David Conrad: The Blue-Eyed Wonder of Pittsburgh

Hey everybody  

I just wanted to come on here and let you all know what's been going on lately so that, if you've noticed some strange posts, you're not wondering any longer. It appears as if we, as a site, have been the recent target of a rash of spammers. I'm not sure why, or how these people have found us, or what their purpose is. However, I am taking care of each one as they appear and removing them from the site. Please, whatever you do, do not click on any suspicious-looking links from any suspicious-looking (and new) members. I don't know what the links lead to, but I don't want any of you putting yourselves at risk. Unfortunately, there's not much else I can do, because each spammer comes from a different address (and sometimes a different domain), so I can't ask Webs to ban a certain website for fear of someday banning a potential real member. 

Hopefully all of this madness will end soon, but I can't make any guarantees.

Love you all,

Ms. M

VIP Welcome Dinner Friday Dec 4th in Park City, Utah @ Deer Valley Resort.

Just found this bigger picture. The one posted in General Pics is the same but smaller.

Courtesy of WQED Pittsburgh

The Kiski School for boys in Saltsburg, Indiana County is now home to aunique collection of art worth thousands of dollars, donated by alumnusactor David Conrad.

The video report is 7:15 min. I wasn't expecting to shed a tear but it came down

http://www.wqed.org/ondemand/onq.php?id=579

Hey everyone!

The ballots for the People's Choice Awards for 2010 just came out.  

http://www.peopleschoice.com

However, they forgot one very important leading man in their actor in a Drama series category! Yes...they forgot our David. (I know, I know, it's a tragedy) Anyway, I'm starting a grassroots effort to get him noticed. Please go there and write him in under the "other" selection. Make sure to spread the word as well...grassroots means that it's spread mainly by word of mouth. Let's get going, shall we? 

Other Side of the Strip

contributed by: David Conrad

There are clubs in the strip. Big ones. People dance there and make a lot of noise. The streets are clogged come weekend nights. Some years ago I went to the biggest one of all. I was drunk, it was late, and I felt as if this temporal evening with it?s now forgotten music, it?s passing fashions, and it?s raving children in the center of a damaged city was the center of the universe.

I felt for a few moments as I hung from the banister like a ship?s angel over the dance floor that this was a way to touch eternity--\that people had always done this and always would, that they would gather in groups around the beat of a fire and roar at the world, ?I was here, I lived, I am right now, forever real.? And then it passed. The lights came up as they always do.

I wandered out in the cold, dodged some cars, listened to the failing voices, got a donut from the guy who sold them out of the back of his car and had to my brothers when they were in high school, and walked back to my apartment. On the way I stopped at a light, a busy intersection off Liberty to wait for the 2am rush (home) hour to pass. There?s a plaque there. In 1877, employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad went on strike, the government called in troops to stop them stopping trains. 177 people died, or that?s the number they settled on. Right there, they died. I touched the raised letters on the monument. The next morning I mentioned this to the guy who runs a cheese shop on Penn. ?Yeah, bigger than Homestead. Crazy, huh? Where were you last night?? I said the name of the club, closed now 6 years, a block from his store. ?Never been.?

Hole of Thunder, South Side

contributed by: David Conrad

When you drive down Carson towards the Mon Valley, away from the city, when you pass the last and latest mall complex turn left for the Hot Metal bridge. Park just before you hit the bridge, there?s an access road to the Pitt Sports complex on the right that you?re not supposed to use but can.

Get out, walk about twenty yards away from the river, just on the other side of the lot, and you?ll be standing in a tattered field of grass that seems to be hiding the foundations of some cauldron of industry rusted down to its roots. There?s a hole there. A two story drop in the earth, girded up by old railroad ties and iron. Stand there some night for while and you?ll hear them. The sound comes out of the earth. The ground shakes. And then the train goes by underneath you. Feet away. An entire train past this little window into the past and when it?s gone you realize you?re standing inside a steelmill. What was. The trains still come and go, delivering regardless, running in an underground trestle the length of the Southside, which is why sometimes at night, when you?re out late enjoying the bustle and flow of Pittsburgh?s hippest neighborhood, you can hear one right on top of you and still have no idea where it is or for that matter, where you are.

Slipping into Oakland

contributed by: David Conrad

We used to just walk into the buildings at Pitt, CMU, Carlow, and Point Park. Into the Carnegie, Frick Arts, Soldiers and Sailors, the PAA. We?d use the gym, read in their libraries, lounge in the student centers, wander through their offices, and labs, and galleries. This was high school. Now this might seem like a problem. What if we were thieves, what if we were vandals, what if we were out to hurt someone? But we weren?t. Most people aren?t. So who do you design your world for? The vandals or the masses? Pittsburgh, I feel, chose the latter. Might not have been a conscious decision, probably no committee sat down and said, ?Keep the doors open!? but they were and to some extent still are. Granted you need an ID and a key to get in to a dorm, but everything else is accessible. Be polite, act like you belong, know the dress codes, study the floorplan, and you?re in. If the American University town is socialism?s last stand and if the idea of the University as a public service remains, Oakland?s the standard bearer. Oakland is the place to go if you don?t have a cent. There isn?t a gallery, museum, play, library, rehearsal or gym that with a little ingenuity you can?t walk into for nothing down. Probably the reason why, when the Pirates won the National League East in ?91, and the Pitt kids flew out of their dorms and closed down the streets with pure joy. I felt like, at 25, I was one of them.

Real places and people of the North Side

contributed by: David Conrad

The North Side has nothing to do with football and baseball. Yes, there are two stadiums within walking distance, and the Rooneys have lived there since they left Colter Hollow, but the North Side you wanna see is on the other side of the tracks. I left Allegheny Observatory late in the afternoon. The clouds and the sky had been that awesome contrast of cotton and cobalt. I came down into the City across Spring Hill and then Troy Hill, switching back through neighborhoods people in Seattle would kill for and most Pittsburghers have never seen. A mile from PPG place and I could have been in Budapest, could have been in Butler County, could have been home. I could have gotten out of my car, sat down on a stoop, starting paying rent, and I?d have been as content as I was growing up in the East End. And that?s the thing, wherever you go in Pittsburgh, you know it?s somebody?s home. You feel it in your bones. Cities have markets, cities have teams, cites have bridges they say are theirs and that define them, as if a city were a backdrop to the performance of our lives, and cities have harbors and beaches and roads. But Pittsburgh has it?s homes, above all, and it?s people. It?s a place built by, for, and of families. They are its greatest industry, not Steel, not Football, not Glass, and when you move through the place you can feel them everywhere.

Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh-style

contributed by: David Conrad

Mount Washington. Pittsburgh?s most famous spot that no-one really knows anything about. Our Niagara Falls. Go and look, but know who lives there? Thought so. The best thing about Mt Washington is Mt Oliver behind it. A place where working-class people can live and send their kids to a decent school district. It?s one of the best kept scholastic secrets in the city. Day I graduated from high school, we drove up McArdle Roadway at night, turned right, away from the ?viewing platforms,? and parked up where the hilltop crests, past the Trimont building. Jumped a fence, walked down the stairs, ducked another security measure, and climbed out onto the flashing Pittsburgh/Bayer sign that hangs off the cliff. Sat there for an hour staring out at a city made mad by the pulsing generators behind us. Could barely hear each other speak over their roar. Kept thinking it is like Niagara, and this sound?s the pulse of an entire city right at the vein. Checked later to see if I got a tan. No luck.

Happy Hour Haze

contributed by: David Conrad

Lawrenceville doesn?t get a lot of sun. It?s on the north slope of the Pittsburgh peninsula, and until 3 or 4 PM, it doesn?t get a full dose from our local star. But then, what light does fall is stunning. It?s magic hour, as the movie people call it, that quarter of the day when everything?s lit at an angle, and even accountants are moved to poetry. The sun sets pretty much over the Point and Lawrencevile?s main streets run like fireways right at it. For a couple hours at least, the streets of Havenmeyer?s old fiefdom are paved with gold. Maybe that?s why the bars there keep their doors open. 5 PM?you?re done with work, you go to Sufaks, sit in a cave lit from without by this molten glow---why not stand by the door for a couple minutes, pretend you?re looking for someone, catching a smoke ?cause someone?s kid?s at the bar, make a phone call. Watch. It?s Pittsburgh?s best happy hour.

Why Bloomfield is so right

contributed by: David Conrad

Bloomfield is the proof that there?s a Third Way--not bourgeoise development, not fallen industry town--it?s the sustainable neighborhood dream. Find a large stock of affordable, in fact, cheap housing a flat mile from any city core and compare the costs. Living in Bloomfield versus living in ?..fill in the blank.

I walk through Bloomfield and it?s like walking in a dream--these stores, these restaurants, this bakery, that tiny magazine shop there is NO WAY they haven?t been bought out. But it?s for real. It?s so for real a lot of the Creative Class isn?t attracted to it: it?s not the gentrified simulcrum of a town, with a remade street façade, quaint yet rebuilt homes, family owned but insanely overpriced eateries?no, this is the real thing. These are working and middle-class people who, through a combination of efforts, have held onto development in their square mile of city. If you want to actually live in Pittsburgh, actually be a Pittsburgher, move to Bloomfield.

Harrisburg's Patriot-News interviewed Michelle at her house on Sunday, September 27th about the fansite she started for David Conrad & the interview she had with him on the final night of Burn This back in June.

YAY!

Aaron Copland's A Lincoln Portrait, performed by Duquesne University's Wind Symphony and narrated by David Conrad in conjunction with a major traveling exhibit examining the iconic 16th President of the United States will be presented at the ACFL&MH during the month of April. Location: Music Hall

Source: http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/friend.cfm?curOrg=CC&curApp=events&tEvt=1378864

     Well...I just got back from "Burn This," and it was absolutely amazing. The play was astounding...it was touching, intriguing and hysterical. For those of you not familiar with the play, there are 4 cast members. Yes, you heard me...4. Anna, who is a dancer living in a loft with her friends, was played by Kate Campbell. Larry is Anna's roommate, and was played by Patrick Jordan. Peter Kope portrayed Burton, who was Anna's boyfriend at the beginning of the show...and our lovely David was Pale...the brother of Anna's former roommate who had died, and eventually becoming the love interest of Anna.

     The plot went something like this (a simplified version): Anna and Larry's other roommate, Robbie, was out on a boat with his "friend" (implied to be more), Dominic. (Robbie was gay.) Their boat was run into by a yacht, and Robbie drowned. This is where the play begins, in their loft, with Anna mourning. Larry and Burton are also introduced here. The three of them really held their own during this segment; there were funny moments, yet touching ones as well, in the way that we were watching these people struggle with their grief. The second main scene starts off with Pale's arrival. He's there to pick up his brother's things...a month later. He's also very obviously high off of either cocaine, alcohol, or both. Anna and he get into it, fighting and arguing, with Pale running off at the mouth every two seconds. Eventually, however, Anna and Pale turn to each other out of grief...if you catch my drift. The second act starts on New Year's Eve, with Anna and Burton celebrating. Larry comes home from a trip and provides some nice humor, while startling (and seemingly frustrating) the two "lovebirds." Mind you, Burton doesn't know about Anna's fling with Pale...but Larry is delighted at making disguised jokes about it the entire time, to Anna's dismay. Suddenly, Pale pops in, as high and energetic as ever. He makes a scene, and tries to come on to Anna again. Burton flips out, and the two of them get into a fight. Finally, Pale makes a comment, and Burton discovers the truth about what has happened, and he eventually leaves...but when she tries to get Pale to go, she finds that he's already dead asleep on their couch/futon. Halfway through the night, he's awake and playing on the piano, and she comes out and watches him. He finds her watching, and suddenly bounds up to the second floor (by means of climbing on the kitchen table and jumping up onto the floor in the loft), and they find themselves together again. The next morning, she kicks him out. It's not quite clear why, but she insists that she doesn't want this, and doesn't want him to think that they started anything. He is obviously and clearly hurt and confused by this entire turn of events, but eventually leaves. Anna buries herself in her work, and we see no more of Pale for a while. Burton stops by with a script he had written (he's a writer), and also prods to see if Anna had been seeing Pale; Larry says without saying that she hadn't, but he comments on how Anna's dance that she is choreographing seems to be about herself and Pale, and Burton begins to realize that Anna does care for him, regardless of the fact that she kicked him out. Later on, Anna comes home and discovers Pale in the loft: Larry had given him his key in an obvious set-up. It turns out that Larry had given Pale a ticket to see Anna's dance, and he has seen it...and also had connected the dots. He compliments her on the choreographing, but also states that the girl wasn't as pretty as her. It ends with the two of them embracing and slow-dancing, both saying how they didn't want "this"; this being the relationship; but with both of them making it quite clear with their actions that they indeed did.

      Like I said, it was a fantastic play...and my attempt at summarizing it falls short, I'm sure. I really recommend you all to at least go read the play, if not try and see it some time in your life. The set itself at the New Hazlett was very intimate: the first row of seats were literally 3 inches away from the beginning of the set. I sat second-row center, and you were looking at the actors and actresses dead-on...it was absolutely nothing like watching them on TV, or watching a normal Broadway play, where they are either above or below you. David did a fantastic job bringing Pale to life...he made a very unbelievable character believable. It was such a thrill to watch him in action only a few feet from where I was. On top of his usual acting, he danced a little, sang a little, hummed a little, and played a little piano. Oh, and he can cry and mourn nicely too. I can't say enough about how wonderful the entire production was: Kate, Patrick, Peter, and David were all superb...but of course I thought that David was the best!

      Now, on to the good part! After the show, I hung around in the lobby to wait to talk to David. There were SO many people there! He seemed to know a lot of them, so I just hung back and waited, not wanting to intrude. I was horribly nervous that I was going to make a fool out of myself as well...I knew he wasn't going to be expecting me, a girl of 17, to be the girl who wanted to interview him! It took about a half-hour until I saw him go over to talk to Sara, the director of the theater...and I knew that this was going to be my one and only chance. I went over, but still hung back a bit; the two of them seemed deep in conversation, and I didn't want to interrupt! Luckily, Sara ended up looking over at me, so I took that to start the conversation. Once I introduced myself, she remembered our talks via email, and David finally overheard us and tuned in: "Oh, yes...is it interview time now?" Haha. Before we started, I gave him our book of comments and letters. He was incredibly sweet and gracious about it...I told him that it was my first time doing something like this, and he actually was the one who mentioned tape recording it...he even held the recorder himself! I figured that he's been recorded before, so he would know, better than me, about how to conduct this. I asked a few questions...I couldn't get to all of them...his eyes about bugged out when he saw the two-page list! So I went through and picked a few of them that I thought could prove to be most interesting...I hope all of you are alright with that! Once we were done, we talked a bit longer...I was still so nervous that I was keeping him from something more important, but he seemed genuinely interested, so that helped a lot. At the end, we took a picture or two and I had him sign the leaflet from my Tamas dvd...I just about cried when I read it in the car. It was so sweet! He talked about being not only happy, but honored to have spoken with me. It was probably the sweetest thing that anybody outside of my close-knit group of friends and family has said to me, and I'll treasure it forever. When we were getting ready to leave, I extended my hand for a handshake...I was still trying to be oh-so-professional! (I even called him Mr. Conrad when I first addressed him...I didn't want him to think that I was the ordinary, run-of-the-mill "fangirl!";) Anyway, it was great...instead of shaking my hand like he did when I first arrived, he pulled me in for a hug. And may I say that it was a fantastic hug! The topping on it all was his comment to me while we hugged...he said that I was brave (I'm assuming for having the guts to do what I did). It was absolutely fantastic, and one of the most memorable experiences of my life. From everything I've seen, he's an amazing and down-to-earth guy. I'll never ever forget the night, and I just want to thank all of you for being a part of it as well. I'm sure that he's going to love the book, and I know that he was quite impressed at how we have members from all over the globe. I sincerely just hope that I was able to do the evening justice...my goal was to bring David to you, since most of you could not go to David.

Much love to you all,

Ms. M

P.S. I will try and have the interview uploaded in audio by Wednesday or Thursday.

http://davidconrad.webs.com/apps/blog/entries/show/1282903-report-on-burn-this-and-david-interview?&fw_comments_page=2   - link to second page in case it's not working for you

So...I was sitting here earlier today, and I was thinking about what we could do, as a site, for David. Somehow, I got the idea of making a little book...a book full of letters or comments from his beloved fans. So far, I've went through and compiled about 20-30 from here, our CBS board friends, and a few Twitter friends. However, I have still have a lot of room left! (The book I have has about 120 pages) I think it could be a nice thing to give him, so if anyone has comments or letters chock-full of comments, feel free to either leave them here as comments or PM me with them.

It's recently come to my attention that David will be narrating a film about the historic Allegheny Observatory (in Pennsylvania). You can find out more about both the observatory and the film at http://aothemovie.com/ . However, I've had the opportunity to talk to the producer, and it appears that they are low on funds in order to finish the project. I'm enclosing the address of the sponsor of the film in case any of you are able to help financially. [This is neither expected nor required; merely my way of helping get the word out into the public...even if you are not, if you know anyone who is financially able, and/or loves a blend of history and astronomy, please pass the word on.]

Contributions go to:

Jasdeep Khaira

Director of Artist Services & Membership

Pittsburgh Filmmakers

477 Melwood Ave

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

~Ms. M