The Carnegie Music Hall show this past Saturday felt like two or maybe three concerts in one, and not just because it featured both the Men's and the Women's choirs.

In the first place, it was a very full evening: If you came early for the pre-show reception, and stayed for the traditional post-show cookie reception, the two-hour-plus concert stretched to a four-hour shindig.

Yet even if one isn't especially invested in conventional holiday music, the fast-paced show flew by.

Sure, the 33-member men's choir led off with "Silver Bells" and "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," and a first-act set-change was occasion for an audience singalong of "Silent Night." But artistic director Andres Cladera knows how to keep things moving with variety.

For instance, turns by first the men's and then the women's choir in the first act were followed by a beautiful collaboration with the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra. (How they fit everyone on the Music Hall's stage, we can only guess.) This sequence ended with the traditional Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus; other highlights included selections from Saint-Saëns "Christmas Oratorio."

And there was plenty of other gorgeous stuff, from a renditions of the Appalachian carol "I Wonder As I Wander" (with a solo by tenor John Mueller) to "Little David Play On Your Harp," another traditional tune (solo by soprano Elizabeth Rishel). I also loved the setting of poetry to music in James Mulholland's "Winter Night from Mementos of Millay." It all sounded great in the Music Hall -- hardly surprising, of course, but I'm sure I've seen more lectures than concerts there over the years.

Still, with all the heartfelt spirituality, the RCC concert swung into balance on Cladera's penchant for humor. P.D.Q. Bach's "Throw A Log, Uncle John" (about a drunken relation) was done a wry turn by the women's choir. The men's choir nailed the tricky rounds of the spoof "13 Days of Christmas," and soloist Jessica Fritz sassed things up as a discontented Mrs. Claus in Jason Robert Brown's "Surabaya Santa." Other comic highlights were the set-closer -- the vintage Tom Lehrer tune "Hanukah in Santa Monica" -- and the decidedly more contemporary "Come Out for Christmas," which manages empowerment, affirmation and comedy all at once.

Nicely done, folks. The cookies were pretty damn good, too.

This weekend brought us news that Pittsburgh Police Sergeant Eugene Hlavac has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend, the mother of his child.

Sergeant Hlavac deserves the presumption of innocence, of course. But while I profess no knowledge of Hlavac's personal life, for some reason I can't say I'm terribly shocked at this news. Hlavac was, of course, one of three officers that the Ravenstahl administration decided to promote back in 2007 ... despite the fact that each had been accused of domestic violence in the past.

(Another one of those officers, Commander George Trosky has also been making news recently, incidentally.) 

Hlavac has previously been faulted for his performance on the job as well: specifically, a series of arrests stemming from a 2006 bicyclist demonstration. When the city's police review board tried to question him about the matter, Hlavac tuned out the proceeding by playing an iPod loudly enough that others could hear it. The review board upheld complaints against Hlavac, but these were dismissed by police brass, who said they'd already disciplined him.

After outrage greeted Hlavac's promotions, Ravenstahl pledged that a new domestic-violence policy would "address the issue from here on out," and that Hlavac and the other officers would be "closely monitored."

How's that working out, Mayor Ravensathl?

WQED announced yesterday that it's adding significant local programming. In fact, the public-TV station is launching a whole new weekly show to feature the work of local filmmakers.

Hosted by longtime QED producer Minette Seate and bearing the slightly retro name Filmmaker's Corner, it's set to premiere Jan. 23, with a one-hour installment of Chris Ivey's epic, multi-part documentary East of Liberty. FC will air at 10 p.m. every Saturday (minus pledge drives, of course).

QED says it's long wanted to feature work by local filmmakers, and now has the funding to do it.

I have to admit to a personal take here. For nine seasons, from 1998 through 2007, I curated and hosted Film Kitchen, a monthly screening series for local artists. Most of the shows were at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room; Filmmakers was a sponsor of the series, as was City Paper, at the time. 

Running that series was a great way to learn how much film and video talent there is in Pittsburgh. Most of its practitioners working in the short form (in works from 5 to 30 minutes long, say), and don't have too many outlets for reaching audiences.

Back in March 2006, Film Kitchen even screened an early work-in-progress cut of Ivey's East of Liberty. 

The busy local filmmaker was inspired to make this documentary about the battles over redevelopment -- and gentrification -- in the neighborhood starting with the implosion of several apartment buildings there in the early '00s.

(Here's a link to the preview story I did:

http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A28349)

Film Kitchen continues, by the way, every second Tuesday of the month at the Melwood, under the direction of filmmaker and Filmmakers staffer Matthew R. Day. 

For a year or so there was even a Film Kitchen TV, featuring interviews with Film Kitchen artists and excerpts of their work, on the public-access station PCTV.

QED of course reaches a much larger and broader audience, and it'll be interesting to see what Seate and company come up with for programming. Working in the short form, most local and independent filmmakers fly under the radar in a culture where the feature-length film is the standard. While many prefer the short form, as it's more conducive to experimentation, others work in it at least partly because that's what their resources allow.

But films of less than feature length don't have many outlets, even in film festivals. A one-hour television format would seem perfect for showcasing the work of artists who have several works of 10 minutes or less, for instance. Seate -- who once served as a judge for a Film Kitchen contest -- is well aware of this community and ought to do well highlighting it.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced today that director of operations Art Victor is being replaced. Effective Jan. 1, Duane Ashley, the longtime director of Citiparks, will take over the city's day-to-day management responsibilities.

On paper, it seems like an amicable parting. In the release, Ravenstahl praises Victor "for the fine job he has done for my administration and for his service to the residents." Victor, meanwhile, is quoted thanking the mayor " for the opportunity to serve in this capacity for more than two years."

But the handwriting for this move may have been on the wall some time ago.

As we've noted previously, Victor was among the mayoral appointees serving on city authority boards after their terms expired. Yet when Ravenstahl announced a slew of appointments and reappointments earlier this month -- including at the Parking Authority, where Victor is chair -- Victor's name was conspicuously absent Another Parking Authority board member, Linda Judson, was reappointed.

At the time, Ravenstahl's chief of staff, Yarone Zober, told the Tribune-Review that "the reappointed members 'have been serving the city well since their original appointment.'" Which makes you wonder how Zober felt about board members who weren't reappointed. Especially because there have been rumblings about turf battles between Victor and Zober.  

In fact, there were earlier signs of trouble: This past fall, when a panel was chosen to guide the Parking Authority through the process of leasing its garages, Victor wasn't on it ... despite being the chair. Another Parking Authority board member, Michael Jasper, was chosen for the panel, as was ... Yarone Zober. 

Ravenstahl is pondering a long-term lease of Parking Authority garages, an effort to raise money for the city's depleted pension fund. But as others have been noting, there are some worrisome questions surfacing about how that transaction will be carried out. I'm guessing this could be more grist for the mill of lease critics.

So no doubt you've already read my piece on the upcoming labor talks over at the Post-Gazette, and said to yourself: "But what of PG+, the paper's exciting new online venture?"

The site is mentioned briefly in my story, but I figured that our print-edition readership -- that rabble -- wouldn't be as interested in the online stuff as you and I, dear reader.

My own PG+ fixation began way back in the summer, with a post that broke news of the site while predicting some changes that, um, never really panned out. (The paper still ain't allowing comments on news articles.) But in the early days, the pay site was pretty underwhelming. Some of the content on the "free" side was better than the "premium" stuff hidden behind the paywall.

To be honest, that's still true. But PG+ has improved. It's added the talents of Dennis Roddy, which is never a bad idea (although I would have paid a premium not to hear him sing, frankly). Rich Lord contributes occasional Grant Street items now, which are always worth a read. And in general, there's just more "there" there ... although honestly, the site has less user-generated content than I would have expected. Other than some sports-related commentary, most of the discussion I've seen taking place between users involves asking how to sign up for freebies and so on. A handful of members seem to be providing the lion's share of comments -- and none of them are even Bram Reichbaum! 

But I've been told by some Poggers that I focus too much on the site's content. A big part of the site's appeal is that subscribers can sign up for various perks -- free tickets to shows, etc. That's led to an endorsement from Virginia "PittGirl" Montanez, who recently boasted about garnering some $400 in freebies -- all thanks to a membership costing less than $4 a month. 

But maybe this isn't such a great thing from the paper's perspective. Like, maybe the reason Montanez takes home so much stuff is that there aren't a lot of other members to reward?

So I asked Chris Chamberlain, the Post-Gazette president whose many thankless duties include talking to me. Chamberlain told me that the site "is working well" and "continues to grow steadily." The number of subscribers is "not in the millions and billions," he acknowledged: "It's in the four-digit range."

I would hope so. When I first signed up for an account in September, the number of subscribers was already 430.

Chamberlain wouldn't be more precise about the subscriber base -- though he did say it skews a bit younger than the print product. And it's difficult to verify numbers now. In the early days of PG+, the system allowed you to count the number of members yourself. But that was changed shortly after my first visits to the site. Now visitors just see a random sampling of members; if there's a way to conduct a census of subscribers now, I don't know of it.

In any case, even assuming 9,999 subscribers, each paying a $4/month subscriber rate, we're talking $40,000 a month, or less than a half-million each year. Is that going to turn the paper's fortunes around?

"At this point, the answer is 'no,'" Chamberlain says. "But we did only launch this in September, and the fact that it keeps growing is encouraging." Anyway, he says, while "dollars and cents are critically important, there's a broader picture here. It's important for us to be innovating, and trying these new business models." 

Chamberlain says the site will continue to evolve. One thing, however, will not change: Despite my previous whining, the paper will not be giving free PG+ subscriptions to print subscribers.

As a companion to my story on the upcoming Post-Gazette labor talks, I hope to have a bit more on the PG+ experiment later today. But in the meantime, I wanted to flag a story (which I first spotted over on Blog-Lebo):

Forward Township supervisor sues Web site users

The lede:

A Forward Township supervisor whose character has been attacked in anonymous posts on a local online discussion board has filed a lawsuit over the matter.

Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom DeRosa has filed a complaint in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against some of the anonymous site users, identified in the suit as Howard and Robin Doe.

"They're spreading a lot of lies about me on the Web site," DeRosa said of his reasons for bringing the action. "I'm going to find out who they are."

Well, don't say you weren't warned (mostly in the comments section). I was wondering whether Luke Ravenstahl's decision to hire Philly attorney Richard Sprague might be the opening salvo on online discourse ... but it looks like a township supervisor beat him to the bunch.

For bloggers, the bottom line is this: Federal law effectively precludes you from libel suits based on what other people post on your Web site. (See here for more details, or the comments section of the earlier post linked above.) But you could find yourself served with a subpoena, demanding that you turn over ISP addresses and other identifying information about the people who post on your site. 

This is, in fact, exactly what happened at the site in question, elizabethboro.com. Site operator Richard S. Rattani has given notice to his posters here.

I'm no lawyer -- perhaps Mike Madison would care to weigh in on this -- but this challenge looks like it deserves to be taken seriously. Bloggers and commenters alike should pay attention. The internet is less anonymous than it feels, folks.

I've got no idea who the Democratic gubernatorial nominee is going to be next year. But it's pretty clear who's gonna win the hearts of progressives: Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.

For one thing, the dude gave a conference call to bloggers this week (which is nicely covered by the Pittsburgh Comet). For another, he's got Adlai Stevenson's hairline. 

But mostly, Hoeffel's appeal is his position on ... well ... just about everything, as an interview with City Paper suggests.

Gay marriage? "I'm in favor of marriage equality. I feel very strongly that we're all equal in the eyes of God, and our job is to ensure that the laws treat people that way."

Government reform? Hoeffel supports campaign-finance limits (though he won't "disarm unilaterally" by imposing them on himself in 2010) and a raft of other changes. 

The environment? Hoeffel favors a 5 percent extraction tax on natural gas drilled in the Marcellus Shale. Proceeds will be used to remediate the environmental damage wrought by the drilling (whose effects our very own Bill O'Driscoll wrote about earlier this year).

Pittsburgh's financial problems? Hoeffel favors giving the city power to levy a tax on commuters, based on a percentage of the income they earn within the city -- just like Philly has had for years. He's also open to expanding the payroll preparation tax to non-profits (which was what Mayor Tom Murphy first proposed, by the way). "Some of those non-profits make a lot of money, and they have to give something back," Hoeffel says. 

"Pittsburgh needs to deal with its problems, and the state has to give it more authority to raise revenue," he adds.

Infrastructure? Hoeffel wants to increase investment in mass transit, as well as investing in highway construction and repair. Where will the money come from? By tolling I-80 -- hell, the guy favors gay marriage; he ain't getting any votes along that stretch of road anyway -- and doubling the gas tax. 

You can check out much of his platform at his campaign Web site, of course. But yeah, the guy believes strongly in a government role in job creation and education. He'd build on Rendell's more successful initiatives -- like his early-childhood education programs -- while trying to avoid some of his shortcomings. ("One quality I have and Rendell doesn't is, I like legislators," says Hoeffel, who has served in the state House and in Congress.)

And it's not just the policies that make Hoeffel appealing: It's the pride with which he proclaims them. 

That said, I can't help but worry that such candor is gonna get Hoeffel crucified ... a prospect he seems almost touchingly unconcerned about. Asked about how doubling the gas tax would go over, for example, Hoeffel conceded, "People and legislators will object to that at first blush." No doubt. In fact, my guess is the second blush would be on the faces of Cranberry Republicans, standing with pitchforks along the banks of the Susquehanna, their faces further reddened by the flames of burning effigies. 

As proof of his ability to reach across the aisle, Hoeffel notes that he's one-half of a bipartisan coalition running Montgomery County. But that says as much about his GOP counterpart, Jim Matthews, as it does about Hoeffel. Probably more. Republicans out in the Philly suburbs tend to be socially moderate. Republicans from other parts of the state, by contrast, tend to be more batshit insane. It's hard to imagine Daryl Metcalfe, the pride of Cranberry, joining with Hoeffel to raise the gas tax, or support marriage equality. Hell, it's hard to imagine a lot of Democrats out here doing that.

But on the bright side, the things that might make it hard for Hoeffel to govern could make it easier to win.

The political calculus is pretty straightforward: Tom Corbett, the runaway favorite to be the GOP's candidate, is from the Pittsburgh area. So he'll be tough in the west and, by virtue of being a Republican, likely to command the rural parts of the state. Democrats' best hope, the logic goes, is to play to their strengths by locking up Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. And you don't appeal to those areas by being a socially conservative old-school Dem toting a Pittsburgh accent ... so maybe Dan Onorato and state auditor general Jack Wagner aren't the winning ticket.

"The political fact is that Democrats have to win the suburbs of Philadelphia," Hoeffel says.

That's the theory, anyway. And Hoeffel has some polling data -- which he paid for -- to suggest he has a shot. A mid-September poll compiled for his campaign suggests that among likely Democratic voters, Hoeffel ekes out 15 percent of the vote statewide. That's slightly more than Onorato or Wagner poll ... though it's all within the survey's 3.5 percent margin of error, and anyway fully half of voters say they are undecided. The main factor is Hoeffel's strong showing in the Philly area, where Hoeffel has nearly a third of voters.

On the other hand, every indication is that Rendell -- who's still popular in the Philly area if nowhere else -- is backing Onorato in this race. Be interesting to see whether that changes the dynamic out East.

But no matter what happens, at least there's a candidate for progressives to get excited about. How often does that happen in a statewide race? 

Been a little remiss with the blogging, I admit: The "Best of" issue always makes me want to throw myself off a bridge. But I've been meaning to write a post like this for a little while now, and finally have an excuse.

I've always thought that one of the best, and most overlooked, blogs in town is the Tube City Almanac, authored by Jason Togyer.  Togyer is a former reporter, having worked at the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review and other publications. So maybe it's no surprise that, probably more than any other blog in town, the Almanac seems poised to go beyond relying on, or even merely supplementing, mainstream media.

And now it's about to take another step in that direction: Seeking 501(c)(3) status and -- brace yourself -- actually paying people for writing online news.

A few words about the Almanac for those who aren't familiar. As its name suggests, the site focuses on McKeesport, the other city in Allegheny County. Sometimes, it reports alongside the traditional press on matters like the municipal budget or the ongoing saga of a councilor nicknamed "Sluggo." Sometimes it breaks stories -- reporting well ahead of anyone else the possibility that Dish network would abandon McKeesport. Sometimes Togyer just does community news ... rah-rah stuff that doesn't get bloggers' juices flowing, but that connects a media outlet to its community. And sometimes, he just hosts a forum for that community to voice its own doubts and misgivings.

Togyer tells me he launched the site in part because "the Pittsburgh media really doesn't care about McKeesport unless we're shooting each other." There are exceptions, of course: Togyer has kinds words for the Mon Valley beat reporters at both the Trib and the Post-Gazette. But extra voices never hurt. Togyer's goal is to provide "newsmagazine-type coverage" of his community -- occasionally breaking stories, but more often shedding a different light on them. Which is why he's looking for help now.

The amount you can expect to earn as an Almanac contributor "is going to be pathetic," Togyer tells me. He estimates payments will be around $25 or $50, "and closer to the $25 end of the range ...  This is an opportunity for someone who is a student looking to put some clips together, or for someone who has retired." Still, he says, "as a writer, it's insulting to me to say, 'You should be glad just to get the exposure.' I'm a member of the National Writers Union, and quite frankly, I'd be going against the union if I didn't pay something." 

Togyer will be, to the best of my knowledge, the first local blogger to do so. Next year, he'll try to raise money not just from online ads, but from Paypal contributions and the occasional fundraiser. Initially, he's seeking about $1,000: Togyer says he has about 2,100 "semi-regular readers -- so if they each gave me 50 cents, we'd be there." He plans to take no salary of his own: "This is a part-time hobby-type gig for me," he says. "Is it sustainable as a model if I didn't have a day job? No. And that's the problem."

It's one problem, anyway. Togyer says that "other than a few e-mails saying, 'Oh, cool,' nobody has actually responded" to his online invitation. The offer has only been up for a week, of course. But I've been a little surprised that no one else -- even another blogger -- seems to have taken notice of what he's up to.

I'm just guessing here, but perhaps part of the reason is that bloggers are just as parochial as the MSM when it comes to places outside city limits. It's the curse of the hyperlocal: Sites like the Almanac, or Blog-Lebo (where, incidentally, local blogger Michael Madison has called it quits) just don't draw much attention outside the community they serve.

That worries me a little. As Togyer says, "If I can do a site like this in McKeesport, there's no reason somebody couldn't do one like it in Kitanning." But in a county of 130 different municipalities, that's counting on an awful lot of folks willing to write about borough council meetings. Lately, in fact, I've been thinking that one argument for consolidating local governments is that it would keep all the politicians all in one place. Imagine how much easier it would be -- even for the MSM -- to keep an eye on things with a streamlined government. Think how much money our cash-strapped newspapers could save in staffing if we had a one-stop-shop for political chicanery. 

But of course, that's the least of the challenges facing the news biz. I have an article coming out tomorrow in the print edition -- online Thursday -- about the dark clouds gathering around the Post-Gazette's upcoming labor talks. There are a lot of worrisome signs in the days ahead. Togyer's move is a rare bit of hope, and he can count on a bit more than 50 cents from me.

After all, someday I might be writing for him.  

Local modern rock band Identity X released its album Perception is Reality in early November, but the band still has a busy schedule as we ride out the year. Identity X plays Mon., Dec. 21 (the first day of winter, incidentally) at Hard Rock Café with Xcalabra, and on Sun., Dec. 27 at Diesel with Doomsday Initiative.

On a somewhat weird note ... In my short review of Perception is Reality, I noted that one of the band's strongest attributes is vocalist David Toole, whose "versatile voice turns on a dime from Keenanesque mutters to clear melodies and full-throated screams, even the occasional hair-metal wail." But it's still a surprise to see that, according to the band's MySpace page, Toole's been cast in a production of Rent that opens at the Byham Theater in late January. If this is a joke, it's a pretty good one, unlike my unintentional Toole/Keenan/Tool joke above.

Download today's free mp3, "The Depth Perception," to see what we're talking about ... and why this development kinda makes sense.

Dancers at the Pillow Project's Dec. 12 performance.

Pearlann Porter and her dance-and-multimedia troupe found a great way to both extend their Second Saturdays season and mark their fifth anniversary. This pair of shows on Dec. 12 reunited some alumni of the company with DJ Sorta, whose apartment record parties Porter says were a key inspiration for starting Pillow Project in the first place.

Primarily, it was an evening of loose fun, with the five dancers engaged in well over an hour of sportive and sexily playful dance. Joining current Pillow members Beth Ratas, Angela Essler and Kaylin Horgan were alums Ben Wegman (now with D.C.'s Liz Lerman Dance Exchange) and Dionna PridGeon (who's moved on to dancing, choreographing and teaching in Chicago.)

Sorta provided the tunes, with interludes to demonstrate his skills on the turntables. The disciplines merged with the charming finale, built around the dancers mimicking turntable scratching with a wet hardwood floor and squeaky sneakers. Between the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows, performance painter Kevin "The Nerve" Wenner created a large-scale work to an original soundscape.

Since founding the group, in 2004, Point Park alumna Porter has steadily built a reputation for shows that are accessible, fun and spectacle-oriented. (I first saw her approach a few years back with Concept Album, a classic-rock-themed show in Shadyside's Hunt Armory.)

This was my first trip to Porter's The Space Upstairs, a formerly ad hoc performance space over top of Construction Junction. Primarily to host these Second Saturdays shows, she's transformed the loft-style space into a half-polished, half-raw lounge, that flooring complemented by a bar and little circles of upholstered chairs.

The wonderfully informal atmosphere indeed made it feel much like you'd slipped into someone's flat and a dance show broke out. Keep The Space Upstairs on your checklist for when Second Saturdays resumes next year. (www.pillowproject.org)