2023-05-31 01:52
My first editing job was my second writing job out of college. I was editor of the Hampton Richland Eagle , a weekly broadsheet owned by the Butler Eagle.I’ve been an editor for… Read More
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In Barnestormin, Pittsburgh journalist Jonathan Barnes provides a separate look at local and national news.
2023-04-23 22:33
I have done a fair amount of corporate writing, editing, strategy and the like for various companies. I wrote a corporate history for Michael Baker International. I’ve done crisi… Read More
2022-12-21 17:41
Lately I’ve been wondering, what’s in a miracle? The older I get, and especially in light of the many examples of Heavenly grace I’ve seen, the more I think we’re wit… Read More
2022-06-22 17:34
Lately I write sometimes for Intellectual Takeout, a publication of the Charlemagne Institute, which also publishes the long-running Chronicles Magazine.A recent piece of mine was a hum… Read More
2022-03-08 17:38
I've barely stuck my toes in the trade magazine market, compared to how big it is. But I've been lucky to have written for dozens of trade magazines since I began writing in that niche 20 ye… Read More
2022-02-26 21:30
I started as a stringer in newspapers in 1995, got my first editor/reporter job shortly after, and worked for local newspapers (Gateway Publications, Butler Eagle, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)… Read More
2022-02-22 20:40
Doughboy at the Frick, By Jonathan Barnes.I do hope this statue is still standing. It's a beautiful one, kind of gazing off towards the Carnegie Library and Museum across the street.Copyrigh… Read More
2022-02-22 18:39
By Jonathan BarnesMaybe it’s coincidence that the one guy running for governor in Pennsylvania who is directly confronting the racist propaganda of Critical Race Theory, is named White… Read More
2022-02-12 21:04
Back Window Sunset, by Jonathan Barnes Read More
2022-01-28 22:58
By Jonathan BarnesPITTSBURGH—This morning, a bridge over Frick Park that I’ve driven and walked across thousands of times (since I lived close by it for many years), collapsed in… Read More
2022-01-23 18:57
By Jonathan Barnes One of my favorite conservative political writers, who I won’t name since I respect him too much, recently bragged in a column about getting laid. It was off-putting… Read More
2022-01-13 19:27
By Jonathan Barnes I could be wrong, but I believe it was in the 1980s when hippies were wearing “Be Good People” shirts, that their messaging on shirts and stickers got uglier:… Read More
2021-10-21 18:00
The New American--indeed, the future American, too--is a closed-minded self-assured ego-inflated atheistic political prude.He calls himself liberal and giddily infringes on others' rights. S… Read More
2021-10-05 15:11
Image by Marcus Aurelius Read More
2021-06-17 18:35
When Americans are paying for a backbiting military that actually promotes CRT, and when American embassies are flying antiAmeircan marxist BLM pirate flags, it's time to pull some financial… Read More
2021-06-17 16:43
2021-06-16 18:57
2021-06-16 18:16
Last night in the section of Pittsburgh where I live, military helicopters closely following each other repeatedly flew low over my neighborhood... Apparently such military exercises over th… Read More
2021-06-15 15:56
Back in the 1980s when Reagan was president, his wife Nancy took a role in the so-called “War On Drugs,” advising children to “Say No To Drugs.” It was a simplistic… Read More
2021-05-31 17:44
Americans seem to have a short collective memory. And very little gratitude. Today, when we remember our own who died in battle, let us also recall all the vets who lived to tell the ta… Read More
2021-05-18 19:03
Working as a reporter, editor and copywriter for more than 20 years, Jonathan Barnes has written for Westinghouse Nuclear, Xerox, Procore, ARC Document Solutions, Facebook, Rolls-Royce, Rhum… Read More
2021-05-10 14:39
What shall Americans believe of themselves?Should we believe we are an Oppressor Race (at least those of us with white skin)?Should we declare the United States to be inherently racist… Read More
2021-05-04 19:22
Apparently she was killed by a black male cop: an incompetent who left his service revolver in a bathroom in 2017 after using the can, and still wasn't fired. Only to be allowed to work to t… Read More
2021-04-15 22:25
Who killed Ashli Babbitt? And why does the US government not want us all to know? Could race or gender have been factors in the killing? This is all we get, a lame press release from ye… Read More
2021-03-16 19:11
“You can observe a lot just by watching,” Yogi Berra once said, and it still makes sense, even while just watching graves. In this iconoclastic season, when police stand by… Read More
2021-03-13 18:22
I moved from the Regent Square section of Pittsburgh to another part of town some time back, and don't get over that way much anymore. I did recently, though, and learned of the death a few… Read More
2020-08-02 18:16
The United States of America has gone from being a country espousing that All Men Are Equal, to one in which some decide that the racial majority are guilty and must pay for crimes which the… Read More
2020-07-06 20:50
Any organization that proclaims socially destructive, anti-historical lies, such as the fallacy that the US of A is inherently racist and always has been, or for that matter, any group that… Read More
2020-06-17 19:45
I cannot make you well in your soul, whoever you are. I cannot make you not blame others for your own problems, or not hate, when it's in your power to do something productive. No law or cha… Read More
2020-06-12 14:14
A sunset view from the back porch, showing my neighbor's roof (their house is literally built up against the sandstone cliff on which my place sits) and more, with a view all the way over th… Read More
2020-04-11 05:39
2019-11-13 18:29
Jonathan Barnes (Mister/Master/Buachaill/Laddie) Read More
2019-10-27 06:40
Author's note: I gave the following speech, skipping little portions of it here and there, to an Ennglish class at Kiski on Monday. Enjoy. +J.B.The gal got into my cab on that ea… Read More
2019-10-26 22:07
This past Monday was a special day for me—I was invited to speak at my old high school, Kiski, outside Saltsburg, PA. The last time I was there was more than 11 years ago, when I was v… Read More
2019-10-23 23:30
The other day I was honored by Kiski School, my alma mater, to speak about honor, and also journalism and freelance tech writing to an AP english class.I asked their teacher, Ms. Sherrier, t… Read More
2019-08-27 23:04
So, it happened again the other day--my Free Speech Rights were briefly squelched by a social media giant. Or so I believe--but then I am more than a bit skeptical about the new technoplutoc… Read More
2019-08-26 23:07
“What qualifies you to do this?” Johnny Freebird says slowly, from his perch atop the railing surrounding his back deck—he’s a potential 20-foot fatal fall to his ste… Read More
2019-02-08 11:13
“To gain your own voice, forget about having it heard. Become a saint of your own province and your own consciousness.” ― Allen Ginsberg Read More
2019-01-29 22:43
I write about construction, for the media and corporate clients, and for a very long time for ENRmagazine (16+ years), but also for others. I also write about construction technology… Read More
2019-01-19 19:08
It’s time for the US plutocracy to develop a plan to bring tech manufacturing back home Peepers are made to see, ears are made for listening, and drones were invented for spying. A tr… Read More
2019-01-04 09:09
Several years back I wrote a brand journalism article for Rolls-Royce on the company’s development of “drone,” or unmanned, cargo ships. At the time, as I researched and w… Read More
2018-09-08 19:02
When it comes to the Times, or for that matter, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review or any other so-called mainstream media, one must consider the source when consider… Read More
2018-07-18 17:16
It’s just a word. It’s just a word, I keep telling myself. But I don’t really believe it. Because to at least some of my siblings, I am a slur they think is cute—they… Read More
2018-05-12 08:13
Be joyfulthough you have considered all the facts. Wendell Berry Read More
2018-05-05 06:05
Face flowed into her eyes. Flowed in soft cream foam and plaintive ripples, in such a way that wherever your glance may momentarily have rested, it immediately thereafter wavered in the dire… Read More
2018-04-28 04:01
OK, so I am VERY LATE in turning on to Luke Kelly and The Dubliners. I will blame my father, who was a goodly part "Scotch," as my ancestors well before old Harvey put it in their family rec… Read More
2018-04-27 02:48
Sitting in the empty Old School-refurbished fineness of the Engineers Club in Downtown Pittsburgh, among white tablecloths and a proper waiter who knew my lunch friend, a longtime Pittsburg… Read More
2018-04-12 03:12
“Fern" Face flowed into her eyes. Flowed in soft cream foam and plaintive ripples, in such a way that wherever your glance may momentarily have rested, it immediately ther… Read More
2018-03-11 16:03
I have a new client in Rhumbix, an architecture engineering and construction tech tool. The software firm provides time-keeping, analytics and more for AEC firms that want to save on workflo… Read More
2018-02-28 15:44
I agree with most of this P-G editorial, other than the assertion that we should reward the children of lawbreakers by making them citizens and that we all agree this should be done. Native… Read More
2018-02-08 23:41
Part of the point of this blog is to showcase my work, so I can get more work and keep going. I was lucky a couple years back to have some steady work with ARC Document Solutions, which prov… Read More
2017-09-10 05:14
2017-09-10 05:10
The pictures I've snapped of these artworks really don't do them justice. Not just Amit's work, but everyone'sStill, I had to at least try to give some sense of this artist's work because it… Read More
2017-09-10 05:00
Chuck Beard, who is art director for Pittsburgh Magazine as well as being a photographer, has put together these books on Abandoned Pittsburgh that have been well received. But the above, in… Read More
2017-09-10 04:46
2017-09-10 04:45
Today I browsed around checking out art and chatting with artists at A Fair In The Park, which is a yearly event in Pittsburgh's Shadyside section, in Mellon Park. There were about 100 artis… Read More
2017-09-10 03:45
This guy Chris Seeman started out as a jeweler but wanted to do bigger stuff and got into metalworking. I think his stuff's beautiful, but unfortunately, I went to the Fair with art in mind… Read More
2017-09-09 05:29
Appollonia Morningstar is posin, no doubt about it. What's amazing about these photos is they were taken when she was ending a 12-hour shift (you'd think she'd be too tired to smile)… Read More
2017-09-07 05:34
Contemplating my mortality while working atop a ladder recently, I came up with the beginning of a Barnestorm for ENR magazine (that's Barnestormin on ENR for those who don't know; I blog fo… Read More
2017-09-02 06:37
More people are telecommuting and freelancing, and it makes sense for companies to hire folks who want to be employed in these unconventional ways. Journalists and others interested in worki… Read More
2017-08-14 06:32
For generations across the US, especially in Southern states, there’s been a cry to remove statues and memorials dedicated to Confederate soldiers. These memorials represent only racis… Read More
2017-08-12 00:33
Thanks Littsburgh, for posting my bio on your website! Folks, please check out this site, it's a great resource for readers who care about Pittsburgh writers. JBJonathan Barnes is a Pi… Read More
2017-07-29 19:46
“Do you ever need interns?” Mike said, biting his lower lip nervously.He’d checked out my blog, briefly, mentioning the photos I’d posted from San Francisco in our re… Read More
2017-07-27 04:13
Part of the fun of tie dyeing is the random nature of it. Every piece is a bit of a gamble or experiment, and you find that the dye does different things depending upon a number of factors i… Read More
2017-07-24 05:21
I like this painting by artist David Hahn, who also attended Kiski and Carnegie Mellon and who is a friend. It's called "Chrysanthemum," and has a very heavy textured look that appeals to me… Read More
2017-06-23 18:42
You are So loved.The message was printed on a torn off section of the back cover of a spiral notebook. Opening the glass door of the Little Free Library, the note was the first thing he saw… Read More
2017-06-15 03:55
Modeling the latest in tie dye fashion (created by yours truly), Master Goldilocks Burgermeister shows how to pair sensible rainwear with hippie garb for a bold, yet laid-back… Read More
2017-06-08 17:18
She had the loping gait of a dreamer, but also the decided carriage of a runner or volleyball player. Long-limbed and comfortable with it, she wore no makeup and need not with the white… Read More
2017-05-26 15:58
All photos by Jonathan Barnes Read More
2017-05-25 06:20
Lamb's Ear starting to bloom, backed by peonies and flanked by garlic.Impatiens and sedum, with white alyssum in background.Snapdragon, flanked by alyssum and impatiens Read More
2017-05-23 13:34
Priscilla Presley looking sharp in a tie dye shirt with a little bow on the collar. The pattern of the tie dye is interesting to me, but I am not sure how it was created. Photo found online… Read More
2017-05-20 11:18
“It’s from a movie—The Thorn Birds,” explains the barista about her unusual first name. She’s statuesque and has the confidence of a power forward on the hoop t… Read More
2017-05-12 18:41
I've been tie dyeing a bit lately and it keeps me out of trouble. Part of the rationale behind it was I kind of detest the ugly dyes that are proliferating nowadays--many of them look like p… Read More
2017-05-06 15:39
Actress and dancer Vera-Ellen “The other morning it was beautiful and sunny and so I took a walk around 11:30 through Frick Park and ended up walking though upstreet Regent Square, w… Read More
2017-05-03 18:06
If you think this tie dye is ugly, you should see the rest! Read More
2017-04-16 07:31
I grew up rebelling against my conservative father, then I lived long enough to see he was right about some things. One of the first lessons he ever taught me was, Never Put Up With A Bully… Read More
2017-04-14 19:33
Rank has its perks. I am not talkin about smell though these are all Deadhead jam band festival media credentials.Decades ago when I was startin out as a freelance journalist, in exchange fo… Read More
2017-04-13 18:34
This Aint Gratuitous Boro Bashin: Wilkinsburg is a neighborhood on the eastern edge of the city of Pittsburgh that has been plagued by violence over the years (a place I live close to, frequ… Read More
2017-04-13 06:48
Note: Part of what prompted me to post this is my recognition that I have referenced the following essay on this blog repeatedly, but never got the actual story up here for folks to read (pa… Read More
2017-04-03 21:14
There's a lot of talk these days about Thought Leadership, through which executives for companies and the companies themselves position and brand themselves as experts.How do you become a Th… Read More
2017-04-03 17:07
I wish there was real outrage about the unresolved anger that's leading to so many young people callously shooting people in the US. People see a Columbine and say "Ban those guns!" As if hi… Read More
2017-03-19 22:27
"Face flowed into her eyes. Flowed in soft cream foam and plaintive ripples, in such a way that wherever your glance may have momentarily rested, it immediately thereafter wavered in the dir… Read More
2017-03-17 20:36
A close-up of a sun-catcher bought from Glenn Greene Stained Glass, in Pittsburgh. Despite the name, Glenn is actually Jewish. Go buy is stuff! That is, if you like good artwork. J… Read More
2017-03-17 18:13
You must be a Barnes or Gilboy family member to know who this guy is. Barnes family photo of an Irish-American ancestor who was not in the Irish mob. He had an attitude they say, though, and… Read More
2017-03-06 19:29
“Also, you have to be your own muse. You might end up divorced or alone, jobless, without a home. Or possibly worse, you could end up doing something you hate for a living and writing… Read More
2017-02-26 17:54
Pete Freeman, Erin Snyder and Slim Forsythe at Nied's Hotel on Slim Fryday, 2/24/17. Photo courtesy of Slim Forsythe Read More
2017-02-25 22:41
Folks from the eastern outreaches of the city of Pittsburgh know of Wood Street Bread Company, but not all know they can stop into the place during store hours on Thursdays and Fridays… Read More
2017-02-22 05:28
Several years back while writing in a Squirrel Hill café (Coffee Tree Roasters), I was approached by a young gal with a sketchpad in her hand. She and her guy friend were yo… Read More
2017-02-16 06:05
Do you waste your time reading boring writing if you don't have to? Chances are, most who read this will have to answer, "No." That's because writing is a rather labor-intensive activity, ev… Read More
2017-02-13 07:01
ped·i·gree the background or history of a person or thing, especially as conferring distinction or quality.I have this work contact—I hesitate to call him a “boss… Read More
2017-02-13 04:42
It's just a photo taken a few years back at one of my favorite local places, The Park House in Pittsburgh's North Side, after a Slim Forsythe show. Fun times at The Park House in Pittsb… Read More
2017-02-04 02:02
Now this is a big crappy BUMMER.The owner of a coffee shop I admire for its atmosphere, good fare, nice employees and kind customers, the best outdoor seating area in Pittsburgh, and its sup… Read More
2017-02-02 10:01
I awokethis morningin the gold lightturning this wayand that thinking fora momentit was onedaylike any other. Butthe veil had gonefrom mydarkened heartandI thought it must have been the q… Read More
2017-02-01 02:38
God Bless You, Ya Linux-usin Lurker Readin My Blog: Your scrutiny of blog posts of mine that are upwards of 10 or more years old has prompted me to edit several of them.You pick good blog po… Read More
2017-01-30 10:08
The career politician has one true constituent--himself. #RemovePoliticiansPensions Read More
2017-01-27 22:18
Most East Pittsburgh folks are familiar with Wood Street Bread Company in Wilkinsburg, through its breads available at East End Food Co-op and many other spots around town.Some are aware the… Read More
2017-01-25 02:38
HELP! I know “pussybow” pertains somehow to Trump but am not sure if it’s: 1. A downward dog-style trick now required of all big cats upon meeting the new president;2… Read More
2017-01-24 07:04
"You can get into the country club, when they need a caddy." Americans are a vain race, obsessed with celebrity and status, snobby as hell to neighbors and kin. So, it’s fitting t… Read More
2017-01-23 05:29
A Pittsburgh Catholic Bishop had a dream that this church was going to fall down (though it was structurally sound and desperately wanted by preservationists who for years had been nego… Read More
2017-01-18 20:59
I know, I know I've used a famous book's title as part of the title of this post, but truth is I haven't read Julia Cameron's book yet though I recently bought it, so the book titl… Read More
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