| while shopping at capo’s furniture in beaver falls recently, i came upon pittsburgh’s great blizzard travel game. produced in 1978 by c.p. marino, this game comes with a two-sided board, destination cards, weather cards, blizzard cards, cars [player pieces] and 2 dice.
according to the rules, the point of the game is to land on each of the five “destination circles”: bank hardware, food store, work and drug store. the tricky part of the game is that if you land on a “weather” square and select a weather card that says blizzard, you have to flip the game board over from the sunny side to the blizzard side. in the midst of a blizzard, the game gets more difficult. the game board is labeled with major roads from the city such as penn avenue. however, that seems to be the only way that pittsburgh comes into the game. anyway, it’s neat to have a another vestage of the late 70s that celebrates our city. |
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Top Skylines of the World
So it has been making the rounds in the blogosphere and inboxes that, according to some Internet guy, Pittsburgh has the #16th slot in the top 20 skylines of the world. (Top twenty in the WORLD baby! Not bad for a medium-sized city.) The site also claims that Pittsburgh’s metro population is almost double that of Dallas, Texas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Dubai, U.A.E. Um …. Sweet! So much for the population hemorrhage? (Or is he counting Morgantown, WV?)
Here is the blurb from http://www.diserio.com/top15-skylines.html:
15. Pittsburgh, USA
Although Pittsburgh only has two buildings over 200m tall, its skyline is very impressive nonetheless. Pittsburgh has nicknames like the “city of bridges” or the “golden triangle” which outlines its true characteristics. It is surround by three rivers and the CBD is shaped in a triangle and surrounded by golden colour bridges. The city is also surrounded by hills and valleys giving access to great views of the city. The city has not had a major skyscraper raised since 1988, but good planning and a scenic surrounding region still makes it a great skyline.
Metro/Urban Population: 2.4 million
(Thanks to a reader for the link.)
the fish that saved pittsburgh
so i was just flipping around on cable and this movie caught my eye. with pittsburgh in the name, how could i resist? it turns out that this 1979 sports spoof is about the pittsburgh pythons, a basketball team that isn’t very good until they turn to astrology. starring julius erving, this film comes with plenty of gym shorts with contrast piping, striped kneesocks and a groovy theme song. it also features shots all over and city trash cans with the slogan “pittsburgh’s on the move.” whether or not you’re into the late 70s formula comedy, it’s worth seeing a glimpse of our city back in the day.
Our Mayor, Sonny Crockett (with his partner Tubbs)
Mayor Bob O’Connor is hustled across Penn Avenue shielded by his bodyguard, Officer Joseph Ryczaj, to check on his wife, Judy. [And take one for the team.]
New to Pittsburgh? The new owner’s guide
I recently came across Western Pennsylvania: The new owner’s guide, a series of articles published in the Post-Gazette:
“Whether moving to Western Pennsylvania for the first time, or returning after adventures elsewhere, our staff has put together a collection of useful and just plain interesting things to know and keep in mind.
“From historic highlights to timely information on Pennsylvania driver’s license requirements, they’ve hunted up the info that can save you a few headaches … and enrich your days of personal discovery ahead.”
Recent articles in the series include:
* Tips and info for new residents
* Newcomers find Pittsburgh prettier and friendlier than they expected
* A glorious heritage written in stone, steel, brick and timber
* Peter Leo: Rill Pittsburghers worship the Stillers
* Joe Grata: You can get there from here
* Putting down roots: Planning for planting in your Pittsburgh-area home
* Local broadcast media
* Getting your new home online
Good luck getting settled in!