No, I’m not leaving metblogs, just writing about a fun event that comes around every year.  November is National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo.  This crazy event challenges amateur (and professional) writers around the world to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  The goal is quantity over quality: understanding you’re going to write crap, but for once, actually sitting down, undertaking a massive creative feat, and turning off your inner editor for a month of twists and turns through the story coming from your mind.

In total, the authors writing in Pittsburgh wrote over seven million words (7, 391,876 to be exact), placing it in 33rd out of over 400 regions.  That is a crazy number.  50,000 words is around 80 pages (single spaced in Word), I can’t even imagine seven million.

So now, after all the write-ins taking place Downtown and in Cranberry, Oakland and Monroeville, a kick-off party at the Waterfront and a Thank God It’s Over party at  Spaghetti Warehouse, the writers (including myself) find themselves with no pressing deadline, no excuse to consume mass amounts of caffeine and alienate themselves from friends and family (well, except the usual excuses).  And it is a strange feeling.  But it is nice to relax, and remember that there are other things to do besides write each day.  And in the meantime, until next November, I can breathe a little easier, as I wait for midnight on November 1 when I can start the mad dash towards 50,000 once again.

Want to read more about NaNoWriMo, or their sister project, Script Frenzy, check it out at the links.  And come November, join us!  It’s fun, free, and a great way to meet some really awesome people from around Pittsburgh.

Today, November 25, at 6 p.m., Pittsburgh officially turns 250 years old.  This was the moment, 250 years ago, that the area at The Point was named Pittsburgh, well, probably Pittsboro and our city began the wonderful ride we find ourselves on.

Pittsburgh's Homecoming Weekend

The Boy Scouts are once again at The Point, changing out the flags, this time also celebrating with the 59th annual Eagle Scout recognition dinner.  The weekend continues with the 101st backyard brawl, the premier of “My Tale of Two Cities,” the Celebrate the Season parade and the international toast to Pittsburgh.  Get more information about the activities here.

Now, assuming I have figured out how to work this blogging software, this post will show up at 6 p.m., or at least close to it.  If not, when I get back from the Eagle Dinner I’ll be working to get this published.  Either way, Happy Birthday!

The PG has an articleabout this weekend’s Zombie Fest.  Sadly, I can’t make it this year, as I’ll be camping, but once again, the goal is to break the record (set last year) for the largest zombie walk.  Also, this year features simultaneous zombie walks around the world!  Don’t forget, if you go out to Monroeville Mall (last year there were people helping with make up if you needed assistance to, so don’t let that deter you), take a donation for the food bank, which is one aspect of the event that helps to reach out to the living.

Zombie will always have a special place in my heart (and if they had their way, a special way to my brain), I just love all kinds of crazy zombie culture things.  Sadly though, I always seem to be camping when the annual zombie walk comes around.  So until my schedule meshes with it better, I’ll stick to books, movies and games, including the ever popular “Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z.”

Details for the entire weekend of events can be found here, and everyone participating in the zombie walk can start to register at 9 a.m. at the mall.  The walk will take place from 10 to 11.

Just a quick heads up, I’ll be downtown all day on Saturday for the kick-off of Pittsburgh 250.  I’m helping out with “Eagles at the Point,” the flag ceremony at 11, and I’m sticking around for the rest of the day.  When I can, I’ll send pictures and posts back to the site, so if you can’t make it down, be sure to keep checking back.

I’m not sure how I’ll post about the fireworks, stills or videos.  I’ll probably use stills, since the local TV stations will probably be broadcasting it.  But either way, I’m hoping I have a decent view (from my somewhat undisclosed location).

If you need a schedule of events for the day, check it out here (pdf document).  Of course, if you can’t make it, the Arena will be open to watch the Pens play in Sweden.

Did you know that there are trees being watched downtown?  Take a look:

Seriously, no touching.  I went to see Wicked, and it was amazing!  If you get a chance, check it out, there are still tickets to some of the weekday shows I believe.  And for fun, here’s a pic of one of the trees I wasn’t touching:

Typically I try not to blog about work, just easier to keep everything separate, but this is a fun event and it’s open to the public so I wanted to spread the word.  Flag Plaza Scout Service Center, home to the Boy Scouts of America, Greater Pittsburgh Council and the National Flag Foundation is celebrating its 40th anniversary this Friday (we’re the stone building next to the Mellon Arena with the giant flags).  The building will be open until 7 p.m. with refreshments and, on tour from the national gallery, original works of art by Norman Rockwell (in addition to the other art already in the building).

The building is really interesting unto itself, and the amount of art it houses is pretty spectacular, but even more fascinating is the fact that the second half of the building was the principal gift to the United States for her bicentennial (much like the Statue of Liberty was a gift for her centennial).  Freedom’s Atrium displays all 50 state flags, as well as Liberty’s Five Flags, flags once lost to history and originally used to celebrate the ratification of the constitution.

Shown here is the Statue of Freedom, my favorite piece in the whole buildling.  The original is on top of the Capitol dome in Washington and our copy sits in the Bicentennial Room.

We’ve been cleaning the building both inside and out (including what I dubbed “Amateur Landscaping Night”) and it looks really great, so please stop up, take a look around, enjoy some Boy Scout popcorn and see some awesome art.  Also, in case you were wondering, the five flags outside the building in the plaza are the flags of the United States, the City of Pittsburgh, the State of Pennsylvania, the Greater Pittsburgh Council and one historic flag that changes daily.

Today is a very important day, and doubly so for those of us in Pennsylvania.  Today marks the beginning of the state-wide smoking ban.  I feel like we’ve been through this before, and truth be told, I haven’t taken much interest in the ban this time around.

Now, I should be happy about this.  A large portion of my friends smoke, and  I seem to be some sort of smoke magnet.  No matter where I’m sitting, and no matter what the air flow is like, smoke seems to find my face (this also applies to campfires, but that is a different post all together I suppose), so if anything, this ban will certainly help me.  But I don’t know, I guess I’m almost hardwired to expect bars, sport lounges and the like to be smokey

But I still have to see if my favorite haunts fall under the exceptions.  One of them might, when I finally get a chance, I’m going to head over and see what is or is not in the air.  But in the meantime, what are your thoughts about the ban?

I’m still at camp, and happened to stop at a local gas station up here on the mountain, and as I wandered back to the cooler to grab some iced tea I was distracted by something shiny. And while this is not a new occurrence, I was startled for a bit. I was looking at what is apparently the official snack of Pittsburgh 250.

And since I didn’t have my camera with me, nor could I find a picture of it anywhere in cyberspace, I went back and bought a bag for research purposes…yeah research.

Sadly though, they cost $2.59, nine cents over the anniversary year, but I guess we can’t have it all. Anyway though, it’s fun to see how far the celebration spreads, even up here to a mountain, where I’m about three miles from the next state.

When I get back from camp, I’m really excited to join in the festivities as the city ramps up for the celebration, we’ll have to see what other products join in as well, and of course, what else makes its way up here.

Yep, that’s right. The “City of Brotherly Love” is anything but, when it comes to NHL hockey. One of the longest anti-social rivalries between teams in the modern NHL, this series is going to have it all: goals, goaltending, grit, fights and fan-smack.

Considering the Flyer’s ‘theme’ for this year has been “Vengeance,” paraded around town with gigantic bilboards of Riley Cote and his raised fists, it appears to all that the Broad Street Bullies never really left.

So Friday at 7:30 we’ve got Game One of the Intrastate Beatdown. Let’s look more in-depth at what the Flyers are going to have to face – and what the Pens have to look forward to, after the jump. (more…)