Reference Department, Albright Memorial Library, Scranton

I really have to apologize for overlooking this blog for so long. Not only have I stumbled across it in the past during brute-force searches, I have also seen several visitors to NEPA Blogs who were directed to us from the Albright Memorial Library Reference Department blog, which has linked to us for who-knows-how-long.

http://albrightreference.blogspot.com/
Reference Department, Albright Memorial Library, Scranton, PA

For the latest news and information from the Albright Memorial Library, as well as tons of useful links and notices about upcoming events, be sure to check this blog out!

MAYDAY! Music Festival

I found this through convoluted means: Someone hit the NEPA Blogs site by way of a Google search for "mayday nepa." The only way I figure they could have wound up here was because of a tweet that appeared in the live updates for NEPA Twibe:

NEPA Blogs
May 24, 2011 ... NEPA Twibe - NEPA Twitter Users · LeesaCee: RT @MAYDAYMusicFest: MAYDAY is THIS Sunday at Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre, PA. NOON-DUSK. ...

So, naturally, I drilled down a bit and found this:
 
MAYDAY Music Fest
http://www.maydaymusicfest.com/
Sunday, May 29, 2011
A music festival to benefit Soldiers' Angels
Kirby Park
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Noon - Dusk
Rain or Shine!


Visit our official blog to check out artist profiles and all the happenings!

Which of course brought me here:

http://www.maydaymusicfest.info/

Welcome to the official Blog of the 4th annual MAYDAY! Music Festival.

MAYDAY! first started in 2008 and continues to take place every Memorial Day weekend at Kirby Park, which is located alongside the Susquehanna river, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. All proceeds are donated to Soldier's Angels (http://www.soldiersangels.org/).

MAYDAY! features more than 50 musical acts (with an emphasis on electronic dance music and hip-hop, with some indie rock too!) performing on 6 stages as well as plenty of vendors, artists, great food and more!

This year's event will take place on Sunday, May 29, 2011. The festival starts at 12:00NOON and ends at 8:00PM sharp. MAYDAY! is an all-ages, family friendly, rain or shine event. Admission and parking are free.

Don't forget to visit the official MAYDAY! homepage at http://www.maydaymusicfest.com/

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

I wish we had known about this sooner! The Mayday Music Festival is this Sunday. Check out their blog for details - and stay tuned, because this is an annual event!

Old Soul Swagger

The Old Soul Swagger blog was brought to my attention by Cheri Sundra on our NEPA Bloggers Facebook group. It is a community blog that Cheri Sundra and Scott Carey both contribute to on a regular basis. The premise for the blog is to salute all things considered "old soul". Not specific enough, for you? Check out an excerpt from the About Page:

Old Soul Swagger was founded in March of 2011 by internet marketer and entrepreneur, Scott Carey. Old Soul Swagger was created to serve as an online community for all things “old soul.” At Old Soul Swagger you can expect interviews, reviews, event updates, historical commentary and a surprise or two on our favorite pin-ups, rat rods, sideshow acts, steampunk, old school tattoos and anything else that tickles our fancy.

Old Soul Swagger is based in Wilkes-Barre, PA and will often times discuss/promote events. If you have an event that fits in with our theme that you would like to promote, please contact us here with any information. We look forward to hearing from you!!!

Interestingly enough, Scott is the son of my former boss who has a blog already listed on the side bar: The Copper Brew Kettle.

~M

Manic Frustration

One of @nepablogs most recent followers on Twitter is @DaleWilseyJr. By exploring his profile, I was able to discover that he indeed has a blog. It's called Manic Frustration. "It seems there's a fine line between creativity and insanity."

You can read more about the extensive background of Dale here, but I think the last paragraph on the About page sums it up best:

Right now, I sit in Tunkhannock. I work a 9-5 (really an 8-6) job to pay my bills. Books keep collecting on my shelves and words keep filling up blank pages in my notebooks or on my typer. Records keep spinning, music keeps playing. I still fish in the creeks and ponds around the area. The forests and mountains still bring me peace and memories from my childhood and, although this town is beginning to change at a rapid pace all around, the Tunkhannock I remember as a child still remains. It's the town in which my father grew up. His mother and father. It's still here and always a part of me no matter where life may take me in the future. I like it that way.

Enjoy!

Wilkes-Barre Roller Radicals

Northeastern Pennsylvania's one and only all-female roller derby team now has a website!

Wilkes-Barre Roller Radicals
http://www.rollerradicals.com/

From their "About Us" page:
We are Northeast Pa's one and only all female Roller Derby League.

Established in September 2009, the Roller Radicals are Northeastern Pennsylvania’s only women’s flat track derby league. We are an LLC and non-profit DIY league, bringing together skaters from all walks of life for a common purpose: the love of roller derby.The rules we play by are set by the WFTDA standard.

We not only skate hard and play hard but hope through the promotion of our sport, to show that girls can be competitive, athletic, intelligent, and beautiful!

Since this is a website, not a blog, it will go on the sidebar under "Sites About NEPA." Be sure to visit Wilkes-Barre Roller Radicals!

Call for header photos!

Northeastern Pennsylvania is full great photographers, amateur and professional alike.  We've also got loads of excellent photographic subjects that are uniquely - or sometimes not-so-uniquely! - representative of NEPA, or of specific parts of NEPA.  I've culled a handful of photos from my collection that I thought might be eye-catching as part of the header of this blog, and once Michelle worked out the technical details and created the "sunrise" header (from a photo I took over my neighbor's house one morning) I made a bunch of them.  Some of them are less interesting than others.  But one thing I realized: they betray the fact that most of my photo safaris are done in Luzerne County, particularly in the Wilkes-Barre area.

So: If you have a camera, and you've got (or would like to take!) photos that you think would nicely reflect the beauty, diversity, and uniqueness of Northeastern Pennsylvania, or would just look good at the top of a blog page, please send them to us! 

Some guidelines:

1. Photos will be resized to be 920 pixels wide, 72 pixels per inch. If you could send them in like this, that would be great!
2. Photos should be 300-500 pixels tall, or roughly two to three times wider than they are tall.
3. Photos should include enough open space to plop the words "NEPA Blogs" in super-gigantic text somewhere.  If not blank space, then an area where these words can be inserted without covering anything essential.
4. Include a description of what is in the photo and where it was taken.  I'll insert this in a handwritingish font (Akbar, based on the handwriting of Matt Groening) somewhere along the edge or in some dead space.  If nothing presents itself, I can create a photo frame edge and put the description there.
5. Please also include how you would like your photo credited - name, blog address, blog name, or whatever!

I think that's it.  Any photos that you'd like to see featured as headers, please send to nepablogs@gmail.com. Thank you!

This is Getting Old

This is Getting Old is a sports blog which covers the Pittsburgh Penguins, the WBS Penguins, Penn State, the Pirates and the Steelers. Pretty much all sports teams in Pennsylvania, except for those originating from Philadelphia.

I received this submission from @nepablogs Twitter account (which hopefully, you are all following by now). I was unable to locate an about section on this blog to copy and paste in my post as I usually do. I can however, refer you to the the Twitter account from which the posting came from: @laclips / Brad from Scranton, PA.

From hisTwitter profile: ✔ *Burgh Verified* Penguins Hockey, Penn State Football and Pirates Baseball. I also like anything silky.

Enjoy!

Laugh to Live

Laugh to Live, LLC. is the website for a very interesting organization in which laughter is used as a means of healing...and it is based right here in Northeastern PA!

Ok, ok...you got me. This isn't really considered a blog at all. For that, I will be placing this website under the "NEPA Organizations and Companies" section of the blog roll. Jeannine is just so awesome and hilarious, that she deserves some attention in our blogging community. Last year, she performed (at the last minute I might add, after one of the other comedians bailed) at the comedy show that my Leadership Wilkes-Barre project group put on

About the Owner of Laughter to Live - Jeannine Luby has spent much of her life making people laugh. First entertaining family and friends and then performing stand-up and improvisational comedy over the past 13 years. She became a Certified Laughter Leader by the World Laughter Tour* in 2006 to further promote the benefits of laughter to audiences of all ages and interests through laughter exercises.

You can check out Jeannine entertaining an audience at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a0ZlFs4eK0

CampTheSummit

Submitted via @jasonpercival on Twitter: "You should add @campthesummit http://campthesummit.com to the site. It's written by the most adventurous man in NEPA @patrickgensel"

CampTheSummit is the ultimate one stop shop (so to speak) for outdoor adventure lovers.

From the About Page: CampTheSummit is a Multi-Format Content outlet encompassing the adventure and outdoor recreation world. CampTheSummit.com was launched in September 2009. the site provides content ranging from video podcasts, and written articles, to audio content and more.

The blog was founded by Patrick Gensel, who has his own personal blog located at http://patrickgensel.com/blog/ which is more technology and photography based in nature.

I will be adding both of these blogs to the sidebar for your reading pleasure.

~M

Just Breathe

Just Breathe is the blog of my good friend Nicole Howell who is making the brave venture out of NEPA. She is moving to Arizona! Her blog, which she submitted to me via Twitter, will be featuring her moving tales as well as book reviews, photography and other miscellany.

"Writer. Poet. Techie. I'm never too far from my iPod." ~ Nicole

I will be listing her blog in the "Bloggers originally from NEPA" section of the blog roll, as she is counting down her last days of NEPA. NEPA will miss her, but there are limited opportunities in this area for someone as talented as her.

Good luck Nicole!

Franklin's Family Restaurants Reunion

Franklin's Family Restaurants Reunion
http://franklins-restaurants.blogspot.com/

A place where alumni can reconnect, share images and what have you

Franklin's Family Restaurants was part of a fast-vanishing aspect of American life: the locally owned chain of restaurants.*  This blog is written by a former short-order cook, assistant manager, and general manager who came into possession if a treasure trove of memorabilia and plans to share it online, along with many years of personal memories.  If you ever worked there, ate there, or just vaguely remember the place, stop by Franklin's Family Restaurants Reunion to reminisce!


*Shows you what I know!  I've already learned so much from this blog!

And now for something completely different...

From the NEPA Blogs mailbag:

Hello nepablogs@gmail.com

hello my dearest how are you and your family? hope you are fine,my name is Katrine,am 23years,am a Russian living in Spain,i will like to know much about you to establish a good relationship with you as am the only daughter in my family but my parents is late,please write back let me tell you much about me and also i have something special to share with you and also to send you my pictures.

Katrine

If Katrine had included a return address, I might have let her know that our mission is to provide links to blogs and other sites about Northeastern Pennsylvania or by people from Northeastern Pennsylvania. Sadly, it seems that she does not fit into either of these categories.

If you're a twenty-three year old Russian living in Northeastern Pennsylvania, we'll be happy to list your blog even if you're not the only daughter and your parents are not late.  Sharing special things and pictures with your readers is completely up to you.

NEPA Solar

NEPA Solar
http://nepasolar.blogspot.com/

From the introductory post:

Alternative energy is the way of the future - and today! Solar energy is at the forefront of alternative energy. Many people are surprised to learn that Northeastern Pennsylvania provides an excellent climate for generating electricity from solar energy. In fact, the degree of solar energy available is comparable in many ways to Germany, the nation that leads the world in conversion of solar energy to electricity. (This should come as no surprise in either case: Both regions are covered in organic solar energy converters - trees - and have deposits of coal that represent solar energy stored in the past by vegetation.)

NEPA Solar, aka Solar in Northeastern Pennsylvania, will strive to be a central resource for individuals seeking information about solar energy, solar panel purchase and installation, and the economic benefits of solar energy.

Framing Faith

In the beginning, blogs were online journals maintained by individuals about their personal lives, sports, politics, or whatever they chose to write about.  Soon small businesses saw the potential for blogs as inexpensive ways to connect with prospective customers.  Eventually big businesses got into the act, too.  Now blogs penetrate every level of online activity, to the point that there's some debate as to how exactly to define a "blog" and differentiate it from a "website."

When a friend sent me this link a few months ago I thought it was interesting: a website promoting a book on a topic near and dear to me.  I wrote about the site on my blog, and connected with it on Facebook.  Despite the ".blogspot.com" address, I never really thought of it as a blog.  But as I've watched their updates come in on Facebook, I've realized that that is exactly what this is.
Framing Faith
http://framingfaith.blogspot.com/

Framing Faith tells the story of the faith of immigrants and their descendants, spotlighting ten Catholic churches in the Diocese of Scranton that were closed due to restructuring.

If you have published a book, promoting it through a blog is one approach to consider. If you're a local author or your book is on a topic relevant to Northeastern Pennsylvania, get in touch with us to have your blog listed on NEPA Blogs.

Stop Lou Barletta

From the email bag: Hello. My name is Dan Cheek and I'd be thrilled if you'd consider adding StopLouBarletta to NEPAblogs.

Personally, I'm kind of surprised that this blog is not already on the list. I thought for sure we added it at some point.

From the About Page: My name is Dan Cheek and I am the owner and author of StopLouBarletta.com. I started this website in April of 2008, shortly after Lou Barletta announced that he was mounting a second campaign for Congress. In my opinion, Barletta represented a horrible political candidate. He has, repeatedly, flip-flopped on important issues, refused to take stands on other issues, and has repeatedly used fear-mongering as his favorite political tactic. For all of these reasons, and more, I remain deeply opposed to Lou Barletta being elected to any higher office.

This blog has been added to the sidebar. Dan is a member of our Facebook NEPA Bloggers Group, should you want to network with him.

Fool On The Hill

A blog from the latest person to join the NEPA Bloggers Facebook group:

Fool On The Hill
http://foolothill.blogspot.com/

Lighthearted socio-political commentary from a working class voter

Melissa L. Sabol is a married mother of two and currently resides in North Eastern Pennsylvania. She enjoys freelance editing and writing.


If you have a blog you'd like to have listed, drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com or stop by the NEPA \Bloggers Facebook group!

Cooking Like Keller

"Cooking Like Keller" is a demonstrative cooking blog of a former NEPA resident. I will be adding this blog to the "Bloggers Originally From NEPA" section to the sidebar.

From the About section: Chronicling the culinary misadventures of an amateur chef in his attempts to cook and eat the most delicious food possible.

My first question after reading this blog was "Who is Keller? And why is the author cooking like him?" The answer of this question was found with a simple search of Wikipedia. The chef aspires to cook like his idol Chef Thomas Keller who is known for being a famous French cook.

**Michelle's Sidebar: If "Unexplained Things" was our first official Tumblr blog added to the site. Make "Cooking Like Keller" the second official Tumblr blog addition. As you can see from the differences in these two blog setups, Tumblr appears to be a highly customizable blogging platform much like Wordpress or Blogger.

Unexplained Things

If I'm not mistaken, I think this is our first Tumblr Blog addition. I was always under the impression that Tumblr was a micro-blogging platform, but that is not the case.

Anyway, enough rambling.

I submit for your viewing pleasure "Unexplained Things". This blog features photos and information about all things UFO, Paranormal, and the Unexplained. There is also a Facebook Group that you can join here. Additionally, you can follow the Twitter account here: @ibelievethings. The blog is run by DJ Smith of NEPA. If you want to give yourself a case of goosebumps you should look no further than this blog.

As always, if you would like your blog to be added to our site, please send an email to nepablogs [at] gmail [dot] com with your name, blog address and a brief description of your blog. We will be more than happy to add you!

Found at random: Crystal Satriano Photography

While informing NEPA Mom about another matter, I came across this post on her site, which led me to this blog:

Crystal Satriano Photography
http://crystalsatrianophotography.blogspot.com/
Custom Location Lifestyle Photographer serving NEPA (Northeast, PA). Newborns, Maternity, Babies, Children, Teens, Seniors, Couples, Families, Boudoir & Weddings.


I think I'm going to start a category for "NEPA Photographers!"
 
If you're in Northeastern Pennsylvania and own a small business, a blog can be an excellent way to connect with potential customers. Don't wait for us to stumble upon you by accident!  Get in touch with us at nepablogs@gmail.com!

From the mailbag: Get Cryptic

Could you add getcryptic.com to your list? We are music event promoters, but we do try to update the site with new content everyday, whether it be interviews, an mp3, or upcoming shows in the area. Any questions let me know. Thanks!

Get Cryptic
http://getcryptic.com/


From the About page:
GET CRYPTIC is a multi-faceted entertainment collective based in Scranton / Wilkes-Barre, PA.


Check out Get Cryptic and see all the music-related updates!  If you have a blog and you're from or in Northeastern Pennsylvania, give us a yell!

Two by Holly Ord

On the NEPA Bloggers Facebook page, NEPA blogger Holly Ord has informed us of her two blogs:

Woman Tribune
http://womantribune.com/

From the About page:
Welcome to Woman Tribune, a webspace for women that explores and discusses our Woman Wide World.


There are countless websites and blogs out there and more are being created every single day. While most websites and blogs fall under a category or are shelved in a niche that’s terribly hard to break out of, Woman Tribune was founded with the mindset that there should be more spaces out there that give you a little taste of everything.


No one has just one interest or one topic they like to read about and Woman Tribune strives to have something that will interest anyone, regardless of their location or lifestyle. Woman Tribune is a space for women, for moms, single ladies, fashionistas, tech-savvy gals, entertainment buffs, concerned citizens of the world, pet owners, and much more.

and...

Menstrual Poetry
http://menstrualpoetry.com/

From the About page:
Menstrual Poetry is a feminist and extremely liberal opinion website that was launched in December 2007 as a response to U.S. politics and what is being said and done about social issues.

Menstrual Poetry is a website for free-thinkers; for people who reject the idea that greed and consumerism is and should be what makes up The American Dream. People should no longer be expected to be complacent with the government, both national and local, that they find themselves in and it is strongly believed that people rightfully deserve to have a voice and a platform to express their opinions, concerns and beliefs about the world they are equally a part of, regardless of gender, class, race, size, sexual orientation or gender identity.

This website works to hold administrations, corporations, businesses, the media and people accountable for the laws, decisions and images that they put out into the world, thus affecting the lives of people everywhere.


Go check out Holly Ord's blogs!  Remember, if you're a blogger from or in Northeastern PA and you want to get listed on NEPA Blogs and don't want to wait for us to find you, you can drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com, or contact us at the NEPA Bloggers group on Facebook! You can also give all your fellow NEPA Bloggers a linkiness boost by linking back to NEPA Blogs. Or, if you'd like, you can get one of our FREE buttons (we have plenty left) and post it on your site with a link back to http://nepablogs.blogspot.com/ !

Quick NEPA Blog Access

NEPA Blogs now has its own domain name!

Yes, that's right. Now if you visit http://www.nepablogs.org it is the same thing as typing http://nepablogs.blogspot.com. It is much easier to type and remember, HECK, you don't even need the WWW. My hopes are that since the URL (a.k.a. web link) will be easier to remember, that you will all visit more often. :o)

Have a great Saturday!!

~M

Ricochets Rapid Detail LLC

Ricochets Rapid Detail LLC is a Auto-Detailing business located in Scranton PA, and owned by Lucia and Dave Peregrim. This blog offers several tips about auto care and how detailing can preserve the interior and exterior of your car. You can also find them on Facebook by clicking here where you can view several photos of the work that they have done. I should also mention that the Blog is only one slice of their website. You can view all of the other contents by visiting http://ricochetsrapiddetail.net/ (this also includes information about their pricing and packaging in case you are interested in buying their services).

Also, Lucia is highly active raising funds for the National Scoliosis Foundation and puts on "Sounds for Scoliosis" each year. The event showcases several local bands scattered across several venues over a three day period. This year's event will be taking place from July 29-31, 2011. You can read more about the upcoming events on the Facebook Page or Webpage.

As always, I invite you to check out the above links to learn more. I will be adding the RRD Blog and Sounds for Scoliosis links to the sidebar for your viewing pleasure.

~M

Scranton Blogs: Content thief?

We're always on the search for local bloggers to link to from NEPA Blogs.  There are lots of blogs out there, and new ones getting started all the time.  One of the ideas behind NEPA Blogs is that if we create the right degree of linkability - many blogs linking to a central blog which links back to all of the other blogs - everyone will benefit.  The little blogs will benefit from being linked to by a site that is linked to by the big blogs, and the big blogs will benefit from being linked to by a site that is linked to by lots of little sites.

The structure of NEPA Blogs is designed to encourage posting activity.  The most recently updated blogs appear at the top of the sidebar, if those blogs are equipped with an RSS or Atom feed.  The more often you post, the more often you will be at the top of the sidebar, and the more easily readers will find your site.

We find blogs in all sorts of ways:  People can send them in, or we can come across them accidentally, or find them on another NEPA Blogger's blogroll.  Sometimes we go out and do brute-force searches on terms like "nepa blogger" or "wilkes-barre blogs" or "scranton blogs."

One of those last returned a hit for scrantonblogs.com.  It advertises itself as "A Blogging Network For Scranton Bloggers!"  Great, I thought, someone else is doing the same thing.  I'll just link to them and...

The content on Scranton Blogs looked a little familiar.  Very familiar.  Heck, I had written a lot of it.  And so had NEPA Mom, and Mark Cour, and Stephen Albert, and Andy Palumbo, and...

It was pretty unnerving to open up someone else's blog and see my own work looking back at me.  And it's not like someone was saying, "Oh, here's an interesting post from anothermonkey.blogspot.com." If it weren't for the fact that I had coded in a slug at the end of my posts during an aborted attempt to set up reposts to Facebook, no one would have known that I wasn't a blogger writing for a site called Scranton Blogs.

So who is responsible for this?

Heh, that's the fun part.  There's no "About Us" for Scranton Blogs.  There is, however, a little note at the very bottom that says "Copyright for all content is attributed to the original author, and their respective websites."  Not that they go out of their way to point to the original authors or their respective websites.  Clicking on my name points to http://scrantonblogs.com/members/d-b-echo/ - making me look like I'm a "member" of Scranton Blogs who writes for them.  (I am not, and I do not.)  Clicking on the post title for my most recent post points to http://scrantonblogs.com/2011/05/10/weekend-update/, rather than to http://anothermonkey.blogspot.com/2011/05/weekend-update.html.  So the copyright thing at the bottom is just lip service.

Fortunately, a whois search turned up some answers:

Registrant:
Artz Group Inc.


515 Center St.
Scranton, Pennsylvania 18503
United States


Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: SCRANTONBLOGS.COM
Created on: 13-May-09
Expires on: 13-May-12
Last Updated on: 30-Apr-11


Administrative Contact:
Group, Artz dns@artzgroupinc.com
Artz Group Inc.
515 Center St.
Scranton, Pennsylvania 18503
United States
+1.5702908301


Technical Contact:
Group, Artz dns@artzgroupinc.com
Artz Group Inc.
515 Center St.
Scranton, Pennsylvania 18503
United States
+1.5702908301


Domain servers in listed order:
NS2.BIOMEGATECH-HOSTING.COM
NS1.BIOMEGATECH-HOSTING.COM


Registry Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Registry Status: clientRenewProhibited
Registry Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registry Status: clientUpdateProhibited


I think I'll have a word with them. Though those email addresses don't look very functional.

In the meantime, I'll cross-post this on NEPA Blogs and Another Monkey.  And if this works the way I think it does, this post will automatically be displayed on the Scranton Blogs site as well.  Let this be their top story for a while.

UPDATE, 5/12/2011:
Now my posts aren't displayed there anymore, but the other bloggers' posts are. I've already let several of the other content theft victims know, and I can just work through the rest of the list.



The proper thing to do, if the person running Scranton Blogs wanted to do something like this, would be:


- Post excerpts from blog posts, rather than repost the whole things
- Include links to the original posts, both as a title and a "Read the rest here..."
- Give full attribution to the bloggers and blogs from which these posts are being taken
- Remove any language or architecture that gives the impression that the blog authors are actually working for Scranton Blogs


Not that it should be necessary for anyone to explain all that to this person. But apparently he still doesn't get it.

Wilkes-Barre: Crime, Fire, Law, Theatre, Photography, and Music

Here are just a few of the results that came up today for a Google search of the words "wilkes-barre" and "blog":

Crime-Free Wilkes-Barre by Charlotte Raup, President of the Wilkes-Barre Neighborhood Crime Watch Coalition

WB Fire Fighters Thoughts by Dan Emplit, "An over-caffeinated 18 year WBFD Engine 3 Driver, with 6 years Active Military service who has the clinging scent of gun oil about him."

Wilkes-Barre Pesonal Injury Blog from Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald, LLP

Gaslight Theatre Company - The blog of a Wilkes-Barre theatre company.

Earl & Sedor Photographic - From their "About Us:" "JB Earl and John Sedor have been providing their services as professional photographers locally – in Northeastern Pennsylvania in the Greater Wilkes-Barre and Scranton area – and nationally since 1984."

The Wanderer (http://www.stuofdoom.com/): "...a site about ghost towns, abandoned places, places with little known or forgotten history, roadside curiosities, and the occasional tourist trap. We deal primarily with southern New Jersey and the Pine Barrens, but we are now based in the Poconos and learning our way around Pennsylvania. Over the past few years, we’ve been slowly expanding and covering more area, going as far north as New England and as far west as Indiana."


Jeff Dietz Photography - Scranton / Wilkes-Barre PA Wedding and Portrait Photography

The photoblog of Darkershadesofbrown  - Scranton/Wilkes Barre wedding photographer Daniel Lanton

Spirit of Youth - "Spirit Of Youth is a blog about Wilkes-Barre hardcore past, present, and future and worldwide Straight Edge."



As always, if you're a NEPA blogger and you'd like to get listed and don't want to wait for us to stumble across your blog, please drop us a line!  And if you are listed on NEPA Blogs, please do all your fellow NEPA Bloggers a favor and include a link back to NEPA Blogs!  Or just grab this button and stick it on your site:

Thanks!

Kentucky Derby

This is an annual tradition that Gort42 started.

From his most recent blog post:

The 14th annual get together of the Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society to watch the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 7th 4PM at Marks Pub 1287 N Washington St, Wilkes-Barre.

None of us are big horse race fans but this is just another excuse to infuse cash into the malt beverage industry to ensure it's liquidity. After all, we don't want D.G. Yuengling & Son to go the way of General Motors.

This is not a mega-meetup like the one last month a Rooney's (we will do that again in the fall) and it has not been sanctioned by the Northeast Blogging Council. But of course everyone is welcome.

You can RSVP for the event on Facebook here. Hope to see you there!

~M

Blog Fest report, Spring 2011 edition

NEPA Blog Fest (Spring 2011 Edition) has come and gone.  For various reasons, I didn't get out of the house until after the event starting time of 6:00, by which time Michelle (who got there ahead of time) had texted me to be sure I was coming.  I picked my way along River Road / Main Street / Plank Road / South Main Street (the same street wears all these names between Plains and Pittston), noting the places where the Susquehanna River was lapping right up against the road, making a mental note to take another way back and hoping and praying that the river wouldn't experience a surge while we were all a stone's throw away at Rooney's.

I parked my car in front of the now boarded-up Valley Cat Rescue and walked a hundred feet or so down the street to Rooney's.  When I entered at 6:40 I was surprised to find the place half-empty - previous events had been jammed from start to finish.  I wondered if maybe the word hadn't gotten out. I myself had missed the initial announcement, as it was cleverly hidden away in a blog post on Dave Yonki's site entitled The LuLac Edition #1515, March 21st, 2011 - not exactly a title that screams "Blog Fest is coming!"  This post referenced a post on Joe Valenti's Pittston Politics - which, due to an unfortunate problem with blog architecture, does not have an RSS or Atom feed, and so his posts never appear among the list of most recently updated blogs.  (The bottom line is, if you're not making a point to read every word of every entry on these blogs, you might miss something and never be aware that it had been posted.) Even I had only mentioned this event in passing on a Facebook update when I found out about it a week or two after the announcement.

But Michelle had taken this ball and run with it.  She wrote up a post on NEPA Blogs that announced the event to the world, and especially to readers of NEPA Blogs.She posted about the event to the NEPA Bloggers group that she created on Facebook. Then she used her social networking skills with that newfangled Twitter thing to spread the word to the Twitter followers she has been gathering for NEPA Blogs.  She also contacted local media outlets about the event, got a notice listed in The Weekender, clued in some contacts at local news station WBRE, and just generally made sure that news of the event was out there, even among people whose primary interest in the world of blogging is not political.*

So I was puzzled by the absence of people at the event.  I saw Dave Yonki and Joe Valenti, who had organized the event and publicized it with their political contacts, sitting at a table chatting with a few people I didn't recognize.  I spotted a friend of Gort's and asked him if Gort - the founder of these events and the third co-blogger on NEPA Blogs, who is currently on hiatus from blogging - might be coming, but he wasn't sure.  Then I spotted Michelle on the other end of the bar and went to speak with her.  She told me that the place actually had been crowded from about 6:00 to 6:30, filled with candidates who had then headed out to a 3rd District event in Dupont.  Suddenly she spotted a familiar face where I had just been standing - Gort had arrived!  Now it was a party!

Michelle and I stepped down to talk with Gort, and I was called aside by Dave Yonki.  Before I could get to Gort I was chatted up by several of the candidates who had trickled in and were working the crowd.  (For a possibly complete list see Dave Yonki's after-Fest post.) I passed out Blog Cards and collected campaign cards and literature, and chatted with the charming, dedicated, and driven daughter of one of out local bloggers concerning her human rights legal efforts.  WBRE showed up with a camera crew, acting on Michelle's tip, and conducted some interviews that appeared on the 11:00 news - but have not, as far as I can tell, been posted to their website, pahomepage.com.

Unfortunately, while more and more politicians appeared as the night wore on, no additional non-political bloggers showed up, making the night one of mostly cocktail-party chatter between political bloggers and the politicians who are running for office.  Even more unfortunately, Rooney's kitchen and waitstaff were apparently overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who had showed up and decided that they would like something to eat.  Political chit-chat can work up an appetite, something I hope they keep in mind the next time there's an event held there.

From a political blogging point of view I suppose this was a relatively successful event, despite the unfortunate conflict with the event in Dupont.  (This was not the only conflict of the night, however, as the Luzerne County Historical Society dinner and the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association benefit Black and Blue Ball were being held last night as well.)  I would like very much to see future blogger gatherings where the focus is not on politics, but on the bloggers and their blogs.  Too often some people think of political blogs as the only sorts of blogs out there.  A look at the roster of blogs that have been added to NEPA Blogs over the years will show that there are many interests in the local blogging community beyond politics.  There are blogs about religion, photography, shopping, employment, beer, sports, cars, art, history, television - the whole scope of human experience, including and in addition to politics.  I hope to see some of these bloggers at future get-togethers!


Other accounts of NEPA Blog Fest (Spring 2011 Edition):

The Lu Lac Political Letter: The LuLac Edition #1573, April 30th, 2011

Blogfest turns out great crowd on Pittston Politics

Videographer captures Blogfest on Pittston Politics

The Lu Lac Political Letter: The LuLac Edition #1574, May 1st, 2010

*Michelle is also responsible for bringing NEPA Blogs out of an extended funk, resulting in more posts and more sites added in April 2011 than in the previous twelve months combined.

Button, button, who wants a button?

One of the original ideas behind NEPA Blogs was that it might be a nifty way to increase traffic to my personal blog.  Yes: pure, unenlightened self-interest. Create a central site that had a one-to-many relationship, with links pointing out to dozens, maybe hundreds of other sites, and then have all those other sites link back to the central site.  This would mean that every one of those sites would be just two clicks away from every other one of those sites.  Everybody would benefit!  I would start off by linking to all these blogs, and then ask everybody to link back to the central site so that every blog would now have increased linkiness by virtue of being linked by a highly-linked site.

Yeah.  I kinda forgot about that whole plan beyond the "linking to all these blogs" part.

BUT BUT BUT!!!  It's not too late!  All I have to do is contact the 150 or so blogs where I'm pretty sure the blogger has no idea they've been linked by NEPA Blogs, and ask if they would consider a link back to the site.  I'll get started on that...eventually.

In the meantime, if you're reading this and you're linked by NEPA Blogs, won't you consider installing a link to http://nepablogs.blogspot.com/ ?  This would be even easier if we had a button of some sort.  With my ham-fisted design skillz and my antiquated Adobe PhotoDeluxe program I threw together this:

But I'm sure there's someone out there who can do better!  Heck, I'm sure there are LOTS of someones out there who can do better, especially considering that I have no idea what the optimal design of one of these buttons is.  So, if you feel creative, why not take a crack at designing a button?  Send your submission to nepablogs (at) gmail.com. We'll list them all on the sidebar so people will have a variety to choose from!

Counseling Corner

Another local blog submitted via e-mail:

Counseling Corner

A blog by Michelle Herrigel, Psy.D., Clinical Director at The Devereux Foundation and a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania, providing public education and information regarding common mental health concerns.

http://michelleherrigelpsyd.blogspot.com/

LET'S DO THIS!

LET'S DO THIS! Blog is the official WBS Penguins 2011 Playoff Blog. According to the first blog post, we are to consider this blog "the vault" for all things related to the Penguins playoff run. They are adding new content daily, and invite us to check back often.

I will add this to the side Blogroll under the Sports Blogs section.

Be sure to cheer on our boys tonight (4/30) at 7:05pm when they take on the Charlotte Checkers in Game Two of the East Division Finals. They will be playing at home from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. You can listen/watch live from the WBS Penguins official website here.

~M

Reminder: Blog Fest is Friday, April 29!

If you're not all tuckered out from waking up bright and early to watch some royal wedding, you should definitely consider attending the NEPA Blog Fest (Spring 2011 edition) on Friday, April 29 at Rooney's Irish Pub in Scranton starting at 6:00 PM.

Here is the announcement as it appeared on The Lu Lac Political Letter's blog:

Blogfest set for April 29
By: Joe Valenti
Mark your calenders.

Area bloggers will be holding another blog fest Friday, April 29, 2010. This will be your chance to meet the face behind the keyboard. It will held again be at Rooney’s Irish Pub on Main Street in Pittston starting at 6:00PM. Stay as long as you’d like. Last time around Gort helped organize the shindig. Gort, however, has experienced a long case of writer’s block and hung up his keyboard.

Dave Yonki, of the LuLac Political Newsletter has offered to step up to the plate and lend a helping hand. Our past two events were well attended. Last spring we had probably over 150 come through the door and that was an off year election. This year we expect an even larger turnout considering the excitement with this year’s primary.

Gort always laid down the ground rules:
Admission is free, no speeches, you must buy your own drinks and you must wear clothes.

Rooney's Irish Pub is located at 67 South Main Street.  South Main is one way heading northeast, so if you find that you've overshot Rooney's, just turn left to circle back along Kennedy Boulevard, the street closest to the river.  (And let's hope the Susquehanna stays in its banks!)

Hope to see you there!

Burnside Photographic

My dear friend and mentor (Frank) Mike Burnside, sent me a request through Facebook to add his newest blog to the site. You may remember him from the Late Night Meanderings blog or his alter-ego "Bonanza Bob" from the great annual WVIA TV Auction.

His new blog "Burnside Photographic" is specifically dedicated to his photography of all things local, which I must say is quite amazing. If you care to find out more about the man behind the camera, click here. His pictures tell a story that words cannot define.

I invite you to check it out.

~M

Rising's Rants

From the email box:

We received an email message from Jim Rising who was formerly the Program Director of 102.3 The Mountain and is an active columnist in the Weekender. Jim wants to make us aware of a new blog that he is starting located at: http://www.jamesrising.com/ It appears that the domain name is not working yet, but I'm sure it will be active soon. You can check out his old blog material at http://risingsrant.blogspot.com/ in the interim.

"A random look at the life and times of Jim Rising recovering radio addict and newspaper columnist."

In the words of Manny Gordon... "ENJOY ENJOY!"

~M

Growing Up Geek Podcast

The Growing Up Geek podcast is (as you may guess) about all things considered "geek". The topics of discussion can run the gamut from comic books, to video games, to technology. I know at least one of the podcasters - NEPA's own Jason Percival - who is one of the master minds behind the microphone. I am not familiar with the other two gents, but I can assure you that if they hang out with Jason, they know their stuff.

The podcasts, which are recorded weekly, are available for download free from the website or via iTunes.

From the About Us section on the webpage: We may get older, but we will never grow up. We still buy action figures, play video games, and lust after the newest, shiny gadget. At times we are fanboys, and other times we are harsh critics. We tell it like it is.

EDITED: To note that you can follow the adventures on Twitter under the username of @growingupgeek

Enjoy!

~M

No news is...

David DeCosmo, formerly of WYOU-TV 22 has started a blog "No news is..." (Good News) at Blogspot which I found about through visiting The Lu Lac Political Letter and reading the most recent blog post.

"We're all heard ... "No News Is Good News" so I've decided to work a title out of that expression. We'll have to see where it goes from here. In the meantime here's hoping... All Your News Is Good!" -- From David's first post

We are happy to have him on board at NEPA Blogs and wish him many successful years of blogging!

~M

Rachel of All Trades

My friend from High School, Rachel, started a blog in March that I find very fascinating. The name of the blog is "Rachel of All Trades" - Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one.

She blogs about several different topics:

1. Fashion
2. Fundraising and advocacy
3. Cooking
4. Music
5. Parenting

"I blog because I am trying to make myself a better person. A better writer. And its working. I have a long way to go, but the fact that anyone is still reading is a testament to the improvement I've made in my writing." -- Rachel

I think we can all identify with the above quote as bloggers. And with that, I will add Rachel to the sidebar so that you can check out her work!

~M

Tuned

Conflicts are inevitable in life, and NEPA Blogs has become embroiled in one.  The glory that is Blog Fest (spring 2011 edition) is scheduled to take place on April 29, which is coincidentally the date of the Luzerne County Historical Society annual dinner.  Several individuals, it turns out, are involved in both the world of blogging and the LCHS, and having not yet learned the ancient discipline of bilocation cannot be in both places at once.

Ideally, such a conflict would be resolved by violence and choreographed musical dance numbers.  But this is not an ideal world, so several individuals will be at one event but not the other.

Among those is the blogger/historian known as Wallio, who founded and co-blogs at the blog called Tuned. From the introductory post:

This is Tuned, a blog all about cars. Old cars, new cars, fast cars, and yes even some slow cars. But mostly about custom cars. We'll test'em, review'em, show you where they're built, and interview their owners. Well also head down the track for some racing action and we'll even participate a bit as well.

Check out Tuned at http://tunedtv.blogspot.com/ .

A Girl's Gotta Spa

I seem to be having either a case of deja vu or a case of blogging related Alzheimer's disease, because I could have SWORN this blog was already listed with us. Anyway . . .

A Girl's Gotta Spa :: A beauty blog... because we all deserve a little pampering.

NEPA's own Shannon Nelson has been running this successful blog since 2005. To which she has extensive industry "Street Cred" detailed here.

More from the About Page: A Girl’s Gotta Spa! (sm), as a way to bring relevant and easy to understand product reviews with a dose of honesty, integrity and humor to women across the globe. As one of a handful of beauty bloggers at the time, it resonated with women looking for product opinion before they made a purchase.

As a woman, I do value Shannon's opinions before purchasing any cosmetics, hair accessories or styling products. Trust me ladies, she knows her stuff! She even recommended a new hairdryer for me when I was away in Green Bay on a work business trip after mine died. In addition to being a beauty blogger, she is also a LIFESAVER! I highly recommend this blog!

~M

Wyoming Valley Children's Association Blog

http://www.wvcakids.org/blog/
Wyoming Valley Children's Association » Blog

A blog covering the activities and upcoming events of the Wyoming Valley Children's Association, including their upcoming 5k Run on Wednesday, April 27 and their 19th annual walk-a-thon on Saturday, April 30.

From their "About Us":

WVCA was established in 1924 as Wyoming Valley Crippled Children’s Association. In 1985, the name was changed to Wyoming Valley Children’s Association.


Today, WVCA provides the following services to local children and families:

■Preschool Education (early childhood education)
■Pediatric Rehabilitation Services (birth through 12 years)
■Physical Therapy
■Occupational Therapy
■Speech Therapy
■Home-Based Education Instruction (birth through 2 years)
■Home-Based Therapy (birth through 2 years)
■Service Coordination (early intervention based)
■Early Identification Medical Clinic

Google Search: NEPA + Blog

I did a Google search today for the terms "NEPA" and "blog."  After sifting out the blogs about the National Environmental Protection Act, I picked my way through the results to see if I could find any blogs we haven't listed yet.  I found a few:

http://blog.nepabirdproject.org/
NEPABirdProject.org | The Birding Blog of Kevin Ripka
and the related
http://shorebirds.nepabirdproject.org/
Shorebirds and the Susquehanna
Two birding blogs by Kevin Ripka about birds found in Northeastern PA. 

http://brentpennington.com/blog/
NEPA Photography Blog Brent Pennington: Photographer
A local small business blog from photographer Brent Pennington.

http://www.justinvacula.com/
Justin Vacula's Blog
A new home for the blogger formerly known as the Green Atheist.  (Coincidentally, Justin left a note about this new blog location today. )

http://nepaparanormalsociety.webs.com/apps/blog/
Blog - NEPA Paranormal Society
I thought we had a link to these guys, but I can't find it.  Here it is now!

http://seventhdayenvironmentalist.blogspot.com/
Seventh_Day Environmentalist
Thoughts and opinions of Alissa Binker.  "I'm a writer, and I occasionally dabble in painting and art. I follow politics. I'm an avid environmentalist."

http://cherisundra.wordpress.com/
Cheri Sundra's Blog
Abandoned places in and around NEPA.
- and -
http://cherisundra.blogspot.com/
Cheri Sundra is the New Black (according to me, Cheri Sundra)
"Tips for building the Personal Brand you want by becoming the CEO of YOU."

The Departed

Nothing lasts forever, and sadly this is true even in the blogosphere.  Sometimes people choose to end their blogs, putting a period at the end of a long string of posts.  (And sometimes, they come back again.)  Sometimes people just drift away from their blogs, setting them aside for months or years at a time but leaving them idling just in case they decide to put on their blogging hats again.  Sometimes people stop blogging because they have died, ending their ability to post, or do pretty much anything else.  Sometimes they simply shut down their blogs, deleting them and removing all of the content and all of the links they had assembled over the years.  And sometimes other people squat these site names, taking over an established site for their own purposes.

Michelle has been hard at work finding new blogs to add to NEPA Blogs, so I figured I may as well do some work and check every current blog link for functionality.  I found a lot of blogs that haven't been updated in more than a year, but I'm holding out hope that some of these may be revived.  I found some blogs that no longer exist, even blogs that were updated within the last few months.  I found a handful of blogs that have been changed to be read by invited readers only.  And I found several blogs that have been officially brought to an end, even though their content is still accessible.

First the blogs that have officially come to an end:

http://bealesbites.blogspot.com/
Beale's Bites has actually not been updated for several years.  In its day it was a wonderful source for the inside scoop on the local television scene, full of news, gossip, history, and "Where are they now?" pieces.  That information is still available, but it is all fading into history as time passes.

http://www.websterwilk.com/
This is a bit of a cheat.  I never linked to this "new" blog for the radio personality known as John Webster.  His old blog from his days at Rock 107 has been cybersquatted, but he kept this one updated until late last year, after which he decided to do all his updates on Facebook and Twitter.

http://northfranklin.blogspot.com/
Tom Carten kept his meandering memoir blog going until a few months ago, when he finally decided to finish it with an "Amen."

http://www.abigfatslob.com/
After a seven month hiatus, A Big Fat Slob finally decided to give up the ghost.


These blogs are currently restricted to invited readers only:

Hazleton's Cargo Airport: http://hazletonscargoairport.blogspot.com/
Luzerne County Juvenile Detention Center Analysis: http://luzernecountyjdcanalysis.blogspot.com/
The Scranton Guardian: http://thescrantonguardian.blogspot.com/
GDAC – Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition: https://gasdrillingawarenesscoalition.wordpress.com/
Coming Back to Life: http://rowdyrockincowchick.blogspot.com/

In addition, there are forty-three blogs listed in the "Updates" section that have not been updated in over a year.

I'm leaving all of these blogs where they are.  All of them still have content.  Some of them may come back.  In other cases, it is possible that the bloggers in question have, in fact, died.  I don't plan to punish them for this by delisting their blogs.

The following blogs no longer contain any content, or point to dead links, or point to sites other than the original blogs - that is, they've been cybersquatted.  It is with deep regret that I am removing them.  I wish their former bloggers the best, and hope that maybe they'll decide to return to blogging someday.

The American Check-Up: http://theamericancheckup.blogspot.com/ - Not found

PA Podcasting: http://papodcasting.ning.com/ - 404: Not found

Luzerne County Courthouse News: http://luzernecountycourthousenews.blogspot.com/ - Not found

The Duped Scholar: http://dupedscholar.blogspot.com/ - Not found

Four-Color Heroines: http://girl-wonder.org/4colorheroines - Website cannot display this page

http://cada-momento.com/ - Could not find

Rice Ink - http://www.custominvitationlady.com/ - Cybersquatted, moved to http://www.momentaldesigns.com/rice-ink/

John Cole Cartoons: http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/johncole/default.aspx - Moved, current site included in Updates

Sheli's BLOG!: http://shelistechservicesblog.blogspot.com/ - Not found

Scrantonians: http://www.scrantonians.com/ - 404: Not found

http://www.webster107.com/ - Cybersquatted; see note about websterwilk.com

Vince Sweeney's Blog: http://www.vincesweeney.com/ - Cybersquatted

PostRanger.com - broken link

TheMorningMeeting.net - "the term we received could not be resolved"

Lorely's Musings: http://loreleysmusings.blogspot.com/ - "Has been removed."

Starting A New Medical School: http://newmedicalschool.blogspot.com/ - "Has been removed."

Republican in Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA): http://republicanfaith.blogspot.com/ - "Has been removed."

We'll keep working to find more great blogs from Northeastern PA!

Highland Park Hockey

Time for another sports blog! Ok, ok. You got me. Its another hockey blog. Tis the season, heyna?

Highland Park Hockey is a blog that was just created last month which, much like "Chirps from Center Ice" and "Pens Universe", focuses on the Pittsburgh Penguins organization of hockey. The blog is authored by Tony Androck. This blog has been added to the sidebar under the sports section.

I'm wondering if there are any local blogs that focus on the Philadelphia sports organizations? I haven't seen or heard of any. If you have any recommendations, please shoot them over to nepablogs@gmail.com.

~M

Yankees Blog

Baseball season is upon us once again and with the excellent weather that is happening today I can't think of a more fitting blog addition than The Yankees Blog. The blog is run by the Scranton Times-Tribune and is focused on the local WBS Yankees baseball farm team.

From the About Page:

Baseball isn’t limited to box scores and game stories, and neither is baseball news. Stay in the know with insight, breaking news and other Yankees nuggets from Times-Tribune beat writer Chad Jennings. He’ll check in regularly with transactions, game-day information and more than a few opinions.

Play Ball!
~M

Chirps from Center Ice

Who's ready for some playoff hockey? Raise your hands. Ok, the three of you in the back with your hands down can leave the room, as this most recent addition to NEPA Blogs is directly related to the local WBS Penguins. For those of you sticking around, keep on growing out those beards and #LETSDOTHIS.

Introducing "Chirps from Center Ice" a fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins authored by Jason Iacona of Pittston.

From the About Me page:

Started a blog about a year later to go more in detail with the Twitter updates and add more. Never thought it would get as detailed as it is with AHL Previews at the beginning of the year for every team, Pregame “Gameday” reports, “Postgamer” writeups in addition to live tweeting the game in between.

This blog is jam packed with tons of stuff from the WBS Pens universe - sidenote: DON'T DARE CALL THEM THE BABY PENS on Jason's watch.

Also, of interest (but not technically qualifying as a "NEPA" blog per se) for Penguins hockey fans is the Pens Universe Hockey Blog. The Pens Universe hockey blog follows more of the goings on of the NHL (whereas Jason's blog covers mainly the AHL).

Both links will be added under the sports section of the sidebar on the right.

LETS GO PENS!
~M

FourSquare Day Meet-up

Looking for something to do this weekend (specifically Saturday)? You should check out the FourSquare Day social meet-up which is taking place at Rodano's in Downtown Wilkes-Barre. The event, as I mentioned is on 04/16/11 and takes place starting at noon. More details can be found here.

Unsure what exactly FourSquare is? Let me explain. It is a social networking application that can be used from mobile devices and computers that pinpoints your location on the map. You can "check-in" to places and earn points. With enough points and check-ins around an area, you can earn "badges" or become the fictional mayor of a location. It's a fun and competitive social media outlet. Signing up and downloading the app for a mobile device is free and can be done at https://foursquare.com/

If you are on the fence about attending on Saturday, the following may sway your decision. The Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association his holding its 3rd annual Easter Egg hunt in the morning before the meet-up. You can literally bring your entire family out! Details are below regarding the Easter Egg hunt.

April 16, 2011, 10 am Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County

The Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association invites families to attend the 3rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt, which will take place on Public Square on Saturday, April 16. The Easter Bunny will arrive atop a Wilkes-Barre City fire engine at 10:00 a.m., welcoming children 10 years old and under to find some of the over 5,000 colorful, goody-filled eggs that will cover Public Square.

contact: 570-262-0710

address: Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA

website: http://wilkesbarre.org

Hope to see you on FourSquare Day!
~M

Our Pike County

From Facebook:

Bill Greenlaw submitted Our Pike County to our NEPA Bloggers group wall.

From the Our Pike County About Page:

Our Pike County is a social network built on Ning.com. We are an online community for Pike County residents, businesses and organizations - a place to have fun, interact and organize. Through blogs, forum discussions,photos, videos, music, groups, and embeddable media, users get answers to their questions, find solutions to their needs, promote community events, share media, and organize and participate in interest groups.

Users also participate in neighborhood groups where they communicate about neighborhood happenings such as community projects, crime, block parties, and yard sales.

Surf on over and check it out!

~M

Deluxe Update

Did you know that NEPA Blogs has a page on Facebook Groups? It's true. Click here to go to the page, or search for "NEPA Bloggers" once you are logged into your Facebook account. A number of blogs have been posted to the wall of that page that were never added into our link sidebar. I'm taking some time this afternoon to add those blogs as well as let you know about a few other interesting sites that I've found through various social media outlets.

#1 - http://childofemptiness.blogspot.com - Michael Scott of Wilkes-Barre (no relation to the manager of Dunder Mifflin in Scranton) states that he is actively trying to facilitate an interfaith and inter-spiritual conversation in the area. Be sure to check it out.

#2 - is a good friend and loyal follower of my Twitter account. "Frank's Place" is the Blogger account of Frank Dutton who labels himself as a local history buff. He posts amazing pictures of local scenery, historical sites and my personal favorite, trains/train stations!

#3 and #4 - is one of the blogs that have been posted to the Nepa Bloggers Facebook account and hasn't been posted. I apologize for our negligence in this matter! Nicole Karr from the Benton area shares with us her personal and business blogs. Personal: http://whenareyoustartingablog.blogspot.com/, titled "Here and Now.... and Then - handmade projects, musings, and updates- from a half acre homestead in the middle of nowhere". It features very crafty things which make me jealous, as I do not possess a crafty bone in my body. The business blog is: http://springhouseshopandstudio.blogspot.com/ "Springhouse Shop and Studio". They're a husband and wife owned and operated custom woodshop designing and building furniture and cabinets from sustainably harvested local woods.

#5 and #6 are the blogs of Ryan Balton. He shares with us a personal blog located at http://blog.ryanbalton.com and a blog dedicated to happenings in the Delaware Valley School District located at http://dv.ryanbalton.com.

I also wanted to share the following non-blog site - The Agnes Anniversary Project. The site/project was spearheaded by Alan K. Stout of the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. Alan and his project team of Richard Briggs, Dr. Anthony Mussari (NEPA Blogs, listed under the Windsor Park Stories), Tony Brooks of the Luzerne County Historical Society, and Frank J. Pasquini are spearheading a new documentary dedicated to remembering the 40th anniversary of the Agnes Disaster. You can also find them on Facebook under "Agnes Flood Anniversary Project". Several followers of their Facebook page have shared photos and other media that may be used in the documentary.

Also, be sure to check out NEPAValley.com "NEPA's Social Network" which is aiming to be the new Facebook-esque LOCAL alternative to Facebook. Let me explain. It looks and acts exactly like Facebook, but is geared toward networking with the population of Northeast PA.

Before I close out this entry - don't forget to follow us on Twitter @nepablogs. Have a great weekend everyone!

~M

Announcing Blog Fest 2011 / Spring Edition

I'm happy to announce that there will be another Blog Fest coming up in a few weeks, at our usual hang out spot: Rooney's Irish Pub in Pittston. Click here to go the MenusNEPA page for the menu, hours and street address of Rooney's.

Here is the blurb as it appears from The Lu Lac Political Letter's blog:



Blogfest set for April 29
By: Joe Valenti
Mark your calenders.

Area bloggers will be holding another blog fest Friday, April 29, 2010. This will be your chance to meet the face behind the keyboard. It will held again be at Rooney’s Irish Pub on Main Street in Pittston starting at 6:00PM. Stay as long as you’d like. Last time around Gort helped organize the shindig. Gort, however, has experienced a long case of writer’s block and hung up his keyboard.

Dave Yonki, of the LuLac Political Newsletter has offered to step up to the plate and lend a helping hand. Our past two events were well attended. Last spring we had probably over 150 come through the door and that was an off year election. This year we expect an even larger turnout considering the excitement with this year’s primary.

Gort always laid down the ground rules:
Admission is free, no speeches, you must buy your own drinks and you must wear clothes.

I have attended the last two Blog Fest's (although I normally refer to them as "Blog Con") and it is a fun night out. Not only do you get to meet the local bloggers, but you get an opportunity to network with the local politicians as well. And hey -- even if that isn't your cup of tea, there's always beer to be had!

~M

WorkNEPA

WorkNEPA isn't a blog, but it is a website that many in Northeastern Pennsylvania may find useful.

UPDATE, 2/20/2011:  The blog can be found on the Resources tab of the site, or by going here.  I've added it to the sidebar.

WORKNEPA is a community based job board and resource center that exclusively serves the 11 counties of northeastern PA

Website: http://worknepa.com
Feed: http://worknepa.jobrooster.com/?feed=rss2
Twitter: @workNEPA
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/workNEPA/57618676518

2 Additions

I added the following blogs to the blogroll this early morning (wayyyyy too early, I might add):

The Copper Brew Kettle is a NEPA blog which features the thoughts of a home brewer and beer enthusiast. The most recent post on the blog is entitled "God is Great, Beer is Good, People are Crazy". Amen, brother.

MELIScellaneous.net I found by following her on Twitter. This blog is the trials and tribulations of a 20 something school librarian in Northeast PA. She does A LOT of book reviews, all-in-all a very entertaining read.

I thought this post would be more interesting, but I'm too tired to fight with Blogger at this hour :) Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @nepablogs

~Michelle