Filed under: I Have No Idea,Pittsburgh,Social Media | Tags: internet fun, pixburke
For the second time this year, Mrs. Crappy and I have appeared in a WPXI See and Be Seen slide show.
The first time was back in the spring, when they showed up to cover my Craft Beer School session downtown. And the above photo was taken from their coverage of Secret Agent L’s Laura’s reveal party at the Firehouse Lounge.
1) That the Crappys have appeared — twice — in any form of society pages in the space of one year strikes me as absolutely hysterical.
2) And when I’m done laughing, I’ll probably find some genuine concern for the state of Pittsburgh Society.
Filed under: Food and Drink,Home,Pittsburgh,Social Media,Sports | Tags: internet fun, pixburke, beeeeer, music (other), yum, yet another dreaded bullet update, woo-hoo, even more sports, yinzteam
Last week was an odd one, and it left me sort of unmotivated to write about all the cool stuff that was going on while I was in a funk. My cousin’s death had something to do with it; the fact that I changed my normal Sunday-through-Thursday schedule to accommodate some vacations at work probably threw me off a little too.
* But damn, it was an excellent week, starting with the Bucco Tailgate Tweetup on Saturday. We had a good turnout, and I cooked approximately 127 pounds of meat for everyone, a task that actually led me to melt the asphalt under the four Patented Family Tailgating Grills. Just a few of us went into the game, and those who stayed behind missed a Pirates’ comeback win and a kickass fireworks show. Jennie did a great job of putting it together once again.
* I was melted into a puddle of goo on Tuesday night at the Flaming Lips show at the Trib IC Total Chevy Media Light Amphitheater at Station Square. Fred has been telling me for a couple of years that it’s impossible to walk away from a Flips show without “just feeling … happy.” And he is exactly right, despite the fact that much of the stuff the band played from Embryonic is considerably darker than their other recent albums. But with the balloons, the confetti guns, the lights — AND THE MICS THE BAND PLACED ALONG THE RAILROAD TRACKS HOLYCRAPLOUDTRAINNOISES — it was a stunning aural and visual feast. And, yes, I came home grinning like an idiot.
* I also made a double batch of crab cakes on Tuesday. They were to be for Mrs. Crappy’s aunt, but our plans got kinda messed up, so we ate crab cakes for dinner two nights in a row. Excessive? Sure. Good? Oh, yeah…
* We had missed the last two YinzTeam softball games, so even in Friday’s heat — which turned out to be tolerable with the breeze — getting a chance to play was a welcome break. Getting beer, burgers, nachos and these ungodly little garlic rolls at North Park Lounge after the game was a great bonus.
Looking appropriately mysterious.
* Saturday. Fell down the basement stairs. Had pho with a bunch of good friends. Annnnd went to HelloSAL, the reveal party for Secret Agent L, whom we can safely refer to as Laura. I hadn’t yet discussed SAL here — OK, I had indirectly, as she was one of the people involved with Burgh Baby’s Do Good Day — but she got a great turnout at the Firehouse Lounge and a ton of support for the random acts of kindness she’s perpetrated on Pittsburgh for the last year. I was one of the folks who was lucky enough to be in on the secret for a while — I was flabbergasted that she wanted to meet me when she showed up at Jamie’s margarita party back in May — and I can’t wait until everyone else gets to see first hand what a genuinely great person she is.
* As I found a day or two before the party — and was able to confirm as I listened to the playlist she put together for the party — Laura is a Wilco fan. I think she’s going to get along with the Crappys just fine.
* I was — along with everyone else — turned into a puddle again Saturday night, as it was, uh, a bit warm in the upstairs room at the Firehouse Lounge. We did our best to say, uh, hydrated, but come Sunday morning, all Mrs. Crappy and I wanted was breakfast and a nap, both of which we got. The nasty hot weather broke a little bit on Sunday; my funk, I think, broke a little bit Saturday night.
* Other than the fact that I didn’t get a ton of sleep Sunday night, I’m feeling much better, thanks. A great weekend with great friends will do that.
Filed under: Pittsburgh,Social Media | Tags: internet fun, it's my job, media fetish, nablopomo, woo-hoo
Tomorrow’s going to be interesting — that’s the day we all get Droids at work.
I’m not an Apple devotee to the degree that I feel compelled to stand in line on new gadget release days (although if we had more disposable income, all bets would be off). But I am an Apple guy, and it’s no secret that I’ve been very happy with my iPhone since I got it a few years ago.
The Droid is intriguing, certainly. I got to play with my sister’s phone a little bit when we visited Florida in the spring, and thought it was pretty cool. But full immersion start tomorrow afternoon when we get our new phones and go through a corporate training session on using them (which will be a complete hoot, given that almost no one in the newsroom has a smartphone of any kind at the moment).
I think this has great potential for our newsroom. Sometime soon I hope to get our reporters and photographers up to speed on using Twitter and posting pix and video using the Droids, and I think could potentially make a pretty big difference in what we’re able to offer our readers.
And personally, I’m really curious to see my my phone will stack up against the work phone. Better camera? Video? Which network is faster/has better coverage? Will I be able to cut the data usage on the iPhone and save a couple bucks?
Filed under: Food and Drink,Pittsburgh,Social Media,Sports | Tags: beeeeer, even more sports, internet fun, nablopomo, pixburke, woo-hoo, yinzteam, yum
Sizzle.
We take our tailgating pretty seriously. On home game weekends during the fall, we spend a lot of time planning, preparing and executing some pretty impressive spreads, whether we’re sprinting (getting ready for a noon game) or executing an all-day deal (a night game, usually with two complete meals).
With the help of a good number of friends last summer, we were able to pull together an excellent tailgate for a Pirates game last summer. I grilled a shit-ton of burgers and hot dogs, and many of you guys brought along enough luscious sides that we ate like royalty in the parking lot.
We also had enough beer to tranquilize a team of horses. Also very important.
If you click on the pic above, you’ll be able to take a look at the pix from last year’s tailgate. Everyone who attended said it was one of the best parties of the summer, and I can’t really argue that point.
You say you missed the 2009 party? You’re in luck — we’re doing it again, on July 17. I’m cooking again, we’ll have tons of other food and drinks, we’ll probably miss a good portion of the actual baseball game again — but we won’t miss the fireworks — and when we’re done, you’ll be able to say you attended the best tailgate party ever.
(Except for those ones we do for the Michigan game — those are kind of special.)
Want in? Our organizer, the lovely and talented Jennie, is hoping to have the tickets spoken for by July 1. Want the details? You’ll find ‘em here. Questions beyond that? Ask me or her.
Trying to think up excuses as to why you won’t be there? Seriously, you don’t want to miss this two years in a row. We’ll see you there.
