tmnt

tmnt, originally uploaded by chadsnoke.

Brent and I decided to go see the new teenage mutant ninja turtles movie on saturday night... but it was his decision that we wear old school TMNT tshirts. I check out hot topic, who had them in stock, but $22 was more than I was willing to pay for a shirt I'd never wear in public again. So I did, what any thrifty and crafty person would do.. I went to walmart, bought a $6 tshirt and markers... and made my own.

It didn't turn out half bad if I do say so myself... although, the chick at Walmart didn't seemed very impressed by me drawing the design in the fabric department.

The movie was enjoyable... but mostly because of the computer generated animation, the story line certainly didn't provide much entertainment. Thinking back.. I don't remember any of the turtles saying "kowabunga" during ht entire film.... what a rip off.

The trip to Pittsburgh, Part 3

Sorry for the delay... work has been a real bitch this week.

The pathetic plight of the PA beer drinker

Saturday night found Chad and I heading back down to the hotel. We decided that after a long day of walking around, we'd like to grab some beer and just hang out in the hotel room. Well, it turns out that in Pennsylvania, you can't just "grab beer". There is heavy lifting involved, unless you can find the rare restaurant that will sell you a six-pack to the tune of $15 for non-fizzy yellow. I did know going into this trip that you couldn't buy beer at grocery stores (my new-to-Pittsburgh friend had told me that much). So, we pulled into the Wine & Spirits Warehouse near the hotel, thinking that surely they would have beer as well (afterall, Arrow Wine & Spirits in Dayton has a spectacular beer selection). We walked into the store, a clean, well-lit, vast expanse of liquors and wines from all over the world. They even had a tasting going on. After a quick look around, however, we were dismayed to see that there was no beer to be had there. Chad inquired at the customer service desk about where we could buy beer. Piece of cake, there's a 'beer distributor' in the shopping plaza with Border's Books & Music, just down the road.

So, we head in that direction. A scan of the signs over the stores leaves us at a loss. Nothing with 'beer' in the name. We pull over to a nearby gas station to ask if they know where it is (side note: no beer sold at gas stations, either). It turns out that we had to go to the back side of the shopping plaza, you know, where the dumpsters and other unsightly things are kept. The place didn't even have a proper door. It was an overhead garage door. Surely this couldn't be the entrance. I fully expected to walk in and see piles of stolen goods (namely electronics) for sale. We saw someone come out of the garage door with a case (meaning 24 beers), so we were reassured that they did in fact sell beer here. We walked inside. It was dingy and dimly lit, and there were just randomly-stacked, huge cases of beer everywhere. We browsed around a bit, and I found a nice 12-pack sampler of Great Lakes Brewing Company beer. Perfect. Good beer AND we could just buy 12. We certainly didn't need 24 beers to haul back to OH. I happily carry the 12-pack to the register. The guy behind the counter looks at me like I'm an idiot. "You can't just buy that, you have to buy the whole case. Pennsylvania state liquor control law." Right. I see. The flimsy cardboard tray that was holding two 12-packs together made it a case. I go back to the stack, retrieve the tray and second 12-pack, head back to the register, pay, and carry the s&!t-ton of beer back to the car.

I'm really not sure what the logic behind this law is, but it definitely made PA lose cool-points in my book! I can see why they wouldn't want beer to be so readily available, but why do you have to buy it 24 bottles at a time?

The trip to Pittsburgh, Part 2

Saturday morning we woke up around 8:30, lounged for a bit and then got ready. Our first stop was the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery, just a few miles from our hotel. Any Warhol and his parents are buried there and I've wanted to see it for a while. It was very cold that morning, the wind blowing across the hill was numbing after about 10 minutes, and I lost feeling in my fingers very quickly. I was determined to get enough photos for a pano though, so I kept shooting and shooting... they came out well.

In researching this trip I had a hard time figuring out exactly where Andy was buried, wikipedia didn't offer much more help than the name, so I was determined to go find the cemetery, take a lot of photos and create an article linking off the Warhol wiki article. Both of the photos on the above linked article are mine and i wrote the majority of it.. I'm very proud of the contribution.

Kelly and I left the grave yard around noon and headed north towards downtown, we took S.R. 19 up to U.S. 279 and through the Fort Pitt tunnel. I've never been to Pittsburgh, so popping out the other side was a surprise... you literally go from a dark, damp hole in the hill to "whoa.. there's down town" in just a few seconds. Very cool.

Our first destination was Tessaro's of eastern Liberty Avenue. We found web reviews claiming that this place has the BEST hamburgers in the United States... and with a claim that big we had to check it out. The St. Patty's day parade was still going on downtown, so we took the north route 28, across the 40th street bridge and down to Liberty Avenue.. skipping the downtown chaos all together. It was a smart move, we didn't see hardly any traffic. We parked a half a block a way from Tessaro's and as soon as we got out of the parking lot a group of locals asked "are you guys going to Tessaro's? They put syringes and condoms in their food!" I dunno what that was all about... prolly just locals vs. tourists type of shit, we we laughed and I explained that I liked syringes in my food. There was a small line for tables, but the bar was pretty much empty so we sat right down and made small chat with the waitress, and shortly after ordered our food. Kelly had an cheesburger with home fries.. I had a slaw burger with home fries. Honestly, I think the flavor of the meet was lost int he slaw, but I'm never one to pass up a slaw-anything. It was good though. "Best in the U.S." is an over statement.. but it was good. Odlly enough, it wasn't until we were driving away and I was licking my lips that I REALLY taste the flavor of the meat... smokey, rich with fat that really sticks to your teeth. It was good and if we ever go back to Pittsburgh, we'll also go back to Tessaro's. If you're every in the neighborhood check it out.

Next we towards the Warhol Museum, our primary destination. I won't get much into the museum tonight as I've got some proof reading to get done... but here's a little teaser. We were greeted with this in the entry way to the museum...

The trip to Pittsburgh, Part 1

The Friday night drive took about 3.5 hours, from Dayton to Pittsburg. The trip was hampered by snow fall, the roads were slick and at times traffic slowed to a crawl. I-70 eastbound outside of Wheeling, WV was shutdown, the detour took us south along the 470 outerbelt. We pushed on and arrived at the hotel around 10:00pm. The trip one way was just over 250miles.

As is our common practice I pricelined a room in the area, I was very happy to get a room in Bethel Park at the Crown Plaza Pittsburgh South. It was very comfortable and clean and might I add... a steal at $45 a night.

After checking in and getting comfortable we decided to head out and try to find some food, after exploring all that Bethel Park had to offer we settled on TGI Fridays. It was funny to me to see the thick bar smoke in the air when we walked in... I've gotten very used to being able to go out and eat dinner in Ohio and not stink like Joe Camel afterwards. I guess Pennsylvania just isn't as progressive as the Buckeye state.... either way, we ate. To tell the truth, there's a handful of resteraunts that all taste the same to me. Appebee's, TGIF's. Max and Erma's.. I know there's someother one also... but they all taste the same to me. It's boring as shit.. and I don't quite understand why people go there, or what they see in it.

We went back to the hotel and Kelly fell asleep on the bed... I watched some Kevin Bacon movie I think.

Tomorrow I'll post photos of our big day in Pittsburgh... wait for it.

Care for a cup of brown water, anyone?

Today was our first filter change for the GE SmartWater filter that we installed under our kitchen sink back in the summer. I was very curious what the condition of the old filter would be when I pulled it out. See the comparison photo above. Yuck!! At least we didn't drink all that rust, although I'm starting to wonder if we should in fact be taking advantage of such a good source of iron.

The open road

For the last few weeks I've been wanting to make a road trip... to get out on the open road and just drive. The problem I've been having is trying to decide exactly where to go... I've got some friends I haven't seen in a while and I've thought about going and visiting, but the truth is, that's not the open road. That's a long drive and a guest room. A weekend of catching up and talking about careers.. fuck that. I want the open road... just me and the highway, back roads and a destination. I want to go some where, see something and not have to answer to any one all weekend. Turn the goddamn cell phone off.

So I thought about it. Lansing, Michigan crossed my mind. They have good coney dogs up there, casinos, a beautiful downtown and a bar district right off campus. Driving 4 hours for a coney dog fits me well.. I could seriously consider that.

I thought about Lynchburg, VA. I've got a buddy who lives down there. His dad owns a light fixtures company... they have ovens that melt metal. I haven't been down there in about 3 years, but again.. I'm not sure I want to spend a weekend catching up.

This afternoon though I was reminded of a road trip I thought of a few months ago. So I decided, next weekend, I'll be traveling out to Bethel Park, PA to walk a hillside at the corner of Connor Rd. and 88. It's a trip I can really get behind.. I've been wanting to do it for a while and I'll pass on more info this week as I plan it out.

Anyone know or care to guess what's there?