Read All About It: Assemble Daily News

If you're a follower of Eric Lidji's Ongoing History of Pittsburgh, you may have already caught your sneak peek about what's about to hit Penn Ave's Assemble gallery this Friday:

Assemble Daily News

The project, devised and executed by Eric, is also best described by Eric. Here's my favorite part of the description: Assemble Daily News aims to be a legitimate news operation, meaning it will report on actual events in an accurate and timely manner. But it won't be a conventional news operation. Instead of covering organizations, zoning or crime, it will report on moments, specifically the enlightening, interesting and revealing moments celebrated on this [The Ongoing History of Pittsburgh] site. Because these tiny moments are sometimes too fragile for words alone, Assemble Daily News will use drawings, notes, and a gigantic map to piece together a picture of daily life. 

Your first chance to check out Assemble Daily News is Friday, September 7, 2012, during Unblurred. Here are four more of my favorite sneak peeks that Eric has leaked on his site:

I can't wait to see the finished/in-progress project on Friday night. Come out and support a great guy and a great venue on Friday night. And, who knows, maybe you'll become a news story over the next month if you're in the Friendship/Bloomfield area. 

PGH Beautiful: Dinos, May 2012

Guys! I have been finding excellent dinos around town. I think one of my goals this summer is to go on dino expeditions around Pittsburgh by bike and by foot. I know where a lot of the statue dinos are located around town, I just need to make a plan to go snap pictures of them. I also want to keep my eyes out for cool dino graffiti or signage or anything. (Mental note: Look to see if there is a book that connects PGH and dinos. There very well should be considering the Carnegie Museum and all!) I am going to just go with the whole "dino obsession" phase I am clearly entering into right now. It's nearly summer, and that's when I feel most like a kid stuck in an adult's world.

So! Here are some dinos I saw:

Dino outside of the Carnegie Science Center near the North Shore bike trail. Those are molecules or genes or something science-y like that?

I may have shown this already, but I'm being too lazy to go back and check. I found this guy hanging in The Park House in Deutschtown way back when football was still on the TV.

And here is a special dino brought to you by Mr. Andrew Mulkerin. Thanks, Andy!

If you've got a dino you'd like to share, or want to send me on a wild goose chase searching for one, send me an email: everythingbetterpgh@gmail.com

Oh and if you're interested, there's this. Looking forward to reading that before the end of the year...

Happy Valentine's Day: 14 Things I Love (re: Pittsburgh)

With just about four hours to go until Valentine's Day is over, and the really awesome holiday begins (check back tomorrow!), I thought I'd share 14 things I love about Pittsburgh, or have loved throughout the past year.

1. I love this man who lives on Penn Ave. I hope he stays there forever, but, if not, I'll enjoy him for as long as I can.

2. I love everything about this quote. It's a child describing how watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood makes him feel.

3. I love how many different views of Pittsburgh there are, and how many I've been able to see since I've been back.

4. I love all the color. All of it.

5. I love my creative friends, without whom I would be lost.

6. I love that in this mural in East Liberty that there are crazy-looking wolves running around unleashed! East Liberty is scary! (Not really, but in this version, look out!)

7. I love Panther Hollow. Such a good place when you need to get away.

8. I love that we have a dino in our airport. For real, this makes me excited every time I come home.

9. I absolutely love that this photo exists.

10. I love how worn the stairs in the Carnegie Library in Oakland are. So much use by so many generations of Pittsburgh.

11. I love this quilt. Simply amazing.

12. I love the Bloomfield Halloween Parade. And I loved that this kid broke a board in front of where I was standing this year. How many days till Bloomfield Halloween Parade 2012??

13. I've really loved spending time with my dad.

14. And I loved saying goodbye to 2011, and saying hello to 2012 by taking a quick dip in the Mon, bright and early on New Year's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day.