WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- My Baby's officially not a baby.
Dali and I have referred to our daughter Dara as 'Baby' since she was born, back when it was appropriate, and we'll keep doing that, I'm sure, even now that she's graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts on this Saturday morning at the Benton Convention Center.
We couldn't be more proud. She pushed so hard upon graduating from CAPA in Downtown Pittsburgh toward a career in drama, she sat out a full year until she got precisely the college she wanted -- among the finest handful in the world for this practice -- she became one of the 7 percent who make it through that process, then played a major part in performances throughout.
She'll soon be moving to Manhattan toward professional pursuits, and there's no doubt she'll push through that, as well.
A few scenes from her collegiate career that she chose herself over the past week, capped by the moment I appreciated the most:
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
UNC School of the Arts
I'm bursting with pride on this day. Absolutely bursting.
She did this. She made it happen. And it's just the beginning.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Our BoomPress developers put out an app update, one that offers a temporary solution to our refreshing issue. If you tug on the app, even though you don't see a tug motion, the content will refresh. It's not ideal, but we'll keep at it.
• We've had issues that've affected our blind readers for a few days now, and we're optimistic there'll be a resolution by Monday. Your patience is hugely appreciated.
• Some pretty cool hockey plans in store. Would love to share more, but we're starting to feel as if we're being followed these days.
• Our 10th anniversary celebration will be July 23 at the HQ/shop. We've already heard from quite a few of you planning to attend, including some from well out of town. For anyone looking into a longer trip, know that the Pirates and Cardinals have a three-game series at PNC Park at that time, so it's a nice double-dip.
• Everyone loving being ad-free? If you're not there yet, it's only for paying subscribers. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: this is our new subscribe page. Make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/renew at the monthly or annual level. We also have discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• Grateful that so many of you continue to leave us good reviews on outside platforms. There've been hundreds of reviews already. For anyone who hasn't yet, feel free to add your own on our Google listing, our Apple or Spotify podcast channels, our YouTube channels for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates and, last but definitely not least, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version. And again, thank you!
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 1,058,163, with 48,105 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, May 11-17. Our most-read original piece was my column from the Pirates' series-closing loss in Milwaukee, at 26,647.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 91,385, plus another figure we (still) can't access yet on a second platform, and our YouTube video views for the past week were 134,367.
• Our company social media accounts are at 53,711 followers on X, 40,538 on Facebook, 31,257 on YouTube, 14,946 on Instagram ... and already 4,473 on the new Threads!
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• We're often asked about our HQ/shop merch being available online, and yes, it's right here. The Downtown shop itself's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m.
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• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this venture.
