I'M A SUCKER FOR ZOMBIES

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Zombie Fest and Walk of the Dead
Monroeville, PA

100% FREE EVENT - ONE DAY - ONE LOCATION

2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Zombie Fest in The Monroeville Mall Parking Lot

(behind Boscovs, across from Mall Annex)

Register and meet the cast of It's Alive. Apply make up if you haven't already.
The Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will be accepting your donations at this time.
Donations are not mandatory but every one must sign in for the Guinness book.
There is no registration fee - this is a free event.

Outdoor Zombie Fest events will include:

Live Bands and Entertainment
Celebrity Appearances
Zombie Olympics
Brain Eating Contest
Ugly Pageant

6:00 PM
Fourth Annual Walk of the Dead

Zombies will enter the mall and begin the spectacle of reenacting the scenes from their favorite zombie films. It is extremely important to stay in character while in the mall. If you are being filmed, please do not smile or wave, stay in zombie mode. If you want to be seen on TV, in the newspaper, etc. please stay in zombie mode


7:00 PM
The Zombie Ball at Houlihans in the Mall

After a hard day of shambling, it's time to party down with the undead.

DJ, drink specials, and the kitchen is open until 9:00 PM.

No Cover Charge.

http://www.theitsaliveshow.com/zombiefest09.htm

Why Not?

Please, someone run against Metcalfe next year

PA State Rep: Domestic violence= family values?
by Michael Morrill
Fri Sep 18, 2009 at 09:20:54 AM PDT

A simple resolution to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was halted by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican representing Butler. Why? Because, he said, "It has a homosexual agenda."

No, I'm not making this up. Here is the rest of the quote from his remarks on the House floor, objecting to the resolution: "I protest, this is not non-controversial, and if you read the language it has a homosexual agenda."1

On the same day, also on the House floor, he made matters worse. The House was about to vote on increasing marriage license fees from $3 to $28, with the increased amount going to a fund for victims of domestic abuse. Metcalfe opposed the measure, calling the funding of domestic violence programs "a slap in the face to family values."2 The bill passed despite his outrageous claim.

I CAN DO THAT JOB N@!

SEIU - Service Employees International Union - Republican Senators Vetoed Insurance Protection for Domestic Violence Victims

SEIU - Service Employees International Union - Republican Senators Vetoed Insurance Protection for Domestic Violence Victims

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JUST FOR FUN:

PATRIOT DAY AND NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION


Through the twisted steel of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the scarred walls of the Pentagon, and the smoky wreckage in a field in southwest Pennsylvania, the patriotism and resiliency of the American people shone brightly on September 11, 2001. We stood as one people, united in our common humanity and shared sorrow. We grieved for those who perished and remembered what brought us together as Americans.

Today, we honor the lives we lost 8 years ago. On a bright September day, innocent men, women, and children boarded planes and set off for work as they had so many times before. Unthinkable acts of terrorism brought tragedy, destruction, pain, and loss for people across our Nation and the world.

As we pay tribute to loved ones, friends, fellow citizens, and all who died, we reaffirm our commitment to the ideas and ideals that united Americans in the aftermath of the attacks. We must apprehend all those who perpetrated these heinous crimes, seek justice for those who were killed, and defend against all threats to our national security. We must also recommit ourselves to our founding principles. September 11 reminds us that our fate as individuals is tied to that of our Nation. Our democracy is strengthened when we uphold the freedoms upon which our Nation was built: equality, justice, liberty, and democracy. These values exemplify the patriotism and sacrifice we commemorate today.

In that same spirit of patriotism, I call upon all Americans to join in service and honor the lives we lost, the heroes who responded in our hour of need, and the brave men and women in uniform who continue to protect our country at home and abroad.

In April, I was proud to sign the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which recognizes September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Originated by the family members those who lost loved ones on 9/11, the National Day of Service and Remembrance is an opportunity to salute the heroes of 9/11, recapture the spirit of unity and compassion that inspired our Nation following the attacks, and rededicate ourselves to sustained service to our communities.

Throughout the summer, people of all ages and backgrounds came together to lend a helping hand in their communities through United We Serve. As this summer of service draws to an end, we renew the call to engage in meaningful service activities and stay engaged with those projects throughout the year. Working together, we can usher in a new era in which volunteering and more service is a way of life for all Americans. Deriving strength from tragedy, we can write the next great chapter in our Nation's history and ensure that future generations continue to enjoy the promise of America.

By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress has designated September 11 of each year as Patriot Day, and by Public Law 111-13, approved April 21, 2009, has requested the observance of September 11 as an annually recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2009, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. I call upon all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the United States at half-staff on Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001. I invite the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance. I call upon the people of the United States to participate in community service in honor of those our Nation lost, to observe this day with other ceremonies and activities, including remembrance services, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. eastern daylight time to honor the innocent victims who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

CHECK OUT MACKENZIE CARPENTER'S OMNIVORE AT THE PG+ THIS AFTERNOON

Yours truly will be having the final word. Fitting, huh?

It was great working with Mackenzie. Smart, energetic -- and NEVER dull.

I'm also very excited to appear on Sue's show, Sister ShOUT this Sunday. We'll be talking TV, and that's my deal.

And I've got more in the works, my female compatriots.

Thanks to all who had kind words this week after the passing of my 92-year-old grandmother, Catherine the Great. Her spirit is certainly alive in me.

Pittsburgh Debuts New Lesbian/Queer Women's Podcast

Out Publishing has launched the region's first corporate lesbian podcast, Sister ShOUT, airing live 7-8 PM Sunday evenings at http://www.outonline.com The debut episode aired this past week and featured local queer event organizer, Ehrrin Keenan.

This is a small bit of herstory as OUT has traditionally been more of a male focused medium. Sister ShOUT makes a concerted attempt to reach out to the lesbian/queer women's community.

So tune in on Sunday's evening or anytime afterward. Shoot your feedback to sistershout@outonline.com

Sudanese Journalist Lubna Hussein Escapes Flogging

Sudanese Journalist Lubna Hussein Escapes Flogging

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somewhere to belong...

In recent days I’ve been mulling over the idea of community and what that means to me. I’m still not sure yet what the answer is… but I have time on my hands and I am taking steps to find out…

I didn’t go to college, and therefore was never part of any collegiate community. I became a mom at a very young age, not many of my friends were having babies at that time, mostly busy with their collegiate communities. And since I was single, I didn’t much have time to join mommies groups, or have play dates with stay at home moms, I was too busy trying to make a buck and find a meal; there goes those communities. And although I have many GLBT friends and attended several Gay Pride parades while living in Seattle, I wouldn’t pretend to be part of the GLBT community. I did join the Seattle Flickr Meetup for a time, but I didn’t really feel like I fit in and so I didn’t stay long enough to call that community… There is my Facebook community consisting of classmates from Junior/Senior high school and ex coworkers that became friends. I am grateful to be back in touch with many of my old classmates, but in some ways it has reminded me that I was always on the fringe of that particular community. Then there is the group of people who are now friends but were once ex coworkers, and although some of them became my friends while we were all working at the same place… I would never say it developed into any sort of community.

So here I am wondering where is my “group of people having common interests” and how do I fit in?

Having moved to Pittsburgh recently, and spending a great amount of time learning about the people and places through blogs (even having met my friend Jenny through her blog)… I came across other women blogging who also live in Pittsburgh… sounds like a community I might fit into: I am a woman, I blog and I live in Pittsburgh. So I asked if I could join, someone sent me an invite, I accepted. Now I am at least a part of this community. I’m looking forward to contributing, and maybe even finding through the blog a better idea of what community means to me and where I fit into the bigger picture.

Podcamp Alert!

Mark it on your calendar!

October 10th and 11th at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh!

-Agent Ska-

TOOTING MY OWN HORN:

http://www.poetrykit.org/HelenProject.pdf



yep, i'm in here. we had to write a poem just using the title of a painting without
actually seeing the painting.

could you give it a look and tell me honestly, what you think.
you don't have to understand poetry one bit. thanks.

Astrological Happenings, Astrology Horoscope - Pluto in Capricorn!

The winds blow a change of direction in September 2009, and we start with powerful waves washing upon the shore with a Full Moon in starry-eyed Pisces on September 4. Pisces is gentle, sensitive, and romantic, and our emotional approach to the day is also soft, kind, and reflective. It's a lovely day to spend time with ourselves, touching upon that 'dreamy' Pisces vibration to do psychic energy work, creative visualization, and dive into healing affirmations through meditation. When involved with romantic interests or professional co-workers, the day can make us feel as if all is well, that it is safe to let our guard down, and give our trust completely. While Pisces is idealistic, this Full Moon can excite our souls when we're searching for love, and in business when we are relying on our imagination to spark terrific ideas. If you're looking for a romantic commitment or verbal agreement in business, because it all feels right - be aware that Pisces is also the big dreamer, and can promise each of us the moon. The mood may feel right while the air is misty, filled with kind words, but once the dream-effect and sky clears - you can end up empty-handed with empty promises. It's a fun day to sketch, to put our emotions into words, to get in touch with our inner child and play with our kids, while blowing pretty bubbles up to the sky!

On September 7, Labor Day, Mercury stations and pauses, before he enters on his three week retrograde journey. Mercury rules communication and trips, so during this time, one can expect that forms of travel and contact with others will be a bit hay-wired and discombobulated. Some of us are lucky enough to see the retrograde at its best - as computers and tech-gadgets, to fax machines, wash machines, and other machinery - run through the backward cycle that the retrograde puts us at - with technical difficulties and crashes, vehicle failures, appliance breakdowns, and missing emails and/or voicemail's. Our thinking process and verbal skills also experience this sort of breakdown, creating miscommunications. We should be 'thankful' to go under this 'Mercurial spell' as we get to see first hand, where our communication areas are broken - causing us grief or misunderstandings. With Mercury traveling 'reverse' in Libra, we can expect misinterpretations in our professional partnerships and romantic relationships. Pay closer attention what is being said now, and you may catch a glimpse at where problems have already existed, but were ignored or overlooked. It's a good time to re-pair, re-build, and re-connect during the re-trograde. You can also prepare yourself to bump into individuals from your past as the 'backward journey' takes us back to our past to make amends, or find closure. During this time - it is suggested that you do not to purchase new appliances, start business, or sign contacts now. Hold off and go over ALL details first.

A new era is upon us now as Pluto stations, and prepares to turn direct on September 10. Pluto is the transformer, and removes 'the unnecessary' and 'the toxic' from our lives, to help us to grow and become the person we need to be, and so we can be our best. It is ruthless, life-changing, spiritually-awakening, intense, and powerful. As Pluto transits through Capricorn, He visits banks, institutions, professional businesses, and government offices to help 'right' what was wrong. Although we're coming out of a retrograde now, he made a re-turn to certain areas that we have all watched in the media, to re-lease and re-build what had become tainted, and we all got to see fine examples of what this tiny planet Pluto is made of. (Oh that's right, he isn't a planet, but I'm not going to be the one who tells him LOL!)

What I personally am looking for during this new age of Pluto in Capricorn, is getting rid of the EXCESS that was brought on when he entered BIG and abundant Sagittarius in 1995. During the past decade, we have seen a rise in plastic surgeries, over-sized plastic breasts, bigger booties, injected big lips, an expansion of technical toys and new gadgets, a huge growth in traveling (Sagittarius) communications from portable phones to laptops, to blackberries, cellphones, etc! We have busier schedules, more over-time, with no time for family. The rise in cost of living, where owning a house became the 'unreachable American dream' for the average folk, and the price of car replaces the price of homes. Everything continued to grow and expand under Sagittarius, including the illusion that 'bigger must be better'. Our means for transportation grew bigger with huge suvs and hummers, our homes became bigger in size, and so did our need for surplus for electric, gas, and heating fuel,. Again, we seen Pluto in action years back as he was removing the toxic in our lives, teaching fuel companies, gas guzzlers, and our power companies that there needs to be limitations - which is what we will 'should' be taught with Pluto in Capricorn. Incomes rose to outrageous numbers, and shopping became a big importance, and Christmas presents needed to charged onto credit cards. Education costs more than a vehicle and a home, but jobs are limited or non-existent. We've watched the diet and exercise businesses boom in the past decade like never before, with sports and entertainment taking on bigger importance, with extravagant ticket prices and contracts, but our people have gotten fatter and out of shape - with a constant rise in obesity in adults, and the wake up call that it is our behavior and lack of responsibility when children are suffering, from our examples.

In Capricorn, who is ruled by Saturn (who I like to refer to as the grumpy old grampa), we learn about traditional ways again. We learn how to how to prioritize, how to limit ourselves, and how to waste less. We learn what is necessary and what isn't. We learn that education is more important again, that scientists and teachers are more of a necessity than movie stars and models, and that police and fireman are more of a necessity than playing football and basketball. I should actually rephrase myself and say that we all have a chance to 'learn' how to limit ourselves and waste less. It isn't going to happen over night, and not everyone learns lesson overnight which is why we will see the same problems happening over and over - until we do see. I can probably say that I will catch hell for my opinions, but I am not saying that sports teams or our entertainment isn't important, I am just saying it is not a necessity.

Here in Pennsylvania, I have griped horribly (as my husband can vouch) how Pittsburgh closed down a number of city police and fireman buildings, because there wasn't enough money. They lost their jobs, couldn't find jobs, and moved out the area. They closed down many schools and limited public transportation because there wasn't enough money. Our kids lost out during the 'game', it put working and single moms at an inconvenience, and people had no way to get to their jobs. There is no money in Pittsburgh, so they HAVE to raise property taxes and force folks out of their home, because there is such a need for money.... BUT there seems to be this mysterious overflow of cash for expensive advertising for sports, contracts with incomes that are out of this world, all with fancy high-priced tickets, new stadiums, and casino. This is my gripe and my opinion as I have watched, astrologically compared the stars to my perspective on life around us. So I am looking very forward to Capricorn putting structure and order into our lives. Capricorn takes of, he provides, and he protects. We have a chance of having a greener world, and learning about kindness for our fellow neighbor. We have a chance at taking care of our children and protecting them, rather than just assuming that they can take care of themselves - while everyone else is doing their own thing. We learn to balance our lives now, a 40 hour work week, family dinners, help the kids with their homework, while actually getting eight hours of sleep. Pluto will be in Capricorn for 15 years, and this guy is old-fashioned, and gets us back to basics, where he takes cares of his family, while lending a helping hand to others. Loyalty is respected, and a handshake and 'our word' actually means something again. He respects elders, he's polite and smiles at strangers, he appreciates good intentions and neighborly offerings - and he graciously returns the favor. He's honorable, respectful, reputable, and loyal. We need this level of communication back to make the world a nicer and peaceful place to live in.

Mercury retrogrades from Libra, and enters Virgo on September 17. And in the same explanation about breakdowns, the retrograde will now enter our money and finances, nitpicking areas that we need to focus on and re-pair, and where misunderstandings and errors need to be restructured and fixed. So anything that you can help yourself through now regarding your money, savings, or bills piling up, would be ideal - to avoid any real surprises.

New intentions and a new attitude are welcomed with a New Moon in Virgo on September 18. Emotional desires to be concentrated on for the next 28 days are our needs to get out finances and money in order, our communication skills with others, but also with ourselves, and a focus on improving our health and well-being, from diet changes, starting new exercise programs, and including meditation and relaxing techniques.

Venus, the planet of desires enters perfectionist Virgo on September 20, and this can aid us in our goals with the New moon to take better care of ourselves. We want to better our life, our health, our work, money, and our service to others.

Our personalities become quite a bit more cheerier and Sun enters polite Libra on September 22, and we become friendlier, more helpful to others, with a balanced need to also do things for ourselves.

Last, Mercury stations and turns direct on September 29, and in a few days, we get 'two thumbs up' to make purchases, sign contracts, and communicate what we say or need to do, without so many interruptions!

What do the cards hold for you this month? Click Here!

Make it a great month!

Suzi

NOTE: My website www.starcana.com will be unavailable September 2 for 24-48 hours (here comes Mercury retrograde), as my server is down for upgrades and repairs. Bookmark my blog for updates like these, when these rare occasions happen to knock my site down. My professional information is as follows:

20 minute readings for 30.00 - MC Visa Discover accepted.

(10.00 discount for first time callers!)

Available Mon-Fri, from 10am-8pm EDT

Suzi, Spiritual Tarot Astrologer (724) 832-9283

When I'm off-schedule, call my 24 hr psychic partners:

US Calls: 1-866-305-4353

International Countries: 1-866-526-2341

For entertainment only. 18+

Starcana, aka Suzanne Dronzek, is an Intuitive Astrologer with over 20 years of practice and experience in spiritual astrology, mystical tarot, and the metaphysical arts. To personalize this message for inner guidance, personal development, spiritual enrichment, and/or relationship compatibility - request a private and professional consultation via telephone. For complete information about her services, call Suzi (724) 832-9283, or visit her website: http://www.starcana.com