Anne-Marie Berger looks at the promise of getting fuel from algae and the research being led by the Danforth Plant Science Center. With American facing rising costs at the gas pump, finding new sources of energy has become a priority for research institutions, and the Danforth Center has received a stimulus grant to head research in this area. Berger talks with Dr. Richard Sayre about the prospects for using algae as a sustainable fuel source, and how soon we might be driving cars powered by gas made from algae.
Jim Kirchherr visits with the members of Dance Discovery, a group that researches, learns and performs dances from the 18th century up to the Civil War era. The group was formed because of the need for historic re-enactment during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial celebration in 2004, and has stayed together since. They dance at events around St. Louis, but also rehearse for the sheer joy of dancing.
Jim Kirchherr mixes footage from the recent snow with archival film and home movies to show how for generations St. Louisans have been drawn to Forest Park when the snow falls. Kids and families bring their sleds for a trip or two down Art Hill, or their skates for an afternoon of ice skating at Steinberg Skating Rink.
Anne-Marie Berger looks back on the life and career of Martin Duggan as he retires after 23 years as provocateur of Donnybrook on Channel 9. From his early life in South St. Louis to his 45-year career at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Duggan has had a love of St. Louis. But, as Duggan explains, the true love of his life is his wife Mae.
Ruth Ezell visits with pianist and music educator Tim Garcia and learns about the history of music composition software. What would take composers days or months in the past can now be accomplished in a few hours by students using software such as Finale to compose pieces. Ezell also looks back at the history of music technology, from the era of the player piano to the creation of tools like the Moog synthesizer, which is still used by bands today, including the St. Louis-based band Ludo.
Jim Kirchherr visits Bellefontaine Cemetery with Carol Ferring Sherpley, author of Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes: Tales From Bellefontaine Cemetery. They visit some of the famous tombs and monuments, including the William Clark obelisk, the Wainwright mausoleum designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Adolphus Busch tomb. They pair also explore some of the more off the beaten path grave sites and discuss the stories that made these residents of Bellefontaine either famous or infamous.
I envy college students studying music composition today. With a keyboard, a computer and the right software, students can plunk out a tune and presto!—it appears as sheet music on the monitor. It sure beats the centuries-old (and often messy) method of manually notating every note and rest. Rodgers & Hammerstein (Hart too) and countless other composers of music’s past would be positively chartreuse!
Pianist and music educator Tim Garcia has two decades of experience with music software technology, and he’s spent several years teaching it at area universities. I visited one of his classes at Maryville University last month, where he gave me a demonstration of the software program Finale and where I spoke with his students.
I also met Tim Convy, who does vocals and keyboards for the rock band Ludo. His instrumental arsenal includes a Moog (rhymes with vogue) synthesizer. The instrument’s other-worldly sounds created a big splash when the analog synthesizer (named for its developer, Bob Moog) debuted in 1964. Convy’s Moog is smaller but retains the audio impact of the original.
Excuse me for digressing, but I came across a cool photo of the band in performance by freelance photographer (and St. Louis native) Marc Altman. I went to the opening of Altman’s exhibit last Friday at the Bonsack Gallery of John Burroughs School in Ladue and really enjoyed what I saw. Altman travels the world in search of visual moments that capture the stories of other lands, and he chose a captivating cross-section of photos for this exhibit. Here are links to Altman’s website, his blog and Bonsack’s website:
The exhibit, titled “Explorations”, runs through February 10.
One last thought on music software: while talking to Tim Garcia, it came up that I own a Macbook: which prompted him to remind me the laptop has Garageband on it. I may never write a tune worthy of the Great American Songbook, but at least I can have fun trying!
Jim Kirchherr visits Mastodon State Historic Site in Imperial, Missouri, and learns the history of how the park came to be. Bones of mastodons and other now-extinct animals were first found at the site in the early 1800s in what is now known as the Kimmswick Bone Bed. Despite these significant archeological finds, the site would have been sold for commercial development in the 1970s if not for a group of concerned citizens who joined together, prevented the sale of the land, and helped raise enough money to purchase and preserve it as a park. In 1979, archaeological history was made at the site in when scientists excavated a stone spear point made by hunters of the Clovis culture (14,000 – 10,000 years ago) in direct association with mastodon bones. This was the first solid evidence of the coexistence of early humans and mastodons.
Anne-Marie Berger goes orienteering with a group of 6th graders from Clayton’s Forsyth School at Greensfleder Park in St. Louis County. The students spend three days and two nights at the park engaging in variety of outdoor activities to help build teamwork, problem-solving and trust. The outing included a day or actual orienteering, where groups of students worked to navigate from one point to another using only a map and compass.
Ruth Ezell visits the St. Louis Language Immersion Schools (SLLIS). Charter schools in St. Louis city that opened in fall 2009 with kindergarten and first grade students, these schools conduct classes entirely in a foreign language, one in Spanish, the other in French. The schools are designed to prepare children for success in the local and global economies.
