k l a t OF THE TOWNS by bill beggs jr.
the metro
The ‘interwebs’ are rife with rabbit holes that will suck you in and have you believe the 1969 moon landing was filmed on a Hollywood sound stage or that COVID-19 is nothing more than an annoying case of the sniffles. The online experience overall, some say, is designed for the unsuspecting and the intellectually weak. The rest of us—you and I—are just curious, of course. Which brings me to cat videos. I’ll bet you’ve watched a few yourself, perhaps at work while trying to ignore a looming deadline. Maybe you have more discipline, but even the person averse or allergic to cats can get into a little feline humor. Cats are just funny on their own. We took a few videos of our late Dame Edna, none of which likely will turn up in time to meet the March 20 submission deadline for a contest we’re about to detail here. (But first: I dubbed her ‘Dame’ Edna because she wore a
lemay
Baby Boomers got to see the cool bands: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who. Many still follow the remains of the Grateful Dead, even without psychedelics. If so inclined, youngsters can still see the geriatric Rolling Stones in concert. My friend, a mere lad, has dropped thousands to see those 1960s relics for years all over the country. I snort with disdain. In 1975, I took a date to see The Who for probably $50, including parking. But to pay for a single ticket to a 2022 show, I’d probably have to put this laptop in hoc, plus my wife’s—and yours, too. The band’s vocalist, Roger Daltrey, sang, “Hope I die before I get old.” He just turned 78, and ticket prices for the band’s current tour should pay for skilled nursing care. Talk about inflation—concerts are expensive! Well, if you can’t spring for freshly churned butter, why not margarine? There’s any number of Led Zeppelin and Beatles tribute bands, Allman Brothers cover bands and so on, all working hard to play their idols’ catalogs note for note. A number of these bands have been at the River City Casino & Hotel in Lemay, and four more are coming up in the months to come. The Queen tribute band concert March 25 has sold out. (Thunderbolt and lightning / Very, very frightening!) RTP, the Rush Tribute Project, will appear there Nov. 18. The power trio of Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart and Geddy Lee performed for more than 40 years. Reportedly, RTP has the chops. If that’s rocking a little too hard for your taste, an ABBA tribute takes the River City stage April 15 and a Neil Diamond tribute on April 16. Meanwhile, in between rock and a softer place is Mr. Blue Sky, a tribute to symphonic rockers Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), coming up March 28 at The Loop at Delmar Hall.
st. louis
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snap-on pearl necklace until she went to her reward in March 2019. The photo shows her waiting for a thawed cocktail shrimp to move.) You don’t have to be a crazy cat lady to enjoy ‘Cat Clips: A Competition in Cuteness,’ brought to you by Animal House Cat Rescue & Adoption Center and Cinema St. Louis. Reprising this event is a sure bet for frivolity, because thank heaven for our cats during lockdown—or somebody else’s cat videos. Otherwise, we’d surely have gone mad. Sold out in years past, Cat Clips features an exclusive screening of curated cat videos judged by a panel of St. Louisans we’ll call the kitty cognoscenti. Juried clips will be screened and judged April 7 at Third Degree Glass Factory. Your clip could win the $250 grand prize, so get scratchin’! Visit filmfreeway.com/catclips for full details. Contact Bill at wrtrs.blck@gmail.com.
TOWN&style
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MARCH 9, 2022
Who says public libraries are dinosaurs? Nowadays, does anyone even have to know or even care what the Dewey Decimal System is… or was? No worries. Our city and county public libraries are combining all the materials available for check out on their websites into a new shared online catalog, which will launch March 25. Users of city library (SLPL) branches will have access to two million more books, movies and music. Some SLPL services will be unavailable until the online catalog launch, including credit card payments. As of March 8, customers haven’t been able to place holds, update library cards, apply for passports or pay fees. Staff won’t be able to check in returned materials or remove them from customer accounts. On March 17, all SLPL branches will be closed to test the new software, check in materials and prepare for expanded services. (Since that’s St. Patrick’s Day, the library will be the last thing on your mind.) SLPL branches will reopen March 18, and although the online catalog won’t be available, staff will be able to place holds for anyone eager to order materials. On March 25, the shared online catalog will go live and customers can begin accessing the catalog and accounts—the upgrade, however, means PIN numbers will have been reset and saved reading lists cleared from customer accounts. Questions? Call 314-241-2288 or email customerservice@slpl.org.
TT trivia ☛
WHAT DO LED ZEPPELIN, THE WHO, RUSH, THE ROLLING STONES— AND SPINAL TAP—HAVE IN COMMON?
LAST ISSUE’S Q&A There are 269 area codes in the United States. What cities do these represent: 212, 301, 202, 303, 415, 312, 215, 504, 213 and 259 Many NYC residents boast they’re from ‘the 212.’ Baltimore is ‘the 301;’ D.C., ‘the 202;’ Denver, ‘the 303;’ S.F., ‘the 415;’ Chicago, ‘the 312;’ Philly, ‘the 215;’ NOLA, ‘the 504’ and L.A., ‘the 213.’ Frequent long-distance callers know many area codes by heart. But who’s proud of ‘the 259’? Horsey people, that’s who: 259 is the area code for Lexington, Kentucky.
