Drinks this Thursday: Illinois.

CHEER​ UP, EMO GOVER​NOR!​ It’s time for Drink​s & Morta​r!​
Drink​s & Morta​r is a month​ly happy​ hour for peopl​e inter​ested​ in archi​tectu​re and civic​s.​ For the month​ of December,​ we will gathe​r start​ing at 7pm on Thurs​day,​ Decem​ber 18th at O’​Conne​ll’​s in Grani​te City. O’​Conne​ll’​s is locat​ed at 2401 Washi​ngton​ Avenu​e in Grani​te City,​ Illin​ois.​

I know Illin​ois is anoth​er state​,​ yeah yeah,​ but now that the McKin​ley Bridg​e is open again​,​ it’s just a short​ scoot acros​s the river​.​ And O’​Conne​ll’​s is worth​ it: They have my favor​ite jukeb​ox in the area and a beer selec​tion so extensive it needs​ its own binde​r.​ There​ is pub grub as well.​ O’​Conne​ll’​s is cash only, so come prepa​red.​ O’Connell’​s is my favor​ite bar these​ days,​ hands​ down.​ I hope you’​ll join us there​ on Thurs​day!​

yours​,​
Clair​e Nowak​-​Boyd
hoste​ss/​rabbl​erous​er/​etc
myspa​ce.​com/​drink​sandm​ortar​
clair​elove​sthec​ity {at} gmail​.​com

When I want to feel like a rich person, I go out and get fast food coffee

McDonald’s is running billboards around Flint, Michigan, advertising their coffee as “90210 taste. 48503 budget.” 48503 is a zip code in Flint. More about this, including a photo, is available at Sociological Images. From Googling around, it appears that they are running similar ads with the zip code 48066 in that area, which is in Roseville, Michigan, a Detroit suburb.

It’s an interesting use of the zip code to invoke cultural meanings.

Call me humorless, but I’ve got to say, if I saw one of these billboards in my neighborhood, declaring “90210 taste. 63107 budget.” …I’d probably be pissed. But that’s just me.

I’m curious: What do you think about this? How would you feel if your zip code was on this billboard?

Dewey Decimals tonight: Celebrate the centennial of the Gary Library!

This month at Dewey Drinks, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gary Public Library of Gary, Indiana.

We will gather starting at 7pm tonight, Thursday the 11th of December, in the Game Room of Sandrina’s. Sandrina’s is located at 5098 Arsenal (right by the big State Hospital with the dome). It is convenient to the #30 Soulard and #95 Kingshighway buses. Sandrina’s has yummy Italian food (menu at sandrinasstl.com) and is open ’til 3AM! The Game Room is upstairs, so ask the bartender to direct you when you get there.

If you can make it tonight, please bring a coupla bucks or your spare change or whatever to donate to the Gary Public Library. I’ll have a jar out, and afterwards I will send them a check for the total amount on behalf of Dewey Decimal Drinks. I know things are tight for everyone right now, but dang, literacy in Gary, IN, is a worthy cause if ever I’ve heard of one. More info about the centennial of the Gary Public Library is available at:
http://www.gary.lib.in.us/flyer%20for%20website.pdf

Here’s to another 100 years, Gary Public!

I hope to see you tonight!

always reading between the lines,
Claire-ian the Librarian
myspace.com/deweydecimaldrinks
clairelovesthecity {at} gmail.com

PS. HEY KIDS! Claire-ian the Librarian is underemployed, and needs a new liberry job. If you know of any local library openings that do not require a bachelor’s degree, please send them my way at the above contact info. Thank you!

Update your links: 52nd City

The fine folks at 52nd City have a new blog address. From here on out, they will be focusing on publishing on the blog. There will be no more print issues of the magazine.

While I liked the portable gem of stlouiscentric goodness that was the print version, I certainly understand that print is a much more complicated trick to pull off than a blog. These folks always do good work, no matter the format, and I’m looking forward to readin’ this latest incarnation of 52nd.

More than you ever wanted to know about stray shopping carts

…can be found at The Stray Shopping Cart Project.

Like the ghetto palm, stray shopping carts are one of those curious little aspects of the contemporary urban landscape that are kinda everywhere but that often go unnoticed.

When I was a youngun, I lived near a grocery store where customers had to plug a quarter into the shopping cart in order to use it. When you were done, you’d plug the cart back into the corral in front of the store, and the quarter would pop back out. I spent the occasional evening with a friend rounding up strays from the neighboring blocks and noisily pushing them back to the corral to harvest change for a snack.

In my current neighborhood, though, I never see stray shopping carts. The North Side is a food desert, left to depend on maybe two or three large, mainstream big box supermarkets and a smattering of often mediocre corner stores. So, there isn’t much of anywhere for carts to come from in the first place. Scrapping is common here, and shopping carts are the preferred tools of the many, many scrappers who do not have motor vehicles. So, supply is low and demand is high. When I see a shopping cart up here, it is always somebody’s property.

Just a few thoughts, for the next time you see one of these stragglers drifting slowly across an alley….

Mapping gender neutral bathrooms

safe2pee.org is creating a database and map of gender neutral bathrooms for folks who don’t identify with a binary gender. Gotta say, I’m impressed with the idea–I imagine that finding a place to just go to the bathroom can be a terribly frustrating quandary for people who don’t fall into a traditionally defined gender category.

 Here is the map for St. Louis.

The map is user-generated, so if you know of any bathrooms in St. Louis or another city that aren’t just a women’s or men’s room, please take a moment to add them! It’s a small but important task.

(Via Gapers Block.)