WFAA's Santa's Helpers Toy Drive

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Are you still hoping to donate to a local toy drive this holiday season? It's not too late!
WFAA’s Santa's Helpers is celebrating its 43rd year of collecting holiday toys for more than 50,000 children throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth counties of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton.
There is one last toy collection scheduled this Wednesday, December 19, from 5:00-10:00 pm.  Bring a new unwrapped toy to the WFAA studio at Victory Plaza near the American Airlines Center.

Quack for a Cause!

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Take home a 2012 Aflac Holiday Duck, created by a patient at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, and make a difference in a child’s life this holiday season. Available exclusively at Macy's in two sizes -- 6-inch for $10 and 10-inch for $15 -- while supplies last. For more details, visit www.macys.com/holidayevents
Purchase the Aflac Holiday Duck online or in participating Macy's stores. Proceeds from D/FW area stores will benefit the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's.

Celebrate Rio Style for Kids Matter International!!

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   Kids Matter International will onceagain, for the 7^th time, hold their annual Black Tie Gala at theSouthlake Hilton February 22 at 6:30. Each year KMI holds it’s annual banquetto raise funding in support of their global charities, which include the“Around The Block” program that clothes needy children here in North Texas.

 
The 2013 KMI Gala, Chaired by BeckyCole, will be an exciting affair in the styling’s and tastes of Rio de Janeiro.This year’s event features the rhythms of the Spazmatics, live and silentauctions and a full casino presented by the Patron Spirits Company. Othersponsors include Texas Nissan, The Southlake Hilton and Pieter Andries Creatorsof Fine Jewelry.
 
Tickets are $3,000 for a table of 10 ifpurchased before the 31^st of December 2012 and $3,500 if purchasedin 2013. Individual tickets can be purchased for $350. Additionally, discountedroom rates are available from the Southlake Hilton. Tickets can be purchasedonline at www.kidsmatterinternational.comorby phone @817-488-7679.
 
Kids Matter International is a Texasbased 501 (c) 3 Not-For-Profit supporting children in crisis here in Texas andaround the world.
 

An Evening with Martina McBride

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Award-winning country singer, songwriter and pro-life supporter Martina McBride will share her powerful voice during this special concert in support of Prestonwood Pregnancy Center.
Arrive early and enjoy a dinner buffet before the concert. Buffet and concert tickets can be purchased together. Buffet tickets are $15.
For more information, visit Prestonwood's website:http://www.prestonwood.org/an-evening-with-martina-mcbride/

Anteks hosts Accessible Luxury Kick Off Reception

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Peggy Meyer, Dr. Dan Meyer

On Wednesday December 5th, Jason Lenox of Anteks graciously hosted the Accessible Luxury 2013 Host Committee Kick-Off Reception. Patrons, sponsors and associated elite of this anticipated annual event perused the Design District home furnishings store which specializes in sophisticated rustic interiors. In addition guests enjoyed beer compliments of Four Corners Brewery, wine, and hors d’ oeuvres by Parigi. Wife of Dr. Dan Meyer, Peggy, greeted everyone and made introductions of speakers Dr. Karl Rathjen and Lisa and Dr. Dan Sucato (2013 Accessible Luxury Chairmen). 

Becky Britt, Anne Eppes

Guests learned that the 2013 event will be held at Park Place Premier Collection Dealership on Saturday April 20th, 2013. The event will include a fashion show, a variety of offerings in the Bentley Bubble Room, McLaren Roadster Room, the Rolls-Royce Runway Room and the Maserati Man Cave outfitted with Anteks furnishings. A lucky winners of the reception drawing walked away with a gift certificate to Anteks and a piece from the home accessories line which Jason Lenox recently designed and launched nationwide.

Lisa Sucato, Dr. Dan Sucato, Abby Williams

McLean Coble, Devonie Coble, Dr. Karl Rathjen

Dining In Manhattan

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You don't need a bank loan to get something to eat in Manhattan (although it really would help in some establishments). Sabrett hot dogs sold from pushcarts have been around since my childhood and, no doubt, long before. There is another brand, Hebrew National, renowned for its quality because it is kosher. The rabbis ain't letting any pork snouts into them, no sir.

The choices these days are wider. If you don't want kosher you can get hallal or load up on falafel. If the warmth of a restaurant is preferable on a cold day, you can't spend that much at the Hard Rock Cafe (although you will certainly spend more than the food is worth). If the restaurant added an eighth day it might get an apparition of The Beatles.

FLYING WITH CARDINALS: No, not Adam Wainwright or Yadier Molina from the local baseball team. We have a lot of American Airlines points and wangled an upgrade on our way home yesterday. We ended up sitting across the aisle from His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York. He's from St. Louis. Cardinal Dolan is a tall, portly man, two weeks older than me (I looked it up). He wore a very plain wristwatch, a muted jacquard-patterned sweater over his priest's shirt, ordered the barbecue chicken salad rather than the hummus and pita plate and didn't drink alcohol (unlike us). He is known for his hard conservative theological views but was very pleasant to everyone. He read The Wall Street Journal. I guess it counts as a celebrity sighting.       

The Gray Lady

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The Gray Lady is the old nickname for The New York Times, so-called because it used to have huge amounts of print and little graphics. Not at all so now. You won't find better photojournalism and I'm a big fan of its Lens blog. The reputation for seriousness remains, however. Its motto is "All The News That's Fit To Print." When I lived in New York, people said it really should be "All The News That Fits We Print."

It is far and away America's best newspaper, IMHO. Carolyn and I read it daily, mostly online anymore. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a piece of tissue by comparison.

Times Square was named for the paper - the headquarters building used to be right there. Since 2007 it has been in the modern tower shown above on 8th Avenue, opposite the enormous bus terminal. Times Square has lost its sleaze through the efforts of successive city administrations but the glow only gets brighter. It will be a madhouse tomorrow night with close to a million people in and around it to celebrate the new year.   

Year's End

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The last day of 2012. It has been a challenging time in my practice with significant changes in the field. The hours were often too long, taking time from other interests. It's also had special pleasures as Carolyn and I go through our 38th year happily together: the news about our grandchild; visits to Death Valley, Philadelphia, New York, Costa Rica, Birmingham, Seattle, Kansas and Los Angeles; and a week of intense photography study at the Maine Media Workshops. Now for another chapter.

We wrap up with sunset scenes in Forest Park taken Saturday, just to prove we got some snow this winter. Above, the Jewel Box, a giant greenhouse. Below, two views of Art Hill and the Grand Lagoon. The buildings in the background of the last one are part of Washington University Medical Center, where I sometimes get this and that fixed.

There are more good pictures of New York City (you can see them here) but I thought it best to end the year in St. Louis.

TOMORROW: A review of STL DPB's best photographs from 2012. IMHO, of course.

Pictures Of The Year

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It was a rich visual year for St. Louis Daily Photo. 362 total posts. The ones I'm bringing back today are my favorites.

Above, January 2. Jeff and Josh, jugglers extraordinaire, incite the crowd at First Night in Grand Center    

January 15: Badwater, Death Valley, California, the lowest elevation in the U.S.



March 13: Waiting at the border in Peñas Blancas, Nicaragua, returning to Costa Rica


March 28: at the Missouri Botanical Garden's annual orchid show




March 29: my favorite Arch picture of the year



May 6: 53rd Street and 3rd Avenue, New York City



July 2: on the sidelines of the Pridefest parade



July 17: Slut Walk, an anti-rape demonstration



August 3: at the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland



August 20: the Color Run, St. Louis



September 15: Balloon Glow in Forest Park


 

October 6: the open kitchen at Julian's restaurant in Kansas City




October 21: Seattle and Mt. Rainier, taken from the Space Needle




October 30: Halloween in St. Louis' Central West End
























December 20: directly underneath the Arch with a fisheye lens

Call Me Crazy

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It was New Year's Day and time to go visit my friends from the Missouri Disabled Water Ski Association doing their annual Polar Bear Club craziness. They go water skiing in the frigid Mississippi to raise funds for their work teaching people with major handicaps, including paraplegics and amputees, to enjoy the sport. Nice people. A little loopy but very nice.

This gentleman was doing handstands on what I'd call a boogie board if I saw it at the beach. In the end, human weakness and the laws of physics took over.

AJ's Ale House NB 12/14/12

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I drove to New Braunfels, TX from Houston tonight for my second gig of the evening. This show, I was blessed with the presence of Chris Wallis (after he made it through one of the worst traffic jams he'd ever been in) and the crowd cheered loudly as Chris took the stage. I had fun, although driving from San Marcos to Houston to Deer Park to New Braunfels and back to San Marcos was a bit much!

AJ's Ale House MF 12/15/12

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My wife and I got a cool little new camera for Christmas, so I brought it to Marble Falls, TX tonight to shoot some pictures of the show I played tonight with Joe Resnick. We had a pretty fun crowd, and they wanted to hear lots of dance tunes and slow ballads. Just about every other song for the majority of the evening was a "Brick House" or a "New York State Of Mind". Thanks goes out to the crowd who joined us after they watched the Marcia Ball show at the theater across the street!

Jack's Roadhouse 12/17/12

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San Marcos people were out to have a Christmassy good time with DHG tonight at Jack's, so we did our best to entertain them! We pulled out every Christmas tune we knew, and a handful we didn't know, and rocked them all. Ian was digging into his licks and impressing both Chris and me. Chris, of course, was just as funky as ever, and I had a great time playing tunes tonight! See you back at Jack's on Saturday, 12/29/12.

AJ's Ale House NB 12/21/12

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Unbelievable. The world didn't end. I thought for sure, this would be my last gig, but the world just kept spinning. How do I handle 1,000+ years of hype? I haven't been this disappointed since Geraldo opened Capone's vault. Oh, well, I still played like it was my last night on Earth. Joe Resnick drummed out every tune I dished up, and the only song not requested tonight was "It's The End Of The World As We Know It". Silly Mayans.

AJ's Ale House MF 12/31/12

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Happy New Year! Joe Resnick and I rang it in in Marble Falls, TX tonight with a very enthusiastic crowd. We had the crowd on their feet and dancing from 2012 to 2013! It's been a very busy year with lots of challenges, but ultimately everything went well. My wonderful wife was with me tonight for a midnight kiss, and to remind me what a lucky guy I am. See everybody at some 2013 shows!