06 June 2021
Back to Circus Flora for The St. Lou Revue
For the first time in two years, I ran away to the circus--Circus Flora. Last night (5 June), I was a volunteer for the circus' weekend-only show "The St.Lou Review," which played at the Big Top in the Grand Center Arts District of Midtown St. Louis. (The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled last year's show.) It was a great feeling to return to the Big Top and volunteer with Circus Flora.
I checked in at 6:15 pm--45 minutes before the show--with the other volunteers, wearing face masks to be on the safe side. I helped clean the mezzanine seats (the upper deck) before the audience came in starting at 6:30 pm. Then, I helped the audience members find their seats, either in the mezzanine or on the floor before the main stage. The seats were sold to allow for social distancing, with several seats left empty between groups of people.
When the show began, I took up a seat high in the mezzanine, well apart from several other attendees. Jack Marsh, the artistic director, and Karen Shoulders, the managing director, took to the stage to welcome everyone to "The St. Lou Review," and to ask for their financial support. (I made a $10 donation to Circus Flora on 6 May, during Give STL Day.)
It was then on with the show, as host and juggler Kellin took the stage. He did his own juggling act as well as introducing the other acts that night.
After Kellin's first appearance, Elliana Grace performed her hula hoops dance routine on the smaller stage on the floor. She was able to keep several hoops moving around her legs, arms, and midsection. It was quite amazing.
Mariele a la Mode was up on the trapeze for a routine based on "Carmen Suite No. 2: Habanera." She not only performed on the trapeze above the smaller stage, but also sang to the music. It was a beautiful routine.
The Circus Flora Clowns took to the main stage, wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Realizing that the pandemic is lessening, the clowns removed their PPEs in a faux striptease routine. This got quite a few laughs.
Kellin came back for some juggling, before Kinetic Tapestry--the duo of Jaime and Vanessa--performed a beautiful dance trapeze act.
After another performance by the Purina Incredible Dog Team, Maria Majors and Tommy Wasiuta of moSTLy TAP hit the stage with their energetic tap dance routine.
That was followed by a long-time Circus Flora act, Circus Harmony's St. Louis Archers. This troupe of young acrobats never fails to impress the audience.
Kellin stacked up three stacks atop a shipping chest and climbed atop the stack to finish the show and to thank the artists and the audience. "The St. Lou Revue" ended after about 75 minutes, and the crowd began to leave the Big Top. I helped the audience from my section of the mezzanine and picked up a handful of trash from the seating area before my shift ended soon afterward.
I was so happy to be able to help Circus Flora again and the happiness I saw in the audience members' faces as they departed made me glad that my fellow volunteers and I had done their part, as the circus performers did their part. On my way home, I stopped by Quik Trip for a latte.
This fall--7-31 October--Circus Flora will be back in the Big Top with their show, "The Trial of the Century." I am looking forward to it.
Later.
Links to entities mentioned in this post:
Circus Flora--https://circusflora.org/
Grand Center Arts District--https://www.grandcenter.org/
Give STL Day--https://www.givestlday.org/index.php
Purina Incredible Dog Team--https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/incredible-dog-challenge
Mariel a la Mode--http://www.marielalamode.com/
STL Rhythm Collaborative (including moSTLy TAP)--https://www.stlrhythmcollaborative.org/
Laura Lippert--http://lauralippert.com/
Circus Harmony--https://circusharmony.org/
23 May 2021
MPC Honors for 2020 Work
I drove to Hacienda Mexican Restaurant in Rock Hill, Missouri yesterday afternoon (22 May). The restaurant's patio hosted the Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) Communications Contest awards celebration. Six of the eight MPC members who entered this contest--celebrating work performed last year--were in attendance, along with some guests.
After our party enjoyed appetizers and drinks on the patio, MPC co-president Janice Denham announced the winners, in alphabetical order. She mentioned the work these members entered in the contest and where they placed in the contest. Each entrant received a manila envelope with the awards certificates and the judges' comments about each entry.
When it came to me, Denham announced that my three entries had earned a Second Place, a Third Place, and an Honorable Mention. The Second was for a post made on my personal blog, Bob Delaney At Large. The judges liked the blog's listing of what I did but wished I emphasized how I felt and going to a more active voice.
My work editing The Arch Scaler News, member newsletter of the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modeler's Society (IPMS), earned Third Place. The judges felt my writing was clear, but with too many sentences in the passive voice. They also felt the newsletter lacked organization.
Honorable Mention went to a photo I took for The Arch Scaler News of Jim Triola's 1:200 scale USS Hornet at Midway Diorama. The judges liked the lighting and angle but felt I should have either took a closer photo without people in the background or wider to capture the people looking at the model.
All these comments were welcome, in that they should spur me to improve my work. I appreciate these comments as much as the honor of these awards, a point I told Denham and the other co-president, Deb Reinhardt, after the program ended.
I went home after that event, before taking my mom to Rich & Charlie's Restaurant in Mehlville for a belated birthday dinner. Mom turned one year older five days ago.
Later.
Links to entities mentioned in this post:
Hacienda Mexican Restaurant--St. Louis Mexican Food | Hacienda Mexican Restaurant (haciendastl.com)
Missouri Professional Communicators--Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton (moprocommunicators.org)
Gateway Chapter, International Plastic Modelers' Society--IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)
Deb Rinehardt's New Blog, Three Women in the Kitchen--Comfort Food Recipes | Three Women in the Kitchen
Rich & Charlie's Restaurant--Rich & Charlie's Italian Restaurant (richandcharlies.com)
Second COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Done
Last Wednesday (19 May), I was on the road to BJC HealthCare's Clayton Avenue Building in St. Louis' Central West End. Three weeks before, on 28 April, I got my first shot of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. I was coming back for the second and final shot of this vaccine.
I arrived at the clinic with plenty of time to spare to check in and wait in line to get my shot. Before long, I got my shot and then sat in the waiting room for at least 15 minutes, to make sure there were no bad after effects. There were none in my case and I left the clinic.
Having had the second shot makes me feel better about myself. With more people getting vaccinated, various places (including restaurants, bars, stores, and sporting events) are opening up more to near normal conditions.
After the vaccination, I drove to Belleville Screen Printing Company, where I picked up a new St. Louligans t-shirt I had recently ordered. The navy blue and pinkish red color scheme echoes that of St. Louis City SC, which our group will support when it begins play in Major League Soccer in 2023. I think this shirt looks good.
Later.
Links for entities mentioned in this post:
BJC HealthCare: BJC HealthCare | St. Louis, MO
Belleville Screen Printing Company: Belleville Screen Printing Company
St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)
29 April 2021
One Shot Down, One to Go
Yesterday (28 April) was my off day from work for this week. I began it at the Holiday Inn St. Louis--Creve Coeur (https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/st-louis/stlcr/hoteldetail?PID=9069228&_PMID=99634975&cm_mmc=CJ-_-5250933-_-9069228-_-www.ihg.com-_-366dca26a95011eb820af0cd0a82b820&glat=AFFI&setPMCookies=true&cjevent=366dca26a95011eb820af0cd0a82b820) for a networking event organized by the Job Seekers' Garden Club. I didn't really find any recruiters that I was looking for regarding positions in public relations or publishing, but someone from an accounting firm told me of some firms I should look into for such positions. I thanked her for the information and we exchanged business cards. At least something good came out of that event for me.
Then, it was off to Micro Center (https://www.microcenter.com/) in Brentwood, where I bought an external hard drive for backing up files from my laptop. I also got a set of wireless headphones for free, a customer loyalty gift from the store.
After shopping, I made my way to the Central West End of St. Louis. Browsing at Left Bank Books (https://www.left-bank.com/), I found a new book for sale, "The Bomber Mafia," by Malcolm Gladwell (https://www.gladwellbooks.com/), which tells of technology and best intentions collided during World War II. I bought that book and look forward to reading that in due course.
I walked across the street to Mission Taco Joint (https://www.missiontacojoint.com/) for lunch. I had two tacos--one chorizo, the other fish--along with chips and salsa. It was great to be able to dine in one of my favorite meal spots.
For dessert, I walked across Euclid again, this time to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (https://jenis.com/). I walked out with a scoop of sweet cream biscuits and peach jam ice cream, which was most delicious. I enjoyed the ice cream in my car.
After a short trip to south St. Louis, I returned to the Central West End. This time, it was to the BJC HealthCare (https://www.bjc.org/) Clayton Avenue Building to get my first dose of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine. After checking in with the intake nurse, I was directed to another nurse who injected my upper arm with the Pfizer (https://www.pfizer.com/) vaccine. I then sat in a waiting area for 15 minutes, just to make sure I was fine after the shot. I also made an appointment for getting my second shot in three weeks, also at the Clayton Avenue Building. Feeling no ill effects, I walked out of the building, got into my car, and drove home.
Later.
18 April 2021
At Fleacon 2021
Just before 2:30 am yesterday (17 April), I left home to drive to Monticello, Iowa. I was going there to attend Fleacon 17, the annual scale modeling contest and show hosted by IPMS/Alexander Lippisch (http://lippischmodelclub.org/). After nearly six hours (driving plus stops for refreshment and break), I arrived at the show venue, the Monticello Berndes Center (http://www.ci.monticello.ia.us/parks-and-recreation/).
This was my first time at this club's show, and I was going both as a representative of IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) and as IPMS/USA Region 14 coordinator (https://calendar.ipmsusa3.org/region/region-14-mid-central). Despite wearing face masks for safety during this COVID-19 pandemic, attendees were having a good time.
Arriving at the show site, my three contest entries were registered and then taken to a judging table, where two judges looked over my entries. After they recorded their scores, my models were released to be placed on the contest tables. This was my first experience with this system in an overall contest, although when I had a armor model entered at KC CON last year in Kansas City, Missouri, that used a similar judging system. (The rest of KC CON's model contest used the standard judging system for IPMS/USA contests.) I entered my 1:48 scale Jupiter-C Explorer 1 rocket in Real Space, my 1:48 Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis in Aircraft, and my 1:700 Turbulent in Ships. Depending on the judges' evaluations, a model could receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards, and there were no limits regarding how many awards could go in each category.
I got to chat with several attendees, including Bill Kreuger, Alexander Lippisch's chapter contact; Jeff Hearne, IPMS/US Region 5 (Midwest) coordinator (https://calendar.ipmsusa3.org/region/region-5-midwest); Jim Coatney, Hearne's predecessor as RC-5; and Joachim (Joe) Lotz from IPMS/Plastic Surgeons (http://www.ipms-plasticsurgeons.com/). It was great having face time with people I had mostly or only known via email and social media. There were 30 vendor tables at Fleacon, and it was fun to browse among the kits and related products on sale. I came away with four kits for my stash. I got lunch there at the Berndes Center. A walking taco, chips, and soda were most satisfying and very inexpensive. There was a very nice crowd on the day, helped in part by the pleasant weather for all of us who traveled from as far as Wisconsin and Nebraska, and in part by this being the first scale modeling show in this area for many months. (Fleacon was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.) Walking around the contest tables, I was impressed by the number and quality of contest entries on hand. The final tally was 214 models entered by just over 60 entrants. My three entries were in very good company. I also bought a few raffle tickets. Besides the regular sort of scale modeling show raffle (kits raffled off to winners of regular tickets), there was a premium lottery with higher cost tickets for special kits. The latter prizes were given away just prior to the awards ceremony. I did not win any of the regular and special raffle prizes, but that's fine. I always enter raffles at these shows to show my support for these events and their organizers.
The awards were announced late that afternoon to conclude Fleacon. individual awards for the models were announced. My Turbulent earned a Silver in Ships, while Bronze awards were bestowed upon my Jupiter-C in Real Space and the Spirit of St. Louis in Aircraft. I was most happy to receive these awards. The major awards (such as theme, best of these categories and Best of Show) were then presented.
The hosts asked me to speak briefly to the crowd, and I thanked everyone for coming as well as promoted upcoming contests in Region 14--including the Regional contest IPMS/Gateway will host on 11 September in St. Louis. Then, I packed my models and said my goodbyes to Jeff Hearne (including posing for a joint selfie) and to Bill Kreuger. I also chatted with someone from the the Blackhawk Model Builders Society (https://www.facebook.com/groups/441475143864531/about) from Burlington, Iowa. Several of their members were at the show. They are seeking to join IPMS/USA, and I gave the representative my support for this effort.
After I departed Monticello, I stopped in Marion, Iowa to refuel my car and to get dinner from the drive through lane at Culvers (https://www.culvers.com/) before resuming my journey home to St. Louis. I mostly listened to the radio during my journey, although I did play some CDs in my car during parts of the trip up and back. They included a compilation of Brazilian music that Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/?utm_id=bi_cmp-376187578_adg-1233652236403352_ad-77103379775987_kwd-77103416797954:loc-190_dev-c_ext-_prd-_sig-785eacefb5a9155ce210cc93d5dc1082&utm_source=bing&utm_term=starbucks&utm_campaign=BR-Brand-HighVolume-Desktop-Exact&utm_medium=cpc&utm_query=starbucks&utm_matchtype=e&msclkid=785eacefb5a9155ce210cc93d5dc1082&utm_content=Brand%20-%20Starbucks) came out with in 2014, and two jazz CDs: the classic 1959 album "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis (https://www.milesdavis.com/) and the 2004 album "Motifs" by the French ensemble Paris Combo (https://www.pariscombo.com/). They all made my journey more pleasant.
This was my first time at this club's show, and I was going both as a representative of IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) and as IPMS/USA Region 14 coordinator (https://calendar.ipmsusa3.org/region/region-14-mid-central). Despite wearing face masks for safety during this COVID-19 pandemic, attendees were having a good time.
Arriving at the show site, my three contest entries were registered and then taken to a judging table, where two judges looked over my entries. After they recorded their scores, my models were released to be placed on the contest tables. This was my first experience with this system in an overall contest, although when I had a armor model entered at KC CON last year in Kansas City, Missouri, that used a similar judging system. (The rest of KC CON's model contest used the standard judging system for IPMS/USA contests.) I entered my 1:48 scale Jupiter-C Explorer 1 rocket in Real Space, my 1:48 Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis in Aircraft, and my 1:700 Turbulent in Ships. Depending on the judges' evaluations, a model could receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards, and there were no limits regarding how many awards could go in each category.
I got to chat with several attendees, including Bill Kreuger, Alexander Lippisch's chapter contact; Jeff Hearne, IPMS/US Region 5 (Midwest) coordinator (https://calendar.ipmsusa3.org/region/region-5-midwest); Jim Coatney, Hearne's predecessor as RC-5; and Joachim (Joe) Lotz from IPMS/Plastic Surgeons (http://www.ipms-plasticsurgeons.com/). It was great having face time with people I had mostly or only known via email and social media. There were 30 vendor tables at Fleacon, and it was fun to browse among the kits and related products on sale. I came away with four kits for my stash. I got lunch there at the Berndes Center. A walking taco, chips, and soda were most satisfying and very inexpensive. There was a very nice crowd on the day, helped in part by the pleasant weather for all of us who traveled from as far as Wisconsin and Nebraska, and in part by this being the first scale modeling show in this area for many months. (Fleacon was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.) Walking around the contest tables, I was impressed by the number and quality of contest entries on hand. The final tally was 214 models entered by just over 60 entrants. My three entries were in very good company. I also bought a few raffle tickets. Besides the regular sort of scale modeling show raffle (kits raffled off to winners of regular tickets), there was a premium lottery with higher cost tickets for special kits. The latter prizes were given away just prior to the awards ceremony. I did not win any of the regular and special raffle prizes, but that's fine. I always enter raffles at these shows to show my support for these events and their organizers.
The hosts asked me to speak briefly to the crowd, and I thanked everyone for coming as well as promoted upcoming contests in Region 14--including the Regional contest IPMS/Gateway will host on 11 September in St. Louis. Then, I packed my models and said my goodbyes to Jeff Hearne (including posing for a joint selfie) and to Bill Kreuger. I also chatted with someone from the the Blackhawk Model Builders Society (https://www.facebook.com/groups/441475143864531/about) from Burlington, Iowa. Several of their members were at the show. They are seeking to join IPMS/USA, and I gave the representative my support for this effort.
After I departed Monticello, I stopped in Marion, Iowa to refuel my car and to get dinner from the drive through lane at Culvers (https://www.culvers.com/) before resuming my journey home to St. Louis. I mostly listened to the radio during my journey, although I did play some CDs in my car during parts of the trip up and back. They included a compilation of Brazilian music that Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/?utm_id=bi_cmp-376187578_adg-1233652236403352_ad-77103379775987_kwd-77103416797954:loc-190_dev-c_ext-_prd-_sig-785eacefb5a9155ce210cc93d5dc1082&utm_source=bing&utm_term=starbucks&utm_campaign=BR-Brand-HighVolume-Desktop-Exact&utm_medium=cpc&utm_query=starbucks&utm_matchtype=e&msclkid=785eacefb5a9155ce210cc93d5dc1082&utm_content=Brand%20-%20Starbucks) came out with in 2014, and two jazz CDs: the classic 1959 album "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis (https://www.milesdavis.com/) and the 2004 album "Motifs" by the French ensemble Paris Combo (https://www.pariscombo.com/). They all made my journey more pleasant.
I made a stop in Hannibal, Missouri to stretch out and get some refreshment last night before arriving home after 11:00 pm. I covered 654.3 miles (1053 km) on the day. I was tired when I got home, but happy about how the day went.
IPMS/Gateway meets this Tuesday night (20 April) at Affton Elks Lodge 2635 (https://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?LodgeNumber=2635). I am making a presentation on current Chinese military aircraft colors and markings. Hope to see you there!
Later.
Later.
31 March 2021
New Chair for the Home Office
After dinner tonight, Mom and I went to the Office Max (https://www.officedepot.com/) store on Lemay Ferry Road in Mehlville. She bought herself a new chair for her home office, which I helped her to assemble, and she offered to get me one for my home office. The chair I have been using could stand replacement, so I agreed.
At Office Max, I found a nice mid-back hair, the Brenton Studio Jaxby, in black mesh and gray fabric. It was on sale for $89.99, $60 off the regular price, and it was good enough for me. So, with Mom providing the charge card, I bought the item and took it home.
Assembly took approximately 20 minutes, using the enclosed Allen Wrench and hardware. Now, I have a nice office chair, whose height and tilt tension could be adjusted as needed. I will be most happy to have this chair in my home office.
I took care of a bit of IPMS/USA (https://ipmsusa.org/) Region 14 business this morning, updating the chapter contacts in my region on the rechartering process and other matters. I also messaged a few contacts about whether or not to adjust my editorial services fees.
A new month begins tomorrow--no fooling.
Later.
07 March 2021
Soccer Refereeing Returns for Me
One week ago today (28 February), the Spring Season for the St. Louis Youth Soccer Association (SLYSA) (Home - St Louis Youth Soccer (slysa.org)) began for me as a referee. I worked three under 14 boys matches at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (SLSG Facilities - Soccer Park | St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club (slsgsoccer.com)) in Fenton. The games went well--I had the middle in between two matches as an assistant referee--but lightning in the vicinity caused a 30-minute delay in the first half of the first match. This pushed the rest of the day's games behind schedule, but nothing we can do about that.
Today, I was at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex (Lou Fusz Soccer Complex - St Louis Youth Soccer (slysa.org)) in Maryland Heights for four under 12 boys matches. One of my partners and I took turns refereeing, so I was in the middle for the second and fourth games of the set. My two middles involved a team from Illinois, which won their matches handily. They outscored their opponents today by 21 goals to nil. This was in one of the lower divisions of the age bracket, so the overall quality of play was not that great. However, this one team did very well in their matches today.
After the matches, I stopped by Cold Stone Creamery (Birthday Cakes Cupcakes Bakery - Cold Stone Ice Cream (coldstonecreamery.com)) in Creve Coeur on the way home. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, I ordered the Coffee Lovers Only combo of coffee ice cream, roasted almonds, Heath Bar, and caramel. All of this was served in a waffle bowl. Delicious! It was a good way to reward myself for such a good day on the pitch.
Back to work tomorrow morning.
Later.
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