79 replies to this topic

[Spectacles]

Drew, on Jul 10 2009, 10:36 AM, said:

6. Specs, is there any particular type of music you like? Any favorite artists or composers or styles?

7. You are traveling to Chicago and hope to take in the Sears Tower, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Chicago Art Institute, Wrigley Field, and the Shedd Aquarium. You may not have time to see all six. Rank them in the order in which you'll visit in case time runs out. EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS!!!

6. I like most music except contemporary pop music (the lyrics suck). My tastes are really eclectic, which I probably one reason I like Rickie Lee Jones so much.

7. 6. Sears Tower, 5. the Museum of Science and Industry, 4. the Field Museum of Natural History, 1. the Chicago Art Institute, 2. Wrigley Field, and 3. the Shedd Aquarium.

Quote

EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS!!!

I think my order is the right order and should therefore be self-evident.  

[Spectacles]

SparkyCola, on Jul 10 2009, 10:40 AM, said:

Assuming money and time was no issue, which (top) three countries would you like to visit and why?

Sparky

Oh, too many.

I went to Edinburgh a little over ten years ago, and I've wanted to go back and really explore Scotland since. It's gorgeous, and a dream trip would be to go up through the highlands all the way to the Orkney Islands. So that's one.

I also have wanted to go to Greece since I was about ten. I was on a Greek mythology kick, and also the (absolutely beautiful) lady who ran the local soda shop was Greek, so I'd stop by her soda fountain as I walked back from the library and talk with her about Greece. I think she was afraid I was going to run away to Greece. "You wait 'til you older!" She was gorgeous though--white hair worn in a french twist, profile like the women on ancient Greek vases....

And I'd like to go to France, mainly to explore the countryside--and then I'd get lost and wind up in Italy, which allows me to cheat and sneak in another country.

And if I could keep going, I'd like to see Austria, Eastern Europe--especially Prague--and Turkey. And Egypt, of course....New Zealand, Australia....I'll stop now.

Edited by Spectacles, 11 July 2009 - 07:18 AM.

[Spectacles]

Peridot, on Jul 11 2009, 12:12 AM, said:

Okay, here's one from a former Pennsylvanian---I used to live in between Pittsburgh and Butler, years ago, when I was in high school. My school bus stop was right on Route 8...

What do you find most beautiful in Pittsburgh, or Western Pennsylvania in general, or both?

Peridot

Ah, if you've lived here, you know: the mountains and streams and trees, just the general lay of the land. It's sad, isn't it, that people who've never been to Pittsburgh assume it's just another flat, ugly city. I did. Boy, is that not true. It's as hilly as San Francisco and, because two major rivers meet downtown to form the Ohio River at the Point, it has more bridges than any other city in the U.S. It's a richly textured, layered city of mountains and tunnels and bridges. And it has the most dramatic entrance imaginable, when you drive through the Fort Pitt tunnel and downtown bursts into sight when you pop out of the tunnel--the skyscrapers, the stadium, the fountain, and below the riverboats. It's a gorgeous city in a gorgeous area, don't you think? I mean, it's a city and it has its run-down parts, like all cities, but even the modest, worn-down neighborhoods (like mine) look interesting as they're perched on hill after hill.

[Spectacles]

Double-post on the mysteries of Pittsburgh.

Edit.

Edited by Spectacles, 11 July 2009 - 07:32 AM.

[Themis]

Awesome thread.  No questions but will these threads be easily accessible, maybe pinned in a special section when the week is up?

BTW, I love Greece!

[SparkyCola]

Someone (can't remember who, sorry!) suggested pinning a thread with links to each OTer of the week in it. What do people think about that? I like the idea personally, I'd be happy to do that if people agree with it.

Sparky

[Cardie]

Good idea, Sparky.

Specs, the first time I visited San Francisco, it was with a grad school friend from Pittsburgh who looked at the skyline as we drove into the city and said, "It looks like Pittsburgh."  All of us in the car guffawed at how he could compare the west coast jewel to that grubby industrial city, but the first time I went to Pittsburgh I saw why he said that.

Cardie

[QueenTiye]

Cardie, on Jul 11 2009, 12:49 PM, said:

Good idea, Sparky.

Specs, the first time I visited San Francisco, it was with a grad school friend from Pittsburgh who looked at the skyline as we drove into the city and said, "It looks like Pittsburgh."  All of us in the car guffawed at how he could compare the west coast jewel to that grubby industrial city, but the first time I went to Pittsburgh I saw why he said that.

Cardie

I like the idea of an index thread as well.  That way while in process the thread doesn't get lost in the pinned up neverland, and in each opening new thread we can reference the index thread for other profiled Ex Islers.

QT

[Balderdash]

Alright, Specs is a good friend of mine and I know what music she likes and I've heard about all of her animals.  Specs is a great story teller, she invites you into her world through her words and makes you feel welcomed.  What I want to know is, tooth paste, cap on or off?  

[Nittany Lioness]

And there's at <least one?> "tram" - it's like a trolley car that goes up the mountain side smack in the middle of the city on a cable or some damn thing.
I am afraid of heights but I had to go with my group.
I was envisioning scenes out of old James Bond movies.  

Oh - it's called an "incline", right?

Anyway, if I recall correctly at the top in the station where you get out there's a cool line of photos
showing the same spots in the city before during and after the steel industry was predominant.
During the day - they'd have the street lamps lit due to the soot in the air!

But nowadays - it's super cool and super clean.  

[SparkyCola]

Nittany... I read your post, thought "Hills, trams, steel industry past ...this sounds a LOT like Sheffield." so I looked Pittsburgh up in Wikipedia and sure enough, Sheffield is a sister city

Specs, we've been living in sister cities all this time and never knew

Sparky

Edited by SparkyCola, 11 July 2009 - 07:49 PM.

[Julianus]

Balderdash, on Jul 11 2009, 11:24 PM, said:

Specs is a great story teller, she invites you into her world through her words and makes you feel welcomed.

Well said, Balderdash!
Pax,
Julianus

[Nittany Lioness]

I live 20 minutes from the teeny little town of Sheffield, PA.
One street light.  

Might have been named after the "sister" city of Pittsburgh.
But its claim to fame is the timber and oil/gas industry.

Oh, and it once housed WWII prisoners of war in their long line of horse stalls.  
And the local townsfolk baked for them and treated them very, very well.
(There's a lot of sentiment for ah .... the plight of german people.)

Edited by Nittany Lioness, 12 July 2009 - 08:45 AM.

[Spectacles]

Cardie, on Jul 11 2009, 12:49 PM, said:

Good idea, Sparky.

Specs, the first time I visited San Francisco, it was with a grad school friend from Pittsburgh who looked at the skyline as we drove into the city and said, "It looks like Pittsburgh."  All of us in the car guffawed at how he could compare the west coast jewel to that grubby industrial city, but the first time I went to Pittsburgh I saw why he said that.

Cardie

Did you enter the city via the dramatic route through the tunnel? It's like Oz, isn't it--suddenly colorized?

I think that part of the image problem is the name:  Pittsburgh.

In addition to the beauty, the people are--for the most part--really nice and unassuming and friendly. Most Pittsburghers will tell you all their business in the grocery line, unlike Southerners who tend to be discreet.  People tend to live in the same neighborhoods they were born into and life seems to revolve around the family: Sunday dinner, weddings, funerals, Christenings, first communions, birthdays and graduation parties and showers. Native Pittsburghers almost ALWAYS have some family to-do happening. One reason I'm enjoying the Evanovich books is that "The Burg" in Trenton she describes is a lot like life here in Pittsburgh. And I've been fortunate to have experienced it through my ex's wonderful, Slovak/Hungarian family. While I don't see them as often as I used to, mainly because my frickin' arthritic back limits my activities, as far as they are concerned, I'm still part of the family. Once you're in, you're in.

[Spectacles]

Quote

Baldy: What I want to know is, tooth paste, cap on or off?  

On! And I had no idea until I got up and went into the bathroom to see which it was.

[Spectacles]

Nittany Lioness, on Jul 11 2009, 08:12 PM, said:

And there's at <least one?> "tram" - it's like a trolley car that goes up the mountain side smack in the middle of the city on a cable or some damn thing.
I am afraid of heights but I had to go with my group.
I was envisioning scenes out of old James Bond movies.  

Oh - it's called an "incline", right?

Anyway, if I recall correctly at the top in the station where you get out there's a cool line of photos
showing the same spots in the city before during and after the steel industry was predominant.
During the day - they'd have the street lamps lit due to the soot in the air!

But nowadays - it's super cool and super clean.  

The Duquesne Incline is probably the one you took. It's a must-see for visitors. I'm afraid of heights, too, so I had to keep my eyes closed.

http://www.aviewonci...gh/inclines.htm

[Spectacles]

SparkyCola, on Jul 11 2009, 08:48 PM, said:

Nittany... I read your post, thought "Hills, trams, steel industry past ...this sounds a LOT like Sheffield." so I looked Pittsburgh up in Wikipedia and sure enough, Sheffield is a sister city

Specs, we've been living in sister cities all this time and never knew

Sparky

Now that you mention it, a colleague of mine went to Sheffield a couple of years ago to advise them as they set up a program similar to one my college runs, a partnership with the electrical workers' union. And he mentioned something about our sister city status.

So hiya, Sis.

[Spectacles]

Julianus, on Jul 11 2009, 10:14 PM, said:

Balderdash, on Jul 11 2009, 11:24 PM, said:

Specs is a great story teller, she invites you into her world through her words and makes you feel welcomed.

Well said, Balderdash!
Pax,
Julianus

Thank you for those kind words.

[Nittany Lioness]

Gah! - I glanced at that incline photo, memories are flooding back! -  and it makes my tummy do a little clutch.  
I hate heights.  
It's impressive my friends successfully got me on that thing, actually.

Here's one photo I found of that "midday darkness" circa 1940:

Edited by Nittany Lioness, 12 July 2009 - 01:08 PM.

[Themis]

Spectacles, on Jul 12 2009, 05:03 PM, said:

Most Pittsburghers will tell you all their business in the grocery line, unlike Southerners who tend to be discreet.

Southerners will also tell you all their business almost everywhere now, thanks to using cell phones in any kind of line, anywhere in a store, in the bathroom stalls, etc.....