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Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on the blog of the Riverfront Times' sister paper in Kansas City, the Pitch, which is about nine miles from Independence. Obama's campaign has also taken him to Unity, New Hampshire recently. Could it start a political trend where stump speeches are only given in communities with symbolic names? The residents of Hell, Michigan must feel pretty lonely.

By CHRIS PACKHAM

Independence is very important: Sen. Barack Obama visited Independence today. Independence! It's a real Nixon-goes-to-Sedalia moment for the presumptive Democratic nominee, who did, yes, visit St. Louis on June 10, but who also visited Cape Girardeau in May. He's very committed to touring the smaller, more Republican, more crystal meth-y towns, not that I want to prop up stereotypes about Independence, Missouri, or suggest that the electoral map of Republican-leaning districts corresponds with statistical maps of crystal-meth abuse. I really don't want to. It happens by accident, like when I use swears in front of children, many of whom are still in the process of acquiring language skills.

Good morning, St. Louis.

The last weekend of June, 2008: We'll look back and remember great weather, the Cardinals taking two of three from the Royals, and underwear parties. And PrideFest STL, and a wild night downtown, and Rancid's show at Pop's.

So, how do you convince a doorman to grant you entry to an underwear party fully clothed?

You don't.

The man with a handlebar mustache kindly scoffs at the notion and points out: ''You look like you're dressed to go to the grocery store.'' He directs you to the ''changing area,'' a tiny space partitioned off with a black tarp from the entrance. With one peek, you've already caught some burly men eagerly stripping down in the shadows of a bright floodlight. Enough with drawn-out hesitations -- it's time to disrobe, and join in the hedonistic fun.

Officials in Lincoln County are blaming the breach in the Mississippi River levee at Winfield on...

...muskrats.

Here's the gist from a CNN.com story headlined "Muskrats blamed for levee breach on Mississippi":

Muskrat holes weakened a Mississippi River levee on Friday, allowing floodwaters to pour into Lincoln County, Missouri, just north of St. Louis, officials said.

Sheriff's deputies alerted residents to evacuate, yelling "get out, the levee broke" as they went door-to-door in the affected areas, according to an Associated Press report....

Though overnight rains were reported in the area, officials speaking at a Friday morning press conference said muskrats looking for food or making dens had dug into the earthen levee, weakening it enough that nature took care of the rest....

Unreal's heart goes out to the residents of Lincoln County.

As for the muskrats, well, perhaps a bit of population control is in order. And although the little critters are kinda homely, some say they make for good eatin'.

There was a small earthquake early this morning along the New Madrid Fault. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake took place in southeastern Missouri at 04:27:18 a.m.

The USGS pinpoints the epicenter at 36.600°N, 89.560°W, which for the rest of us means: "in the Boot Heel" -- about two miles west-northwest of the city of New Madrid, and 145 miles southeast of St. Louis.

The USGS earthquake site has some cool features, including maps like this one:

See that teensy blue square due south of Sikeston? (You might have to click the pic to view the full-size version.) That's this morning's quake. Those other, yellow squares are quakes -- one that was slightly bigger, at that -- that have transpired in the past week.

Not totally satisfied with your weekend itinerary? Never fear, Go! is here! This regular feature highlights everything from rock shows to art openings, from delicious dishes to hidden-gem hangouts.

Friday, 6/27

Where The Art Is: Find out what’s been happening behind the scenes at St. Louis ArtWorks (3547 Olive Street). The fine arts youth program will open its doors from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today with works of art created by its teen apprentices lining the walls. The young artists will be on hand to discuss each commissioned piece created for businesses across the area. The open house is free; for more information, call 314-289-4180.

The Tour de Soulard is off this year.

Relax, spray paint buyers. Anti-graffiti Alderwoman Donna Baringer has backed off regulating purchases of the stuff.

The pissing match between Archbishop Raymond Burke and Womenpriests Ree Hudson and Elsie McGrath carries on, per an e-mail I recently received from McGrath.

Unreal would never be confused with a political junkie, but we do peruse the national press from time to time, so perhaps it was inevitable that we'd happen upon this piece by Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny in this morning's New York Times.

Headlined "Obama and Clinton in Talks to Unify Party," the story goes into exhaustive detail regarding the delicate dance of post-primary detente between the campaign camps of the two Democratic presidential contenders.

For the time-strapped STLog browser, the upshot is that fence-mending proceeds apace, if by "apace" you mean "slowly." A big-name attorney, Robert B. Barnett (who in the past has negotiated hefty book deals for Obama and both Mr. and Mrs. Clinton), is in charge. The two sides are nowhere near the point of discussing an Obama-Clinton ticket -- or, for that matter, engendering a Bill-Barack hugfest of some sort.

Where: 3216 South Grand

You've stumbled across the hidden lair and now they'll have to kill you... but, in the meantime, please enjoy a martini as you lounge on one of the comfy couches. If you find yourself at Urban, consider your options: You can either go in, have a blast, and accept the fact that they may have to dispose of you later, or you can run away from Urban like a total freakin' wuss.

Update: STL Today's gossip guru Deb Peterson followed this story in a June 28 column that referred to the Laurie matrimony as a "wing-ding doozy of a wedding." Good ol' Deb. She's never at a loss when it comes to fashioning new terms for nuptials. But we gotta say, what's up with Deb labeling the wedding as a rumor? Or is that just how she covers her ass when she gets scooped?

This celebrity news item comes a bit late, but what can I say? I wasn't on the invite list.

Word is that Missouri's most eligible bachelorette, Wal-Mart heiress Paige Laurie, got hitched earlier this month in a secretive wedding in her hometown of Columbia. I heard about the event only yesterday when a woman who worked the wedding absentmindedly told me about the soirée -- and then begged me not to repeat the news. Like everyone who worked the wedding, my source was forced to sign a confidentiality agreement promising she would not discuss the nuptials. The pact has apparently worked well, as I can't find a single news article about the ceremony on Google or LexisNexis.

Why all the secrecy? My guess is that Laurie's billionaire parents, Bill and Nancy Laurie, are still reeling from the 2004 cheating scandal involving their only child.

Tonight’s the night to hoist one last drink to fabled barkeep Mark Pollman, who passed away in March from prostate cancer.

It's a joke that's been repeated across the country in the past few weeks as gas prices have spiked, risen to record-levels and all-around frustrated most of us.

This photo was taken Saturday at the corner of Ballas Road and Clayton Road.

Photo by Jeanette Kozlowski

Fiesta in Florissant was held over the weekend. Keegan Hamilton snapped these photos of the party on Saturday.