Photo of the Day: Troy Hill Incline Steps, Pittsburgh PA

About a decade ago, vacationing to see a close relative in Pittsburgh, I visited the Duquesne Incline, one of the last remnants of a once-common form of transportation in the Smoky City. Over a week ago, I saw another one reminder of these 24 massive structures that once moved goods and people up and down this city’s many steep hills: the steps around the Troy Hill Incline.

Unlike the Duquesne Incline, which remains operational nearly 150 years after it was built, the Troy Hill Incline lasted only from 1887 to 1898. 

When I took the attached photo on my recent visit to Pittsburgh, it was easy for me to imagine the necessity for this mode of transportation and the skill required to build it.

Trust me: the Troy Hill neighborhood (part of independent Allegheny City before being absorbed by Pittsburgh) is an acrophobe’s nightmare. 

Rialto Street (nicknamed “Pig Hill”), for instance, the fifth-steepest street in the city, ascends 118 feet, with a grade or steepness level of 24%. It’s a narrow, two-lane thoroughfare Thank God I wasn’t the one driving around there.

Its incline was built by Samuel Diescher, a Hungarian-American engineer responsible for 10 inclines in Pittsburgh alone. The tracks—partly laid on the ground, partly on wooden trestles—handled both freight and passengers with a 15-ton capacity. The building cost: $94,000. 

For a while, it seemed like a godsend for workers in this blue-collar enclave who didn’t have to trudge up what must have felt like a Himalayan height at the end of a long, weary day in area mills, tanneries, breweries, and railroad yards.

In contrast to other inclines, the one serving Troy Hill didn’t shut down because of safety concerns. Instead, low ridership, maintenance costs, and competition from expanding streetcar lines combined to undercut profitability. 

The tracks were eventually removed, but the physical geography of the neighborhood makes it unlikely that the legend of the Troy Hill Incline will disappear from the minds of Pittsburgh residents.

Quote of the Day (Marie Arana, on the Accomplishments and Presence of Latinos in the U.S.)

"These [scientific advances such as the electronic microscope, birth control and developments leading to brain surgery] are accomplishments that aren't written.  They’re not in textbooks. My mission has always been to educate Americans, make ourselves known. We have been for so long, many years, so many decades, and so many centuries people have said, ‘Who are you anyway?’ and we’ve always been perceived as newcomers. We’ve been here all along."— Author, editor, journalist, and critic Marie Arana, in a talk at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York, quoted by Nora Smith, “Arana Presents ‘Latinoland’: ‘We’ve Been Here All Along,” The Chautauquan Daily, July 18-19, 2026

The image accompanying this post, of Marie Arana at the 2019 Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas, was taken Oct. 26, 2019, by Larry D. Moore.

TV Quote of the Day (‘Friends,’ in an Apartment Trivia Game)

[The friends are engaged in an increasingly high-stakes apartment trivia game.]

Ross Geller [played by David Schwimmer]: “What is Chandler Bing's job?”

Rachel Green [played by Jennifer Aniston] [long pause] “Oooh... oh gosh, it has something to do with numbers...”

Monica Geller [played by Courteney Cox]: “And processing!”

Rachel: “And he carries a briefcase...”

Ross: “10 seconds or you'll lose the game.”

Monica [frantically]: “Something to do with transponding...”

Rachel: “Oh oh... he's a trans... a transponster!”

Monica: “THAT'S NOT EVEN A WORD!”—Friends, Season 4, Episode 12, “The One With the Embryos,” original air date Jan. 15, 1998, teleplay by Jill Condon and Amy Toomin Straus, directed by Kevin Bright

Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. Paul to Timothy, Praying for ‘All Those in Authority’)

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”— 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (New International Version)

St. Paul had good reason to appeal to officeholders at all levels: to the extent that he was able to move about freely and preach to any extent, it was because, according to the Acts of the Apostles, he invoked at key moments his legal status as a Roman citizen as protection against the persecution already enveloping the early Christian community.

In the end he could not escape martyrdom, any more than modern Christians around the world are able to placate political authorities. Denunciations, harassment, and even death continue to await so many.

The 1612 image accompanying this post, Apostle St. Paul, was painted by the Spanish Renaissance painter, sculptor, and architect El Greco (1541-1614), and hangs in Museo del Greco, Toledo, Spain.

Quote of the Day (Robert Kaplan, on How Travel Is Like a Good Book)

“Travel is like a good, challenging book: it demands presentness—the ability to live completely in the moment, absorbed in the words or vision of reality before you. And like serious reading itself, travel has become an act of resistance against the distractions of the electronic age, and against all the worries that weigh us down, thanks to that age. A good book deserves to be finished, just as a haunting landscape tempts further experience of it, and further research into it. Travel and serious reading, because they demand sustained focus, stand athwart the nonexistent attention spans that deface our current time on Earth.”— American travel and foreign-affairs writer Robert D. Kaplan, “Being There,” The Atlantic, November 2012

The image accompanying this post, of Robert D. Kaplan speaking at the U.S. Naval War College, was taken on June 17, 2014, by Rosalie Bolender.

Quote of the Day (Pamela Paul, on ‘The Dudebro Candidate’)

“Broadly speaking, the dudebro candidate is more about vibes and style than about policy or platform. Picking up on the attitude and aesthetics of the manosphere, he is out to court attention, the tonal opposite of politic or cautious. This is a guy who openly disparages the need to watch what you say—and that's part of the appeal. Running for office almost as an act of defiance, the dudebro offers a potent brew of strong masculine energy, cross-party populist fury, frat-boy antics and straight-talk authenticity.”— American journalist, correspondent, editor, and author Pamela Paul, “Politics With Swagger. Meet the Dudebros,” The Wall Street Journal, June 13-14, 2026

First, the “Tech Bros”; now, “The Dudebros.” I wish the whole bunch would just bro away!

Well, one such “Dudebro,” reality TV star Spencer Pratt lost his bid for LA Mayor a month ago—and, by the end of the week, one more is likely to fall by the wayside. All kind of questions had been swirling about the Democratic primary winner for U.S. Senator from Maine, Graham Platner, even before the weekend.

But now, with a claim from a woman he dated that he had raped her several years ago—and the subsequent withdrawal of endorsements by prominent Democrats and a threat by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee not to invest in his campaign if he remains on the ballot—it’s hard to see him continuing.

Pamela Paul identifies Donald Trump as the prototype “dudebro candidate,” though I would argue that the real forerunner of this type was former wrestler turned Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.

In any case, Trump won’t be going away any time, insulated from accountability by an acquiescent Supreme Court and GOP majorities in the House and Senate, as well as from so many gaffes and missteps that anyone else would have disappeared from the scene a long time ago. 

(Consider this: while Platner has one unadjudicated sexual assault charge against him, Trump has had at least two dozen women who accused him of sexual misconduct---and a civil jury found him liable for sexual abuse against E. Jean Carroll.)

The “Tech Bros” are unlucky to go away any time soon, either—unless one or more fall out with Trump, as almost happened with Elon Musk.

“Frat-boy antics” might be one description for this entire crew, but I prefer “obnoxiousness.” It’s an indictment of our time that these men are able to come out of nowhere and be seriously considered for high positions in government or business.

(The image accompanying this post, showing Pamela Paul at the 2019 Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas, was taken Oct. 26, 2019, by Larry D. Moore.)

Movie Quote of the Day (‘Legally Blonde,’ As Elle Grills the Star Prosecution Witness)

Elle Woods [played by Reese Witherspoon]: “Isn't the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate?”—Legally Blonde (2001), screenplay by Amanda Brown, Karen McCullah, and Kirsten Smith, directed by Robert Luketic

Twenty-five years ago this month, the uproarious comedy Legally Blonde premiered. I don’t think the legal profession has quite recovered in the years since!