On Tuesday, I had to pull a late shift at the radio station. On Wednesday, I had to get some laundry done, lest I be forced to borrow Bob Braughler's lucky underwear. So Thursday night, I resolved to go to International Village as soon as I left work.
I got out of the car in Renzie Park at 6:20 p.m., just as the skies opened up. It was like stepping into Niagara Falls.
It wouldn't be International Village --- Western Pennsylvania's original ethnic food and music festival, held for 45 consecutive years in Our Fair City --- without some rain. It's almost a beneficial thing; it washes away some of the stink and keeps the bugs down. I've also been to some Villages during oppressive heat waves, when you couldn't walk two feet without pooping out and your skin was blistering like kolbassi links on a hot griddle. Some rain would have been most welcome then.
But this was ridiculous. There were massive lightning strikes and torrential downpours. I had an umbrella, but it didn't matter --- the rain was coming sideways, under my bumbershoot.
I made it to the doorway of a garage near the old Renzie swimming pool, and stood on a dry patch of ground, but pretty soon, I started to feel like Charlie Brown on his pitcher's mound as the water came up, up, up around me. Before I floated away, I stepped back out into the rain, which let up for a while --- just long enough for people to dash to their cars, as it turned out, because then it started to rain again.
Well, at least it kept the lines short.
The inclement weather makes it impossible for me to properly review this year's Village; the rain forced the entertainment and fireworks to be cancelled for the evening (holding a metal microphone stand in an electrical storm is not a good idea). I know most people go to the Village to eat, but to me, the singing and dancing are just as important. All of those junior Tammies, polka bands and folk ensembles are keeping alive great cultural traditions that, in many cases, are fading away, even in the old country. Not being able to see any of the performers was a major disappointment --- though an unavoidable one.
To his credit, Marco Caroccia ("Bravo Marco") kept cranking out Italian music on his keyboard in the Jakomas Blue Top Pavilion. At one point, he had a sing-along going of "Funiculi, Funicula,."
On the other hand, I don't recall his next sing-along number --- "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" --- being a traditional Italian song. Maybe it was the version by that famous crooner, Giacomino Crocetti.
(Actually, I just looked it up; Jim Croce was Italian! Mi dispiace.)
Onto the food: The arrival several years ago of commercial food vendors at International Village was a setback, in my opinion. I realize that church and non-profit groups are unable to provide some of the food choices that visitors expect, like kettle corn, lemonade and funnel cakes, but why would you go to International Village to eat the same mass-produced stuff you can get at any carnival?
Besides, the independent booths raise money for local ethnic social clubs and churches; for some of them, the Village is their major fundraiser of the year.
So, I started at the German booth (Christ Lutheran Church) with a plateful of potato pancakes and a piece of bratwurst, worked my way over to the Hungarian booth (Free Magyar Reformed Church) for a kolbassi sandwich, and topped it off with a dish of fried ice cream from the Mexican booth (Christ United Methodist Church).
Sure, it was the express bus to Heartburn City, but I only do this once a year, and it was all great going down.
I didn't get any good souvenirs this year; maybe the rain chased the souvenir stand away. McKeesport Little Theater had a nice display, including a raffle for free tickets, and Penn State and McKeesport High School alumni both made an appearance. Allegheny County Sheriff Pete DeFazio and city police had exhibits as well.
Kudos to all of those vendors and city employees who stuck it out in the rain last night, and who begin preparations for the Village months in advance. All I can say is that you did your best, as usual, and better luck next year.
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Deepest sympathies for the family of Mary Newton Bruder --- aka "The Grammar Lady" --- who passed away suddenly on Monday, according to Adrian McCoy's obituary in the Post-Gazette. She was 64.
Bruder was best known for her appearances on local and national radio and TV talk shows, and for her syndicated newspaper column about the English language. I worked with Bruder once, about a year ago, when I hired her to proofread a publication I edited. Adrian refers to Bruder's "keen eye for the fine points of the English language and grammar," and I would agree.
Requiescat in pace, Grammar Lady.
(Link via Subdivided We Stand.)
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In other news, at least 60 newspapers nationwide --- including One of America's Great Newspapers --- have been suckered into running a form "letter-to-the-editor" produced by the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.
The Post-Gazette ran the letter, signed "Dick Bondi, Mt. Lebanon," on June 4, according to a database search of the newspaper's archives.
The (very) partisan Daily Kos reports that the letters are virtually identical in each of the newspapers that have printed them. The technique of planting form letters in local papers, which is not new, is called "Astroturfing," because it's an artificial advertising campaign designed to create the appearance of a grass-roots movement.
Ironically, the P-G's Dennis Roddy was one of the first political writers to warn about "Astroturfing," back in January 2003.
And just two weeks ago, P-G editorial writer Michael McGough wrote about Astroturfing, saying that he and other editors "have been on elevated alert lately for 'Astroturf.'" Apparently, he didn't realize that some has already been laid down on the paper's own letters page.
The Post-Gazette is one of the largest papers in the country to get stung, according to a Lexis-Nexis search of the biggest news outlets in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, a rudimentary Google search reveals that the Williamsport, Wilkes-Barre and Lock Haven papers received nearly identical letters. None of these cookie-cutter Bush-boosting letters have hit any other local newspapers --- yet.
In fairness --- and as McGough correctly points out --- the Kerry-Edwards campaign is also encouraging supporters to contact local media to boost their candidate. Nothing wrong with that, of course; but signing your name to someone else's opinions and passing them off as your own is, at best, lazy. (At worst, it's plagiarism, though in this case, the Bush campaign is encouraging supporters to "steal" the suggested language.)
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Alert Reader Tim points out that this month's issue of Utne Reader has an article about Eastland Mall in North Versailles. The article, unfortunately, isn't available online unless you're a subscriber. Further updates next week.
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Things to Do: The Ypapanti Greek Food Festival continues through Sunday at Olympia Hall on Electric Avenue in East Pittsburgh. Proceeds benefit Presentation of Christ Greek Orthodox Church. Live music and folk dancing continues daily. If you can't stay, take something home: Wouldn't some baklava or spanakopita be a good snack as you watch the Summer Olympics in Athens? Call (412) 824-9188 for details.
Things I found on the Internet while looking for other things:
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Jim Romenesko, maintainer of the Obscure Store (a Web site of bizarre headlines) and the Poynter Institute's media gossip page, has launched a Starbucks gossip Web site.
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When I first saw Jimmy Johnson's "Arlo and Janis" comic strip (in the New Yawk Daily News, I think), I didn't like it, but the more I see of it, the more it grows on me. Johnson eschews obvious comic strip gags and goes for more subtle, situational humor. It takes some time to understand where he's coming from, but when you do, the whole strip clicks.
I recently discovered that Johnson maintains an online journal and archive of his favorite cartoons.
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Former WDVE-FM (102.5) morning man and current night-time host Scott Paulsen has a Web site, where he reports that he's working on his second novel. His first is available for purchase at the site. His wife, Kit, is a rather accomplished watercolorist and is accepting commissions.
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There was a rather run-of-the-mill letter in Pitt's student newspaper, The Pitt News, from a Florida undergrad who says he refuses to attend the university because of its policy against granting fringe benefits to same-sex unmarried couples. (In the interest of full disclosure, I not only draw a paycheck from Pitt, I'm also a student, but opinions expressed here are not those of the University of Pittsburgh.)
But while the letter is only average, there's been a nasty battle of words raging on the Pitt News Web site among the paper's readers and the letter writer. Flame wars can be very, very funny --- so long as you're not the target, of course.
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Before I go any further, keep in mind that I try to keep this feature suitable for children, or at least clean enough for a family newspaper. However, some things are too good to pass up. If you're easily offended, now is the time to leave and look at something less edgy.
You're still here? Cool. And a-a-a-away we go!
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Alert Reader Jeff passed along a link to this report from The Smoking Gun about a group of people in Ohio who attacked a peeping Tom who apparently was spying on a little girl. The police found the perpetrator with a tree branch stuck in a place where you wouldn't normally expect a tree to be growing.
An account from the Lorain, Ohio, Morning Journal is available online. The peeper/victim is in the hospital in fair condition; the people who are attacked him are charged with rape, assault and related offenses.
Boy, talk about not knowing whose side to root for ...
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Speaking of perversions, consensual and otherwise, Dan Savage had a great line in his syndicated "Savage Love" column this week, which runs in Pittsburgh City Paper and elsewhere. (And don't try to tell me you don't read it, you big faker, you know you do, right after "News of the Weird.")
I'll clean it up slightly, and you'll have to go read the column to understand the context (this should be obvious, but there's adult content there, in case you didn't know). Anyway, Savage wrote this response to a reader's letter (and the last sentence is priceless):
(B)estiality is one of the "big three" perversions that I'm simply never going to budge on. I will always disapprove of f---ing animals, molesting children, and eating poop. (A scat scene with a lamb would hit the trifecta of my disapproval.) Yes, yes, I know: A mind is like an umbrella --- it only works when it's open. But if you're going to have a closed mind about just three things, f---ing animals, molesting children, and eating poop are good picks, don't you think?
Steven Seagal was the first Westerner to open a school of martial arts in Japan. The general public knew through his many films of action but it is another facet of his personality which emerges in 2004! This enthusiastic follower of Buddhism delivers an awesome album already bubbling on the charts in France!
Ingredients: Steven Seagal delivers titles to the American ultra consonances (blues, folk) but also of more directed songs world (ragga, Arab musics). Surrounded by prestigious guests (B.B. King, Stevie Wonder...), the actor adds a new cord to his arc!
The bastard agglomeration of Allegheny, Mohawk, Piedmont, PSA and Lord-knows-how-many-others-I've-forgotten that now calls itself US Airways is coming apart at the seams, reports Dan Fitzpatrick in the Post-Gazette:
If US Airways files for bankruptcy in less than a month, airline chairman David Bronner predicts that no one, including himself, will be willing to rescue the nation's seventh-largest carrier from oblivion.
In the last 30 days, Bronner said only one investor has contacted him about a bankrupt US Airways -- and that was a foreign player interested only in the leftover piece of an airline that employs 28,000 people, including about 8,000 in the Pittsburgh area. "They don't want the whole thing," he said.
I spied him in the crowd after he was introduced on stage, and after I had some sweet potato pie, my wife and I walked to where he and his wife were sitting. I introduced us, and he was honestly shocked to see "such young fans." He's really a likeable guy. ...
"Let's Dance" is quite possibly the best radio show EVER, certainly a local treasure that doesn't get nearly enough attention. If he ever mentions the encounter on his next show, I'd be thrilled.
Even by the standards of TV vanity, Kilborn was considered a standout in his five-plus years at CBS. Besides mirrors on the wall, there were hand mirrors always at the ready, and a swivel mirror on Kilborn's office desk he was said to have tilted -- not subtly enough -- to catch his own reflection whenever bored with whatever blah, blah, blah he was being told.
Such thinking makes sense only to those who are worried about alienating American voters. Liberals are, but many anti-RNC activists defiantly are not. Ironically, despite being motivated by a ferocious hatred of George Bush, some of those planning direct-action protests against the convention have grown so disillusioned with electoral politics that they barely seem to care whether he's defeated in November.
Getting Bush out of the White House "is an aesthetic thing -- I won't have to look at him anymore," says the A31 Coalition's David Graeber, explaining his mild preference for Kerry. A 43-year-old anthropology instructor at Yale, Graeber, who lives in Chelsea, says, "Maybe I'll vote for Kerry, maybe I won't."
The Tube City Almanac today is going to make one of its relatively rare forays into national politics, except to remind you that International Village opens this afternoon and runs through Thursday at Renzie Park.
Now, from the Almanac National Affairs Desk comes the following question: If you heard someone say the Pentagon is "evil," you'd immediately suspect them of being a rabid left-winger, right? And if a publication came out endorsing that statement, you'd assume it was one of those indy-media Web sites --- or at least something like AlterNet.
What if I told you it was the police chief of Des Moines, Iowa, and the editors of the Des Moines Register were supporting him?
Unless I miss my guess, Iowa's in the "heartland" of America. It should reasonably be expected to be full of patriotic citizens who love America, baseball, apple pie and their President, though not necessarily in that order.
In fairness, Iowa's voted for a lot of Democrats; the state narrowly went for Gore in 2000, and went for Clinton twice; but Iowans also voted for Nixon three times (1960, '68 and '72), for Reagan twice, and for Gerry Ford in 1976. The governor is a Democrat (Pittsburgh native Tom Vilsack).
Still, these should be Dubya's kind of people. Both houses of the Iowa Legislature are Republican, as is one of Iowa's U.S. senators, and four of Iowa's five members of the House. Although I wasn't able to easily get statistics on how many Iowans are churchgoers, I have a sneaky suspicion that a clear majority are; according to one survey I found at the American Religion Data Archive, 58 percent of Iowans claim to be a member of an organized religion.
Anyway, here are the details from a Register editorial (slightly edited for space and clarity):
(It) turned some heads when Des Moines Police Chief William McCarthy used the e-word to describe the U.S. military for calling a local police officer back to duty in Iraq. Rodell D. Nydam, a member of the Iowa National Guard, completed his military obligation. He's already served in Iraq and now must go back due to a "stop-loss" order that extends tours of duty beyond a soldier's commitment.
"This military is lying and manipulating its troops," said McCarthy, a Vietnam veteran. "When the military gave its word, it used to mean something." He said today's military "can't be trusted."
Stop-loss orders are a broken promise. They fly in the face of the idea of a "voluntary" military. They have prevented tens of thousands of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from going home or retiring. Soldiers hold up their end of the bargain; the government doesn't. ...
The blame doesn't lie with an "evil" military, however. The Pentagon is just trying to do a job with the resources available to it. The blame lies higher up, with those who sent the military to war without adequate planning.
From the "Methinks They Doth Protest Too Much" Department at the Tube City Almanac Regional Affairs Desk comes this Associated Press story (via the Observer-Reporter):
Although no airline will fly nonstop to Europe from Pittsburgh as of Nov. 7, the airport still will be considered an international one, officials said.
Pittsburgh International Airport still will offer nonstop flights to Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada, which qualify as international destinations. Plus, the "international" distinction means the airport has customs and immigration services, Allegheny County Airport Authority officials said.
Cheney says he likes to campaign, to meet people. But his manner on the stump often betrays all the joy of someone cleaning an oven. After speaking to a rally at a high school in Battle Creek, the vice president grimaced forth and worked a ropeline, the back of his bald head now covered in red, white and blue confetti. ... Cheney approaches handshakes as if trying to pick mosquitoes out of the air with one hand. He makes quick and minimal contact. ...
When a woman in Battle Creek handed Cheney her baby, he carried the kid for a few seconds and then handed him back, no kiss. In the next three minutes, he would quick-pinch about 100 more hands.
As he walked out a back door, the vice president vigorously rubbed his hands with sanitizing lotion provided by an aide.
Avolio wants a public debate in the race for the 56th District House seat Casorio has held for eight years. He said he probably has a better chance of winning the state lottery. Democrat Casorio considers the debate a non-issue because he "hasn't said no."
A war of words heated up between the candidates last week, when Avolio said his deadline for a response from Casorio's camp had passed. "Your high-pressure tactics may be effective for a trial lawyer, but they do not serve any purpose in this campaign," Casorio said in a terse, one-page response to Avolio's demand.
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