Netroots Photo Album – Pittsburgh 2009
I had all sorts of grand notions in my head about coming back to the hotel after dinner each night and uploading and sizing pictures, and giving you all a daily wrap up of the Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh as it happened. (Glancing over at the calendar…) Looks like that didn’t happen. But, I did get some great pictures while I was there. There are far too many to post them all, but here are some of my favorite “non business type” shots from the four days in the City of Ketchup and Football.
For my first meal in Pittsburgh, I ordered a salad. I got instead, what I thought was a giant salad bowl full of french fries. But no, it was not the largest side order on the planet, buried underneath the sizzling top coat was lettuce and tomato. I was to learn later that “everything in Pittsburgh comes with fries.” I decided to walk off the unexpectedly filling salad, and came across this lovely fountain. The colors of the obelisk changed, and the little fountains of water went up and down and on and off in a rhythmic pattern. I took about a hundred pictures with different shutter speeds and all combinations of color and water height. Guess which one I liked best? The first one I took, of course. Here it is.
Democracy for America held a nice luncheon for all those who had won scholarships to attend the conference. It was great to be with so many excited people who would not have had the opportunity to attend were it not for the kindness of donors from across the country who gave to the scholarship fund. I sat next to “North Decoder”. Yup, he’s from North Dakota and said that the name of the blog sounds like someone from Minnesota trying to say the name of his state. We also got to meet our illustrious host, Executive Director of DFA, Arshad Hasan. When Shannyn and I introduced ourselves, he immediately recognized us and said, “I don’t know how you got all those votes!” That made me smile, because YOU are how we got all those votes!
There were even enough Mudflats votes to spare for another member of the community to attend – Ian, son of Lani, one of our amazing forum administrators. Thanks to him Mudflats sent representatives from the 49th and the 50th states to Pittsburgh.
Before you say anything, yes…Brian the Moose, (the Mudflats mascot) really got around. There will be portraits of many notable politicos and bloggers in Brian’s Hall of Fame when I’m finished downloading. After the luncheon we took a walk through the famous “strip district” where the restaurant was located. It was really really HOT out. The entire time we were on the east coast the temperatures were in the 90s, with high humidity. After being in Alaska for almost 20 years, my internal thermostat was in shock. We passed a lovely fruit and vegetable stand and the heat made the smell of the produce radiate, and the whole area smelled like summer.
While in the airport Shannyn’s shoes decided to go rogue and began eating her feet starting with the little toe, so we made finding a pair of shoes a top priority. Within walking distance, there were only three choices – a pair of size 13 shiny yellow plastic flip flops bedecked with repeating skull and crossbones pattern on the footbed, black crocs in the appropriate size, or these flaming orange faux alligator Roman sandals.
The crocs won.
There’s really only one way to celebrate the cessation of searing foot pain, no matter where you are in the country. Fudge! We stopped in and checked out “Fudgie Wudgie” and left with a treat.
Everywhere we went, we noticed a theme…
We guessed about one in twenty people were wearing some form of Steelers apparel. This town was serious. We talked about how Sarah Palin had stopped off in Pittsburgh and congratulated them on the fact that the Philadelphia Phillies had won, with kind of a “Whatever. It’s all Pennsylvania” attitude. That didn’t cut it in this town. She was booed. By conservatives.
That evening was the keynote address to be delivered by none other than Bill Clinton. The hall was packed, and there was lots of media there to cover the event.
They had a big screen where people could view all the tweets that were happening in the room. I tweeted so I could see it up on the big board. Then we noticed the one that showed up below mine. Apparently Shannyn was not the only one.
There was lots of excitement everywhere. Ron Reagan was broadcasting live from a little table just outside the hall, and Shannyn was his guest. After he finished up for the evening we had a good chat. What a nice guy.
Finally it was time for the man of the hour. I’ve already written a post about it. It was enjoyable to be able to see him speak, and understand how he commands a room, and why people are invariably so impressed with him. Not to sully the moment, but I noticed a similar phenomenon with Sarah Palin. She gives off a certain kind of magnetic energy when you’re in the room with her, that you don’t notice when you’re watching on video.
And, look! It’s Brian the Moose and Bill Clinton! OK, I know it’s a total stretch, but humor me. At least I got them in the same frame.
Brian and Bill. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ with it.
During the day, there were so many awesome panel discussions and video screenings and seminars I hardly knew what to do. I’m writing up the best ones I saw, and many others I didn’t get a chance to see are now available on the Netroots Nation website. Go check them out if you have a mind to.
Between panel discussions, there was a room set up with tables from all sorts of different groups, and a nice loungy area done up in Daily Kos orange.
It was here over by the book tables that Brian had his second brush with a president. Barack and Brian….they’re like THIS. (Pressing crossed fingers and raising eyebrows in a knowing way) Well, a cardboard president is better than nothing….right? (Say right.)
The most exciting part of the trip for me was being able to see Howard Dean. Forget Bill, forget Flat Barack… I’ve been a huge fan of Howard Dean for a long time. The first political donation I ever made was to Howard Dean. The first political group I ever joined was Dean for America, which has now morphed into Democracy for America. I knew that there would be a DFA reception for him and I’d be able to hear him speak to that small group. Little did I imagine that we’d run into him right in the lobby of the hotel! We talked about our mutual respect and admiration for former governor Tony Knowles, the importance of a public option in health care reform, and yes he was more than happy to pose with you-know-who.
I was so pleased to be able to shake his hand and look him in the eye and tell him that I truly appreciate all he has done as chairman of the DNC, and what he is doing now to try to get a public option as part of our health care bill.
The other exciting thing about that day was that Shannyn Moore won the Gilliard Grant of Merit! You can read about it at her blog HERE. After that, I felt like I was traveling with a star. (hold up hands like a picture frame around her face) There were lots of congratulations, and people who had known the man for whom the award was named came up and talked to us. She was definitely surprised!
Howard Dean spoke later that night at the cocktail party, after being introduced by Jane Hamsher from Firedoglake.
After Governor Dean left, we sat outside at a little table on the sidewalk and had a glass of wine. We decided that we liked Pittsburgh. It’s an odd mix of things, but in a good way. The architecture was interesting with old and new buildings side by side. That’s something Alaska doesn’t have. Here old vs. new means things built in the 1970s next to things built in the early 80s. (yawn)
Here’s a reflection of a building on the hood of a red Bentley parked right next to where we sat drinking wine. I took it because I’ve never taken a picture of anything reflected in the hood of a red Bentley while I was drinking wine.
The closing day brought us a rousing speech by Darcy Burner, and some farewell words from Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas.
Speaking of Markos…that guy really knows how to throw a party. The big shindig on the final night was a lot of fun. There was a great band named Spiritual Rez. Shannyn and I both thought they were fantastic. You can purchase their CD on Amazon.
The people at the party were lots of fun too. One of my favorite moments was when a guy read my name tag, got a big smile and gave me a thumbs up about the crash and burn of our homophobic-misogynistic almost Attorney General Wayne Anthony Ross. The best part was when he yelled over the band, “I’m from West Virginia!” Wow. The blogosphere reaches far and wide.
Then there was this lovely woman, who, after donning her husband’s glasses made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Tina Fey eat your heart out!
And speaking of Wasilla… one of my favorite Daily Kos bloggers, KagroX showed up bedecked in this lovely attire.
If someone wanted to find the Alaska bloggers in the room, that would be the way to do it. We got a good chuckle. One of my other favorite Kos bloggers, Scout Finch seemed to pop up everywhere yet somehow escaped my camera, as did Marcy Wheeler (Empty Wheel) and many others. Next time.
There’s still one more story left to tell, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
yay! so glad you got a pic with dean & brian.
like you, dean was the first politician I ever financially supported. I still like him, and part of the reason I was glad when obama won was that I really felt that dean had something to do with his victory. I still refer to election 08 as “dean’s revenge.” I was so pissed that the party threw him under the bus in 04 – letting him go under after the infamous “scream,” not defending him or coming to his aid in any way. I understood a few years later exactly why – out of all of the dem candidates in 04, the one that actually had a chance to beat bush was dean. well they didn’t want dean to beat bush, because the Queen was planning on running in 4 years, and we can’t have the Queen running against a sitting DEM president, now can we? seriously, when you look back on it these people had to know that there was no way kerry would have won. I seriously think they threw that election so the Queen would finally get her chance in 08. (and I hope people aren’t so naive as to think this couldn’t happen – look who was head of the dem party at the time – one of the Queen’s most loyal subjects)
so dean, with the ground he broke in 04 with the internetS, and as the head of the dem party utilizing his 50-state strategy, foiled the anointment that was supposed to be the destiny of the Queen. LOVE IT. love ya, dr. dean. love the pic with brian.
Wow! Thanks for sharing all these pics! Made me feel like I was there too! (sure glad you were able to go – you make Alaska proud!)
Does anyone else remember when Ron Reagan was a guest on Saturday Night Live and spoofed Tom Cruise’s underwear and sunglasses dance from Risky Business? His dad was president at the time and SNL used the White House as the setting. Over twenty years ago and I still laugh when I think about it!
This was an incredible post, AKM. Loved the pics and loved reading about your trip.
strangelet
Heck I grew up in CA and everything east of the mississippi was the east coast
These photos are wonderful. What a great time you must have had. Looks like Brian was the man about town! Love the one with him in the wine glass while Clinton is on stage.
Nice to know you met Ron Reagan. I love him and miss his show on MSNBC. He strikes me as having a gentle soul.
Thanks for sharing your pictures and stories.
Thanks for sharing. You, Brian and Shannyn seems to have a great time.
Ah, and just a tiny detail for AKM. Pittsburgh is not “the East Coast”.
Vegas, July? that I can do. C ya.
Great photos. Thanks for sharing. Ian looks a lot like Chris Hayes from “The Nation.” What a handsome young man. Brian was keeping some awesome company while away. Now he’s off to Greece of all places. Guess I’ll have to plan some fantastic trip to have a chance to hob-nob with our esteemed mascot. Everyone have fun planning for 2010 Netroots in Las Vegas – personally will have to pass; I absolutely cannot take the heat. Now, if they would go to Seattle or San Francisco, I’d be there in a minute. Looking forward to more posts and pix.
46 Marnie Says: August 28th, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Looks like you and Shannyn and Brian blew Philly away.
________
Philly??? Whoa, Marnie, but Philly is on the other side of the state from where Netroots was held.
Wow! Wow! Wow! Thanks AKM for the wonderful report and photos! What a blast!
Thank you for another terrific vicarious visit to Netroots. Love the pix!
Wow, thanks AKM. You really brought your Netroots experience alive for us.
thanks for the photos!
Add my thanks also AKM Shannyn sure looks good.Why no pictures of you with anyone? Wish I could take pictures as well.
42 Shannyn Says:
August 28th, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Ah, the memories…it’s like I was there! Oh, that’s right! AWESOME post! Thanks, Mudpuppies for all the votes! xo!
Don’t thank us. Thanks to you and AKM. You ladies earned every vote and more.
Looks like you and Shannyn and Brian blew Philly away. It was so great for you both (Sorry. You three.) to get a chance to meet and mingle with so many other bloggers and for all of you to celebrate the impact that bloggers have had in this country and in the world. Especially in the last year.
It was a pleasere and an honor to meet the two of you (Sorry Brian. Meet the three of you.) on the 16th. Keep up the good words and may many happy rewards and accolades be in your futures.
Ah, the memories…it’s like I was there! Oh, that’s right! AWESOME post! Thanks, Mudpuppies for all the votes! xo!
I am so glad you liked Pittsburgh, AKM. I also think your photography is top notch, especially the photos from the air.
Thanks, AKM. Great photos and accompanying text.
I’m especially enamored with the “Bentley Building”…..
All i can say is “you lucky girls” Couldn’t happened to a better pair…
Loved all the pic…Thanks AKM
It’s been such a crummy day here, Needed the smiles…Have a good weekend AKM & Mudpups everywhere…:)
Wow, I wish I could have been there.
SouthPaw–should you need a Brian of your own, PM me over at the Forum with an address to which one will be promptly dispatched!
That was a blast to read AKM- 🙂
Fantastic report, AKM. So good of you to share all this with us!
sauerkraut: You know it – pennsyltuckians take their sports teams real serious-like. I grew up on the “youze” side of the state, where penguins and steelers were ‘verboten”. It’s funny having moved away and lived all across this great country I root for all PA teams now and everywhere I’ve called home. The first love is of course, Penn State and our super hero JoePa, then there are the Philly teams, the Pitt teams, Tampa Bay teams, and finally the Caps and the Redskins. But when I go back home my mom gives me the evil eye if I say something nice about any body from Pittsburgh. She’ll tolerate the Redskins, and sort of tolerate those new-comers down in Tampa Bay, but God forbid I mention the penguins or the caps. Them’s fightin words. Her flyers are the tops even when they’re down. And of course those “youze” fans are some crazy serious fans. Have never been in Pitt on a game day, but boy Philly on a game is some crazy stuff.
That was one whirlwind of a conference! No wonder you didn’t have time to diary the whole thing.
I wish I knew how to post this.
Anyone who wants a good laugh.
Go to Kos.The diary is by glower.
“Ways in Which John McCAin is like Teddy Kennedy.”
Read some of the comments they are great.
AKM if these are some of the people you where paling around with
How I envy you .
Great photography AKM! Loved the Bentley pic w/ wine no less and the one of the old & modern buildings juxtaposed. They were ALL terrific!
Howard Dean is a true PATRIOT. Not like someone else we know who has to wear a red sweatshirt with the words plastered over her chest. AS IF!
I guess she never heard that Patriots never quit.
Wow Vegas sounds great. Count me in. Next year’s an election year…otta be hoppin’ good.
BTW is the Bruce the Moose statue for sale? Couldn’t find it over at the store?
So cool to see Dr Dean with Brian. Brian is such a media ho now, his head seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Hope you’ll be able to keep him in Alaska since he now has seen the big city.
Shannyn’s latest post is cross posted to Huffpo. Great stuff, as usual. Can’t wait to give her a thumbs up on her show tomorrow night.
Mudflats, it was an honor meeting you and drinkin with you. See you in Vegas!
Great pictures…looks like a good time was had by all …especially Brian. Love seeing Ron Reagan & Howard Dean with Brian. How funny!!
The Sarah Palin lookalike is my wife, mkkendrick. 🙂
Wasn’t sure if she wanted to be “outed”. 🙂 It was great meeting both of you. AKM
As a kid, my nickname was “Moose” so I have a soft spot for Brian. Thanks for let us vicariously take part in Netroots. You and your peers in the progressive blogoshpere are providing a valuable service to our democracy. Keep up the good work.
By way of this conference, we know that Howard Dean “gets it”. He’s insightful, progressive, forward thinking, intelligent, etc. How is it that his enthusiastic “yeeeeHAH!” during the primaries did so much damage to him and yet Sputtercup , Bachmann, Beck, etc are out there talking nothing but insanity and they’re making millions??? WTF?
Ian! Good to see you there !
Ambassador Brian – you serve us well.
B. Snowberger – please add me over on twitter so I can follow you. PalinTruthWatch. Thanks!
AKM – thank you ***
The yinzers are willing to tolerate the Phillies, but do not ever mention the Iggles (or Michael “dogbeater” Vick) in Pittsburgh. Nor should you mention the Flyers.
btw… interesting that one person always ends up on the non-picture side of that camera of yours!
Thank you so much. This is a wonderful post. And since I just came across something on the blogs that I am trying to digest, this gave me something light and marvelous to focus on.
I’ve been tweeting most of the day and this was such a welcome respite from reading some of the Right wing twits tweets. I try to respond to them in a considerate intelligent manner, but then I remember who I am trying to educate.. Glenn Beck & Rush L. Anyway, thanks for taking me back to that wonderful week that you spent in the lower 48.It was our pleasure to have y’all visiting, Shannyn and of course Brian. 🙂
Trying to pull the wool over our eyes with the out-of-focus photo of “Bill Clinton”, eh? If you ask me, it looks an awful lot like Putin rearing up his head.
Thanks for the entertaining read!
Gramiam – i already have it on my calendar. July 22-25, 2010
http://www.netrootsnation.org/
you can register early and get on their email alert list.
Thanks for sharing your great illustrated diary. I savor the words of many of these people in your pictures and you AKM. Funny I didn’t see anyone in pajamas. Must have really dressed up for this special occasion.
looks like a great time, glad you enjoyed it
This was an enjoyable post. Glad I’m a mudflatter. Congrats to AKM and Shannyn
All you West Coast and Southwest Mudpuppies pay attention. Next year is Netroots Nation is Las Vegas!! I’m there!! How about the rest of you? A meetup for the ages!!
Great “tripalogue.”
Thanks for sharing, love the pictures.
I hope all this celebrity hob-nobbing isn’t going to Brian’s head. I don’t want to be in the checkout line one day and see him on the cover of Star with Linday Lohan and the caption “I made a HUGE Moosestake!”
BTW: love the pic of Brian ‘in his cups’… good thing you were designated note-taker/photog, AKM.
AKM, I just love you. Thanks for all you give to our world (o:
oops – and thank you to “eyes wide open in PA” and your mom too!
apologies to whoever else I am forgetting – any of you, ALL of you, who were put in front of me.
Brian with Howard Dean – the world will never be the same!
PS Ian looks exactly as I imagined him, and Brian with Ron Reagan isn’t so bad either ! very cool.
wow, it has been two weeks now since Netroots began. Some events in life remain unforgettable, forever implanted in our hearts. Meeting AKM, Shannyn, and the Mudpups will remain a highlight of life. Special thanks to “enough with the trainwreck” and “sky” for hanging out with me in Pittsburgh. Special thanks to “hamlets mill,” “future expat,” “prisoner #6,” “Lila” and the Pittsburgh denziens who put together Mudstock and pre-mudstock parties.
Glad that you enjoyed Da Burgh. Hopefully you had a chance to walk through the city itself and admire some of the wonderful churches tucked in between the taller, newer buildings. Pittsburgher’s do take their sports seriously and if you ever get a chance go to a game, whether it be football, base ball or my favorite, hockey, go. You will not be disappointed. PNC park is within walking distance of downtown and is one of the nicest ball parks out there. And of course, there is the wonderful Igloo which for now, hosts the Stanley Cup Champs, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The subway is great (and free) and the incline is also worth the time.
Over all it is a great town.
Oh yeah, and how cool that we all know the “star” Shannyn?!?!?
What fun!! And that Brian certainly knows how to make friends!
Brian with Howard Dean – the world will never be the same!
Lexky took the word right outta my mouth.
All I can say is: Awesome!
Was delighted to see Gov. Howard Dean basking in Brian’s company-he’s one of our great nation’s true heroes (Dean, not Brian…..well… maybe Brian too!)
awesome
lovely akm just lovely…..bubs
Congratulations, AKM. You deserve to rub elbows, and to have your elbows rubbed in turn, because you helped change the world.
Myself, I hope to someday coin a phrase, or possibly lend my name to a syndrome of some sort.
Fantastic!