Remember when Peter Greene wrote:
Look. If you’re in the stands at a high school football game screaming and ranting and busting a blood vessel as if the fate of Western Civilization were riding on that pigskin, you need to take a serious look at your life.

turns out a lot of people weren't listening (caution: profanity)

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DIY Life is looking for more writers

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Marsha Kroll named 2007 Bucks County Poet Laureate

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The Friends of Bailey Library (SRU) will be holding a used book and video sale from Wednesday, November 14 to Friday, November 16 off the main lobby.

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The Roadhouse Theatre is holding an auction on Saturday December 8 at 7pm. This auction will feature art and artifact items from their collection. Examples include a horse head from a production of Equus, dozens of great paintings by local artists, some sculptures, two over-sized Grecian urns, several spectacular lamps, an upright piano, a Hammond organ and speaker, period furniture, along with some strange and exotic props. (via)

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There are still tickets left for Sunday's Remora Deign benefit show at Seneca's Brother Bean.

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Huzzah for biofuel. How super would it be if people gave new meaning to the "Oil" in "Oil Region"

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How the City of Oil City will spend $360,000 next year will depend on input from city residents and organizations angling to fund a special project. [cough]the arts [cough].

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I feel a sick day coming on:
Marvel Comics unveils the industry's first online archive of more than 2,500 back issues, including the first appearances of Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk."

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Oil City Singer/Songwriter Festival

Gypsy Dave's MySpace page announces:
May, 26 2007 at The Downtown Oil City Singer/songwriter Festival, Oil City, Pennsylvania :
Details TBA, but Jerome Wincek and I are putting together a fantastic festival comprised of all the young singer/songwriters that are making their way in the tri-state area. More info soon!

Sounds like we should all save the date.

More well deserved love for the Oil City Arts Revitalization effort.

Venango Campus has listed their cultural events for the Spring including their stellar film series.

The Rick Dan Band and others show up at the Meadville Council on the Arts this weekend.

A Bradford family showed up on NPR earlier this week.

NPR is also holding an Oscar speech contest.

Even writers (or is it especially writers) have urban myths:
We have read your manuscript with boundless delight. If we were to publish your paper, it would be impossible for us to publish any work of lower standard. And as it is unthinkable that in the next thousand years we shall see its equal, we are, to our regret, compelled to return your divine composition, and to beg you a thousand times to overlook our short sight and timidity.

Excuse my drool at the prospect of this huge used book sale.

Jerry Sowden's image in this morning's News Herald cements my belief that he's one of the most underappreciated working artists in the area. Why can't I find any of his work in a local gallery?

My contribution appeared in the fine regional blog, Overheard in Pittsburgh, on the day after Christmas (caution - cursing ahead)

Looking ahead, Yankee Zydeco Company announced that they will be playing a free show from 7:30-9 p.m. as part of Oil City's Arts in the Park, Friday, August 10, 2007.

As part of Oil City's arts revitalization effort, a quilting guild is being established in Oil City.
It's for all quilters, beginners and professionals, hand-quilters and machine-quilters, traditional quilters and art quilters.
The NQA has certification programs for quilt teachers and judges, a Master's Guild to recognize outstanding quilting achievement, and a Grant and Scholarship program to give monetary assistance to individuals or groups studying or researching the field of quiltmaking.
An organizational meeting to determine the best meeting times and dates will be held at Oil City's National Transit Building on Saturday, January 13, 2007, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Please contact either Ms. Roby-Lavery at 814-677-3795 or Ms. Joann Wheeler at 814-676-5303 for more info.

The Arts Council of Erie's Art in Education Partnership is seeking professional artists in all disciplines to apply for inclusion in the 2007 Pennsylvania Directory of Artists. Artists accepted into this program are eligible to participate in residencies at schools and community service organizations funded partly by the AIE partnership.Individaul artists, ensembles, and companies may apply. Application deadline is March 15, 2007.
For more information and/or an application, contact: Michelle Martin at the Arts Council of Erie by calling 814-452-3427 or by emailing .Holly Nowak from the Arts Council of Erie will be in Oil City on Saturday, January 20, 2007 to explain the program in detail to interested area artists at 1:00 pm in the Great Room of the National Transit Building, 206 Seneca Street, Oil City. Local artist and composer Jill Mattson will co-present. For more information or to register for the free presentation, call Joann Wheeler at 814-676-5303

The Erie Playhouse has announced they'll be presenting one of my favorite shows, The Piano Lesson, on February 2 & 3, 8-11, 14-18. But, they also announced that due to contractual difficulties The Erie Playhouse is replacing Copenhagen with I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett. Bleh.

Bill Miller's show "Vintage Linoleum Works" opens this weekend at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Miller, who once scavenged through old mill sites as a founding member of the Pittsburgh Industrial Arts Co-op is a connoisseur of old linoleum, which he varnishes and then fills with images ranging from landscapes to portraits to political assassinations.

The opening is from 5:30 to 8 p.m. A $5 donation is suggested for nonmembers.

One of the cooler music stores, Oil City's Pastel Record & Music Co., in the area is closing.
There are racks of replacement pieces (violin strings to bass drum lug nuts), shelves of accessories (jars of trombone slide creams to pitch pipes), performance equipment (stereo mixers to strobe lights) and display cases full of instruments (kazoos and maracas to violins and drums).

Pittsburgh laptop artist Girl Talk's Night Ripper claimed Rolling Stone's #22 best album of the year.

Q:What's the most fun you've had this year?
A: I would have to say I just got back from Australia, three dates, and that was relatively amazing. So was getting to play with Beck. The most fun was probably the day the Steelers won the Super Bowl for me. These days my fun is hanging out in Pittsburgh when I can.

Girl Talk's next area show is March 30 at The Warhol.

If anyone's going to be in Philly on the January 16 and wants to go to a free screening of the music industry documentary B4MD, drop me a line by Friday Dec 22 at 6 pm.


Actor Ken Foree will be personally reviewing the top three winning scripts from the Eerie Horror Film Festival's 2007 Screenplay Competition .

Saturday, bring $4 and head to Meadville's Gardner Theatre (2nd floor of the Market House) from 7:00PM - 11:00PM for an evening of live music from The Company We Keep, Anne Blakeslee, Gaffer & Mean Max, The Meadowland Drive.

Venangoland has been updated with an essay on "Graffiti and the Indian God Rock."