How Demon Wife Became a Media Star And Other Tales of the 'Blook' in Japan - WSJ.com

Playing second fiddle again.

How Demon Wife Became a Media Star And Other Tales of the 'Blook' in Japan - WSJ.com Blogs are even more popular in Japan than in the U.S. It may be that they represent an appealing outlet in a culture that discourages public self-expression. Japan produced 8.7 million blogs at the end of March, and the U.S. an estimated 12 million blogs -- making blogging far more popular in Japan, taking the countries' relative populations into account. An estimated 25 million Japanese -- more than a fifth of the population -- are believed to read blogs.

Well, one could play second fiddle ot a demon wife -- or what I really meant -- USA is behind Japan in terms of its reach in blogging.

Speaking of quaterbacks

This week's NCAA leader in passing efficiency is Pittsburgh's Tyler Palko at 191.3.

Ad and Worthy Ads

Bill Ogden is one I'm excited about for the November election.

Furthermore, I've turned on Google Ads for the blog. I'd love to get a new computer this fall.

Onorato, Ravenstahl Push 'Plan B' For New Arena

Onorato, Ravenstahl Push 'Plan B' For New Arena The Pittsburgh area's top two politicians are backing Plan B funding for a new arena. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato said that the plan - which will use gambling money and money ...

comment from another on a web forum:

pittsburgh is a waste and ravenstal and the rest of them are just new people with the same old dumb ideas about how to save pittsburgh. clean up the water in those rivers so people can use them and let developers build tall highrise apartment with good views which is one of pittsburgh's only permanent assets.

all the arpartments are dumps in the city. who would want to move back there there except overpaid teachers fleeing philadelphia and new jersey who are then on the public payroll

Build the highrises and stop building endless public housing!!!!

seattle guy

Tech test: Google's Writely mostly hits the mark, but it's no Word killer

The way to beat Microsoft's Word is to use OpenOffice.com.

Tech test: Google's Writely mostly hits the mark, but it's no Word killer As a reporter, I'm never sure when the muse will strike or an editor will call. That's why I send copious notes and drafts of stories to myself by e-mail. As long as I'm within range of a computer with an Internet connection, I know I'll be able to tweak the latest version or do a quick fact check.

But as projects undergo revisions, my inboxes overflow and I start to feel the pain.

Then I started using Writely, a free word processor that runs in a Web browser, built by a startup called Upstartle and acquired by Google Inc. in March.

Writely is to Microsoft Word what Gmail is to Outlook: A speedy online program that retains familiar features of traditional desktop software and isn't afraid to introduce new ways of taking advantage of the Web. Unlike a boxed program, Writely runs on a server somewhere on the Internet.

But will Writely dethrone Microsoft Corp., which ships more than 90 percent of word processors used by U.S. consumers and businesses? Writely -- even as a beta test -- has the right stuff, but it needs some polishing.

It took less than a minute to register at www.writely.com and get a blank document open on my screen.... (See the rest of the article by clicking the link above.)

The Ravenstahls: Just a couple of 20-somethings

Not the fish. Oh no. What phychological reasoning can be attribute to this tall-tell sign???

The Ravenstahls: Just a couple of 20-somethings 'We're getting rid of them,' Mrs. Ravenstahl said of the four freshwater fish in the aquarium that burbled away in their dining room. 'He wanted them, and I didn't. And now he doesn't have any time to take care of them.'

Picture yourself at 26. Now add responsibility for 3,200 employees, a $429 million budget and the image of a city of 317,000.

The obvious is so bad, we dare not go there as I love swimming and fish swim. And, another said, "That's the point of fish. You don't have to be there to take care of them." But, let's ponder the other visual ramifications.


Fish & jello like dish, from a meal we shared in China.


People like to fish with a small net in the ponds in the parks.


Live fish are being scooped out of this truck near the market place.


Could this be what those who walk past the four plastic jack-o-lanters will see when they go to trick-or-treat at Luke's house? They'll have a tray with dry fish...

Jack Wagner eyes mayoral bid? - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

No, it did not escape my attention. I've blogged about the fact that Wagner would have to be in the list of those who might run for mayor for some time. I put up a list at another site too.

Jack Wagner eyes mayoral bid? - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review It may have escaped your attention, but it didn't escape ours.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner said publicly he would not rule out running if Pittsburgh holds its next mayoral election next year.

Jeb Bush - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Big tent or big broom closet in a PAT T-stop?

Jeb Bush - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bush's appeal to Florida's highly diverse group of voters, along with his groundbreaking second term and success in expanding the so-called 'big tent' of the Florida Republican Party, appear to have propelled him into a commanding political position.

Pittsburgh is all hacked off because a beautiful young women with a Brit's twang, while here for a movie we'll never see, yacks poorly about our city. Great to have Luke dish out forgiveness to the dish and her dad to visit from Meadville to show her around. We don't suck that bad, seems to be the message.

Then Jeb Bush comes around and has to hide out in a broom closet in a downtown T-stop to evade folks in his face screaming for him to 'go home.'

Meanwhile, two get to taste, first hand, what it feels like to catch a zap from PAT Police 'stun guns.' This is sure to raise concerns about brutality and freedom of speech.

So, if peace protesters spread the message, "Go HOME" and pitch a fit in a skirmish. Do you think we should worry if this is the type of behaviors we'll need to display so as to woo kind remarks from the the next glamor girl to come to town?

And, was that women with Jeb good looking too?

Jeb Bush gets rude welcome: "Mr. Bush, accompanied by a security guard and a female aide, made a slow retreat toward the T-station at Wood Street."

This gives me another chance to show a travel image of a transit stop in China.
Maglev stop. No broom closet here. Spotless too.

Fester's Place: Force Harrah and PITG to raise on their Coase bids

Fester's Place: Force Harrah and PITG to raise on their Coase bids

Sure. Now is the time to force a sell off of the Convention Center for the slots parlor too. It opens faster.

The Convention Center is a big sink of money, both with capital and operations. This is a lone opportunity to sell it and make it a private building.

City's credit rating upgraded - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

City's credit rating upgraded - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Yes. This is good news. It means the city officials can pave a few more roads so as to win critical votes and sway elections.

Nevermind. I'm just being skeptical and bombastic at the same time.

Call for Videos for contest

Open Source Shorts is a screening of short films released under Creative Commons licences.

Creative Commons licenses provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors and artists and build on the "all rights reserved" concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary "some rights reserved" approach.

With Creative Commons licences people are free to copy distribute and remix creative works without the threat of being labelled pirates. The screening will be followed by a short discussion on Creative Commons.

Support creativity support the commons.

This event is presented by local artist Kevin Flanagan at the Nuns Island Arts Centre, Galway at 5 pm Saturday 2nd of December, 2006.

I am currently seeking submissions. The criteria are straight forward. The film should be at most 10 minutes in duration, published with a ceative commons copyright licence and freely available to download from the internet.

I'm looking for variety and am open to different styles. Documentary, Narative/Non-Narative, Art films, and Music Videos.

To submit a film simply email kev.flanagan@gmail.com your details and a description of your film and a link where I can view and download it from.

End date for submissions is the November 10th.

http://kevflanagan.wordpress.com

http://kevflanagan.wordpress.com/open-source-shorts/

For more information on CC licences see http://creativecommons.org

Language Help with a price tag

If you are interested in additional language instruction for your child(ren), you might want this contact. Instruction is available in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese.

Institute of International Art and Languages

A German class is starting next week in Highland Park and will be held every Tuesday from 4:00 to 5:30. The German instructor is a native speaker (a German women) with a PH D. in Art history and she will teach German through visual art and craft.

The fee for 9 weeks (1h 30m) is $202.50.

Original source: Christine Frechard-Harbison, Institute of Art and Languages, 1135 Mellon St., Pittsburgh PA 15206, 412 661 0177

Read the sign in an urban park in Chengdu with greenspace and water front treatments for pedestrians.

South Siders tell LCB 'enough already' to bar scenes

Chuck is a 'running mate' and he gets interviewed in the P-G about a pressing local issue, bars.

South Siders tell LCB 'enough already' to bar scenes

South Side residents and business owners say they are dismayed, but not surprised, that another orange 'public notice of application' for transfer of a liquor license has appeared on East Carson Street.

The notice of the pending application at 1311 East Carson has drawn a spate of protest letters to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

'Just what we need, another watering hole,' wrote Charles Nogal, who owns a ceramics business across the street. 'I think it is time to say enough already.'

A hell raising meeting was held last week on this issue. Jeff Koch didn't attend and he should have been there.

The meeting's prime presenter was Bruce Krane. Bruce Kraus was there and couldn't even keep his lips shut after being told to hold all questions and comments to the end, already. Yeah, we all know it is okay to call 9-1-1. Mr. Krane did do a nice job with the meeting.

We have a bar task force now on the South Side. It got decent coverage in the South Pittsburgh Reporter too. I'm sure that this group is making people quake in their boots now.

Presently, the South Side is over-run with bars.

Well, there isn't such a thing as a 'bar' in terms of the LCB (Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board). There are places to eat and some of these place can serve drinks. Every 'bar' on the South Side, and wherever else, needs to be able to deliver 30 hot meals to qualify as a joint that meets LCB requirements. That's like three packs of hot dogs and a hot plate, -- check.

We all agree that there are too many bars. But, not all of us agree on what to do about it. I'm a freemarket guy and made the observation after the meeting to any who might care to listen that 20 to 40 of these 200-or-more bars on the South Side are going to go out of business as soon as the gambling casino opens. Perhaps the slots parlor is granted to South Side's Station Square, then what!

You won't need a 'bar task force' to thin out the competition in a few months.

So, as I see it: There are short term worries. Then there are long-term worries.

Task force actions need to think about life here, before and after the casino opens.

Many of the bars are on the brink. Some have gone out of business. It is hard to keep the lights on and make a decent income when there are so many places. They are eating each other's hope for any of them to have a sustained business.

Frankly, the ones that are now just getting opened, are here way to late. They'll spend money on the re-hab and ramp-up. They'll not have a decent ROI (Return On Investment). They'll need to do something 'special' to survive in this marketplace. Otherwise they'll die.

Perhaps 20 will not be able to meet payroll. Perhaps some others will have their gas cut as they've slid on their bills. Some might need to churn with new owners as there are always new suckers who think that they want to own a cool venue in a hot area. There will be some corrections and they'll come from the invisible hand of the competitive forces of the marketplace.

Gotta run for now.

Statement before the the RAD Board

Statement before the On August 28, the Director of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh came before you and talked about future plans for the Library system, including plans to repair damage done by a lightning strike to the historic Allegheny Regional Branch of Carnegie Library—the nation’s first publicly-funded Carnegie Library, built in the neighborhood where Andrew Carnegie grew-up. She failed, purposely, to tell you of plans to abandon this historic library in favor of building a new library structure three blocks away, while allowing the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to announce these plans only three days later!

They are playing the RAD board like a fiddle.

Glenn A. Walsh spoke before the RAD Board today, again. Here he was speaking before the Buhl and Old Carnegie Library on the North Side. It is the first of Carnegie's under his library formula.

Was that an election or a rubber stamp?

T. Martin posted something that caught my attention. The PA Supreme Court ordered that the retention vote for Nigro and Newman, one lost and the other won, was not an election. The voter numbers were not to count as a state-wide election.

So, if it wasn't an election, candidate Martin suggested that it was a 'rubber stamp.'

But, in this case, it was a historic stamp as one of the judges got stamped OUT.

Here are some rubber stamp images to ponder. Rubber stamps for sale.

Close up of rubber stamp.

Chop, chop, chop.

A more lavish, stone aged, timeless rubber stamp. These stone blocks are carved with a person's symbol / logo. They make nice tourist gifts as a reminder of a by-gone past.

Romanelli stuck with $90,000 bill for ballot dispute : The Morning Call Online

This is CRAP. I can't scream it loud enough. This sucks.

Un-democratic democrats are slime and the lowest thing in our political landscape today, in my not so humble opinion.

All democrats, this brings shame on you.

All friends of democracy need to pitch a fit on this too.

Romanelli stuck with $90,000 bill for ballot dispute : The Morning Call Online Romanelli stuck with $90,000 bill for ballot dispute

He is appealing ruling that found him short of required signatures.

By Josh Drobnyk Call Washington Bureau
| The state Democratic Party has hit Carl Romanelli and his attorney with a nearly $90,000 tab a week after the Green Party candidate lost a legal challenge to his bid to get on the U.S. Senate ballot.

The bill, submitted as part of a state judge's ruling that Romanelli is responsible for all costs associated with the challenge, includes more than $48,000 in attorney fees. It adds to what Romanelli described as a deepening campaign debt.

This is one of the major reasons why I pulled out of my race for PA Senate in the 42nd district.

I could be, and should be on the ballot on November 7. But, doing so puts me and my family on thin ice. Very thin -- as in $90k underwater thin.

This is a freeze out of the highest order.

Fighting for the right to vote is important. Fighting for the right to have your vote counted is also very important. But, they (un-democratic democrats) hi-jack who you can vote for -- and hi-jack ballot access -- and hi-hack questions that are presented to the voters. And, if you fight, you face a $90,000 bill.

When I went to court in the middle of August, 2006, the first thing I asked about was court costs. We were called to order, and I didn't sit down. "Your honor, I have a few matters that need your attention before we begin...."

Court costs were not part of the threat in the ballot challenge I was presented. But, I needed to know, up front, if my case would ever come to a point where I would be on the hook for paying for court costs. And, if I would ever be on the hook for paying for the opposition attorney fees. I wanted to have those facts understood and up-front before we were to proceed.

I hadn't even activated a bank account for my campaign. I had $0 in the bank in my PAC -- because the PAC wasn't even alive yet.

I was there without an attorney. I was there as a citizen candidate who had the right to be on the ballot because I had done the necessary paperwork and gotten the signatures to go before the voters for them to decide who should be the state senator.

It was estimated by a few good friends of mine that the opposition attorney had already racked up between $5,000 and $10,000 in legal charges. And, I hadn't yet begun to defend my campaign's hope of reaching the voters.

My court date was in mid-August, and today the newspaper are reporting today on yesterday's final outcome of the Romanelli appeal. That's the same timeline I was looking at.

It took another local, political friend, Titus North, and his team, more than a month of legal fighting, day-in-day out to get to a decision on his opportunity to be a candidate before the voters. His decision was known in mid September.

Titus North, Green Party Candidate for US Congress. He spent two weeks in a tent in Harrisburg to stay on the ballot. More than half of the challenges the Ds put before the judge were nothing but fiction.

I took this photo of Titus after Bob O'Connor's funeral mass on September 1. The proceedings in court were still underway that week.

This isn't unreal -- but a part of the bag of tricks of the un-democratic democrats. They have a standard play book, and this is what you do on 2nd down. Even if it is second down and less than a yard to go.

The United States sends men and women around the world to stand in harms way to fight for democracy. For what?

Wayne Fontana put that legal challenge against me -- and in doing so I feel that he greatly discounted the worth and dignity of all American veterans of all time. Wayne Fontana has a committee assignment that deals with Veterans Affairs. He needs to overhaul his sense of duty to them.

Wayne Fontana can stand up and tell veterans that they went to war to fight for this country and our freedoms and rights. Fontana can say, Democracy is important to our nation, except now, when Fontana is in charge of a stash of slush money that gives democratic cronies access to legal henchmen to knock down anyone who might offer peeps of challenges.

Bob Casey Jr, you stink.

Wayne Fontana, you stink.

Un-democratic democrats, you all stink.

Senator Jim Ferlo didn't file a challenge against his opponent. He doesn't stink.

US Congressman, Mike Doyle, you stink.

Tens of thousands of signatures that came from tens of thousands of citizens of Pennsylvanias didn't mean jack. Thousands of people got ignored. The judge sealed that decision and it was pushed along by the democrats. The big blame goes onto the backs of the democrats.

It took six weeks for the fight to occur in the courts. It took another six months of gathering signatures. Meanwhile, we have little else to talk about in terms of what Romanelli has to say on the issues. Skunked.

We all loose.

Perhaps Pennsylvania is 46th out of the 50 states in terms of job creation. But, I have a hunch that PA is 50th out of 50th in terms of its sense of democracy.

This is what is killing our state, our region and our city. People in power don't have respect for the big-minded values of what makes us different and something other than those we fight against.

Bob Casey Jr. does not get my vote.

Yes, it is being reported that the decision to knock Romanelli off the ballot is a big victory for Casey. No way. I see it in another way. Casey's goons knocked Romanelli off the ballot and knocked democracy in the teeth in doing so.

Then they issue a dental bill for $90,000 to be paid by the citizen candidate Romanelli. He works for the rail road. He went through hell just to get an attempt to try to serve his country and this is the thanks he gets -- from Casey and his cronies.

Perhaps it is Casey's wish to put PA back into the dark ages. He just wants to win. Screw that mentality.

Tiny brained leadership stinks. Fontana fits that mold too.

I'm glad I pulled out of the state senate race, before the judge, when I did. I'm glad I don't have a $90,000 bill to pay. Well, perhaps my bill would have been half of that. I'm still glad I don't have a $45,000 bill to pay.

Rick Santorum is no friend of mine. But Casey and Fontana and Doyle have proven to be mortal enemies to democracy. They don't believe that the people should decide, as I do.

Futhermore, I know of a lot of Democrats who are aiding and helping Rick Santorum. Likewise, I know of a lot of Republicans who are aiding and helping Bob Casey. When I ran as a Libertarian, I had a lot of help from Ds, Rs, Is, and Gs. People in the U.S.A. have a RIGHT to Free Association. It is understood and even healthy when there are different camps and different campers moving about from campaign and candidate -- as they so choose. Choice is great!

So, don't expect this crap to stick concerning how Romanelli, a Green, was 'funded' as some secret double agent for the status quo vangards. That is spin that resonantes with me much like what I've seen going down the drain in a toilet.

Romanelli took some campaign money from Rs. So what. Romanelli also took money from Ds, Greens and others. Casey takes money from Rs. Santorum takes money from Ds. So what. I'd love to see more and more folks fund third party folks because they love democracy.

It takes all types to make the world go around. Perhaps this is why Pennsylvania and our region are flat. Pennsylvania is old school. Pennsylvania is without the buzz of diversity, without inclusion. PA is where people get to ride on the laurels of their parents, Bob Casey, Jr.

People vote with their feet. People are leaving Pennsylvania. This is why.

People won't go out to vote for Bob Casey. Bob Casey and his cronies are clueless about democracy. Bob Casey is clueless about how to make peace.

Bob Casey doesn't win friend, influence people nor get votes by signing off on pay raise checks while State Treasurer, not showing up for work, nor kicking democracy in the teeth and sending a bill of $90,000 to those who just got kicked.

Hex... Humm.... Heartbreak.... Hardships... Healing

From Hex photos released to the public domain.

This photo collection is released into the public domain and is called, "Hex." Enjoy. Do what you wish with the images.

Template:Unencylopedia license - PittsburghPlatform: "Licensed under absolutely nothing. Have a field day. Abuse this for your own sick pleasures."

For most, it is hard to connect with the Amish. That relationship isn't "easy" to make.

Pennsylvania's legacy of being a place where religious freedom is respected is something that we should never forget.

Pop City - Giving Voice to Big Ideas

I was there. And, I've been the top point earner in the follow-up web site too. Big whup.

Pop City - Giving Voice to Big Ideas On a bright summery Saturday in September, hundreds of young Pittsburghers flocked downtown, clutching coffee and cartoon-like postcards, to fill classrooms at the Creative and Performing Arts High School (CAPA).

Sprout Fund boss, formerly with Jim Roddey and helper in the New Idea Factory, spreads some hype at the event. Click the image to see a snip of video.

Don't start school before LABOR DAY

We did not start school until AFTER Labor Day. We held out, because we were elsewhere, with a job, on travels, and not willing to come back for two days of school.

We love school. We don't love it before Labor Day in our family.

The "No Child Left Behind" slogan has a different meaning with us. We won't leave our children behind. We take em with us when we go.

INSIDE THE CAPITOL

Early start costs state

Starting school before Labor Day costs the state's economy $387 million, according to a report released last week by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. That was music to the ears of Rep. Robert Godshall, R-Montgomery, who has legislation pending to prohibit districts from starting school before the September holiday.

'The study confirms what has been my contention all along, that starting the school year before Labor Day harms the state's economy, especially the tourism industry, and has a negative effect on jobs,' he said.

Photo shows my child, Grant, leaving us behind. Grant was in an open-water swim race on the first day of school this year, Thursday before Labor Day. We were in Canada, where we should have been. (Click image for a larger view.)

Pa. Supreme Court rejects Green's bid to relax ballot rule

This was more than a Green bid to call an election an election. I was on my knees in prayer that the election in the fall would be called an election too.

AP Wire | 10/03/2006 | Pa. Supreme Court rejects Green's bid to relax ballot rule: "HARRISBURG, Pa. - The state Supreme Court dealt another blow Tuesday to a Green Party candidate's U.S. Senate campaign by refusing to reduce the number of signatures that minor-party candidates need to run for statewide office.

In a one-sentence order, the court upheld a state judge's decision in August that required Carl Romanelli to gather an unusually high 67,070 signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot alongside Republican Sen. Rick Santorum and Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey.

Romanelli had argued that the formula for calculating the number of signatures should be based on last year's judicial retention elections in which state judges run unopposed and voters cast up-or-down votes on whether they should serve additional 10-year terms.

I hate one line decisions from judges.

It would not take a constitutional convention to fix this mess.