Recent Stories

special guests

Protected: Class 3/31: Guest Appearance from Tracey Berg-Fulton (Community Manager, AuthenticJobs) and Pat Fulton (Front-End Developer, Sparkbox).

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Pat Fulton and Tracey Berg met in Pittsburgh in the early 2000's. Pat was finishing a degree in journalism from Point Park College (now Point Park University). Tracey was a photographer. We all met going to punk/DIY shows in pgh, and helped to build a short-lived online publication/community/record label/event promoter in Western PA called Pittpunk. Then they fell in love and got married and bought a house and got a dog and everything.

MCJ

Protected: The Reckoning

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Pamela Colloff's, The Reckoning, is a fascinating piece of literature that stirs emotions from beginning to end. It follows the life of Claire Wilson and shares her incredible story after her near fatal encounter with Charles Whitman, or the man who killed 16 and wounded 31 in the University of Texas shooting of 1966. Throughout the narrative, Claire's life was shown in a perspective that one could almost call nightmarish. From her rough childhood to her eventual closure, Claire was overcome with some of the most unthinkable tragedies a person can endure. In a person's life, tragedies are usually rare.

MCJ

Protected: 25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music is Going

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25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music is Going by a whole bunch of people

I don’t think I have ever read anything on the internet that was as long as this interactive feature I just read was. I sat on my bedroom floor for a good three hours reading every single line in this piece and I just now moved to my bed. My eyes hurt. They are tired from looking at this computer screen. By number sixteen, every time a word started with a “b,” my mind automatically read it as Beyoncé.

MCJ

Protected: Where Germans Make Peace With Their Dead

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The piece by Burkhard Bilger, Where Germans Make Peace With Their Dead, may have been the most shocking and heart pounding piece I have read. Being a World War II fanatic, probably not the best title, and having family that fought in the war, hearing the other side of the story was something I never thought I’d be too interested in. The perspective has always been told from that of Hitler or one of his officers. The mindset of the country has never seemed to come to light, especially about how they feel about their ancestors. These piece dives into two very compelling topics.

MCJ

Protected: New York Pizza Styles: A Complete Guide

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New York Pizza Styles: A Complete Guide by Nick Solares

I must admit, I have never tried pizza from New York but after reading this article and examining the pictures in great detail I would like to venture out of my room to try some. I enjoy pizza very much but I wouldn’t go as far to say that I love pizza. I’m not an expert on pizza, never really considered why or how it was created, or why it came to America. I’m a sucker for anything with cheese on it, unless it has cottage cheese on it. That, I have NO desire to try.

MCJ

Protected: Where Germans Make Peace With Their Dead – Burkhard Bilger

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I don't know how I feel about this piece. I honestly have no idea. I'm going to talk it out here and then make a decision. This piece written for the New Yorker was 8,647 words long, and I feel like there was so much going on he should have scrapped the New Yorker and started a book because I really could not tell you what was actually going on. It starts off with Bilger talking about his grandmother and her fondness for the dead.

MCJ

Protected: Keep Tumblr Weird (and socialist)

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The Secret Lives of Tumblr Teens by Elspeth Reeve

Another plane read, this article changed my perspective on tumblr fame a lot. I’ve been on tumblr since 2011, and although I don’t use it nearly as much now, it used to be my life. My experience with tumblr, though, was vastly different than the experiences of those discussed in this article. And to be honest, the way they use tumblr didn’t sit right with me at all. First, my experience of tumblr.

MCJ

Protected: Life’s Rich Pageant

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Life’s Rich Pageant: Meet a Florida Man

First of all, I read this article on a plane and it had me struggling really hard to hold in my laughter. I’m not sure I succeeded. The problem is that when confronted with lines like “Florida Man Terrifies Vacationing Family With Gunfire Meant For Iguana” you’re not really in control anymore. I’ve long been a fan of Florida Man and his many stupid escapades. I’m pretty sure I used to look at Florida Man twitter accounts and compilations all the time a few years ago.

MCJ

Protected: Where Germans Make Peace With Their Dead

By |

The piece by Burkhard Bilger, Where Germans Make Peace With Their Dead, may have been the most shocking and heart pounding piece I have read. Being a World War II fanatic, probably not the best title, and having family that fought in the war, hearing the other side of the story was something I never thought I’d be too interested in. The perspective has always been told from that of Hitler or one of his officers. The mindset of the country has never seemed to come to light, especially about how they feel about their ancestors. These piece dives into two very compelling topics.

MCJ

Protected: New York Pizza Styles: A Complete Guide

By |

New York Pizza Styles: A Complete Guide by Nick Solares

I must admit, I have never tried pizza from New York but after reading this article and examining the pictures in great detail I would like to venture out of my room to try some. I enjoy pizza very much but I wouldn’t go as far to say that I love pizza. I’m not an expert on pizza, never really considered why or how it was created, or why it came to America. I’m a sucker for anything with cheese on it, unless it has cottage cheese on it. That, I have NO desire to try.

MCJ

Protected: Where Germans Make Peace With Their Dead – Burkhard Bilger

By |

I don't know how I feel about this piece. I honestly have no idea. I'm going to talk it out here and then make a decision. This piece written for the New Yorker was 8,647 words long, and I feel like there was so much going on he should have scrapped the New Yorker and started a book because I really could not tell you what was actually going on. It starts off with Bilger talking about his grandmother and her fondness for the dead.

MCJ

Protected: Keep Tumblr Weird (and socialist)

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The Secret Lives of Tumblr Teens by Elspeth Reeve

Another plane read, this article changed my perspective on tumblr fame a lot. I’ve been on tumblr since 2011, and although I don’t use it nearly as much now, it used to be my life. My experience with tumblr, though, was vastly different than the experiences of those discussed in this article. And to be honest, the way they use tumblr didn’t sit right with me at all. First, my experience of tumblr.

MCJ

Protected: Life’s Rich Pageant

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Life’s Rich Pageant: Meet a Florida Man

First of all, I read this article on a plane and it had me struggling really hard to hold in my laughter. I’m not sure I succeeded. The problem is that when confronted with lines like “Florida Man Terrifies Vacationing Family With Gunfire Meant For Iguana” you’re not really in control anymore. I’ve long been a fan of Florida Man and his many stupid escapades. I’m pretty sure I used to look at Florida Man twitter accounts and compilations all the time a few years ago.

MCJ

Protected: My 14-Hour Search for the End of TGI Friday’s Endless Appetizers

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My 14 Hour Search for the End of TGI Friday’s Endless Appetizers by Caity Weaver

I couldn’t help myself when reading this piece by Caity Weaver. I found myself critiquing, agreeing, and commenting on Caity’s thoughts, questions, etc. while she continued this ‘challenge.’ I worked at TGI Friday’s. I HATED IT. I found myself reminiscing on those great old times back at Fridays in Old Bridge while reading this article.

MCJ

Protected: Last Men Standing

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Last Men Standing by Erin Allday

I feel personally, emotionally attacked by this article. And not in a good way. This was kind of brutal. If I were the author, I’m not sure I would have been able to successfully conduct these interviews without crying myself. I don’t know, maybe she did, and that was okay.