Bloggin about bein Blogged About II and AFC CHAMPS!!!

If you have a second check out this weeks' Q&A with Ms. Pittsburgh for the Readymade blog by Lily Kane.  Awesome!  Thank you, Lily!

Whew what a week.  I spent the last 4 days sick as a dogg in New York City!  I can't remember feeling worse, or more hopeless that my health would ever return.  Figuring that most obviously our O-Line was in need of a major boost, I came to the conclusion that the Steelers must be borrowing my life force for the game, and that they'd relinquish it to me upon its conclusion.  Once the game started and Mendenhall started getting ALL his yards after contact I decided it was he who had been channeling all my energy.  Well, either that or I got the flu at a Prince concert.

Photos from the big game:

Good game, Ike!
How funny was it that he seemed to stand like this for the last several minutes of the game.  I applaud your fan-like excitement, #24.

 

Poor Rexy when he realizes it's all over.  

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE!!!  It works!!!
After the Divisional round, I asked via this very blog for some Steelers D in the press conference.  Here you go, Mr. Steelers D himself, right up there in the talking lineup with Tomlin, Roethlisberger and Mendenhall.  

Feelin the power of the Yinz Yang strong today!  And feeling healthy, miraculously!
xo
Ms. Pittsburgh

That's a wrap!!!

Now that football is over for the weekend, what are we supposed to do?  Watch the stupid show about a CEO going undercover to see how badly/well their business is run, and how their pimped out, bloated lifestyle has made them out of shape and incapable of menial tasks?  NO.  I'm taking mild pleasure in knitting and watching the Golden Globe awards PLUS the Patriots' post-game press conference, revealing reciprocal opposites.  Overly planned-for acceptance speeches (on part of Hollywood), and overly unplanned-for defeat speeches (on part of the Pats). 

The funniest ones were from Robert DeNiro, who accepted some sort of lifetime achievement award and was seriously uncouth and probably drunk; and from coach Belichick, whose vocabulary and diction, in his absolute shock at losing to the Jets, was reduced to about 3 permutations of about 5 words.  Dude couldn't even congratulate the Jets or concede that the Jets may have had something to do with the outcome of the game.  Come on guy, show some maturity!

See ya next year Pats!  You played a good season.

On the topic of press conferences:

1) The gradation created by these three wardrobe choices is hilarious. 
2) Can we get a little Stillers-D represented at the press conference?


To the New Jersey Jets: see you at Heinz Field! 

 Get PSYCHED, Pittsburgh, it's rematch time!

"I'd rather have the game here, TRUE STATEMENT" --Sir James Harrison, locker room interview

I'm whole-heartily looking forward to your  TRUE STATEMENTS on the field next Sunday, #92.

-Ms. Pittsburgh

Yinz Yang (dare I say Holy?) Trinity of You Tube

As many of you may or may not know, when it comes to viral video trends my style is super behind-the-times.  I miss all the peaks of popularity and find things in the valleys of their popular disfavor.  For example, I discovered SNL's digital short, Dick in a Box, which as you'll recall enjoyed epidemic-like internet popularity, more than a year after it first aired on 12/16/2006.

Exhibit A (which contains a reference to Yinz Yang, then in its infancy!):

Upon discovering this comedic gem (and finding it difficult to contain my excitement), I asked all of my friends in turn, "Have you ever seen 'D in a B'???", to which the reply was something like, "Uh, yeah, like 10 years ago?!"  People were actively annoyed and frustrated that I was so excited about something that was so over.  I was made to feel like a silly immature teen who shows up after the party is over, barges into the house, raids the fridge, turns the music way up, and dances like a spazz.  Pssssh, whatever!  I've never been one to find value in novelty in and of itsself, in fact I might go so far as to say that I'm suspicious of the new so this really should come as no surprise.  What's interesting is how my time capsule 'tude creates or reflects (or both, who knows? its the chicken and the egg thing) my values.

I found 'D in a B' as I do all my internet discoveries: in the midst of some rogue, misguided, wayward-style internet wanderings.  Sitting down at the internet, not knowing which way to 'surf' feels to me like plugging my nervous system into a parallel and more anxious wavelength, or like the feeling of confronting an empty canvas (which ironically I am much more comfortable with!).   If I have time to waste, I never know how or where on the internet to do it, like how when you're at a bar with a million of the world's greatest and rarest beers and can't choose a drink; or when flipping through the milleu of pop music in a karaoke song book fails to yield an appropriate performance for the occasion.  I think the problem is that I don't get any feeling from the internet and thus can not be guided by intuition, just like a list of songs or beers does not reflect the respective sounds or tastes that said book(s) offer(s).

In attempts at time wasting I traipse the internet with the uncertain footing that might carry one through an abandoned steel town, down empty and deserted streets only to discover that there's an authentic Hungarian Restaurant complete with Grandpa who cooks up servings of delicious old world cuisine on styrofoam plates.  I seem to find things as archaeological discoveries long after the vitality of whatever might have originally drawn you there is dead and forgotten to the rest of the world.  This being the case, I'd argue that if something is good enough to withstand the test of my delayed timing, it's gotta be real good.  I've always championed survivors.  I'd definitely eat at that Hungarian restaurant, I definitely LOVE our Steelers D, and I definitely watch certain you tube videos hundreds of times at the cost of missing all the new and untested stuff.

(As a related aside: I acknowledge publicly that I have as of summer 2009 seen the Star Wars Trilogy in its entirety.  So for all of you who have ridiculed me for extolling the comedic virtues of Spaceballs my entire life whilst never having seen Star Wars, your trip is over.  I get the Star Wars references now, so we can all move on with our friendship in peace and mutual respect....of Spaceballs! EH OH ) 

Which leads me to my original reason for this post.  When I sit down at a computer to waste time, I want an iron-clad guaranteed good time!  After all, it isn't a waste if I enjoyed it!  I want to watch something that in and of itsself totally affirms, no, mirrors my values.  I want Heaven and Earth co-conspiring to produce the greatest cinema that could never be made because it is a documented, real-world event.   I want Truth in 8 minutes or less.  I want raw and absolute creativity, artistry, against-the-odds survival.  I want art, nature, and sports as raw metaphors for life in this chaotic, civilized world.  I want banal events and performances in which the underlying, invisible, and latent forces of our world rise up against the dominant powers to create absolute contradiction, blowing all expectations out of the water, leaving the opposite of what you expected to do what you expected or hoped for to begin with.  I want the Yinz Yang You Tube Trinity.  I give it to you here.  In ascending order.  May peace be with you and also with you, internet.

#3

#2

#1 

...Coming soon to Yinz Yang: The Blog:

Ms. Pittsburgh's Top Ten moments from HBO's Penguins Capitals 24 7 mini-series and new special edition Yinz Yang shirt soon to be released.  Check back soon!

Happy New Year 2011!

Ms. Pittsburgh and Yinz Yang wish you all the best in 2011!

The end days of 2010 came and went in a flash.  If this blog were a movie, the following would be a dramatic montage set to something like Chariots of Fire.

(sorry Mr. Wollenberg)

At Heinz Field's "classy tap", Iron Mike (aka "Pops"), Amy, Ms. Pgh, and Greg find themselves caught in a Gerhard Richter painting.

Spotted en route to killing time before visiting the Miniature Railroad and Village at the Carnegie Science Center...For the masses of gambling bicycle activist-types in your life, there's a forlorn, token bike rack at Rivers Casino, just a football's throw from the Valet driveway!  I wonder if you could ask the valet to lock you up?... 

This tree wishes it looked this good

In the words of Marissa's wonderful friend Kate whose middle name is Munhall after the borough of the same name, I give to you my personal motto for 2011: "EVER FORWARD".  May it be a wondrous year for all of you, your families, and for your sports teams.

BLACK AND GOLD UNCENSORED

Hi Everyone!

On Wednesday some crazy stuff went down on Pittsburgh's South Side.  I attended a live airing of 'Black and Gold Uncensored', a sports radio talk show hosted by James Farrior and Larry Foote.  My friend Amy and I have been planning to attend for several weeks now, and the stars must have been in alignment because this turned out to be their last show ever.


Both Farrior and Foote are sweet guys with great senses of humor.  Foote had some very complimentary things to say about women sports fans in Pittsburgh..."There's no other place in the world where you can go and have a conversation with a woman about football except Pittsburgh.  Women outside of Pittsburgh do not have a clue about football.  They might be a fan, but you can't get on the barstool and have a conversation about the game."  Damn straight, Larry!

I was BEYOND EXCITED to meet two linebackers who I have watched for so many years!  INTENSE!!!  I have watched countless Steelers games in my life and have spent the majority of my years in Pittsburgh, yet before Wednesday, I had never encountered the line that separates the fans from the players.  When you think about it, watching football and being watched playing football are two entirely separate but parallel experiences, never to converge.  I will never play football professionally, and not until the players retire will they know what it's like to be a spectator and perhaps a fan.  The way in which we fans know the bodies and movements of our players is very intimate.  You know them in a sense, but they sure as hell don't know you.

I gave both Farrior and Foote Yinz Yang shirts and I hope they will enjoy them!  I was so excited to meet them that I wasn't able to muster a photogenic camera face, but Luca (Amy's baby and Yinz Yang model) was able as always to pull off a casual look.

The people at Black and Gold Uncensored raffled off a pair of tickets to today's game against the Jets.  We narrowly missed winning those tickets.  Having not eaten at BnG Uncensored out of pure excitement, we meandered to a nearby restaurant that was--get this--also hosting a sports radio talk show and also raffling off two tickets to the Jets game.  I ordered a whiskey to calm my nerves and we all ordered food.  When Amy submitted her raffle entry for the tickets, the guy asked her if she was going to stay until the end (9pm) when they were drawing the raffle winner (he was doubtful on account of her having a baby with her).  She said yes and we waited.  We were both sure that one of us was going to win, it being a bizarre and magical night.  I felt sure that my emotional unrest at having met a few linebackers would be repaid in the form of tickets to the game.  Sure enough, Amy was the winner of the tickets !!!  She and I are attending the game today to watch our Steelers cream those Jets!  Here's the proud winner flashing her tickets.  Probably the only time in his life that Luca has not been the foremost figure in the picture!

Thanks Amy for having me as your guest today, I can't wait!!!
xo Ms. Pittsburgh

Tender Moments between Troy and LeBeau

Did anyone notice this scene after Troy's second interception off the arm of Palmer last week?  It was really intense from where I was sitting.

You can tell that Dick is pissed that Troy handled the ball so riskily, almost turning it over; at the same time there is a sort of paternal pride and bewilderment at 'TROY EN GENERAL' in his expressions.  Troy seems humbled by both his incredible feat and his own near destruction of that same feat.  Yinz Yang!  Where would the Steelers Defense be if not right on a razor's edge between glory and defeat?   It was nice to have some off the field coverage of our Steelers D at work.  To my recollection it was the most in depth sideline coverage Dick has ever received!

Michelle Michaels on DVE just reported that Troy is most likely out of this Sunday's game against the Jets; let's wish him a speedy recovery and hope that his wizardry will be in effect on a spiritual level, should his powers be limited to the sideline come Sunday.

Thanksgiving Rewind: Black (n' Gold) Friday at Consol Energy Center

On Black Friday 2010 I was fortunate enough to unexpectedly receive a ticket to the Pens game against the Ottawa Senators. Supremely pumped to visit the Consol Energy Center for the first time and to see the Pens (and our beloved and recently departed Gonchar) up close from my amazing seat in the First Niagara Club Level, I felt a level of status I had only dreamt of previously.

Black (n' Gold) Friday 2009 was spent at the lovely Nassau Coliseum watching the Pens play the Islanders.  Here's hoping for a third consecutive Black (n' Gold) Friday in 2011!!!

The Hill District area to the rear of the CEC is beautiful.  There are many old buildings that have been interestingly adapted over the decades, surrounded by flat, empty, terrace-like yards that used to have houses on them.  As seen in the above shot, the CEC makes for a nice transition between such relatively small neighborhood buildings in the foreground and the city's notable skyscrapers in the back ground.

I was pretty impressed with this translucent, digital-print "brick-wall" privacy tarp that covers the chain link fences that enclose the CEC's loading zone in the rear of the building.  If you look closely at the second picture, you can see the fence through the bricks.  Awesome! and definitely not dorky, right!?  Now you know why I'm a painter.

On the way in I stopped for one of those obligatory portraits with the larger-than-life digital representation of Sidney Crosby... (note that 'Destiny' flows from his hockey stick and down the side of the building in the form of a golden rod of electricity!)

...and a life-sized Malkin who stared lovingly into my eyes, if only for an imaginary moment 

Since it was Black Friday, people were getting their shop on big time.  

Traipsing through the pro shop felt like more of a dazed, tryptophan-induced herding than an active pursuit.  I spotted these officially licensed hats which looked MEGA bootleg:

The food at the CEC is upscale for a sports arena.   There's sushi and better than average sandwich offerings, including a Philly cheese steak disguised as an egg roll.  Even the unbranded food was presented in a very particular, classed-up manner.  The cheese steak egg roll is the bottom-most food item in the below picture.

General fashion impression: I've never seen so many licensed Pens jerseys in my life!  It was as if someone was handing them out at the door.  It was kind of like being in New York because everyone was wearing black.  Astounding contrast to the marked absence of official hockey gear I remember from childhood.  People generally wore whatever Steelers or Pirates gear they already had.  A lot has changed in 20 years.  

Quite noticeably, there were zero Pens jerseys queuing for Tim Hortons, the arena's only Canadian establishment, which I took as proof positive that there were lots of Canadians in attendance, all of whom were in line and hungry for donuts.  Makes sense, Eh?, given that they must have been much hungrier than all the Americans still nursing their Thanksgiving indulgences.  Yoi!

Our seats were about 15 rows up from the visitor's bench, so we were fortunate enough to witness a verbal incursion between Chris Neil and a member of the crowd.  The guy (wearing the red-billed Pirates hat in the image below) must have really gotten under Neil's skin because they furiously yelled back and forth for several minutes.  I was too astounded to document the fight (apologies!).  Soon after his inappropriate verbal fight, Neil picked a fight with Fleury, who played a hell of a game.  To make a long story short: Pens 2, Ottawa 1, final score.

Thank you and congratulations to Blanca and Ignacio!  Here's to 33 more happy years!