Gods and Grids

It's Official: Going Green Has Gone Stupid

2010-06-01T08:57:00.002-05:00

City Hall has replaced trash cans in our offices with blue recycling containers - for office paper only. We have to walk across the room to the common trash bin to throw away anything else.

Office paper is a fraction of what I throw away on a daily basis. There's nothing for cans or bottles, and as a former janitor in the office once said, 'most of it is food wrappers.'

Expect a decline in efficiency and tighter buns.

Metro Transit: From Bad to Asinine

2009-04-01T08:21:00.004-05:00

I used to say, 'Blame Jefferson City for our bad transit system,' but that was before I got off the bus this morning at 14th and Spruce. The 14th Street transfer center was always somewhat of a joke; it's nothing more than a glorified turn-around stuck on a spare piece of ground next to a Metrolink station whose only point of merit is its adjacency to the Train/Bus Depot. This transfer center is totally underdeveloped even for the traffic it saw prior to the down-scaling of the bus system. Worse, it lacks any access to services such as a coffee shop, newsstand, or confectionary. I suppose some of these services exist in the depot, but what good is that to the commuter who now has to wait up to thirty minutes on a narrow strip of pavement stuck between a highway and its on-ramps.

All service east of 14th Street has been eliminated, and I'm baffled at how this could possibly save Metro any money. Buses that travel Broadway now make a detour to 14th Street to serve the Civic Center Station instead of continuing in a direct path that would take them to the Convention Center Station, adding time to the route and burning gas that needn't be burned. More critically, though, this removes service from the densest area of ridership without any logical justification.

At first, I thought Metro wanted to send a message to businesses that they need to push for better transit, but the sheer disaster of the 14th Street transfer center has me thinking otherwise. Nearly every bus that travels in the city of St. Louis converges on this grossly inadequate spot, where the sidewalks are two narrow for two people to pass, where pedestrian access crosses a highway on-ramp, and where there is absolutely no opportunity for commercial development to take advantage of the presence of so many pedestrians. It takes pedestrians away from a dense area with abundant opportunity for commercial development [not that the city's administration or downtown's property owners are smart enough to take advantage of their captive population of consumers].

This morning, as two other buses were discharging passengers to the same sidewalk, a bus driver was struggling to figure out to extend his wheel chair lift. Meanwhile, the man in the wheel chair was struggling to figure out how to maneuver onto a lift that extend most of the way across the four-foot wide sidewalk, between a cluster of bus shelters and a retaining wall that left him no room to move. Any reasonably intelligent person should have been able to look at the bus schedules, then look at the 14th Street transfer center and realize that this is an extremely stupid idea.

The only possible explanation that remains is that Metro is blackmailing the cash-strapped city for an increased transit allotment.

This isn't the city's responsibility. It's the state's and the federal government's. These are the entities that initiated the poor planning and development policies that made public transportation subsidy-dependent, so these are the entities that should be paying for public transportation.

If anybody from Metro is reading this: GIVE IT UP! Give up the asinine transfer centers, and give up your childish ploys to force subsidies.

Participate in Earth Hour

2009-03-24T08:37:00.002-05:00

That's an order!

Information here and here.

On Saturday, March 28, 2009 people around the world will switch off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 PM local time to demonstrate their support for environmental awareness.

Tarot Card of the Day for the Ides of March, AT6

2009-03-15T11:55:00.004-05:00

Seven of Cups, Rev.

Cups represent the elementals of Water that rule emotions.
A seven represents dissatisfaction, or the impetus to improve a situation.
As a feminine suit, Cups tells of the inner nature and passiveness. So, the message is one of looking within and analyzing your feelings.

The iconography of this card suggests a man seeing a vision of all that he desires: legacy, spirituality, knowledge, property, wealth, fame, and power. But, it's only a vision, he has not achieved these things. He has to stop dreaming and get his ass in gear.

The reversal of this card possibly indicates a lack of motivation, which is the case in the life of Your Prophet. I've been lazing about for too long. Today, especially. I had big plans of starting yard work and getting the basement organized today, but I slept in. I want to think this is the result of having dedicated to Earth two years in a row, which I did to explore that aspect of Cernunnos, but he's lost interest in this. I decided several months ago that I would dedicate to Fire this year, and sure enough, my energy is back. It's just that my habits haven't changed to take advantage of that. Reading up on Shiva to glean clues about Cernunnos, though, I'm reminded of their strong association with Fire. It's time to step away from the Green Man and commune with the Sacred Dancer.

Blazing Goat Day

2009-03-08T12:20:00.004-05:00

Inspired by arson in Gavle, Sweden, St. Louis Pagans gather each year to herald Spring by burning a straw goat. Actually, it's more accurate to say a goat-like form with some straw on it or in it. This was the fourth year of this new tradition.

This year's goat was the creation of the Woodman, and we teased him pretty hard about it. He can take it. It suffered a hump in its back that made it look a bit like a camel. The first goat was an unstable pile of straw somehow shaped into the general form of a goat. Year two, was a plywood-cutout on a sawbuck, but it was so damp that year that even a blowtorch and a whole bottle of torch fuel failed to ignite the effigy, so year three was the same goat. It burned that year. The Queen of Jefferson County Trailer Trash had no problem igniting the Woodman's work, and the small gathering watched as the straw quickly burned away.

In the past, we've had a Goat Queen, but the ritual aspect of the tradition has been in decline. Instead of a high priestess of the goat this year, we designated Wifey as the Goat Queen, and dedicated its destruction to her recovery. She's been in the hospital for several weeks; as Spring Blooms, so may her health.

Tonight at Powell Hall

2009-03-07T00:08:00.011-06:00

A strange thing happened at the office today. I got a call from the Powell Hall box office. Thinking they were going to put the squeeze on me to decide on next year's season ticket, I asked my secretary to take a message. As it turned out, they wanted to 'upgrade' my seat. In hindsight, I think 'upgrade' was code for "we can sell a pair of seats if we move you somewhere else". I think my original seat would have been better.

Tonight, the St. Louis Symphony performed with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. So, I figured, no problem, they'll scoot the orchestra back and dance up front. Nope. They built a stage extension and 'wings' out of convention center partitioning--lots of black burlap and a touch of red velvet for style. My seat looked right into a wall of black. I couldn't see the orchestra at all, and only about two thirds of the stage. The orchestra was on a raised platform behind the dance floor.

The performance, or what I could see of it, was stunning. The opening piece was a post-modern rendition of Bach, using movements from the Brandenburg Concerti and cello and harp solos from some other suites. It was my least favorite of the four pieces in the concert. Boys in fey little doublets and girls in flouncy skirts pranced around the stage with rather militaristic gestures. There was some kind of story about the court jester being shunned then accepted by the courtesans and an interesting, tho chaste, strip tease in which one of the girls lost her sleeves and skirts. In one impressive move, the boys lifted her and spun her head over heels in a sort of slow-motion back flip as they carried her downstage. You'd have to see it. She floated as if defying gravity.

First intermission.

The second part of the concert featured Stravinsky and Bernstein. The dancers didn't participate in the Stravinsky, but the orchestra nailed it like the pros they are. 'Three Pieces for Clarinet' showcased the remarkable skill of Scott Andrews, who awed a restless audience into silence; 'Symphonies of Wind Instruments' showcased the Symphony's greatly improved horn section delivering a great performance. But all this paled as Hubbard Street took back the stage for Bernstein's 'Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs'. First let me say that I haven't explored much of Bernstein's music due to a fear of the atonal, but this piece was astounding--lively and timeless, showing the best potential of Jazz. The dancers, though, brought it to life in a kind of jitterbug on crack. It was synchronized hopping, or Irish dance without the kicking, that framed some dynamic choreography that truly expressed the character of the music. All dressed in identical business suits, the cast came alive for this piece much more than they had for the Bach.

Second intermission.

Bolero. We've all heard it, many of us are preternaturally fascinated with it. I'm one of those. I almost jumped out of my shoes when I saw the poster proclaiming 'Hubbard Street Dance Chicago/ Bolero'. I thought, OMG! they're going to dance Bolero! No such luck. It was a heartbreak to read nothing following 'RAVEL: Bolero (1928)' at the end of the program; no dancers, no choreographers, no lighting designers. I was faced the with prospect of staring at black burlap while sound wafted from the mysterious hidden platform where the chorus usually sits. It brought back memories from earlier in the season when a great mezzo performed on a bill that included the Liebestod, only she didn't sing the Liebestod, it was the abominable and useless orchestral version--just like the prospect of Hubbard Street dancing Bolero, it was a tease.

But, alas, they moved the chairs forward and I got to watch a second violinist toy with her neighbor, teasing him about not being able to see the conductor, trying to steal his bow, kicking his shoe. It was cute. It was virtually all I could see; but I don't want to dwell on my bad seat.

The audience was incredibly rude, coughing and fidgeting as David Roberson presided over the first muted bars of Bolero. The air conditioning was louder than the snare drum. I could barely hear the opening rendition of the melody. Bolero droned on. But this was not your garden variety Bolero. This was a Bolero that built slowly and steadily, with a subtlety you wouldn't think an orchestra of this size could achieve. You know how the rhythm shifts from instrument to instrument? And you know how on every recording you've ever heard, you know exactly when that shift takes place? None of that was audible in Powell Hall tonight. The rhythm and melody alike snuck around the orchestra and popped up in surprising places. Yes, this is Bolero, possibly the most over-played piece of classical music ever, and it sounded like I have never heard it before or ever dreamt it could sound. Those pesky transitions that mar every performance I've ever heard were gone. By the time my second violinist had to pick up her instrument and leave her stud muffin alone in favor of teasing out the rhythm, the audience was rapt. Everybody knew they were hearing the best performance they'd ever hear of this piece.

Campaign Irony

2009-02-27T18:21:00.003-06:00

In boasting of all he's done for the city's neighborhoods, Mayor Slay's campaign commercial cuts to a scene of a brick wall falling under the bucket of a caterpillar.

Why doesn't he just do a montage of the Century Building coming down?

Urban neighborhoods depend on density for stability, so this is just another example of the cluelessness of our elected officials.

By the way, I'm not saying any of his opponents will be any better. Our politicians are dismally ignorant when it comes to building a sustainable, vibrant city, pretty much across the board. This especially applies to the aldermen in our most successful historic districts.

A Word on the St. Louis Public School System

2009-02-26T23:42:00.004-06:00

Does the administration building have lead water pipes or what?

What agenda underlies the special adminstrative board's assinine proposals?

Someone suggested to me recently that the Powers-That-Be want to destroy the public school system because it would be easier for them to control a less-organized collection of charter schools. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but this is St. Louis, after all.

Most assinine of all is to build new elementary schools in a district that already has too many buildings for its current population, one of which would replace Mann School in Tower Grove South. WTF? Have they seen a modern school building?

Less assinine, but equally appalling, is the deed restrictions to forbid charter schools in the buildings they close.

Oh yeah, that's right, it's only been a few years since they gave away the breath-takingly beautiful Stix School, and the charming Michael School to Barnes Hospital and replaced them with a gyp board box. Lead in their water is the only possible explanation for their mental lapses.

That, or none of them have had a good education.

Our school buildings are among our great acheivements as a city. It seems to me that the board could put them to better use; lease them out to generate income; invite our colleges and universities to make more use of them; tap the growing need for professional continuing education and involve corporations in supporting these critical neighborhood institutions.

Maybe if the board showed some imagination, we'd have a good school system.

Let's not hold our breath.

Destructive Stimulus

2009-02-26T23:20:00.003-06:00

MODoT just doesn't get it. It's proposing to toss a paltry sum at the city of St. Louis to repave Memorial Drive, and spend a massive amount of money extending highway 141 in northwest St. Louis County. The bulk of the funds would go into rural highway projects. In other words, stimulus funds intended to boost the economy are going to be thrown away on the wasteful practices that got us into this mess in the first place.

Repaving Memorial Drive will do nothing to boost the economy. It is a place devoid of anything but motorists moving between freeways and that offers no opportunity for other development. Extending 141 will certainly lead to development, but it will be the same old story of new strip malls and big-box retail that will suck the life out of strip malls and big-box retail in other parts of the county. Suburban sprawl can only sustain itself on the constant duplication of existing infrastructure; there's just not enough population to support the rapidly expanding amount of commercial space that is cluttering the suburban fringe. MODoT's plan plays right into this wasteful cycle by opening new tracts of north county to developers who will build the boxes, take the profits, and disappear with the asphalt compactors.

The stimulus funds offer an opportunity to build the 14th Street Metrolink line, which will draw vital investment into North St. Louis and promote the development of sustainable commercial space that will actually feed neighborhoods instead of bleed them dry. Improvements to rail service between the state's major cities could relieve pressure on the interstates. A high-speed train between St. Louis and Kansas City would go a long way to creating sustainable freight and passenger transportation in Missouri, and bolster smaller cities along the way, such as Fulton, Columbia, and Sedalia. Instead of drawing traffic out of the small towns of Missouri, as the interstates do [just look at the tawdry development at every exit ramp], a rail line would spawn freight transfer depots in the decaying industrial districts of town all along the line, and bring visitors into the depots of downtowns that desperately need investment.

Last time I was in northwest St. Louis County [and I avoid it], it didn't strike me as a place that needs stimulus. Last time I walked Memorial Drive [which everybody avoids], it struck me as a place that needs massive redevelopment to turn back over to the pedestrians who sustain urban cores, not a place that needed to accomodate more cars.

Thoughts That Occur in the Shower

2009-02-13T08:49:00.002-06:00

I realized this morning what's the problem with America's economy, as horror struck at the thought that the 'rescue plan' will only worsen the situation.

America has destroyed its engines of economic growth. Jane Jacobs eloquently explained it to us nearly sixty years ago: cities are the primary source of economic strength. But in America, we have utterly wasted most of our real cities with suburban sprawl. We have funneled resources into a wasteful infrastructure that depends on a self-devouring cycle of constant redevelopment to sustain itself.

So, what's America's plan to pull itself out of this failing economy? Roads. An 'economic expert' on the Today show this morning stated that in order for the stimulus funds to have maximum effect on the economy, a large portion of them must be spent on new infrastructure that will stimulate new development. In other words, more new roads into virgin forests and undeveloped farmland; more big box retail and strip malls; more roads, sewers, and power lines that we won't be able to afford to maintain and will strap local governments with costs that will siphon funds away from sensible development.

If we don't break this cycle now, it will only continue to suck us into oblivion.

Dante, meet President Obama.

The Book of Baddite On-Line

2008-12-10T14:00:00.003-06:00

I've started to invite readers into the inner sanctum of the Church's blogosphere: The Book of Baddite and Other Writings of the Church of Bad Tim of Latter-Day Reincarnates.

So far, I've only written three of the parables and the Creation myth that opens the Most Holey of Scriptures. Some of the other parables have preliminary drafts or sketches.

My first novel attempt, 'Nine Women' is also there; I'm considering rewriting and condensing this as the series of nine personal parables. As a free-standing novel, it needs considerable revisions.

'tUmarO is unuthur dA', my 2008 NaNoWriMo entry is posted there as well. This is the preliminary draft of what will become 'Myth', the story that launched the CBTLDR. I had been working on other things in preparation for this story, but as I consider editing this fragment of it, I've realized that it won't seem complete without the rest of the story.

If you are interested in reading this material and lambasting your Prophet's writing skills, e-mail me from the address you would like to use to access the BoB.

NaNoWriMo is over...

2008-11-30T21:07:00.001-06:00

and I don't know what to do with myself.

Suggestions gratefully accepted.

NaNoWriMo - tUmarO is unuthur dA - Introduction

2008-11-06T10:42:00.006-06:00

[this is my entry for national novel writing month. it will probably be broken into several pieces. rants will resume in december.]

It was a concert that changed the fate of a world: opening night 2005 at Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis. Of course, I had no idea about that as I parked Sergei the pickup on Grandell Square and walked up to the hall, puffing a cigarette on an unseasonably crisp September evening. It promised to be an exciting concert, since it was David Robertson's debut in his official duties as Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, but I was skeptical because the program was one of obscure classics and modern pieces. Hans Vonk didn't challenge us with the modern; he was a fine classicist who maintained the Symphony's reputation and presided over financial crises.

This new, young guy, barely older than myself, was a maverick by comparison. His debut program was a manifesto. I thought, I can at least support them with a subscription, but I don't have to like the music. Robertson was a favorite of the musicians; he had led them before. He came with a fine international reputation as a Musician to Watch. All the swells in St. Louis were knocking themselves over to welcome him, and I must admit, I was a little excited to see where he'd take our orchestra. His opening night program impressed me for its stark departure from the programming of his predecessor, but I just couldn't tolerate the 12-tone crap that had been the standard fare of modern symphonic music. I showed up for the pre-concert lecture expecting to hear justifications and apologies for the state of modern music.

Robertson was an engaging speaker, and nothing like you'd expect from a dedicated musician. He spoke Brokaw American. One was accustomed to deciphering accents at these talks, and struggling to understand sentences littered with obtuse musical jargon. This wasn't the case with our new conductor. He defined the musical jargon he used, he illustrated the pieces he spoke about in plain language with a humorous flair, he hummed. He played a boom box. I thought that the ghosts of Powell Hall must be looking down their noses; that the swells in the loge must be feeling disenfranchised. It was nice. I was still skeptical about the music.

Hidden Treasures of St. Louis

2008-10-11T16:52:00.005-05:00

The cobblestone pavement of 16th St. south of Clark St. has probably been there since 1904.

So why do we use asphalt again?

City Garden or Gateway One Garden?

2008-10-09T20:04:00.038-05:00

City Garden and Gateway One: illegitimate children of Corporate Interests and Incompetent Urban Design.

A horrifying thought occurred to me while walking past the construction site of City Garden the other day: they designed it to compliment one of the biggest urban design mistakes in St. Louis.

City Garden's tank barricades sweep gracefully into the stairs of Gateway One's half-a-mall and hides itself from Chestnut Street.

The color of the stone resembles the color of the stone panels of Gateway One, and the curving walls on the north half of the block take up a similar footprint to the high-rise office park. The half-a-mall plan that cost us the Buder and Title Guarantee Buildings has come back to bite us on the ass, and somebody conned Shaw's Garden [otherwise known as Missouri Botanical Garden] into sponsoring it. It wasn't bad enough to hem 'Twain' into a bumpy park, the corporate sugar daddies had to also use it to enhance their most heinous act upon the city's central green space.

'Hello, AT&T employees, welcome to City Garden.' The view from the main entrance of the AT&T tower.

City Garden, then, is no more than a ploy by the owners of the city-killer glass boxes on the mall to give their properties 'curb appeal' and drain taxpayers' resources. It is specifically designed, like the 'mall' at Gateway One, to discourage public use. Its massive walls and berms obscure street views and sever the space from the little bit of retail space that could serve it. Foot traffic even during rush hour is minimal, with only the weary poor who have to park south of downtown braving the abysmal streetscape of the corporate wilderness.

City Garden genuflecting to its daddy, with the AT&T complex standing smugly and lifelessly beyond. Notice the lack of pedestrian activity in an area densely packed with office workers.

This photo was taken at lunch time on a Friday. No surprise here--there's absolutely nothing to do but smoke a cigarette.

AT&T data center retail space. How do you get in?

There's actually a snack shop in there. The Metrolink station and sheer perseverance are the only explanations for its continued existence.

In my walk from 4th to 12th on Market Street each morning, there is no retail opportunity to buy a paper or a cup of coffee. I walk it for the exercise since there is absolutely no other reason for anyone to be there except to get to and from work. Sales tax dollars by the thousands walk out of downtown and land in suburban strip malls, all because of arrogant corporate looters who took financial incentives to build their monolithic slabs of cubicles and conference rooms, and gave nothing in return for the favor.

Darth Vader dares you to walk here.

City Garden is a waste of resources and worse, a waste of an urban design opportunity to create dynamic space in the midst of a dead district.

AT&T's skywalks protect its employees from the dangers of dead sidewalks that its buildings killed.

I.M. Pei should have known better. The General American Building is a dead zone, and an uncomfortable hovering mass to walk under.

Meanwhile, the 'Darth Vader' building is set above the sidewalk as if the mere pedestrian is unworthy of the glory of modern banking and unwelcome in an urban center.

Harry Weese's 1010 Market Building is a little better. Its hovering mass almost suggests a canopy [and is welcome respite on a rainy day], but its blank wall implies that human presence, evidenced by the bus stop, was an afterthought.
It does offer retail space, tho set well back from the street. Only a Subway shop has managed to survive in its two lease spaces, even though channel 5 news draws potential customers to its 'Window on St. Louis' in 'Television Plah-zuh'.

Tarot Card of the Day for Octoboer 8, AT5

2008-10-08T22:24:00.005-05:00

The Emperor

Again. I'm beginning to think there's a message here... Pents and an Emperor--hmmmmm.

He's the master of physical reality; I'm a procrastinator. But, last nite when I pulled this card, I had just finished an evening of doing exactly what I wanted: sitting on my ass playing with pretty pictures. So, this is my first Emperor of Pentacles diary entry. We'll see if a pattern emerges.

If I'm obstinant enough, eventually, the cards will fly out of my hands and fall on the floor spelling out the message 'clean up this frakking mess!'. If so, I'll take a pic and share, or laminate those bastards where they lie and sell them on ebay.

Pagan Art in City Hall

2008-10-08T19:39:00.043-05:00

City Hall maintenance crews recently finished the process of converting the lighting in the public areas to fluorescent; the last bulbs to change over were the floods on the rotunda frescoes. I thought the new lights were too harsh from my fourth-floor vantage point, and they are. But, from below, they actually work well. Here is a study of the Canoe Indian:

4th Floor

3rd Floor

2nd Floor

Note that even the perspective is better from below, so from the optimal viewing angle at the marble balusters on the Mayor's level, the glare from the lights is far less overwhelming.

I never quite understood how this painting fit into the scheme of luscious Art Nouveau allegories in the rotunda, where the gods and goddesses of land and labor embellish the spandrels.

The advantage of Paganism is that it is the religion of the world rather than a far-away paradise; the very act of portraying cultural ideals is the creation of gods and goddesses. Here are some of the gods and goddesses of St. Louis, Missouri:

Here's the Goddess of Cotton magically spinning thread from bolls and Pevelia, the Goddess of Dairy feeding a calf from her lap, flanking Canoe Indian.

It's kinda sexual if your mind goes that way [mine does, especially with a nekkid indian in the middle].

Here, the Father of the Waters pours forth the Mississippi from a jar [this handsome specimen is directly opposite Canoe Indian; coincidence?].

My favorite is the Forest Goddess, a tour de force of Art Nouveau style, but the light was dis- advantageous, so second place goes to Wheat Goddess with poppies at her feet.

Peace Goddess is the only other Native American allowed in the Rotunda; I didn't realize what she was until I zoomed in on the photo. She may become my new favorite just for the ribbons of smoke Nouveau.

Not pictured here are Peabodia, the Goddess of Coal, Shawa, the Goddess of Fruits, and the Goddess of Corn, but I'll spare your scrolling finger. Peabodia is appropriately stout.

The hearing rooms must be later than the rotunda; their paintings are distinctly more neoclassical. The aldermanic chamber sports portraits of the great men of Missouri as well as elaborate allegorical scenes of the virtues of Western Civilization. This perplexing collection includes allegories of Art, Pasturing, Learning, Smithcraft, and a scene depicting a no-doubt-soon-to-be-broken treaty between pale face and the original inhabitants of the land.

The chandelier, with the Goddesses of Fine Arts and Shepherdesses in their glories, while Jefferson peers down from the ceiling and Mssrs Labeaume and Pratte watch the horror of civic politics.

[Is it just me, or is mauve really and unfortunate color for civic interiors?]

The alermanic clock no doubt ticks to the anvil beats of Granitus, the God of the St. Louisian forge. I think he knew Henry Shaw...

If you've lasted this long, you might want to give your scrolling finger a cigarette break in which to ponder the meaning of the upside-down Queen of Pentacles...

The Kennedy Hearing room is my favorite; Wisdom, Justice, and Valor. Plus torchieres to die for and the gayest rear wall in the history of architecture.

Wisdom in his spartan, but gilded, cell.

For Goddess and Country: Justice prevails formidably at the center of the hall.

Valor. Is this dude Antinous or what?

Nice scrolls.

The back wall; is it a shrine to the gods above, or is it there just to be fabulous?

The church lady might approve of these bulbous orbs.

Can you say, 'Oh, Daddy!'?

Tarot Card of the Day for October 7, AT5

2008-10-07T15:59:00.003-05:00

Queen of Pentacles, Rev.

Why do the pents hate me? Why?
Yesterday, they say I'm being cautious, today, they say I'm being stingy.

Ach du liebe!

Pentacles represent Earth, blah blah blah.
Queens represent competence; in a feminine suit it is from a sense of nurturing.

The Queen of Pentacles can be thought of one who cares too much for others. Reversed, it would be that I don't think enough of others; which is true, but I'm an aspie, I don't know what they're thinking most of the time, so I lie back and see where things go. Let's just call this the aspie card, then, and go have a cigarette.

The Board of Adjustment Wounds Carondelet

2008-10-07T09:26:00.009-05:00

While reviewing plans for the former Coca-Cola Syrup plant on Michigan Ave, the city's ever so introspective Board of Adjustment voted to approve the project with the condition that nine planned townhouses across the street be deleted in favor of a parking lot.

A frakking parking lot!!!

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard it. In its zeal to enforce its suburban-influenced parking standards, this board has inflicted a permanent wound on what could have become a pleasant, walkable neighborhood. Poised to take advantage of the next economic upswing, Carondelet was a hotbed of rehab and new development, much of which is now on hold, but some of which is proceeding. The Board of Adjustment had an opportunity to do the sensible thing and allow the construction of a cohesive urban streetscape. Instead, it decided to enforce a lethal gap in a neighborhood that was already walking a delicate line between pass or fail. The project already had accommodation for parking, but more importantly, it had a developer committed to creating a neighborhood in Carondelet instead of another vapid wasteland of cracker boxes floating in an asphalt sea and houses hidden neatly away from the services and traffic they need to be safe and productive.

The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The project will consist of 78 residential units and ground-floor commercial space, including a bowling alley and microbrewery. 121 parking spaces appear on the preliminary plans. With one per dwelling unit, that leaves 43 spaces for the commercial tenants, plus street parking. Perhaps they should also pave the park across Michigan, the long-term effect on the neighborhood wouldn't be any worse.

The rear yard of the plant, with room for parking in addition to indoor parking indicated on the plans [photo credit]

So, as the mighty automobile continues its choke hold on a diverse historic community, slick robber-developers will have the ammunition they need to justify more strip malls and wider roads, perpetuating the cycle we have seen in the inner suburbs of strip mall - traffic - road widening - more traffic - dead strip malls - big box retail. Loughborough Commons seems to be the city's picture of paradise.

Tarot Card of the Day for October 6, AT5

2008-10-06T22:28:00.003-05:00

Knight of Pentacles

Pentacles represent Earth; abundance, stability, faith.
Knights represent inexperience; in a feminine suit it is from reluctance.

So, this card can mean financial stagnation. This makes sense, since I am growing more and more reluctant to spend into my savings, even tho I need to do repairs to the house. I suspect the card is saying that the situation is going to continue for the time being. I hope it's also saying, from the stability aspect, that the situation won't get worse. The card also rings true in faith, since I've been reading 'Atlas Shrugged' for about a month now, leaving my spiritual studies to languish; and I've been neglecting Cernunnos for a few weeks.

'Atlas Shrugged' is probably the reason I'm getting financially cautious. It tells of an economic collapse in a speculative America of the 1950's that is eerily similar to current news. It's creeping me out, while Ayn Rand's characters' victorian worldview is giving me the shivers.

Update on Powell Hall's Ashtray

2008-10-06T12:32:00.005-05:00

Photo credit

As it turns out, the interesting piece of art next to Powell Hall is a student project. I arrived at Grand and Grandell Saturday evening to find that not only have they put up a large poster to explain the piece, but also a packet of fliers. As a student project, professional standards of craftsmanship don't apply. The important thing about the project is the students' ability to experience the interrelationships between ideas, form, light, and color; which the piece certainly allowed them to do.

The piece is part of The Community Light Project, funded by the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Grand Center, and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. It was created by Sebastian Hungerer and Rainer Kehres in collaboration with students from Cole Elementary, Loyala Academy, Cardinal Ritter Prep, and Metro High. The green masts visible in the photo in the original ash tray post are wind generators left from the previous installation, 'E-scaping the Grid' by Michael Oliveri. The generators illuminate a hexagonal grid of LED's that you can see in the background of my photo.

The Pulitzer also sponsored a fascinating Kehres-Hungerer work in the burnt out church at Spring and Grandell Square entitled 'Chorus'. The artists assembled lamps from the people of St. Louis and used them to create an illuminated roof for the gutted shell. I admire how they expressed the architectural form of the building while creating a compelling and colorful work of art; an ironic statement on the condition of America's inner cities, and hopefully an optimistic wish for their revitalization. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any biographical information on the artists; they seem to only have a web presence thru arts reviews and the Pulitzer Foundation.

Photo credit

Saturday at Powell Hall

2008-10-06T09:37:00.009-05:00

Saturday night at Powell Hall was pretty darned good. They still had people out in the hallway making noise, and I found the side door wide open at intermission, but fortunately traffic was light that evening. I might just have to ask the house manager about this. I realize I'm in the cheap seats, but I still support this organization and I think my money is as good as the money of the swells in the loge even if I have less of it. But I can't imagine that the swells in the loge can't hear this noise, and that after opening night's spectacle of noise, management would allow even a feather to drop out in that hallway. I have nothing against housekeeping doing their job, I've been there. I know they want to get out of there, but they need to do it more quietly.

The noise in the hallway has been a perennial problem, and on Saturday, even the people around me were distracted by it, so I know it's not just my limited ability to focus on the music.

Speaking of the people in around me: picture a long-haired, bespectacled version of Britain's formidable Judi Dench having a lesbian affair with America's sweetheart Meg Ryan..... They were sitting right in front of me! They were so cute. Meg kept looking over at Judi with a sweet smile. I didn't know if I should say 'awwww, how cute' or slap them.

So, I guess I should say something about the music...

Well, it was spectacular. David Robertson led a pared-down St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a concert that featured the history of percussion. We heard Mozart's overture from 'The Abduction from the Seraglio', HK Gruber's 'Rough Music' with Colin Currie soloing on percussion, and Beethoven's 7th Symphony.

So, here's the advantage of the cheap seats: I had a straight-line view of the percussion section in a concert that featured percussion. I've always admired this section of the orchestra, and haven't ever found a reason to criticize them. To my amateur ears on Saturday, they performed their duty to perfection, especially in the Beethoven, where tympanist Richard Holmes gave the music a perfectly subtle foundation. Currie gave an energetic solo performance, but I know so little about percussion that I wouldn't know what to say about it.

'Rough Music' was really nothing of the sort. Saturday was its American premiere, and I think it will be heard often in the future. It was a mostly melodic study on percussion and orchestra, and a fascinating if not beautiful piece of contemporary music. Work like this gives me hope that someday, Architecture will emerge from its contemporary formless morass into a more sensible and sensitive style. Gruber meshes orchestra and percussion into a seamless whole in a traditionally-styled concerto. I especially liked the kettle drum segment of the non-melodic percussion, but liked the drum set segments more while he was demonstrating them in the pre-concert lecture; they didn't seem to mesh with the orchestra as well. The tuned percussion, such as the marimbas, didn't really come off as percussion so much as just another melodic instrument, and took the greater share of the concerto's percussion solo.

Overall, it was a piece that held my attention thru-out, which only otherwise happens for me in contemporary music with John Adams, whose 'Harmonielehre' remains my favorite work of modern music. [I highly recommend the Symphony's downloadable recording. I listened to it like five times in a row a few weeks ago, and will probably do it again when I log on at home to add pictures to this post.]

The Mozart was delivered in excellent style, but the Beethoven simply sparkled. At times, it seemed like Robertson was rushing the tempo, especially with his quick transitions between movements, but as the music unfolded, I couldn't say that his pacing was wrong, and in each movement, it revealed the greatness of this score. The orchestra wasn't quite ready for the first chord, but they immediately pulled themselves together and played perfectly. The horns were subtle, and the woodwinds were amazing. A particularly spectacular moment was the quietest moment in the score. Robertson, with a subtle gesture of his hand, took the strings down to such a low volume, you could hear the audience breathing. I can't imagine how they maintained such a perfect tone.

One thing that disturbed me until I figured out what was happening was that one violin seemed to be out of tune. I soon realized that due to an acoustic anomaly, i was hearing concert master David Halen's violin as if I were sitting in his lap [not that I would mind][hehehe]. As he shifted position, the sound of his violin meshed in and out with the rest of the instruments. With a lesser orchestra, this would have ruined the concert. With this orchestra and this concert master, it was sort of a treat.

New Ex-urbanism

2008-10-02T16:44:00.009-05:00

Last night, I had to go to continuing education to keep my license. Luckily, work pays my way into the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects' series, which are usually informative, and sometime relevant to my civil service job [no offense to the AIA, I'm not their target audience].

New Town: sterilized, insular, monolithic 'urbanism' [photo credit]

I was skeptical approaching last night's seminar on Serenbe, a planned rural community. After seeing the unfulfilled promise of St. Charles, Missouri's economically monolithic New Town and other 'new urbanist' developments that are essentially just mixed-use golf course developments, and realizing the low density of Serenbe from its website, I thought 'here we go with another watered-down planned town'.

Chattahoochie Hill Country [photo credit]

But the presentation surprised me. Serenbe is a component in an innovative countryside-preservation plan. The Chattahoochie Hill Country is a triangle of farmland somehow missed by Atlanta's cancerous sprawl. With Fulton County threatening to implement infrastructure 'improvements' that would open the area for more of the same automobile oriented development, property owners banded together to see if there was a way to accommodate the growing demand for development while preserving the character of their land.

The Chattohoochis Country Alliance devised a plan that would accommodate more residential units that standard sprawl models of development, yet preserve 80% of the undeveloped land. Using the philosophy of the New Urbanist movement, they instituted development restrictions that would result in denser clusters of development scattered thru-out the territory in a manner that respects the natural character of the area. Thru thoughtful planning and careful design, they are creating walkable and sustainable communities that don't rely on the massive infrastructure required to support sprawl.

Selborne [photo credit]

Serenbe uses natural water purification to handle its sewage and geothermal energy, among other environmentally friendly techniques. It is divided into three 'hamlets', each with a specific focus: Silborne, an artists' community that actually functions as a center of performing, fine, and culinary arts, with programs and facilities geared toward sustaining an artistic presence; Grange, a farming community where houses are tightly packed at the center of a string of small organic farms; and Mado, a holistic center of spas, holistic health services, and assisted living.

The community's plan recalls the grand days of the City Beautiful movement, but on a scale that makes it practical. Sweeping roads veer into tightly-knit communities and open up into long views across the community. The 'omega' shape of the hamlets focuses each cluster on a natural feature while respecting the contour of the land; and each hamlet offers trails and destinations to encourage walking and community interaction. The developer provided a community meeting space/ bakery to further encourage interaction. I like that the mailboxes are centrally located so that people have to go out to pick up their mail, meeting and talking to neighbors.

I doubt that Serenbe--or the entire Chattahoochie Hill Country--will ever be a diverse community since it is rather exclusive by the nature of its planning and lack of public transportation. I don't see accommodations for the service workers who must staff the various restaurants, community spaces, and maintenance crews, so I wouldn't really call it a truly sustainable community. It will still rely on automobiles to bring customers to its shops, restaurants, arts programs, and festivals; the population of the community could never support all of these programs. But as a means of preserving natural landscapes on the edges of major cities, I think it's a highly worthwhile approach.

Theme-park urbanism

Addendum:
After visiting New Town's web page, I was shocked and disappointed to learn that it is the work of Duany Plater-Zyberk. I found the streetcar page especially scandalous.

Tarot Card of the Day for September 27, AT5

2008-09-27T20:52:00.005-05:00

The Emperor

He's the big cheese, the man in control; decision maker.
As the active physical principle, he indicates a point in the spiritual journey of the Tarot at which the soul has mastered its worldly works. This card is about mastery of one's realm in all aspects.
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This card is so not me, so I'm guessing that it's telling me that I need to take my realm more seriously; i.e. clean the frakking house.
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What was that Scarlett O'Hara said?...
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Oh, yeah...
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'Tew-marrah is anothah day.'

Powell Hall's Ash Tray

2008-09-27T01:49:00.006-05:00

Photo taken 9/26/8

This is the current art installation next to Powell Hall. I've tried googling it to find more information, but Grand Center seems by far more interested in selling tickets than promoting art.
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From a distance, it looks intriguing, but don't get too close. For starters, there's evidence that the gravel was raked, but no effort was made to grade it. The work itself is sloppily-constructed. The DNA helix is made of rope lights, plastic tubing, and plastic water bottles stuck together with messy globs of hot glue. The orange and yellow cylinder is bits of paper on ladder-type masonry reinforcing with paper clips, but the clips are not all put on the same way and the wire sections are tied together by their ends with no effort made to trim the exess. They're just coiled around each other until the wire ran out. The stack of discs has fingerprints and smudges of marker on the surfaces. The green cylinder is tubes of plastic sheeting randomly stapled or paper-clipped together.
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Is this the height of St. Louis's artistic talent--an intesting idea wasted on poor craftsmanship?

Tonight at Powell Hall

2008-09-26T23:20:00.016-05:00

First, let's get some housekeeping out of the way--literally. As I walked into the auditorium down the south hallway, I saw a housekeeping worker thru the half-open door of a janitor's closet and his cart in the exit way at the far end of the hallway. These things, the public should not see--ever.
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But wait, it gets worse. As I sat in my cheap seat on the right aisle [K30 for the curious], I heard several loud bangs during the first part of the concert. At intermission, I exited the side door on my way to the 'smoking lounge' and the cart was still there, where people had to walk around it to get to the exit door.
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And that's not bad enough. In the second part of the concert, after more bangs and just as the orchestra reached a pause in the music, the janitor decided to move the cart. The wheels were loud enough to overwhelm the last few notes of the movement in their atonal screech. Later, there were three thundering booms that sounded like the ceiling falling in, and more smaller bangs throughout the rest of the performance.
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As much as I admire the symphony as an organization, this is inexcusable. There is often noise from the hallway as people use the adjacent stage door, but it is intermittent and doesn't happen at every performance. To even have the janitor in the public spaces during the premiere performance is a management fumble of epic scale. At least give the man the dignity of a uniform that blends in with the ushers if he has to be there, and I'm sure there must be a more formal alternative to yellow rubber gloves.
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I noticed this as I was scanning the foyers for kodak moments. It's a velvet dixie cup dispenser! Maybe a velvet housekeeping cart could be justified in the budget...
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Finally, on to business.
Tonight's bill promised a spectacle, and it almost delivered. We heard John Adams's 'Guide to Strange Places', Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto with Yefim Bronfman on piano, and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. David Robertson conducted the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
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The concert started with a pleasant surprise in an appearance and short talk by Adams. The highlight of his brief speech was when he said [and I paraphrase] that one of the things about being a composer is that your work appears on the program with the world's greatest masterpieces. Adams's work stood up to the Rachmaninoff extremely well, in my opinion. Adventurous and mysterious, 'Guide to Mysterious Places' takes the listener on, according to Adams, a Fantasia-like journey thru sound. His minimalist style is distinctive for its bold rhythmic structure, but in this piece, the rhythm didn't drive the music as prominently as it does in his other works [many of you know his stunning 'Harmonielehre' from its excerpts quoted in 'The Matrix']. I was immediately reminded of Richard Serra's notorious 'Twain' and pictured myself running around the minimalist sculpture being assaulted by the corporate monoliths that surround it. Fortunately, this imagery faded as the music demanded other visualizations in its constantly-twisting sonic journey. The Symphony nailed the piece, for the most part. I'm no professional musician, so I'll spare you the pretentious musical references and analysis of the conductor's technique, but the musicians played as one just as we expect them to and Robertson did his usual excellent job of bringing the music to life. I just wish the horns would get their act together. I think they call it 'attacking' when the horn comes in too strong, but it's a recurring problem with the SLSO rearing its ugly head again [I missed all of last season, but in the previous season, the horns were perfect, so I'm wondering what happened].
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Rachmaninoff's 3rd has never been one of my favorite pieces of music, and this performance didn't change that. Bronfman was technically spectacular, but thru the first two movements, he was missing a lot of the nuance. A few times, he lost the melody in Rachmaninoff's luxurious runs of scales [there's a musical term for these, but I don't know what it is and expect my readers don't either]. But in the third movement, he hit a home run. It's as if he finally came alive and realized there was more to it than hitting the keys in sequence. Again the horns hit sour, and the standing ovation seemed a little over the top. I broke my normal respectful protocol and left before it died down.
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I quickly lost interest in the Bartok and slipped into my usual distraction of figuring out what shades they need to add to the paint scheme to do justice to the hall's beautiful plasterwork. However, the orchestra was noticeably more on its game for the Concerto for Orchestra. The horns were especially good and deserved their eager applause. The piece deserves it's reputation, I'm sure, but there's just very little from the 40's that interests me musically.
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The biggest surprise of the evening was the audience. It was the most respectful audience I've encountered in St. Louis. There was very little coughing during the Adams, most notably a woman behind me who couldn't be bothered to control herself thru the first five minutes of the piece. They were rapt thru-out the Rachmaninoff, and there was practically no coughing at all, but they made up for it somewhat after intermission. The talking was so quiet I could only barely hear it [and that just doesn't happen with a St. Louis audience]. On the downside, the walking ovation after the Bartok was a civic embarrassment as half the people surrounding me bolted for the door as soon as Robertson put down his baton. People in the aisle in front of me were even rude enough to strike up a conversation with the people they were crawling over.
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And if janitor noise and screeching brass wasn't bad enough, somebody just had to top off the evening by farting in the aisle. It lingered thru the entire ovation, and it smelled like a sewer.
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I wonder if there'll be Lysol on the new velvet janitor's cart.

A fleur-de-lis for Christian [sorry about the blur]

Photos taken 9/26/8

Left Bank Books Downtown!

2008-09-23T18:32:00.011-05:00

Lofts@315

Soon-to-be home of Left Bank - on the Right Bank [of the Mississippi]

I'm so excited! Left Bank Books is opening a second store at the corner of 10th and Locust Streets. Finally, a conveniently-located cool bookstore. I feared Borders or Barnes & Noble would beat them to it and steal the market. There's more, but I'm not sure how much I can divulge. But trust me [you'll have to at this point], it'll be swell.

Loft developer Craig Heller, who has provided space for City Grocers, UMA, and a number of other local businesses and who was brave enough to stand up to the Slay machine on the Mistake of the Century [nice fictionalized smack-down, mayor], is leasing the space to the bookstore. Now can we please have a nice, locally-operated pharmacy downtown?

I feel the burden of the big box lifting off my shoulders as I type this!
Photos taken 9-23-08

Baddite Proverb of the Day

2008-09-14T01:20:00.001-05:00

Fluffy is as fluffy does.
[with apologies to Forrest Gump]

This Week in Timmianity

2008-09-11T23:25:00.012-05:00

Baddites, rejoice! your Prophet is finally going to write something relevant to this blog's status as the Official Blog of the Church of Bad Tim of Latter-Day Reincarnates. We're going to start with the Greater Laws, and then go into the two ranks of Lesser Laws, which parallel the Greater. That's twenty-seven posts of material drawn directly from unwritten parts of the Book of Baddite [yes, dear Baddites, your Prophet is writing your Holy Scripture in a blog][deal with it].

The Law of Unity

As you read this, picture the Fool from the Tarot; he is the Avatar of Unity.
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The Three Musketeers almost got it right; they should have said, "All is one, and one is all." The Law of Unity is the basis of all that follows it, and the key to true understanding. Everything you see, touch, hear, smell, and taste is part of the single organism of the Universe. It all emanates from the same Source, and taken to its most fundamental level, every thing is made of the same basic building block--a subtle pattern of energy that is the Universe Itself. The mystery of Unity is to understand that the things around you that seem like distinct objects are part of your being; that the person who angers you is you.
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The Law of Unity demands that you embrace the world and all it has to offer, since to understand yourself, you must understand those parts of your ultimate self that appear distinct in the mortal planes. Experience is self-realization; it is a vital part of your journey toward enlightenment. However, this is not to say that the world exists for you to use as you please, with no fear of consequences. As the Fool is both the first and last card of the traditional Tarot Deck, the Law of Unity is both the first and last of the Greater Laws. The ninth Law, Equality, at its most fundamental level, is a restatement of the Law of Unity. All is One, and all is Equal in the mind of the Universe. Because everything is composed of the same fundamental energy pattern, then on its most basic level, everything is the same. A pile of stone rubble is the equal of a sculptural masterpiece; a beggar is the equal of a billionaire; a bigot is the equal of a prophet. Therefore, what you do, you must do with the respect that you would expect to receive from the object of your action.
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In this way, the Law of Unity is the highest moral law. You are responsible for the consequences of your actions simply because what you do effects the energy pattern that comprises your being. What you put into the pattern is available for someone else to use toward you. Your frivolous action becomes some body's recklessness; your necessity becomes some body's livelihood. That plastic bag you let blow away in the wind is the plastic bag that a sea turtle will suffocate on in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; but that chicken Tyson killed for your sandwich is the chicken a coyote needed to survive. They are not perceptually the same objects, but the consequences they create are exactly the same.
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Likewise, the Law of Unity requires you to live in harmony with your environment. Because everything that surrounds you is part of your ultimate self, you must take care of it as you would take care of yourself. This is true whether or not you believe that you have a right of ownership or that a thing is useful, attractive, or valuable. When you allow waste, then waste becomes part of your vibration--which brings us back to the Garbage Patch. The negligence of humans jeopardizes the other inhabitants of the planet. It is the emissions from your car that cause global warming, just as it is your shopping bag that suffocates the sea turtle; responsibility starts with the individual.
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Moral codes that are not based on the Law of Unity fail because they are unable to make this connection to the whole. 'Thou shalt not kill' cannot be an absolute; 'thou best be respectful in what thou doest lest it cometh back upon thy ass' is more realistic.
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So, how does the Fool fit into this mess? He is both naive and enlightened beyond the need for understanding. He is as one with the Universe; whether that is from ignorance too deep to know the difference or from understanding too sublime to see the difference does not matter. Travelling the world with his few possessions, unaware of the precipice at his next step, he is carefree. His little dog jumps on his leg to get his attention, but in vain. The Fool is the dog and the precipice; either he will perish at the foot of the cliff or, in total unity with all around him, he will continue unharmed. Either he has achieved the highest level of understanding and is imperishable, or he understands nothing and will begin again. His card is numbered zero because it cannot be clear whether he is at the beginning of his spiritual journey or the end.
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By embracing the Law of Unity, you can become the Fool. Strive to see yourself in everything around you. Take care of all within your reach. Get yourself some reusable shopping bags and save a sea turtle. Use public transportation. Stand up for environmental reform. Plant street trees; the shade will reduce energy consumption and provide a refuge for birds and for your soul. Refuge for your soul is the same as refuge for the Universe.

Tarot Card of the Day for September 11, AT5

2008-09-11T23:18:00.003-05:00

King of Pentacles, Rev.

Poor financial decisions.

I know exactly what the cards are saying in this case. I'm putting all my rehabber money into a project that doesn't really need to be done right now. The problem is, I don't know what to do about it at this point. I can't cut the project off now, but I fear it's going to bleed me dry. I still have a wall that needs tuckpointing, so at some point, this has to stop. It's already getting critical.

Baddite Proverb of the Day

2008-09-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

If poor taste were illegal, we wouldn't have Las Vegas.

Tarot Card of the Day for September 8, AT5

2008-09-08T14:50:00.002-05:00

Page of Cups, Rev.
OK, so last week it was Pents, this week, it's Cups. At least the Pents were polite enough not to repeat themselves. But, I guess when you're as emotional as Water, repetition is considered a good thing.

Either I grossly misinterpreted yesterday, or I'm being willfully ignorant. I don't know.

pa-dump-dum

Why Are These Buildings So Ugly?

2008-09-07T23:11:00.002-05:00

The 100 and 200 blocks of N. 12th Street [aka Tucker Blvd.] are a civic embarrassment, nearly on the scale of the west side of the 300 block and the east side of the 400 block. This was once the city's grand ceremonial street; today, it's the armpit of downtown--or the stinky groin between the legs of the arch.

These buildings are shameful assertions of the International Style ethic. They lack any contextual relevance, and worse, are hostile to pedestrian activity. 210 presents a brick wall to the pedestrian on its north and south sides that extends unrelieved all the way up. 100 is only slightly better, having a little bit of glazing on the ends. Both buildings present ample glazing to the 12th St. sidewalk, but the few openings into the lease space are closed and the glazing in both buildings is obscure.

The crane docks of 210 actually improved the appearance of this bland slab, which is a sad tribute to its 'designer'. The post office moved its lobby to Olive St, which removed a storefront that had formerly provided a bit of pedestrian interest to 12th. The reflective coating on the glass of 100 renders it as useful as those massive, blind end walls on 210. With the removal of the Cupples curtain wall on 300 N. Tucker, these dogs' behinds stand out even more, a glaring intrusion on the views of the Civil Courthouse, one of my favorite interpretations of the tomb of Mausoleus, and the old Federal Courthouse, which is the most stunning Art Deco courthouse I could imagine--inside and out.

Unfortunately, both buildings have substantial structural systems that will keep them there for generations to come, and the city is in no hurry to require new construction to be sidewalk friendly. So, there's little hope that 12th St. will ever have a vibrant pedestrian presence, which is a shame, because that means there won't be anything to help feed active use of Poelker Park, even if the impressive plan for its renovation ever comes into reality.

[links and pictures to follow...]

Tarot Card of the Day for September 7, AT5

2008-09-07T20:42:00.003-05:00

Page of Cups

Cups represent Water; nourishment, emotions, healing.
Pages represent naivete, or a beginning.
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The Page stands in front of a turbulent sea holding a cup with a fish in it. Fish are a symbol of immortality and rebirth, so what I see in this image is a young man seeking the answers of eternal life by attempting to commune with a fish. It suggests seeking the knowledge of health and longevity, but implies a sense of naivete in the bud motif on his tunic.
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I think it came up in a more direct sense of naivete about health; or in my case, a cavalier attitude about health.

Yes, George, the Economy Is Fine. Uhhh Huhh.

2008-09-07T12:34:00.004-05:00

On my trip downtown to take pictures yesterday, I happened across a few projects that reached well into the planning stage, but have not materialized. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the Jefferson Arms, so you'll have to picture it in your head. You can do it.

Interior Demolition was well under way on the Ford Apartments, then one day, they replaced the boards on the windows and just left.
The Arcade building had a few false starts and was finally under preliminary construction when Pyramid folded. This hotel, office, and condo complex would have been a vital component of the Old Post Office Square area. Not pictured because I didn't venture that far east are the buildings of Millennium Square: Stix, St. Louis Center, and the former home of the Mercantile Library.
Sky House, planned as a bold, modern apartment house, is now a meek rubble-filled hole in the ground.

Cinderella Story

2008-09-07T11:51:00.010-05:00

Photo Credit

Built as the St. Louisian Hotel [yes, it had that Frenchy extra 'i'] and notorious as the Days Inn, the Washington Avenue Apartments have rectified a prominent eyesore from downtown St. Louis. Klitzing Welsh Associates did an outstanding job of beautifying what seemed a hopeless case on a modest budget. As Plan Examiner for this project, I remained skeptical of their efforts until I saw the finished product. I especially like the checkerboard effect they achieved with windows, louvers, and spandrel glass. The design actually takes the modernist image back a few decades to a time when it was an aesthetic statement rather than a cheap way to build. E. M. Harris was the contractor.
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The ground floor retail space has been leased to a Bridge & Tunnel Pizza franchise, which is now open, and Downtown Diner, which will be operated by the owners of Copia Wine bar. The diner is under construction now; Copia is apparently mired in insurance claims from its arson fire last year.

My photo taken September 6, 2008
[with way too much foreground]

Tarot Card of the Day for September 6, AT5

2008-09-07T10:39:00.007-05:00

Ten of Pentacles, Rev.

Tens are the theme card of each suit. In the masculine suits [wands and swords], the tens express the aggressive nature of their elements; the burden of a storm and the destruction of a fire. In the feminine suits [cups and pentacles], they express the nurturing nature of their elements; the emotion of water and the stability of earth.

This card was indicating a change in routine, but it scared me enough last night when I pulled it that I actually went to the other computer and updated my accounts. It looks like I've made it thru financial crisis relatively unscathed, so I think it came up like this because I went out and took pictures yesterday. I've always found an excuse not to go out and do stuff, but yesterday I finally did it and the results will appear in this page over the next days as I report and rant on my findings...

Random Acts of Beauty

2008-09-06T20:55:00.005-05:00

Seen at Courtesy Diner on Kingshighway:

We Could Make Beautiful Music Together...

2008-09-06T01:47:00.006-05:00

Powell Hall as the St. Louis Theater

The St. Louis Symphony season starts in just three short weeks. Highlights this year include two works by John Adams, Berlioz's Damnation of Faust, and Beethoven's 7th and 9th Symphonies.

I missed every concert last season due to sleep apnea, including John Adams's Dr. Atomic Symphony, which I had been looking forward to since its postponement in the previous season.

Stay tuned for reviews and comments on the season, and hopefully pictures. I'm going to see if I can take my camera in for some shots of the hall. Every year, I walk into the hall hoping to see that they've freshened up the paint and added some much-needed highlights to liven up that dull 1960's minimalist treatment and pop out the hall's gorgeous Rapp & Rapp detailing. Some whites for highlights and deep browns or burgundies for contrast would change the decor from Cinderella bedroom set to palatial splendor on a 'Trading Spaces' budget.

One thing they could do that would really dress the old girl up is bring back that fabulous curtain, part of which is visible in the picture above. The St. Louis had the distinction of having the only known movie palace valances that had to be raised before the movie started. Miles of fabric swagged around a cameo of Louis IX on horseback. Fabulous!

Photo from the Theatre Historical Society's Annunal No. 10 - 1983: 'Grand Drapes Tormentors and Teasers' by Terry Helgesen, from the author's collection of historic theater photos.

Tarot Card of the Day for September 5, AT5

2008-09-05T11:56:00.006-05:00

King of Wands, Rev.

Oi, I should have seen this coming.

Wands represent Air; vitality, communication, intellect.
Kings represent mastery.

In traditional divination, wands represent physical and mental health. I think that's the message of this card. I haven't used the neti pot the last few nights and haven't been drinking enough water or getting enough sleep. In relation to yesterday's Eight of Pentacles, this reversed King of Wands is telling me there's an imbalance.

Mayfair Condos on the Rise

2008-09-05T11:01:00.003-05:00

The Roberts Tower will start rising out of the ground soon. I'm a tad excited. We're finally getting a major building downtown that a] was not designed by HOK*, and b] exhibits some depth of thought in its design. It will be a good backdrop for Old Post Office Square, and add a bold architectural statement to the neighborhood. It will also take some attention away from the Garage Mahal and the hopelessly bland Renaissance Hotel garage. I'm hoping that it has the effect the Equitable and Boatmen's Bank buildings have on the Old Court House. By quietly receding from the historic structures around it, it will help to enhance them.

Time will tell. It will also tell what's really on the other side of this rendering. I know it's a blank wall, but is it a visible blank wall?

*Nothing against HOK; they've done some great work. Unfortunately, none of it is in downtown St. Louis.

Tarot Card of the Day for September 4, AT5

2008-09-04T21:09:00.008-05:00

Eight of Pentacles

Yay! more pentacles! What the frak is this?

Pentacles represent Earth, blah blah blah...
Eights represent labor, work in progress, skill.

Let's hope it's talking about skill, but I suspect it's taunting my work ethic of late.

The Future Is Behind Us

2008-09-04T11:03:00.012-05:00

Last night, I had to drag myself to the first AIA continuing education seminar of the season. This is usually an exercise in irrelevance, since the AIA's target audience is architects in professional practice and I'm an architect in civil service. I've sat thru endless seminars on BIM and marketing for the sake of 2 points toward my licensing requirements.

Last night, tho, was fascinating. David Zach, futurist regaled us with an entertaining and educational speech on the nature of progress and the importance of tradition. It was refreshing to hear somebody talk about the importance of holding on to tradition in a roomful of architects. I'm not pleased with the direction of modern architecture and its obsession to violate any and every ideal of form and function. I'd even go as far as to say that I'm disgusted with a lot of the crap [one example] people are building these days.

Maybe you can guess where this is going...

Yes, I happen to have a pet peeve. I call it mindless preservation. Tradition is one thing; freezing everything in the past is another. Are the meticulously-restored ruins of the Parthenon really more important than the building it used to be? Let's face it, ruins are ugly and convey precious little of the importance of the building that used to be there. In the same vein, American preservationists expect additions to historic buildings to be clearly distinct. I could understand this if the building itself was pivotal in history, but the bank on Main Street probably wasn't, unless it happens to be the work of Louis Sullivan. An extension of the original design is not going to confuse history geeks. Then we have art museums... They used to display plaster casts and mock-ups of architectural styles, especially of the classical orders; you could visit a museum and actually learn about ancient art and architecture in its intended form. Now at the local art museum, we get fragments; pieces of sculptures, funeral goods in separate cases, the door of a citadel, all removed from their context. All you can appreciate is craftsmanship. I'd rather experience an intact Antinous as Bacchus, and know what it was like to walk thru that door now hanging lamely on the wall, without having to travel all over the world.

An extension of mindless preservation is the modernists' attitude that it's not acceptable to design buildings in the classical idiom. The History of Architecture professor at the University of Kansas would never waste any opportunity to condemn the revivalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and then, in the very next breath, wax poetic about the renaissance. Hmmm... what's the frakking difference? Granted, the later revivals were often no more than shallow fads, but a great deal of revival architecture has its own merit--the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts comes to mind--and you just can't deny the charm of a small-town main street. I had a text book in my high school drafting that actually compared modern design to Victorian stereotypes. The rendering of the modern building was sleek and professional; the rendering of the Victorian building was a shoddy freehand sketch of a western false front. Propaganda at its basest, in a classroom where the teacher told us the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis was ugly and should be torn down. Buildings are products of their time and place, and should be judged accordingly.

I'm not saying that there should be a literal revival of classical architecture, but that we shouldn't throw away the lessons of Vitruvius just because they're old. A building isn't a great work of architecture just because an architect figured out a new way to twist steel or the engineer figured out how to extend a cantilever even farther. The Sidney Opera House is great architecture because it evokes the spirit of its site; the Bilbao museum is a novelty that has now been repeated ad nauseam. Fallingwater is great because it respects its site; the Sears Tower is just a skyscraper on steroids. The classical laws of proportion can be applied to contemporary design. We can respect our past and still look toward the future.

You might want to sit down for the sermon...

We'd be better as individuals and as a society if we would cherish our origins instead of stamping them into the dust in an effort to prove our individuality. Ultimately, any innovation will cease to be novel, and what is left if we eradicate the source of the innovation?

A comparison of the ancient Roman Pantheon, built by Hadrian, to the University of Virginia Rotunda, designed by Thomas Jefferson. Both of which academics consider great works of architecture. The Pantheon draws it fame from its structural system and awe-inspiring interior space; architectural historians praise the Rotunda for its harmonious exterior [follow the link for cool interior panoramas]. So... are revivals good or bad?

Tarot Card of the Day for September 3, AT5

2008-09-03T21:43:00.005-05:00

Nine of Pentacles

Pentacles represent Earth; abundance, stability, faith.
Nine represents completion.

In traditional divination, this card represents safety, prudence, and enjoying the fruits of one's labor. It depicts a woman of calm disposition in a lush garden, signifying a sense of satisfaction and groundedness. She has attained the gifts of Earth.

I think its significance today is about Cernunnos. I had an especially nice meditation with him last night, and have had a lingering sense of his presence despite a bad mood brought on by that negative manifestation of Earth, customer service.

I'm just happy it's not upside down.

Baddite Proverb of the Day

2008-09-03T21:39:00.000-05:00

Whoever put 'fun' in 'da mental' had a sick sense of humor.

Intranssient Transit

2008-09-03T12:58:00.005-05:00

So, Metro is once again struggling with budget problems and proposing drastic route changes.

This is disgusting.

No successful urban area can remain that way without good, reliable transit [we won't go there with metro in this particular post]. Without an effective, area-wide transit system, the region's economy is going to suffer. People who can't afford cars will not be able to work; people who can afford them but don't like them will be forced to deal with traffic or leave the area.

The more we become dependent on cars, the more sprawl we're going to see as people move farther and farther away from congested roads, thinking the congestion won't follow them. Traffic is like the cold virus. You might be able to escape it for a while, but eventually, it will follow you.

General Motors destroyed our street car systems for a reason. The less public transit, the more people need their cars. The more people who have cars, the more GM can convince the government to build more and wider roads, encouraging more people to use cars.

Traffic congestion is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more roads you build, the easier it is to use cars, so the more cars get used. This is documented urban design fact that the oil and automotive industries have lobbied our government to ignore to our impending doom. We've already seen the effects of our over-extended infrastructure in the Minneapolis bridge collapse and failing levees in New Orleans and thru-out the Mississippi/Missouri watershed. It's time re-evaluate our priorities and plan sustainably. That means heavy investment in public transportation, and increasing Metro service rather than cutting it.

New West Cahokia

2008-09-03T10:20:00.007-05:00

The attacks against 'Twain' continue. Richard Serra's monumentally-scaled tour-de-force is under attack yet again, but these vandals have the city's blessing. Gateway Foundation and Shaw's Garden are building 'City Garden' in the two blocks east of 'Twain', using forms and materials that completely contradict the straightforward simplicity of the Serra sculpture.

The earlier renderings I saw of City Garden showed an open, visually accessible landscape that extended into the 'Twain' block, integrating the sculpture into the section of the mall isolated by the Gateway One disaster. But what's going up is entirely different. Massive concrete walls clad in rustic random ashlar limestone and mounds.

Yes, Virginia, there are mounds in Mound City.

The result is that the view of the sculpture is completely blocked from the north side of the mall, and hemmed in by a mound on the south side. The horizontal emphasis of the sculpture comes to an abrupt end scarcely a hundred feet from its easternmost point. Instead of being an environmental sculpture, it is now a display piece; just as the Wainwright building has been framed-in with bland modern neighbors, 'Twain' is now framed in with dirt. The arrow pointing boldly down the mall now points meekly at a bank of earth. [For the record, the State's additions to the Wainwright are one of the city's great modern works; it's what surrounds it that ruins its context.]

Precious few people understand the subtle beauty of 'Twain'. I'd venture a guess that most of its detractors never truly experienced it. 'Twain' is about its context. To appreciate it, you have to walk around and thru it, observing the city and experiencing the way it frames your surroundings. Go inside, and the clutter and noise of traffic are cut from your perception, leaving the city around you as the sculpture. This is public art at its most humble, and it deserves better respect than it gets.

I don't know if Shaw's Garden [yes, I still call it Shaw's Garden, MoBot is too impersonal] had any impact on City Garden's design, but it's shaping up as yet another wasted opportunity in the history of St. Louis public space development, unworthy of the Garden's immense contributions to our city and to the world of botany. In stark contrast to the head-noddingly boring federal courthouse square [the English word for plaza], it appears overly elaborate. Its massive walls and berms already block views from the street, divorcing it from its urban context.

For urban spaces to work effectively, they must be welcoming, and they must have active adjacent uses to feed them. Neither the federal square or this New West Cahokia achieve these. I'll admit I may be premature on my assessment of City Garden, but indicators are not favorable. Old Post Office Square should prove successful for these same reasons, and should enliven their surroundings. I expect retail space around it to become prime property, and that it will fulfill its aim of emulating New York's Bryant Park. City Garden and Federal Square lack any active adjacent uses. One obstructs views and the other is a parched lawn with furniture that looks painful to sit on, even more so to look at. Workers who park south of downtown have not one single retail opportunity until they reach Olive Street; a wasted opportunity to have a vibrant urban neighborhood.

The Gateway Mall has been doomed from the start, when Corbusian urban design eradicated its relevance with its inward-looking corporate neighbors. It has been nothing but a somewhat-pretty lawn for corporate aristocrats who have since sold their holdings out of town. What it needs is retail space--real storefronts, and adjacent residences. 1010 Market by Harry Weese is a good building, perhaps even a great one. I.M. Pei's General American Building is a pretty street-killer. The rest of the private buildings facing City Garden are mediocre, and calling them street-killers is being generous, especially in the case of 'Gateway One on the Mall'. The city must require retail storefronts on all new downtown buildings, and should offer some serious incentives for the conversion of existing ground floors to retail. This is the only way the Gateway Mall and City Garden will have a chance of becoming relevant urban spaces.

Otherwise, we should just give it up and turn it into the Gateway Shopping Mall.

Now THAT'S Divine Retribution

2008-09-03T08:36:00.003-05:00

On the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Gustav threatened a repeat performance on New Orleans. The GOP, assembling in St. Paul decided to take it seriously, and they deserve our respect for doing that, even tho it was mostly political posturing [I mean, seriously, was it necessary to shut down everything but mandatory business?].

Bush missed his grand swan song, and you have to know that McCain breathed a big sigh of relief at that, but I have to wonder...

Dubya's cronies were quick to call Katrina divine retribution for the sins of New Orleans. Dubya himself never did anything to counter that argument, and never showed any remorse for not ending his vacation as the storm barrelled down on the gulf coast. Gustav puffed up and got ready to blow down their convention, then ultimately petered out.

I like to think there's a voudoun Queen somewhere in New Orleans who evoked this particular spirit and shunted him aside before he could do any real damage, and she's sitting on a balcony today on Bourbon Street, sipping a hurricane and smiling knowingly at coverage of Dubya's video greeting card to the convention last night.

That, or the woman from the Parkay commercial is standing on the banks of the delta laughing her ass off.

Karma's a bitch, isn't it, Dubya?

Baddite Proverb of the Day

2008-08-31T23:13:00.001-05:00

Karma isn't an instant rebate program.

Tarot Card of the Day for August 31, AT5

2008-08-31T20:49:00.005-05:00

King of Swords

Finally free of the Pentacles! I wish I knew what I did. It might have something to do with the new credit card bill arriving in the mail yesterday, begging to be paid; but I forgot to pull a card yesterday, so...

Swords represent Fire; healing, transformation, passion.

Kings represent mastery.

In traditional divination, this card is about justice; swords are about decisions, and the king has mastered the art of decision-making. This is Fire's aspect of transformation.

I rather hope this card came up for my dear friend who had surgery this morning; that this mastery of fire is the surgeon's hand and she will have a full recovery. I don't really see anything else in my life at the moment that is relevant to such a powerful, straight-forward card as this.

In the name of my beautiful god Cernunnos who rules Fire, and of Hygieia goddess of health, I dedicate this card to her.

Deep Thought of the Day

2008-08-31T20:45:00.005-05:00

After attending the neighborhood dog romp this evening, it occurred to me: dogs are often thought of as aggressive and unrelenting. But after sniffing butts, they play well together.

Couldn't we just let George Bush and Osama bin Laden sniff each other's butt?

Tarot Card of the Day for August 29, AT5

2008-08-29T14:17:00.003-05:00

Nine of Pentacles, Rev.

OK, enough with the upside-down pents, dammit.

Nines signify final completion; accomplishment. Reversed, it's a shallow achievement, a shoddy job, or an abrupt end. Pentacles represent the element of earth: physical needs, stability, bounty.

The illustration is of a woman who obviously has few needs. The earth has provided her abundance; she is calm and carefree, her work is done.

I was thinking about all the things that need doing on my house this morning. That manifestation of earth needs a lot of attention, but I've been blowing it off playing frakking solitaire and putzing around on the interwebs.

So, yeah, I get the message, dear Tarot. Can we maybe talk about something else?

'As if,' replies the deck...

Doric Triumph

2008-08-29T13:52:00.004-05:00

OK, now I get it.

Barak Obama gave a slam-dunk of a speech last night, extolling the real virtues of democracy as it was intended to be from the beginning. The neoclassical backdrop, as poorly executed as it was, served as a symbol of what is best about Western civilization as Obama outlined an excellent, ambitious plan to return our country to those ideals, free of the dogma in which the Republican party and its fundamentalist Huns have attempted to mire us. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear the whole speech. I was on my way home from Coffee Coven. I heard most of it, and was deeply impressed. I whole-heartedly support his agenda; they are issues that have been dear to me for years, if not decades. Finally, a candidate for President has stood up and unabashedly call for progressive action without feeling the need to apologize for being too liberal.

I only wish they would have found a competent stage designer. Now every bleeding heart liberal in America is going to want cantilevered Doric porticoes.

Doric Abuse

2008-08-28T18:30:00.005-05:00

Imagine my horror when I turned on the news and saw the stage from which Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech. Has classicism become an icon for political progressiveness again, and are there no classicists in Denver?

It's almost like watching the discovery channel, especially if Barack wears bed sheets and a mussed wig with laurels.

photo credit

Tarot Card of the Day for August 28, AT5

2008-08-28T15:48:00.003-05:00

Ace of Pentacles, Rev.

Oi weh. Again with the reversed pentacles [yes, I did shuffle, and I don't always pick up the deck from the same direction...].

So I guess I better get my financials together.

An ace is a gift in common interpretation; it is also a beginning. Pentacles represent prosperity. This reversed ace is no doubt chiding my financial irresponsibility [still haven't made a payment to the credit card].

If anybody sees a lucky penny [heads up and shiny], give me a call 555-BUH-ROKE. I'll come and pick it up.

My Latest Unwanted Obsession

2008-08-28T13:57:00.000-05:00

If you see me playing one-card-draw solitaire on the computer, please whack me upside the head.

If you see me playing it with real cards, leave me alone; I'm cheating.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could pick our obsessions? I'm one of those aspies who cycle thru them almost as fast as I cycle thru my sock drawer. I almost never go back to one once it's broken, which is a shame, because I've actually had some productive ones [we'll see how long this blog lasts...]. I suppose I need to do a spell to recapture the writing obsession, but I'm hoping that blogging will get me back into it in a more serious, less obsessive fashion. Solitaire is distracting me from work and sleep. Work's on a low ebb, which is how I got sucked into this particular vortex; unfortunately, sleep is on a low ebb, too. I was up until 3 a.m. Wednesday night playing that stupid game, insisting on a win before turning out the light; then ultimately not satisfied with only one win after all of those absurd card combinations.

Temple Grandin has it lucky: a life-time obsession with market value.

I'm so jealous.

Baddite Proverb of the Day

2008-08-28T13:25:00.000-05:00

You don't need to herd the cats, you just need to put their litter boxes in the same general area.

Tarot Card of the Day for August 26, AT5

2008-08-26T16:43:00.002-05:00

Page of Pentacles, Rev.

A page signifies naivete. Waite says this card signifies wealth when reversed, but I'm not buying it [pa-dump-dum]. I believe the gods are making a joke on my constant juggling of the various manifestations of my prosperity [from the last Card of the Day] and telling me I should know better. Of course I do; and of course, the gods are always right.

But I reserve the right to be rebellious. I'm a Sagittarius, after all.

Driver Education

2008-08-26T13:20:00.000-05:00

Today, I had to educate two drivers about the purpose of crosswalks.

The first class took place at 11th and Pine. I was crossing Pine and apparently, the little hand started flashing. The driver who happened to be turning had the nerve to honk at me, so I stopped. 'It says stop,' she informed me. Yeah, I had already done that and was forming an appropriate expletive while she enjoyed her lesson on right-of-way.

The second class convened a little more than an hour later. Full of pizza and trekking back to city hall, I took my normal route from Gregory's; down Pine, across 12th, and thru the park to the tunnel entrance. Well, the light at 12th was flashing, so being a pedestrian, I proceeded. As I stepped past the median, a little guy in a little minivan gunned it, no doubt thinking I was one of those people who stood in the middle of a major boulevard hoping for a break in traffic. I'm not. I'm a tenured professor of driver education. He had to switch lanes as I yelled 'crosswalk' into his ear, tho I doubt he understood the significance of the word. Amazingly, out of eight lanes of traffic, he was the only driver in need of education.

Pedestrians have the right of way, even at crosswalks were there is no light. It amazes me how many drivers ignore this law. There was a news story last week stating that Missouri is the most dangerous state for pedestrians. With the total lack of driving courtesy demonstrated by our police, it's no surprise.

I believe the private automobile will be the downfall of civilization, and will gladly argue that it is the cause of many of our current social problems. People in cars have no interaction with the world outside their windshield except as an obstacle course. They go about their daily business without the need to speak to another human being. They get in the car, drive to the super-grocery, buy our milk without acknowledging the humanity of the cashier, and drive back home in a cone of silence. It's easy to curse the aggressive guy in the SUV because you can do it safely, because the only thing you can do is swear at him since he's in his own bubble. With each incident you become more brazen and the person in the next car becomes less human.

International Festival

2008-08-24T18:20:00.000-05:00

Those of you who know me have heard me bitching about the International Festival in Tower Grove Park. In past years it has been noisy and attracted rude people to the neighborhood. The first three or four years of the festival, I was rudely awakened early Sunday morning with gospel music blaring from speakers pointed directly at my house. We're talking 8am here, a time when sensible people are polite about the possibility of hangovers. The year before last, one of the residents on the block actually walked over there and asked them to turn it down, which they did. But, that year and last year, a stage sat where it's sound system pointed toward the houses, and we were treated to excessively amplified music and DJ's of varying quality [mostly, the quality of the music varied, the DJ was annoying every time he stuck a mic up to his mouth].
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This year, to my great surprise and pleasure, the stages were set up in a manner similar to Pridefest, oriented to the long axis of the park, and the Scottish Games were set up in a lawn where they were visible from the porch [hate me if you want, ladies]. Quieter activities were placed closest to the houses, and the noise was kept well away. It was nice, and it was a better distribution of the heavy crowd, tho they should work on some of those bottlenecks in the food row. Attendees were more respectful of the neighborhood, too. We've had less litter [one year a woman left a dirty diaper on the sidewalk], and the only cars parked collision-close were apparently vendors or International Institute staff, because they've been bumper-to-bumper all day. This year was the largest I've seen it, and the beautiful weather brought out a huge crowd. The rude people were still there, but they were more outnumbered than usual.
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My dear friend Sue and I started the day with brunch at MoKaBe's, then walked up to Cheap TRX [web page under construction] before heading back to the park. You might want to sit down for this... cars turning from Grand to Arsenal actually stopped for pedestrians [I know, unbelievable; I'll make a video next year]. We had a great time and are looking forward to next year.
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Looking forward to International Festival; something I always hoped for but feared never would happen...

Tarot Card of the Day for August 24, AT5

2008-08-24T17:16:00.002-05:00

Two of Pentacles, Rev.

My Tarot tutor describes this card as a juggler in front of a turbulent sea, indicating that he is juggling his material resources and is unsteady. Tho that's not Waite's description of the scene, he is known to have misrepresented the symbolism to throw off outsiders. The caption link will take you to Waite's published interpretation.

I pulled this card in reversed position. Some don't heed reversals, but I think it deepens the interpretation [or complicates it, depending on the Universe's mood at the moment]. In Papus' system, a two indicates a setback in initial action; Pentacles are earth, so that means material matters. Reversed, it means smooth sailing [let's just hope]. I think it indicates financial recklessness on my part. I forgot to pay my credit card bill this month. I haven't balanced my accounts in so long that my handheld shows a negative balance of over $3,000.00 because I haven't entered my paychecks. Waite's interpretation of 'gaiety' fits in this case, because I've been playing around instead of working, and the reversal is telling me that my bill is overdue. Apparently, VISA has connections in the higher planes.

Baddite Proverb of the Day

2008-08-22T11:35:00.001-05:00

Flying thru life with your eyes on paradise is the best way to get a return ticket in economy class.

[for the benefit of full disclosure, i rewrote this. so on the rare chance that somebody read it, yes, it did change.]

Tarot Card of the Day for August 22, AT5

2008-08-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

The Three of Wands

Wands represent the element air; communication and intellect, or mental and physical health in the traditional system I learned from Susabelle [author of several of the blogs in my 'other rants' section, check them out, she's a great writer].
Three represents action [so, here I sit in bed when I should be cleaning up the basement to make room for the new HVAC system...].

I believe this card is saying that today is the day I'm finally going to get around to using that neti pot I bought last week. It could also be getting at that A/C system. I've been holed up in the bedroom to take advantage of the allergy-free environment provided by the window unit. Or, it's saying that if I don't go pay the $6 I owe courtesy diner, I'm going to get my knees busted [not really].

Tarot Card of the Day for August 21, AT5*

2008-08-21T11:41:00.001-05:00

Judgment

I shouldn't have pulled this while writing my previous rant...

Literal messages aside, Judgment is the second-to-last card in the spiritual journey mapped out in the Tarot. It signifies karma. It's like the weighing of the heart against a feather in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. In blogger terms, it's the final spell-check before you hit the 'publish post' button; the final step of attaining perfection before acheiving unity with the world wide web. In divination, it's fairly literal. It means you have baggage you need to handle [and if you're lucky enough to work for an airline, you can now charge for this].

Of course, there's much more to the symbology, but I'm not writing a book.

Hokus-pokus aside, I'm pretty sure this came up because I was waiting for a webpage to load so I could get a hyperlink for the rant below.

*AT5 = Anno Timmianii 5, the fifth year of the Church of Bad Tim of Latter-Day Reincarnates [for the sake of any scholar who might happen to read this, Timmianii is pidgin latin and does not construe any attempt to correctly use the latin language].

St Louis: a Case Study in Sprawl

2008-08-21T10:23:00.001-05:00

St Louis loves sprawl so much that we've perfected it to an art. Our outer suburbs are a fashionable display of fussy strip malls and quaint light posts dividing seas of cookie-cutter vinyl boxes, occupied only by strands of lurching cars under the twinkling red-amber-green of traffic signals. Here in the central city, we are so impressed by this sterile beauty that we are turning our historic core into a shadow of suburbia.

Our administration imported a celebrity planner from Toronto, and have proven themselves just as good at ignoring him as they were at ignoring a long line of his competent predecessors. We have a plan, tho. One more expensive master plan that the board of aldermen will never adopt because it will threaten the 28 fiefdoms we have incorrectly labeled as wards.

A stunning downtown plan was nullified mere months after its completion when the administration fought like caged beasts to demolish an architecturally and historically significant building in order to build a parking garage for the Missouri state courts. They deceived the National Trust for Historic Preservation into funding this demolition that severed an awe-inspiring streetscape in a late-eighteenth century urban canyon. They shamed a successful loft developer who dared to suggest that the building could be saved and still provide the court's parking needs while adding to the city's inventory of residential lofts and unique commercial space.

Now, they're building a cookie-cutter Walgreen's and its asphalt lagoon between two of the city's most important historic district. Bohemian hill was to have been a cutting-edge urban infill project of affordable and market-rate housing with [omg!!!] office and retail space mixed in. This dire threat to sprawl had to be put down! So, they pulled the eminent domain card. Luckily, they got smacked down on that one, but land had already been assembled so here comes suburbia to the big city yet again.

I think that very soon, if the housing market ever recovers, the north side will be indistinguishable from Wentzville. Our brave politicians helped the former president of a large contracting company assemble large tracts of land there in secret. He acquired stable, occupied houses and evicted their occupants, then left the buildings open to vandalism and deterioration. In spite of the growing presence and success of independent rehabbers in the area, the administration helped him get legislation introduced to state government that would give huge economic benefits to developers who assemble large tracts of land in 'distressed communities'. The legislation encouraged land clearance along the lines of the failed urban renewal programs of the 1960's, and threatened to destroy existing neighborhoods. But this was o.k. with the powers that be in St Louis because it would put 'marketable' [read suburban] housing in the north side. Also, one must conclude, because it helped their campaign funds.

The latest developmental whimper is the scaling-down of Ballpark Village. In a desperate attempt to get development--any development--our fine city fathers are pressuring the Cardinals to move forward with the remnants of the old Busch Stadium site. There must be an election coming up, but to be fair, the Cardinals left the site in deplorable condition. The Riverfront Times did the best story on the situation in 'A Village Runs Through It'. The current plan is to eliminate most of the housing and scale back the commercial space, effectively rendering Ballpark Village a pretty set-piece rather than a neighborhood.

It's like I always say, 'If you can't build it right, don't build it at all.'

My First Blog Post

2008-08-20T09:16:00.000-05:00

I'm an aspie.

Asperger's Syndrome gives me the gift of viewing the world from a different perspective. Aspies tend to be frank and detail-oriented, so you should expect these posts to be very direct and drone on endlessly about seemingly trivial issues. Hopefully, I'll be able to do this in an entertaining manner.

I'm an architect.

I've had a life-long fascination for the built environment, and adore monumentalism. Every city should have a senselessly grand space and be dotted with random acts of beauty, but between and behind these, should be intimate, walkable neighborhoods that offer their residents everything they need within a short walk or tram ride. American suburbs are abominations that need to be eradicated from the face of the earth. They are wasteful and anti-social. Over time, I hope my readers will become active in demanding quality urban design and learn to appreciate a sense of place.

I'm a Pagan.

I've always had an affinity for trees. Even when I was a little catholic boy in the suburban fringe, I was shocked at the carefree way developers bulldozed the land all around our barren little subdivided patch. Cernunnos called me even back then, and forty years later, I finally got the clue. He has led me on a rewarding journey in which I continue to discover the awesome diversity and power of our world. Thru his alter-ego Shiva, he has drawn me toward Hinduism, which is my latest area of spiritual study. More on that later as I continue to discover this rich traditon...

I'm a classicist; my tastes are strongly biased toward Greek and Roman precedents in design and philosophy. As a classicist, I embrace Hindu religious philosophy as the source of classical religion. Cernunnos is Shiva; both emerged from the same prehistoric archetype, just as the Celtic pantheon of Cernunnos came from the same prehistoric tradition as the Hindu pantheon.

But I'm a dreamer foremost. Autism has given me the ability to know an alternate world of my own creation which I have built as an illustration of my ideals, and I plan to reveal it here and in my ongoing writing project, "The Book of Baddite", a farcical scripture with a very serious spiritual message.

I love to learn, and welcome reading suggestions and links.

OK, enough of the dry introductions...