After Elvis Left The Building . . .

. . . in Las Vegas, presumably, it appears he ended up at a bar and restaurant in Grafton, Illinois. It's a nice little river town with some marine services and attractions for people driving on the Great River Road along the Mississippi. You quickly notice that most of the buildings below the bluff are built on pillars. The river sometimes floods big time.

We were looking for a lunch place with something Ellie would eat. (Classic chicken nuggets and fries were fine.) You walk up stairs from the parking lot and are greeted by the host.  He neither expects or accepts tips.           

It's The Itchy and Scratchy Show

Does anyone remember the Itchy and Scratchy segment on The Simpsons? They were the extremely violent cat and mouse (mostly the mouse) cartoon characters whose bloody antics made Bart and Lisa howl with laughter. Lots of us laughed along, ashamed of ourselves.

One demonstration at the eagle festival featured carving wooden sculpture with chainsaws. The sculptors called themselves Itchy Brothers Chainsaw Art. The odd name MUST be a reference to Itchy and Scratchy. This wooden eagle has amazing detail. But, unlike the cartoon characters, these guys were very conscious of safety. They were enclosed in a wire dome to keep chips from flying out. That's why the picture is a bit fuzzy.      

The Only &@*&# Eagle We Could Find

There is a flyway along the Mississippi River for bald eagles, running from Minnesota to Louisiana.  From late December to early March, they hang out a bit upstream from STL, around Alton, Illinois, (birthplace of Miles Davis) and then further up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. We went a long way up and down the river and didn't see any except this semi-domesticated one in the Alton Visitor's Center. The bird was named Liberty, apt enough for current American culture.

Sorry for no post yesterday, I've been dragging. I've hardly been able to talk for more than a week, Since Tuesday I've had a deep, mid-chest cough hacking up mucus. I thought I had bronchitis and it would go away. Carolyn Crowe, RN, my personal guardian angel, reminded me that at my age it could be pneumonia and I should get checked. "But it's your body," she concluded. I have to take such statements seriously. If I didn't and something bad happened, she  would have to clean up the mess.

So I went to what in this country we call an urgent care office. Son of a gun, I do have pneumonia. They prescribed an antibiotic, an expectorant and an asthma-style inhaler. As the prez says, we'll see.               

Chilled Art

The art museum through bare winter trees on a damp, chilly day. The cold might have begun to affect my vision. The artworks were safe in the climate-controlled interior. Wonder what they did to protect them when the museum was built more than a century ago.    

             

Who Knew?

I certainly didn't. This a new banner. I don't know if it refers to this particular building or the city. Lots of old commercial structures around downtown have been converted to loft apartments but not this one. It's mostly vacant.

Still, The Lou is a hotbed of chess. The recent challenger for the world championship is from here. The St. Louis Chess Club, located in a pretty tony neighborhood, houses the world chess hall of fame.

Late post today. I've had a really bad cold. Good excuse to sneak out early.

        

New House of Representatives Takes Office Tomorrow

Go get 'em. The information is out there. As Bob Dylan said, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

This t rex has been a fixture in Forest Park for years. Time to let it loose.  

2018 Photos of the Year

It's time to review our year's work and pick a favorite. Being greedy, I can't limit myself to just one. There could be lots more but these are my besties. People notice that I shy away from pretty pictures. There are some in my portfolio but what interests me is the ironic, the street, the theater and personalities. So...

TIE FOR FIRST PLACE 

         

Night walk in a forest near Monteverde, Costa Rica. How the guide found this tiny lizard I cannot say. Lit by only a flashlight.

A scene from a play called Pain during the St. Louis Fringe Festival . Actually, this is my favorite but I thought it would put people off if I placed it first.

THIRD PLACE

Fourth of July fireworks at the Arch.

ELLIE 

Utter concentration while building a Lego tower. At the Magic House, our area's children's science museum.

STL LOCAL

Autumn in Forest Park. Okay, I guess this qualifies as a pretty picture.



BEST ARCH PICTURE

First published just a few fays ago.

THEATER

The irrepressible Lola van Ella at the St. Louis Fringe's fundraiser Act Your Pants Off.

TRAVEL

Specials at Ricky's Cafe, Hanover, Kansas.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, taken from the north shore of the bay.

Part of The  Heidelberg Project, Detroit. Look it up!

A happy new year and good shooting to all our City Daily Photo colleagues. Take a look at of our members' best work here. It's starting to go up.