Youngstown To Gain 500 Call Center Jobs

I know this blog is about Pittsburgh, but I think it's important to build more regional awareness and draw on some of the positive things happening not far away.

The mayor of Youngstown was on c-span talking about how his city is doing and hinted at a big announcement which was followed a few hours later by the news that a large LA based firm would be opening a call center in Downtown Youngstown that may soon employ 500 or more people.

It's only a call center an area known to be easy come and easy go, but still the size of the move is impressive and when put in context even more so. Youngstown will soon have, I think three full buildings downtown full of small start up stage companies in areas like business software development and information outsourcing.

"To hear Mayor Jay tell it, the fact that Youngstown was just named this month by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top 10 cities in the U.S. to start a business verified the decision to expand their operations to Youngstown.

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday restated the fact Youngstown was named one of the top 10 cities in the U.S. to start a business."

Also, not too far to the east is the Cranberry home of Westinghouse, a firm looking to hire at least 700 people to fill it's large Nuclear Reactor backlog.

Can Youngstown build on this and will some of these people choose to live nearby in Youngstown itself? Stiil many challenges ahead.

Leechburg Visionary Artist: Peter (Charlie) Besharo

I can't fully explain it but a lot of the work I'm most drawn to could be called "visionary" or "outsider".

Looking through my Outsider Art Sourcebook, I came across an artist, whose work I had seen published before that seemed full of both beauty, and enigmatic mystery.

Peter was born in Syria in 1899 an migrated in his teens into the area north of Pittsburgh, working at first as a peddler in the mining communities. He finally settled in Leechburg and made his living as a house and sign painter. Few knew him well, and almost none knew he was an artist. 70 strange works were found after his death in 1960 laden with images of spaceships, crosses, galactic combat, mythological and religious references as well as hopeful messages predicting world peace and brotherhood.



Of course half the fun is wondering about what he was thinking.



From the Encyclopedia Of American Folk Art

Besharo was much affected by the World Wars, the development of nuclear power, the Cold War, and his own experiences as an Arab living as a member of a minority group in his adopted country. Popular cul-ture, as reflected in comics, pulp magazines, and illustrated books, may also have influenced his conceptual ideas and visual forms. Besharo transformed all that he saw into a personal vocabulary of form.

Besharo’s painted fantasy adventures in space and interplanetary interaction appeal to a universal interest in transcending mundane, everyday life and replacing it with exciting and surprising journeys. Rooted in his Arab heritage, the conflicts of his early life in Lebanon, and his integration into local American community life, in particular his involvement in church and fraternal organizations, Besharo takes a broad historical view—albeit with a liberal mixture of fact and fiction—and foresees eventual cosmic peace.

Peter Besharo's work is in the collection of The National Museum Of American Art, Smithsonian Institution in D.C. and The American Folk Art Museum In New York.

Pittsburgh's One Of The Strongest Housing Markets: But How Long Can It Last?

First the good news.

Business Week has ranked Pittsburgh as the nation's sixth strongest housing market.

"Methodology: The metros are ranked by the share of homes with rising values in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2008. The annual change is the year-over-year change in median values for the metro in Q2 compared with the same period last year. The quarterly change compares the second quarter with the first quarter. The ranking is based on Zillow.com's Q2 Home Value Index, which is the median "Zestimate" for a given geography for a given time period. The Zestimate™ is Zillow's estimated market value of a home. This figure is computed by taking many different data points from public records and entering them in a proprietary formula."

Obviously, this is a game of relative performance since many of these markets also have modestly declining prices.

1 Boulder, Colorado
2 Spartanburg, South Carolina
3 New Orleans, Louisiana
4 Binghamton, New York
5 Fayetteville, North Carolina
6 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7 Little Rock, Arkansas
8 Gainesville, Georgia
9 Burlington, North Carolina
10 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The first thing that stands out is that very few of these are major metropolitan areas, which gives one some idea how broad and damaging the housing bubble was. Another feature common to most is that two of them, Oklahoma City and Little Rock are State Capitals and colleges and universities play a big role in their economies. The Fayetteville, North Carolina area is home to Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force base as well as three colleges.

One thing we should have all learned from the bubble was that trends that look like they can't go on forever, usually don't.





As, to the Meds side, things might look even worse.

There are many, many positive things to report about Pittsburgh and many great opportunities here which I will try to touch on in another post. Even so, we need to be aware of our real position.

Visionary Arts Pictures Coming Soon

I promise to post my meager supply of shots from The Pittsburgh Visionary Arts Festival when I can get around to getting them off my camera.

The really great piece of news/rumor is that there are plans to keep this thing going, most likely as a biennial event.

Plans For The Arts Take Shape In Greensburg

In spite of it being home to the important Westmoreland Museum; I'm gonna have to fess up to never having spent time in Greensburg. On each train trip to NYC, I look out the window and think-- wow-pretty town there!(that's gonna change)

Finally, Greensburg is getting it together and using a number of planned and existing arts and educational assets to create a low key but thriving downtown.

Yesterday, the press conference officially announcing the details of LECOM at Seton Hill was held at the University. How exciting this is! The nation's largest medical school has partnered with SHU! This means we will be seeing Seton Hill evolving in many exciting ways. I have lived in the Greensburg area all my life. I remember shopping "Downtown Greensburg" at Troutman's and Royer's with my Grandmother. Since those days,businesses would close one by one as the malls and other large developments would draw business away from town. It was only about 10 years ago that I walked through town and unless you were an attorney or working at the courthouse; downtown was pretty much a ghost town. Recently, under the vision of Barb Ciampini, Greensburg City Planning Director, Karl Eisaman, Mayor , Steve Gifford of GCDC (click to read Steve's vision for Greensburg) and other city officials and committees, there has been a major upswing. A little over a year ago, I looked around at the beginning transformation of the city and predicted that someday soon it would be a extraordinary cultural and arts center. Already home to DV8 Espress Bar and Gallery, Stage Right School and Theater Company, Westmoreland Museum of American Art , Pottery Playhouse, St. Clair Concerts in the Park, and so much more. In addition, the new $21 Million Seton Hill Performing Arts Center will be opening 2009 right in the heart of the Greensburg Cultural District. Due to the increased enrollment in Seton Hill's outstanding art program, Seton Hill will house the art department's painting studio in the Troutman's building. So...this all leads to a renaissance of Downtown Greensburg and Seton Hill University. Who knows...maybe someday, we will refer to "Upper Campus" and "Lower Campus" as we grow and are widely recognized for our exemplary medical programs with our Physician's Assistant Program and LECOM's Medical School, as well as our paramount performing and visual arts programs!

August Unblurred

Good news! A few of the venues on Penn Ave are extending their regular gallery hours. Modern Formations has had gallery hours practically since its inception. Artica, who opened a year ago, has regular hours. Joining them this month is Most Wanted Fine Arts. That's a lot of action in two short blocks. The Pittsburgh Glass Center, which sits on the border of the Penn Ave corridor, has regular hours, too. So-ooo, it's nice to know that you can catch shows during the month instead of just on first Fridays!

Currently, Most Wanted Fine Arts has a photography group show with Kimberly Metcho, Jason Furda and Chris Sauer (from left to right below; click on thumbnails for a larger image).



Modern Formations is exhibiting --

“The Mr. Gerald Scoops Show” by Thad Dachille, portrays his imaginary cartoons coming to life. These new works, completed over the last year, continue to represent his interest in rendering imaginary cartoons with strange and sometimes vulgar personalities. More information on their site

The following work, Excited, is pretty representative of the works in the exhibit. Mr. Dachille has a great installation/assembly work in the back room. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear shot during the opening reception.



Artica is exhibiting --

AHA-Moments By Christine, a one-woman exhibition featuring the work of ARTica Gallery Director, Christine McCray-Bethea, who will showcase quirky, funky but always friendly salvage and fiber art from her African(American) Mask and Religion-at-glance series as well as her quilts and works on paper. More information here

Two samples of Ms. Bethea's engaging salvage work (click on thumbnails for details images) --



Really, these are worth going to see. Artica is an eclectic blend of art and collectibles, so be prepared to spend some time poking around!Ms. Bethea consistently exhibits work from local artistsat Artica in addition to her feature. You never know what you will run into.

This was an August Unblurred, so several artists studios as well as other venues typically open were not exhibiting this month. With tha said, I was pleasantly surprised to see the works in all of the venues. Again, most venues are only open for Unblurred, but most are happy to make an appoingment with you.

Garfield Artworks is exhibiting --

GRRLS GRRLS GRRLS!

A collaborative installation presented by Emily Laychak, Stephanie Woods and girlfriends, expressing a visual commentary on the state of girlhood. More information on their site

I really like the above work. Unfortunately, i cannot credit the artist since I couldn't locate an identifying tag. If it helps at all, Once I was wheeless, but then I found my wheels, was posted in proximity to this grouping. These very whimsical works were among the best at Garfield Artworks.

Imagebox had a great show this month, featuring another salvage artist, Robert Pfister. His work is very urban decay with all of the textures and color associated with the deterioration of abandoned metal (click on thumbnails for detailed images).



All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. The Penn Ave venues are really putting on some good exhibits. Hopefully we'll see more galleries and venues with regular gallery hours.

BikeFest 09 Fundraiser

BikeFest is here! Because I am lazy, almost all of this post was copied from Bike Pittsburgh.



First-- there's a big fundraiser- so they can exist please attend or support them if you can, in any way you can.

Come to our party and help make Pittsburgh a safer place to ride! The BikeFest Fundraiser Party is known as one of the best parties in Pittsburgh — great people, food, drinks, music and fun! Please mark your calendar now and save the date.

When: August 14th // large donor event 6:30pm - 8:00pm // main event from 8:00pm-12am

Where: Pittsburgh Opera // 2425 Liberty Avenue // Pittsburgh, PA 15222 [map]
Why: To raise money for BikePGH (and to have a great time while doing it)
How much: $30 General Admission, $55 Ticket + BikePGH membership, $100 VIP Stimulus ticket, or $10 Recession Special. Click here to purchase


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More about the fundraiser here.

Daniel Bolick: RESURRECTED @ The Westmoreland Mueum

Drew Whitley – Sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder he did not commit. Exonerated after 18 years, 78 x 56 inches, acrylic and latex

Daniel Bolick: RESURRECTED
Sunday June 14, 2009 - Sunday September 06, 2009

People who regularly read this blog know that, I personally am a Libertarian or more accurately a "Classical Liberal", who believes the government's only proper role in society is to protect individuals from force, theft, fraud and other criminal acts; run a court system for civil disputes and protect our nation from military attack.

Ironically today, the sacred absolute right all people should have to a speedy trial and serious deliberate defence when accused of a crime is not taken seriously at all.The entire concept of "plea bargaining" is meant to save time and money and police departments often lack the resources and training to investigate crimes; the result is that, many completely innocent people are sitting in jail or occasionally even executed for crimes they did not commit.

Artist's Statement

"The ten men depicted in these paintings and drawings have served a total of 164 years in prison – 71 of those years on death row – for crimes they did not commit. When innocent men are released from death row or long term incarceration, they emerge as broken human beings. They are not eligible for services to help them re-enter society, such as education, counseling and job training – services meant for guilty offenders only, not the wrongly convicted. There is nothing to aid these men (and women in some cases). There is a great reluctance to even acknowledge that a mistake has been made. There are no official apologies and, for most of these men, no compensation.

I hope that this exhibition will raise awareness about the failings of the criminal justice system. Wrongful convictions are not isolated, rare events. Innocent people languishing in prison or worse—being put to death for crimes they did not commit—should be intolerable to everyone."

Daniel Bolick was born and raised in Pittsburgh, attended Kent State and worked for thirty four years in the Pittsburgh Public School System.

Regional Art Recap

Western PA

Erie Art Museum



Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser


"Weiser has become one of the leading practitioners of this genre. His surreal, lushly painted porcelains build on the great traditions of both Europe and Asia. Articulating his post modernism while paying homage to his ceramic forebears makes Weiser’s work appealing and awe-inspiring. Weiser’s virtuosity as a painter is immediately evident. Closer examination of his work is even more rewarding. Lush beauty gives way to darker undertones leaving viewers plenty of room for interpretation. Kurt Weiser is an unassuming genius. He pursues dream, memory, and desire in a centuries-old medium with a 21st century sensibility."

The Hoyt Institute Of Fine Arts

The Story Of Harness Racing By Currier & Ives



Title: Coming to Trot, lithograph by Currier & Ives
Credits: Courtesty of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame

Johnstown

SAMA JOHNSTOWN EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS PERMANENT COLLECTION

SAMA Ligonier

John Ritter August 14th--November 7th

The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley is pleased to announce the opening of its latest exhibition, Popular Culture: A Retrospective of Published Illustrations by John Ritter. The exhibition features more than 30 images by Ritter, whose American post pop compositions incorporate vibrant colors and photo collage while revealing a unique interpretation of contemporary politics, youth culture and media, and how each affects our interpretation of reality. The exhibition opens August 14 and will remain on view through November 7.

Greensburg

Westmoreland Museum Of American Art

Modern Masters from the Smithsonian American Art MuseumSunday June 14, 2009 - Sunday September 06, 2009



"This exhibition examines the complex and heterogeneous nature of American art in the mid-twentieth century. Featuring thirty-one of the most celebrated artists who came to maturity in the 1950s, the exhibition traces the history of this epochal period through forty-three key paintings and sculpture selected from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection. The exhibition is organized according to three broad themes. Grand Gestures explores the autographic mark, executed in sweeping strokes of brilliant color which became the expressive vehicle for Franz Kline, Hans Hofmann, Sam Francis, Joan Mitchell and others. Optics and Order highlights the work of Josef Albers, his exploration of mathematical proportion and carefully balanced color, and the artists who built on his ideas including Ilya Bolotowsky, Ad Reinhardt, and Louise Nevelson, among others. New Images of Man includes the work of Romare Bearden, Larry Rivers, Jim Dine, and Grace Hartigan, and others, who searched their surroundings and personal lives for vignettes of larger, universal concerns."


Cleveland And Northeast Ohio

Cleveland Museum

50 masterworks on view from CMA’s renowned collection of Asian art acquired during Dr. Lee’s tenure as a curator and director. till August 24th

Museum Of Contemporary Art: Cleveland

There Goes the Neighborhood:

explores the evolution of communities here and abroad. The exhibition focuses on how architecture and landscape embody a neighborhood's past, present, and potential future. The work on view examines places amid growth or decline, sites that hover somewhere between construction, deterioration, and renewal. The artists reveal how physical sites symbolize the human experience of change, whether simple or complex, invited or forced. Linking actual and anticipated shifts in communities across the globe, There Goes the Neighborhood emphasizes the evolving structures and compositions of neighborhoods in the twenty-first century.

Also

Maos and Cows : Selections from the Marjorie and Anselm Talalay Collection
On view June 5th, 2009 through August 16th, 2009

Cleveland Institute Of Art

The Warhol Show-- through August 16th

The Cleveland Institute of Art is proud to announce a rare opportunity to view a private collection of prints created by the famed Andy Warhol this summer, in “Andy Warhol Prints: 1974 – 1986, Works from the Cochran Collection.”

Kent State (Kent Ohio) till September 6th

Cary Mcdougall Sculpture

Akron

University Park Art FairRegional and local artists will be exhibiting works at the University Park Art Fair at Grace Park on Saturday, Aug. 15

Youngstown

Butler Institute Of American Art

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009): A Tribute (Youngstown) EXTENDED till August 24th
This special exhibition, drawn from the Butler collection and private holdings, pays tribute to the Wyeth Heritage and includes works by the late Andrew Wyeth and his son, Jamie Wyeth. Andrew Wyeth

Also

Annual National Juried Show: 73rd National Midyear Exhibition till August 24th
National Midyear Exhibition (Youngstown) This annual juried exhibition is open to artists over 18 years of age who reside within the United States and/or its territories. Seventy-two works were selected by this year's juror, New York gallery owner and art historian George Adams.

Upcoming-- Pittsburgh Artist, Dennis Marisco- September 20th-December 27th

Dennis Marsico: Face Value (Flad Gallery, Youngstown)
This new work by a cutting-edge Pittsburgh photographer integrates images of currency engravings with "invisible" letterpress communique

Anyway- a bit half assed but it nmight give you some ideas

Go See Pittsburgh Visionary Arts Festival

No time to do a better post but YOU Really, Really, Really are missing out on a lot if you dont experience the Visionary Arts Festival at Schenly Plaza in Oakland.


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Video About Future Tenant

Thanks again to Bittersweet Harvest, and of course Future Tenant for putting together this nice video about what their space is about and how it is run.

For many years CMU has been a leading school in areas like technology, art and arts management-- but only very recently have their been a lot of active attempts to integrate fully with the city.

Other CMU related projects include the Waffle Shop.

Hanging at the Pittsburgh Visionary Arts Festival

In lieu of writing my weekly art events post (which I apologize for skipping last week), I figured I'd do my first live blog post. This is the premiere of the Pittsburgh Visionary Arts Fest (hereby to be referred to as VAF). The event was organized by young, talented artist Alberto Almarza, and showcases a more non-traditional, "outsider" brand of artists doing edgier work than you would find at a typical summer arts festival.

There are about fifty tents down here at Schenley Plaza, and the scope and quality represented is remarkable. It doesn't hurt that the location is smack dab in the center of Oakland- a hub of activity with multiple hospitals and universities. Folks seem to be pleasantly surprised to encounter this type of aesthetic madness during their lunch hours.

Site coordinator Sarah Bauer (Almarza's better half) seems to be relishing the day. In between running around with waiver forms, she had a chance to sit down for a few seconds at our Unicorn Mountain tent. Says Bauer, "It's cool to showcase the diversity of the progressive arts scene of Pittsburgh. People have been so receptive... they're not like, 'who are these freaky wierdos'."

Maybe it helps that the audience is unfamiliar with the odd brand of individual who would agree to sit in a ten-by-ten foot enclosed space for 27 hours over a three-day weekend. The VAF runs all weekend from noon until 9PM each day. I'll be sitting here during much of that time hawking my own photos, as well as work by other artists in our collective, books and t-shirts. Perhaps I'll even get a chance to say hi to the other creators... if I ever get the chance to leave this tent.

Happy Birthday, Andy

Ok, so I'm one day late.

Feds Upset At Funny Money Surge-- So Is China

As folks face hard times,many are turning to modern printing technologies to just create counterfeit money out of thin air to purchase the things they need and want.

"The evidence is only anecdotal at this point, but law enforcement officials and business owners across the country say they have seen a significant spike in the circulation of counterfeit currency since the economy started to sour more than a year and a half ago:

More than $1,500 in counterfeit bills found its way into the cash registers of businesses in South Strabane Township, Pa., last weekend.
A counterfeiting ring passed at least 10 fake $100 bills in Collier County, Fla., before three people were arrested last month.
At least 17 victims were swindled with counterfeit bills over the Fourth of July weekend in Elkhart, Ind., where police recovered roughly $1,500 in fake cash. One of the victims was the City of Elkhart itself, which took in at least 200 phony dollars at municipal installations."

The combination of a poor economy and ever more sophisticated and cheap computer technology fueling the surge.

Warning--------- Printing Fake Money Out Of Thin Air Is A Destructive Form Of Theft Best Handled By Experts. You can't just print money cause you need it and want to spend more than you are producing.

That's Ben Bernanke's Job

Little Flea Craft Market In Lawrenceville

Lawrenceville is getting an outdoor marketplace – Lawrenceville Little Flea!

Located in a high-traffic area at 36th and Butler, the Lawrenceville Little Flea will provide a rotating variety of flea, food and craft in Pittsburgh’s most up-and-coming shopping and dining district. Come join us!

Where: 3601 Butler St. (Corner of 36th + Butler St.)
When: Saturday, August 8, 10 am – 5 pm

Vendors Needed
Got cool stuff to sell? We still have a few spots available for Saturday, August 8. If you’re interested in joining us, contact lawrencevillelittleflea@gmail.com for a vendor application.

Participation Fee: $15 ($10 / 2+ Saturdays)

Ghost Bikes

"Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel.

The first ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003, and they have since appeared in over 80 cities throughout the world. For those who create and install the memorials, the death of a fellow bicyclist hits home. We all travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be any one of us. Each time we say we hope to never have to do it again -- but we remain committed to making these memorials as long as they are needed."

Pittsburgh was the second city in which Ghost Bikes began to appear.

NYC Ghost Bikes Ride, January 2008 from Paula Froke on Vimeo.

not sure if people w/out facebook can see the info:

Date:
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Time:
8:30pm - 9:30pm
Location:
Intersection of Meyran Ave. and Louisa St. In Central Oakland
Street:
Meyran Ave. and Louisa St.
City/Town:
Pittsburgh, PA

and the info: At dusk, Wednesday, August 5, 2009 , we will be locking up a "ghost bike" to memorialize Ruihui Gin who was killed earlier this week by a currently unknown driver who fled the scene.

We will meet at the intersection where the accident happened, and lock up the ghost bike, light candles and lay flowers for our fellow cyclist and Pittsburgh.

Come to memorialize Ruihui Gin, and show your support for safer roads for ALL users in Pittsburgh.

"The victim, Rui Hui Lin had became a U.S. citizen in a ceremony a year ago on the South Side.

He died Monday night after he was struck by a pickup truck struck while riding his bicycle to deliver food for a Chinese restaurant. Mr. Lin, 38, was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m. at UPMC Presbyterian."

Fallingwater Lego Set

Want to try to build Frank Loyd Wright's iconic masterpiece, Fallingwater?

"Mr. Tucker's company, Brickstructures Inc., teamed with the LEGO Group to produce the new Fallingwater set. Retailing for $99.99, the kit also includes a 100-plus-page spiral-bound book with assembly instructions as well as drawings, photographs and a history of the Fayette County house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1935 for Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann.

Mr. Tucker was at Fallingwater yesterday to promote the model, which debuted at Manhattan's Guggenheim Museum in May, along with his LEGO replica of that Wright building. The release coincided with the museum's current exhibit of Wright's work, marking the Guggenheim's 50th anniversary."

I actually missed seeing the Frank Loyd Wright show at the Guggenheim and I now really regret it. From what I can tell they pulled out all the stops in terms of creating large scale models of not only many of the buildings he built but also of many of the fantastic designs for projects he wasn't able to execute.

Swoon @ Opening Of New Carnegie Library Silk-screen Studio

Sorry for the late heads up. Swoon, the legendary roving street artist with a love of Pittsburgh, will be speaking about her work and talking up the new screenprinting studio at the Carnegie Library in Braddock tonight. She will likely also fill us in on progress on the former church in North Braddock being turned into a community arts center called The Tranformazium.

There will also be a screenprinting open studio with demos and the ceramics studio housed in the building will also be open.

From what I can tell on the poster-- the screenprinting and ceramics open studio runs from 5:30-7:30 and the Swoon artist's talk will start at 7:30.

More info on the Transformazium and how to support it can be found @ Transformazium.org

"Efforts to use the arts to grow Braddock continue with the grand opening of the Neighborhood Silk Screen Studio, a community resource facilitated by the artist collective known as Transformazium. The collective is based in an old church it's renovating as an art center, but the silk-screen studio is in the ever-more-bustling Braddock Carnegie Library. At tonight's reception, enjoy silk-screening demos, an open house at the library's ceramic studio, and a conversation about art in the neighborhood featuring Transformazium's Swoon. A renowned, New York-based street artist, Swoon's beautiful life-sized portraits graced underused Pittsburgh buildings for months after an exhibit she did in Braddock a couple years back."

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 7/24-25/09.

We're really smack-dab in the middle of Summer now. Embrace the opportunity to get out and about while the gettin's good. Here are a few ideas for your weekend plans...

Friday:

Take a trip to Fun Land: The Art of Pinball! The Warhol Museum is hosting a reception (7-10PM, free admission) for the launch of two pinball machines designed and created by local artists Mike Budai and Brian Holderman. The shindig is sponsored by art-collective Unicorn Mountain and the Professional Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA). I've seen these functional art pieces in promo shots, and I'm confident that they'll be absolutely stunning in person. You may have to wait in line a long time to play them, but there will also be twelve more vintage games to stick your quarters in. See what the kids of today are missing.

Guest curator Katherine Talcott has put together the 13th Gestures Show over at the Mattress Factory (1414 Monterey St., 7:30-9:30, $10). Included within is John Riegert's Sublet, a "gallery-within-a-gallery". These exhibitions are always worth seeing, if only to have a look at the individual aesthetic of a single art-world personality. I've seen some I've liked better than others, but they are invariably interesting (and very crowded... so get there early if you want to take some time with the work).

And if you have the time to stroll by Future Tenant starting on Friday, you can see a window installation called Planet Dragulon! by Scott Andrew and Michael McParlane. If you want to know what it's all about, there will be an artist Q & A from 9-10PM.

Saturday

All you really need to know is that Slim Cessna's Auto Club is playing at the 31st St Pub. Although Cessna himself has called the 'Burgh his home for more than five years, the rest of the band lives in Denver, and so their appearances in town are limited to 1-2 events annually. If you haven't yet had the honor to attend a performance of this Tent Revivalist stream of energy, spirit, and sound- by all means show up around 10PM and prepared to be altered forever. You may not get the chance to be told again.

Youngstown Ohio Ranked By Entrepreneur Magazine As A Top City For Entrepreneurs

This post falls in to the "chaos" section of topics and is not directly about art.

Pittsburgh has been getting a lot of buzz from clueless national media who have "discovered" the city because of the G20 summit.

Hello-- Pittsburgh has had-- major leading universities
Leading medical institutions
Nationally known cultural institutions
A large number Of major corporate headquarters (once number three in the nation)
Lot's Of major charitable foundations
Many wonderful parks
A very historic and beautiful housing stock
A major airport

So, It's hardly news that Pittsburgh is now finally doing sort of OK--- the real question is what the hell took it so long. Few small cities have combined assets like these with poor economic growth.

Now, if you want to talk about a place left with a bag of lemons, it's Youngstown Ohio.

No national airport
Little known
Never home to many major corporate headquarters (and almost all of them are long dead)
Horrific industrial brownfield issues
No major foundation money
No major research universities
In state with poor political and economic climate

NO Pittsburgh Steelers!

So it's news that-- little Youngstown is on the map for it's small but thriving mix of business start ups.

"But in the last decade, something special has happened in this northeast Ohio city. Jim Cossler and his innovative Youngstown Business Incubator, which offers fledgling B2B software companies mentors, networking and services like office space and bandwidth for free or at a deferred cost, are taking Youngstown’s business future into their own hands. The incubator concept was revolutionary enough to help ignite a renaissance in this small city. “Youngstown fell so far, traditional community leaders threw up their hands and told the younger generation, ‘You guys try,’” Cossler says. “The new generation is envisioning things we wouldn’t have talked about 10 years ago.”

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/august/202666-9.html#ixzz0M7qNTJPw

By the way-- one could have guessed that something special was going on there by the proliferation of local blogs eager to Shout About Youngstown.