center 701 North Homewood Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15208-1806

FOR MORE INFORMATION

or requests for accommodations:

Please call 412-255-2600 or email human.relations@pittsburghpa.gov Sign up to participate at www.pittsburghpa.gov/chr

Local Tax Referendum In the face of unwilling state legislators, some cities have passed local publictransit funding referendums. St. Louis, Denver and Los Angeles have all raised local taxes to fund big transportation-expansion projects. Even Rust Belt brother

WHO

The PGH Commission on Human Relations Staff, Commissioners, and Solicitors.

WHAT

Commission Mtg - 5:30pm Deliberative Forum - 6PM

WHY

Share your opinions and experiences with discrimination in your community, and learn what can be done about it.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

Buses 74 (Homewood Ave. at Kelly St.) and 71D (Hamilton Ave. at Homewood Ave.) See www.portauthority.org for more information.

PARKING

The lot marked “Students and Staff only” will be available to attendees. The metered lot across the street is free after 6pm.

The City of Pittsburgh does not discriminate against any persons on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability or any other basis covered by local, state, or federal law.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

vide service that’s too difficult or expensive for the authority to run. “You don’t just think of transit as a 40-foot bus,” says Dobbins-Bucklad. “There are opportunities here that could help us extend the reach of public transportation.”

The Allegheny Conference has been researching transit across the country, and DobbinsBucklad says trends are going toward shared mobility.

For example, Boston-based technological transit-related company Bridj recently launched a shuttle service with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

Bridj’s software creates routes based on all the riders in a given area and then sets pick-up locations nearby, though not always at a user’s exact location. Shuttles then take riders to bus stops. (Pinellas County in Florida is doing something similar with Uber, Lyft and local taxis.)

The rides are partially government subsidized and prices remain the same or similar to riding the bus.

Dobbins-Bucklad says this can serve low-income riders who don’t currently

“YOU DON’T JUST THINK OF TRANSIT AS A 40-FOOT BUS.”

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city Indianapolis has a ballot referendum this year to raise surrounding Marion County’s income tax to increase service frequency and create three new rapidtransit lines.

However, according to a press release, Fitzgerald has been “extremely proud” of balancing Allegheny County’s budget without raising taxes for five years in a row. A push to raise taxes for transportation would mostly likely have to come directly from residents, and Dobbins-Bucklad says that happens only when there’s a tangible project for them to latch onto.

“You have to know why you need that money,” says Dobbins-Bucklad. “It would need to be more tangible than [increasing bus service].” (For example, Los Angeles’ sales-tax increase offered a “Subway to the Sea” rail extension.)

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have adequate bus service, and is also growing in popularity with car-owners who would prefer to take public transit.

However, Nichols, of Pittsburghers for Public Transportation, points out that public-private partnerships also mean giving public money to private companies that don’t always look out for their workers. Nichols would rather see Port Authority expand because being a bus driver is a “family-sustaining” job that low-income residents have access to.

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Funding from Corporations To build out Port Authority’s current system without affecting low-income families, Nichols’ group believes the county should tax corporations. The group submitted a white paper this March requesting a county tax on corporate profits to increase funds for public transit. PPT cites the nation’s growing corporate profits and shrinking corporate tax revenue over the years as reasons corporations should contribute.

“Major corporations and institutions in our region couldn’t function without our public-transportation system,” says Nichols. “Some of their profits should pay into that system.”

There’s also a way to avoid both raising taxes on anyone and making structural changes through public-private partnerships: philanthropy. Act 89 allows publictransportation agencies in Pennsylvania to accept funds directly from businesses.

(For example, the micro-transit agency Ride ACTA, in Robinson Township, gets some money from FedEx.) So what’s stopping UPMC or Giant Eagle from providing funds directly to Port Authority? Nothing, but there’s a catch.

“In theory, the Authority could accept a payment from a private entity to provide transit service,” wrote Ritchie in an email to City Paper last year. “However, the service would have to be on a fixed route, open to the public and would require our standard fare. Otherwise, it would be considered an improper charter service.”

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REGARDLESS OF what route the Pittsburgh region takes, there are scenarios that are brighter for public transportation’s future. For instance, both major-party presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, support increasing public transit. (Clinton’s support might be more legitimate, considering that Trump’s tax-cutting plans seem to undercut his verbal support.) But just like everything else in the U.S. right now, a lot depends on what happens Nov. 8.

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BUS BUNCHING How can Port Authority tackle a common public-transit problem? {BY STEPHEN CARUSO} COMING FROM the U.S.’s least populous

state, Wyoming native Mark Egge wasn’t familiar with public transit before he started his graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University.

But as a data student, Egge knows a pattern when he sees one. After a few weeks of riding Port Authority of Allegheny County buses, he noticed an odd trend.

“I’d go to the bus stop and wait at the bus stop, and I’d wait for a long time and then ... two [of the same] buses would show up,” Egge says. “This isn’t very useful to me.

I want one bus every 10 minutes, not two buses every 20 minutes,” Frustrated and searching for an answer, he turned to the locals next to him at the stop.

“I asked the other riders, ‘What’s going on in this system?’” Egge says. “And they said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, sometimes [the buses] come in twos.’”

The issue Egge noticed is a source of exasperation for many public-transit users: bus bunching. The phenomenon occurs when small delays, such as hitting a red light or a slower boarding period, build on each other to knock a bus so far off schedule that the next scheduled bus on that route follows immediately after it. While this is a common occurrence in public transit, modern data technology may hold the keys to its elimination.

Port Authority spokesperson Adam Brandolph says the region’s main publictransit system is well aware of the issue. “[Bus bunching is] a thing almost all transit agencies experience,” Brandolph says. “We may not look at bus bunching specifically, but we look at many issues that affect our on-time performance.”

Besides breaking schedules, bunching leads to a crowded lead bus and a nearly empty bus trailing behind.

Peter Shaskin, a program manager at Washington, D.C.-based EastBanc Technologies, worked with Washington, D.C.’s own bus system to solve its bunching problem.

In Shaskin’s experience, while bunching inefficiency is undesirable, the larger harm comes from riders losing confidence in the system caused by consistently offschedule performance.

“It’s not just making sure buses run on time and arrive, it’s also about making sure the customer is satisfied and informed,” Shaskin says. He emphasizes that real-time information for the customers can help ease uncertainty caused by a delayed bus.

Port Authority recently implemented real-time bus-arrival schedules at eight Downtown bus stops, as well as a real-time bus tracker on its mobile app and at its website.

was related to space, not time — buses usually arrived sequentially in Oakland and Downtown.

Shaskin says that often traffic issues can exacerbate bunching, while Brandolph adds that bunching occurs “more frequently on high-frequency routes,” like the 61 and 71 buses that run along Fifth and Forbes avenues.

But bunching isn’t restricted to Pittsburgh. Juan Argote, native to Barcelona, Spain, wrote his dissertation at UC Berkeley on bus bunching after experiencing it in Spain and California.

Now living and working in Pittsburgh, he says that bunching occurs “naturally” within bus systems. Argote notes that running a “static” schedule of set arrival times, as well as having multiple routes converge on one stretch — like on Fifth Avenue, which carries 18 separate bus routes — could exacerbate bunching. “[That’s] a problem that’s really difficult to tackle,” Argote says.

However, Argote says that technology, such as real-time bus tracking and prioritized traffic signals, can alleviate bunching.

“I WANT ONE BUS EVERY 10 MINUTES, NOT TWO BUSES EVERY 20 MINUTES.”

AT CMU, Egge used that real-time data to make a heat map of bunching in Port Authority’s system. He found that bunching

And Pittsburgh is already approaching technological solutions. Since 2014, Port Authority’s buses have been equipped with devices that log locations, as well as how long doors are open and the length of time between stops.

While both Shaskin and Argote suggest using the real-time data to direct the buses — hold them at stops, or even sometimes skip a stop to keep spacing even — Brandolph says Port Authority hasn’t talked about using such a system. It collects the data to analyze its own performance. “[The bus drivers] all have a schedule, and they get their bus, and they go and try to hit their time points as best they can,” Brandolph says.

But Port Authority has also collaborated with Traffic21, a CMU-based transportation-research project, to work on a system of prioritized traffic signals, called Surtrac, within Pittsburgh.

According to Traffc21’s executive director, Stan Caldwell, the project’s goal is to figure out how to use “technology to improve a system rather than concrete.”

According to Caldwell, Surtrac will allow buses to communicate with traffic signals, indicating the route’s schedule and how full it is. Those factors will then let the signal make a decision to either prioritize the bus with a green light or slow it down with a red one.

Currently, progress has been slow. Surtrac has modernized some traffic lights in the East End, but the buses still can’t communicate with the lights.

According to Brandolph, Surtrac won’t entirely eliminate bunching, but it’s a step forward in the authority’s efficiency. And for Caldwell, bunching is an obstacle the city must overcome to reach its transit goals, such as a proposed bus-rapid-transit system, which employs dedicated bus-only routes with fewer stops.

“If Pittsburgh wants to move forward with bus rapid transit, you can’t have [bus bunching],” Caldwell says.

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The Connectpoint kiosk at Wood Street Station

NEW TECH Port Authority has upgraded transit stops to give riders more information {BY REBECCA ADDISON} IT WAS LUNCH time on Halloween and hundreds of public-transit riders were passing through the Wood Street T station.

Some headed straight down the escalator to board trains to the South Hills or the North Side. Others stood near the windows awaiting their bus at the stop outside.

Since early September, the station has been home to Port Authority of Allegheny County’s new Connectpoint, where users can find information about bus routes and schedules.

“I think it’s helpful. They have a similar thing in D.C.,” said Andrew Dzura, who was consulting the screen for his bus’ departure time.

For years, public-transit riders have delighted in the Google Maps transit option that helps users plan trips on buses, trains and trolleys from their smart phones. And several other third-party developers have created applications that provide users with real-time transit information. Over the summer, Port Authority announced it was bringing similar technology to stops around Pittsburgh.

“It definitely helps people get around better,” says Port Authority spokesperson Adam Brandolph. “It promotes the use of our system to make it easier, make it simple.”

So far that has included the interactive machine at Wood Street and eight other tablet-sized devices at bus stops.

“They offer directions. Everybody doesn’t have a smartphone,” says Brandolph.

“So if you’re waiting for a bus or looking for a specific bus, you can look at the dis-

play and see when the next one’s coming.

That goes into the viability of our service. It keeps people in the know.”

The large interactive Connectpoint kiosk will mainly serve T riders coming into Downtown. People can use the devices to plan trips via public transportation, car, bike or on foot.

The first Connectpoint kiosk was installed at the Wood Street Station, and four more are in the works. Port Authority placed an order for two of the $55,000 machines last month and expects them to be built in three or four months.

The eight smaller, solar-powered digital screens at bus stops provide real-time information on bus departures. If the real-time system is down, the display defaults to the scheduled times.

“It has two battery packs,” says Brandolph. “If something major was to happen and we did not receive any light, that would hold a charge for about three weeks. They are all connected to our real-time system.”

Many have praised the new developments, but it appears they haven’t caught on for everyone.

On the Monday afternoon City Paper visited the Wood Street Station, several people bypassed the new technology for a physical route map posted on the wall next to it. Others took schedules from a nearby kiosk. And another commuter said that while she’d seen the Connectpoint several times before, this was her first time using it.

“I’m just pressing buttons, but it seems easy to use,” said Mykia Mitchell, a daily bus rider. “They need to have more of these.”

RN UT TA L L @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

REMINDER: PORT AUTHORITY IS INSTITUTING FARE CHANGES AND NEW RIDING POLICIES STARTING JAN. 1, 2017

“

...our offline adventure to uncover the warm heart at the center of our everyday data. – Giorgia Lupi

FARES

”

MEET GIORGIA LUPI, CO-AUTHOR OF

+ $2.50 fare throughout whole system if using ConnectCard (no more zone 2 surcharge) + $2.75 cash fare + $1 transfers using ConnectCard only (Cash users will have to pay $2.75 again if transferring.) + $1 fee to purchase new ConnectCards (They’re free until 2017.) + $7 day pass available for purchase + Half-fare passes for people with disabilities and Medicare cardholders will be available on ConnectCards, as will reduced-fare child passes.

RIDING + Elimination of the Downtown free zone for bus rides (Light-rail will still be free Downtown and to the North Side.) + Suburban light-rail riders will operate on an honor system and will tap cards either in the car or on validators at stations, starting July 2017. + Pay-as-you-enter on all routes + Exit through the back door(s) on all routes (Riders unable to use the back door can exit through the front.)

Saturday, November 12 [ 7 pm Carnegie Museum of Art Theater [ 4400 Forbes Avenue (Oakland)

Event is free, but registration is required.

Visit carnegielibrary.org to register.

{CP PHOTO BY REBECCA ADDISON}

MAKING A STATEMENT On the day of the primary election in April, CP caught a picture of this graffiti on the 40 Mount Washington bus. Four months later in August, we were surprised to find the tome was still there. There haven’t been any sightings of the scrawl since, but we can’t help but wonder if the message lives on.

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LOVE LETTER The joys of public transit {BY ALEX GORDON} COMPLAINING ABOUT buses is an integral

part of Pittsburgh living, and there’s a lot of material there. Rude riders, late arrivals, selfish sitters (bags do not get their own seat), weird smells, overhearing private phone conversations, the crowds. But to me, it’s not without its charms.

For instance, about once a week on my ride on the 91 to Downtown, I witness an interaction that brings me unspeakable, irrational joy. It’s a phenomenon that doesn’t have a name (yet) but we’ve all seen it. The bus approaches a tight turn at an intersection, rounds the corner and is halted by a car pulled too far up beyond the “stop here” line. The bus can go no further. And unfortunately there are 10 cars behind the first car, so the front car has to reverse inch by inch, creating a chain reaction of stuttered backing-up until there’s enough room to go. It’s pretty funny.

That awkward reversing is fun to watch, but my favorite part is the facial expression of the driver in the front car when the bus careens within inches of his or her whip. Sit about three-fourths of the way back and you’ll get a front-row seat to these expressions of terror, anger and confusion (not normally things I like to see on strangers’ faces, but hey, in the context of this selfish, inconsiderate act, I’m all about it).

Some riders spend their trip reading or playing on their phones, but I take this time to look down on the cars below and judge their driving. To me, that’s part of the fun of riding a bus. You get all the frustrations and adrenaline of road rage, but without having to drive. (Is this what the future holds, Uber?) Most on-the-road

interactions, good or bad, are one-on-one, car versus car. But on a bus, it’s like a team sport, with the driver as quarterback and the riders filling out the bench. It’s like a football team taking on a bunch of golfers.

I get really into it. Don’t push it, Hyundai!

Slow down, Benz! Good luck with that light, Daewoo!

There are other small joys riding the bus. Example: sitting in the middle part of an articulated bus (the accordion part). It always reminds me of the teacups at old amusement parks. So fun.

Or enjoying the warm-to-hot-to-scalding seats in the back during winter months to warm your tuchus. Or watching people do that stutter-step toward the front as the bus brakes. Why don’t more people ever fall down? Do Pittsburghers have abnormally sturdy calves?

Or the involuntary eavesdropping.

Sometimes this is brutal and inconsiderate, other times it’s simply invigorating. This year on an 88, I listened to a 10-minute conversation between a young couple about which of them had first started saying “def” as a slang word (it’s short for “definitely”).

The girlfriend accused her boyfriend of using it inauthentically. He shot back with the same. After hearing them both use it several times, I gotta say, I’m with her.

Or that little hand-placed-over-themoney-slot move that bus drivers use to tell you when to pay. (I’ve been riding Pittsburgh buses for 11 years, and I still don’t know whether to pay when I get on or off.

I’m probably alone on that one).

So I would never advocate against complaining. I’m all for it — it’s an important part of the life experience. But every once in a while, it’s nice to keep things in perspective and go positive. Next time you’re on a bus, try to see the bright side, at least a little. Everything in moderation.

A L E X G ORD ON @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

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FOOD POLICY Where do CP staffers stand on bus eating etiquette?

CHEERLEADERS PITTSBURGH 3100 LIBERTY AVENUE PITTSBURGH, PA 15201 412-281-3110

There’s nothing better than settling in for a long bus ride with a hot cup of coffee in hand and maybe a scone or brownie tucked away in your purse. But that’s the extent of my public-transportation snacking these days.

In my youth, I can remember setting off on a bus ride to Kennywood with friends carrying a full McDonald’s breakfast complete with a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit and a hashbrown.

But since then, I’ve been grossed out far too many times by the detritus left behind by other munchers to add to the mess with my own French-fry crumbs.

R E B E C C A ADDISO N

It was a late night, you needed the extra half-hour of shut-eye before work, so instead of getting up to make breakfast, you figured, “I’ll grab a bacon, egg and cheese for the road!”

But once you clear those folding doors, that bacon, egg and cheese, or foot-long meatball sub, or bacon cheese fries — from the initial wave of industrial-cheese scent to the razor-sharp crackle of a crumpling wrapper — become a nuisance. The entire bus will have its senses assaulted by your actions.

While I respect your right to nosh, I’d kindly ask that you keep it off the bus.

ST E PH E N C AR U SO

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*Certain restrictions apply.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

You want a tip for the right way to eat on the bus? Don’t eat on the goddamned bus!

Nobody wants to smell what you’re eating. Nobody wants to watch you eat it. Nobody wants to sit in it after you leave your

garbage on the seat beside you.

And it’s not just buses. If there was a ballot measure that would outlaw eating on any mode of transportation — except for a dining car on a train — I would create a dark-money PAC like Citizens United and spend every last goddamned cent I raised to have it outlawed.

C HA RL I E D E I T C H

When I lived in Bellevue, I would grab a donut and coffee before hopping on the 16 bus. The cinnamon-sugar coating perfectly complemented my homemade brew and made my crowded 35-minute ride a bit sunnier. Technically, Port Authority rules prohibit food and drink, but I am a firm believer in making public transportation more attractive, not more restrictive. So Pittsburgh bus riders, go nuts. Bring a pizza or a hot dog or a bag of roasted nuts on board. Just remember to act responsibly: Don’t make a mess, and don’t booze it up (or at least not enough where you start to act like a jackass).

RYA N D E TO

Keep it simple. If there’s dipping sauce, you’re doing something wrong.

Keep it considerate. It’s best to avoid traditionally stinky eats like eggs, weird cheese or durian (why do you have durian?).

Keep it neat. Marinara sauce is delicious, but not when it’s spilled onto your shoulder from a neighbor’s overflowing meatball parm.

Keep it vegetarian. Just my opinion, but it seems like baseline decency to skip the meat on public transit. At least shellfish.

And herring. And sushi. Maybe I just don’t like fish.

Keep it bland. No one’s ever started a war over granola.

Keep it coffee.

A L E X G ORD ON

RREESSEEAARRCCHH SSTTUUDDYY

What does your child buy at convenience stores?

Borderline Pe r s o n a l i t y D i s o r d e r The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC are seeking men and women ages 18 to 45 to take part in a research study of borderline personality disorder.

To participate, you must have symptoms of the disorder, which may include: troubled personal relationships, chronic feelings of emptiness or boredom, difficulty controlling anger or frustration, mood swings, self-destructive or impulsive behaviors, or history of self-inflicted pain or injury.

Participants are interviewed about their moods, behaviors, and personality traits and will be compensated up to $125 upon completion of the interviews.

The RAND Corporation, in Pittsburgh, is conducting a research study to learn about what children, ages 11–17, purchase at convenience stores. Participation requires one 20 minute phone/internet survey and one 90 minute visit to the RAND study center.

Some participants may also undergo an fMRI scan. There is no cost for this procedure. Participants are compensated $50 upon completion of the fMRI.

Children who complete the study will be compensated for their time and effort with $50 in gift certificates. Parking and travel compensation is provided.

If you are interested and want to learn more about the study, please call 412-545-3005, e-mail c-storestudy@rand.org or visit us at www.rand.org/storestudy.

For more information, call 412-246-5367.

C O R P O R AT I O N

JOIN US NOV. 11 FOR OUR NEXT NO-KIDS NIGHT!

with Pittsburgh Glass Center Watch artists make glass creations, and learn how glass forms in nature. Register in advance to make your own fused-glass tile*.

Cash bars, snacks for purchase, live music, and NO KIDS! Details & registration: CarnegieScienceCenter.org Cost: $10 in advance / $15 day of the event; * Workshops are an additional fee

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Weird Pittsburgh

SEND YOUR LOCAL WEIRD NEWS TO INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

{BY NICK KEPPLER}

& Body Piercing

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N O I T A C O L NEW

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PIERCING!

CHAMPIONS 431 MCNEILLY ROAD | PITTSBURGH 412-680-3363 LIKE FOLLOW

Thank You For Voting Us The Best Coffee House in Pittsburgh!

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Joann Wingate of Carlisle pretended to be a doctor so she could make money giving physicals to truck drivers and testing their urine, according to federal investigators.

Wingate, who lost her chiropractic license in 2014, allegedly stole the identity of an actual licensed physician and posted flyers at truck stops, offering the physicals and urinalysis drug tests required by trucking companies. One driver, who responded to a flyer posted at the Blue Beacon Truck Wash in Cumberland County, said that he found it strange that the 58-year-old woman picked him up in a blue Ford Tempo and drove him to her home to perform the physical and did a “protein test” on his urine there. He contacted authorities, leading to the investigation. Wingate even landed a contract with a transportation company, collecting pee from its drivers and sending samples to medical-testing labs, a gig for which she allegedly submitted bogus certifications to the state. The Sentinel newspaper reports that a district attorney has charged her with wire fraud, submitting false documents and aggravated identify theft.

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A city council meeting in Farrell, Mercer County, got unexpectedly intense due to an appearance by Lawrence M. “Crusty” Owens, “a man whose been making headlines for years for drug dealing, assault and harassment,” according to The Herald of Sharon (which included his nickname in its report).

Owens, 58, took to the podium during the public-comments portion and threatened to “beat senseless” the city’s code-enforcement officer, Mark Yerskey. Owens, who was last jailed on charges of organizing underground “fight nights” of female combatants, lashed out concerning $2,000 in citations for alleged recent loud parties at his property. He claimed the citations are an attempt to get him sent back to prison and said of Yerskey, “He destroyed my family. I will destroy his.” City Manager Michael P. Ceci calmly told the council not to respond to Owens’ outbursts and let him speak until adjourning the meeting.

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3623 Butler St. Lawrenceville Pittsburgh, PA 15201 (412) 918-1864 www.espressoamano.com 18

While many parents, principals, Scout leaders and other authority figures have threatened to wash out a crass kid’s mouth with soap, a Harrisburg teacher apparently applied the clichéd phrase literally. “She told me to go by the sink and she got a bar of soap and she started rubbing it on my tongue,” 10-year-old Donald Thomas told a reporter for WHP-TV. The teacher at Camp Curtin Academy, a public school, was apparently punishing him for an argument with another student that occurred while she was away. (She did not witness the offense.) His mother, Ciara White, is keeping Donald out of school until the teacher is fired.

“I just didn’t understand why this even had to happen,” she said. The Harrisburg School District did not respond to WHP’s request for comment.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation initially rejected a Crafton man’s application for a vanity license plate,

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

requesting “Atheist 1,” “NO GOD,” or “N0 G0D” (with two zeroes), on the grounds that the phrases were “offensive or misleading.”

Jeffrey Prebeg Jr., an avowed atheist (obviously), says he was particularly confused because a database search showed that someone in Pennsylvania already has a plate that reads “Atheist” (hence his “1”). “Just as someone getting ‘Jesus’ should be protected, someone getting ‘atheist’ should be protected as well,” Prebeg told TribLive.com. After receiving a letter from an attorney for the Freedom from Religion Foundation, PennDOT relented and agreed to let Prebeg have his choice of the three plates.

The agency blamed the preliminary rejection on “employee error.”

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Police in Cumberland County arrested Brandon King for allegedly driving a riding lawnmower down a street at about 1:30 a.m. while intoxicated, reports PennLive.com. King, 26, was apparently driving the mower rather

erratically, given the array of traffic violations with which he was also charged: failure to keep right, running a stop sign, failure to signal and careless driving.

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Teri Lyn Padgett should have seen this coming. Padgett, a 57-year-old Jeannette woman, was arrested on charges of abusing her power of attorney to steal $220,400 from the bank account of her mother, who suffers from dementia, police told TribLive.com.

Reportedly, $50,000 of it went to a California psychic hotline and another chunk to an online astrology service.

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James Stevenson reportedly broke into a Pittsburgh day care and stole snack-time offerings. Police told KDKA that Stevenson, 52, was caught on surveillance video entering A+ Child Care and made off with two 10-pound bags of Goldfish crackers and a gallon of apple juice.

WAYNOVISION

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ They just said the “F” word and I don’t mean freedom!

MAKING PODCASTS

BAD JO OFF-TH KES! E UNCENS -CUFF, O ANALYS RED IS!

GREAT AGAIN

LIVE ELECTION NIGHT PODCAST This Tuesday! Nov. 8 at 7:15 p.m., only on www.pghcitypaper.com Join City Paper ’s Charlie Deitch and Alex Gordon for our live election night podcast. We’ll have live results from not only the big national race but reports ts from the field on the local races you care about.

Thanks Obama!

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LOCAL

“WE HAVEN’T FOUND A WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE TRICK BUT STILL KEEP THE MAGIC.”

BEAT

{BY MARGARET WELSH}

From primary stump speeches to Between Two Ferns, the Trans-Pacific Partnership has garnered a lot of conversation this election season. But many don’t know exactly what it is, or why it matters.

Very simply put, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is an agreement which would set new trade and business terms for the U.S. and 11 other countries. If passed into law, it would be the largest regional trade accord in history.

Supporters of the TPP say the deal would raise incomes and exports in the U.S.; opponents worry that it will send U.S. jobs overseas and give too much power to corporations. For Justin Sane, singer of the Pittsburgh-based punk band Anti-Flag — which has been touring with the Rock Against the TPP tour — the problems are obvious. When he first heard about the TPP, “what … really grabbed my attention was that this is a so-called free-trade agreement that was negotiated over seven years, in secret, by corporations, lobbyists and lawyers,” he says. “The only people that weren’t allowed in these negotiations were the public and Congress. … And that immediately just sends up a red flag for me.”

So when Tom Morello, of Rage Against the Machine, invited Anti-Flag to be a part of Rock Against the TPP, “for us,” Sane says, “it was a no-brainer.” Organized by singer-songwriter and activist Evan Greer, the tour has made stops in the Pacific Northwest, California and Colorado, and Sane says his band jumped at the chance to curate a Pittsburgh show.

In addition to Anti-Flag, the free show includes Providence, R.I.-based bilingual dance punks Downtown Boys, Baltimore rapper Son of Nun, and Pittsburgh-based songwriter and labor activist Anne Feeney.

“She’s a legend in labor circles,” Sane says.

“We really wanted to get her involved because the TPP is attacking labor in a significant way.”

Resistance to the TPP is building — former supporters of the deal like Hillary Clinton and Sen. Pat Toomey now oppose it — but Sane stresses that it’s still important for citizens to make their voices heard.

“We can bring corporations to a place where they do act in the public interest,” Sane says. “We want a trade deal that is good for everyone.” For more information, visit rockagainstthetpp.org.

MWELSH@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ROCK AGAINST THE TPP 6 p.m.

Thu., Nov. 3. Mr. Smalls Theatre, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. Free. All ages.

412-821-4447 or www.mrsmalls.com

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Anti-Flag (Justin Sane, second from right) {PHOTO COURTESY OF MEGAN THOMPSON}

NO DEAL

{CP PHOTO BY LUKE THOR TRAVIS}

Idasa Tariq

VISION QUEST {BY ALEX GORDON}

I

DASA TARIQ’S work — in music, edu-

cation, activism and graphic design, among other things — is about perspective. He’s obsessed with it: Why we see things the way we do, how much of it is innate, how much is learned, how much is universal, how much is superficial and what can be done to change it.

Example: Tariq currently teaches a course called FRAMES in the Media Literacy and Hip Hop program at Jeron X Grayson Community Center in the Hill District. In the course, he likes to share pieces of culture with his students — current events, philosophy, history — without any imposed narrative, without commentary, without telling them why it’s perceived as important. He’s always surprised by their responses. They always see it differently; they separate the signal from the noise.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

He calls it “spot on,” cutting straight to the heart of the problem, but has trouble describing exactly what that means, and what it means to lose it as you get older.

“You grow up — at some point, life kills your dreams,” Tariq laughs. He describes how responsibilities and distractions mount as you get older, and it gets harder and harder to stay focused on your passions. Working with youth — he doesn’t like to call them kids — reminds him of what an uncluttered perspective feels like.

Tariq is 29, not exactly AARP material, but the gap feels significant with his students, who range from middle school to high school age. When they found he used to hang out at Shadow Lounge, which closed in 2013, some started calling him an O.G. His response: “I haven’t even earned some of those stripes yet to get that title.

I’m like, ‘I’m seasoned!’ I’ll go for that.”

O.G. or not, 2016 has marked a banner year for Tariq’s career. After a tumultuous three years that saw him dealing with a family member’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, a period of “near-homelessness,” and bouts with depression and suicidal thoughts, Tariq has emerged reenergized. In addition to his work with Pittsburgh youth, he’s the assistant creative director at 1Hood Media Academy, works as a freelance graphic designer and music producer, and was named one of AllHipHop.com’s top 25 underground artists in 2015. In September, Tariq released his 10th album which, like his course, is called FRAMES. The roots of FRAMES date to a pair of broken glasses via his nephew hitting him in the face with a ball last year. The cost

of new frames was steep, so he jury-rigged a temporary fix with some tape, and that was good enough for him. But when he traveled to visit his family in his hometown of Binghamton, N.Y., his mother thought differently.

“We’re going to Walmart. You’re getting new glasses,” she told him. The new glasses reminded him of that feeling of being a kid and the renewed sense of perception that came with a new set of lenses. It’s the same picture, but fresh details emerge.

“It was a whole new parallel for having a whole new perspective of looking at things, or if you already have a perspective, re-finding that just by updating your prescription,” says Tariq.

Part of Tariq’s focus on perspective comes from a sense of not fitting into any predetermined category. He’s biracial, Muslim, and was strongly influenced by his parents’ backgrounds in political science and mathematics. Identity and perception are baked into his outlook.

“I walk into most [neighborhoods] and don’t have an issue. I don’t know if that’s just cuz of my average, bland-ass-looking dress code, or just not looking for issues,” says Tariq. ”I don’t look like a tourist, but I don’t look like I belong, a lot of times.”

On first listen, FRAMES might sound old-school because of Tariq’s linear, political and personal lyricism. But it’s more accurate to say that it cherrypicks various qualities of hip hop from the past 25 years.

There are choruses, not hooks. There’s almost as much singing as there is rapping.

The 15 songs play like a radio broadcast, tuning across different channels, incorporating samples of dialogue.

Some might hear early Kanye West in Tariq’s use of soul samples, or The Roots in the way the songs are so fleshed-out instrumentally (or because he’s got some killer snares in the mix), or Talib Kweli in his contagious, unabashed lyricism. But at the heart of FRAMES is a guy who’s discovered something about the way we interpret the world and urgently wants you to recognize it. It’s about the pain of losing touch with yourself and the challenge of clawing back some sense of clarity.

“It’s like a magic trick; once you understand how the trick is, you lose the magic.

We haven’t found a way to understand the trick but still keep the magic.”

Or to put it another way, as in the sample from civil-rights activist and cultural critic Dick Gregory that opens FRAMES: “What’s dangerous is when the universe picks you, and you put on the magic glasses, there’s rules that go with ’em. You can never take them off.”

FRAMES is out now. More information is available at www.idasatariq.com.

AL E X GOR DON@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M

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{PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF DEAN}

Dweezil Zappa

ZAPPA VS. ZAPPA {BY BILL KOPP} DWEEZIL ZAPPA made a lot of news this year. Unfortunately, much of it hasn’t been about music per se. The guitarist and eldest son of the late Frank Zappa has been engaged in a very public battle with two of his siblings over the rights and responsibilities attached to their father’s music, and even to his name.

Simply put, Ahmet and Diva Zappa are in charge of the Zappa Family Trust, the official administrator of the late composer’s estate. According to Dweezil, his estranged siblings are preventing him from continuing to tour under the name Zappa Plays Zappa; he says they demand exorbitant licensing fees, and also a big cut of merchandise sales. The battle has played itself out publicly via a series of open letters, posted online. “Behind closed doors, we didn’t get anywhere,” a clearly exasperated Dweezil Zappa tells City Paper over the phone. “So it doesn’t really matter one way or the other whether it’s public or behind closed doors.”

In an attempt to put matters to rest and get on with the tour, Zappa has dubbed his group Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants, and is calling the current run of shows the Cease and Desist Tour.

Zappa is proud of his own music — he’s working on some orchestral pieces that he plans to debut in Europe sometime in 2017 — and there are clear echoes of the father’s composition style in the son’s work. Zappa doesn’t shy away from that fact, and accepts that he’s going to get some criticism either way. “When I started playing music and making records, people would say, ‘It

doesn’t sound anything like Frank!’ But it would have been just the same if I tried to make records that sounded like my Dad when I was 15: ‘He’s trying to do stuff like his Dad, and falling short!’ It’s all that kind of B.S. that would have been part of it,” he says. “But I never paid attention to any of it anyway, ’cause I was just making music.”

And though Zappa released the excellent Via Zammata’ — the sixth album under his own name — earlier this year, most of “whatever he wants” to play onstage is his father’s intricate and challenging music.

Zappa says that the current tour will showcase some of his dad’s earliest work from when he led The Mothers of Invention.

Zappa says they’ll play “early Mothers stuff at the beginning of the show, a lot of it focusing on Freak Out!,” the group’s 1966 debut album.

DWEEZIL ZAPPA 9 p.m. Fri., Nov. 4. Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall, 510 E. 10th Ave., Munhall. $22.50-69.50. 412-462-3444 or www.librarymusichall.com

Despite contentious run-ins with the Zappa Family Trust, Zappa feels a responsibility to expose his father’s music to 21stcentury audiences. And by design, those performances are never the same twice.

That quality adds to the thrill for musicians and listeners alike. “A large part of Frank’s catalog was created that way,” Zappa says, “which gives the audience a chance to see something that only they will see.” And as long as Dweezil can keep the Zappa Family Trust at bay, he’ll deliver on that score.

I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

ROAD DOGS {BY MEG FAIR}

LISTEN UP!

{PHOTO COURTESY OF VANESSA HEINS}

PUP (Stefan Babcock, second from right)

Toronto’s PUP is a scrappy punk band; it creates raw music deeply rooted in honest lyricism and technical riffs. It’s dark, but it’s also fun, and the band’s manic energy is best captured in live performances. Shows are marked by sweaty dancing, stage diving and passionate singalongs.

The members of PUP — which formed in 2013 — are committed to keeping up the momentum they’ve earned through rigorous touring. In 2015, PUP performed 250 shows. Three days after returning home from a long stretch on the road, the band entered the studio for three weeks to record The Dream Is Over.

As soon as recording wrapped, the band r Read ou h hit the road with Q&A witcock ab Modern Baseball for StefanwBww. two months. at r e ap pghcityp That tour was cut .com short, after vocalist and guitarist Stefan Babcock’s vocal chords hemorrhaged, leaving him unable to make any sounds for two weeks. Pushing his gritty tenor to the edge, those endless months on the road had finally caught up with him.

His doctor gave him two options: surgery or vocal therapy. Babcock chose therapy, which included two weeks of silence, two weeks of whispering and five months of taking it easy. When we spoke a few months ago, Babcock stressed that PUP would be taking it easy for the rest of the year.

Now the band is on a 100-day tour with only three days off. It’s the longest stretch of PUP’s career. In a more recent interview, Babcock assures me that the next year and next album will be much more relaxed, but I don’t believe it for a minute.

“It feels pretty amazing that we can tour the world and sell out small shows.

Are people still going to be excited in two years? Two months? It’s hard to say no when good things happen,” Babcock says.

“Things are going good for us right now, and we really appreciate this opportunity.”

You read City Paper’s music coverage every week, but why not listen to it too?

Each Wednesday, music editor Margaret Welsh crafts a Spotify playlist with tracks from artists featured in the music section, and other artists playing around town in the coming days.

Find it on our music blog, FFW>>, at pghcitypaper.com

INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PUP, CAYETANA, CHASTITY 7 p.m. Fri., Nov. 4. Cattivo, 146 44th St., Lawrenceville. Sold out. 412-687-2157 or www.cattivopgh.com NEWS

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{PHOTO COURTESY OF ANN E. CUTTING}

CRITICS’ PICKS

Loreena McKennitt

[SHOWCASE] + FRI., NOV. 04 Ace Hotel and Martin Guitar have joined forces with The Good Peoples Group to award small grants to promising local artists. Tonight, Ace hosts Up and Comin’, showcasing the artists who have been awarded grants. The event will be emceed by 17-year-old, earworm-writing rapper Bird; other featured artists include DJs ONDO / GUSTO of MISC Records, art-rock quartet Working Breed, trap-heavy Jason Stabbs and decadent hip-hop artist Tek Bennet. Lights La Soul will perform smooth R&B-fused rap, while Moonspeaker brings the festival-ready pop folk. Meg Fair 5 p.m.

120 S. Whitfield St., East Liberty. Free. All ages.

412-361-3300 or enquire.pgh@acehotel.com

Presented by

Soldiers & Sailors

Memorial Hall & Museum Trust, Inc

with the

Jam!

EMBER 12 VEM SATURDAY, NAO U D IT O R IU M 8:30PM —

JOHNNY & BUBBA FROM THE HALOS (BLUES BROTHERS TRIBUTE), JOE GRUSHECKY, THE B-MEN, MISS FREDDYE BLUES BAND & SHARI RICHARDS $20 advance or $25 at the door. Proceeds benefit Soldiers & Sailors.

For tickets www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2627692 For information visit www.soldiersandsailorshall.org

— Honor Them with Your Presence — 4141 5TH AVE., PITTSBURGH, PA 15213 ★ 412-621-4253

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

[ELECTRONIC] + FRI., NOV. 04 Shave your head. Gain telekinetic powers.

Ready your bikes. The Moog-manipulatin’, atmosphere-creatin’ geniuses behind the Stranger Things soundtrack are coming down from outer space to tantalize showgoers at Spirit. S U R V I V E’s latest record, RR3749, is a masterpiece of electronic tunes designed to transport you to another dimension (thought one that is much less horrifying than the Upside Down). Opening this gig is Pittsburgh’s own wn Moog wizard, Majeure.

MF 10:30 p.m. 242 51stt St., Lawrenceville. $13-15 412-586-4441 -4441 or www.spiritpgh.com com

[CELT-ISH] + SAT. NOV. 05 In 1985, multi-instrumentalist nstrumentalist Loreena McKennitt started ted her own label so she could make a cassette to sell while she was busking. Since then, her records ds — which draw together Celtic and Middle Eastern musical themes — have sold more than 14 million copies world-wide. ide.

Tonight, the Lights Stratford, La Soul Ontario-based artist performs at the Byham Theater with two longtime collaborators.

“It’s a bit …

like sitting down for dinner with friends,” McKennitt says of the tour, so expect an intimate evening of stories and songs from throughout her career. (Read more from our Q&A with McKennitt at www.pghcitypaper. com) Margaret Welsh 8 p.m. 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $49.75-79.75. All ages.

412-456-6666 or www.trustarts.org

[METAL] + SAT. NOV. 05 Lady Beast is a behemoth of heavy-metal attitude and mind-melting riffage. Previous releases Lady Beast and Lady Beast II blister with crunchy guitars, luring vocals and relentless energy. Both were warm-ups for the release of its third album, which the Pittsburgh-based band celebrates tonight at Brillobox. As for the openers, metal vikings Del Rios will bring the river metal slaughter, and Peace Talks defies definition outside of the fact that it brings some delightfully unpredictable, spastic punk rock to the gig. MF 9 p.m. 4104 Penn Ave., Bloomfield.

Free. 412-621-4900 or www.brillobox.net

[BRUTAL BEER] + SUN. NOV. 06 Some fast facts about tonight’s Brewtal Beer Fest at Spirit. It’s a beer fest, but also a metal fest, where local heavy bands pair with local breweries. Vermithrax x teamed up with Spoonwood Brewing, Greywa Greywalker with Penn Brewery, World’s Scariest S Police Chasess with Rock Bottom and Bott Natural Causess with East End Brewing Company. The winner winn of the best brewery/band collaboration collab receives a WWE-style championship champ belt bearing the insignia of the t brewery, so it’s kind of a big deal. It’s also a music fest f featuring all the aforementioned aforementione artists as well as headliner he Child Bite e and RPG metal met act Dethlehem.

Dethleh MF F4p p.m.

242 51 5 st St., Lawrenceville.

Lawre $36-55. $36-5 412-586-4441 412-5 www. or ww pghbrew pghbr talfest.com talfest. {PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHLEEN KERSNICK}

TO SUBMIT A LISTING: HTTP://PGHCITYPAPER.COM/HAPPENINGS 412.316.3388 (FAX) + 412.316.3342 X165 (PHONE)

SPRING INTERNS WANTED

{ALL LISTINGS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 9 A.M. FRIDAY PRIOR TO PUBLICATION} THE HOB NOB LOUNGE. King’s Ransom. West Mifflin.

HOWLERS. Against the Grain, 412-461-8541.

US Bastards, Six Speed Kill.

PITTSBURGH WINERY. Good Bloomfield. 412-682-0320.

Brother Earl. Strip District.

412-566-1000.

THE R BAR. The Bo’Hog PITTSBURGH WINERY. Brothers. Dormont.

Benjamin Francis 412-942-0882.

Leftwich.

ROASTED Strip District.

BARRELHOUSE & 412-566-1000.

EATERY. The REX THEATER. Dovewires. .

Stick Figure w/ www per a p ty Lawrenceville. pghci m The Movement. .co 412-904-3470.

South Side.

412-381-6811.

MON 07

ROCK/POP THU 03 CATTIVO. Shonen Knife, The Lopez, Boiled Denim, Murder for Girls. Lawrenceville.

412-682-2157.

HOWLERS. TORANAVOX, Good Personalities, Trash Bag, Lazyblackman. Bloomfield.

412-682-0320.

FRI 04 JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Big Mean Sound Machine w/ Diego. Ballroom.

Desmond Jones w/ Stationary Pebbles. Speakeasy. North Side.

412-904-3335.

OAKS THEATER. Chris Denem’s Neil Diamond Tribute Show.

Oakmont. 412-828-6322.

SONNY’S TAVERN. Mr. & Mr$.

Funky, Unfinished Symphonies, The Hillbilly Varmints. Bloomfield.

412-683-5844.

SAT 05 DOWNEY’S HOUSE. Daniels & McClain. Robinson. 412-489-5631.

City Paper’s editorial team is seeking several interns for the spring. Please send résumé, cover letter and samples to the appropriate editor listed below by Nov. 22, 2016.

Each internship includes a small stipend. No calls, please.

TUE 08

FULL LIST ONLINE

SUN 06

BELVEDERE’S. Such Gold, Pkew Pkew Pkew, Latecomer.

Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555.

JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. The Clock Reads, Dronebaby & Ramesh. Ballroom. Daily Grind, Watching For Foxes & Joshua Powell & the Great Train Robbery. Speakeasy. North Side.

412-904-3335.

SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. Pittsburgh Brewtal Beer Metal Festival.

Lawrenceville. 412-586-4441.

MP 3 MONDAY {CP PHOTO BY EM DEMARCO}

EMPTY BEINGS

Each week we bring you a new song from a local artist. This week’s track comes from goth-punk band Empty Beings; stream or download “Culture Shock” from the band’s latest release, Confront the Living, at FFW>>, the music blog at www.pghcitypaper.com.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT INTERN

WED 09

The position is focused on reporting and writing about local people, performances, artworks and events, in fields including but not limited to theater, visual art, literature, dance and comedy. Send a cover letter, résumé and three writing samples to arts editor Bill O’Driscoll, driscoll@pghcitypaper.com.

SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. Crown Larks w/ Come Holy Spirit, Robin Vote & Thousandz of Beez. Lawrenceville.

412-586-4441.

DJS THU 03

MULTIMEDIA INTERN

BELVEDERE’S. DJ hates you 2.0 & DJ killjoy.

NeoN 80s Night. Lawrenceville.

412-687-2555.

DIESEL. Gareth Emery.

South Side. 412-431-8800.

MR. SMALLS THEATER. Centrifuge Thursdays.

At the Funhouse. Millvale.

603-321-0277.

PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. Bobby D Bachata. Downtown.

412-471-2058.

The multimedia intern will produce content for our digital platform at pghcitypaper.com. The right candidate must be capable of working in the field as well as in the office. Necessary skills include: recording and editing audio and video, writing and copy-editing, as well as a working knowledge of social media. Apply to editor Charlie Deitch, cdeitch@pghcitypaper.com.

MUSIC INTERN

FRI 04

The music intern will have a working knowledge of the local music scene and assist the music editor by writing new-release reviews and previews of upcoming shows, as well as artist features. Apply to music editor Margaret Welsh, mwelsh@pghcitypaper.com.

ANDYS WINE BAR. DJ Malls Spins Vinyl.

Downtown. 412-773-8884.

BRILLOBOX. Pandemic: Global Dancehall, Cumbia, Bhangra, Balkan Bass.

Bloomfield. 412-621-4900.

THE FLATS ON CARSON. Pete Butta. South Side.

412-586-7644.

ONE 10 LOUNGE. DJ Goodnight, DJ Rojo.

Downtown. 412-874-4582.

THE R BAR. KAR-E-O-KEE. Dormont. 412-942-0882.

ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance.

South Side. 412-431-2825.

RUGGER’S PUB. 80s Night w/ DJ Connor. South Side.

412-381-1330.

SMILING MOOSE. LKHD, Reason & The Keep It Downs.

South Side. 201-757-6786.

SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. TITLE TOWN Soul & Funk Party.

Rare Soul, Funk & wild R&B 45s feat. DJ Gordy G. & J.Malls.

Lawrenceville. 412-621-4900.

NEWS INTERN The news intern will pitch and write stories for both the print and online editions, as well as assist news reporters with research and fact-checking. Basic writing and reporting experience required.

Please send résumé, cover letter and samples to news editor Rebecca Addison, rnuttall@pghcitypaper.com.

PHOTO INTERN We are looking for a photography intern with an artistic eye who can tell a story through images. Editorial work will include shooting assignments to supplement the paper’s news and arts coverage, both in print and online. Weekend availability is required.

Send a résumé and a link to an online portfolio to art director Lisa Cunningham, lcunning@pghcitypaper.com.

CONTINUES ON PG. 26

NEWS

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CONCERTS, CONTINUED FROM PG. 25

HEAVY ROTATION

SAT 05 CATTIVO. Illusions. w/ Funerals & Arvin Clay. Lawrenceville.

412-687-2157.

DIESEL. DJ CK. South Side.

412-431-8800.

ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance.

South Side. 412-431-2825.

.

INLC .

T S I D N A ER OAK D

BE06 SEMPLE STREET 402-4

THE FLATS ON CARSON. Pete Butta. South Side.

412-586-7644.

“Exodus of Venus”

Elizabeth Cook

TUE 08 THE GOLDMARK. Pete Butta.

Reggae & dancehall. Lawrenceville.

412-688-8820.

“Shimmy Shimmy Ya”

WED 09 SMILING MOOSE. Rock Star Karaoke w/ T-MONEY. South Side. 412-431-4668.

SPOON. Spoon Fed. East Liberty.

412-362-6001.

With over 550 Beers in stock, couuld you go g wrong? how could

Ol’ Dirty Bastard

30 Pack $ 20 49+ TAX 0.4 www.MELLINGERSBEER www.

MELLINGERSBEER.com .com 412.682.4396 @MellingerBeer

“You Ain’t Callin’ the Law”

FRI 04 1LIVE STUDIO. DJ Goodnight: Open Elements. Avalon.

412-424-9254.

Unknown Hinson

SAT 05 1LIVE STUDIO. DJ Goodnight: Open Elements. Avalon.

412-424-9254.

SMILING MOOSE. Asco 1OOk, Common Wealth Family, DJ Goodnight. South Side.

412-424-9254.

“Long Black Veil”

Dale Watson

THU 03 JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Dan Bubien Band w/ Working Breed. North Side.

412-904-3335.

FRI 04 BISTRO 9101. The Blues Orphans.

McCandless. 412-318-4871.

ELWOOD’S PUB. Jack of Diamonds. Rural Ridge.

724-265-1181.

PITTSBURGH WINERY. Jimbo and the Soupbones.

Strip District. 412-566-1000.

OAKS THEATER. Billy Price. Oakmont.

412-828-6322.

JAZZ

www. per pa pghcitym .co

JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Roger Humphries Jam Session. Ballroom. North Side.

412-904-3335.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH. Pitt Jazz Seminar & Concert.

Multiple locations. Complete schedule at www.music.pitt.edu/ jazz-sem. Oakland. 412-624-4141.

VALLOZZI’S PITTSBURGH. Eric Johnson. Downtown.

412-394-3400.

FRI 04 @bnastynash

26

ByronNash/guitarist

@nastynash412

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

ANDORA RESTAURANT FOX CHAPEL. Pianist Harry

Cardillo & vocalist Charlie Sanders.

Fox Chapel. 412-967-1900.

GRILLE ON SEVENTH. Tony Campbell & Howie Alexander.

Downtown. 412-391-1004.

HARD ROCK CAFE. The Old School Band ft. Flo Wilson.

Station Square. 412-567-2804.

ROASTED BARRELHOUSE & EATERY. Roger Barbour Band.

Lawrenceville. 412-904-3470.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH. Pitt Jazz Seminar & Concert.

Multiple locations. Complete schedule at www.music.pitt. edu/jazz-sem. Oakland.

412-624-4141.

FULL LIST ONLINE

THU 03

ALLEGHENY ELKS LODGE #339. Pittsburgh Banjo Club.

Wednesdays. North Side.

412-321-1834.

PARK HOUSE. Shelf Life String Band. North Side.

412-224-2273.

REGGAE THU 03 PIRATA. The Flow Band.

Downtown. 412-323-3000.

CAPRI PIZZA AND BAR. Bombo Claat w/ VYBZ Machine Intl Sound System. East Liberty.

412-362-1250.

COUNTRY FRI 04 THE PARK HOUSE. Molly Alphabet Band and Chet Vincent.

North Side. 412-224-2273.

CLASSICAL FRI 04

BLUES

SAT 05

HAMBONE’S. Calliope Old Time Appalachian Jam. Lawrenceville.

412-681-4318.

FRI 04

HIP HOP/R&B

Molson Canadian & Canadian light

SUN 06

WED 09

SUN 06

stock it, Iff we don’tr iit for you! we’lll orde PORT Pittsburgh’s 1st IM tributor and craft Beer Deisbe and still th st!

like us on Facebook!

These are the songs City Paper editor Charlie Deitch can’t stop listening to:

WESTWOOD GOLF CLUB. Right TurnClyde. West Mifflin.

412-462-9555.

SAT 05

CARNEGIE MUSIC HALL. University of Pittsburgh’s 46th Annual Jazz Concert.

Oakland. 412-624-7259.

CIOPPINO SEAFOOD CHOPHOUSE BAR. Jerry Lucarelli.

Strip District. 412-281-6593.

JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Don Aliquo. album release ft. Mark Perna, Eric Susoeff, Kevin Moore & John Schmidt. Ballroom.

Jessica Lee, Mark Strickland, George Jones & Abby Gross.

Speakeasy/. North Side.

412-904-3335.

THE MONROEVILLE RACQUET CLUB. Jazz Bean Live. Every Saturday, a different band.

Monroeville. 412-728-4155.

RIVERS CASINO. Etta Cox Trio.

North Side. 1-877-558-0777.

TUE 08 BACKSTAGE BAR AT THEATRE SQUARE. Jevon Rushton. Downtown.

412-456-6666.

WED 09

CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, ROCK BAND AND STRING ORCHESTRA. Byham Theater, Downtown. 412-456-6666.

MIKE MILLS’ CONCERTO. Byham Theater, Downtown.

412-456-6666.

SAT 05 RIVER CITY BRASS: AND THE BAND PLAYS ON. Palace Theatre, Greensburg.

724-836-8000.

RIVERS CASINO. Jessica Lee & Friends. North Side.

412-231-7777.

OTHER MUSIC

ACOUSTIC

CATTIVO. Machine Girl, Five Star Hotel, Elle Excess, Tall Timber, Nancy DrOne. Lawrenceville. N/A. www.cattivopgh.com.

SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. DJ Nugget & Evan Meindl, Hank D & Young-D, Pete Butta & Loran Mann, Preslav & Special Guest, Selecta & Throck.

Lawrenceville. 412-726-0061.

THU 03 ELWOOD’S PUB. West Deer Bluegrass Review. Rural Ridge.

724-265-1181.

FRI 04 FRIDAY FAITH CAFE. Beacon Road. Washington.

724-222-1563.

RIVERS CASINO. Juan & Erica. North Side.

1-877-558-0777.

THE SOUTH SIDE BBQ RESTAURANT. Tony Germaine, singer/guitarist. South Side.

412-381-4566.

SAT 05 DOUBLE WIDE GRILL. Mark Shuttleworth. Mars.

724-553-5212.

DOUBLE WIDE GRILL. Flying Blind. North Huntingdon.

724-863-8181.

THU 03

FRI 04 THE FUNHOUSE @ MR. SMALLS. Spencer Allan Patrick, Grandadchilds & Cisco Kid. Millvale. 412-821-4447.

MON 07 HAMBONE’S. Ian Kane. Jazz Standards, showtunes & blues.

Lawrenceville. 412-681-4318.

WED 09 CITY OF ASYLUM @ ALPHABET CITY. Elder Ones. North Side.

412-323-0278.

What to do

PPAID PAI AID AI A D ADVERTORIAL ADVE DVERTO RTORIA RTO RIALL SPONSORED RIA SPON SPON PONSOR SORED SOR ED BY ED BY

IN PITTSBURGH

Nov 2 - 8 WEDNESDAY 2

The Merchant of Venice

REX THEATER South Side.

Over 18 show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.

or 412-561-60000.

Through Nov. 19.

Craig Ferguson: The New Deal Tour

Narcissister

Screeching Weasel UNION PROJECT East Liberty.

30th Anniversary Show Tickets: picttheatre.org

CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD MUSIC HALL Munhall.

All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.

Feeding the Dragon LESTER HAMBURG STUDIO South Side. 724-836-8000.

Tickets: citytheatrecompany. org. Through Nov. 20.

Tegan and Sara STAGE AE North Side.

Tickets: ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000. Doors open at 7p.m.

FRIDAY 45

SUNDAY 6

ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM North Side. 412-237-8300.

Tickets: warhol.org. 8p.m.

Capitol Steps

BYHAM THEATER Downtown.

412-456-6666.

Tickets: trustarts.org. 4p.m.

Wings & Wildlife Opening Soirée & Benefit Auction

MONDAY 7

NATIONAL AVIARY North Side.

Over 21 event.

Tickets: aviary.org/artshow.

6p.m.

THURSDAY 3 Highly Suspect

50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants

REX THEATER South Side.

412-381-6811.

All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.

CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD MUSIC HALL Munhall.

All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 9p.m.

NEWS

Downttown Downtown.

Down wn. 412-456-6666.

4122-456-6666 41 Tickets: pittsburghopera.org/ salome. Through Nov. 13.

TEGAN AND SARA STAGE AE NOV 5

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MUSIC

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Sorority Noise

SATURDAY 5

Greensburg. 724-836-8000.

Tickets: thepalacetheatre.org.

7:30p.m.

Byron Nash & PlanB THE FUNHOUSE AT MR. SMALLS Millvale.

Tickets: ticketfly.com/event/ 1258911. 8p.m.

Metro Station CATTIVO Lawrenceville.

412-687-2157. All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 6p.m.

And The Band Plays On! THE PALACE THEATRE

ARTS

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EVENTS

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TASTE

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CATTIVO Lawrenceville.

412-687-2157. All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 7p.m.

Kim Russo CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD MUSIC HALL Munhall.

All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.

Salome BENEDUM CENTER

SCREEN

+

SPORTS

+

TUESDAY 8 Stick Figure

REX THEATER South Side.

412-381-6811. All ages show.

Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.

CLASSIFIEDS

27

rs Council of Three Rive ter American Indian Cen ation Programs Early Childhood Educ

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

EDUCATI e e r F n o i t i u T

Head Start ! l o o h c s e r P & colar 3-5 Años

La Matricula Libre Prees

For Children 3-5 years oldED

OVID TRANSPORTATION PR ility) (subject to availab

TRIPS LD IE F & S K C A N S , MEALS ARGE H C O N T A D E ID V O PR , le, Knoxville Brookline, Dorseyvil rbrook.

Hazelwood and Ove available Special services are sabilities. for children with di

n For more informatio 1-3290 please call 412-53

to all families and Enrollment is open of race, color, children regardless age or disability. national origin, sex,

28

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

C H AT H A M UNIVERSITY Chatham University is home to nearly 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students. Founded in 1869, Chatham is comprised of two campuses. The Shadyside Campus includes Chatham Eastside, home to our health sciences programs, and Woodland Road—a leafy sanctuary minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. Located just north of Pittsburgh in Richland, PA, our 388-acre Eden Hall Campus is the world’s first academic community built from the ground up for the study and practice of sustainability.

Chatham’s academic excellence is centered within the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment, the School of Health Sciences, and the School

It’s not just Earth Day. It’s every day.

ON 2016

In 1962, Chatham University alumna Rachel Carson ’29 wrote Silent Spring and ignited the modern environmental movement.

Fifty years later, Chatham broke ground on the world’s ďŹ rst academic community built from the ground up for the study of sustainability—the 388-acre, net-zero Eden Hall Campus. Today, students in our Falk School of Sustainability use the campus to address environmental and societal challenges in energy, water, food, and business. Learn more at falk.chatham.edu.

of Arts, Science, and Business. Undergraduate students can choose from over 40 majors, and through the Integrated Degree Program, qualified students can earn both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in as few as five years.  Chatham is the alma mater of environmental icon Rachel Carson ’29, and is a recognized leader in sustainability and environmental education: We’re among the 21 colleges and universities that have received a perfect score (99) in the 2016 Princeton Review Green College Honor Roll, and ranked in the top five internationally for sustainability achievements in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS).

EDEN HALL CAMPUS

CHATHAM UNIVERSITY Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 WWW CHATHAM EDU s

A living and learning laboratory that includes: • • • • •

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY

Research labs for water and energy monitoring An aquaculture center Onsite storm- and wastewater management systems Solar and geothermal energy sources Extensive sustainable agricultural activities

FALK SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABILITY & ENVIRONMENT

SMART MOVE.

Preparing sustainability professionals through: • • • • • •

Bachelor of Sustainability Master of Arts in Food Studies (MAFS) Master of Sustainability (MSUS) MSUS+MBA dual degree MAFS+MBA dual degree EARTH University

CCAC students save $24,000 over public and $57,000 over private AMJJCECQĂ??LBĂ?SLGTCPQGRGCQĂ?@WĂ?QNCLBGLEĂ?RFCGPĂ?Ă?Ă?PQRĂ?RUMĂ?WC?PQĂ??RĂ?!! !

!J?QQCQĂ?@CEGLĂ?(?LS?PWĂ? Ă??LBĂ?(?LS?PWĂ?

ENROLL TODAY 412.237.3100 or admissions@ccac.edu OUR GOAL IS YOUR SUCCESS.

NEWS

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MUSIC

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ccac.edu

ARTS

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EVENTS

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[DAILY RUNDOWN]

A newsletter you’ll actually want to read.

SIGN UP AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM 30

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

DIVERSITY IN COMICS CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE

[DANCE]

CLUB ‘HOUSE’ It was the early 2000s when fate finally brought choreographer Staycee Pearl and DJ and sound engineer Herman “Soy Sos” Pearl together in Pittsburgh.

But before that, the two had frequented the same New York City nightclub, The Shelter (a.k.a. Club Shelter), in the 1990s — she as a clubber and he as a DJ and house-music producer. Their shared love of house music was a siren call that would eventually lead the now-married couple to each other.

“We had this parallel experience in New York,” says Staycee Pearl. “I was studying dance and performing while he was making music.”

House music (a genre of electronic dance music created by club DJs and producers) and the ’90s club scene in NYC now provide the inspiration for and soundtrack to FLOWERZ, an evening-length dance work choreographed by Staycee Pearl that will be performed by the STAYCEE PEARL dance project (SPdp) on Nov. 10 and 11 at East Liberty’s historic Ace Hotel.

The title of the work comes from a 1998 song of the same name by American record producer Armand Van Helden of which the couple is particularly fond. The memories and feelings the song rekindles in them are essentially what fuels the dance work: a desire to recapture and relate to audiences what was special about house music and that ’90s club scene.

“We wanted to give the audience the visceral experience of why we went to the clubs,” says Staycee Pearl.

The 50-minute work takes place in the hotel’s converted gymnasium. (The building is a former YMCA.) The cast of seven includes six new local dancers and guest dancer Gierre Godley, artistic director of NYC’s Project 44. They will perform a mix of styles including contemporary, hip hop and social dances that will, says Staycee Pearl, give audiences a bird’s-eye view of a club experience as well as zero in on the interpersonal relationships developed between characters in the work.

For Herman Pearl’s part, he will, as he did in the ’90s, provide a DJ mix of classic and new house tunes, including several of his own compositions.

Says Staycee Pearl: “FLOWERZ is joyous. It’s big and loud and like a party.”

INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

STAYCEE PEARL dance project (SPdp) performs FLOWERZ 7 p.m., Thu., Nov. 10, and 8 p.m., Fri., Nov., 11. Ace Hotel, 120 S. Whitfield St., East Liberty. $7-15. www.artful.ly/store/events/10222 NEWS

+

Ronnell Kitt in STAYCEE PEARL dance project’s FLOWERZ {PHOTO COURTESY OF KITOKO CHARGOIS}

{BY STEVE SUCATO}

{CP PHOTO BY SARAH HUNY YOUNG}

Poet — and comics writer — Yona Harvey

[COMICS]

WRITING WAKANDA {BY WAYNE WISE}

T

Panther series, invited Harvey and writer Roxanne Gay to contribute stories to a new Marvel series called World of Wakanda, which debuts Nov. 9.

Harvey had met Coates — author of 2015’s best-selling, National Book Awardwinning Between the World and Me — when they were students at Howard University. “We were both involved in [national writing program] WritersCorps,” she recalls. “He was so smart. I felt like I was trying to keep up with him.”

Harvey tells the story of Zenzi, a character introduced by Coates this year. She is a revolutionary attempting to overthrow the rule of the Black Panther, king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Harvey wanted to find the voice of the character. “No one thinks they are a villain,” she says. “Zenzi is the rebel hero of her own

HE FIRST BLACK comic-book character to star in his own series was Lobo, in a Western title published by Dell in 1965. Lobo was canceled after only two issues due to poor sales; the main reason was that newsstands across America, mostly in the South, refused to carry or display a book with a black man on the cover. When the Marvel superhero The Black Panther debuted less than a year later, in Fantastic Four #52, he did so wearing a mask that covered his entire face to avoid a similar fate.

Since then, things have gotten better.

But diversity in comics, in terms of characters and creators, continues to be an issue.

This month, local poet and educator Yona Harvey adds her voice to the history of the Black Panther. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of the current Black

CONTINUES ON PG. 32

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WRITING WAKANDA, CONTINUED FROM PG. 31

Soulful Sounds of Christmas FEATURING WILL DOWNING + NAJEE

Presented by Hill House Association

BYHAM THEATER | NOVEMBER 30th | 8 PM TICKETS: TRUSTARTS.ORG OR 412.456.6666 WORLD PREMIERE

[ OCTOBER 22 – NOVEMBER 20, 2016 ]

FEEDING THE DRAGON Maria Mileaf Sharon Washington WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY

DIRECTED BY

“CHARMING, FUNNY, AND MOVING...

FEEDING THE DRAGON GETS EVERYTHING RIGHT.” PITTSBURGH IN THE ROUND

BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY! 412.431.CITY (2489) CityTheatreCompany.org SOUTH SIDE Use code CITYCITY to save $5 on single tickets

A STORY OF LIFE, LITERATURE, AND A MAGICAL PLACE TO CALL HOME. 32

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

A panel from The World of Wakanda, with art by Afua Richardson

story. She believes her king is disconnected from Wakandans.”

Though Harvey has read comics casually for years, this is the first time she has written one. The process of working with a corporate giant like Marvel was a new experience. “They require a pretty detailed outline of the story before I even begin the script,” she says. “I’m a little intimidated by the history of Marvel. I don’t know all of the specifics of continuity. My editor, Wil Moss, was invaluable for that. It’s my story, but it has to fit what Ta-Nehisi has already written, as well as Marvel’s established history.”

Harvey is an assistant professor in the writing program at the University of Pittsburgh. Her 2013 poetry collection Hemming the Water won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award from Claremont Graduate University, and was a finalist for the Hurston-Wright Award. Her work has also appeared in numerous anthologies.

“I think my poetry skills helped with the voice and characterization,” she says when asked about the differences between writing poetry and writing a comics script.

The Zenzi story is only 10 pages, so concision is necessary. She feels that the page-topage and line-to-line transitions are very similar to what she does with the forms of poetry she writes. Finding the “voice and the music and the sound,” were important to her. Comics are a different language, but the beats and rhythms felt familiar.

Another new experience for Harvey was that of working with a collaborator. Her finished script was sent to artist Afua Richardson, a woman Harvey has never met. Richardson drew the Image Comics series Genius and has been announced as the artist for the Marvel reboot of Blade. Harvey and Richardson communicated through email and phone calls.

In a comic-book collaboration, the writer details all of the information necessary for the artist to draw the story while leaving room for artistic interpretation. Letting go of preconceived notions of what the story will look like when it’s done can be difficult. As of this writing, Harvey had not seen any of the finished art.

Six years after Lobo appeared, another black character starred in his own comic. Luke Cage, featured recently in a Marvel Netflix series, debuted in 1972 without a mask of any kind to obscure his features. His series would run for 10 years. Since then, many black characters, the Black Panther among them, have been successful. Diversity in general is being addressed in the comic-book industry, in terms of representation of a wider variety of characters as well as in the artistic voices that create them. Nonetheless, Yona Harvey and Roxanne Gay are the first African-American women to ever write for Marvel. Zenzi might be the freedom fighter, but it is the work of Harvey and Gay that could prove the most revolutionary.

“I THINK MY POETRY SKILLS HELPED WITH THE VOICE AND CHARACTERIZATION.”

I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM

[BOOKS]

POISON PEN

Lust. Obsession.

And the most shocking moment in opera history.

Paula Reed Ward

{BY IAN FLANAGAN} Paula Reed Ward knew she would write her first book the moment she read the affidavit of probable cause in the death of Dr. Autumn Klein. At 11 pages, it was the lengthiest and most detailed the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter had ever seen at the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

“I actually said it out loud to our police reporter Liz Navratil, ‘This would be a great book,’” says Ward, who has covered more than a dozen capital murder trials. The progression of the case only solidified the book’s potential for her.

Death by Cyanide: The Murder of Autumn Klein (ForeEdge), an account of one of Pittsburgh’s more lurid murder trials in recent years, covers the relationship between Klein and her husband, Dr. Robert Ferrante, Klein’s mysterious death and Ferrante’s trial and conviction.

Klein was a 41-year-old neurologist specializing in seizure disorders in pregnant women. She was chief of women’s neurology at UPMC. Ferrante, 64, had joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty after more than 20 years at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Klein collapsed on April 17, 2013, and died three days later. Prosecutors said Ferrante carried out his plan to poison his wife in response to her pressuring him to have a second child, and possibly because he feared she was cheating on him or wanted a divorce.

“The circumstances of the case were … fascinating in that they were two highly educated people with outstanding careers and a great life station, and yet their entire relationship fell apart,” says Ward.

“It was also intriguing to me that it was a poisoning” — her first homicide trial for a poisoning in 20 years as a reporter.

Ward has been with the Post-Gazette since 2003. In the summer following the 2014 trial, she took two months off to write the book, and her manuscript was ready by November 2015.

The transition to writing a book wasn’t significant for Ward. “The reporting process was the exact same. … The Post-Gazette allows me to write narrative pretty often.

The only difference in this instance was being able to sustain that for 230 pages versus 30 inches,” she says. The book was released on Oct. 4. Promotional appearances are scheduled in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Massachusetts.

NOVEMBER 5, 8, 11, 13 Ǧ Ǧ ȖȜȝ Ǧ ȟȜȝǂȟȠȡǂȡȡȡȡ Ǧ ǀ Ǡ UNDERSTAND EVERY WORD! Sung in English with texts projected above the stage.

INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PAULA REED WARD 7 p.m. Wed., Nov. 2 (Brentwood Public Library, Brentwood; 412-882-5694); 2 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5 (Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Cranberry; 724-779-7985).

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the Living Dead N’at, delivers. Producing artistic director Tami Dixon irreverently adapted George Romero’s 1968 classic, but it’s the N’at that really kills.

If you don’t know the drill, Midnight Radio is a twisted take on 1940s-era radio dramas, with “sponsors,” games, and more packed into an hour. The narrative sometimes follows a movie that is screened minus its soundtrack, which is replaced with live actors following a new script. A small cast provides all the voices and sound effects for multitudinous characters.

[PLAY REVIEWS]

BOOKED SOLID {BY TED HOOVER} THERE’S SOMETHING about Sharon Washington that’s so warm and gracious you’d happily, blissfully spend hours wrapped up in her gorgeous presence. Washington’s in town to premiere Feeding the Dragon, an autobiographical onewoman show she wrote and is starring in, and it’s just about the loveliest 90 minutes currently available on local stages.

The play chronicles her life growing up in a library … yes, “in.” Washington’s childhood was spent in the caretaker’s apartment attached to the St. Agnes branch of the New York Public Library on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She lived there with her father — the custodian whose duties included, every day, stoking the coal furnace (a.k.a. “feeding the dragon”) — her loving if somewhat astringent mother and her doting grandma.

Washington is an actress of extensive and impressive stage and screen credits, and her performance in Feeding the Dragon is a mesmerizing example of how immediately a superb actor can form a riveting bond with an audience.

Director Maria Mileaf molds and shapes that performance forcefully but imperceptibly; the best direction is the kind the audience never sees.

FEEDING THE DRAGON continues through Nov. 20. City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side. $15-37.50.

412-431-2489 or www.citytheatrecompany.org

Tony Ferrieri’s set, all polished wood and well-worn books, is as sumptuous as Washington’s performance and I want to make an especial mention of Ann G. Wrightson’s lighting design; she,

MIDNIGHT RADIO: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD N’AT continues through Nov. 12. Bricolage Production Co., 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $15-35. 412-471-0999 or bricolagepgh.org

The story of Night of the Living Dead can be summed up with the immortal line from the original flick: “They’re dead. They’re all messed up.” Sheila McKenna voices most of the female characters, with an occasional assist {PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTI JAN HOOVER} Speaking volumes: Sharon Washington in Feeding the Dragon at City Theatre by music director Deana Muro, who’s on stage playing the keyboards. McKalong with Ferrieri, have created five It never does, nor do I think that was enna nails the non-bright-bulb “heroupstage light panels which both sub- Washington’s aim. It’s more a meditation ine,” Barbra, catatonic even before the tlety and brilliantly reinforce the play’s on a particular time in her life and some zombie apocalypse. emotional beats. of the people involved … and you really On the XY team, Wali Jamal portrays Feeding the Dragon is Washington’s don’t want to be anywhere else. the resourceful Ben (first-ever Africandebut as a playwright and she does a American hero in a horror film), with INF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M great job conjuring well-defined characsome wry observations about his ters in elegantly simple language; coufellow refuge-seekers, a generR pled with her spot-on portrayal of them, ally clueless bunch. And all VIEW OU OF OW this work is a gallery exhibition of some white. Jason McCune douSLIDESHOF THE T NIGH DEAD of the fascinating people she’s met in bles as the hapless Harry and G LIVIN LINE her life. the hopeless sheriff. Sean {BY MICHELLE PILECKI} N’AT ON . w at ww aper But just so you know: Nothing really Sears shines in the commerp ty pghci m .co happens in Feeding the Dragon. This isn’t CHEESY, CAMP, funny and fast. cials. Kudos also to the proa show about plot or incident, and if you Midnight Radio is a brilliant conduction/design team: Andrew don’t realize that, you can waste a lot cept, and Bricolage Production Co.’s J. Paul, projection; Hank Bullingof time waiting for the play to “begin.” current edition, Midnight Radio: Night of ton, set; Kristin Helfrich, lighting; sound

NOW OPEN

UNDEAD AGAIN

A Family’s Collection Pittsburgh’s Treasures

FREE ADMISSION

More than 80 paintings, sculptures and decorative objects collected by Henry Clay Frick and Helen Clay Frick

THEFRICKPITTSBURGH.ORG | 412-371-0600 Image of Helen Clay Frick courtesy The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

engineer Brendan Kepple; and stage manager Wendy Vandergrift.

This production also features musical guests Cello Fury, an all-cello trio that gets a couple of star turns as well as accompanying the action. And new for this show, the ever-interactive Bricolage has opened the Zombie Porch, giving six members of audience (chosen before the show) to act the undead on cue.

Costumes help.

N’at’s “commercials” (also written by director Dixon) continue the Halloween/ horror theme in tasteless, knee-slapping humor. Can I say that I loved what she did with Mr. Clean?

INFO@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M

BAR SINISTER

{PHOTO COURTESY OF THROUGHLINE THEATRE/RICK MOORE}

Left to right: Bob Rak, Malic Williams and Ursula Asmus Sears in Yankee Tavern, at Throughline Theatre

{BY MICHELLE PILECKI} ’TIS THE SEASON to be scared. And so T h r o u g h l i n e T h e at r e C o. , ke e p i n g with this season’s theme of “Trust the Government?,” presents Steven Dietz’ conspiracy-fueled thriller Yankee Tavern, from 2007.

Since I hate spoilers, I won’t discuss the plot except to say that it involves four differently unlikable people in a derelict

bar who find themselves questioning reality in various and ongoing 9/11

conspiracy theories. Seemingly a comedy when it begins, Yankee gets more and more chilling.

Conspiracy theories can be lots of fun if you like that sort of thing. I remember spending hours in 1969 following the “clues” that Paul McCartney was dead.

My fellow truth-seekers even had a turntable that could play “Revolution 9” back-

YANKEE TAVERN continues through Sat., Nov. 5.

Throughline Theatre Co. at Grey Box Theatre, 3595 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $15-20. 888-718-4253 or www.throughlinetheatre.org

ward. We scared ourselves silly. Didn’t believe it, of course. It was just another form of entertainment that requires suspension of logic — like going to a “haunted house” that you know isn’t real, but you get spooked anyway.

Set in 2005, Yankee starts with a barrage of outlandish conspiracy theories from oldtimer Ray: Bob Rak as a credible blowhard with a tender side. The shrewish Janet, taken through some serious changes by Ursula Asmus Sears, disparages Ray — and also Adam, her fiancé.

As the latter, Malic Williams is an odd choice for the heir to an Irish bar, but convincing as a scholar of international studies who warns of the dangers of 9/11 urban legends. Quite a complex character. And then there’s the man of mystery, Palmer; John Siciliano starts with a touch of whimsy, then gradually ratchets up the menace. Wow, you’re almost ready to sign up with the Truthers after his disquisition.

Directed by Vance Weatherly with assistant director Sean Sears, Yankee Tavern is tight and absorbing, with jolts and plot twists and some serious contemplation about the risks of intimacy.

The “conspiracies” are nonsense, but let yourself be scared.

I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM

FREE THURSDAY NIGHTS IN NOVEMBER 3–8 p.m.

Make it a date night, or bring the family after work to enjoy the museums' collections and special exhibitions like Women of Vision and Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium.

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Normal parking fees apply. Parking is $6 per car after 3 p.m.

Admission to paid Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History programs is not included.

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FOR THE WEEK OF

11.03-11.10.16 Full events listed online at www.pghcitypaper.com

{PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID BACHMAN PHOTOGRAPHY}

“Playing a naughty person as opposed to a well-behaved innocent always makes for an interesting role,” says Patricia Racette. The renowned soprano has plenty to work with as the title character in Salome. Strauss’ 1905 opera, based on Oscar Wilde’s play about the teenage New Testament princess who demands the head of John the Baptist on a platter, is both erotic and bloody enough to have been censored in London and banned in Vienna. Salome longs for ascetic preacher John (“Jochanaan”) and is lusted after by her own stepfather, Herod.

In 2012, the U.K.’s The Telegraph called Salome “a psychosexual drama full of excruciatingly beautiful music.”

Racette (pictured), a Met regular, first played Salome last year, at Opera San Antonio. “This piece is a notoriously monstrous challenge,” she says by phone.

“It’s unrelenting in so many ways, both physically and vocally.” Not least daunting is the Dance of the Seven Veils, a climactic 10-minute instrumental that Strauss (rather wickedly himself) wrote as a movement solo for his lead soprano, sans real stage directions. Racette, who has no formal dance background, worked with Attack Theatre’s Michele de la Reza to craft a dance that both deepens the characterization and advances the story. “The choreography must feel like it is almost spontaneously emerging from her body,” says de la Reza.

And while the dance ends in brief nudity (a decided rarity in grand opera), it’s no mere striptease. “It’s much more about her discovering her own power of sexuality,” says de la Reza. Racette, who also did the full Salome in the San Antonio production, says that when the dance ends, she doesn’t feel exposed: “I feel like Salome.”

Salome also stars tenor Robert Brubaker as Herod and multiple Grammy-winning baritone Nmon Ford as Jochanaan. The intermissionless one-act will be performed in the original German, with English supertitles projected above the stage.

{ART BY SAM THORP}

^ Fri., Nov. 4: Unblurred

thursday 11.03 STAGE PICT Classic Theatre presents a reimagining of The Merchant of Venice at the Union Project, setting Shakespeare’s drama in 1930s America. Directed by PICT’s Alan Stanford, the play stars local favorite James FitzGerald as the moneylender Shylock, with Gayle Pazerski as Portia and Martin Giles as Antonio. The first performance is tonight. Ian Flanagan 8 p.m. Continues through Nov. 19. 801 N. Negley Ave., Highland Park. $15-50. 412-561-6000 or www.picttheatre.org

friday 11.04

BY BILL O’DRISCOLL

8 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5. Also Nov. 8, 11 and 13. Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $10.75-159.75. 412-281-0912 or www.pittsburghopera.org

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

VLQRAQ Could even a visionary like Gene Roddenberry have foreseen the Klingon Public Art Walking Tour? But then, the Star Trek creator couldn’t have known how Pittsburgh’s Office of Public Art might play off this weekend’s Wizard World pop-culture conference (featuring such Trek heavyweights as Nichelle Nichols and Jonathan Frakes). The OPA commissioned Andrew Shull-Miller, a Klingon linguist (really!) from Virginia who has translated Shakespeare’s sonnets and more into Klingon. Miller and Marc Okrand, creator of

the Klingon language, crafted translations, including new words like vlqraq (“art”), for these 90-minute tours Downtown and on the North Side, in both English and Klingon. Bill O’Driscoll Noon (Downtown) and 4 p.m.

(North Side). Also noon and 4 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5. $10-20.

Register at 412-391-2060 x237 or www.publicartpittsburgh.org

ART Unblurred, the Penn Avenue gallery crawl, offers its usual eclectic mix, including: new demolition-derby art (with actual car parts) at Most Wanted Fine Art, by gallery co-founder Jason Sauer, plus art by Sam Thorp; The Craft, featuring work highlighting the connection between nature and the occult, at Local 412; and Toil & Trouble, with screenprints, woodwork and more from James and Laura Gyre, at Artisan. At BOOM Concepts, Grits Capone celebrates the life of late hip-hop executive A$AP Yams in digital art. And Pittsburgh Glass Center offers live glassblowing demos and ongoing exhibition Dissolution. BO 6-11 p.m. 4800-5400 Penn Ave., Bloomfield/ Garfield/Friendship. Free. www.pennavenue.org ^ Sat., Nov. 5: John McIntire Dangerously Live Comedy/Talk Show

M C KEESPORT LITTLE THEATER PRESENTS...

Tempers get short, arguments grow heated, and twelve jurors become...

Twelve Angry Men A drama by Reginald Rose

NOV. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 2016 Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.

TICKETS ARE $15.00, $10.00 FOR STUDENTS - GROUP RATES AVAILABLE. HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE.

1614 COURSIN STREET • McKEESPORT • (412) 673-1100 FOR RESERVATIONS VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.MCKEESPORTLITTLETHEATER.COM

^ Thu., Nov. 03: The Merchant of Venice

THEATER Prime Stage Theatre begins its season with To Kill a Mockingbird. Pittsburgh native Brian Ceponis, who recently returned from Hollywood, takes on the role of Atticus Finch in Christopher Sergel’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic novel of race and justice in the South. Tonight’s the first performance at the New Hazlett Theater; the Sat., Nov. 5, show is followed by Prime Stage’s 20th-anniversary celebration. And the Nov. 12 performance boasts a VIP reception with actress Mary Badham, who played Scout in the famed 1962 film adaption. IF 8 p.m.

Continues through Nov. 13. 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $10-25.

412-320-4610 or www.primestage.com

saturday 11.05 ART Two veteran local artists will see their work shine side by side at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Kathleen Mulcahy is widely known for her glass work, and for co-founding Pittsburgh Glass Center.

Syl Damianos, though perhaps best known as an architect, has also made a name with works in metal, canvas, concrete and wood. Opposites Attract: Kathleen Mulcahy and Sylvester Damianos opens with tonight’s reception. BO 6:30-8 p.m. ($15). 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. 724-837-1500 or www.thewestmoreland.org

COMEDY Wait, there’s a presidential election?

Why didn’t someone say something?

Anyway, it’s all but upon us now, and whether your thoughts are {ART BY KATHLEEN MULCAHY} “what’s next?” or “thank God,” ^ Sat., Nov. 05: Opposites Attract: the Almost Over edition of the Kathleen Mulcahy and Sylvester Damianos John McIntire Dangerously Live Comedy/Talk Show has something for you.

At the Parkway Theater, join comedian McIntire and guests including comedian Gab Bonesso; former state House majority leader Mike Veon; and Doug Saltzman, a former staffer for the late U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, to discuss the nuttiest election in modern U.S. history. BO 8 p.m. 644 Broadway Ave., McKees Rocks. $15 (cash bar). www.facebook.com (“McIntire dangerously live”) CONTINUES ON PG. 38

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SHORT LIST, CONTINUED FROM PG. 37

^ Sun., Nov. 06: Houdini 100

sunday 11.06 MAGIC Mayor Bill Peduto has officially designated Nov. 6, 2016, as Lee Terbosic Day, and for good reason. Terbosic, a nationally touring Pittsburgh-native comedian and magician, will perform a straightjacket escape whilst suspended upside-down on the same day and in the same Downtown location that Houdini executed the stunt a century ago. At 10:30 a.m., the streets will close to traffic for the main event of Houdini 100, staged at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Wood. Tickets are available for an after-party to watch the Steelers game with Terbosic, at Ten Penny.

IF Noon. Downtown. Free. www.houdini100.com

DRAG Drag has become nearly ubiquitous in recent years, on concert stages alike as in clubs.

But one top date on the local drag calendar is also the longestrunning. Tonight, Kierra Darshell presents the 24th annual Miss Tri-State All-Star Pageant. The contest, is hosted at the Cabaret at Theater Square by Jennifer Warner (pictured), who herself won the crown 20 years ago. ^ Sun., Nov. 06: Miss Tri-State All-Star Pageant Earlier today, pre-game with Darshell’s Sunday Drag Brunch, held from noon-2 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of each month, at James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy. BO Pageant: 7:30 p.m. 655 Penn Ave., Downtown. $25-30. www.kierradarshell.com

monday 11.07 WORDS The story of Katherine Wright was defined by her liberating yet devastating separation from her possessive brother Orville in order to marry Kansas City Star editor Henry J. Haskell, at age 52. Their love affair is imagined in the novel Maiden Flight (Chicago Review Press), by Haskell’s grandson Harry Haskell, and

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

EVERYONE IS A CRITIC EVENT: Doctors Without Borders’ Forced From Home exhibition, Schenley Plaza, Oakland CRITIC: Patricia from Greenfield WHEN: Fri.,

Centron, 39, a physician

Oct. 28

It is a simulation of what refugees go through. It’s very descriptive. I mean just how hard it is for them to travel from one place to the other, how they just leave their countries, they don’t know where they’re going, they don’t know what’s going to happen, the amount of people that are going through this right now — everything was incredible. It surprised me how well organized this event is, how they really make you feel that you are in the field like where they are. I thought she [the DWB guide] was great; I liked the fact that she worked there, so she’s somebody that can answer any question we may have. I thought the boat was the best interactive part. It was very uncomfortable. It actually made me feel that I was on the water and I could imagine getting seasick and everything, so it was the most real one.

B Y IAN F L ANAGAN

based on letters written by the “Wright sister.” Haskell was an editor at the same paper as his grandfather and at Yale University Press. The author, whose books include three works of nonfiction, visits Penguin Bookshop tonight for a signing and talk. IF 6 p.m. 417 Beaver St., Sewickley. Free. 412-741-3838

tuesday 11.08 WORDS There’s a local angle to the story of labor activist Fannie Sellins, but not a happy one. Born in 1872, in Cincinnati, Sellins became nationally known for confronting powerful interests on sweatshops, child labor and union-busting, and helped create Ladies’ Local 67 of the United Garment Workers of America. She died in 1919, of a crushed skull suffered at the hands of sheriff’s deputies in Natrona during a United Mine Workers of America strike. Sellins’ story of courage and tragedy is told in Fannie Never Flinched (Abrams Books for Young Readers), a new book by Mary Cronk Farrell. This week, the award-winning Spokane, Wash.-based children’s and youngadult author visits local schools and for two public events, including tonight’s talk and signing at the Carnegie Library of PittsburghAllegheny, hosted by Phenomenal Women of Pittsburgh. BO 6:30 p.m.

(1230 Federal St., North Side). Also 1 p.m. Sat., Nov. 12 (Allegheny-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum, 224 E. Seventh Ave., Tarentum). Both events are free. www.marycronkfarrell.net

WORDS City of Asylum’s Alphabet City venue rrell : Mary Cronk Fa hosts acclaimed writers Mary Gaitskill ^ Tue., Nov. 08 and Helena María Viramontes as part of the Aster(ix) Reading Series. Gaitskill’s stories have appeared in Esquire, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine and The O. Henry Prize Stories. Her novel The Mare was released last year. Viramontes, now working on her third novel, became an important voice in Latino fiction with novels such as 1995’s Under the Feet of Jesus. She is a professor of creative writing at Cornell University and has received the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature. IF 8 p.m. 40 W. North Ave., North Side. Free. 412-323-0278 or www.alphabetcity.org

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ON

THE WING LIST WAS DIZZYING, WITH SAUCES AND RUBS ABOUNDING

TEAM TEA {BY BILL O’DRISCOLL} “Believe it or not, there’s a lot of tea fanatics,” says Margaret Harris. “Drinking tea for them is like a hobby.” On Nov. 11, Harris and her cohorts in the year-old Pittsburgh Tea Association will learn just how many such enthusiasts Pittsburgh harbors with the inaugural Pittsburgh Tea Festival.

The fest, likely the first of its kind here, follows March’s Winter Tea Festival, which drew tea fans to PTA members’ venues around town — places like Arnold’s Tea, in the North Side; Gryphon’s Tea, in Lawrenceville; and Harris’s own Margaret’s Fine Imports, in Squirrel Hill.

The festival, by contrast, is a one-stop, day-long event offering more than just tastings (though there’ll be plenty of those, plus free scones from 2-4 p.m.).

A Tea Fashion show will include everything from costuming — from Victorian and steampunk to traditional Chinese — and a Downton Abbey photo booth (costumes provided) to original, tea-inspired couture. A teacup competition welcomes entries from heirlooms to souvenirs, with visitor voting on categories including most beautiful and funniest. There will also be an open-submission exhibit of unusual teapots; herbalists; tea-infused cocktails; and talks including “Mindful Tea Drinking,” by local psychologist and educator Richard King.

While we talk, by phone, Harris herself is sipping a hot cup of Barry’s Irish Breakfast Tea. And as an entrepreneur and the main festival organizer, she’s boosterish about the local tea scene: “Pittsburgh has more tea shops than Los Angeles,” says Harris. She anticipates the festival — inspired by tea festivals in cities including Toronto and San Francisco — drawing 500 to 1,000 attendees.

But to her, tea is more than a pastime.

It’s a whole culture: “It’s not just about drinking, it’s about the atmosphere.”

The Pittsburgh Tea Festival runs noon-8 p.m. Fri., Nov. 11, at the Phipps Garden Center, 1059 Shady Ave., in Shadyside (behind Pittsburgh Center for the Arts’ big yellow mansion). Tickets are $10 through Nov. 9, $15 afterward, and free for military veterans and children 12 and under.

DRISCOLL@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

412-422-1606 or www.pittsburghtea association.com

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{CP PHOTO BY JOHN COLOMBO}

The Fresh Burgher with mozzarella, tomato, balsamic vinegar and basil

MEAT HAPPY {BY ANGELIQUE BAMBERG + JASON ROTH}

A

MID THE gourmet-burger revolution of the past few years, it’s taken .us some time to get to Bridgeville for Bubba’s Gourmet Burghers & Beer.

Rightly or wrongly, we tend to assume that restaurants started by zany morning-show radio personalities aren’t likely to offer much beyond pub grub and some fleeting contact with fame.

Boy, did we underestimate Bubba. Turns out that Marc Snider, as he is formally known, comes from a family of butchers, so when burger expectations soared beyond the fundamental question of sirloin-orchuck into the stratosphere of proprietary blends of three or more cuts of beef, this burger chef was in his comfort zone.

Not only that, but Snider has been involved in service-industry ventures before, so Bubba’s has the basics in place. The

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

strip-mall storefront has a sports bar’s worth of flatscreen TVs, but lighting suitable for all-ages dining. We ate alongside a Little League team, a lone gentleman, another family and a table of young men

BUBBA’S GOURMET BURGHERS AND BEER 3109 Washington Pike, Bridgeville. 412-564-5638 HOURS: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.11 p.m.; Sat. noon-11 p.m.; Sun. noon-9 p.m.

PRICES: $6-15 LIQUOR: Full bar

CP APPROVED getting their wings on. Surprisingly, for a Wednesday night with no game on TV, we had to wait for a table; as the broad clientele attested, there’s plenty of demand for burgers in Bridgeville.

The menu doesn’t beat around the beef, either. There are starters, salads and sandwiches, and that’s it. The dozen burgers can all be had with grilled chicken instead, plus there are a few non-burger sandwiches like pulled pork and grilled portobello. In short, the kitchen stays focused, but there is, as they say, something for everyone.

The wing list was dizzying, with sauces and rubs abounding, so we kept it simple with Buffalo. The wings were good-sized, crisp and juicy; a solid appetizer option.

Onion rings were extraordinary, a far cry from the onion-flavored batter rings that most recipes produce. Bubba’s onions themselves were thick slices with a tender-crisp texture that would have been enjoyable on their own, but were extra-tasty wrapped in crunchy, flavorful Yuengling-based batter that was a touch heartier than tempura but

not heavy. The accompanying horseradish mayo was also great.

Chili is another item that restaurants struggle to differentiate. Like pizza, it’s usually tasty, but rarely memorable. We’ll remember Bubba’s, though. This was a butcher’s chili, with beef that was boldly flavored and fine-grained, neither tough or greasy in the least. The big kidney beans, too, had a perfect firm yet creamy texture. Holding these components together, the broth at first taste was unusually savory and well balanced, but developed a building heat that seemed to derive not from the cayenne canister or the Tabasco bottle, but from within the range of spices themselves. Why, oh why, does Bubba’s not serve a burger with this wonderful chili on top?

One burger we did try, the Bubba burger, consisted of a signature-blend patty topped with bacon, cheddar, extra cheddar (fried) and emphatically no veggies. The beef blend was good, but it had been cooked beyond our requested medium rare. While not dry per se, it was perhaps drier than it needed to be. The fried cheese which encircled the patty like the rings of Saturn was a great concept, if a bit overwhelming in practice.

A “Buffalo chicken burger” was actually a bison burger topped with fried chicken skin, the buttery-spicy elixir that is Buffalo sauce, and creamy, tangy cheese. The chicken skin wasn’t crispy and frankly didn’t add much, but the rest of the burger was great.

Mediterranean nachos seemed like an interesting option, but even so, we were surprised at how good they were. Thick pita triangles were fried to a russet brown, rendering them crisp, not greasy in the least, and somehow light. The topping — of feta, balsamic and diced, bruschetta-style tomatoes — was well balanced, but would be unremarkable without the superb pitas.

With them, the dish was a standout.

Jason had to try the filet-tip steak hoagie. The menu boasted of its upscale beef, and the morsels were indeed substantial, retaining rosy interiors and a flavor that belied the bland reputation of filet. A good thing, too, since the rest of the sandwich had more of that horseradish mayo, big pieces of soft onion, sliced tomato and plenty of gooey provolone. And if you ever need to convince someone that cold lettuce belongs with sautéed onions and hot steak, you couldn’t bring a better example than this sandwich.

Only the fries at Bubba’s were so-so, lacking the crisp exteriors that make the best fries great. We did like the option of sweet-potato fries in a half-and-half mix, though.

For bar food and beer in a family-friendly setting, you can’t do better than Bubba’s.

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[PERSONAL CHEF]

WESTERN AVENUE BURGER BAR

bar • billiards • burgers

MACAWEENA {BY CHARLIE DEITCH} After preparing this dish, you may wonder, “Why did I make this and actually put it in my mouth?” I’ve come to expect criticisms over the 40 years that I’ve eaten and made this meal, but it’s now my newsroom election-night staple.

It dates back to the mid-1970s when my family lived in Wellsville, an Ohio River town outside Pittsburgh. Our landlords became family friends and an important part of our lives for three decades.

Occasionally, my dad and the husband of the landlord couple, Martin Thorn, would be left to take care of us and make dinner. One of my first memories is watching Martin, a WWII vet and burly steelworker with injured fingers from a mill accident, prepare this dish.

The knife and hot dogs looked small in his hands as he fumbled to cut them up. He would boil the hot dogs and pasta together to “let that good flavor soak into them noodles.” It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. In the years I lived away from Pittsburgh, I would make this because it tasted like home, even though some have claimed it’s more reminiscent ent nt o of feet.

tcut to Mexico!

The shor/ MONDAY & THURSDAY $2 Yuengling 16oz Draft ____________________ TUESDAY Burger, Beer, & Bourbon $11.95 ____________________ WEDNESDAY Pork & Pounder $10 ____________________ FRIDAY Sangria $3 ____________________ SATURDAY & SUNDAY 10:30am-3pm Brunch Specials & Bloody Mary Bar

----- HAPPY HOUR ----1/2 OFF SNACKS $2 OFF DRAFTS $5 WINE FEATURE

Mon- Fri 4:30 – 6:30pm

900 Western Ave. North side 412-224-2163

BenjaminsPgh.com

1000 SUTHERLAND DR. | PITTSBURGH, PA 15205 412-787-8888 • WWW.PLAZAAZTECA.COM

INGREDIENTS EDIENTS • 1 lb. pasta • 2 packs all-beef hot dogs • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup • 16 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed • 1 tbsp. garlic powder • 1 tbsp. pepper • ¾ cup milk INSTRUCTIONS ONS Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Whack up hot dogs with abandon. It gives it a crazed, rustic look. Cube the Velveeta.

When the water comes to a rolling boil, add your pasta. (I prefer shells, because some of the hot dogs will get stuck in the shell and they look like WWII Marines taking Normandy Beach.) Cook pasta and hot dogs together until the pasta is al dente.

Drain water and return pasta to pot. Over medium heat, add milk, soup, cheese, garlic powder and pepper. Stir constantly, because as Martin always said, “That shit will stick to the bottom of the pan, and if it does, you’re eating it, not me.” Eat it right away, before it “seizes up on ya.”

CDEITCH@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

WE WANT YOUR PERSONAL RECIPES AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM. EMAIL THEM TO CELINE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM.

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Thank you City Paper readers for voting us one of the Best Chinese Restaurants in Pittsburgh

China Palace Shadyside Featuring cuisine in the style of

Peking, Hunan, Szechuan and Mandarin

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VEGETARIAN DISHES! Delivery Hours

11:30 - 2 pm and 5-10pm

5440 Walnut Street, Shadyside 412-687-RICE chinapalace-shadyside.com

The 5th Judicial District of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Pretrial Services urges you to enjoy your weekend out in Pittsburgh but

make the right choice,

don’t drink and drive.

{CP PHOTO BY DREW CRANISKY}

A reverse Manhattan

[ON THE ROCKS]

VERMOUTH 101 Taking a closer look at a cocktail staple {BY DREW CRANISKY} “FOR THE PAST 150 years, vermouth has shaped cocktail culture in the United States more than any other spirit.” So says Adam Ford in his exhaustive 2015 book Vermouth: The Revival of the Spirit That Created America’s Cocktail Culture. And it’s true: Vermouth is critical to our most iconic cocktails, from the Manhattan to the martini. Still, the spirit is often relegated to a bottle that hasn’t been changed since the last time a Clinton was president. It’s time to dust it off and bring vermouth into the 21st century.

Though brands vary widely, vermouth is basically wine that has been fortified with additional alcohol, sweetened with sugar and flavored with botanicals. Those botanicals — usually a secret blend of herbs, barks and spices thought to have some medicinal properties — are where each vermouth derives its characteristic flavor, which can range from crisp and floral to rich and spicy. Most vermouths are loosely categorized as sweet or dry (sometimes called Italian or French, respectively), though styles are constantly being redefined as new producers enter the game.

Unfortunately, good vermouth can be hard to find in Pennsylvania, with most state stores offering just a handful of workhorse options. It’s not hopeless, however. Carpano Antica, a top-shelf sweet vermouth with rich notes of cocoa and dark fruit, is widely available, and the excellent Dolin line is now in many premium stores.

And more local bars and restaurants are turning their attention to curating interesting collections of vermouth. Mediterranean-inspired spots like Poros and Morcilla feature vermouth prominently on their cocktail and spirits lists.

When using vermouth at home, remember this: Keep it cold and use it fast.

Vermouth is wine-based and, like wine, begins to oxidize the moment the bottle is opened, leading to stale, limp flavors. While that doesn’t mean you have to polish off that bottle by the end of the night, most experts advocate storing open bottles in the fridge and keeping them for no longer than a month.

Though we often think of vermouth as something to mix with, many varieties are excellent straight out the bottle, served unadorned or with a bit of ice and citrus peel.

A glass of fine vermouth, with its delicate balance of sweet, bitter and herbaceous, is as complex as any mixed drink.

Of course, vermouth is key to many of America’s most treasured cocktails, playing nicely with clear spirits like gin as well as aged whiskeys and brandies. Showcase it in a so-called “reverse Manhattan,” which likely mimics the original, 19th-century version of the beloved cocktail. Stir two ounces of good sweet vermouth with an ounce of rye whiskey, two dashes of bitters and ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and behold a beguiling, low-alcohol version of the classic drink.

A GLASS OF FINE VERMOUTH IS AS COMPLEX AS ANY MIXED DRINK.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

V3 Flatbread Pizza Celebrates Lawrenceville Grand Opening with Free Pizza Day! Grand Opening Celebration on Thursday, November 3rd V3 Flatbread Pizza is a new fast-casual, flatbread pizza shop where customers can create their own pizza masterpiece...so the search for the ultimate pizza experience is over. V3 Flatbread Pizza announces the grand opening of their second store in the Lawrenceville Neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Thursday, November 3rd. The new V3 Flatbread Pizza store is located in Lawrenceville at 4500 Butler Street and the doors open at 11:00am. In celebration, V3 Flatbread Pizza is giving away fresh, made-to-order pizzas to customers (18 yrs old or older) ALL DAY at the Lawrenceville Store from 11:00am - 8:00pm on November 3rd. “The free pizza makes for an exciting opening and is a great way to invite the community to enjoy our unique pizza experience,” said V3 Flatbread Pizza’s founder, Varol Ablak.

The new Lawrenceville V3 Flatbread Pizza location will celebrate from 11:00am until close at 8:00pm and will have free pizza, a prize wheel, give-aways, and more.

Create Your Masterpiece

FREE PIZZA DAY GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016 At the NEW Lawrenceville V3 Flatbread Pizza location at 4500 Butler Street.

From 11:00am-8:00pm, ALL customers will receive one pizza FREE! * Limit one pizza per person. Must be 18 years old or older.

No coupon necessary. Offer valid only at the Lawrenceville V3 location on Thursday, November 3, 2016.

cOnGrAtS tO tHe 2016 BeSt oF wInNeRs

We hOpE tHeSe wErE tHe eAsIeSt vOtEs yOu hAd tO cAsT tHiS yEaR. 2518 EaSt CaRsOn St. PiTtSbUrGh, pA • 412-381-3698 oTbBiCyClEcAfE.cOm fOlLoW uS oNlInE:

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BOOZE BATTLES {BY CELINE ROBERTS}

Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle.

Go to the bars, taste them both and tell us what you like about each by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and use #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to food-and-beverage writer Celine Roberts, at celine@pghcitypaper.com.

THE DRINK: HOT TODDY

VS.

Braddock’s B dd k’ American Brasserie 107 Sixth St., Downtown INGREDIENTS: Templeton rye whiskey, hot water, honey, lemon OUR TAKE: A heavy dose of honey makes this hot toddy a throat-soother.

The spiciness of the Templeton rye helps balance some of the sweetness; the woody and caramel notes give the cocktail depth.

The astringency of the lemon gave it just the kick my sinuses needed.

Piper’s Pub 1828 E. Carson St., South Side INGREDIENTS: Jameson Irish whiskey, English breakfast tea, hot water, lemon OUR TAKE: The do-it-yourself nature of this hot toddy made Piper’s feel just like home in the most comfortable way. A selection of tea was provided including Lipton, English breakfast and chamomile, along with a pot full of piping hot water. The lack of sweetener (which I likely could have asked for) was welcome and allowed me to taste the flavors of the whiskey unadulterated.

This week on Sound Bite: Five minutes with two Pittsburgh classics: Iron City beer and editor Charlie Deitch. www.pghcitypaper.com

One Bordeaux, One Scotch, One Beer Picket Bone Dry Hard Apple Cider $6/glass, $16.05/refill growler, $21.40 new growler This cider is delicious, dry while maintaining a touch of effervescence, almost like champagne. The flavor of the apples really shines through. If you love cider but cringe at the sugary stuff in bottles, this will quickly become a favorite.

— RECOMMENDED BY STAFF WRITER CELINE ROBERTS

Picket Bone Dry Hard Apple Cider is available at Arsenal Cider House and Wine Cellar, in Lawrenceville, and Soergel’s Orchards, in Wexford.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

“I HOPE YOU STILL REMEMBER YOUR DANTE.”

SAYING IT AGAIN {BY HARRY KLOMAN} Up to a point, the new film from religious fanatic Mel Gibson, the actor/director once heard spewing angry, drunken, racist and anti-Semitic epithets, is a wellmade war movie, even if that isn’t what it aspires to be.

Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of Desmond Doss (a serviceable Andrew Garfield), the son of an abusive alcoholic father (Hugo Weaving, quite fine) who enlisted in World War II but refused to touch a weapon because of his faith. So he served as a medic, saved 75 men in battle, and became the first conscientious objector to win the Medal of Honor.

Desmond Dos (Andrew Garfield) fights war.

After a less-than-credible court-martial sequence, Gibson’s extended battle on Okinawa is a wrenching conflagration of blood, fire and annihilation, just as war should be shown. But the “religious” stuff is ham-handed, as if Gibson wants to justify his own purported faith by comparing it to Doss’ acts of conscience.

The script provides plenty of tame treacle and comfortable clichés (Vince Vaughn is the unit’s Sarge), and the extended climax, while true at its core, is overdone in every way a Hollywood hack job can be. By the end, the movie is more about the heroism of war than its central figure’s pacifism. So I doubt it will buy Gibson ibson many indulgences. Starts Fri., Nov. 4 INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM INFO@PGHCITYPAPE R.COM

Starts Fri., Nov. 4

Continuing the recent trend of turning toys into full-length movies is Trolls. In Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell’s animated comedy, the stubby creatures with plumes of colorful hair do what trolls do, which is apparently be cute and sing a lot.

Abandon hope all ye who enter here: Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones

BURN NOTICE {BY AL HOFF}

R

ON HOWARD’S Inferno, adapted from Dan Brown’s continuing series of novels about world-renowned symbologist Robert Langdon, opens with sym a jumble of images. There’s a guy giving j a TED-type talk about overpopulation; then the we see that same man being chased through the streets of Florence, Italy, before thr plunging to his death. Now, we’re in a hosplu pital pit with patient Langdon, and he’s having feverish visions of streets in flames, people fev wearing freaky masks or having their heads we on backward, and severed legs sticking out of sidewalks. What in the name of Lucifer (or his proxy) is going on?!

Langdon (Tom Hanks) soon gets right, aided by a British doctor, Sienna Brooks aid (Felicity Jones). It’s just his head injury caus(Fe ing those visions, and — wait! what’s this tube in his pocket? It’s a Farraday flashlight, and it beams an image of Botticelli’s map of Dante’s Inferno. Of course, it’s a clue, and Langdon and Brooks (also a puzzle-lover) are off on a whirlwind tour of historical sites in

Italy to stop a deadly pathogen nicknamed “inferno” from being released. (The virus is designed to wipe out most of humanity; there’s not much suspense about that happening when you know Brown has a new novel coming out that needs buyers.)

INFERNO DIRECTED BY: Ron Howard STARS: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones

No less than four parties are chasing the couple, including a carabinieri who looks more like a model-slash-assassin than an Italian beat cop, and a private security agency whose head is played by the popular Indian actor and droll scene-stealer Irrfan Khan. Additionally, two groups of people from the World Health Organization, who are acting at cross-purposes, are in pursuit; one is fronted by the French actor Omar Sy, the other by Danish actress Sidse Babett

Knudsen. Truly, this is a global situation.

The plotting is as frantic and ridiculous as you’d expect from the Brown canon.

But unlike earlier works like The Da Vinci Code, Inferno’s twists rely more on the nonstop lies and doublecrosses perpetrated by contemporary humans than on puzzlecraft from some long-dead Italian artist.

Langdon is best served by a decent pair of running shoes, rather than his specialty: The only symbol that matters here is that familiar three-intersecting-circles one, denoting biohazardous material.

But I don’t want to entirely dismiss Langdon’s expertise. He gets credit for keeping his cool and relying on brains more than brawn. I enjoyed the sightseeing in Florence and Venice, and learned the origin of the word “quarantine.” Sure, Langdon faces off against conventional weapons such as guns, knives and clubs, but not many men get this call from the World Health Organization: “The WHO needs your help. I hope you still remember your Dante.”

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HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR. A brief affair between a French filmmaker (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) during a stay in Hiroshima spurs memories of war and past loves, as well as examining the complicated processes by which people forget and move on. Alain Resnaud directs this 1959 drama.

In French and Japanese, with subtitles. 1 and 5 p.m.

Sun., Nov. 6, and 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Thu., Nov. 10. Row House Cinema

FILM CAPSULES CP

= CITY PAPER APPROVED

NEW AMERICAN PASTORAL. Ewan McGregor directs and stars in this adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel, which finds a dad in the late 1960s confronting his daughter’s increasing radicalism. The film was shot in Pittsburgh. Starts Fri., Nov. 4

LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD. Ostensibly a tale of a man and a woman at the luxurious Marienbad spa, and the affair they may have had — or may be having — this gorgeously photographed black-and-white film unspools elliptically, continuously commenting on time, memory and emotion, without ever resolving.

(Can it even?) Alain Resnais’ 1961 film is one of the great touchstones of European art cinema. In French, with subtitles. 3 p.m. Sun., Nov. 6, and 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. Thu., Nov. 10. Row House Cinema

CHRISTINE. This docudrama recounts an event that happened 42 years ago, and yet aspects of it feel like part of our ongoing collective melodramas that often find an outlet in the mash-up of media and violence. Antonio Campos’ film spends a few weeks in the summer of 1974 with Christine Chubbuck (Rebecca Hall), a TV reporter for a Sarasota, Fla., station.

The station is struggling, and so is Chubbuck: She’s lonely, and feels frustrated by her role at work. She longs to do thoughtful on-air pieces, but in its bid for ratings, the station is going with more sensational “if it bleeds, it leads” coverage. Chubbuck’s work and personal life grow more difficult, culminating in a shocking and unprecedented act that occurs on live TV. Hall is great as the ambitious, prickly and troubled Chubbuck, who isn’t particularly likable but is sympathetic. Certainly the issues that Chubbuck confronts at her workplace — the shuffling of news toward entertainment — remain critical. It’s a fascinating, if downbeat, story about a dark moment in one woman’s life and in popular media. A few scenes are a little too on-the-nose, including a coda that slips in another womanworks-in-TV nod by referencing The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but the film is worth seeing. Starts Fri., Nov. 4. Regent Square (Al Hoff)

band from its formation in late-1960s Michigan through some nominal success and the break-up in 1974. It’s a straightforward music bio-doc, tapping archival footage and contemporary interviews with band members. The earliest days are interesting, as the band members stretch themselves with psychedelics and experimental music, often playing with homemade instruments cobbled together from household objects. There are formative trips to New York City and Los Angeles, and (perhaps) the “birth of the stage dive.” Much of the narration falls to Pop, who is an engaging and self-effacing raconteur. And for closure, the band reunites in 2003 and even makes it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That’s an ironic victory, of course, for such a bratty, iconoclastic crew; a better tribute is the included clip reel of punk and alternative bands covering Stooges’ songs, an acknowledgement of the band’s critical influence on rock’s evolution. Starts Fri., Nov. 4. Harris (AH)

DOCTOR STRANGE. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the neurosurgeon who embraces mysticism in order to protect the stability of Marvel Cinematic Universe. Scott Derrickson directs. In 3-D, in select theaters. Starts Fri., Nov. 4

MICHAEL MOORE IN TRUMPLAND. Just weeks before the election, filmmaker and author Michael Moore does a one-man show in Clinton County, Ohio, a.k.a. TrumpLand. This film documents that evening.

Fri., Nov. 4, through Mon., Nov. 7. Hollywood

GIMME DANGER. Never commercially successful — and a careening mess of dysfunction during their brief run — The Stooges, fronted

by Iggy Pop, nonetheless made a serious dent in rock ’n’ roll. See for yourself in Jim Jarmusch’s new documentary charting the history of the

REPERTORY

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Christine

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. In Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ satiric novel, we follow the exploits of young Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a troubled youth of the near future with a penchant

for ultra-violence, who is ordered by the authorities to undergo “reconditioning.” 7:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 2.

AMC Loews Waterfront. $5 MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA. Dziga Vertov’s influential documentary essay remains visually stunning after 80 years. The 1929 silent film is a kinetic portrait of life and industrialization in the Soviet Union.

9:15 p.m. Wed., Nov. 2. Row House Cinema WEST SIDE STORY. It’s an American classic, based on the tempestuous but forever tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet. In Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise’s musical adaptation, the feuding Italian families of yore are replaced by New York City youth gangs. 7 p.m. Thu., Nov. 3. Melwood

MOTHER INDIA. In Mehboob Khan’s classic 1957 melodrama, a poor woman in rural India struggles to raise her family. In Hindi, with subtitles. 7 p.m. Sun., Nov. 6. Row House Cinema IDIOCRACY. Mike Judge’s 2006 satire about the dumbing-down of America, as evidenced by a ridiculously vulgar future visited by a time traveler, only seems more prescient with each passing year. “I’m Secretary of State, brought to you by Carl’s Jr.” See it before it’s too late. 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Mon., Nov. 7, and 10 p.m. Tue., Nov. 8 (with breaking election news, as warranted). Row House Cinema ASPERGER’S ARE US. Four teens on the autism spectrum put together a comedy show before going their separate ways into adulthood. Alexandre Lehmann directs this recent documentary. 7 p.m. Mon., Nov. 7.

Hollywood

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. The classic 1962 epic about British adventurer T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), who joined the Arabs to fight the Turks in the World War I era. Directed by David Lean. With Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif. There will be a 30-minute intermission with tea break. 7 p.m. Thu., Nov. 3. Row House Cinema. $9 (film only); $21 (film and choice of Middle Eastern meal from Dijlah) SPICE WORLD. Pick your favorite — Sporty, Posh, Baby, Ginger or Scary — and make tracks for the Cool Britannia of the 1990s. Zigga zigga ha! Bob Spiers directs this 1997 musical comedy featuring the Spice Girls. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Nov. 4. Row House Cinema COOL AS ICE. Rapper Vanilla Ice stars in David Kellogg’s 1991 sort-of remake of The Wild One, with Mr. Ice cast as the fearsome but cool bad boy who attracts the attention of a rich girl. It is a Grade A piece of vanity-production trash, and in case you weren’t laughing enough, this screening will be supplemented with RiffTrax. 9:30 p.m. Fri., Nov. 4. Row House Cinema V FOR VENDETTA. In a dystopic England, one man, V (Hugo Weaving), has transformed a personal vendetta into a larger quest to bring down the government, so that a more enlightened model may take its place. James McTeigue’s intentionally provocative 2005 film, adapted from the 1980s serial graphic novel, is a dark conspiracy thriller that will likely have you breathlessly anticipating, as a force for good, the complete and fiery destruction of the Houses of Parliament. 3:45 and 10 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5. Row House Cinema (AH)

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HOME MOVIE DAY. Dig out those old 8 mm, super 8 or 16 mm films from the closet. Perhaps they’re reels from your family’s collection, or maybe something unknown you picked up at a garage sale. Get them screened today, while also enjoying whatever rarely seen films other participants bring to share.

1-4:30 p.m. (check-in begins at noon), Sat., Nov. 5.

Carnegie Main Library, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. homemovieday.pgh@comcast.net. Free

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

{PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANK PETTIS}

Gimme Danger SUNDANCE SHORTS. A 95-minute program of eight short films selected from the 2016 Sundance program.

6 and 8 p.m. Tue., Nov. 8. Row House Cinema SEVEN SAMURAI. Villagers hire mercenaries to protect them from raiders, but Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece is far more than an action epic. It offers a series of layers commenting on social class, warfare and valor that intersect in the person of Toshiro Mifune’s wannabe warrior. In Japanese, with subtitles. 6:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 9. Row House Cinema. $9 (movie only); $25 (movie and choice of bento box).

(Bill O’Driscoll)

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SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Tom Hanks stars in Steven Speilberg’s 1998 World War II drama about brothers during the Normandy invasion. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 9. AMC Loews Waterfront. $5

PICK A WINNER

“IT’S A WHIRLWIND OF FUN FOR EVERYONE WATCHING.”

{BY CHARLIE DEITCH} For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to pick weekly NFL games. I did it in high school and college, and I love doing it in Las Vegas once a year. And you don’t have to play for money. A lot of restaurants and retailers have contests, and you can win free food or other prizes.

When I pick games, I study match-up data: player stats, historical records, home win-loss vs. road win-loss records and a whole bunch of stuff that I usually chuck out the window in favor of a hunch. That’s why I’ve always admired people who have a system, regardless of how insane that system might appear. One of those people is my Aunt Gretchen. She is truly an amazing individual, albeit a touch, well, let’s say eccentric. I knew she liked to pick football games, so one day I asked her for the “secret.” She complied, and has given me permission to share it with the world.

As an experiment, I will explain the system and then pick this week’s NFL games using it. We’ll check back next week and see how the system worked.

(Disclaimer: We are not responsible if you decide to use this system to wager actual money and lose your house.)

The system: + Take the Steelers in all contests. + Non-bird animals beat birds and anything that’s not a bird, except the Steelers. (For example: Take the Bears over the Seahawks and the Patriots.) + Birds beat all non-animals that aren’t the Steelers. (For example: Take the Falcons over the 49ers.) + If the matchup is animal vs. animal or bird vs. bird, choose the one that would be most likely to win a real-world battle.

(For example: Take the Jaguars over the Rams and take the Eagles over the Ravens. When a land animal like a Colt takes on a Dolphin, you’ll need to use your best judgment.) + In the case of teams not named after birds or animals, the distance rule must be applied. Choose the team that is the closest geographically to Pittsburgh as the winner. (For example: Take the New York Giants over the Dallas Cowboys.)

So using the system, here are the picks for this week: Atlanta Falcons over Tampa Bay Buccaners; Detroit Lions over Minnesota Vikings; Philadelphia Eagles over New York Giants; Miami Dolphins over New York Jets; Jacksonville Jaguars over Kansas City Chiefs; Cleveland Browns over Dallas Cowboys; Pittsburgh Steelers over the Baltimore Ravens; New Orleans Saints over San Francisco 49ers; Carolina Panthers over Los Angeles Rams; Indianapolis Colts over the Green Bay Packers; Tennessee Titans over San Diego Chargers; Denver Broncos over Oakland Raiders; and Seattle Seahawks over the Buffalo Bills (the team is named after Buffalo Bill Cody).

{CP PHOTO BY JOHN COLOMBO}

From left, Iron City Muay Thai promoter Andy Anderson with fighters Will Morrill and Ryan Trainor

FIGHT NIGHT {BY CHARLIE DEITCH}

A

T FIRST BLUSH, the phrase “The Art

of Eight Limbs” sounds like an old martial-arts movie starring Sonny Chiba or Bruce Lee. But it’s actually a nickname for Muay Thai, a martial-arts discipline that features using eight points of contact — hands feet, knees and elbows.

Fight trainer and promoter Andy Anderson, general manager of Stout Training Pittsburgh in the Strip District, loves the sport and is betting that others will too.

He’s promoting his first Iron City Muay Thai kickboxing event at 7 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5, at the Ross Township Community Center.

“It’s been almost a decade since the last kickboxing show in Pittsburgh,” Anderson says. “While mixed martial arts [MMA] is bigger here, there is a growing Muay Thai community, and we have fighters who don’t necessarily want to fight MMA, but would love to compete in kickboxing.”

There are currently nine fights scheduled on the card sanctioned by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. The main

event features two veteran MMA fighters, Ethan Hayes and Vince Meng. The other fights, which feature local and regional fighters, are: Sean White vs. Mark Liebach, Paige Triola vs. Meghan Sekone-Fraser, Danny Rivera vs. Harland Dietke, Jamie Jordan vs. Brittni Micham, Darren Caraballo vs.

Ryan Trainor, Meghan O’Toole vs. Jackie Altemus, Steven Anderson vs. Noah Dumaine, and James Schultz vs. Sanjay Khurana.

IRON CITY MUAY THAI 7 p.m. Sat. Nov. 5. Ross Township Community Center, 1000 Ross Municipal Drive, Ross Township. Advance general admission $30 ($40 at the door); ringside table seats $60 ($70 at the door). 412-419-8404 or www.touttrainpitt.com/events/

The rules of Muay Thai allow combatants to punch, kick, knee and elbow. Unlike MMA, however, there’s no cage, and combatants must remain on their feet; no “ground-and-pound.” American kickboxing

has its roots in the 1970s and 1980s, and early on, fighters could only kick. In the 1990s, however, the sport started to resemble what you might see today.

“You’re going to see lots of punching, lots of kicks, and while you can’t use the elbows in amateur fighting, you can knee to the head and body,” Anderson says.

“It’s fast-paced, with three two-minute rounds; it’s a whirlwind of fun for everyone watching.”

Anderson, who says he couldn’t have put the fights on without the help of Warren Stout of Stout Training, says he hopes the card is the first of many, and that it serves as a showcase for up-and-coming amateur fighters to cut their teeth in competitive fighting.

“I felt like the local Muay Thai scene was nonexistent. At best, it is hit or miss,” Anderson says. “I want to do a few shows a year. Eventually I want this to be a proving ground for local fighters, and I want to grow the sport of Muay Thai.”

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ATS] [THE CHEAP SEATS]

SPORTS S TOWN {BY MIKE WYSOCKI} KI} MCKEESPORT IS one of

SPECIALS

1 $ .50 2 $ 4

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zone. Trimble coached in the Canadian Football League after interviewing for head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1959. But they went with some guy named Lombardi instead.

The last time the Pirates won it all, McKeesport-born Bill Robinson was a big part of the family. Robinson played for the Bucs for eight seasons, including the 1977 campaign, when he hit .304 with 26 homers and 104 runs batted in. Robinson collected two more World Series rings as a coach for the 1986 Mets and the 2003 Marlins. He cashed a big-league (or is it “bigly”?) check from 1967 to 1983. Other baseball players include Brian Holton, who helped the Dodgers win their last World Series, in 1988. And Rick Krivda won a gold medal in baseball in the 2000 Olympics, and won 11 games in the majors. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, McKeesport cranks out winners.

McKeesport has also contributed to the world of bullfighting, as you probably wouldn’t have guessed. Bette Ford was the first woman to fight on the Plaza de Toros Mexico, the world’s largest bullring; she was also an actress who appeared in a couple Clint Eastwood movies.

McKeesport even slipped behind the wheel of NASCAR. Tommy Gale began racing at the age of 34; not a stellar career, but he finished in the top 10 of his races four times. He’s still the best NASCAR driver ever from there. Outside of sports, Presidents George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon have all traversed the McKeesport landscape. Bob Carroll Jr. found his way from McKeesport to the writing desk of I Love Lucy. Helen Richey graduated from McKeesport High in 1927 and went on to become the first female ever hired to pilot a commercial flight. Men were maybe a little bit misogynistic back then, so the all-male pilots union forced her out.

Basketball, football, baseball, sit-coms and the airline industry have all been influenced by McKeesporters. This town is no one-trick pony, as it has produced a wide array of famous people from all walks of life.

Sure, it might have seen better days, but it has earned some respect. McKeesport isn’t closed; it’s just under construction.

SWIN CASH IS THE CROWN JEWEL OF MCKEESPORT.

STEELERS GAME

$

those towns thatt got left behind. The once-sprawling -sprawling metropolis of 50,000 ,000 people has dwindled to o fewer than 20,000 residents. nts. Driving through McKeesport port causes people to wonder, “Is this place open?” or “Did the Purge just start and I missed it?” But McKeesport perseveres.

Much like other towns suffering decades of decline, it has a rich history. And Tube City, as it was once known, has contributed to the sports world in significant way.

It starts with Swin Cash. Four WNBA all-star games, three WNBA titles, two collegiate national championships at the University of Connecticut, and she scored two Olympic gold medals 12 years apart.

She’s McKeesport-tough as well, winning a world championship with the Detroit Shock despite a herniated disc. Cash left Motown after a feud with coach Bill Laimbeer, and in her defense, Laimbeer was on a Detroit Pistons team where Dennis Rodman was only the second biggest jerk on the roster. Laimbeer was No. 1. Swin is the crown jewel of McKeesport.

Super Bowl Champion Mike Logan went to McKeesport High before matriculating at West Virginia University. Also McKeesporttough, Logan played four years as a Mountaineer despite breaking the same arm three times. Injuries hampered his NFL career; he played a full-season just once in his 10 years as a pro, six of those seasons with the Steelers. Logan will forever be loved for picking Kennywood over Disneyland. When the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, Logan said he did not want to go to Disney but asked if Kennywood was open.

Not in February, but take that, Disney!

Former Penn State Nittany Lion Brandon Short helped the Giants win a Super Bowl over the Baltimore Ravens, and Bill Miller caught two touchdowns in Super Bowl II as an Oakland Raider. They are both from McKeesport, as is as a man who forever changed the game of football. Back in the old days, football stupidly placed the H-shaped goalposts right on the goal line.

An already dangerous sport added another level of peril by giving the players two metal poles to run into. Jim Trimble changed the H shape to a Y, with just one post. The NFL wised up and adopted the new goalpost and placed it at the rear of the end

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Questions may be directed to 412-765-8023

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To be eligible for this study, you must be: • 18-30 yrs. old • In good health • Fluent in English You will earn $20 for your participation in this 2-hour study.

For more information, call: The Behavioral Health Research Lab (412-268-3029) NOTE: Unfortunately, our lab is not wheelchair accessible.

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YOU MAY QUALIFY IF YOU: • Are 18 years of age or older • Diagnosed with Type II diabetes for at least 90 days • HbA1c is 7.5-9.5% • Stable daily dose of ONE or TWO of the following diabetes medications (Metformin, sulphonylureas, SGLT-2 inhibitors or thiazolidinediones), 90 days prior to your first visit.

The Step Clinical Research Study is currently enrolling individuals ages 18 70, with at least one big toenail that is 25 - 60% affected by toenail fungus.

Qualified participants will receive study-related care and procedures at no charge. Compensation for study-related time and travel is available.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

1. General MDs, to insurers 5. Wish fulfiller 10. Booing sound 14. Safe, at sea 15. Storrs sch.

16. The vicinity 17. Blitzed a wanderer?

19. Differ just a bit 20. “My Favorite Things” jazzman, for short 21. Sydney’s state, for short 22. Two-faced god 23. #YOLO comment said near Vesuvius?

26. QB who throws to Odell 27. Warriors league 28. Fells with an ax 31. Caresses one’s cobra?

38. Private pension 39. Thanksgiving dessert 40. Drops on the ground?

41. On-line horn store?

46. Move slowly 47. Performed 48. Food drive piece 50. Greeting said to Jane’s Addiction’s guitarist?

59. Foe 60. With an ___ to grind 61. More aloof 62. “___ girl”

63. What a presidential candidate hopes to do to increase likelihood of victory, and this puzzle’s theme 65. Barbershop job 66. “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” country singer Gary 67. Additional: Sp. 68. Gardening gizmo 69. Triangular sign word 70. Red Sox rivals

DOWN

1. “The Empire Strikes Back” in the “Star Wars” series 2. Cigar choice 3. ___ colony 4. Events for a Ouija board 5. Paintball equipment 6. Cheapo prefix 7. Kung Pao chicken request 8. Stunned 9. When the murderer is revealed in mysteries 10. Actor Andy Garcia, by birth 11. Isfahan native 12. Injected stuff 13. Approval 18. Bluish-green 22. Hats, so to speak 24. Quick drink 25. Chains of life 28. Corny coffee

cup mug word (that presumably comes with a pair) 29. Stat for Corey Kluber 30. Spa selection 32. ___ Pen (injector for allergic reactions) 33. Prior to 34. Take in 35. Link to, on Linked In 36. One tapped for a fraternity?

37. Lea she 42. Japanese superfood 43. Nice and neat 44. Crest letters 45. Kings of Leon’s label

46. Bill passer, e.g.

49. Hertz rival 50. Evergreen shrub 51. Opening words 52. Abominable snowmen 53. “Jersey Boys” character Frankie 54. Stranger in a strange land 55. Himalayan country 56. Looping rope 57. Abort, ___, Fail?

58. “Wonderfilled” cookies 63. “King Kong” star Wray 64. “... ___ scene!” (concluding words) {LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS}

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51

FOR THE WEEK OF

Free Will Astrology

11.02-11.09

{BY ROB BREZSNY}

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Until 2007, Scotland’s official slogan was “Scotland, the Best Small Country in the World.” Deciding that wasn’t sufficiently upbeat, the government spent $187,000 on a campaign to come up with something better. “Home of Golf” and “Home of Europe’s Fastest Growing Life Sciences Community” were among the proposed phrases that were rejected. The ultimate choice: “Welcome to Scotland.” I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because you’re in a favorable phase to rebrand yourself. But I hope you will be more daring and imaginative than Scotland. How about “Smolderingly Alarmingly Brilliant”? Or maybe “Safely Risky and Unpredictably Wise” or “Home of the Best Secrets Ever”?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I cheer you on as you attend to your difficult but holy duties. I send you my love as you summon the wisdom and resourcefulness you need to weather the gorgeous storm. Here are clues that might be useful: Whether you are partially or totally victorious will depend as much on the attitude you hold in your heart as on your outward behavior. Be grateful, never resentful, for the interesting challenges. Love your struggles for the new capacities they are building in you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The coming weeks constitute the harvest phase of your personal cycle. That means you have the pleasure of gathering in the ripe rewards that you have been cultivating since your last birthday. But you also have the responsibility to answer and correct for any carelessness you have allowed to affect your efforts during the previous 11 months. Don’t worry, dear.

My sense is that the goodies and successes far outnumber and overshadow the questionable decisions and failures. You have ample reasons

to celebrate. But I hope you won’t get so caught up in your rightful exaltation that you’ll neglect the therapeutic atonements.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Like England and Spain, the Netherlands has a royal family, including a king, queen, prince and princesses. They’re an egalitarian bunch.

The young ones attend public schools, and the previous queen’s birthday is celebrated with a nation-wide flea market. The king’s crown is attractive but quite economical. Its pearls are fake, and other “jewels” are made of glass, colored foil and fish scales. In accordance with the astrological omens, I propose that you create a regal but earthy headpiece for yourself. It’s high time for you to elevate your self-worth in an amusing and artful way. What fun and funky materials will you use in your homemade crown?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In her book, A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman reports on the eccentric

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methods that professional writers have used to galvanize their creative process. Poet Amy Lowell relaxed into her work day by puffing on Manila cigars. Novelist Colette plucked fleas from her cat. T.S. Eliot’s poetry thrived when he had a head cold. Novelist George Sand liked to jump out of bed after making love and immediately begin writing. Novelist William Gass, who is still among the living, wanders around outside taking photos of “rusty, derelict, overlooked, downtrodden” places. As for D.H. Lawrence: climbing mulberry trees naked energized his genius. What about you, Pisces?

Now is an excellent time to draw intensely on your reliable sources of inspiration — as well as to seek new ones.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I am in awe of your headfirst, charge-forward, no-distractions approach. In fact, I aspire to incorporate more of the Aries-style directness into my own repertoire. But I also love it when, on rare occasions, you flirt with a more strategic perspective. It amuses me to see you experimenting with the power of secrets. Your wisdom often grows at an expedited rate when you get caught up in a web of intrigue that exposes you to dark joys and melodramatic lessons. During times like these, you feel fine about not having everything figured out, about not knowing the most straightforward route to your destination. You allow the riddles and enigmas to ferment as you bask in the voluptuous ambiance of the Great Mystery. Now is such a time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I am pleased to inform you that at least 30 percent of what you think you know about love and lust is too prosaic. Probably too narrow and constrained, as well. But here’s the good news: As soon as you agree to relinquish the dull certainty of that 30-plus percent, you will open yourself to a surge of fresh teachings. And soon, I expect, dewy throbs and hot flows will awaken in all the erotic parts of your body, including your heart and brain and soul. If you’re brave enough to respond, generous lessons in intimacy will keep you entertained for weeks.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Over the last two decades, well-meaning Westerners have donated a profusion of clothes to low-income folks in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Kind and magnanimous, right? Yes, but their largesse has had an unintended consequence: the demise of the textile industry in those African countries. With this as a cautionary tale, I’m asking you to take inventory of your own acts of benevolence and charity. Are they having effects that you approve of? If not completely, how could you adjust the way you give your gifts and bestow your blessings?

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52

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Is it possible that you might flourish as a topdog after all the work you’ve put in as an underdog? Can you wean yourself from the worried fantasy that you’ve got endless dues to pay, and then harness your imagination to expand your confidence and build your clout? I believe you can. And in the coming weeks I will unleash a flood of prayers to the Goddess of Holy Reversals, asking her to assist you. Now please repeat after me: “I am a creative force of nature. I am a strong song of liberation. I am a wise animal with direct access to my primal intelligence.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The next two weeks could be smooth, peaceful and bland. Is that the experience you want?

Mild satisfactions, sweet boredom and slow progress? There’s nothing wrong with any of that. Please feel free to loll and loaf as you explore the healing charms of laziness. Grant yourself permission to avoid conflict and cultivate sunny self-protectiveness. This is one of those times when silence and stasis are among the best gifts you can give yourself. Welcome the rejuvenating power of emptiness!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It’s time to replace banged-up, dried-out old obsessions with ripe, juicy fascinations. It’s your duty to phase out numbing traditions and deadening habits so as to make room for exciting new rituals, customs, and sacraments.

Can you summon the electric willpower to shed influences that are technically “correct” but lacking in soulfulness? I think you can. Do you love yourself enough to forswear pretty but meaningless titillations? I think you do. Now get out there and do the hard work necessary to bring more serious fun into your life. Homework: Write an essay titled “What I Can Do to Be More Playful.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Over the course of his or her life, the average British person says “Sorry” on over 90,000 occasions. The typical Libran Brit probably utters routine apologies upwards of 120,000 times. Libras from other countries may not reach that heady level, but many do specialize in excessive politeness. (I should know, as I have three planets in Libra in my natal chart.) But in accordance with the astrological indicators, I am authorizing you to be a bit less courteous and solicitous than usual in the next two weeks. Don’t go overboard, of course. But allowing yourself some breathing room like this will help you get more rigorous access to your authentic, idiosyncratic, soulful urges — which will be very tonic.

Compose a sincere prayer in which you ask for something you think you’re not supposed to.

Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

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Savage Love {BY DAN SAVAGE}

I’m a 41-year-old male who looks like the tall, strong, professional, alpha-male type on the outside. On the inside, though, I would like to find a strong, confident woman who wants a cuckolding relationship — she sleeps with other men, while I am faithful and submissive to her. There must be women out there who would love to have a loving, doting boyfriend or husband waiting at home while they go out with other men, but I tend to attract women who want the alpha-male type. What can I do to find — or attract — the kind of woman I’m interested in? Or should I go in for vanilla dating and then have a discussion about cuckolding after we’ve started having sex?

I’m a straight woman who’s about to cuck my man. We’re trying to figure out if my first sexual encounter with another guy should be in front of him or not. He says he doesn’t care; he’s excited either way.

I am so nervous, but it’s a good nervous.

We have been monogamous until now.

I know you say to take it slow. But when it comes to cuckolding, does slow mean “Only kiss the other guy in front of him the first time” or “Tell him about the other guy I kissed”?

ANOTHER LAD PURSUING HUMILIATING ACTION

“Everybody’s different,” said FleeMarket.

“There are guys who love being left at home while she goes out on a ‘date,’ there are guys who love being in the house/hotel but not in the room, there are guys who want to be in the room watching or participating. But as far as whether you should dip your toe in or jump in with both feet, there is no ‘right way,’ only what’s right for you two.”

That said, OHWOW, the reality of a partner sleeping with someone else for the first time — in front of you or not — can be a lot more intense than the fantasy, and you should definitely take things slow the first time.

“There’s the ‘baby steps approach,’ i.e., just flirting with or kissing the other guy (whether in front of him or not) and then seeing how he reacts,” said FleeMarket. “Or telling him that you slept with the other guy, when you really didn’t — just to see how he takes it. Then there’s jumping in with both feet and getting a hotel room and a few drinks with this other guy before taking both men up to your room.”

Whatever you decide, FleeMarket recommends having a plan in place in case things/feels/ dicks go wrong.

“Use the traffic-light system,” said FleeMarket. “Things getting too intense? Say ‘yellow’ to slow the play down. Someone getting upset? Say ‘red’ to stop the play and all three of you can talk.

It’s always better if everyone understands it’s OK to call a stop to play if you need to.”

“Most women, even dominant women, are still looking for guys who look like they ‘kick ass and take names’ in every other aspect of their lives,” said FleeMarket (u/flee_market), one of the moderators of r/cuckold on Reddit. “As for how to find dominant women, I see a lot of submissive guys on various websites — OkCupid, Reddit, Tinder, FetLife — and something they don’t understand is that women looking for sex or love online tend to get buried in unsolicited PMs from thirsty guys.

That makes it hard to find that one respectful PM from a guy like our letter-writer here. The signal gets lost in the noise.”

Before we get to some practical advice for ALPHA, a quick word about the term “cuck.” While it has long been an affectionate/horny term embraced by self-identified cuckold fetishists, the alt-right has attempted to turn “cuck” into a term of abuse, hurling it at any straight white man who gives a shit about racial justice, police brutality and the plight of undocumented immigrants. In an effort to wrest “cuck” back from the bigots, and to mark the waning days of the Trump campaign, I’m dedicating this week’s column to “cuck” as properly understood: a guy who wants his partner to sleep with other men.

So, how can you attract a woman who wants a cuck?

“What’s worked for me is using the internet not to find people but to find kinky events where dominant women gather in real life,” said FleeMarket. “I’m on my second openly dominant female partner in four years, both of whom I met at kinky parties. The events are usually listed on FetLife, and you usually have to attend a munch first to demonstrate that you’re not a dingus who can’t follow the rules or a psycho who doesn’t care about them.”

You will find a lot of advice for wannabe cucks on r/cuckold, most offered in response to men trying to talk their vanilla wives or girlfriends into cuckolding them. But you’re as likely to read stories of failure as you are to read success stories.

“As much effort and time as getting into the kinky community takes, it’s still easier than trying to turn a vanilla woman kinky,” said FleeMarket.

“He shouldn’t ‘lead with his kink.’ If a woman asks him what his interests are, mention it, but dial down the excitement level. Be in the right place, treat the women there with respect, and get to know them as people first.”

ON HIM WATCHING OR WAITING

P.S. It’ll be more than kissing either way!

THE REALITY OF A PARTNER SLEEPING WITH SOMEONE ELSE FOR THE FIRST TIME CAN BE A LOT MORE INTENSE THAN THE FANTASY.

I just came across the word “wittol.” It means “a man who knows, condones, and even encourages his wife’s enjoyment of coitus with another man or men; a contented cuckold.” Considering the frequency with which cuckolding comes up and your influence on language, I thought you might want to know.

HE’S EXPANDING LEXICON PERPETUALLY

Discontent is a big part of the cuckolding kink, HELP, as cuckolds get off on feeling humiliated and jealous. So I’m not sure “wittol” quite works.

But if the alt-right white supremacists succeed in making “cuck” synonymous with “race traitor,” maybe cucks will switch to “wittol.” But don’t give up without a fight, cucks!

On the Lovecast, when fathers come out to their daughters: savagelovecast.com.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET AND FIND THE SAVAGE LOVECAST (DAN’S WEEKLY PODCAST) AT SAVAGELOVECAST.COM

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LETTERS OF INTENT {BY CHARLIE DEITCH}

I KNOW THAT we’re all ready for Nov. 8 to come and go as quickly as possible, but I am actually a little sad. I’m sad because as soon as we elect a new president, they’ll stop talking to me. I’m not talking about people I know who support Donald Trump (they stopped talking to me months ago). I’m talking about my famous friends like Elizabeth, Uncle Joe, Donald, Pat, Katie, Hillary, and Barack and Michelle.

No, I’m not on a star-studded pen-pal exchange; the missives from these folks have come in the form of fundraising emails. As I’m sure is true for many of you, too, I have been inundated for some time with mass-produced emails doing their best to sound personal in an effort to get me to “chip in $1 or whatever you can before tonight’s final end-of-month deadline.” Here are some of my favorites from the past several months.

THE ‘DON’T WE MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?’ EMAIL If I were Democratic Party leaders, I’d be frustrated too. They take time out of their busy schedules to write to me, and I show them less respect than the Nigerian prince who last month offered to share his billion-dollar lottery prize with me. Apparently, I was being particularly douchey in July, because I got a lot of letters right at the end of the month from the whole gang.

“My husband Barack emailed twice; my friend Joe emailed twice; and I’m reaching out for a third time. That’s how important today is!

We have an opportunity to turn out a record number of Democratic voters, elect a historic number of women, and take back the majority in Congress. But those opportunities will be lost if we get badly outraised tonight. So I’m coming directly to you,” said a letter First Lady Michelle

Obama wrote to me.

And she was right: Barack and Uncle Joe had reached out, and I had selfishly ignored them. And then I got this note: “President Obama asked.

Joe Biden asked twice. Michelle Obama asked twice. And now I’m asking.

That’s how important tonight is. I just told the roaring Democratic Convention crowd that we can elect a record number of women and win the White House and Congress. But Charlie — if we get drastically outraised, it’ll be a horrible setback for our chances,” U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi told me in an email with the subject line “disappointed.” When Uncle Joe asked me for the fifth time, I almost gave a buck. But it was the same week Suicide Squad came out, and I spent the money on Margot Robbie instead.

THE ‘LETTER FROM A SCARY DUDE’ EMAIL I must be on some sort of list of cantankerous donors, because when I didn’t respond to a sweetheart like Michelle Obama, they broke out the hillbilly assassin, James Carville. At first I thought he was going to share some of his down-home folksy stories, but things took a turn.

“There’s nothing better than Halloween, Charlie — the costumes, candy, and jumping out of the bushes to spook the neighborhood kids (they deserved it after smashing our pumpkin!). But what REALLY keeps me up at night is the possibility that we fall short of our last fundraising deadline — our final chance to show our strength before the election.

And if we do, Trump’s nightmarish rhetoric becomes our reality. The GOP has embraced Halloween like never before — they want to carve up Social Security, make Planned Parenthood disappear, and treat the Supreme Court like a joke. … Happy Halloween, James Carville.”

In another note, he wrote: “Thanks to my new best friend Donald Trump, Democrats have a rare chance to win it all. FIFTY House races are now in play! But it’s not all unicorns and rainbows, because our Democrats don’t have enough cash to win all these races. So I need yah, and I need yah quick.”

THE ‘GIFT THAT WOULD KEEP ON GIVING IF I KNEW WHAT THE HELL IT WAS’ EMAIL The Trump campaign wanted to give me something for my donation.

The note read: “Receive your gift now. Friend, to receive your free personal gift from Mr. Trump, you must donate by 11:59 PM TONIGHT.” But there was nothing that explained what the gift was. However, another email did promise a specific gift — an “exclusive, nontransferable, invitation-only opportunity to receive a limited edition Trump Black Card.” My initial reaction was: “A Trump Black Card!?!?!

Well, sign me up, because I can use some help with my holiday shopping.”

But I realized that it was just a card to show that I’m going to proudly

vote for Trump. I was going to write back and decline, because I don’t even plan to shamefully vote for Donald. But then I realized that in the eyes of the Trump machine, I’m special: “Who will be carrying this card? Only those who want to make a strong statement in this election,” the message promised. “You’ll be on a team that will be sending a message to Crooked Hillary to watch out, that we’re coming for her.” But I realized I was actually on Crooked Hillary’s team, so I decided not to get the card. I knew that Mr. Trump wouldn’t put up with anyone dishonest carrying his card.

CDE ITC H@ PG HC ITYPAPE R. C OM

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 11.02/11.09.2016

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