The next phase of Make Room for Kids, the charity arm of That’s Church is in full swing, and you can help while getting a good laugh.

Check out this Amazon Wish List for the games that are left that need purchased.  And make sure you read the descriptions that Ginny has added.  They are golden.  Take for instance, the description of the Force Unleashed for the DS:

“I can make objects travel across the room to my hand via The Force. Also, I call my husband “The Force.””

Games are going quick, so take a look (you can ship directly to the Mario Lemieux Foundation, it’s the address provided with the Wish List, even though it won’t be listed publicly) and pitch in what you can.

Dancers from Attack Theater discuss the show as they sit on the winding stage

Quantum Theatre recently invited me out to a special preview of their latest show, “Maria de Buenos Aires,” and all I can say is this: go see this show.

Sometimes I forget how much of a sucker I am for good strings (and good cymbals), and the live orchestra during just the little bit that I saw kept me transfixed, even to the point of occasionally ignoring the singers.  Not to say the singers were not amazing, because they were, but the live orchestration kept me enthralled.

“Maria” is about the history of tango, and the theme that form must die to be reborn.  The entirety of the show: the dialogue, dance, music, set design, even location, all explore that theme.  Karla Boos, Quantum Theatre’s artistic director said that ”Maria” really is a big experiment, and she’s anxious to hear from the patrons what they liked and what they didn’t.  I certainly appreciate the dialogue, and am happy for that.

East Liberty YMCA. It doesn't look like it, but for now, it's a theater.

During our preview, we became part of the blocking, as two of the dancers from Attack Theater made sure they could move one of their props through the audience without hitting anyone in the head (spoiler alert: no injuries, plenty of room).  The preview that I saw, was also the first time the orchestra and actors were together in the performance space, so it was like every other musical rehearsal I’ve ever been at or seen, which was comforting.  Also, every single musical makes the same face when a note is played out of tune: it’s nice to see universals like that.

I only have one bit of criticism, and it’s not even about the show itself.  Later in April Quantum will be doing a “Women Only” evening.  Now granted, I’m not a woman, and I don’t think this is their intent, but I refuse to believe that women can be so weak or scared that they need a night all to themselves.  Yes, it can be nice to meet in a setting and already have something in common, but I come from the Joss Whedon school of thought, so I view my feminism through a lens of actual equality and strength.  But hey, if it fills the house, more power to Quantum, I can’t argue with economics.

“Maria de Buenos Aires” opens tomorrow and runs through April 17.  Find out more, including local dining partners and directions (it’s just a short walk from the East Busway!) at Quantum’s website.  Check out all my photos here (just be warned, I am not a good photographer!)

After this week’s tornado that ripped through Hempfield Township, a lot of local media has been running donation drives to support the Red Cross.

Not to nit-pick (but I will): you’re mispronouncing it.

The Red Cross chapter is the Westmoreland-Chestnut Ridge Chapter.  Not Chester.  Chestnut Ridge.  I cringe every time I hear it said wrong.

I know Westmoreland County isn’t as glamorous as Allegheny, or as “interesting” as Fayette, but here’s a short history lesson.  The Chestnut Ridge is an area of the Laurel Highlands, named after the American Chestnut trees that once grew there.  When the Saint Vincent Basilica was built, the wood used was American Chestnut.  After the building of the Basilica, a blight hit the tree species, and very few remain today in mature form, and the species is still in danger of extinction.  This makes the Saint Vincent Basilica pretty much priceless, which is crazy to think about.

Anyway, click below to donate to the Red Cross and help the families in Westmoreland County affected by the tornado.

I was not able to watch the game on the big screen yesterday, but for those that did: cheese steak!

The Wildside: In need of a new name for its facelift

Last Thursday, the state gaming board awarded  the last resort casino license to Nemacolin Woodlands, a short drive south of Pittsburgh, making way for up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games.

For those unfamiliar, Nemacolin is pretty much the center of opulence in Fayette County, and houses a five diamond French restaurant that I felt poor just walking past, not to mention the polo fields, immense art collection, cigar bar and various other attractions that will empty your wallet, although not as fast as the soon to be renovated Wildside.

The Wildside, which, presumably is where Joe Hardy will put in the new casino was originally built (and more importantly, wired) to be a casino.  It sits on Route 40, easy to access, with plenty of parking. Inside you’ll find a bar, pool tables, a restaurant, climbing walls, exotic bird enclosure, arcade, bowling alley and a giant model train.  The building was first a sporting and outdoor goods store, which has since relocated to downtown Uniontown, so it appears that in the end, everything comes full circle.

However, the name announced is pretty awful: Lady Luck Nemacolin.  This is a world-class resort that resides on Lafeyette Drive, has a restaurant named Laurtec and one (of two) golf courses named Mystic Rock.  The best they could come up with is “Lady Luck Nemacolin?”  Where is the glamor and excitement in a name like that?

I did a straw poll at work and it was unanimous: the name stinks.  Here’s hoping that they come up with something more grand, and soon.

The strangest thing about all of this: there is no mention of the awarding of the casino license on the Nemacolin website.  Some of the neighbors still think they will run into a few snags along the way, but to an outsider, it seems like a done deal.  Let’s hope Route 40 will get a few turning lanes (and better upkeep in the winter)!

Pitt News has an excellent article about the upcoming filming of “The Dark Knight Rises” in downtown:

Before the hype spirals out of control, however, it seems necessary to reevaluate how much Pittsburgh will actually benefit from its “Dark Knight” spotlight and whether that spotlight will be the public relations miracle some have hoped for. I, for one, doubt that the film will lead audiences to revise their perceptions of our city; that — at the risk of sounding like a downer — this film is really our ticket to long-overdue respect.

Tybout continues to discuss the fact that most of what we see of Gotham, at least in the action sequences, are dark alleyways and other small locations, although he thinks (and I have to agree) that parts of Pittsburgh’s skyline, especially PPG Place, will most likely be spotted in the final cut of the film.

As awesome is it is that Nolan and his cast and crew will be in town to film, I can’t imagine Pittsburgh fitting into Gotham, or Batman coming to the Steel City as part of the storyline (on a side note, for those that know, where in the U.S. is Gotham, or is that never discussed in the comics?).

Once again we see more evidence as Pittsburgh becoming a small Hollywood of the East, and it’s great to get the recognition and the publicity that this city deserves.

Now, who else thinks that we should get the Bat Signal?

I’ve been hearing a lot about the Ravens telling the NFL commissioner that they don’t want to play any nationally televised games at Heinz Field this upcoming season.  Most of this week I heard it on the radio every day.

However, I’ve been searching, and the only references I can find are about the 2009-2010 season.  I’ve seen a few forum posts scattered around, and they are current, but they don’t like to any new articles.

Has anyone heard differently?  Or is this a non-story (at least this season)?

I’m not sure if it will embed or not, so just in case, here’s the link to the Star morning show’s Peep Olympics:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aEeUa40tYw[/youtube]

From the depths of Metblogs, once again comes…a kitteh.

As I mentioned briefly before, I’m looking for more writers.

Here’s the deal: We (Metblogs authors) write because we love the cities we live in (now granted, I consider Southwestern PA to be Pittsburgh.  I spend enough time romping through Westmoreland and Fayette counties to know we’re all Burghers).  All you have to do is write about Pittsburgh.  Anything that is related to Pittsburgh.  I tend to write about transportation, culture-type things and fun things I see when I’m walking to and from my bus stop.  If you want to write about those things too, that’s awesome!  I don’t know much about Pittsburgh politics, since I live in the suburbs, and I tend to only follow hockey.  We’re pretty irreverent here sometimes, we have fun with what we write.  If we don’t, what’s the point?

What do you get out of being a Metblogs author?  Well, I keep getting invited to things, for free!  I’ve seen a bunch of special preview shows, gotten to interview awesome people who I would normally not have access to, and also, every now and then, just get free stuff.  I’ve gotten a lot of exposure for my own blog, and made friends in other cities because of the community of authors.

And, here’s the fun thing, since I’m Captain now, I can give you stuff.  Case in point, at least every other month (but I’ll try for monthly), we’ll have an author meet-up, and the first round of drinks is on me (21+ only, younger authors can write, but I’ll be buying you something non-alcoholic).  That’s right, free drinks, just for writing about the city you love.  Seriously, where else are you going to find a deal like that?

What do you need to do?  Write about Pittsburgh.  That’s it.  I try to post at least once a day (sometimes I fail, hence the need for help).  The general rule is to post 2-3 times a week, but if you can’t, that’s okay too.  When we have a lot of authors, we just make sure that we don’t post over one another (that is, letting other posts sit at the top of the page at least an hour, and scheduling of posts does that easily), unless something is happening live.  I post a lot from my phone (you can post from a flip phone, Android, or iOS device).

If you’re interested, send me a message, I’d love to see some previous online writing if you have some, and if you don’t, that’s okay too, I’ll work with you, no worries.

As always, thanks for reading.

I was driving on McKnightmare road when I got pummeled by rain.  However, nothing like this:

Photo credit: @junofive

Good gravy.  Stay dry and be safe out there!