Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The return of mhryvnak.net!

After a far-too-long hiatus, the sarcastic and witty insights of mhryvnak.net are back! Just take note: the actual address is http://mhryvnak.net/blog/ .

Check it out, and join me in welcoming one of NEPA's funniest bloggers back to the blogosphere!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Art exhibit for a NEPA Blogger!

Mike Burnside of Late Night Meanderings will be having an exhibition of his photographs at Marquis Art & Frame, 122 South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre, from November 16 through December 29. The exhibition is called "Three On Third" and showcases Mike Burnside's photographs alongside paintings by Allison Maslow and Beverly Jean Johnston. There will be a reception on Friday, November 16 from 5 to 8 PM.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Another blog for "The Office" - and The Office Convention this weekend!

http://www.officetally.com/

Office Tally is described as "THE go-to site for The Office" by one of NEPA's foremost bloggers (soon making her triumphant return to the blogosphere!) And one of its latest posts (as of this writing) is all about The Office Convention, coming up this weekend (October 26-28) in lovely downtown Scranton! While the weather may be typical Scranton Weather - cold, gray, and rainy - the Flaming Foliage is currently at or near peak, so that should be a special treat for visiting Office fans. And they'll get to see quite a bit of it if they decide to slip out to Chili's for lunch. (The closest Chili's is just outside of the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre Township, some 20 miles from downtown Scranton!)

For more details, see the official website. Also see NEPA Blogger John Webster's blog (he's half of the Daniels & Webster morning team from Rock 107, itself a frequent reference on the show), particularly this entry. Longtime NEPA Blog Life In The Office also has an article on the convention. I hope this is a very positive experience for all involved!

Even yet still more NEPA Blogs

I've hunted down a few more NEPA Blogs. But first, here are two more from the author of QAZSE.com:

In non-QAZSE blogs:

As always, if you know of any other blogs (or have any other blogs) that belong here, please let us know!

Friday, October 19, 2007

Susquehanna from Tunkhannock

I've replaced the photo at the bottom of the page (the largest space available for a photo) with one submitted from QAZSE.com. The description:

This was taken last November looking south from the bridge across the Susquehanna at Tunkhannock. It depicts that time when the leaves have fallen and the river is anticipating winter.

Here is a clickable version of it. I've scaled it down a bit from its original size due to space limitations.

Image Courtesy of QAZSE.com

Wilkes-Barre Can Survive!

Another new local political blog:

http://thoughtfulinwilkesbarre.wordpress.com/

Thursday, October 18, 2007

J-Scranton

Via e-mail:

Just thought I'd drop you a heads up about my blog, J-Scranton. It's a blog dedicated to information of use to journalism students at the University of Scranton. You can find it at:

jscranton.wordpress.com

Regards,
Matt Reavy

Matthew M. Reavy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
University of Scranton, Scranton PA

http://jscranton.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

City of the Dead

I just did something that's long overdue: I stepped through all of the blogs listed on the sidebar and checked them for signs of life. I wasn't aiming to kill any sites that haven't updated in, say, a year or so, but I was looking for ones that gave "404" or "Page not found" errors, or had obviously been taken over by cybersquatters. I've flagged those sites "(dead site?)" or "(cybersquatted)". If any of these sites belong to you, please take a look into what's happened to them!

A few other notables appear to be on hiatus - which, for me, is the same as saying "this person has stopped posting, I sure hope they aren't dead."

Now I need to round up all of the sites that have been submitted or discovered over the last few months and add them to the sidebar.

Call for photos!

Well, it's not Summer anymore, despite the fact that it was ninety degrees in Nanticoke last Monday, so it's time to revise the pictures on the site to reflect Autumn here in NEPA. If anyone has (or feels like taking) any photos that they would like to have represent NEPA on this site, please send them to me at databoy142 (.a.t.) hotmail (.d.o.t.) com. Please include (if available) a location, description, date, and how you would like to be credited!

Monday, October 08, 2007

Life and politics

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF HEATHCLIFF is a life blog by someone who uses the handle I am the Walrus.

A new political blogger (my specialty) has popped up. Looking at the local scene from a conservative point of view is Right Winger who tells us "The truth about everything. No matter how much it hurts." Ignorance is Bliss is worth a daily visit and an occasional comment.

Mixing life and politics is former WBRE weatherman Vince Sweeney. He's thinking about running for Congress and gives his thoughts about life, the universe, everything.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

The Nittany Blog

This arrived via a comment. OK, it was a comment made nearly a month ago, but better late than never!
The Nittany Blog said...

Hey this is Alex from The Nittany Notebook. I've decided to resume writing my old blog as well. Could you guys add the new link as well as keep the one to The Nittany Notebook? Thanks!

The Nittany Blog- http://nittanyblog.blogspot.com/


If you are a blogger who lives in Northeatern Pennsylvania, or used to live in Northeastern Pennsylvania, or who blogs about Northeastern Pennsylvania, please leave a comment and we'll list your blog just as soon as we can!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Watcher

Another blog that focuses on the local media:
Wilkes-Barre Scranton Watcher
http://wilkes-barrescrantonwatcher.blogspot.com/

"Holding the local media, personalities and institutions here in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties responsible for their collective pomposity, hypocrisy and foibles is something long overdue. This is our challenge!"

Friday, August 10, 2007

A new blog for an old school

GAR Memorial

It's a MySpace site devoted to all things past and present that have to do with GAR Memorial High School in Wilkes-Barre.


About me:

This is for everyone that attended or graduated from GAR High School. If you know anyone else that went to GAR, pass this site along to them.

Who I'd like to meet:

All students, faculty and administration, past and present. If you are not associated with GAR High School as a student, teacher, administrator, staff member or alumni, please do not make a friend request.
If you have family or friends that attend, graduated from or teach at GAR, please let them know this is here and if they have a myspace page, invite them to join us. You may be able to help a graduating class find a few more alumni for a reunion!

We've gotten several notes saying thanks for helping me reconnect to an old friend. This page was set up to help people reconnect to old friends and teachers and keep people updated on what's going on at GAR. Once school is back in session, sports schedules and activites will be posted, so be sure to keep us updated on what's going on.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

A new blog for a new school

From the comments on the previous post:

I am the Dean of the new medical school that will serve all of NEPA. I would invite you to link to my blog and follow our progress as we build this new community based endeavor. We are interested in hearing from the community about their ideas, needs and how we can serve the region.

http://newmedicalschool.blogspot.com/

And from the first post, dated July 2, 2007:

In the coming months I will share with you what it is like to build a new medical school from the ground up in a region that hopes the school will help with economic development, relieve the doctor shortage, help improve quality of care and a host of other goals. The expectations for our little school are enormous. I just started two weeks ago so this is all very new. Today it is all only on paper and everything is possible. Which is a good way of saying every single thing still needs to be done.

Feel free to share your ideas about health care and medical education. We want to create something unique here. While we have to be mainstream enough to achieve accreditation from the multiple bodies that get a vote on our future we also want to create a new national model for the education of physicians. I have never blogged before and am both hesitant and challenged by the medium but I do want to hear what people want from their doctors. I also want to hear from physicians, medical students and residents about what they wished they had known, what schools should teach and how we might improve the educational experience. I know we do a good job with the science education I want to hear what else we should be worrying about. I know I can learn something from our conversation that will make our school better.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

More sites about Northeastern Pennsylvania

I decided to hunt for more NEPA Bloggers tonight, but came up empty. But I did manage to find these sites:

Folklore Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania
http://www.folkloresociety.org/
I think I've hung out with these people twice, thanks to a friend who was in the organization. From their website:

Who we are: We are an organization promoting traditional music, dance, and storytelling in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

About the music: Monthly "singing circles" have been on-going since 1982, and often start with a pot-luck dinner. They are informal gatherings, usually held the first Friday of each month at a member's home. We begin with a few sing-alongs, then we take turns around the circle, offering something we have prepared, requesting a song or story, or just come to listen and enjoy homemade entertainment. We use a "democratic" format (taking turns), which encourages people of all levels of accomplishment to participate.

NEPA Defunct Park List
http://www.nepalostparks.com/parks/nepalist.html
Northeastern Pennsylvania was once home to many amusement parks. Check them out!

Northeastern Pennsylvania Photo Collection
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nepaphotos/
From their website:
This is a collection of photos, many of which have been sent to us by our visitors, of the past of Northeastern Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. Our goal is to make this the largest collection of photos showing life as it was for our ancestors.

Northeastern Pennsylvania
http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/nepa.html
This is a link-rich site created and maintained by a local Geography teacher, Mr. Brad Bowerman. It's just a small part of his much, much larger site called "Geography World." Check it out!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

A Blog of Nanticoke

I realize I've been neglecting this site lately, mainly on behalf of my daily posts to my personal blog, Another Monkey. So naturally I'm dealing with this by starting another blog! This one is called A Blog of Nanticoke and it can be found at http://www.nanticokeblog.blogspot.com/ . The goal of this blog is to showcase Nanticoke, its businesses, and its bloggers in the way that this site does for the larger Northeastern Pennsylvania area.

This blog is actually just the first step in a plan I've been working on the last few days to vastly increase my hometown's presence in the blogosphere. Some of the content will duplicate stuff I've written here and on Another Monkey, some of it will be brand new, and some of it...well, we'll see how things work out.

It's just in its initial stages right now, but I'll try to get it in fighting shape within a few days. If you are a Nanticoke blogger, or know of any good Nanticoke websites, please let me know, and I'll be sure to include them on A Blog of Nanticoke!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

A few more sites


My apologies to the Card Lady for not linking to her earlier. She was recently in the Southwestern USA and has some great pics.

The NEPA Rainbow Alliance has a blog and a bunch of other sites. What they say is that's it OK to be gay and be proud of it. More power to you folks. I'm so sick of the hate that is directed toward members of my family just because they're "different."

Voice of the People backs Lou Barletta and is holding rallies. Another group that aims to divide us instead of uniting people.


Coal Region Voice down in Sunbury may be technically out of our area but is a good read.

And finally a news/politics site Scranton-at-Large. His mission statement:

Fed up with the managed news that the “mute press” (Scranton’s sole daily paper) has been producing, citizen extraordinaire Joseph Talamini took it upon himself to create a voice for the people: Scranton-at-Large. Founded in October 2006 on a shoestring budget, Scranton-at-Large takes side with the working class, delivering shot after shot across the bow of the area’s “elite,” establishment forces. With its unforgiving editorials, groundbreaking investigative reporting, and free distribution, Scranton-at-Large finally gives this city a viable news alternative.

Another Scranton site is Lackawanna County News that I've been reluctant to list because he is a vicious anti-semite. But the site is out there and deserves a listing just because it's a NEPA blog.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Beale's Bites is Back!

After a three-month hiatus that felt like forever, Beale's Bites is back! Thanks to Howard Beale him(or her-)self for this bit of information!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Scranton ballot, another NEPA Blogger, and some sad news

Shadowspun over at Shadow's Reach has put in a lot of effort getting together a list of all the candidates who will be on the ballot for the Scranton district of Lackawanna County. If you reside in that fair city, go over and have a look!

http://shadowsreach.blogspot.com/2007/05/lackawanna-politics-part-2.html

And don't miss her previous list of links to sites with information that you may find helpful in making an informed choce at the voting booth:

http://shadowsreach.blogspot.com/2007/05/lackawanna-county-voting-part-1.html

Through a long and winding road that goes through a blog in Ann Arbor, Michigan, another NEPA Blogger has found her way to this site! Her blog is Life's A Dance You Learn As You Go, aka http://star8278.blogspot.com . Welcome aboard! I'll add you (and everybody else) to the sidebar as soon as I get to it and/or my computer allows me to!

Meanwhile, this sad news from an anonymous commentor:

Beale's Bites is definitely dead:

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,69502.0.html

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Updates and additions

I've been neglecting NEPA Blogs for too long. Lots of other stuff going on, as well as my constant computer problems. Internet Explorer just crashed as I was trying to access the emails that I've received with updated information, but I'll try to squeeze out what I can.

First off, here's an update:
Hi there. I just wanted to send you a quick message as I see my blog is listed in the list of NEPA Blogs. Can you fix the URL as it currently comes up with an Error.

If you could list it this way that would be great

Old Link:
theblackcloud.com
http://www.theblackcloud.com/blog/

New Link:
My Little Black Cloud
http://www.mylittleblackcloud.com/words/
I'll try to update that as soon as I can. I'm just hoping I can post this without crashing!

Next up is this:
Hello,

I noticed your NEPA blog site and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kevin Blasi and I manage two blogs and a website for my company. I am a local Mortgage Specialist and would very much appreciate a link from your website.

I manage http://explaintome.blogspot.com/, which is a blog directed towards consumers to educate them about the mortgage process and credit reporting.

I also manage http://www.activerain.com/kblasi, which is a professional blog directed towards other professionals in Real Estate related fields.

What I would appreciate more than anything is a link to my company website: http://www.nepamortgagetips.com/. We are a mortgage brokerage company located in Dunmore, PA. We specialize in helping people attain financing to buy homes and businesses here in NEPA.
Now, my gut instinct here was to be cautious. But then I said to myself, "What the hell?" So here it is. Meanwhile...
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Two non-political sites":

Beale's Bites and Pardon My Zinger have bought the farm. No updates in OVER a month and a half.
No. No. No. I can't believe that. No. I won't take them down. Hell, I just saw Howard Beale on TV - it took someone in the industry to clear up just where that name came from. It's weird to watch Network and hear the name "Howard Beale" tossed around.

Brian has left a new comment on your post "What a difference a day makes":

not sure how to post on this blog but check out

http://www.myscrantonpics.com/

Images of Scranton

thanks

So I'll be adding all these to the sidebar eventually. Right now I've got my fingers crossed (which makes it difficult to type) hoping I can post this without crashing. I know Wilkes-Barre Online has some new sites I should add, too. If anybody has any new NEPA blogs or sites they think I should list, especially ones you've already mentioned that I've overlooked, please let me know. Thanks!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Two non-political sites

Via a comment and an e-mail here are two more local sites, neither of which explicitly deals with politics!

Surveying, Mapping and GIS
http://surveying-mapping-gis.blogspot.com/
A site by David G. Smith of Scranton. "This site has been developed to discuss a wide variety of topics revolving around acquisition, maintenance and development of surveying, mapping, and GIS data and applications." Don't be intimidated. Check it out! He's got some really cool stuff there!

GoPoKo - "Changing the way you view NEPA"
http://www.gopoko.com/
From the webmaster: "GoPoKo is a small company that promotes local bars and entertainment in Northeastern Pennsylvania." Lots of links for local entertainment. Things to do when you're not reading NEPA Blogs!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

What a difference a day makes

Winter: March 20, 2007, 7:12 PM EDT


Spring: March 21, 2007 12:23 PM EDT

duryeapa.com

I just read about this site in today's Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice, though the Pittston Sunday Dispatch did an article back on March 4. It's a site all about Duryea, PA, called duryeapa.com. Background on the site is on the main page, and click here for the site's contents. I'll be listing this in the "Sites About NEPA" category.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Doc Leonardi joins the fray

2006 Republican nominee for the 11th Congressional District Joe Leonardi has started blogging on the state of the Republican Party and he's not happy about it judging by his first post.


The Independent, Conservative, Common Sense Oasis

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Luzerne County: Where Blogs Go To Die

Why am I writing a blog? Because people in the real world won't listen to to me, no matter how many bells I ring or sandwich boards I wear.

I think that's why we all do it. That and our letters to the editor aren't published or chopped up beyond recognition. Let's hope this one sticks around.

Luzerne County: Where Blogs Go To Die

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Harvey's Lake History

A new site link has been added to the "Sites About NEPA" section of the right-hand sidebar: Harvey's Lake History. It's full of history, myths, legends, stories, and photos. Check it out! Thanks to Matt Petrillo for the link.

Friday, February 23, 2007

SiteMeter and Mespace.net

During my template tinkering last weekend I also added a SiteMeter for NEPA Blogs. It should be set so anyone can open it and look at the statistics and details. If you can't, please let me know!

A referral on the SiteMeter pointed me to another local blog, mespace.net. Based out of Forty Fort, the author has a lot of cool photos from around the area. Check it out!

Monday, February 19, 2007

Another new political blogger

NEPA's Real Deal

Welcome To NEPA's Real Deal! We have a team of political experts and muckrakers working round the clock to bring you the most up-to-date rumors and innuendo going on in the NEPA political scene.

I hope this one lasts. I'm feeling jinxed because everytime I listed a site lately the author stops posting.

Help us out folks. Me and DB are going through the sidebar to identify "live blogs" that we will highlight again and will delete the "dead blogs" that haven't updated in a while.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Pictures

I've decided to dress up the site with seasonally-appropriate pictures. If anybody has photos from around NEPA that they'd like to have displayed on the site for the appropriate season, please let me know!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

A bold new look for NEPA Blogs!

Here it is, the radically altered new & improved NEPA Blogs! It's...it's...

...almost exactly the same. Oh, well. If anybody has any suggestions on the template (suggestions that do not require any degree of html competency), please let us know! Thanks!

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Dead links

I'm on the verge of changing the template of NEPA Blogs to something new, since only the new templates make full use of all of the features of the new Blogger. I will have to copy over the entire sidebar of links and any other customizations. This is no big deal, but I believe that some of the links are currently dead. I'm not talking about sites where there hasn't been an update in a few months, I mean sites that just don't exist anymore. Unfortunately , my poor little old PC would definitely crash before I made it through the entire list to check them all myself. So if anyone out there is aware of any dead links on the sidebar, I'd appreciate if you left a comment so I could do some pre-template-switch housekeeping.

Friday, January 05, 2007

New guys on the block

New to me anyway.

Whats on my mind

Is a Wilkes-Barre blog that covers local and nation issues who has been posting for about a year. He took a break after the election but promises to update regularly.

NEPABlog.com

This Scranton based blog has been on the scene since November and looks to be a good read.

Un-American Luzerne County

Was wandering around but looks to have found a home on wordpress.

NOTE: ALL DEAD AS OF 1/22/2008