Category: default || By jt3y

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.