forest park
May the fourth be with you! That’s May 4, for any of you unfamiliar with the deep-space nuttiness of Star Wars devotees. (They’re not all science-y nerds. Really. Besides, some of them carry light sabers to prove their point … and what earthling is brave enough to say they don’t have real laser beams?) Movie magic is the order of the day at Saint Louis Science Center in Forest Park for its First Friday program. Faithful followers of The Force can celebrate Star Wars Day in the Planetarium, where collectibles will be on display and guests of any age can stage their own animated scenes. And, for those who’ve had enough make-believe, there will be screenings of real movies in the Omnimax theater. May 4 culminates in the first incarnation of a science fiction and fantasy short film contest—an opportunity for regional filmmakers to let their imaginations soar beyond the stars or delve deep inside. Competitors’ winning short works, sponsored by the Science Center and Cinema St. Louis (CSL), will be featured from 6 to 10 p.m., followed by the cult classic Ed Wood. This juried competition will award $900 in cash to the top three entries, whether in or out of this world: $500 for Best of Fest and $200 each for Best Sci-Fi and Best Fantasy selections. In addition to the three cash-prize winners, additional works will be chosen to screen on First Fridays over the next few months. CSL then will screen the winning film as part of the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase. Meanwhile, in the Planetarium, there will be a free show. Come ready for your jaw to drop. And, there will be backstage access to movie magic. Learn about cinematography, special effects, editing, directing, lighting, costuming and set design, all by giving it a try. What’s more, there will be an arcade and gaming area featuring local game developers. And parking is free!
cortex district
Bacon?! Will they have chocolate bacon? (No, no, probably not. Settle down, pork-belly boy.) The Chocolate Pig is the name of a destination restaurant scheduled to open this fall within the Cortex Innovation Community. (We can see why bacon addicts could be confused. So, to answer a second impertinent question: No, they won’t be serving bacon-flavored ice cream, either … as far as we know.) The brains at Bissinger’s are behind the new concept restaurant and cafe, one attraction of Venture Café’s Innovation Hall at Cortex. The corporate-type people at Venture Café tout the new space as the first civic innovation center in the StL—not to mention the Midwest—geared toward entrepreneurs and innovators. Innovation Hall also is to feature the Civic Lounge, a free and open drop-in workspace and reserved event and meeting space for groups from four to 300-plus. The launch of Innovation Hall doubles down on Cortex’s mission of building and supporting a community of innovators and entrepreneurs that will establish the metro as a nationally and internationally recognized technology hub, corporate-type people say. “Creative, communal spaces … make us want to come early and stay late,” says Dennis Lower, president & CEO of the Cortex Innovation Community. Modeled after Venture Café’s District Hall in Boston, Innovation Hall is a mission driven initiative committed to expanding innovation across the community. It will be a unique space defined by its civic nature and will serve as a gathering place for all kinds of entrepreneurs—startups, educators, nonprofits, government, artists, corporates and the community at large. Continuing Venture Café’s self-reported knack of connecting educators to the entrepreneurial community, Innovation Hall also will be home to St. Louis’ first education/innovation hub. Made possible by an anonymous donor, the hub will feature unique events and programming focused on innovation, equity and access in education. Innovation Hall also will include The Market powered by 23 City Blocks Catering, a grab-and-go style coffee bar offering breakfast and lunch. What’s more, Venture Café claims to host the world’s largest weekly online gathering of entrepreneurs. So, y’all come!
‘Status’ license plates—in my humble, yet still dissed, opinion—denote creativity more than status. I know a feisty metro PR legend (OK, retired PR exec) whose plate used to be HYPE. A vintage late-1950s auto, sporting tail fins, also sports HWYART. It’s probably just me, but special plates are popping up like daffodils. Maybe it was proximity to opening day that gave me cause to GOKRZE … license-plate shorthand for our HOF broadcaster Jack Buck’s legendary exhortation: “Go crazy, folks!” Some plates are like a puzzle on the funny pages. F’rinstance, WLE-XOT. Hint: In the Warner Bros. cartoons of yore, he never, ever catches Roadrunner. I was flummoxed until I learned the car belonged to a professional artist who drew for Marvel comics. (It especially helped when somebody told me ‘X’ is the Greek letter ‘Chi,’ pronounced ‘kai.’ Now you get it … right?) Pumping gas into CLIMBS, a woman sheepishly said her own car was in the shop—no, her husband hadn’t conquered Mount Everest or scaled El Capitan, but he used to climb in New Mexico. I thought TOP-GON was a dimwitted driver’s feeble attempt at the Tom Cruise film title Top Gun. On second glance, I saw it was a convertible … ‘Top Gone.’ What kicked off this idea, anyhow? I’d snapped a photo of a white Audi bearing the 4TUNE8 Missouri plate, parked a lot or two away from the tiny one outside Deer Creek Coffee in Ladue. Later, on her way out of the shop, the driver tapped me on the shoulder. Well, heck, I knew her—she considers herself fortunate in many of the same ways I do! Anyhow, she’s even met the Illinois driver with that plate. (Only one per state, thank you very much.) See this issue’s TT Trivia for a real brain-teaser.
A friend of mine builds beautiful brick enclosures for mailboxes. One that leans toward the street in Olivette, obviously hit more than once by errant drivers, could use his professional TLC. But I suspect this homeowner was happy to improvise. The mainbox is wrapped thoroughly in duct tape, which also anchors it securely to the post. Two colors were used, grey and black, which I suspect was not for aesthetic reasons. Then, using a utility knife, some ‘loving hands at home’ cut openings in the tape to expose two different typefaces comprising the street address. It’s not entirely clear, however, just how to get the mail in or out. Perhaps, and especially if the tape used to fashion the makeshift letter slot is still sticky, the mail won’t blow away. Comparatively speaking, this homeowner saved a boatload of money by completing this novel duct-tape rehab. My friend, the brick mason, estimates it would cost $1,200 to construct a suitable enclosure. (I imagined a random act of kindness—then an online fundraiser—for about 13.2 seconds.) Obviously, duct tape is an innovative, sensible mailbox-stabilization technique for the budget conscious fixer-upper. The standard silvery-grey variety costs about five bucks for 50 yards. For a little more than twice that, you could apply anything from yellow or pink to phosphorescent green. To amaze your letter carrier—and really annoy the neighbors—you could completely ‘go postal’ with duct tape in leopard-skin, zebra, camo and rainbow patterns. For other creative ideas, keep an eye out: For example, junker cars typically have red tape stuck over busted taillights.
We’ve discussed the winsome decorating choices for ‘traffic-calming balls’ at intersections in South St. Louis twice before in this space, specifically the 16 or so that impede, at least visually, autos and cyclists attempting to negotiate the Shenandoah-Compton intersection in Tower Grove East. Back when it was really cold … further back, even, than last week … a gentle, snarky soul crocheted an enormous cap for one of the stone-cold concrete spheres. A story and photo ran in our esteemed metro daily, then a fresh piece in this space, after the hat disappeared. Cynical as we may be, we’d ventured out in the winter chill to see just whether that had happened. Of course it had. We warmed up inside Kitchen House Coffee, where the crocheter had fashioned her knit hat and even mused about making a Santa hat for the next holiday season. (Editor’s note: Holiday decorations are not yet up at area retailers, but be patient. Check back over Memorial Day weekend.) We went back by the coffeehouse a few weeks after the storied hat’s disappearance to find that said traffic-calming ball had on a pair of the googly plastic eyes seen on The Muppets. A Victorian-era handlebar mustache cut from corrugated cardboard was a nice touch. Then at Easter, an artist fashioned bunny ears … natch. But now, word on the street and in ink is that the traffic-calming balls may be removed. A few words of warning for the workers who get the thankless task of getting them off the street: Don’t bend over and lift with your back! Do it from a crouch, with your knees bent.