Articles Archive - Page 7 of 155 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Part monomyth, part road-trip adventure, Scenic Overlook, Carnegie Mellon University grad Anne Ray’s debut collection of linked stories has the feel of a throwback. Mostly set in the analog, though not uncomplicated, time of the late 1990s, Ray uses 13 narratives to build something novelistic as her protagonist, Katie Hight, a 21-year-old college student on …

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Books

Is China Invincible?

by Dennis Unkovic

Many in the West are convinced that modern China is an invincible regime. We watched China transition in just a few decades from a poor agricultural society into a manufacturing and industrial colossus. We witnessed Xi Jinping become the undisputed leader of China in 2013 and emerge even more powerful than Mao Zedong at the …

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PQ Poem

The Sea Lion Who Saved The Boy Who Jumped From the Golden Gate

by Jane McCafferty

The Sea Lion Who Saved The Boy Who Jumped From the Golden Gate 1.All my slippery-slick dark life,whether at sea with a raftof sisters and brothers,or on rockssprawled in a colony,I’ve loved the water.Sometimesin the depthsI’ll sleep,then waketo breakthrough water’s skinto look at stars —swallowing them with my eyes.I’ve loved tunnelingtwistingturningcelebratingthe impossible freedomof having no …

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Profiles

Remaking Downtown Pittsburgh, Pt. 6

by PQ Staff

Editor’s note: We invited 13 regional leaders to give their thoughts on how to revitalize and reinvigorate Downtown Pittsburgh. Despite numerous emails back and forth with the communications staff of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey from March 15 to April 20, the Mayor did not offer his thoughts on Downtown Pittsburgh. The responses of 12 other …

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Nature

Poison Ivy Flourishes on Carbon Dioxide

by Daryln Brewer Hoffstot

One of my husband’s first tasks when we moved to the farm 36 years ago was to remove poison ivy from the trees. He never used chemicals, just his two (gloved) hands. He came home time and time again with poison ivy pustules on his wrists that leaked liquid for three weeks. “A fool’s errand,” …

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PQ Poem

The Factory

by Michael Comiskey

The FactoryI start my shift as jars and bottles marchin perfect ranks and files from the oven,glass soldiers of an army on parade.An electric selector inspects theirwarm bodies for weakness; those that don’t passmuster must be mustered out—returned tothe furnace to be melted and recast.Maybe on their next try they can run theobstacle course. Those …

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Arts

Oh What a Year!

by Marianne Dougherty

When the fab four’s plane touched down in Pittsburgh at 4:36 p.m. on Sept. 14, 1964, I was among the 4,000 screaming fans waiting to catch a glimpse of John, Paul, George and Ringo. When tickets went on sale that spring for $5.90, my aunt bought three: one for me, one for my cousin Linda, …

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Profiles

Remaking Downtown Pittsburgh, Pt. 5

by PQ Staff

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Sports

Seeing Reds: The Pirates’ 1970s Rivals

by Richard “Pete” Peterson

Early in the 1974 season, with the Pirates struggling after finishing April at 6-12, Dock Ellis took the mound against the Cincinnati Reds. In spring training, Ellis vowed that he would hit the first five Reds batters because the Pirates had lost their aggressiveness and self-respect ever since their painful loss to the Reds in …

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Opinion Regional News

Noteworthy Summer 2024

by PQ Staff

Stop the StrikeFor the past 18 months, Pittsburgh has endured the divisive antipathy of a newspaper strike between the Post-Gazette and five unions. While it’s understandable that workers would like to see better wages and benefits, it’s also clear that the newspaper industry has been in a steep, often terminal, decline for decades. The only …

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Profiles

Remaking Downtown Pittsburgh, Pt. 4

by PQ Staff

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Money

The Reality of AI

by PQ Staff

Editor’s note: ( We asked leading wealth managers: Is AI real or hype? If it’s real what’s the best way to invest in its success? Their answers follow) James Armstrong, Henry Armstrong AssociatesAI certainly has been hyped to an extreme in recent times. However, it is real, and there will be areas where it will …

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Culture PQ Poem

Morning Yoga

by Shaheen Dil

Morning Yoga The yoga ladies gather at daybreak,drag plastic chairs over cracked earthinto straggling rows. Bright greetings and murmured joysflit lightly through the clustered groups,conspire against the teacher’s drone: “Bring silence to your Practice,breathe deeply—inhale, sustain, and exhale—listen to the sacred sound of Ommm. . .” But the yoga ladies gather to gossip,exchange the tremors …

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Creative Capital

No Country for Old Men

by Greg Curtis

Every advanced society struggles with the problem of how to provide the best and most advanced healthcare to the greatest number of people without bankrupting the economy. It’s a legitimate problem but it’s one that is being handled abysmally by most of the developed world. Previously in this series: Death of the Famous AirmanConsider two …

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Money

How Long Will the Magnificent Seven Last?

by PQ Staff

(Editor’s note: We asked leading wealth managers: Will the magnificent 7 technology stocks continue to lead the market going forward? Their answers follow.) Win Smathers, Shorebridge Wealth Management I wouldn’t bet against the tech juggernauts continuing to lead the broader market despite having extended valuations. These seven names; Meta, Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple and …

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Profiles

(Editor’s note: these answers were submitted in April.) Greg Curtis, Greycourt I can’t pinpoint the exact number but the CPI will be above the Fed’s long-term target of 2%. Even if the US economy slows down – a big if – the wealth effect from stock market appreciation and continued spending by more affluent households …

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Creative Capital

Death of the Famous Airman

by Greg Curtis

“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me.” Psalms 139: 9-10, the words Charles Lindbergh chose to be engraved on his tombstone Early in the morning of May 23, 1927, Charles Lindbergh climbed into the Spirit of St. Louis, a modified …

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Opinion

Pittsburgh Tomorrow: The Power of Belief

by Douglas Heuck

One weeknight in early April, i returned home after a tiring day packed with meetings. I don’t usually drink during the week, but as I sat down with the day’s mail, I eyed a bottle of Malbec on the kitchen counter. I sighed and thought “Nope, too much work tonight.” I grabbed the mail, noticing …

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People Profiles

Remaking Downtown Pittsburgh

by PQ Staff

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Creative Capital

Hotel on the End of the World

by Greg Curtis

“Is. This. Ever. Going. To. End?” — Everyone who ever drove the Hana Road I hadn’t even thought about Hawaii for six months and had no intention of ever thinking about it again. But then my phone rang. Previously in this series: Lucky LindyMy boss said, “I can’t tell you how happy I am that we …

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