Angles and Curves

Keeping Pittsburgh Weird

I have a couple of short stories set in a universe I sometimes refer to as “Iron, Copper, Glass”. That’s not always easy to fit into a conversation, though, so my shorthand for it is “Weird Pittsburgh”.

It’s a setting that builds upon the idea that the city is more than the intersection of the Three Rivers; it’s also a point where three different worlds intersect with ours. Sometimes benignly; other times, not so much. So if you’re looking for a story about a young lady making an unusual deal with one of the Fae, or a Marine and a goth girl working to kill a kelpie that’s haunting the Monongahela—hey! I’ve got ya, fam.

One of the characters that I’ve mentioned in both stories is Amos, an Amish mathematician at the University of Pittsburgh. He’s a topologist, a fellow who studies the lines and curves. In my world, he’s also the explanation for why there are hundreds of numbered protractors super-glued to various bits of Pittsburgh scenery.

No, I didn’t make that up. It’s A Thing.

As far back as 2011 - over a decade ago! - people started noticing these protractors showing up around the city of Pittsburgh. They’re painted, numbered, and attached to various bits of the city seemingly at random. The protractors are Pittsburghs own home-grown version of Toynbee tiles (though we have a few of those, as well). I’ve taken hundreds of pictures of them myself - you can find those (and lots of other pictures of Pittsburgh!) on my Flickr account.

Some are green, some are yellow, some are white. There’s lighter variants of some colors, though whether that’s intentional or due to weathering can be hard to tell. The current incarnations are the purple variety that you can see in the image above. The colors aren’t mixed, though. The earliest protractors were the flat green, and have the lowest numbers. The current purple ones - well, you can see that we’re up into the 500’s, which (presumably) means that there’s at least 500+ other protectors out there.

Four examples. Yes, I have hundreds of pictures of protractors

Or, rather, that there may be 500+ other protractors out there. Some are unnumbered. The city has attempted to remove some, and succeeded; there are a couple of places where there are only protractor-shaped marks left. Others have had the pieces they are attached to replaced (for example, if they were on a trash can or a street sigh of some sort). A few that ended up on abandoned buildings have been removed by developers as part of revitalization.

Whoever is doing this, they are definitely dedicated. Here’s a couple of pictures I’ve taken over time. The first was taken on April 18th, 2018; the second, on October 24th, 2019. You can see by the number (31) that one of the protractors acquired a companion. Why? I don’t know. Nobody does, except whoever is putting them in place.

Someone found a buddy!

Whatever the meaning, whatever their purpose, I know this: when I’m out on one of my walks, finding a new protractor always lifts my mood. It’s a little bit of excitement, another piece in a puzzle that I might solve someday. And if I don’t solve it? Well, then I can make up stories about it!

Here’s a few articles if you’d like to read more about the Pittsburgh protractors:

• Pittsburgh Protractors (Atlas Obscura)

• Why There Are Hundreds of Protractors All Over Pittsburgh, PA (Culture Trip)

• The Great Pittsburgh Protractor Mystery (Pittsburgh Magazine)

• The Protractors (Secret Pittsburgh)

• The Pittsburgh Protractors Map

The Business of Writing

A mid-week update on my three major commitments: to write, to edit, and to read..

I’ve been reading Bones of Dead Man's Bluff by Robb Grindstaff. If you go to Amazon, you can see that you’ll be able to preorder it. If I were you, I would. Just saying.

I set aside “Rose & Thorn” in favor of a noodling over short piece that kind of lodged in my head. I don’t know what it is about me & ghost stories, but this would make my third or fourth. Maybe I need to lean into that and admit I like ghosts.

Tull layouts are done. Author proofs went out last week. Now we’re on to copyedits. I have to say that if you think the editing in the Tull volumes looks good, that’s all thanks to Shari Robb. Yes, I know, I’m biased; but she really is an amazing line and copy editor, with an eye for detail that puts me to shame.

Saving the best for last: Sarah Arnette is one of the Alpha Mercs, and has decided that she wants to do a music-inspired SF anthology based on… drumroll, please… Bon Jovi!

Image via Grok

80s rock—in space! Once you start listening, you can't shake the idea of how well Bon Jovi's songs lend themselves to science fiction.

For this call, imagine what it might look like if you took the feel of Firefly and blended it with a Bon Jovi ballad.  Tales that feel like western meets science fiction meets meets 80s rock story.

If that tickles your fancy, you can visit Wikipedia to search out inspiration for your space-rock-story. There, you can find both an article on Bon Jovi’s discography, as well as a list of songs recorded by Bon Jovi. Enjoy!

Other Stuff

Da Goils are moving back to college this weekend. Both are attending the same institution, which at least makes it logistically easier. Emotionally, not so much. There really is a week or so of “…where are they?” before we get into a new routine. Which is just in time for them to pop home with a load of laundry, of course.

We’re getting a small taste of fall weather. We’ll be back up in to the 80’s soon, though. That coolness is a reminder that I still have logs to split and stack. Not a whole lot - maybe a couple of long afternoons - but enough that I need to put it on my schedule now. With maybe a little bit of grumbling, but not a whole lot. It’s one of those jobs that I enjoy: doing something tangible, literally piling up resources for the winter.

Go on, git. Think about what you might need to do to prepare for fall, and I’ll see y’all again next week.