A Natural Disaster, Safe In A Pouch

This Post Is Dedicated to All Of Those Affected By Hurricane Sandy in any Capacity. -AP

Today my English teacher put a quote up on the board, as she does everyday on her dry erase board of wisdom. It read:

"Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to reveal a social disaster"

It was attributed to Jim Wallis, and related to a story we are reading in English class about a journalist who goes on assignment to disaster-stricken Colombia and is touched by the story of a thirteen year old girl trapped in the rubble.

The built in irony is the correlation between reading this story and the events of this past week. I reproduce the quote for this reason. It's as my mother said, how petty this election seems after what we've seen in New York and New Jersey.

It's interesting because it's so blatantly true of such a simple statement. Tomorrow (or today, or on the 6th November 2012 according to when you read this) those who are able to (being 15 I cannot) can pick the next president of the United States.

They interviewed David McCollough on 60 Minutes this past Sunday. He made an interesting statement on how grotesque amounts of money have been thrown around during this election, and what has resulted from it? A Bad Show.

It takes a natural disaster to throw into focus the realities around us.

And as for Camp Pouch? [BACKGROUND!] Camp Pouch is a tiny boy scout camp on Staten Island---seemingly the only patch of wilderness on the New Jersey Island---that I stayed at in 2009 on my adventure to New York.

Staten Island was hit especially hard by Sandy, and many are still without power at the time of publishing, however Camp Pouch had "no significant damage to the cabins, lodge, or structures" according to the Wall Street Journal. Scouts have been very helpful in the cleanup efforts, they add.

If you're curious about the story I'm quoting HERE: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203846804578099220643784136.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Curious about Camp Pouch: http://pouchcamp.org/

So what is the point I am making here? I'm not too sure really. I think it's worth noting that as Robert Frost wrote "if there's one thing I've learned about life: It. Goes. On." People are moving on in New Jersey, New York (my concrete Jungle), and Bethany Beach. I think the rest of us not affected can take a lesson or two from this. Things that are beyond our control can be lived with if we work together, and just care.

Random Acts and Senior Night

Earlier this evening I was looking over my script (can't call it my onesheet, like the band scripts) and thinking wow, this season has been amazing. And in my eyes it has been. Who would've thought two or three months ago that I'd become the go-to guy for announcing stuffs, including this senior night script. I'd talk about that, but there's a better story to be told this week.

So I was walking around the neighborhood on this unseasonably warm day, and decided to make a stop over by what I call 'the overlook' of the neighborhood. I made my way past that and up the hill, and saw a guy I recognized from this past summer walking with a leash---but no dog.

He approaches me and says "hey, you know anyone missing a young male greyhound?" I know very few dog owners, however I do own Rotor the Killer Wiener Dog. I decide to help him out, though... trying to find someone who would know.

My first stop is with the McClains' down the street from the spot I met him. On my way across the street, this greyhound comes out of nowhere, and starts following me over to the McClains'. Mr. McClain is able to get the dog into his hands, and we are able to get a temporary leash on this dog. The search, however, continued for the owner.

My next thought was the guy who I saw outside, Greg from down the street. He too, owns a killer wiener dog named Tank. However, he didn't know of anyone missing a greyhound. I left the original dude with the dog over at Greg's and attempted to talk to our neighborhood humane society expert.

{{{Backstory}}} I've known this lady for years. She used to go to our bus stop back when the 38C still ran to downtown. She worked for the Post-Gazette and is a HUGE advocate for animals.

Anyway, so we get in touch with her, and she says that she may know someone who owns a greyhound, but in the meantime we should try and get in contact with either the Police Dept, the Humane Society, or this groups called "Going Home Greyhounds" a group which helps find homes for greyhounds.

After repeated calls, we get nowhere. Meanwhile, the first dude goes back to put his own dog, a boxer, into his house. Turning around to come back to the base of ops, he comes across two girls. They ask "you didn't happen to see---"

He cut them off "I know what you're looking for. A beige, young male greyhound?"

"Yes!"

So the dude hops on his bike and leads them over to the base of ops, and the dog is reunited with his owners. Mind you, I first met this guy over the summer when he was fixing up bikes.

I don't know this guy's name, nor the dog's. This isn't that important to know either, though. I could trust him, and he could trust me.

So what's the moral here? I'm not the best at themes, but I would have to say that there are a few very evident ones. The first is that we're not in control. There's something bigger than Phil working above us, watching out for us. On that same thought, at least in my Pittsburgh Suburb, people look out for one another in the neighborhood. There are still good people in the world, and there are people willing to work together to get something---or some dog---safe and done.

JOTA, Scouting, and the Sort

So this weekend marks an annual event internationally... Jamboree on the Air, or JOTA. I had been receiving a bunch of emails in recent weeks about this, and thought it was "kinda cool" but in reality had no clue what it was.

Enter today, Saturday the 20th, and I find myself in a flag ceremony taking pictures for the mayor, and then at breakfast, and then on the second highest point in Allegheny County. I was visiting the Steel City Amateur Radio Club  who hosted a station for scouts interested in participating in the international event. The idea? Scouts from all over the world could talk to each other on two specified days using HAM radios and at the same time learned about Amateur Radio-ing.

The members of the club that were there were EXTREMELY NICE. We arrived like ten minutes earlier than the beginning of the window (SCARC allotted us use from noon-5 eastern) and still the gentleman gave us a tour of the grounds, including the ham and low-frequency towers, and then took us into the clubhouse.

There, after a brief explanation of this gentleman's history of being in the scouts and hosting a JOTA at the then newly-built Heritage Reservation in 1983, they led us into the studio. Now, I've been in the studios of WYEP, KDKA, and practically live in the studio of WCHS (Morning Announcements), and I was about to add another callsign to that list.

I utilized a ham radio station using the club's callsign W3KWH, and connected to Kissimee Florida and talked to some scouts a few miles from Disney World. They said it was 'nice' being 73 degrees(F) we said it was nice, overcast, and 53 in Pittsburgh. We also connected to Birmingham, Alabama, as well as another station in Florida (Fort Meyers), and then finally contacted a guy on a county line in Iowa (Jefferson, I think) working out of his car in an Iowan contest to see who could contact the most people. This guy was from Minnesota.

I learned a few things today. I learned just how small the world was, and how friendly people are in amateur radio, and above all, I am falling in love with this Radio thing. I almost walked out with a membership application, but I want to get qualified by the FCC first. (Hear that FCC?)

If I met you (Alex Popichak, Life Scout with Troop 831, Right Outside Of Pittsburgh) it was awesome to do so =73=. I remember there was a guy named Isaac, and I think a Connor there too. So many others, and I plan on getting into this a tad further, and maybe meeting some other new people.

This coming Friday (10/26) marks the Fall Sports senior night, and the last time I'm lending my voice to the Cougar Marching band and Carlynton's football field this year. It's been fantastic, and I plan on doing it again soon. Come on out, game starts at 7pm, and senior night stuff starts at like 6:45...

With that means that I will attempt to get back to Friday Evening posts come this November... Fingers Crossed!

Occupy: One Year Later

So those of you that followed my adventure to downtown Pittsburgh last December may remember that I visited with members of the Occupy Movement. I'll tell you what I saw.

The following is from my post "Visiting the Occupiers..."

After wandering around the encampment around this large bulletin-board style fence around a fountain, it was quite clear that this group was angry with what was happening with America, and were willing to stay indefinitely. It kind of reminded me of a boy scout tenting excursion. So we decided to walk up to a guy and identify ourselves as media people from WYEP. He had a lot to talk about. He was a man who had taken odd jobs: moving boxes, a registered massage therapist, before joining this movement.
When asked if he thought that this movement would help any job prospects when I (or in this case, the girl asking the questions) graduate college, he laughed. He said that he wished that he could say so, but he was being a realist. He thinks that change will come out of this, but nothing immediate.
We also asked what the reactions the encampment had gotten. He said it was mainly positive. He mentioned a time (as did two other protesters) where there had been a few people about four weeks ago that had screamed "GET A JOB" out the window by passing at a high rate of speed, to suggest that they might have been drunk. Others said that they'd join, but they had to work. To be honest, some of the protesters do have jobs (See Below).
Two other protesters talked to us about their thoughts. The one man described himself as "Underemployed." They mainly shared the same views as the first man, but had an interesting perspective coming back and forth from a job (I think the one said he was laid off, but I am not sure).

So the movement celebrated one year. Granted, those of you that know the history of the Pittsburgh movement know that later on they were kicked out of Mellon Green and essentially disbanded.

I asked point-blank what their plan for if they do get kicked out, what would they do. They answered that they would maybe move and Occupy the Point. He joked that if you controlled the point (speaking historically) you can be more successful. They never moved to the point.

A year later, I am able to step back and realize a few things: As Alex Zukoff said, this was one of the first major movements toward socialism. Upon further research, I saw it could be, but I saw that it might have been doomed from the start by being just protesters  They were protesting a system that failed them, but could cite nothing but

THE ONE PERCENT! WE ARE THE 99%.

Okay, that's concentration of wealth. It's been an issue since currency was invented, really.

If we wanted to kickstart a real revolution, or another Occupy, someone would need to step up with a platform of somesort. If it really is a move for social reform, someone should have the foresight to put that as their mission.

I'm not saying Occupy is dead, because in essence, Occupy is an idea. I'm just saying that if the gentleman's idea of "eventual results" is going to happen, there needs to be some form of organization in ways of platform, and exactly who/what they are fighting. You just can't redistribute wealth, you have to work out a plan of a system.

The Declaration of Independence details that if a government isn't properly working for the people, they need to have the right to fix it... Occupy was an attempt, it just wasn't that great of an attempt.

So on this anniversary of the Pittsburgh movement, I have to wonder: what have we learned, and what is there to work on at this point?

Brilliance, Both Literally and Figuratively.

Brilliant is also apparently a town in Ohio...

So, by definition means "having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc.". So, in essence, when I called Lana Meyer's play brilliant I was justified, because it had all of the elements of a talented production. I mention this for two reasons... to give a shoutout to her, and to make light of the fact she signed my playbill during a second period study hall in an art room. Granted, she only did the writing and dialogue and that end, but I got to thinking... what does it mean to create something?

About three years ago, I created a website and called it "the 2015 blogger" and now, this being the 150th post, an award nomination, and over 6 thousand hits later, it's still here.

I have done countless projects, and have helped in projects where I've seen something go from just a sticky note or note into something real---something tangible, something other people can see, and it's crazy satisfying.

Brilliant brings up the connotation of either enlightenment or something else involving light. Look at the stars/Look how they shine for you are familiar lyrics to the Coldplay song "Yellow". It kind of seems that when you do something, you take pride in it.

Take for example, the town where you live... I take major pride in being from Pittsburgh, because I feel as a person living in the metro area that I have helped build it (not literally).

So where am I going with this? If you work hard enough at something, and you build it up, you want to see it shine. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing something you've had a hand in creating finally coming together and shining with brilliance.

On a final note, I took a picture of when the Carlynton School District had their anti-bullying kickoff. The whole district came together on the track and had a parade of anti-bullying banners.

But in my mind, this holds a much larger significance in that the whole district became one that day. The teachers talked with colleagues from the Elementary schools et cetera, as well as the students coming together---Crafton, Carnegie, and Rosslyn Farms---as one district for the first time, ever.

I leave you on my 150th post with that picture I took:

Click For Larger.

Some Nights, I Call it a Draw.

I kind of like using lyrics in post titles. Granted, they sometimes have no point or relevance to the post itself. But at the same time, they may have a relevance that transcends sense.

I've recently decided to just live my life. As the son of an Orthodox Priest (This is going to come up a few times here... just roll with it.) I have been brought up with the idea that we aren't in control of our own lives. What others call karma we just believe exists, with no supernatural explanation or anything. There's a plan out there for what we will become, call it a destiny or whatever, but it's a plan. 

Life is kind of like the scouts in the sense that it's a journey. Yeah, you can strive for Eagle, but when you get it... what does it mean? Have you gone through some motions or have you earned a rank for the sake of the side things that come along with it.

Here's a better analogy: you get on a roller coaster, and you get really nervous as you climb the hill (or descend into the depths of the Jackrabbits famed double-dip (mhmhmmmhmmhm)) but you  know three things. A)You're stuck there (can't just press escape) B)It's inevitable what's to come C) You're strapped in, and this has been done before, and people survived it.

John Green's Paper Towns contained a quote about life, how everything is survivable, except that last thing.

So I'm just riding the roller coaster for now, and I've noticed some interesting things. For one, my made-of-awesome friend Lana Meyer (who wrote a play.... you should come see it!) is a nerdfighter.  The only reason I know this is that we were talking during some random study hall in an art room. The conversation went to cupcake vending machines, but the only reason we had even started was because both of us were just riding along.

Post Script: I am in the process of converting my new blue-haired friend into a Nerdfighter. It's not a religion, trust me... not is it a cult.

Thus, (can you tell I've been writing papers?) I recommend you just ride, and you'll notice things you never have before... Post 150 is next week. Thanks for the ride.

Schools Summarized Via Church Pews, and Can Crushes

So, yeah, I've gotten to that point where I write the title more as a reminder to myself as to what the post I thought of was supposed to be about. This is an intro.

So I was recently reminded that rarely do teachers let the students choose where to sit. However, when they do, it is a predictable pattern.

The title describes a church pew mentality (more on the church part in a later post, but right now I'd just care to explain the pew part). People going to church (or school) generally want to be there (or at least signed up for the course) but they are afraid of the front, being too close to the priest (or teacher). Catching on?

With classrooms, naturally everyone wants to sit either a) as far away from the teacher as possible b) as close to the door as possible and/or c) near their friends.

Teachers do this thing that priests cannot (or at least I don't think for them it's all that ethical...) they give seating charts. This forces the people that want to be at the back (the general population) to come closer to hear the sermon, I mean, lesson.

However, if you work the system right (this is where I fit in), you don't appear too eager to be at the back, or for that matter the front, you end up getting put in the middle of it all.

Nevertheless, all English classes will still have comically small desks (I want to spotlight that sometime...) and spinny chairs will never be put in classes.

The Can Trailer... Taken With a Phone Before the Crush
Amazing Quality, right?

And on an unrelated note, I got back from a can crush earlier. So our troop has this trailer outside of our local park where we collect aluminum cans and then sell the scrap as a fundraiser.

People, in general, are mean. They don't read the side obviously and stuff everything---plastic, glass, bags, into this thing. IT'S NOT A TRASH CAN.

So anyway, our mission every few months or so is to open this thing up and take the cans out of the bags, and sort out anything that's not aluminum cans. This is a huge undertaking, and this evening we had like 11 guys working on it with shovels and trash cans and gloves and whatever else (one time we had a huge railroad spike).

After working on this for forty-five minutes, we had completed the mission. The side effects to such a task include but are not limited to: hearing the crash of cans in your sleep, your clothes smelling like a combination of stale pop and stale beer, and of course that headache sparked from the nausea of smelling this concoction...

So yeah, that's a blog post, and I'm dealing with the headache now... hope to post Saturday or maybe Friday... mais je ne sais pas que fois vais apporter...

Rivalries, and some FOOBALL!

No, I didn't make a typo in that title (no promises about this post, but that title is right). It seems that when people get really excited about football (American, that is... Je suis de Pittsburgh, je ne suis pas de Europe.) that they get lazy and drop the t.

Take for example, my brother who (as of the time of this post) plays for the 7/8th grade team at Carlynton. He gets really pumped before a game and sometimes just stares at me and screams FOOOOOOBALLL! I look at him, being the strange articulate dude I am, thinking wow, we as a generation are seriously digressing here...

Nevertheless, we are met on an interesting day. Tonight is the beginning of a rivalry, that between the Carlynton School District and Bishop Canevin. Now, I think it's not as much a rivalry in the classic sense as it is in the geographic sense.

You see, the Carlynton School District's geographical location overlaps with Bishop Canevin's because Canvein is a private Catholic school. Carlynton as a district provides transportation to those district students going to Canevin.

I highly doubt that there will be a huge rivalry here, but it'll certainly be something interesting tonight.

[Insert 38C Downtown Bit Here]

So back a year and a half, I did this project called the CarLynTon project. (I'm working on a 2013 update to it...) on the history of the district. In the four months of research, one venture stuck out in my mind. I interviewed Mrs. Sandra Hugan (I believe she's on our school board) for information on the merger. The pivotal point in the project as it was to finally give an answer to how we became a district. There seemed to be a disconnect between the towns being founded and Carlynton existing.

During this phone interview, I was informed of two interesting points: 1) it was legislation that forced the current system (which I ran with... and if you've seen the project, fills in the gap) and 2)We could have had another town in Carlynton.

Carlynton had the option to add Scott Township to Carlynton, but due to a rivalry with Carnegie High, the district decided against it. Now, this isn't a huge deal... we just could have had more land for a high school and stadium, the site of the current Bottom Dollar plaza in Scott Twp.

A part I omitted from the project was the extent of this rivalry. During this interview, Mrs. Hugan told me about how every time there was a football game between Carnegie High and Scott Twp High, they would have to have Pennsylvania State Troopers on hand.

Forget? Never.

Taken With An Android... Click For Larger.

9/11/2012

I am as sick as a dog as I write this, but I needed to write nevertheless. I promise to write either Thursday or Friday at my regular time, but I wanted to post this one.

Every year on 9/11 I post a picture of the flagpole I built with the flag flying on it. It seemed that it was a 50/50 shot of the media caring about the anniversary. This is why we said not to forget. Don't interview a Kardashian during a moment of silence.

WCHS broadcasted a schoolwide moment of silence at 8:29AM, roughly 20 minutes before the anniversary of New York. We won't forget. The upcoming 7th grade may (they were born in 2000 or 2001) but we won't.

Thank you for what you do, and please remember the families of those affected in your prayers. They need it the most.

Football, Friday Nights, and WCHS

I don't think Fridays this fall will be the best time to blog. I apologize in advance for that, but please bear with me. I am announcing this year for the Carlynton Marching Band during all of their halftime shows and band festivals. So why not go there?

So anyway, this Friday was my first announcing gig with the band. It was an away game at Fort Cherry (Before you ask, we lost 31-21, but it was a FANTASTIC game!).

It's kind of weird being at an away game for the first time, and basically being invited into the press box to talk into a mic that plays throughout this entire stadium that, did I mention, is being listened to by about 300 people at their home field you don't know, and your alma mater's side containing your principal? Also, you are like the start gun to the halftime show...

Yeah, I overanalyze things, but at the same time, this is all going through my mind as I stand up to the microphone.

I have this amazing ability to do something and just not think about it. That is exactly what I did Friday night. I read off my infosheet and didn't think twice about it. I seem to snap into this mode when a microphone is live where I read everything smoothly and NEVER REMEMBER IT. Oh well...

So completely switching gears, we also start WCHS's new season tomorrow... and I'm proud to announce that we have an amazing crew including the likes of my brother on sound, internet-footprintless Greg on the video board, the great Clay Bodnar, and I am anchoring alongside Aidan from AK Productions.

SO we attempted a broadcasting test Friday to make sure all systems were go. Unfortunately they weren't. We couldn't get the cameras working, the broadcaster was on the fritz and we didn't have a host mic.

I spent my fourth period study hall working on that lab. I had to work with the breaker boxes, this stupid VHS player, and then everything was hunky-dorey. Whatever.

So anyway, we are set to go tomorrow during homeroom bringing you the latest on Carlynton sports, news, and when the Library will be open.

I hope to write Thursday... As Friday we'll be at Home Versus the Clairton Bears.

Happy Labor Day everyone.

Wuthering Heights: An Overview

Hey there. This is a preface. I promised that I'd post this now-semi-infamous review of Wuthering Heights. I am in my first week of school, so I don't exactly have time to post the original content this Friday (considering I'm announcing for the Golden Cougar Marching Band this fall). So, I'll give you the following. If I find time, I'll post more. I am also going to answer some of the questions my teacher had at the end. The <<number>> denotes the placement of these comments.

For the original Journal in its entirety: click here.



So I recently finished the novel Wuthering Heights.

If I were to describe it in a few words, it would be summed up as a dark love-story in reverse. I can see how this was hailed as a classic because for its time, this love-story-in-reverse is a revolutionary idea.

I guess I should explain why it is a love story in reverse. It seems that the only time everyone was truly happy was in the beginning of Mrs. Dean's tale. As the novel progressed, all of the characters seemed to get angrier in countenance as their stories and injustices deepened.

This novel basically follows the life and times of the (extremely) evil Heathcliff, incited by Lockwood meeting him, and asking Mrs. Dean about him.

If I were to assign a generic theme to this novel it would be: Don't be a Heathcliff. However, I don't think that serves as a theme as much as it serves as just good advice. So, I guess in a broader sense, a theme could be that love can prevail only if both parties pursue it.

Another could be along the lines of that of Romeo and Juliet, where the inevitability of fate <<1>> plays a rather huge role. It seems that every character is realistic in the sense of how they are their own person, and organically make decisions of their own accord without realizing how it affects one another.

Love plays a role in this novel in complicating itself. (I need to explain this...) Heathcliff loves Catherine I, and that's plain as day. However, because of his three-year absence, Catherine I moves on and marries Edgar Linton, writing Heathcliff off as escaped and possibly dead. He comes back, and is essentially told "you snooze, you lose" and he cannot find it inside of himself to move on. His life's mission is avenge this doomed love.

It appears that Heathcliff was doomed from the start with this love, after all, why couldn't he have just written her off as a sister, and loved her in that sense? <<2>> It probably would have made him less a devil and less a tortured soul. (Remember that in this universe, it is apparently okay to marry your cousin?)

I have been looking at this novel through the eye of a high school sophomore in the United States in 2012. My guess is that some of the goings-on in this novel would make more sense to me if I were a fifteen or sixteen year old living in the late 18th century. Nevertheless, it stands out to me as a reverse love story which Mr. Lockwood played as a vessel, and not a pivotal piece (I am still a tad bummed about that part...). <<3>>

I see love as an understanding between two people that there is something more between them. Love is this concept one cannot quantify in mere words, but rather through this mental understanding. There are ways of showing this love, but in the end the love itself is this understanding of one another. It seems that neither Heathcliff nor Catherine I ever understood that part.

Q&A Time:
1) (see note above): Is it Fate? Or is it social class conventions?

A: So I wrote "fate". Just looked this up, the dictionary definition is "The development of events outside a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power." However, it appears that I was wrong in it, but rather it is a percieved fate. They controlled most of their own life, that is Heathcliff and Catherine I. The only event that is fate in this sense is the fact that Catherine I died. Had she married Heathcliff, I don't think she would have lived any longer, but that is one man's opinion. As for social class issues, I don't think that anything other than Heathcliff's lack of last name qualifies for a class difference. If they were meant to be, love would probably conquer...

2)Because they are soul mates!

A: I am not qualified to answer this comment, but I'll give it a whack. I'll define soul mate officially as "A person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner." (google ftw!). Analyzing the traits of Catherine I and Heathcliff, they kind of are soul mates. If you consider two overly bitter people compatible. I don't know love. See my next post.

3) But why is Nelly telling him the story? What role might he play?

A: Simply, Lockwood asked. He plays the role only as the realization of the dream of Heathcliff. Heathcliff wanted to destroy Edgar Linton's happiness. He wanted to have Wuthering Heights AND Thrushcross Grange, only to keep one and rent the other out. The latter is the role Lockwood holds. I kind of thought that he could have written the next chapter, and maybe changed Heathcliff, or maybe saved Catherine II. I don't know.

Special Thanks to Ms. Oravitz for playing along!

For the original Journal in its entirety: click here.

Summer 2012: A Review

So I am on the eve of that day that ends the summer. I don't particularly like people who tell me "summer isn't over until the middle of September" or something like that... because I define the end of summer as the day school begins.

So I thought that I'd review and recap the summer that just happened. This summer to me has been like an awesome freefall... You get the rush in the beginning and then you just kind of cruise along.

In a Bullet list, here's what I did from the beginning of May through this evening:

• May 5th 2012: Ran marathon Scout Camp, Re(imagiNATION) contest, then greeted the bishop the following day
• Finished Great Expectations which never met mine
• Two Marathon weeks of scout camp (two separate camps)
• Spent 10 days in the non existent land of DelMarVa
• Re-vamped a video lab
• Reached 6,000 views on this site (THANKS AGAIN!!!)
• Participated in TWO flag ceremonies
• Spent many a weekend at my grandparents' camp.
• Drove at least two miles on my bike...
• Drove a lot farther in a golf cart.

...and no doubt did a bunch of other stuff that I'm too lazy to write.

This is the point in the review where I give my personal opinions on some things. I visited Delaware's Bethany Beach and loved walking the boardwalks there. I didn't particularly enjoy the more crowded Rehoboth Beach, but loved the view from atop an outlook tower in Cape Henlopen State Park. I also enjoyed the ability to google something one day, and visit it the next. Such a case is the Fenwick Island Lighthouse, which produced both the artistic bit to the left of the above text.

In essence, Summer 2012 for me was a time where I spent bettering myself through training, living partially in the outdoors, and above all, trying to live as much life as I can.

Monday marks the end of this fantastic ride, and I really hope, for my new school year's resolution (I'm not sure if that's a thing, but whatever!) that this year can be a fantastic ride also.

Song of the Summer:  

So with this, I end the "Summer" tag until next year :(. Thanks for riding with me.

The Devil In The White City: An Overview and Blog

Okay, so I just finished the final book (of 3... hear this one, Education Dept? Nope? Okay...) assigned to me for this summer. Granted, I have 4 days to spare. I consider myself somewhat of a procrastinator... which is a bad trait.

Nevertheless, one of the things I had to do for the one was keep a journal. Which I did on a parallel site, but due to issues I am not publishing the whole thing. I am going to just post the overview on my main site, next Friday. So, technically the following is the second written, first in a series of book reviews I want to do on this site. It's one of the new format ideas I have, and I'm going to see how this works. Here goes nothing.

The Devil In The White City: An Overview

So I recently finished the novel The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. 

The author's note is unlike any other author's note I've read... I'll quote it:

"However strange or macabre some of the following incidents may seem, this is not a work of fiction."

This alone intrigued me.

The basic premise of the novel, is alternating chapters. Half of it tells about Daniel H. Burnham, an architect that rose to fame by being one of the key figures in the creation of the Chicago 1893 World's fair, and the other half is devoted to the serial  killer (just blocks away from this fair) living under the alias H.H.Holmes.

I was warned ahead of time that parts may be boring. I found quite the opposite to be true. The whole book was up in the ranks of books that I've read... almost to the level of Jay Scribble.

The Architect's adventures start at being a small Chicago firm, and then arranging all of the best architects in the nation at that time to combine powers to build over 200 structures... with a timespan of less than three years.

This adventure gave new meaning of "down to the wire". But once completed, this world's fair was one of the defining moment's in our nation's history. And it seemed like an awesome time to be alive.

Alive, that is, if you aren't a beautiful young woman seduced by H.H. Holmes. He'd seduce women into working for him, and in some cases marrying him. The marriage count, at my last count, was like 5 wives... with no formal divorce ever finalized...

He'd have these women move into a building of his own design. Once she got too needy, Dr. H.H.Holmes kicked in and, well, killed her. His "Murder Castle" was home to a gas chamber, dissecting table, and of course crematorium.

He admitted to 27 killings, and only 4 were ever confirmed, with one estimate reaching 200. If you're as fascinated in this, I'd highly recommend reading Wikipedia about it...

I highly recommend the book... get it from a local library or something.

So that's all for now... Have you read the book? Comment!

The 38C to Downtown, and Other Adventures

So I kind of want to start a series along the lines of Rick Sebak's "Stuff That's Gone" video but I don't want to do it in video form, so I think I am going to do that in blog form. And I think I'm going to call it "The 38C" but I think I need to explain what that means.

I started writing a novel a while back, and it opens with a scene where the main character goes out lays on his front street. This pays homage to a game of chicken that the neighborhood teens would play on our front street when I was growing up. The idea behind this was to lay down, and run out just before the bus would run you over.

Yes, I do realize this was stupid. The important part is the next scene, where this main character realizes that bus no longer runs on his street.

This is a semi true story, minus the fact of lying in the middle of the street.

Once upon a time, there ran a bus line right in front of my house, the 38C Greentree Express that from an island at the end of the street, you could get a bus that would take you to downtown. They cut that entirely in August of last year.

If you ask anyone from Pittsburgh for directions, a true Pittsburgher will reference points/landmarks from things that aren't in existence anymore. We're not being mean, we just don't adjust to change too well.

Moving on, the first installment of this probably is my adventure with a few friends from school a few days back. We traveled through the back woods of Carnegie Park and found our way to a patch behind Chioda Field where there used to be a makeshift dirtbike pathway/obstacle course.

Apparently no one cared enough to fix up the old place after a little bridge was broken by some muggles, and it has been in ruins as a sort of paper trail ever since.

I plan in the coming weeks to do another one of these things, and I also want to publish a book-review esque thing, but I cannot due to some issues right now on my end. I want to, next time I feature this, look at Chartiers Avenue and Dawson Avenues: Local Paper Roads.

Lights Will Guide You Home: Quoting Songs for Blog Titles

Why Hello There! My guess is that you forgot I existed, due to my recent absence. Strangely enough, I have been experiencing somewhat of a writers block.

I guess I should start by explaining how I get the ideas that become these blog posts, and for that matter, all of my adventures and projects. I usually just decide "hey, it's Friday (or Thursday), why not blog" and immediately all of my thoughts flood into my fingers and as a result, the page in front of me. I am an idea person, I come up with about 100 ideas for a post per week, and only ever use one because I rarely finish a thought. I have had four draft posts in my queue to finish writing, but I almost never finish those in favour of creating a completely new one.

On an unrelated note, I have been out and about recently with my not-as-footprinted-on-the-internet friend Greg. He informed me about six months about this thing called Geocaching. It's basically a worldwide treasure hunt that requires a GPS (Which he has).

If you are interested in the trend, check out Geocaching.com. If you get a membership, check out my personal profile here: http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=436ec95d-027c-41a0-9351-8c0ad2776d88. I am, unoriginally, The2015Blogger.

Railroad Trestle: Built Circa 1901...
Taken with an Android Phone.

So we went on an adventure through the backwoods of Crafton on our adventure this past Monday. We were off to find a cache that required climbing like a 20% grade up this crazy hill and into an old coal quarry. However, we did get to see this awesome railroad trestle on our way back. 

Anyway, it quickly got dark as we walked through the woods and the entire 1.8 mile stretch all the way back to his house.

I guess a good question to ask is Why? I think I fell victim to that human urge to explore outside of what we know. I think that in the end, we are all bonded by this curiousity as to what lies on top of a hill. Without this geocache, I would never had seen this trestle, and never been able to see what Chartiers Creek looks like from a MUCH higher elevation.

Curious? The Cache is Called "You'll Find More Than Coal" and you can check out its listing here: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=e1d513cd-b61e-4f82-8304-f9b5c3a01b07
Tell them The2015Blogger sent you!

Vacation From God?

So, my father decided to join the blogosphere temporarily last week and wrote a Pastoral Reflection for UOCofUSA.org. It is a cool little reflection, so I've decided to rewrite it below.

See it online at: http://uocofusa.org/news_120711_2.html

UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE USA
Pastoral Reflections

"Vacation From God?"

By Rev. Fr. Robert Popichak

Ah, summertime! Each of us looks forward to the time of year where we get a break from our daily work and school routine.

In the United States, we call it vacation. Other countries call it holiday. Irrelevant of the name, it brings images of leisure time, travel, friends, family, and sometimes adventure.

Whether it is a trip to the shore, a cabin in the mountains, a tent in a park, a luxury hotel, or a cruise on the open seas, we all need a break from our normal routine to recharge our personal batteries. As each of us is different, we all have our own idea of what constitutes the best use of our time away from the office or the classroom.

As I write this, my family is preparing to go to a beach on the east coast for several days—our first true long vacation since our sons were born. Planning, sorting, arranging, packing—all of these take time and preparation. Maps are reviewed, online searches are made for attractions and sites of interest, arrangements to stop mail and newspaper delivery are made…all in the name of an orderly change. The destination is finalized, GPS loaded with our destination address, a temporary home is set for our Dachshund, and the car is packed…now what?

We spend a great deal of our lives looking forward to a break from the norm—whether it’s the typical long summer vacation from school or the ever-so-short week or two away from our jobs, it seems that planning for that getaway obsesses us for many weeks before the actual event.

Time away…from what? We never seem to give much thought about our spiritual lives when we plan a vacation…it’s just a Sunday or two missing church—God will understand! There are 50 other Sundays and other holy days to visit with Him…and of course, since He loves us, we don’t have to worry about Him! He’ll be right there when we get back…and if we need Him on our trip, He’ll be there as well!

Sometimes, we fail to plan for the most important part of our vacations—the spiritual recharge. My most restful, peaceful, relaxing, and recharging vacation was nearly twenty years ago. Pressures from my work were immense—the personalities were grinding my nerves to nothing—all was NOT WELL! I NEEDED a vacation!

For some reason, unknown to me at the time, I decided to visit a friend in Northeastern Pennsylvania—in the Pocono Mountains. Since their family worked as well, I would spend a weekend with them, then do something I had never thought of before—spend a week at a monastery! Arrangements were made and I arrived at the Orthodox Monastery of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. I was shown to my room, met my mentor for the week, Hieromonk Juvenaly—the monastery librarian, then was given the schedule of services…beginning with compline, vespers, and dinner. Church services were nice—quiet, peaceful, NO PEWS! Dinner was quiet as well…and my night’s sleep as restful as I had ever experienced.

At 4 AM, the alarm went off, I got dressed, then up the hill in the dark to the chapel for Matins and Liturgy…which began at 5 AM! I went up the road in the dark—no hint yet of the sunrise. The church was empty except for a monk lighting candles…and the smell! Beeswax candles were burning throughout the church—it truly smelled heavenly. The silence filled everything as I stood in the back, just letting it permeate every cell in my body, until the arrival of other monks and laity. Matins and Liturgy were just a bit more special, the words a little clearer, the hymns a little easier to sing, the prayers ever so much more REAL.

At the end of the Liturgy, when I went forward to kiss the cross and receive the Antidoron, I truly did not want it to end. I had truly been transported away from every care and concern…to be with God for those few hours in His house. Throughout the days, it seemed that there were not enough services, so I spent extra time in the church, just breathing in the scent of the candles, looking at the light on the icons, and thinking about what I was doing there. I even thought about a monastic vocation! Father Juvenaly told me that the life of an Orthodox monk was not for me—I must say I was crushed emotionally…but he said not to worry, God had definite plans for my life!

Now, two decades later, I can honestly say His plans for my life were nothing close to mine. I have loved every moment of my priesthood, but still fondly travel back to my week with God. Just the thought of it makes me smile…to truly vacation with Him, on His terms, in His house! I can take a microvacation just by thinking back to the first morning Liturgy.

As we travel to our family vacation spot, I will still think of that week. Each of us has been given the opportunity to experience God’s love and creation every day of our lives. Do not pass up the chance to see Him in everything around you—trees, hills, water, birds, animals, clouds, rain, storms—all are His creation!

On your vacation, take a few minutes to thank Him for everything He has given you—your health, family friends, and all good things come from Him. Visit an Orthodox church where you find yourself—go in and look around, breathe in the smells, experience a slightly different view of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Recharge your batteries…and save those memories for when the snow flies!

May God grant you a safe journey, no matter where you roam, a safe return to home and family, and His Love and Protection along the way!

Originally Posted on July 11, 2012 at  http://uocofusa.org/news_120711_2.html The Article was written by Fr. Robert Popichak for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America's
"Pastoral Reflections" Series. 

This entry appears here with permission from the author

Celebrating 3 Years!

Thank you so much for supporting my site! I'd like to especially thank all of my family and friends that have stuck with me since the start. If this published correctly, 6:30PM July the 16th marks THREE years that I've been blogging.

Got Bored... Made an Anniversary Logo

Walking into the Shot, Becoming a Photographer, and SIX THOUSAND VIEWS

Sample: Riding Shotgun Westbound on the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge in Maryland

Hello there! So I've been taking advantage of the sights around me and living life through the lens of the camera my brother found at a yard sale. This little thing takes fantastic pictures (see my sample) and I have been learning (through trial, error, and YouTube) to take better pictures as a semi-photographer.

What I've decided doing is from now on, attempting to illustrate whatever the heck I am talking about with pictures that I've taken. Granted, I can't wander aimlessly taking pictures of my whole life, but I can take pictures of some things.

I've been experimenting in a largely populated area which has a lot of awesome stuff to see, but it's one of those "you can see it, but you can't get there" area. So, I have to set the camera to super-hyper-shutter mode, and attempt to shoot from a car going at 30 or whatever through a windshield. To say the least, it's a challenge.

Anyway, one of the things that make it more challenging is people strolling right into the middle of your shot. As is, you may get one shot of the thing that you are highway-filming, and the last you need is a blur of old man in swimming suit, lack of shirt, and hat.

I am going to ask you (Most Pittsburghers are okay with this one) to look around as you're wandering in front of something semi-picturesque. If you see a photographer, STOP!!!!

I apologize for the brevity of this post. Hopefully pictures to come with the next one...\

and an ANNOUNCEMENT!

On Friday the Thirteenth, this site hit 6,000 views. I'd like to thank everyone that has been here for the first 6,000, and I invite you to stick around for the next three years and 6,000 hits...

IF you have suggestions for what I should blog about... be it Pittsburgh, Scouts, Q&A, whatever, comment or shoot me an email!

An Adventure in Public Transit

So on Tuesday I went to WYEP. I know this seems semi-repetitive, but I promise, there's an actual story to this one!

So mother dropped me off at the Carnegie Station on the Busway on her way to work this past Tuesday. A few things to non-Pittsburghers- 1)The Busway is a magic highway reserved just for Port Authority buses devised to make routes actually be on time [I realize if they keep cutting, there will be no times, but that's an editorial for another time] 2)I have only ever taken public transportation like once before.

Carnegie is the end/startpoint of this magic Bussuperhighwaythingy so it was kind of comedic having to stand there and wait for a bus that was literally 50 yards away. Granted, it was already comedic being a teenager standing there in my Green Day t-shirt and shorts surrounded by gentlemen in dressclothes and black pants. ANYWAY! So bus gets there 10 minutes early and I need to ask for a transfer once I get on. The bus driver groaned at me and asked me to "PAY QUICKER, I don't have ALL DAY". First off, I am paying HIS paycheck. Second, YOU'RE TEN MINUTES EARLY.

Anyway, I get into town, get off at the wrong stop and have to walk two extra blocks before standing in wait for the next 51 to take me out of the city and to the South Side. I stand for a few minutes before hearing "Hey, Alex!" coming from behind me.

I have been in Pittsburgh for maybe 5 minutes.... and someone already recognizes me.

I turn around, and there's Matt from WYEP. Matt is one of the radio education team that helped put on the made-of-awesome Re(ImagiNATION) event, and I've known for nearly a year now.

Turns out he is waiting for the bus too, and apparently it was his first time on a city bus---granted, he's like 20 something.

So we sit and chat on our way to the South Side and get off at the stop a block away from WYEP and are greeted by a gentleman making a delivery to WYEP as well as my friend Lana and her mother... the Marketing Director of WYEP (too much awesomeness in one lobby).

In this brief moment I was reminded why I love doing this. Through putting up with the old angry bus drivers semi-early on a Tuesday morning. I do it to get together with perhaps the best crew I will ever be able to work with (no offense, WCHS... you never took me to Occupy Pittsburgh or sparked a band competition). And yet on that day, no one from the group was there except for the directors of our little project.

Matt told me that he would be DJing that night from 12midnight-4AM and wanted to pre-record two hours of it. I, jokingly, asked if I could come along. He said he would check. Unfortunately, none of the studios were open for pre-recording then...

The gentleman I had talked to going into the South Side almost put me on the radio.

I took the 48 back with him into town. We missed the first bus by like 45 seconds because it wasn't marked 51 (we probably could have chased it...). We parted ways and I took the 31 and walked the rest of the way home (I wasn't about to run into the grouchy busway driver again). Fresh on my mind was all I had done down at the station, who I've met in my short time down there so far, and just how awesome the next 3 years will be.

Getting Back in Tune with Society

So, in case you forgot to read or noticed that your email had a surprising lack of 2015Blogger post, I spent the last two weeks in the woods of first Ligonier, then Indiana Pennsylvania. The first was leadership training and the second was summer camp at my camp-away-from-camp SEPH MACK!!!

I will post later about my experiences at both (Sorry Kurt [Camp Director @ Seph Mack that knows about the site]). What I want to post about right now is this weird transition period from living out of a tent to living in a real house.

First things first, if you've never lived out of a tent for even a weekend, let me describe it. You sleep on the ground or in some cot, under a temporary shelter that sways with the wind, surrounded by the elements. DON'T carry food into your tent either, because the raccoons will get to it. Rain hits, you deal with it. Lightning strikes, you better hope you can find a shelter. Not fun. But you learn to deal with it.

Anyway, you usually pack either a backpack, duffel bag, or something of that sort. Because you can't get cell reception in the wilderness, you live with the clothes on your back and whatever you packed (hopefully you packed well). It's an interesting, serene, and very lonely feeling.

I did this for a few reasons. First, I wanted a detachment. You may recall from "Becoming Attached to Being Detached" (http://2015blogger.blogspot.com/2012/05/becoming-attached-to-being-detached.html May the 26th) That it is a welcome relief for me to be able to focus on nothing but real people, and my own self.

I asked Mr. Y (Scout Leader) before I left what it was all about, and he explained that it was a lot of "Soul Searching."

I am finding the adjustment easier to make, yet at the same time so different. Given the chance to do some soul searching and reflection on nothing but the past, present, and future has (at least I think) changed me for the better.

I had a tough time adjusting to running water (You'll see on my NYLT Day Two reflection how that came into play) as well as adjusting to not having bugs swarming around you (You snap into a camping routine about day 2).

The one thing I have been able to snap into is getting back in touch with texting my friend, writing blog posts, and in general, Interneting.