Pittsburgh Mug

Pittsburgh – the people who’ve defined it as boring and stupid obviously don’t get out much & are projecting what they see when they're peeking out from under the rock they crawled out of. Pittsburgh is a city that represents cultural diversity, civic pride, respect, and history. It was founded in 1758 and is located at the intersection of 3 rivers (which George Washington found to be advantageous when he was a general; Pittsburgh grew around Fort Pitt). Some people herein have defined Pittsburgh as dirty and ugly, because they have managed by some miracle to grasp that there had been steel-manufacturing here. But it was named the 10th cleanest city in 2007 by Forbes magazine, and is home to the first green-certified historic building, convention center, warehouse, banking facility, and university residence hall; The Green Building Alliance, a non-profit development svc that promotes green community development is in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has consistently ranked high (achieving number 1 many times) in several livability surveys. It has state-of-the-art healthcare (UPMC), reliable public transportation, several neighborhoods, and is a relatively safe city w/friendly people. As far as culture goes, its local public television station WQED has won over 60 Emmys & 12 Peabody Awards (and is where Fred Rogers aired Mister Rogers Neighborhood). George Romero and Tom Savini have not forgotten their ties with Pittsburgh; George Romero has filmed several of his movies in and around the area, & Tom Savini runs Special Effects Make-Up and Digital Film Programs in the area. Jeff Goldblum came back to film the movie, “Pittsburgh” – and speaking of films, some of the many movies that have been shot in and around Pittsburgh include Night of the Living Dead; Bob Roberts; Kingpin; Dogma; Innocent Blood; Silence of the Lambs; the Mothman Prophecies; and the Wonder Boys – to name a few, due to its richness in architecture, neighborhoods, and reasonable costs. There are several independent film theaters in the area, three of which are sponsored by the Pittsburgh Filmmakers Society which is committed to promoting area artists involved in film, video, photography, digital media and creative arts. In fact there are numerous schools geared toward artistic excellence; and there are several museums and galleries (e.g., Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, featuring the art museum, history museum, and science center; the Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory, Frick Art & Historical Center, Wood Street Galleries, to name a few, but in addition mention should be made of the Silver Eye Center for Photography and the Photography Museum). The area abounds with beautiful sculptures and murals. The Three Rivers Arts Festival at Point State Park, Gateway Center, and the Cultural District downtown every summer features exceptional visual and performing artists –local and world-class acts – free of charge. And there is the First Night Festival on New Years Eve in the cultural district downtown, which opens its doors to the public with events held inside and out on the streets by local and nationally-known artists, with the new year ushered in by a fantastic fireworks display over the water (by Zembelli Fireworks, pyrotechnic geniuses who regularly put on their shows here). There are traditional as well as innovative theaters in Pittsburgh (eg. City Theater on the South Side, Gemini Theater located in the Factory at Point Breeze, Carnegie Melon’s theater program, the Pittsburgh Playhouse, the Benedum, Heinz Hall, the Byhnam, the New Hazlett Theater, etc.). Pittsburgh has several clubs and larger venues for concerts (you can catch indy artists, or the Pittsburgh Symphony, for instance). Its diversity shows up also in its events, such as the Annual Dragon Boat Race, the Bloomfield Little Italy Days Festival, the UMOJA African Arts in the Park Festival, the Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival, the Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, the Pittsburgh Irish Festival, and a Native American Annual Pow Wow Event,. (Oh, yes, and Pittsburgh has an annual Zombi Walk on the South Side.) Pittsburgh also has 50% more libraries than the national average. And as far as food goes- the person who claimed there are only franchises obviously has never had a sunday brunch at Zeniths or has been to Abay Ethiopian Restaurant, the Spice Island Teahouse, Smallman Street Deli, India Garden, Ali Baba Restaurant, Mallorca, Amalfi's, or the Double-wide Grill (again, to name only a few) or eaten a good breakfast while at the Strip District on a Saturday (during the Saturday Market) -- not only are there several excellent restaurants, there are many many reasonably priced ones as well. (There is also a Culinary School here.) And if you find it cold and dull in the winter, then you never thought to visit the Phipps Conservatory, with its many indoor gardens, or the National Aviary at feeding time, and it didn't occur to you that we have an international airport just up the road. So to the guy who landed in North Carolina and considered it heaven compared to Pittsburgh -well, if censorship, sanitized culture, and being in the buckle of the bible belt are more to your tastes, just as long as the weather’s warm, then good for you. It is grey and cold during the winter, but spring and summer are very pleasant (and you don't swim in your own sweat like you do when you're broiling in NC). And in Pittsburgh you can be in the cultural district and happen upon a person in an art gallery display window with nothing on but a g-string and painted designs, and it's okay; in NC it would become a pompous outrage (a lot of artistic expression has been scandalized and suppressed there) & she'd have ended up getting carted off to jail.