In the world of biological impossibility, Harry S. Truman would be 124 years old today. He was also the first -- and remains the only -- president from the great state of Missouri. In celebration, some government offices, like the DMV, have shut down for the day.
Besides, Harry Truman was pretty damn cool.
The dead, as far as I'm aware of, have not risen from their graves and begun to feast upon the living, but if they ever did, the Zombie Squad would make sure you were prepared for the undead cataclysm. That, you see, is their mission:
It has been a wild few days for freelance photographer Nichole Torpea. The 22-year-old UMSL grad was shooting the My Chemical Romance concert at the Pageant for Riverfront Times this past Saturday night when, she says, she was assaulted by a member of the band's security team.
While taking pictures from the balcony of the Pageant during last Saturday's sold-out show, Torpea says, she was approached by a man she believes is a member of MCR's security team. The man, whom she later described to St. Louis police as six-foot-three, 210 to 230 pounds and dressed all in black, grabbed her arm, led her through a door to a stairwell and forced her to the ground. Torpea says the man paid little attention to the photo pass attached to her shirt.
"I was collapsing under his pressure," she says. "I had no idea what was going on. He had no ID and wouldn't tell me who he was. He kept saying, 'You know what you did. Give me the fucking camera.'"
Another weekend behind us, St. Louisans had plenty of opportunities to see the stars this weekend.
St. Louis played host to Alicia Keys, Van Halen and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, among other musical acts.
Shae Moseley was at The Pageant on Friday to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and has a recap; music editor Annie Zaleski has photos.
On Saturday night, Van Halen finally made it to St. Louis (after canceling back in October), and played a sold-out show at the Scottrade Center. Panama! Check out these photos by Lauren Winchester. And read how Van Halen's show was in this review by Annie Zaleski. The set list is included in the review for you fans.
Also on Saturday, Christopher "Big Black" Boykin of MTV's Rob and Big reality show, met with fans at Club Buca on Laclede's Landing. We have a Q&A with the large reality show star here. See photos here.
Good morning, St. Louis.
Stumbling to your computer or avoiding the boss coming around to your cubicle? Just just rolling out of bed, wondering what the hell went on this weekend? Or even better, still up from last night? Spring is here, so I hope you got out to enjoy some of the warm weather before the humidity arrives and soaks the region in a sweat blanket.
Here is a sampling of the weekend's events if you missed 'em:
On Friday night, The Roots grooved at Webster University in quaint Webster Groves. Calvin Cox was there. He's got the review here in A to Z.
Also on Friday, punks and rockers got down at Building R on South Broadway. Pics are here. Up the punx!
Star Clipper – that landmark for comic book, zine and art enthusiasts -- celebrated Friday its twentieth year in business with a party and the 2008 St. Louis Munny Art show. Read all about it here.
Star Clipper celebrated its twentieth anniversary Friday with some serious style; they are hosting the the ''St. Louis Munny Show'' through May 30. For those of you unaware of what a Munny is, it is a do-it-yourself toy that gives the artist freedom to design its appearance. Cute or even viciously cute, the vinyl creatures are insanely popular.
Although the well-crafted, bizarrely adorable Munnys were the center of attention, good ol' Star Clipper had more going on.
I got a chance to talk with a few of the artists; it was nice to delve into the method that was their Munny madness.
Larry Spaulding, a self-described mercenary artist, works mostly in clay and some found art, said, ''You got the Munny; I got your honey.'' I like it, but I'm not entirely sure what that means.
Jamie Wood, an art student at the Meramec campus of St. Louis Community College, said she tried something new with her Munny ''Monger,'' by using a simpler color scheme.
[Update posted 10:45 a.m. April 17:]
Here's Marjorie Stelmach reading the title poem from A Joyful Noise:
[end update]
[Update posted 2:00 p.m. April 16:]
Here's Jon Dressel, reading "A Poem and a Prayer to St. Hoffstein, from A Joyful Noise:
[end update]
[Update posted 11:00 a.m. April 16:]
Here's Dave Clewell, reading three of Dad's poems from What Manner of Beast:
[end update]
[Update posted 6:00 p.m. April 15:]
Here's Andy Cox, reading "The Father":
[end update]
I now have a dauntingly large digital recording of the evening of Monday, April 7, when three dozen poets read their favorite Donald Finkel poems.
Seeing as how I'm also in possession of a free computer program that allows one to chop up mp3 files into little bits, I can't think of an excuse for not following through on my promise to upload Curtis Lyle's kick-ass reading from Answer Back.
So here that is:
It was only one of the night's many highlights, for sure.
[Update published April 15, 3:00 p.m.: I've uploaded an mp3 file of Curtis Lyle reading from Answer Back; the link is below (search for "Lyle")]
The tribute to Donald Finkel -- yes, that's my dad -- Monday night at Duff's Restaurant in the Central West End drew nearly three dozen poets, each of whom read their favorite Finkel poems.
A slideshow of photos by RFT staff photographer Jennifer Silverberg is available here.
A couple of shots to give you a taste:
The lower shot is of Curtis Lyle, who utterly astounded me with his reading of a section from Answer Back, a book-length poem published in the late 1960s. The poem, which begins as an exploration of caving (a longtime obsession of my father's), blooms into a diatribe on war, racism, myth and art.
Howard Schwartz and Peter Carlos recorded the event (audio and video, respectively; I'm trying to get a clip of Curtis Lyle's reading to post here).
[Update published April 15, 3:00 p.m.: Here's Curtis Lyle reading from Answer Back]:
In the meantime, here's the evening's musical interlude, provided on CD from Marty Ehrlich, a brilliant reed player and friend of Dad (who used to babysit me). Marty couldn't make it in person, so he sent this:
And finally, one anecdote, to justify the headline on this blog post:
Spring weather in St. Louis saw the metro area's residents stretch out in the sun. After dark, there were clubs, concerts and, leather contests to attend.
Here's what you missed...
Cursive, Capgun Coup and So Many Dynamos at were the Gargoyle on the Washington University campus last night, Sunday, April 6.
Early Sunday morning, thousands made their way to Downtown St. Louis -- even a tired-looking Gov. Matt Blunt -- for the Go! St. Louis Marathon. See pictures here.
Karl Gilpin, Russellville, Mo, finished first in the marathon for the second consecutive year. He finished with a personal best and new course record, 2:24:51.
Matthew Chesang topped the half marathon for the second consecutive year as well, with a new course record, 1:08:36. Last year, Chesang finished 1:09:02.
On Saturday night, The Safes, The Chapters and The 75s were at the Bluebird. We have video and a review in our A to Z blog.
Also on Saturday night, the Mr. Midwest Leather contest was held in Midtown. See the pictures here.
Saturday morning saw the rows of produce, knock-off sunglasses and Cardinals gear being sorted through by shoppers in Soulard Market. Very early Sunday morning, booze was on the menu on South Grand.
Sunday afternoon, the Loop was an attraction for shoppers and dancers and drummers.
Here's what you don't want to miss this summer.
Sommelier Chris Hoel is bidding adieu to his native St. Louis. An e-mail I got from him this morning says he’s accepted a job at The French Laundry, the preeminent chef Thomas Keller’s Yountville, California restaurant. Hoel is/was one of only two advanced sommeliers (certified by the Court of Masters Sommeliers) in St. Louis. I chronicled his attempt to become a master sommelier in last year’s cover story, “The Wine Master.”
Next Monday, April 7, beginning around 8 p.m., three dozen poets will read their favorite Donald Finkel poems in a tribute at that venerable House of Poems, Duff's.
You know, like a tribute CD, only substitute poetry for songs.
Rumor has it that one of the poets is eleven years old, and that the master of ceremonies edits this paper.
Donald Finkel -- yep, that's my dad.
Not gonna belabor this -- you can read the nuts and bolts in Paul Friswold's sweet Night & Day section item -- but like I said: That's my dad.
There'll be a piece about the reading in Sunday's Post-Dispatch, written by Dad's former student Howard Schwartz, who teaches creative writing at UMSL, and who organized the gathering, and who is an all-around mensch.
Accompanying the online version of Howard's piece in the Post will be a couple of sound files of my father reading his own work. I know this because I provided those files, which I got from Brian Cochran and Andy Cox, two former students of Dad's in Washington University's writing program. Check out their sometime online lit mag, WordVirtual.
Here are the sound files (with thanks again to Brian and Andy):
"Backing Up":
"Erratum":
After the jump you can read the text of the two poems and see a few photos of my pop.
What the hell, here too is the vintage (circa 1964) pic I supplied to the Post to run alongside the story. I believe it was taken as part of a shoot for a Saturday Evening Post story about the nuclear family. (My parents found that endlessly amusing.)
My mother, Constance Urdang, is holding Josephine; Dad's got Samuel. The girl on the right is my sister Liza; little Amy is in that odd contraption. The kid in the rocking chair who looks like the photographer just stole his lunch money and threatened to kill him is, well...
In St. Louis beer goes with more than just wedding receptions, picnics and PTA meetings. It's also paired delightfully with adopting animals.
Check out photos here.
For animal and beer lovers, the Humane Society of Missouri was the place to be Thursday evening. The Anheuser-Busch Beer School visited the Humane Society to explain the specifics in producing a fine-brewed beer. Some attendants came to learn and partake in beer tasting, while others wanted to get a close-up look at animals. Regardless, all wanted to support the Humane Society event, which the proceeds benefited the Chi Chi Anti-Cruelty Fund. This fund focuses on investigating, healing, and preventing animal abuse.
Leading the beer school discussion was Anheuser-Busch Beermaster, George Reisch. He described in-depth every step in brewing beer and why it is an integral part to the final product. In addition, he described the proper etiquette to drink beer and that the appearance, aroma, taste, all contribute to the enjoyment of beer.
After learning the specifics of beer, attendants toured\ the Humane Society of Missouri and got a first-hand look at all the animals in need of a home.
Kelly Fesler described how she finally got her husband, Steve, to visit the Humane Society with her.
“Being a female, I can never get him to come to the Humane Society. But when you mention beer, he signed up right away.”
Riverfront Times staff writer Kristen Hinman appears on the Charlie Brennan Show at 10 a.m. today on KMOX. You can hear her interview at www.kmox.com.
Hinman speaks about her stories on the dispute between unions and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission -- and what conventioneers really think about St. Louis' accommodations. Hinman acquired exit surveys from the CVC through Missouri Sunshine Law requests. Those documents were made available to all here on the Stlog on Monday.
The three PDF documents below contain the nine exit surveys Hinman received (with some information redacted by the CVC).
On Friday, Hinman blogged about how the union lockout at America's Center had escalated. Read the CVC's press release, issued after the unions put out their own release, titled, "Fact Sheet on Lockout of IBEW Local One and IATSE Locals 6 and 143 (the “Local Unions”) Illegally Imposed by St. Louis CVC."
Hinman investigated the dispute in the RFT's May 2007 cover story, "Bad Blood."
Also up for interview today on Brennan is John Larry Ray, brother of James Earl Ray. Read our interview with Ray in this week's cover story by Ellis Conklin.
A spokesman for McEagle Properties says the company will soon announce that it will work with community organizations on the hundreds of parcels that its founder, Paul J. McKee Jr., has acquired in north St. Louis.
As Riverfront Times has reported, McKee is now one of the single-largest landowners north of downtown, and his new neighbors often complain about the lack of maintenance on his properties, which include vacant lots, vacant buildings and recently vacated buildings.
When it comes to McKee's work on the north side, this qualifies as a veritable fount of open communication.
In October Metropolitan Congregations United had McKee tentatively scheduled to appear at a meeting at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hyde Park. MCU is a coalition of community-activist churches that wanted McKee to join a north side “stakeholders” group. MCU's leaders had promised not to put McKee on the spot about what he plans to do with his expanding real estate portfolio.
On Friday nights or Saturday mornings in the wee small hours, you can usually find me down at the Amshack on 16th Street waiting for the late train from Chicago. Or, rather, waiting for one particular passenger to alight from said train. It's not an especially pleasant place to pass the time: It's cold and dreary with aggressively yellow lighting. It smells weird. There are puddles on the bathroom floor. Everyone sits stiffly, either because the seats are so uncomfortable or because they are afraid they will be mugged. I've spent happier hours waiting around hospital emergency rooms.
And I am not alone. In the words of Marc Magliari of Amtrak media relations, “We're looking forward to staging bulldozer races to knock down the existing Amshack.” (This is, according to Amtrak official Ray Lang, one of the funniest things ever said by an Amtrak employee.)
Which is why, despite all the grumblings about the inefficiency of Amtrak itself, the opening of the new Gateway Transportation Center just a few hundred yards east of the Amshack is anticipated with such joy. So much joy, in fact, that although the center is still not entirely finished, Amtrak invited state officials to travel on a special train from Jefferson City yesterday afternoon for a special preview of the new center. (It was supposed to be open by now, but when -- aside from yesterday when government officials were involved -- has Amtrak ever run on time?)
The $20 million Gateway Transportation Center is no Union Station, but it's a lovely space. In addition to Amtrak, it will host Greyhound, MetroLink and MetroBus. It has high ceilings, and the windows, although multicolored, let in lots of light. There are separate windows for ticketing and baggage. The chairs are comfortable enough. St. Louis comptroller Darlene Green, whose agency supervises the facility, has promised food concessions: Arch City Deli has already signed a contract and KFC and Pizza Hut Express are pending. Most important, the new center will have 24-hour security.
But it soon became apparent that pride in the new transportation center was not the only reason Amtrak invited the politicians to St. Louis. The number of Amtrak riders is increasing everywhere across the country -- except along the St. Louis-Kansas City corridor. “We cannot run the service in a reliable, dependent manner,” said Amtrak's Lang, “and on-time performance is the most important factor for customers.”
Lang blames Amtrak's poor performance in Missouri on railway lines that are already congested with freight trains. (Union Pacific, which owns the tracks, has promised to invest in improvements to the route.)
“People have shown they will not ride a service they cannot depend on,” said Brian Weiler, multimodal operations director for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). “The number of riders decreases, the revenue from ticket sales decreases, and the subsidy Amtrak requires from the government to keep going increases. In the next two or three years, if we continue down this path, the service will go away.”
That is, if the Missouri state legislature doesn't vote to allocate Amtrak more funding.
A riddle: If a train that nobody rides goes away, will anybody miss it?
But MoDOT shouldn't be too down on itself: the Chicago-St. Louis train is usually late, too.
