Speaking of Rare - (posted: 05/20/2012)
Yesterday I wrote about a rare butterfly today a flower that's rare in Pennsylvania. Silverweed (Argentina anserina formerly Potentilla anserina) is a low growing plant of sandy soil that spreads by runners. It's called silverweed because the... more

Dependent and Extirpated - (posted: 05/19/2012)
Lupine is a beautiful blue flower that's a symbol of summer in northern North America. I used to believe (incorrectly) that it couldn't grow as far south as Pennsylvania. Here it is blooming at Presque Isle State Park earlier this week. In a pat... more

Looking for the Vale of Cashmere! - (posted: 01/15/2012)
My friend and sometimes editor Matt Conrad sent me an email today and said some folks on reddit.com were posting questions about how to find the ruins of the Vale of Cashmere that we showed in our recent IT'S PITTSBURGH program called NORTH PARK VS.... more

Proposing BREAKFAST SPECIAL 2! - (posted: 01/06/2012)
Yes we're working on a PBS proposal for a sequel of sorts called BREAKFAST SPECIAL 2 REVENGE OF THE OMELETS. We're hoping to get enough funding from our friends in Virginia (that's where PBS has its headquarters in suburban DC) to edit the remai... more

BIG NIGHT SEATS STILL AVAILABLE - (posted: 04/02/2012)
We're getting ready to cut the Timpano We has such a great response to the Big Night Dinner at D'Imperio's on Monday May 7 that we decided to add another night. There are still some seats available for the dinner on Monday April 30. It will... more

FEBRUARY SOUP OF THE MONTH - (posted: 01/20/2012)
Yes that is a heavy wooden spoon standing straight up in a batch of chili. That's the kind of "stick to your ribs" consistency I like in a bowl of hearty beef chili. I guess it is not technically a "soup" but it is my Fenbruary entry in the seri... more

Pittsburgh Symphony at Avery Fisher Hall - (posted: 02/27/2012)
caption id "attachment 1229" align "alignleft" width "300" caption "Jim Cunningham at Avery Fisher Hall" caption The white marble of Lincoln Center reflected the bright sunlight and blue sky above Manhattan on Sunday afternoon as a large crowd... more

Tilles Center, Long Island University - (posted: 02/26/2012)
caption id "attachment 1239" align "alignleft" width "300" caption "Pittsburgh Symphony at the Tilles Center" caption Yesterday the Pittsburgh Symphony returned to the C. W. Post campus of Long Island University about 50 minutes from midtown... more