Dont FUCK With Me and My Ice Cream Maker!

With the world facing increasing pollution, wars, political unreast, natural disasters and the like, it seems that a broken ice cream machine should be the least of your worries....well NOT to this lady! Unstable Mable here went a little crazy and picked up her baseball bat and decided to take matters into her own hands!

McCandless Target shopper charged in fracas




By Adam Brandolph

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Saturday, June 25, 2011

McCandless police charged a Cranberry woman with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct on Friday, accusing her of smashing several windows at a Target store with a baseball bat.

Donna M. Rosenberger, 39, apparently was upset over the store's response when she tried to return an item she had purchased, so she started smashing the McKnight Road store's windows, according to a Target spokesman.
"I tried returning two ice cream makers and they wouldn't give me my money back, so I made a scene," Rosenberger told WPXI-TV.

Antoine LaFromboise said Rosenberger was attempting to return an ice cream maker that she had purchased with a check. A clerk, according to store policy, offered her a gift card for the value of the item instead of cash.

"Clearly she was unhappy with that," LaFromboise said.

Police released Rosenberger on her own recognizance. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

Rosenberger did not return calls seeking comment. A man who answered the door at her home said he didn't know her whereabouts.

She told WPXI-TV that she called politicians and is going to call the Howard Stern radio show.

LaFromboise didn't know how much damage Rosenberger caused or the value of the ice cream maker she was attempting to return. Ice cream makers on Target's website range in price from $25 to $103.

The Road to Gay Marriage in NY, an Unlikely Mix of Forces

Over tuna and turkey sandwiches, the advisers explained that New York’s Democratic governor was determined to legalize same-sex marriage and would deliver every possible Senate vote from his own party.
Would the donors win over the deciding Senate Republicans? It sounded improbable: top Republican moneymen helping a Democratic rival with one of his biggest legislative goals.

But the donors in the room — the billionaire Paul Singer, whose son is gay, joined by the hedge fund managers Cliff Asness and Daniel Loeb — had the influence and the money to insulate nervous senators from conservative backlash if they supported the marriage measure. And they were inclined to see the issue as one of personal freedom, consistent with their more libertarian views.
Within days, the wealthy Republicans sent back word: They were on board. Each of them cut six-figure checks to the lobbying campaign that eventually totaled more than $1 million.
Steve Cohen, the No. 2 in Mr. Cuomo’s office and a participant in the meeting, began to see a path to victory, telling a colleague, “This might actually happen.”
The story of how same-sex marriage became legal in New York is about shifting public sentiment and individual lawmakers moved by emotional appeals from gay couples who wish to be wed.
But, behind the scenes, it was really about a Republican Party reckoning with a profoundly changing power dynamic, where Wall Street donors and gay-rights advocates demonstrated more might and muscle than a Roman Catholic hierarchy and an ineffective opposition.
And it was about a Democratic governor, himself a Catholic, who used the force of his personality and relentlessly strategic mind to persuade conflicted lawmakers to take a historic leap.
“I can help you,” Mr. Cuomo assured them in dozens of telephone calls and meetings, at times pledging to deploy his record-high popularity across the state to protect them in their districts. “I am more of an asset than the vote will be a liability.”
Over the last several weeks, dozens of lawmakers, strategists and advocates described the closed-door meetings and tactical decisions that led to approval of same-sex marriage in New York, about two years after it was rejected by the Legislature. This account is based on those interviews, most of which were granted on the condition of anonymity to describe conversations that were intended to be confidential.
‘I Have to Do This’
Mr. Cuomo was diplomatic but candid with gay-rights advocates in early March when he summoned them to the Capitol’s Red Room, a ceremonial chamber with stained-glass windows and wood-paneled walls.
The advocates had contributed to the defeat of same-sex marriage in 2009, he told them, with their rampant infighting and disorganization. He had seen it firsthand, as attorney general, when organizers had given him wildly divergent advice about which senators to lobby and when, sometimes in bewildering back-to-back telephone calls. “You can either focus on the goal, or we can spend a lot of time competing and destroying ourselves,” the governor said.
This time around, the lobbying had to be done the Cuomo way: with meticulous, top-down coordination. “I will be personally involved,” he said.
The gay-rights advocates agreed, or at least acquiesced. Five groups pushing for same-sex marriage merged into a single coalition, hired a prominent consultant with ties to Mr. Cuomo’s office, Jennifer Cunningham, and gave themselves a new name: New Yorkers United for Marriage.
Those who veered from the script faced swift reprimand. When Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, an openly gay Democrat from Manhattan, introduced a same-sex marriage bill in May without first alerting the governor’s office, he was upbraided by Mr. Cohen. “What do you think you’re doing?” the governor’s aide barked over the phone.
Mr. Cuomo’s hands-on management was a turning point not just for the marriage movement, but also for his long and fraught relationship with the gay community. Advocates groused that he had waited until 2006 to endorse same-sex marriage, years after many leading New York political leaders did so. And many of them still remembered his work on his father’s unsuccessful 1977 bid for mayor of New York, which had featured homophobic posters aimed at Edward I. Koch.
Over time, however, championing same-sex marriage had become personal for Mr. Cuomo. He campaigned on the issue in the race for governor last year, and after his election, he was staggered by the number of gay couples who sought him out at restaurants and on the street, prodding him, sometimes tearfully, to deliver on his word.
The pressure did not let up at home. Mr. Cuomo’s girlfriend, Sandra Lee, has an openly gay brother, and she frequently reminded the governor how much she wanted the law to change.
Something else weighed on him, too: the long shadow of his father, Mario, who rose to national prominence as the conscience of the Democratic Party, passionately defending the poor and assailing the death penalty. During his first few months in office, the younger Mr. Cuomo had achieved what seemed like modern-day miracles by the standards of Albany — an austere on-time budget and a deal to cap property taxes. But, as Mr. Cuomo explained by phone to his father a few weeks ago, he did not want those accomplishments to define his first year in office.
“They are operational,” he told his father. Passing same-sex marriage, by contrast, “is at the heart of leadership and progressive government.”

“I have to do this.”

A Democratic Surprise

Nobody ever expected Carl Kruger to vote yes.

A Democrat from Brooklyn, known for his gruff style and shifting alliances, Senator Kruger voted against same-sex marriage two years ago, was seen as a pariah in his party and was accused in March of taking $1 million in bribes in return for political favors.

Some gay activists, assuming he was a lost cause, had taken to picketing outside of his house and screaming that he was gay — an approach that seemed only to harden his opposition to their agenda. (Mr. Kruger has said he is not gay.) But unbeknown to all but a few people, Mr. Kruger desperately wanted to change his vote. The issue, it turned out, was tearing apart his household.

The gay nephew of the woman he lives with, Dorothy Turano, was so furious at Mr. Kruger for opposing same-sex marriage two years ago that he had cut off contact with both of them, devastating Ms. Turano. “I don’t need this,” Mr. Kruger told Senator John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, the Democratic majority leader. “It has gotten personal now.”

Mr. Sampson, a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage, advised Mr. Kruger to focus on the nephew, not the political repercussions. “When everything else is gone,” Mr. Sampson told him, “all you have left is family.”

With Mr. Kruger suddenly a possible yes vote, the same-sex marriage organizers zeroed in on the two remaining Democrats who had previously voted no but appeared open to switching sides: Shirley L. Huntley and Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., both of Queens.

Senator Huntley, a close friend of Mr. Sampson, had privately assured him that she would support the marriage bill, largely out of personal loyalty to him and fellow Democrats.

Persuading Senator Addabbo proved trickier. Same-sex marriage advocates had nicknamed him the Counter, after he told them his vote would hinge entirely on a tally of his constituents who appealed to him for or against the measure. By mid-May, Mr. Addabbo sent word to Mr. Cuomo that the numbers were not there for same-sex marriage.

Until then, members of the same-sex marriage coalition had deliberately refrained from inundating Mr. Addabbo’s office with feedback from supporters of the bill, fearing it might alienate and offend him. But now, the advocates received a message from the governor’s office: Open the floodgates. Brian Ellner, who oversees the marriage push for the Human Rights Campaign, called the head of his field team, who had compiled an exhaustive list of supporters of gay rights in Mr. Addabbo’s district.

“Bury him in paper,” Mr. Ellner said.

Over the next week, the field team collected postcards signed by 2,000 of Mr. Addabbo’s constituents who favor same-sex marriage, twice as many as he had received in the previous few months combined.

When his final tally was completed in early June, he had heard from 6,015 people — 80 percent of whom asked him to vote yes. “In the end, that is my vote,” Mr. Addabbo said.

Republicans Resist

In a private room at the Fort Orange Club, a stately brick manor in Albany where the waitresses still wear French maid uniforms, a pollster laid out the results of his research on gay marriage for Senate Republicans in early June.

There was little political rationale for legalizing it, the numbers suggested: statewide support did not extend deeply into the rural, upstate districts that are crucial to the state’s Republican Party. And with unemployment at 9 percent, the issue was far down the list of priorities for voters.

Many of the Republicans wanted to avoid ever taking a vote on the issue — a simple strategy to carry out. As the majority party in the Senate, they could block any bill from reaching the floor.

But the caucus — a group of 32 senators who had seized control of the Senate in the elections last year but held just a single-seat majority — was far from unified. And, crucially for same-sex marriage advocates, the Republicans’ relatively untested leader showed no interest in forcing them to reach a consensus. “My management style,” the Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos of Long Island, had told lawmakers, “is that I let my members lead.”

Mr. Cuomo was determined to exploit the leadership vacuum by peeling off a few senators from moderate districts.

A major target was James S. Alesi, a Republican from suburban Rochester, who seemed tormented by his 2009 vote. Cameras in the Senate chamber captured him holding his head in his hands as the word “no” left his mouth.

The coalition approached him from every angle. The Republican donors invited him to a meeting on Park Avenue, telling him they would eagerly support him if he backed same-sex marriage. “That’s not the kind of lily pad I normally hop on,” Mr. Alesi recalled.

The advocates collected 5,000 signed postcards from his constituents and nudged a major employer in his district, Xerox, to endorse the bill.

And Mr. Cuomo called him, over and over, to address his objections and allay his fears. He told Senator Alesi that as the first Republican to endorse same-sex marriage, he “would show real courage to the gay community.”

On June 13, aides to the governor left urgent messages with same-sex marriage advocates, who had just left a meeting in Mr. Cuomo’s office, to return there immediately, offering no explanation.

As the group assembled around a conference table, the governor opened the door to his private office and peeked in. “I want to introduce the first Republican to support marriage equality,” he announced.

Mr. Alesi walked into the room, which erupted into applause. In emotional remarks, he apologized to them for what he called his “political vote” against same-sex marriage in 2009.

The next day, Bill Smith, a lobbyist for Gill Action, a gay-rights group, turned to the governor and asked, “How many rabbits are you going to pull out of the hat?”

Outgunned Opponents

It was befuddling to gay-rights advocates: The Catholic Church, arguably the only institution with the authority and reach to derail same-sex marriage, seemed to shrink from the fight.

As the marriage bill hurtled toward a vote, the head of the church in New York, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, left town to lead a meeting of bishops in Seattle. He did not travel to Albany or deliver a major speech in the final days of the session. And when he did issue a strongly worded critique of the legislation — he called it “immoral” and an “ominous threat” — it was over the phone to an Albany-area radio show.

Inside the Capitol, where a photograph of Mr. Cuomo shaking hands with Archbishop Dolan hangs in the governor’s private office, the low-key approach did not seem accidental. Mr. Cuomo had taken pains to blunt the church’s opposition.

When he learned that church leaders had objected to the language of the marriage legislation, he invited its lawyers to the Capitol to vent their frustration.

Mr. Cuomo even spoke to Archbishop Dolan about the push for same-sex marriage, emphasizing his respect and affection for the religious leader. An adviser described the governor’s message to Archbishop Dolan this way: “I have to do what I have to do. But your support over all is very important to me.”

By the time a Catholic bishop from Brooklyn traveled to Albany last week to tell undecided senators that passing same-sex marriage “is not in keeping with the will of their people,” it was clear the church had been outmaneuvered by the highly organized same-sex marriage coalition, with its sprawling field team and, especially, its Wall Street donors.

“In many ways,” acknowledged Dennis Poust, of the New York State Catholic Conference, “we were outgunned. That is a lot to overcome.”

With the church largely out of the picture, the governor’s real worry was the simmering tension in the Senate Republican delegation. Its members met, for hours at a time, to debate the political and moral implications of allowing a vote. But each time new arguments arose. Some questioned whether homosexuality was genetic or chosen. Others suggested that the same-sex marriage legislation be scrapped in favor of a statewide referendum.

Mr. Cuomo invited the Republicans to visit him at the governor’s residence, a 40-room Victorian mansion overlooking the Hudson River, just a few blocks from the Capitol.

There, in a speech the public would never hear, he offered his most direct and impassioned case for allowing gays to wed. Gay couples, he said, wanted recognition from the state that they were no different from the lawmakers in the room. “Their love is worth the same as your love,” Mr. Cuomo said, according to someone who heard him. “Their partnership is worth the same as your partnership. And they are equal in your eyes to you. That is the driving issue.”

In the late hours of Friday night, 33 members of the State Senate agreed with him.

The Girl Who Cast a Viking Spell- "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo"

Stieg Larsson

By CHARLES McGRATH

Published: June 21, 2011
Eva Gabrielsson, who found herself pursued by fame and controversy as the longtime companion of Stieg Larsson, the posthumously best-selling author of the Millennium trilogy of Swedish crime thrillers, has published a book of her own. In Linda Coverdale’s English translation, the book, which first came out in French in January and is now available in the United States from Seven Stories Press, has the direct, plainspoken title “ ‘There Are Things I Want You to Know’ About Stieg Larsson and Me.” (The quotation is a reference to a letter that Larsson wrote to Ms. Gabrielsson in the 1970s, when he was in his 20s, and about to leave for Africa.)

The memoir’s straightforward tone and terse, unadorned style are unlikely to provide much support for the conspiracy theorists who are convinced that Larsson was not talented enough to come up with the Millennium books on his own and that Ms. Gabrielsson must have written them for him.

Nor will the book, which she wrote with Marie-Françoise Colombani, provide much satisfaction for the many Larsson fans eager for details about an unfinished fourth novel said to have been left on his computer after his death. The book’s biggest news is its description of how the seemingly mild-mannered Ms. Gabrielsson has attempted to seek supernatural vengeance against her enemies.

In New York on Monday, the first stop on a promotional tour for her new book, Ms. Gabrielsson seemed relaxed and even cheerful, sipping Pellegrino and sneaking a couple of smokes at an outside table at Capsouto Frères, a bistro in TriBeCa, carefully pinching the butts and sticking them back in the pack. She talked forthrightly about the oddest passage in her book, a description of an elaborate Viking curse she delivered on New Year’s Eve 2004 against all her and Larsson’s enemies: the false friends, the cowards “who let Stieg fight your battles while you raked in the salaries of your cushy jobs,” the wearers of “suits, ties and wingtips,” the evil ones “who plotted, spied and stirred up prejudice.”

Traditionally, such curses were accompanied by the sacrifice of a live horse, but instead Ms. Gabrielsson broke a ceramic horse sculpture in two and tossed it into Lake Malaren in Stockholm. Nevertheless, it worked, she insisted.

“I felt immense relief, and so did the others who were with me,” she said, explaining, “It’s a ritual — we lack rituals for grief, for confusion, for rage.” She added, with satisfaction, that “all the people who have profited from Stieg in his lifetime — they have not fared well. Bad things happen to them. I don’t want to attribute that to the curse, but they are in trouble.”

Larsson, a Swedish writer and journalist, died unexpectedly in November 2004, when he was just 50, and had no idea how successful his books — “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” — would become. He and Ms. Gabrielsson had lived together for 32 years — they were “soul mates,” she says in the book — but never wed, and because they were childless, and because Swedish law makes no provision for common-law marriage, she had no legal right to his estate, now worth tens of millions of dollars.

Everything went to his father and brother, Erland and Joakim Larsson, who have been locked for years now in an increasingly stubborn and acrimonious battle of wills with her. Ms. Gabrielsson says she is not interested in the money; what she wants is artistic control over Larsson’s literary rights. Larsson’s family, meanwhile, has been reluctant to share any part of the legacy.

“I have no idea how it will end,” Ms. Gabrielsson said. “Life surprises you. People surprise me all the time.”

Though in the book she complains harshly about what she calls the “Stieg industry” and expresses reservations about the way the original movie deal for the books was made, she seemed curious about the English-language version of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” directed by David Fincher, that had been filming in Stockholm.

“Friends of mine have stumbled over the film crews and have sent me text messages,” she said. “They’re taking care to find very good locations, and so it might be interesting. They’re very ambitious — I like that.”

Ms. Gabrielsson’s book does not throw much new light on her bitter stalemate with Larsson’s father and brother, during which they have tried to obtain from her a crucial remaining piece of the estate: Larsson’s laptop, with the unfinished novel saved on the hard drive. There were two meetings in spring 2010, she said, and then, in June 2010, the Larssons broke off all negotiations, and she hasn’t heard from them since.





“It’s still incomprehensible to me,” she said, explaining that Larsson’s family initially seemed to side with her claim to Larsson’s estate and then, months after his death of a heart attack, claimed the entire inheritance for themselves. “Envy is the only mortal sin that goes toward destruction and murder, and I think there was a lot of envy there,” Ms. Gabrielsson said. “Envy of Stieg, envy of his success — that’s the best explanation I can offer.”



Ms. Gabrielsson said she had not read the unfinished fourth novel, and was evasive about the whereabouts of the computer. She has estimated that the manuscript consists of roughly 200 pages, based on how much Larsson had finished by August 2004, and from their conversations she knows what it’s about. But all she would say is that it’s set in Canada, and that once again it features Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. “Oh yes, they’re still there,” she said, laughing.



A year ago Ms. Gabrielsson was adamant that she didn’t want the fourth novel ever to be published. In her book she appears open to the possibility of finishing it herself. “I cannot tell exactly what part of ‘The Millennium Trilogy’ comes from Stieg and what comes from me,” she writes, adding: “I can only say that just as Stieg and I shared a common language, we often wrote together.”



But more recently she has seemed of two minds. “I’ve been wondering if it’s such a good thing to finish something like that,” she said on Monday. “Nobody needs any more money — that’s one thing. And it must be any author’s nightmare to know that characters you created might be used by ghostwriters. It’s a dilemma. I don’t think it’s right, but at the same time I really would like to see what happens to these people.”



She paused. “How long are we going to kid ourselves? Stieg is dead. Maybe we just have to accept that — all the readers and me, too.”

Overheard in Pittsburgh.....a very addictive website!

You know..my x boyfriend always used to say that we should write a book with just snippets of funny and/or ridiculously stupid conversations that we used to overhear when in places like restaurants, coffee shops, and even just walking down the street!  I should have listened!  Someone came up with this website that is just that.....amazingly stupid conversations overheard in public in various places.   Some of them are just funny, some are scary and make you wonder what the hell is living next to you!  The cool thing is that they break them down by neighborhood and the descriptions of the settings are more often than not hilarious in their own rite!

Enjoy!



Overheard in Pittsburgh

Grad School Here I Come.....

Eighteen years ago, prior to doing what I do know, i went to the University of Pittsburgh and studied Psych. as an undergrad.  At that time, I had planned on going to grad school and getting at least an M.Psy.and had wanted to have my own practice as a licensed clinical psychotherapist.  I, however, like an idiot saw dollar signs when I was offered a well paying job with corporate ATT back then.  I had a good career with them for almost nine years until I was laid off due to corp. cutbacks.  I then returned to school and chose something that was sure to be stable and to earn a decent income.  I progressed on to working in a vascular lab and did that for nearly ten years but all the on call stuff and the stress got to me as it usually does to most people in that type of a job.  To make a long story short, I have decided to return to my original plan and have applied at the University of Pittsburgh in hopes of returning to get my masters degree. 

After speaking to a graduate adviser and being reminded of my (ahem) age and the length of time that I have been out of school, I was advised to take a few prep courses prior to formally applying to the graduate program.  Looks like I will be taking statistics, research methods, and an intensive research writing course this fall along with studying (AGAIN) for the GRE exam. 

Hopefully all goes well and I will graduate in about two years with my masters degree and will go on to become licensed. I would like to focus on gay and lesbian issues as well as generalized anxiety disorder patients.  We will see.....

A Thousand Dark Threads...

As you all well know by now if you follow my blog, I have been very into the practice of meditation for the last six months as part of an ongoing effort, on my part, to not only reduce stress and to help me relax, but also to center my thoughts. Meditation has a way of putting you in touch with a lot of stuff that is deep rooted in your mind that often times just sits in the background running like some sort of silent program which goes unnoticed. Often times when you focus your mind and clear out all the chatter and static these things come to the surface and you learn to examine them and let them be. We are tought in meditation practice to examine and observe things for exactly what they are and then let them pass through. Sometimes meditation brings happy thoughts and feelings and sometimes it can bring dark thoughts, you never know what you are going to uncover. Thats the beauty of the process. It is ok to face the happy and the dark. It is what it is. A lot of times when I write poetry or even some articles they more often than not, come to me either during or after a meditation session. I think its because my mind is more calm and I am able to focus better afterward. I find that poetry is a powerful way to put your thoughts and feelings into focus and it allows you to make sense of them for yourself and promotes a lot of introspection.

The last few days I have been feeling a bit down, and quite honestly, a bit misunderstood about a lot of things. This is what came out of it....

A Thousand Dark Threads

Words that no one seems to hear
I sit silently bound
Words that to me are dear
I scream but no one hears a sound
I bear my soul
They look with their eyes but they are unable to ascertain
Its meaning is lost in some great dark hole
My heart is left with emptiness and pain
Bound by a thousand dark threads
Unable to move with my soul exposed
Forced into silence much to my dread
I scream words from deep down within
I am greeted with silence instead
Why wont you listen, why cant you hear?

LIFE....

is not a spectator sport. Win, lose, or draw...the game is in process rather we want it to be or not........so go ahead, argue a little with the refs, cheat a little, take time to take care of your wounds...but most of all...PLAY. Play hard, play fast, play loose and free...play as if there is no tomorrow. Its not how you win or lose....its how you play the game.

Sounds of Sumer

I grew up in the country and although I do love being in the city I miss certain things from my childhood. I grew up quite literally smack dab in the middle of nowhere and our house sat near a creek that ran along the edge of the woods. One of my fondest memories and also one of the things that I miss the most, was sitting out on our back porch in the summertime on a humid still night, just after dusk when the tree frogs and crickets would start their song. If you have never heard them, its almost hypnotizing. My grandmother would sit in her swing and we would just enjoy the peaceful silence.


 

 
Midsummer's Dream

The air thick and sultry like breathing in silk so soft
Laiden with the sounds of tree frogs and crickets

Sweet smells of honeysuckle perfume sent aloft

Whispering to me from amongst the thickets
I drift into a sense of serenity
The tree frogs and crickets call to me like sirens in the dark stillness amongst the thickets

The crazy outside world seems like such an obscenity
The tree frogs and crickets call to me like sirens in the dark stillness amongst the thickets
Their voices like a perfectly played fugue lulling and pulling me into a sense of serenity
The tree frogs and crickets call to me like sirens in the dark stillness amongst the thickets

Sailing it aloft on perfumed winds, their song so harmonious


 
-M.Bell 2011

Roseland Resort and Campground – Its all about the view...and YOU!

Its all about the view....and all about YOU!

 
Looking for a great all gay, all male resort? For those of you who don't know about it, let me fill you in. Roseland Resort was started back in the early 90's and was, in its initial stages, just an old sheep farm that was situated out in the middle of the West Virginia Wilderness, literally in the middle of nowhere! In fact, my GPS still won't plot a route to it! That 130 acre farm was developed over the years by the people who grew to love it, its former owner, and the wonderful new owners that took over last year. Little sheep farm no more! Roseland has grown into a great gay destination for those who love the outdoors and who love to be in a secluded, safe, accepting, gay community.

Over the last year, Roseland has had quite a renaissance due to its new ownership. The new owners have made it their primary goal to focus on upgrading the facilities to make Roseland a true resort destination for gay men and they have also turned their focus on revamping the whole customer service experience. The new motto is that "It's all about you!", and they mean it! You can expect to be pampered and catered to during your stay and from the minute you get there till the minute you check out! Matthew, Troy and Ben, who are the new owners, cannot do enough to make your stay as pleasant and memorable as possible, and Scott, the General Manager, is wonderful at providing excellent customer service and will do his best to resolve any issue that may arise during your stay.

What does Roseland have to offer?

 
Well, for starters, one hell of a view. It sits atop a mountain ridge located just about 30 minutes from Moundsville and surrounded by forest. You will be amazed when you get there at just how secluded it is! The first time I went, I said that it was like a gay Las Vegas rising up out of the desert!

Roseland also offers a ton of great amenities. A large, heated, in-ground pool that overlooks a fabulous mountain vista with a sizeable pool deck area complete with a shaded pergola to sit under if the sun gets too hot. A great new addition is the newly added and spacious steam room and dry sauna as well as a newly renovated gym for those of you who like to keep in shape even while you are traveling. The recreation hall has been updated with a new dance floor, lighting system, and digital sound system, as well as a full liquor license for the bar. There is a newly added lounge area above the main bar overlooking the dance floor if you want to just chill and relax on the sofa and chit chat with friends.

Not into roughing it in a tent or cabin? No problem! Roseland offers lodging to accommodate any style of traveler and realizes that not everyone is up for tenting or being totally rustic. They offer bed and breakfast style accommodations with spotless hotel quality rooms (and private bathrooms), private deluxe cabins for those who prefer it to be a little more rustic, private minimalistic style cabins which have the bare essentials for those who prefer to rough it, barracks style accommodations if you want to bring a group of friends or enjoy communal style sleeping arrangements, or you can tent camp and have your choice of over a 100 tent sites. For those of you who fall in love with the place (and you will, I did after one trip there and ended up buying a place) you can rent a permanent site to park your RV or tow along trailer on. In fact there are a few sites that are move in ready which are for sale now ranging in price from the bargain to the ultra-deluxe! Roseland has over 100 seasonals and the permanent sites are pretty amazing. Some people have gone all out and built multi-level decks, landscaped and even built gazebos! They even have lawn cutting service available as an added option. You will be amazed! It feels more like a town than just a resort!

Think you are going to be bored? Think again! The resort offers different theme weekends every weekend and is open year round. Relax by the pool, go for a hike, hit the sauna, work out, attend one of the many parties thrown by the seasonals, make new friends, go shopping at the new store…the options are endless! There is always something to do!

Think you are going to be hungry? Roseland has done a MAJOR overhaul on its food and beverage service! Several dining options are available to you. There is a dining hall that offers breakfast, and a buffet style dinner daily. The Santa Fe snack bar overlooks the pool deck and offers beer, coolers, soft drinks, and a varying food menu during the day for a tasty lunch option to be enjoyed pool side or on the upper deck under a cool umbrella. The req. hall bar now boasts a pizza oven which cranks out hot delicious homemade pizzas, subs, and wings if you get the munchies during dancing or even during the day! The main bar in Rose Hall now has its full liquor license and the prices are very reasonable even for top shelf! The resort store offers cold beverages and snacks as well as ice, firewood, and some camping essentials! Forgot your toilet paper or paper towels and plates? No problem! They have you covered!

Feel like being a fashonista at the pool? No problem! Visit Male Pouch, Roseland's new swimsuit and tack shop that just opened this season! It offers swimwear by Andrew Christian, Pistol Pete, and many other designers as well as sunglasses, jewelry and leather accessories!


Secluded but close to a lot of major metropolitan areas, Roseland offers a quick weekend getaway trip for many.  It is only 2 hours from Pittsburgh, 3 from Columbus and Cleveland, 4.5 hours from Washington D.C., 5.5 from Baltimore, and around 7 hours from Philly! I have seen guests arrive from as far away as Seattle and even a few from Europe and Mexico! 


What else does it offer? Well, a lot more! Friendship, great memories, a place to feel safe and accepted, seclusion, nature, dancing, fun, sun, hiking and the list goes on! Roseland is hard to put into words. Its more than just a resort and campground. It's a community and you will feel like you are part of a family when you go there! 

 
For those of you who have not ventured to Roseland, let me dispel some myths and answer some questions that seem to crop up about the place!

1. I have heard that it's some giant orgy in the woods!
   
   -If you think you are going to arrive and see naked men having a giant orgy on every corner you are in for a disappointment!! Roseland is about having fun, and about being with friends and as I tell everyone, it is what YOU make it. Your experience is tailored to you and determined by you. Is it ok to make love to your boyfriend poolside?  NO!  Is it ok to harass someone's boyfriend who isn't into being open?  NO!  Is it ok to meet someone and have fun in the privacy of your tent, cabin, room, or a non public area?  YES!  Use your head, use consideration, and just like anywhere else, don't be rude!  Many couples come there just to relax and are not looking to be ogled or hit on and not everyone is into public displays of sex and promiscuity.  RESPECT, CONSIDERATION, AND SOME TACT is the best advice!
   

2. Do I have to be naked when I am there?

-NO! Roseland IS clothing optional everywhere but the dining areas, but you don't have to be naked! No one cares what you wear. If you want to wear tinfoil pants with a windmill on your head to dinner…no one would say a word! That's the beauty of the place…..its all about being YOU!

3. Is it like a gay bar that is full of attitude?

- Absolutely NOT! Roseland is about acceptance! I have met some of the friendliest people there! The staff is wonderful and as I said before, disrespect is not generally tolerated by the people who go there. Again, that's the beauty of Roseland, you can be who you are and not feel judged! 


4. Can my sister, mother, brother, girlfriend, ect. come there?  
- Well, twice a year they have a friends and family weekend when all are welcome.  The rest of the year it is a members only all male resort and you must be over 21 to enter!


 
If you wish to know more about Roseland Resort check out their official website at www.roselandwv.com! Don't just take my word for it…come for a vist! The friendly staff and patrons are waiting for you!  Book early!  They fill up fast!  Last Memorial Day they had over 500 guests!!!

This website is NOT an official entity of Roseland Resort and the opinions expressed herein are solely of the author and blog owner and do not constitute the opinions or official policies of Roseland Resort and is in no way affiliated with Roseland Resort, LLC.   Please consult their official website or contact them directly via phone or email with specific concerns or questions that you may have.