Arm Strength

Kids, don't try this at home. But if you learn these principles of leverage you could probably design a pretty good bridge.

Locals, you can get tickets to Circus Flora's current show, One Summer On Second Street, here.                           

The Return Of Gratuitous Cuteness

Haven't had a gratuitous cuteness feature in some time. My granddaughter is cute, of course, but she's not gratuitous. These little circus dogs fit the concept perfectly. Ahhhh, aren't they...

I'm not a dog person. Surely someone out there can identify this breed.                        

A Circus In The Street

Come one, come all . . .

We have a delightful one-ring circus company here, Circus Flora. They have their main show at this time of year under a big top tent on the parking lot of the symphony hall. I must admit that I've never been but now that I have a granddaughter it won't be long.

So they had this little promo show in Citygarden at lunchtime yesterday. Not very long but it was fun. Just a couple of samples here. More to come. 

Walk On By

So, um, what does this photo say about race relations in St. Louis?

You see this man here and there around downtown. Obviously a body builder and full of energy. He has a boom box that plays loud hip hop and funk, dancing, let's say, vigorously. He has a tip jar on the ground nearby but doesn't collect much. As you can see, he's pretty out there.

These three ladies walking down Broadway are desperately trying to avoid eye contact. Would they react the same way to a gentle busker playing the guitar? A white busker?

As you know, Ferguson is one of our suburbs.                           

CDP Theme Day: Stylish

It's the first of the month, theme day on the City Daily Photo calendar. This month the topic is "stylish." That, thank heavens, rules out selfies on this blog.

Close call between these two recent pictures. The first was at Earth Day, the second at the People's Joy Parade. Fortunately for the ladies in the top photo it was a beautiful day. Imagine the outfit on the left in the rain. The one on the right could be a pretty good lightning rod. And as for the one below, well, puuuurrrrrr. 

Check out styles worldwide on other CDP members' blogs here.                        

Visitor To The Gateway Geyser

The Gateway Geyser has been on the blog a few times. (Some older pictures here and here.) It's the giant water jet across from the Arch in East St. Louis, Illinois, that pops up exactly as high as the Arch itself (633 feet/192 meters) if the wind isn't too high. You can see what happens if it's gusty.

This was taken under the Arch, on top of the stairs down to the Mississippi. The picture would have been okay but then this brilliant bird photobombed my shot.

That contraption on the left looks like part of a chemical plant. It's actually the suction/blower mechanism that takes grain from river barges back and forth to a big set of storage elevators off to the left of the frame.                                             

Bosnian Business

They say there are about 70,000 Bosnians in our area. I've had a number of Bosnian clients and it would be hard to find a nicer, harder working group of people. They are go-getters.

So, of course, they have opened many businesses. These are just a couple of examples in the Bevo neighborhood. The entrance to the store on top has a strange design. It looks like it could have been the entrance to an old movie theater but the building behind did not look big enough to hold a screen. Another architectural mystery.