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Port Authority’s Job Perks program now offers
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
02.21/02.28.2018 VOLUME 28 + ISSUE 08
[EDITORIAL] Editor CHARLIE DEITCH News Editor REBECCA ADDISON Associate Editor AL HOFF Digital Editor ALEX GORDON Staff Writers RYAN DETO, CELINE ROBERTS Music Writer MEG FAIR Interns EMILY BENNETT, SABRINA BODON, JAKE MYSLIWCZYK, LAUREN ORTEGO
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“I’m running because I think I can do the job, and because the current state senator is out of touch with what this district needs.� PAGE 06
Troops to Teachers is a convenient, one-year program intended to help current and former members of the US Armed Forces with a bachelor's degree (in math, science,
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On City Paper’s Politicrap blog, we examine how Donald Trump’s actions in Washington, D.C. impact people here in Pittsburgh. Check it out at www.pghcitypaper.com.
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James Craig at Brookhaven Estates, the South Franklin Township trailer park where he spent part of his childhood
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AMES CRAIG loves grabbing a hot dog at Shorty’s Lunch in downtown Washington, Pa. If this rural county has a melting pot, it’s this small, crowded diner where the secret to the food is the flattop grill that’s only been replaced once since the joint opened in 1932. “I love coming here because there’s this amazing mix of people in here having lunch,” says Craig, a recently announced Democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania Senate. “You’ve got folks in here who’ve been out working the line, eating next to lawyers who work down the street at the courthouse.” Craig isn’t the only guy who loves Shorty’s. In 2003, when developers tried
to take the property — along with several others — by eminent domain for a mixed-use development, more than
From drug-addicted parents to homelessness, does James Craig’s hardscrabble life in Washington County make him the ideal state senate candidate? {BY CHARLIE DEITCH} 23,000 people signed a petition opposing the move. A pretty good number for a city with a population just above 13,500.
The busy eatery is the perfect place for Craig to talk about his campaign to oust incumbent state Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Monoghela) in the 46th District, the California native who ousted incumbent Tim Solobay in 2014. Bartolotta rode a GOP wave into office and was the first Republican to hold the seat in nearly 40 years. But Craig contends getting elected in this rural district — that stretches from south Beaver County, though Washington County and down into Greene County — has little to do with whether you have an “R” or a “D” after your name. “I’m running because I think I can do the job, and because the current state CONTINUES ON PG. 08
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MARCH 18-24 #PGHPIZZAWEEK NEWS
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Compassionate Certification Centers Presents the 2018
Co-hosted by
MEDICAL CANNABIS
The Intersection of Cannabis Culture EVENT HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: • On-site • Cannabis Career Fair with local and national companies • Campaign For Compassion on-stage fundraiser • 4.2 Mile Run/Walk in partnership with the 420 Games • Riverboat cruise and fundraiser for the Disabled American Veterans and Make a Wish Foundations.
Nearly 6,000 attendees are expected to attend the second-annual event, including hundreds of exhibitors.
April 12-14, 2018 David L. Lawrence Convention Center | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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senator is out of touch with what this district needs,” Craig says. “Not many people have had the arc that I’ve had in my life. I can see the whole picture, and the vast majority of folks can only see part. People born into wealth and privilege don’t know what it’s like to live in abject poverty. They may feel empathy for you, but they don’t know what it’s like to have your heat turned off in the middle of winter, but those are the hardships that many of us have faced.” For Craig, getting elected has more to do with knowing what residents in this area are going through and what assistance they need to get through it. The district, he says, needs someone who knows how to help because they’ve lived the same lives and suffered through the same hardships. If that’s the case, then James “Jimmy” Craig could have a real shot of winning this race in November, because he’s got a hell of a story to tell.
The Story Today, Craig, 29, is a married attorney living in North Strabane Township, a bit northeast of Washington. He owns his own mortgage-closing company that specializes in offering free services to help veterans, police officers, firefighters and first responders purchase homes. But he grew up in the Brookhaven Trailer Park, in South Franklin Township, until age 6. Then his family moved to extremely rural West Finley Township, near Greene County on the West Virginia border. The first few years of his life were pretty normal until his father, an ironworker, had his leg crushed by a steel beam. “I really remember that day vividly. We were in Walmart, and my mom was
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paged over the intercom. My grandmother had called to tell us that my dad had been in an accident,” Craig says. “My dad was the sole bread-winner for our family. For about two years, we didn’t have any income, except for a little bit of worker’s comp until he finally got social-security disability. But in that time, we had lost our home, and I was young and didn’t fully understand what was going on.”
Find out where James Craig stands on wedge issues like the Second Amendment, abortion and LGBT issues at www.pghcitypaper.com.
His family would spend the next several years bouncing around. After a short stay at a Days Inn, the family moved in with his mother’s parents until “we outstayed our welcome.” His mom stayed with her parents, and Craig and his dad went to live with his dad’s parents. “Eventually we got a place in Buffalo Township, but we couldn’t keep up with the rent and were evicted,” Craig says. During this time, Craig’s parents became severely addicted to opioids: His father had a prescription because of his accident, and his mother was given pills for fibromyalgia pain. The family finally settled in a trailer on the back lot of a farm. But at age 15, he started living with a rotating group of friends — many of whose parents acted as surrogates for Craig — more than he was at home. He credits them for helping to keep him sane during the times of homelessness, parental drug addiction and neglect. “I had several adopted mothers who would send me home with bags of food so that I could eat,” Craig says. “One time, I went on a Boy Scout trip, and the mother of one of my friends slipped me $100, so I could take part in the activities. I’ll never forget stuff like that.” Craig began working as much as he could at a young age on weekends, evenings and throughout the summer. Despite that schedule, he still did well at school and spent a lot of his free time reading, mostly history books. These weren’t just idle pursuits. Craig’s home life was an unfixable disaster, and he made it his goal to get himself out through education. He was accepted at the University of Pittsburgh and, except for the summer after his freshman year, he wouldn’t return home again until he heard that his father had become ill. In 2014, his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a short time to CONTINUES ON PG. 10
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live. He was given palliative care to treat his pain and suffering. Craig’s mother found it difficult to deal with her husband’s illness; she died of a drug overdose shortly after his diagnosis after she took some of her husband’s prescribed morphine. It wasn’t the last time addiction would hit Craig’s life. In 2016, his brother died from an overdose of fentanyl-laced heroin a few years later. Craig’s father is still living with cancer today, and the pair maintains a relationship. But if he hadn’t been able to extricate himself from the situation, who knows how James Craig would have ended up? He’s wondered that himself, and it’s the main reason that he’s running for office. “If you don’t do things exactly right and have luck fall your way every time you need it, you won’t get out,” Craig says. “So, that’s at the fundamental core of why I’m running for this office. The people of this district have been forgotten for a very long time. That’s why they came out to vote in droves in 2016. I’m entering this race with a chip on my shoulder. I’m fighting for the people who came from where I came from. I’m fighting for the kids who deserve their own shot at getting out.”
The District Craig has labeled himself a “blue-dog Democrat,” a more centrist group that has seen its numbers in elected office dwindle as others in the party have moved (or at least pretended to move) to the left. He wears that title as a badge of honor, and says a lot of the district’s residents identify that way, too. They care about people, he says. They work hard, keep their heads down and “don’t like people telling us what to think or feel.” So, when Hillary Clinton made her infamous “basket of deplorables” comment in 2016, Craig says a lot of residents in Washington and Greene counties took it personally.
{2018 GOOGLE MAPS}
A map of the 46th Pa. Senatrial District
“I can tell you that I took it personally,” Craig says. “Look, the people of Southwestern PA may have differing opinions on social issues, but they’re not racist, they’re not deplorable. We’ve been left out of the political discussion, and we’re tired of the way things are being run.” That’s why Craig understands what his friends and neighbors found so appealing about Donald Trump. And that’s why he’s specifically reaching out to them in his campaign. “People from where I come from found their voice finally in politics,” Craig says. “They had been so disenfranchised for so long, and someone finally spoke to the issues that were important to them. Now, there was a lot of other stuff mixed in there too, unfortunately, but he talked to people like they were human beings. “Just talking to people can make
a difference.” In between bites of hot dogs with “everything” at Shorty’s, Craig stops to clarify an earlier point. “I am a millennial blue-dog Democrat and to me, that means I care about who you are as a person and not whether you have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ after your name. I want to dispel the myth that being moderate and being progressive are the exact opposite of one another. There’s progressivism in issues that are largely thought of as conservative issues. “I’m against wasteful government spending, but that doesn’t mean that I’m against social programs that help people, because I’m not and that’s progressiveness.” In terms of wasteful government spending, Craig points to the spending budget for the state legislature which
includes a lot of “frills and windowdressing” like per diems, reimbursements and sending out mailers that he says are nothing more than taxpayer-funded campaign materials. He also favors a reduction in the size of the state house. On the other hand, Craig says he can’t imagine eliminating a program like CHIP which provides health care to children, or other social services that help the district’s most vulnerable citizens. “I had scarlet fever when I was 9. Without CHIP, I probably wouldn’t have been taken to the hospital, and I probably would have died,” says Craig, who believes there are many social programs that seek to level the playing field for those less fortunate. “I believe in an ‘Ameritocracy.’ If you work hard and are determined, you should be able to achieve what you want to achieve. It shouldn’t depend on luck and who you know.” Those sentiments are also what drive Craig’s plans for education. He says you shouldn’t get a lesser education just because your family can’t afford to live in a more affluent district. He says determining the health of schools based on that district’s property taxes is inherently unfair. A poor district means less property tax; less property tax means less spent on education. If the district performs poorly, then no one is going to move into the district, thus the cycle of poverty continues, he believes. Craig says the formula of funding schools “based on imaginary lines has to be turned on its head.” He says the state’s school-funding system needs to be revised so districts are funded equally. “I know a lot of people in more affluent districts are going to be upset because they don’t think they should be paying for poorer districts,” Craig says. “But my answer to that is: If you have a good school, it will stay a good school. And if you have a school that’s struggling — guess what CONTINUES ON PG. 12
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— a dollar spent there is going to have a much greater impact than a dollar spent in Fox Chapel.” Another major issue facing Pennsylvania’s 46th District is the crush of opioid addiction — an issue Craig knows too well. When Craig’s mother suffered from it, it was something you hid and were ashamed of. But views on opioid addiction have changed more recently. “I come from a place of empathy and hope for recovery, instead of a place of judgment based on moral grounds,” he says. “You have to know this disease to work on a cure, and I know what this disease can do. I think more people will listen to me because of my background, and I’m sad it has to be that way, but I’ll take it. “If they listen because of who I am and what my family has gone through, then I’ll take it.”
The Bigger Picture James Craig’s candidacy to help the people of the 46th District could have implications beyond the district’s borders. The first year of President Donald Trump’s term has a lot of Democrats looking to make a difference in the midterm elections, at both the federal and the state levels. Many are expecting a blue wave of candidates into office, much like the red wave of Republicans in 2010, 2012 and 2014. In this year’s state senate races, there are seven seats up for grabs in districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Turning all seven would mean a tie in the senate with the lieutenant governor casting the
{PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CANDIDATE’S FACEBOOK PAGE}
Boy Scouts was a big part of James Craig’s life growing up.
deciding vote. If Craig can beat Bartolotta in his home district, that would give Democrats an edge. And if a Democrat has a shot to win an election in Trump country, pollster G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College, says a blue-dog Democrat probably has the best chance. “We’re seeing Conor Lamb making a run at Tim Murphy’s old seat. That’s the real first test case we’re going to see,” Madonna says. “Republicans took seats in 2010 in rural districts, and they made big in-roads getting Republicans elected in places like Erie and Johnstown, something I never thought would
“I’M FIGHTING FOR THE KIDS WHO DESERVE THEIR OWN SHOT AT GETTING OUT.”
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have happened 10 years ago. “But as a political-science historian, I get caught up on the issues; that’s not what average voters do. For them it’s ‘what have you done for me lately.’ So, we’re going to have a real test this year in places like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin,
Ohio and Minnesota. Can moderate Democrats take back some of these seats?” Madonna says Bartolotta seems “active and engaged” in her district and therefore Craig is going to have to bring something to the table — like his story and knowledge of the district — to show why he deserves the office more than her. “Also, it will be important that he reaches those Democratic Trump voters who felt like the party abandoned them. He’s got a solid narrative, and that will be matched up against the groundwork she’s laid as an incumbent. At the very least, he’s going to make this race very interesting.” One lesson of the 2016 presidential election is that it’s difficult to predict what might happen. That year, 60 percent of the 46th District voted for Trump compared to 36.5 percent for Clinton. But, as Craig explains, the residents of the district were looking for someone to listen to them — someone who cared about their issues and respected where they came from. You don’t have to make a long stretch to come to the conclusion that James Craig could be that person. C D E I T C H @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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FUNDING GROUNDWORK DWORK How could Trump’s infrastructure cture proposal affect cities and towns in Southwestern Pennsylvania? {BY RYAN DETO} On Feb. 12, the White House finally revealed its ts at it would grand infrastructure proposal and claimed that spur $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments across the llion U.S. But the proposal only guarantees $200 billion in federal spending, and the White House is hoping the rest will come from states, municipalities and private investors. This discrepancy has led to some bickering over what exactly President Donald Trump’s infrastructure proposal can accomplish, putting Trump on the offensive. “Our infrastructure plan has ews been put forward and has received great reviews by everyone except, of course, the Democrats,” tweeted Trump on Feb. 13. “After many years we have taken care of our Military, now we have to fix our roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and more.” One displeased local Democrat is Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. He expressed frustration on Twitter over the proposed cuts in federal funding. Peduto was also upset over proposed changes to the funding formula. Cities currently receive $4 in federal funds for every $1 they offer, but Trump’s proposal means they would only receive $1 for every $4 they offer. “[This] would devastate any potential Infrastructure projects,” Peduto tweeted on Feb. 16. “In PA, it amounts to roughly $1 Billion per year in transportation cuts.” So, how exactly will Trump’s infrastructure proposal impact Southwestern Pennsylvania? Pittsburgh City Paper contacted four different municipalities — Pittsburgh, Cranberry, New Castle and Ambridge — to find out. Each has different budgets and
infras infrastructure needs, but most agree that Trum proposal would make it very difficult Trump’s to im improve the conditions of their roads, bridg and transit systems. bridges Cra Cranberry Township manager Jerry Andree told CP P the th Butler County township has been working diligently to expand Freedom and Rochester roads, as a way to accom accommodate Cranberry’s booming population. Cranberry plans to allocate significant dollars to these projects, but eve even so, the township wouldn’t come close to fundi funding those projects under Trump’s proposal. “Loca “Local municipalities simply do not have that kind of lo local funding to help with transportation im improvements on state highways,” wrote Andree in an email to CP. Ambridge borough manager Joe Kauer wrote to CP that the borough is focusing on road improvements, and mentioned that any project the small borough takes on can be a struggle to fund. Even so, for a town that is still losing population, Kauer says “any support is better than no support.” New Castle is a Lawrence County city that could really use some help. It’s still under Act 47 Financial Distress, where the state oversees its spending, and its budget allocates a relatively small amount for road paving considering its population size. As a rural town, New Castle could benefit from getting some of the $50 billion in rural block grant program money proposed by Trump. However, that grant only applies to “innovative” infrastructure projects, and New Castle officials indicated to CP that they’re focused on everyday improvements, like repaving roads. Peduto spokesperson Tim McNulty wrote in an email to CP that Pittsburgh needs to complete “all kinds of bridge, street, transportation and transit projects.” But he doesn’t think Trump is really offering any help. “Under the president’s proposal, the federal match for infrastructure projects would be boiled down to next than nothing,” wrote McNulty. RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
AMBRIDGE
CRANBERRY
PROJECT DESIRES:
Road paving and reconstruction
BEAVER COUNTY Population: 6,891
BUTLER COUNTY Population: 30,739
PROJECT DESIRES:
State highway expansions
Trump’s match:
Match under old formula:
Money to offer in 2018:
Trump’s match:
Match under old formula:
$200,000
$50,000
$800,000
$1 million
$250,000
$4 million
NEW CASTLE LAWRENCE COUNTY Population: 22,500
PROJECT DESIRES:
PITTSBURGH
Street paving
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Population: 305,305
PROJECT DESIRES:
Bridge repairs, street upgrades and masstransit projects
*Pittsburgh infrastructure projects include mass transit, which was matched 50-50 50 50 under previous formula
Money to offer in 2018:
Money to offer in 2018:
Trump’s match:
Match under old formula:
Money to offer in 2018:
Trump’s match:
Match under old formula:
$250,000
$62,500
$1 million
$58 million
$14.5 million
$223 million*
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itas Meet Mint r a g r a Jul M e r ep e h s! PITTSBURGH’S PREMIER W DERBY EXPERIENCE.
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Spay-ghetti & No Balls Dinner February 27 12:30 - 6:00pm Humane Animal Rescue East End Location 6926 Hamilton Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15208
$10 for adults, $5 for kids 10 & under
M enu: Spaghetti with Red Sauce Bread and Butter Salad Dessert
Buy your tickets at the door (while dinners last)
Takeout available! e Celebrat ay! D y a p S d Worl Humane Animal Rescue
News of the Weird {COMPILED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL PUBLISHING}
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A Canada goose got its final revenge on Feb. 1 when, after being shot out of the sky by a hunter in Easton, Md., it struck Robert Meilhammer, 51, of Crapo, Md., seriously injuring the waterfowler. NPR reported that Meilhammer was hunting with a group when one of the large geese flying overhead was killed and fell about 90 feet, landing on Meilhammer’s head and knocking him out. It also dislodged two of Meilhammer’s teeth. Adult Canada geese weigh about 12 to 14 pounds and can have a wingspan of 6 feet. At press time, Meilhammer was in stable condition after being airlifted to a hospital.
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Somebody in Muskegon, Mich., didn’t want the Philadelphia Eagles to win Super Bowl LII. Immediately following the Eagles’ victory over the New England Patriots on Feb. 4, Subaru of Muskegon ran an ad on local NBC affiliate WOOD-TV that featured 30 seconds of silence and a written message: “Congratulations Patriots!” WOOD-TV reported via Twitter that the business had submitted only one version of the ad and had specified that it run regardless of the game’s outcome.
the back to avoid the speed bumps,” but when he did, he and his bike fell into a sinkhole. Firefighters were called to rescue Merritt, who suffered a skull fracture and a loose tooth as a result of the 15-foot fall. The bike was totaled. “It’s not good customer relations,” Merritt said about the sinkhole. The center property manager reportedly is fixing the hole.
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Sonny Donnie Smith, 38, of Clackamas, Ore., was feeling snubbed in September 2016 when both his father and his brother were invited to a family wedding, but Sonny wasn’t. As a perfectly reasonable revenge, Sonny made anonymous phone calls to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and the Midland International Air and Space Port in Midland, Texas, claiming that his father and brother were terrorists and would be traveling through the airports. An FBI investigation revealed no terrorist threats, and after interviewing the father and brother, they were both released. On Feb. 1, Sonny Smith pleaded guilty to making the calls, according to The Oregonian, and will be sentenced on May 10.
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When a Texas stripper arrived at her 11:30 a.m. gig on Feb. 1, she smelled a rat: Her destination turned out to be Noel Grisham Middle School in Round Rock, Texas. Rather than going inside, the performer called the school and reported a prank. Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, a district spokesperson, told the Austin AmericanStatesman the student jokester had used his cellphone to order the stripper and paid for it with his parents’ credit card. He is now facing disciplinary action. Houston Realtor Nicole Lopez is sporting a new nickname these days: The Taco Lady. Since late 2017, Lopez has incorporated a novel incentive for buyers of homes she’s listed: $250 in free tacos with the purchase of a home. “Let’s be honest, everyone in Texas loves tacos,” Lopez told KHOU-TV. “And so, it’s really been this ‘taco the town,’” she laughed. Lopez cited as proof of her success a $170,000 home that’s under contract “and they are super excited for their taco party at the end of this month.” Staff at an internet cafe in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China, had to call paramedics on Jan. 28 when a gamer lost all feeling in his lower limbs after playing the same game for more than 20 hours straight. Newsweek reported that the unnamed man didn’t realize he had become paralyzed until he tried to use the restroom and couldn’t move his legs. As he was being carried out on a stretcher, he was heard begging his friends to finish the game for him.
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A parking lot in Augusta, Ga., became the scene of a nightmare for an unsuspecting motorcyclist and his 1982 Honda bike on Jan. 31. On his way to exchange some shirts at Target in the Augusta Exchange shopping center, Don Merritt told WJBF-TV, “I was going to go around
Cheryl Merrill, 60, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., was arguing with her boyfriend of five years about who would win Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 and became so enraged shortly after kickoff that she picked up a wooden shelf and threw it at him. St. Johns County sheriff’s deputies were called and found Merrill “extremely intoxicated,” according to reporting by WJAXTV. Merrill was charged with aggravated battery and taken to the St. Johns County Jail. Her boyfriend was unable to sign an affidavit because of the hand injury he sustained in the assault. A Scottish farmer called Police Scotland after spotting what he believed to be a tiger in his cow shed near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire on Feb. 3. An armed response team scrambled to the farm and within 45 minutes, established that the fierce big cat was in fact a large cuddly toy. “Any call reporting a potential danger to the public has to be taken seriously,” Peterhead Inspector George Cordiner told Metro News. “Until you know exactly what you are dealing with, every option has to be considered.” Undoubtedly, many records will be set during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. But before the events even began, one Winter Games record was in the books: Organizers distributed 110,000 condoms to the 2,925 athletes — about 37 condoms per competitor. “We hope to aid the athletes visiting from various countries to complete their events successfully and safely,” said a spokesperson for Convenience, the South Korea condom manufacturer that supplied most of the prophylactics. The Korea Biomedical Review reported on Feb. 1 that finely conditioned athletes have been notoriously “sexually unrestrained” before, during and after Olympics contests. Free condom distribution began in 1988 when 8,500 were handed out during the Seoul Olympics.
www.humaneanimalrescue.org S E N D YO U R W E IRD N E W S ITE M S TO WE I RD N E W S T I P S@ AM UNI V E R S AL . C O M .
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LISTEN AS YOU READ: SCAN THE CODE FOR OUR NEW SPOTIFY PLAYLIST, A SOUNDTRACK TO THE STORIES IN THIS SECTION, OR VISIT WWW.PGHCITYPAPER.COM/BLOGS/FFW/
NEW LOCAL RELEASES {BY MEG FAIR}
Lady Beast VICIOUS BREED CRUZ DEL SUR WWW.LADYBEAST.BANDCAMP.COM
If you were worried that Lady Beast was going to abandon its mission to pay homage to metal that replicates the feel of the golden age of metal (pre-1988), then breathe a sigh of relief. Lady Beast’s Vicious Breed is composed of eight tracks that feed the hunger for those who lust for the NWOBHM. That’s the new wave of British heavy metal that took place between the late 1970s and early ‘80s, for those not embedded in metal culture and history.
{CP FILE PHOTO}
Lady Beast
Lady Beast has a very specific energy, one that’s magnetic, heavy and enchanting in a way that only heavy metal can be. With powerful bass and guitar riffs, incredibly locked-in drums and Deborah Levine’s powerful voice, the band molds a sound that oozes Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, while still being distinctly Lady Beast. Lady Beast writes songs about mighty battles (“Every Giant Shall Fall”), dark magic (“Seal the Hex”) and being chaotic, monstrous souls (“Vicious Breed”). But the band also writes metal that motivates. For example, “Get Out” is a pounding protestation aimed at people who doubt your energy and vision. “Words may cut, but they don’t wound — it takes much more to slow me down,” asserts Levine. Despite writing in the musical landscape of 2017, Lady Beast manages to continuously grow and hone the pre-1988 metal sound it worships, making music that feels both nostalgic and brand new. MEGFAIR@PGHCITYPAPER.COM FOR FANS OF: IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, DRINKING IRON CITY AT HOWLERS
Have a local album you want us to review? Send a digital link to your album to megfair@pghcitypaper.com or email for more info.
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF JAN-TOSH GERLING}
From left to right: Ricky Moslen, Stephanie Tsong and Adam Shuck
WHAT’S THE BUZZ {BY MEG FAIR}
“P
ICTURE YOURSELF in late-’70s, early-’80s Milan or Berlin. You’re just walking down an alley, and you hear music and follow it. You go into a divey bar and find a huge party with all this color, like walking into Oz.” This was the vision for Jellyfish, a free dance party centered around Italo disco, new wave and post-punk music, as described by one of its DJs, Ricky Moslen. Jellyfish is essentially a fusion of Moslen’s previous DJ night, Total Trash, Adam Shuck’s Ganymede, and Stephanie Tsong’s Bubblepop. The event started in September, and Jellyfish is about to throw its sixth party. The three decided to put their DJ talents together to establish a queerfriendly dance night, free of Top 40 pop music. After picking three genres that aren’t usually at the top of folks’ minds, the DJs then set out to find a perfect, unique location for the party: P Town, a Baum
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
Boulevard gay bar in Bloomfield, that doesn’t have much dance-night programming. “It’s not on Butler or Liberty, so it’s just a little out of the way. The people that actually come to the event are the right crowd,” explains Moslen.
JELLYFISH 10 p.m. Fri., Feb. 23. P Town Bar, 4740 Baum Blvd., Bloomfield. Free. www.ptownbar.com
“It’s a destination, but it’s also where regulars hang out, and the owners tell us the regulars love this dance party,” says Shuck. “[Regulars] have come up to us and been like, ‘I haven’t heard this song in decades! How old are you?!’” Also intriguing to patrons is the fact that the majority of the music Moslen, Shuck and Tsong play is made by international artists. “With the location and music, it feels
fresh and new, like travel,” says Moslen. “And sexy, in my opinion! I’ve always found travel to be erotic. There’s something about being in the unknown,” Shuck says. “You take more chances!” Moslen adds. All three love to travel. Moslen works at Robert Morris University in international education, so he’s often coordinating travel and study-abroad trips. Shuck is co-chair of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and writes a daily newsletter (Eat That, Read This), and Tsong is a designer, illustrator and printmaker. Shuck and Tsong are also avid travelers — in fact, Tsong answered CP’s questions via email as she spent time in Ecuador. Just like planning a trip to another country takes time and thoughtful research, so does the crafting of the playlist for the monthly party. “We consistently challenge ourselves to find new music each time we throw an event, which can be fairly difficult,
since there’s a bit of research involved,” wrote Tsong. From YouTube to searching through the collections of passionate collectors on Discogs, the trio spends hours digging for new things to satisfy the Jellyfish crowd. “I feel so invigorated discovering new music from other countries, where you really have to search to find that music. It’s hard to find it, but once you do, it’s like finding treasure,” says Moslen. “In a weird way, [the research] feels like traveling, like exploring this culture, and subcultures of a country that I love,” adds Moslen. “You do all this intense research, and then at the end of it, you just party with your friends,” laughs Shuck. Because Jellyfish’s DJs find great pleasure in the sharing of their research, the gang assembled a mixtape of some of their favorite tracks thus far, and it can be acquired at the dance party. They also post a playlist of the songs they’ve played after the party ends, so revelers can identify their new favorite song. But before the event, the team has to get together to make sure there’s no overlap. “It’s funny how many times we’ll all pick the same song to put in our mixes,” says Shuck. “For such obscure music!” Moslen says with a chuckle. “What’s kind of cool is that I don’t think any of us are pretentious, which is pretty rare for a bunch of music dorks. But Italo disco is the least-pretentious music, and most of the songs are about how fun it is to dance. It’s fun, goofy music.” Because the event itself doesn’t neatly fit into any single box, the people who come to Jellyfish are a diverse bunch. There are punks, non-punks, gender-nonconforming people, queer and straight folk, older and younger patrons. It’s an escape from the clique-ishness of most music scenes and the heavily divided world at large — a few hours in a comfortable space to dance away your cares to music you’ve maybe never heard before. “That escapism is part of [Jellyfish]. The week before the party, I just keep thinking about how I can’t wait [for Jellyfish], so I can just drink and dance,” says Shuck. “I hope other people feel that way, too.” Tsong, who describes the event as “rainbow radiance synth magic,” also feels that it’s a special escape from the trappings of societal norms and the sectioning off of social groups. “Perhaps the most exciting thing about Jellyfish is that it seems to transcend the boundaries of subculture and gender/ sexual orientation,” Tsong says. “I’m proud to be involved in such an inclusive and welcoming project.” ME GFA IR @ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT BRENNER}
Betty Davis
Pittsburgh has given birth to myriad artists, but none have been as unique as Betty Davis. The former Betty Mabry moved to New York during the revolutionary ’60s. After befriending Jimi Hendrix, she inspired jazz icon Miles Davis to change his look and music so it would appeal to a younger, bolder audience. She also married him. When the ’70s came along, Davis released her own music, a sexually charged blend of funk and rock that made it clear she was in control. Then she disappeared. This weekend, the Black Bottom Film Festival hosts the U.S. premiere of Betty: They Say I’m Different, a beguiling documentary that tells her story through music excerpts, interviews with friends, family, former bandmates and — while she’s never seen clearly on camera — Davis herself. Now residing quietly back in Pittsburgh (her exact home is never specifically revealed), the offstage Betty lives in direct contrast with the woman who belted out songs like “Nasty Gal.” “She really is the Greta Garbo of funk, incredibly private, and is someone who feels no need to return to the limelight or run after publicity — which, in this social media-obsessed world, is pretty unique,” says Phil Cox, the London-based filmmaker who directed the film. Danielle Maggio, a University of Pittsburgh doctoral candidate in ethnomusicology, has lectured on Davis and became the film’s associate producer after reaching out to Cox. Davis may be reclusive, but Maggio says she maintains the inner strength that has guided her throughout the years. “She is an incredibly powerful woman and has strong opinions about current music, politics and culture,” Maggio says. “Betty is a producer at heart. She has such a great ear and an amazing sense of style.” The film is also screening at Row House Cinema, in Lawrenceville, on Thu., March 1, and the Regent Square Theater, on Sat., March 3. The latter event follows a workshop and panel discussion at Pittsburgh Filmmakers that afternoon, with a reunion of Funk House, Davis’ original band, after the screening. Cox will be on hand for a Q&A session prior to the premiere.
When it comes to crafting real taste in our blends, two ingredients are all we’ve ever needed. Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco & Water
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW DOMINGUEZ}
Wild Pink
QUIET IN BROOKLIN {BY ELI ENIS} ALTHOUGH Wild Pink is, on paper, just
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 8PM
JASON MORAN AND THE BANDWAGON KELLY-STRAYHORN THEATER 5941 Penn Avenue-East Liberty
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT: SHOWCLIX.COM OR CALL 888.718.4253 OTHER OUTLETS: DORSEY’S RECORD SHOP – DAVE’S MUSIC MINE FOR MORE INFORMATION: KENTEARTS.ORG OR CALL 412.322.0292 Funding for this project is provided by: The Heinz Endowments, Advancing the Black Arts in Pittsburgh Fund.
another indie-rock band from New York City, its sound distinguishes it from the thousands of others that are currently blossoming out of the longstanding creative hub. Like many Brooklynites, none of their members are originally from the city. But unlike others, Wild Pink’s music hasn’t adapted to its loud, anxious and urgent surroundings. Its full-length eponymous debut from last year is patient, soft and grows gradually climactic. As represented by its mosaic-style cover art, there are fireworks on Wild Pink, but they’re popping at an unobtrusive distance from the band’s idyllic vantage point. Between vocalist/guitarist John Ross’ hushed, yet throatily deep timbre; guitar/ bass tones that suggest the specific type of chilly evening humidity that follows a warm, spring day; and pattering drums that mostly ripple by the pond’s edge, occasionally splashing and sending rings across the water, Wild Pink sounds like it draws more influence from actual bushes than Bushwick. Contemporaries like Thunder Dreamer and Cloakroom (minus the shoe gaziness) come to mind, as well as the woodsy serenity of Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else — even a little bit of the middle-American vista-rock of Kevin Morby and Kurt Vile. Most of those artists originate from rural areas, however. In contrast, Wild Pink seems sonically separated from its urban homebase. But Ross denies that the band’s regional sound is intentional, instead citing some of rock’s longstanding heroes as his inspiration. “I listen to a lot of music, but I think
Wild Pink has a bit of classic rock going on,” he tells City Paper by phone. “Tom Petty, Springsteen, a lot of that kind of stuff. And then some other stuff like Cocteau Twins, Brian Eno, of course.” Echoes of those artists certainly resonate throughout Wild Pink, particularly Springsteen in the heartland-ish “Great Apes” and “Battle of Bedford Falls,” and Petty in the peppy “Nothing to Show” and the crunchy closer, “They Hate Our Freedom.” Wild Pink is signed to the indie label, Tiny Engines Records, and most of its label mates are apt to be twentysomethings with knowledge bases that generally don’t predate the ’90s. Thus, Ross’ ability to pull from other musical eras gives the band an edge, but perhaps less likeminded companions.
WILD PINK, ADAM TORRES 8 p.m. Sun., Feb. 25. Club Café, 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $10. 412-431-4950 or www.clubcafelive.com
“We are kind of outsiders,” Ross says, in an amiably indifferent tone. “I don’t know if we’re part of a clique or anything. Certainly not in New York, but neither in indie music as a whole.” “We don’t really have like a home venue or a crew or anything,” he adds. Sometimes forming a collective with other artists is imperative for upward mobility in such a saturated market, but Wild Pink seems to be benefiting from its unintended isolation. And from Ross’ description, the group’s next record — due out early this summer — will deviate even farther from the cramped, industrial environment the members reside in. “I think that everything’s a little more fleshed out. A little bit more room to breathe,” he says. “It’s definitely dreamier, I guess, more lush.” I N F O@ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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CRITICS’ PICKS
BELVEDERES
WE BUY RECORDS & CDS
TOP PRICES PAID FOR QUALITY COLLECTIONS TI Adam Torres
ULTRA-DIVE THURS FEB 22
COVEN - DARK DANCE DJ WILLIAM (HADES NIGHT)
FRI FEB 23
DOWN AND DERBY
SAT FEB 24 RIHANNA NIGHT DJ
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Eat pizza and listen to weird music. That’s my personal life philosophy, and it’s not dissimilar to local Lawrenceville spot Spirit. This is why we love and accept that venue. It’s got the pizza covered, and you’ve got ears, so go experience the weirdness in full by taking yourself and all your closest family, friends, ex-college roommates and the neighborhood mailmen to see local punk boy Dan Koshute. Former frontman of glam-rock band Dazzletine, Koshute is sure to provide a nice dance/mosh combo for your evening. He sounds Ratboys a little (a lot) like a young Robert Plant. Bring cash, or pay the ATM fee. Rachel Lynne and Slugss kick off the event. Emily Bennett 9 p.m. 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $8. www.spiritpgh.com
Chi-town’s grittiest are back in the ’Burgh and ready to play songs with weird titles (like “Elvis is in the Freezer”), while you toss back an espresso beverage variant. I recommend Black Forge Coffee’s vanilla-lavender latte. If you don’t already know, Ratboys are a little bit of gorgeous indie rock meets heart-ripping emo — and its latest release, GN, feels like the band’s most focused album to date. The hooks on this thing are just plain toothy. When I first heard “Peter the Wild Boy” — a billowing song about childhood and royalty and innocence — I stopped dead in my tracks when the saccharine guitar evolved into a fuzzy wall of sound. Go ahead, sing along. EB 7 p.m. 1206 Arlington Ave., Allentown. All ages. $10. www. blackforgecoffee.com
[SINGERSONGWRITER] + SUN., FEB. 25 When you hear an artist without seeing a visual representation to match up with the voice or sound, your mind can make up all sorts of absurd ideas of what the performer might they look like. When I first heard Adam Torres, I immediately imagined a small, tender cartoon bird, and that’s just the truth. Despite boasting Fat Possum label creds — that’s the Mississippi outfit where the likes of Junior Kimbrough, The Black Keys, The Districts and Soccer Mommy have found a home — these sad, folky hombres are the most humble of all the bands. EB 8 p.m. 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $10. www.clubcafelive.com
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SILENT DISCO YOGA 8PM
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4016 BUTLER STREET PITTSBURGH, PA 15201 412-687-2555
513 GRANT AVENUE • MILLVALE Questions? Call Us 412-821-8484
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As a self-proclaimed alt-country addict and aficionado, I’ve gotta say it doesn’t get much better than Deer Tick, folks. Even though the Providence, R.I., band rejects the alt-country label, I’m here to slap it right across its members’ foreheads. Famously irreverent frontman John McCauley had a baby with his wife in 2014, and because he needed to raise up his teacup human, the band took an unofficial break. It has been four years since the ill-fitting-suit-donning Deer Tick released a new album, or any kind of new music. In September of last year, however, it decided to make not one, but two albums. You heard me, two. You just can’t miss this one at Mr. Smalls. EB 8 p.m. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. All ages. $25. www.mrsmalls.com
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TO SUBMIT A LISTING: WWW.PGHCITYPAPER.COM/HAPPENINGS {ALL LISTINGS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 9 A.M. FRIDAY PRIOR TO PUBLICATION}
ROCK/POP THU 22 CRAFTHOUSE STAGE & GRILL. The GRID. 8-11 p.m. Whitehall. 412-653-2695. DIESEL. Doyle “of The Misfits.” 7-10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-8800.
FRI 23 GOOSKI’S. Leaders of the Shift. 10-11:45 p.m. Polish Hill. 412-681-1658. MOONDOG’S. The Nick Schnebelen Band. 8:30-11:30 p.m. Blawnox. 412-828-2040.
SAT 24 885 ROADHOUSE. King’s Ransom. 8 p.m.-midnight. Clairton. 412-405-8561. BAJA BAR AND GRILL. In Transit Band. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Fox Chapel. 412-963-0640. DIESEL. Bubba Sparxxx. 7-10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-8800. DOWNEY’S HOUSE. The Good Guys. 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Robinson. 412-489-5631. MOONDOG’S. Chillent. 8:30-11:30 p.m. Blawnox. 412-828-2040. THE SHOP. Machine Gun, Blood Pressure, Concealed Blade & Peace Talks The Electric Word Life Band. 8 p.m. Bloomfield. 412-621-1715. SMILING MOOSE. Pop Punk Night. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. South Side. 412-439-5706.
FRI 23 ANDYS WINE BAR. DJ Malls Spins Vinyl. 5 p.m. Downtown. 412-773-8884. BELVEDERE’S. Down & derby disco skate. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555. THE FLATS ON CARSON. Pete Butta. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. South Side. 412-586-7644. ONE 10 LOUNGE. DJ Goodnight, DJ Rojo. 9 p.m. Downtown. 412-874-4582. P-TOWN. Jellyfish. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Oakland. 412-621-0111. RIVERS CASINO. DJ Digital Dave. Levels. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. North Side. 412-231-7777. RUGGER’S PUB. 80s Night w/ DJ Connor. 9 p.m. South Side. 412-381-1330.
SAT 24 BELVEDERE’S. DJ admc. Rihanna ri-play. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555.
DIESEL. DJ CK. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-8800. MIXTAPE. DJ Antithesis. ‘The 1990s (& a bag of chips)’ dance party. 9 p.m. Garfield. 412-661-1727. PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. DJ Tenova. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Downtown. 412-471-2058. RIVERS CASINO. VDJ Rambo. Levels. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. North Side. 412-231-7777.
TUE 27 THE GOLDMARK. Pete Butta. Reggae & dancehall. 10 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-688-8820. THE SUMMIT. Dig Now Sounds w/ Hot Honey. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Mt. Washington. 412-918-1647.
WED 28 THE GOLDMARK. Pete Butta & Preslav. Top Dollar Dancehall.
MP 3 MONDAY NIGHT NIGHT BOY
SUN 25 HOWLERS. Saajtak, Mortis & Thousandzz of Beez. 8 p.m.-midnight. Bloomfield. 412-682-0320. THE R BAR. Billy the Kid’s Steel Town All-Stars. 7-10 p.m. Dormont. 412-942-0882.
WED 28 PALACE THEATRE. Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles. 7:30 p.m. Greensburg. 724-836-8000.
DJS THU 22 THE FUNHOUSE @ MR. SMALLS. Centrifuge. Nongenre specific electronic music night showcasing aspiring fresh talent to veterans alike. 9 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447. PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. Bobby D Bachata. 10 p.m. Downtown. 412-471-2058. RIVERS CASINO. DJ NIN. Levels. 6 p.m.-2 a.m. North Side. 412-231-7777.
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Each week we post a song from a local artist online for free. This week, it’s “Heart of Stone,” by Night Night Boy. This brief power-pop jammer has everything — catchy hooks, a ripping guitar solo and a bouncy chorus to sing along to at the top of your lungs. Stream or download “Heart of Stone” for free on FFW>>>, the music blog at pghcitypaper.com.
HEAVY ROTATION
TUE 27
Here are four songs CP editor Charlie Deitch can’t stop listening to:
THU 22 ELWOOD’S PUB. Well Strung Trio. 7-10 p.m. Rural Ridge. 724-265-1181.
CLASSICAL
WED 28
The Danger Bees
THU 22
KARMA. Funk Factory w/ Cross/Current & Steeltown Horns. 8-11 p.m. South Side. 844-655-2672. RIVERS CLUB. Jessica Lee & Friends. 5:30 p.m. Downtown. 412-391-5227. SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. Interval Jazz Night. Feat. house band w/ Howard Alexander, Tony DePaolis & James Johnson III. 8 p.m.-midnight. Lawrenceville. 412-807-9696.
“Heartless Jane”
Chris Isaak
“Somebody’s Crying”
STRING QUARTET ETHEL & NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTIST ROBERT MIRABAL. Gorell Recital Hall, 8 p.m. Allentown. 724-357-1313.
SUN 25 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY PHILHARMONIC AND CHORUS. Andrés Cárdenes, John Neschling, Guest Conductor CMU Chorus Thomas W. Douglas, Director of Choral Studies present Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Overture Villa-Lobos Chôros No. 10,
ACOUSTIC THU 22 MJ’S STEEL CITY. The Eclectic Acoustics. 7-9 p.m. Robinson. 724-227-3051.
JD McPherson
“Lucky Penny”
BAR 3 MILLVALE. Todd and Dale. 8:30-10:30 p.m. Millvale. 412-408-3870. RIVERS CASINO. Right TurnClyde. 8-11 p.m. North Side. 412-231-7777. RUMFISH GRILLE. The Eclectic Acoustics. 8-11 p.m. Bridgeville. 412-914-8013.
“Better Boat”
JAZZ
HIP HOP/R&B
THU 22
BLUES THU 22
SAT 24
KARMA. Komplex, John Sisco, & Camp Yola. 8-11:45 p.m. South Side. 844-655-2762.
O’DONNA’S. The Bo’Hog Brothers. 8-11 p.m. Beaver. 878-313-3418.
FRI 23
THE MONROEVILLE RACQUET CLUB. Jazz Bean Live. 7 p.m. Monroeville. 412-728-4155. www. per WALLACE’S TAP pa pghcitym ROOM. Tony .co Campbell Jazzsurgery. 5-7:30 p.m. East Liberty. 412-665-0555.
FULL LIST ONLINE
CIOPPINO RESTAURANT & CIGAR BAR. The Midnight Express Band. 7-11 p.m. Strip District. 412-281-6593. ELWOOD’S PUB. Jack of Diamonds. 8:30-11:30 p.m. Rural Ridge. 724-265-1181. FODI’S BAR. Still Not Sober. 9 p.m. Glenshaw. 412-486-9919.
SUN 25 CITY OF ASYLUM @ ALPHABET CITY. Off Minor Jazz Series: Firm Roots. 6-8 p.m. North Side. 412-435-1110.
MON 26
SUN 25 MOONDOG’S. Miss Freddye’s Blues Band, Bob & Robin Duo & Risen To Save. Musical Hearts benefit. 4-8 p.m. Blawnox. 412-828-2040.
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HAMBONE’S. Ian Kane, Ronnie Weiss & Tom Boyce. Jazz Standards, showtunes & blues. 6:30 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-681-4318.
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MR. SMALLS THEATER. Less Than Jake, Four Year Strong, Direct Hit, Bearings. 7 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447. REX THEATER. American Nightmare w/ No Warning & Spiritual Cramp. 8 p.m. South Side. 412-381-6811. RIVERS CASINO. Right Turn Clyde. 8-11 p.m. MCG Jazz. Drum Bar. 9 p.m.-midnight. North Side. 412-231-7777.
THE FUNHOUSE @ MR. SMALLS. Declan McKenna w/ Chappell Roan. 7:30 p.m. Millvale. 6034337465.
WED 28 ALLEGHENY ELKS LODGE #339. Pittsburgh Banjo Club. 8 p.m. North Side. 412-321-1834. CATTIVO. Kitchen Dwellers. 8 p.m.-midnight. Lawrenceville. 412-381-6811.
In 1960 Jane Jacobs’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities sent shockwaves through the architecture and planning worlds, with its exploration of the consequences of modern planners’ and architects’ reconfiguration of cities. Jacobs was also an activist, who was involved in many fights in mid-century New York, to stop “master builder” Robert Moses from running roughshod over the city. This film retraces the battles for the city as personified by Jacobs and Moses, as urbanization moves to the very front of the global agenda. Many of the clues for formulating solutions to the dizzying array of urban issues can be found in Jacobs’s prescient text, and a close second look at her thinking and writing about cities is very much in order. This film sets out to examine the city of today through the lens of one of its greatest champions.
WED 28 PARK HOUSE. Shelf Life String Band. 9 p.m. North Side. 412-224-2273.
WORLD SAT 24 SYNOD HALL. Ars Longa: Baroque Music of Cuba & the New World. The group specializes in Afro-Cuban Baroque Music & will present a program entitled “Baroque Music of Cuba and the New World” centered around villancicos of celebrated eighteenth century Cuban maestro de capilla Esteban Salas alongside baroque works from Bolivia. 8-11 p.m. Oakland. 412-361-2048.
REGGAE
THIS SCREENING IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC. RSVPS ARE APPRECIATED: MARYLU@PHLF.ORG OR 412-471-5808 EXT. 527 FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.PHLF.ORG
THU 22 PIRATA. The Flow Band. 9 p.m.-midnight. Downtown. 412-323-3000.
EVENTS
TUE 27
FRI 23
FILM SCREENING: CITIZEN JANE: BATTLE FOR THE CITY
HAMBONE’S. Acoustic Brunch. 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-681-4318.
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REX THEATER. Watain with Destroyer 666. 8 p.m. South Side. 412-381-6811.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22 • 6 PM – 8 PM
SUN 25
ARTS
OTHER MUSIC
MON 26
JOIN US AT THE LANDMARKS PRESERVATION RESOURCE CENTER FOR ONGOING WORKSHOPS AS WE CONTINUE PROGRAMMING ON ARCHITECTURE, HISTORY, DESIGN, URBAN PLANNING, AND OTHER TOPICS RELATED TO HOW CITIES FUNCTION AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION AS A TOOL OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
FORTY BAR AND GRILL. Right TurnClyde. 9 p.m.-midnight. Washington. 724-470-9040. VINES WINE BAR AT HINES WARD’S TAVERN 86. The Eclectic Acoustics. 7-10 p.m. Cranberry. 724-741-0860.
SAVOY RESTAURANT. Roger Humphries & RH Factor. 8-11 p.m. Strip District. 412-281-0660. THE SHOP. Sons of Lake Volta. 7-9 p.m. Homewood. 412-624-4129.
FRI 23
MUSIC AT MIDDAY. Recital series featuring students of Duquesne University. 12:30 p.m. First Lutheran Church, Downtown. 412-471-8125.
RIVERS CASINO. On The Level. 8-11 p.m. Tres Lads. Drum Bar. 9 p.m.-midnight. North Side. 412-231-7777.
- A program of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Foundation
SAT 24
10 p.m.-2 a.m. Lawrenceville. 412-688-8820.
WED 28
SAT 24
LANDMARKS PRESERVATION RESOURCE CENTER
FRI 23
Travis Meadows
Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major, & “Titan,” 7:30 p.m. Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. 412-268-4921.
COUNTRY
KARMA. Sweet Earth, Moment Being w/ Astro. 8-11 p.m. South Side. 844-655-2762. RILEY’S POUR HOUSE. Martin Rosenberg. Carnegie. 412-279-0770.
744 REBECCA AVENUE +
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Sponsored by:
What to do FEBRUARY 21-27 WEDNESDAY 21 Taylor Phelan & Chris Jamison
MR. SMALLS FUNHOUSE Millvale. 412-421-4447. With special guest Matthew Maraist. All ages event. Tickets: mrsmalls.com. 8p.m.
THURSDAY 22 PVRIS
STAGE AE North Side. With special guests Flint Eastwood & Cherry Pools. Tickets: ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000. Doors open at 6:30p.m.
Wild Rivers MR. SMALLS FUNHOUSE Millvale. 412-421-4447. With special guest Jesse Denaro. Over 18 event. Tickets: mrsmalls.com. 8p.m.
Spotlights CATTIVO Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157. With special guests Action Camp & Old Man Rob. All ages event. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 6p.m.
IN PITTSBURGH Guess, Jordan York & Bigler Bros. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.
Casop: A Requiem for Rice TRUST ARTS EDUCATION CENTER Downtown. 412-456-6666. Tickets: trustarts.org. 7p.m.
MONDAY 26 An Evening w/ Robbie Fulks
Bollywood Boulevard BYHAM THEATER Downtown. 412-456-6666. Tickets: trustarts.org. 7:30p.m.
CLUB CAFE South Side. 412-431-4950. Over 21 event. Tickets: ticketweb.com/clubcafe. 8p.m.
FRIDAY 23
Susan Faludi
Big Gigantic
STAGE AE North Side. With special guest The Floozies & Chalk Dinosaur. Tickets: ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000. Doors open at 7p.m.
American Nightmare REX THEATER South Side. 412-381-1681. With special guests No Warning & Spiritual Cramp. Tickets: mrsmalls.com. 8p.m.
Black Bottom Film Festival AUGUST WILSON CENTER Downtown. 412-456-6666.
SATURDAY 24 Sixth Annual Plant & Seed Swap
PHIPPS CONSERVATORY Oakland. For more info visit phipps.conservatory.org. 2:30p.m.
SUNDAY 25
Boyce ß Harris Harrison Hills ß Hartwood ß North ß Settlers lers Cabin ß South
Soccer
Dek Hockey
T-Ball
Tennis & Pickleball
Ages g 2-8
Ages 3-12
Ages 4+ & 12+
Darkest Hour CATTIVO Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157. With special guests Whores & Extinction A.D.. Over 21 event. Tickets: mrsmalls.com. 7p.m.
Grifters. Over 21 event. Tickets: mrsmalls.com. 8p.m.
Gaelic Storm JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE Warrendale. 724-799-8333. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.
Nora Jane Struthers and The Party Line
Aaron Carter
MR. SMALLS THEATRE Millvale. 412-421-4447. With special guest Grant Street
HARD ROCK CAFE Station Square. 412-481-ROCK. With special guests Amy
JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE Warrendale. 724-799-8333. With special guest The Krush. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 8p.m.
The Tim Stevens/ Leonard Johnson Project BACKSTAGE BAR AT THEATER SQUARE Downtown. 412-456-6666. Free event. 5p.m.
Yoga Classes Classes meet Thursdays 7:00-8:00 pm March 8-29 North Park Rose Barn and South Park Buffalo Inn
Flag Football
Mountain Biking
Ages 4-15
Ages 8-18
Starting mi mid-March through mid-April. d-A April. Weekday evening and weekend Weekda d options. op ptions. For details, visit alleghenycounty.us/youthsports thsports
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TUESDAY 27 Y&T
Tickets: trustarts.org. Through Feb. 25.
Youth Sports at Allegheny County Parks
Ages 2-5
CARNEGIE MUSIC HALL Oakland. 412-622-8866. Tickets: trustarts.org. 7:30p.m.
SPOTLIGHTS CATTIVO LAWRENCEVILLE. 412-687-2157. FEBRUARY 22
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
$30 per month for county residents, $40 per month for non-residents Pre-registration required at alleghenycounty.us/parkprograms
[BOOK REVIEW]
WORD PLAY
“FOR HER, IDENTITY WAS AS MUCH A PROTECTED SPACE AS IT WAS AN EXPRESSION OF INNER SELFHOOD.”
{BY FRED SHAW} There’s something pleasingly circular about reviewing Lauren Russell’s 74-page debut collection, What’s Hanging on the Hush (Ahsahta Press) for City Paper. In it, the poem, “Of Mice and Monsters” cribs a passage from the syndicated column, News of the Weird, about Swedish murderers marrying behind bars. The poem also manages to incorporate quotes from Lady Gaga’s guitarist, “Jesus Christ” and a story about lab mice taxidermized into “humanlike pantomimes.” Thus, the stage is set for what follows: imaginative work crafted to be both impressionistic and exploratory. Her book invokes academic-darlings Foucault and Derrida, so it’s unsurprising that Russell is assistant director of the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics at the University of Pittsburgh. With a strong list of publication credits, as well as a recipient of Cave Canem and NEA fellowships, Russell seems intent on breaking away from straightforward narrative and into something headier than heartful. The postmodern “Unit” uses psychiatry’s DSM-5 manual to craft medical language into prose-y lists, the alternating fragments attempting to mirror the troubling experience of being institutionalized. A whirlwind of voices here mimics poet Myung Mi Kim’s similarly experimental work. The poem ends with a stanza that reads, “Gulp of telltale trickle down. Harassed on ward. Dead on waiting room floor. In accordance with perceived value. Lightening is a door at the end of.” This open-ended conclusion after the text’s careening nature seems expected but unsatisfying. While the prose-poem “Pittsburgh” might have some thinking of inclines or pierogis, the setting, the speaker’s tworoom apartment, instead allows reflection on her OCD. On her speaker’s reclusiveness, Russell references the death of Emily Dickinson’s dog, Carlo, as a turning point for that poet’s plunge into solitude. Here, claustrophobia gets symbolized by the speaker’s cat, Neruda, “squeezing into the crawl space beyond the basement wall …” It’s also shown when Russell writes, “When I was fourteen, I couldn’t sleep. Every time I lay down, I had to get out of bed to recheck the locks.” Here, the speaker’s obsessiveness is illuminated in ways more personal than at other times in the book. What’s Hanging… is ultimately playful when it adds musicality to what Russell might call the “laboratory of the page.” In an exemplar, “___ Than Cake,” she celebrates asexuality by sexualizing sweets, writing, “Gooey, fruity, and bourbon boozy / hot, sauced, and dressed up juicy.” It’s in moments like these where the collection’s language coalesces, taking on its best flavors.
[BOOK]
FAMILY
IDENTITY {BY CELINE ROBERTS}
S
USAN FALUDI, the Pulitzer Prize-
winning journalist and author of the 1991 non-fiction book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, received a revelatory email in 2004 from her estranged father of almost 25 years: “I have decided that I have acho, had enough of impersonating a macho, aggressive man that I have neverr been inside,” her 76-year-old fatherr wrote. He, now she, announced herr nt new life as Stefanie. This family event ’s formed the subject matter of Faludi’s ch 2016 memoir, In the Darkroom, which al found her treading into very personal ho and uncharted territory. Faludi, who en visits Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures’ Ten ith Evenings series on Feb. 26, spoke with mpCity Paper by phone, from Northamphes ton, Mass., where she currently teaches at Smith College. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
{PHOTO COURTESY OF TONY LUONG}
Susan Faludi
cclearly, but I felt I had to do this for mysself; that I couldn’t really move forward w with my own public feminism without ccoming to some kind of understanding a and reckoning with this event in my p private life. My father had kind of d driven a Trojan horse into the professsional and political domain, and it was s something I had to confront honestly. I figure things out by writing.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO TAKE ON ER SUCH A PERSONAL NARRATIVE AFTER ST? YOUR BACKGROUND AS A JOURNALIST? ce in I kind of felt I didn’t have a choice some ways. I don’t write about personal stuff very much, so it was quite ather a reach for me. First of all, my father ’t do asked me to write her story. I don’t o do, everything my father tells me to
YOUR FATHER TRANSITIONED LATE IN LIFE AND LIVED AS STEFANIE FROM 2004 UNTIL 2015. THAT’S SO MUCH LIFE TO PACK INTO SUCH A SHORT TIME. That was the big question a lot of my father’s colleagues asked — “Why did she wa it until she was 76?” I
INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
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FAMILY IDENTITY, CONTINUED FROM PG. 25
think she did it when she was comfortable. She wasn’t ready. Even in 2004 being transgender was still an unusual phenomenon. YOU WRITE OF THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS SEEING YOUR FATHER AND YOUR RESULTING CLAUSTROPHOBIA. DO YOU THINK THIS CLAUSTROPHOBIA IS A NECESSARY FEELING WHEN WITNESSING THE GERMINATION OF A NEW LIFE WHETHER BY BIRTH OR BY SURGERY? It had everything to do with our prior relationship. If anything, I came to Hungary [to visit my father] thinking, “Oh, maybe this is going to be this great transformation in our relationship that my father, now that she’s a woman, will be more relaxed, will be more open, will
SUSAN FALUDI 7:30 p.m. Mon., Feb. 26. Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $15-35. www.pittsburghlectures.org
talk to me, will let down all of her defenses.” And instead what I was greeted with was the parent that I had feared for so long who was really controlling and basically wouldn’t let me make a phone call or leave the house. It was the ghost of parent past, not the change. In many ways, the easiest part to accept was my father’s gender transformation. It was all the ways my father hadn’t changed that made me despair. HOW DO YOU RATIONALIZE THE SIMULTANEOUS SCRUBBING THAT YOUR FATHER WAS DOING OF HER IDENTITY, EVEN WHILE SHE WAS FOCUSING ON IT SO INTENSELY? I don’t think they were contradictory in her mind in that she sort of went through a succession of identities. Probably most formatively, the experience of having to hide her Jewish identity as a teenager. It sort of implanted in her this notion that it’s dangerous to reveal your past, because it literally was for my father as a Jewish teenager in Holocaust Hungary. My father was, at every step, seeking a category where he, and then she, would feel safe. For my father that meant concealing what came before — whether that was passing as a Christian in 1940s Budapest, or passing as an all-American man in the suburbs in the 1950s. For her, identity was as much a protected space as it was an expression of inner selfhood. C E L I N E @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
[PLAY REVIEWS]
ABOUT MARIE {BY TED HOOVER} IF YOU’RE headed to the University of
Pittsburgh to catch its production of David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette, I’d suggest you spend a little time beforehand brushing up on the main character, the French Revolution, and the literature and philosophy of 18th-century France. Such information could help in navigating your way through Adjmi’s unyielding script, which offers a new look at Marie, a cautionary figure whose popular perception has been that of a spoiled aristo brought down by vanity and greed. I’m not sure what Adjmi wants us to think of his Marie, written as a very self-actualized 21st-century woman, yet curiously uncurious and intellectually torpid. He doesn’t seem to like her much, but he doesn’t seem to like any of the characters he’s written — not the royal family, the court nor the revolutionaries … and that’s his right, certainly. It’s just that he’s really given us nothing to get through the evening. Marie remains a cipher, and the events and historical figures swirling around her pass with no import or weight.
{PHOTO COURTESY OF SAMANTHA CAUN}
Alexis Primus in Marie Antoinette
this is Alexis Primus playing Marie with unbreakable force and conviction. Her laser-sharp performance is all the more remarkable considering what a muddied, confused character the playwright has provided. Adam Nie’s King Louis is a goofy, spoiled buffoon and KJ Gilmer has a great deal of fun with the eyepopping costumes.
MARIE ANTOINETTE
HOLMES AND WATSON continues through March 4. New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $36. 412-320-4610 or www.newhazletttheater.org
A L E X G ORD ON @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
I N F O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
continues through Sun., Feb. 25. Richard Rauh Studio Theatre, Cathedral of Learning, Pitt campus, Oakland. $12-25. 412-624-7529 or www.play.pitt.edu
MYSTERY MAN {BY ALEX GORDON}
Pitt director Le’Mil Eiland attempts to patch up some of the dramaturgical holes with an incredibly detailed production. There is a lot of direction happening on stage, and it would seem that, with only one exception, not a single choice in movement, style, costume, lights or props has occurred without Eiland’s intense focus. Unfortunately, that one exception nearly sinks the production — pace. For reasons that are anybody’s guess, this show is dragged out for an extra 20 minutes, and there’s not a second you’re unaware of it. Stately performances, interminable cue pick-ups and pointlessly convoluted scene changes bring the production, again and again, to a screeching dramatic halt. I was thinking that Eiland wanted to make sure we didn’t miss the point; trust me, Le’Mil, we got it already. Happily, however, in the middle of all
“IT’S MORE fun not to know anything before the curtain goes up,” reads a note by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher in the program for Holmes and Watson, staged at the New Hazlett Theater through March 4. On the one hand, he’s right. The twists of this Sherlock Holmes mystery deserve an unspoiled audience in order for the big reveals to land. On the other, this is a Sherlock Holmes story. The twists are good, but the real fun is in the detective work that leads to them. With Hatcher’s warning in mind, let’s start with the basics of the plot. Sherlock Holmes is purported to have died earlier. Three years later, his compatriot Dr. Watson receives notice that a remote psychiatric institution on an island off Scotland has three patients claiming to be Sherlock Holmes. It’s up to Watson to visit the
blogh.pghcitypaper.com
The first hit is free.
THE REAL FUN IS IN THE DETECTIVE WORK.
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hospital and identify the true detective. This is a Sherlock Holmes story, so witty back-and-forths dominate most of the dialogue. The three Holmeses each have their moment to shine in this regard, but the most enjoyable and most dominant conversation occurs between Watson and the mental institution’s Dr. Evans (a charmingly stuffy Tim McGeever), who’s there to shepherd Watson in his investigation. There’s also a timid matron and a heavily accented orderly, but that’s it as far as the ensemble goes. The production, too, is pretty minimal. The whole thing takes place in one room, with a multi-leveled backdrop used for a series of flashbacks throughout the play. There’s a chair, a table, a bottle of brandy and some books, but the stage mostly looks like a stage. And it’s a clever move, especially if your most recent encounter with the character is the TV show or Guy Ritchie’s frantic film series. The minimal, practical stage setting is a welcome innovation. It makes the twists all the more engaging, because there’s so little to hide behind. Lastly, at the risk of upsetting Mr. Hatcher, just one last spoiler: The production includes at least one Inverness cape.
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[STAGE]
SECRET MAIL {BY REBECCA ADDISON} IN 2004, Frank Warren printed out 3,000 plain postcards. His plan was to ask people to decorate the cards, write down one secret they’d never told anyone else, and mail them to him anonymously. “I handed them out to people on the streets of Washington, D.C., not really knowing what to expect, but slowly secrets began to find their way to my mailbox,” Warren says. “It was a slow trickle at first.” As they arrived, he scanned them and posted them online. That first Sunday the blog where he posted the first batch of postcards had 100 visitors. The next Sunday, he had a thousand. The number of visitors to the site soon grew to hundreds of thousands. “The idea began to spread virally across the country and around the world,” says Warren. “People began to make their own postcards. I started getting postcards with postmarks not just from D.C., but from Texas, Pennsylvania, California, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Switzerland. It was then that I realized I had accidentally tapped into something that had been there the whole time, something I don’t fully understand to this day.” This week, PostSecret: The Show will stop in Pittsburgh. The interactive, multimedia show
Frank Warren
brings to life the stories behind several of the postcard secrets. It will feature secrets submitted by the audience, as well as some of the most humorous and arresting secrets Warren has received throughout the years. “The secrets can be silly or soulful, sexual, romantic or hopeful,” says Warren. “They can be hidden acts of kindness.”
POSTSECRET: THE SHOW
“THE IDEA BEGAN TO SPREAD VIRALLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD.”
7:30 p.m. Tue., Feb. 27. Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $30. 412-456-6666 or www.trustarts.org
One of the secrets he received was written on a postcard made out of a Starbucks cup. It read, “I serve decaf to customers who are rude to me.” Another written on a postcard with an image of
the World Trade Center in New York City read, “Everyone who knew me before 9/11 believes I’m dead.” “Some have caused the FBI to contact me,” Warren says. After more than a decade, Warren’s collection of postcard secrets totals more than one million. They were previously housed in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., and last month, they were transferred to the Museum of Man in California. “My hope is that it allows us to feel a bit more understanding of each other,” Warren says. “I believe when we keep a secret, the burden of that can feel like a wall that separates us from others. By finding the courage to let our secrets go, we can break through that illusion and recognize that these stories don’t separate us, they connect us. They’re like bridges.” By now, it’s clear that the project that started out as a weekly blog has had an impact. In 2011, Warren was awarded the HopeLine Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on suicide prevention and was invited to the White House to work on the issue of mental health. Additionally, PostSecret submissions have been published in five New York Times bestselling books. “When something like this grabs your life and turns it upside down, there’s usually some reasons you’re aware of and maybe some motives you’ll never really uncover,” says Warren. “In some ways, it was the result of a boring job. But looking back, I think I was struggling with secrets in my own life. There were parts of my past I was keeping secret, and secrets that were keeping me.” RA D D I S ON @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
FOR THE WEEK OF
02.22-02.28.18 In what the programmers and directors hope will be an annual event, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the Humanities Center of Carnegie Mellon University have announced the lineup for the 2018 Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, which runs Feb. 24 through March 4. The festival seeks to explore the theme of Continuum: Past, Present, Future, and illuminate the value of learning about the humanities and community. “The Pittsburgh Humanities Festival is a celebration of humankind and its works,” says David Shumway, co-director of the festival. “We are interested in talking about all the things humans make and do, and we do that by inviting people who have interesting things to say to either give exciting presentations or engage in conversations.” More than a dozen “Core Conversations,” held at the Trust Arts Education Center, are just $5, and include Rick Sebak; comics artist Ed Piskor; and Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity. Other provocative topics featured are ethics and AI systems, the current state of sexual politics on campus, musician Lou Reed, and whether offensive monuments and statues should stay or go. Among the featured events are PostSecret: The Show (see story on page 28), a talk by NPR’s Guy Raz, and National Geographic Live — Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous. Shumway added that more kidfriendly events, such as a puppet show at the August Wilson Center, have been included this year. He hopes that attendees of all ages can learn and take something away from the variety of programming. “The fact that the employment profile of the area has changed so drastically — medicine and education are now the two main employment areas,” Shumway says. “Those changes indicate strongly that we have an audience here that will appreciate this kind of event and the community can benefit from having these conversations and experiences brought to Pittsburgh year after year.”
Steve Silberman (top) {PHOTO COURTESY OF TANYA ROSEN-JONES} and Ed Piskor (bottom)
Full events listed online at www.pghcitypaper.com
^ Thu., Feb. 22: Harry Potter Film and Cultural Festival
thursday 02.22
The festival runs Feb. 24 through March 4. Various venues, Downtown. Ticket prices for featured events vary. 412-456-6666 or www.trustarts.org/smarttalk +
but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.” AH 8 p.m. nightly Feb. 21-25. Duquesne University, Uptown. $6.50-16.50. www.duqredmasquers.com
Ssssssssssssssssssssssss … It’s Slytherin House Day at the local Hogwarts (a.k.a. Row House Cinema), and slithering sorts should make haste for the evening screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Take a photo with Slytherin House Drag Queen. Wear Slytherin House colors and get $1 off admission (all houses welcome). It’s one small part of the Harry Potter Film and Cultural Festival, which runs through Feb. 28 and includes all eight movies, potions, owls, butterbeer at The Leaky Cauldron (a.k.a. Bierport) and other assorted magical activities. Al Hoff 9:30 p.m. 4115 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $9. www.rowhouse cinema.com/harrypotter
friday 02.23 HISTORY There’s still time to swing through the lobby of the City-County Building and check out the month-long exhibit “African Americans in Conservation.” Among the locals highlighted who helped to “preserve and protect their heritages and cultural identities” are Dorothy Richardson, who campaigned for better housing on the North Side, and Mary Haith Savage, who has transformed vacant lots into gardens. And don’t miss the artwork, including a paper mosaic (pictured), made by fifth-graders at Miller African-Centered Academy celebrating Umoja, or unity, and Pittsburgh’s iconic bridges. AH 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, through Feb. 28. 414 Grant St. Downtown
STAGE In this broody season, settle in deep as the Duquesne Red Masquers perform the dark Shakespeare play that dare not say its name. We’ll tell you: It’s Macbeth, that dreadful (but entertaining) tale of a messed-up Scottish family, replete with power struggles, madness, murder and misery. This outing is directed by Dora Farona, and unfolds at the Genesius Theater. “Life’s
BY LAUREN ORTEGO
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SHORT LIST, CONTINUED FROM PG. 29
EVERYONE IS A CRITIC
WHEN: Thu.,
saturday 02.24
Feb. 15
“This event was a little bit of narrative reading and, I think, writerly advice, but overall a fun, chill evening with an author. It’s always nice to know that people you admire, and people who write wonderful works of art, are also human. I’ve not been to a huge amount of readings, but this was definitely an exciting and helpful one, and really personable. It’s almost cool when you’re like, ‘I have this person’s book, and there they are, in person. I talked to them and said hello.’ It’s both real and unreal at the same time. I also feel like her book [The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley] is something that I personally would have loved to write. So, it’s not just [her] writing that I admired, but something I would want to do myself. So asking questions, and getting advice from someone you feel you want to follow in the literary footsteps of, is super valuable.” B Y LAUR E N ORTEGO
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SEEDS
their emotional agility, as they work out managing and experiencing their surroundings as female artists. Among the performers are a contortionist; a drag artist; an author/ actress; and event organizer, The Mad Muse. LO 8 p.m. 1206 Arlington Ave., Allentown. $10. 412-291-8994 or madmuse@musegonemad.com
You already know you can check books out of the library, but how about seeds? Join Phipps Conservatory and Grow Pittsburgh for the sixth annual Seed Swap at the Carnegie Library Main Branch, in Oakland. It’s an opportunity to share seeds and seedlings with other gardeners; check out the seed library; share seed stories; take in a workshop on seed saving; and even watch a movie (Seed: The Untold Story). It’s the best seedy Saturday you can hope for. AH 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 24. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. www.carnegielibray.org
tuesday 02.27 PLANTS
MUSIC Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket, let The Ars Longa Ancient Music Ensemble transport you to a Caribbean island far away from the Pittsburgh weather. Presented by Pittsburgh Renaissance & Baroque, Ars Longa is one of the most prestigious early-music ensembles in Cuba, and is the seven-time recipient of the Cubadisco award, the highest in Cuban discography. After performing all over the world, including in Spain, Italy, Sweden and Austria, the group is making its way to Synod Hall tonight. There is a pre-concert talk before the show at 7 p.m. Lauren Ortego 8 p.m. 125 N. Craig St., Oakland. $10-35. 412-361-2048 or www.rbsp.org
PERFORMANCE Are you tired of boring and predictable performance art? Then, join the Mavens of Madness, a group of female performers and artists, tonight at the Black Forge Coffee House for a display of art by women who are seen as “too much,” even by artists’ standards. They experiment in raw, interactive performances that express and flex
> Tue., Feb. 27: Anna Bikont
CRITIC: Olivia Lapinski, 24, a student from Shadyside
{CP PHOTO BY JAKE MYSLIWCZYK}
^ Fri., Feb. 23: “African Americans in Conservation”
{PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCEL LOZINSKI}
EVENT: Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers present: Hannah Tinti, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Oakland
Just in time to think about warmweather plants, Phipps Conservatory has opened the 12,000-squarefoot, 60-foot-high Tropical Forest Cuba, which promises to be an immersive journey through the island’s rich biodiversity. Expect lush vegetation and colorful flowers, but there are also waterfalls and streams, a fish aquarium and a scenic overlook. Educational stations provide information about birds, traditional natural-medicine farmacias and the Phipps Botany in Action research in Cuba. It’s not native to Cuba, but a 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline, kin to so many vintage cars on the island, is also available for posing in. AH 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. One Schenley Park, Oakland. $11.95-17.95. phipps.conservatory.org
LECTURE If the current political climate is good for anything, it’s underlining how important art can be as a means of dissent. Artist Dread Scott knows about that — he tussled with President G.H.W. Bush and Congress over his 1989 artwork “What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?,” when still a student at the Art Institute of Chicago. Tonight, Scott, who works in performance, photography, screen-printing and video, talks at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Art
{PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL G. WIGEMAN}
^ Tue., Feb. 27: Tropical Forest Cuba
about his provocative work, which challenges viewers to re-examine American ideals and values, often through the lens of the African-American experience. AH 6:30 p.m. Kresge Theatre, CMU campus, Oakland. Free. www.art.cmu.edu
BOOK The past is never dead, even as some seek to bury it. Early this month, the minister of Poland signed legislation that among other things made it a crime to accuse “the Polish nation” of complicity in the Holocaust. But tonight Polish journalist Anna Bikont visits the City of Asylum to read from her 2004 book, The Crime and the Silence: Confronting the Massacre of Jews in Wartime Jedwabne (translated into English in 2011), which exposes wartime atrocities. The work, which the New York Times called “beautifully written, devastating” details her reconstruction of events, and her own role in the investigation. AH 8 p.m. City of Asylum, 40 W. North Ave., North Side. Free. RSVP at www. alphabetcity.org.
wednesday 02.28 PHOTOGRAPHY The PGH Photo Fair at the Carnegie Museum of Art isn’t until April 28 and 29, but photography enthusiasts can pre-game with the related PPF Speakers Series leading up to ^ Tue., Feb. 27: Dread Scott the event. Tonight, at the Ace Hotel ballroom, catch Sarah Meister, a curator in the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art, in New York. She will discuss how the collecting medium has changed, and what the future of collecting portends. Upcoming speakers include: Jane Jackson, director emeritus of The Sir Elton John Collection, and Naomi Beckwith, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Chicago. All talks are free. AH 6:30 p.m. 120 S. Whitfield St., East Liberty. www.pghphotofair.com
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“I THINK PEOPLE WERE EXCITED TO BE A PART OF HELPING US OPEN.”
MORE THAN CATS {BY REBECCA ADDISON} A few years ago, Erik Hendrickson and his wife Sue were living in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., when they decided to quit their corporate jobs and open a cat café. Hendrickson says they fell in love with Pittsburgh immediately and knew it would the perfect place to launch their new endeavor. Like other cat cafés, Colony Café lets people pet and cuddle with friendly felines, while enjoying a beverage or light meal. (The café is downstairs, and the cat loft is upstairs; patrons can also dine in the café and never mingle with the cats.)
{CP PHOTO BY REBECCA ADDISON}
Potato corn chowder
But Hendrickson says he and his wife wanted it to be more than a gimmick. “We wanted to create something a little more elevated,” Hendrickson says. “A lot of the cat cafés are kind of cutesy. They’re all about coffee and cats, and we didn’t think that was going to be sustainable for the long run.” Colony Café serves food, coffee, wine, beer and cocktails. The food menu is split between sandwich melts, open-faced sandwiches, salads, dips and spreads; there are also cheese, fruit and meat boards, for sharing. Hendrickson’s current favorite item is the avocado “pitza,” composed of hummus, avocado, fresh greens, olive oil and lemon juice on pita bread. “We thought about what would be friendly to eat upstairs with the cats,” Hendrickson says. “And a lot of the recipes are family recipes. I wanted to make things close to my heart that I thought people would enjoy. And, of course, we had to have avocado because everyone loves avocado.” There’s also a soup of the day. When City Paper visited, it was potato corn chowder, made from Hendrickson’s mother’s recipe. As for the cats, they eat a mixture of Rachel Ray’s Nutrish, Fancy Feast and Temptations cat treats. RADDISON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
1125 Penn Ave., Downtown. www.colonycafepgh.com
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{CP PHOTOS BY VANESSA SONG}
Neil Blazin working in the new kitchen
PERMANENT HOME FOR PIZZA {BY CELINE ROBERTS}
D
RIFTWOOD OVEN is ending its
years of mobile-oven wandering and settling into a new life surrounded by four permanent walls. After a search for a space, owners Neil Blazin and Justin Vetter chose the former Matteo’s spot on Butler Street in Lawrenceville. Setting up shop in a former restaurant meant an easier start, but the pair knew they’d need to make a few improvements before they were ready to sling pizza. So, Vetter and Blazin decided to turn to the community for help with a Kickstarter campaign. That crowdfunding proved wildly successful, catapulting
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
them past their original financial goals. In just a month, they raised $44,737, after meeting their first goal of $28,500 in only two days.
DRIFTWOOD OVEN 3615 Butler St., Lawrenceville www.driftwoodoven.com
Vetter and Blazin met in 2012, when they were working at Legume. In 2015, they struck out on their own to start Driftwood Oven, a mobile, wood-fired pizza oven that gained a loyal following over the last two years. Both men attri-
bute a large part of their current success to the community that has developed around Driftwood Oven. “I think we have a very loyal group of followers that we’ve nurtured over the past two-and-ahalf years,” says Vetter. Prior to closing up the mobile oven in December to prepare the new space, the two men had only taken three weeks off since beginning the venture. That consistency and “neither snow nor rain” mentality meant that customers could include Driftwood in their weekly schedules. “I think there is a large group of regulars who have a built-in food budget, and Driftwood is a part of that. We specifically
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asked them to use what they would have People share and share and share. People used in the months of December and think baking is so hard, but it’s because January, and make an investment now people hold onto these nuggets of sefor the future,” says Vetter, explaining crets. But this is old-school stuff. Like how he turned mobile-oven customers 15,000 years old. Just share how to bake into crowdfunders. “I think people were bread.” Both Vetter and Blazin hope their excited to be a part of helping us open.” coaching will empower people to bake Blazin and Vetter, who both hail from bread at home. the Pittsburgh area, are dedicated to But now the focus is getting the keeping that customer connection intact Butler Street shop up and running. The in the new space. One aspect of the mo- successful Kickstarter has enabled Vetbile business they both value is interact- ter and Blazin to go beyond their initial ing with customers and learning plans. A gleaming, brick-lined deck about their lives. The two deoven now graces the kitchen; a veloped Kickstarter rewards walk-in cooler is soon to come; WATCH F O — mostly pizza, bread suband an industrial mixer has A VIDEOBILE THE MO CTION scriptions and baking workbeen furnished to save Blazin A OVEN IN w. shops with Blazin — with the tendonitis that can come
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paper the goal of staying in touch from repetitive motion. pghcitym o .c with their longstanding paWhen the first stretch goal trons. One friend requested a of $37,500 was met after seven class on sourdough-bread baking days, the two decided to put in a as a custom reward, and the response draft system. It was important to both from the other pledgers was substan- men to support the local breweries that tial. Blazin, who is mostly self-taught, is welcomed them as a mobile operation a proponent of keeping his knowledge and helped them get their start. “We’d open source, and he’s looking forward planned to just open with canned beer,” to teaching. says Vetter. Artist Tate Hudson and “I wanted to teach myself how to designer Hillary Blazin Rondero (Blazin’s bake bread, and the typical pathways sister) collaborated on design elements to that for me weren’t going to work,” for the space. Meanwhile, they’re still says Blazin. He was especially interested working on the basement to install the in using organic grains and some local walk-in, and hope to open later this year. grains. (All of Driftwood’s flours are from New restaurants in Pittsburgh are Frankferd Farms, in Saxonburg, Pa.) An- opening every week and the ever-present other area of interest was learning about conversation of the restaurant “bubble” fermentation processes. bursting makes opening a place seem He turned to bakers on Instagram to even more risky, but Blazin and Vetter answer some of his questions. “You can are confident their community will be learn a lot through images,” he says. there for them. After all, they had 479 “There’s a lot of stuff on Instagram, espe- Kickstarter backers, who gave an average cially with baking. It’s pretty fascinating. of $93. That’s a serious love of pizza.
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{CP PHOTO BY KATE HAGERTY}
Cecil Usher prepares a Brandy Alexander behind the bar at Poulet Bleu.
[ON THE ROCKS]
PERFECTING CLASSICS {BY CELINE ROBERTS} RICHARD DESHANTZ Restaurant Group’s ever-expanding empire has moved out of Downtown and up the Allegheny River to Lawrenceville. Poulet Bleu, a Frenchinspired American bistro, opened Feb. 6 in the space formerly occupied by Tamari and Pan on Butler Street. The new venue boasts long-time group talent, such as executive chef Dave Racicot, chef de cuisine Ryan Hart, and beverage director Cecil Usher, who has shined for six-and-a-half years behind DeShantz’s bars. Usher will move into place as Poulet Bleu’s bar manager in addition to his other duties. Poulet Bleu brings a touch of refinement to the restaurant group’s mostly highconcept, street-styled vision. Inside, it looks like the French country home you could never afford to rent, much less own, and is beautifully decorated with copper accents, floral wallpaper and large back windows that let in light. A zinc-topped bar — that will take on character with age — welcomes guests in. A six-seat chef’s table is prominent in the dining room, dividing the open kitchen from the other tables. While it could be a good place for a quick drink, the ambience does make one feel like swiping on a little lipstick beforehand. DeShantz’s other spots have had a beverage focus that goes along with the cuisine and vibe: Tako focuses on tequila; Pork and Beans on beer; and Butcher and the Rye on bourbon. Poulet Bleu has a robust wine program designed by John Wabeck, formerly of Spoon. The bottle list alone has over 60 wines, as well as 30 other wines served
by the glass. Alsatian wines, which Usher describes as being similar to German whites done in a drier French style, fill out a unique list of offerings it would be hard to find elsewhere in the city. The cocktail list has a distinctly classic bent, featuring the not-oft-seen Brandy Alexander and the popular, but delicate (if not by ABV, then by taste), French 75. “My vision for the menu when I was talking with Rick [DeShantz], the owner, was doing things classic,” says Usher. “We wanted to have a classic bistro. It’s not about reinventing the wheel, but about perfecting staples. I wanted the drinks to be about comfort.”
POULET BLEU 3519 Butler St., Lawrenceville. www.pouletbleupgh.com
Both the wine and cocktail programs seek to mirror the food by bringing some decadence to their lists. “I based a lot of the original menu off of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris,” says Usher. The legendary bar, named for Scottish cocktail-book author, bartender and owner, Harry MacElhone, is well known in the cocktail canon as a meeting place for writers and artists in the 1920s. Usher read both of MacElhone’s cocktail books and used them as inspiration. He made the decision to make and use only gomme syrup, instead of simple syrup. Gomme syrup predates simple syrup and is made with gum arabic. It adds a velvety texture to the drink and a little dimension. C E L I N E @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
MEXICAN RESTAURANT
BOOZE BATTLES {BY CELINE ROBERTS}
AND BAR
Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste both drinks 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.
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DRINK: Daiquiri INGREDIENTS: Appleton rum, sparkling wine, simple syrup, angostura bitters, mint OUR TAKE: This bartender spin-off of a daiquiri plays on the sweetness of the classic and replaces the piquant citrus with herbal notes of angostura and mint. Sparkling wine lightens the texture.
Check out City Paper ’s Blogh for local food news and assorted tidbits. www.pghcitypaper.com
One Bordeaux, One Scotch, One Beer Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro $9/pour “Sfumato is derived from the Italian word for ‘smoke’ which is ‘fumo.’ It’s an appropriate name for this very smoky rhubarb amaro that is full and slightly sweet, but with a bitter edge. It’s the perfect way to end a meal if you like a bold finish.” RECOMMENDED BY CELINE ROBERTS
Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro is available at DiAnoia’s Eatery and Bar Marco, both in the Strip District.
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I COULD BE HERE FOR DAYS TALKING ABOUT RUTH CARTER’S COSTUMES
BLACK SCREEN TIME {BY AL HOFF} It’s not all Black Panther on the screen this weekend. There’s another way to celebrate African-American cinema, as the Black Bottom Film Festival — three days of film screenings, discussions and guest speakers — returns this weekend to the August Wilson Center, Downtown. Production designer Wynn Thomas, who has worked on nearly a dozen Spike Lee films and the recent hit Hidden Figures, is this year’s recipient of the festival’s Cinematic Excellence award.
Larenz Tate, in Love Jones
At this fest, dubbed “Cinema for the Soul,” check out three new feature films. Dominoes turn deadly in Ernest Dickerson’s new drama, Double Play; producer Lisa Cortes will attend. The new dramedy The Magnificent Life of Charlie will be presented by director Bobby Huntley. And Michael Phillip Edwards will be on hand to introduce his film, Last Life, about reincarnated lovers. Some older films also get a focus: Robert Wise’s 1959 searing crime drama, Odds Against Tomorrow, which forefronts racism, and stars Harry Belafonte (who also co-produced); the period boxing drama Cinderella Man (2005), featuring the design work of this year’s honoree; and the 1997 rom-com Love Jones (co-star Khalil Kain will attend). On Sun., Feb. 25, patrons can catch a U.S. premiere of documentary Betty Davis: They Say I’m Different, about the pioneering funk artist from Pittsburgh (read more on page 19); director Phil Cox will attend. Another doc, 1995’s A Litany for Survival: The Life & Work of Audre Lorde, about the influential poet, also plays that day. But wait, there’s more: two short films, one about Pittsburgh attorney and activist, Wendell Freeman, and another from actress Gabourey Sidibe, making her directorial debut. And appearing as part of the ongoing Truth Sayers speaker series will be April Reign, creator of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign. Plus workshops on writing and acting for the screen. It’s a packed weekend, so check the website for screening times and the complete schedule. AHOFF@ PGHC ITY PA PE R.CO M
Feb. 23-25, August Wilson Center, 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $25 for a one-day pass; $55 for the full weekend. 412-456-6666 or awc.trustarts.org
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Family affair: Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman and Letitia Wright
BLACK POWER {BY AL HOFF}
H
OLY CATMAN, Black Panther is great. We’re through the prehype, the preview think pieces and some killer red carpets at assorted premieres for the much-anticipated Ryan Coogler take on the Marvel comic. And now, just go see it. For the non-comics folks like myself, the film functions well as a standalone story. T’Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), is the new ruler of Wakanda, a hidden African nation that is rich in technology fueled by a powerful natural substance known as vibranium. The trouble starts when a pair of criminals — Klaue (Andy Serkis) and Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) — try to steal some vibranium for more nefarious purposes. T’Challa is aided by his techie sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright); Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), his ex and a spy; and Okoye (Danai Gurira), general of his all-female guard. It’s more complicated, of course, and it’s a bit clunky upfront as so many characters (and their backstories) are set
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
up, but it soon hums along nicely. And if you want to think more, Coogler loads up the film with nods and subtexts that effectively tie Wakanda to where and how we live in the non-comic world. There’s Wakanda’s success, due in part to being spared colonial and post-
BLACK PANTHER DIRECTED BY: Ryan Coogler STARRING: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright In 3-D, in select theaters
CP APPROVED colonial meddling, and the troublesome “resource curse.” It still faces the ongoing power struggles of a self-determined nation, plus additional challenges: As a wealthy nation, what does Wakanda owe other poorer countries, and is it even possible to uplift without becoming a meddler? Acknowledged is the historical looting of African cultural items by
Europeans, and their repatriation (albeit, here, a bloody one). Of course, Klaue is based in South Africa, and it’s no coincidence that the one American scene is set in Oakland, Calif., home to the other Black Panthers. I could also be here for days talking about Ruth Carter’s costumes — from T’Challa’s high-tech black catsuit to the astounding variety of colorful Africaninspired garments and accessories — as well as the incredible set design. There’s so much to unpack — thematically, visually, hairdo-wise — I don’t even have time to talk about: how great the actors are (also on deck: Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Sterling K. Brown); or how the female characters all get to be bad-asses; or how Coogler gives Jordan a scene where the emotionally damaged but still vulnerable Killmonger breaks our hearts a bit. Normally I’m inclined to not see comic-book movies in the first place, but this is one I’d like to see a second time. A H OF F @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
to the chimpanzees, to live among them, to get accepted.” Goodall narrates the film, which makes fantastic use of gorgeous color photography shot by nature documentarian Hugo van Lawick, in the early 1960s. The footage shows Goodall in all her determined and patient splendor — clambering up trees and hills, peering through binoculars, dutifully keeping notebooks of charts and sketches. All the low-tech work of sitting and watching pays off: Goodall discovers that the chimps make and utilize tools (for eating insects), and her life’s work is begun. Like Goodall herself, the film is a gentle but firm account of a woman succeeding in a man’s world; of being diminished for her gender; and of having to find a balance between family and career. There were struggles, surely, but how it was worth it for the young woman who lived her dream of being the “strange white ape” among chimps. 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 24; 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 25; 4 p.m. Feb. 26-28. Rangos Giant Cinema, Carnegie Science Center, North Side. $7-10. www.carnegiesciencecenter.org (AH)
FILM CAPSULES CP
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NEW ANNIHILATION. Alex Garland directs this horror thriller about a woman who ventures into an environmental disaster zone with a group of scientists in search of her missing biologist husband. Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Oscar Isaac and Benedict Wong star. Starts Fri., Feb. 23 GAME NIGHT. Game night for a group of friends gets weird when there is an actual murder mystery to solve. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein direct this comedy, featuring Rachel McAdams, Jesse Plemons and Jason Bateman. Starts Fri., Feb. 23 HAPPY END. In an echo of his penetrating thriller Caché, the director Michael Haneke (Amour) often keeps his voyeuristic camera at a distance from his characters in Happy End. This technique eschews intimacy in a disquieting drama, as we watch the members of a wealthy family enact and endure (or not) the tediousto-toxic exigencies of everyday life. There is a plot of sorts — an accident at the family business’ construction site — but it doesn’t matter much: Happy End is another familiar Haneke treatise about the decay of heart and soul, and I’m pretty sure a hamster died in the making of the film. It also suggests the loss of self in our age of social media, which this old director shrewdly employs to contemporize his themes. The cast — the immutable Isabelle Huppert, Mathieu Kassovitz, a tranquil Jean-Louis Trintignant and young Fantine Harduin, an Huppert heir — is the best French cinema has to offer, and they perform with natural ease through many long takes in Haneke’s eerily unnatural film. The title, of course, is ironic, like his brutal Funny Games, and it’s always absorbing to watch this chilly director at work, although there’s nothing remarkably new here in his redoubtable canon. In French, with subtitles. Starts Fri., Feb. 23. AMC Loews Waterfront (Harry Kloman)
Happy End
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THE INSULT. In contemporary Beirut, an insult blows up into a court case, pitting a Lebanese Christian against a Palestinian refugee. Ziad Doueiri’s drama is nominated for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. In Arabic, with subtitles. Starts Fri., Feb. 23. Manor QUEEN NANNY. Roy T. Anderson’s 2015 documentary film profiles Nanny of the Maroons, a West African queen, captured and brought to Jamaica in the 18th century as a slave. But once there, she escaped to the interior mountains with other former slaves and helped lead raids on the colonial plantations. Starts Fri., Feb. 23. Harris TROUBLE NO MORE. Jennifer Lebeau’s documentary showcases musician Bob Dylan’s “gospel years,” featuring footage from his 1980 tour, with material from Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love. Feb. 23-25. Parkway Theater, McKees Rocks
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. Harry Potter is ready to return to school with his wizard pals, but learns that the dangerous wizard Sirius Black has escaped from prison and is probably coming after him. Alfonso Cuarón directs this 2004 outing. Feb. 21, Feb. 24 and Feb. 26. Row House Cinema HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE. A young boy learns he’s a wizard and heads off to Hogwarts School. Chris Columbus’ 2001 film is the start of an epic magical journey. Feb. 21, Feb. 23-24 and Feb. 27-28. Row House Cinema HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. In David Yates’ 2007 film, Harry’s lifelong nemesis — the evil wizard Lord Voldemort — has been restored to his corporeal form. It’s all hands on deck., Feb. 21, Feb. 25-26 and Feb. 28. Row House Cinema
CONCERT FOR GEORGE. A year after George Harrison’s death in 2001, friends, family, bandmates and assorted musicians and entertainers stage a tribute concert. Director: David Leland directs this 2003 concert film that includes performances from Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Joe Brown and members of Monty Python. Feb. 27March 1. Parkway Theater, McKees Rocks
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. It’s back to Hogwarts for Harry and his magical compatriots, despite a warning that terrible things are going to happen. Chris Columbus directs this 2002 film, starring Daniel Radcliffe. Feb. 22, Feb. 24 and Feb. 26-27. Row House Cinema HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. In Mike Newell’s 2005 film, Harry and the gang compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and the wizarding world expands to track events beyond Hogwarts. Feb. 22-24 and Feb. 27. Row House Cinema HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. Harry, Hermione and Ron strengthen the bonds of their friendship — and work to prevent real catastrophe — in David Yates’ 2009 adaptation of the penultimate book in the series. Feb. 22-23, Feb. 25 and Feb. 27. Row House Cinema
REPERTORY T-REX. Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari’s 2015 documentary profiles 17-year-old Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a boxer from Flint, Mich., who dreams of winning a gold medal in the Olympics. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A. 6:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 21. Eddy Theater, Chatham University campus, Shadyside. Free. www.justfilmspgh.org
DESCENDANTS. This 2015 film, directed by Kenny Ortega, follows the adventures the children of assorted Disney characters, such as King Beast, Queen Belle, Cruella, Maleficient, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan. 3 p.m. Sat., Feb. 24, and 3 p.m. Sun., Feb. 25. Rangos Giant Cinema, Carnegie Science Center, North Side. $10. www.carnegiesciencecenter.org
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JANE. Brett Morgen’s recent biographical documentary relates the quite fascinating story of chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall. She was a 26-year-old secretary with no scientific degree or training, and that was precisely why she was chosen for the project: to watch chimp behavior in the wild with no preconceived ideas or bias. Once encamped in Tanzania, Goodall was determined “to get close
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CLOSE-UP. An Iranian man is mistaken for a wellknown filmmaker and exploits this handy confusion, convincing a wealthy Tehran family that they are the subject of his next film. Then his ruse is discovered and he is sued by the family. In 1990, filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami recreated the story, using the actual participants, who play themselves. In Persian, with subtitles. 6 p.m. Sun., Feb. 25. Regent Square
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1. In David Yates’ broody 2010 adaptation of the seventh Potter book, Harry frets about his upcoming and inevitable one-on-one showdown with evil wizard Voldemort. Feb. 21. Feb. 25-26 and Feb. 28. Row House Cinema
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2. “The boy who lived, come to die.” Fourteen years, more than 4,000 pages and nearly 20 hours of movie all boil down to this critical meeting, when Harry goes wand to wand with his sneering nemesis, Lord Voldemort, in David Yates’ 2012 film. Feb. 20, Feb. 22-23, Feb. 25 and Feb. 28. Row House Cinema
NEWS
A WISH FOR GIANTS. Don Swanson’s new feature film, adapted from the Aaron Dunbar novel and shot in Western Pennsylvania, depicts a young girl seeking to fulfill the wish of a little girl with an inoperable brain tumor. The tricky part: the wish is to see the ever-elusive Bigfoot. Portions of the proceeds benefit the regional Make-A-Wish organization. 4 and 6 p.m. Sat., Feb. 24. Parkway Theater, McKees Rocks
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THE PIRATES OWNER CONTINUES TO REAP THE BENEFITS WHILE THE REST OF US PAY THE FREIGHT
HISTORY LESSONS This week in Pittsburgh Sports History {BY CHARLIE DEITCH} FEB. 22, 1978 The annual City Game between Pitt and Duquesne is a basketball rivalry that has gone on for decades. And it has been, at times, pretty raucous. Like on this day, according to the book, Tales From the Pitt Panthers, by Sam Sciullo. Pitt would win the game 72-65, but the most excitement came when Dukes coach John Cinicola complained to the referee that Pitt’s pep band was playing “at what he believed were inappropriate times.” Taking exception to the complaint, Pitt coach Tim Grgurich walked over to the band and asked them to play even louder.
IE DEITCH}
{BY CHARL
FEB. 23, 1979 The Pittsburgh Pirates hold open tryouts at Three Rivers Stadium for their new mascot, the Pirate Parrot. He would debut on April 1, 1979.
FEB. 25, 2012 Pittsburgh Penguin Evgeni Malkin scores a hat trick in an 8-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Pirate Parrot {CP FILE PHOTO}
FEB. 23, 1989 Pittsburgh Steelers’ legendary center Mike Webster officially retires. Always an impact on the field, Webster also made an impact following his death, in 2002, when Dr. Bennet Omalu diagnosed Webster with the brain-impact disorder, CTE.
OTOS} {CP FILE PH
FEB. 26, 1984 The USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers play their first professional game, a 7-3 loss to Oklahoma.
FEB. 27, 1948 Legendary Pirates third baseman Pie Traynor is elected to the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame. He was with the team first as a player, then as a manager from 1920-1939. Traynor made it on his fifth ballot.
FEB. 27, 1980 Apparently hoping to capitalize on his Super Bowl MVP win, Terry Bradshaw holds a press conference announcing that he is launching a product called Terry’s Creamy Peanut Butter. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported about the event: “Bradshaw dipped a knife into a jar of Terry’s Creamy Peanut Butter and wiped a gob of the stuff on a Ritz Cracker. He popped the morsel into his mouth, chewed slowly and uttered a profound sigh of satisfaction, ‘Ummm-uh,’ grunted Terry. ‘Smooth as silk.’”
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build a statue to honor Andrew McCutchen. Yes, I know it’s unheard of to erect such a tribute to an active player, but this is a unique situation. Statues are supposed to commemorate important moments and people. They’re not only for things we want to remember, but also for things we should never forget. A 12-foot bronze sculpture of No. 22 is necessary to remind all of us what happens when you trust team owner Bob Nutting. In 2013, the most magical season since 1979, the Pirates became a winning team and won some playoff games; all of the sins of the past 20 years were forgiven. They went back to the wildcard playoffs in 2014 and 2015, losing that game each year. But here we sit, just three years later, as hopeless, hapless and disheartened as
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HE PITTSBURGH Pirates need to
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we’ve ever been. The first signs of giving up came in 2015 when the Buccos traded Neil Walker. They also failed to retain successful rehab projects like J.A. Happ and Edinson Volquez. Now, 2018 begins with Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole traded away. And other players like Josh Harrison want out if the team’s not going to be a contender. I get it — it’s Bob Nutting’s business to do with as he sees fit, but he’s making his billions on the backs of fans who care about the team a whole lot more than he does. Forget about his ownership of Seven Springs and about 40 newspapers across the country; the Pirates alone are worth more than a billion dollars, and they’re playing in a stadium paid for by the taxpayers. Their payroll was less than $100 million last season, which ranks in
le
d Gerrit Co
cCutchen an
Andrew M
were traded before they
the bottom third of all teams and is well below the league average. If he wanted to, Nutting could put more money into team payroll and turn this team into a consistent winner. Pittsburgh’s 20-year rebuilding effort finally paid off in 2013, and it was because of players like Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez — players that the franchise developed themselves. But now I sit here wondering, why spend all that time and energy to just let those players go? McCutchen and Cole were still under contract, for crying out loud. It doesn’t make sense. It’s like running a steak house and serving meat that’s sat in the sun for three days. If people will eat it, why actually serve a quality product? But one of the worst offenses Nutting is committing is letting his horrible
Neil Wa
lker in h is
Pirates
uniform
management of one business affect his others. Weirton Medical Center is the largest advertiser in the Nuttings’ papers in the Upper Ohio Valley. But the medical center was so ticked about the McCutchen trade that it pulled its advertising. In a press release, the hospital wrote: “We are doing this not to hurt our friends and colleagues working at these newspapers, but to send a message to the Nutting family that we believe in community. We hope this gesture reminds you of the importance of community. Legions of Pirates
fans may not own the ball club, but we certainly feel a sense of ownership too.” It was a huge gesture, but again, one I’m sure Bob Nutting doesn’t really care about. How do I know? I worked for the guy. I know what he pays his journalists; he’s not concerned with them taking a hit. Because at the end of the day, Bob Nutting is reaping the financial benefits of his decisions. It’s the rest of us who will continue to pay the freight until we’ve finally had enough. And from the looks of things, that time may be coming soon. CD EI TC H @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
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[THE CHEAP SEATS]
CITY HIGHLIGHTS
He remarkably accumulated more than 3,000 points, almost 3,500 rebounds and more than 1,000 assists in that very short period of time. Stokes is also one of only five NBA players to record four consecutive triple doubles. A very honorable mention goes to Chuck Cooper, one of the first black players in the NBA.
{BY MIKE WYSOCKI} THE PITTSBURGH City League recently crowned the Allderdice Dragons as 201718 basketball champions in both men’s and women’s basketball. The Westinghouse Bulldogs were drubbed in both championship games. Over the past few years, the City League has contracted to six teams as schools like Peabody, Oliver and Schenley have shuffled their students to one of the remaining schools. And although the number has decreased, these schools have churned out their fair share of top stars over the years. In terms of all-time prestige, the former Schenley High School is king. Before it became luxury apartments, Schenley High was a superstar factory. The school churned out talent like DeJuan Blair, a former Pitt star who moved onto pro ball; former NFL player Darnell Dinkins; basketball player D.J. Kennedy; and former NBA/ABA player Maurice Lucas. Outside of athletics, the school boasts a veritable jazz hall of fame, including George Benson, Ray Brown, Stanley Turrentine and Walt Harper. And if that’s not impressive enough, former WWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino roamed
Brashear and Major Harris Brashear alumni Sam Clancy and Solomon Page both had NFL careers. Major Harris never made the pros, but he was a beast. He led the West Virginia Mountaineers to its first and only undefeated, untied season in 1988. In a game against Penn State, he outgained the entire Nittany Lion offense 301 yards to 292. That year, he passed for 1,915 yards and rushed for 600 more. It was all good enough to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
those halls, as did Andy Warhol. Nowadays, Taylor Allderdice sits atop the City League in terms of producing famous alums. While Schenley produced jazz stars, Allderdice is in the hip-hop game: Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller,
Pittsburgh’s Bruno Sammartino lifts singer Mario Trevi.
Perry and Rod Rutherford
Beedie and Pittsburgh Slim are all Allderdice men. Local legends Myron Cope, Bob O’Connor and Richard Caliguiri are former Dragons as well. The recently deceased comedian Marty Allen is also a grad, along with film director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). Below, the City League’s six-team configuration is ranked according to the biggest star each school has produced. Since the No. 1 school is already known, contenders will be ranked from first to last.
In 2003, Rod Rutherford led a Pitt Panther quarterback camp with four future NFL players. Behind Rutherford at that position was Luke Getsy and two redshirts named Tyler Palko and Joe Flacco. It wasn’t really a competition, as Rutherford spent the previous season throwing beautiful, legendary touchdown passes to all-time great Larry Fitzgerald. Rutherford made the NFL, playing with Carolina and the Steelers. He even has a ring as a member of the 2005 Steelers team.
Taylor Allderdice and Curtis Martin
Carrick and John Wehner
It seems impossible that an NFL Hall of Fame running back who finished in the top five in rushing yards and played in New England and New York goes virtually unrecognized, but that’s Curtis Martin. He may well be the lowest-profile football Hall of Famer in recent history. The former Pitt standout somehow spent his whole career flying under the radar, yet he is one of the best of all time.
The former Carrick Raider cashed a MLB paycheck for eleven seasons. Nine of those were with his hometown team and another two with the Marlins. Wehner’s best season was 1995 when he hit .308 off the bench for a very bad team. In his lifetime, Wehner hit .249 with four jacks. He also won a World Series with Florida in 1997.
Westinghouse and Maurice Stokes A college and pro basketball Hall of Famer, he only spent three years in the NBA after a tragic accident cut his career and, eventually his life, short. But in those three years, he was virtually unstoppable. He was an All-Star in each of his three seasons. Stokes was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1956, then led the league in rebounds the following season.
Obama Academy and nobody so far Thanks, Obama! In all fairness, it’s a really young school that sits where Peabody High once stood. And Peabody gave us the likes of Gene Kelly, Charles Grodin, Frank Gorshin and Billy Eckstine. Plus, David Logan who was a two-time ProBowler in the NFL. Logan played mostly with Tampa Bay and recorded 28 NFL sacks and even scored three touchdowns as a defensive tackle.
MIK E WYSO C K I IS A STANDU P C O ME DIAN. F O L L OW HI M ON T W I T T E R: @ I T S M I K E W YS OC K I
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 02.21/02.28.2018
CREDIT REPAIR
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
Denied Credit?? Work to Repair Your Credit Report With The Trusted Leader in Credit Repair. Call Lexington Law for a FREE credit report summary & credit repair consultation. 855-620-9426. John C. Heath, Attorney at Law, PLLC, dba Lexington Law Firm. (AAN CAN)
CLASSIFIEDS FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISEMENT, CALL 412-316-3342 EXT. 189 HELP WANTED
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CITY FOR RENT
APPLICATION DEVELOPER
APPLICATION DEVELOPER
HM Health Solutions Inc. seeks Application Developer to work in Pittsburgh, PA, & to be responsible for analyzing, designing, coding, testing, & implementing app enhancements w/ no supervision. Apply at www.highmarkhealth. org, using search term J115264.
HM Health Solutions Inc. seeks Application Developer to work in Pittsburgh, PA & to be responsible for analyzing, designing, coding, testing, & implementing app enhancements w/ limited supervision. Apply at www.highmarkhealth.org, using search term J115259.
IT TESTING AND QUALITY ANALYST
Home for Rent Heart of Millvale 3 bdrms, full tiled bathroom. Large Kitchen and Living room with fenced in yard and carport. Pets Allowed with owner approval and deposit. Full basement with washer and dryer. Walking distance to everything.Rent: $950 per month + Utilities Call or email Diane at 412-303-3805 radacoy@zoominternet.net
HM Health Solutions Inc. seeks IT Testing & Quality Analyst in Pittsburgh, PA, to plan, develop, analyze, & invoke critical processes around sftwr engnrng across enterprise. Apply at www.highmarkhealth. org, using search term J115256.
TECHNOLOGY Apple Inc. has multiple positions available in Pittsburgh, PA: Software Engineer Applications (Req#9JWTZV) Anlyze, dsgn, prgrm, debug, & mod SW enhncemnts & new prdcts used in local, ntwrkd, or Internet-rel comp prgrms. Refer to Req# & mail resume to Apple Inc., ATTN: D.W., 1 Infinite Loop 104-1GM, Cupertino, CA 95014. Apple is an EOE/AA m/f/disability/ vets.
for perm. pos. at its Pittsburgh, PA office. Duties: Customization and configuration of supply chain mgt. software; strategic development of consultancy and software services; supervision of two subordinate specialists. Reqs: Bach of Bus. Admin. (or 4 yrs. combined bus. admin. educ. and exp.) and 2 yrs. (add’l) exp. in supply chain mgt. Cert. in Oracle Database version 10g or later; knowledge of ITIL practices.
REQUIREMENTS: • Bachelor’s degree; OR equivalent experience • Creative, diplomatic, tenacious, interper-
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sonal skills • Highly motivated with experience and a passion for helping SMBs • Strong Project Management and organizational skills • Great attitude and entrepreneurial spirit. • 1+ years of new business (hunter) sales in the Pittsburgh region with a history of goal attainment
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Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Room 251, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on March 6, 2018, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for a Service Contract for the following:
•Extraordinary Electrical Maintenance - Various Locations •Electrical Primes Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on February 14, 2018 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is nonrefundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.
Send resume to: Susan Kennedy VP - Global Talent Management Visionet Systems, Inc. 4 CedarBrook Dr, Bldg B Cranbury, N.J. 08512 REF: MM
We are an equal rights and opportunity school district. Parent Hotline: 412-622-7920 www.pps.k12.pa.us
to develop firmware requirement specifications and design, implement, unit test, and integrate firmware according to specifications. Requires: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related engineering field (willing to accept foreign education equivalent) plus five years of experience in a related embedded programming position using real-time operating systems. Specific skills/other requirements (quantitative experience requirements not applicable to this section) – must have the following: any proficiency in C; any ability to read and understand electrical schematics; and any experience designing hardware and firmware for low-power handheld devices. Submit resume to lcarney@indsci.com. Reference Position Number: 000479
Email resume to Justin@pghcitypaper.com • No Calls Please. EOE NEWS
THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH
for Industrial Scientific Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA
Resumes to hdsluma@mse-solutions.com.
• Provide post campaign reporting and analytics to your clients • Continually learn new developments in digital advertising
OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT
Senior Embedded Software Engineer
MSE North America Inc. seeks Head of Application Support
If you thrive in a fast paced deadline oriented environment and want to join a dynamic and fun media team then this is the opportunity for you. Pittsburgh City Paper is seeking a Digital Business Development Exec., that will secure new clients for the CP Digital Portfolio of advertising and marketing products within the Pittsburgh region. As a DBD Executive at Pittsburgh City Paper, you will conduct sufficient outbound cold calling, spend time in the field meeting with SMB’s and create successful advertising and marketing campaigns that help clients reach their goals and ensure renewal. RESPONSIBILITIES: • Identify new business opportunities, aggressively pursue them and close new business. • Provide strategic advice around the customer journey, as it applies to SMBs in the Pittsburgh Region • Understand and comprehend the digital advertising landscape
Software Engineer w/ Visionet Systems Inc. Dsgn, dev & modify soft. & web app using .Net framework, ASP.Net MVC, C#, Visual Studio, JavaScript, Kenod, Knockout Js, Ajax, Jquery, IrAuthor, SQL server & Team Foundation Server & WCF services; A & dsgn s/ware systems, perform data modeling & integrate web services using WCF; Analyze user needs & soft req to determine feasibility of dsgn w/in time & cost constraints; Dev & direct soft sys testing & validation procedures, prog & documentation; Dsgn data access layer by using Entity Framework model, & further, create Entity Models; Write data access classes, complex T-SQL Stored Procedures, triggers, views, capture & modify data, all by using LINQ, MDX & SQL; Create custom validations using JQuery & Java Script; Implmt & deploy SSIS packages for Data migration, from traditional platforms; Implmt & deploy SSAS cubes integrated data w/ applications by MDX queries ; Use Crystal Reports to generate reports & create charts & tables, & in turn, use those charts & tables to complete thorough analyses of performance components; Act as liaison w/ offshore s/ware dvlpmt team. Req position: Educational requirements: BS (or equiv) in Comp Sci. Alt fields of study that may be accepted: Comp App Comp Engr or rltd. Quantitative exp req: 2 yrs exp in the offered position or rltd. Skill req.Net framework ASP.Net JavaScript Ajax Kendo /Knockout Js SQL server TFS WCF services JQuery SSIS packages for Data migration Crystal Reports T-SQL Stored Procedures o LINQ & SQL o InRules Implementation o SSAS Cube Packages Implementation & Deployment. Employer will accept any suitable combo of edu, training or exp. Location of Work: The position is currently located in Coraopolis, PA, but may req medium to long term relocation to Cranbury NJ, or other unanticipated locations in the US. The position is 40 hrs/wk, 9:00a.m.- 5:00p.m., Mon-Fri.
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ACROSS 1. Comic book publisher behind the hero hidden in this puzzle 7. Foles’s throw: Abbr. 10. When doubled, a Hawaiian fish 14. Wanting it all 15. Soundproofed 17. Blends perfectly 18. Provided that 19. Biblical character whom Jacob fathered at age 105! 21. Alter ego of the hidden hero 22. Mailing need 25. Alternative to Rogaine 27. Cover for a teapot 28. San Diego suburb whose name means “the table” 30. Cut off short 33. Rial man 35. Them 36. Kitten’s cry 39. Intense disrespect 41. Event to buy outdoor things? 43. Boarding pass info: Abbr. 44. Show the ropes 46. Non-believer 47. Charade’s motion 49. Trip to the store 50. Not quite closed 53. Fisherman with pots 55. Barreled toward
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56. Actor Chadwick who plays this puzzle’s hero on the big screen 59. Bed board 61. Aversion 63. Soft drink that comes in Peach Citrus flavor 67. Like some runs in baseball 68. “No more for me” 69. Its affects can last for over 8 hours 70. Some fish and chips fish 71. Actress Lupita of the movie based on this puzzle’s hero
DOWN 1. Studio with a lion in its logo 2. “What ___ you getting at?” 3. Legal thing 4. Impassioned 5. Where the first sinner sinned 6. Cleaning brand 7. Org. on toothpaste tubes 8. Booming spot 9. Weight lifter’s powder 10. Threaten 11. Whitey 12. Gets better 13. Guesser’s phrase 16. “Boy, am I stupid!” 20. Lunch from a deli
22. Lunch from a pizzeria 23. Deck with Death 24. Range name 26. Miracle-___ (green thumb’s product) 29. Numero de días en una semana 31. Mojave mound 32. ___ Raw (clothing line) 34. Iowa city 36. Golfer Hunter ___ 37. Notorious RBG comadre Kagan 38. “Cheers” actor George 40. Protected, for inventors 42. Capture-theflag game
45. Signal to act 47. “Lady Bird” director Gerwig 48. “Treasure Island” author’s inits. 50. “Forever Your Girl” singer 51. Forms, as a team 52. Half-___ (sloppy) 54. Prone to wearing pointy shoes, maybe 57. Jacobs of fashion 58. “This should come ___ surprise” 60. Fighting squad 62. Group who might not like your tone: Abbr. 64. Little man 65. Piece in a machine 66. Hive’s activity {LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS}
FOR THE WEEK OF
Free Will Astrology
02.21-02.28
{BY ROB BREZSNY}
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Be stubborn about your goals but flexible about your methods.” That’s the message I saw on a woman’s T-shirt today. It’s the best possible advice for you to hear right now. To further drive home the point, I’ll add a quote from productivity consultant David Allen: “Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind.” Are you willing to be loyal and true to your high standards, Aquarius, even as you improvise to uphold and fulfill them?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In her novel The Round House, writer Louise Erdrich reminisces about how hard it was, earlier in her life, to yank out the trees whose roots had grown into the foundation of her family’s house. “How funny, strange, that a thing can grow so powerful even when planted in the wrong place,” she says. Then she adds, “ideas, too.” Your first assignment in the coming weeks, my dear Pisces, is to make sure that nothing gets planted in the wrong place. Your second assignment is to focus all your intelligence and love on locating the right places for new seeds to be planted.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When you’re playing poker, a wild card refers to a card that can be used as any card the cardholder wants it to be. If the two of hearts is deemed wild before the game begins, it can be used as an ace of diamonds, jack of clubs, queen of spades or anything else. That’s always a good thing! In the game of life, a wild card is the arrival of an unforeseen element that affects the flow of events unpredictably. It might derail your plans, or alter them in ways that are at first inconvenient but ultimately beneficial. It may even cause them to succeed in an even more interesting fashion than you imagined they could. I bring this up, Aries, because I suspect that you’ll be in the Wild Card Season during the next four weeks. Any and all of the above definitions may apply. Be alert for unusual luck.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If you gorge on 10 pounds of chocolate in the next 24 hours, you will get sick. Please don’t do that. Limit your intake to no more than a pound. Follow a similar policy with any other pleasurable activity. Feel emboldened to surpass your normal dosage, yes, but avoid ridiculous overindulgence. Now is one of the rare times when visionary artist William Blake’s maxim is applicable: “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” So is his corollary, “You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough.” But keep in mind that Blake didn’t say, “The road of foolish, reckless exorbitance leads to the palace of wisdom.”
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Have you ever had a rousing insight about an action that would improve your life, but then you failed to summon the willpower to actually take that action? Have you resolved to embark on some new behavior that would be good for you, but then found yourself unable to carry it out? Most of us have experienced these frustrations. The ancient Greeks had a word for it: akrasia. I bring it up, Gemini, because I suspect you may be less susceptible to akrasia in the next four weeks than you have ever been. I bet you will consistently have the courage and command
to actually follow through on what your intuition tells you is in your best interests.
Libra. They could lead you to learn and make use of robust new secrets of self-mastery.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
“There is no such thing as a failed experiment,” said inventor Buckminster Fuller, “only experiments with unexpected outcomes.” That’s an excellent guideline for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks. You’re entering a phase of your astrological cycle when questions are more important than answers, when explorations are more essential than discoveries, and when curiosity is more useful than knowledge. There will be minimal value in formulating a definitive concept of success and then trying to achieve it. You will have more fun and you will learn more by continually redefining success as you wander and ramble.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): During World War II, British code-breakers regularly intercepted and deciphered top-secret radio messages that high-ranking German soldiers sent to each other. Historians have concluded that these heroes shortened the war by at least two years. I bring this to your attention, Leo, in the hope that it will inspire you. I believe your own metaphorical code-breaking skills will be acute in the coming weeks. You’ll be able to decrypt messages that have different meanings from what they appear to mean. You won’t get fooled by deception and misdirection. This knack will enable you to home in on the elusive truths that are circulating — thus saving you from unnecessary and irrelevant turmoil.
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The little voices in your head may have laryngitis, but they’re still spouting their cracked advice. Here’s another curiosity: You are extra-attuned to the feelings and thoughts of other people. I’m tempted to speculate that you’re at least temporarily telepathic. There’s a third factor contrib-
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Paleontologist Jack Horner says that developmental biologists are halfway toward being able to create a chickenosaurus — a creature that is genetically a blend of a chicken and a dinosaur. This project is conceivable because there’s an evolutionary link between the ancient reptile and the modern bird. Now is a favorable time for you to contemplate metaphorically similar juxtapositions and combinations, Capricorn. For the foreseeable future, you’ll have extra skill and savvy in the art of amalgamation. Is it possible there’s something you really need but you don’t know what it is? Can you guess what it might be? Go to Freewillastrology.com and click on “Email Rob.”
get your yoga on!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In April 1972, three American astronauts climbed into a spacecraft and took a trip to the moon and back. On the second day of the 11-day jaunt, pilot Ken Mattingly removed and misplaced his wedding ring. In the zero-gravity conditions, it drifted off and disappeared somewhere in the cabin. Nine days later, on the way home, Mattingly and Charlie Duke did a space walk. When they opened the hatch and slipped outside, they found the wedding ring floating in the blackness of space. Duke was able to grab it and bring it in. I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will recover a lost or missing item in an equally unlikely location, Virgo. Or perhaps your retrieval will be of a more metaphorical kind: a dream, a friendship, an opportunity.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to British philosopher Alain de Botton, “Maturity begins with the capacity to sense and, in good time and without defensiveness, admit to our own craziness.” He says that our humble willingness to be embarrassed by our confusion and mistakes and doubts is key to understanding ourselves. I believe these meditations will be especially useful for you in the coming weeks,
GO TO REALASTROLOGY.COM TO CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES AND DAILY TEXT-MESSAGE HOROSCOPES. THE AUDIO HOROSCOPES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE BY PHONE AT 1-877-873-4888 OR 1-900-950-7700
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During the next four weeks, there are three activities I suspect you should indulge in at an elevated rate: laughter, dancing and sex. The astrological omens suggest that these pursuits will bring you even more health benefits than usual. They will not only give your body, mind and soul the precise exercise they need most; they will also make you smarter and kinder and wilder. Fortunately, the astrological omens also suggest that laughter, dancing and sex will be even more easily available to you than they normally are.
uting to the riot in your head: People you were close to earlier in your life are showing up to kibitz you in your nightly dreams. In response, I bid you to bark “Enough!” at all these meddlers. You have astrological permission to tell them to pipe down so you can hear yourself think.
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Savage Love {BY DAN SAVAGE}
I’m an 18-year-old female. I’m cisgender and bisexual. I’ve been in a monogamous relationship with my cisgender bisexual boyfriend for about a year. I’m currently struggling with a lot of internalized biphobia and other hang-ups about my boyfriend’s sexuality. I don’t know if I’m projecting my own issues onto him, or if I’m just being bigoted towards bi men, but either way, I feel truly awful about it. But when I think about the fact that he’s bi and is attracted to men, I become jealous and fearful that he will leave me for a man, or that he would rather be with a man. (I’ve been with men and women in the past; he’s never been with a man.) I know it is unfair of me to feel this way, and he’s never given me any real reason to fear this. We have a very engaged, kinky and rewarding sex life! But I worry I’m not what he really wants. This situation is complicated by the near certainty that my boyfriend has some sort of hormonal disorder. He has a very young face for an 18-year-old, a feminine figure and not a lot of body hair. He orgasms, but he does not ejaculate. And although he has a sizable penis, his testicles are more like the size of grapes than eggs. He struggles a lot with feeling abnormal and un-masculine. I try to be as supportive as possible and tell him how attracted to him I am and how he’ll get through whatever this is. But he can tell his bi-ness makes me nervous and uncomfortable. I think that because he appears more feminine than most men and is more often hit on by men than women, I worry that he would feel more comfortable or “normal” with a man. I don’t want to contribute to him feeling abnormal or bad about himself. How do I stop worrying that he’s gay or would be happier with a man? I feel horrible about myself for these anxieties considering that I’m bi too, and should know better. ANONYMOUS NERVOUS GIRLFRIEND SEEKS TRANQUILITY
“Many people who encounter us bi+ folk in the wild just project their insecurities onto us with impunity, and then blame us for it,” said RJ Aguiar, a bisexual activist and content creator whose work has been featured on Buzzfeed, HuffPo, Queerty and other sites. “As someone who’s bi herself, I’m sure ANGST know this all too well.” So, if you’ve been on the receiving end of biphobia — as almost all bisexual people have — why are you doing it to your bisexual boyfriend? “This hypothetical so-and-so-is-going-toleave-me-for-someone-hotter scenario could happen to anyone of any orientation,” said Aguiar. “Most biphobia (and jealousy for that matter) is projected insecurity. Built into the fear that someone will leave you because they ‘like x or y better’ is the assumption that you yourself aren’t good enough.” And while feelings of insecurity and jealousy can undermine a relationship, they don’t have to. It all depends on how you address them when they arise. “We all have our moments!” said Aguiar. “But we can turn these moments into opportunities for open communication and intimacy rather than moments of isolation and shame. That way they end up bringing you closer, rather than drive this invisible wedge between you. The key is to understand that feelings aren’t always rational. But if we can share those feelings with the person we love without fear of judgment or reprisal, it can help create a space of comfort and intimacy that no piece of ass will ever be able to compete with — no matter how hot they are, or what they may or may not have between their legs.” As for the reasons you’re feeling insecure — your boyfriend might be gay and/or happier with a man — I’m not going to lie to you. Your boyfriend could be gay (some people who aren’t bisexual identify as bi before coming out as gay or lesbian), and/or he could one day realize that he’d be happier with a man (just as you
could one day realize that you’d be happier with a woman). But your wonderful sex life is pretty good evidence that your boyfriend isn’t gay. (I was one of those guys who identified as bi before coming out as gay, ANGST, and I had girlfriends, and the sex we had was far from wonderful.) Finally, ANGST, on the off chance your boyfriend hasn’t spoken to a doctor about his symptoms — because he’s an uninsured/underinsured/unlucky American or because he’s been too embarrassed to bring up the size of his balls and quality of ejaculations with his parents and/ or doctor — I shared your letter with Dr. John Amory, professor of medicine at the University of Washington. “An 18-year-old male with testicles the ‘size of grapes’ indicates an issue with testicular development,” said Dr. Amory. “The reduced testicular volume, in combination with the other features such as his feminine face and sparse body hair, also suggest an issue with testicular function.” It could simply be delayed puberty or it could be something called Klinefelter syndrome. “Klinefelter syndrome occurs in one out of every 500 males and is associated with small testicular volume and decreased testosterone,” said Dr. Amory. “This diagnosis is frequently missed because the penis is normal in size and the men are normal in most other ways, although about half of men with Klinefelter syndrome (KS) can have breast enlargement (gynecomastia) that can be seen as feminizing. Bottom line: Small testes at age 18 means it’s time for a doctor’s visit — probably an endocrinologist or urologist — to take a family history, do an examination, and consider measurement of testosterone and some other hormones. This should help him understand if he ‘just needs to wait,’ or if he has a diagnosis that could be treated. There is a real possibility that he has KS, which is usually treated with testosterone to improve muscle mass, bone density and sexual function.”
WHILE FEELINGS OF INSECURITY AND JEALOUSY CAN UNDERMINE A RELATIONSHIP, THEY DON’T HAVE TO.
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET AND FIND THE SAVAGE LOVECAST (DAN’S WEEKLY PODCAST) AT SAVAGELOVECAST.COM
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WHISPER THERAPY
{BY HANNAH LYNN}
FOR MANY PEOPLE, the phenomenon of ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) puts a name to a feeling they’ve always known but couldn’t place. Now, an entire community on YouTube thrives on this feeling, lulling viewers into a state of relaxation and sleepiness. Local YouTuber Lily (who goes by only her first name) started making ASMR videos nearly five years ago on her iPhone. Her channel, Lily Whispers ASMR, now boasts more than 180,000 subscribers. Like many viewers, she knew the sensation as a kid long before she had a name for it. “I remember the first time I felt ASMR in real life was when my friend was coloring with crayons,” she says. “I was like, ‘Wow this is so nice’ and I never wanted her to stop.” Much like that feeling was, the definition of ASMR can be elusive. It’s a bodily sensation brought on by sounds, or “triggers” like whispering, brushing, or plastic crinkling that induces calm. ASMRtists make videos ranging anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours. They can be as simple as nails tapping on a counter or as complex as a fully costumed role play featuring a doctor whispering through a virtual physical. The sensation is often described as “tingles” that start at the back of the head and move down the spine. Lily prefers to call it a shiver. Lily first discovered ASMR on YouTube as an anxious college freshman and began making her own videos soon after. While she had the support of family and friends, it became an issue when classmates found out and would tease and bully her.
{CP PHOTO BY CHANCELOR HUMPHREY; LOCATION: MATTRESS FACTORY, NORTH SIDE}
Lily whispers to her YouTube fans.
Lily’s most popular video, “Big Sis Does Your Makeup Roleplay” (1.1 million views), features her saying “I’m so proud of you,” before gently miming the application of a full face of makeup onto the camera. “I have a lot of, like, young girl viewers who don’t have an older girl role model, and so they like advice videos and makeup videos,” she says. Similar videos on her channel include “ASMR Supportive Friend Pep Talk and Pampering” and “ASMR Helping You With Your Eating Disorder.” The ASMR community invented itself on YouTube and gave niche careers to content creators who might not have been able to do so on other platforms. Lily began making money from her videos a few months in, but the channel is still a side gig to her 9-to-5 job in digital
THE SENSATION IS OFTEN DESCRIBED AS “TINGLES” THAT START AT THE BACK OF THE HEAD AND MOVE DOWN THE SPINE “I was at that point in my life where I was still coming into myself and wasn’t really confident because it was still kind of new and unusual. And so when people would come and whisper to me at parties, it was like the end of the world,” she says. Pinned to the front page of her YouTube channel is a video titled “My ASMR Story and How It Changed My Life,” in which she details the scrutiny she underwent from leaders of her sorority, who called her in for a high-level meeting and accused her of making sexually inappropriate videos. “She talked to me like I was a webcam prostitute,” Lily explains in the video. Due to the intense level of intimacy ASMR videos create, outsiders looking in often mistake it as being sexually driven. The lines are blurred, too, by certain role plays, like a masseuse giving a neck massage. While there are also subsections of the ASMR community that lean into erotica, ASMRtists and their viewers usually insist there is nothing sexual about the videos or the feelings they induce. “I don’t create my content to stimulate someone sexually, so if they perceive it as such, it’s their problem,” Lily says. In a study conducted by researchers at Swansea University in the United Kingdom, only 5 percent of ASMR viewers were looking for sexual stimulation.
marketing. YouTube has recently set stricter rules on which videos can be monetized, creating new requirements for its partner program, as well as tightening ad appearances after a major advertiser boycott last year over video-content concerns. “I’m not religious, but I thank God every day I didn’t decide to pursue [my channel] as a career, because the ups and downs that YouTube has is just not stable,” Lily says. Part of those ups and downs is the lack of protection from harassers. “There’s very little protection [for] content creators, because an internet threat is nothing. It’s not really taken seriously, because it’s like, ‘They’re not here. They can’t really do anything.’ But I don’t see it that way,” Lily says. The harassment and cyberbullying section of YouTube’s help center includes tips like “Tell friends to stop cyberbullying” and “Tell an adult if you remain concerned.” She considers herself lucky to have only once filed a police report. On the frequency with which she blocks creepy or inappropriate commenters, Lily notes, “I’ll do anything for peace of mind.” And as the community continues to grow and change, with or without the support of its current platform, Lily and her fellow ASMRtists will continue to bring peace of mind to millions of viewers, hooked on a whisper. I N F O@ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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HOME We know being home matters. Does someone you love need help to stay at home? UPMC Community HealthChoices can make life easier. We’ll make sure your loved one has continued access to in-home services and supports. We’ll help them get the health care they need from doctors and hospitals they know and trust. That includes the doctors and hospitals of UPMC. So, when it’s time to choose a new Community HealthChoices plan for someone you love, you know what to do.
Call 1-844-833-0523 today to learn how UPMC Community HealthChoices can work for you. TTY users call toll free: 1-866-407-8762. UPMC Community HealthChoices complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, creed, religious affiliation, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. ATTENTION: If you speak English, language assistance services, free of charge, are available to you. Call: 1-844-833-0523 (TTY: 1-866-407-8762). ATENCIĂ“N: Si habla espaĂąol, tiene a su disposiciĂłn servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingĂźĂstica. Llame al 1-844-833-0523 (TTY: 1-866-407-8762). ƛƌƥƼƙƌƥƞ ĆžÇŠÇ„Ç ĆťÇ” ĆźÇ‡ĆťÇ‡Ç‰Ç Ç‹Ćž džƚ ljnjNJNJǃLJDž Ç˜Ç€Ç”ÇƒĆž NjLJ ƝƚDž Ć˝Ç‡ÇŠÇ‹ÇŒÇˆÇ†Ç” ĆşĆžÇŠÇˆÇ„ĆšÇ‹Ç†Ç”Ćž ÇŒÇŠÇ„ÇŒĆźÇ ÇˆĆžÇ‰ĆžĆťÇ‡Ć˝Ćš Ć ĆťÇ‡Ç†Ç Ç‹Ćž Ç‹ĆžÇ„ĆžÇ‹ĆšÇ‚Çˆ
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