Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat?

Recently I received an email from my friend Laurel Radzieski, a poet and writer I met through our mutual writing group, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective. She's been working on her MFAW at Goddard College in Vermont, and has also been helping young poets in the northern reaches of NEPA to develop their craft. She wanted to let me know that she has recently started a blog:

Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat?
http://isthepoetaboat.ghost.io/

Laurel describes her blog thusly: "My blog examines the role of the poet in academic and nonacademic environs. I am using the recently introduced Ghost publishing platform." See what Laurel has to say, and what the Ghost platform looks like, on Does the Poet Choose to be a Boat?

About the header image: January 29, 2014

Northeastern Pennsylvania, like much of North America (but not most other parts of the Northern Hemisphere) is still in the icy grip of the dreaded Polar Vortex. Even though days are getting longer and the sun is gradually creeping up in the sky, days can easily become gray and gloomy under cloudy skies. (Ironically, the clouds tend to trap heat from the sun, so cloudy days can be less bone-shatteringly cold than clear and cloudless days!) NEPA Blogs co-administrator Gort has captured the gloom in this picture of houses near the park by the Polish Club in Hudson. Even the relatively fresh snow doesn't brighten the scene much! Who's ready for Spring to be here already?


If you have an image of life in and around NEPA, we'd like to run it as the NEPA Blogs header. Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Conor A. O'Brien

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Conor A. O'Brien by Conor O'Brien (http://conoraobrien.tumblr.com/.)

Many people know Conor O'Brien as the proprietor of The Vintage, the coffee house and art venue located at 326 Spruce Street in Scranton, which features music, poetry, visual arts exhibitions, theatrical performances, and artistic events of every sort. But fewer know him in his other aspects of performer, playwright, poet, and author -  a collection of skills and avocations he summarizes as "Theatre Artist." On his self-titled Tumblr blog, Conor A. O'Brien, he shares these other aspects of his life through photos, articles, and the "hey, look at this" posts that are the basis for Tumblr. Conor shares some hit-and-run posts, but also includes some longer meditations on the past, the future, and the relationship between the two.

Everyone has a story to tell, even people whose stories we think we know. Conor A. O'Brien is a good example of both a life blog - sharing the myriad aspects that make up an individual's life - as well as a personal branding blog, establishing an online presence waiting to greet anyone who asks the question "Who is Conor O'Brien?" 

What about you? What will people find if they try to learn something online about you? Nothing, perhaps? Or maybe something written by someone else? Why not take control of the information out there about you by being the person who is actually putting that information out there? If you're looking to do this, you can find an excellent model in the blog Conor A. O'Brien.



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

About the header photo: January 22, 2014

This week's header photo is the first one supplied by co-administrator and political blogging specialist Gort of gort42.blogspot.com. It really shouldn't need an explanation...but just in case it does, this is a picture Gort took as he prepared to do some grilling not long after a snowstorm. Hey, who said grilling is just a summertime activity? Do you think our caveman ancestors only pulled out their grills in the summer? No, like Gort they fired up the charcoal and cleaned off the spatulas year-round!

If you have a picture you'd like us to use as the NEPA Blogs header, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com! Thanks!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: NEPA Blogs

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is NEPA Blogs (http://nepablogs.org.)

This isn't the first time we've featured our own site as Blog of the Week. NEPA Blogs was actually the second blog ever featured, and would have been first if not for the Flood of 2011 making another blog the better choice that week. Since January 2006 NEPA Blogs has been dedicated to locating, listing, and linking every blog in Northeastern Pennsylvania, a goal at which we could be said to have failed spectacularly. Each passing week brings many new blogs about which we had previously known nothing, suggesting we will never manage to locate, list, and link them all!

NEPA Blogs has had its ups and downs, and still we persevere - not unlike northeastern Pennsylvania itself. As long as there are bloggers in NEPA, from NEPA, or writing about NEPA, NEPA Blogs will have a role to play, and will continue to work to bring attention to these bloggers and their blogs. Keep on blogging - and keep reading NEPA Blogs!


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

About the header image: January 15, 2013

A slightly overdue comment on the header which has graced NEPA Blogs since last Wednesday. This is another winter view of Nanticoke, this time from the second story of my house!

Get ready...this Wednesday brings the first-ever header photo from a well known local blogger! If you have a photo you'd like us to feature as the header image for a week, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

Let Me Eat Cake

Megan Baringer is new to Northeast PA.  She moved here last May and is looking for some camaraderie from other local lifestyle bloggers.

From the mailbag:

Hi! My name is Megan Baringer - I just moved to NEPA.  I just started a lifestyle blog to follow my fitness and life through wedding planning and marriage. Thanks!

Blog: Let Me Eat Cake
Link: http://megb87.blogspot.com/

We wish Megan a warm welcome to NEPA.  Now everyone put down your pierogies and kielbasa and give her blog a read, heyna!        

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Apropos of Nothing

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website:
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/nepa-blogs-january-14-2014/22342/DuaNkqaf6Eqis4hUPGCH3A

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is J.L. Kenney's Apropos of Nothing (http://thepixchick.wordpress.com/).

J.L. Kenney is yet another wonderful photographer based in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Apropos of Nothing is her* photo blog which features photos from Northeastern PA and beyond. Her photos have a rustic feel to them, even when there is no context whatsoever to justify this: photos of goldfish, power lines, a sailboat in Cozumel - all seem to convey a laid-back, easygoing air.

In the same way that the many bloggers who blog in and about Northeastern Pennsylvania from myriad points of view help to create a more complete impression of NEPA, the many photo bloggers who photograph NEPA in numerous unique styles from numerous angles help create a literally more complete picture of the area, something which no single blogger or photographer could possibly do. Check out Apropos of Nothing to see one of many points of view of NEPA and its surrounding areas.

*I'm assuming J.L. Kenney is female. I may be wrong, but considering the URL is http://thepixchick.wordpress.com, maybe not.


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!

They're baaaa-aaaack!

This may be old news to some, but two guys who had taken time-outs from blogging are back.

Tom Borthwick took a sabbatical to run for school board and get married.  He's back to blogging semi-regularly at http://www.tomborthwick.com.  Tom's blog features topics about politics and writing.

Frank Knorek retired his personal blog approximately a year ago.  He's back again with a food review blog called "NEPA Culinary Review" which can be found at http://nepaculinaryreview.wordpress.com.  According to the about page, the NEPA Culinary Review blog is  your source for news and information surrounding the recipes, people, and places relating to good food and drink in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Take a moment and head over to their blogs and give a warm welcome back to the blogosphere.

Mailbag Round-up

It's no secret I've been neglecting my duties on this blog for quite a while.  With more responsibilities in my work and personal life comes less free time.  I'm hoping to turn it around with better time management.  Harold and I have talked about devising an editorial calendar so that the blog is not neglected for long periods of time.  Please accept our apologies for lack of posts!

We've received a ton of email with new blog additions and I figured it would just be easiest to lump them into one post to play catch up.

Email #1:

Hello. Was wondering how to get my blog registered on your awesome site?
Thanks much
Linda

Www.lindathelategraduate.com
Instagram @lynnapoe
Twitter @lynnapo

Email #2:  

 

Here's a blog by my "neighbors", Cathy & Barry Beck- accomplished photographers and fly fishing guides both here and around the world.

http://www.barryandcathybeck.com/site/index.php/our-blog

Nicole (of Springhouse Shop & Studio)

Email #3:  

 

I am from Scranton (I am actually the editor of the Abington Suburban newspaper) and, at the urging of just about everyone I know, I started a lifestyle blog yesterday about the health issue I went through. I wanted to list it on NEPA Blogs and I really want to make a go of this. The address is: http://andtheriverrunsfree.blogspot.com

-Stephanie Longo

Email #4:  

On Layton: The View From My Front Porch

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

Author: Jo Ann Jones Walczak, writer and editor, retired English teacher, Abington Heights School District

Email #5:

http://tattooedjew.wordpress.com/

Former WBRE and WNEP producer, Lycoming County native, now a military wife and mom in Georgia.

This is a good variety of blogs - 2 from the Abingtons, one formerly of NEPA, a photography and lifestyle blog.  If you know of a blog that we aren't already linking to leave us a comment or shoot us an email - nepablogs@gmail.com.

Until next time!

About the header image: January 8, 2014

Yes, it's preposterously cold right now, and maybe even a bit snowy, if the recent warm spell with temperatures in the 40's* didn't melt all your snow. But think positive thoughts! Happy thoughts! Valentine's Day is coming up in five weeks! ...and here's a photo from the aftermath of the Valentine's Day Storm of 2007, when NEPA received over fourteen inches of "lasagna snow," alternating layers of snow, sleet, and freezing rain that were death to snowblowers, snow shovels, and spines alike.

Do you have a more cheerful image of NEPA you'd like to share? Send it to us here at nepablogs@gmail.com, and we'll feature it as the NEPA Blogs header photo for a week!


*Fahrenheit; Australia is currently experiencing temperatures in the 40's Celsius, and they are not enjoying it.

Sweet Caroline's Corner

May as well start the new year by getting back in the habit of actually posting blogs! While we've got quite a backlog to work from, here's one that just came in today.

Sweet Caroline's Corner
http://www.sweetcarolinescorner.com/

I've recently came across Nepa Blogs and I was incredibly surprised since I didn't know that nepa have such a big community of blogs. My name is Caroline and I'm the author of Sweet Caroline's Corner, a little blog where I share recipes and other things about life. I would love if you could link my blog on Nepa Blogs!

Hooray! If you have or know of a blog from NEPA that we don't have linked yet, let us know and we'll get to it - hopefully, sooner rather than later!

About the header image: January 1, 2014

A new year represents a chance for new beginnings, new commitments, new resolutions. Sunrises can be the same way, bringing a sense of hope for the newborn day that can easily get lost as the day progresses. A sun pillar at sunrise serves to emphasize the effect of the sunrise, as the light or the rising sun is reflected by ice crystals hanging in the sky that produce the amazing effect seen in the photo above - even well before the sun has risen above the horizon.*

Let this sun pillar be a beacon of hope for the new year. Best wishes to everyone in their chosen endeavors. And keep on blogging!

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


*A complementary effect can sometimes be seen at sunset.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Sweet Valley Sunrises

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

You can watch this episode on the PA Live! site by clicking here.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Michelle Hryvnak Davies's Sweet Valley Sunrises
(http://sweetvalleysunrises.tumblr.com/).

Since December 2011, Michelle Hryvnak Davies has been sharing images of sunrises from her home in Sweet Valley. Beyond sunrises from Sweet Valley, Sweet Valley Sunrises also includes interjections of philosophy and quotes about sunrises, sunrise photos from other venues - even the occasional sunset!

Sweet Valley Sunrises isn't just our blog of the week. New Year's Eve is also Michelle's birthday, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank her for breathing life back into NEPA Blogs. Without her, NEPA Blogs would have withered away a long time ago. I realize I haven't been as diligent with updates as I should have been lately, and my biggest concern with that is that in my neglect I am disappointing Michelle. I will strive to do better in 2014.

Sunrises symbolize hope for a new day. In the same sense they can be seen to symbolize hope for a new year!  Feel hopeful about 2014 - check out Michelle's sunrise images on Sweet Valley Sunrises!


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!

Belated PA Live! Blog of the Week: Trailscapes

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Tami Quigley's Trailscapes (http://trailscapes-tami.blogspot.com/).

Since June 2011, Tami Quigley's blog Trailscapes has featured nature photography and more from Northeastern Pennsylvania and beyond. Tami's images showcase the beauty of the region, and the more beautiful aspects of the intersection of people with nature. Her blog features photos from the whole year 'round, and let you appreciate both what waits outside your door and the promise of beauty in seasons yet to come. Check out Trailscapes and see all she has to offer!


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

About the header image: December 25, 2013

One great Christmas tradition that I've continued from my childhood is driving around Northeastern Pennsylvania looking at the lights and decorations on houses. For the last two decades I have mostly been the one doing the driving. In recent years I've noticed a gradual diminution in both the number of houses that are decorated and the elaborateness of the decorations. Both of these are reflections of the downturn in the economy and the changing population of NEPA - or, in many cases, the reduced population, as many of the undecorated houses are in fact empty, abandoned houses. (To get a sense of this, drive around in the post-twilight hours in the winter, when it's dark enough to have lights on in a house but too early for all the residents to be in bed, and see how many houses show no lights of any kind, not even the ghostly blue flicker of televisions.)

Still, if you look hard enough you will find some houses that decorate elaborately for Christmas. We've featured some houses in Scranton on these pages before. Anyone going through the Nay Aug Christmas Lights display in Scranton this year (highly recommended, and much better than when I went through a few years ago) will see these houses outshining the public display. Many residents of Scranton and the surrounding areas are familiar with the holiday alley just off Moosic Street, an entire alley decked out in Christmas displays. The house above is not part of that alley, but I was guided to it by a friend who had us drive through the alley, make a right, and then a left. Fortunately I keep a camera and a tripod in the car at all times for just such a situation.

There's still time to cruise through NEPA and see the Christmas lights. If you get a chance, go out and see them before they get taken down and placed in storage for another eleven months! And merry Christmas to you all from NEPA Blogs!

About the header image: December 18, 2013

One sure sign that the holidays are upon us is the sudden outbreak of holiday school concerts. The Northwest School District presented their Holiday Choral Concert on Thursday, December 12, postponed by snow from its original date of Tuesday, December 10. This concert featured the combined efforts of the Northwest High School Chorus, the Seventh Grade Chorus, and the Concert Choir, and even featured a number of members of the chorus playing instruments, as seen above.


If you have an image you'd like to see featured as the NEPA Blogs header, send it to us here at nepablogs@gmail.com . Thanks!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: MyBeerBuzz

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is MyBeerBuzz (http://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/).

MyBeerBuzz is a blog that is all about beer! Since April 2008 MyBeerBuzz has been posting about the craft beer scene in Northeastern PA. With an average of about 750 posts a month, this is a blog that's going to keep you well-informed about the enormous variety of craft beers available in NEPA and beyond! MyBeerBuzz has a strong local media presence, and is regularly featured on WILK radio.

If you're interested in beer but tired of the same old commercial brews, MyBeerBuzz is the place to go. From sample reports to locations where you can get these beers yourself, MyBeerBuzz is your guide to the amazing world of craft beers!


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

About the header image: December 11, 2013

The header image for this week is a shot of the anchor stores of downtown Wilkes-Barre, Boscov's and Barnes & Noble, decked out for Christmas. I still can't get used to seeing the downtown without the canopies. Unlike a lot of people, I liked and appreciated them. I thought they gave a unifying look to the downtown that spoke beyond the place as a dying rust-belt town trying to keep its head above water. They also served a very  useful purpose in keeping the rain and snow off pedestrians. But the canopies are gone now, and that's a fact of life. This is downtown Wilkes-Barre's new look.


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

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Saving by Design

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Kara Zoeller's Saving by Design (http://savingbydesign.com/).

Saving by Design is an amazing blog. Kara Zoeller has set out to create a world-class site that provides information on discounts, deals, and savings locally and nationally. Since June 2011 Saving by Design has been helping the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania save money and find great deals at both local stores and national chains. Deals change week by week and month by month, so while it's good to keep up by constantly following Kara's blog, it's also good to know that there will always be something new and current waiting for you at Saving by Design! Whether you're looking for the latest deals at Target, Walmart, or the local grocery store, Kara has you covered!

Some blogs provide you with information. Some provide opinions. Some provide entertainment. Saving by Design provides savings! And who wouldn't mind saving some money these days? Be sure to check Saving by Design out to see all that it can do for you!


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

About the header image: December 4, 2013

Three-O-Nina, the giant cow outside of Krugel's on route 309 in Wilkes-Barre, appears ready to start grazing on the hay in the manger of the Nativity scene set up in front of her. Don't eat the baby Jesus, Three-O-Nina!

This image is from December 2005. Will a similar scene be set up this year? That remains to be seen!

Do you have a photo you'd like to see featured as the NEPA Blogs header? send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

(NOTE: Due to a scheduling conflict, this episode did not air on November 26 as planned. It is now scheduled to be shown Tuesday, December 3.)

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Trish Hartman's  The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
(http://dishranawaywiththespoon.com/.)

Many folks in Northeastern Pennsylvania will recognize Trish Hartman from her time with television station WNEP. She left the airwaves of Northeastern Pennsylvania some time ago because, as some will recall, she got married and moved out of the area. The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon started out in February 2012 as a blog about her preparations for her upcoming marriage - not just the ceremony itself, but all about making the transition to married life, and the program of diet and exercise (running!) that Trish had put herself on to get into fighting shape for her wedding.

And then, all of a sudden, the big day came...and went. And Trish was left with a blog about preparing for a wedding that had already happened. What to do?

What Trish did was make The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon into her personal blog, detailing aspects of her daily life and things she would like to share. Diet and exercise are still there, as are book clubs, recipes, Trish's ongoing involvement in the world of journalism, adventures in sewing, and all the other bits and pieces of her private life that she chooses to put on public display. Life goes on, and so far, Trish has had no shortage of material for her blog! Follow her continuing adventures on The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon!


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

About the header image: November 27, 2013

Sunset after one of the first snowfalls of December 2005 Kunkletown, Monroe County Photo by Harold Jenkins, anothermonkey.blogspot.com.

If you have a photo you'd like us to use as the NEPA Blogs header, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

NOTE: Due to a scheduling conflict, the Blog of the Week segment did not run this week on PA Live! Fingers crossed that Trish's blog runs next Tuesday!

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Trish Hartman's  The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
(http://dishranawaywiththespoon.com/.)

Many folks in Northeastern Pennsylvania will recognize Trish Hartman from her time with television station WNEP. She left the airwaves of Northeastern Pennsylvania some time ago because, as some will recall, she got married and moved out of the area. The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon started out in February 2012 as a blog about her preparations for her upcoming marriage - not just the ceremony itself, but all about making the transition to married life, and the program of diet and exercise (running!) that Trish had put herself on to get into fighting shape for her wedding.

And then, all of a sudden, the big day came...and went. And Trish was left with a blog about preparing for a wedding that had already happened. What to do?

What Trish did was make The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon into her personal blog, detailing aspects of her daily life and things she would like to share. Diet and exercise are still there, as are book clubs, recipes, Trish's ongoing involvement in the world of journalism, adventures in sewing, and all the other bits and pieces of her private life that she chooses to put on public display. Life goes on, and so far, Trish has had no shortage of material for her blog! Follow her continuing adventures on The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon!


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

About the header image: November 20, 2013

Angel of the Broken Step. Photo by Harold Jenkins, anothermonkey.blogspot.com.


Have a photo you'd like to see as the NEPA Blogs header? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Wren Cottage Live!

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

You can watch this episode on the PA Live! homepage at http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/blog-of-the-week-wren-cottage-live-november-19th-2/41215/vureu3dB1E6aqg-iMuaG8A.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is  Melissa Whalen Haertsch's Wren Cottage Live! (http://wrencottagelive.blogspot.com/).

Over the years that I've been blogging and co-administering NEPA Blogs, I've gotten to know a lot of people through their blogs, and have eventually met many of them in person at blogging events (or, occasionally, completely at random in shopping center parking lots.) Wren Cottage Live! is unusual in that I have known Melissa Whalen Haertsch for many years. In college she was one of the best writers I knew, and the fact that the shelves of bookstores are not filled with her works is one of the many major failures of the publishing industry in recent years. We lost touch over the years, occasionally meeting at friends' weddings, or funerals, or at college reunions. So I was glad to come across her blog some time ago, because it gave me the opportunity to once again read her writing - and to see where life has taken her.

The Melissa I knew was equally at home in the country and in the city, having spent time living in each. In her current incarnation she writes from her home base in Dimock, PA, an idyllic region of rolling farmland which has been the epicenter of the natural gas industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and all the controversy that surrounds it. Since July 2009 she has blogged at Wren Cottage Live! about the experience of making a home in such a place, with all its joys and sorrows, hard work and great pleasure. Dealing with troublesome geese, making bread in a hand-made oven, taking her dog for his final walk on the farm - all this from someone of tremendous literary prowess, with skills to make pens go limp in the hands of lesser writers.

Very few of us have had lives that compare closely to the full scope of the life of Melissa Whalen Haertsch. But her facility with words allows us to get a glimpse of a life that is not our own, that is totally foreign to the lives many of us lead - all through her blog, Wren Cottage Live!


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!

Agent Palmer

Secret identities are hard to maintain on the Internet. We leave so many footprints and fingerprints online, it usually doesn't take much effort to find out the real name behind the nom de blog. Still, here's one where the blogger is trying to maintain a secret identity - successfully, so far.

Agent Palmer
http://agentpalmer.com/

"Of All Things Geek I Am..."

A fun and informative blog letting you indulge your inner geek as Agent Palmer indulges his. Films, animation, comedy, comic books, technology - Agent Palmer covers it all, and then some.

From the "About" page:

I don’t shy away from the term “geek.” I never have. I take it as a compliment. The same goes for “nerd” “dork” “dweeb” and “freak”. I wear them all as badges of honor. 

 This blog is an amalgamation of all the things that make me a geek and my opinions of them.

.I play Magic the Gathering as well as other CCGs and, if time and circumstances would allow, I’d play D & D. I enjoy reading books and comics. All classic geek things to do. But I don’t just fit into one mold. I enjoy playing my guitar and bass. I enjoy sports (both fantasy and real). I play video games, although my favorites are classics that I grew up with: Duke Nukem, Warcraft II, Civilization; and The Tales series, Zelda, Dragon Quest and Skies of Arcadia.

Technology is a hobby as much as an interest. I enjoy coding websites. But most of all I enjoy knowledge, the search, research and understanding of topics both big and small, topical and historic.

Pssst...here's some secret insider information on Agent Palmer, passed on from him during an exchange of messages some time ago:

I took my name from my hero Agent Harry Palmer, Michael Caine's character in a series of spy films starting with the IPCRESS File. And I am currently in the middle of a Rotospective to Ralph Bakshi thusly named because of the rotoscoping technique he used. I'm doing in depth reviews/commentary on all of his films.

Secret information ends.

Agent Palmer has an online presence that goes beyond this blog. Check out his About page for a list of links, or find out more by contacting him through his Contact page. Or just visit Agent Palmer and see what you can learn!

About the header image: November 13, 2013

In the earliest years of the 19th century Jesse Fell developed a practical way of using a raised grate to burn anthracite coal to generate heat, opening up the development and exploitation of anthracite coal resources throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania - and paving the way for the Industrial Revolution. The Fell House and Tavern stood in Wilkes-Barre until relatively recently, when it was torn down to make way for a lovely parking lot. The historical nature of this parking lot is commemorated in signs such as the one above. Photo is courtesy of Don Williams, the Susquehanna River Sentinel (www.srs444.blogspot.com).


Have a photo you'd like to see as the NEPA Blogs header? Send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: The Forwardian Arts Society

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Paul Smeltz's The Forwardian Arts Society (http://forwardianartssociety.blogspot.com/).

On the outskirts of Northeastern Pennsylvania, bordering New York and the Lehigh Valley, is the arts mecca of Stroudsburg. You can't throw a rock in Stroudsburg without hitting an artist or musician, though such behavior is frowned upon. Since June 2006 Paul Smeltz has taken it upon himself to report on the artistic goings-on in and around Stroudsburg. With words and pictures, Paul tirelessly posts about arts news and events in the Stroudsburg area on his blog, The Forwardian Arts Society.

Northeastern Pennsylvania is seen by some as a thing of the past, a place where things used to happen, good only for nostalgia and dreams of better days. But there is so much in Northeastern Pennsylvania that is vibrant and dynamic. The biggest problem is that people simply don't know about it! Blogs like The Forwardian Arts Society keep us aware that this area is full of good and exciting things, just waiting for us to notice them!


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

About the header image: November 6, 2013

On the morning of Sunday, November 3, we turned our clocks back to Standard Time, allowing an extra hour of sleep. Like a chump, I decided to wake up at 5:00 AM to be ready to greet the sunrise from the Nanticoke-West Nanticoke bridge in hopes of seeing the partial solar eclipse as it rose. Unfortunately, the clouds had other plans, and the sun was completely obscured - until I walked away. Then the sun came out, and I was able to grab the photo above - well after the eclipse was over.

I know Northeastern Pennsylvania is full of great photographers, and maybe people who don't consider themselves great but have a camera and aren't afraid to use it. We need your photos! Send them to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use them as the NEPA Blogs header of the week!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Iron Reels Review

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! site: http://www.pahomepage.com/story/blog-of-the-week-november-5th-2013/d/story/mrS7O9c3hUi-l8vAQPx9DQ

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is the Iron Reels Review by Kevin Vogrin and Kyle Rebar (http://ironreelsreview.wordpress.com/.)

There are plenty of movie review sites around, in NEPA and elsewhere. The Iron Reels Review isn't like any of the other ones. Since its founding in April 2013, its focus has been on experimental films, especially those made in the Scranton area. But the reviews aren't limited to films made in any specific genre or region.

By their nature, many of these films are not ones that you will encounter in everyday life. For the most part they are well outside of the mainstream. With the Iron Reels Review Kevin and Kyle bring information about those films to those of us who live outside of the world of experimental art.

Filmmaking is a labor of love, an enormous amount of effort that may be going into something only a few will see. Kevin Vogrin and Kyle Rebar's Iron Reels Review makes sure that at least a few of those films come to the attention of a few people who might otherwise have never heard of them. Check it out!


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

About the header image: October 30, 2013

I created this header image months ago. The plan was to post it this week, just before the Twelfth Annual Sideshow Gathering began right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. For the twelfth consecutive year, many of the world's most talented and creative sideshow performers would be converging on Wilkes-Barre, to the sideshow convention that was a labor of love of the late, great Franco Kossa.

Only...it's not happening.

Franco died about two and a half years ago, five months before the fabulous Tenth Annual Sideshow Gathering. Still, the show must go on, and the people who knew and loved Franco carried on in his name. It wasn't easy without him, and it got harder as the months led up to the Eleventh Annual Sideshow Gathering last year. But all the stops were pulled out, the legendary Todd Robbins (the man in red to the left of center) was signed on to host, and many veterans of the Gathering lines up to rub elbows with some first timers.

Then Superstorm Sandy hit.

It didn't hit Wilkes-Barre. The Gathering itself was fine. But it hit New Jersey, New York, Coney Island...so many people who were planning to come to the Gathering had their home bases, and in many cases their homes, devastated by the storm. Those who managed to make it through brought tales of unbelievable destruction and chaos.

Those who were there made the most of it. The great fun and camaraderie that are the hallmarks of the Gathering (tempered by the knowledge that someone, maybe many someones, is or are stealing your act) permeated the 2012 edition as well. At the midpoint of the second day, Todd called everyone to the stage to try to break a record that had been set at the Gathering two years before: the largest mass Human Blockhead, in which dozens of people would simultaneously shove things - traditionally nails, but also spoon handles, crochet needles, switchblades, ice picks, screwdrivers, and other objects - up their noses and into their sinuses. The record was easily broken, as seen in the photo above. There is so much amazing talent in the picture above, and I have the honor of being on a first-name basis with almost everyone there - and in daily contact with many of them.

The Sideshow Gathering is on hiatus this year.But it is not done for, not if the people who loved it so much have anything to say about it. Plans are already in the works for next year's Gathering, bigger and bolder than ever before. When it does happen, I know I'll be there!

If you have a picture you'd like to see used as the NEPA Blogs header, send it to us at nepablogs@gmail.com!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Times House News

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Times House News (http://jimthorpeblog.com/.)

Anyone who has ever been to Jim Thorpe will tell you it's a beautiful and charming place, and well worth a visit any time of the year. Since June 2010 Diane Prokop, proprietor of the Times House in Jim Thorpe, has been blogging about it in Times House News, a blog dedicated to news and events in and around Jim Thorpe. From shopping to concerts to special seasonal activities, Times House News will keep you informed of reasons to come to Jim Thorpe - just in case you needed them!

Jim Thorpe is such an amazing little place that Times House News is actually the second blog we're featuring as Blog of the Week that's dedicated to keeping you informed about it. We also spotlighted Jim Thorpe PA a few months ago. So if you're thinking of taking a trip to Jim Thorpe, consult both of these blogs to find out everything there is to see and do there!

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

About the header image: October 23, 2013

At sunset, we tend to focus (if we watch at all) on the play of colors in the west as the sun slips below the horizon. How often do we think to turn to the opposite horizon to see what's going on there? But when conditions are right - as they have been lately - an amazing sight can be seen rising in the east at sunset, or setting in the west at sunrise. A pink glow appears across the sky opposite the sun, and below it there will be a dark band, growing at sunset or shrinking at sunrise. The pink glow is the reflected light of every sunset (or sunrise) taking place just below the horizon behind you. And the dark band? That's the shadow of the Earth, cast on - and through - Earth's own atmosphere! This isn't really a rare phenomenon, but how often do we actually get a chance to look for it? This picture was one of many taken by me on the Nanticoke-West Nanticoke Bridge just after sunset on October 20, 2013. The Susquehanna mirrors the sky perfectly, and the John S. Fine Bridge carries Route 29 traffic safely over the river.

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

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Yesterday's Photos

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Yesterday's Photos by Janis Dahlman (http://blogs.thepoconos.com/yesterdays-photos/.)

Long-established newspapers have extensive archives that document local history. But how do everyday people get access to the contents of those archives? Since February 2013 Janis Dahlman has addressed this problem by bringing the best of the archives out into the open! Yesterday's Photos delves into the archives of the Pocono Record and presents striking photos, hilarious political cartoons, and awkward, dated ads - all artifacts of a time that now seems so long ago.

While these photos and articles come from The Pocono Record, the history they document is not just relevant to the Poconos. Like Brian Fulton's "Pages from the Past" (featuring photos and articles from the Scranton Times archives), Yesterday's Photos presents a historical record that is relevant to everyone in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and beyond. Plus, it's a lot of fun!  


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

About the header image: October 16, 2013

Two in a row! This image, like last week's image, is provided by Cheri Sundra (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheri_sundra). I mentioned looking for header images to use for the Autumn to a friend and she suggested using one of a bonfire. I haven't been able to locate a bonfire photo from any NEPA bloggers yet, but this image comes close! Bursting with the colors of Autumn, Cheri actually took this picture on August 15, 2013.

As usual, the full version of this picture really needs to be seen:

You can also see the original on Cheri's Flckr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheri_sundra/9680108794/.


Do you have any images that capture the beauty of Autumn in NEPA? Send them to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and we'll use them as the NEPA Blogs header image!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Leslee Clapp

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch the video on the PA Live! website: http://www.pahomepage.com/story/blog-of-the-week-leslee-clapp-online-october-15th-2013/d/story/jhNWUvVfRU205GZbA8LAgA

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Leslee Clapp's self-titled blog.

I first met poet and writer Leslee Clapp at an open mic hosted by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective several years ago, which followed immediately a Bloggers' Roundtable at The Vintage (then known as the Vintage Theater) in Scranton. We chatted about writing and blogs, and she mentioned that she had a blog. I asked her what it was about, and she told me: "Radical hospitality."

I didn't know what that meant then, and two years later I still don't. What I do know, aside from the fact that Leslee is a wonderful poet and writer, is that he blog is all about lessons learned on her journey through life. As a daughter, wife, mother, sister, friend, a world traveler, a writer, Leslee draws upon the experiences of her life and shares the lessons she has learned from them in her blog, Leslee Clapp.

Reading through Leslee's blog you are almost certainly going to learn some lessons of your own, and come to see your own experiences in a new light. Perhaps the blog Leslee Clapp will inspire you to start a blog of your own, and share the lessons you have learned with everyone else!


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 Bloggers of NEPA BlogCon 2013

This year would be different from last year, I decided. Last year, at the inaugural NEPA BlogCon, I decided to take a back seat, to try to blend in as anonymously as I could. It wasn't my show, it wasn't a NEPA Blogs event. Michelle Hryvnak Davies, co-administrator of NEPA Blogs, was part of the Fearsome Foursome, the quartet of women who planned and executed the NEPA BlogCon, but she did it separately from and independent of NEPA Blogs. I didn't want to show up and give anyone the impression that I had done anything to make this event happen, so I lurked in the shadows and hid in corners, taking in the presentations and observing the other bloggers - until one of the presenters pointed me out during her presentation. After that I tried to muster the social skills to interact with the other bloggers, maybe pass out a few blog cards and collect a few. By the afterparty I had gotten into the swing of things, and was doing my best to work the room without being too obnoxious.

This year I took a stack of NEPA Blogs cards, and a stack of Another Monkey cards, and even a stack of Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective cards. I made sure "NEPA Blogs" was emblazoned on my name tag. I tried to socialize more, and hand out the cards wherever possible. But afterwards I was kicking myself for the things I hadn't done. I hadn't made sure that the NEPA Blogs cards were included in the swag bags - several other bloggers didn't miss that opportunity. I managed to miss the afterparty announcement, so I missed out on the chance to socialize there. And I went home with too many NEPA Blogs cards in my pocket, and too few other bloggers' cards.

But I did collect a few. I also grabbed a few names of blogs and bloggers here and there. I mostly hung out with people I already knew, but I did make an effort to meet some new bloggers. I'll start off with their blogs here, and add more as I collect them. If anyone wants to speed things along, please send your information to us here at nepablogs@gmail.com!

Let's start with one by a member of the Fearsome Foursome, Leslie Stewart - until recently also known as Darling Stewie. But in the past few weeks she has put aside the Darling Stewie moniker, and started up a new blog:

Leslie I.R.L.
A blog about living the geeky life with purpose
http://leslieirl.com/


I met Linda in my networking group, facilitated by the redoubtable Conor O'Brien - proprietor of The Vintage, gracious host and zookeeper for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective, and member of the improv group Unorganized Business, in which capacity he and others from his group were present at the BlogCon. Linda is someone who took a nontraditional path to college graduation, and blogs about here nontraditional approach to life:

http://lindathelategraduate.com/
Linda the Late Graduate
Instagram: @lynnpoe


While I'm talking about Conor, I may as well list his blog too:

Conor A. O'Brien
http://conoraobrien.tumblr.com/


Jackie Siperko and Judy Zavislak were also in my networking group. Both of their blogs are pretty self-explanatory:

Jackie Siperko
Virtual Assistant and Web Services
www.jackiesiperko.com

Judy Zavislak
Independent Team Beachbody Coach
http://judyzavislak.com/blog/


Heidi Marie was in the group, too. I recognized her earlier, after I spotted a sign for her business, Oldfangled Studio, which operates out of The Vintage, which is owned and operated by Conor, which hosts the Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Collective...my world is starting to wrap itself up in knots, in a good way:

Heidi Marie
Oldfangled Studio
Vintage - Cats - Art
http://www.oldfangledstudio.com/blog
http://www.oldfangledstudio.com/


April I met at lunch. Her blog is PG-13 or a bit more, and is probably NSFW, depending on how your workplace feels about erotic images. The focus here is on reviews of erotic and young adult literature:

Literal Hotties Naughty Book Reviews
http://literalhottiesnaughtybookreviews.blogspot.com/


I don't think I spoke to Elizabeth, the blogger behind Radiant Abandon, but I did see her a few times throughout the day and she did, in fact, appear to be radiant:

Radiant Abandon
http://radiantabandon.com/blog/


Adrienne, on the other hand, I recognized from the NEPA Blogs Facebook group - and when I saw the name of her blog, I realized we had spoken extensively at last year's afterparty:

Skinny Jeans and Sippy Cups
http://sjscblog.com/


That's just a few of the bloggers I met there, and not even all the ones whose blogs I hadn't heard of before - I still have a few more on a list elsewhere. But I know I missed dozens of people who aren't listed on NEPA Blogs yet. We'll keep looking for you - but if you read this first, contact us at nepablogs@gmail.com and let us know! You can also join the NEPA Bloggers Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/25858304615/.


Updates, October 12, 2013

Two that I forgot to add:

Writings from Omeed Firouzi
(Winner, Best Political Blog of 2013, NEPA BlogCon)
http://omeedfirouzi.blogspot.com/

Atheistbebil
atheism blog by Erik Dickerson
http://atheistbebil.blogspot.com/

About the header image: October 9, 2013

As I have mentioned before, creating a header for NEPA Blogs generally involves cropping a photo into something with just the right dimensions, and then slapping the appropriate text in the open spaces. Cropping requires some editorial judgement. What is this photo about? What can be removed without detracting from that? What can be removed to emphasize the subject of the photo?

Sometimes the answer to those last two questions is "Nothing." The photo has an organic unity that cannot be altered without fundamentally altering the whole thing. Best to keep your grubby paws off it.

This photo by Cheri Sundra is a jaw-dropper. Most people in Northeastern Pennsylvania know about the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, more commonly known as the Berwick Nuclear Power Plant. Fewer know about the natural and manicured areas around the power plant maintained by PPL for the enjoyment of the people of the area. Cheri recently paid the place a visit and got some wonderful photos, including the one above. This picture is so wonderful that I couldn't find any way to crop it without diminishing the beauty of the whole. So I included the whole thing. (My jaw hit the ground for a second time when Cheri volunteered to let us use this photo for the NEPA Blogs header!) Unfortunately, the size constraints of the header mean that the photo itself must be greatly reduced in size. Here it is, in all its glory:

More of Cheri Sundra's photography can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheri_sundra/.

If you have a photo you'd like to see used as the NEPA Blogs header, just drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com.