"Pittsburghers take pride in their practical solutions, especially the quirky ones, such as the 'Pittsburgh chair'..."

"... that we use to save the parking space we shoveled out after a snowstorm. There are folding chairs, barstools, even an occasional upholstered chair — whatever your choice. The chairs are sacrosanct, and they help avoid neighborhood disputes. Or the 'Pittsburgh toilet' that stands alone and unobstructed in the basement of many older working-class homes — porcelain artifacts of when the mills were booming. It made practical sense when the men returned from the mills to wash off the grime in the laundry tubs and finish their business in the basement before going upstairs for their meal. But there has been no easy solution for keeping schools open when an expected 500,000 to 700,000 visitors attend events...."

Writes Duquesne lawprof Joseph Sabino Mistick, in "Schools are closing for the NFL draft. What does this teach students? Pittsburgh prides itself on showing up and working hard. Students should, too" (WaPo).

"Four trans children on one block in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? I think not."

One of the commenters at a NYT column titled "The Relentless Attack on Trans People Is an Attack on All of Us":

I am a gay man, but I think there needs to be a step or two back taken from what has become the politicization of medical treatment for children who may be transgender. Several years ago, a family living on a street in my neighborhood announced by way of a transgender flag that appeared on their porch that their eight-year-old until then son had recently informed them that he is trans. Since then, children of three other families living on our block have had such an epiphany. Four trans children on one block in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? I think not.

ADDED: Is the commenter misinterpreting flags? I haven't been able to find an image of a flag that specifies that a transgender child lives in the house where the flag is displayed. There is a transgender flag. Here's a Wikipedia article about it. I would think it is used simply to support transgender people, not to identify the people living in the house. One particular block could have a bunch of flags because the people know each other and are rallying their support, perhaps for one child.

President Biden came to Milwaukee to campaign, and the Democrats' Senate candidate, Mandela Barnes, avoided the event.

The Washington Post took note: "As Biden celebrates Labor Day, Democratic candidates tread gingerly/The president attended Labor Day events in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, as Democratic contenders like Senate candidate Mandela Barnes keep a careful distance."

What, exactly, was Barnes worried about? "Gingerly" means "With great care as to the result of a movement or act; (very) carefully, cautiously, tentatively, warily. Also: reluctantly, with distaste (as in handling some disagreeable object, etc.)" (OED).

We're told that "for days [Mandela] wouldn’t say whether he planned to appear with Biden.... [then] he didn’t show up at the president’s speech and instead participated in other Labor Day events." That's just plain shunning, isn't it?

"Ask yourself: do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?"

Joe Biden went to Pittsburg today, where he read a speech indoors. Here's the video. I can't tell if he has an audience. There's no engagement with any questioners. I don't really know how this is different from speaking from his own home, but it was presented in the press as an important occasion. The NYT says: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Monday issued a forceful rebuttal to President Trump’s misleading charges that he would preside over a country wracked by disorder and lawlessness...." I watched the first minute of the video, but it was too tedious. I was distracted by the metal grid behind him.



I thought it looked like a screen and fantasized about a remake of "The Fly."



So I'm just going to read the transcript and react to it for you as I read:

In recent days, we’ve had a lot of talk about who’s going where and how I’ve decided to come to Pittsburgh to talk a little bit about what’s going on right now....

So vague. Such a weak beginning. You'd think he'd specify what the talk was. Trump's going to Lake Charles, Louisiana and Kenosha, Wisconsin? If he'd specified, we'd know Trump's decisions were based on the hurricane and the Jacob Blake incident. But there's no reason for choosing Pittsburgh. It's just: Here I am in Pittsburgh, talking a little bit. There's a lack of drive and purpose.

"On May 10, 1884, midway through his 48th year, Samuel L. Clemens reluctantly 'confessed to age' by wearing glasses for the first time."

"That same day, the celebrated writer better known as Mark Twain sought to reclaim his youth by mounting a bicycle for the first time. Only one of these first tries succeeded. 'The spectacles,' Twain later recalled, 'stayed on.' Bodily contusions notwithstanding, Twain promoted the new sport of cycling with characteristic rhubarb tartness. 'Get a bicycle,' he urged readers. 'You will not regret it, if you live.'"

The beginning of a NYT article titled "The Bicycle and the Ride to Modern America," which became instantly bloggable to me when it was the first thing I looked at after doing an update to the previous post that by chance included Mark Twain. Mark Twain is in the air for some reason. That means something.

In other Mark Twain news:

1. "Mark Twain had positive view of Pittsburgh — except from atop the mount":

“With the moon soft and mellow … we sauntered about the mount and looked down on the lake of fire and flame... It looked like a miniature hell with the lid off."

2.  "Mark Twain Gave Good Advice About The Dangers Of Good Advice":

He had reached old age, Twain said, in the usual way: "By sticking strictly to a scheme of life which would kill anybody else.... My habits protect my life, but they would assassinate you."

3. "Big-walking small dog a perfect underdog":

Like Taran the Assistant Pig Keeper, Bingo is small in stature but super-sized in heart. Mark Twain probably said it best when he quipped, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

4. "Previously Unknown Mark Twain Descendant to Speak in Hannibal":

Mark Twain had one daughter who outlived him, Clara Clemens. Clara married concert pianist and symphony conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch. Clara and Ossip had one child, Nina Gabrilowitsch (Mark Twain’s granddaughter). When Nina died in 1966 it was accepted that the Mark Twain line had ceased with no living descendants....

"America's Medicated Kids."

A 1-hour BBC documentary by Louis Theroux. I share Theroux's skepticism about medicating children, but I don't think he ends up explaining much about the problem in general. Instead of "America's Medicated Kids," a more accurate title would be "3 Medicated Kids in Pittsburgh." I do recommend this. Worth discussing.



ADDED: Next morning thoughts at the end of this post.

"A shoeshine man has given a Pittsburgh children’s hospital a total of more than $200,000 in tips he’s collected over the last 30 years."

"Albert Lexie says he’s been shining shoes for $5 at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh since the early 1980s. He says most customers tip him $1 and some give him an extra $2."