The Gaslight Square neighborhood assocation’s been kind enough to invite me to a winter chat at the Grind on Saturday, February 23 at 10 a.m. As a fan of coffeehouses, I’m looking forward to checking out the new Grind, where the conversation will take place. The neighborhood’s newsletter gives the following info:

Saturday, February 23^rd at 10 am: Bring your dogs, strollers and sneakers for a walk to our neighborhood coffee shop (The Grind, 4239 Lindell). Take time out to meet your neighbors, get some exercise and pick up some hot chocolate or coffee to stay warm for the walk back home. Meet outside on the Motorworks parking lot at 9:45 am.

Also, get a double treat and hear St. Louis writer and Post-Dispatch contributor Thomas Crone speak about his latest book entitled Gaslight Square: An Oral History. The book tells the full 50 year story of St. Louis’ Gaslight Square – from inception to decline to redevelopment – in the voices by people who were there. The interviews pass through the conservative innocence of the ’50s to the fringe of Beat philosophy to the counterculture of the ’60s an the political turmoil that saw us through the Vietnam War. It also leaves us with more than an enjoyable read or feeling of nostalgia; it leaves us with a deeper historical understanding – of where we have come from as a City, as a nation, and as a people, as well as where we might be headed. 200 pages, hardback with dust jacket. RSVP by Sat, Feb. 16th to Sonja @ underwsr81@yahoo.com.

So. I just played the St. Pius V trivia night at, yes, St. Pius V. While there, I was reminded of an upcoming trivia night at St. Fraces Cabrini Academy – you know, that school behind that Imo’s and the funeral home, at Gravois and Arsenal.

Many of the players I coach are students (and athletes) at Cabrini. This trivia night supports the school’s Sponsor’s Club, which is is the funding arm of the school’s athletics program. I planned on joining a new team this year, as former team captains Tom Weber and Fred Hessel are in Minnesota and the Middle East, respectively. But with sales a tad slow, I’m going to go ahead an organize a table. No, wait: I am going to organize the winning table.

These are the types of people I need:

People who know a lot about a little.

People who know a little about a lot.

People who have time on February 2 and, ideally, aren’t going to be wickedly buzzed from Mardi Gras.

Most importantly, people who have $12.

The eighth edition of 52nd City will be offered to the masses this Sunday, as we co-host an event at Hartford Coffee Company.

Our release of “Foreign Exchange” will be from 5-6 p.m., after which the local, live, non-broadcast talk show “Free Candy” will take over for the next segment of entertainment, featuring co-hosts Amanda Doyle and Julia Smillie, along with guests and live music.

Mags will find their way to stores over the weekend, as well.

Magazine, Wax Poetics: Hip-hop’s only a small part of my usual musical intake, but I can’t get enough of Wax Poetics. It’s not just a hip-hop zine, but a fine source for reading up on photography, crate-digging, mixing, decades-old soul music and graphics culture. How’d I come so late to this party?

YouTube video, “Gerald McBoing Boing“: Originally, I found “Gerald” through Cine 16 at Mad Art, one of dozens of great finds during that series’ run. Was happy, then, to come across this animated short on YouTube. Choice, family-friendly animation, worth taking in for the soundtrack alone.

Flickr user, Skeleton Krewe: Love the notion of getting to know a town through the lens of various photographers. And New Orleans is rich with solid flickr contributors right now, though none seem to capture the tiny elements of that recovering city as well as this one. Awesome stuff. I’d tour that town with Skeleton Krewe any time.

Radio show, The Fox Hole: My secret shame is a fanship of sports talk radio. To me, there’s no funnier man on local airwaves than Martin Kilcoyne and his alternating Fox 2 cohorts, Chris Pelikan and Maurice “The Mayor” Drummond are perfect foils. This isn’t a sports-heavy show, so the trio’s likely to riff on any topic on a given day. Hilarious. Really.

Veggie burger battle: The best in town? Tanner B’s? Or The Atomic Cowboy‘s? I’m dedicating my 2008 to this decision.

Myspace song, “Rainy Monday“: Caught this track by Shiny Toy Guns on an interstitial on MTV. Ran through the whole run of: love it, hate it, bored by it, love it, played it too much. Okay, I’ll play it right now, but just once.

Paul Raven, RIP: A bunch of records in my collection feature this cat on bass. He’s dead now, gone at 46 from a heart attack. Wake-up calls suck.

Ad, Whopper Freakout: For class purposes, every semester I find a few ads that point to the demise of The American Empire and Burger King’s latest cycle of advertising does the job well. We are a stupid, stupid people, indeed.

Celebreality series, “The Pickup Artist”: Speaking of American brain loss, my recent cable problem has manifest itself in devoting time to VH-1, where I’ve come to know the peculiar idiocy of “The Pickup Artist,” as bad a reality series I’ve come across; and this is coming from someone who watched multiple episodes of “Filthy Rich Cattle Drive.” Try one episode of TPA online. You’ll thank me, maybe, or you’ll curse me.

Magazine stand, World News: With STL United FC moving soccer viewings from OB Clark’s to Barrister’s in Clayton, I’ve shifted by pre-view magazine shopping from Brentwood’s Border’s to Clayton’s World News. Gotta love buying independently. (Please tell me that World News is independent. It is, right? I mean, it’s gotta be.) Check the clearance rack.

Theatre group, St. Louis Actor’s Studio: Every year, an unmet resolution is to go to at least one theatrical production a month. It’s becoming closer to doable, this “challenge,” thanks to companies like STLAS. I’ve enjoyed both of their debut-season offerings so far and their next show, “The Waiting Room,” is coming on January 18. That the shows are offered up in a venue called The Gaslight Theatre…? Pinch me!

CD, Peanuts, A_BIM_CS_B_P_BTR_FS_C: Yo, I got the cover shot, yo!

Tea, Prince of Peace organic green tea: Add lemon and clover honey. Makes winter bearable.

For the better part of four decades – yikes! – I’ve been a patron of the Carpenter Branch of the St. Louis Public Library. But there were long bouts of inactivity mixed into those years, punctuated by high-use periods, usually brought on by a konked-out computer. A year, or so, ago, I was upbraided by a staff member for criminally underutilizing the SLPL system. Shamed, I’ve been going there steadily since, recently mining the compact disc section, in particular.

The Carpenter Branch, though, as anyone would tell you, is a place full of character. And characters. Moreso now than ever.

Today’s unexpected conversation, related here, was undertaken while yours truly was seeking the two CDs by TV on the Radio, a black rock group. That’s not unimportant information.

Fellow patron: What’re you looking at?

Blog namesake: Well, this is the rock and hip-hop section.

Fellow patron: You like rock?

Blog namesake: Well, sure. I do.

Fellow patron: You like Journey, huh? And Aerosmith?

Blog namesake: Um… they’re okay.

Fellow patron: What, you don’t like Journey? I thought you’d like Journey.

Blog namesake: I give you that impression, yeah?

Fellow patron: Yeah. (Pulls CD from stacks.) Here’s some rock for you. Static X.

Blog namesake: Mmm, yeah, wow. Static X. Not today, thanks.

Fellow patron: They have any black music in here?

Blog namesake: I think it’s all mixed together.

Fellow patron: Well, people can’t put anything back right. Everything’s a mess in here.

Blog namesake: (Begins slow, steady slide towards opposite aisle and sooner-than-expected checkout…)

First: records. I’m spinning at the Royale on Friday and Saturday night this weekend. Friday, solo, and Saturday as part of the third DJ Scramble, in which I’ll be putting 40 of my records in the youthful, yet capable, hands of Morgan Davis and Cory Fake 4 Eyes. (Whose actual name probably has a little less zip than that one.) Anyway, early start of 9 p.m. on that, maybe even a bit before.

—

Now, radio. For anyone who tuned into the Topic A broadcast of a Nat Hentoff interview last evening, apologies. As we’re pre-taping many of shows these days, the possibility of a technical glitch rises and we were claimed by an early hit on that level. My initial guess is that we’ll rebroadcast the show on the first Monday of January, with another pre-taped guest (Salim Muwakkil, senior editor of In These Times) appearing on our December 31 episode. Thanks to the Collateral Damage crew for sticking around for our slot.

There’s a pic of mine from ESL’s Spivey Building over at STL Streets. If you click on the photo, you’ll get a six-minute-plus video of a mid-summer visit to the intriguing, abandoned structure in the heart of downtown East Saint.

A shame, folks, a shame. In the meantime, documentation’s to be done.

This is not the first poem to ever confuse me, but it is the first to do so today:

http://www.longwood.edu/dospassosreview/dpr1_2/power.html

At Royale tonight, happiest hour, 6-10 p.m. Think of it as a stop on your way to the Independent Art Market’s opening night, or the Rock N Roll Craft Show’s VIP party. (Oops, did I write that?)

Back at the ones/twos on Friday, December 28, 10-close.

What: Topic A
When: Monday nights, 7:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Where: KDHX, 88.1 fm & www.kdhx.org.

What’s up: Hosts Amanda Doyle and Thomas Crone are plotting new shows and new themes for 2008. But first, the remaining moments of 2007. Topic A’s central theme for December: writers and writing.

Planned for the next three weeks:

December 10: Howard Zinn, author and magazine columnist, perhaps best known for his work “A People’s History of the United States,” but also a prolific opinion writer in US and international periodicals; a playwright; and the subject of the documentary, “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.”

December 17: Cary Tennis, the sensational advice columnist of Salon.com, a gig which has spawned his new(ish)book “Since You Asked,” a collection of his best columns for the online magazine.

December 24: Nat Hentoff, author of numerous books on civic liberties, the Constitution, Congressional affairs and jazz history; and columnist with the Wall Street Journal, the Progressive, the Jewish World Review and The Village Voice, among other publications.

Program blog coming soon!

In the meantime, contact our listener affairs desk: topica@kdhx.org.