Correction: The Cultural Council of Luzerne County is a private nonprofit organization, not an organ of Luzerne County government as earlier reported in this space. According to the council's form 990s at guidestar.org, the council gets precious little money from the county. Mike Burnside, editor of Wilkes University's book-publishing operation and an occasional Times Leader op-ed columnist, is the county's new Cultural Council executive director. The press release issued by Wilkes does not say how much Burnside will be paid to "run museum trips and guided kayak tours for artists to facilitate en plein air creations."• Read a recent Burnside TL column
Lurerne County UNDER Petrilla is cost cutting, saving money, doing great things for you, right?
ReplyDeleteBULLSHIT!
Corrupt government at it's finest.
Another awful TL columnist
ReplyDeleteYou gotta be f***kin kiddin me!
ReplyDeleteThat's right. Who needs culture in Luzerne County? They've already got roller derby, karaoke, 40 lb Head, and "ego" graffiti free for passers by. This culture stuff is a total waste of the public's money. LC and Burnsides are wasting their time.
ReplyDeletewhat is wrong with you people? I swear the Pope could end up as a subject of this blog and be attacked...
ReplyDeleteThis ain't Burnside, but one who's known his work, personality, eccentricities and downs&ups for a long time. Your everyday Joe he's not, but bright, well-read and spoken and a genuine Citizen of the Valley he is! 8:48PM is right. There's a lot of jealous blathering here.
ReplyDeleteJust want to clear something up...
ReplyDeleteThis is not a county job.
Thanks for all your kind words and encouragement. :-)
Mike
"Occasional TL op-ed columnist Mike Burnside nabs county job"
ReplyDeleteWhy does it say it is a county job?
The position is not a "county job". The Cultural Council of Luzerne County was established in 1989 as an independent 501c3. The organization has operated through boardmember support, fundraising, generous grants over many years from the MacDonald Foundation, the Luzerne and Maslow Foundations, and donations by Penn Power and Light and Intermetro Industries to name a few. Over 18 years of operation, the county of Luzerne made only one single contribution to the Cultural Council, making the funding of an executive director, the responsibility of the board, not taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool.
ReplyDeletethe author of this blog should check facts before writing ridiculous headlines, without properly researching claims before typing. that's just what gossip can be though, completely unfounded.
ReplyDeleteGo Mike! Excellent for you and the Cultural Council. You da man! (But your columns are missed ...)
ReplyDeleteKelly's an asshat.
ReplyDeleteJust what is an asshat???
ReplyDeleteDidn't Bill Kelly hire Mike at WVIA? And yes what is an asshat?
ReplyDeleteYou should see this asshat sitting on his dock at Harveys Lake in the summer. With his skinny legs and all he looks like Skeletor.
ReplyDeletebut he HAS a dock on the lake ...
ReplyDeletefuck you too.
ReplyDeleteJudging from some of the erudite commentary demonstrated here, Burnside may very well have his work cut out for him. First of all the emotional, knee-jerk, addle-pates might best serve their own interests by getting their facts in order. County job? Sorry guttersnipes, no cheese for you.
ReplyDeleteOf course the level of the repartee demonstrated here would no doubt rival the wit and cleverness of Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, and George S. Kaufman, so I can see why some of you would recoil at the thought of enhancing the cultural scene and possibly stealing your learned and refined spotlight.
But hey, this is a blog that encourages public input, and outcry,we can't expect enlightenment.
So lighten up, offended blog habitues. Take advantage of the Cultural Councils direction toward improvements. Fill some holes in your life.
The ASSHAT is one of NEPA's greatest cultural contributions.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't know what an ASSHAT is, you probably are one.
nizo= BLOWHARD
ReplyDeleteWhen "9:59 PM" sucks off Skeletor on the dock at Harveys lake, it's very cultural.
ReplyDeleteWe guttersnipes eat our blocks of welfare cheese whilst watching them.
I can see why some of you would recoil at the thought of "9:59 PM" sucking off Skeletor, but it's quite a refined exhibition.
We offended blog habitues then love to attend the George S. Kaufman roller derby with renewed enlightenment.
Cheers you rotters!
i fill my hole with addlepates & guttersnipes it's very emotional.
ReplyDeleteNizo=Chris Kelly=Asshat
ReplyDeleteNEPA has newspapers?
ReplyDeleteYep, we have tree of dem in Luzerne County!
ReplyDeleteHe's a pompous prick whose family fucking up the Boston Store.
ReplyDeletei fill my hole wit nepa newspapers
ReplyDeleteits very cultural
This is God speaking. Since I doubt I'll be seeing many of you in The Hereafter, I have a few things to say right now: "Way to go, Mike, and for almost everyone else---break's over, back on your heads!"
ReplyDeleteGod again. Tut-tut... flunked Anger Management, did you 1:56? And Grammar, too? Remain on break while I work on something special for you: flood;fire;flying insects;first-born; permanent boils on your ass and face,which will then be totally and painfully indistinguishable;a long career in journalism. Take your pick, though I'm sure we'd all prefer it not be the latter. \
ReplyDeleteBut wait! There's more. For excessive use of the upper case I'll send you two plagues,as long as one of them isn't journalism. Think it over and don't bother hiding under your bed.
Burnside's a Sordoni swallower. Connect the dots on his so-called job opportunities. He who donates the money gets Burnside the jobs.
ReplyDeleteBesides, his "God" comments alone should allow you to see what a horrid columnist he is. His photgraphy sucks too. Just a wealthy wannabe with no real talent but all the right connections. Alas, another pathetic day in the life of Luzerne County.
And for you, 8:49, an honorary ECDD degree...Envy, Cynicism, Disinformation, and Despair...from Yaweh University. Maybe a few boils, too. Try a little positive energy---works wonders,bound to improve your day. Sorry you're having a bad one,doing my best up here. Love you anyway! -Big G
ReplyDeleteHey God, you think maybe if I fasted for forty days and gave up meat, I could get into Marckini's pants? Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteGod to 1:11- I said I love you, no guarantees elsewhere. Sorry, gotta go now, they're rioting in Africa and there may be a cosmic rupture in Deep Space Quadrant Nine... pretty close to you. Think I'd better make an alternate NEPA just in case. -Over and Out (for now)
ReplyDeleteNo, 6:42, I wasn't. Contrary to what you may have heard in Sunday School, I can't be everywhere simultaneously. At least I couldn't very well until String Theory came along.
ReplyDeleteIn 1895, I got hung up working with a crazy continental inventor, Gugi Marconi, and I've been dissed for it ever since. Should have just quit while I was behind, with Old Johnny Gutenberg, or maybe jumped ahead to television. Anyway, this omnipotence stuff ain't that easy...critics and journalists every damn where!
You guys breed like hamsters and keep running off cliffs like lemmings. Why don't you cease and desist a little ...start counting your blessings for a change. Do me that one favor, willya? Maybe I'll spare you a boil or two in return. That's all for now. Tune in later!
Your Affectionate Though Ever So Slightly Disappointed Supreme Being
PS- Oscar's here with me now and says it's okay, helped him move some kick-ass poetry. If he can forgive me, why can't you?
God, you've restored my faith! The art of writing isn't lost.
ReplyDeleteFo shizzle in the hizzle
ReplyDeletePas de quois, mon ami 7:08. (Took an hour off, painting seascapes on the Cote D'Azure). So, will I see you later on at my place?
ReplyDeleteIf you can't make it, here's something from Isaiah: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings."
Agnostics,Shakespeare: "The nature of bad news infects the teller."
Cynics, Tolstoy: "All newspaper and journalistic activity is an intellectual brothel from which there is no retreat."
JWYTK: Wrong! As much as I dig Leo's fiction, he and I disagree on occasion. I'm okay with that.
And I'm okay with all of you, just kidding about the boils. Be a little kinder to each other, that's all I'm asking. Later,"G"
Sorry, G, boat is in storage.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing worse than a lousy columnist with a God complex. Hang up your keyboard, Mikey, and get back to sipping your Earl Grey, pinkie in air, while you listen to NPR. You're a nobody. Deal with it. Let's see you try to make your way in a market where only talent -- and not deep pockets -- counts. How much did your trust fund donate to the arts council before you got the job?
ReplyDeleteNot knowing the guy, i read his column posted on this blog. WTF! He writes like Mr. Rogers. Asshat meets doofus is more like it. Pathetic!
ReplyDeleteGod to the Diehards: So this is kind? You hobgoblins need some social work, or a year in the pen. What's so hard about kind? Damn it! Now I'm thinking about boils again---on Sunday! Hey, can you swim?
ReplyDeleteHe's more like Mr. McFeeley.
ReplyDeleteShiver.
Lock up your adolescent boys!
TSUNAMI ON THE SUSQUEHANNA: And in other news, a huge rogue wave has been spotted in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, on course for the river's estuary. Water depth in Wilkes-Barre is expected to reach the eagles on the Market Street Bridge by midnight tonight.
ReplyDeleteSorry guys, show's over. "G"
Pathetic!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing worse than a lousy columnist with a God complex. Hang up your keyboard, Mikey, and get back to sipping your Earl Grey, pinkie in air, while you listen to NPR. You're a nobody. Deal with it. Let's see you try to make your way in a market where only talent -- and not deep pockets -- counts. How much did your trust fund donate to the arts council before you got the job?
11:54 AM, February 17, 2008
Anonymous said...
Not knowing the guy, i read his column posted on this blog. WTF! He writes like Mr. Rogers. Asshat meets doofus is more like it. Pathetic!
12:01 PM, February 17, 2008
Anonymous said...
He's more like Mr. McFeeley.
Shiver.
Lock up your adolescent boys!
1:47 PM, February 17, 2008
I could not think of anything better than this. I totally agree and wish I wrote these posts.
This guy is getting really creepy.
ReplyDeleteWTF!
I think he's gaining ground on Padden ( the most hated weirdo in NEPA).
ReplyDeleteTo 11:54 AM "pinkie in air, while you listen to NPR."
ReplyDeleteJust curious ... did you or anyone else read about NPR in today's New York Times?
I doubt it.
Que pena! Sinto muito. Better drop your cocks and grab your water wings,boys. Pack light...that shouldn't be too difficult.
ReplyDeleteBoa noite, G.
"...an intellectual brothel from which there is no retreat"...
ReplyDeleteTolstoy was right.
Ummmm... This is Mike, or Mikey, if you prefer. I have no wish to join in the fray, except to say that I have been out of town for a few days - fresher air than down here in the gutter - and I am decidely not "God," nor do I know who he/she is, nor do I care to know. To the extent that I DO join in the fray, here in the gutter, I have and will always use my name, even at the risk that someone may represent themselves as me. As for now, I have no time for this claptrap.
ReplyDeleteMike
dear m.b. - a suggestion after reading blogs i hear the Naked Cowboy is available for public appearances. Perhaps he could offer w-b some guidance, since,earning well inexcess of $300an hour, he obviously has a handle on cultural appeal. Also HE has great legs and a cute butt too (unlike a-holes who can't even make use of their brains much less other body parts) if it works in times square i'm sure it would go over in Wilkes-Barre - Right, Bloggers? Hoist your Buds if you agree, haina?love, little mary sunshine
ReplyDeleteReaders should note a correction to the original post: The Cultural Council of Luzerne County a private nonprofit organization, not an organ of Luzerne County government as earlier reported in this space. According to the council's form 990s at guidestar.org, the council gets precious little money from the county.
ReplyDeleteDear Mike,
ReplyDeleteThank you for clarifying for us that you are NOT that "god' asshole.
He is not cool and should go away.
Thank you,
5:35 PM, February 17, 2008
"...from which there is no retreat."
ReplyDelete"...no retreat"
ReplyDeletemy dick retreats when i see some of the faces on Northeast PA media news and gossip
ReplyDeletepinkie in air, while you listen to NPR."
ReplyDeleteHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
truly wtf? huh? ////?
ReplyDelete"...no"
ReplyDeleteMmmm..en plein air creations
ReplyDelete"..."
ReplyDeleteBurnside is not God.
ReplyDeleteHe's His only son.
Asshat.
I'd bet that Burnside is laughing at this representation of bottom-feeder ranting as much as I am.
ReplyDeleteNothing more amusing than angry, frustrated, infantile, and insecure vulgarians. No MENSA members in this crowd I'd guess. I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that these halfwits haven't spent much of their time in the library.
The upside of Burnside's position is that he has little chance of ever having the opportunity to communicate with these dunces.
There it is, knee-jerk anger-mongers. Jump on it! LOL!
Well said, 10:07, but I'm a little worried about you, too. Belay the bitterness and get along with the savages as well as you can. Saving a spot for you! "G"
ReplyDeletePS- One last test for everyone, multiple choice: "We are all in the gutter, only some of us are looking at ______ _____________."
a)gas prices b)Playboy c)the stars
submit answers to D. Iseman, wherever he may be, and remember...
I'll be looking after all of you, even the savages. "..."
And please, 12:12, ("G"), by all means do not forget to wear your aluminum foil beanie.
ReplyDeleteYou may have stopped hearing the voices but that doesn't mean that they are still not out to steal your
private stash of Junior Mints.
Shhhh . ..careful "G", I think I see one now disguised as a big pink mouse. Toss it your can of Cheez Whiz and scurry back to "the home", you silly whack-job!! LOL!
"..."
ReplyDelete""""Corrupt government at it's finest.""""
ReplyDeleteIlliteracy at "it's" finest.
It just so happens I AM a Mensa member, fuckwit.
ReplyDelete"..." x 2
ReplyDeleteIt just so happens I AM a Mensa member, fuckwit.
ReplyDelete1:49 PM, February 21, 2008
Gotcha! I should have guessed by your eloquent command of the English language.
Whadda doofus! LOL!
- -
ReplyDelete...
@ @
ReplyDelete<
)____)
- -
ReplyDelete