Weekend: Saturday Night with Julie; Sunday Mostly at Home

Yesterday morning (3 February), after a rather busy week at work, I was taking care of some personal matters. This included forwarding mail for Mom and Rick, as well as grocery shopping.

Home that afternoon was mostly chilling out before Julie came by late that afternoon to pick me up to take me to dinner. She wanted to get the start on my birthday celebration (my big day is this Wednesday). We started the night with dinner at Bartolino's South in Green Park. Julie and I enjoyed a nice dinner at the fine Italian restaurant--I had the manicotti--along with some wonderful conversation.

After dinner, Julie drove us to the Plaza Frontenac Cinema to see the new movie Origin. This drama was inspired by Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Wilkerson in the movie, which tells how Wilkerson tied the subjugation of African Americans, Jews in Nazi Germany, and Dalits in India to common hierarchy structures. This movie sure gives you plenty of think about Both Julie and I thought this movie was very well done.

After the movie, Julie took me back home and I thanked her for the wonderful evening. We will meet up again in a few days to celebrate Valentine's Day together.

I was mostly in the house today, but I did go out this afternoon to run a few errands. It was also a chance to drive Mom's car for awhile. It needed air in all four tires, which I took care of using a self-service air pump at a Mobil station. The car's battery needs charging, but otherwise it ran well. After adding air to the tires, I drove to Dollar Tree in Oakville to buy some plastic forks for my work lunches and a set of combs for myself. I then went to the nearby Schnucks to browse for a while.

After that bit of shopping, I treated myself to a drink at Honey Bee Tea, a boba tea place in Oakville. It was my first time in this place. I ordered a jasmine milk tea, which I drank in the place. It was a nice way to treat myself after all I was doing this weekend.

This weekend, I also did a bit more work on the 1:200 scale Saturn V model, which I hope to have done later this month for the IPMS Gateway Chapter meeting's first 2024 Modeler of the Year Contest. This contest is Out of the Box (no modifications or additions to the kit parts). I have had a bit of difficulties with this kit, but I should have it ready in time for the contest two weeks from this Tuesday night.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Bartolino's South: Bartolinos South – Fine Italian Dining in South County (bartolinosrestaurants.com)

Plaza Frontenac Cinema: Theatres - Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema - Landmark Theatres

Origin: Origin (2023) - IMDb

Mobil: Welcome to Mobil™

Dollar Tree: Glass Vases, Party Supplies, Cleaning & More | DollarTree.com

Honey Bee Tea: Boba Tea Coffee Smoothies - Honey Bee Tea (honeybt.com)

IPMS Gateway Chapter: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

Volunteering at 2019 SLIFF

Last Sunday morning (10 November), I went to the Brown School at Washington University of St. Louis (https://wustl.edu/) for my first volunteer stint at this year's Whittaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/festival-home). This marks my tenth year volunteering at this festival. On this day, I arrived by the Brown School's lecture hall to check in with the venue captain, and receive my SLIFF t-shirt, which I wore during my shift.

I helped pass out fan ballots and patron surveys to attendees before the movie was screened. Then, I was able to get a seat at the back of the hall to watch the film, a Brazilian/US documentary titled "Restless" ("Sem Descanso"). It looked at the 2014 killing in police custody of a young man from a poor neighborhood in Brazil. This film followed the efforts of the man's father and a newspaper to investigate what happened to the man and to find his remains for proper burial. This story is weaved with the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri the same week. The film was most interesting and thought provoking regarding police brutality towards people of color and poverty.

After the film, there was a question-and-answer session with Chris King, editor of the St. Louis American (http://www.stlamerican.com/), who was interviewed in "Restless." As the audience filed out of the hall, I collected the ballots and surveys to bring to the venue captain. It was a fine start to SLIFF for me.

The following Wednesday afternoon (13 November) found me at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/plaza-frontenac-cinema/) for my second SLIFF volunteer shift. I stood outside the two theaters SLIFF was using to take tickets from attendees, while other volunteers passed out ballots and surveys. The Italian drama "Twin Flower" ("Fiore gemello") was playing in one of the theaters. I was tempted to watch it, but figured I was needed outside the theater in case more volunteers didn't show up. In the end, those volunteers did come and all was well. I did help collect ballots and surveys from the people who saw "Twin Flower."

I will do my third and final volunteer shift of this year's SLIFF tonight at Webster University (http://www.webster.edu/). The festival runs until tomorrow night. Hope to see you!

Later.

Volunteering at the 2018 SLIFF

This past week, I did four volunteer shifts at the 27th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/about-festival), which ends tonight. The first of those shifts was one week ago today (4 November) at Brown Hall on the Washington University (https://wustl.edu/) campus. I helped to hand out festival program, fan ballots, and festival patron surveys. The latter two items were collected after the film. That day, I saw two documentary features. First was "Letter from Masanjia," about an Oregon woman's discovery in some Chinese-made decorations she bought of a letter from a prisoner in a Chinese labor camp. This story soon went viral and China soon closed its labor camps. The film interviewed the prisoner who wrote the letter and follows his quest for freedom. Leon Lee, the director of "Letter from Masanjia," was present and spoke to the audience before and after the film.

Then, the documentary "Time for Ilhan" was screened. It told the story of Minneapolis, Minnesota resident Ilhan Omar's successful 2016 campaign for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She became the first Somali-American and Muslim-American woman elected to office. (Last Tuesday, Omar was elected to the US House of Representatives.) Norah Shapiro, director of this film, spoke before and after it was screened.

Wednesday night (7 November), after my off day from work, I headed to .ZACK (http://www.kranzbergartsfoundation.org/zack/) in the Grant Center Arts District (http://www.grandcenter.org) of Midtown St. Louis for my second shift. That night--after helping hand out ballots and surveys--I saw the narrative short film "Ashlock," which employed dance to help tell the true story of a troubled marriage in Missouri's Old Lead Belt. Then, it was the documentary feature "Bisbee '17." This told of how residents of Bisbee, Arizona--a small old mining town near the Mexican border--reinacted the Bisbee Deportation of 1917, in which 1200 immigrant miners were forcibly removed from town by a deputized force. The miners were put on cattle cars, sent to the New Mexico desert, and left to die. It was unusual for a documentary, in that there was no historic film of the Deportation used. The story was mainly told by the reinactors, several of whom were descendants of both the deported and the deporting force. Rather interesting. The film's director, Robert Greene, was present and spoke before and after the film.

After work on Friday night (9 November), I arrived at Plaza Frontenac Cinema (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/plaza-frontenac-cinema) for my next shift. Myself and other volunteers were stationed outside the two auditoriums of the six-screen facility where SLIFF films were playing. After passing out ballots and surveys, I went inside one auditorium to see the Hungarian film "Eternal Winter" ("Orok tel"). This was based on the true story of Hungarian women of German origin who were seized by Soviet troops late in World War II and sent to labor camps in the Soviet Union and working in coal mines. A depressing tale for sure, but fascinating in seeing how one woman seeks to stay alive in the camp and mine with the help of a fellow internee.

Late this morning, I drove to The Stage at KDHX (http://kdhx.org/articles/16-inside-kdhx/964-the-stage-at-kdhx) in the Grand Center Arts District for my final volunteer shift of this year's SLIFF. The venue hosted a conversation with six directors making their first feature films. This event was part of the festival's New Filmmakers Forum (NFF), which includes five feature films (one co-directed by two people). Panelists and guests enjoyed free coffee and pastries before the filmmakers discussed their films and filmmaking in general. It was quite an interesting discussion, I thought.

After my shift ended, I treated myself to a light lunch of soup and ice cream at The Fountain on Locust (http://www.fountainonlocust.com/) before going home. SLIFF concludes tonight with the awards ceremony.

Later

Film Festival and Election Day

One week ago tonight (6 November) found me at Moore Auditorium of Webster Hall, Webster University (http://www.webster.edu/). It was my first volunteer stint at this year's St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (http://www.cinemastlouis.org/about-festival). I was an usher handing out fan ballots, SLIFF patron survey forms, and festival programs to audience members as they entered the theater. After the audience was taken care of, I could watch the movie, then collect the ballots and survey forms, and help tally up the audience votes. Last Sunday had a double feature, starting with the 2016 documentary "Long Live the King," about the enduring fascination with the 1933 classic film "King Kong." It was a very nice film, and was followed by some discussion lead by Tom Stockman, editor of We Are Movie Geeks (http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/). Then, it was the second half of the bill, the aforementioned "King Kong," which I had not seen on a big screen with an audience before. It was thrilling as always.

My brother Rick and his family (wife Melissa, son Alex, and daughter Kate) had a fine time with my mom and me. More with my mom, since I was away at work and SLIFF much of the time they were there. They returned to Charleston on Tuesday. I was back at work on Monday.

After flexing out of work Tuesday afternoon (8 November), I drove to ROC Ministries (http://rocmin.com/) in Mehlville to cast my vote in the national election. I was most happy to do my patriotic duty. Most of my candidates and issues lost, and I will leave it at that.

I put in a full day of work Wednesday, then was back at St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for the Portuguese Language: Beginning II class. Our instructor Elizabeth from Viva Brasil Association of St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home) guided us through more Portuguese, including numbers, months, and days of the week.

Off work Thursday (10 November), I got my hair cut by Great Clips (http://www.greatclips.com/) on South County Centerway in Mehlville. I met a friend for lunch at the St. Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html), also on South County Centerway.

That afternoon, I was off to the Tivoli Theatre (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/tivoli-theatre) for a SLIFF volunteer shift. I was outside the theater where a collection of five documentary short subjects with the theme of Valor. I did not see these films, but saw the stars and producers come into the adjourning theater for the US premier of the film "Drawing Home."

After my volunteer shift, I was off to the Plaza Frontenac Cinema (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/plaza-frontenac-cinema) to watch a SLIFF film "Jules & Dolores (O Roubo da Taca)," a caper comedy from Brazil, which I enjoyed a lot.

I got off work a few minutes early on Friday, which was unusual, but welcome nevertheless. I did work at the rental branch yesterday morning, and that went very well.

I got a bit of a lunch while on my way from work to Brown Hall at Washington University (https://wustl.edu/). My SLIFF volunteer shift spanned the end of one narrative feature, "Phantom Boy," and all of the next one, "Heidi," a 2016 German/Swiss version of the long-time favorite children's story. I didn't see either film, as I was at my volunteer station just outside, but both were very well received by the audiences.

This morning found me at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (http://saintlouisfc.com/soccerpark) to officiate three Premier League under 12 girls matches. These were all nine-a-side, small field matches. I ran line on the first two matches before working the middle on the third match. All three went well.

After a shower and change of clothes at home, I went to my fourth and final SLIFF volunteer shift, at .ZACK (http://www.zack.events/) a new performing arts incubator in midtown St. Louis. I caught the tail end of the documentary "The Last Laugh," about comedians dealing with or avoiding the Holocaust. There was a break of some minutes, then we had one more documentary feature, "Tower," about the 1966 mass shooting at the University of Texas at Austin. I thought that was a terrific film. SLIFF is ending with its awards show as I write this; the results will be posted on the Cinema St. Louis website tomorrow (Monday), I would presume.

Later.