The Murals of Phiadelphia

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Here are just a few of the thousands of murals in Philadelphia. The final one is very subtle. The runtime is a little over a minute.

Washington Week in the STL on Friday

Washington Week is kicking of a year long tour across the United States. This Friday at the Sheldon Washington Week will be taping their weekly broadcast in front of a live audience. It is common that great tours kick off in the STL, just like the Beastie Boys Check Your Head kickoff show at Mississippi Nights in 1992.

Some very good friends made sure that I got tickets to this Washington Week live audience taping- and it is a hot item for it is already sold out.

Drink Pink/Wiktor Farewell Piece

We have a big party on Tuesday at the Royale- a benefit for the Komen center- a party called Drink Pink. It is a costume party/benefit hosted by a stellar crew Ryan Brunner, Rob Thurman, Joyce Gorrell and Matt Fernandes. So come in your Hallowed finest on the eve of the eve. Many surprises abound- and I can say that for sure. They got some rather unusual, uh, props. So mosey down that night for a sip, throw a little and buy a cupcake that will cure cancer and make a wish. The music will be provided by Rock Candy aka Matt Fernandes and later w/ DJ Dillip. The gig starts at 7 and goes roughly to 11.

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So my chum Wiktor Szostalo made a new sculpture he is sending off to Poland. He is going to have a sidewalk farewell for it on Sunday:

A commission piece I have been working for almost a year now is about ready to leave for its final destination in Poznan, Poland. The welded stainless steel 7' tall sculpture titled: "At Long Last I Got To Like Myself The Way I Am" shows a mirror image of the same person running to (finally) embrace himself...

The party will take place this Sunday, Oct. 28, 12 noon till 6 pm on the sidewalk in front of my studio at 4398 Chouteau Ave @ Newstead where the sculpture will be displayed. Beverages will be provided and the studio will be "open" for browsing. Please bring all your deserving friends...

Wiktor

Stupid Release

Lifted from the 52nd City site:

That's Stupid

That's right...the theme for the next issue of 52nd City Magazine is STUPID and we'll be celebrating at a stupid fun release party at AMP (4199 Manchester) this Sunday, October 28th. Festivities start at 5pm and we'll have a prize for the stupidest costume/outfit. The swell guys at AMP (former Kick Ass recipients) are providing drink and appetizer specials. Admission is free. Issues of the magazine are $8. Come on down and get plain silly with us.


* Great new cover art by Firecracker Press!
* Writing by Michael Allen, Aaron Belz, Chris King, Jim Klenn, K. Curtis Lyle, Piedmont Chris Johnson, April Seager and Mike Steinberg.
* Topics like Gary Coleman, wigs, washing machines, mustard, feet and MORE!
* Web issue goes live on Sunday with even more writers and artwork.

Ugliest City in America

So unknown to me at the time, I recently visited two of the ugliest cities in America. I am not sure the rankings are all that accurate, especially after seeing some of the most amazing, talented and beautiful ladies and gents in the world in this video from Philadelphia.

found to be among the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least worldly, according to the "America's Favorite Cities" survey by Travel & Leisure magazine and CNN Headline News...which ranked 25 cities in categories including shopping, food, culture, and cityscape, said Amy Farley, senior editor at the magazine.

For unattractiveness, Philadelphia just beat out Washington DC and Dallas/Fort Worth for the bottom spot. Miami and San Diego are home to the most attractive people, the poll found.

I am sure Mayor Slay declined to be included in this shallow poll for we have self respect by not participating in such juvenile rankings.

Represent the STL!

I just got back from the fights at the at the SBAC. They were put on by Buddy Shaw and had crews in from Cincy, Columbia and all over the STL. Demetrius was on the fight card, and he scored a win against Cherokee Rec. I saw Bruce, Derron, their mother Sharonda and Coach Doveed. It was good to see them. We hada great crew at our ringside table- Rich, Tony, Ron, Jane, Lou and James. At the fights I saw this fantastic haircut on this fine young Saint Louisan named Taylor. What a wonderful little patriot. We need to have more tough tykes like this sporting this hair do on our streets! Anyone sporting an arch haircut gets a free drink(sodas for kids) at the Royale for the month of October!

Churchin' and Rasslin'

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I had a very well rounded trip while in Philadelphia. This is probably the most amusing video I have put together. It is not fancy or anything, but the subject manner is just so rich and the added audio tips it.

The first half of this particular video is of the Cathedral in Philadelphia with a certain familiar Cardinal hosting a nun party. I felt like I was a spy, seeing what was happening in the Cathedral that day. There is a very familiar former Archbishop that was all dressed up for this nun party. The nuns looked fantastic. So happy. Be sure to check out the last shot with the nun in black standing next to the man with the gold staff. She is waiting so patiently to show her devotion to the Cardinal. I kept the original audio on the video underneath the added music track. You can hear me just speaking in awe of these wonderful nuns.

Be sure to watch this all the way through. There are some great parts of the second half. This sporting competition is of the highlights- and they are pretty amazing if you watch all the way through. Philadelphia has a great diversity of culture. It makes me long for Philadelphia. I will post up some text sometime in the next coupla weeks.

The run time is 11 minutes 10 seconds.

Philadelphia Video #1

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Here is the first quick shot scene from Philadelphia. I will be making 7 more short movies.

Run time is 2 min 46 sec.

Outsourcing flogging to the Justice Dept

Erik Prince, the owner of Blackwater Security testified in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last week. They were asking him about an individual who had been dismissed from Blackwater and what additional response was needed. Prince responded:

"We can't flog him. We can't incarcerate him. That's up to the Justice Department."

I thought we outsourced that work to the Jordanians through the CIA.

The crown is up

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The sign is up! The Coronation and Free Candy Show is on Sunday early evening. Let me know if you want to come and I will reserve tickets for the big show.

Punk Rock ties, Development, Oddities on Cherokee and other Projects and pix

Last night I went to a fine birthday celebration for a young great American and Saint Louisan.
I was rolling with the G-man, and the last time I saw him was in DC a couple of weeks ago where he was training at Quantico. The party was held just off of Cherokee near Jefferson and the kids were dressed to the 9s. The punk rock party goers were clad in suits, ties and dresses. Some of them looked homemade, and others looked a little extra punk rock, but nearly all looked respectable. It was packed, good music, good drink and good company. They could have stood to spray certain kids down with some hoses, but hey, it is a warm October. We all have an odor in the heat.

The G-man and I walked down the length of Cherokee late at night on our way back to my detective's car. We did notice one really odd occurrence on our walk. There was this woman poking around in the ground on this empty lot. I don't know this woman at all, but apparently she has quite a reputation in the neighborhood and among the businesses. I don't really know what she was doing at this late hour with great focused determination poking around in the ground of a close gated empty parking lot. I was curious what was going on, so the G-man and I greeted her and she didn't even look up. Strange. We enjoyed the night air and walked on. I hope she was okay.

The streetlife on Cherokee last night was truly impressive. The streets were full for the Casa Loma was having a big party with a fine crowd of country style men and women walking up and down the street at Iowa and Cherokee, just outside of my new property. There was actually a bit of a traffic jam. Dressed up, going in and out of the Casa Loma. The street was bumping. It was exciting to see life later at night on the street. Very positive.

But the greatest thing that I noticed very late at night: The taco trailer is back. I nearly cried I was so happy. The only thing else that we need on Cherokee now is a bank, an army surplus store, a bike shop, a shoe cobbler, 24 hour open air produce market, Vietnamese sandwich shop, a dry cleaner, and a tea room and the area is perfect. Okay, that is maybe my personal perfect world.

The taco trailer was on the parking lot across from the Casa Loma and it just breathed real urban life. People walking, talking, smiling, eating. The street was happy and safe. Commerce, good memories, people undwinding after a long week of work. So good to see life in the neighborhood. This is the same crew that was out in front of La Onda years back. A Mexican band had just played in the upstairs ballroom. Fresh cilantro, peppers, chorizo, cesos, carne asada, onions, corn tortillas, limes, fresh green salsa, guac, red salsa and more. So, so, so good. My associate the G-Man has been living in Chicago for the past five or so years, and he said this was far better than the tacos he eats all the time in Chicago.

The G-Man is a sharp guy. He has invested in real estate in Saint Louis, not in Chicago. He knows the market here, the direction and the amount of growth we can go if we(government) allow ourselves to achieve that level.

*****

So I am working on a an independent project. I may not be able to post for the next two weeks for I am required to do a lot of writing. So any video from my vacation or other posts will be delayed for a bit.

*****

And my chum Ryan Brunner was just over in Germany. Ryan is putting on a party here at the Royale called the Drink Pink, a benefit for Komen for the Cure we are hosting on Oct 30. He put up a Royale sticker on an old section of the Berlin Wall. He thought I might enjoy the graff on the wall too. Here it is: