PA Live! Blog of the Week: Anthracite Curling Club

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 Curling Club

http://anthracitecurling.com/

For the longest time I thought that curling was something made up by The Beatles in the movie Help, as they slid across ice with tiny brooms in front of a vaguely duck-shaped stone. Then I saw it on the Winter Olympics and realized it was for real. But where would you come across people doing this in real life?

Right here in NEPA, that's where!It's not just for the Winter Olympics anymore! Anthracite Curling Club is a blog from a local curling club. Actually it's their organization's website - but it's presented in blog form, so it presents all their information in a dynamic, interactive format that's both easy to use and full of up-to-date information.

If you find that your team or organization's website is just too static and blah, consider upgrading to a blog! It's easy, it's fun, and it makes people feel involved with your group just by reading. Check out the Anthracite Curling Club site for a great example!

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!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Student Affairs Sensible

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 Student Affairs Sensible (http://sasensible.blogspot.com/).

Gracie Gilbear provides tips on looking professional and fashionable without spending a fortune, for students and everyone else. Whether you're a recent graduate trying to make an impression at your new workplace, a prospective employee trying to make sense of workplace fashion trends, or an established member of the workforce seeking to keep current, this is a great place to check out! Since December 2013, Student Affairs Sensible has been helping folks look good while they earn a living - without having to spend their entire paycheck on clothes!

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!

About the header image: May 14, 2014

This week's header image is the third of three that came from a photo expedition around Scranton. It's just a cluster of old brick buildings on Franklin Street as seen from Lackawanna Avenue. But they seemed to radiate a sense of loneliness, of obsolescence, of having long outlived their usefulness and being replaced by new buildings all around.

At once I am reminded of children huddled together out of fear, and of trees trying to outcompete each other for the sun. The ancient, faded ad on the side of one building is especially poignant; for much of its existence, the ad has been obscured by its neighbor, unseen by ins intended viewers.

These buildings have now been repurposed, their insides modernized, but their skins of bricks have been left as they were laid down, brick by brick, row by row, course by course, until a four-story building came into being. But how much longer will they continue to stand? How long until they are just piles of rubble, forgotten pieces of Northeastern Pennsylvania history?

Send your header photos to nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Let Me Eat Cake

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 Let Me Eat Cake (http://megb87.blogspot.com/).

Life can't all be about eating cake, and neither is this blog! Instead it's about healthy eating and working out with Megan, who recently moved to NEPA from Washington, DC. Since January 2014 she's been sharing healthy living and eating tips and words of inspiration and encouragement for those who accompany her on this journey. Are you ready to start eating better and start exercising more? Just remember one thing:  Let Me Eat Cake!

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!

About the header image: May 7, 2014

"That building must be haunted!" my friend insisted as we drove past the old North Scranton high school at the intersection of Main Avenue and Greenridge Street in Scranton. Haunted or not, it's an example of a style of architecture that could not exist today in a public building. It's been spared the wrecking ball for now, and is currently occupied by a small business that does ...something. But whatever they do, they've kept the old school from being demolished, so we can all continue to speculate on its current state of supernatural infestation.


Send your header image submissions to nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: On Layton: The View from My Front Porch

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/feature-blog-on-layton-the-view-from-my-front-porc/41453/juQFMhEzhk2YTPaPdMascg


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is On Layton: The View from My Front Porch

(http://www.joannjoneswalczak.blogspot.com/.)

Five generations of Jo Ann Jones Walczak's family have looked out at the world from the porch of their house on Layton Street. Since February 2013 she has been sharing the view with the rest of us in her blog,On Layton: The View from My Front Porch. 

But Jo Ann is not confined to the front porch of the family home on Layton. She has been given, and has taken. taken the opportunity to see the world firsthand, and those adventures are also recounted in her blog. Check out On Layton: The View from My Front Porch for her remarkable stories of the world as seen from this privileged point of view: a humble house in Northeastern Pennsylvania, blessed by all the folks who have lived there before.

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!

Pedaling to Peace and Prosperity

Another blog from the NEPA Blogs inbox!

Pedaling to Peace and Prosperity
http://lauriecann.wordpress.com/

Laurie lives in Tioga County, near the Pine Creek Rail Trail. An avid bicyclist, she enjoyed her time on the trail greatly - until events off the trail robbed of her ability to enjoy her time on the trail.

She's decided to take it back, to reclaim the trail, to embark on a healing journey - by bicycle.

From the "About" section:

We all have the ability to heal within us. We all have the tools for healing around us. The question, always, is whether we have decided it is easier to remain broken.

So pedal with me to peace and personal prosperity. I have no idea of where this ride will end, but I am up for the journey . . . wherever it may lead.

Ride along with Laurie on Pedaling to Peace and Prosperity!

Reflections on a Lifetime in the Classroom

From the mailbag:

Hi!

I enjoy your segment on PA Live! and thought I would share my blog with you:

http://www.mister-nick.com/_public_html/Blog/Blog.html

I started my educational blog as a New Year's Resolution in 2013.  I post once a week mostly on approaches that have proven effective for me in the classroom. 

From the "Welcome" page:

Leslie Nicholas is an award-winning educator from northeastern Pennsylvania.  Before teaching English in the Wyoming Valley West Middle School, he advised the award-winning yearbook, literary-art magazine, and newspaper at the high school.  He built the student-run radio station and television station where his students gained experience with daily broadcasts.  His students distinguished themselves in various journalism contests including the Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year in 1998. He is a fourth-generation educator who is passionate about teaching. He and his wife Jo Ann live in Kingston, Pennsylvania. They are the proud parents of their son, Jordan

Check out Reflections on a Lifetime in the Classroom!

About the header image: April 30, 2014

This week's header image comes from blogger and photographer Mike Burnside. Mike took this image of a once-sleek and ultramodern pay phone while on one of his rambles through the Pennsylvania countryside. ("I like the sort of faux space-age football helmet with the rural decay," Mike notes.) The image caught co-administrator Michelle's eye, who secured permission from Mike to use it as a header image. Unlike most header images, the photo for this one has not been cropped, but simply framed in a way to make it fit the header image dimension guidelines. The original can be seen here.


Do you have an image from NEPA that you'd like to have used as the NEPA Blogs header? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Sweet Caroline's Corner

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! site: http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-sweet-carolines-corner/21621/LJDicT1pn0OtqZgz7B8V-w


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Sweet Caroline's Corner (http://www.sweetcarolinescorner.com/).

"Life is Sweet!" That is Caroline's motto, and is right at the top of her blog, Sweet Caroline's Corner. Since November 2010 she's been sharing recipes (which she promises to be delicious and easy!), film reviews, DIY projects, parenting tips, and glimpses of her life as a wife and mother. Gorgeous photos illustrate nearly every post - mouth-watering images of completed recipes, beautiful images of DIY projects, and joyful images from Caroline's home and family life. Sweet Caroline's Corner is a sumptuous feast, with something to satisfy every appetite!

Caroline has built Sweet Caroline's Corner about things she loves, things she is passionate about. What about you? Do you care enough about something to be able to create and maintain a blog about it? If you do, give it a shot, and let us know about it so we can link you on NEPA Blogs!

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!

About the header image: April 23, 2014

Across from the Route 6 entrance to the Viewmont Mall in Scranton is the Fashion Mall, a small-ish strip mall holding a surprisingly large number of stores. Once upon a time the most remarkable things about this mall was the waterfall that flowed down from the mountainside into which the mall is built just behind some of the stores and was easily visible from the parking lot. In the quarter-century since then, though, things have changed. The mall appears to have expanded, the cut-out into which it is built seems larger, and the falls seem to have been rerouted and rotated ninety degrees. They are no longer visible face-on from the Fashion Mall parking lot, but can be seen from the entrance to the Viewmont Mall. The best place to see the falls - aside from actually climbing them, which two guys did as I was trying to take this photo - is from a grassy area on the side of Route 6 in front of the Firestone at the Viewmont Mall. This past Saturday I set out to photograph a few things while I was spending time in the Scranton area, including the falls. I parked my car behind Firestone and climbed the hill - there is a short, steep way, or a long, shallow path - and set myself up by a small tree. I attracted more than a few odd looks from passengers in passing cars, most of whom probably didn't even realize the falls are there.

Is there some feature of NEPA that you've captured in a photo and want to share with everyone else? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use it as soon as we can!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: #PoundSign

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website: http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-pound-sign/42853/T5MX23utaEy_Q4mxl28PjQ


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is #PoundSign (http://hashtagpoundsign.blogspot.com/).

#PoundSign (pronounced "hashtag poundsign") is a personal blog from Sabrina Hannon. While it fits into the category of "Life Blogs", it covers a broad spectrum of topics, including feminism, dyslexia, eating disorders, and whatever else Sabrina chooses to cover. #PoundSign is a relatively new blog - Sabrina's only been posting to it since February 2014 - but it's already packed with posts.

Sabrina is someone with something to say, and she isn't afraid to say it. Blogging is a way of making your voice heard in the global conversation in a form that is far more permanent than ephemeral platforms like Facebook or Twitter. Do you agree with what Sabrina says on #PoundSign? Or maybe disagree with her? Don't keep it to yourself - make your voice heard in a blog all your own!

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!

About the header image: April 16, 2014

Temperatures flirted with the eighty degree mark this weekend, followed by heavy rains during the day Tuesday and snow Tuesday night! Welcome to Spring, NEPA style! Andy Palumbo (http://andypalumbo.blogspot.com) took this picture just a few weeks ago at Lackawanna State Park. Remember when we're deep in the depth of Summer just how brutally cold this Winter was!


Do you have a photo we can feature as the header image on NEPA Blogs? Email it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat?

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/nepa-blog-of-the-week-is-the-poet-a-boat/21656/msx7Dm6osU-W9CdWGrVEmg


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat? (http://isthepoetaboat.ghost.io/).

Laurel Radzieski of Scranton has long been working her craft as a poet, presenting her works throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. In recent years she has formalized her poetic endeavors by entering into the Master of Fine Arts in Writing program at Goddard College, where, according to the biographical tag on each of her posts, "(h)er current work examines how relationships within communities shape communication efforts and responses." In her blog Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat? she has been presenting musings on the world from the point of view of a poet since January 2014.

While her posts cover a broad array of topics, both the point of view and the style of presentation of Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat? can be daunting and difficult to decipher. Like so much of poetry, understanding of each post depends on the individual reader, and comes from repeated readings and reflection upon how the post relates to the reader. This is by no means an easy read. But it is, ultimately, very worthwhile. Those who invest their time in reading Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat? and deciphering the meaning of the posts will find their efforts richly rewarded.

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!

From the Mailbag: Pocono Talk

I received an email from Andrea Kimes, one of the founders & contributors to the "Pocono Talk" blog. 

http://www.poconotalk.com

(from the sidebar of the website)
 
What Is Pocono Talk?


Pocono Talk is a website where you can discuss everything from the best places to eat, to the best weekend activities to whatever is going on in your everyday life.

Whether you live in the Poconos, are visiting on vacation, or commute to New York or Philly, Pocono Talk has something for you.

We encourage positive discussion and provide you with hundreds of photos, videos, business and community listings so even if you've lived here for 30 years you may still find something new. 


This is one of the more comprehensive guides to the Poconos that I've seen.  If you are looking for something to do in the Poconos, this is the website for you!

Frosting and A Smile

With lent nearly over, I think we are all looking for a way to satisfy our sweet tooth!  The "Frosting and A Smile" blog will help you do just that!  You may recognize a familiar face when you check out the about page of "Frosting and A Smile".  It's none other than Laurie Monteforte, WBRE's Pocono Bureau reporter.  I actually learned about this blog through my friend and co-worker Julie Melf!  Julie and Laurie are good friends and participated in the Pocono Cupcake Challenge together last year.  More on that here.

http://frostingandasmile.com

From the About: 

"Let’s eat some frosting! Let’s grab a spoon and eat it straight out of the bowl. Don’t worry if the kitchen is a disaster or there’s flour in your hair. If you love making sweets to share with the people you love, this blog is for you."

Yummmmmm...

Laurie's blog was recently named one of the top 10 food blogs by voiceBoks.  She placed 4th out of 50 blogs which is very impressive.  If you don’t want to miss out on any of the deliciousness, you can follow "Frosting and A Smile" on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. You can also subscribe by email.

Happy indulging!

Vote for us!

It's that time of the year again....time for The Weekender's Readers' Choice awards!  We would be honored if you voted for NEPA Blogs for the best local blog category.  You may only vote one time and must vote for at least 25 categories.  I'm sure there are several other local businesses and talented folks that are deserving of winning that you can think of to fill the other 24 categories.  *Hint Hint* You can vote for our friends at NEPA BlogCon for the best annual event, then you only need to come up with 23 categories!

Click on the image to be directed to the voting page:

Hurry!  The contest voting ends at 5pm on April 16th!

Thank you in advance for your votes :)

About the header image: April 9, 2014

We live in a world powered by electricity. Whether that electricity is generated by burning coal, natural gas, nuclear fission, wind-powered generators, or enormous banks of solar panels, it has to be transmitted from the places where it is produced to the places where it is consumed. Andy Palumbo (http://andypalumbo.blogspot.com) captured this image of two generations of power transmission lines running parallel to each other in Clarks Summit.


Do you have a photo we can feature as the header image on NEPA Blogs? Email it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: The Fat Girl Blog

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-fat-girl-blog/40823/D2iMtNi60EaqGP0SMwp-zA

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is The Fat Girl Blog (http://thefatgirlblog.com/).

NEPA abounds with talented poets and authors, and Amye Archer is another fine example. A proud graduate of the Wilkes University creative writing program, Amye Archer uses The Fat Girl Blog to write about family, motherhood, writing, moving, not moving, and many other topics - including her relationship with weight.

The Fat Girl Blog isn't just about any one thing. It's truly a "life" blog, reflecting the many facets of Amye's life: posts on parenting next to posts on weight issues next to poems that capture thoughts and emotions both fleeting and eternal.  

Have you ever struggled with some aspect of your life? Known the joys and heartbreaks of motherhood? Faced disappointment after building your hopes up for a major life change? Have you ever wished for a way to express what you've experienced? Read Amye Archer's The Fat Girl Blog to see one way that you can do this. And maybe consider starting a blog of your own!


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!

About the header image: April 2, 2014

As feared, March this year came in to NEPA like a lion and went out like a different lion. Actually, it came in like a drunken thug who'd outstayed his welcome at the bar, and went out like a drunken thug who'd outstayed his welcome at the bar and was finally getting kicked out, and decided to get in a few last licks on the way out, and who might pop back in later to make everyone's life miserable, just out of spite.

Still, as this beautiful image shows, March wasn't all snow and ice and falling trees. Mike Burnside (www.burnsidephotographic.com) captured this amazing photo at Harvey's Lake on March 27. Here are the particulars:

• Harveys Lake. Looking toward Sandy Beach from  41.22.14N by 76.2.23W
• 5:53:13PM EDT, Thursday, March 27, 2014
• Sony SLT-A65V with Tamron 18-270mm - 1/100sec @ f/4.5 18mm ISO 100
• Flash did not fire

Exhibition quality prints available at a reasonable cost.

If you have any photos that capture the special beauty of NEPA, please send them to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use them as the blog header for a week. Thanks!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Justjacq

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-just-jacq/33470/qfVLoTTcX0msHbrFkOTX4w

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Justjacq (http://www.justjacq.com/).

Justjacq features fun, food, and fashion on a budget, served up by Jacquelyn  since June 2011. This site is full of great stuff - from fitness and budgeting advice advice to fun giveaways to fashions modeled by the blogger herself. You don't have to spend a lot of money to be fashionable, eat right, and keep in shape. Justjacq will guide you through the complexities of everyday living and help you make sense of your world - fabulously!


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!

Palm Tree Row

Donya Jackson reached out to us via our Twitter account to tell us about her blog "Palm Tree Row". 

http://palmtreerow.wordpress.com

Palm Tree Row is a lifestyle blog all about the Caribbean islands.  Donya moved to Scranton, PA recently and uses the blog to share the culture of the tropics with the world.

From the About:

Palm Tree Row is a lifestyle blog with a very distinct theme. We are all about the islands. Tropical and nautical fashion, home decor and entertaining ideas. Whenever possible, posts will be inspired by travel that we’ve done ourselves.

By Spring of 2014, our goal is to incorporate shopping capabilities so that our followers can purchase some of these great finds right here. We are already working with Tia for PTR on our first line of Island Vibe accessories.

Palm Tree Row was founded by Donya Jackson in June, 2013. An islander by birth, Donya couldn’t let go of the tropics and decided to bring it to readers year round. Feature bloggers will be published as often as possible so that we keep the travel vibe as true and as culturally honest as possible.

You can also follow Palm Tree Row on twitter: @PalmTreeRow and on Instagram.

About the header image: March 26, 2014

March, they say, comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, or comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion. Or, as John Belushi once pointed out on Saturday Night Live, comes in like a lion and goes out like a different lion. One thing's for sure: March is a turbulent month, full of wild temperature swings and highly variable weather. Sometimes the weather produces effects like this "curdled sky" I photographed over Nanticoke back in 2012.

An uncropped version of the header image.
It looks ominous, but it didn't amount to anything,
  if I recall correctly. Click to enlarge.

Is Spring truly here? Or is Winter going to hold onto NEPA for another month or two? Send your photos showing the signs of Spring's arrival (or failure to arrive) to nepablogs@gmail.com, and we'll use them as the NEPA Blogs header image!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Dos Veganos

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-dos-veganos/32508/FfgFhsbEXE6q1oONNkv6KQ

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Dos Veganos (http://dosveganos.wordpress.com/).

For omnivores, sometimes it's difficult to understand the distinction between Vegan and Vegetarian diets and lifestyles. For Vegans, sometimes it's difficult to get by in a world that caters primarily to omnivores, grudgingly makes concessions to vegetarianism, and routinely misunderstands Veganism. Dos Veganos is all about Vegan food, where to find it, and how to make it, all brought to you by R.J. de Rossi and Chantal since September 2011. It also discusses such topics as raw food, kale, blueberry banana waffles, and vegan gourmet chocolate. Dos Veganos makes Veganism accessible to the non-Vegan, provides information and support for Vegans, and makes it all look absolutely delicious! Whether you're a practicing Vegan, someone who is curious about Veganism, or simply would like to add some delicious recipes to your recipe file, Dos Veganos  is a blog you should definitely check out!

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!

About the header image: March 19, 2014

It's been a heck of a Winter: brutal, sustained cold, record-breaking snowfall totals, and snowfall after snowfall with no thaws - or even melting - in between. With Winter drawing to a close this week, dare we begin to turn our thoughts to Spring? The little crocus is one of the first blooms to emerge in the Spring, and this crop of crocuses was photographed at St. Mary's Cemetery on Middle Road in Hanover Township back in late March of 2007. When will the crocuses emerge this year? And how long until they are followed by daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, forsythia, and all the other early blooms of Spring?


If you have a photo that captures some aspect of life in NEPA, we'd like to feature it as the NEPA Blogs header! Submit it to nepablogs@gmail.com!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Steel City Retro

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-steel-city-retro/59334/6fBaVQcQr0KGrWbyKTUonQ

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is April Piazza's Steel City Retro (http://www.scretro.com/)

Steel City Retro is a blog that celebrates vintage fashions, burlesque, and retro photography, using appropriately antiquated locations from from all over Pennsylvania as settings. April Piazza has been bringing the retro-sexy back since May 2012. Steel City Retro was originally based in the Lehigh Valley but recently relocated to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton area. While it has been on hiatus since last Summer, there are still plenty of entries on the site for your enjoyment!

(UPDATE: Good news! As April notes in the comments, the hiatus is over! So be sure to check out Steel City Retro!)

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!

World of Lizzie Tish

At a blogging event a few months ago, a local political gadfly and avowed non-blogger approached me and said "Wow, non-political bloggers are really flexing their muscles lately."

I have no idea what he meant then, and I still don't. Some folks tend to think of blogging as strictly a political activity, and dismiss any non-political blogs as ephemeral and irrelevant. The truth is nearly exactly the opposite: The vast majority of blogs are not focused primarily on politics, and most political blogs exist only during the months leading up to an election, and vanish soon afterwards. (The rare exceptions of long-running political blogs that operate year-round are often informative and interesting, and occasionally obsessive and extremely disturbing.)

World of Lizzie Tish is a non-political blog. Its writer has a rich and complex background, but ultimately she has one goal in writing this blog:

I started this blog as a means to vent my ever growing list of ailments and illnesses, due to my inherited Auto Immune genes. I just needed an outlet to lift the weight off my shoulders, that fear of the unknown that haunts me from day to day.

She reiterates this in the blog header:

Random collection of thoughts, rants about my Auto Immune related issues, and living life on life's term as a recovering addict/alcoholic

Blogs come in all types. There are political blogs, photo blogs, sports blogs, personal blogs - or, in this case, very personal blogs.  Check out World of Lizzie Tish to see just how personal a blog can get.

About the header image: March 12, 2014

While meeting with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective at the Vintage in Scranton this past Saturday, I noticed a mask mounted on a post outside the window I was facing. I excused myself, ran out to grab my camera from my car, and came back to snap some pictures. It's not every day that the universe hands you a photo op like that. From the colors I assumed this was a leftover Mardi Gras decoration, but the other members of the group (who had noticed it before me) informed me that Conor, proprietor of the Vintage, had told them that it has been hanging outside for many months. Yet somehow I had managed to not notice until now!

It is, how you say, "Creepy," no?

Like anywhere else, NEPA is full of little details easy to overlook but waiting to surprise you. Keep your eyes open, and who knows what you might see!

Have you spotted some detail of NEPA, creepy or otherwise, that you'd like to share? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use it as the header image some week!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Public Relations and Pretty Things!

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.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-public-relations-and-pretty-inter/26865/mJXcGf3-5kaATUeOmtwXNg


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Public Relations and Pretty Things! (http://paradicejackson.com/) by Para-Dice Jackson.

Public Relations and Pretty Things! is a food, fashion, and public relations-focused blog by Para-Dice Jackson, born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, now a Scranton-based mother of two boys and a student at Marywood getting simultaneous bachelor's and master's degrees in Advertising and Public Relations. Since January 2012 she has been sharing information about public relations, delicious recipes, and her favorite fashions.  Para-Dice Jackson was one of the attendees at the first-ever NEPA BlogCon in September 2012, and since then has expanded and beautified her blog into what it is today. If you've ever been curious about the almost-but-not-quite invisible and secret world of public relations, or if you'd like to get in on some delicious recipes, or if maybe you'd like to pick up some pointers from a driven, enterprising young woman as she finds her path to success, be sure to check out Para-Dice Jackson's Public Relations and Pretty Things!
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!

Save the Date: NEPA Blogfest 2014 Spring Edition

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Bloggers will be hosting the 8th semi-annual Blogfest on April 25th at The Red Mill, 340 S. Main St., Pittston, PA 18640 starting at 6PM. This is an informal gathering of bloggers, candidates for office, elected officials and anyone interested in politics or blogging. There is no charge for admission.

Since its inception 4 years ago Blogfest has been described as the best political event of the season. No speeches are allowed and the rule is agree to disagree but don't be disagreeable. Many local and statewide candidates will be attending.  

RSVP on Facebook.

Family Service Association of Northeastern PA

I received an email from Jessica at the Family Service Association of NEPA yesterday asking to add their new blog to our blog roll.  The blog's address is http://fsanepa.tumblr.com.

FSANEPA is a non-profit organization providing counseling, case management, crisis/referral services, and other services to individuals, children, teens, couples, seniors, and families, located in Wilkes-Barre PA but serving several counties.  Their mission is Building Stronger Communities through Stronger Families.

FSANEPA is also on Facebook and Twitter - @FSANEPA.