st. louis
Ask the average bee what color violet they’d prefer to pollinate, and you’re probably not going to get an answer, maybe just a buzz. But a research study conducted by SLU scientists indicates that the insects, which are cold-blooded, prefer a darker violet shade. You know how, when it’s cold out, a dark-colored coat will keep you warmer in the sunshine than a light-colored one? The same principle applies to bees as they drink nectar from and pollinate wildflowers in the darker, cooler forests of spring: They head for the darker-hued violet flowers, whose petals are as much as 5 degrees warmer than the lighter ones, researchers have discovered. Researchers say the bees prefer to forage upside down on the dark flowers, which apparently also may keep their little hairy legs and bee butts warm. Why is this important? Climate change, which innumerable scientists emphasize is happening despite irrational noise to the contrary, is messing with the ‘pollination ecology,’ which is especially critical to endangered plant species. The phenomenon of global warming may also be why bees are emerging out of sync with the flowering plants we need for them to pollinate.
ladue
Did you know there are 17 official Ladue Local Heroes? Ladue Horton Watkins High School has taken to recognizing outstanding alumni as leaders in local business, athletics, volunteer activities, education, philanthropy, law, media and the arts. Notables from KTVI news anchor Jasmine Huda (’97) to Judge Ellen Levy Siwak (’81) (and quite a few men) form the inaugural class for this award, presented by the Distinguished Alumni Committee and Ladue Education Foundation. Ladue Local Heroes comprise alumni who have made significant local contributions to the St. Louis community in their fields, as opposed to Distinguished Alumni Award honorees, who are exceptional graduates making a major impact at the national and international levels (there are 57 of these). Ladue Heroes selection committee members admit it was no small feat to distinguish between ‘incredible’ and ‘merely amazing.’ The new awards program stems from the realization that ‘it was time to recognize the success and achievements of Ladue grads making a difference right here.’ These grads are philanthropists and community volunteers, civic leaders, a camp director, an interior designer, a choreographer—each of whom gives back so much more to the larger community than might be indicated by their area of expertise. Alas, listing all of them and their plaudits could take up half this magazine! Open to the community at large, an awards presentation and luncheon are scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. Feb. 17 at the school’s Performing Arts Center.
rock hill
Drunks are a peculiar type of knucklehead. (The knuckle in many a drunk’s head is the denial bone: Wags say, Alcoholism is a disease that insists you don’t have a disease.) A friend of mine who volunteered to help alcoholics in the county jail tells the story of two men who wound up in orange jumpsuits because of crimes they committed while intoxicated. In jail, they complained constantly, rationalizing that their convictions were due, you know, to extenuating circumstances. ‘Bruce’ was arrested after removing electronic tags from merchandise so he could take it without detection. But he used a knife to cut off the tags, which meant a mere shoplifting offense became an armed robbery conviction. “I wasn’t robbing anyone,” Bruce would lament, week after week. “I was just stealing!” Poor ‘Steve’ was stopped for driving with stolen plates, then also charged with DUI. But, Steve would whine, he’d have never been issued that DUI—his sixth— if it weren’t for those doggone stolen plates! Of all the rotten luck. Many drunks, often lacking disposable income, tend to steal their liquor. Some seem to frequent a certain business in the 9400 block of Manchester Road in Rock Hill. In a Jan. 14 police report, suspects took alcohol and laundry detergent. We think either that creates a more potent mixture for getting high, or the drunks are just being practical. Who knows what their clothes will look like once they sober up?
university city
Works from 20 artists in the Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design’s residency program are on display at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport through May. Supported by the Regional Arts Commission, the exhibition features pieces created in one of four media: clay, fiber, metal or wood. All were made since the Artist-in-Residence program was established in 2008. Many are abstract, some whimsical, but they all pique the imagination. The program encourages emerging and mid-career artists by providing them a workspace free of charge, access to Craft Alliance’s audiences, a modest stipend, and opportunities to exhibit and sell their work. Participants gain teaching experience, work to create classes in their medium, and pay it forward by working with Craft Alliance to present a studio experience for visiting school groups. The exhibition is in the Lambert Gallery, adjacent to the Concourse C exit in Terminal 1’s baggage claim area. So, when you’re waiting for a passenger whose flight’s been delayed, and you can only drink so much Starbucks, stop by and enjoy the creations by your fellow St. Louisans.
clayton
As the presidential inauguration approached, more than half the Americans who voted were feeling ready to scream. Meanwhile in D.C., dozens screamed in silence—mysteriously, inflatable figures fashioned after Norwegian artist Edvard Munch’s iconic expressionist work The Scream appeared near the Reflecting Pool and Trump International Hotel, and on the street in front of the White House. They were placed there, and photographed, by friends and associates of artist and entrepreneur Robert Fishbone of Clayton, who invented and markets the inflatables in various sizes … some screamers are taller than 8 feet! Fishbone, who owns On The Wall Productions, featured many of the ‘sightings’ on his Facebook page prior to Jan. 20; on Jan. 21, his son Tyler and a screamer joined the women’s protest march in Seattle, and his daughter Liza was accompanied by a screamer for the Austin march. Fishbone is a multitalented fellow. He and his late wife Sarah Linquist were behind the 1970s B&W Lindy Squared painting of aviator Charles Lindbergh on the side of a building downtown that was demolished, although the ‘pixelated’ painting lives on. The painted bricks were removed, reinstalled at St. Louis Center and are now in pieces again, awaiting sightings at some future site. A couple of years ago, he and Liza painted the bright, op-art 66 Reasons mural on the side of the KDHX building in Grand Center. Fishbone also does motivational speaking for entrepreneurs and touts the therapeutic benefits of the drum circle. A musician himself, he has been known to wear, and play, a metal washboard the size and shape of a necktie.
