Random Picture Monday (08-31-09)

Shenanigans.


We assume this wasn't the original message on this sign.
But it does make you take notice.

On a Wing and a Prayer.

We received another email worthy of print.

Actually, most of the emails we get, would be fun to post.

Too bad we have so many other interesting and insightful things to talk about.

It's hard being this awesome.

This is really a great email.

Be prepared to be blown away.

Hey NEWK-

What is your favorite place to eat chicken wngs? I have my favorites.
What are yours?

Can you put this on the site?
Dave

That really is a question with many layers and delicious sauces, Dave.

Now, we could just rattle off some of our regular stops.
But what fun would that be?

Here's what is going to happen.

We would like you, the reader, to suggest local wing joints for us to sample.
Preferably places that offer cold beer to help wash them down.

We will try to eat at as many of those places as we possibly can.
(This might be the greatest idea of all time.)

After we eat there, we will make a post with our findings.

When the grease finally clears, we will name our favorite wing spot.

It's official...we are geniuses.

(Is geniuses the plural version of genius?)

Okay, so maybe we aren't that smart.

But we sure as hell are clever.
And hungry.

So let's get going.

Leave us a comment here with your suggestion, or on our facebook page.

Just like the site, your suggestion doesn't have to be based in New Kensington.
We have a vehicle, and are willing to drive for winged delights.

Maybe we can even talk DSDC into tagging along to take pictures of these treats.



We accept this mission.

"To inwingity, and beyond!"

Photo Shoots And Ladders.

So here's the deal.

We have a friend named David Cooper.

David Cooper takes unreal photographs.

From here on out, his name is David 'Super-Duper' Cooper.

I will refer to him as DSDC.

You are now in "the loop."

So, we were talking to DSDC the other day, and he mentioned that he'd like to
contribute to the Newk.

We said, "Rock on."
(To be honest, we begged him to contribute.)

2 days later, DSDC sent us an email with an attachment.

We were like rich kids on Christmas morning.
Ungrateful and bratty.

Anyways.
Here is what we unwrapped...

(click to see full size of the image)

How awesome is that?

So now you have been introduced to DSDC.
Your world will never be the same.

Here are the photo particulars:

Where - NKFD No. 1 on Fourth Ave.
When - October 2006 (dusk)
Taken by: David Cooper for Buzzy Photography

DSDC truly does great things with a camera, so if you need a photographer for
any event, we suggest you look him up.
Be sure to mention theNewk, so DSDC can call you a "time waster."

Find him and other samples of his work here:
www.davidcooperphoto.com

And his friend: www.buzzyphoto.com

We hope he sends us many more, as the pics we take with our blackberry
just don't seem to make the same statement as his.

Maybe we are too hard on ourselves?

A Nibble Here, A Nibble There.

So last evening, we reaped the rewards of having generous friends.

This friend decided to hook my woman and I up with some tickets to the
"Taste of Allegheny Valley" event being held at the Syria Mosque.

And here is a picture of those tickets...

Jealous?


So we pulled up, and I realized, again, just how nice that place is.

So I took another picture for those of you without tickets...

(This picture would have sucked if it weren't for that nice summer breeze.)


We arrived right at the starting time of 5:30, but the place was already pretty filled up.

People dressed in their Tuesday best, came hungry and happy.

This was our view as we approached the pavilion...
Sweet shirt on that guy.


We got through security, and stopped at the wine booth to sample some vino.

Delish.

We made our way to the beer station and tossed back a cold one.

Now that we were half-tuned, it was time to mangi'are.

We had pizza.
We had cold-cuts.
We had ice cream.
We had tomato and mozzarella skewers.
We had a smiley cookie.
We had more wine.
We had 1 meatball.
We had ladylocks.
We had a different kind of pizza.
We had banana cream pie.
We had a pulled pork sammy.
We had overworked napkins.
We had some chicken dish.
We had more beer.
We had caramel popcorn.
We had one red skin potato half.

Everything was very tasty.
Well, everything except the chicken dish, and I love chicken, but it
was kind of 'meh.

Now it may sound like a lot, but sadly you don't get entire portions of these items.

So you can stop looking at us like that.

Anyways, we met up with a few friendly faces, and overall had a really good time.

Even when a woman claimed to know me "from last night."
I got a bit of a raised eyebrow look from the wife, as we both knew I stayed in
the previous evening. (Or so she thinks...muahahaha!)

But all was cleared up when she realized she had me confused with another
dashingly handsome young man.

Thank goodness for that, as I hate sleeping on the couch.


Oh yeah.

Here is a picture of other people that found their way to Cheswick...
(Their faces have been blacked out to protect the innocent.)


So there you have it.

We went, we drank, we ate, and we networked a little bit.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a late August evening.

(Thanks again, L)

The Dattola Shall Rise Again.

That is what the Dattola Theatre looked like back in the day on 5th ave.,
in downtown New Ken.

They would show all the latest and greatest in American cinema, right here along
the bustling sidewalks poured parallel to the Allegheny river.

It was a place to get away from it all, 2 hours at a time.

Now, we aren't old enough to remember it looking like that.

But there are some of us who remember it looking like this...

Hubba hubba.

Because, back in the 70's, the Dattola was sold to some people that had a different
taste in cinema.

They liked the porn.
(Let's be honest...who doesn't?)

And because Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet, people actually went out
in public to get their smut.

That sounds terrible to us.

But any-who, a local developer hopes to reopen the theatre by May 15th.

They want to have movies, as well as music acts and theater productions going
on in there in the very near future.

Sounds good to us.

Now, someone else back in 1985 had a similar idea, and stared showing second run
movies for the bargain basement price of $1.75 a clip.

It doesn't look as though it worked out too good for him, but we wish this
new team every possible success.

Seriously, how great would it be to check out New Ken Civic Theater's most recent
production of Fiddler on the Roof?

We'd be singing "If I were a rich man, yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby
dibby dibby dum" all the way back home.


2:24 = Greatest. Dance. Ever.
-
They are looking for volunteers to help fix the place up, and will also be doing
fund raising events.

You can check out that stuff at their site...
dattolatheatre.com



"With a proper double chin."

(Oh yeah, this is our 100th post. Booyah.)

Random Picture Monday (08-24-09)

Monkey Wards

Mind Your P's and Q's

First off, it's a very bad idea to drink and drive.

So don't do it.

Secondly, we saw on the news that there were going to be tons of
DUI checkpoints out there.

Be careful, and call a cab if you've had too many.

Here's a number to call...

724.567.5664
Byers Taxi Service

What To Do, What To Do?

We were going to write about the improved test scores at Valley.
(Great job Vikings!)

We even considered telling you about our wine shopping journey to Murrysville.

Honestly, there are many things we could have done on this gloomy Friday.

But we decided to post an email instead.

It's a good one, too...

"Who are you?"

I'm Batman.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Enjoy the weather...

Leech and Chong

It seems a few Leechburg folk have been doing some gardening
as of late.

It also looks like they will be spending a little time in the county lock-up as well.

Are they going to jail for growing giant tomatoes?
Were their cucumbers too phallic?
Did they decapitate a head of lettuce?
Maybe the jalapenos didn't have their citizenship.

As great as any of those scenarios would be, that's just not the case.
Even though those charges would make for a great episode of Court TV.

From what we hear, there were some funky plants growing amongst the tomatoes.

Chrysanthemums?

Nope.
Not that funky.

Truth is, they were growing some marijuana plants and got caught.

"Total bummer, man."

Maybe they were too busy passing the dutchie, to realize that the plants had grown
as tall as a mighty oak.

And if that 6 year old kid wouldn't have fallen out of one of them, and broken his arm,
his parents might not have had to call the authorities.

(That part of the story isn't true. It was me that fell out and broke my arm.
Too many "puff puff gives," to maintain proper tree climbing balance.)


Hey, you never know...

Maybe Snoop will catch wind of this news and move his concert site to the
Leechburg VFC Social Hall.


"Let me hizzle that splizzle."

Oh Back To School, Back To School...

"To prove to dad, that I'm not a fool."


So it seems as though many area people are trying to get their "learn on."

Because the new WCCC campus (downtown Newk) is seeing record numbers.

First of all, that place is really nice.
We would go just to hang out.
That's how nice it looks.

They have had a school branch around here for many years.

It used to be in the former Terrace Elementary building up in the A.C.T.

But this January, they moved into their new digs on 5th avenue.

And the students have been growing ever since.
(Not actually growing, as that would be kinda creepy, and the health department
would get involved.)

But the numbers are approaching 400 for the start of classes this Thursday.

That's a lot.

So we would like to say congratulations to the school, and especially to all the new
students taking that difficult first step to better themselves.

Kudos to you all.

Are you packing a chocolate Snack Pack for lunch?

We would totally pack a ton of Ho-Ho's if we were going back to school.

On second thought, if we get to eat Ho-Ho's everyday, we might enroll tomorrow.


"Oh really, fool?"
"Really."

Things We Miss (Hillcrest Plaza Edition)

Sometimes we go places and reminisce about how things used to be.

Now, we aren't that old.

But we have been around long enough to witness many changes to the Newk.

One of those being the Hillcrest Shopping Plaza, and surrounding businesses.

We remember and miss:

- The old Shop n' Save, and the funnel cake cart that would occasionally sit out front.
- Getting a cherry Icee and a soft pretzel at the Hills department store cafe.
- Sitting outside the Fashion Bug in the car, while our mom and sister were in there
shopping. Sometimes we'd eat a Rax turkey club.
- Never going into Radio Shack, because they were overpriced, and still are.
- Renting a fresh VHS video at Movies Plus.
- Crossing the street and buying a pack of Topps baseball cards at Kenny's Coin Store.
- Ponderosa all you can eat salad bar having the worst nacho cheese ever.
- Never setting foot in any of the stores that sit parallel to Leechburg Rd.
- The camcorder displays at Rex Tv and Appliance.

I'm sure there are tons of other things that we are forgetting.

But whatever. We tried.

Add your memories.
We won't judge.

And before we go today, we have a couple people to thank.

- The fine chefs at Top China Buffet...thank you.
- The men and women that build and paint speed bumps...thank you.
- The sweet woman at Aldi's today, that gave us her shopping cart, even though
we had no idea that they require a 25 cent deposit to use them...thank you.
- The rude woman at the last cash register, that treated us like jerks because we
were not familiar with Aldi's shopping protocol...thank you, wench.
(If it wasn't for your delicious chicken salad, we might never return.)

Random Picture Monday (08-17-09)

Custard Style.

It's Friday Already?

Holy Schamooley.

The weekend is here already.

Not that we're complaining or anything.

So what do you have planned?

Anything good?

Are you going to see the VHS band tonight?

Are you going to check out Jimbo and the Soupbones this Saturday?

What about the big flea market at St. Irenaeus in Oakmont?

Whatever you decide, we suggest enjoying what is supposed to be a
nice weekend here in the NewK.


Some of us here are heading out of town for the weekend.
Don't miss us too bad.

We'll try to check in on yinz.

Be safe, have fun, and don't drink and drive.

Live Music... and Pie!

We received an interesting email yesterday.

Here it is...

The VHS band is doing their halftime show this Friday, and then having a "slice of pie" sale immediately following. Just thought you and your readers would like to know. See ya.

We love and appreciate hot tips like this, so keep them coming!


So if you aren't doing anything this Friday evening, you should consider heading
on down to the newly remodeled stadium and have some fun.

We are not sure of the theme of this year's show, so it's hard to us to know what
to expect.

We'll go out on a limb and say that it's going to rock very hard.

To be honest, we'd watch people doing laundry at Suds n' Duds, if they were
serving delicious pie after the fluff and fold finale.

If you have Valley pride, go down and support the kids.

Go Vikes!

The Heat Is Uh-Uh-Uh-Uh

On.

Glenn Frey said it back in the 80's, that the heat was on.

And boy was he right.


He's like a Rock n' Rock Nostradamus.

What will happen next?

Maybe a smuggler will get the blues.

But seriously, it has been hot these past few days.

I know, I know...we shouldn't be complaining, because overall, it hasn't been
that bad of a summer. Heat wise, that is.

Which only sucks because we couldn't use the extreme heat as an excuse
to drink more beers.

But it has been good for the area pools.

It seems that this summer has been pretty hard on them, as rain and
cooler than normal temps have kept people away.

But this past Sunday and Monday, you could barely find a slab of cement to
lay down your beach towel and take off your crocs.

Pools in the Heights, Springdale, Vandergrift, Apollo and countless backyards
across our great newk, were overflowing with smiling aqua lovers.

We decided to crank the A/C and stay home, because the sight of our
half naked bodies has been known to start riots.

Los Angeles didn't riot because the Lakers won the NBA championship, it's
because we were in town and wanted to get some sun.

Fact.

We Are, We Are...

The youth of the nation.

Actually, some of us are quite old.

But we don't care about age around here, we care about being popular.

And what better way to become popular, than to become a rock star?


And if you can't be a rock star, you could be an actor.

And if you can't be an actor, maybe you work behind the camera.

And if you don't know how to run a camera, maybe you can be a location.

That's it!

"The Newk" isn't just about New Kensington.
It's about this entire area of Pa., so don't go all elitist on us.

And as some of you may know, this area was featured in a music video.

"Seriously?"

Yes, seriously.

Back in 2002, the band P.O.D. had a hit song called Youth Of The Nation.

And in the video for that song, there are scenes that take place around here.

You don't believe us?
Well, take a look for yourselves.

Points of interest:
0:28 - Freeport Rd. in Creighton heading towards C.L. Schmitt bridge.
0:35 - Coming into downtown New Ken via the C.L./New Ken bridge.
0:40 - Turnpike entrance in Harmarville.
0:43 - Coming onto C.L./NK bridge from the Creighton side.
0:48 - Towards turnpike entrance from Cheswick side.

Watch it now...




See, we told you.

Random Picture Monday (08-10-09)

Wing Street.

Okay, you caught us.

So today's "random picture" isn't so random.

Why isn't it random?

Because we just sent in our request to be a part of Lower Burrell's 50th
Celebration Parade, so we thought we'd schmooze them a little with a picture
of one of their finest establishments.

We are a little bit late, so we figured anything could help.

Don't call us "brown-nosers."

We prefer to be called "baby blue-nosers," in this case.


-
If you would like to see us in the parade...show some support either on here,
or on our facebook page.


Fingers crossed.

No Snoop For You!

A little while ago, we told you about the possibility of Snoop Dogg playing a show
at Club Gravity (formerly Ches-a-Rena) in Cheswick.

Read that article here...CHRONIC.

Well, to make a short story even shorter...

It's not going to happen.

We were correct in thinking that he was coming to town for the Steelers home opener.

We were also correct in assuming that Snoop wanted to make some cash while
he was here.

The fact is, he will be playing a late night show at Mr. Small's Theater.

Tickets are 50 clips.
And starting at 9pm, there will be DJ's spinning until Snoop decides to show up.

We are bummed that he won't be in the Chez.
We were looking forward to a pre-concert shopping spree at the Goodwill.
And a night cap at the Frosted Mug.

We know one thing for sure...

Lee Greenwood wouldn't pull the old switch-a-roo on us Newkers.

-
Don't be mad at us for being wrong.

Be mad at us for being handsome and witty.

One Of Our Favorite Roadways.

While cruising through the NewK, we have many roads that we prefer to drive upon.

And some roads we downright loathe.
(Linden Ave. - Between Animal Protectors and the convenience store formerly known as CoGo's being our least favorite.)

But one of the best, is 3rd Ave.
aka: "The Parnassus Freeway"


This road has it all.

- 2 lanes each way
- Beautiful stone and sand mountain vistas
- No speed limit (ala the Autobahn)

For years this road has been overlooked, and we won't stand for it
any longer!

Seriously, take a drive and see how she handles.

May we recommend the racetrack like "S" curve, right after the light at the
old hospital and new Napa intersection?

It's a doozy.

You can go half way, hang a louie, and be at Eat n' park in a jiffy.
Or you can take it to the limit and get a car wash, grab a happy meal, and even
get a prescription filled all within a 100 yards of each other.

Be honest...
Who hasn't imagined themselves trying to climb up one of those sand heaps?

(We are going to purchase a treadmill with a steep incline, just like the one Ivan Drago
trained on, so we can make it all the way to the top, when we finally get up the
nerve to attempt such a challenging feat.)


"I must break you."

Our Thoughts Go Out.

We are sure you have heard the awful news of the mass shooting
in Collier Township.

From what we've seen, and what we've read, it was a confusing and
horrifying moment in time.

Last we heard, there are 6 people confirmed dead (including the gunman).
And 10 others have been taken to area hospitals.

Edit: I guess in a weird way, this is good news. The death total is 4 (including the killer),
and there are 9 hospitalized. May those injured fully recover.

Our thoughts go out to all the families and friends of the folks involved in the
latest in a series of tragedies to fall upon our fair city of Pittsburgh.

We felt both stunned and angered when we heard about this.

We hope you all find yourselves, and your families, safe and sound.

We really have nothing else to say at this time.


Live well, friends.

Loose Ends.

Hey everyone!

How are things?

We have been overwhelmed by the amount of attention we have been getting
as of late, so we thought it'd be a good idea to catch up on a few things
that we've put off.

1. We'd like to thank you all (again), for the support and word of mouth that
you have been providing us.

Yay, you!


2. We went to the Hyde Park community days a week or so ago, and here are
some pictures for you to see.


The Hyde Park liberty bell.
(Honestly, we aren't sure of the significance of this bell. Any help is appreciated.)
Plenty of tables to eat the tasty Hyde Park treats.

Said treats.

The intoxicating aroma of bbq ribs and chicken had our nostrils and nipples at full attention.

The 1/2 of a chicken that took me all of 7 minutes to devour.
No idea why we took/posted this picture.

And you know our motto:
"Where there is chuck-a-luck, you will find theNEWK.com."
Thanks goes out to all the volunteers and food salespeople.


3. We also told you of "Cow Drop Bingo" this past Saturday in Apollo.

Unfortunately, our fear of udders rendered us unable to attend.

Lucky for you, one of our valued readers sent us a sweet picture.

The Apollo Ridge girls basketball team were selling snowcones.
We love snowcones.

Actually, we love most foods colored blue.
(Fact: I once tried to drink Windex, because I thought it would taste like a blue freezer-pop.)
(Fact #2: This happened like 3 weeks ago.)


4. We tried to help promote the adoption marathon at Animal Protectors
this past weekend.

We got word that 2 of our readers adopted a dog.

We probably had nothing to do with it, but that is not what matters.

Thank you so much for helping a dog in need!
We hope Zippy provides you countless years of doggy kisses.


5. We are currently in talks with local establishments.

We are trying to get some sweet giveaway items for you all.

If you know of a local business that might be interested in getting some exposure
here at the Newk, please email us at thenewkblog@gmail.com


6. Peace and chick grease.

See you tomorrow.

Random Picture Monday (08-03-09)

Shane.