Endless Mountain Experience

I needed to take a few days off from blogging.  I had reached my maximum blogging energy unit usage updating 3 blogs last week.  It's been a nice vacation, but now it's time to get back to work.

Today I present to you, the Endless Mountains Experience blog.

Endless Mountains Experience

http://endlessmountains.wordpress.com

"Hiking, Backpacking, Paddling, Camping, and Exploring Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains...and beyond"

I forget exactly where I came across this blog, I want to say Twitter, but I forgot to write down the source in my post.  From the about (snipped):

"My motivation to write this blog and write the book “Hiking the Endless Mountains” (http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Endless-Mountains-Northeastern-Pennsylvania/dp/081170677X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320875565&sr=1-1) has been driven by not only a desire to chronicle my travels, but to also show people how special and unique the Endless Mountains are, and that this region needs to be protected.

Natural gas drilling and development has begun to spread throughout the Endless Mountains.  While these activities can bring great economic opportunities, it can also threaten our environment and natural resouces if not properly managed.  I am not against drilling, but I feel there must be a balance.  I am very concerned how so much of our public lands have been leased for drilling; this is land held in the public trust for all people.  If excessive drilling on public lands is allowed, it will result in the destruction of tens of thousands of acres of forests, habitats, and beautiful natural areas.  Our state forests and game lands attract millions of visitors from around the world to enjoy the outdoors (and spend their money in our communities).  But who will want to hunt, fish, kayak, backpack, camp, hike, or bike ride among rigs, gas wells, and compressor stations?  Who will want to visit parks and forests bulldozed for drilling?  We must preserve these special places for not only future generations, but also this one."

A great thing about blogs such as Endless Mountains Experience is that you can take a tour of a part of Northeast PA without leaving the comfort of your favorite arm chair.  And if you happen to find something that interests you on the blog, you can take a trip to see it in person!  The photos in this blog are amazing, and I'm sure do not do justice to the beauty and serenity that Endless Mountains has to offer.  Head over to the blog and check it out!

~Michelle

About the header image: August 29, 2012

This week's header image was supplied by Lacey Salls of http://donation-can.com/ and shows homes along Broadway Street in Jim Thorpe.

Do you have an image of Northeastern Pennsylvania that you'd like to see featured as the NEPA Blogs header image for a week? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: First Friday Scranton

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the 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://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=270662

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is First Friday Scranton  (http://firstfridayscranton.com/.)

First Friday Scranton is a long-running series of interconnected art exhibits, musical performances, and other cultural events, all taking place in Scranton on the first Friday of each month. The First Friday Scranton blog provides the latest news and information about the upcoming celebration - including a map featuring the locations of each performance, and detailed profiles of each participating venue. Periodic updates also spotlight some of the performers and keep readers informed about contests and other special events. 

If you've ever been to a First Friday Scranton event, you know what fun it is to see the city come alive at night. If you've never been, you should make a point to go - you're never more than a few weeks away from one. And the First Friday Scranton blog makes an excellent guide!


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!

Tina Imel

I attended the second Scranton Pecha Kucha night this weekend, hosted by blogger Mandy Boyle and with presentations by ten individuals, including Mandy, NEPA Blogs co-administrator Michelle Davies, and bloggers Brian Fulton, Glenn Burgess, Catherine Shefski, and Cheri Sundra.  Among the presenters was someone I recognized from the second Scranton StorySlam, a woman with platinum-blonde hair who had served as Conor McGuigan's on-stage assistant. As the night progressed, I leaned that she was a local artist named Tina Imel. Her presentation was all about her art and the experience of being an artist with roots firmly planted in Northeastern Pennsylvania, yet with a global presence established through online networking.

Tina Imel
http://tinalimel.blogspot.com/

From her blog's "About Me":

Tina Imel's oil paintings are an amalgamation of classical portraiture, Punch cartoons and medical texts. Her portraits border on the surreal. She often incorporates pieces of someone else's past into her own environment. Her fondness of possessions that have outlived their owners and her traditional style of painting give her introspective and very personal work a connection to history. Tina is an award winning artist whose work has been shown in galleries across the United States and Europe. Her paintings will be published in two upcoming books, including a collection of contemporary female surrealists.

Tina also has an extended Internet presence!

Her non-blog website: http://tinaimel.net/
Her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/tina.imel?ref=profile
Her Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinaimel/
Her MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/tinaimel
Her Twitter page: https://twitter.com/tinaimel

Over the years I have met many brilliant and creative people who have made a conscious decision to stay in Northeastern Pennsylvania and work to make this area a better place - if only through their continued presences. It's people like Tina Imel who give me hope for the future of NEPA!

About the header image: August 22, 2012

This week's header photo is one of a set of photos taken by Russell Hryvak during hiking trips throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. This is a view of the Susquehanna taken from Campbell's Ledge, looking into Pittston. Familiar sights become fresh and new when viewed from a different point of view!

Do you have a unique perspective on some aspect of NEPA that might otherwise be overlooked? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use it as our header!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: The Roving Photographer

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the 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://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=270022





Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Bent Pennington's The Roving Photographer (http://therovingphotographer.com/).

Brent Pennington is a professional photographer who specializes in portraiture and commercial photography. He even has a blog site dedicated to his professional work. But this isn't that blog.  The Roving Photographer is Brent's blog to showcase his personal work, work done for his own enjoyment, focusing on his passions - nature, wildlife, the world around him. Brent's images feature birds, flowers, spiders, turtles, and the play of sunlight through trees. His posts sometimes also cover technical topics relevant to his art, such as reviews of cameras and camera products, tips and tricks, and even ways to recover when you've arrived at a remote location and realized you've forgotten some essential equipment.

Brent has a passion for photography that extends beyond his profession, and that passion shines through on The Roving Photographer. He has also shared his art through his presentation at Scranton's first Pecha Kucha Night in February called "In Pursuit of Light" (featured here on his professional blog.)

Northeastern Pennsylvania is home to many talented photographers, and the region presents a wide variety of settings and subjects for photographers. Check out Brent Pennington's The Roving Photographer to see how a skilled photographer can present images of NEPA! 


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

To All a Good Write

Submitted via email, here's a blog about writing and how to do it better:

To All a Good Write

http://www.toallagoodwrite.blogspot.com/

This is the forum of To All a Good Write, a freelance-editing business in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Here, I provide observations, opinions and advice regarding the use of words and grammar in writing, editing and speech. At times light-hearted, at times a bit cynical, this blog’s goals are to simplify the complicated and make an often-dry subject more appealing.

About the blogger, Mike Liechty:

I'm a freelance editor with my own business, To All a Good Write, based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. I provide editing, proofreading and tutoring for businesses, nonprofit organizations, students and authors. Find out more about me and my services at www.toallagoodwrite.com. 

Anyone can write, but writing well is a skill that takes effort to develop. Check out Mike Liechty's To All a Good Write blog for tips on how to improve your writing! And while you're there, check out the links to Mike's Facebook page, and his business website!

Two New Movie Blogs

*Ahem* Some local bloggers that I know are very reluctant to join Facebook for a number of excuses reasons.  To this, I say phooey.  One of the ways we find a lot of new bloggers in the area is through our Facebook group.  We added four new bloggers to the group this week!  I'm going to group two of these new blogs together in today's post because they have something in common....they are movie blogs!

Grab your barrel of popcorn, add some butter and salt and prepare for you movie review tour of the NEPA Blogosphere.

First up we have...
FilmBuffOnline
http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/

Rich Drees from Wilkes-Barre brought this blog to our attention.  He's the editor and publisher of FilmBuffOnline.  Similar to NEPA Blogs, this blog has a number of contributors who write posts (John L Gibbon, Michael McGonigle, Jeff Stolarcyk, and Richard Zeszotarski).  The topics include movie reviews, movie history, producer and director info and lots of other goodies that film buffs would enjoy.  A post that grabbed my attention in particular was about the history of movie trailers. 

Next up we have...
Total Popcorn
http://www.totalpopcorn.blogspot.com/

You may remember back in November 2011 we added a blog called Cinema Cyclops which was written by Bill Thomas.  Cinema Cyclops mysteriously disappeared a while ago, but re-emerged as Total Popcorn.  I love the blog tagline...

"No-frills movie reviews in 500 words or less.  Because you've got places to be, dammit!"

It looks like all of the posts from Cinema Cyclops were retained for the new blog, which is a good thing.  Which brings up a point...if you are listed at NEPA Blogs and decide to change your URL, please let us know about it so that we can update the blog roll accordingly. 

We also would like to extend an invite for you to join our NEPA Bloggers Facebook Group if you haven't already.  You can interact with a bunch of local bloggers and perhaps gain more readers.  Also, don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook -- http://www.facebook.com/nepablogs

~Michelle

Onomahuna

I hope you brought your appetite to this blog post!  We have a blog by Jim Babinski called "Onomahuna" which is a visitors guide to lunch in Scranton, PA.  Onomahuna means good times, good food, good friends according to the About.

http://onomahuna.com
http://onomahuna.tumblr.com


Onomahuna promises to be a guide to the best ways to spend your meals wherever you are.  Right now, Jim is focusing his efforts on the Scranton area, but has plans to develop the concept further and potentially roll it out to other areas.  We can't wait to see where this project will end up next!

You can follow Onomahuna and Jim on twitter using the handles @onomahuna or @jimbabinski.

 I must say that the Colarusso's coal fired pizza pictures are making my tummy rumble! 

Enjoy!  Or shall I say, onomahuna!

~Michelle

About the header image: August 15, 2012

This week's header image was submitted by Frank Dutton (http://frank-dutton.blogspot.com/) whose blog, Frank's Place, is also our Blog of the Week! Actually, this wasn't so much submitted as I saw Frank post it to Facebook, and immediately knew it would make a great header image, so I dropped him a note. After getting his OK, I went to work on shaping it into a header. It's just an interior shot of a pavilion at Nay Aug Park in Scranton, but the imperfect symmetry of the image, the natural beauty just outside the pavilion's perimeters, and the absence of people all combine to make a picture that is at once sublimely beautiful and full of a sense of loneliness, or at least anticipation, of potential waiting and ready to be actualized.

If you have a header that you'd like to submit, please attach it in an email to nepablogs@gmail.com - or at least post it where we might see it and ask you for permission to use it!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Frank's Place

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the 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://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=267552

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Frank's Place by Frank Dutton (http://frank-dutton.blogspot.com/).

Frank Dutton is a local history buff who is also a darned fine photographer. Most of the posts at Frank's Place are built around photos taken in and around Scranton. He photographs landscapes, nature scenes (especially waterfalls,) architecture, trains, and anything else that catches his eye. His blog captures the world of today in its photographs, but often features images from the past as well. 

Frank Dutton has been blogging at Frank's Place since May of 2007.  In that time he hasn't been afraid to repeat himself, taking numerous images of subjects like Nay Aug Falls and the Steamtown Trolley. When viewed together, each series of images can be viewed as a progression over time. Frank's blogging is remarkably regular, with exactly 384 posts each year from 2008 through 2011. (2007 was a partial year that started in May, while 2012 is incomplete.)

It's been said that blogging is the history of now, documenting both the ephemeral and the profound details of the world in which we live today so readers at some later time might form a more complete picture of who we were. Through his photographs, Frank Dutton has turned Frank's Place into a valuable reference tool for tomorrow's historians. Check it out and see if maybe you've been missing something that's still around!



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!

My Wyoming Valley Memoir

My Wyoming Valley Memoir
http://maureenkatsellas.blogspot.com/

Over the years I've read a lot of blogs. Blogs written by teenagers, twenty-somethings, older folks, even the elderly. I've gotten to develop an eye for writing styles and the use of language. I've known people in all these age groups in the bricks-and-mortar world, as well, and I've learned to adapt to the cadences and rhythms of their speech patterns.

I've known a lot of writers and actors, too. I know that, as a writer, sometimes authentically recreating the language of the real world paradoxically fails to produce dialogue readers will find believable. Sometimes tropes and stereotypical patterns have to be added in to create a character who meets the expectations of and is instantly recognizable by readers. For an actor, this is even more important: if you fail to convince your audience that you are the character you are playing right out of the gate, you've lost them.

In my current job I talk to a lot of people from all over the country. And I do know that some of them speak in a way that seems full of stereotypes and tropes, that seems more like an actor playing a part than an authentic voice. But I accept that they are real.

On My Wyoming Valley Memoir Mrs. Walter J. Katsellas doesn't write like any elderly person I've ever read.  Here is how she introduces herself on her sidebar:

I am a Senior Citizen in her Golden Years who has taken to the wide world web through blogging and chat forums. I am a feminist, a widow, Catholic, and mother of 2 grown children who hate me with a passion. They never call, and I recently began having therapy to deal with all of the lesbians who are in my life at the moment. That's why I'm online with the interwebs, sharing myself on the information super highway from the safety and privacy of my home in beautiful Northeastern Pennsylvania, birthplace of Joe Biden. Please note that I employ noms de plume, thusly altering the spelling and pronounciation of certain persons and locales in order to retain privacy, except when discussing celebrities and public figures, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Her writing is very reminiscent of a character created by a certain writer/poet/actor I know. (Conor M., is that you?) It is also reminiscent of someone else I saw posting a while back in Facebook discussions of the Hotel Sterling, though that person called herself "Bertha."

Whatever the case may be, Mrs. Walter J. Katsellas has put a lot of effort into My Wyoming Valley Memoir. Check it out for an amusing take on life in the Wyoming Valley, and life in general!

My Wyoming Valley Memoir
http://maureenkatsellas.blogspot.com/

The Walt Disney World Traveler Blog

Need a vacation?  Always wanted to visit Disney World?  Well do we have the perfect blog for you....

The Walt Disney World Traveler Blog
http://wdwtraveler.blogspot.com

"One fan's take on the rides, shows, attractions, and World of the mouse."

Blog author, Neil Trama III, is a lifelong Walt Disney World fan, freelance writer, part time radio personality, and owner of Neil Trama Travel & Tours in Scranton, PA. 

From the first post:

"A few years ago I started writing attraction reviews for my personal blog, website, and the Intercot discussion boards.  I was never satisfied with the way any of them worked and the way I was able to promote them.  At the beginning of this year (editor's note: the post was dated April of 2009) I stopped posting to the website and began exploring Blogger as a possible solution to that problem.  "Walt Disney World Traveler" was born of those efforts."

You can also follow Neil on Twitter where his username is @neiltrama.

~Michelle

About the header image: August 8, 2012

This week's New Header Wednesday image was submitted by Trish Hartman at WNEP-TV.  She was covering a story about the Wayne County Fair last week and snapped this shot inside of the agricultural building at the Fairgrounds.  The Wayne County Fair is in its 150th year and it runs through Saturday, August 11, 2012.  Tickets are only 8 dollars for admission and includes free parking and free rides.  You can't go wrong for that price! 

For more information please visit http://www.waynecountyfair.com.  Thanks again Trish!

If you have a header that you'd like to submit, please attach it in an email to nepablogs@gmail.com!

REMINDER: PA Live! Blog of the Week pre-empted by Olympics

Just a reminder....we're on summer vacay.

PA Live! will not be airing on local NBC affiliate WBRE-TV this Tuesday due to coverage of the Olympics. So we're are postponing the two blogs we were planning on highlighting until next week.  Look for the NEPA Blogs "Blog of the Week" segment to return to PA Live! starting again on August 14.  We have some very interesting blogs on the schedule!

~Michelle

The Grinder

Happy Monday!  We have another sports blog to get your week started on the right foot....er....skate...

The Grinder
http://thehockeygrinder.wordpress.com

"The Grinder" promises to be the single most important hockey blog in the world.  Since this blog is only 4 posts old, we'll have to see how that plays out for them. 

In case you are wondering, this blog is my brother's so I'm allowed to say that and get away with it ;-)

~Michelle

570 Sports Radio

570 Sports Radio is a group blog/podcast that covers all types of sports, more specifically: MMA/UFC, NFL, NCAA Football and Basketball, MLB, NBA and any other newsworthy sports topics that may occur.

http://www.570sportsradio.com

The blog contributors are all locally based right here in Northeast PA!  They are: Rich Davies (no relation), Jordan Pohutsky, Paul Glenn and Doug Miller. Jordan and Rich are the original founding members and Paul and Doug are newcomers to the group.  Rich tells me that they have been blogging for about a year and a half.  I wish we found out about it sooner!

There is no about page on the blog, but in recent talks through Twitter direct message with Rich, he tells me that "all of the contributors are very opinionated and they don't try to keep their favorite teams a secret and they aim to keep their fans up-to-date on sports info, locally and around the globe."

You can follow 570 Sports Radio on Facebook and under the username of @570sportsradio on Twitter.

Happy Sunday!

~Michelle

About the header image: August 1, 2012

This week's header was submitted by Stephanie Force of http://itsanorganizedmess.blogspot.com blog.  Stephanie emailed us earlier in the week to let us know that she had explored Salt Springs State Park in Montrose on a recent weekend.

"I had no idea what I was to find outside the few waterfalls, but what more so caught my attention was a rock full of pennies.  (A superstition thought to bring good luck)"

You can find "Penny Rock" along the Hemlock Trail in the park.  Penny Rock is a large rock above the falls made up of stone layers. Through the years hikers have wedged pennies and other coins in the crevices of the layers. Almost every visible crevice is filled.  You can learn more about "Penny Rock" and Salt Springs Park by visiting http://www.friendsofsaltspringspark.org

We are passing along this good luck to you and hope you'll do the same by sending us an image that we can use on an upcoming New Header Wednesday.  Our email address is nepablogs@gmail.com.

~Michelle

From the Mailbag: Donation Can

We received an email in our inbox this afternoon from Lacey Salls, originally from Tamaqua, PA who would like us to list her blog....

Good Afternoon,


I was wondering if I could get my blog listed on NEPA blogs. I'm originally from Tamaqua, PA and a graduate of Panther Valley High School. I moved away after graduation to serve in the Air Force and now I'm back in PA living in State College.


Thank you!

DonationCan
A Financial and Lifestyle Blog
http://www.donation-can.com

From the About:

I’m a down to earth girl born on the Jersey Shore and raised in the Pennsylvania Coal Region. I enlisted in the military when I was 17.

“My desire to do things & know what’s out there has always been greater than my fear. I was more scared of staying home than of leaving it.” Dolly Parton



I planned to serve 4 years and separate but those plans fell through when I had $208,261 in debt. I owed $55,437 on credit cards, $75,000 on a house, and $77,825 on vehicles. I had to reenlist to keep a roof over my head. I promised myself I would never be a slave to a lender again (Proverbs 22:7). My husband and I worked diligently to pay off every cent owed. We are 100% debt free with a net worth greater than our annual income.

I needed an outlet to discuss the lessons I learned on money, voila, I created my blog. Money is a taboo subject that most people don’t talk about. My mission for my blog is to get people talking about money. Let’s discuss what works and what doesn’t. Let’s create financial literacy and independence.

--

I'm happy to report that Lacey will be attending NEPA BlogCon in September, if you would like the opportunity to network with her in person.  You can purchase your tickets to NEPA BlogCon right here all proceeds from ticket sales go to benefit 2 local charities (The Arc of Luzerne County and the NEPA Veterans Multicare Alliance).

Do you have a blog that you'd like featured and listed on our blog roll?  Reach out to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

~Michelle

PA Live! Blog of the Week pre-empted by Olympics!

PA Live! will not be airing on local NBC affiliate WBRE for the next two Tuesdays due to coverage of the Olympics. So we'll be postponing the Blog of the Week until we can re-schedule and re-coordinate. Look for the Blog of the Week segment to return to PA Live! starting August 15 (EDIT by Michelle) August 14!

Fortune Cookie Ideology

Another blog by NEPA blogger, photographer, and guerrilla historian Cheri Sundra!

Fortune Cookie Ideology

Using just a few words to convey large concepts

http://fortunecookieideology.wordpress.com/

Like artist Jenn Danza, Cheri takes the "found poetry" of fortune cookies and transforms it into art - in this case, by pairing each fortune with a photograph or other image. This is a new blog, and a work in progress, so be sure to check it frequently for updates and developments!

Times House News

Jim Thorpe is getting excellent representation on the NEPA Blogs list! Here's another blog from Jim Thorpe, sent to us in the email!

Times House News
http://jimthorpeblog.com/

An innkeeper with a background in journalism, I write our blog the Times House News at jimthorpeblog.com  Our B&B is in the old Times News building, hence the name.


I write about what's happening in town on any given week and about the things in Jim Thorpe that made my husband and I fall in love with it.

If you've never been to Jim Thorpe, you're missing out on a beautiful gem located right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Check out Times House News - and all the other Jim Thorpe blogs we feature - and see what you're missing!

About the header image: July 25, 2012

There are some things that people who have grown up in Northeastern Pennsylvania take for granted that, to people from outside the area, are just inexplicable. The pirates atop Cooper's Seafood in Scranton are one of those things. Are they defending the place, or attacking it? "If I could explain I would" Matt Batchelor wrote on his blog when he first posted this image a week and a half ago. Matt is a relative newcomer to the region, and documents his adventures in becoming part of the NEPA community in his blog "Moving to NEPA."

So have you noticed something you took for granted that someone else might consider a landmark? Send a photo to nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll see about making it our header image of the week!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Pages from the Past

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the 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://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=263202

Read Brian's blog post about us:  http://blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/pages/?p=2473


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Pages from the Past, written by Brian Fulton for the Scranton Times-Tribune (http://blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/pages/.)


Northeastern Pennsylvania has a rich and fascinating history, and Brian Fulton shares it with us through this amazing blog. Working with clippings, photos, and articles from the Scranton Times-Tribune's extensive archives, Pages from the Past brings us fascinating snippets of local history, and history in general seen from a local angle. From the Agnes Flood to Andy Griffith, Brian features stories that are of great general interest. But he also presents the obscure as well: police blotter photos for crimes long-forgotten, images of state-of-the-art technology, and images that remind us that honors and accolades are fleeting. He turns some of these photos into a game of sorts: can you tell what's contained in this image? By engaging the public like this, he may also tease out information about the images that might otherwise soon pass away into history.


Brian's been running this blog since December 2008, so Pages from the Past has amassed its own fairly extensive archives. If you're interested in local history, history as seen through local eyes, or just really neat stuff, be sure to check it out. Pages from the Past is not to be missed!


(Brian also has a personal blog called Food Photos and Library Crimes that you should definitely check out! For more about Brian, see this post.) 



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!

The Vintage Theater IndieGoGo Fundraiser

The Vintage Theater has been a good friend to the NEPA blogging community and has served as the venue for many blogging-related events in the past year, including the Bloggers' Roundtable, the Bluekey Tweetup, Pecha Kucha Night, and the Scranton StorySlam. Back in May they announced the shocking news that they would be vacating the 119 Penn Avenue location at the end of the month. But since that time proprietors Conor O'Brien and Theresa O'Connor have been searching for a new home for the Vintage Theater. And now it looks like they've found it. But they'll need the help of people throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania to make that happen.

You can help by taking part in the Vintage Theater's IndieGoGo campaign! From now until August 18, you can donate to the Vintage Theater and get some really neat thank-you gifts, or "Perks"! How neat? Well, for example, $5 will get you a hug, $50 will get you a goodie bag of books, music, and art from local writers, musicians, and artists, $75 will get you enrolled in any of the classes the Vintage will be offering, $200 will get you two tickets to a dinner that will also feature a special guest character of your choice (living or dead), and $800...$800 will get you naming rights to one of the two bathrooms at the new Vintage Theater! Plus, each level also gets all the perks from the levels below! (There are many other levels I didn't mention!)

So this is it: your chance to help the Vintage Theater, support the future of the creative arts community in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and get fabulous perks in return! But hurry! The Vintage Theater's IndieGoGo campaign only runs through August 18!

http://www.indiegogo.com/vintagetheater

Nine Kilobytes

Glenn Burgess is a technology covered music lover from Wilkes-Barre.  If it makes a noise he wants to hear it, see it, and feel it.  He also is a podcaster, slightly above casual video gamer and (most importantly) a blogger!  I had the opportunity to meet Glenn at the NEPA BlogCon launch party and learned that his love of technology inspired him to start up a new blog in June.  The blog is called "nine kilobytes".

nine kilobytes
http://www.ninekilobytes.com/blog/

Why Nine?

From the about page:  I’m sure many of you are wondering, “why nine kilobytes?”  Well the answer is simple, though somewhat long and drawn out.

I began looking around on the internet, the self-perpetuating content machine, to see what I could reference and feel genuine with.  The kilobyte.  Long since forgotten and slightly larger than its subset brethren which are the building blocks everything you process in a  given day are built on, it would be perfect for me.


So in researching the kilobyte, I came across a Wikipedia page explaining exactly what it is and this example.  10kb for an encyclopedia page?  Well I’ll be a bit under that in my posts.  Nine kilobytes is the description of this blog as well as the evolution of the identity of its creator.  Nine kilobytes is perfect.

You can also check out Glenn's podcasting blog "Bro'ing Up" right here.  He's also on twitter under the username of @ninekilobytes.

--

Have you recently started a blog?  We'd love to hear about it!  Drop us a line with your name, your blog's name and address, and a short description of what it's about to nepablogs@gmail.com.

~Michelle

2 Tumblrs from Ashley Teatum

Ashley Teatum is another journalist in our area that blogs.  Ashley is a sports writer at the Times Tribune in Scranton.  I learned of her two Tumblr blogs through her Twitter account @tee_tuhm.  "writer. lit nerd. sports geek. journalist. feminist."


Blog #1:  
Feminish.
http://feminish.tumblr.com
"Critically Uncovering the Coverage of Women in Sports"



Blog #2:  
Shelvish
http://shelvish.tumblr.com
"It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it." -oscar wilde
"What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?” -Ralph Ellison, from Invisible Man"


Ashley is also in the popular "Dancing with the NEPA Stars" competition...and she's made it all the way to the final round!  It costs a dollar to vote online, but all proceeds go to help the Scranton Cultural Center.  You can vote for Ashley online using this link:  http://www.scrantonculturalcenter.org/ashley-teatum


From the voting page: 

Although she is a Staten Island, N.Y., native, Ashley Teatum caught the Scranton bug and stayed after graduating from the University of Scranton in 2009. As a sports reporter for The Times-Tribune, Ashley, 24, covers high school soccer and wrestling. She serves as the vice president of the Alpha Sigma Nu Scranton Alumni Club and also has sung with the University's performance music concert choir as an alum. Ashley lives in West Scranton and is tackling David Foster Wallace's epic novel “Infinite Jest” this summer. She owes her dancing genes to Ms. Mary Saccheri-Spera, her dance teacher in Staten Island who gave Ashley her groove for 13 years. 

Best of Luck, Ashley and welcome to the blog roll!

~Michelle

Uncharted Frontier EZine

Allan Kaspar, of the DnA Project Band blog is starting a new project that involves a blog.  I interviewed him about the new endeavor via text message.

Me:  "What's this new thing you are doing?"

Al:  "I'm starting a free ezine for short fiction writers, artists and photographers who are not yet mainstream.  It will distribute through all smart phone bookshelves/libraries.  Going to be an awesome creative venture."

Al:  "The ezine is located at http://unchartedfrontier.com"

Al:  "It'll be in ebook format going through smashwords so it'll convert into .mobi, .epub, etc formats."

Me:  "When does it launch?"

Al:  "As soon as I finish putting up the preview story."

Me:  "Ok, sweet!"

Al:  "Well the website anyway, issue 1, I'm hoping for beginning of August."

From the About:
Uncharted Frontier Magazine focuses on the best fiction and art from the creatively talented albeit undiscovered. We seek to provide a vehicle and voice to those we feel should be heard! Do you have the passion to create a good short story? Do you have a budding talent for photography and want to show the world? See our Submission Guidelines for details!

Undiscovered Frontier aims to be the best FREE fiction e-zine made specifically for mobile devices! We aim to have the ezine published on the Amazon Bookshelf, iTunes, and all major digital distribution outlets aimed at the smartphone and tablet audience!

Thank you for reading, and welcome to the Frontier!

--

So there you have it, head over to http://unchartedfrontier.com and check out the preview and look for the first free issue at the beginning of August.  

~Michelle

About the header image: July 18, 2012

This week's header is an image of the ceiling of the Scranton Cultural Center taken by Trish Hartman during a special "behind the scenes" tour. Ornate treasures hide in plain sight throughout the place - all you have to do is look for them!

Do you have a photo that captures some aspect of Northeastern Pennsylvania that you'd like to share? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com, and maybe we'll use it as the NEPA Blogs header for a week.

You can see the complete set of all header images to date by clicking here. (Click on individual images to view full-sized.)

PA Live! Blog of the Week: CacheCrazy.com

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the 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://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=261702

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

Geocaching is an enormously popular but relatively new sport. To put it simply, it's like a huge game of hide-and-seek using GPS (Global Positioning System) locators. "Caches" are hidden objects, usually in weatherproof containers, whose locations are given with GPS coordinates of latitude and longitude. Sounds simple, right? Not so fast! To make things more fun, the coordinates are sometimes encrypted in games, riddles, or math problems. And sometimes the coordinates only get you in the ballpark, and additional clues need to be followed to locate the cache.

So what's the point? It's not so much the finding, but the seeking. Geocaching is a way of getting others to explore exciting locations, challenge their skills at hiking, climbing, and problem-solving, and view vistas that they might not otherwise have seen.

For years I suspected that there must have been a blog in Northeastern Pennsylvania dedicated to this sport, but I didn't actually discover it until a few months ago - and then learned it had been active since 2010! CacheCrazy.com is a site dedicated to geocaching. It was created by a blogger from NEPA who goes by the name of "Bloodhounded," but now has regular contributions from a group of bloggers who share his love of geocaching. It's full of stories of geocaching adventures, hints and tips,  and upcoming geocaching events.

If you're not involved in geocaching, odds are you know someone who is.  If you're at all interested in this fun and exciting sport, give CacheCrazy.com a visit and learn more about it! You'll be glad you did!


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!

Lara's Book Club

It looks like we have another new journalist in Northeast Pennslyvania.  Lara Greenberg just started last week at WNEP-TV and lucky for us, she has a blog!

Lara's Book Club
http://larasbookclub.wordpress.com

From the about:

Welcome to my bookworm blog!

My name is Lara Greenberg, and I’m a local news reporter for YNN, a 24-hour local news cable station in upstate New York. I work in the Elmira/Corning region, covering the top stories of the day from this area. And though I’m on TV every night, one of the integral parts of my job is writing.

My life is a constant cycle of reporting the things I see and hear. Aside from reading newspapers and news sites all day, I’m a huge bookworm. Reading for leisure allows me to learn and refocus my energy on things I don’t have the opportunity to experience. And as important as it is to me on both a personal and professional level to know what’s going on in the world, that includes popular culture. That’s why I like to read bestsellers, popular books, fiction and nonfiction.

I hope you can read along with me and find out more about the books you’re hoping to dig into. I also hope you’ll enjoy my interest in a wide range of books and allow yourself to read a variety of novels as well. It’s time to turn the page!

According to Twitter, Lara will be covering news throughout the Wyoming Valley.  You can follow her on Twitter under the username of @LaraReports.

Welcome to NEPA, Lara!

~Michelle

Infected Vegetables

Infected Vegetables
http://infectedvegetables.blogspot.com/

A blog by mv swiderski of "wilx bear, NEPA", whose introductory post starts off with:

Hi. 


I write. 
This is a place for me to show you what I write.
And for you to read what i write if you want to

What could be more straightforward?

It's actually hard to describe this blog beyond that. Is it free-form poetry? Fiction? Creative non-fiction? All of the above? It's something you'll have to read and then decide for yourself!

About the header image: July 11, 2012

Military surplus items decorate many of the municipalities in Northeastern Pennsylvania, some with well-documented histories, some seemingly more random. Many places feature their own personal anchor, cannon, tank, or other item. Andy Palumbo snapped this photo of an artillery piece in Olyphant several months ago, and tells its story here.

If you have a photo   that you'd like to see featured as the NEPA Blogs header for a week, please send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: NEPA Mom

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the 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://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=260282


Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is NEPA Mom (http://www.nepamom.com/)


"Mommy blogs" are among the most popular blogs on the Internet, in which mothers share what it's like to be a mom, and their own personal day-to-day adventures in motherhood. Megan Galko's NEPA Mom isn't exactly like this. Instead, it's an amazing resource for mothers, families, and everyone else living in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Megan lets you know about events, deals, discounts, and giveaways. She shares recipes, product reviews, product recalls, printable coupons, and useful information of all sorts. If you want to know what the R/C Theaters Summer Movie, Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse, or Great Escape Dickson City's movie schedules are, she's got that!  How about summer youth programs at Penn State Worthington, Lackawanna College, the  Jewish Community Center, or other places?  She's got it! Want to go out picking strawberries, take the kids to a reading program, or just want to know about cool stuff going on around Northeastern Pennsylvania? She totally has you covered. I've gone to some great events that I might never have found out about if it weren't for announcements on NEPA Mom!

Life can sometimes be overwhelming. A site like Megan Galko's NEPA Mom can give you lots of help, hints and tips, and even information about fun little getaways and mini-vacations around Northeastern Pennsylvania. Give it a visit and you might be surprised at what you find!


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!

Scranton is Broke

Unless you have been living in a closet or under a rock for the last few weeks, chances are you've already heard about the growing financial problems in the City of Scranton.  Scranton is broke.  And now there is a blog about it by the same name....

http://scrantonisbroke.blogspot.com
The city's finances are in question. Chapter 9 is the answer.

Gary Lewis, a Scranton resident, is the author of this blog.  He has specialized qualifications that help translate what the numbers mean to the blog's readers. He's a consultant who has worked with complex accounting for distressed assets with a focus on Banking Industry mergers and acquisitions.  Since 2009, he works primarily on the closure or consolidation of failed banks. -- From the About


A petition has been started today asking Scranton City Council and the Mayor to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy.  There are only 2 signatures right now, but I'm sure more will appear as time goes on.  If you are interested in signing it, follow this link:  http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-scranton-file-for-chapter-9-bankruptcy-protection.

"It's time to take steps to actually "Restore the Pride" and not simply pay lip service to a great idea."

Thank you to tipster @GlobalScranton for tweeting about this blog!

~Michelle

08/06/12 UPDATE:  Harold recently stopped at 62 South Franklin Street to pre-record a few segments of the Blog of the Week when we learned by accident that the Scranton is Broke blog was closed.  You can read the post here.  This post refers us to Gary's other blog located at consolidatediza.wordpress.com.  Look for an upcoming post about this blog soon!

Amye Archer's new blog

Amye Archer tweeted yesterday about a new blog that she started.  You may know her from her other self-titled blog on Wordpress or from her award winning performance at the first Scranton Story Slam (video below)...

Amye Barrese Archer ‏@AmyeArcher

I've started a new blog... please check it out. It's a baby! http://thefatgirlblog.com

From the About:


What this is:  As I was working on my book, Fat Girl, Skinny, which chronicles the time period in which I lost a hundred pounds using the Weight Watchers plan, I realized that even though the numbers got smaller, the pain inside of me remained.  I think once you are “the fat girl,” even if it’s only for a short amount of time, even if it’s only in your head, it stays with you forever.  It colors how you see the world, how you imagine the world sees you.

I’ve arrived at two simple truths:

1.  Being “the fat girl” is as much about what’s on the inside as the outside.
2.  I could send someone to college with the money I’ve spent on Weight Watchers (re)joining fees.

With The Fat Girl Blog, I wanted to create a space to talk about body image and what it means to be The Fat Girl.

What this is not:  A place where we celebrate unhealthy behavior.  Even though I may lose the battle from time to time, I never retreat.

What this most certainly is not: A diet blog.  Don’t expect me to be whining about how I’m on the wagon this week and off the next.  That gets boring real quick, especially in my world.


Amy is an amazing storyteller, and I am very excited to read this new blog.

~Michelle

Runningful

I found out about this blog when the author attended NEPA BlogCon's launch party at the end of June.  As it turns out, I used to work with Alicia in my short time at Solid Cactus many moons ago and we were both in Bernie's Memorial July 4th Run/Walk.  Alicia is an avid running chick and writes about it on her blog called Runningful. 

Hey there, I'm Alicia! I've been running for about three years now and have finished several 5ks and my very first half marathon. Running has been a wonderful experience for me, and hence "Runningful" was born as the place where running+wonderful intersect. Want to share a running story, write a guest post, pitch a product review/giveaway, or just have a comment? Email me at alicia@runningful.com!

http://www.runningful.com
"Running is wonderful"

Runningful covers topics such as proper nutrition for runners, running wisdom, running inspirations and also has product reviews that may be helpful to runners. 

You can also follow Alicia's adventures on Twitter under the userid of @runningful.

I wouldn't recommend running in this heat, give yourself a break today and soak up the AC or take a dip in the pool.  Stay cool, NEPA. 

~Michelle

New Newspapers (with blogs!)

Happy Friday everyone!  I have located 2 new periodicals to add to our blog roll. 

First up:

West Side Bulletin

http://westsidebulletin.net

The WESTSIDE BULLETIN, L.L.C. is a monthly publication available at over 80 locations throughout the westside and surrounding communities. Each month you’ll find local community news, photographs, recipes, puzzles, school news, and much more. The Westside Bulletin invites you to submit your news about community events related to your school, church, sports, youth organizations, etc. We also welcome information regarding birthdays, engagements, anniversaries, and upcoming events.

You can also view each monthly edition on their website under the "Monthly Editions" link.  I haven't been able to find any social media presence for this publication.

Next up:

Wilkes-Barre Independent Gazette
http://www.wbindependentgazette.com

I could not find a detailed about section on their blog explaining their mission, but the Wilkes-Barre Independent Gazette is essentially a by the people, for the people publication.

"We welcome your letters contribution of local news and interests.  Space permitting, we will consider publication of all points of view.  We reserve the right to respond."

You may already be familiar with some of the staff members:  Lou Jasikoff (Publisher), Holly Anderson (Executive Editor), Frank Sorick (Contributing Editor), Betsy Summers (Contributing Editor), Carl Romanelli (Contributing Editor), and Anthony Antonello (Investigative Journalist).

The only social media presence I could find for the Gazette was a Facebook group which is locked to the general population.  You need to request to join.  

UPDATE:  Bill Boyle of the Wilkes-Barre TL did a story about the new paper on July 6th.  You can read the story online right here.

Do you know of any local news blogs or political blogs that we aren't linking to already?  Shoot an email to nepablogs@gmail.com to give us a heads up!

~Michelle

NEPA Pizza Review

I'm going to let the about section of this blog speak for itself....

NEPA is renowned for it's abundant and diverse selection of pizza restaurants.  I'm a lifelong NEPA resident, longtime pizza maker, and avid lover of all types of pizza.  My goal is to bring you a minimum of 1 pizza review per week and build a library of reviews of pizza places throughout NEPA.

http://nepapizzareview.blogspot.com


Two cool things I found about this blog was that the author decided to create a Google Map to plot out all of the pizza places that were reviewed.  You can check that out here.   Also, the blog's author engages his readers by creating interactive polls.  The one up now asks "What is your favorite kind of pizza?" Choices:  Thin Crust (NY Style), Thick Crust (Chicago Style), Old Forge Style, Sicilian.  Of course, I voted for my favorite - Sicilian. 

This blog is fairly young, it's only been around since June.  It does have several reviews of popular pizza places in the area so far (Revellos, The Gourmet Slice and Colarusso's to name a few).  We look forward to reading (....and drooling over....) more reviews soon!

~Michelle

About the header image: July 4, 2012

Fireworks have always been something of an economic indicator: if you can afford to spend money on things you're only going to blow up later, you might actually not be that badly off. This goes for communities as well as individuals.

For the past few years Nanticoke has put on modest but entertaining fireworks displays. Our header image this week shows a few of the fireworks from the 2009 show as seen from several blocks away. I'm not sure if Nanticoke will be putting on another show this year.

Do you have an image that you think captures some aspect of NEPA's traditions or history? Put it in an email and send it to nepablogs@gmail.com, and we'll see about turning it into one of our weekly headers!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Ice Cream Journal

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the 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://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=259072



Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is the Ice Cream Journal by Turkey Hill (http://icecreamjournal.turkeyhill.com/.)

The Fourth of July is a time for patriotic celebrations, fireworks, and picnics. And ice cream! What could be better on a hot summer night than a nice cone, or bowl, or carton of ice cream? Turkey Hill's Ice Cream Journal is all about ice cream! Ice cream history, ice cream science, favorite flavors, things you can do with ice cream... This blog has been around a while - its first post is from November 1, 2006 - and they haven't run out of things to talk about!

Blogs come in all different types. Some are individual do-it-yourself projects, created by people who have something to say and want to get their message out to the worldwide audience of the Internet. Others are more professional endeavors, less labors of love and more tools of doing business. Some represent groups and organizations, or even corporations or businesses. The Ice Cream Journal falls into this last category. Ultimately it's a corporate blog, putting a face to and providing community outreach for the Turkey Hill Dairy corporation. And it does that job very well, by focusing on an engaging and popular item like ice cream.

One of the secrets of having a popular blog is having content that is wildly popular with people. Politics and sports are two of the big topics that bring in readers. But ice cream is definitely up there. Few blogs cover the topic of ice cream better than Turkey Hill's Ice Cream Journal!



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!

Happy Blogiversary!

Several of our NEPA Bloggers have celebrated significant Blogiversaries lately and I thought it would be fun to do a post and call attention to their accomplishments.  We often find that we are the kiss of death in NEPA Blogging.  Bloggers will delete their blog or stop posting right after we add them to our blog roll.  Maybe its because we have drawn attention to their blog, or maybe the blog author simply got bored with it, we can never be sure.  Harold, Gort and I have seen many a blog come and go over the years.  Which is why I think keeping a blog around for a year or longer, shows dedication and should be celebrated.

Congratulations!  We hope you keep blogging for many more years to come.

 (Check out the awesome cake I baked for you all.

Yes, that's really me.)

NEPA Blogs founder and co-admin Harold recently celebrated his blog's 8th anniversary, we celebrated his milestone by making him the PA Live! Blog of the Week on Tuesday, May 15th.  You can read more about it in his post here:  http://anothermonkey.blogspot.com/2012/05/eight-years.html

NEPA Blogs co-admin Gort42 celebrated 7 years of blogging at the end of April.  In the past, he's had parties for these occasions, but this year, we had BlogFest right before said anniversary.  The Blogfather had a sappy post about it (kidding).  Gort also took the time to thank all of his supporters and friends in his post:  http://gort42.blogspot.com/2012/04/7-years-of-blogging.html

Speaking of the Blogfather, I had to do my homework to find out when Mark started blogging.  I learned by reading his first post at the new blog "Circumlocution for Dummies" that he first started blogging at Wilkes-Barre Online back in December of 2000.  That officially makes his blog the oldest of the bunch -- 11!  http://mcour.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-location-same-old-madness.html

Andy Palumbo, the bad photography expert and serial WNEP blogger has been blogging for 7 years.  He celebrated this milestone back in November of 2011 and is slowly working his way up to year 8.  Congrats!  Bonus points awarded for posting religiously every single day.  http://andypalumbo.blogspot.com/2011/11/7.html

I just celebrated my 7th year of blogging on and off, across several platforms and nearly lost my job for it.  It's been a crazy fun and interesting ride that I hope will continue (as time allows!)  http://www.mhryvnak.net/blog/?p=1954


NEPA Blogs will be turning 7 years old on January 13th.  We're not getting older, we're getting better!  http://nepablogs.blogspot.com/2006/01/welcome-to-nepa-blogs.html


Shannon Nelson, who has appeared recently on our Blog of the Week segment on PA Live! told us on Facebook that she will be celebrating her 7th anniversary of blogging in October of this year.  Congrats Shannon, you make it look effortless!


Maybe we're amazed that Yonki's blog turned 6 years old in May.  Has it really been that long?  It seems like he just started that thing up yesterday!  http://lulacpoliticaletter.blogspot.com/search?q=6+years+old

Two of our newer added bloggers informed me of their blog's first birthday, they are:

- Kara Zoeller of Saving by Design (and also weekly Citizens' Voice columnist)
- Morgan Harding of Cashmere & Cowboy Boots

Congrats on your labors of love ladies!


--

Have you recently celebrated a blogiversary and we missed you in this post?  We're sorry!  Let us know in the comments!

~Michelle

About the header image: June 27, 2012

This week's header image is by Guerrilla Historian and Urban Archaeologist Cheri Sundra, and is a view of some of the graffiti inside one of the structures at the abandoned Concrete City in Nanticoke.

Concrete City was once a small company town, a cluster of family residences, but was abandoned many years ago. Afterwards it was used as a training facility for local firefighters.  Even after all these years of abandonment, exposure to the elements, and abuse, the structures are still solidly standing. Now that local firefighters have a dedicated training facility, the old structures of Concrete City have become a playground for paintball enthusiasts - and a canvas for graffiti artists from all over the world.

The art there is inherently transient: the paintings present one week may be vandalized or painted over the next. I recently visited the place for the first time, and realized two things: you should always have your camera with you, and if you go to Concrete City, you should be prepared to deal with ticks.

Concrete City is one of the hidden treasures on Northeastern Pennsylvania that are appreciated by people from outside this area more than by lifetime residents. Cheri Sundra and people like her are doing a great job bringing these places to the attention of the rest of us.If you know of any other hidden treasure of NEPA that you'd like to see featured in our header, take a photo and send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com .