February 24, 2009

















Naomi and Charlotte at THE U, UMSL radio station

Why I haven't blogged in a while
Sorry it's been so long since I last blogged. My excuse is that I have been working, working, working on CultureSurfer since the middle of December when I lost my video players. I don't mean "lost" as in "Where did I put my keys?" but rather lost as in my video players that were free were about to cost $500 per month. Yikes! So I spent about 3 weeks doing tons of research looking for a comparable video player. Then, I had to spend two more weeks re-building CultureSurfer. And I'm still not happy with the video players. It turns out you can't embed or link to one specific video. Not cool! So I am considering redesigning the site (but I need free help from a tech person if you know anyone) to re-create CultureSurfer.And I'd like to host my own videos, in order to be free and clear of any video hosting sites. Those people irk me. And of course, we've been filming. A lot. So we're slowing it down a bit so I can deal with umpteen tech issues that I would like to resolve and I am busy working on a business plan. Ok, end of whining.

UMSL radio interview
I finally got some local media coverage!!! Charlotte gave me a great interview at the University of Missouri's radio station, The U, last Monday. We spent an hour talking about CultureSurfer, player a few of the videos, and chatting about the incredible talent we have here in St. Louis. I'll try to make the sound file available on CultureSurfer when I get a copy of it.

So in short, I will try to blog more. I'll try to give you more regular updates on how the site is going & what cool stuff we'll be filming in the future.

Additions/changes to the site
I've added both articles and movie reviews? Why? The site just seemed too image-heavy and that's not cool where Google is concerned. Google likes text to crawl in order to increase a site's visibility for people searching. Also, I personally love to write movie reviews since I watch 1-2 movies per week (that's my escape from reality), and I thought it would be nice for people to contribute articles on all of the various topics I cover. You'll be seeing articles from contributers soon. You're may also be noticing more photo galleries on the site because I've asked St. Louis galleries to send me pics of their openings.

I moved the cycling videos to their own site, STLbikegeek.com.

What we'll be filming next
To start with, there are so many art openings that I can't even believe it. So I'm sure in the next few weeks, we'll be filming one or two. But the big deal for March is Saint Louis Fashion Week. Jeff and I will be there along with Dan, our photographer, and a contributor who will be writing about some of the fashion. I can't wait to see what creations the various designers have come up with recently.

Nov. 11, 2008
Escape from your relatives this weekend with CultureSurfer.com
(and help me make my goal of 10,000 visitors this month!)

This week's new videos:
ART

Yup, CultureSurfer is delving into that girlie (mostly) world of beauty. There are those who will argue that beauty, like fashion, is not culture. I beg to differ. Or I would beg to differ if it weren't my site. But since it is my site, I can do whatever I want.

BEAUTY
Pretty Sweet-the beauty bash put on by PrettyCity.com at Mandarin Lounge in St. Louis.

Mineral-based Makeup-Jackie from Jon Tomas salon talks about using mineral-based makeup at Pretty Sweet, the beauty bash put on by PrettyCity.com at Mandarin Lounge in St. Louis.
Pic by Dan Elavsky

FASHION
The Dillard’s Show-Part One-At Saint Louis Fashion Week, Fall 2008

ART
Dallas Moses-curator of Jack’s Art Show at the Koken Art Factory

CYCLING
Cyclocross at Creve Coeur Lake-1-See Dan Elavsky’s beautiful photos put to music.

Ben Oliver-an interview with the Bissell team mechanic at the 2nd annual Tour of Missouri.

This movie left me in total hysterics. It's a great combination of seriously sick and twisted humor and great acting. It's the Coen brothers, after all, so what else would we expect?

George Clooney keeps getting older & his age doesn't make him any harder on the eyes but what may surprise you is his amazing comedic ability, playing a super nutso, neuortic, over-sexed, but very likeable character. I doubt you'll be able to get the image out of your mind of the....um... contraption he builds in his basement. In contrast, John Malkovich just gets creepier and creepier as time goes on (someone give that man some bronzer!). But of course, that's always been a major part of his appeal. And his acting is stellar in this movie. Brad Pitt is, as everyone has said, is very funny as a moron (type-casting, or not, what do you guys think?), Frances McDormand is an excellent actress & endearing as always, & Brit. Tilda Swinton plays the perfect, scheming ice queen.

My only bone to pick with this movie-and maybe I just missed something - is how the title relates to the movie. If anyone can fill me in on this, please explain.

-Naomi Silver, Founder of CultureSurfer.com

Nov. 3, 2008
New videos for Nov. 3, 2008
FASHION
Silver Dagger-at Saint Louis Fashion Week, Fall 2008
Traditional Filipino Fashion-At the fall Asian Couture & Cultural Event at Mandarin.

ART
Sara Parry-artist/adorable bloody bride at Jack’s Show at the Koken Art Factory

INDIE MUSIC
Here-by Elleven

CYCLING
4K To Go-The approach into St. Charles at the 2nd Annual Tour of Missouri, filmed from the Team Bissell car by Dan Elavsky.
Glen Mitchell-Director of Team Bissell

DANCE
Fire Dance, Part 2-Pandora’s Matchbox performs at Third Degree Glass Factory

Nov. 2, 2008
Give me my Loop back!
I had recently heard rumblings of increased crime in the U. City Loop. A teenager was shot during an argument back in August. A store that stocks very expensive jeans had recently been held up. It worried & angered me, but I didn't really think that much. I've been having plenty of anxiety over who we're about to elect as our new president, trying to get a web site off the ground in a bad economy, hearing about health problems of various friends, etc.

Friday night, my husband and I went to our beloved Tivoli Theater in the Loop to see "Rachel Getting Married." We left the theater at about 9:30, walked back to our car, & hit our favorite Mexican restaurant before going home.

Last night (Saturday night) we went to have dinner with some friends in front of a St. Louis institution, Blueberry Hill. Our friend mentioned there had been a police officer shot & killed Friday night in the Loop. We talked about it & then went back to discussing various things, particularly politics, as the husband of this couple & I are both political junkies. Then we went home.

I woke up this morning & turned on the Today Show. They broke for a local news update. I actually listened for once as I wanted to know more about the murder of the police officer.

It turns out he was a friend of mine. His name was Mike King. I hadn't seen him for years, I just hadn't run into him. I first met him around 10 years ago when I was the neighborhood liaison to the police department for updating the neighborhood on crime in our area. I think he also may have helped me out when we had major problems with some neighbors that finally moved away.

Mike was a great guy. He was really sweet & friendly. He didn't have that hard outer exterior that many cops (understandably) have.

Mike was murdered Friday night for no reason at all. He was sitting in his police car right in front of Starbucks, right where we had walked 30 minutes prior to get back to our car. We may have even walked past his patrol car & not even noticed him because there is always a police car parked in that spot.

The scum who killed him was a convicted drug dealer, apparently well-known by the police department. He just walked up to Mike's car & shot & killed him. They're still looking for him as of this writing.

I can't even begin to express the sadness & anger I am feeling right now. For Mike's wife, for Mike's family & friends, for the U. City Police Department, for my community, for myself. Mike was only 50.

The Loop is where I go to relax and feel grounded. When I need to get myself away from work (since I work at home) I go to the library where I first learned how to read at the triangle table. I used to get my new shoes at the beginning of each school year at Lasky's, which was a mainstay of the area for years. The guys at the produce market know they can expect to see me almost every week. I've been going to the Tivoli theater since I can't even remember. Back when the floors were perpetually sticky, the a/c & heating were undependable, & I watched double features of almost every cult classic that was made in the early 80's.

This is where I most feel like me. Where I go when I feel lost & need to find my footing. This is where I go, above all, to feel safe.

Oct. 29, 2008
Painting of Barack Obama by Cbabi Bayoc
I've tried to stay away from politics on this blog because, well, everyone is pretty much sick and tired of it at this point. But I could not resist posting this incredibly beautiful & moving painting by St. Louis artist Cbabi Bayoc. And by now it's probably pretty obvious anyway that I'm an Obama girl.

Cbabi on MySpace

Oct. 27, 2008
New videos for the week of October 27, 2008

Meghan Fabulous Interview-At the 2008 Saint Louis Fall Fashion Week

DANCE
Fire Dance-Part One-performed by Pandora’s Matchbox at Third Degree Glass Company

ART
Jack’s Show-The Jack the Ripper Art Show at the Koken Art Factory in St. Louis

Jeremy Hendry-interview with the artist at the February 2008 Art Coop opening

CYCLING
MTB Pro race-Spanish Lake-October, 2008

Team Symmetrics Interview-at the 2nd Annual Tour of MO pro cycling race

Oct. 20, 2008
New videos for the week of October 20, 2008
Saint Louis Fashion Week, Fall 2008

Lipstick Touch Up-interview with a makeup artist backstage at the fashion show

Music
Me He Enamorado/I've Fallen In Love-performed by St. Louis sensation Javier Mendoza at Brandt's Restaurant in the U. City Loop.

Bosnian Music with Edo Sadikovic-Part One-At the Bosnian & Herzegovian Festival in St. Louis

Dance
Traditional Indian Dance-Part One-at the South Asian Heritage Fair in St. Charles, Missouri.

Now That's Just Kinky
Oct. 14, 2008
You may remember that I posted a while ago about the solid gold version of model Kate Moss. The statue has just been unveiled in London. The sculpture says it represents unattainable goals, projecting what one wants to see on celebrities, etc. I think it's just plain kinky! What do you think?

Macy's Runway Show-at the Spring 2008 St. Louis Fashion Week

Rumba De Azul-flamenco guitar with Lliam Christy & Los Flamencos at Sol Lounge in St. Louis.

Sevdah Music-Part 1 at the 5th Annual St. Louis Bosnian & Herzegovian Festival

Team Dogfish Interview at the St. Louis Gateway Cup

Chad Hartley, rider with Jittery Joe’s Cycling at the St. Louis Gateway Cup

Pursuing the Peloton-from the Bissell Team car with the “Dan cam” at the 2nd annual Tour of Missouri

Cycling videos
Why so many bike videos? The 2008 cyclng season is winding down, so this is when things heat up cycling-wise in St. Louis. We do plan to start filming some cyclocross soon, until it gets too cold to hold onto the camera-lol. C

The ladies of Team Revolution are so cool & are truly revolutionaries (as their name suggests). As far as I know, they are the only women's pro (also amateur) team in St. Louis. Women's cycling is not getting the attention it deserves. Argh!!

The 2nd annual Tour of Missouri pro cycling race, one of the 3 top cycling races in the US.( I keep meaning to blog about what it's like to film this incredibly exciting & exhausting race and promise to do so in the near future.)





And lastly for the beloved bike geeks out there, our buddy & CultureSurfer photographer Dan Elavsky (this guy did an internship with a Sports Illustrated photographer!), got to ride along with Team Bissell. Dan did a great job alternating between 2 still cameras & our video camera to capture the following footage from the "Dan Cam. Dan's pics from inside the Bissell car.




St. Louis Fashion Week videos
Can you believe I am still uploading fashion videos from the Spring? I'm rushing to get the final ones online because the next St. Louis Fashion Week starts October 6th & we'll be there filming again. Click here for St. Louis Fashio Week videos (and don't forget to check out Pronto 2008 and Face-Off 2008) while you're on the Fashion Page.

Traditional Indian dance videos
Check out these 2 videos of traditional Indian dance that we filmed at the South Asian Heritage Fair in St. Louis. In case you're wondering Meghanna, in the purple, is only 8 or 9 years old. Seriously. This kid has some serious talent & discipline. Click here for pics of SAHF 2008.



PlaySTL Indie music festival video
For Indie music lovers, we filmed a little at the 2nd annual PlaySTL Fest. Check out Otter Petter's (Love that name!) "Rest of the World." Click here for pics of PlaySTL Fest.

What Makes Sense art opening video
Finally, my friend Stan Chisolm, an extremely talented artist, a student at the Chicago Art Institute and native of St. Louis, brought some art and some of the artists he knows from Chicago for this fun opening.

Smart? ...or not so much.
September 11, 2008

You decide.

Kate and the Midas Touch
September 3, 2008
Call me a culture snob, but there is just something SO wrong with this. What does this say about our values when something like this shows up in :yikes: the illustrious British Museum??? Is this the artist's take on how we equate beauty with wealth? Or is did he do this for shock value? Or is he a nutty artist? I am betting the statue weighs more than the flesh and blood Kate.

(BBC news)
Gold statue created of model Moss
A £1.5m solid gold sculpture has been made of supermodel Kate Moss as part of a British Museum exhibition. Entitled Siren, the 50kg statue was made by Marc Quinn, who described Moss as "the ideal beauty of the moment". His previous work included the marble sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant, which appeared in Trafalgar Square. The gold artwork will be exhibited with statues by other contemporary artists, including Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley, at the central London museum. Mr Quinn previously created a bronze sculpture of Moss in a yoga pose, which was painted white and entitled Sphinx. The museum has only revealed a close-up section of the new statue, which is also thought to depict Moss in a yoga pose.

'Live up to image'
He also made Self, a bust of his own head created from eight pints of his frozen blood. His statue of Ms Lapper naked, who was born with no arms and shortened legs, was on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth for 20 months. Describing the gold statue of Moss, Mr Quinn said: "I thought the next thing to do would be to make a sculpture of the person who's the ideal beauty of the moment. "But even Kate Moss doesn't live up to the image." The exhibition, entitled Statuephilia, will also feature 200 plastic skulls by Damien Hirst. Antony Gormley's Case for an Angel 1, a smaller precursor to his Angel of the North sculpture which overlooks the A1 in Gateshead, will also go on display. Statues by artists Ron Mueck, Tim Noble and Sue Webster will also appear in the exhibition. Co-curator Waldemar Januszczak said: "The British Museum helped to make these artists what they are. Now they are seeking to return the favour."

The exhibition opens on 4 October.

Creative Viagra E-mail names
August 18, 2008
Ok, so spam sucks. We can all agree on that. But as long as we're stuck with it, we might as well have some fun. I've been noticing for a while that the names that are attached to Viagra spam ads are pretty funny, inventive, even (dare I say) multi-cultural? Feel free to add any you've come across to my short but amusing list.

1. Mykhailo O'Donnell (Russian mother/Irish father?)
2. Aghavni Clahoun (No idea what the mother would be/Irish father?)
3. Koos Woods (part Brit?)
5. Haidor Dow (no clue on this one)
5. Hakim Cano (middle-eastern?)
6. Delicia Shuler (stripper?)

Le Tour De Demetri
July 14, 2008
Demetri Kolokotronis rolled into our driveway last Thursday & stayed for the night. Jeff prepared him a good cyclist dinner (spaghetti, of course) & Demetri regaled us with stories until about 11 pm (until we told him we had to go to bed-lol), & we got a few more stories out of him the next morning before Jeff accompanied him out of St. Louis towards his next destination in Illinois. I've never met anyone like him & doubt I ever will again. They broke the mold when they made Demetri, that's for sure.

Some Demetri FAQ's
The man, himself:
Demetri is 76 years old.
He lives with his cat in a house in the woods near Woodstock, New York.
He heats his house with wood that he chops in the woods & brings back in a trailer on his bike.
He has a car but hasn't driven it in 15 years (that means trips to the grocery store via bike with a trailer in the dead of winter, on ice-covered roads).
He taught skiing until 10 years ago.
He was a mountain climber & did 1,000 ascents.
He used to be in marketing/pr.
His dad was Greek (and he told us his Greek ancestors were athletes as well)
He grew up in St. Louis.
He loves talking about history, particularly aviation.

The bike trip:
Demetri is biking from Oklahoma City back to his home in New York. (1338 miles or 2153 kilometers)
He chose Oklahoma city because he stayed there with a friend he hadn't seen since high school.
He bikes about 50 or so miles per day.
His bike weighs 90 pounds with the saddle bags.
He cooks most of his own food (carries a camping stove).
His bike is 35 years old!
This is Demetri's third major cycling trip in the U.S.

Michelangelo's David on a junk food diet
June 12, 2008