Tuesday, 30th of December, 2008
The SLSO is offering the Winter Pass again for 2009. $99 gets you as many concerts as you wish to attend in January and February, for any seat in the house except the boxes. It's hard to find a better way to spend $99.
Monday, 29th of December, 2008
I guess I don't pay much attention to the signage but it has been brought to my attention a few times now that the sign for Lindbergh on the remodeled I-64 only has "South" on it, when in fact you take the ramp for both South and North. For those who are familiar with the old interchange it is particularly confusing because the cloverleaf did have separate ramps for North and South.
However, I finally figured it out today - "South" is above US-61 only. The ramp really reads, "US-67 (both directions), US-61 South, and Lindbergh (both directions)". This is because US-61 South follows I-64 East and then US-67 South, and US-61 North follows US-67 North and then I-64 West. I have lived in St. Louis for over a decade now and have never cared about what route US-61 follows...
Monday, 15th of December, 2008
I like SPUIs, but I think I will always miss the tiny cloverleaf of the I-64/US-67 interchange. St. Louis drivers are starting to get used to SPUIs - but it couldn't have been a worse morning to open one. The ice on the road made it very hard to see where the lines are, so there was some confusion this morning.
Sunday, 14th of December, 2008
We have reached the halfway point of the I-64 construction project. Tomorrow the western half the of project opens, but not before a day of fun activities. Thousands of people showed up to take a walk, ride a bike, even take a carriage ride on the new clean pavement.
Picture - Down at the McCutcheon end of the highway, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as a small historical display of automobiles. Of course there was a Cadillac Fleetwood included.
Picture - On the other end of the historical display, we have the best modern muscle car offering from each of the Big 3.
Saturday, 6th of December, 2008
Jingle Bells Forever is one of the most excellent Christmas pieces ever. Whoever figured out Jingle Bells goes well in the form of Sousa's Stars and Stripes is a genius. I could tell it was going to be good when I practiced it, but today when we played it and we got to the piccolo solo, I was really having a good time! The use of sleigh bells all over it made it complete of course. Speaking of sleigh bells, I don't think any other instrument comes close to having such a direct connection to seasonal music. The use of sleigh bells during the first half of the concert gradually increased - culminating at the final piece of the set, Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride.