A clearinghouse providing links to blogs and other sites about Northeastern Pennsylvania or by people from Northeastern Pennsylvania. Submit blogs to nepablogs@gmail.com
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Thursday, December 31, 2020
In memoriam: Tom Carten, blogger
I first came to know Tom Carten under a different name: Jan Souther, the columnist who wrote "The Wax Museum," a jazz history column in the Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice. I was just a kid then, and didn't really know or care much about jazz music, but Jan Souther's column was a fun read. Years later I knew him as Father Tom Carten, the faculty advisor to WRKC, the King's College radio station where my sister was a DJ. She told me stories about him, and the ragtag crew of misfits who kept the station on the air. One of the daily duties of the DJs at WRKC was (and still is) "The Radio Home Visitor," in which articles and obituaries from the local newspaper are read for the benefit of the blind, a program initiated by Tom Carten.
My sister kept in touch with Father Tom after she graduated from King's and moved out of the area. I added his blog, Things at Kings, to the NEPA Blogs lists back in April 2006, shortly after he started it. I probably didn't become his friend on Facebook until sometime after he posted his final blog post in February 2011. Somewhere along the way he purged or had to shut down his Facebook page, but then recreated it in a new form some time later. I discovered a friend recommendation for him on my Facebook page a few weeks ago and responded. We officially became Facebook friends once again less than a month ago.
Father Tom Carten died on December 24, 2020, at Notre Dame University, where he had been residing for the past few years. He died as another victim of COVID-19, joining more than 344,000 other Americans and 1.82 million other people around the world to die of it before the close of 2020. His funeral Mass will be livestreamed Monday, January 4, 2021 at 2:00 PM at https://youtu.be/5AHDzvrsnMA.
Here is an article about Father Tom, as well as his official obituary. I've archived them both for when they are inevitable removed or paywalled.
Citizens' Voice: Father Carten, beloved priest, radio host, writer, dies at 78
Obituary: Thomas F. Carten, 1942-2020
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Daryl Sznyter
Daryl Sznyter is a poet from Northeastern Pennsylvania who recently released her debut collection of poems, Synonyms for (OTHER) Bodies. She also works as a content writer and SEO analyst. Her blog is part of her larger website, Daryl Sznyter: Poet (https://www.darylsznyter.com/.)
Daryl Sznyter
https://www.darylsznyter.com/blog
Daryl Sznyter
https://www.darylsznyter.com/blog
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
The Lake Region Something
Here's a blog that we originally featured back in 2013. The intervening years have brought some changes...but as of July 2018, the Lake Region Something is back!
The Lake Region Something: OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FROM THE LAKE REGION OF NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA by Robert D Flach
http://lakeregion.blogspot.com/
The Lake Region Something: OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FROM THE LAKE REGION OF NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA by Robert D Flach
http://lakeregion.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, January 08, 2019
Joe Leonardi's Short Story Scribe
Dr. Joe Leonardi is, among other things, a writer of short stories. Short Story Scribe is his blog featuring both his short stories and his thoughts on writing.
Dear Reader,
I’m a storyteller, one who uses the written word to tell tales. I am not a professional essayist nor English professor. My grammar is not always perfect and my sentence structure not always correct. To me, what is most important, all that is important, is the story.
Short Story Scribe
https://shortstoryscribe.wordpress.com/
Dear Reader,
I’m a storyteller, one who uses the written word to tell tales. I am not a professional essayist nor English professor. My grammar is not always perfect and my sentence structure not always correct. To me, what is most important, all that is important, is the story.
Short Story Scribe
https://shortstoryscribe.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, January 01, 2019
Reintroducing NEPA Blogs
When I created NEPA Blogs in January 2006, the world of blogging and social media was a very different place. MySpace was still a thing. Facebook was in its infancy. Twitter wouldn't emerge on the scene for another nine weeks. Instagram and Pinterest did not yet exist.
Blogging was the way people would express themselves on social media. It wasn't always easy. Blog design could be a pain. Uploading photos was clunky. But sites like Blogger and WordPress were working to make it easier for people to blog and have good-looking blogs without having to know how to write HTML code.
I created NEPA Blogs with a simple goal: to increase "linkability" to my own blog and other local blogs by creating a network of blogs linking to each other. I had seen this sort of thing done before. A friend in North Carolina who had been blogging for many years linked to other North Carolina bloggers. I came across a message about a "Snowball of Blogs" that encouraged bloggers to link to other participating bloggers in the "snowball", who would in return (in theory) link to them. The whole thing felt like a pyramid scheme, and I realized that participants could find themselves linking to blogs with nefarious subject matter.
NEPA Blogs would be different. It would be a central hub, a "clearinghouse" that would link to blogs with an organic connection: Northeastern Pennsylvania. All the linked blogs would be by people from Northeastern Pennsylvania - NEPA - whether they were current or former residents. It would also include blogs about NEPA, even if they were written by people outside the area - this was the era of "The Office," when Scranton emerged onto the national scene as the setting for the U.S. version of the popular British series. (Scranton was treated a bit more lovingly than Slough, the setting of the original.) And every linked blog would be invited to link back to NEPA Blogs. This would, in theory, create a network of many blogs from or about NEPA linking to NEPA Blogs, which in turn would link to these blogs and others that met the NEPA Blogs definition.
That was thirteen years ago.
Things have changed since then. MySpace faded into oblivion, and lingers as a specter of what it once was. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have emerged as dominant "microblogging" platforms. People can express many of the same things on these sites that they would on a blog, but with much less effort. Oh, these sites have their drawbacks, of course. Censorship, lack of control over content or design, predatory behaviors by the sites as personal information is harvested, repackaged, and sold. But the ease of use and wild popularity of these sites have meant that many bloggers have abandoned or neglected their blogs in favor of posting to Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. Many of the blogs we had started out featuring had gone dark, or had been cybersquatted, forcing us to de-link them. (There's still a lot of work to be done here.) Some bloggers soldiered on. Some new blogs emerged.
In 2011, NEPA Blogs began appearing in a weekly spot on WBRE's new "lifestyle" program, PA Live! Our first appearance almost didn't happen; the September 2011 flood threatened to overtop the dikes and once again inundate downtown Wilkes-Barre. (That didn't happen, though there was extensive damage throughout the area.) From then through August 2011, the NEPA Blogs Blog of the Week appeared as a regular segment every Tuesday at 4:30, with occasional misses due to the Bloomsburg Fair, the Olympics, or other major events. We lasted though numerous personnel changes over the years. But in August of 2018, the departure of the co-host was followed by a protracted search process for a replacement. Once a replacement had been found, more scheduling conflicts kept me from being able to arrange time in the studio to record our segments. (For a while the Blog of the Week had run live, but my work schedule has kept me from doing this for many years.) Once everything had settled down and I was ready to head back in, another bombshell: the host and producer of PA Live! would be leaving the station, handing over the reins to his new co-host. Scheduling would now have to go through her.
Which brings us to here. NEPA Blogs has been on hiatus since August 2018 for various reasons. The start of the new year seemed like as good a time as any to bring it back. If this is the first time you're hearing of NEPA Blogs, welcome. If you're a blogger in Northeastern Pennsylvania, originally from NEPA, or who blogs about NEPA, and you'd like to have your blog linked on NEPA Blogs and maybe featured as a Blog of the Week sometime, let us know.
And keep on blogging!
Blogging was the way people would express themselves on social media. It wasn't always easy. Blog design could be a pain. Uploading photos was clunky. But sites like Blogger and WordPress were working to make it easier for people to blog and have good-looking blogs without having to know how to write HTML code.
I created NEPA Blogs with a simple goal: to increase "linkability" to my own blog and other local blogs by creating a network of blogs linking to each other. I had seen this sort of thing done before. A friend in North Carolina who had been blogging for many years linked to other North Carolina bloggers. I came across a message about a "Snowball of Blogs" that encouraged bloggers to link to other participating bloggers in the "snowball", who would in return (in theory) link to them. The whole thing felt like a pyramid scheme, and I realized that participants could find themselves linking to blogs with nefarious subject matter.
NEPA Blogs would be different. It would be a central hub, a "clearinghouse" that would link to blogs with an organic connection: Northeastern Pennsylvania. All the linked blogs would be by people from Northeastern Pennsylvania - NEPA - whether they were current or former residents. It would also include blogs about NEPA, even if they were written by people outside the area - this was the era of "The Office," when Scranton emerged onto the national scene as the setting for the U.S. version of the popular British series. (Scranton was treated a bit more lovingly than Slough, the setting of the original.) And every linked blog would be invited to link back to NEPA Blogs. This would, in theory, create a network of many blogs from or about NEPA linking to NEPA Blogs, which in turn would link to these blogs and others that met the NEPA Blogs definition.
That was thirteen years ago.
Things have changed since then. MySpace faded into oblivion, and lingers as a specter of what it once was. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have emerged as dominant "microblogging" platforms. People can express many of the same things on these sites that they would on a blog, but with much less effort. Oh, these sites have their drawbacks, of course. Censorship, lack of control over content or design, predatory behaviors by the sites as personal information is harvested, repackaged, and sold. But the ease of use and wild popularity of these sites have meant that many bloggers have abandoned or neglected their blogs in favor of posting to Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. Many of the blogs we had started out featuring had gone dark, or had been cybersquatted, forcing us to de-link them. (There's still a lot of work to be done here.) Some bloggers soldiered on. Some new blogs emerged.
In 2011, NEPA Blogs began appearing in a weekly spot on WBRE's new "lifestyle" program, PA Live! Our first appearance almost didn't happen; the September 2011 flood threatened to overtop the dikes and once again inundate downtown Wilkes-Barre. (That didn't happen, though there was extensive damage throughout the area.) From then through August 2011, the NEPA Blogs Blog of the Week appeared as a regular segment every Tuesday at 4:30, with occasional misses due to the Bloomsburg Fair, the Olympics, or other major events. We lasted though numerous personnel changes over the years. But in August of 2018, the departure of the co-host was followed by a protracted search process for a replacement. Once a replacement had been found, more scheduling conflicts kept me from being able to arrange time in the studio to record our segments. (For a while the Blog of the Week had run live, but my work schedule has kept me from doing this for many years.) Once everything had settled down and I was ready to head back in, another bombshell: the host and producer of PA Live! would be leaving the station, handing over the reins to his new co-host. Scheduling would now have to go through her.
Which brings us to here. NEPA Blogs has been on hiatus since August 2018 for various reasons. The start of the new year seemed like as good a time as any to bring it back. If this is the first time you're hearing of NEPA Blogs, welcome. If you're a blogger in Northeastern Pennsylvania, originally from NEPA, or who blogs about NEPA, and you'd like to have your blog linked on NEPA Blogs and maybe featured as a Blog of the Week sometime, let us know.
And keep on blogging!
Monday, August 06, 2018
Lazy Day Project
Michelle Westbrook has been a longtime blogger, and two of her older blogs, now defunct, have been listed on NEPA Blogs in the past. Her current blog is called Lazy Day Project (https://lazydayproject.com/). Here's how she describes it on her "About" page:
The name has two meanings…
(1) This blog is a fun hobby to fill my lazy days by writing about whatever is on my mind.
(2) Maybe one day it will encourage others to have more lazy days in this super busy world.
...When I’m not working, I REALLY want to relax and recharge – so lazy days are super important to me. It’s self-care, right?!
Anyway, I’m 39 years young and live in the Poconos with my husband Craig and our beagle mix, LuLu. If you haven’t already guessed… I love lazy days. I also love reading, camping, being outside, Netflix binges, and blogging.
Check out Lazy Day Project - and learn to savor any lazy days you're able to grab!
The name has two meanings…
(1) This blog is a fun hobby to fill my lazy days by writing about whatever is on my mind.
(2) Maybe one day it will encourage others to have more lazy days in this super busy world.
...When I’m not working, I REALLY want to relax and recharge – so lazy days are super important to me. It’s self-care, right?!
Anyway, I’m 39 years young and live in the Poconos with my husband Craig and our beagle mix, LuLu. If you haven’t already guessed… I love lazy days. I also love reading, camping, being outside, Netflix binges, and blogging.
Check out Lazy Day Project - and learn to savor any lazy days you're able to grab!
Thursday, July 05, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: You Are Grounded
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
NOTE: The Blog of the Week will be going on hiatus for a while, but will be returning soon.
NOTE: The Blog of the Week will be going on hiatus for a while, but will be returning soon.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is You Are Grounded (https://traceyselingo.com/blog/)
Guidance in fully actualizing your human potential from Tracey Sellingo.
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
Tuesday, July 03, 2018
3 New Blogs and an article
Armed Forces Resources
A ONE-STOP SOURCE OF SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE RESOURCES COVERING ALL BRANCHES OF THE U.S. MILITARY. PLUS MILITARY HISTORY, NEWS, AND INFORMATION
Another blog by Carl Andrews is located at https://armedforcesresources.com.
Submitted via Facebook
Parenting with Insanity
Hey all! I am a local blogger and advocate of the mental health community trying to end the stigma that surrounds mental health. In my blog I talk about the reality of being a parent with a mental illness, trying to parent and everything in between. Take a read and subscribe!
This blog by Chelsea Lee Howe is located at https://www.insanitylifeasiknowit.com.
Submitted via Facebook
Short Story Scribe
I'm a storyteller, one who uses the written word to tell tales. I am not a professional essayist nor English professor. My grammar is not always perfect and my sentence structure not always correct. To me, what is most important, all that is important, is the story.
People mistake conflict and chaos as abnormal. I believe they are the normal state. The universe was created of chaos. Instead of trying to fight it, we must adapt. Our response to the conflicted chaos is important. Chaos and conflict create the story.
This blog by Joe Leonardi is located at https://www.shortstoryscribe.com
Submitted via Facebook
Lastly, and also submitted via Facebook, an article about 14 of the Most Terrifying Haunted Houses in Pennsylvania in case you are looking for an upcoming summer adventure!
Stay cool and have a great Fourth!
~Michelle
A ONE-STOP SOURCE OF SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE RESOURCES COVERING ALL BRANCHES OF THE U.S. MILITARY. PLUS MILITARY HISTORY, NEWS, AND INFORMATION
Another blog by Carl Andrews is located at https://armedforcesresources.com.
Submitted via Facebook
Parenting with Insanity
Hey all! I am a local blogger and advocate of the mental health community trying to end the stigma that surrounds mental health. In my blog I talk about the reality of being a parent with a mental illness, trying to parent and everything in between. Take a read and subscribe!
This blog by Chelsea Lee Howe is located at https://www.insanitylifeasiknowit.com.
Submitted via Facebook
Short Story Scribe
I'm a storyteller, one who uses the written word to tell tales. I am not a professional essayist nor English professor. My grammar is not always perfect and my sentence structure not always correct. To me, what is most important, all that is important, is the story.
People mistake conflict and chaos as abnormal. I believe they are the normal state. The universe was created of chaos. Instead of trying to fight it, we must adapt. Our response to the conflicted chaos is important. Chaos and conflict create the story.
This blog by Joe Leonardi is located at https://www.shortstoryscribe.com
Submitted via Facebook
Lastly, and also submitted via Facebook, an article about 14 of the Most Terrifying Haunted Houses in Pennsylvania in case you are looking for an upcoming summer adventure!
Stay cool and have a great Fourth!
~Michelle
Monday, June 25, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: C.T. Sneak
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is C.T. Sneak (https://ctsneak.wordpress.com/).
A blog with an underlying focus on social justice from a blogger unafraid to speak her mind.
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
Monday, June 18, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: Tim Maloney
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Tim Maloney (https://maloneyofnepa.com/)
The blog of Tim Maloney, a 20-something queer Muslim based out of the Wyoming Valley, an activist and blogger with a passion for advocating nonviolence, sex positivity, and social justice.
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
Monday, June 11, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: Lovely in Gold
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Lovely in Gold (https://lovelyingold.com/).
Blogging about fashion, lifestyle, beauty, travel, and shopping, from Kelli Testa.
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
Monday, June 04, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: No Time For Wine
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is No Time For Wine (https://notimeforwine.com/)
Brenda K. documents her journey "From Captialist Career Woman to Minimalist Mommy in Training."
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
Monday, May 28, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: Anthracite Unite
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Anthracite Unite (https://anthraciteunite.com/)
Blogging about the struggle of the working class in the Anthracite Coal Region.
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
Monday, May 21, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: Cheri Sundra–Guerrilla Historian
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Cheri Sundra–Guerrilla Historian (https://cherisundra.com/)
Photographically documenting the abandoned, decaying, and vanishing places of NEPA.
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
Monday, May 07, 2018
PA Live! Blog of the Week: If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now
NEPA Blogs will be presenting the "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.
Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now (https://wwirelesswwizard.wordpress.com/)
Poetry, musings, and bits found on the internet by Paula, the Wireless Wizard.
If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!
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