African Color

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There was a wide variety of performances at the Festival of Nations. I had time to catch only a few. The event was so crowded that once I had threaded my way to a spot close to the stage it was impossible to move.

These women are performing traditional dances of the West African countries of Guinea and Gambia. No shortage of energy or color. Lots more to come. Wait till you see the belly dancers doing, um, things with swords. Wait till you see the hit of the show, the wild women of Japan. Sugoi!

Now, That's Better

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That photo that went up early this morning just didn't work out very well, although Olivier seems to like it. So, something better composed. There was a very brief Tibetan performance. A pair of monks played a drum and cymbals while two people pranced around in a yak costume. Maybe the act was short because you can't dance very long in that thin, thin air of their homeland.

Eat Your Way Around The World

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Um, this was a Photoshop exercise that didn't turn out quite as intended.  I tried to assemble shots of all the ethnic food tents at the Festival of Nations. It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted but it's too late to change. (Nice, soaking thunderstorm as I write this. About time.) Lots to eat, in any event. Better images tomorrow.

Festival of Nations

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Late post today. Out shooting at this event most of yesterday, then a bit if shopping. Last night we attended a performance of Das Rheingold. Our little summer opera company is doing the whole Ring of The Niebelungen over four years. Someone prepared a "reduced" Ring cycle so the monumental series could be played in small venues. The man who sang Alberich was fabulous. Anyway, out pretty late.

St. Louis' annual Festival of Nations runs this weekend, sponsored by our International Institute. This is a surprisingly diverse region. Scores of countries were represented and the place was packed. A couple of quick edits for now. I'll try to get more edited later today.

Casey At The Bat

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Americans of a certain age all know Casey At The Bat, an 1888 paean to the joys and despair of baseball, our "national pastime." Well, it may have been 124 years ago. Now I think the national pastimes are watching football players devastate one another and electing crackpots to Congress. But I digress.

Last weekend there was an exhibition of "vintage" baseball under the Arch. Using the word vintage is, of course, a malapropism, since vin means wine and vintage refers to the year the grapes were harvested, which could have been just a few months ago. These days it seems to be a synonym for "old." The uniforms and equipment in use were from Casey's era. The players didn't use gloves to catch the ball (ouch!). It was fun to watch but someone needs to tell the pitcher in the second photo that it's bad form to stick your tongue out at the batter.

I never found out who won. Does it matter? But back at that old game...

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

 

Purple Haze

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Yep, that's today's theme song. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

Some commenters on this series have it exactly right: many of the scenes look like a terrorist attack, a natural disaster or an environmental crisis. Speaking of which, were the organizers of the Color Run required to do an environmental or public health impact statement concerning the city or the runners? Looks like they weren't.

The young lady with the fairy wings in the second photo somehow found the image on my Flickr site. Boodles of her friends have now viewed it. She said that she likes it.

By Request (And Sort Of A Thrsday Arch Picture)

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Olivier and Jilly preferred the last of the three pictures in yesterday's post, which surprised me. I didn't think it was that great but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That picture and today's were shot moments apart. I like this one better, sort of the march of the living dead. Sure, it's the Color Run, but this is more effective in B&W. The early morning sun throws the runners and the Arch into sharp relief.

Sorry for the lack of comments yesterday. We took our daughter and her husband out to dinner for her birthday. Got home late.

FACTOID: an anagram for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is "My Ultimate Ayn Rand Porn." Bingo.