NOT JUST ANOTHER THURSDAY NIGHT

 

And not just another awards ceremony. I’ll explain…               

WHAT FALLS AND WHAT REMAINS

 

More aftermath of last week’s fire. Brick can collapse when the support behind it burns away. Concrete stands. The small building in the foreground, although close to the  collapsed structure, survived.                

FIRE AND ICE

 

While we were away last week a five alarm fire broke out in an area of old, vacant warehouses south of the Arch. The fire and smoke ball was so big it showed up on weather radar. The district was to be part of a big redevelopment project, whose future is now uncertain. I went by yesterday to see what was visible in the snow.                  

SNOW AT O'HARE

 

Airports, especially big ones, are best avoided when it snows. Unfortunately, that can’t always be avoided when traveling for family events. This is what part of the departures board looked like on Saturday. The airline put us on a flight at mid-day Sunday, although there were still many cancellations. It got us home, if 2.5 hours late. At that point we didn’t care. It’s been snowing here all day on Monday as I write this.                

CITY DAILY PHOTO DECEMBER THEME - FURRY THINGS

 

Not a lot of furry, fuzzy things around our house except granddaughter Ellie’s huge mountain of stuffies. The one living exception is Gizmo, the family cat. We all wish we could be this serene.                    

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - UNSCHEDULED LAYOVER

 

Adventures in winter travel. As each flight from Chicago to St. Louis yesterday was canceled we were put on another, which was then canceled. Eventually all of them. Our flight from Flint, Michigan, to Chicago amazingly got through - seven hours late. It was still snowing at O’Hare when we got this far. Found a hotel and now booked on a noon flight Sunday. Success to be determined.               

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - MICHIGAN KIDS

 

The grandchildren we don’t get to see often enough, Josie, above, and Audrey, below. We were out Christmas tree shopping.

We may or may not get home today. Chicago, where we change planes, is having a snowstorm. The airline canceled one of our flights already but booked us on another. Report to follow, possibly with photos of O’Hare chaos.                  

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - COPS & DOUGHNUTS

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner in Clare, Michigan, with our daughter-in-law’s family. Clare is right in the middle of Michigan’s lower peninsula, a town of about 3,300 named for County Clare, Ireland, where my father’s family is from. Its best-known business is Cops & Doughnuts. All of the small town police department took over the failing town bakery some years ago and created a business famous in the region. It is a meme in American culture that the police love doughnuts and coffee, especially if not at their own expense.              

NOT PART OF THE PLAN

 

Tough winter travel day yesterday. Ice in the morning and mid-day in Chicago messed up everything at O’Hare. Skipping the details, we missed our connection but there was space on a on a late flight that got us into Flint, Michigan, about 11:30 PM. Too late to drive to our son’s city. Fortunately, the car rental desk stayed open for us and I found a hotel room near the airport. Flint was once a big auto manufacturing city. General Motors was founded here, but all that is gone. Tough times since.             

LOVE IT AND LEAVE IT

Perhaps due to a lack of good sense, Mrs. C and I are flying today for the Thanksgiving holiday. We get to change planes in the chaos of Chicago O’Hare International airport on one of the busiest days of the year, ending up in Midland, Michigan, where our son and his family live. We get to see our two other grandchildren, who are too far away. The sign is in front of the Missouri History Museum. The heart shows the center of the city’s flag.            

SIX MONTHS LATER

 

It’s been right at six months since a tornado swept through parts of St. Louis. It cut across the northwest corner of Forest Park and moved into residential neighborhoods to the north, much of which contained old homes in lower income areas. Here in the park many damaged trees were cut to stumps at ground level. However, one huge tree was toppled and pulled up much of its root ball. Lots of it has not been cleared.        

AGLOW

 

The view from one of the galleries toward the central hall of the St. Louis Art Museum’s central hall, as seen in Saturday’s post. This is one of five massive paintings that are part of the Anselm Kiefer show. The glittering highlights around the figure in the upper center and the words across the top are in gold leaf.           

BIRCHES AT THE MUSEUM

 

A carefully arranged grove of birch trees outside the entrance to the new wing of the St. Louis Art Museum.             

KIEFER IN THE HALL

 

Anselm Kiefer is a giant of contemporary German art. His first major U.S. museum show in 20 years is now at the St. Louis Art Museum. Five huge paintings flank the central hall, with many others in the galleries. He visited St. Louis a number of years ago and some of the work refers to the Mississippi or the Rhein. We’ve going to a walk-through with a docent today.              

LOUIS IN THE MIST

 

Granddaughter Ellie’s history class has been talking about ancient Egypt and she wanted to see the examples at the art museum. It was a dank, drizzly day so I stepped out the front door to see how le saint roi was faring. He was impassive.              

LIGHT AND SHADOW

 

A bend in a hall in the contemporary wing of the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City. The structure is full of eye-catching shapes, in both the art on display and the architecture itself. The stack on the right is the well-known style of Donald Judd. I didn’t make a note of the simple curve to the left. It’s purple and quite low on the wall, making it hard to interpret.            

KANSAS CITY POSTCARD

 

An iconic view of Kansas City, taken from the hill that contains the Liberty Monument and World War I museum. In the foreground is Union Station, which still gets a few trains but now contains other attractions. Downtown is behind. The four narrow towers at left center support the roof of the convention center.             

KANSAS SUNSET

 

West of Marysville (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marysville%2C_Kansas), where my wife went to high school, on our way to a 50th anniversary party for her brother and sister-in-law. It was held in the town of Bremen, population 50, where you can rent out the firehouse for events.                

PROTEST THEOLOGY

 

In general, I think that mixing religion and politics creates a volatile brew. Your reaction may depend on whether you support or oppose the point being made this way, but in either case rational analysis suffers. Using religion with satire is maybe not so bad.                 

KC B&W

 

Kansas City has America’s major World War I memorial and museum. When I first heard of it I wasn’t that interested - more than a century ago, no connection to my family, etc. Turns out it’s fascinating and well worth a visit if you find yourself in this pleasant city. The sunlight on a cloudless autumn day complements the 1920s architecture.

KANSAS CITY

We spent last night in Missouri’s other major city, meeting family for dinner before heading into the Kansas countryside today. The area where we met is known as the Country Club Plaza, https://countryclubplaza.com/, arguably America’s first shopping center. It is several square blocks of upscale shops and restaurants. The odd little statue in the median has a plaque in front of it that reads “Tranquility In Innocence - Sleeping Child.” Okay, then.            

NO SHOW

 

Turning around from the view in yesterday’s photo, looking north over Art Hill. This is the clear northern sky where we hoped to see the aurora borealis. There was nothing but a plane heading for the airport.

Road trip today to Kansas City, then across the prairie into Kansas on Saturday for a family event. Always something interesting to shoot.                

NO AURORA, BUT . . .

 

Some people got really good northern lights photos around here Tuesday night. We were at home but, given the forecast, went out last night. Mrs. C, granddaughter Ellie and I headed to Art Hill, which has an unobstructed view to the north and not a lot of city lights. Nothing as of three hours after sunset. Ellie amused herself taking selfies in front of the statue of the Big Guy, and then rolling down the hill on her side over and over.                  

A MODERN MAJOR GENERAL

Several performing arts organizations put on half hour presentations at the symphony open house, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis. The season is in May and June, and first up next year is Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. Robert Mellon, seen here, will sing Major General Stanley, including the famous patter song I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General. The frantic pace is notoriously difficult. Mellon led the audience through a series of exercises, learning how to sing it faster and faster.                  

ATTENTION

 

People listening to the St. Louis Classical Guitar Quartet, seen in yesterday’s post. Most of the audience is paying close attention, except for, maybe, the girl on the lower left on her phone and the man on the right, who I think is more interested in his date. And, well, me.               

CLASSICAL GUITAR

Many groups of local performers rotated through the St. Louis Symphony’s open house on Saturday. This is the St. Louis Classical Guitar Quartet. The conditions were not ideal. They performed on a balcony outside the mid-level of the auditorium, with open space off to the right going one level up and a floor and a half below. The gentle sound got a bit lost.             

SYMPHONY OPEN HOUSE

 

Our beloved St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performs in a hundred-year-old building, originally designed for movies and vaudeville. It was remodeled to become the orchestra’s home in the late 1960s. Mrs. C and I went on our first date there in the spring of 1973 (Mahler’s First, but I don’t remember what she wore) and we’ve now been subscribers for, I think, 47 years. Despite good acoustics, the hall had many drawbacks, with very inadequate backstage space.

It had been closed for two years for a major restoration and construction of a large new building covering two sides of the old hall. We’ve been to a few performances already but there was a public open house on Saturday showing off all the new stuff. Here, a septet of orchestra members perform as a tango group (unfortunately, no bandoneon). Having visited Argentina a few times, I love tango. The group played some of the biggest hits, including Carlos Gardel's Por Una Cabeza and Astor Piazzola’s Libertango.               

GOODNIGHT MOON

 

 Goonight Lou. Goodnight to photographers snapping the view.                      

JUST HANGING OUT

 

Wednesday’s super moon, hanging over a building in St. Louis’ Central West End. This was as close in as I could get with my longest lens, 600 mm equivalent with the camera’s 2:1 crop factor.              

LOUIE AND THE SUPER MOON

 

There was a super moon last night, one of the occasions when our satellite is closest to the earth. Worth going out with a tripod, but where? This is our emblematic statue, the Apotheosis of St. Louis, in front of the art museum in Forest Park. Maybe I can edit something more about the moon itself for tomorrow.                

GOOOOOOOOL!

 

Another figure at the History Museum’s Dia de los Muertos event, dressed in the uniform of our local soccer/football team. St. Louis City SC's record this season is somewhat well represented.                   

ALTAR DETAIL

 

One of the features of Dia de los Muertos is elaborate altars, usually in honor of a particular deceased family member. This is a small detail from what I gather was a family’s abuela, or grandmother. The photos may be great grandchildren.               

GRATEFUL DEAD?

 

Technically, Dia de los Muertos was yesterday. In the Roman Catholic calendar, November 1 is All Saints Day and November 2 is All Souls Day. (You are only obliged to go to mass on the former.) Only a few people at the Missouri History Museum who were not official participants in the event did the full makeup or costume. If you look closely at his clothing, when the day comes I don’t think the man on the right expects to end up in heaven.                 

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

 

Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican festival that celebrates our connections to the beloved who have left us. Despite the imagery we will see in coming days, it is not morbid. The Missouri History Museum (a lot more interesting than it sounds) has a weekend event observing the occasion.                 

CITY DAILY PHOTO NOVEMBER THEME - BREAKFAST

 

Breakfast isn’t a big deal in our house. Maybe some yoghurt and fruit, or just a bagel with cream cheese. The only time I get a full morning meal is at a hotel buffet, and they aren’t worth photographing. So, needing an image  for  today, I found this image of a food stand in the rain under the south end of The Highline in Manhattan. Bacon and eggs might be hard to eat on the street, particularly if it’s wet.            

TODAY’S THE DAY

 

Halloween itself. It has been so horribly commercialized and monetized, very much with the consent and participation of Americans. The day seems to allow people to let out something that is otherwise repressed, and that’s a good thing. The over-the-top home decorations, some more elaborate than Christmas, well, that’s something else. Mrs. C and I don’t get into holidays much.                     

GLAM

There is strong competition to stand out at the Central West End Halloween party, and I think this couple was particularly successful. Lots of effort went into these ensembles. On the other hand, when I’m shooting at an event like this I dress in black. I want to notice them but I don’t want them to notice me.                   

FALL COLORS

 

One of the more creative costume ensembles at the Central West End Halloween party. Our temperatures have gotten much cooler and we’ve had some rain, so maybe we will get more natural versions of this. Note, though, what is in the hand pf the person on the left. Someone was selling cocktails in IV fluid bags, with the liquid tube to use as a straw. Medicinal purposes only.        

Pre-party entertainment in Maryland Plaza before the Central West End’s main Halloween festivities. This person is there every year, doing tricks that are hard to photograph. He fully rotates, twists and spirals, somehow not squashing his hands. Where do you learn this?              

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

I was trained to ask permission before taking a picture of an individual or small group on the street. (I may have occasionally sinned.) When wandering around at an event like the Central West End Halloween party, I’ll raise my lens, nod and say “may I?’. In all the years I’ve been going there, I’ve never been turned down. People want to be seen.     

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR

 

Halloween isn’t until Friday but The Lou’s biggest party was last night. On the Saturday before the official date, our trendy Central West End neighborhood sponsors a huge street party. The costumes range from the mundane (who needs more Super Mario brothers?) to people like this. Not sure what’s going on with this couple, she dressed as Lady Liberty with wings and he, wearing a bishop’s mitre, symbolizing something more sinister.                

PATRIOT

 

The president and his sycophants claim that the people at the No Kings rallies in every state were left wing loonies [sic], Hamas agitators, Antifa operatives (as if such an organization exists, while we are reminded that every American soldier who fought in World War II was antifa) or cranky, out of touch geezers (like me). All lies, and yet more lies.             

PROTEST THEOLOGY

 

In general, I think that mixing religion and politics creates a volatile brew. Your reaction may depend on whether you support or oppose the point being made this way, but in either case rational analysis suffers. Using religion with satire is maybe not so bad.                 

DRY AUTUMN

 

It’s increasingly common here. Autumn has been very warm and dry. Officially, we are in moderate to severe drought. The leaves turn brown and just fall. The only way to get some color may be putting them right in front of the setting sun.  

Unfortunately, there are strong storms predicted for Saturday, the day of our nationwide No Kings protests. I really want to document it. We’ll see.            

HONK IF YOU LOVE INFLATABLE HIPPOS AND HATE AUTOCRATS

 

St. Louis’ No Kings protest spilled out of Kiener Plaza to the edge of Market Street, downtown’s main east-west thoroughfare. Lots of passing motorists honked their approval, even a city fire truck.                 

AXOLOTLS FOR FREEDOM

 

As with everywhere across the country, many protestors at No Kings day wore absurd inflatable costumes. It’s known as tactical frivolity. As the writer Gary Shteyngart said in the New York Times, 

it shows the absurdity of the charge that all the protesters are armed militants. In contravention of the Trump administration’s claims that the protesters were all Hamas agents or antifa interns, the protest [in Chicago] was wholesome, nonaggressive and almost shockingly middle-of-the-road. It’s hard to call an inflatable chicken dangerous.

By the way, axolotls are Mexican.           

     

             

THAT SAYS IT

 

Saturday afternoon in the rain, Kiener Plaza, downtown St. Louis.