Ten Pittsburgh Holiday Things To Do

holiday serving tray

For the first time in a decade or longer, I’m not working on a holiday gift project of some type like a toy drive or a food or blanket drive. No drives. Organizing a drive or a giving tree is exhilarating and rewarding, but it consumes hundreds of hours. My personal seasonal activities were usually […]

Is There an Art to Giveaways?

I Love Giveaways

This post probably won’t be what you expect. I occasionally run giveaway opportunities, usually music and occasionally tickets or passes to various performances. I used to jump at the chance to participate, thinking that it was some sort of indicator that I was a “real blogger” when I was new at this. It was Ledcat who […]

Teaira Whitehead, the Brothers Karamazov and Blogging Defiantly

There’s a passage in the acclaimed novel The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky that has resonated and haunted me for decades. I read the novel in a graduate seminar on political philosophy in 1993. My reaction to this passage fundamentally shifted the way that I viewed God and my own calling, moving away from academia […]

The Reasons I’m Just a Blogger

Live Blogging

The NaBloPoMo prompt for today is a good theme to consider “Do you consider yourself a “professional” blogger? Why or why not? What does that mean to you?” In short, no. I am just a blogger, not a professional. After nine years, I’m not an amateur either. I’m just a regular, plain old blogger. The […]

How Awesome Would ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ Mashup With ‘Amazing Grace’

Harlem Gospel Choir Band Aid

Today’s actual Daily Prompt is art of blogging adjacent You’re asked to recite a poem (or song lyrics) from memory — what’s the first one that comes to mind? Does it have a special meaning, or is there another reason it has stayed, intact, in your mind? Two songs come to mind, both for nostalgic […]

How Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Vanessa German Taught Me About Art

What is art? While growing up in Pittsburgh during the 1970’s and 1980’s, art was seemingly far removed from my everyday life. No one in my family or immediate circle was an artist (that I know of, at least) and we didn’t actively participate in the arts community. Art seemed like something for rich people. […]

Queer Identity and Blogging as an Art Form

pittsburgh pride

In response to yesterday’s post, Jenna left a very thoughtful comment. Just because someone doesn’t blog solely about LGBTQ issues doesn’t mean you’re the only LGBTQ blogger in Western PA (or Eastern Ohio, where I now live). Lots of us use our social media streams as great forms of sharing and connecting. Many of us […]

Exploring The Art and Craft of Lesbian Blogging

NaBloPoMo Lesbian

Today, November 1, marks the launch of the *real* NaBloPoMo – National Blog Posting Month. This group-blog idea was founded in 2006 as a little sibling to National Novel Writing Month. Now managed by BlogHer, NaBloPoMo has a simple aim – post something every day. They offer blogging prompts, a blogroll and the opportunity to […]

We Are All In This Together

The internet has recently been swept up by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Is there a cause — social, political, cultural, or other — you passionately believe in? Tell us how you got involved — or why you don’t get involved. This ALS ice-bucket fundraiser seems to be a really touchy topic. I believe it is perfectly fine […]

True Blood Does Nothing For Me

True Blood

When was the last time a movie, a book, or a television show left you cold despite all your friends (and/or all the critics) raving about it? What was it that made you go against the critical consensus? There are so many reasons I should love “True Blood” and yet I am no friend of […]