respublica

Leaping into the news

It's Leap Day so let's take the plunge and have a quick look at news you may or may not have noticed.

Florida is doing something about their voting machines.  Finally.  Having them smashed up and sold for parts.

Drudge and some German news organization outed Prince Harry's military placement in Afghanistan.  Then every other news agency in the world followed suit.  Do they have any pang of conscience at all this morning?

The St. Louis area is going to get a new bridge, but not a Major League Soccer team.

Fond memories of the Chevy Cavalier Z-24 from Car Lust.  We had the same black convertible Z-24 pictured in the story (without that bulky front end thing) for 13 years.  Two engines, two transmissions, two tops, 3 back windows...we loved it, but it finally died for good on interstate 44 just east of Tulsa Oklahoma in August of 2001.  Ah.

Body Worlds3, an exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center is finishing up its run this weekend.  The Exhibit used actual bodies donated to science in various forms of human movement so that observers could see how muscles and tendons and bones actually worked.  The constant barrage of ads for this show creeped me out and I for one am glad to see it coming to an end.

Sadie Hawkins Day

It's February 29th, the extra day we get every four years.  Why?  I don't know except that it has something to do with math or sychronising the astronomical calendar.  This is also Sadie Hawkins day, an event taken from the Li'l Abner comics of years ago and named after Sadie, the "homeliest gal in all them hills".  Each leap year all the single women in Dogpatch could pursue the single men. 

Ancient language quiz

What ancient language are you?

20 multiple choice questions.

I am Linear B which is the first known text for written Greek. 

I think not.

Shoes off revisited

A week ago Dianne Isbell's Monday Etiquette column dealt with whether it was ok to ask dinner guests to remove their shoes when arriving in order to protect the floors and carpets from dirt and wet. 

Last night a commenter from the UK found that post and turns out he has a website/blog dedicated to "Shoes off at the Door."  An amazingly interesting world we live in.  Hats off to you, Matthew.  Still not so sure about the shoes thing.

St. Louis is one of the leading candidates we are considering

With that, Major League Soccer Commissioner, Don Garber announced that Philadelphia has been awarded the 16th franchise.

Not a huge surprise.  "We are thrilled to welcome Philadelphia to Major League Soccer," said Commissioner Garber. "Philadelphia brings in one of the most passionate sports markets in the country and provides a natural rivalry with the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United."

"We continue to seek the essential combination of strong ownership, an appropriate facility controlled by that ownership, and a market with a tradition of supporting the sport. St. Louis is one of the leading candidates we are considering and we are hopeful that all elements will come together soon for the city to join the League."

One of the leading candidates they are considering. 

Jacques at the Bank

After a meeting of Collinsville Progress this noon, Pat and I drove over to Main Street to take a look inside the new Jacques @ the Bank, a deli, coffee and pastry shop and future wine place.  Jacques will also eventually open up rooms for banquets.  Inside the former State Bank, the new owners have spent the better part of a year renovating before opening softly late last week and what they accomplished is outstanding.  Take a look at Jacques' website for a few photos of their work in progress to see the difference.

What you see when you first walk in the door.

The bar sits in a sunny corner waiting for the future wine service.

We met up with Melissa, the daughter of the owner just as we came in and she showed us just about everything but the basement.

The first floor has a comfortable spot to sit with coffee/future wine and chat or read.

Each floor of Jacques has large vault doors as its centerpiece.

The ground floor vault, or maybe it's the basement vault, will become the wine cellar.

But it is the ceiling which stops traffic.  Before Jacques took over the bank, the recessed ceiling had been covered over, hiding beautiful dental molding and other wood design.  It also hid this huge circular design right in the middle.

The petal effect is back lit and I would bet it looks stunning at night.

The second floor has seating right next to the railing and diners can look down at the first floor.  All the metal work on the stairs and balcony is new and well designed.

Melissa showed us the upstairs with its grand piano.

There is also a private room behind glass doors for use by small groups.  Collinsville Progress!  Hopefully.

The entry features marble columns which had, for some reason been painted black.  Jacques' people worked and worked to bring it back to the original. 

Stop by for lunch.  Please.  This is a great addition to Collinsville.

Polls for the last week of February

In Texas, Obama is up by a point or two or tied, in most polls.  The ABC/Washington Post has Clinton up by 1.

In Ohio, Clinton is ahead by at least 4, often more, in all polls.

Please please let this be over soon.

Texas style baked, stuffed potato

The stuffed baked potatoes are made using 2-pound potatoes that are about 7-8 inches long and about 4-inches wide. At Mike Anderson’s they are split and stuffed with every imaginable combination of cheese and sour cream, bacon, onions, jalapenos, olives etc. and then topped with chopped beef, pork, chicken, ham, sausage, etc. and a healthy dose of barbecue sauce.

Where does a person find these 2 pound potatoes?

Olivo has a website

Continuing Brock Olivo week here on Respublica, we find he now has a campaign website for his run at the republican nomination for U.S. Congress in Missouri's 9th district.

His campaign colors?  Black and gold as a nod to his years as a football star at Mizzou.

Unfortunately the website has nothing but the front page with no links, menu, email info etc.

And, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC discovered Olivo's YouTube interview last night and mentioned it on his program. "Best resume item for a new politician.  "Not only was I a football player but I was in social studies class."

Cool data

From Zip Skinny, lots of demographic information for any zip code.

Here's Collinsville

Clayton, Mo

Spencer New York

Stratford Texas

Find your own.   Thanks for the link, Dawn