Thursday Arch Series

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Lensbaby! HDR! Photoshop! Is it too much? Up to you.

Another quick post and few comments. Our home Internet problems should be solved today.
Back to your posts ASAP.

Big Cheezy

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As introduced on Monday, this is Big Cheezy, head man of Mo Chedda Records and the hip hop group Big Throwed Muzic. I caught them taping a video at the graffiti-ok part of the floodwall along the Mississippi.

Big Cheezy is an imposing man. I'd guess he is 6 feet, 7 or 8 inches tall (200-203 cm) and at least 300 pounds / 135 kg., maybe more He's got some gold-capped teeth with star-pattern cut-outs. The other people in the group obviously treated him with respect. Despite his size, the guy sure can move, like here when he came out from the group to do a solo.

TOMORROW: Thursday Arch Series.

World Naked Bike Ride, St. Louis Edition

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Saturday night brought the World Naked Bike Ride to The Lou. The slogan is "bare as you dare" and the cause is to protest dependence on oil. There is a good history and analysis of the event here.

The ride takes place in 70 cities. This was the second run in St. Louis. This couple had on about the average amount of covering. (Note the woman's headlights. Uh, head...?) A few bikers wore a lot less. Now, since this is a proper town, appearing in public with the naughty bits uncovered is prohibited. Fortunately, the St. Louis Police Department forgot their night vision goggles and nobody got busted.

There is is a growing set of my pix from WNBR on Flickr here, including the naughty bits, or most of them. Note that you will not see all the photos in this set if you do not have a Flickr account or have your filter set to Safe. In accordance with Flickr's rules, any pictures showing more skin than is allowed on U.S. over-the-air television have been classified as Medium. Some people were nakeder than than others so set your filter accordingly.

I think we'll have some more of this silliness TOMORROW.

BY THE WAY, STL DPB welcomes a new St. Louis photoblog, Merry@St. Louis. It's nice to have another pair of eyes on this city. Merry and I have exchanged email but have not met. I know her husband from my work. They moved here about a year ago from upstate New York. I greatly recommend the weekly essay on his blog, St. Louis Sojourn, in which he writes lucidly about his experiences as a transplant to the Midwest.

The People At The Rally

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Faces in the crowd at the rally in support of gay marriage rights and the things they had to say. I agree with their cause. In those countries and (two) American states where this is recognized, it's just no big deal. This may be a generalization, but those who oppose it seem to think that the institution of marriage has had an immutable sameness throughout the ages that must be preserved. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Consider the sweeping changes in Europe (and later North America) from the French Revolution into the 19th Century, when marriage changed from an institution under the control of the Church to one defined by the State. No one thinks about that any more. Then there is the concept of marriage as being a locked-down lifetime bond, no matter how horrible it may become, to today's freedom to divorce. No one thinks about that any more. Like all human institutions, it changes over time, but many of us are shortsighted and don't understand this.

Having said that, I think the two sides do a certain amount of talking across one another. Of course there are hateful wackos, like the counter-protesters found in Eric's Salt Lake City post on Monday. But some of the people in these pictures feel they are hated by the other side. I don't think that's always true. A lot of opponents are motivated by sincere religious belief. However, some of them do seem to think that gay marriage is shameful and practiced by perverts. Read D. C. Confidential's eloquent comment on my Monday post to see why that's just not so. Sometimes we don't listen to one another very well, do we?

WHAT REALLY STUPID: the marked upswing in gun sales in this country over the last couple of weeks. Some people seem to think Obama is going to take them all away so they better stock up.

TOMORROW: Dragon eats Toyota!

A FOOTNOTE ON WEDNESDAY: NYC's Ming the Merciless asks in a comment what the business with the shrimp is all about (see picture below left). A person I live with who is better acquainted with the Bible than I am provided the answer. It's a bit of a parody, comparing the Old Testament injunction against eating shellfish (like shrimp) with Bible verses condemning homosexuality.

In the King James Version, Jude 1:7 is translated as, "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." The same verse in the International Standard Version comes out as, "Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them, which like them committed sexual sins and engaged in homosexual activities, serve as an example of the punishment of eternal fire." Similarly, in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 6:9 states that, "You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don't you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals..." (ISV).

Now, as to unclean foods, my correspondent looked up the verses cited on the poster:

Leviticus 11: 9-12 (KJV):

9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.

10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:

11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.

12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Deuteronomy 14: 9-10 (KJV):

9 Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. 10 But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.

So, the point of the shrimp poster seems to be nobody worries about eating shrimp any more except the relatively few people who keep kosher. The rest of the world ignores the prohibition. By implication, the protester in the photo is saying that Bible verses condemning homosexuality are also passé. It is a subtle, witty comment.

Thursday Arch Series - And Something New

If you looked at the Thursday Arch Series post last week, you heard me whining about how I was getting burned out with the project. How to find something a little different week after week, how to keep it going? Well, Friend Of The Blog PJ from Pensacola Daily Photo had a great idea: start a new blog just for the Arch.

And thus we are happy to announce GATEWAY, http://gatewayarch.blogspot.com/, all Arch, all the time. I'm putting the finishing touches on the design but it will be full of my photos of St. Louis' great monument, links and fun facts about the Arch and, in a few days, an opportunity to buy prints of my images (the perfect gift for all occasions). Stop by, leave a comment, sign up to be a follower (there are three already!) and return from time to time to see what's new.

WHAT'S THE SILLIEST THING TIME-STRESSED ME COULD DO: start a new blog.

TOMORROW: a last few pins and then lights out.

Archetecture: The Civil Courts Building

To the casual observer, the Civil Courts Building in downtown STL might look like just another old government structure. Hovever, a closer view of the archetecture reveals it to be genuinly wierd. Here's a description from a web site about St. Louis history:

The building is the replica of the tomb of King Mausolus built in 352 B.C. at Halicarnassus in Asia Minor. It has a step pyramid on top of a Greek Temple with a pair of griffins at the peak. It houses the law library atop the ten stories of courtrooms. The building combines elements of many divergent styles including Egyptian, Greek and Oriental.

An archetectural web site has these comments:

The building's style can be described as Greco-Egypto-Assyro-Babylonian. At the top of the building's ten-story shaft is a step pyramid. The area below this pyramid is a law library, which is reputed to be a very attractive space with high ceilings and lots of light.

On top of the pyramid are two aluminum griffins that are twelve feet tall. Unlike mythological griffins, they have human faces that symbolize human mercy tempering justice.

The building was completed in 1930 and has been the site of civil litigation ever since. Some detail is shown in these enlargements:



TOMORROW: Thursday Arch Series