ladue
What do John Denver, Jane Goodall, Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn have in common? Fame. One could call them ‘cultural icons of the 20th century’ … and, you guessed it, an author already has in a book titled just that. Interviews with the musician, anthropologist, comedian and actress (and 16 other celebrities from all walks of life) filled the notebooks of Ladue resident Doug Kaufman (pictured at top), a lifelong journalist. Kaufman wrote for the lifestyle section of the Belleville News-Democrat in the 1980s and ’90s, filing dozens of feature articles about talented men and women. All of them are, or were, very interesting people. But of course, just like in the movies, some great stuff wound up on the cutting-room floor. Periodicals have space considerations. However, the Internet does not. The proverbial light bulb went on over Kaufman’s head. He used his abundance of material to round out the personality profiles he wrote for the BND. The resulting book makes for a really great read and leads to a deeper understanding of people we may have thought we knew. John Denver shares how he came up with “Annie’s Song,” perhaps his most-beloved tune, in 1974. Kahn, hysterical (and funny) in Mel Brooks comedies, was shy. Speaking of Brooks, how’d he land a femme fatale like Lauren Bacall? Read her interview! First, of course, you’ll have to buy Kaufman’s book on amazon.com for Kindle, or download the free Kindle app to your phone or tablet.
sunset hills
Porch pirates do their Grinch-y thing year-round: poach parcels people leave for folks who aren’t home. Bright minds on the left coast have concocted two remedies. A sheriff’s department in Oregon installed GPS trackers in dummy packages, then simply followed them to where the dummies who swiped them finally stopped. Our favorite comes from the Washington entrepreneur who tired of purloined packages, so he harmlessly booby-trapped fake ones, counting on a surveillance camera to record the subsequent explosive event: A blank shotgun shell goes off as the thief tries to make off with the package. Viral video shows us that most of these numbskulls fall down as they flee like squirrels. Score a few for the good guys. And in the metro, too! Over the holidays, many generous souls leave gifts out for their trash collectors. The week before Christmas, one local lunkhead made off with some of their goodies … but not for long. When alert Sunset Hills residents spied a car driving slowly past the garbage cans, they called the cops. Police stopped a suspect vehicle, recovering gift cards, cash, chocolate and other treats meant for the trash man. The drive-by thief was held on $600 bond.
st. louis
Do you annoy everyone with nonstop references to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or Star Trek? Do you hold your hand up in the four-fingered ‘V’ favored by Mr. Spock, wishing for others to ‘live long and prosper?’ Do you think Leela, animated alien of Futurama, is really cute, even though she only has one really big eye? Do you wish you could play quidditch or slay Orcs? Chances are, all of your friends are way into this too, such that ‘normies’ can’t understand why you spend so much time and money on conventions and wait in line for days for the next sci-fi or fantasy film … in costume. Don’t you wish real life was in 3-D? Well, knucklehead—it is, and you won’t even need special glasses to experience it! Living in your fantasy world could pay off, however, especially if you fancy yourself a filmmaker. Cinema St. Louis (CSL) and the Saint Louis Science Center are staging their first science-fiction and fantasy short film contest. A juried competition, it will award cash prizes to three entries: $500 for Best of Fest and $200 each for Best Sci-Fi and Best Fantasy shorts. The winners will be featured at the Science Center’s ‘First Friday’ program May 4, showing in its Omnimax Theater. There’s no entry fee, the deadline to enter is March 30, and films must:
» be family-friendly
» run no longer than 5 minutes, including credits (no minimum running time)
» include sound (e.g., dialogue, ambient sound, effects, and/or music)
» have been produced no earlier than 2011
All conceivable approaches—experimental, narrative, animated—are acceptable, and shorts can be shot in any film or video format, in color or black-and-white. What’s more: Filmmakers must live within a 450-mile radius of St. Louis and have secured rights to any music, words or images used, and films must be submitted using FilmFreeway with a secure online screener link. So, film short and prosper long!
university city
The first thing they’ll do in the Delmar Loop is throw a snowball. No, these aren’t snot-nosed ruffians. (OK, some probably are. What of it?) Snotty or not, the good folks of the Moonrise Hotel are throwing a Snow Ball, their annual January gala, next Friday (Jan. 12). Admission is free if you donate a canned food item. Plus, you’ll score a drink ticket and enjoy dancing to DJs. That flurry of activity kicks off the three-day Ice Carnival in U. City, but ah … weather in the Lou: Maybe we won’t have an awful day that warms to 75, then plunges into the 20s. Because there will be ice, and frozen sculptures will appear in dozens of locations, from Rosedale (on Delmar’s eastern end beyond Skinker) to Kingsland (on the western end at the U. City Library). How do they do it? You can watch Ice Visions demonstrate their melt-worthy craft from noon to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday in Fitz’s parking lot. And when there’s ice, there’s fire! Sometimes. Fire performers will tempt fate, freaking out folks who fear they’ll singe their hair, at Market in The Loop from noon to 6 p.m. There’ll be a 5K and 10K Frozen Buns Run, an ice slide, a zip line and a Ferris wheel. And there will be frozen turkey bowling! (Note to PETA: They’re vegan birds, maybe ‘tofurkey’—faux turkey made with tofu, perhaps with cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or other heinous vegetable matter added). And tattoos? Even though you can get the real thing in The Loop, you can collect 13 temporary tattoos during a scavenger hunt. Want a chance at a chunk of $1,000 to be given away at seven Loop stores? Ice cubes will contain prizes: There will be 1,000 cubes containing a $1 coin and 9,000 more with a chocolate coin inside. With all of this and more, there’s a veritable polar ice cap of frozen fun and frolic to be had, global warming notwithstanding.
glendale
Santa, dozens of impersonators, helpers and critters showed up at Grace’s Glendale Bus Stop for ‘Santa Monday’ a week before Christmas to join Grace Mehan in a jolly celebration of the season … and of Grace herself, who warms the heart of most everyone she meets. She gleefully ran down the shoulder of Lockwood Avenue to throw her arms around a friend who’d come dressed as an elf. She hugged a tall man dressed as a reindeer. Grace wouldn’t wear her whiskers—she told her dad, Tom Mehan, that they ‘trickle.’ With her family, Grace (who has Down syndrome) always decorates the bus stop where Tom built her a bench in 2011. It’s decorated for St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween and Valentine’s Day. People hang neckties there for Father’s Day. She has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. too. Glendale police keep an eye on the bus stop for her, and Metro has special signage there. For the last few years, more and more Santas have shown up for Santa Monday—the jolly old elves were grateful it was pleasant around 7:30 a.m.; last year, it was 3 degrees! KSDK reporters interviewed Grace, Tom, her mom Colleen, and a couple of other people dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus for a Show Me St. Louis segment. Grace’s older brother, Brendan, hadn’t made it home from NYC yet for the occasion. Meanwhile, Grace stuck close to her kid sister, Maggie … unless there was a dog to love. A small black-and-white pup slathered Grace with kisses, and a basset hound in a Santa getup waddled around on a leash. What’s so special about this bus stop, anyhow? Grace rides Metro to her four, count ’em, four, part-time jobs and to the YMCA. She works as a hostess for three Kirkwood restaurants and packs Irene’s Granola, which is produced and sold locally. On the next holiday, drive the section of Lockwood that serves as the northern border of Westborough Country Club. Or, check out Grace’s Glendale Bus Stop on Facebook, and give her a thumbs-up. You’ll smile, and so will Grace.