Articles Archive - Page 90 of 156 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Until about six weeks ago I never fully appreciated that, just like all the strange characters in science fiction movies, I am a mutant. It all began in June when a friend mentioned his results from a genetic testing outfit. A few years ago, I’d considered paying one of the services to find out my …

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Innovation

What Drives Red Whittaker?

by Christine O'Toole

In January, Carnegie Mellon University professor Red Whittaker set a goal that had nothing to do with robotics: to best a field of competitors in an indoor rowing race. The ergometer competition, a 2,000-meter battle on stationary machines, marked the first time the 69-year-old Whittaker had rowed since his college days at Princeton. Since then …

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Creative Capital

What Will You Do in the Crisis?

by Greg Curtis

“The world is in the throes of a Bull Market in everything.” –The Economist. No, I am not—not, not, not—predicting a market crash. (On the other hand, if the market collapses just after I post this, I will naturally take credit for calling it.) If I don’t think the markets are going to crash any time …

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Events

Pittsburgh Mercy’s Reindeer Ball Dazzles Children with Storybook Characters

by PQ Staff

Pittsburgh Mercy’s 14th Annual Reindeer Ball, a spectacular children’s gala and evening of holiday fun for families with young children, was held Sunday, December 3, 2017, from 4 to 7 p.m., at The Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh Hotel, 1000 Penn Avenue, Downtown. The evening benefited vital Pittsburgh Mercy programs and services. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”222″ display=”basic_thumbnail” …

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Creative Capital

The Trouble with the Elites

by Greg Curtis

C. P. Snow titled his last book, written shortly before he died, “A Coat of Varnish.” What he meant, as he put it, was that “Civilization is hideously fragile.” Civilization, that is to say, is like a thin coat of varnish spread on top of human savagery. The varnish looks terrific, but scratch it and what …

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PQ Poem

It Only Made Sense

by Joan E. Bauer

After my mother died, my sister found a bundle of yellowed letters: how my dad had planned to skip out, to leave the States with someone he’d met, a Brit. Beautiful, no doubt. But he didn’t leave. Not then, anyway. Someone talked him out of it: my German grandfather, the dour Ernest, who never said …

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Innovation

Exploring Millennial Romance and the Brave New World of Dating Apps

by Emily Brindley

You can find articles, video clips and nearly every type of media content deriding dating apps as the death of romance and the downfall of traditional dating. For some, that translates and escalates to a belief that millennials—the primary users of dating apps—have killed romance. A hefty claim, to be sure, but not entirely unfounded. …

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Nature

What a Rack! The True and Weird Story of Antlers

by Bridget Fertal

Doug Lovstuen saw movement first, then his quarry. The average buck’s antlers are seven points, but this one had the biggest antlers he’d ever seen. Sweat dripped down his neck. He aimed. And the buck bolted. Lovstuen’s shot grazed the buck’s neck, stunting its right antler. Two years later, after its gigantic rack regrew and …

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Architecture & Neighborhoods

An Artful Blend

by Charles Rosenblum

At their best, cities cultivate relationships among buildings across time. Destroy too many historic structures, and you lose memory, craft, and persistent cultural value. Fail to build new buildings well, and you risk stasis and irrelevance. The balance of time periods should be art as well as commerce. Accordingly, a new building with sophisticated and …

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Homes

On a Sophisticated Note

by Marylynn Uricchio

When Jim Spencer decided to move the headquarters of his renewable energy business from New York to his native Pittsburgh, finding the right house became a priority. His partner, attorney Michael Lin, remained in Manhattan so their daughter could finish school there. On weekends the couple commuted between the Duquesne Club, where Spencer was staying, …

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Leadership

Passion and Independence: Two More Critical Requirements for Leaders

by Tom Flannery

Editor’s note, updated April 14, 2021: Last Friday, April 9, 2021, brought the unexpected passing of Tom Flannery, managing partner of the Pittsburgh office of Boyden, the international search firm. Tom was, to my mind, the leading headhunter in Pittsburgh, having placed untold numbers of local CEOs, nonprofit leaders and board members over the past …

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Creative Capital

Europe Fails to Build the New Man

by Greg Curtis

Since human beings settled into communities—that is, since most of us stopped being hunter-gatherers—a primary goal of mankind has been to improve how we are governed. We wanted governments that were more representative, fair, and efficient, governments that could improve our economic circumstances and defend themselves (and us) from outside influence or destruction. We wanted …

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Food & Wine

Venison: Pennsylvania’s Favorite Meat

by Bridget Fertal

The primary red meat of Pennsylvania is probably not at your local grocery store, but it may be romping through your backyard. And it turns out that venison (deer meat) trumps beef not only in popularity, but also, the experts say, in health benefit and nutrition. Whether you find the deer in your yard to …

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Events

The 54th Medallion Ball Honors 134 Young Women

by PQ Staff

The 54th Medallion Ball was held at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown on Friday, November 24, 2017. This year, St. Lucy’s Auxiliary to the Blind (SLA) honored 134 Medallion Candidates for their commitment to volunteer service. The event stands as a tribute to young women’s dedication to putting others before themselves. Over the past three …

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Opinion

Standing Tall

by PQ Staff

This fall’s NFL national anthem controversy was an opera whose bloated cast of characters would be hard to match—from President Donald Trump, to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, to team owners across the country to rich NFL players professing social concern. And as many problems as the world seems to have, for a solid week, the …

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Leadership

Leading the Way

by PQ Staff

We asked five high-profile executives: What do you believe to be the most important ingredients of successful leadership? J. Christopher Donahue, president and CEO, Federated Investors, Inc. Lessons on leadership can come from the unlikeliest sources—even works of art. An example can be found in what may be the most important work in the prized …

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American Spirit

Sarah’s Wisdom Behind the Counter

by Kate Benz, photography by John Altdorfer

“Okay, what’s today’s joke?” The guy at the counter orders his Americano, sits down, lets the anticipation build for a few seconds. His eyes are dancing behind thick black glasses, grinning like he’s about to bubble over into a thousand little joy bubbles, because he’s got a joke. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”220″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Today’s joke. …

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Regional News

Developing Young Minds

by Julia Fraser

On May 1, 1969, a western Pennsylvania native with a relatively unknown children’s program testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Communication. Public broadcasting faced having its $20 million budget cut in half, and policymakers were skeptical about the educational benefit of children watching television—until Fred Rogers spoke of his year-old show and television’s potential to …

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Regional News

Air Quality Regulation: A Primer

by Pittsburgh Today Staff

Air quality in the United States is governed by a complex regulatory structure that sets pollution limits and authorizes federal, state and local agencies to enforce them. The regulations which agencies enforce vary with the source of pollution, what they emit and the air quality in the region where they are located. Federal President Richard …

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Regional News

Mobile Source Pollution

by Mike Wereschagin

Creeping into the Fort Pitt Tunnel, angling for space at the Parkway East’s Grant Street exit, or elbowing into a gap in traffic on the Veterans Bridge, tens of thousands of people drive or ride into and out of Downtown nearly every day. Trailing behind them are the often-invisible exhausts of internal combustion engines. At …

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Creative Capital

The Instability of Europe

by Greg Curtis

Between the first and second world wars, most of the European governments—Britain and, to a lesser extent, France, being exceptions—lived lives that were, to paraphrase Hobbes, weak, unstable, and short. The Weimar Republic in Germany faced existential issues from the beginning. Germany had been humiliated in World War I. It had been burdened with impossibly …

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Regional News

Air Rules

by Jeffery Fraser

Bluer skies over southwestern Pennsylvania owe a debt to local, state and federal regulations that have evolved over decades to spur technological advancements and investment in controlling air pollutants from industrial plants to the cars we drive. It wasn’t until the City of Pittsburgh adopted its Smoke Control Ordinance in 1941 that the dense smoke …

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