Nerds of the Nam Rejoice

I'm not dead! I've just been crazy busy. So I did what any girl who hasn't blogged in like a week would do: I asked my little brother to do it for me and tell you nerds about your new heaven since House of Cards by Gabe's has been gone for ages and no one's gonna want to truck it to Gaming Dungeon in Washington. I've added some comments in italics because I would be a bad big sister if I didn't.


Nerds of the Nam may now rejoice in the fact that there is a new store that caters to us, as well as the sports collectors: Sports Collectors Universe (SCU) at the Uniontown Mall. I have been there God only know how many times (I can attest to this), and every time, I am thoroughly impressed, to say the least.

The store is rapidly growing, and there is always something new every time I go. The selection of various trading cards--Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Sports Trading Cards--is always expanding, and the prices are very good, especially when there is the 50% off of all Magic card singles sale. (Either these happen a lot or this kid just finds other reasons to go. With my boyfriend.) Speaking of prices, Sports Collectors Universe has some of the cheapest prices for packs I have ever seen at three dollars a pack for the newer sets, as well as good prices for fat packs at $36 for a pack of 9 and some extra goodies inside (as compared to $40 elsewhere) and $105 for boxes with 36 packs (not bad since anywhere else it is $120).  (I don't know what these words mean.) The store also has packs from older sets, where they can run as high as $10 dollars a pack, which is still a pretty good price, especially from those older sets.

SCU is also good for trades. I have traded in a lot of cards and got what I was anticipating, if not more. One time, the store was busy during 50% sale. The owner, Bryce, was busy back-and-forth a lot that day and took a little while to go through my cards, but he gave me an extra eight bucks because of it, so I got $48 worth of trade (that's a lot of cards!) and the same amount if I wanted cash. So, yeah I went shopping and got some money afterwards.

I haven’t been there for any tournaments yet, but hopefully, I will have a chance to sometime soon. But from what I have seen so far, I love what I am looking at. (I've been in the store and seen people playing in the back, and it's packed. Get out there, nerds! I call you that out of love.)

Also, SCU is a great place if you are a fan of sports. I am not just talking about sport trading cards but gear and memorabilia. SCU has a wide variety of collectibles and items from accessories for your car to Christmas tree ornaments.   

All I got out of that was they have cool cards on the cheap and the owner is cool. I'm also pretty sure he recognizes both my brother and boyfriend. I do know firsthand how nice his sports stuff is, though--he's my go-to guy when I'm shopping for Pens fans because he has neat stuff at good prices, and he's super nice to talk to.

The Nam on Twitter: Hellmouth

Barring some end-of-days-pigs-flying-hellmouth-opening-in-Fayette-County event, it looks like Bill Peduto will be our next mayor!
— Virginia Montanez (@JanePitt) May 22, 2013

We'll talk about Fayette County election results later, especially since Greg Lincoln won and I'm seriously hoping for more Sky Toilet-related angst--but for now, this is what's going down in Pittsburgh. I'd say that Fayette County is already a hellmouth, so Pittsburgh should actually be okay.

Guys, I seriously still can't get over the fact that Sky Toilet is a thing.

The Nam on Twitter: Witch

Everyone's favorite #FayetteCounty witch had some fun at the expense of real servants of the community recently. She is such a gem. #Trash
— Josh Krysak (@jktypist) May 19, 2013

Look, I have no idea what this means and requests for explanations result in "I'll tell you when I see you," but here ya go. Surely this can only mean good things!

The Nam on Facebook: The Sky Toilet Chronicles

I haven't really been keeping up with local elections. I only know what I see on Facebook these days, and that's pretty much vague endorsements with little to no explanation. But with elections tomorrow, things are getting, well, interesting.

Okay, apparently Sky Toilet is basically that toilet back there that's just chilling and was supposed to be demolished, except it obviously wasn't. Only in Fayette County would we have a political scandal called Sky Toilet.

Greg Lincoln is social media's favorite for mayor because he wants to get shit done, and I'm all for getting shit done. JD is candidate Joshua Dewitt, who is facing felony charges for working in his uncle's chop shop. Of course, he denies having any knowledge of working with stolen cars. DeWitt also apparently renovates/manages--or is supposed to--some of the city's dilapidated buildings. Some county message boards see him as an entrepreneur with a vision, but Sky Toilet seems to shoot that down.

DeWitt, regardless of whether or not he knowingly did anything illegal, is blaming Lincoln for his arrest (and maybe the chop shop too?), calling it a political vendetta. Because, you know, Lincoln is totally in control of this and nothing says, "Vote for me!" like blaming your criminal past on other people.

You know what else screams "Vote for me!"? Not knowing how to use commas and not knowing that "wouldn't of" and "wouldn't have" are not only totally different but one doesn't even make sense. Hint: it's the one he posted on the sign.

But perhaps the biggest problem here is the fact that rather than fix this Sky Toilet thing or even, you know, address the issue like a legitimate mayoral candidate and not a passive-aggressive teenage girl on Facebook, DeWitt spent time and money making and posting this sign that's such a hot mess, Lincoln should have no problem winning this bitch.

But wait! There's more!

As I've said, I haven't been following this until about an hour ago. But some Connellsvillians have been, and so this is the part where I let their commentary on Facebook take over because it's just way better than me. There are so many that rather than screenshot them and spend forever editing out full names and photos and giving you a novel to peruse, I'll just quote the highlights. We'll start with the poster, Fr. Bob (full disclosure: Fr. Bob did ask me to share the photo before I initially saw it, but let's be real: how can I pass this up?)

I really don't know how a CANDIDATE for office can cause another person to be arrested! This looks like a desperate ploy by the "Powers That Be" to make sure that the status quo (which has OBVIOUSLY been SO good for the Jewel of the Yough!) obtains.

Apparently, though, DeWitt's arrest probably didn't have a whole hell of a lot to do with the lingering Sky Toilet has been around for a long time.

I just want to know, he hasn't fixed it in two years and all of a sudden when he gets arrested that was when he was going to fix it.

And from the same user:

I love how he took the time to put up the sign, but not fix the HUGE HOLE in the side of the building.

All fair points.

You'd have at least thought he'd have covered the toilet with the sign...

 Oh, that, too. Then maybe at least he could pretend it was gone.

Disgusting. Utterly disgusting. He had time to put the sign up, but couldn't cover the hole. Its not like he doesn't have time considering he's out on bail.

I wonder why he never did anything with all the other dilapidated properties he "manages". He must have been arrested on all of those days too , lol .

He also said last year it would be down last spring, then at the Mayor Candidates meeting at the Carnegie Library it was suppose to be down in a week. This is a month later. The last demolition permit he got to take it down expired. They are good for 12 months.....

 Great job! But wait, this sounds like a common problem. From that message board:

Mr. Dewitt appeared before the health board once, asking for an extension to renovate the building on Pittsburgh St by the vacant lot at Rumors. said roof, windows, everything would be renovated in 60 days and tenants would be in apartments. That was last year. Building still without roof.

If I were a Connellsville voter, this is all I'd need to sway me to vote for Lincoln. I'm a fan of weighing options and making the most informed decision possible, but seriously, what other reasons do you need after this mess?

The Nam on Facebook: Yard Sales

The internet is a different beast than what it was when I first logged on using dial-up on a Dell with Windows 95. Back then, using your real name was frowned upon at all, now you can get away with it if you're not a terrible person. Back then, overshare could get you murdered, now it just annoys everyone you know. But I don't think the internet's changed enough to make this a smart decision:

Here's to a summer full of cool and bizarre items we paid for after creeping through someone else's stuff! Anyone else up for a tour of the county's flea markets?

Keg Stand Ends in Stabbing

Two brothers were stabbed at a party after a woman wanted to do a keg stand.

The party does sound like the best ever: the brothers got there via ATV, there was a fire pit, it was in Dunbar. This whole thing feels like a mystery story to me. Who stabbed whom? Why? Was it the woman's jealous boyfriend, who got angry after one or both brothers handled her for her keg stand?

Nope. She wanted to do a second one and one of the brothers objected.

A minor fight broke out when an unidentified man told Travis Burnsworth that Huffine “could do whatever the (expletive) she wanted to,” according to the complaint.

This whole thing sounds like chaos. Someone lost a wedding ring, people tried to find it, the woman claimed she was punched in the face in the process. The brothers were stabbed when they confronted the alleged puncher.

Boyer told police the Burnsworth brothers were arguing with his brother, Josiah Boyer, when he intervened.

Elijah Boyer told police he threatened to stab the Burnsworths if they harmed his brother and the two were backing away when “four or five men began to punch him in the head and face.”

Elijah Boyer told police he then pulled out the knife “and started swinging it at the males,” according to the complaint. He fled into a wooded area and left in a van. Most of the other partygoers fled when Cody Fisher fired a pistol into the woods, according to the complaint.

Just...what the hell?

P.S.: Any article that cites Urban Dictionary to define "keg stand" is the best ever. Ever.

Open Your Arms for Another Native Blogger!

First of all, no, I'm not dead. I was just on vacation in South Carolina with my boyfriend's family for his brother's graduation from the Marines, so you vets out there, how about an ooh-rah for him? While on vacation, I also got a stomach virus. So did aforementioned boyfriend, brother, and both of their sisters. In fact, I'm still not 100% healthy. I'll spare you the tales of gross bodily functions, but they've all ended and have been replaced by what I can only describe as a likely confused tummy that says, "What? This isn't saltines and water!" every time I eat.

We've established before that the Nam spawns good writers (that often leave). The latest is Kaylie and her blog, The Road to Domestication. Kaylie and I met in college, when I first started this blog. Hers is not strictly a Nam blog, but like we've also established before, you can't really escape this place and it tends to creep up in the blogs of ex-pats, plus I'm sure that road to domestication includes some handy tips as learned from a childhood here. An added bonus? More reading material when I am on vacation or sick or both at the same time. On that note, what have I missed?

The Nam on Twitter: It's a New Month

So glad I don't have to see the dirty bums of Fayettenam tomorrow at work.
— mary-kate (@ktd71589) April 26, 2013

Now, I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure this is directly related to the chaos you encounter if you go anywhere in the Nam at the beginning of the month, especially if it's a weekend.

Fine Dining: 30 East Main

I used to love the original incarnation of 30 East Main when it opened years ago and had really neat decorating with things like theater posters everywhere, like it was catering to the State Theatre-going crowd. The food was excellent, and it was one of Uniontown's nicest places. And then it closed. And then it reopened. And then it closed again because it wasn't good enough. And now it's reopened again and has been for a while, and I've been wanting to go back for a while, so I finally did it Friday night with my boyfriend.

And I was quite disappointed.

The new atmosphere is lovely and a bit more stripped down but still pretty. The goal is a tavern inspired by Fayette County's history, and it does pretty well in that. Everything looks lovely, and the space is set up wonderfully for the occasional live music they have on weekends.

Drinks are good. I got a pretty strong Long Island iced tea. As an appetizer, my boyfriend ordered egg rolls, which were actually really good, which leads me to believe appetizers and drinks are where 30 East Main's true strengths lie (well, that and the tasty cinnamon bread). Because when we got our entrees, we thought they were good but not impressive and certainly not up to the quality of food 30 East Main offered originally.

I had baked spaghetti, which was good but didn't have a whole lot of flavor. My boyfriend had a pulled pork sandwich, and he felt the same way--good, but not impressive, especially considering the restaurant's reputation and price, which is especially interesting since they consider themselves an "everyman's" restaurant. This is true in terms on menu items only, but not price. We both felt that for the quality of food we got, we would've been better to go somewhere else that does the same food or similar cheaper. And I should mention that I almost never complain about a meal. I only dislike two establishments in the Nam--Denny's and Golden Corral. 30 East Main is definitely better than them both, but if you're after excellent sandwiches, you're better off going to a place like Potter's, and if you're after excellent pasta, you're better off going to Meloni's. If something a little nicer is what you're after, then you're gonna want Caileigh's or Caporella's. You could do better than 30 East Main, and 30 East Main can--and definitely used to--do better for you.

Toddler Wanders Away While Dad Is Passed Out Drunk

It's been a while since we had a story like this.

Neighbors in Uniontown said they are appalled after a 2-year-old girl was found wandering Montview Street because, police said, her father was drunk.

Let's stop right there. "Appalled" is certainly a proper reaction, but seriously, you can't tell me that people don't partially expect these things.

Also, I know it's hard to wrangle toddlers, but surely there are ways to prevent your child from wandering out of your house even if you do pass out drunk. Like, you know, closing and locking your doors. Or--call me crazy!--not passing our drunk when you're supposed to be watching your kid. Or not passing out drunk at all anytime children are involved or around ever.

My dad always says, mostly when discussing my childhood, that babies don't come with manuals, but they definitely should. Sure, "Don't pass out drunk while watching your toddler" should be so obvious that it shouldn't need explicitly stated, but if there's one lesson I've learned in my life, it's that some people are astoundingly stupid and completely miss the obvious.

Any suggestions for The Fayette County Parenting Manual?

The Nam in the News: Alcoholism

A study of Pennsylvania's heaviest-drinking counties has been released, and surprise! We're on it. But don't get too discouraged--we're only #31. The winner is actually Elk County, with 26% drinking excessively.

The real question is, is the county a mess because of heavy drinking or are we all drinking heavily because the county is a mess? The only thing I know for sure is that no matter how drunk you are, the Laurel Mall move-theater seats are still gross and still make you uneasy.