Murderer

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I had the best shooting weekend in ages, with carloads of good stuff from the Idiotarod and Naughti Gras. However, this goes to the front of the line.

Yesterday afternoon I went downtown to get some files for hearings today. Passing 4th and Market, I saw a crowd of people with the flags of many Arab nations in front of the Old Courthouse. Always have your camera, and it doesn't hurt to know where to find parking. There was a rally for freedom and democracy throughout the Arab world. Wonderful images and inspiration. More pictures to come. I started a set on Flickr here, with many more photos to add.

Too much to choose from. Coverage of the St. Louis Itiodarod continues on Downtown St. Louis 365.

Dvin

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Dvin is a tiny Eastern European restaurant in Webster Groves, the suburb where I live. A mother-daughter team owns the place, cooks the food and serves it. As one review puts it, in Slavic style the walls and tables are decorated within an inch of their lives. So my wife and I had dinner there recently and I'm sitting around waiting for the food with a point-n-shoot in my pocket looking for action. I kept looking at this salt and pepper set, an association barely under my consciousness radar. Then it hit me: cooling towers, a giant palm - a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia.

Locals: if you haven't been there you really should go. The food is delicious and inexpensive. They don't have a liquor license so bring your own wine - they will provide glasses. No need for reservations. We've never seen it full.

WHAT'S ON IN STL TODAY: The Loop Ice Carnival. The Loop is a funky dining, shopping and entertainment strip crossing the border between St. Louis and University City. I think the carnival is an excuse for day-long cold-weather drinking and then taking sledgehammers to giant blocks of ice, just to see what happens to your shoulders.

TOMORROW: with luck, something from this event.