The Duquesne Incline is well known in the Pittsburgh area. the views at the top of the incline are amazing. You can see the whole city from there. The incline is slow but that gives you a chance to take photos and just enjoy the view. You can see Hienz Field, PNC Park, the Point, and many more buildings. The platform next to the Duquesne gift shop is the an amzing spot to get photos.

7/18/2017

Enjoy Life! It is better to be happy than wise.

      Everyone goes through life. We all face challenges and we all have accomplishments. The most important thing to do in life is to enjoy each and every day. We never know what day will be our last. We never know when we will see our family members for the last time or our best friends. We need to learn to be excited about the future, but not too excited that it becomes a blockade for what is happening in our lives at that very moment. Happiness is a big factor that can dictate our outlook on life. We can live with happiness, hoping for the best and letting life happen; or we can be disappointed with the littlest things that happen in our life making us not enjoy anything. We should take out as much negativity as possible in our life because it only leads to discouragement. When negativity springs into your life, you shouldn’t take it straight to your heart but this is where you should use your wisdom to fight it off with positivity and happiness. Being wise can be a very good characteristic but when you think you’re a know it all, you tend to put yourself above everyone else. When you do that you take away their happiness and keep it all for yourself. When someone is happy they normally allow the people they are with to be happy as well. Happiness is contagious. A smile can say a thousand words that nothing else can. Let the world see your smile as you continue life. It will do you much better than negativity.

Fortune cookies are fun to rip open and and discover the treasure hidden inside.  Few offer good advice but on this occasion, the fortune hidden inside offered true wisdom.

“Let your social instincts off the leash, and talk to all and sundry.” The fortune is basically telling the lucky receiver to let go of the expected social interactions and talk to everyone without restrictions.  

By taking this advice, people can freely express themselves to each other and break out of their inner shell.  They would appear warmer and friendlier to those they interact with.   

This advice is not meant to be taken maliciously, but rather for people to use this to be kinder to each other. It’s meant to break down barriers and the fear of being judged by others to create a kinder, friendlier world.  

It starts one person at a time but if everyone eventually finds and uses this advice,  could skip the social small talk and speak freely in order to problem solve and negotiate faster.  

By talking to all and sundry, the world would be a kinder, friendlier, and more productive place.

With two straight Stanley Cup wins under their belt, the Pittsburgh Penguins sure have made a name for themselves worldwide. Being in the journalism workshop, we were lucky enough to have Tom McMillan, the VP of Communications for the Penguins as a tour guide to go behind the scenes of PPG Paints Arena. From simply seeing all the work that needs to be put into the stadium to get ready for the upcoming season to seeing the locker room it sure was an interesting experience that I will never forget. To actually be at a Penguin game is one thing, but to be immersed in all that actually goes into having a game happen is another. That is exactly what Tom talked to us about. He told us how since PPG Paints just bought out Consol Energy a little over a year ago that they had to replace everything with Consol on it and put up the new PPG Paints detail.  Then we got to see how they work on the ice rink to make sure it doesn’t have any scratches or cracks and it’s ready to go for the next season. “Many people think summer is their time off, but we’re not like the teacher’s. We have to make sure everything is ready to go and with the Penguins winning another Stanley Cup, it gives us even less time to get ready. We are working constantly.” Tom tells us as we walk around the upstairs of PPG Paints, looking at where the announcers work and all radio broadcasting happens. It was really cool to see all the newspaper prints on the walls upstairs. They had one headline from the very first game in 1967 all the way up to the winning of this year’s cup. One of the most exclusive parts of the tour was that we got to go see the Penguins locker room and Suite 66. Even though we weren’t able to go into the locker room it still was a surreal experience to be in the presence of where the boys actually are before a game. Suite 66 has been a new addition to PPG Paints for the fans. “People these days want more of an experience rather than stuff. It’s called Experiential Marketing. That’s what everyone is using these days.” Tom explained to us as we looked at all the pictures hanging on the walls, seen the fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and were in awe at the mini Stanley Cups that were behind the glass. Seeing all of that was really special. From seeing the littlest details like the 50 years sign upstairs showing how long the Penguins have been a team; to seeing all the different concession stands throughout the stadium it definitely would be amazing to work with the Penguins just like Tom does. Tom told me that he doesn’t go to every single game, his team does but he travels a lot with them.  He told us that “honestly you really don’t get to see much of the game live when you are there. You are more focused on the work that you are doing rather than being able to relax and simply just watch the game. You have multiple national television stations that you have to interview and many people you have to talk to during the game, but the excitement of the game is there. That’s the best.” Tom sure was an excellent tour guide. Even though some may not be hockey fans, there was still something for everyone to learn about while we toured. Tom showed us something that many of us didn’t know. The number signs that show you where your seat is located at is actually made very uniquely. The signs are made from steel because Pittsburgh is home of many steel mills, that’s what we’re known for. Also there are scratch marks on the glass behind the steel signs. Those are like that to represent the huge ice skating rink that is very popular during the winter months. Also in the middle of the signs there are three steel rails that are suppose to represent the three rivers in Pittsburgh. “Hundreds upon hundreds of people walk past those signs during the seasons and they never really notice all the detail that goes into the making of it. If I was the architect I would be really mad that I did all that thinking and know one really even stops and looks at their work. Tom laughs as he wraps up his tour. This definitely was one of the greatest tours I have ever gotten to experience. Growing up near Pittsburgh and being a sports fan allowed me to enjoy my time more and I hope everyone learned something that they never thought they would ever learn. There’s always something to learn about in Pittsburgh. Always.

14 aspiring writers and journalists began a four day summer workshop on Monday July 17 with goals to better their skills.

The day began with a morning session taught by Andrew Conte on interviewing skills.  Students learned how to let an interview flow but also remain in control, along with how to ask open ended questions.  

The day continued after lunch with a session taught by Rebecca Lessner on photography and using Snapchat for storytelling.  Students were then asked to use their new photography skills on a quick afternoon field trip up Mt. Washington.  

The working part of the day wrapped up with Robin Cecala explaining to the students how they will be putting all of their work into a multimedia package by the end of the week.

The course also allows students to stay on the campus of Point Park University, giving high school students a taste of college life.  Point Park students chaperone and help the visiting students with any questions they might have.

When asked about how she was enjoying the camp Emily Kelly said, “Sitting in the common room and playing Cards Against Humanity was so fun!  The other programs are a lot of fun too.”

The second day began with a morning session taught by David Grande on basic writing skills and interviewing.  Students were challenged to write a blog post about a fortune they received from a fortune cookie.  

The afternoon consisted of a tour of PPG Paints Arena lead by Tom McMillan.  Students were encouraged to take notes and photos for their stories.

The afternoon concluded with students independently working on their stories.

On Tuesday July 18, students from the Point Park University Interactive Multimedia camp toured the PPG Paints Arena to get a behind the scenes look.

The tour began by meeting Tom McMillan, the chief of communications and a graduate of Point Park University.  He started by bringing the group into the stands and giving some basic history of the building.

The PPG Paints Arena is 7 years old with specific architectural designs to pay homage to Pittsburgh.  For example, the ceiling is not finished to represent Pittsburgh’s industrial past.  

There are even representations in the small details.  The seating signs are brown to represent industry, three lines to represent three rivers, and glass to represent the ice.

The arena is color coded because Pittsburgh is one of the few cities where all three teams are the same color.  This way, the arena looks like a truly Pittsburgh arena.

When the arena was built seven years ago, to had to fit within a city block.  As a result architects were forced to get creative.  They ended up giving fans a reverse view of the city skyline.  

The media box is able to seat 175 people during the playoffs and 125 during the regular season.

Suite 66 is the lounge were companies can take their clients.  It’s located right across from the locker room so clients can see the players as the head out onto the ice.  It also provides 22 seats at the ice level.  It’s dedicated to Mario Lemieux and the display cases house his personal trophies.

The arena hosts roughly 160 events a year.  As a result the arena has to have a great team of about 400 people to be able to transform the place from a hockey arena to a concert arena in one night.