Speaking of Rip-Offs...

Please note the new link to your right. It touts The St. Louis Community Cafe News. Please bookmark that site and visit it often.

I was inspired to begin a work-related blog by the fine folks over at 52nd City. (Note and visit their link, please.) The slight differences between the two blogs being as follows:

1. 52nd City is written by hipsters while I merely have generous hips.

2. 52nd City addresses what's hot and happening around the metro St. Louis area whereas the ComCaf News will address how flippin' hot it is in the kitchens.

3. 52nd City will ultimately become THE publication to read in St. Louis but the best I can realistically hope for would be that maybe my mom will check the ComCaf blog on a monthly basis. (If I send her reminders.)

4. 52nd City is produced by well-known, published writers and artists. My literary 15 minutes of fame took place in Ms. Klepper's fourth grade class when I received a 100% on my book report of A Candle in the Mist by Florence Crannell Means.

Other than that, they're alot alike.

Original Sounds Version 5.0

When it comes to radio stations, I have absolutely no loyalty. Of course I listen to KDHX but I also enjoy the oldies button. I confess that I also listen to corporate pop, hits from the 80's whenever I can find them and faux hip-hop.

This evening I caught the classic Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf. That, my friends, is music. Can you remember the last time you heard a contemporary song that rocked you like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody or Rush's Tom Sawyer? (Reader michael m. set me straight on the artist of this song.) And though the Cowboy Junkies did an adequate cover of Sweet Jane, wouldn't you much rather hear Lou Reed do it original style? Can anyone ever come close to Phil's "wall of sound" style? Rhetorical questions, all.

Oh, right...my point. Today's singers are nothing more than tweaked regurgitations of yesterday's has-beens. Sometimes the tweaking is bypassed altogether. One top 40 station in town plays a group called the Gorillaz. Lemme tell ya, the Gorillaz are a 100% rip off of a little group you may know as Cake. And the currenly popular Pussycat Dolls? Slap a slight Leeds accent on those birds and you're listening to the smooth sounds of the Spice Girls. And that damned Mariah Carey? Well, she sounds just like...uh..Mariah Carey from 15 years ago but before that she copied Whitney Houston.

I know there are not really any new ideas. And even dudes like Eminem, Jay-Z and Outkast are stealing someone else's sound. I guess I just wish it were a little less obvious.

No Cheering in Gymnastics

Prior to this year's soccer season, I made a solemn oath to myself that I would refrain from "soccer parent" behavior. This hasn't worked out exactly as I'd hoped.

Now, in my defense, the parents of the 7th grade girls Mary Mother of the Church team are a united group. Our kids have played together since first grade. We all scream. Some pace along the sidelines and a few have really big, carrying voices. I fall into every category, making me A) a pain in the neck to the other team, and B) a bossy know it all. It also makes me a master ventriloquist as I've never been busted by the referee for such helpful comments like, "Drag your foot on the throw in", "Watch your offsides," and "HANDBALL!!!." Does that constitute parent coaching from the fan side of the field? Well, I certainly don't think so.

On the flip side, I don't care, even a little, if the kids win their games. Nor do I wear team colors or second guess the officials. Okay... that last one I do very quietly. Did I mention never wearing team colors?

Luckily, two players have parents in the medical profession, so when the day comes that I actually have a stroke while screaming at the keeper to charge the lone, breakaway forward, they can provide care until EMS arrives.

Oh hell, I'll try again next year.

Who Is Old Tasty?

On the small chance that someone reading this does NOT know Kurt Groetsch, well, I just feel sorry for you.

Kurt, you are missed in St. Louis.