TCB > July 2005

Daulton Dickey reviewed "The Bunglers," a locally produced movie, for Film Threat, and uh, well, just read it.

Ouch.

In other news, the Internet Movie Database lists 134 titles that were filmed at least partly in St. Louis, including such classics as "I Spit On Your Corpse, I Piss On Your Grave." Allow me to recommend "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" for your viewing pleasure. It was one of Steve McQueen's first movies, and the action centers around Southwest Bank at Kingshighway and Southwest. There are also lots of shots of Tower Grove Park.

Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jul 29, 2005 at 4:21 PM
Link & Discuss (3 comments) | The Media

Okay, I swear this was an unpaid and unsolicited testimonical, but Paul from the great and newsy STLScene.com has a ridiculously positive review of Free Candy! with Amanda & Julia on the front page of his site right now. Read it now and believe it Sunday, baby!

Also, I pretty much love anyone who calls me "adorable." *blush*

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Jul 29, 2005 at 4:14 PM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | The Commonspace

In a successful bid to make riding the standing-room-only Grand bus line (#70) more uncomfortable, Metro has removed the benches and shelters from the heavily used bus stop above the Grand Metrolink station. Nothing says "we don't care about you" like making people stand in 100-degree heat with no shade while waiting to board an overstuffed bus.

Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Jul 28, 2005 at 7:19 PM
Link & Discuss (3 comments) | Other

A segment about the Century Building is scheduled to air nationally on CBS Sunday Morning on July 31 sometime between 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. Tune into Channel 4 to watch it.

Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Jul 28, 2005 at 5:54 PM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | STL in the News

According to an article in the Suburban Journals, the South City Family YMCA (3150 Sublette Ave.) is planning to build an in-ground bowl to complement the ramps and rails at its skatepark, which opened in April. Site Design Group is designing the bowl. Construction is slated to begin in August and wrap up in October.

The park is free to members of the South City Y. Non-members pay $3 per session.

Maybe in ten years there will be a documentary entitled "Southeast of Dogtown and Z-boys."

Posted by Brian Marston on Sun., Jul 24, 2005 at 10:59 PM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | Other

Tipster (and fellow member of the Connecticut Cartel) Ajay Zutshi sent in these tasty bits:

1. Riley's, the phantom pub on Arsenal and Arkansas, is now sporting a Fat Tire neon sign in one of its windows. Heretofore, those windows sported only plain white curtains. Could this be an indicator that it may actually open to the public sometime soon?
   
   
2. The space formerly known as Gulf Coast Cafe is re-opening sometime in the next week. The new owner is named Ayub and the new restaurant is called Sameem. It's an Afghani restaurant and the menu reads "Featuring authentic Afgani Cuisine of Lamb, Beef, Chicken & Veal." Tough luck for you vegetarians.
   
   The menu lists a lunch buffet for $6.99, dinner buffet for $7.99. Carry-outs are $5 and $7 for lunch and dinner, respectively; add a buck for soda. Those are pretty reasonable prices, which befits the area.

Man, this blogging thing is a lot easier when the readers write the content. I don't even have to put on pants and leave the house.

Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jul 22, 2005 at 2:33 AM
Link & Discuss (3 comments) | Business District

Eunomia by Stefene Russell

StLWorkingMom by Marijean Jaggers

progressiveSTL by Dylan Hassinger

Ciao Baby! by Shannon McGinn

B.E.L.T. and M.E.L.T. by Toby Weiss

St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Lo-Fi Saint Louis by Bill Streeter

sustainablog by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

RobThurman.com Blog by Rob Thurman

Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Jul 21, 2005 at 10:50 PM
Link & Discuss (4 comments) | Fun Links

Wash U's fall Assembly Series of speakers has been announced (or, the "poor man's Speakers' Series," as I call it, since you don't have to mortgage your house to hear interesting ideas), and includes Tony LaRussa, David Horowitz, Carlos Fuentes, Lorenzo Carcaterra and more.

The best installment of this ever remains the morning that Dave Eggers spoke and, among other antics, invited a student who'd received a bad grade from a professor to confront the prof onstage and talk it out. Eggers also had his honorarium divvied up into five-dollar bills which he handed out, one by one, to the audience members.

I will say, though, that both series linked to here are woefully short of the fairer sex.

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Jul 21, 2005 at 12:27 PM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | People

St. Louis-bred band Story of The Year has just wrapped up their second studio album, following up on 2003's well-received "Page Avenue." We hear they're headed out to L.A. tomorrow to record the music video for the sophomore effort's first single. Hometown-proud, the band released a DVD earlier this year that included live footage from local concerts the previous fall: "Live in the Lou."

Represent!

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Jul 21, 2005 at 12:03 PM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | People

Hometown boy Nelly has teamed up with Reebok to come up with a footwear, apparel and accessory line: he's quoted as saying, "I've always been into sneakers and throughout my career I've always wanted to have a signature pair of sneakers that truly reflect my personal style." I mean, really, who hasn't?

So, he sings, he acts and now he fashion impresarios. And according to Joe Edwards, a guest on last month's Free Candy with Amanda & Julia, he actually *is* all that in the sporting arena. Joe described him as being a "really accomplished athlete." Guess that's how he held onto the high score at Pin-Up Bowl for so long...but we hear his record's been shattered. Maybe he'll make a pass through the Lou soon to play a little clean-up.

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 20, 2005 at 2:28 PM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | People

As great as my love is for Cinema St. Louis (the folks who bring us the St. Louis International Film Festival and this week, the St. Louis Filmmakers' Showcase), I've often thought their web page was, well, sad. Not befitting a great, artistic organization.

They must've intuited my pity.

UPDATE: Looks like the new site must still be a work in progress — a few pages in, some of the old design lingers...

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Jul 19, 2005 at 2:53 PM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | Other

Revisiting the conviction and execution of Larry Griffin makes the Times, and has national implications.

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Jul 19, 2005 at 11:27 AM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | STL in the News

Thomas Crone, our eye on the street, tells us that retro clothier FiFi's has a flyer in its window at 3190 South Grand that says, "As of August 6th we will be at 6172 Delmar across from the Pin up Bowl in the Loop... Please stop in and see the new Shop or give us a call at 314-773-2234."

I guess they'll have to change their domain name (fifisongrand.com), too. While they're at it, they can correct the line on their site that says, "Comming [sic] soon to our new location."

Ajay Zutshi confirmed the news of FiFi's impending move and one-upped TC by noting that there's also a sign on the door of Gulf Coast Cafe that says it's closed. Calling the number on the sign yielded no further details.

Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Jul 18, 2005 at 10:59 AM
Link & Discuss (2 comments) | Business District

In an effort to further typecast myself on this blog, I have a couple of hip-hop items to report.

First, The Core DJs Retreat will be in St. Louis August 25-28. Based at the Adams Mark Hotel, the event is expected to attract some of the hottest DJs from around the country for a long weekend of networking, music showcases and parties. Local members of The Core DJs include DJ Sir Thurl, J-Nicks, D-Rocc, The Infamous Que, DJ AJ and Kool Kaos. Props to my derrty Chris Thomas for dropping me the link about the retreat.

Second, the video for "In Ya Face" by local artist Ebony Eyez is out. It features shots of the Eads Bridge, the Arch and (I think) City Museum. Best lyric: "Can't spell 'hustler' without the 'S-T-L'"

How can a hip-hop city like St. Louis have only one hip-hop radio station? It boggles the mind.

Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Jul 13, 2005 at 8:22 PM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | Other

Morgan Spurlock (he of "Super Size Me" fame) has a new show on F/X, and tonight's episode (scroll over "Episode Guide" to "Off the Grid") brings two upwardly mobile New Jerseyites to the Show-Me State's own ecovillage, Dancing Rabbit. Will hilarity -- or despair -- ensue? Alas, someone with cable will have to fill me in later.

Here's the Dancing Rabbits' take on the experience.

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 13, 2005 at 2:18 PM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | Other

Like tens of thousands of other people, I was at Fair St. Louis on July 2, enjoying the unseasonably nice weather. It was a fun time, at least until some joker started firing bottle rockets into the crowd as it dispersed at the end of the night. One highlight was sampling the twin delicacies of the fried Twinkie and the fried Snickers bar. Oooooowheeeeee! Ain't that America?

There's a short photo essay after the jump. I would have gotten these up earlier, but, umm, I was waiting to get the pictures developed. Yeah, that's the ticket. (In the age of the Internets and digital cameras, there just aren't any good excuses anymore.)

Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Jul 13, 2005 at 2:03 PM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | Other

The Biz Journal's "30 Under 30" list is out, officially making us feel way too old. I'm sad to say I apparently move in un-mover-and-shaker crowds, but will give an approving nod to the presence of Mr. List (you may remember when he was a Top Single in STL Mag), Tom Weber, of KWMU.

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 13, 2005 at 11:00 AM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | People

Nice to see a shout-out to the neighborhood wading pool...and nice to hear an accounting of a favorite of The Commonspace, artist extraordinaire Cbabi Bayoc, who spends some quality time with his kiddos there.

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 13, 2005 at 10:40 AM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | People

Not to be outdone by MayorSlay.com's podcast with J-Nicks and Kiki, here's a short video (QuickTime, 2.1 MB, 1:37) I put together from footage shot by Jeremy "JS One" Smith. It features shout outs to St. Louis from funkstyle luminaries, including Popin Pete and Suga Pop from the legendary Electric Boogaloos.

Apparently, "da Lou" has not caught up to "St. Louie" as a nickname for our fair burg.

Update, 7/22/05: I added Pop Master Fabel from the Rock Steady Crew, corrected the spellings of some of the dancers' names, changed the soundtrack to Hunk o' Funk by Jack McDuff and saved the video with higher quality settings (QuickTime, 4.3 MB, 1:54).

Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Jul 12, 2005 at 8:33 PM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | Fun Links

Overheard this morning in line at Clayton's Banner Cleaners, comment from an anonymous City Hall spouse: "I don't know if he wants you to deliver his shirts to him or wants me to pick them up -- I know he was worried that it would be bad for him to get delivery, because, you know, this is the county and he's at City Hall in the city. I don't really want to say much more in front of other people..."

Reassurance from Banner employee: "Oh, it's no problem: we deliver to four or five people at St. Louis City Hall."

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Jul 11, 2005 at 11:15 AM
Link & Discuss (2 comments) | Business District

The little birds tell us that crews from HGTV spent many grueling hours in the home weaving studio of Christopher Granger yesterday, getting just the right shots for his debut on the network's new fall show, "That's Clever!" (It's a revamped version of the current "Crafters Coast-to-Coast," and I dare say my opinion is they should stick with that name. In my experience, when you have to say what the thing is right in the name, e.g. "It's Fashion!" or the Renault "LeCar," generally you're trying hard to overcompensate...)

Anyhoo, Christopher is, in fact, clever and crafty and opinionated and America will love him when he introduces them to the joys of weaving. And perhaps bee-keeping? He's a man of many interests.

UPDATE: here's the star's own take on the day, complete with spicy beekeeper-man photos...

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Jul 8, 2005 at 12:00 PM
Link & Discuss (1 comment) | People

Our congratulations to Melissa Brooks-Rubright, who after a lucky 13 years with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, will take on the duties of associate principal cello with the start of the 2005-06 season. (Brooks-Rubright is one of the bright minds behind our town's delightful Crossings Concerts series.)

Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 6, 2005 at 4:38 PM
Link & Discuss (0 comments) | People