Pittsburgh Metblogs » meta

Programming Note

Mike — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:00:45 +0000

A short programming note for everyone. Unless something unexpected comes up, I’ll be downtown during the day on Thursday to cover the G-20. Much like I did for Pittsburgh 250, I’ll be live blogging from my cell phone.

I may be able to stop at a computer and send in a more detailed post, but I’ll have to play it by ear. I know a couple other people who will be in town as well, so we’re getting together to take pictures and whatnot.

I am not planning on going in on Friday, but I’ll be reporting throughout the day as well. In the meantime, I’ll also have a couple non G-20 posts scheduled, so it

Site news: Redesign and open comments!

Mike — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:04:03 +0000

Just a quick note to everyone, the powers that be have redesigned the entire Metblogs network! I like to think that this was a super-secret birthday gift to me, and in my own little world, I’m going to keep thinking that.

In addition, if you feel like making a comment, go ahead, you don’t need to register. Of course you can still register if you’d like to expedite the process in the future.

See you tomorrow, release of the TDP!

And we’re back…

Mike — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:49:37 +0000

Or at least, I’m back from my summer work assignment. No longer am I less than three miles from West Virginia, I’m back, once more commuting from one end of the Parkway East to downtown, but I am glad to be back.

I’ll be ramping up once more, especially with the G-20 barrelling down on us, but until then, thanks for reading, and I’ll catch you real soon!

Programming Note

Mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:00:13 +0000

Just a quick note for everyone, work is once again taking me away from reliable internet access (although it does look like it will be better this year than last) and any amount of free time to write. I’m going to do my very best to keep updating as much as I can, hopefully even more than last year. Once more I will find myself deep in Fayette County (actually, very close to the WV border, but further away from downtown, hence, deep), so I’ll throw in a mix of posts from down that way as well.

It really is beautiful down there (along Route 40), stop down and visit, I’ll even buy you a round at National Pike. But in the meantime, I already have plans for a series which I’m dubbing “The July Project,” so watch for that in…July, as well as a big blogging event when VGL comes to town, and I’ll be back in June for a Pirates game, so I’ll cover that too.

Also, if anyone is interested in writing for Pittsburgh Metblogs, let me know in the comments. There is a lot coming up: the Arts Festival (read: week of rain), the G20 summit, the Pirates striving for mediocrity, Rivers Casino opening and so much more: I’d love to have other people covering these events and just writing about the city we all love (or at least tolerate). I’m not the city captain, but I promise I will pull as many strings as I can to get you added on as a writer!

Number 57

Mike — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:26:01 +0000

This post is not about Heinz, ketchup, the field or even the proposed removal of the pickle from the bottle. This post is about the 57th city to join Metblogs: San Diego.

The crew over there has been working overtime to fill the site up and get it ready for today’s launch, so head on over and check it out. Want to see the entire network? Check it out here, or click on the appropriate continent on the map here at the main map.

San Diego Metblogs

Cut-and-paste: It’s not just for China anymore

Alik — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:23:31 +0000

The Post-Gazette has, on Sundays, been running a feature called “The Cutting Edge”, where they post snippets from Pittsburgh-related blogs. (Yes, I still get 90% of my news on dead trees. Portable, useful for stuffing shipping boxes, and doesn’t require me to pay some silly “hotspot” to read it.) It has sunk to new lows. You may recall that Chinese newspaper that accidentally recycled a story from The Onion?. Scroll down this week’s Cutting Edge and find “One of America’s great newspapers” doing the same thing. I’d like to hope they’re just adding it in as a bit of comic belief, but the lack of framing text makes me think someone there is just plain asleep at the switch.

Not to worry, though. They’re a “manufacturer” according to state law, and thus aren’t required to pay property taxes. With all that money they’re saving, I’m sure they can put it towards finding, you know, real news to report on once in a while.

Blogging around town

pit_carolyn — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:49:02 +0000

Bike Pittsburgh gets out and smells the streetpaint on Liberty Ave. Hello, bike lane!

Do you bike to work? Take the bus? Null Space looks at how Pittsburgh’s commutes compare to other US cities.

Pittsburgh Dish serves up some bad news: Gritty spinach is just one of the strikes against Grille 36.

Poker blogger Mene Gene has a technical close encounter with lovely card player Liz Lieu.

Pittsburgh ladies report on author China Martens’ reading at Joseph Beth.

Golf, anyone?

Are you feeling set upon by zombies? Anthropik is trying to blaze a path to safety.

Tonight: get your panties unbunched with Planned Parenthood’s PantyPallooza — tix are $20 at the door.

wow.

Metroblogging chaos in Karachi

pit_carolyn — Sat, 12 May 2007 16:53:29 +0000

Today violence erupted in Karachi, Pakistan, when demonstrators clashed; according to the BBC, 30 people have died and an additional 90 are injured. This past week, President Musharraf suspended chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry; Chaudry’s arrival in Karachi is thought to have sparked the conflict. Longstanding political tensions between pro- and anti-Musharraf factions seem to be at its root. The BBC reports, “In the worst violence, supporters of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and activists from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto fought gun battles for an hour.”

What is it like to be in a city that’s descending into chaos? Well our metroblogging siblings in Karachi can tell you.

Update1: There is firing all round my mohallah and area. Please pray for our people. I may disconenct any time due to light or TV cable out.

Update 2: Talat Hussain is UNDER FIRE live on AAJ TV. TS has warned MQM,SINDH GOV & MUSHARRAF RESPONSIBLE if anything happened to their people. I salute this guy’s bravery.

Update 3: AAJ TV has stopped showing live pictures now after a live signal of “CAUTION” by MQM representative

Update 4: Breaking NEWS : AAJ TV BLACK OUT ( In my area). The ghundas on rampage.

These metroblog posts provide a clear picture of the absolute lack of clarity that descends upon a city in chaos. Imagine being in a news blackout while hearing shots and seeing smoke. Or don’t imagine; read all about it.

For the bigger picture — to figure out who MQM is, for example — try the BBC and the International Herald Tribune, which are both ahead of American news media on the story.

To the bloggers and everyone else in Karachi — stay safe.

photo of Karachi in more peaceful times from the metroblogging karachi flickr pool

It has been so long

McArdle — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 01:30:25 +0000

At least a few people have noticed my extended absence from this website. I know because I saw them on the street and they told me so. Perhaps you assumed that I had been forced to quit the weblogging game, or that I had met with an accident, and was dead or maimed. In truth, it was much worse: My computer was broken. I have spent almost two weeks checking my e-mail on a cell phone and haunting libraries (I recommend the one in East Liberty) to check out cute kittens catch-as-catch-can.

Probably you did not notice at all. Anyway, I am back in the world of the ether with a brand new slightly used PowerBook, and I have some garbage to say. I missed a lot: the ghost of our martyred hero-mayor won the mayoral election for his young successor two months before we even got a chance to cast votes. I don’t really have anything to say about that which has not already been said, but I got some other stuff. Watch here for the next couple of days.

Cuter than a koala

pit_carolyn — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:31:36 +0000

Welcome to Kuala Lumpur! The capital of Malaysia has just become the 54th metroblogging city.

While the weather there is certainly more temperate than here in Pittsburgh, CNN tells me it’s thunderstorming, so we’re all getting rained on, each and every one of us.

We’ve got a lot in common: art museums, multiple newspapers, toll booths on our highways, new metroblogs. Now I just want to know: how do we get one of those fancy monorails?