Sunday, July 26, 2009

of midnight murals and "mid-sea mastodons"

Back to the whales again...sometimes themes continue to re-occur, as if in a dream.

Have you read this article from the Times' Magazine a couple of weeks ago? (click) I only finished it in bed this morning, after I dreamed I was standing on the outdoor subway platform pictured in Os Gemeos' new mural. The writer's description of a whale encounter, of suddenly finding himself wanting "to hop on for a long ride downward toward some dimly remembered primordial home," reminded me of how I felt last week (click), when I first met the mural.

Sometimes for city dwellers, art has to stand in for nature, providing a glimpse of that "primordial home," or giving us a ride there in our dreams.

As you can see above, Miss Mega-Watts (click) captured me there last night with her camera.

If you prefer a clearer statement, made in the light of day, maybe you'd like the way I said it for New York Magazine. (click)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

the heat is on

Get ready for a summertime stream of consciousness.

"The heat," firstly refers to competitive chile pepper eaters, like Peach Moore, pictured below at the Ohio Chile Pepper Festival in 2001.


This is a still from a DVD (converted from a home video) that Peach sent me as I was reporting this piece (click) for Saveur. She's wearing a chile pepper-inspired outfit a friend made for her. Muy cute, no? I especially like the guy sweating next to her and the kids looking on, flabbergasted, as Peach keeps her cool.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/off-the-menu/files/2008/09/carls1.jpg
image of Carl's from stltoday.com

I also recently reported a roundup of burgers (click) that the Saveurites discovered as they reported the magazine's latest issue.

Had it included my own nostalgic favorites, you might have read about steakburgers at Steak 'n Shake after back-to-school shopping with mom at the St. Louis Galleria (Mom was partial to the patty melt), frosty rootbeers from the keg and paper-plated burgers at Carl's Drive-In in Richmond Heights, MO--also with Mom, post-hiking hamburgers at the Habit in Santa Barbara, CA and more recently, Friday night burgers and beers with the boys at the Corner Bistro in NYC's West Village.

Imagine researching this piece around lunchtime. Not easy.

http://www.ford-mobley.com/players/Wm3.jpg

Oh! And, speaking of St. Louis, and the heat being on...check out this article my old schoolmate Ben Hochman wrote about the heart and soul of Cardinal baseball. (click.) "The Heat is On!" was a great Cardinal theme song of my childhood--I had a bumper sticker with it on my bedroom door for years. And Ben is totally right. To any of us St. Louis kids, Jack Buck's voice was nothing short of a lullaby. Well done, Ben. But one question...what about Willie McGee?

Thursday, July 16, 2009

a break on a baleia's back

They're baaaack. (click.)


Os Gemeos finished their mural on Houston last night, after a long day at the office. I had a long one too. So while you better believe there's a story to tell, I, like my new friend pictured above, am tired, and ready to nap on a patchwork whale's back.

So that's all for now. In the meantime, you can click on the photo above to see it nice and close.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

where I've been

Here are some pictures from the project that's keeping me from writing more at the moment...


see here (click.) wait for the kicker quote.



so new, she's still wet behind the ears