Pittsburgh and Netroots Nation.
If ever a city -- visually, visually, not culturally -- if ever a city visually evoked Gotham, it's Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is so construtionist/art deco beautiful as to make a grown man weep. No, seriously, you'd fall to your knees and weep.
I love Pittsburgh.
Steel. Bridges. Mountains. Trees. Culture. High rises. Desanctified Catholic churches turned night clubs and breweries. Chinese merchants and fish markets. Cheese. Sandwiches topped with french fries and coleslaw...these guys do NOT fuck around. Pittsburgh is knock down, drag out AWESOME and those BASTARDS, God love 'em, beat the Detroit Redwings for the Stanely Cup, so you KNOW they're hard core.
Hard core.
I fucking love Pittsburgh. The wife and I went there for our 10th anniversary. On PURPOSE. So you know I'm not making shit up. This town is incredible. Fresh oysters from the Atlantic. Sushi. Burgers. Wine bars. That crazy uncooked cuisine stuff from the West coast or whatever with the life force and all that.
Yeah. Pittsburgh has that.
And the people are pure Rust Belt with wry-senses-of-humor so...no, they're not being impolite. They're trying to be personable and funny. It's important to know. Just trust me on this one.
If you're going to Netroots Nation next week, I really hope to see you there in Pittsburgh, one of my favorite cities on Earth. And I'm honored, thrilled, excited to have a chance to go there thanks to the Democracy for America Scholarship, not just because I'll get to learn a lot of cool stuff about politoblogosphergonizihng, and not just because I'll get to meet some of the coolest, nicest, most active people on the Intertoobz, but because I'll get to spend almost a week in Pittsburgh. And for those who I won't meet, who can't make it: fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck, I wish we could meet, I hope we meet next time. You've made my life, and the lives of so many others warmer and wiser.
Now...if you don't mind, donate five bux to Netroots for the Troops to show the troops that we do, in fact, love them. And when/if you go to Pittsburgh, make sure to have a yummy Primanti Bros. sandwich for lunch at least one day. Also, the botanical gardens are amazing.