Pittverse Magazine - Summer 2016

Issue 2, Volume 2

Parents in Toto John Elder Robison Former Judge Bill Ward

Summer 2016

Prepare to expand your experience!

Pittverse Magazine is a quarterly

Pittverse is produced by Youth

gan as a newsletter written by four

publication that proudly represents

Advocate Programs (YAP), a na-

of the adults in the YAP program.

the introspection and creativity of

tional non-profit agency that com-

In 2015, with generous funding

adults on the autism spectrum. Its

prises a multitude of services for

from

goal is to provide thoughtful opin-

families with not only individuals

Pittverse grew from a newsletter

ion and enhanced knowledge of

on the autism spectrum but also

into a magazine that commissions

wide-ranging topics to the public

other at-risk youth and adults.

over twenty autistic adults.

while providing its writers, who are

Brian Kluchurosky, the director of

all adults on the autism spectrum,

YAP’s

PA

Allegheny

with skills applicable to future em-

Adults

with

Autism

ployment.

founded Pittverse in 2013. It be-

Edith

Trees

Foundation,

Welcome to The Pittverse...

County Program,

························Cover photo by Chris Connelly via Flickr Creative Commons. Original photo has been cropped.························

The Autism Connection Conference….3 Lemon Cranberry Almond Biscotti Recipe….5 Hair Stylist Krista Kohr….6 The Librarians of Green Tree Public Library….9 Social Worker Melissa Sodano….12 In Memorium: Anton Yelchin….12 RMU Basketball Player Britta Emberg….13 Former Judge Bill Ward….14 Coach of the Pittsburgh Paddlefish….15 How to Build a Lego “Rat Rod”….17 Interview With My First Grade Teacher….18 A Pittsburgh Music Producer….21 Mary Limbacher, Founder of Parents in Toto….23 The Pittsburgh Banjo Club….25 Author John Elder Robison….27 Jung Ho Kung….28 High On Poems….29 Purple Rain….30 A Personal Pet Reflection….31 Local Movie Expos and Conventions….33 A Taste of Italy….35

Dealing With The Loss of a Friend….35 Patty Duke….36 The Pennsylvania Primary….37 My Own Marathon….39 The Downside of “Passing for Normal”….39 Planning a Trip to Disney World….40 Working At Giant Eagle….40 A Personal Belief Examination….41 Transformers Movies Reviews….44 Eight Grade English Class Syllabus….45 Why Some Comedians Shouldn’t Voice Children’s Movies….46 Building a Miniature Lego Airplane….47 Making a Railroad With Real Utah Sand….48 Building a Lego Truck….49 Building a Lego Jinty….50 Not Everything Is What It Seems….51 Arthur C. Clarke….52 Line-By-Line Stories….53 Lark Part Three….55 Fugitor: The Time Escapee Part Eleven….58 Pittverse Top Tens….59

Letter from the Editor...

A

s the autism diagnosis has grown in recent years, more and more resources are popping up, including autism magazines and news sites. As a part-time editor for a small autism magazine, I wanted some inspiration by reading a few bigger, more successful publications before I put together our summer issue. What started as a bit of research to gain some fresh ideas for Pittverse, turned into a shocking revelation.

Google "autism magazine" and there are lots of results. A utism Parenting Magazine is probably the biggest publication on the spectrum. It's written by a team of "respected professionals" for 35,000 readers who are comprised of mostly parents.

I couldn't believe that second-hand perspectives on autism written for an audience of people who also experience autism second-hand overwhelm spectrum magazines. These viewpoints are certainly valid and necessary, but why do they dominate the field?

Until I sought out Pittverse's competition, I didn't realize how unique we really are. It seems so obvious that adults with autism should be doing the writing for an autism magazine. Isn't that the best way for people unfamiliar with autism to learn about it?

Isn't that also the best way for people with autism to read about experiences similar to theirs?

“We are truly part of something one-of-a-kind at Pittverse Magazine.�

Autism Asperger's Digest is another large magazine with a circulation of 5000. According to their website, it was "created to meet the needs of teachers, therapists, and family members who face the challenge of autism."

We are truly part of something one-of-a-kind at Pittverse Magazine. Let's keep spreading our mission, and a few years from now when we google, "autism magazine," let's hope Pittverse is at the top of the results!

Zoom Magazine is unique in that it accepts submissions from individuals with autism. These are published in a small section alongside parenting and research-based articles.

Happy reading!

Renee Fisher, Pittverse Editor

Pittverse 2

The Autism Connection Conference

by Byran Lippert

T

hank goodness it's Friday, April 8, 2016! Today was the day the Autism Conference came to Pittsburgh. This was my very first Autism Conference that I went to.

The location was in Green Tree at the Crowne Plaza West Foster Plaza. It was hosted by the Autism Connection, a Pennsylvania nonprofit that provides resources to people with autism.

The conference started at 9:00 a.m. and ended at 4:30 p.m. There were eight speakers who spoke to everyone who attended.

During the lunch break, I managed to talk with Sue Killmeyer and Rachel Robertson, two of the speakers at the Autism Conference, who answered some questions for me.

A: The experts are better at diagnosing now compared to 20 years ago.

Autism is recog-

Q: Why do experts think there are more cases of people who are born with autism?

nized more, and there are contributing environmental aspects.

Q: Would a child with autism require more one-onone attention?

A: Yes because they really don't want to spend time with people, but with objects. So, yes, it's important to engage with them.

A: It Q: What kind of community and educational programs are available for children with autism?

depends on you live.

Those social programs also change when

where

you age. There's a lot of earlier interventions for children, but less opportunities for adults.

A: It helps them improve simulation. Everyone should Q: Are there any physical activities that improve cognitive functions in people with autism?

be more active; it helps out with the social aspect and teamwork.

Q: When it comes to dieting, are all autistic children the same?

At the conference, the attendees were approximately 95 percent women and only 5 percent men.

Everyone who attended the conference dressed fairly nice. All the speakers pretty much spoke to us from what our handouts looked like; whatever was typed on it you heard them saying.

There were also more female than male speakers. There was only one male speaker.

I sat at a table with strangers. I didn't know any of them, and of course they were all women. Session One was titled “Promoting Social Engagement in Children with Autism.” I learned that most children with autism have a hard time focusing on more than one task.

Session Two was titled “Treatment Fidelity: Coaching Professionals and Paraprofession-

A: They all don't need all the same diet; everyone needs to watch what they eat. It's all individualized.

als in Evidence-Based Practice.”

I interacted with a nice, smart Asian lady in this session. Alicia, the speaker who led Session Two, said adults have a 15 to 20 minute attention span. Jesse, the other speaker, was very humorous. He kept the audience alive and kept their attention. Alicia spoke mostly about how to train TSS (Therapeutic Support Staff) and other providers on better training them. It helps to videotape yourself while practicing with children with autism. It helps you figure out how to become more effective.

The speakers asked us to ask your neighbor at your table to teach you something simple. The Asian lady asked me what I would like her to teach me, and I said a foreign language. She knew Mandarin Chinese, but we had very little time for it. She

smiled, and I did too. Our short conversation was positive.

Session Three was “Goals to Implementing Behavioral Intervention Plans with Students with Autism.” It's good to have goals for autistic children to work on. Plus, behavioral goals should help them down the road to socialize better.

Rachel and Anastasia, two of the speakers, were explaining and talking about behavioral intervention plans. They focused on getting your children the best providers to help teach them how to socialize with others better. It's best to meet each provider you need to speak to. Even if you go through 100 different people, don't give up hope. Keep on looking for the specific specialist that specializes in each of your child's needs.

Session Four was titled “Teaching Parents to Promote the Social EnPittverse 4

gagement of Young Children with Autism.” Time is very important, and at times it becomes a barrier.

There's certain children who need more help than others without autism.

It was good to go to this conference to learn more about autism in more specific details, whether it’s about learning about children or adults. I was glad I had a chance to talk to Rachel and Sue to get their insight on autism as well.

Lemon Cranberry Almond Biscotti Recipe

by Delaine Swearman

Ingredients:

Instructions:

2 ½ cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda 1 tsp salt 4 eggs ¾ cup sugar 1 tbsp. lemon zest 1 ½ tsp. lemon juice ½ cup dried cranberries ½ cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl. In a larger bowl, beat eggs and sugar together, and then beat in lemon juice and lemon zest. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and gradually mix together.

Stir in cranberries and almonds. On a well floured surface, knead dough for two minutes, using additional flour if dough is sticky. Divide dough in half and shape into two logs. Place the logs several inches apart on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Slice logs into ½ inch slices and put slices back on the baking sheet. Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before serving.

Interview with Hair Stylist Krista Kohr

by Dima Harmon

I

interviewed Krista Kohr, who happens to be my stylist when I get my hair cut. I chose to interview her because I care about my appearance and she fulfills my needs in a very friendly and professional manner and most importantly does an outstanding job. Krista graciously agreed to come to a location to allow me to conduct an interview so that people can learn more about hair and what she does at a hair salon.

would try to go to beauty school.

When you're in beauty school, you have to start out with theory and learn about the different bonds of the hair (peptide bonds, hydrogen bonds) before you get to do the public's hair. My first client ever was probably in her mid-thirties, and she was getting a perm. Perms a little bit nerveracking because there's chemicals

Tell me a bit about yourself.

"I'm pretty easy to please.

I find enjoyment out of little things. I like to read.

I really enjoy musical theater, acting, singing, and traveling most of all, and styling people's hair."

What kind of work do you do and where do you work?

"Currently I work at Dean of Shadyside Salon as a stylist.�

When did you realize you wanted to cut hair for a living?

"I ended up going to beauty school after high school Krista Kohr and Dima because I knew I wasn't ready to go to college. I was trying to think of what I could possibly do involved and you can really do a that I would enjoy. In high school bad perm. It was my first one evI did a lot of musical theater. er so I was really nervous, and When you do hair and make up for she had told me that she hadn't the stage you have to make it very felt pretty in a really long time dramatic because the light washes and she was hoping changing her your face out. I always enjoyed hair in this way would help her. I doing the character profile for dif- was nervous through the whole ferent eras of time. I figured I process, but afterwards she start-

ed tearing up and she said, 'I feel so pretty!' and that made me start tearing up. That was when I realized I really like doing hair."

Where did you get your education?

"South Hills Beauty Academy. It's on West Liberty Road in Dormont."

How long did it take you to get the credentials needed to cut clients' hair professionally?

"It took me nine months because I was going full time, five days a week for eight hours. The minimum is 2100 hours, and after you have the hours completed you take a state board test.

That tests your theory, if you know the laws like sanitation requirements. Then you take a practical exam like if you know how to do a 90 degree haircut or a 45 degree haircut.

Let's talk about the salon you work at. What does a typical day look like?

"If it's not a Saturday, it's usually pretty easy-going.

At the beginning of the day, we open our books up, which basically is your schedule. We have a bunch of different systems like our referral system and our pre-booking system, so if you prepare that ahead of time you don't have to worry about it later. Then, you have to clean your whole station to make sure your brushes and everything are sanitized. Then there's always the laundry. Laundry is constant in the salon. Then, you take the clients as they come."

Pittverse 6

What kind of things do you have to do to get ready for the day?

"I have to make sure I wake up at least an hour before I have to leave. Being a hairdresser, I have to make sure my physical appearance is on point. I shower and then - I have really curly hair - so I have to blow dry it smooth and then straighten it and apply prod-

they enjoyed their last hair cut, and if they did, then I can see how much they're looking to take off to get it back to where they enjoyed it. An important question, also, is asking them their daily styling regimen, because that determines what kind of hair cut you want to give them. Sometimes people bring in a photo of a celebrity whose hair is already done,

Typically how long does it take to cut a client's hair?

"My woman's haircuts are 45 minutes long. That includes the consultation, the shampoo, and the blow dry. When cutting long hair, the actual hair cutting part of the appointment takes 15 to 20 minutes. When cutting a man's hair, anything that's really short, I usually utilize most of the 45 minutes for the cut itself. Shorter hair is more intricate because you have to be aware of every single little piece of hair rather than long hair which that's going to lay down."

How much do different services cost at the salon?

"We have a level salon, so the hair cut cost is determined by how long the stylist has been there. Women's

via Wikipedia

uct. Then I put on makeup and an outfit. Shoes are very important because you have to stand on your feet all day."

When starting out with a new client, what steps are taken to ensure the customer's full satisfaction?

"We have a new desk form that we have everybody fill out just so we have information about them, their occupation, and if anybody referred them to the salon. Then that information is given to me upon the consultation. I usually ask them how long ago was their last haircut, because then I can start feeling their hair as they're talking and see where they got it cut to last time. Hair grows about a half inch a month, so I can ask them if

blown-out, curled, and even extensions. You have to let them know that if they're not going to do that every Daenerys from Game of Thrones day then via flickr that's not really a great representa- haircuts start out at $30 and then tion of what kind of hair cut they go up. Mine right now are $50 they're going to leave with. I ask which is pretty much the estabthem about their profession be- lished stylist's rate. Coloring sercause that determines if they want vices can be a bit more expensive a cut that's a little more edgy or a because you're not only paying for little more reserved. Then I ask the stylist's time and expertise, but them how frequently they usually the coloring product as well. The maintain their hair because if price varies by how much product they're going to be more high is used. For a typical color touchmaintenance about it, you can up, it's $30. For highlights, because take a little more of a risk." you're doing a very intricate pro-

cess that takes a few hours, I believe my partial highlight is $70.

And that goes up if you're using more product."

How far in advance does a client need to book a coloring appointment?

"Our pre-booking system offers you a benefit when you book your next appointment before leaving the salon. The average woman schedules the next appointment for 4 to 6 weeks out because that’s when you'll start to see the regrowth. It's nice when they prebook because the schedule does fill up, and color can take longer than expected because you're at the mercy of what can happen with the chemical reactions. If somebody wants something simple like a base color or a shiny sealer, which just adds tonality to the hair, it's pretty easy to get in, even if you want to make the appointment the day of. But if you have no idea what you want to get done for your color, it's always better to have a consultation first to evaluate how long it would take based on your hair texture and length. Then you can make sure you have a lot of time, because nothing's more stressful than having more than one person at once having a color that needs rinsed but being in the middle of a haircut."

What is the most outrageous but creative color scheme you've had to perform on a client's hair?

"I had a client who came in with dark brown hair that went to the middle of her back. It was right when Game of Thrones became popular, and she wanted Daenerys silver hair. First of all, Daenerys has a wig on, so I think people should know that. Having hair that is that light and that long is pretty impossible. In order to get a person's hair from a brown to a white, you have to strip it of basi-

cally every level that it has. By the time you get to white, the hair is very compromised. When I consulted with her, she let me know that her length was a very important aspect of her hair. So I told her we could reach a compromise if she wanted to keep the length, I could get her to a cool blonde, like a rustic gold color, and then she could keep the majority of the length. She was happy with it, but I'd say that's the most tedious hair dying I've ever had. " What types of hair are there?

"Every person's hair is individual to them, but a lot of time, you can make assumptions based on the ethnicity of people. Because of where we evolved, the world determines how our hair behaves. African American hair is very course and curly probably because in Africa it's very hot so they need that protection from their hair. People who are descended more so from cooler climates like England have hair that's a little finer and lighter in color. When determining texture in hair, you go by the diameter of the hair strands themselves, so there's fine or course. It's also determined by the density of the hair. People can have really fine hair but a ton of fine hair. Or people can have very curly hair but not a lot of curly hair. So it kind of goes in pairs like that."

you a lot of styling opportunities because it will be too heavy."

Would you tell me if I'm a difficult client?

"I would say your hair is a little bit of challenge, but I like challenges, and then when you're done you can say, 'Yeah, I did that!'"

From talking with Krista, I learned that there are a lot more technical things going on with hair and how much effort it takes to accomplish a great haircut on a client so that they are fully satisfied. I hope the reader has found this interview very rich in detail and maybe has a new found appreciation for the hair salon industry and are eager to explore this type of business.

What about my hair?

"You have a lot of hair, it's very dense, but the individual strands are very fine and straight. Keeping all of those things in mind, because it's very straight, you don't want to cut it too short because then when it grows out it will stick straight out, which isn't ideal unless you have a lot of product with hold in it to get it to lie down. But, you don't want it to be too long or it won't give Pittverse 8

The Librarians of Green Tree Public Library

by Sean Gannon

E

ver since I was little, I used to come to Green Tree Public Library with my family. I loved getting books and movies, and back then the library used to have books on tape. Now they have computers, DVDs, CDs, Kindles, and all kinds of other stuff. I interviewed two of the nicest librarians, Shannon Barron and Carmen Tinker. They told me how the library works, how particular programs work, how the librarians process the books, and much more!

How do you like working with children?

Shannon: I love working with

children and what’s great about being a librarian is that I work with kids of all different ages so I get to have fun with the babies and I get to have fun with the older kids. It’s great because one of my biggest passions is getting kids to love reading and learning and having fun, and it’s all what the library all about. So every day I get to work with children is one that I get to meet new children. It is opening so much happiness in our world, the library’s world, the child’s world, and their family’s world. They’re really coming to the library to build memories. and I like being a part of that.

Carmen does not work directly with the kids, and she works the

general population. She said: “I love it. People are very friendly.

There is always something interesting on. I love reading and I love seeing the new books coming in.”

What is your favorite book?

Shannon said her favorite all-time is To Kill a Mockingbird. My favorite children’s picture book is A Sick Day for Amos Magee which is about a small zoo keeper who takes care of the zoo friends One day he gets sick so he can’t go to the zoo, so his friends come on a bus and take care of him. It is a super adorable favorite kids book.

Carmen said her favorite book was The Night Circus by Erin Morgen-

stern.

When did you want to a librarian?

Shannon: “Well, I always loved reading, and it has been the number one thing in my life from since I was a little girl, but after college I was a teacher for a couple of years and I realized I wanted to help more people, and a public library is the place to do that.

So, because of that, like I said earlier, I can work with the little babies and with the adults, so I get to work with everybody. As a teacher you’re only working with the same youth group, the same kids every day, whereas a public librarian can help everybody. So when I was a teacher, I realized I really need to be a librarian.”

Carmen said, “I decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to pursue being a librarian, but I am technically not there yet. I am still going to school to get the required masters degree. I hope to be a full librarian in a year or so.”

Is the Green Tree historical society part of the library?

Shannon: “They are not considered a direct part of the library, but they are a partner. They are a group of committed volunteers who take care the history of Green Tree, but we collaborate with them to do projects. you know.

They put displays in our windows, and we had the oriole bus come; they come and we collaborate with them a lot of the time. Moreover, we refer people to them a lot of the time too.” Carmen did not know about the historical society.

Who is your favorite author and why?

Shannon stated, “My favorite author is…I really do not have a favorite because I am discovering new books and new authors. It is part of my job at the library to order all the materials you see at the

library so, every month I’m ordering new movies, new books, new television shows, and new CD’s that are coming out so the new stuff is always coming to my desk. I just unpacked four new boxes of material before you came, so it is hard having a favorite author because I am discovering something new I might like.”

Carmen said Ray Bradbury is her favorite author because of his good writing style and good content.

What is your favorite kind of literature?

Shannon reported, “My favorite kind of literature is literature that makes me feel good so that could be many different things. I like to read stories about families, I like stories about growing up, I like to read like contemporary fiction, like those new authors coming out, and occasionally I like to read a thriller and that really keeps me on edge.”

Carmen said she likes classics.

What are your responsibilities of being a librarian?

Shannon replied, “A librarian can have many different jobs depending on the type of librarian you are. My official title at the library here is Assistant Director, so I am in charge of most our programming here at the library. I have to plan the programming makes me require of hiring, requires me to hire or bring someone in to teach something I do not know how to do myself.

“I am also in charge of collection development, which means getting all the material you see sitting on the shelves. It also means getting rid of any material that is

old and is not going out very out very much. You know, we only have so much space on our shelves so we cannot have every book in the world in our. library. We have to constantly look at our collection every year so people could buy older books and love them in their homes.

We decide what comes into the library. We have to wait on our patrons to see if they are having a good experience at the library; we help through technology and computers. As Assistant Director, it is also my job to be in charge of all the summer programming, of that summer reading stuff and to work with my employees so they understand what they are doing to support their job. Every day is a different day at the library here, nothing is ever the same.”

Carman’s and Shannon’s responses were the similar.

What is “Friends of the Library,” and how many people are in it?

Shannon noted, “So, our Friends Pittverse 10

of the Library are exactly what it sounds like. They are people who really, really love the library and want to see it be successful and be a great place, not just today but in the future, too. So our Friends group are men and women in our community who raise money for our library at our book sale. They are people who support our library and talk about it. There are many, many people who are members of the Friends that are core group of ladies right now, there is probably a dozen of them who meet on a monthly basis who plan the book sale, who plan the author event (we have J.J. Hensley coming in a couple weeks). They are the ones who do different activities, but anyone who loves the library can be a member of the “Friends.”

Also, our donation to the Friends group helps them support the library, so when you’re a Friend member you give us a little bit of money, but the Friend gives donations to the library here and they help us do projects that might help us. They might give us money to host a special program like J.J. Hensley. They are going to give us money this year so we can buy at the end of summer reading; hopefully everyone will get a book. The Friends buy the books to give everybody. They will not support us not just today but in the future too.”

Are there any library programs for adults and children with autism?

Shannon described the programs, “We do not have any specifically at our library, that’s not say we won’t in the future, and everyone is always welcome to our programs so have a lot of different people who have many different special needs who come to use them. Sometimes we have adults who have some special needs and they come to our children’s programs. Sometimes we have people

who come to the library and we meet with them one-on-one, and help them find books or surf on the computer.

We don’t have anything specific right now, but it doesn’t mean we won’t in the future. There are other libraries in the county that do that have specific programs.

We can also help you find that too. If the library doesn’t have something, ask because we can help find the library that does have something.

We’re really lucky to be living in the city of Pittsburgh because in Allegheny County all the libraries are connected, so you have over 40 libraries that you can use with your library card, so if we don’t have a book on our shelf, we can get it to you from another library. The same goes with programs. If we don’t have it here, we can refer you somewhere else. They might say, “Maybe you should try this program.”

That even goes for little babies.

We have Baby Story Time on Wednesdays and maybe the parents cannot come on Wednesdays, so they can go to another library and go there on Tuesday or Thursday. The same goes for adults and anyone with special needs too. If we don’t offer something at the moment, we are always open to it, and have it in the future, but in the mean time we will refer you somewhere else.”

I loved interviewing Shannon and Carmen. I know them very well. Like I said in my earlier, they are the nicest librarians around. The library has a lot to offer and has a lot of books.

There are also other nice people that work to make the library a special place to go.

Interview With Social Worker, Melissa Sodano

by Thomas Skidmore

M

elissa Sodano is a LSW (licensed social worker) currently working for Youth Advocacy Programs, or YAP for short. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from Kutztown University (located near the Reading area), and has been practicing her work since 2006. From the demeanor she exudes, it is plain that she enjoys her work.

When asked about her desire to perform counseling and social work, Melissa states, “I wanted to help others, and I felt I had abilities that would fit this type of this work.”

A surprising fact is that Melissa has only been working with adults on the autism spectrum since 2012; prior to this, she’d worked with youths and especially teenag-

ers, mostly in therapeutic foster care and even a homeless shelter for runaways.

“When I came to YAP, I was presented with the opportunity to work with adults and quickly decided to try it out,” she says. “I have truly enjoyed working with adults because of their determination and ambition. I feel that this has been a great opportunity for me as I continue to grow professionally.”

Unlike most therapists who tend to favor a more direct, extremely clinical tactic (which can be a bit off-putting to the patient), Melissa utilizes an approach that can be described as “roundabout.”

She explains, “I used a strengthbased approach, where the focus is on an individual’s strengths and building on them, rather than focusing on one’s challenges.”

Her demeanor is one of compassion, and this is most evident due in part to her easy-going personality as well as her rather strong Catholic background. In fact, she’s more than willing to discuss areas of faith, whether it’s Christian or Jewish. But she never judges anyone because of faith or different viewpoints, as she’s quick to point out.

Outside of her busy work-life, for fun Melissa enjoys the more simpler activities of life, such as going to parks, taking nice walks, and other sundry pursuits. Her particular favorite activity is crocheting, as well as listening to music of all sorts (she counts the British singer Adele among her favorites), but the biggest pleasure she has is her family. She’s married with two small sons, and puts family at the high echelon of her life.

In Memoriam: Anton Yelchin

by Thomas Skidmore

O

n June 19, 2016, Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin died suddenly at his home in Studio City, California, at the age of 27.

He was killed in a freak car accident.

Born in Leningrad, Russia, he emigrated to the USA with his family when he was just six months old.

His figure-skater parents were seeking political asylum, and became US citizens. From the age of nine, he displayed a great acting skill and good work ethic. Audiences, critics, and even fellow actors were impressed with his acting ability, holding his own with such luminaries as Sir Anthony

Hopkins and the late Robin Williams.

Following a string of independent films, in 2008 he landed the role that launched him to stardom: Ensign Pavel Chekov in the reimagining of the popular Star Trek franchise. Alongside this iconic role, Anton appeared in Terminator: Salvation and did voice work in the two live-action/CGI Smurfs films.

He reprised the role of Chekov in 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness, and the upcoming Star Trek Beyond (which will, sadly, be his last onscreen appearance ever).

via Wikipedia

His big break came with his role on the TV series Huff.

May your soul reach the stars to Heaven, Anton . . .

Pittverse 12

Interview With RMU Basketball Player Britta Emberg

by Sean Gannon

O

n February 5th, 2016, I sat down with #5 Britta Emberg. She played at Robert Morris University during the 2012-2013 season. I wanted to interview her because I like basketball.

My name is Sean Gannon, coming to you live the YAP office interviewing #5 Britta Emberg.

Did you play basketball in elementary and/or high school?

“I started in second grade, even before that. I’ve been playing ever since I can remember. I played in elementary school, then I played at Kittanning High School all the way up to college.”

What is the main job for a forward?

“Our main job is to stand closer to basket. We do all the dirty work, the fun work. We use our muscles to be strong in there, to score those baskets and get a lot rebounds. You’ve got to do all the muscle work.”

What is a technical foul?

“You can get a technical foul for a lot of different things.

You can get a little emotional and let your emotions out during the game or get too aggressive with the players.”

Did you ever get a technical foul?

“I never got a technical, surprisingly!”

How did you enjoy being an AllStar?

“I enjoyed it very much, actually.

Um, I played in an All-Star Game

after high school. It was called the Cajun Classic in Natrona heights, and it was pretty cool to be put on spotlight for something I worked very hard for my whole life.”

whole team was taller than I am.

They were pretty tall. They were definitely good competitors.”

Would’ve you liked to have played in the WNBA?

“Oh, man! I don’t think you’re going to agree with this, but I actually listened to Goo Goo Dolls, some “Iris,” some “Name.” And I listened to some rap, kind of to get the blood flowing.”

“Oh, yeah! It was definitely a dream to play in the WNBA … I had an opportunity to play professionally over in Germany, but my body has taken a lot of stress over the years, and I had to get myself healthy. So yeah, it was definitely a dream.”

What was toughest team to play against?

“We played Notre Dame University in the NCAA tournament they were ranked second in the country and they were probably the hardest.

Their

What kind of music did listen to get pumped up for the game?

What made you decide to be a Truancy Advocate?

Well, when I was helping out with the team over the summer, we used to put on kid clinics so little kids could come in, and we could teach them basketball. I really enjoy helping the kids out, and it seemed like a good transition to, now being done with basketball, knowing how important school was to me and how important it is in general to try to help these kids with school help make that transition.”

What major did you decide to pick?

“I graduated with my bachelor’s in psychology, and I also got a minor in forensic psychology.”

I had a good time with Britta. Her jersey number was #5. She also said she wanted jersey number #10 but someone already had it. She saw Star Wars: Episode VII two times but no spoilers. I questioned about her basketball career and how she liked her job as a Truancy Advocate.

The Court is in Session

Interview with Former Judge Bill Ward

by Michael Kurland

H

ow long have you been involved in the judicial system?

“For almost 40 years.

I have been fortunate to have a blend of private practice and government service, including my work as a federal prosecutor, state prosecutor, agency head, and a judge.”

Allegheny County, PA. I worked in the Family Division, especially with dependent children, delinquent children, and families in crisis. I often encountered people who were struggling with special needs, including those with intellectual disabilities and those with pervasive developmental disorders such as autism. I believe that my interest and experience

Has this path always interested you?

“Yes. As a young boy, I enjoyed watching television episodes of Perry Mason with my father. Perry always won and justice was served.”

Who were your inspirations, if any?

“My older brother was practicing law in the United States Navy before I graduated from high school. Also, I benefitted from the advice of mentors along the way, including former Former Judge Bill Ward United States Attorney Bob Cindrich and my former law partner, working with such people enabled me to reach the correct deciAlexander Unkovic.” sions in those judicial cases In your opinion, what was your where I presided.” most significant contribution or Having worked with people on case? the autism spectrum, do you have “My most significant contribution any advice on that front? was my years of service as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of “Patience. It’s essential in the

courtroom for an advocate to present information that will be helpful for the judge to make a decision. In juvenile cases, I often removed non-essential observers from the courtroom to enable a child witness to calmly process the questions and to provide necessary and helpful information.”

Are there any plans for the near or distant future?

“I am currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Autism Connection of Pennsylvania and the Board of Trustees of ACHIEVA. These fine organizations help improve the lives of individuals with autism or intellectual disabilities. I also defend juveniles and young adults who have been accused of criminal offenses. Finally, I’m Vice Chairman of the Mental Health and Justice Advisory Committee in Harrisburg to develop statewide strategies for working with mentally ill people in the criminal justice system.”

What’s your final verdict for our readers?

“If we all communicate and raise awareness of those individuals with special needs in our criminal justice system, we will be able to render a final verdict for justice.”

Pittverse 14

Bob Robinson-Dassel: Coach of the Pittsburgh Paddlefish

by Delaine Swearman

T

he Pittsburgh Paddlefish Dragon Boat Team is coached by Bob Robinson-Dassel, who is certified in both the United States and Canada. He met with me at the Three Rivers Rowing Association's Millvale Boathouse to give me a tour and tell me more about dragon boating, himself, and his team.

Dragon boat racing is a 3000 year -old water sport, with a typical team of 20 paddlers, sitting in pairs on 10 benches, facing the bow, or front of the boat, plus a drummer at the front facing the paddlers, and a steersperson

standing at the back of the boat.

The drumbeat and paddling is synchronized together. For competitions, the boats have an elaborate decorative dragon head attached to the front of the boat and a tail attached to the back of the boat.

The boat is divided into thirds. The paddlers in the front of the boat, or “strokes,” set the pace. The middle of the boat, or the “engine room,” is where the strongest paddlers sit. And the “rockets” sit in the back of the boat, with the important job of pushing the boat forward.

The Pittsburgh Paddlefish Team, which is part of the Three Rivers Rowing Association, started about ten or eleven years ago. Bob’s wife joined the team first, and the coach recruited him later. He was already involved in other water sports such as canoeing and kayaking, so it was a good fit. Bob began coaching about seven years ago, and has been the head coach for four years.

Bob says, "I work very hard at what I do." He estimates that he spends an hour and a half per day on work related to coaching. For example, he plans all of his team's

Pittverse 16

90 minute practices down to the minute, and then posts them in advance online. The team has three practices per week, year-round.

They go out in the dragon boat and outrigger canoes in the spring, summer, and fall. Bob leads them in an indoor workout consisting of paddling ergs, weight training, and a core program in the winter.

When I asked him about the hardest part of coaching, he said, “It’s never easy coaching people smarter than you.” He has some very intelligent and accomplished career persons on his team, but they still give him respect, he explained.

He describes his team as "a recreational team that thinks they are competitive." However, they've

won or medaled at every place they've traveled to, often surprising their competitors, who are often quite a bit younger than them. They compete in four major races per year, and have gone to places such as Bucks County, PA; Tampa, FL; Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC; Princeton, NJ; Ithaca, NY; Tennessee; and Puerto Pico.

They also ran through a few practice races. Bob, as head coach, took his typical position, standing behind all the paddlers, where he steers the 44 foot long, two ton fully loaded boat. From there he had the advantage of being able to see everyone as he called out commands over a portable speaker. He even gave me a few suggestions on improving my own technique!

After talking about the team, Bob introduced me to the members and invited me to join them for their paddling practice in the dragon boat. I eagerly joined them and must say, I had an amazing experience, but it was quite a workout. Bob had drills to challenge his team’s stamina, timing, and paddling technique.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Pittsburgh Paddlefish Dragon Boat Team or how you can try out dragon boating yourself, you can visit pittsburghpaddlefish.org and thre eriversrowing.org for more information.

How To Build a Lego “Rat Rod”

by Max Chaney

H

ello and welcome back to “Making Miniatures with Max!”

Today we focus on something very summer(y) a “rat rod!”

However since it is summer, I decided to build one! So here it is!

It is more of a modern type of rat rod, with swooping fenders, engine detail, it also has a spoiler!

Rat rods are usually made for round the town type of fun.

For the bricks, you will need mostly brown pieces to simulate the rust.

The typical rat rod, was, mind you, a coupe design, but mine wasn’t.

You will need a special brown fender brick from Disney Cars sets.

The designs could also be from the 1920s, but mine is more modern.

You will also need a couple of grill bricks and cheese wedges.

Lastly, you will need tires (also

from the “Cars” sets).

This was also unusual for me because, it also had raised suspension at the back… and the fact I wanted to keep it small, was a challenge. (But I built it in less than 30 minutes).

I also wanted it so nothing on the car was…. Well… exactly the same as my other vehicles.

I hope this will inspire you to make many great Lego MOC’s.

Interview with My First Grade Teacher

by Michelle Middlemiss

I

asked my first grade teacher, Mrs. Dorothy Buchanan, for an interview and she said “yes.” Years ago she came to my high school graduation party and after that, my other graduation party when I received my Teacher’s Assistant Degree.

I first asked her about how my having her for my first grade teacher came about. I said, “I know you met my mom when you took a stained glass class from her. How did you start talking to her about what you did at Regent Square School in Pittsburgh?”

ents still have a rough time when their kids are diagnosed with a learning disability.

Next I asked if she had to take the Praxis test. The Praxis involves different tests that currently need to be taken to become a teacher.

We talked about how the format varies state to state and both wondered why education isn’t equal in every state for every child?

Mrs. Buchanan said, “We were just getting acquainted, and she found out I was a teacher who taught a special education class. Your mom started to share her concerns and I said ‘Send her to me,’ and she did.”

Mrs. Buchanan explained how at that point her class was called a “learning disability Michelle and Mrs. Buchanan class,” but when she first started teaching it was called Mrs. Buchanan told me, “I’ve “brain injured disability class.” been retired for 25 years. When I She said they had very few stuwas teaching, I already had a dents because parents didn’t want Masters in Elementary Educatheir children labeled that way. tion. I went back to the Universi“Brain Injured” was dropped. ty of Pittsburgh and took an additional 20 credits, learning all as“At that time Rockefeller was vice pects of teaching special ed chilpresident and dyslexic, and when dren.” Then she had to take a that became public, parents saw special exam in the field that she that it was ok to have a child who wanted to teach in, and it was was special. They could become only good for Pennsylvania. I vice president!” said that’s what the Praxis today involves!

I talked with her about how par-

Next, I asked Mrs. Buchanan if she got to see any changes happening in her classroom. She talked about how there was a reduction in funding. As an elementary teacher she had taught kindergarten, first, and third grade.

“One of the reasons I decided to get certified in special education was because there were always children who never quite made it.

I felt if I just had more time to work with that child they could learn just like everyone else.

That motivated me to go ahead and get my certification to work with children who couldn’t keep up with the regular classroom schedule.”

When she first went into special ed it was federally funded. The federal guidelines said there needed to be 12 children in a class with one full time aide and a budget for supplies. She was furnished with a regular curriculum that every first grader had, so she had to develop her own curriculum so her kids could learn. As she worked with a new child, she kept learning more about what they needed to succeed. After teaching special ed for 15 years, she had a reading curriculum that she had developed herself! “That was probably the one that I used in your classroom,” she said to me.

Pittverse 18

“After the federal money dried up, it became state funded but we still had to follow the guidelines. After those funds were gone, local school districts came in. The process of getting a student placed in a special ed classroom became very time-consuming and a lot of information needed to be gathered. The regular teachers didn’t want to do that.”

She told me that it was like a plan of how to get fewer than 15 students into special ed. She saw fewer and fewer children in the regular classrooms because the children couldn’t get processed.

I remembered being in a classroom where I kept getting up to sharpen my pencils because it was sometimes hard to sit still.

She remembered how students were told to keep their hands folded on their desk and not allowed to wiggle.

and he could follow her finger down through the math problems.

She showed him how to place his own finger on the next one and “he was done with the whole page in minutes.” She said that in essence that is what she did in the classroom.

It seemed that with many of the children she worked with, “Things weren’t connecting right in their brain. If they had been, they would have been geniuses.”

She spoke of how there are things that the children excelled in but in the public schools they expected

She said that teaching special ed was a challenge that she always loved. “It was like a puzzle. You play a great detective. What’s going on in this little head? What can we do to help?”

She told me, “I saw money drying up and thought that it was not thinking about the students but instead, the system.”

A new law read that a student needs to be in the least restricted environment. She said she got out of teaching just in time. A regular classroom was the least restricted so many of the special ed students would have been put back into the regular classroom.

“If I had still been teaching one more year, I would have been turned into a consultant waltzing up and down the halls giving advice to the regular teachers as to how to handle the children in their classroom.”

If she would have taught one more year she would have had to share her aide with another special ed teacher and would have had only half the space for the classroom.

As it was, they put up a partition in her classroom.

Mrs. Buchanan told me a story about a student who was 8 years old, but a very big child. “When he put his arms out to yawn, his arms stretched from here to there and he’d be on the desk on either side of him.

Students were squirming because they felt confined.”

First Grade Michelle with Mrs. Buchanan

kids to be good in everything and didn’t allow them to go with what they could do.

She said that much of the time it was just “Help each child find some kind of system of keeping themselves organized. Help them identify what their problem was and provide a way to help them.”

There was one student who couldn’t figure out how to start doing his math problems. Mrs. Buchanan explained how she put her finger on the first problem

I told her that when I volunteered at Spectrum School, I had many occasions when teachers weren’t sure what was going on in a student’s mind, why were they acting in a particular way. Many times I was able to help the teachers figure it out because I would know from my personal experience.

I asked if she experienced the warehousing effect or if she was out before that? She said “I retired in 1991 and still had a classroom of 12 children and a fulltime aide.

I graduated from college in 1952.

To get my permanent teaching certification, I had to have three years of teaching in a public school and six additional credits. It changed to 30 additional credits and that got you a master’s degree. I never had to take another class after I got my certification. I thought “There should be requirements here, shouldn’t there?” We talked about how education is a process and there should be new things to learn about. And why isn’t education equal in every state for every child?

She continued, “I had to take a national teacher’s exam that was good for 10 years. Most of the small school systems didn’t use it.

I had taught a couple of years in a small rural community. Then I moved to Pittsburgh and applied for a job, and since 11 years had gone by, I had to take the national

exam again! It was an all day exam and timed. I was so ticked off because the first time I took it I never needed to use it!”

I asked her what we did in the first grade, because I forgot. Mrs. Buchanan said, “We had fun… learning is fun! We used a basic curriculum and I presented it in a way where we’d play games, do art projects, sing, and do music.”

She used many different techniques to make class enjoyable and students able to learn at the same time. Students were learning how to socialize, care about themselves, and care about other students. “We just became a happy family.”

asked her.

“I remember that you wanted to work with and save all the animals in the world.”

She told me that I was very concerned about how animals were treated and always went into great detail about animal cruelty and got emotionally involved with their being put in cages.

When I ended up in tears over this, Mrs. Buchanan would simply tell me “Don’t go there,” and we’d get back to another school subject! She talked about our discussions for rescuing all the ani-

“We had special teachers come in for certain classes such as music. I was your full time teacher. I was supposed to get everyone placed in my classroom to work up to speed and gain needed skills in order to return to that particular mainstream class.”

Sometimes she tried to get her stu- Michelle interviewing Mrs. Buchanan dents to join in a mals in the world and helping the classroom with students in their environment. She had respect for own age group. Then if a student my ambitions and thought my fell behind, the regular teacher ideas and interests were unique would show her what work the and unusual for someone my age. student needed to prepare for.

As for today, I told her about my We talked about the plays we had two little gecko lizards, and I at Christmas time and at the end asked if there were any animals of the year. The music teacher living near her house? She said would assign each class a song for that there were feral cats that the program, and Mrs. Buchanan were very fat and well-fed but would figure out how to present still come to her house for food. that song. I remembered dressing Turkeys roost nearby, and she up like a sheep for one of the sees four to five deer when she plays. walks in the morning. The “What was I like in school?” I

groundhog is the meanest thing that she has that likes to come up in the driveway and take a sunbath.

I asked, “What are your interests now, Mrs. Buchanan?”

“I’m trying to cut back to make my activities go with my energy. I will be 85 next month.” She continued “I love to do craftwork…I got involved in paper cutting and belong to the Guild of American Paper Cutters.”

She said that after retiring she taught her hobbies because she loves teaching.

And she can keep her own schedule! She also loves folk music and plays a number of instruments that sit in her living room, including a dulcimer on the wall. She is very involved in her community and church.

Taking care of friends and relatives who are ill or need special care is especially important to her.

Mrs. Buchanan also belongs to the Garden Club in her community.

Her last comment to me was this: “When I can’t garden, when I can’t drive my car, I have to move and have to go to an institution with all those old people.” I know she will never be old!

Mrs. Buchanan supported and encouraged me and told me in the first grade: “Once you start to read, you’ll just take off and fly….”

I thanked her for a wonderful interview.

Pittverse 20

by Sara Brooks

S

ome people would say that without music life would be a mistake. I can say that I agree with this because music has played an important role in my life. My mom loved music, and my aunt played piano in her church. I remember being in choir throughout my school years and performing in musicals. I really enjoyed it and music also helps keep me stay calm.

For this issue, I wanted to interview a music producer, so that is what I did. I interviewed music

Music Producer Brandon Anderson

producer Brandon Anderson.

Brandon Anderson is 27 years old and is originally from Steubenville, Ohio. Currently, he is a music producer at his studio Branderson Media. His studio is located at 300 Camp Horne Road in Pittsburgh, PA. I met up with him in his studio to ask him a few questions about being a music producer. Here is how the interview went:

producer does is make music. How to make music is a broad area, for example, some will just make instrumentals, then some will record artists. I try to do a little bit of both.”

How long have you been making music?

What do you do as a music producer?

“Well, I’ve been making music since 2007, but in 2009 I started producing in an actual studio at West Liberty University where I attended college.”

“Well the biggest thing a music

What would you say is your favor-

Top: Brandon in his studio Right: Sara and Brandon

ite and least part of being a producer?

of music such as electronic, hiphop, R&B, and some other genres.

following websites are where you can listen to his work:

“I would say my favorite part is working with different artists. I really enjoy working with different people. My least favorite part would most likely be the long hours.”

He then named some of the artists he works with which were Skye Light Music who is more so electronic, and then Y-Check who is more hip-hop and R&B. He reported that he plans on working with other artists in the future.

www.reverbnation.com/bastyle

I continued to interview Brandon and throughout the interview I felt like I learned quite a bit about the life of a music producer. Since he said he had to put a lot of hours into his work, I then asked him how many he actually spends on producing music. He told me that he spends usually 15 to 20 hours per week producing and mixing music and that’s on top of his full time job throughout the week.

I then was interested in what kind of music he produced. He reported that he produces a broad range

www.soundcloud.com/brandonanderson-1

I then asked him one more question which was, if he planned on making this a full time career. He claimed that he would love to at some point, but right now his goal is to make good music with the artists he’s working with and then go from there.

Brandon then let me listen to a song that he and some of the artists he works with produced. Brandon also gave me a list of websites where people can listen to some of the music he has produced. The Pittverse 22

Mary Limbacher, Founder of “Parents in Toto�

by Richard Campbell

I

interviewed Mary Claire Limbacher, executive director of the Zelionople based autism agency, Parents in Toto.

"Toto" means in total, altogether, or totally. Parents in Toto's website says, "We feel most at home in a place that supports, accepts, and celebrates everyone, especially those who don't feel that way in many other places. We think life is better when we face it totally supported, in total community, and altogether encouraged."

burgh's autism program, better known today as the Center for Excellence in Autism Research.

Dr. Minshew is and has been the director of this program for over 15 years. Andy and I were introduced to Michelle Pennin, who accessed Andy for the research program. And so my son was identified as 'autistic.' Andy did pencil on paper tests, brain MIR

I asked Mary some questions about Parents in Toto, her life, and her career.

Why did you choose to be an autism specialist?

"Well, I am first a parent of an autistic son, Andrew (Andy) Limbacher.

When Andy was first diagnosed with autism, I wanted to meet more and more families Mary Limbacher who had children with the disability "autism." So, after I started a support group, I met a lot computer tests, and eye trackers of parents who had experiences to name a few." with autism as my son, Andy, was What is your current job like? beginning to encounter in the world."

"After I facilitated a support group, I opened a place called When and why did you first learn Parents in Toto, an autism reabout Dr. Nancy Minshew (the source center on Main St. in Zelworld renowned autism expert ienople's business district in Butwho first diagnosed me)? ler County. I opened the center in "We found out about Dr. Minshew the summer of January 2008. I through the University of Pitts- wanted a place where families could meet other families for sup-

port, information, activities, etc.

My goal is to end the judgement individuals with autism felt and to recognize and realize their unique strengths, talents, and skills, as well work together to overcome weaknesses for each individual person. Still, even though all of us may be different ages, religions, etc, all of us have one thing in common - different goals across the broad spectrum. " Do you get a lot of satisfaction from your job as a person at Toto?

"I get a lot of satisfaction because I know my job is very rewarding .

That's because men and women in Toto have unique qualities and skills and unique talents."

What does autism mean to you and your son?

"From my perspective, my son has many wonderful aspects that autism does not define. He is considerate, fun to watch, fun to be with, and very clever. In addition, he is a person who wants to be loved as they are and to say to people not to be looked at as a person who would be insulted. And no person wants to be insulted, particularly the autistic. When we are a society that doesn't understand something, we tend to be insecure. And insecurity is going to lead to bad, inappropriate behavior."

Is there any time you have been frustrated with your job at Toto?

"I have been frustrated when families are too far away to visit. That is when distance becomes a huge obstacle to overcome. We want to get the message through to the autism spectrum so that services are available for all autistic clients.

We also have social support groups such as young ladies, cribs, toddlers, young adults groups, family friends, autism marriage groups and also programs and groups for the middleaged and young adults."

So all-in-all we have a lot in common with clients at Parents in Toto . And the best is still yet to come from me!

Parents In Toto’s Young Ladies Group

Parents in Toto Resource Center In Zelienople

Pittverse 24

The Pittsburgh Banjo Club

By MJ Devine

M

y family and I go to events to see our Grammy sing for a group she was in for 25 years called "The Pittsburgh Banjo Club!" We sing along the songs that they play at the events.

The person I interviewed is Joann Azinger; she is our Grammy's best friend.

MJ: What type of the music do you play?

MJ: When was the banjo club started?

MJ: What is your favorite place to perform?

Joann: We started in 1988.

Joann: My favorite place to perform is at the Elk's Club on the North Side.

MJ: How many members are in the banjo club?

Joann: There are around 90 members in the banjo club.

The Pittburgh Banjo Club

Joann: We play music from the 1920s, and we do show tunes too.

MJ: Where do you practice at?

Joann: We practice at the Elk's Club on the North Side.

MJ: Who is the director of the banjo club?

Joann: Frank is the founder of the banjo club, and Norm Azinger is the music director.

MJ: Are there different types of banjos?

Joann: Four string banjos are called the tenor banjo. A four string plectrum banjo has a long neck compared to the four string banjo, five string banjo, and six string banjo, which is a guitar banjo.

MJ: What is one fondest memories of my Grammy?

Joann: There are so many wonderful memories of D.J. Her singing, her boas, and when we travel she

MJ’s Grammy, DJ, Singing for the Banjo Club

makes up so many songs. She'll sing them and we listen to her songs. We all love her.

There are so many memories of our Grammy when she was in the banjo club, her singing, and her boas that she wears all of them at the events that she performs. We will never forget all the memories of her.

My favorite memory of her is on my 20th birthday. We went to Penn State Beaver to go to an ice cream convention, and the Pittsburgh Banjo Club was performing there too. My Grammy told Frank, the founder of the banjo club, that it was my birthday today. Then Frank said, " I heard that today is somebody's birthday." My Grammy said, "It's my granddaughter's

20th birthday!" She said my name, and I stood up and everyone in the crowd looked at me, the banjo started playing the happy birthday song and the whole crowd started singing along. I started to cry in front of everyone.

I'll never forget this memory of our Grammy for the rest of my life and she will always be with us forever and ever. If anyone wants to come see the Pittsburgh Banjo Club play, they are more than welcome too. They perform at the Elk's Club on the North Sid from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

A Four String Banjo via Wikipedia

Pittverse 26

Autism Author Speaks

Interview with Writer John Elder Robison

by Byran Lippert

T

oday or should I say tonight of March 23, 2016 I had the chance to speak to John Elder Robison, a man with autism who also writes books about autism. Some of his most well known books are Look Me in the Eye, Raising Cubby, and Switched On. I managed to interview Robison before he spoke about himself and his book on stage at the Carnegie Library out in Oakland. This show started at 7:00 p.m. and wasn't over until 8:00 p.m. These are the questions that I asked him.

The first question was: when did you become discovered as an author? He said back in 2007, when his first book, Look Me In The Eye was published.

The second question I asked was, how long have you been writing books for? He said since 2007, but he was writing articles about cars for 15 years before he started writing books on autism.

The third question I asked was, how many book release signings do you attend in one year? He said he makes about 30 to 40 speeches.

He talks about autism, growing up, and his books. There are also book signings when the books go on sale.

The fourth question I asked was, how many times do you travel out of state to sell or publish your books? He said it's done by Random House, they do all of that.

Random House handles all the traveling and other stuff. He could never do it all himself.

The fifth question I asked was, How many pages on average are in your books you write? He said very quickly, about 100,000 words or 350 pages.

Moving on to question six, I asked, Do you enjoy writing books? He said simply, sure I like writing books.

My seventh question was, How many books do you end up completing in one full year? He said every couple of years, roughly two years, one book is completed. The eighth question was: Are your books written for all ages?

He said no, infants to toddlers.

The ninth question was, Do you ever get writers block? Is it even true or is it a myth? How can you overcome it? This is what he said: get an Imperial Chinese War Pug, the pure bred of pug of the emperor. They could calm the generals before and after battles.

Never call them anything but their real name. He also has a bull dog and two cats.

My tenth question was, do you plan on ever retiring from writing books? He said nope.

Finally my eleventh and last question was, what's the title of your new book, when did you finish it, and what's it about? He said the new book is called Switched On. It was finished sometime last year.

These are the notes I managed to write down during his speech. Of his book sales, 20 percent go to the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures.

John Robison now lives in New York, but it’s pretty interesting that he grew up in Pittsburgh. He's witty, insightful, funny, and he has a good sense of humor. Switched On, his new book, was described as a memoir. John had a crappy childhood but tells others their futures will get better.

John is autistic. He has overcome all the name callings, discriminations, etc on to him.

Social dysfunction is a key trait of autism, but he finds ways to get around it. Not having many friends set him free. At age 14 he wanted all the boys and girls to be his friend. He struggled with people thinking of him as being less off from everyone else all the way to age 50. He was really good at electronics. He spent 1,000 hours working on learning all of it. His teachers thought he was a failure.

He has a kid who is autistic. John dropped out of high school. He says his book is funny at the same time it's a serious book. He had a projection screen showing many pictures that went along with his life and speech.

He likes the soul and blues singers the best. Autistic folks have deeper emotions than normal folks. Sometimes autistic folks have better emotional responses. Most of his books are about the story of power and medicine. His speech was really funny, truly serious, and inspiring. I encourage others to get his new book as well to continue to educate yourself further. The end.

The Long Awaited Return of Jung Ho Kang

by Steven Girouard

T

here is no doubt that Jung Ho Kang is a very popular baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and his absence has been felt not only by his teammates but also Pirate fans. The good news is, his leg is healed, and he is back in the lineup.

Remember last September when Chicago Cub’s player Chris Coghlan upended Kang as he slid hard into second base? Kang was struck with a serious, seasonending injury that left a six inch scar on his left leg. After surgery to repair a fractured bone in his lower left leg and a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, Kang spent the better part of five months recuperating in Florida.

On April 18, 2016 he started his baseball rehab program with the Pirate’s Class AAA team in Indianapolis. In an interview with Jim

Ayello of the Indystar newspaper, Kang said [through his interpreter H.K. Kim] that, “his primary goal is to return to health, but mostly he’s excited to get back on the field.”

Since then, Kang Jung Ho Kang has come back via Jeff Curry/ USA Today stronger than ever May 17 against the Atlanta Braves and he has shown everyone that for the first time since last Septemhe is still an awesome baseball ber. player. Kang joined his Pirate teammates while they were on In closing, Kang will undoubtedly the road in St. Louis. Plus, on continue to do well and stay a fan Friday, May 6, during his first favorite for years to come. game back, he hit two home runs in a 4-2 Pirate win over the Cardinals.

Kang played at home in Pittsburgh at PNC Park on Tuesday,

PNC Park via Wikipedia

Pittverse 28

Website Review: HighOnPoems.com

by Kenneth Miller

I

n the months leading up to my discovery of the poets on High On Poems I asked women on a dating website to “whisper in my ear.” I wrote a letter to an editor pleading with her to “light the poetry page on fire.” I plead for perspectives of “Biblical Proportions.” In ten specific ways, I plead for the kind of emotional words that I found on this website in a quantity, intensity and specificity I had asked for.

After being directed to High On Poems from the Poetry Section of the New People monthly newspaper, few things caught my attention right away. It is designed for English and Hindi and Bangla speakers. It is intentionally a crossroads for English speaking poets and poets from places like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is a sense that the Tower of Babble is being managed. There a huge density of Indian civil servants who write poetry and share it here.

High On Poems has an algorithm, and at least 77 specific poets that are feeding me. I’ve never had an experience with a web site like this one. Other than a short stint with a dating website… never have I been captivated like this by anything online. An ability to appreciate art comes in bursts… High On Poems has figured out how to feed it to me. Honestly I wish it

would stop, but it is not going to. The well seems so deep. I can follow specific poets and the themes that most interest me appear again and again. They fill up my nights at work in the same way I see other people using their smart phones.

I know that many poems are written by people I really know, people that are as close to me as anyone has been for a long time. People who remember me at different stages of my life and are commanding my attention now. A masthead used by the High On Poems editors explains something like, “a poem is for the person that needs it,” and that helps. I hear my aunt reminding me of past holidays. I hear my closest family members expressing intense frustration with my behaviors. I hear advice from people, some lovers, framing intense memories we shared. The people I admire most in the world are insisting that I change and calling me to account.

High On Poems has a very liberal submission policy. Early in my experience with High On Poems, in mid March, before I understood what was there, I made six rapid submissions… ruminations that were eating at me/that I needed to share. Once a poem is posted it is there forever. This editorial policy gives me a feeling of

permanence and editorial stewardship that has I have mostly reserved for print formats.

I tried to make each of them about a single topic and express a singular idea in each one. It was great to get those out, but now I feel about my own poetry has been forever changed by the selection on High On Poems. In retrospect, these were articles I had meant to write reduced to poems of desperation. I itch to write more, mostly about labor unions. I won’t indulge the dark themes expressed by some of the other poets.

I’m reminded of the importance of making myself listen to live poetry and talking about how poetry makes me feel with real people. The kinds of encouragement that the editors of High On Poems and other poets give one another is very useful. I have had a life where I have always felt surrounded by poetry. My life is a long train filled with poetry, a lot of poetry, and it wrecked and it is burning. I am fortunate in that way.

High On Poems exploded the dam, a big dam, a particular dam, in a way I had not expected. It is going to take a long drenching Purple Rain, at least, or not, to make amends and come to terms with all of these poets.

Purple Rain

by Kenneth Miller The night of the Great Debate in the 24th Legislative District An Organizer told me that Prince had died Prince from Minneapolis Prince sex. Prince Musical Prince And that a mourning had begun Weeks later at a fabulous garden party, before the children arrived A pair of Educators from City Parks arrived with 17,000 jukebox records, 45s For a creative reuse arts project, better than recycling them into ashtrays or hockey pucks As we began to sort them she said something like, “I hope I find a Purple Rain, it is hard to find the right words.”

Moments later, only seconds, a Purple Rain 45 leapt from the pile and into her fingers.

As hungry as I was to sort and look through these 45s and to have another exchange about Prince, I could not manage my feelings and I walked away. Sulked really, in confusion.

I swear to god, it took all of these things from me to listen to a Spotify documentary about Prince and understand what Purple Rain is all about. Commanding the meaning from the words such as those on www.HIGHONPOEMS.com, as I have asked others to do so many times.

That’s the only thing for me on there, Purple Rain

And that all of this personal stuff coincides with the death of Prince and the theme of his Purple Rain.

Oh how I used to dislike the purple And now I am needing it so badly

June 7, 1958 — April 21, 2016

via Flickr

Pittverse 30

A Personal Pet Reflection

by J.D.C.

P

ets are as much a part of our family as our human loved ones. Aside from foster parents, a spouse, and in-laws, pets are the only other family members we have a partial choice in choosing to bring into our lives. However, it is mainly through literally true divine intervention and the pets themselves, who actually choose us to come into our individual lives.

Pets appreciate the kind things we do for them, on a daily basis. We feed them good quality food in healthy portions; give them daily physical aerobic exercise, even outside, weather permitting.

We make sure they receive appropriate veterinary physical examinations, give them their necessary prescription medicines, monitor their ongoing via Flickr physical and emotional well-being for the better, and give them well-deserved attention and loving playtime sessions, daily, in order to deepen the pet companion animal-human bond.

When pets die, it is just as traumatic as when a human loved one dies. I also believe, as do many other eternal animal and pet lovers, a pet’s death is even more traumatizing. It is the ultimate fact that they are all innocent, unlike any of us and those human relatives, who have died. This means, literally,

they do not know anything about sin against Our Creator. This is unlike most people, unless they are infants, toddlers, or those individuals who are profoundly mentally challenged needing 24-hour/ 7-day-a-week supervision. Plus, pets provide a closer and more physically constant relationship, on a daily basis, than with most other people, who are related to us or not.

Pets, also, unlike most other people, related to us or not, never ever judge us. They accept us in spite of who we individually are.

They are usually loyal no matter what the circumstances are, as time goes by. Literally, as we collectively know, it is much easier and a lot less potentially messy, in befriending an innocent domestic pet companion animal such as a dog, a cat, a guinea pig, a hamster, or a bunny rabbit, than it is with another person.

We can rub their furry bellies,

scratch underneath their furry snouts, gently rub their furry ears, and speak “baby talk” to them. You simply cannot always, or even at all, do this with another person.

As is mentioned beforehand, pets can be physically touched anytime of the day or night. This is not true with other humans, even if they are flesh-and-blood relatives.

Pets can empathize in ways that other people cannot.

They are natural therapists who we do not have to pay copayments to.

Plus, there is documented evidence that they do lower our blood pressure and cause positive and feel-good endorphins, such as oxytocin, in our bodies, to be released from our and their brains to the rest of our bodies, as well as in theirs, which allow each of us to feel better, meaning two and four legged alike, and be more optimistic about daily living in general. Pets, as is also before mentioned, are also much easier to befriend and verbally talk to, than with other people, related to us or not. As we all read about and personally know with our own family’s beloved pet cats and dogs, this is very true! Literal-

ly!

For example, a dog thumps his or her tail on the floor of one’s home and lies on his or her back in a submissive position, thus encouraging his or her pet parent to rub his or her belly, in order to calm down after a difficult day at school or work.

A cat rubs around his or her pet parent’s pant legs and shoes while calmly purring, thus soothing his or her pet parent, who may be angry, frustrated, worried, and/or depressed, as a result of being in school or work earlier in the daytime.

What other human would do this?

Right! The answer is none.

tween pet guardian and pet animal companion. This is what we all strive for, that is, a positive and rewarding pet guardian- pet animal companion bond, which has wonderful consequences for both interspecies partnership, on the earthly side of eternity, meaning in the here and now, and, also, for the other side of eternity, where time as we all know of it, is never ever a factor ever again.

As soul-bearing creatures that were created by “The Great I Am,” we, and our pets need to spend as much time with each other and really cherish the valuable time we are given by the creator of all living creatures, meaning, perfectly, both on the earth

What other person would lick you on your ears and/or face?

Right, again! None!

What other human would put his or her chin on your lap as you plop down on a living room furniture piece, while looking via Flickr up at you with his or her soulful eyes, thus non- via Flickr verbally, meaning in unspoken body language, telling you that everything is going to be OK and you should just relax and quit being so self-critical of yourself?

Right, once more! None!

As is obviously clear, pets desire that we earn their trust before they will, in return, learn to trust us. We are their best friends only if we show good and genuine concern and affection for them first. First impressions with pets, as with other people, are very important. This usually sets the tone for a potentially successful relationship be-

and in the entire universe, forever and ever!!!

Our current family’s pet dog named April, we all individually believe, was sent down to us by the three triune trinity Godhead members, the un-failing legions of holy angels and doggies Duke and Hershey and company, from heavenly paradise, with Jesus intimately, to also love and celebrate, some day, forever and ever, in a Biblically-ordained reunion on a restored Garden of Eden paradise pleasure ground, which will be perfectly free from war, death, diseases, and hate, because Jesus Christ will come back to destroy

Satan and the rest of the demons, plus the antichrist new world order dictator, and totally conquer the earth and immaculately bring it under His Submission in the form of a Theocracy, or a fully Holy Government run by The Divine, and, also in a Divine Monarchy!

It is prophesied in the Book of Revelation, or in the Greek language translation, The Apocalypse, through Jesus Christ, our savior, himself, as written by St. John the Apostle, which is the 66th and final Book of the Holy Bible. In Revelation 21:5, Jesus Christ perfectly declares, “Behold, I Shall Make All Things New!” We, as eternal animal and pet lovers, from a Supernatural Divine Deity InterventionWise Relationship, and from a Judeo-Christian Faith Perspective, individually believe this also includes ALL of our Dearly Beloved and Innocent Pet Companion Animal Angel Babies, FOREVER and EVER!!!

Yes, indeed! Literally and truly so! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! This was written by, JDC

Pittverse 32

by David O’Rorey

I

have been to many movie conventions over the years in and around Pittsburgh and even in Ohio. I have a lot of autographs from film icons and even some photos with them.

These are some of the great memories I have from each convention.

Cinema Wasteland Cinema Wasteland is a movie and memorabilia expo near Cleveland, Ohio. It focuses more on 60s to 80s drive-in, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films. I was there in 2009, and I met a lot of famous people.

I had a chance to meet Caroline Munro, a British actress who starred in 70s and 80s sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films. As well as acting, Munro worked with musicians like Gary Numan. She worked with him on his 1984 album Berserker. By 1984 Numan was only moderately successful having the title track reach the UK Top 40. Munro sings backing vocals in the song "Pump Me Up," and she sings on a B-Side song "The Picture Changes" while Numan Plays the synths. Munro was an amazing lady. Some of her film credits include Ray Harryhausen's fantasy classic The Golden V oyage Of Sinbad (1973), At The Earth's Core (1976), Starcrash (1979), and Maniac (1980). She has also appeared in the Adam Ant music video for Adam's number one UK hit in 1982 "Goody Two Shoes." She was in some other films as well.

I also meet Fred Willimason, The African American Blaxplotation film star of films like Black Caesar (1973) and Hell Up In Harlem

(1973).

HorrorHound HorrorHound is a series of classic horror conventions in the Midwest hosted by HorrorHound Magazine. I attended HorrorHound in Columbus, Ohio in 2012. I met the famous director of 80s horror and sci-fi classics, Stuart Gordon. He directed movies like Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dolls 1987. Also his wife, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, was a very nice lady. She was an actress in some of Stuart's own films, including the three I named.

Monster Bash My favorite convention in the Pittsburgh area would be Monster Bash, which is a film festival and convention dedicated to classic sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films from the silent days to the 70s.

Monster Bash has had many film stars and icons. In 1997, Ray Harryhausen was there with Forrest J. Ackerman. Sadly, I haven't met either one and they both passed away in recent years.

I didn't find out about Monster Bash until 2006. I have met a lot of film icons including Bert I. Gordon, a 50s through 70s producer, director, and special effects legend. (You can learn more about Gordon in my article in the Spring 2016 issue of Pittverse.)

I have also met Ib Melchior, the screenwriter and director of 60s sci-fi classics. Caroline Munro

was also at Monster Bash a few times in recent years, who I mentioned I first met in 2009 at Cinema Wasteland. I have also met actress Pat Priest who was in some 60s and 70s films. Most famously she played Marilyn Munster the normal pretty girl on the 60s TV smash The Munsters.

I've also met Julie Adams, the star of sci-fi classics Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) and The Underwater City (1962), and actress Ann Robinson who starred in the 1953 sci-fi classic George Pal's The War Of The Worlds.

In 2006, I met and talked with special make-up effects master Tom Savini, who was also an actor and stunt man in horror classics like Dawn Of The Dead (1978) and Day Of The Dead (1985) for which he won The Saturn Award. Savini was inspired by the great Lon Chaney silent film actor and makeup effects man dubbed as "The Man Of A Thousand Faces." Also I thought I would mention Savini is a native of Pittsburgh and still resides here.

I have also met Suzanna Leigh, British Star of 60s sci-fi drive-in films The Deadly Bees (1967) and The Lost Continent (1968). Victoria Price was also at a past 2014 Monster Bash. Price is the daughter of the great horror and sci-fi star Vincent Price. Anyone who grew up in the 40s through 70s knows this man. I have also met and spoke with Terry Moore, 50s actress and 80s Playboy Magazine Playmate.

She was a delight to talk with, and she was so amazed I knew so much about her films being so young.

One of my favorite films she was in was Mighty Joe Y oung (1949),

which was sort of a King Kong spin-off. The film is from RKO with special effects by Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, and Pete Peterson.

Steel City Con I have also been to many Steel City Cons (Pittsburgh's annual Comic Con) meeting numerous film and television icons. For example, I have met and had a photo with Henry Winkler.

I had the pleasure of talking with and meeting the 60s film star Barbara Eden who was at the April

2016 Steel City Con. She said she enjoys coming to the Pittsburgh area and has a lot of fans here.

I also met and talked with actor Eddie Deezen who was in some good films including Grease (1978) and Laserblast (1978), a sci-fi cult classic from Charles Band with top notch stop-motion animation effects by David Allen and Randy Cook. Eddie also did the voice for one of the characters in the Chritsmas Animated Movie The Polar Express (2004).

He was a very cool guy to talk to.

held in Pittsburgh that focuses on horror and zombies. I met Tony Todd there in March 2015. He is an actor in movies like Candyman and is a big classic film buff. We discussed films and film icons. He was a great guy.

If you have any type of interest in that kind of culture I highly recommend the various conventions in the Pittsburgh area to enjoy.

They really pull a lot of big names and give you the opportunity to meet some famous people.

Horror Realm Horror Realm is a convention

Caroline Munro via Wikimedia Commons

Tom Savini via Wikimedia Commons

Pittverse 34

A Taste of Italy

by Mark Sulkin

M

y article is all about the country of Italy.

Italy is one of the countries in Europe.

The capital of Italy is Rome.

Italy has a lot of cool sites to see and learn about. In Venice, most of the streets are made of water.

They’re called canals.

Venice has boats called gondolas.

They take people anywhere they want to go just like taxis in the United States.

In Pisa, there’s the Leaning Tower of Pisa. When someone climbs up it, they get dizzy because it’s crooked. There’s also the Coliseum. The Coliseum is where Romans marched around.

Italy has lots of good thing to eat.

One kind of food to eat there is pasta. There’s lots of different kinds of pasta: spaghetti, linguini,

fettuccine, rigatoni, lasagna, tortellini, and ravioli.

Another food Italy has is pizza.

Pizza is round bread with tomato sauce and cheese. The flag of Italy is green, white and red. Italy is located across the Mediterranean Sea and shares borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slo-

venia, San Marino, and Vatican City.

The emblem of Italy is Repvbblica Italiana. Italy is formerly known as the Italian Republic. It covers an area 0f 301,388 kilometers squared. They speak Italian in Italy. To say hello, you say, “Buongiorno” or “Ciao.” “Ciao” could also mean “goodbye” or “see ya later.”

Dealing with The Loss of the Friend

by David O’Rorey

I

recently dealt with the loss of someone I knew. His name was Vince Rotolo, and he was a big fan of B-Movies, especially classic sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films. He was a devoted fan, and I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife, Mary, at past Monster Bashes, which are classic movie conferences.

Vince did a podcast called The BMovie Cast with co-host Nic Brown with sometimes guests such as Juan Ortiz from Florida.

Also Vince's wife Mary joined the

podcast later. Vince was a really good man. He was nice to talk to and knew as much as I do about classic films.

Learning of Vince's passing really affected me. He was only 65 and had a heart attack. I thought it would be nice to send a sympathy card to his wife Mary, so I did so.

Vince did 374 episodes of The BMovie Cast, and I have listened to a good bit of them but not all. I will have to catch up and listen to the rest.

Jon Andrews (my BSS from YAP) and I found Vince's address online, which said he is originally from Charleroi, PA. Vince and his wife moved to South Carolina where Vince found work. Vince also had the pleasure of going to England and meeting Ray Harryhausen, who passed away in May 2013; he was 92 years old. Sending a card to Vince's wife Mary makes me feel a lot better about the sad situation.

Patty Duke: The Career of a 20th Century Actress

by Sean Gannon

P

atty Duke was born Anna Marie “Patty” Duke on December 14, 1946, in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, and the youngest of three children. Her first major role was Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker which ran from October 1959 to July 1961 with Ann Bancroft as Ann Sullivan. Duke received Best Supporting Actress and at 16 was the youngest ever to receive an Academy Award.

Duke received her own television show The Patty Duke Show which creator Sidney Sheldon created just for her in 1963. It was not known if she had bipolar disorder, which has been known to cause people to have split personalities. Duke performed dual roles,

one being the main character Patty Lane, a fun-loving teenager, and Cathy Lane a “prim and proper cousin from Scotland.”

William Schallert played Patty’s father Martin, (Them!, (1954) Jean Byron as her mother Natalie. (Batman, 1968) Paul O’Keefe as her youngest brother Ross (My Three Sons, 1967) But behind closed doors everything was far from dandy. Her talent managers would treat Duke unfairly. They’d give her booze, and drugs, take big sums of money out of her bank account.

My opinion is that Duke is overworked because I read in People that she had over 50 roles before she was even a teen. The decision to give her booze was un-

called for. Did they know it was against the law? My theory is all they wanted was power, and they were jealous. She was a good mother, she had two sons, Sean Astin, who was born on February 12, 1971, and Mackenzie Astin was born on May 12, 1973. She was also a good grandmother to Sean Astin’s three daughters, Alexandra “Ali” Astin born on November 27, 1996, Elizabeth Astin, and Isabella Astin.

Duke died on March 29, 2016 in Coeur d-Alene, Idaho, of sepsis, a rupture of the intestine. Sean Astin invited the public to give money to a mental health foundation, Patty Duke Mental Health Initiative.

Patty Duke as a child, teenager, and young woman via Wikipedia

Pittverse 36

The 2016 Pennsylvania Primary

by Kenneth Miller

A

t the early May Pittverse editorial meeting of the Lunar Nights, we went around the table and took turns sharing our experiences and feelings about the May Presidential Primary Election.

•Mike wants a woman in the White House. This was the first time he had voted at his current residence. His staff person Chrystal took him to vote.

•Nature did not vote. He said that

the President is not in charge and that the people who are voting are being fooled and that our votes don’t even count anyway. Nature does not plan to vote in November.

•David agrees with Mike and voted for Hillary. He says Hillary does not lie and that she gets things done. His staff person, Jon Andrews-Bender, took him to vote. His mother and grandmother follow spectrum health care policy and told him that Hillary was better for spectrum services than Donald

Trump.

•Steven did not vote in May but might vote in November. We could help him by verifying his voter registration.

•Sean did not vote. His Dad says that all of the candidates are liars. It is unclear whether he is registered or not.

•Brian L. did not vote because he did not have time on Election Day. He think he might vote in

November. He moved recently and will be voting for the first time in a new location. His mom sent him emails indicating her support for Hillary.

•Ryan, a staff person, voted for Bernie because he “sticks to his guns and focuses on equal opportunity.” He helped several of his clients to register before the election and drove two clients to their polling places on election day.

•Another staff person, Travis, declares that he will never vote and wants the whole political structure to change before he will even consider voting. He is not registered to vote.

•I voted for Bernie. I was so grateful to have a meaningful choice to make in the Democratic Primary. As I write this, I’m praying that Bernie can turn it around in California June 7 and capture the Democratic nomination. I’m

going to find ways to convince the other Lunar Nights to register to vote in August and September.

•Now this is interesting, Jon, the staff person who took David to vote, is a registered Republican. In Pennsylvania’s closed system of Primary voting, he could only choose between the Republican candidates… except for the fact that he WROTE IN Hillary Clinton.

The best indicator of how a person

will vote in the future is their voting history. There is so much noise about the upcoming Presidential election knowing that you have the opportunity to vote on election day has got to be a way to make the election season less alien and absurd.

At our May 25 newsroom meeting Richard, of the Media Men editorial group, told us that he had not voted in the Pennsylvania Primary. He moved recently and had not registered to vote with his new address. Patrick, another staff person who helps with our newspaper logged onto www.pavotes.com and helped register Richard on the spot.

•Delaine of the Purple Butterflies editorial group voted, but she does not feel like a very well informed voter. She votes in every election. She was not confident that her vote was really going to make a difference, like the election had already been decided.

•Dima of the Pitt-Griffin Star Fleet editorial group voted too. It was his first time voting at a new polling place having recently filled out a voter registration form to change his address. He has been voting since he was 18. He voted for Hillary because he thinks she has a

better chance of beating the Republican candidate in November. Hillary’s experience as the First Lady and as Secretary of State will prepare her to be President of the United States.

•Mark is not registered to vote, and it seems like no one has a plan to talk to him about voting or take him all the way through the voter registration process. Mark likes to draw pictures during our meetings, and I asked him to help us illustrate this article. Someone immediately suggested a flag and all could say was “NO FLAGS.” This article is not a patriotic article about the constitution. It is a description of how the members of the Pittverse and how a bunch of YAP staffers feel about having voted or not in the 2016 PA Primary.

The Thomas Merton Center newspaper the New People has an election calendar that will tell us the last day that people can register to vote before the November election. The current issue also features an invitation to the New People Awards Dinner recognizing Tim Stevens of the Black Political Empowerment Project on June 21, 2016.

Pittverse 38

My Own Marathon

by Bryan Lippert

I

did my own 26 mile marathon, and it was more extreme than the official one.

Way back on Saturday, February 21, 2015 I ran, jogged, and walked in the freezing cold for 26 miles, it took me 7 hours, 7 minutes and 20 seconds to do. Also I did not have to pay money to do my own marathon.

Plus all of the runners for the official marathon should use the Southside trails or something not make traffic worse downtown for folks who drive vehicles and Port Authority buses.

I did my marathon by myself.

March 28, 2016 I punched the punching bag 1000 times at the X Shadyside Gym. It took me 22 minutes. March 29, 2016 I climbed 1000 feet up the ladder machine at the JCC Gym; it took me 12 minutes and 12 seconds.

April 5, 2016 I kicked the punching bag 1000 times at L.A Fitness. It took me 40 minutes.

April 19, 2016 at YMCA downtown I did 1000 knee lifts with in 30 minutes with both knees.

I'm not trying to brag, you have to be training to get to these extreme levels of exercising/work outs. I'll admit 1000 reps and the 26 mile marathon I did I was sore after I was done with it all; it can take some time to recover. I do encourage those folks who want to get in shape or keep in shape. It's good to stay active every day and eat healthier: no more fast food or soda.

On July 1, 2015 I did all of the 1000 reps on my title belt in one day. I didn't keep track of time, I did all of it. I'm the “1000 Time Champ.”

The Downside of “Passing for Normal”

by Delaine Swearman

Y

ou might think it's a positive thing to be "high functioning" or to be able to "pass for normal.” However, I argue that it is extremely stressful because when people can't tell that you are autistic, they assume you are just like them. They take for granted that you think like them and that you see and understand the world like them. They expect you to behave the same way that they would in similar situations.

But in reality, my brain is wired in a completely different manner.

For myself and other "high functioning" autistic adults, successful social interaction requires extreme cognitive effort. I have to figure out how my words might be inter-

preted to mean something that they're not, and also decide if the other person is telling me the truth or if their words might mean something else. It's like I'm a foreigner always translating back and forth, trying to make sense of everything, and it's extremely tiring.

Inevitably, I fail at my ability to "pass" and I can't maintain my emotional composure, can't tolerate the stimulation of my surroundings, or am misunderstood in conversation. And since this is fairly rare behavior to witness for those people who are used to seeing me as a "high functioning" adult, they are shocked to see me in such a state and likely to look very negatively upon me

personally, not understanding that it is related to autism.

Since I can often "pass" especially among people who don't know me that well, I don't always disclose that I am autistic. When I do tell people, and they reply, "but, you're so high functioning" or "you don't look autistic," I don't take it as a compliment, even though I know it's often intended that way. Instead, I feel totally invalidated, like my struggles aren't real, or they are not a big deal. In reality they are very real; you just can't see them, because I'm trying so hard to accommodate you, trying to "pass for normal."

Planning A Trip to Disney World

by Kevin Hart

Y

ou have got to prepare well in advance to get a good deal. Pay off everything before you go so nothing goes wrong. When you get there, get a game plan going and stick to it.

As always, know your surrounding. If you're lost, find a map to see where you are or go to an info desk for assistance.

You have got to figure out what you want to do, instead of being confused. When traveling alone, see where everything is before going to the parks, rides, etc. When traveling with others, see what they want to do and go by that and schedule everything within the time you're there.

Have a good time and tell everyone about your experience. Take pictures for the memories, and

share them with anyone you know.

You should start packing three days to a week before you travel so you will be ready to go without delay. A few days before, check to make sure you have everything. When you arrive at the airport, it depends if you're on Disney’s magical express or not.

If you are, go to the bus area in baggage claim. If not, go to baggage claim (on the second floor of airport). Go to the hotel, unpack, and settle in. Plan an itinerary for things you want to do in Disney for the time you’re down there and stick to it as much as possible.

When it's time to go back, make sure you check out and check bags to return home. Make sure you packed everything that you

took with you on the way down.

Get to the airport two and a half hours early ex: if the flight leaves at 17:30 try to be there at 15:00.

It's a two hour flight to/from PIT to MCO; this is for a non-stop flight on WN. I choose this airline because the first two checked bags are free and agents are friendly to you.

If you enjoy Disney you can see about the deals for the following year and to start booking for next year. Getting out of Pittsburgh at least once a year is good for health reasons ex: having too many anger, anxiety issues. If you have any problems, go to a counsellor either where you are now or here in Disney. You should tell what your experience was when you went down there. Write about it, take pictures, and bring a friend next time.

Working at Giant Eagle

by Kyle Walter

W

hen I turned 16, I got my first job. I chose Pine Creek Giant Eagle. Now I'm 25. I’ve been there for nearly 10 years and I work four days a week.

Because of my autism, I write down everything that I cleaned because it helps me to remember.

I started out bagging, but I am now the cleaner. I get to use my own set of keys, and I get to use a walkie-talkie. I clean the bathrooms, mop the bathroom floors, and take out the trash. There are six bathrooms. I also put away all the cleaning supplies when the supply order arrives.

All the managers are nice. I think some people think working around all that food would make Giant Eagle employees very hungry, but my opinion would be that it doesn't bother us. It just takes a lot of resistance and control to work in a grocery store.

Sometimes I collect all the shopping carts from the parking lot. I try not to hit cars.

I don't think my coworkers treat me any different because I'm autistic. I think my coworkers are lucky enough to know me.

Pittverse 40

A Personal Belief Examination

by J.D.C.

I

should never ever give up, as a human being, neither, plus in always attempting to like myself, in terms of better and more improved self-esteem. I need to always personally remember this true statement, literally, yes, indeed, in that, just like anyone else who had ever lived, or whom is still physically alive, there is no other person exactly like myself on the face of this Earth!

I also need to quit being so hard on myself, because, as is the case with other people, individually, selfcriticism is the harshest and potentially the most self-destructive behavior, Christ-forbit-it, in the future! Amen!

I should never ever continue dwelling on all of my personal shortcomings, because it is never ever healthy, as with anyone else, to do this totally negative activity.

Instead, I also need to focus more on my positive personal strengths.

I also believe the good Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Master, and Eternally Perfect Savior, as do both of my parents, including our innocent and dearly beloved pet companion animal angels and Wild Animals, yes, indeed, literally and truly so, perfectly and beautifully, loves and lives on the inside of each and every one of us, forever and ever! This is an eternal truth! Amen! Amen!

Amen! This was written with much, literally true, heartfelt love,

yes, indeed, for ALL of you, also, too, Dearly Beloved and Innocent Pet Companion Animal Angel Babies! Amen!

ple, as a diagnosed OCD sufferer myself, stigma is still around in society, in general, regarding mental illness.

In addition, this essay was written for all other living creatures, other than humans and angels, that is, and Your Importance, By A Supernatural Divine Intervention Ordination, yes, indeed, literally and truly so, forever and ever, wonderfully, gloriously, perfectly, and beautifully, some day! Amen!

This is a sad shame.

Finally, it was written to allow others who may not be personally aware of the complex nature of neurological brain diseases, such as OCD, or ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder. As is mentioned beforehand, this brain disease is very bad, an internal bully, really, sadly.

However, it is a treatable condition, similar to diabetes, cancer, heart disease, including high bad, or LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins) blood lipid cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, high blood lipid triglyceride levels, as well as depression, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), plus many other physical, really, all of them, being biological, in nature, emotional, and psychological mental health illness issues.

Still, as we all read and personally are all individually acutely, painfully, that is, and emotionally, and individually aware of, for exam-

Most people with a diagnosed or an undiagnosed mental illness, or even a combination of them, meaning, as comorbid disease disorders, are not violent “human ticking time bombs,” “human live wires,” nor “human loose cannons,” who are about to explode with harsh verbal and/or physical violent tirades, even, tragically, with guns, knives, bombs, automobiles, baseball bats, and other weapons of mass destruction, potentially.

As is the overall literal reality, such individuals, as myself, and countless others similar to myself or not, personally struggling with physically invisible mental health disabilities, are more likely, Christ -forbit-it in the future, yes, indeed, literally and truly so, to become victims of violent and/or nonviolent crime, than be themselves the actual perpetrators or suspects.

Although, there are horrendous exceptions to the rule, sadly, as we have read about in the local newspapers, seen on the TV news, heard on the radio news, and both read and seen on the internet news, over the years and recently.

Some day, mental illness stigma will no longer be an ongoing, or

chronic problem, just like war, poverty, racism, sexism, general human hatred, anti-religious movements, including against Christianity, murder, suicide, including abortion, which is really legalized murder, like it or not, literally, physician assisted suicide, which is also actually legalized murder twisted around, also like it or not, literally, genocide and terrorism, which is actually spiritual or non-spiritual mass murder of a certain ethnic group and/or race of people, horrific cruelty towards Innocent Wild and Domesticated Pet Companion and/or Service Work Animals, such as domestic dogs, cats, horses, elephants, whales, dolphins, and, horribly, many others, when, according to Biblical Prophecies, which are still being fulfilled and even, yet to be fulfilled, including Jesus’s triumphant return to the earth, when He will destroy Satan and all other evil beings and demonic entities opposing Him and His Heavenly Father’s and The Holy Spirit’s Kingdom and perfectly and beautifully restore the Garden of Eden paradise on the earth, yes, indeed, Literally and Truly So, which will then be free from all of the above mentioned moral wrongs and evils, which have scarred the world for centuries, beginning with the sinful rebellion of our original parents named Adam and Eve against the creator of all living things, in the original Garden of Eden, so long ago, as described in the Bible’s 1st Book of Genesis, including the tragic fall of Lucifer and 1/3 of Heaven’s other original angels,

who also have individual free will personal choices, as did Adam and Eve, the unfallen angels, including all of us humans, in the ongoing decision, meaning in a personal daily pattern, to either obey or to disobey Our Creator!

Literally and Truly So! Now and Forever! Yes, Indeed! Amen!

Our Creator will Never Ever restore Satan and the other demons.

Shockingly and chillingly true, literally, Satan and the other demons still retain perfect individual knowledge of the Bible. If they were on a television Bible quiz show, they would automatically answer each question asked by the TV show host or hostess right down to the exact book, chapter, and verse. They perfectly understand Jesus Is Personally and Perfectly Lord Always Over them, but He is not their individual and collective Lord over them.

Jesus has perfect control over all of them, forever and ever! Literally and truly so! Amen!

However, Satan and the rest of the demons will never give up their evil intent to do as much damage to the earthly Kingdom of God, plus they will never abandon their awful quest to both deceive and destroy as many unfallen angels and unsaved humans, whom are created in The Lord’s Image, as they possibly can do so. Christ-forbit-it, someday, forever and ever!

Yes, indeed! Literally and truly So! Amen!

Perfect peace and harmony will thus be here, some day, forever and ever! Amen!

The Holy Week is the Christian period of time, between Palm Sunday and Easter Resurrection Sunday.

It commemorates the annual observance of the Profound Passion and Agonizing Suffering Our Lord Jesus Christ Endured 2,000 years ago, which Is Totally Beyond Literal human knowledge and comprehension!!!

This Is, Literally, in terms, of the Physical, Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Realms!!!

Never before, as well as, Never Ever Again, Jesus Literally Experienced Being separated from His Heavenly Father, for roughly Six horrible hours on a Roman Crucifixion Cross Piece, at a Place Called Golgotha, or in the Aramaic language, translated into English, Is Known As, “The Place of The Skull”, while Being Crucified between two thieves.

Jesus Literally Experienced hell, for each and every one of us humans, whether Jew or Gentile, so that none of us would have to personally go there for all eternity, if we, individually, that is, through The Literal Divine Deity Intervention, of The Holy Spirit, Whom Is The Third Member of The Triune Trinity Godhead, yes, indeed, are internally convicted of our individual original sins, from our personal physical births, to the moment, we become spiritually aware of our hopeless and Pittverse 42

desperate helplessness in being able to ever save our own selves from our sins and from hell itself, Literally, that we are individually convinced of our individual need of a True and Living Savior, Who is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!

Amen!

Of all of the religious founders and philosophers throughout history and recorded time, only Jesus Christ literally came back from being physically dead and is not in his tomb!

This is what Christians celebrate on Easter Sunday! Amen!

The heavenly father and the holy spirit both teamed up 2000 years ago to literally raise Jesus Christ, God, the son and Our Lord and Savior, from physical death to eternal life!

Jesus is alive and he is seated at the father God’s right hand forever and ever!

Yes, Indeed! Literally and Truly So! Amen!

Thomas for his lack of faith in personally believing He Was Alive After His Resurrection. Jesus First Appeared To Mary Magdalene, who was a former prostitute, and whom Jesus Casted Out seven demons out of her, and she went on to be one His most devoted female disciples both during and after Jesus’ Earthly Ministry. The Samaritan woman at the well, in St. John’s Gospel account, who was living in adultery with a man she was not legally married to, and who was divorced five times beforehand, was given a new chance on life by Jesus Not Only Forgiving her of her sins, plus, Literally, Revealing to her, his perfect deity! Amen!

This was at a time and era when women were viewed as subordinates in every area of life.

Jesus was and still is the literally true perfect women’s equal rights activist! Amen!

Jesus Even Forgave Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, the Roman soldiers beating Him, and, later, who crucified Him, the people spitting on Him and verbally cursing Him on His Painful Journey To Calvary, Caiaphas, the rest of the unbelieving Jewish scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, elders, and rabbis, who opposed Him, betrayed Him, and sentenced Him to death by crucifixion, which was and still is, the most painful and humiliating manner of execution death.

The unknown criminal being crucified to Our Lord’s right hand side at calvary, on Good Friday, was literally convicted of his urgent need to be Forgiven of All of his sins, and, thus, he was convinced of his need of Jesus Forgiving him of All of his past rebellious acts in his earthly life, as we are told in St. Luke’s Gospel account. For example, in St. Luke 23:43, Jesus Perfectly Declared to this criminal, “I Assure you that today, you shall be with Me, In Paradise!!!”

Jesus Forgave Peter, who had denied he even knew Jesus three times. The Lord Also Forgave

Yes, indeed, this, Literally, did occur, as Did Jesus’ Perfect Ascension Back Into Heaven!

Amen!

Then, in the Bible’s 66th and final Book, in Revelation, or in the Greek language translation, The Apocalypse, Jesus will end all evil and wickedness, forever and ever, while perfectly and beautifully recreating every living creature, from the Beginning of Time, on a perfect and fully holy heaven, on the Earth some day, yes, indeed, literally and truly so, including all innocent animals, plus all of our families innocent and dearly beloved pet companion animals!

Amen! Amen! Amen!

We all, individually, at our home, also, too, Believe this to be eternally true!

Yes, indeed! Literally and truly so! Amen! Amen! Amen!

Sincerely written by, JDC

Transformers Movies Reviews

by Jon Bik Transformers (2007) Rating: 5 Stars Plot: The plot summary of Transformers was what I thought to have been very awesome. Decepticons and Autobots were essentially fighting over the Allspark Cube. Bumblebee is the first one to come to Earth and finds the main character Sam Witwicky. Then Sam finds Mikaela and Bumblebee takes them to meet Optimus, Jazz, Ironhide and Ratchet in a secluded part of town. They were planning to find out the location of the Allspark Cube before Megatron and the Decepticons get it. A large fight ensues and the Autobots win out in the end.

Pros: The Autobots beat and kill the Decepticons, good action, good animation.

Cons: Unfortunately, Jazz dies.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) Rating: 3 Stars Plot: The Decepticons come back stronger than before with a new power and new ways to destroy the planet. Numerous fights ensue again between the Decepticons and the Autobots. Optimus Prime dies during one of the battles. Sam and Mikaela have to bring him back alive by replacing the matrix of leadership in his chest. The other Autobots get Optimus to the African desert and Sam and Mikaela fix him but it’s short lived because the Decepticons come back and knock the matrix of leadership back out.

Pros: Good action, a lot of nice character development, the fight scenes were intense and well done Cons: Optimus Prime dies in the film

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) Rating: 2 Stars Plot: The Decepticons are back, stronger than ever, to take on the Autobots. Optimus Prime seeks out Sentinel Prime, his former mentor, to help the Autobots defeat the Decepticons. Sam and Carly, Sam’s new girlfriend, join back in the fight to help the Autobots. During the fight, Sentinel Prime becomes rouge, and turns on the Autobots cause. After Sentinel Prime gets injured, by Optimus Prime, he orders the Decepticons to launch the pillars, a secret weapon kept on the dark side of the moon, to destroy the planet. The pillars are launched, and the Autobots race to destroy the control tower before the world is destroyed. The Autobots get there and another major battle begins. The movie ends with major fatalities, but the world is saved.

Pros: Neat action scenes, a lot of explosive fighting, good Transformer character development.

Cons: One of my favorite Autobots, Ironhide, is killed in combat. There are other major Autobot casualties as well.

Pittverse 44

Eight Grade English Class Syllabus

by Michelle Middlemiss

A

s a Teachers’ Assistant, one responsibility that I would have is to help a teacher write a syllabus and lesson plan.

This is an example of one I would write for an English class.

Read two modern novels Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and The Heroes of Olympus: Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan to compare them with the ancient stories and real life experience.

We will also be reading a couple chapters from other mythology books and Marvel comics to show how Norseman mythology has been re-envisioned.

Mythology has been chosen so students can understand that older stories still have relevance in today's times. Rick Riordan has blended both Roman mythology and Greek mythology with some modern-day problems in the

via pixabay

character of Percy Jackson. Marvel has taken the character Thor and put him in modem-day New York but keeping with the old ancient stories which students will get to read in the book mythology by Hamilton. Students have outside reading mythology that we were not able to cover in class; the reading cannot be mythology that student has grown up on, so the religion stories cannot be used.

sometimes coloring.

If there is a problem please contact me so I can help find another story that the student is not familiar with.

• To be able to write from different points of view

Materials Required Pencil, notebook paper, journal, individual pieces of paper will be used for essays and will be given by teacher. Books that run outside reading will be given by school. Please buy crayons and colored pencils for mapping and

Goals • To understand parts of ancient and new methodologies and recognize what they mean to the modern day student

• To understand and connect the outside reading with the books we're reading in class and to know that books are not just textbooks

Objectives Students will participate in projects like mapping Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter.

Class discussions on outside reading and assigned books.

Journal writing: a student will be assigned a character from one of the books. For

example: one student might have to write from Percy's point of view on how he makes a decision, helping the students grasp harder concepts from the books. Also, the student can view the setting and theme relevant to their life, and help develop critical skills in thinking "What if it was me: what would I do, how would I do it?"

Students will do reading in class and discuss among themselves what happened in the chapter that was assigned, if the students are having trouble understanding, there will be an open book quiz.

This is so I will know they were reading and if I have to spend more time on one of the concepts.

Because the class is going to deal with mostly Greek and Roman mythology the class will be set up by assigned groups of one of the 12 Olympian gods. The student will have the right essay about which god, that they would be in.

Assignments and Assessments

1. To make sure the students are doing the outside reading, students will write a summary every night. That is why I don't want them reading something they grew up with. And yes, this includes the Disney version of well known stories. If there are any questions, please see me, or have a parent write me a note.

2. Tests will be given after every three chapters, depending how long a chapter is.

3. Pop quizzes will only be given if I hear the words "Did you read the chapter" too many times. But it will be open book, so it will not be difficult.

4. Vocabulary will be in tests, but there will be helpful activities to help the student learn. The students will be able to decide on different ways, as the unit goes

on. Plus once a week the student must choose to use one of the words in their journals.

5. In their journals, the students will be writing like they are that character. In class they will ask questions that they found in the novel or outside reading. So the journal is a fun way to help the students think of other views, even when the book is only in Percy's view.

Method of Evaluation Papers and journals… 50% Class participation ...25% Group work… 24% Homework… 1% Grading Scale 90%-100 % (of total points) =A 80%-89% =B 70%-79% =C 50%-69% =D <50% =F

Why Some Comedians Should Not Voice Children’s Movies

by Kyle Walter

L

ewis Black is one of my favorite comedians. He is the voice of Anger in Disney’s Inside Out. When he's in town, the kids would ask their moms and dads to go see him because they might make a connection to the movie. The parents would have to explain the difference between appropriate language in kids films verses PG13 and R-rated.

Comedians in general seem to have bad language and tell adult jokes. I think it's wrong casting

comedians in kids films because kids don't understand who they are. Larry the Cable Guy voices Mater in Cars as well, but also tells jokes that are not good for most kids. In my opinion, film makers should stop casting them. Chris Rock voiced Marty, from Madagascar. Rock uses a lot of racial stuff in his acts. "My opinion" would be the animator's casters should chose unknown upcoming stars.

Next would be my action stars.

Jean Clude Van Damme voices Master Croc in Kung Fu Panda. In Kindergarten Cop 2 Dolph Lundren is the new cop. I have not seen any of his solo films. I don't think many kids know who most of the celebrities in my article are.

I think celebrities should stick to the first thing they did. They should never change career paths.

If they are action stars, and they do children entertainment, the results are usually bad.

Pittverse 46

Building a Miniature Lego Airplane

by Max Chaney

H

ello everybody it’s me again Max and I’m here with an all new build!

The build is unusual as it is from a different sort of place… (A different country in fact.)

It’s from England, well the basis is technically.

I was watching the Yogscast the other day and discovered that Duncan built a vintage style airplane.

I was so fascinated that he might actually know about some of these designs (or he just built it as he went along, without knowing) I liked the design so much (since it looked like a WW2 airplane), that I actually built it myself in LEGO. I had to find all of the bricks (obviously) and designed it (of course) which was not easy since I literally had to dump serval bins of LEGO bricks on my family’s basement floor and search one by one, brick by brick.

It was a relatively painful process since I have a bad knee, which buckles at random times. However it was worth it!

I would recommend building this plane for yourself as it was designed (originally by a famous YouTuber Duncan in Garry’s mod).

I have tried to make this as close to the original as possible, perhaps a little detail added here or their but it’s fine (as I’m sure you will add much more detail).

Now how we are going to start this lesson is I’m not going to use any words or else that will eat up this

issue of Pittverse, however I will use pictures which is how Lego designs its instruction booklet (thumbs up to Lego!). Now let’s get building!

Now a little more info on this plane is, it’s from apparently their Gmod building competitions.

Again it was built Duncan and the plane, and did so well from avoiding the chaos in the last episode (ep 3) it actually won!

(Because it flew the farthest).

I really loved this project as it was hilarious to watch the episode and build the model, I would highly recommend watching these Garry’s mod build challenges as they are fun to watch.

Oh don’t worry this is not the end of me in this magazine yet… as I have got many more MOCs and crafts to do. I am also trying to set up a YouTube channel myself as a side project that I will show you many more crafts and Lego models, (that won’t be seen in these issues) But until next time, see yah.

Making a Railroad Model With… Real Utah Sand!

by Max Chaney

T

his may take a couple of days to construct because of the drying.

As I promised, here it is, my model railway.

Step One

Using scissors, cut out of the cardboard two rectangles, then cut out some much smaller pieces, then glue them together like in so in the second picture (leave to dry).

Step Two Next up, using the hack saw, cut up the foam into rectangular pieces like in the so, then glue together like in picture number three (leave to dry),

Materials Step Six Next lay on the n scale track and glue (and if you want to have a valley which I wanted, cut a little rectangular piece out of cardboard and glue to the middle “lengthwise” of the track to give the track support and as a starting point of our bridge).

●Real Utah sand (this will be needed but I will enlist in a supplement if you can’t find any in part two) ●Foam ●Tacky glue ●Cardboard ●Plaster ●N scale model railway track ●Trees ●Acrylic paints

Step Three Then mix up a good amount of plaster (I would recommend a paper plate for this) and the mixture for plaster is 2 percent plaster to 1 percent water (this makes a 3 percent mixture) you may mix and match percentages, then slather on the structure like so but smooth down where you want to put the track (with cardboard), then leave to dry for 30-40min (maybe longer depending on the temperature of the room).

Step Four Take your black acrylic paint and brush on the dried plaster then let dry.

Step Five Using the PVA glue paint on and sprinkle on the Utah sand then let dry.

Pittverse 48

Wobbling Wheels and Horns

Building a Lego Truck

by Max Chaney

H

ello everybody and welcome back to another Making Miniatures with Max.

Today we focus on a small Lego truck that I have built… yes I know I have built the plane already but I wanted to focus on something different for this page of the summer article.

So I was watching C&C Production’s YouTube channel the other day (and no their not the ones that play with makeup they focus on trainz simulator) and noticed a new video… a live stream (sort of) they played “Euro Truck 2” (which I love by the way) now the truck Curtis (or I think that’s his name) chose was a Mercedes Benz Actros in green.

Now when I saw this lorry (truck

for Americans) I was excited about its design and decided to build it in real life, so here it is!!!

Now the way I have done the windows was I used eight headlight bricks, and I attached the bottom ones “stud with hole facing up” and the back headlight bricks “flat stud facing up” Now this was unusual because the original design was a plate higher than this one… so I had an excuse to put an “false plate”. (This is a cut up 1x1 green plate.)

Now I also used 45 degree wedge bricks or slopes bricks (whatever you want to call them) and placed them stud sideways up and attached them, like so… now this was a really fun!

Now the last thing I had to do was attach the fuel tanks on and

the trailer hitch, how I did that was I used two 1x2 angular plates (named accordingly To the Lego Digital Designer) and placed them to the left of a 2x4 grey plate.

Then how I made the hitch was I used (simply as that) a 2x2 turntable plate.

Now this was a really fun little build to construct as I will be making more trucks in the future!

Also what should I build as my next truck from American trucking simulator or euro truck?

A “Christmas In July” Special: Building a Lego Jinty

by Max Chaney

N

ow, this was an extremely fun project, because the locomotive is from my favorite YouTuber.

Now Jinty is directly based after a fowler 3F class steam “tank” locomotive, they were used on the London Midland and Scottish railway from 1924 and, they were withdrawn by British Railways between 1959 and 1967… there are still some today (in England) such as #47493 on the “Spa Valley Railway”, to name one of the preserved locos.

However the engine we will be focusing on is Jinty #47342.

The real jinty was, scrapped between 1959 and 1967 (and probably built in 1926) because there may be no record of it probably did not exist, However in C&C’s series it does! And he’s wonderful, all black, with the “BR” Lion logo.

stud up, and stud down construction, it uses angular plates 1x2x2 ones as (for the cab) and cheese wedges for the bunker (the bunker is where, the coal is kept in the loco).

Now my Jinty is a WIP which means, he’s a work in progress loco, which will be completed by December 25th… (Which I plan to give him a chassis like… Fujicco 777’s models…) also I plan to reconstruct the red Box Vans (boxcars) that Jinty pushed into the sea. (Maybe the “break van” as well) I also decided with my grandfather to completely rebuild my N scale layout… TO A WINTER THEME!!!

“Tardis” as well… lastly; this layout will be based on the magical “island of Sodor”, but with some unfamiliar faces Also I thank Wikipedia where I got the photos from, credits to them! (Of the photos of the real locomotives).

Which I’m happy about, (there will be a video on our website.)

There may be also a video on our website of me building the Jinty locomotive, and the Micro

Now the Lego Jinty #47342, has

Pittverse 50

Not Everything Is What It Seems

by Daniel Hackett

E

veryone has things about themselves that they deem different and that they think sets them apart from the rest of society. For some it’s their height or weight or even something as simple as hair color. These are differences that are celebrated, and in some cultures revered.

Now imagine having a difference that’s not fully understood by the rest of the world and viewed by many to be a deficit. That’s what it’s like to live with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). According to estimates from the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network 1 in 68 children have such a diagnosis yet it’s something that isn’t fully understood by society at large.

For me it all started at the age of 17 when I formally received my diagnosis of ASD. Being a teenager is hard enough between trying to figure out who you are and making sense of a seemingly senseless world. To receive a label that makes you stick out even more can be extremely disheartening and it was something that I struggled with greatly.

via pixabay

As I’ve gotten older though I’ve come to realize that this diagnosis doesn’t make me any more different than someone that is perceived to be “normal”, rather it means that I view the world in a way that is unique and wholly my own.

People with ASD can and do lead normal fulfilling lives. We have the ability to get married and have children just the same as anyone else yet we’re viewed dif-

“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” -Dr. Stephen Shore.

ferently by the rest of society. I think this comes from a lack of understanding of ASD. People that are affected by ASD can lead lives equal to those that aren’t. I lead a life that when compared to someone my own age is seemingly the same. I live on my own and I struggle with

the same things that any 29-yearold would struggle with there are just areas that I need guidance in that many others do not.

The word spectrum is used when referring to autism because it’s just that a spectrum, no two people present with the same deficits in the same areas. We’re all unique individuals just like anyone else and deserve to be treated as such.

It’s my hope that one day the stigma that surrounds ASD can be erased and we can live in a world with compassion for all those that have what society deems differences, because when it comes right down to it we all have things about ourselves that we think make us different but when it comes right down to it we all have one thing in common…we’re human.

Erasing the stigma can start by educating yourself and those around you about ASD and how it presents itself in people.

The more I’ve learned about it over the last 12 years the more I’ve come to realize that in one form or another the traits most commonly associated with ASD are all something that we all possess to a certain extent, so maybe we’re not all that different after all…

Arthur C. Clarke: The Odyssey Master

by Thomas Skidmore

S

IR ARTHUR CHARLES CLARKE (December 16, 1917--March 19, 2008) was a British author best known as the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the subsequent tales in the Space Odyssey saga, which spans the millenia of human/alien relational development.

Other well-known tales include Childhood’s End, Rendezvous With Rama, The Songs of Distant Earth, and Imperial Earth. He was also widely renowned and celebrated as the genius behind communications satellites.

A long-time fan of science fiction since the age of thirteen, young Arthur first read the SF pulps Amazing Stories and Astounding Science Fiction (for which he would eventually write later on in his youth and early adulthood).

After distinguished service in World War II as one of the first operators of the early radar systems, which he wrote about in his only non-SF novel Glide Path, Clarke submitted his first story, “Loophole,” to Astounding in 1946. This was followed by “Rescue Party” one month later.

From there, his career gradually took on new life.

Starting in the early 1950s, Clarke divided his writing between short stories and novels. One such story, “Guardian Angel,” was worked into his first major best seller Childhood’s End (adapted as a 2015 TV miniseries). This dark tale about the demise of humanity on Earth remains a favorite today.

He also delved into religion with “The Star,” which tells the story of an exploding planet witnessed in ancient Judea at the time of Christ’s birth.

In 1946, Arthur wrote an essay detailing the path of artificial satellites, even going as far as speculating the precise orbital path needed to keep them in conjunction with Earth. This path is now known as Clarke’s Orbit, and in 1962 he was awarded the Franklin Institute Award for his technical contributions.

Starting in 1964, he collaborated with filmmaker Stanley Kubrick on a modest movie destined to be a classic: 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in June 1968. He wrote the novel version (different from the final film) in February 1968, and released it a month later.

1982 saw him return to the world of 2001 with the popular followup 2010: Odyssey Two. For the 1984 film version, Arthur pioneered the usage of e-mail with writer/director Peter Hyams. Arthur continued the Space Odyssey saga with 1988’s 2061: Odyssey Three and 1998’s 3001: The Final Odyssey.

In the 1970s his short story output gradually dwindled. Noted stories during this period include 1972’s “A Meeting With Medusa” and 1979’s “The Songs of Distant Earth,” after which he focused solely on his novels. 1973 saw him win numerous awards for his novel Rendezvous W ith Rama,

which was followed by numerous sequels.

In 2005, he teamed up with British SF writer Stephen Baxter for the Time Odyssey trilogy, starting with Time’s Eye, then Sunstorm and lastly Firstborn. The saga was met with great commercial success but somewhat mixed reviews.

Arthur was, by all accounts, a very witty person and had a wacky sense of humor, even sharing a fun, good-natured banter with his old friend Isaac Asimov.

Away from science fiction, he was interested in psychic phomenae and deep-sea diving (though he was forced to give this up due to late-stage polio, which confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his days). He was knighted for his contributions to literature and science in 1997.

A long-time resident of Sri Lanka, Arthur was loved by the people of his adopted homeland, and he continued to write, research, and consult until his death on March 19, 2008, at the age of 90. His final novel, titled The Last Theorem, was completed by his friend Frederik Pohl.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke may be gone, and perhaps he’ll ultimately be forgotten, but the sweeping works of space and time will always ring a chord with the many admirers who enjoy such riveting tales, and yet have a need to learn more about the collective called Humanity . . .

Pittverse 52

Fiction

Line-By-Line Stories

by Mark Sulkin and Kyle Walter Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: Kyle Walter and Mark Sulkin collaborated and made two line by line stories. For this project, they took turns writing sentences to craft a story that neither knew where it was going. These stories have some pretty unique twists and seem to be influenced by various movies and other pop culture media. Enjoy the strange and spectacular, Line-By-Line Stories.

The Green Glow and the Lighthouse

O

nce upon a time, there was a man that lived in a lighthouse. One day, the light burnt out so he had to change it. He called an electrician to come to the lighthouse to change the bulb. But, there was a bad storm, and no electrician could make it to the lighthouse. The man decided to try to change it himself, so he grabbed a flashlight, but ended up getting shocked. He yelled in pain, and wrapped his hand in a bandage to make it feel better. All of a sudden, his hand began to pulse and a green symbol began to appear under than bandage. Then, strange green beings began to descend from the stormy sky; it turns out, the man was being in-

ducted into the Green Lantern Corps. The members of the Green Lantern filled the lighthouse with green light that shown through the storm. With the lighthouse fixed, the man and the strange beings began to ascend into the sky to go to the Green Lantern planet.

But, out of nowhere, there were screams from men at sea. The man shown the green light and saw a boat that hit a rock and was capsizing. The man also saw sharks, quickly approaching the ship. In a flash, the man left the other members to go save the men on the ship. He used his ring to scoop up all of the men and

brought them safely to shore. The men were so grateful that they thanked the glowing man for saving them. One sailor took off a medal and presented it to the man.

But, before they could celebrate, the man began to get a painful sensation in his head. It turns out the shock from the lighthouse knocked him unconscious, and he was still lying on the floor in the lighthouse. He decided to lie down on the couch to recover. He woke up later, with sunny skies, and realized it was just a dream. But when he looked up to the light of the lighthouse, it was glowing a strange, green color.

via pixabay

Kikiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great Adventure

T

here was once a beautiful butterfly, named Kiki, who lived in a small garden in England. One day Kiki flew around the garden looking for nectar to drink. Each flower she looked at already was drained of nectar. It must have been the bees. Kiki was so hungry, that she followed a scent in the air that led to a small house.

She knocked on the window, and an old lady opened it and Kiki asked for something to eat. Unfortunately, the old lady just so happened to be the little old lady who lived in a shoe, and she did not have any food to offer. Kiki decided to look elsewhere and began to go down a little yellow-brick road.

Along the path, Kiki discovered a village full of munchkins, and it smelled like they had just baked fresh bread. The munchkins were so kind to Kiki and offered her some leftover honey from the bakery. Suddenly, a large cloud ap-

peared, and a green woman on a broom flew into the village with a frightful laugh. The woman, who happened to be the Wicked Witch of the West, was angry and was looking for whoever landed a house on her sister. The wind from the storm blew Kiki away, far far away, before she discovered what happened to the Wicked Witch and the munchkins.

The storm was so intense, that somehow, she landed in a different galaxy, far far away from the small garden in England. She came upon a Jedi by the name of Luke Skywalker, and was inducted into the rebel alliance. In turned out that Kiki was a Jedi warrior and she went to receive training from a small green creature by the name of Yoda. Yoda trained Kiki in the swampland, where she learned Jedi skills.

Once she was properly trained, Kiki left Yoda and was sent on a mission in Wonderland.

was greeted by the Mad Hatter, who just so happened to be a Jedi warrior himself. It turned out Darth Vader sent a sith agent through the looking glass, where he was tasked to steal the white rabbitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clock.

Kiki decided to take the clock from the white rabbit before the sith agent appeared. The clock, as it turned out, was actually a port key, which transported Kiki to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore found the little butterfly and the clock portkey, and decided to teach Kiki some magic that could hopefully send her back to her little garden in England.

Kiki used her new magical abilities to transport herself back to the garden. She told all of her bug friends about her grand adventure. The other bugs were so impressed, that they shared their nectar with the hungry Kiki.

The end.

Once Kiki got to Wonderland, she Pittverse 54

Fiction

The Children’s War: Third Installment of Lark’s Story

by Michelle Middlemiss Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel.

I do not get paid for my story. The character Lark is my own creation.

L

1999

ark get in here now!” Tony Stark looked out the window of his family home which years ago he had given to the Avengers. But right now he was more worried about his adopted daughter who seemed to go out late at night which was now normal. Over the last past weeks she’d been found on the roof; which to Tony’s horror the way Hawkeye explained it, she had almost fallen off.

Yes, Lark did lose an eye but Tony thought these new acts of will, lack of depth perception had more to do with electric current disruption than an actual suicide attempt. Tony contacted Lark’s birth mother Clea, to ask her what he didn’t understand about Lark’s Faltine blood. Clea had just shrugged, saying that Faltines normally bounce back, so give Lark time to do just that. Lark’s birth father, Dr. Strange, was not much help; rather saying that Lark was the first one of her breed to be injured in such a way that her Faltine blood would not be able to repair.

Tony had then decided to say that Lark had cancer so that people would feel pity for the poor girl, rather than turn her into a Guiney pig. The government had already done that to Lark for many years before Nick found her. Nimrod would pay dearly for what he did.

Just like the rest of the mutants who suffered under Barstion/ Nimrod, Lark was scarred for what could be for the rest of her young

life. So Tony started to draw up designs like his Iron Man armor to help her. Now it just fell to him and the rest of the Avengers to keep Lark alive long enough to activate the armor. Tony ran out to the hallway to get Wanda. It was not like he could let Lark go unwatched as he went to look for Thor.

“Wanda, Lark’s not listening again and this time she’s climbing up a telephone pole.” Tony said as Wanda came in and took his place at the window.

“You go find Thor, I’ll do my best from here. But Lark has always been somewhat resistant to my magic.”

Tony looked back at her. “That’s when you’re most powerful, right?”

“Just get out of here Stark.”

Thor was already outside the Avengers mansion to see the others and welcome them back. Thor then saw the little girl doing her best to climb up the telephone pole. He also noticed that she was fighting against an invisible field, keeping her from getting all the way up. The Thunder god Thor flew up to where the girl was and pried her off the phone pole.

2007 The world has never been nice to those who had either been born “different” or somehow made different. But now things were just getting worse. First was MDay when more than half of the mutants were turned human; in response the remainder of them were put into camps or Xavier’s

School which had become a camp.

In Lark’s and many other mutants’ minds it was no longer Xavier’s home. Not after what it had now become and since it had no effect on the rest of the heroes. It should have been a warning that the world was changing. Lark was not blaming the non mutant heroes who could not see where this was heading. They could never believe in the worst of their kind. The ones she did blame were the people in power who didn’t speak up against it.

Lark was half blind and could see where this was going to end up.

After one of the Stanford Connecticut Schools were blown up and many kids died very violently, things changed again. Anyone who had powers must report to the government what their powers were and their names. Two groups emerged from this new law. One was run by Iron Man who thought this was just a normal process of the heroes’ duty. The other side was run by Captain America who saw this as a new form of profiling and against everything he fought for in the last twenty years. This new law puts the blame on the ones who had done nothing wrong; just being born different. Unfortunately like with everything that splits down the middle, war breaks out between the two. And like all other wars before it, the children through no fault of their own are caught in the middle.

Out of all the groups of children, the Young Avengers were brought right into the middle. They are considered enemies of the state just because Captain America saved them from being locked up. Now what’s left of their childhood is

fully gone when they have to do what they can to help end the war and hopefully heal the wounded family back together. This hope is the only thing that keeps the Young Avengers going. For the children of Wanda, the child of Captain Marvel and the children of Dr. Strange this couldn’t be more true.

Lark Strange Rogers and Tommy Rogers were not able to stand still and listen to what was going on. Both for different and the same reasons. For Tommy, the young speedster was in a room with his grandfather, someone he both respected and feared. For his wife Lark, she was just like this when electric currents were too strong.

The rain could not be helping her either. Both of them were worried about his twin brother’s whereabouts and they both had trouble staying anywhere for a long time because they both had ADHD. The rain started to fall as Lark Strange was trying to listen as Eric Lenscher was rambling about human history. Not one of her favorite subjects; not one she felt she needed. Her stone face showed none of her discomfort or the pain she was feeling from the electric current in this room that was way too much. Her body was trying to betray her again. Lark’s right eye was sending too much to her and her dead left eye was in pain. Lark had once asked both Matt Murdock and Cable if they felt this kind of pain. They both had told her that like anything you lose by trauma, it can at one time or another cause phantom pain. After their talk Matt had Lark help her pain by working out.

Her right eye had been covered by

an eye patch so that she’d have to use just her hearing to ward off Matt’s attacks. That had happened last night and after Logan’s Gym Class her left leg was stiff. Very stiff in fact and that Cap wanted to talk to her after school. Well, the makeshift school the Resistance had made for the Young Avengers Runaways and other young ones that were stuck in this

world; side hadn’t mind lot of Lark that losing it.

the one that lost its but in a ways could see they were

She moved down in her seat, her body showing what her face did not; she was bored. Being half Faltine and the child of the bloodline Royalty, the human history seemed pointless. Plus it was just right depressing, mainly because it seems that humans keep making mistakes. Yes, every world is like this at times,

but then it could also be that she didn’t have to deal with that history, and then do tests on the “crap”.

Lark knew that history was mostly written by the winners. It was the losers who write the truth through fiction. Lark liked to read not only fiction but history to compare and make her own mind up.

What she found pointless was sitting here relearning what she already knew. Now learning to fight and control the magic and electricity to the point where she was half blind and not breaking down her telepathic and empathic powers. Finding Wiccan, her brother-in-law and best friend and the others who were in that blasted S.H.I.E.L.D prison. Right now those were the important things. Not relearning the history of the culture of rebellion when need be, but then make the same mistakes as before.

She just hoped the reason Cap wanted to see her was a plan to save those captured and to damage her adopted father’s plans to make him hurt like he made her hurt. Lark was one of the few in the Resistance who could walk out of the hideout and not be locked up right away. She was forced to sign up as a mutant two years ago when she was fifteen by her adopted father Iron Man; the first betrayal. The power to go outside of this place was great but the cost of this gift was too much. The Storm Troopers could not stop her just because of her power and letting her feelings be known. That should be everybody’s right. Not only the ones who gave their freedom right away or the ones like her who were forced to. (To Be Continued.)

Pittverse 56

Fiction

Insight Into Lark’s Personality: A Strange/Hellstom Family Picnic

by Michelle Middlemiss

A

s a writer, I don’t always have the chance to put my character Lark into different scenarios.

This article includes my thoughts about those scenarios.

lead to a very awkward day. More than if a battle broke out.

Lark’s blood father gave up his rights to her when she was three; not because he didn’t love her, but he could not protect her. This has How would Lark react to a fami- caused hard feelings between the ly picnic? two. Now that Lark had to take over for her father’s job, there was Lark getting the invitation, thinks even more tension between them. of ways of getting out of it. Not because she doesn’t want to go; Lark would spend most of her it’s more of the fact of what could time watching her children playing happen. Her family is one of su- with their cousins. If her siblings perheroes and when getting togeth- came over to talk she would make er it would be too tempting for small talk. She only gets to see vanity to attack at that moment. her twin sister Lavi at picnics like this. Lavi lives on another planet If Lark could not get out of the that takes four days just to get to family picnic, she would dress the Earth. Lark gets along with comfortably. If there would be an most of her family so even though attack she would want to be ready at the beginning she didn’t want to to do battle in something that go, she still would go. doesn’t hamper her movements.

Though Lark had been used to It all counts, if Lark’s grandmothwearing what most consider a for- er Umar shows up. Umar has tried mal dress: a two piece dress suit. to kill Lark’s father on so many After going into the family occasions that there’s always dra“business” Lark wears clothing ma when she shows up. But Umar that almost looks like a gi or a tu- had long ago put aside her hate for nic. her son-in–law for a chance to see her grandchildren.

Lucky for If Lark really wanted to be a rebel them! she would wear her uniform when she goes into battle. Though she What if a fight erupted between knew that at this picnic she was to her mom and dad? act as a “normal” family for either her younger siblings or her own When Lark was a young child this would happen often. Clea and Dr. children and siblings children.

Strange often fought over their Though Lark loves her mother children’s’ lives. Dr. Strange aldeeply, the Faltines are a race of ways wanted his children to bebeings that prize the fact that come surgeons like he used to be adults can control their feelings. A before he crashed his car into a Faltine has all the emotions of hu- tree way back in the 40’s. mans but they prize using them only when it is important. Plus, her And Clea, knowing that her chilpowers came from emotions so it dren not only have the power of could cause more damage than the Faltines but that of mutants. good. And if any of her other Fal- Though the two reluctantly agreed tine members are there it could that Lark, Lavi and Levi would

have to follow in the magic line.

Dr Strange pushes the two youngest sons Vincent and Victor too much.

The poor 14 year olds feel like they are third wheels a lot of the time. Lark would have to have her brother Levi and his partner Rain take the two home. Lark would, but she already had 12 children to round up and to teleport home, or into the S.H.I.E.L.D. flying car.

What if one of the younger guests vanished?

Having a family of children that have either magic abilities or mutant abilities, this happens quite often. Or when the presumed fight happens. Lark being the oldest child there would go looking for the younger family member.

Giving them strength or telling them that it was okay. That was why their parents never could stay together. One parent felt that you could deny one part of yourself.

That you can’t do that is something that when you try, it can bite you in the butt.

Then the parent will show up and listen to the young child’s complaints. The rest of the family relieved that the lost child was not kidnapped.

If a kidnapping did actually happen the rolodex of the super heroes is on their cell phones. One of the good things about being in this kind of family is that you have a lot of friends. Many dimensions and countries would be searched. After Lark was kidnapped when she was six, the family has a plan of action.

Fugitor: the Time Escapee

by Thomas Skidmore Eleventh Installment

O

nce more, worlds upon worlds, times and more times, and one Realm after another raced by at a constant rate of velocity. And we three grew ever so fascinated by the sheer amazed wonder of the Mysteries of the Universe, leaving us totally speechless as a result.

Particularly in Marlena’s case, that was a good thing, as I could no longer tolerate any more of her idiotic questions and crass remarks.

I mean, I don’t wish to sound ungrateful to her, and I certainly would like for our friendship to endure, but to be honest, unlike my powers, my patience had rapidly reached its limits to the Nth degree. But again, either out of good manners or out of sheer if only slight cowardice on my part, I dared not utter those thoughts out loud lest I risk losing that friendship.

Then, oddly, she turned ‘round to me, her eyes watering slightly. Of course, I didn’t like that one iota, and it became worrying to see this

via pixabay

especially with Leslie tagging about.

“I say, Marlena, are you all right?” I asked.

She didn’t reply at first, which caused even more concern.

“Yeah, I’m okay, Tony,” she answered meekly.

I opted then to press the issue a step further.

“Are you really?”

Then it came out. The truthful answer, that is.

“No, I’m not all right! In fact, I’m never going to be all right!!”

“Oh? And why’s that, I ask?

A tense pause permeated all about us as she tried to carefully respond.

“It’s you, all right?! It’s you! You don’t really like me, do you?!”

That little revelation quite stunned me, to say the least.

“Of course I like you. I mean, you literally saved my life when I

landed on your world. It’s just that, well -- oh God, how am I to say this? -- you do tend to ask questions that are a smidgeon on the silly side. But that’s part of your charm, I suppose.”

“No, Tony, that’s not what’s bothering me. I know I say wacky things, but as you said, that is part of my charm. I meant you don’t -well, to be frank, you don’t love me, do you?”

Now that shocked me almost to no end, but she did have a valid point.

It’s just that I didn’t escape an Eternal Exile only to find romance with a young and, admittedly, attractive woman I’d just only met moments upon arrival.

At that precise state, Leslie finally said some words.

“Um, aren’t we getting our food?

I’m starved here,” he asked nonchalantly.

I looked at him, my expression on the somber side.

“Yes, we’ll get some food.”

I said little to nothing afterwards ...

Pittverse 58

Top Tens

Top 10 Metal Bands You’ve Never Heard Of

by Dima Harmon

10. Hatebreed Description: Hard hitting, in-your-face metal. The song that got me into them: “Defeatist” 9. Chimaira Description: Band with a unique style of screaming. One of the best guitar solos I’ve heard in a long time.

The song that got me into them: “Nothing Remains” 8. Shylmagoghnar Description: A new band that reminds me of the classic black metal style of playing and singing with harmony and melody. The song that got me into them: “Emergence” 7. Angra Description: Really good power metal band. Very fast and good with technique on guitar solos. The song that got me into them: “Nova-Era” 6. Emperor Description: One of the pioneers in black metal. A classic example of what black metal is supposed to sound like. The song that got me into them: "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" 5. Nightwish Description: Band with a female singer who sings in an operatic fashion and is easily the best female singer in metal. The song that got me into them: "Stargazers" 4. Fit For An Autopsy Description: The screaming is very thick, and it coordinates well with what the instruments are doing ,which is also very thick and eccentric. The song that got me into them: "Mask Maker" 3. Ancient Bards Description: Italian based band that also has a female singer with an incredible voice considering she's only in her early 20s. They are considered an epic metal band with symphonic sound and lots of drums.

The song that got me into them: "Master of Darkness" 2. Satyricon Description: Another classic example of pure black metal. This song has a lot of longing to it and is very harmonic. The song that got me into them: "Mother North" 1. Starkill, "Fire of Life" Description: I’ve got to be honest, they’re just an awesome band. The song that got me into them: “Fire of Life” Honorable mentions: Old Man's Child, Cattle Decapitation, Amaranthe, Bathory, Wintersun, Obliterate, Russian Hate Project, Fleshgrind, Stratovarious, Sonata Arctica, Epica, Tyr, Alestorm, Straight Line Stitch, Obscura, Deathstars, Ancient, As I Lay Dying, Symphony in Peril, Butcher Babies

Top 10 Action Stars

by Kyle Walter 10. Will Smith 9. Clint Eastwood 8. Daniel Craig 7. Vin Diesel 6. Tom Cruise 5. Steve Austin 4. Bruce Willis 3. Arnold Schwarzenegger 2. Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson 1. Jean-Claude Van Damme

Top 10 Women of Star Trek

by Michael Kurland 10. Commander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) – The first Vulcan ever to serve on a Starfleet vessel.

9. Commander Sela (Denise Crosby) – Half-Romulan foe of Capt. Picard. Daughter of Lt. Tasha Yar of an alternate reality. She absolutely hates Vulcans (careful, Spock).

8. B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) – Voyager’s chief engineer. Half-Klingon, but doesn’t let that bother her.

7. Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) – The El-Aurian bartender at Ten-Forward on the Enterprise-D & E, who always knows what’s going on, usually before others do.

6. Ambassador Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) – Deanna’s mother, she always made an impression on others.

5. Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) – Counselor on the Enterprise under Capt. Picard. Later married William Riker, captain of the U.S.S. Titan.

4. Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) – Trill officer who later married Worf on Deep Space Nine. Sadly, she was killed during the Dominion War. 3. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) – Born Annika Hansen, a Borg drone who was liberated from the Collective, and helped Voyager make its way home to Earth, while regaining most of her humanity on the journey.

2. Lt. Commander Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols/Zoe Saldana) – Communications officer under Capt. Kirk’s command, and influence for numerous women in real life.

1. Capt. Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) – The first female captain for the entire series of Star Trek: V oyager Star Trek is ™ and © 2016 CBS Studios and Paramount Pictures All Rights Reserved.

Jean-Claude Van Damme via Wikipedia

In Memory of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry “The First Lady of Star Trek” (1932-2008)

Pittverse 60

Top Tens Top 10 Pittsburgh Penguins

by Sean Gannon 10. #9 Pascal Dupuis (2007-present/still under contract) 9. #29 Marc-Andre Fleury (2003-present) 8. #11 Jordan Staal (2005-2012) 7. #13 Bill Guerin (2008-2010)

6. #71 Evegeni Malkin (2007-present) T-Rex

5. #87 Sidney Crosby (2005-present)

via Wikimedia Commons

4. #35 Tom Barrasso (1988-2000) 3. #25 Kevin Stevens (1988-1995) 2. #68 Jaromir Jagr (1990-2001)

Top 10 Walking with Dinosaurs Dinos

by Jon Bik

1. #66 Mario Lemieux (1985â&#x20AC;&#x201D;2006) 10. Coelophysis 9. Utahraptor 8. Diplodocus 7. Triceratops 6. Liopleurodon

5. Ornithocheirus 4. Brachiosaurus 3. Stegosaurus 2. Allosaurus 1. T-Rex The Stanley Cup via Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Cult Classic Science Fiction TV Shows

by Thomas Skidmore 10. Stargate SG-1 (syndicated, 1996-2004) 9. Babylon 5 (syndicated, 1993-1998) 8. Farscape (Syfy, 1999-2002) 7. The Incredible Hulk (CBS, 1977-2002) 6. Blake’s 7 (BBC 1978-1981) 5. Space: 1999 (syndicated, 1975—1977) 4. The Outer Limits (ABC, 1963-1965; Showtime, 1995-2002) 3. Doctor Who (BBC, 1963-1989 and 2005-Present) 2. The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1959-1964 and 1985-1987; syndicated, 1987-1989 and 2003-2006) 1. Star Trek (NBC 1966-1969)

Spock of Star Trek via Wikimedia Commons

Pittverse 62

Youth Advocate Programs (YAP) currently has programs in 17 states and serves 25 major US cities as well as dozens of other urban, suburban, and rural communities. By tapping into the strengths and capabilities of the 10,000 families we serve each year, our 2,000+ YAP staff members, and the capacity of communities, YAP affects positive change.

YAP has developed unique service delivery principles that guide our work with youth and families involved in the Juvenile Justice, Child Welfare, Behavioral Health, and Education systems. Our staff, who reside in or near the neighborhoods they serve, work non-traditional, flexible hours and are accessible 24/7. Our demonstrated ability to recruit and energize indigenous resident leaders within neighborhoods is another unique element of our success.

External evaluations of YAP confirm the validity of our approach. Our model has also been cited by several external bodies, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, as a “promising practice” in providing effective alternatives to institutional care.

Since our agency opened, YAP has experienced rapid growth. We have broadened our scope of services and increased our capacity to service more children, youth, families, and adults—including those who have not succeeded with traditional services. We continue to explore new opportunities to demonstrate our unique and effective community-based alternatives to out-of-home placements.

PITTVERSE WRITERS Delaine Swearman Michael Perret Michael Levenson Thomas Skidmore David O’Rorey J.D.C.

Daniel Hackett

Richard Campbell

Max Chaney

Michael Kurland

Kyle Walker

Nature f.f. Aura

Dmitry Harmon

Kenneth Miller

Sean Gannon

Mark Sulkin Steven Girouard

Bryan Lippert Jon Bik Michelle Middlemiss M.J. Devine Sara Brooks Kevin Hart

The Pittverse Magazine is made possible in part through the generous support of the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust.

pittverse.wordpress.com facebook.com/pittverse

@pittverse