Transparent. A binge-worthy original series now streaming from Amazon. It's the story of a father (Arrested Development vet Jeffrey Tambor) coming to terms with his transition to womanhood, an identity he's never shared with his three excruciatingly self-centered adult children.
Pitt Women's Volleyball. There's plenty of talk about Pitt's football team this time of year, but it's not the only game in town. The Panthers' volleyball program has an impressive record, and will be playing at the Fitzgerald Field House until mid-November.
Demolition of Station Square entertainment warehouse
New housing is planned for this site, on which a low-slung Carson Street complex of dance barns is being demolished. Ordinarily, we'd worry that tearing down buildings means diluting the city's character, but in this case ...
And the Band Played On. With infectious disease back in the news, reach for Randy Shilts' epic 1987 masterpiece documenting the onset of the AIDS crisis, including various government and community failures that led to a devastating public-health disaster. Thoroughly reported and with a point of view.
Bean Thru Drive-through Coffeeshop. Skip the fast-food joints during your morning commute and pull up to this tiny log cabin instead. There's a window on each side, and you talk to a real person, not a machine. The coffee is top-notch — Commonplace Coffee Roasters — and each cup comes topped with a chocolate-covered espresso bean. 4221 Ohio River Blvd., Bellevue
AppalAsia. This Pittsburgh-based trio specializes in a trans-Pacific blending of American and Chinese folk music (and groan-inducing puns). The dulcimer and banjo are joined by the erhu, a kind of two-stringed upright fiddle, and the resulting music offers both the pleasure of hearing divergent traditions side-by-side ... and of hearing them unexpectedly harmonize.
