Thursday, April 30, 2009

NEPA Bloggers get-together, Saturday, May 2 2009

Attention all Northeatern Pennsylvania bloggers, blog readers, blog fans, groupies, stalkers, and people who just wanna hang with the cool kids: Gort has officially announced the 12th annual get together of the Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society to watch the Kentucky Derby! Over the last few years this has evolved to include a loose and disorganized gathering of NEPA bloggers. All are welcome!

The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 starting at 4:00 PM (Kentucky Derby post time is 6:04) at Mark's Pub, 1287 North Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre (click here for directions).

Thursday, April 23, 2009

In memoriam; Windsor Park Stories

Windsor Park Stories was a 30 minute human interest show that first aired on WVIA and then later moved stations to WBRE. The words "Human Interest Show" does not full describe the touching stories, documentaries and talent shared from the backyard of Kitch and Tony Mussari.

In Tony Mussari's words:
"Despite Windsor Park Stories focus on everyday people, the series is not simply a collection of observations about regional life. Instead, it centers on the real life experiences of people who visit the gardens at Windsor Park. Many of the stories are told by residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania, while others are told by people who live half a world away."


On 1/18/09 WPS aired its last show in light of the economic downturn and and Tony's heart surgery. After viewing the last show on WBRE; I went online and did a google search for Windsor Park Stories and was able to find http://www.windsorparktheater.com/ It looks like most of the stories that aired on Network TV are uploaded to the "Now Playing" section of the website. I highly recommend viewing the Judge Max Rosenn, Dan Flood and the Bernies Memorial Walk clips to start with. Of course, once you watch one clip, you have to see all of them. Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Scrantonians

NEPA now has a social networking site to call its own!

Scrantonians is yet another (...hold your groans until the end of the blog post...) social networking site; BUT exclusively for those of us who live in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. According to a recent tweet from Webster107 only a few more members are needed to reach the 100 user mark. Give it a try and sign up!

In addition, for those of you who use Twitter...there has now been a Twibe setup for NEPA. A twibe, which is a play on the word tribe, is a group of people on Twitter who share common interests. Please visit http://www.twibes.com/group/NEPA to link up your Twitter username to the NEPA Twibe.

Happy Wednesday.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Dr. Dave has a blog

Dr. David Madeira was a candidate for the state senate in 2006 and came in 2nd in the GOP primary. To say that Dave is a conservative is like saying Attila the Hun had only a slight penchant for vandalism. Just kidding pal. We disagree on almost everything but I always look forward to hearing his thoughts.


Could we please have our country back now?

My kids are going to have to clean this mess up and I'd just like to help them get started as soon as possible.

Some resources

These site haven't updated in a while but they have some good background information on current NEPA events in the news.


Luzerne County Juvenile Detention Center Analysis

How The Pursuit Of Money Leads To Corruption


Hazleton's Cargo Airport


Sadly Luzerne County Courthouse News has stopped updating. The author told me it was too time consuming and was disappointed with the lack of interest (traffic).

I ain't afraid of no ghost

Luzerne County Ghost Hunters


We formed our group in December of 2007 with the sole purpose of finding the truth. Since then, we have been on many investigations and have collected enough evidence to truly believe what we are doing is a worth while cause. All of our team members have had past experiences that led us to the paranormal field. Most of our team has been doing paranormal investigations and research long before our group was formed....

If you feel your home or business is haunted, Please contact us, we want to help you. We would love to talk to you about your experiences. We will make sure that your privacy is protected.

Upcoming Events in NEPA

Happy Easter/Passover Everyone! I hope the Bunny left you a ton of goodies in your basket on this cold, but beautiful morning in Northeast PA. I just wanted to announce two upcoming events in NEPA that may be of interest to you.

#NEPATweetUp v3.0

Start Time: Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 7:00pm
Arena Bar & Grill
Coal Street; Wilkes-Barre, PA

For users of Twitter: The third official NEPA Tweet Up. If you Twitter, come meet your fellow Tweeters for fun, food and drinks. We'll get started around 7ish, but Arena's ever-popular Sunday Happy Hour is from 9-11, with $2 drinks and live entertainment.

PLEASE SHARE event with NEPA Tweeters you know are on Facebook/Twitter or Bloggers. For more info, follow @shelitwits on Twitter. She's our organizer!

For more information about joining twitter, or what "twitter" actually is, click here. The article is written by Donna Talarico who is linked on the sidebar under "Daily Dose 'o Donna".


Breaker Brewing Company Debut

A few friends that I used to work with started up a home brewery right here in NEPA. From the Breaker Brewing Company webpage: "We are a small operation located in Plains, Pennsylvania that brews and delivers handcrafted beer to local bars and pubs." The suds are ready to start flowing in two weeks:

4/23/09 - Breaker Brewing Company will be debuting their Beer at Kelsey's Restaurant in Ashley, PA. For directions click here. Stop by anytime after 4PM

4/24/09 - Elmer Sudds in Wilkes-Barre to begin pouring Breaker Brewing Company beer! Stop in and enjoy a Breaker Brew. For directions click here

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Old Forge High School Class of 1976

Attention: Old Forge High School Class of 1976

Your High School reunion is now ONLINE! How cool is that? Our latest blog addition request comes from Nick LaGrasta creator/maintainer of the Old Forge High School Class of 1976 blog. "We had J, We had F, We had S's in the S"

http://ofhs76.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check out the retro pictures posted and also the links on the sidebar, one of my favorites happens to be The Old Forge Pizza Blog.

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Computerwise TV Blog

George Roberts, is the host of the ComputerWise tv show that airs live on Wednesdays on the Service Electric and Blue Ridge Cable systems. He's a very technically savvy guy and has a blog where he posts computer and internet tips.

http://computerwisetv.blogspot.com/


If you'd like to find more information about when the TV show airs, check out the schedule here.

Not Cease From Exploration

A Scranton blogger who opines on many different subjects.


Not Cease From Exploration

Just a middle-aged, middle-class white guy with plenty of opinions and fairly good typing skills.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Calling All Facebookers

Several months ago, I started a group on the Facebook social networking site called "NEPA Bloggers". To be honest, I haven't really done much with the group since it was created and the group was set to invite until today. . . .

Today, I changed the group from invite only status over to allow anyone to join. If you are linked from NEPA Blogs and want to join, search for the "NEPA Bloggers" group on Facebook and join in on the fun. My hopes are that once enough people join, we can plan Blogcon's and announce other events that are going on with in the blogger community. The only requirement we have to join this group is that you are an actively linked blog on NEPA Blogs. If you have a blog that isn't linked from NEPA Blogs yet, please send Gort, DB or myself an email and we will be more than happy to link to you.

For those of you who haven't heard of Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) and want to learn more please visit the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

Have a great week everyone!
Michelle

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Polish Bear's World

Chuck Anziulewicz has family ties to Northeastern Pennsylvania, and often writes about his fond memories of the time he spent here in his youth. He now lives in West Virginia and blogs in Livejournal at PolishBear's World.

http://anziulewicz.livejournal.com/

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Scootin' da Valley

I was scouring the Internet for blogs about Nanticoke a month or two ago when I came across Scootin' da Valley, a blog by a resident of the Wyoming Valley about his adventures on his scooter:

http://scootindavalley.blogspot.com/

From the introductory post:

I was never much of a risk taker, generally preferring a quiet, known path to adventure. I don't think of riding as all that risky because I suppose I keep thinking It can't/won't happen to me whenever I read about a bike accident. I try to be careful.

My purchase of a scooter was inspired by Blogger's "Labels for this post: e.g. scooters," example in the Post Options. I read that one day while tending to a defunct blog of mine and remembered my Uncle Andy taking me for a ride on a rented, green scooter when I was about five years old. Something clicked and I started thinking about getting one. Surprisingly, my wife's initial resistance was overcome quickly.

I thought briefly about a motorcycle instead of a scooter, but two major factors came into play. Because I'm not a patient person I didn't want to have to take the time to learn anything - like how to shift gears and the cover to cover contents of a DMV motorcycle manual.

I got a Piaggio Fly50 in May of 2007 and traded up to the Piaggio BV250 five months later. I don't know how much I'll write here. Starting up a new blog was something I wasn't truly sure I wanted to do. I'm still not sure but stick around and we'll see if something worthwhile emerges.


Nine months and seventy-nine posts later, he's still at it!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Luzerne County Courthouse News

Sadly, Northeastern Pennsylvania is in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. The big issue making national and international headlines is the ongoing scandal in the Luzerne County Courthouse. News is coming out of the courthouse so quickly that...well, let me just repost from Gort's blog here:

You need a "live" ticker to keep up with the Luzerne County courthouse corruption

That was a
comment from Big Dan.Well Dan, some local interested citizen created one and thanks for writing my next few posts in the comments.

Luzerne County Courthouse News

In blogger parlance the site is a link factory but a very welcome one.It also includes links to all the legal documents such as indictments and plea agreements.

Friday, January 30, 2009

The Whitmoyer Art Studio & Gallery

Received via comment today:

The Whitmoyer Art Studio & Gallery is a family-run establishment devoted to promoting artistic and cultural activities in a rural setting. We are located just outside Millville, a charming little community nestled in the Pennsylvania countryside.

William Whitmoyer and his daughter Giselle produce most or their work on site and we host other local artists. We currently carry original artworks and reproductions by Christopher Badalucco, Dona Blue, Lynne Fiocchi, Mark Golomb, Larry Ney II, Jo Thompson Pennypacker, Lori Reese, Paul Remaley, Marlin Wagner, as well as Giselle and William Whitmoyer. These artists' works vary in media from painting and drawing to photography, jewelry, pottery and sculpture.

We aspire to work with our community to promote art and culture through an array of activities and events. EVERYONE is welcome to come into our Gallery and enjoy the artwork on display, exchange a few words, share some time with us.

We are about a 45 minute ride from many Poconos resorts, Rickett's Glen State Park, World's End State Park, the village of Eagles Mere, and Knoebels' Grove in Elysburg, just to name a few local attractions. We are presently featuring nine local artists, their media ranging from photography to paintings, drawings, jewelry and pottery, and we accept new talent frequently.

I would appreciate it if you were to post links to our website and blog (respectively, they are):

http://whitmoyerartstudio.com/
http://galleria-weblog.blogspot.com/

Thank you.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

David in D.C.

http://davecookindc.blogspot.com/

From the introductory post:

Hey NEPA, as you may have heard from my interview with Frankie or WBRE, I will be in Washington D.C. during the inauguration and have been blessed with the opportunity to report back on all the political happenings associated with this historic event.

Follow Wilkes University freshman David Cook's adventures at his blog, David in D.C.!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

NEPA Podcaster

I'm from Greenfield Township/Clifford and, as you'll see below, I'm more of a Podcaster than a blogger. I'd been thinking about how cool it would be to connect with the LOCAL web community for a change.

So, here's the question - I'm a NEPA Podcaster, is that enough to get on NEPA Blogs? :) --

In the words of a former Vice-Presidential candidate, "You betcha!"

Kimberly Fortuner
Host - Geek Pantheon Podcasts
http://geekpantheon.com/

Co-Host - Four Color Heroines Podcast
Media Liason - Girl-Wonder.org
http://girl-wonder.org/4colorheroines

Comic Book Goddess, Musician
http://comicbookgoddess.com/

Official Cast and Crew Member
Buffy Between the Lines
http://buffybetweenthelines.com/

Contributor - When Fangirls Attack
http://womenincomics.blogspot.com/

Pennsylvania Podcasters Ning
http://papodcasting.ning.com/

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Adding to the Cacophony

Scranton: The Election City

This site is tracking the national candidates visits to the Electric city. Evie Rafalko McNulty is on board the Obama campaign after supporting Hillary in the primary. So much for PUMA.


PittstonPolitics.com


Joe Valenti is covering the Luzerne county shennanigans, the US House race and the Pittston Area School Board plus much more.


The Kid from Northeastern PA


When I was playing baseball in college a couple of my buddies thought I had the pitching mechanics of, well, a kid. They also said I didn't have a problem calling it like I see it.

Dr Joe is looking fit

I did it, if you follow my plan, you can do it too. I will help you shout for all to hear, “I was Fat Then but I am Fit Now!”


Fat than thin Now

Norton is back

Our old friend Norton The Blogger has started a new sight after going underground after his outstanding coverage of the 2006 race in the PA 20th Senatorial District. Buzz the intern is part of the new sight but no word yet if Mark Felt, Yuri Andropov and Alexander Haig will be doing his research.


The new effort is:

OneVoteCounts

His old sight, 20th Senatorial, is still out there and just for shits and giggles you may want to read this post about the argument Russ Bigus and Dave Medeira had over who had killed the most animals in their lives. It's one of my favorites:


Bigus and Madeira to Duel

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Upcoming Events in Wyalusing

Festivals-

North Branch Arts Festival and Art Trail- Most events occur all day Saturday, October 11 on Main Street in Wyalusing, PA, however art trail and other activities go Friday through Sunday on Columbus Day weekend between Wilkes-Barre and Mansfield and nearby towns- following US RTE 6 and the Susquehanna River. The weekend features 27 venues- galleries, museums and art studio openings throughout the region.

Arts and crafts fill Wyalusing's Main Street on Saturday with an amazing line up of FREE entertainment including local singers, regional dance troupes, puppeteers, classical guitarists, folk music, gypsy jazz, pop rock, blues and swing. Barbeque Chicken served all day along with many other delicious treats. Pumpkin painting contest and pie contest too!

Applications are now available for artists and crafts vendors. For information and to view the exciting schedule visit www.wyalusing.net or 746-4922.


Spirit-

Honoring the Susquehanna River Spirits- A celebration, and creative rejuvenation ceremony to honor the river. This unique event is open to all- on Sunday afternoon (Oct 12) at 5 p.m., at the "River Eddy" on the Tom McCarty property in Sugar Run, PA.

PROGRAM INFO: Contact Joseph at 570.454.6491 or Em: jburinsky@psu.edu for free information about our work. NOTE THAT the work is neither religious nor Pagan, just essential Spirit stuff common to all.

Just down river from Wyalusing. Go through Sugar Run on Rte 187 and bear left after Endless Mountain Outfitters and turn left after the crossing the creek bridge. FREE.


Poetry-

15th Annual Poetry Reading- Follows the River Ceremony at 7 p.m. Bring a folding Chair. In the event of rain- reading to be in Wyalusing at the Masonic Lodge on Church Street. FREE! Interested poets call Brian Keeler- 746-1187 or bkeeler@epix.net


Sports-

6th annual North Branch Triathlon in Wyalusing, PA. Saturday morning, October 11. The event features a 4.5 mi. run, a 4.6 mi. downriver paddle (kayak or canoe) and a 15.3 mi. bike race on mostly flat roads. Early registration is highly recommended to allow for smooth operation of the event.

Registration may be done on line at www.wyalusing.net or stop in the GWCC office (M-F 9 to 4:30) to pick up your form. Greater Wyalusing Chamber of Commerce, 121 Main St, Wyalusing, PA 18853. 570-746-4922 or wchamber@epix.net

Sunday, September 28, 2008

More politics

We have a new NEPA political blogger and he has been typing up a storm over the past month.

He signs himself McGruff and I get the idea that Paul Kanjorski doesn't return his phone calls.


Sights on Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is such a great state that I decided to start a blog where issues within its borders can be posted and discussed. I am not a native since I was born in Wilmington, DE. but the rich history of both states is part of my curiosity over the Constitution, the law, and politics. I am a firm believer in the foundation for our Constitution. Readings and writings of our forefathers describe a rich heritage of intuitive insight into the complex discussions that laid the groundwork for this great nation we call the United States of America. I truly believe that the transformation we see today in government was not what George, Thomas, and others envisioned but I am happy that their design has endured the tests put to it over the years. I am somewhat conservative in belief although there are liberal undertones that surface every once in a while. I have learned in my fifty plus years that there are conservative and progressive(hint liberal) issues that face each family on a daily basis. If we get caught up in labels as strictly liberal or conservative I believe we close our eyes to life's pure experiences.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Not politics

590 FOREVER WARM RADIO

An online tribute to the MIGHTY 590, WARM RADIO. A station that all in Northeastern Pennsylvania (WARMland) grew up with.

Harold Says

HaroldSays offers the most comprehensive and positive consumer complaint or issue resolution services available anywhere today and all at no cost and with no obligation to you as the consumer who visits my site. I am "paying it forward," as they say.

Crazy Chris's Woodshed

A site for local country music fans.

It's an election year

So a few new political blogs have popped up.

The Really Pissed Off Republican

A place to blast liberals without using our handguns because we need no more gun control legislation out there.

The Empire of the Mind

The Empire of the Mind is a blog covering politics and news of all varieties. We hope to provide you, every day if all goes according to plan, fresh analysis of the day’s important news by a variety of contributors from diverse backgrounds. Empire’s contributors may be highly opinionated or attempt to be neutral; in any case, we will always try our best to provide insightful and thoughtful analysis. Most of all, we hope you’ll find our shenanigans informative and enjoyable to read. Stop by often and visit, we’ll be here!

Right Wing Wiz Kid

Opinionated, Hard-Hitting Right Wing Conservative News And Observations. If You Are A Left Wing Liberal You WILL Be Offended! If Your Are Looking For Politically Correct Observations, You Won’t Find Them Here. Political Commentary With No Spin, The Kind You Don’t Get From The Mainstream Media. Politics, Congress, Global Warming, Gun Control, The U.S. Military Are Just Some Of The Topics That Will Be Covered. With an Occasional Touch Of Humor To Relieve The Stress.

Pa GOP Insider

Written by former Republican Committeeman Barry O'Connell

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Dr. Glenn Czulada, Chiropractor

I've always found small business blogs vastly preferable to business websites that amount to little more than static online ads. A blog is interactive, allowing customers and clients, or potential customers and clients, to interact with the business via its blog and come to a better understanding of who they'll be dealing with.

This one is by Dr. Glenn Czulada, a Scranton area Chiropractor:

http://czchiro.com/

24years of caring for bad backs: Dr.Glenn Czulada, a Scranton area Chiropractor, tells his story

Dr.Glenn Czulada practices Chiropractic in Dunmore, Pa. He uses hands-on techniques called adjustments to assist the body in its' ability to heal itself. Many patients seek his treatment for their spine and joint pain related to muscle spasm, misalignments, sciatica, neck pain, disc herniation, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, tendonitis and fibromyalgia. He has had experience and excellent results using his treatment approach with thousands of patients.
Even though Dr. Czulada just started this blog three weeks ago at the time of this writing, it is quite well-developed, written in a way that is both personal and specific to Northeastern Pennsylvania. His sidebar contains business information, an interactive map, a slideshow, and a photo of Dr. Czulada holding what at first glance I thought was a banjo. Check it out!


Do you have a blog for your business in Northeastern Pennsylvania? Let us know, and we'll post a link!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Two and Two

Woo hooo. This is my first official post to NEPA Blogs. You can find my official blog here (Warning: it is not always rated "G"). I would like to thank Gort and DB Echo for making me a contributor -- Thanks guys!

Two Upcoming Events/Two New Links:
  • Inspired by the Susquehanna - The theme of this year’s competition promotes the power of artistic expression to enhanceawareness and stewardship of the Susquehanna River Watershed. Work does not have to depict the river. Artist must be a resident of PA, NY or MD. Original work must have been created within the past three (3) years. A maximum of three pieces may be submitted and there is a $20 entry fee for each piece of work.
    Work will be accepted in three categories:
  1. Painting: Oil, acrylic, watercolors, or mixed media, painted ona two-dimensional surface.
  2. Photography: Black & white or color (digital or film) photography.
  3. Works on Paper: Prints, drawings, pastels or mixed media on paper.
Selection Juror: ROB EVANS
Rob Evans, artist and curator of the Visions of the Susquehanna exhibition and a Wyoming Valley native, has work displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery, among many others. His work is also repreented in many private collections.
http://www.robevansart.net/

The exhibition will be presented at the Luzerne County Courthouse, which celebrates its centennial in 2009. There will be a gala opening reception on October 10th, and the exhibition will run through October 7th. Submissions must be postmarked no later than August 20th.
A total of $1,100 in awards will be presented in each of the three categories, as well as Best of Show.

Complete instructions and a form which must be submitted by all participating artists are available in the Call for Artists (PDF 548k). The Call for Artists may also be obtained by calling the Cultural Council at 570-408-4439. Please leave your name and complete address.
For additional information, email cclcarts@gmail.com

**The Cultural Council of Luzerne County has been added to the sidebar as well.



  • Upcoming NEPA Power! Outages Are you a young professional looking to network with other professionals from the region? Then Power! Outages are for you. POWER! (Professionals Organized and Working to Enrich the Region), a progressive thinking professionals network designed to enrich the surrounding region, was created in response to the continual loss of youth in the Northeastern Pennsylvania region. To find out additional information about becoming a member of Power!, please visit http://www.nepapower.com/

***NEPA Power has been added to the sidebar.

4:07 PM Edit: Apparently I don't have the proper access to add links to the sidebar/blogroll. I'll send DB an IM and have him add these, until then, please use the links in the above blog post. Thanks!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

More, more, more

I finally sat down and added all - well, most - of the blogs Gort and I have been collecting since the last sidebar update and added them to the sidebar! I also removed dead - which I defined as "not functioning," not simply "not updating" - and cybersquatted blogs to a section at the bottom of the sidebar called "City of the Dead."

Some blogs I didn't add because they appear to have gone dead since Gort or I first mentioned them in a post. One blog, which appears to have been updated quite recently, I didn't add because every time I went there, I was inundated with pop-ups (blocked, of course) to the point that I had to Ctrl-Alt-Delete my way out. This isn't the only blog that hit me with pop-ups, but it's the only one that has affected me so strongly. Maybe I can get a message to the blogger and we can see if there's anything they can do to fix this.

(If I missed your blog and forgot to add it to the sidebar, please let me know.)

I just ran through the Sitemeter to see how people are getting to the site, and I followed a few of their searches back to look for any NEPA Blogs I've managed to miss. Here are a few:

NEPA Miners Football & Entertainment
One for the NEPA Sports Blogs section.

The Borys Blog
From the Scranton Times-Tribune site.
From the first entry: Don't expect a lot of overt opinion or taking sides here. The ground rules remain the same as for the stories I write for the newspapers. Fairness, accuracy, objectivity as much as possible. But there could be a little more of what journalists call, "Fair comment."

Northeastern PA Mortgages Blog by John Topa
I'm always a little uneasy about linking blogs like this. This link does not in any way imply endorsement, any more than links to any of the other blogs on this site imply endorsement of their content. Still, it's written by someone from NEPA, so it fits the NEPA Blogs criteria.

Northeastern PA Sports from Pennlive.com
Well, it hasn't been updated since October 29, 2007, but still... Another one for the Sports section.

JasonGaylord.com
A personal network of sites by an application developer from NEPA. Includes a blog.

PA on the Go Weblog
A weblog connected to the PA on the Go website, which is linked in the Sites About NEPA section.

GayNEPA.com
The old site NEPA Rainbow Alliance blog appears to be dead, but this one is very much alive.


Phew. Now I have to add all of these to the sidebar. If anybody has any others, please let us know!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

5 new sites

Stop the Supply Sider Insanity

NEPAExpat

Livermore, CA, United States

One of out of many people forced to leave Northeastern PA due to the nature of local officials incapable or unwilling to make the area a viable economic center once again


The Duped Scholar

or How I Stopped Attending Classes and Began the Great Job Search.

This blog highlights my freelance work in print publications as well as my published and unpublished creative work. Below you can find links to my other blogs as well as websites of interest and websites of friends.


Tax and Small Business Forum

This forum serves as a place for people to get information on business and taxes. Readers can find articles written on various business topics and can ask questions if they need business or tax advice

That's How I See It

A young progressive's take on the issues, politics, and other musings.

Local Values

"Local Values" is a blog that focuses primarily on Pennsylvania politics and public policy. The blog will evaluate and comment on topical events using the principles of: federalism, fiscal conservatism, judicial restraint, and the protection of individual liberties and freedoms.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Linking and Running

From the comments for the previous post:

Shawn said...
Very comprehensive collection of blogs guys. I've added you as a link on our network. Enjoy!


The network Shawn referred to is called Postranger.com. Like NEPA Blogs, it's a link site, designed to increase connectivity on the Internet, among other things - see the introductory post for details. Shawn was originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania, but now is based just to our south in the Lehigh Valley. He gives NEPA Blogs a shout-out here.


Michelle from mhryvnak.net/blog had the best time in her age group in the annual Bernie's Walk in Wilkes-Barre on July 4th. She sent a link to NEPARunner.com, "Promoting Running primarily in the Wyoming Valley and surrounding areas."

If you know of any sites that we should be linking to on NEPA Blogs, please leave a comment or send an e-mail!

Monday, July 07, 2008

Northeast Pennsylvania Center for Independent Living

Northeast Pennsylvania Center for Independent Living
http://nepacil.blogspot.com/


"We want people with disabilities to advocate and socialize toward their independence. Past disability leaders have made great progress on the road to equality by breaking down barriers. We need you to continue what they started. This blog is a step in that direction. We are here to help. Together, we can, and do, make a difference."

From the introductory post by Dan Loftus, Executive Director:

Even a turtle gets nowhere until it sticks its neck out! That's what we're doing with this first ever youth disability blog designed especially for you. We've held consumer advisory meetings, done consumer satisfaction surveys and provide periodic anecdotal information about what it's like to be a person with a disability and the issues we face. Yet, we've never done the 'free form' of blog, or web log. This forum will give you the opportunity to chronicle your views on a variety of subjects which should be disability related. We also ask that you keep it free of profanity and any words or thoughts implying hate. Remember, we don't hate people, we simply hate some of their behavior. And THAT can be changed. We hope that some change is what comes out of this. If you don't want the 'public' to see your commentary but want to share it with me you can reach me directly at dloftus@nepacil.org. So, welcome and remember: together, we can, and do, make a difference.

- Dan Loftus, Executive Director

You can also check out the NEPACIL website at http://www.nepacil.org.

Dining in and around Northeastern Pennsylvania

Dining in and around Northeastern Pennsylvania
http://nepadining.blogspot.com/

A brand new blog, by Michael D. Grier:

We provide you with candid reviews and opinions from our personal dining experiences in and around Northeastern Pennsylvania (sometimes we expand coverage during our travels)... we provide this as a service in order to provide you an alternate view to the dining scene in Scranton / Wilkes Barre. We are born and raised NEPA, and, after eleven years of dining (and working) in North America, Europe, and Asia, we have returned to NEPA to find a dining scene significantly improved from the mid-1990's. Let us be your guide...

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Call for pictures and blogs

I was experimenting with seasonal themes for the pictures on NEPA Blogs for a while, but after Winter hung around for nearly two-thirds of a year I decided to take Michelle's suggestion and go with a four-seasons theme - which means I'm going to use pictures from all different times of the year, and try to have at least one for each season if I can help it.

Which really isn't the case with the pictures I have up right now; three of the four that were taken by me were taken within a two week span in October 2005. I'll go through my archives for pictures that feel representative of Northeastern Pennsylvania. If anyone has any pictures that they would like to share, I'll be happy to post them in the sidebar, header, and footer of the site.

And if anyone knows of any sites that should be linked by NEPA Blogs, please let me know! Sadly, the latest addition didn't last very long...

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

NEPA Media Max

NEPA Media Max
A new uncensored look at the media in North East PA.

Comments and tips? email: nepamediamax@gmail.com
Confidentiality Assured

From the introductory post:

This blog is following in Howard's Beale's footsteps. "Beale's Bites" was the inspiration. However recently, there are no "up to date" sources for NEPA news media gossip, hearsay, rumors and what have you. There are plenty of great news stories and blogs that seem to fall through the cracks. The only place media people had a voice was in the comments of dead blogs.

So today, Howard Beale may be dead, but now "NEPA Media Max" will pick up where he left off.

This blog will be different, because it will be all based on you.

It will not be run like the media. It will be run like any good blog does. Writing all the good gossip and pointing you towards things you might have missed in other blogs, newspaper stories and on TV. Your comments will NOT be moderated.

So don't spend your days fishing for media gossip. Come here and see if someone sent it to me first.

* * *

Sad to say, I never knew who the original "Howard Beale" was until I asked someone in the industry! "Max" is from the same reference.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

John Cole Cartoons

Northeastern Pennsylvania has a long tradition of top-notch political cartoonists. The Times-Tribune's John Cole carries on that tradition. He has a blog that not only showcases his cartoons, but also gives background and commentary for them. Check it out!

John Cole Cartoons

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Beale's Bites is done

This is old news, nearly two months old, but I guess I haven't been to Beale's Bites since just a few days before the post went up. Sadly, "Howard Beale" has stopped posting. The site is still there, the posts are still there, the comments are still there. But the closure was announced in this post.
...I will not be able to continue Beale's Bites anymore, for the various reasons listed above. I've retired, turned in my press pass, gone to that great newsroom in the sky (where the water cooler always works), whatever you want to call it.

It's too bad. Beale's Bites was one of the first sites I linked to on this site, having stolen the link from John Webster's blog. I always enjoyed the historical posts and the "Where Are They Now?" posts, and even enjoyed the insider's view in some of the more gossipy posts.

But we all have to do what we have to do. Beale's Bites will be missed.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

A local writer

Tales of a Hopemonger


I am currently working on a book of essays about my 2006 hike on the Appalachian Trail titled "The Path Ahead." I am an Independent Columnist for the Diamond City/ Electric City, which is a weekend entertainment paper and subsidiary of the Times Shamrock Corporation in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. I also write for the Woman's Papers, which is a bi-monthly publication. It is part of a national network of educational, informational and resourceful women’s publications. I freelance for the Philadelphia City Paper.

I had the pleasure of meeting Erin about a week ago and now look for her by-line in local media.

Religion

It's fitting on this Easter Sunday to list a site devoted to the Catholic Church.

The Rockin' Traddy


I attend an NO parish somewhere deep in the bowels of the Diocese of Scranton. I find myself waiting for the true Church to emerge from the shadows and dropkick Vatican II and people like Haugen/Haas into the fiery depths. And there will be much rejoicing.

More politics

Covering the Electric City we have Scranton-At-Large


Retired professional journalist Joe Talamini, tired of the managed press, began Scranton-at-Large as an alternative source of news for the Lackawanna-Luzerne County areas. Scranton-at-Large is designed to present a different perspective on news as viewed and read by readers around the area, including, but not limited to, the Scranton-Wilkes Barre communities.


The NEPALibWatch Blog The title tells you what it's about.



A reincarnation of Edmund Burke has appeared in our midst in the form of A Pennsylvania Burkean . He's been busy with his duties in Parliament but promises to update on a regular basis.

One man’s modest attempt to restore republican values to Pennsylvania, the nation at large, and the Republican Party.



The presidency stops here will be another short lived site covering the PA primary.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Wilkes-Barre High Schools

New Blog: Wilkes-Barre High Schools

The current situation concerning the Wilkes-Barre city high schools, may also be a defining moment for the Wilkes-Barre neighborhoods. The idea of consolidating the city schools has been floated around for years, but in the near future it may happen. In my opinion this would be a major mistake and deal another blow to the already declining Wilkes-Barre neighborhoods.

Read more at http://wba10.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Two more sites about NEPA

By way of an e-mail sent to me:

From Crystal Club Soda to Gertrude Hawk Chocolate
http://crystalclubsoda.com/
From Crystal Club Soda to Gertrude Hawk Chocolate is a tongue-in-cheek look at current events in Scranton Pennsylvania. The site is updated daily, so check back often. If you have a question, comment or complaint, are interested in writing for From Crystal Club Soda to Gertrude Hawk Chocolate, or would like to share your pictures of the Electric City, please send an email to crystalclubsoda@gmail.com


By way of a comment on Gort's site, here is a bulletin board dedicated to...well...read on:

NEPA Exposed
http://nepaexposed.org/
We have had it! The local politicians and people in authority in our area think they're above the law. They think they can shit in our face over and over again and we will just take it time and again. Let's give it right back to these immoral, ruthless aasholes and their cronies. We figured if we created an unlisted, private website where people could login under an alias, without fear of retribution, we could dig up some real dirt on these pigs. They will soon find out there is nobody they can trust.

(Errr, not so sure about that "unlisted" part anymore...)

Monday, February 18, 2008

Sacred Heart

SACRED HEART WILKES-BARRE FOUNDATION INC.


Our Mission


To preserve, maintain and protect the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Wilkes-Barre, PA and its contents, and other religious sites and artifacts of Slovak heritage. Initially, the corporation will fund a major capital improvement project for the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.


I'm not catholic but this one hits home. I grew up on Madison Street right behind the church and many of my friends attended the grade school. We used to play baseball in the parking lot and later go bowling in the basement of the school. It was quite a scene watching people going into Saturday Mass dressed in bowling shirts. It's a beautiful building but there are fewer parishioners as the years go by to support the church and the building need some major repairs that the Diocese of Scranton is not willing to support. I wonder if any of the recent Hispanic residents of the North End of W-B are attending Mass at Sacred Heart or if it's identity as a bastion of Slovak heritage might discourage them.

Publicity Photos

Publicity Photos is the creative work of Michael S. Taluto of Scranton. You can reveiw his portfolio of work.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

SHOOT

From Michelle


Six NEPA photographers give us a personal glimpse through their lenses. Eclectic black and white moods, exotic textures, characters, legs and landscape combine to make a very exciting exhibit of color and light

ARTISTS FEATURED:
Philip A. Dente, Mike Burnside, Nick Ouellette,
Tony Sciandra, Ivana Pavelka, Tom Musto

OTHER FEATURED ARTIST
Sculptor David Green turns alabaster and Marble into abstract
forms with traces of realism and movement.

MEET THE ARTISTS RECEPTION:
Sunday, January 27th, 2 to 5 pm
Music, food and refreshments.

SHOW DATES:
Sunday, January 27th through Saturday, March 22nd

LIZZA STUDIOS
M-F 9 to 5, Sat. 10 to 5
570.836.8806
http://www.lizzafineart.com/

Lizza Fine Art Studios,
155 Bridge Street,
Tunkhannock,PA

Monday, January 21, 2008

Small Town Stacey

From a comment over on this post:

I don't live there anymore, but I was born in Hazleton, raised and educated (I think...lol) in Weatherly, PA. I moved to southern California about 8 years ago when I was 22. I'm actually dying (don't ask why) to come back and stay in historic Jim Thorpe with my Southern California born and raised fiance. He got a kick out of J.T.'s picturesque beauty and so we're going to have to do the hiking/whitewater thing while back. I often write about folks from back home, my family, growing up, the differences between there and where I live now, and my adventures there (though they may only happen once every couple of years and my blog is fairly new). I came across your site through both NEPA blogs and google. Nice to meet a fellow NEPA native! Folks from out here often don't understand my domain name...but I'm sure you will.

Posted by RowdyCowchick to Another Monkey at 1/21/2008 8:45 PM

Her site: http://www.smalltownstacey.com/

Sunday, January 20, 2008

SurfScranton.com

And this one was found via the SiteMeter! I noticed that at least one visitor had come to NEPA Blogs by way of http://www.surfscranton.com/ , so I followed the link and had a look at the site.

From the top of the page:

Welcome to SurfScranton! This is the leading online resource for the Scranton, Pennsylvania area. (See map.) Here we list 1436 web sites related to people, entertainment, dining, businesses, activities, organizations, schools, churches, temples, events, etc. in Scranton, PA and the immediate area.

From the bottom:

SurfScranton focuses on people, entertainment, dining, shopping, businesses, activities, organizations, schools, churches, temples, events, etc in the immediate Scranton area
of Northeast Pennsylvania (NEPA). We list sites "up and down the line" including Pittston, Moosic, Duryea, Avoca, Old Forge, Taylor, Scranton, Dunmore, Throop, Olyphant, Jessup, Dickson City, Clarks Summit, Clarks Green, South Abington.

You can read more about the site on its About page.

Slides and Slippers

From the comments to this post:

I have a blog - and have committed to actually contributing to it on a regular basis - more of a clog (column blog). If you'd like to add me to the list I'd appreciate it. Slides and Slippers. It runs off our website http://www.cdscreative.com/

- Tanx!

Catherine Shafer

Goodbye, Pardon My Zinger; hello, Rock the Hyphen!

From the comments to this post:

J. said...

Hey:

After being cybersquatted twice, I've decided to ditch the Blogger format and go to Wordpress. Check my blog out at http://rockthehyphen.wordpress.com/

-former blogger of Pardon My Zinger

(Ed. note: NSFW, or for young children or people with heart conditions.)

Poconos/I-80 East Haunts & History

Received via e-mail:

I'm putting together a site that I hope to make a depository of Pennsylvania ghost tales and legends. NEPA is included in the http://hauntsandhistory.googlepages.com/poconosi-80east section. If you could perhaps get your readers to send me a tale or two - I've already taken 2 or 3 from NEPA blogs, linked backed to the source - I'd appreciate it. Thanks - Ron

For stories from the same source about Pennsylvania in general, be sure to visit Pennsylvania Haunts & History at http://hauntsandhistory.blogspot.com/ .

NEPA corruption.org

NEPA corruption.org

From the introductory post:

Welcome to stop NEPA(north-eastern Pennsylvania) corruption.org This site and movement has been developed due to an overwhelming level of corruption among the elected leaders in North Eastern Pennsylvania. We hope that you will join the movement, check back often, and help us vote these people out of office as soon as humanly possible.

Monday, January 07, 2008

More political blogs

It's election season and as Mark observed a few local political blogs have emerged destined to disappear after the voting in April just like the last couple of elections. I hope a few stick around as I think we need a more diverse local internet debate.

A few people have decided they have something to say:

Ignorance is Bliss is written by Right Winger and Vince Sweeney is annoying him.

Eddy, The Angry Republican is, well, angry.

West Side Republican is hoping that the Luzerne County Republican Party gets it's act together.

Political Rants by Zen says "I am a man that should've started ranting long ago."


LanceStange is another blog with a Republican point of view.

Big Dan's Big Blog links to many news stories and likes the Ramones but is not a fan of Mona Charen.

Dan Meuser Is A Character- A self describe parody site. "Somewhat of a political commentary blog. My way to poke fun at local politicians using badly done photoshop."

Bringing the Majority to Luzerne County

If you need a break from politics there is:

Daily Dose o' Donna Sometimes silly. Sometimes sarcastic. Sometimes sentimental.

Update: Another new political blog is Politics in Northeast Pennsylvania