Monumental

Thank Perkūnas It's Friday!

"My thunder kept you up last night? Call a cop!"

Been There, Did That

One reason St. Louis doesn't completely suck

On October 28, 1965 construction was completed on the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. The world's most famous weighted catenary, it is also the tallest arch in the world and the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere.

The monument is located in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, near where the historic Lewis and Clark Expedition began.



I have visited the monument with students on a few occasions, most recently in June
of 2009 when I drove one of my Atlantic students to Birmingham, Alabama to compete in the National Speech and Debate Tournament.

"Did you ever ride the little tram up to the top?"

I did once, yes...but looking out the window made me nervous, so I never did it again...

Feast Day

St. Jude, by Lorenzo Ottoni

Today is the feast day of St. Jude, also known as Thaddeus. One of the Original Twelve disciples commissioned by Jesus, he was present at the Pentecost, and so images of him frequently show
a flame above his head.

The famous St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee is named for him, and he is also considered the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department.

Catholics around the world venerate St. Jude as the patron of desperate situations and "lost" causes.

World Series Resumes

The 2016 World Series resumes tonight at Wrigley Field, the first time a Fall Classic game has been played there
in 71 years.

Because the Indians and Cubs split the first two games in Cleveland, there will be three contests at Wrigley.

"What do the pitching match-ups look like?"

Not great for the Indians, but then we knew that going into the Series...it's going to be an uphill battle for them...

Staying Dead On Election Day

From the pen of Lisa Benson, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On October 28, 1972 Bradley Douglas Paisley was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia.
An only child, he was taught the guitar by his maternal grandfather at age eight, and by the time he was ten he was was singing in public. At thirteen he wrote his first song, and that interest eventually led him to pursue a degree in music business from Belmont University in Nashville.

Since releasing his first album in 1999, Paisley has sold more than 12 million albums, earned three Grammy Awards, and dozens of awards from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.

In 2008 Brad released his sixth studio album, Play, intended to showcase his skills as a guitarist.
It does that to a fare-thee-well. Paisley shines on the album's mostly instrumental tracks, killing it on everything from bluegrass and country to rock and even metal.
The project richly deserves its subtitle, "The Guitar Album."

Play became Brad's fourth consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and had crossover appeal also, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard 200.

My favorite track on the album is the Grammy-winning instrumental "Cluster Pluck," on which Brad trades hot licks with some of the very best guitarists in the business: James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert, and Steve Wariner.

Today's send-off is the official album track, from Brad's YouTube channel. Enjoy...