Watch out, hatas: former Top STL Planner (kind of like Top Chef, only with less TV time) Rollin Stanley is roaming the streets of downtown. I spotted him getting the tour of the new Left Bank Books, but he's on foot and could be anywhere by the time you read this. Home scouting good ideas for exurban Maryland?
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Feb 20, 2009 at 1:53 PM
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Renowned poet (and pop to current Riverfront Times topper Tom Finkel) Donald Finkel died earlier this week; his passing is noted even in the Paper of Record.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Nov 21, 2008 at 10:13 AM
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I must alert you to a collector's dream, and also a chance to do a good thing: this Friday evening, from 6-9 p.m., at a benefit event to be held in South County (details below), there will be a plethora of neat/rare/useful Anheuser-Busch schtuff offered in several raffle and silent auction setups.
Including but not limited to: Sea World admission tickets, a media-only sample kit (includes glassware) of the new American Ale, a Budweiser bowling ball, a Budweiser snowboard, a holographic Clydesdale winter scene...and so much more! (psst, it's not all Bud, either: lots of great items from local businesses like Sqwires, Local Harvest Grocery, SweetArt Bakeshop, Missouri Botanical Garden, STL Style and more). Plus pasta, salad, Schlafly brew and Osterweis soda, Gooey Louie gooey butter cake and more.
Please join us, if for no other reason than to win your own Bud bowling ball...
Jason Rodhouse Benefit Family Dinner
(for a friend of TheCommonspace facing metastasized kidney cancer)
Friday, Oct. 24, 6-9 p.m.
Adults $10, kids 5-12 $5, free under 5
Bayless Elementary Cafeteria
4530 Weber Rd.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Oct 22, 2008 at 2:39 PM
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This gave me a giggle.
A few weeks ago at the awesome Tower Grove Farmers' Market, I enjoyed the musical stylings of Ben Bedford (and not just because he sang a song about Central Illinois' Sangamon River, the subject of my graduate thesis video...but that helped.)
Anyhoo, tooling around on his site, I was reading about his chosen path of self-financing his upcoming album, and I love the available sponsorship levels: read all the way to the end.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Sep 5, 2008 at 2:54 PM
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Though not always beloved in the town where one of his champions, arts patron Emily Pulitzer, keeps trying to convince the locals, sculptor Richard Serra is riding high off the well-received installation of his new work, "Promenade," exhibited during May and June in Paris' Grand Palais exhibition hall. Five 56-foot-tall, 73-ton slabs of steel were erected in the hall's expansive atrium. All in a day's work for the artist, who was recently honored as a Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters, a tribute awarded by the French Academy.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 9, 2008 at 4:15 PM
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Lydia Marie Horine made her grand entrance into the world today. Proud parents Jenny Ryan and Patrick Horine of Tower Grove Farmers' Market and Local Harvest fame happen to live next-door to The Commonspace world headquarters (at least while the DSL is still turned on there; Amanda, Milo and I have moved across the alley to an apartment in our four-family). Must be something in the water.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., May 26, 2008 at 2:55 PM
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Timely bloggers we are not. Mayor Slay and Thomas Crone beat us to posting about the birth of our own son.
There's a birth announcement of sorts posted at milomarston.com. (He's got his own domain name, natch.) More photos will be forthcoming on my Flickr account. For some reason, the hospital's content filter blocks access to Flickr.
Posted by Brian Marston on Sun., May 18, 2008 at 9:14 PM
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The newest addition to the Drebes-Penilla family appeared on the scene this morning, joining Mommy Mary Lisa, Daddy Dave and Big Sister Sarah Ann and accounting for a 33% increase in year-over-year household size. Like his older sibling when she was his age, he doesn't have a name yet.
Update: Photo and stats for Baby X
Update II: And his name is ... Benjamin Antonio Penilla-Drebes.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Apr 25, 2008 at 8:57 PM
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Local photog Gena Allen has a show up at Provisions Gourmet Market (yes, in the dreaded Creve Coeur) that was previewed, once upon a time, at Ye Olde Commonspace Website. (Is today Old Home Day, or what?) Anyway, we loved her photos and commentary then, and we bet you'll love it now, too. Get out to see the show before it comes down this Saturday.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jan 2, 2008 at 5:07 PM
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Bidding adieu to SLSO's firecracker violinist, Amy Oshiro, who hung up her bow and is headed to the Philadelphia Orchestra instead. You can read our first impressions of her, lo these many years ago, here.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jan 2, 2008 at 3:12 PM
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Well, we knew it was too good to last: KWMU's Tom Weber has accepted a reporter post at Minnesota Public Radio, to begin just after the start of 2008. He'll be back in familiar morning-drive territory, as a general assignment reporter. He was curiously mum about any interesting tidbits, so all we know for sure is: Yogi the cat travels north, too; this will be Tom's third position with a direct supervisor named "Bill"; and he swiped one of Garrison Keillor's famed red sneakers from a dressing room while in the Twin Cities for his interview at the station.
Watch out, Weber; we hear Keillor's got a nasty temper behind that Everyman bonhomie...
In a greater blow, St. Louis' #1 live, non-broadcast talk show is now without a co-host. Again.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Nov 29, 2007 at 12:11 PM
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STL expat Patrick Landewe shows up, in photographic and culinary representations, in this article from the NY Times about his current day job, keeping the Saugerties Lighthouse on the Hudson River. (Another local boy made good, Steve Smith, visited him there recently...)
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Nov 2, 2007 at 1:14 PM
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To hometown artist (and past contributor to TheCommonspace.org) Stan Chisholm, who was voted "Best in Show" at the ArtDimensions Village at September's Taste of St. Louis event. (You'll find him on the right in this photo, grinning it up in his STLStyle tee...)
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Oct 9, 2007 at 4:35 PM
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There's a movement afoot to get Pete Parisi a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. The online petition currently has 57 signers. The late Parisi was the mastermind behind World Wide Magazine, a public access TV program that ran for 15 years. We ran an article about the show written by Brent Feeney, a regular cast member, back in March of 2002.
Posted by Brian Marston on Sun., Aug 5, 2007 at 12:28 PM
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Imagine, children, if you can, my delight upon exiting Kaldi's yesterday afternoon (after a delish cup of French onion soup) and running into (almost literally) the tanned, rested and ready Blake Brokaw, one of the members of TheCommonspace's Pantheon of Top 10 Ever St. Louisans. Amazing! Haven't seen him in a year or more, and yet there he was. (Okay, I don't really know if the "tanned" part of my description is true, but all that fresh ink he sports gives the impression of a glow of health....)
What I gleaned from our two-minute conversation? He's teaching the culinary arts to a bunch of 12-year-olds at the Father Tolton Center in north St. Louis. Lucky kids, those.
And more evidence that lots of the cool folks are heading north...
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 18, 2007 at 11:37 AM
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Raise 'em high, ladies: the latest inductees into (onto?) the St. Louis Walk of Fame are....the Rockettes. The stylish steppers began life in 1925 as the "Missouri Rockets," a 16-member dance line dreamt up by Russell Markert and inspired by the Ziegfeld Follies gals. They performed to entertain the crowds before feature films at the Missouri Theater on Grand Ave. — so much better than the crappy commercials we're subjected to these days. Seven years later, they kicked and pivoted their way into a permanent gig at Radio City Music Hall.
You can join the fun at the induction ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 11 a.m. at 6309 Delmar (near Riddle's Penultimate). Keep on kickin'.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jul 11, 2007 at 11:00 AM
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We see from a visit to one of our daily haunts that hometown poet Aaron Belz is headed north to take part in the Bookslut Reading Series; expect lots of good stuff from his delicious new volume, "The Bird Hoverer," and perhaps some old favorites, too.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Jul 5, 2007 at 10:52 AM
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Among the many things I love about this here town (and maybe it's this way a lot of places, I dunno, but I chalk it up to "big small town-iness") is that, though it's a delightful surprise to me to find out that my tax dude has written a one-act play to be performed by my local grassroots theater company....it's not all that unlikely. I just love that!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Jun 18, 2007 at 2:43 PM
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We got word late tonight of the passing of St. Louis playwright/musician/director Christopher Jackson: city types will remember him as the creative force behind "Gaslight Square: The Musical" and "Trolley to DeBaliviere," among other works celebrating our town and its past. No details were available immediately about his death, but plans for a memorial at the Missouri History Museum are being made.
UPDATE, 5/28:
Obituary from the Post-Dispatch can be found here.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Sat., May 26, 2007 at 12:34 AM
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Great friend of St. Louis city (and also friend of TheCommonspace and me and Brian, personally) Marti Frumhoff passed away unexpectedly last night.
We worked with Marti on many projects over our years in St. Louis, from one iteration of the Big Big Tour (one of her many city-boosting brainchildren) to Southtown redevelopment to countless Metropolis initiatives back in the day. Her passion for the city and its possibilities was unlimited, and she constantly urged those around her to do more and bigger things. She will be greatly missed.
Arch City Chronicle reports a memorial service will be held Friday afternoon, May 18, at 1 p.m. at Central Reform Congregation.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., May 17, 2007 at 10:58 AM
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Marti Frumhoff passed away last night at the age of 50. Reportedly, she had a heart attack at home.
The city of St. Louis had no truer friend than Marti. She was a Realtor and a photographer. Among the projects and organizations she was deeply involved with were the Rehabbers Club (founder), ReVitalize St. Louis (founder), Main Street St. Louis (founder), Friedens Haus publishing club (founder), Metropolis St. Louis (board member), and the Save the Century effort (litigant).
From what I've heard, services will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Central Reform Congregation.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., May 17, 2007 at 10:12 AM
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Another reminder of why having David Robertson around is good for the Lou: he keeps us on the national radar. Robertson was the conductor of the evening (presiding over the Juilliard Orchestra) at the recent "Good Night Alice" gala, retiring the Alice Tully Hall for 18 months of renovations. NYT has the write-up here.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., May 3, 2007 at 2:32 PM
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And in a recent experiment seeking solidarity with Oregon food-stamp recipients who live on an average of $21/week in groceries, Gov. Theodore Kulongoski was reminded of those lean days of his childhood.
"The governor, a former labor lawyer, state insurance commissioner, state attorney general and member of the Oregon Supreme Court, noted more than once during his week on the low-cost diet that he grew up an orphan in a Catholic boys home in St. Louis. He said Friday that he had learned to clean his plate no matter what was on it."
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., May 2, 2007 at 11:24 AM
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Lupe Fiasco (born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco) played a free show at Webster University last Friday. In my opinion, his Food & Liquor was the best album of 2006.
In the picture on the right taken by Camille Peace, I'm playing rock, paper, scissors with Lupe (tie!) while Amanda stands by. We were backstage courtesy of VIP passes wrangled by big man on campus John Ginsburg (thanks, John!). John also got DJ Trackstar backstage and into Lupe's dressing room, where Lupe recorded some sound bites for Trackstar's next mixtape while Camille shared a fruit plate with the head of the FNF crew. Look for Trackstar's mix hosted by Lupe Fiasco to drop sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Apr 26, 2007 at 12:06 AM
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Whilst listening to "News & Notes" last evening on KWMU, I was delighted to hear poet Ruth Forman reading from her evocative new children's book, "Young Cornrows Callin' Out the Moon," but it got better when I found out hometown treasure Cbabi Bayoc is the illustrator of this new volume. Sounds like the kids on my list have a new gift book coming soon...
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Apr 19, 2007 at 10:18 AM
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Now, I'm as law-abiding as the next gal (depending on which way you look, that could take on a gamut of degrees), but I found this wording on a mailing insert from outgoing Collector of Revenue Ronald A. Leggett to sound a bit, well, threatening (maybe the fact that it's IN ALL CAPS made me wary?):
"PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT AS OF
MARCH 5, 2007
YOUR COLLECTOR OF REVENUE WILL BE
GREGORY F.X. DALY.
IN ADDITION, PLEASE BE GUIDED ACCORDINGLY BY WELCOMING AND
COOPERATING WITH HIM AS YOU HAVE ME."
(signed, everyone's favorite check recipient)
The reverse is even funnier:
"Thank You For 30 Years of Memories
and Nearly 10 Billion Dollars in Collections"
Dude, we didn't give you the 10 extra-extra-large because we like you: it's the law — I don't think you can put it on your résumé.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Apr 17, 2007 at 1:40 PM
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It's a boy! Beck made his grand entrance at 11:56 p.m. last night after more than 48 hours of labor, bringing smiles to the faces of his exhausted parents, Maddie Earnest and Jason McClelland. In the waiting room party were Susan and Hugh Earnest (Maddie's mom and dad), Jo and Randy Wimer (Jason's mom and step-dad), Angela Melson, Amanda Doyle and me. The incomparable Dr. Teresa Knight delivered the little marathoner at Missouri Baptist.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Mar 26, 2007 at 9:57 AM
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News on this glorious spring Saturday that took a little sunshine out of our day: Randall Roberts, the last remaining Ray Hartmann-era staff writer for the Riverfront Times — where he pens, among other brilliance, "Drink of the Week," consistently the best thing in the paper, with the best one in recent memory celebrating a drink so overlooked you may not even recognize it as such — has given notice to the upper-ups that his last days will be in early May. He's leaving on a jet plane for the left coast, where he's gonna shack with friends, become a brilliant screenwriter, acquire an agent and generally kick ass and take names. Well, that's the plan, anyway, via his hookup with The Masses; let's hope he doesn't just get all gaga over his newfound creative proximity to Heath Ledger and take to just drinking and lolling at The Ivy all day...
Truly, we've always been big fans of RR, and we're sad to see him go just short of his ten-year anniversary at the RFT. On the other hand, whatcha wanna bet that several iterations of New Times/Village Voice belt-tightening have taken commemorative watches out of the staff budget? So, we'll be watching and waiting, Randy: make us hometown proud.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Sat., Mar 24, 2007 at 7:09 PM
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(Ed. note: By now you may have heard that the zine version of TheCommonspace.org is no longer in regular publication; however, from time to time, we plan to share some of the kinds of stories we liked to publish there, here. This is our first installment in the new arrangement, from Texpatriate Blythe Terrell. Enjoy!)
This submission was removed 5/16/07 at the request of its author.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Feb 26, 2007 at 2:28 PM
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Just about any of his patients could've told you this, I'm sure, but we're pleased as punch to pass along the news that Dr. Ed Migneco (top dog at Hillside Animal Hospital) has been named the Hartz Veterinarian of the Year for 2007. Dr. Ed has a heart of gold and some magic doctor skills to match: we'll never forget him for providing above-and-beyond service for a too-far-gone pit bull named Kismet we rescued from a freezing death in Tower Grove Park many years ago. He's honored by Hartz in part for his extraordinary community service, including his longtime affiliation providing care for the pups of Stray Rescue.
Good boy!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Sat., Feb 17, 2007 at 7:16 PM
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(*with no offense intended to the occupants thereof, I just find it funny how excited I get over minor St. Louis celebrities)
Just to prove it's not all wannabe hipster musicians up in here, I should duly report my flight home from LA last evening with KSDK's Randy Jackson aboard: he seemed engaged in animated conversation with a row-mate most of the 3.5-hour flight. And the man is remarkably tan, whether from a sojourn in sunny California or the fake bake we may never know.
I wasn't the only one wowed by proximity to what passes for fame, television presence: the NASCAR-hatted dude sitting near me kept threatening to "just walk up to 'im and say, 'What's in the news today, Randy Jackson, dude?'" Incisive commentary, that.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Feb 6, 2007 at 3:08 PM
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An amusing NYT piece about the D.C. gossip mill includes:
"Item: Representative William Lacy Clay, a Missouri Democrat, got his braces taken off."
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Feb 2, 2007 at 10:15 PM
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Kids, this could be just the break you've been waiting for, if your life doesn't include enough detail work and drama:
Bob Cassilly and fam are looking for a personal assistant.
Yup: in an entry on the City Museum employment page, we learn that the joint's "First Couple" needs someone who will, among other responsibilities, juggle their kids' and nanny's schedule, book travel, interact with maintenance and museum personnel, and (here's the kicker) take on "other projects generated by Bob and Giovanna." Yowza. ("Grab a pickax!" you can imagine Bob saying. "We're digging to China tonight!")
Maybe I have romantic notions about what this job would be like; we've always been big FOBs here...maybe it's much more quotidian than I think. But I sure hope the spot goes to someone I know well enough that I can get a glimmering of the inner workings.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Feb 1, 2007 at 4:00 PM
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Behold the video for "Sun Sets in the City" by former St. Louisan (2000-2005) A-Bex:
"Sentimental," a chilled out track by A-Bex that appeared on DJ Trackstar's Renegade mix CD in 2004, is a staple in my music collection. Speaking of DJ and RFT cover model Trackstar, Boogie Bang 5 is out. I've been listening to it the last couple of days.
In other music news, our New York correspondent Amanda Doyle reports that hometown hero Jay Farrar was on AA flight 576 to La Guardia this afternoon. He's playing with Gob Iron in Hoboken, NJ, on the 19th and in Brooklyn on the 20th.
Finally, Jonathan Lethem reports that local boy DJ Play's James Brown Is a Bad Man mix CD is in heavy rotation in his whip when he's rolling through Brooklyn.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Jan 17, 2007 at 6:56 PM
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I generally prefer to keep my various worlds from colliding too much, but in the interest of contributing to the public debate, just want to invite you (now that the show's streaming) to pop on over to "The Wire" radio show's section of the KDHX website to hear last week's conversation -- a full half-hour! -- with Dr. Diana Bourisaw, superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools. Among other things, find out if she thinks she'll be in the job for much longer...
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Dec 27, 2006 at 11:12 AM
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Well, that was inevitable. The Dave Drebes Players have a MySpace page. The lineup is Dave Drebes (vocals, piano/keyboard, songwriter, namesake), Jenna Bauer (bass), Fred Hessel (guitar), Matt Siemer (guitar) and Jeff Smith (drums). Butler Miller and I are the guys behind the guys (and girl). Look for a couple of live shows and a CD in December.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Nov 29, 2006 at 3:46 PM
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Congratulations to Fred and Amy Stringer Hessel on yesterday's arrival of Camille Rachael Hessel, the baby heretofore known as Lil Snapper. She's only one day old and already being blogged about — impressive.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Nov 15, 2006 at 3:10 PM
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"Private Enemy" in The Village Voice by Ben Westhoff, RFT staff writer
"Dirty tactics fail in Missouri" in Salon by Dave Drebes, Arch City Chronicle publisher
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Nov 8, 2006 at 4:29 PM
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St. Louis County Associate Circuit Judge Barbara Ann Crancer is Jimmy Hoffa's daughter. I picked up this nugget from Phi Beta Kappa's newsletter, The Key Reporter. (Barbara's a member, too.) Among the many joys of a liberal arts education is the lifelong buildup of inconsequential trivia.
The important question is, as a Detroit native living in St. Louis, who did she root for in the World Series?
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Nov 2, 2006 at 11:02 PM
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Well, first they changed the name of the film (it's now called "The Miracle Match," maybe in a nod to the powerful pull of awesome alliteration?), and then it was in, ahem, limited release...but soccer fans and St. Louisans who love to support the home team can still catch "Game of Their Lives" fever this weekend. Girasole Gifts & Imports, at the corner of Marconi and Wilson on The Hill, hosts 1950 U.S. Soccer Team goalie Frank Borghi in-store for a autograph session and DVD release party on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 1-4 p.m. Bonus: buy the DVD or book of the team's story, and you can score a commemorative poster for half-price. Call (314) 773-7700 for more info.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Sep 29, 2006 at 4:50 PM
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Local 15-year-old rapper Jovan "Jibbs" Campbell made the 10 Artists to Watch 2006 list in the current issue of Rolling Stone. As an amateur boxer, Jibbs won two Golden Glove titles. His brother, DJ Beats of Da Beatstaz, produced most of his debut album.
Jibbs is at #8 on MySpace's list of major label artists. He has 2,154,461 profile views and 71,167 friends (compared to 706 and 51 for DJ Play, sniff).
Jibbs' hit single, the nursery-rhyme hooked "Chain Hang Low," is at #8 on iTunes. The video for the song is at #6 on Yahoo! Music. It shows him hanging at the corner of Osage and Pennsylvania, rocking the Cardinals gear and South Side jacket.
Update: Randall Roberts has a post on the disconcerting origin of "Chain Hang Low's" melody on STLog, the RFT's new blog. Wait a minute, the RFT has a blog? Can't the print (and TV) folks leave a few untouched crumbs for us old-school new-media playas? Still, we like Randall an awful lot. His "Drink of the Week" column is the shiznit.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Sep 15, 2006 at 2:09 PM
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Congratulations to Peat and Kris Wollaeger on the birth of their third son, Leo Xavier. Check out the best baby announcement evah.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Sep 8, 2006 at 2:28 PM
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Okay, I'll freely admit that I haven't read the book myself (but reviews like this don't make me want to!); so, I merely direct you to Michiko Kakutani's take on expat Jonathan Franzen's new memoir "The Discomfort Zone."
Apparently Our Man in the World is a sort of miserable but superior being. But hey, Webster Groves, take heart: you're described as "in the middle of the country in the middle of the golden age of the American middle class." So, you know, things could be worse.
Oh, maybe I'm just jealous: I contacted Franzen back in 2001 to see if he would write for our "Expatriates" section, and he got back to me, letting me know it was just bad timing, as he had a new project that occupied most of his waking hours. So, you know, he gave up exposure on our site just for that! Who ever heard of "The Corrections"? :)
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Aug 29, 2006 at 11:33 AM
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If the adventurous little "Miss Rockaway Armada" actually makes it to the Lou, I, for one, will toast its arrival with a cold Schlafly and invite the river rats and artists thereupon to join me.
Keep your eyes peeled, people! 'Specially those of you living along the mighty Mississip. Anyone want to help them pull something off here?
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Aug 9, 2006 at 3:52 PM
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Dave Gray has posted a video of a driving tour of St. Louis in Steve Smith's Lincoln Continental with stops at Cherokee Street, the Silver Spur, the Lemp brewery complex and the graffiti flood wall.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Aug 9, 2006 at 11:35 AM
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There's an article about Jeff Smith on Wikipedia. Wikipedia has bios for more than 300 people from St. Louis.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Aug 9, 2006 at 11:15 AM
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Jeff Smith's campaign has more than 200 volunteers lined up for election day. He'll have at least one person at every polling place every hour the polls are open on Tuesday.
Posted by Brian Marston on Sun., Aug 6, 2006 at 7:54 PM
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Anyone remember those old E.F. Hutton commercials?
Anyhoo, the Wash U Assembly Series (one of those great, free things that I suspect are always going on at college campuses but don't get much play to the wider community) has posted its fall schedule, and the speakers look to be a good bunch, from Sy Hersh to Marjane Satrapi. Sneak out of work and enjoy!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Aug 2, 2006 at 10:23 AM
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Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam on "The Office," has posted an entry on her MySpace blog laying out her advice for aspiring actors, including this tidbit:
I always wanted to be an actor but when you grow up in a place like St. Louis that is sort of like saying, "I want to be a superhero when I grow up".
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jul 7, 2006 at 3:01 PM
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Aaron James has a fun video for "A Superman's Disclaimer" on the new version of his website. You can find it under "media." Yay for online video!
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Jun 27, 2006 at 9:16 PM
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There's a Flickr group dedicated to former St. Louisan "Baton" Bob Jamerson.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Jun 27, 2006 at 7:30 PM
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The latest issue of Mesh, the magazine of the Contemporary Art Museum—St. Louis, points out that three local folks are among the Top 200 Collectors on last year's ARTnews yearly roundup list: Barbara and Donald L. Bryant, Jr., and Emily Rauh Pulitzer. Now, luckily, Ms. Pulitzer's collection has a public outpost where the curious can view the goods; guess you'll have to cozy up to the Bryants for a similar look-see (though Donald Bryant's influence extends beyond our borders, too: he's a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.)
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Apr 25, 2006 at 9:48 AM
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COCA instructor, "So You Think You Can Dance?" contestant and snappy dresser Nicholas Gates has a site up for his hip-hop sculptures.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Apr 12, 2006 at 1:31 PM
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Hip-hop power couple Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons announced on March 31 they'd separated after seven years of marriage. Russell co-founded Def Jam Records with Rick Rubin at New York University in 1984. Kimora, a Florissant native, is the head of the Baby Phat clothing line. New York Magazine dubbed her "the New Queen of Conspicuous Consumption." Like the Alicia Keys song says, Kimora and Russell will continue "makin' paper" as business partners.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Apr 5, 2006 at 1:56 PM
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As announced from the stage at tonight's Undertow Records showcase at Blueberry Hill: the family of John Horton--regular or fill-in guitarist for seemingly every group in town--has welcomed a baby girl (Grace) to the fold. Congrats and remember: it's never to early to start a child's musical education!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Sun., Mar 26, 2006 at 12:59 AM
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Local boy Peat Wollaeger has an entry in the international K-Swiss shoe design competition. Somehow, he managed to stencil an intricate piece of artwork on a pair of all-white tennis shoes.
You have to register to vote for the winner. Peat is currently in first place by four votes.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Mar 21, 2006 at 2:19 PM
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St. Louis has suddenly discovered Cbabi! Since we hosted one of his art openings at The Commonspace, of course, we couldn't be prouder to add to the accolades his current show ("Our Family Portrait," on view at the stellar Portfolio Gallery) is getting. Here's a story from stltoday.com -- you gotta dig a dude who can paint with a baby strapped to his back!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Mar 6, 2006 at 9:27 PM
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Local icon Bob Reuter has a MySpace page. One of these days, I'm going to have to get with all these social networking sites.
Update: I've been sucked in.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Feb 21, 2006 at 2:23 PM
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Wow!
In a move we hope does not become a trend (though it could lead to fun speculation), I was alerted by co-hostess Julia that today's episode of Judge Alex (scroll down) featured former Free Candy guests and artistic collaborators Shellee Graham and Bill Boll in a legal fight over who gets to cash in on their documentary "Built for Speed: The Coral Court Motel."
Okay, but here's the kicker: Julia was en route to the airport (to Turkey, of course) and I am stuck at this lousy desk. Someone out there, tell us the outcome!! Which way did the wheels of justice turn?
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Feb 16, 2006 at 4:36 PM
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RFT staff writer Mike Seely—loved by some, loathed by others—is taking his act back to Seattle, where he'll join the staff of New Times' newest acquisition, the Seattle Weekly. We hear you've got a few weeks to bid him adieu.
UPDATE: an astute reader points out that there is officially no such animal as New Times anymore; rather, all the former Times properties are now amalgamated into Village Voice Media.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Jan 31, 2006 at 9:59 AM
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Photojournalist Tom Lampe, who'd take a few punches from The Man before losing the big story, is mentioned cryptically in the Feb. '06 issue of St. Louis Magazine. In a little dial-o-meter of "what's up, down and out in St. Louis this month," the final item reads (with a down arrow):
POOR EXPOSURE: Local photog chased and cuffed for snapping pics inside an empty St. Louis Centre. Don't mess with mall security.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Jan 27, 2006 at 5:40 PM
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Linda Springrose, the first secretary of Metropolis St. Louis, passed away in Baltimore yesterday from complications related to a blood clot. Among the Metropolis projects she proposed were Legislative Watch and a Voters' Guide. She was also involved with St. Louis City CASA.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Jan 19, 2006 at 11:06 AM
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Congratulations to Amy and Luis Pizano on the birth of their new son. Carter arrived yesterday around 11 a.m. Amy is the owner of Pets in the City.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Jan 5, 2006 at 3:17 PM
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DJ G-Wiz, the OG of hip-hop radio in St. Louis, hosted the "African Alert"/"Street Vibes" show on KDHX FM 88.1 from 1986 to 1997. He recently applied to host a new hip-hop show on the station with DJ Needles. He's also working on a documentary movie about the roller skating scene in St. Louis from the 70s through today.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Jan 4, 2006 at 2:08 PM
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It wouldn't be hip hop without the beef, which is too bad, really, because the arguments always look silly from the outside looking in. This time, MCs Big Will and Luqman of Da SLU Cru are squaring off against Bill Beene, the entertainment editor of The St. Louis American. The war of words was made strangely public by Bill in the pages of the American. To quote Chuck D., "All I want is peace and love on this planet / Ain't that how God planned it?"
In other feud news, the Chingy vs. Nelly thread on this site is up to 194 comments. Yeesh!
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Jan 2, 2006 at 4:20 PM
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A largely complete, bare-bones schedule for the upcoming semester of the Wash U Assembly Series is up: notables include Cornell West, Lani Guinier, Jonathan Kozol...and Morgan Spurlock.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Dec 15, 2005 at 4:00 PM
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Nelly has an online fan club where members earn points redeemable for prizes by helping promote our hometown music heavyweight. It's free to join. The more you post to the message board, respond to polls, answer trivia quizzes, work on your fan page, etc., the more points you get.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Dec 6, 2005 at 4:06 PM
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Illsider Boogie IQ (Tony Harris) won first place in the funkstyle dance competition at Who's Got the Juice 3 in Dallas last month. Worldwide, baby, worldwide. Peep the trailer from last year's event.
Posted by Brian Marston on Sun., Dec 4, 2005 at 12:14 PM
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The St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation is one of my favorite local nonprofit organizations. At the bicycling advocacy group's annual meeting on November 13, Karen Karabell took over the reins from outgoing chair Bob Foster.
The other officers of the Bicycle Federation are:
Chair-Elect: Ben Hockenhull
Vice-Chair: Jason McClelland
Treasurer: John Sweet, M.D.
Secretary: Carrie Zukoski
The board members of the Bicycle Federation are:
Martin Pion
Wes Ridgeway
Patrick Van Der Tuin
Russell A. Willis, III
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Nov 30, 2005 at 10:20 AM
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Spotted this a.m. at the Target Greatland (just what is the "Greatland" all about, anyway?) in Brentwood: one Deb Peterson—clad in kicky, rolled-up, side-tie jeans and star-covered boots—making a beeline for the women's winter accessories. Note to would-be favorably covered a-listers and hot dog munchers: she seemed particularly taken with the faux-fur capelets and pom-pom scarves...
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Nov 22, 2005 at 11:43 AM
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St. Louis stencil artist extraordinaire Peat Wollaeger has a blog. Among the things I learned there is that he was selected as a Juxtapoz magazine reader artist for the week of October 10. One of my unrealized dreams for The Commonspace's physical incarnation was to have one of our art shows featured in Juxtapoz. The one we had for Peat and Justin Tolentino would have been a good fit.
Peat also has a Flickr account. Speaking of Flickr, there's a St. Louis group on the site that has 140 members who have posted 2,094 photos of our fair city. Check it out.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Nov 15, 2005 at 1:44 PM
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I'm a little slow in getting around to noting this, but local Coral Court Motel championer Shellee Graham received the 8th John Steinbeck Award for historic preservation, awarded on September 16th in San Bernadino, California. The award presentation cited Graham's "many years of bringing global recognition to Route 66 through her exception photo documentation, artwork, books, films and lectures; and for her personal efforts to preserve the memory of the famous Coral Court in St. Louis, Missouri."
You can read more about her cause (or buy a pair of "Built for Speed" panties) here.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Oct 18, 2005 at 3:51 PM
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You know you've made it when, not only does your hometown show some love by inducting you into the genius St. Louis Walk of Fame, but....they also hire a three-piece ragtime band to play at the ceremony!
This year's inductee's into the Delmar shrine are:
*George Sisler—the greatest player in St. Louis Browns history, who ended his career with a .340 average. His son and family members will accept the honor at 11 a.m. on Oct. 22
*Charles Guggenheim—a documentary and feature filmmaker, four-time Oscar winner and director of both "Monument to the Dream" (yeah, the film you can still see today at the Arch) and "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery," Steve McQueen's first film. His widow and daughter will attend at 11 a.m. on Oct. 29
*You saw this one coming, right? The man himself, Nelly, will be inducted on a date TBA (money's on Nov. 2 at the moment), for his many accomplishments that put St. Louis hip-hop on the miznap. (Is that a word? Or even a fake word?) Even better, if he's filed under "N" for "Nelly," (and not "H" for Cornell Haynes) he'll be the only other N besides Howard Nemerov...Plus, Chingy ain't even on the radar. Sorry, playa.
You can peruse all the previous inductees here.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Oct 18, 2005 at 11:30 AM
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Start sending in those donations: the Center for Recording Arts, headed by Gabe Moskoff (AKA DJ Trackstar), officially received its 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit status today. Trackstar will be spinning at the Breaking for Broken Lives event at Destiny Church (1809 Des Peres Road) next Saturday where you can pick up a copy of his Hurricane Katrina relief CD for $5.
Posted by Brian Marston on Sat., Oct 8, 2005 at 1:24 AM
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Well, this whole pregnancy thing is really catching on: we're delighted to congratulate Amy and Luis Pizano, owners of the awesome Pets in the City in Soulard, where you can find just about every healthy thing your pet needs and wants. Amy tells us she's due on New Year's Eve, "just in time to have a margarita!"
Cheers.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Sep 26, 2005 at 2:52 PM
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The newly engaged Stephen Schenkenberg is moving from St. Louis to Madison, WI, where he'll set up shop as a freelance writer and editor. Cue Troy McClure: You might remember his byline from such publications as PlaybackSTL (he's the book editor), St. Louis Magazine and (of course) The Commonspace.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Sep 20, 2005 at 12:50 PM
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Because it's a maestro/ette on the way for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's Dale Fisher and, more importantly, his wife Emily Fisher! (Emily also spends her days toiling for the arts, at Young Audiences of St. Louis).
We hope they're breaking the news gently to the current baby in the house, one feisty canine known as "the Minnie Pooper."
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Sep 9, 2005 at 11:08 AM
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Number of "recall Tom Bauer" signs I saw in Clifton Heights today: 16
Number of pro-Tom Bauer signs I saw: 0
Posted by Brian Marston on Sat., Sep 3, 2005 at 4:47 PM
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Doing a bit of research for an article upcoming in the next issue of The Commonspace.org (yes! it lives, people!), ran across the blog for StillSpeaking.org. The "Still Speaking" movement is big in the United Church of Christ denomination right now, and St. Louis' own Bryan Q. Newcomb (whose byline has appeared in the Post and RFT, among others) is the blogger in question, who explores the "intersection of music, pop culture and spirituality."
And that is why the UCC is the kinda church this backslidden Southern Baptist could get with...were she to get with a church.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Aug 30, 2005 at 11:15 PM
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There's a glowing article about Nicholas Gates (AKA bboy Nick Fury) in West County's Citizen Journal. Nick was a contestant on Fox's new reality show, "So You Think You Can Dance?".
You can see him doing his thing on the world-famous Commonspace linoleum in this clip of one of last year's Jammin' at the Zoo parties. He's the one dressed all in black.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Aug 18, 2005 at 1:29 PM
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To: Larry Salci, President and CEO of Metro
From: Brian Marston, Transit Consultant Consultant
Re: Do you believe in your product?
Why don't you ditch your turbo Audi A6 and $400-a-month vehicle allowance (as if you need it when you have a $225,000 salary) and take the bus? You can pass the cost savings on to me.
[See the cover story of this week's RFT for the background.]
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Aug 9, 2005 at 12:52 AM
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Our congratulations to Heather Dallape and Theodore Moll (the permanent core of time-space traveling band Bagheera), who are anticipating an addition to their family early next year. Because expectant moms can only rock and roll so long, their show this Friday at Creepy Crawl will be their last for a while.
And we bet that kid is gonna rock!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Sun., Aug 7, 2005 at 6:50 PM
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Some sample lyrics from "Laduesier" on Jessie Irwin's new CD, "Hair of the Dog":
You're rich and you're bright and you're pasty and white
You've got what it takes to succeed
You like cheeses and wine, and you're real good at buyin'
Lots of shit that you don't really need
And you live in a house for a family of ten
But you've got a family of two
You're a Laduesier, Laduesier - a hoosier that lives in Ladue
You can listen to a snippet of the song here.
To add to Jesse's indie cred, all of the photos on his site were taken by Bob Reuter, who was laying down a phat set at The Royale last night.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Aug 2, 2005 at 9:31 PM
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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SLU professor Ross Brownson is quoted in an article in the June 20 issue of U.S. News & World Report ("Building Illness"). The article is about the link between suburban sprawl and health problems like obesity and asthma. Brownson headed up a successful project to build a network of walking trails in rural southeastern Missouri in an effort to improve the health of poor residents who have little access to medical care and exercise facilities.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Jun 28, 2005 at 5:02 PM
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Local stencil artist Peat Wollaeger is a weird guy (in a delightfully good way). As if you need any proof, check out his Albino Alley Cat movie. You might recognize Peat's work from the piece he did on the electrical box on Kingshighway in front of BJH that features his son on one side and a self-portrait on the other.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Jun 16, 2005 at 6:41 PM
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Sight'em just after lunch time this afternoon: Peter Downs, SLPS provocateur (among other things), wandering the 12xx block of Washington Ave. with a steno pad and pen in hand, squinting up at the tops of buildings and taking copious notes. Will the Schools Watch be looking for a building? Is this another downtown speculator in the making? Only The Shadow (or perhaps his hairdresser) knows for sure...
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jun 15, 2005 at 2:42 PM
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Local alt rockers LAPUSH have signed with 456. The label is owned by Jon Rifkind and Carson Daly and is distributed through Fontana/Universal. Congrats to Thom Donovan (vox, guitar), Brett Voelker (drums) and Kevin Bachmann (bass).
The band's debut album, "Someplace Closer To Here," hit stores yesterday. Question: How do you get signed to a national label for your very first CD? Oh, this crazy, mixed-up MTV world.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Jun 8, 2005 at 2:45 PM
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Jordan Harper, the music editor of the Riverfront Times, is moving to Brooklyn.
He'll continue to be a staff writer at the paper until June 18, when Annie Zaleski will step in as his replacement and take over his weekly column. Jordan will continue writing for the RFT and other New Times papers. He's hoping to pick up some other freelance work and is interested in writing movie previews. Appropriately enough, you can email him at freelance@jordanharper.com.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., May 31, 2005 at 11:18 AM
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The last seven additions to Sauce magazine's gossip page are bylined "John Carney," leading us to believe the big man has added another freelance gig to his stable. So far, he's yapped on dinner theater, sidewalk dining and gooey butter cake, among other tasty topics.
Other good bets for Lou dining news: stl.diatriber.com and STLalamode.com, both members of the STL Syndicate family.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., May 27, 2005 at 4:52 PM
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Bob Costas was in the crowd at Gene Lynn and Jeanne Treavor's "Back to Gaslight Square" jazz concert at Finale tonight. So was Thomas Crone, who was selling autographed copies of his Gaslight Square book (Jeanne's on the cover). The newish Clayton (Bizarro downtown) venue is a nice size and has a classy vibe. As an added bonus, it's non-smoking. A staff member tipped that their Motown Revue show always sells out. Too bad there's a giant freakin' column directly in front of the stage that obstructs the view from most seats. It gave me flashbacks to the sight lines at the old Galaxy.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., May 26, 2005 at 11:26 PM
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Congrats to Sabine Eckmann, formerly curator of same, who was named director of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University. (Though we must confess, we loved it when it was just the "Washington University Gallery of Art," because it gave us opportunities to say "Wa-shooooooo-ga" in a ridiculous, cartoony way...)
But that's probably not something the curator actually decides.
Eckmann takes over as the museum commences its own Big Dig, preparing to fold into the gazillion-dollar Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., May 12, 2005 at 3:43 PM
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Thomas Crone has redesigned his website using Blogger. He's got lots of fun links and clips up there, and a lone blog entry that seems to indicate that he is excited by yarn. (The fact that the entry refers to "my knitting group" and includes the word "awesome" and an exclamation point leads me to believe that someone else wrote it. Julia?)
Posted by Brian Marston on Sat., May 7, 2005 at 4:32 PM
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Christopher Carey of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has been named a Knight-Wallace Fellow. While he's on sabbatical at the University of Michigan, he'll be studying the permanent criminal subculture in the U.S. securities industry and its implications for investors, regulators and others with a stake in free and fair markets. In addition to being an journalist, Chris is the barefooted drummer for The Sugar Daddies.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., May 3, 2005 at 2:05 PM
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Local politico Joe Hodes is writing movie reviews for Playback St. Louis. You can buy a subscription to the arts and entertainment magazine via Amazon.com.
Prolific STL Syndicate blogger Steve Patterson has a new monthly column in The Healthy Planet.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., May 2, 2005 at 6:33 PM
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Congratulations to Tom and Angie Reitenbach on the Tuesday night arrival of Greta Ann. Daddy is the head of the Tower Grove Heights block captains.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., May 2, 2005 at 4:53 PM
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2004 BikeFed/Commonspace MS 150 team members Bob Foster and Ralph Zuke are pictured in the MS 150 brochure that went out to thousands of people this week.
In honor of Bike Month, Bob Foster and Jason McClelland will be on The Wire on KDHX 88.1 FM on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Bike St. Louis is offering a free map of the city's new 20-mile bicycle route system. Props to Alderman Lewis Reed for making it happen.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Apr 29, 2005 at 9:30 PM
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A phone call to the St. Louis Argus confirmed what I suspected: Antonio French doesn't work there anymore. I was calling because the Argus owes me money for some work I did on stlargus.com back in February. Their website and "Daily Blog" haven't been updated since then.
Antonio's name hasn't been on the paper's masthead for a while, but he's still listed as the news editor on the Argus' website. The footer on the site says "Copyright 2005 Antonio D. French." Messages sent to adfrench@stlargus.com don't bounce, but they're not answered either.
Prior to working for the Argus, Antonio was the publisher of the ill-fated Public Defender, which crashed and burned after a few issues and a lot of over-the-top boasting and circulation-number puffery, taking his investors' and subscribers' money with it without much of an apology or explanation. South Side psychologist (and jilted Pub Def subscriber) Joe Daus is right: past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.
Update: Antonio paid me the money the Argus owed me out of his own pocket on May 28. It was a classy thing to do, since it wasn't really his responsibility. Somehow, the Argus continues to limp along, although you wouldn't know it by looking at their website, which still hasn't been updated since Antonio left. If you want to get in touch with Antonio, you can reach him at antonio@pubdef.net.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Apr 29, 2005 at 4:20 PM
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Congratulations to Caroline Hackmeyer for winning Best of Show in the photography division of the 2005 Forest Park Art Department Juried Student Show. Her photo is a self-portrait shot in a mirror through a window. Caroline is Suit A for Maplehood Rekkids, which incidentally, is lined up to be the candy sponsor for the May episode of Free Candy.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Apr 29, 2005 at 12:44 PM
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I'm hoping I'll be called upon to write an amicus brief for Marcia or Roger: the dirty politics behind this whole thing are just too much to be believed.
Chilling effect, anyone? They hope for it, right there in writing: "The developers and agencies are seeking damages of more than $25,000 on both claims of malicious prosecution, as well as punitive damages 'in an amount sufficient to deter said defendants and others from like conduct.'" Wishful thinking, kids. Once the NY Times and other national media got a whiff of the stench of this debacle, some heads were raised that will not easily be put off the scent next time around.
Bitter much? Yeah, me too.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Apr 26, 2005 at 5:32 PM
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Props to everyone who performed at the Midwest Rec Center roller rink last Saturday, including Ruka Puff, Six Point Oh, the Lovett Boyz, Ace, Military Bass, Most Wanted, TOP, TYT, SoGhetto, Mr. Kill and eight-year-old Lil' Money and her pint-sized hype men. The event was hosted by Young Dip. There's a lot of young MC talent coming up in the Lou. Get out there and support them.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Apr 22, 2005 at 1:36 PM
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Shouts out to the newest member of the STL Syndicate, the irrepressible Tom Lampe, whose writing and photography about St. Louis are available on the Internets (all of them, even the one in Iraq) at stl.prettywar.com. You'll have to ask him what the subtitle of his blog ("My pop-quiz kid") means.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Apr 13, 2005 at 11:03 PM
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We're delighted to report the birth, at 9:43 this a.m., of Baby Girl Drebilla (okay, it's really Drebes, as in Dave; but we think mama Mary Lisa Penilla deserves some props, too), who weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs., 6 oz., and either 20 or 60 inches...Dave seemed a little confused.
Congratulations and welcome to the world, baby girl! With your mom's calm spirit and your dad's sense of style, you're destined to go far. All this could be yours someday!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Apr 11, 2005 at 6:40 PM
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Progressive wunderkind Jeff Smith was in town today from New Hampshire going door-to-door in the Tower Grove Heights neighborhood on behalf of school board candidate Joe Keaveny. Jeff tipped that he may be moving back to St. Louis and is interested in buying a house in the neighborhood. Just think of all the positions he could run for if he lived in the city!
Posted by Brian Marston on Sun., Apr 3, 2005 at 4:18 PM
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DJ Trackstar (Gabe Moskoff) released Volume 4 of his One Dollar Mix series on March 17. This audacious project features 50 (FIFTY!) local MCs, 1,000 bars of music and one DJ on a 65-minute CD — all for one dollar. The exclusive freestyles were recorded over a two-month period at Mansion Studios (5151 Washington Place).
You can pick up a copy of The One Dollar Mix Volume 4 at Vintage Vinyl, although they were sold out when I stopped by yesterday. It's #11 on Vintage Vinyl's top-seller list, ahead of American Idolette Fantasia Barrino, whose laughably bad "Baby Mama" single is in ultra-heavy rotation on 100.3 The Beat. On V.V.'s hip-hop chart, it's #2, just behind 50 Cent.
You can also pick one up at one of Trackstar's many live shows, including:
The Pageant, Friday, 4/1
The Halo Bar, every Friday except 4/1, 10 p.m. - 3 a.m.
The Upstairs Lounge, Thursday 4/7 and 4/21
Vintage Vinyl, Friday, 4/15, 7 p.m.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Mar 28, 2005 at 3:53 PM
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Well, it took years of work (okay, year of work), but Julia and I have finally cracked the elusive gossip column: Deb P. took note of a serendipitous deal that gone done last Sunday at the one-year anniversary show of Free Candy.
"LITTLE DEBBIES: The work of hot fiber and paper artist Christopher Granger will soon be available locally at Annata!, the new high-fashion vintage store in Maplewood. Owner Jennifer Gray and the artist cooked up the deal at the first anniversary show of Free Candy with Amanda Doyle and Julia Smillie..."
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Mar 2, 2005 at 10:27 AM
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From Vince Schoemehl:
We had great candidates for SLPS superintendent but (and I speak only for myself) the determining factors were:
You can read more about Dr. Creg Williams at http://www.slps.org/
Posted by Brian Marston on Sun., Feb 27, 2005 at 11:38 AM
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Diversity facilitator extraordinaire, former owner of the Sunshine Inn and man-about-town Rudy Nickens (most recently vice-president of St. Louis 2004) has moved to the helm of the Black Rep, taking over as Executive Director. Their season is in full swing, currently with the production of "Stories About the Old Days."
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Feb 24, 2005 at 11:39 AM
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Darlene Green for Comptroller signs suddenly popped up in about half the front yards on Arsenal between Grand and Kingshighway last weekend. Her signs are green, natch. First question: Green is unopposed, so what's the point? Second question: How'd she get that many people to agree to put a sign in their yard?
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Feb 14, 2005 at 10:55 AM
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St. Louis area cyclists Roger Kramer and Kerry Nikolaisen have blogs about rolling on two wheels. Ride on!
If you're a local bike enthusiast, be sure to join the St. Louis Bike Fed.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Feb 7, 2005 at 9:35 AM
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[SNIA may be the only neighborhood association in the city that issues press releases about its elections.]
JANUARY 27, 2005, St. Louis, Missouri ... The not-for-profit Shaw Neighborhood Improvement Association (SNIA), which has served residents in the historic Shaw neighborhood near the Missouri Botanical Garden since 1958, has elected new executive officers for 2005. Each officer will serve a one-year term.
Mary Samuelson, a senior research manager at Maritz, Inc., has been elected SNIA President.
Barry Kirk, a marketing strategist for Maritz, Inc., has been elected SNIA's 1st Vice President.
Elizabeth Jones, a real estate investor and manager, has been elected SNIA 2nd Vice President.
John Quartuccio, president of Golden Age Restoration, Inc., has been elected SNIA Assistant Secretary.
Heather Mraz, a study leader at Battelle Memorial Institute Centers for Public Health Research, has been elected SNIA Treasurer.
Georgia Wells, who is retired from the Missouri Department of Mental Health, has been elected SNIA Assistant Treasurer.
"Each new SNIA board member is passionate about our neighborhood and working as a team player to serve local residents and businesses to enhance its beauty, diversity and quality of life," Ms. Samuelson said.
SNIA promotes historic renovation, new construction, safety and business development in the Shaw neighborhood, which has experienced a tremendous residential renaissance and new developments in recent years.
SNIA and its committees also organize the annual Historic Shaw Art Fair, a nationally renowned juried exhibition featuring more than 120 different artists from across the U.S., and the Historic Shaw Holiday Home Tour, a popular annual tradition that showcases historic homes and mansions throughout the neighborhood.
More than 7,500 people in 3,700 households live in the Shaw neighborhood, which is bounded by Grand Boulevard on the east, Tower Grove Park on the south, the Missouri Botanical Garden on the west and I-44 on the north.
SNIA offices are located at 2211 South 39th Street. For more information, please call 314-771-3101.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Jan 31, 2005 at 2:19 PM
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Fans of art and fans of spunky Erin Kuechler can indulge both interests at her newly unveiled web site. I'm a particular fan of "We All Scream," in the gallery. Like, could we just settle this all over a bomb pop?
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Jan 18, 2005 at 10:21 AM
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Hometown recording heavyweights Chingy and Nelly are feuding. In a recent MTV interview, Chingy said, "I'm tired of these guys — I'm talking about Ludacris and Nelly — I'm tired of these guys taking shots at me ..." Apparently, multi-platinum rappers have feelings, too. In classic beef-fueled hip-hop style, the Power Balla fired back at the Lunatic with a dis track called "We Got." Some sample lyrics:
Better keep my name out your mouth, boy
I been discovered, boy; that's why you hatin', boy
The media hyped you, boy
KRS crushed you, boy
Put up the chains, bars and the platinum teeth, boy
And bring the drama beef, trouble to the streets, boy
You started it, boy
Well, I'mma finish, boy
Which leads one to wonder, "Couldn't Chingy think of anything to rhyme with 'boy' besides 'boy?'"
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jan 14, 2005 at 9:04 PM
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Steve Patterson is running for 25th Ward Alderman against incumbent Dorothy Kirner. The 25th Ward includes parts of the Dutchtown, Mount Pleasant and Carondelet neighborhoods.
Today is the deadline for filing for the 3/8/05 election. For a list of candidates, see the Board of Elections site. Of note: not a single Republican has filed for any office.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jan 7, 2005 at 1:33 PM
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From Atlanta-based Civic Strategies:
Steve Patterson's Urban Review - St. Louis is a more biting version of Larry Felton Johnson's Atlanta blog about urban design. Patterson is angry at a lot he sees around him, and he's particularly steamed about the demolition of revered old buildings. (One of his postings was titled "I'm Still Too Angry to Talk About the Century Building.") Urban Review - St. Louis is part of a collection of blogs called the STL Syndicate (including Blog St. Louis and Commonspace). What does it say about St. Louis that it is nurturing the best urblogs in the country? Perhaps simply that somebody cares in River City. You can find Urban Review - St. Louis at http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jan 7, 2005 at 1:00 PM
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Erstwhile Director of Development and Communication at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Susan Werremeyer is stepping down to be full-time mommy to newish arrival, Jack. (And, okay, she can't walk all the way away: Susan will be a home-based, part-time freelance development consultant).
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Dec 15, 2004 at 5:33 PM
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The Blunt Watch blog went up on November 4 to keep "tabs on Missouri's Boy Governor." The blogger-in-chief is Eric Rogers, a web developer from Kansas City.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Dec 9, 2004 at 10:56 PM
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Illuminating interview from the New York Times with outgoing Congressman Dick Gephardt, in which he praises hometown boy Nelly, his new iPod, and his union jacket collection, among other things.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Dec 8, 2004 at 12:00 PM
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I wouldn't normally use this sacred space in the blogosphere to plug various commercial enterprises, but since (a) it's that time of year when people seek arrangements for their beloved four-legged companions and (b) this just cracks me up, I just remembered today (when I picked up his business card at Hartford Coffee Company) that Byron Kerman, a.k.a. the Delirious Nomad of Playback magazine, has launched a pet-sitting service, called (what else could it be called?) "Release The Hounds". That, alone, deserves your business.
You can reach him at byronminusone@hotmail.com. And his card promises "warm and loving," so don't take any guff.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Dec 2, 2004 at 2:42 PM
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Shout out to John Burse, pictured in the latest issue of Mizzou magazine (for alum, natch): in the article titled "Fired Up to Serve," highlighting the work of university extension specialists, a section called "Rebuilding a Neighborhood" focuses on the partnership between MU Extension, UMSL and Old North St. Louis Restoration Group. Burse is pictured in front of his rehab and in his capacity as board president, says, "The things we did, the assistance we got and the relationships we formed will give our community a lot of momentum."
As a funny aside, when you live in the city, you forget the terminology ("tuckpointing," anyone?) you take for granted: the lead of the piece says, "For St. Louis residents, rehab has a meaning outside of addiction. Rehabbing means taking old houses and making them new again." Yes, Virginia. Yes, it does.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Nov 30, 2004 at 5:26 PM
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Steve Patterson's Urban Review - St. Louis is the newest member of the STL Syndicate. Steve offers an urbanist's critique on the city of St. Louis and the St. Louis region. We're still working on customizing the site, but he's been enthusiastically churning out passionate entries about our built environment, including lots of photos. Definitely check it out.
Posted by Brian Marston on Sat., Nov 27, 2004 at 9:19 PM
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Does anyone else find it mildly amusing that this year's St. Louis Magazine hoo-hah for the most eligible singles in town is title-sponsored by "It's Just Lunch," but is, in fact, not lunch? Rather, a cocktail-into-dinner-hour affair.
Which doesn't mean you shouldn't go: after all, the soirée benefits Food Outreach, a cause we love. But be aware: It's Not Just Lunch!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Nov 18, 2004 at 2:27 PM
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I leave your decisions about whether to put genetically modified foodstuffs in your body to you: however, in an interesting report yesterday on Mexico's attempts to curtail GM corn entering the country, NPR interviewed MoBot's own Peter Raven.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Nov 11, 2004 at 12:14 PM
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More in the unending recent stream of NY Times coverage of the Lou: this, a mini-profile of Cards' announcer (and voice of the World Series) Joe Buck. Includes a sweet pic of him in his "Slam-a-lama-Ding-Dong" tee!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Oct 26, 2004 at 11:25 AM
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Word on the street (okay, I don't know if you can call Brentwood Boulevard "da street") is that Baton Bob, that Ambassador of Mirth/Mayhem (depending on your pov), is back in the CWE, doing his Cardinals dance and shakin' that thang. Anyone know the story?
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Oct 25, 2004 at 3:49 PM
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The quiet period has been lifted: Mary Lisa Penilla and Dave Drebes are infanticipating! Word is that the wee one is the size of a large almond, or perhaps some other species of nut.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Sep 23, 2004 at 2:08 AM
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Lemme channel Deb P. here: Contemporary Art 's development diva Susan Werremeyer and hubbie Rob W. welcome the newest addition to their collection...John Arthur "Jack" weighed in at 6 lbs., 15 oz., and joined their family on Sept. 9, 2004. We hear he may be headed for a career as a professional kicker of some sort.
Congratulations!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Sep 21, 2004 at 4:20 PM
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Exhibiting better judgment than scores of entertainers before him, the St. Lunatic's own Murphy Lee (according to Deb Peterson) has enrolled at SEMO...just in case the whole rap megastar thing falls through. We admire a man with a plan, and then a plan B!
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Aug 25, 2004 at 11:08 AM
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Our sincere condolences to out to the family and friends of Carrie Lindsey, who was killed in a car accident with her family returning from a trip to Chicago earlier this week. Among her many other contributions to St. Louis, Carrie was a writer for the very first issue of The Commonspace.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Aug 24, 2004 at 2:33 PM
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Everyone's favorite loose cannon school board member (wow, it's great that it actually gives pause to consider which one that would be! well, actually she's a "former"), Rochell Moore, was soaking in the chilly breeze during the preamble and first ten noodling minutes of Medeski, Martin and Wood at Riversplash last night, before she packed up her magazine and wandered away...
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Fri., Aug 13, 2004 at 12:20 PM
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According to a post in The Commonspace Forums by Brian Horton, who picked up the news from an entry in the Arch City Chronicle blog by Dave Drebes, Tim Woodcock has been tapped to be the new editor at the West End Word.
Tim wrote the very first newspaper article about the physical Commonspace. It appeared in the 12/24/02 edition of the West End Word. The charming Brit lives in a house that was rehabbed by Amrit and Amy Gill, who were named "Best Developers" in The Commonspace's Editors' Choice awards.
Posted by Brian Marston on Thu., Jul 29, 2004 at 5:05 PM
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This week's RFT features a really good cover story by Ben Westhoff about Blake Brokaw that includes a quote from an interview I did with him in September 2001. Blake is a great source of inspiration, cautionary tales and business lessons.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Jul 13, 2004 at 1:56 AM
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Every once in a while, something amazing happens that makes the world seem like a magical place. Last night, 20-year-old Brent Hall showed up at The Commonspace. He's biking back to Bangor, ME, from Flagstaff, AZ. His last visit to The Commonspace was on August 29, 2003, when he was headed the opposite way and left the most amazing entry in our journal. He's staying with Amanda and me tonight before he heads out in the morning.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Jul 13, 2004 at 12:13 AM
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Marjobo Harrell died in a motorcycle accident Saturday night. He lived a few doors up from Amanda and me in Tower Grove Heights. A little after 10:00 that night, we stopped and talked to him for a while on our way home from walking our dogs. Bo was seated on his motorcycle in front of his house, on his way to 609 in the Loop.
Around 11:00, he sideswiped a car on northbound Skinker near Lindell and slid under a moving Metro bus that was also traveling north. He was 34 years old. Funeral arrangements are still pending.
Bo was a great guy. When he asked how you were doing, you got the sense that he really cared. He was a firefighter assigned to Engine Co. 32 on Grand at Potomac. In the notes section of the block buzz book I put together, he listed the following: "Hobbies: motorcycling, traveling; Talents: singing, fashion merchandising; Interest: having a close knit neighborhood; Super powers: top secret." His brother ended up at our house late one night a couple of years ago, looking for a phone he could use while he waited for Bo to come home. He repeated over and over how proud he was of his brother, the firefighter.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Jun 21, 2004 at 12:43 PM
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Deb Peterson picked up the story about Christina Reid leaving town in her column in the Post today, including a quote from this blog. Deb's newsy bits also mentioned a couple of other names that have popped up here recently: Tom Weber and Blake Brokaw.
KWMU's Tom Weber won yet another journalism award, this one from the Missouri Broadcasters Association for his feature story about “Arts Funding in a Bad Economy.” Tom also got to hold the Olympic torch yesterday after wrestling it away from Janice Herold. In case you're wondering, the torch runners got to keep the torches they carried.
Blake Brokaw has landed at Anthony's Bar (10 South Broadway), ending speculation that he might be leaving town.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jun 18, 2004 at 2:32 PM
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This just in: Donnybrooker Ray Hartmann spotted this afternoon, leaving Target Greatland with a youngish hottie (his wife?) and presumably their bambino in a tricked-out stroller, with a basket full o'clothes hampers and other domestic items. He loaded it up into their SUV, and in so doing became (my dad would snort derisively) the literal Lexus liberal.
I dunno, it just made me smile.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Mon., Jun 14, 2004 at 4:24 PM
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KWMU news producer Tom Weber received awards for Best News Writing and Best Investigative Series in the Chicago-St. Louis radio division of the Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Association's 2003 Journalism Excellence Contest.
I wonder how they fit all of that on the plaque. Now if Tom would just do another story about St. Louis' innovative public living room on North Grand ... that's got "award" written all over it.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., Jun 7, 2004 at 8:57 PM
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Tim Boyle bought the house at 3539 Hartford on 5/4/2001 for $77,000.00 with the intention of turning it into a parking lot for the St. Louis Bread Co. During the ensuing demolition hearings, he argued that the building was not worth saving. Now he's got it listed for $134,900 (MLS ID#: 357422). As far as I know, he hasn't done any work on it, which is artfully spun on the listing flyer as "priced right and ready for Buyers' updates."
Can we vote this guy off the island?
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., May 10, 2004 at 7:41 PM
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Calvin James Lackey joined us at 6:38 p.m. today. He's the first child of Kim (my sister) and Steve Lackey, and shares a May birthday with his dad, two great-grandpas, and Uncle Brian.
Posted by Brian Marston on Mon., May 3, 2004 at 11:27 PM
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Rosa Maria Arenas (AKA Rosa Rama) is calling it quits for her email announcement list about the local arts and music scenes to focus on her artwork. The last Rosarama message will go out on Sunday, May 2. Her email list will be missed, but we wish her well in her new endeavors.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Apr 28, 2004 at 1:28 PM
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Doris Haddock, the fiery 94-year-old political activist who travels the country in a bus encouraging (among other things) greater citizen participation in the political process, is in St. Louis today, according to hawkeyed tipster Heather Milton. Find out more, and even give a call to Granny D, from her website.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Apr 8, 2004 at 10:19 AM
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I receive a lot of music industry press releases, probably because I used to have a website about the St. Louis music scene. I usually regard them as spam and don't look at them, but this one from Premiere Entertainment Group caught my eye:
DEAD KENNEDYS MEMBER STARS IN ACTION MOVIE AND WINS ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Often referred to as "The King of Afro Punk," and recently appearing on The Allan Handelman Show, MTV.com, Playboy and radio stations across the United States and Canada, legendary rocker D.H. Peligro's pedigree runs deep. He's the original member/songwriter in the California punk quartet The Dead Kennedys. He is also a former member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nailbomb, and SSI. This St. Louis native took a machete to the music world and carved a path so uniquely his own that he's influenced some of today's popular punksters like The Offspring, No Doubt and many others.
Peligro can add another title to his list of accomplishments, Action Movie Star. He's been tapped to play the lead in the action movie The Four Horsemen. The film is described as having the intrigue of Clear and Present Danger (Harrison Ford), the gritty of Traffic (Michael Douglas), and the fast paced action of Lethal Weapon (Mel Gibson/Danny Glover).
"I'm performing my own stunts in this movie which means I have to stick to a strict workout regimen," says the rocker who besides acting is the front man of a rock trio simply known as Peligro, their third album Sum of our Surroundings recently won Rock Album of the Year with the American Independent Music Awards, DH Peligro was recently nominated for a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame and is preparing for a Europe tour with the Dead Kennedys, "It's tough, but unlike some of today's top action stars who depends mostly on stunt doubles to make them look good, I'm doing my own stunts and give people their monies [sic] worth."
When asked how it feels to have such a great musical impact on so many people Peligro responds, "It's mind blowing. While touring with the Dead Kennedys I would see kids and adults worldwide singing along to our songs and sporting their Dead Kennedys t-shirts. It shows how much love people have for us after all these years."
A bit more research revealed that DH Peligro was born Darren Henley in East St. Louis. He's due to receive his star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in May 2004. "Peligro" means "danger" in Spanish.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Apr 6, 2004 at 1:26 PM
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Breaking news: 23rd Ward Alderwoman Colleen M. Sondermann has died today, a bit unexpectedly, from what I understand. (She has been battling cancer for a while, but this was sudden.)
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Tue., Feb 17, 2004 at 3:31 PM
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Chingy's video for "One Call Away" is at #1 on the Launch chart. The hometown rapper from Walnut Park is sporting a Blues jersey for part of the shoot.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Jan 28, 2004 at 12:22 AM
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I'm a bit late in getting this posted, but wanted to acknowledge the Cover Boy & Girl in our midst, Amit and Laya Bhagat, who appeared prominently in the magazine "Mantram" (tagline: "For the Indian in You"). Amit and Laya were one of the couples interviewed by consulting editor Anirudh Bhattacharyya for the story "Mix and Match," about intermarriage between Indians and non-Indians (you'll have to register to read the entire story). The dazzling duo were brought to the attention of the writer because they gave a talk at The Commonspace last year on the same topic, for one of our World Wide Wednesday events.
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Thu., Jan 22, 2004 at 1:39 PM
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Will and Laura Winter have a new baby! (There seems to be a lot of that going around.) Old North St. Louis' newest resident is Julia Rebecca Winter. Welcome to the blogosphere, Julia.
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jan 9, 2004 at 3:17 PM
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People's Coffee barista Angi Mayes managed to get in a jibe at The Man in Wm. Stage's Street Talk column in the Dec. 17 issue of the RFT. The question was "Santa Wants to Know: Have You Been Naughty or Nice?" You go, girl!
Posted by Brian Marston on Fri., Jan 9, 2004 at 1:58 PM
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This nugget, gleaned from Monday night's post-radio-show conversation with Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury, is too golden not to share: Shrewsbury recalls the first time he ever listened to KSHE. The year was 1968, and young Jim was 12 years old. Driving home from mass in his mom's new car (first one with an FM radio!), he turned on the Real Rock. which was blasting Steppenwolf's "The Pusher." Mama Shrewsbury put a stop to the car — and the nonsense — immediately. (Read some of the lyrics, and you begin to understand that it's really not ideal post-church material...)
Posted by Amanda Doyle on Wed., Jan 7, 2004 at 5:11 PM
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Seen at a fundraiser for Rep. Lacy Clay held on Thurs., Nov. 13 at Club Isis on Washington Avenue: commercial Realtor (and host of the event) Eric Friedman, new media visionary Paul Guzzardo, architectural designer Sung Ho, Citizen's for Home Rule prez Marit Clark, Portfolio Gallery E.D. Robert Powell and ubiquitous Realtor Mary "One" Johnson.
Posted by Brian Marston on Wed., Nov 19, 2003 at 1:30 AM
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Email messages addressed to Marcus "Ma'at" Atkins at the American (matkins@stlamerican.com) have started coming back with a reply that says:
Marcus Atkins no longer works at the St. Louis American Newspaper. Please send future entertainment emails to Bill Beene at bbeene@stlamerican.com. Thanks!
Maybe the ever-stylish scribe left to pursue his interests in theater and fashion.
Posted by Brian Marston on Tue., Nov 18, 2003 at 3:07 AM
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