Madeleine Monday

The adults got cold quickly on Delmar Boulevard Saturday. There are restaurants up and down the strip so we went into the nearest one, Blue Box Pizza. (They sent home our leftovers in a white box.) 

A local soft drink company called Fitz's makes unique, delicious root beer and cream soda. Their bottling plant and restaurant was across the street and Blue Box sold the the products. Ellie had never tasted cream soda before and was surprised by how bubbly it was. The rest went down easily.           

Sure, We Have People Dressed Like Penguins Walking Down The Street All The Time

The commander of our ship, Ellie, insisted we get out to the Loop Ice Carnival despite the cold and high winds. It takes place on a section of Delmar Boulevard straddling the line between St. Louis proper and the inner suburb of University City (named for adjacent Washington University). We call it The Loop because it is where trolleys used to turn around to go back into the city. It's pretty hip, at least by our standards.

I'm not sure what these two were all about, other than being a photo op. They had some brochures with a map and list of events.  If someone paid you to walk up and down in a penguin costume would you do it? Would ya?      

Leave Something In The Tip Jar

Imagine Chuck Berry as a street musician, trying to hustle a few bucks on a busy sidewalk and being ignored by all the passers-by. We've seen something like this in most cities. Have you ever passed by a talented street performer, someone who really got your attention, and not left a thank you? I remember the achingly beautiful music of a young violinist in the passages above the Grand Central subway station in New York and just striding down to the platform.

Once again, in The Loop section of Delmar Boulevard in University City. I never before noticed that the whole weight of the statue rests only on the right forefoot.    

We've All Had Those Kind Of Days

You know, it's evening. it was a hard day at work, you had to deal with a lot of jerks. The fact that the country is run by villains and fools has been rubbed in your face.  And our species still appears intent on making itself extinct (have you read that Cape Town, a metro area of almost 4 million people, will totally - totally - run out of water some time in April?). Your mind and spirit feel soiled.

Wouldn't it be nice to have someplace like this? Not just for substance abuse, but for existence abuse? This was found along the Delmar Loop in University City. Don't know what they sell inside but I might be interested.      

Frozen Chuck

I don't remember the exact temperature but it was really cold (for us) when I visited the ice carnival. Walking by the statue of St. Louis' Chuck Berry across the street from Blueberry Hill, where he performed regularly until he died last year, I couldn't help but think how frigid the bronze was. The man himself was a complete contrast.

I never met Berry as such but I attended the dedication of the statue in 2011. A casual acquaintance with the sculptor, Harry Weber, got me into the room at Blueberry Hill where Chuck was hanging out. That got me this picture, one of my all-time favorites.

Mrs. C and I are attending a fundraiser later today for Senator Claire McCaskill, who is up for reelection this year in this red-leaning state. We need her. Hope I get a couple of pictures while I'm at it.    

Sculpture With A Chain Saw

Where do you go to learn ice sculpture? It is an art with narrow applications and not a lot of room for self expression. The subjects don't vary much. This one is becomming a big and little penguin.

Still, there is a lot of skill in this. It amazes me that it is done freehand, no template, not even a sketch to look at. A chain saw is not a precise tool. The fine work is done with picks and chisels. The sculptor uses a blowtorch for smoothing. Can you make a living doing this?    

Ice Festival

Last weekend brought the annual ice festival in the University City Loop district. The town is called that because most of Washington University is within its borders. The area is named for the old transit loop, where trolleys from the city proper would turn around for the return trip. It's a hip part of town.

It was cold and, as you can see, snowing. There was a good crowd, though. The festival always has someone making ice sculptures. It looks awfully difficult, done freehand with a chainsaw, circular sander, chisel and blow torch. I'll get something posted soon about the sculptor.  

Hail Hail

Everyone knows by now that Chuck Berry died Saturday at 90. He was born and lived most of his life in St. Louis (he actually had a bit of an estate in the outer suburbs). 

He still performed from time to time at Blueberry Hill, the bar-restaurant-showroom across the street from his statue. That was dedicated in 2011. My passing acquaintance with Harry Weber, the sculptor, got me into the reception at Blueberry Hill where I took the picture in this link. We last heard him perform in the amphitheater at the botanical garden back in 2009 when he was still knocking it out at age 82.

My interests have gone well past rock and roll but his music still brings me joy.

              

 

Disorientation

Running low on material but still finding images from the Ice Carnival a couple of weeks ago. This was a strange amusement, apparently a double sphere, the inner and outer connected by these green pins. Someone gets in and then runs like crazy down a track bordered by inflated tubes, trying their best not to fall or go upside down. It's actually a race. There is a second sphere, not shown here, in which another contestant tries to go down and back more quickly.

I don't think there was a prize for the winner but second place got a packet of Dramamine.
                        

The theme for City Daily Photo bloggers on February 1 is

"A Scene from a Cafe or Coffee House."

Aloha

For some reason on a cold winter day in St. Louis, my thoughts drift to an image of Marge Simpson in Hawaii wearing a slinky dress. (Conditions here must be hard.) Actually, I found this in a shop window in the University City Loop.

Mrs. C and I love the Simpsons. It is the only consistently literate show on TV, which makes me wonder how it has lasted for so many years. There are lots of interesting details about Marge. Did you know her middle name is Jacqueline and her maiden name was Bouvier, as in Jackie Kennedy? And that hair! It's said to be based on a combination of the bride's in Bride of Frankenstein and the style cartoonist Matt Groening's mother wore in the 60s. But why blue?

The theme for City Daily Photo bloggers on February 1 is
"A Scene from a Cafe or Coffee House.”

                   

Another Place To Stay Warm

Cicero's pub at the west end of the Delmar Loop (which is actually a straight line, but there's a backstory) is another cozy place on a cold day. We stopped in for a beer to kill some time before a restaurant reservation. They have 55 brews on tap and 200 in bottles. I ordered a Schlafly, as on the billboard on the right. My favorite is the Kölsch.

The framed decorations on the back wall are all beer tap handles.

The theme for City Daily Photo bloggers on February 1 is
"A Scene from a Cafe or Coffee House.”

                   

Stay Warm

The Tivoli, STL's leading (if not only) art house cinema, in the middle of the Delmar Loop in University City. The town gets its name because most of Washington University is within its limits (although bits are in St. Louis proper and Clayton). Warm popcorn and movies sounds good at this time of year but we're more likely to do it at home with Netflix or Amazon Prime.

                 

I Could Save This For The Fourth of July, But...

Captain America has a more-or-less invincible shield. Captain Kirk has force shield defenses but they eventually weaken. Captain Crunch will destroy the enamel shield on your teeth. Is there no place safe?

The theme for City Daily Photo bloggers on February 1 is
"A Scene from a Cafe or Coffee House.”              

Bernie

A garish Ice sculpture of Bernie Sanders at the Carnival in The Loop. Tells you something about the inclinations of the neighborhood. I don't know which he needs most, a haberdasher, an orthodontist or a barber.

No Hillary sculpture. And Ted Cruz would be very unwelcome if he crossed the University City limits.                

Honk

Many of the businesses in our Delmar Loop district had frozen sculptures outside for the Ice Carnival. Some of them obviously had corporate sponsors.

Goose Island is a large mud flat in the north branch of the Chicago River but is now heavily developed. The city's leading craft brewery was founded there. I assume you can get their products extra cold at this establishment.                  

                      

So Be Good For Goodness Sake

And be careful about who's next to you.

Shirt found in a store window along the Delmar Loop.                  

The Kids Are Alright

That's the name of one of those songs that gets stuck in the oil pan of your mind and will never leave, no matter how often you flush the system. It's by The Who, 1965, back in the day when I listened to popular music. (Now I prefer unpopular music. Morton Feldman, anyone?) 

Anyway, the kids hanging out up and down Delmar Boulevard during the ice festival were alright, be they goofy or serious. Note the thrill of the tyke on an ice slide and the glove on the left hand of the yo yo master, the better to do tricks without losing a finger.

Burning Question Of The Day: what will Mrs. C and I do for our annual Stupid Bowl party tonight? As long-time readers know, we dislike American football, a game that destroys the bodies and brains of the players for the amusement of the masses, then throws them out. Perhaps 150,000,000 of us will watch the game tonight, often at big parties. We've been going out to dinner during the event for perhaps 25 years. We're thinking Afghan but haven't made a final decision.
      

We Come In Peace

Space aliens invade the Delmar Loop. How refreshing that they have a sense of the absurd.

Woman In A Bubble

One of the more bizarre scenes at the Loop Ice Festival. I didn't get the frozen connection, if one was intended. She was walking around with someone in a snowman costume. But what's with the crown, the platinum blond hair and baby blue outfit? Quick, call a professor of semiotics!

Makes you think of Bubble Boy, doesn't it?    
   

The Loop Ice Festival

University City (so-named because it contains part of Washington University) is an old suburb that borders the City of St. Louis proper. The stretch of Delmar Boulevard called The Loop is lined with shops, theaters, restaurants and clubs. It got the name because streetcars from downtown looped around there to make the return trip. It's a fun place.

A recent addition to its calendar is the Ice Festival on a Saturday in January. Calling it a festival is an overstatement. It's more of a gimmick to draw visitors on a cold day. Most of the businesses have an ice sculpture in front with a theme relateing to the establishment. There are a number of photo booths like the one below, some kid events and an ice carving demo. (How do they do that freehand with a chain saw?)

The temperature was well above freezing and everything had started to melt by mid-day. All things must pass. An Arch picture tomorrow and back to this on Friday.