I should have known something was up when she placed her laptop on the couch and patted the cushion. That’s a move normally indicating a surprise grooming session or a desperate plea for company while she watches yet another Law & Order: SVU marathon...
As a plus-size woman, Julie Murphy has often been called fat. But in recent interviews and conversations, as well as in her books, the Texas-based young adult writer uses the word as a common adjective...
Last week I found myself combing through an entire year’s worth of bank and credit card statements in order to make a list of business expenses. It’s that time of year again: tax time...
Each day, the chaos of the internet is filled with wretched news stories and terrible opinions. It would be an unrewarding slog if it weren’t for the beacon of hope that brings us all together: memes...
In early September, Norraset (Nor) and Rujira Nareedokmai closed their beloved Thai restaurant, Bangkok Balcony, after a 15-year run. But fans of the Squirrel Hill restaurant can rest easy: The Nareedokmais aren't going anywhere, just shifting their focus a little to the northeast...
Every morning, I walk to my son's daycare to drop him off. He's a little guy right now, just a few months old, and I feel both protective and adventurous when we're out in the world together...
Jay “Ruff Bone” White has been making films in Pittsburgh for years. Now the Beltzhoover native and self-taught filmmaker will showcase the work of his peers with Pittsburgh Black Film Network: A Day Dedicated to Black Short Films...
As vanessa german and Deesha Philyaw were sending TENDER a literary anthology & book of spells: evidence to the press last year, a Gender Equity Commission report cited Pittsburgh as more difficult to live in for Black women. This was something german and Philyaw, as well as the 17 other writers and visual artists in TENDER — and other Black women living in Pittsburgh — already knew...
Last week, Pittsburgh-area Democrats were sent into a state of disarray. On Sunday, the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsed candidate Heather Kass, who had past social media posts praising Donald Trump, and also endorsed challenger Chris Roland, a white man, over state Rep. Summer Lee (D-Swissvale), western Pennsylvania’s first Black woman state legislature and the incumbent...
To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To a guy who used to build hammers, everything looks like a government conspiracy to exploit, dominate, and subjugate American workers...
Visitors and students might not know that the Heinz Memorial Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh is non-denominational. The chapel’s associate director, Wendy Lau, says that the Heinz family “never thought that you should hold one religion over another...
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If you're like most of us, you harbor desires for experiences that might be gratifying in some ways but draining in others...
Despite its modernist ring, microtonal music is not a recent phenomenon. The term was first coined over a century ago, and the concept — music using altered pitches and tuning systems to play notes not found in the standard Western twelve-tone system — has been utilized as far back as history books go...
For four days, the University of Pittsburgh will highlight Black music, dance, poetry, and more for Black to the Future: A Festival of Art, Social Justice and Dreaming. Presented during Pitt’s official K. Leroy Irvis Black History Month celebration, the festival — running Feb. 26-29 — highlights local, national, and international Black artists...
More than 50 protesters gathered today outside the Pittsburgh office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery), calling on him to increase his support of pardoning prisoners serving life sentences. Despite saying he believes in second chances for prisoners, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star found that Shapiro has the lowest rate of yes-votes on commutations among those on the Board of Pardons...
Roger Harvey isn't being metaphorical on his Dec. 2019 release "You & I" when he sings, "caught lightning in a bottle for awhile / with a quarter moon and a thousand fireflies." The song came to Harvey — a Pittsburgh native previously in bands such as White Wives, among others — after spending a few days with his partner, Anika Pyle (who is featured in the track), on a farm in rural Pennsylvania watching the sunset surrounded by fireflies...
