Last week, a team from SCP, including myself, visited three high-performing charter schools in the New Orleans area. Because of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has a huge charter school populations. More than half of their public schools are charters. We saw some downright awe-inspiring schools getting incredible results, and I left feeling really inspired and motivated about what’s to do to get ready to educate kids.

I have learned so much through this process, particularly during our visits to high-performing schools.  I’ve seen, over and over in our visits, programming implemented the right way, with all stakeholders intensely-committed to educating kids.  I’d seen bits and pieces tried elsewhere, never with the dramatic results these schools are getting. I’m completely rethinking how I think we educate teachers. Before, I knew that we were doing it wrong, but I didn’t know exactly how I would train teachers differently.  This is something I could expound on at length but I’ll still stand by what I’ve said before, which is that it should absolutely be harder to become a teacher. I’ll also say these schools weren’t perfect, but there’s a lot we can learn and play with when designing programming for our school.

While in New Orleans, also got to scout some eatin’, and I would highly recommend Cochon if you are in New Orleans. We had an outstanding meal that surpassed my expectations, and I would undoubtedly visit again when I return to the city. You should go there if you get the chance. It’s a great place for people really into food to take their less-adventurous friends and have a meal that satisfies everyone. Totally approachable food that was still exciting.

Unrelated to anything serious, I’m a finalist for the RFT’s Web Awards in the category of Best Personal Blog. I’m going to lose to up against my friend and fellow Church of Burger Priestess Stef Pollack of fantastic The Cupcake Project. So many of my friends are up for awards, which makes me a member of the cool nerds, I guess.

Thank you so much to whomever nominated me, unless this is some weird elaborate prank to humiliate me, like on Carrie. Because if it is, me and my dirty pillows will have no problem sourcing heritage-breed pig blood that I can and will telepathically hurl at my would-be humiliators. I also still have a pig head. So, basically, JUST TRY ME.

Check back next week to see if I “win” or not. I hope, like all situations I find myself in, it involves a giant check.

Did you read the Vanity Fair article “Sarah Palin: The Sound and the Fury“? This article bummed the hell out of me. Not because Sarah Palin is a corrupt, greedy, power-hungry, Machiavellian, sociopath of the first order. I already knew that. But because people are still thinking she’s relevant and somehow has something of substance to offer our nation and are embracing her anti-intellectual posturing while simultaneously lining her pockets with PAC money for giving canned speeches. Wake up, Palinites: she wants to stay folksy so you’ll stay stupid enough to keep giving her money for doing nothing.

I’m frustrated that the right wants to subscribe to the “screaming banshee” method of discourse, seeing who can interrupt more and shout irrelevant talking points louder instead of actually backing up assertions with logic, facts, and rational thought. I’m disillusioned that Glenn Beck and his ilk are going after “social justice” as some kind of code word for tyrranical kitten killing as opposed to dismantling systemic oppression perpetrated by wealthy white men for ten thousand years. I’m disillusioned that education of any type other than homeschooling or private religious education is portrayed as indoctrination into socialism and unworthy of any funding at all while at the same time denigrating what education can and does do for citizens of this country. I’m pissed off that those on the right who have brains and intelligence have been shut out of discussions of what could be bipartisan solutions to our country’s myriad problems in the name of the screaming banshees. I’m really fucking sick of tea party nutjobs acting as though they have sole claim to “liberty” and “patriotism” while they conveniently ignore those parts of the Constitution that don’t serve their agenda, all while propping up this document most of them have never read.

If you think I’m exaggerating, you must not live in a city where the tea party gets a disproportionate amount of coverage in the local news.

I’m also sick of those attempting to turn this country into a theocracy through a combination of legislated religious dogma and downright bigotry. I have no interest in becoming a handmaid, and it is downright shameful that in 2010, citizens of this country are legally discriminated against and lack the same civil rights as the hegemony, hiding behind YET ANOTHER document, this time scripture, that they pick and choose to use based on their desires.

I’m tired of a ideological strategy that involves being so fucking ridiculous that the other side bangs their collective heads against a wall until they are unconscious, or at least too dazed to wade through arguments not based in reality. I’m tired of smug talking heads being deliberately obtuse in order to stick to their message, spouting the party line while wearing a shit-eating grin and playing an only-slightly more sophisticated version of I Know You Are But What Am I.

I’m disillusioned because one of my Canadian friends told me they (and by “they”, I mean Canadians in general) think our whole country must be high since Sarah Palin continues to be relevant. Worst high ever, let me tell you, if that’s true.

And, most of all, I’m pissed that being on the ground, working for positive change in our communities, has little-to-no impact on the local and national dialogue. If the people doing the real work in this country, trying to fix our schools, our health care, and our communities were the people doing talking heads on CNN, instead of pundits looking for ratings or career politicians seeking reelection or insanely lucrative work in the private sector after they’ve used and abused America, this country might look different. Hell, I’m pissed at how many of my so-called progressive friends aren’t doing shit to make our world a better place besides maybe giving money to this campaign or that.

Fuck this shit, I'm going to DC. Time to take back sanity.

]]> http://southcityconfidential.com/2010/09/22/599/feed/ 11 http://southcityconfidential.com/2010/09/02/hey-jerkface-do-a-good-thing-today/ http://southcityconfidential.com/2010/09/02/hey-jerkface-do-a-good-thing-today/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:04:20 +0000 KBO http://southcityconfidential.com/?p=579 The world would be a better place if people did more nice things for no reason. Yesterday, I was plum tickled that some dude smiled and waved me through a stop sign. Seriously. I am easily affected.

ANYWAY, you should totally do something awesome for someone else. I will even tell you two awesome things you can do without even getting off your computer.

1. My ladyblogging Kelly who works in education (not to be confused with my other ladyblogging friend Kelly who works in education) is asking folks to throw a little support to Mr. C, a special education teacher looking to make a difference in his classroom by using iPods and iPads as a replacement for his busted computer situation. I’ve written before about how great Donors Choose is, and if you are looking for a way to give a small amount of money to a very worthy cause, this is your chance. Please think about helping out Mr. C and his classroom. If you can’t donate, you can vote for Mr. C and his project to get funding through Limeaids for Learning.

2. Another blogging friend, Jason, from Outnumbered, just wrote a children’s book. If you were at BlogHer, you would remember Jason as the lone dude who spoke at the Community Keynote. He also let me ride a scooter in his office, because that’s the kind of guy he is and the kind of office he’s got. Not relevant. He wrote a children’s book, called Do Witches Make Fishes? and Jason is donating all the proceeds from the sale of the book to the Garden of Dreams Foundation. About the book:

Do Witches Make Fishes? is the moral tale of a young boy who favors candy over his mother’s outlandish but healthy dishes. When faced with an ultimatum from his mother, the boy has to make a difficult choice. What ensues is a series of extraordinary and fantastical events that will take the reader on a magical journey through the imagination of a child. In the end, you will find yourself asking, Do Witches Make Fishes?

So, yeah, if you have a kid in your life, you should probably buy them this book and then read it to them and feel warm and snuggly all over.

Other awesome things you could do would be come over and patch up the giant hole in the drywall that Neko scratched or bring me a grape snocone. Just suggestions.

In the meantime, Chris started school again this week, so I’m getting into a new routine without him and with these three animals. Neko believes that her role in my life is to supplant my alarm clock, and I awaken each morning to a 55-lb pitt mix sitting on my head, trying to gnaw my White Girl ‘Fro. Luckily, the heat has broken, at least temporarily, so each day starts with a walk. This allows the dogs to run their crazy off so when we come home, they are knocked out and I can get something done while my body absorbs the methane steadily leaking out of sleeping dogs’s asses, which I prefer over incessant barking at phantom menaces like the dishwasher, the television, and sunflowers.

Here’s another question for you wise readers: I’m fairly certain that this blog and my blogging in general is going to come up at some point in this charter school process. The people I work with on our team are already aware of how I roll. I might not be their cup of tea, but they’ve known for a while that I do this, and it hasn’t been an issue, at least that I’m aware of. But I’m not naive, and I know people who are evaluating our plan probably do at least a little Googling.

My opinion is that my writing persona (which is damn close to my regular persona), no matter how opinionated and curse-y I am, shouldn’t influence my ability to kick ass in the professional world. I feel very, very strongly about that, because I know that I am knowledgeable in my field and I am more than capable of contributing to my field in ways that will benefit the community I serve. If people have a problem with the fact that I publicly talk about dog farts in my free time, I argue that they must not care too much about providing quality schools for kids, because I can do that, and do it well. While I recognize the need for relative discretion, I’ve also been in the position of having to delete and entire blog in order to protect my employment and I vowed I would never, ever let someone take my words away from me again. Plus, I’m in too many places to try to cover my tracks at this point. I’m slutty like that.

Then again, I may think I’m edgy, but someone on the charter school side of things told me I was “Stepford-ish” in our mayor’s presentation, so I guess I can’t win.

Your thoughts? If a stakeholder brings up this facet of my “public persona”, how should I deal with that?

There are fewer things better for the mind and soul than having high hopes that people you admire will like you back should you meet them and those hopes coming true. I think many of us still hold on to feelings of rejection from middle school or high school, and those can resurface at events like BlogHer. And when people aren’t snobs, and instead embrace you willingly, with arms oustretched, and shower you with positive thoughts, well, it’s nice. It’s better than nice. It’s fan-fucking-tastic. I finally met so many awesome, amazing people I’ve been sharing my life with online, and they were smarter, and funnier, and more intelligent and fun than I thought possible. And when I met these people, they gave me giant, genuine, real hugs. The level of positivity and emotional generosity is unlike anything I’ve experienced.

The highlights:

• Our MamaPop writers’ party was a low-key, burrito-booze-and-karaoke-fueled lovefest. These people are witty, smart, creative, foul-mouthed, and snarky, and I feel so lucky that they welcomed me into their island of misfit bloggers. I gladly spent a lot of my time with these people during the conference, and they are now like family to me. I mean, I really can’t say enough awesome things about everyone.
• The lovely and talented Melissa Locker, she of many pseudonyms and longtime Television Without Pity writer (as well as part of the MamaPop posse) let me pick her brain about recapping as aforementioned party. I’ve been reading TWoP since the NINETIES, people, since it was Mighty Big TV and I found it because I needed Dawson’s Creek recaps. That’s longevity. In terms of writing about television, it’s like getting to talk sports with Bill Simmons.
• The Community Keynote, where I listened to ridiculously- talented bloggers read the best posts of the year in a celebration of the craft of writing. Anyone who says bloggers aren’t real writers has obviously never read these (mostly) women, and I highly recommend you take a look at their posts. I also thoroughly enjoyed several sessions I went to, namely the humor writing panel, the creativity writing panel, the sex (rawr!) panel, and my dear friend Goon Squad Sarah‘s women and sports panel. I was so glad that BlogHer decided to have a full-on writing track this year; it can be frustrating when the majority of sessions feel like they’re either exclusively for mommybloggers or geared towards “monitization”. Those are fine, but blogging is about writing. It shouldn’t be a question as to whether or not there are writing sessions, and I think the number of audience members in attendance speaks volumes. I hope BlogHer makes it a permanent fixture.
• I ate an impromptu Korean dinner with the flat-out incredible Chookooloonks, Knotty Yarn, and Mocha Momma, all of whom are some of the most intelligent, gracious, talented ladies, yet so down-to-earth and hilarious. With them, I experienced some of the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in a while, despite pretty much being agog the whole time at their fabulosity.

• SPARKLE-FUCKING-CORN. A ballroom full of pop culture posters, life-sized cutouts, glow necklaces, PopRocks, 80′s dance music, a disco ball, the above cake made by Charm City Cakes (yes, from Ace of Cakes, MP has Baltimore in the hizzy), and the best damn dance party you’ve ever been to. I’ll let you in on a secret: 45 minutes before the party was scheduled to start, the ballroom was still set up with tables and chairs from earlier events. The Hilton staff busted their asses to get tables, chairs, and a dance floor set up (there was a crane!) while MamaPoppers furiously decorated. It was madness and chaos for those 45 minutes, but it came together just in time to grab a drink before the doors opened and the fun began. Ah, teamwork. It was exhilarating to see hundreds of women cutting loose in uninhibited joy and, for me, indicative of the very best of BlogHer. No swagwhoring, no cattiness, no self-consciousness, just a pure celebration of community.
• Post-party, we grabbed some burgers from the CheeseburgHer party and headed to the hotel bar, which we closed down, finally leaving as we realized the last employee was vacuuming around us. It was a sheer lovefest not unlike the last day of summer camp. I just didn’t want it to end. I’m now pretty sold on moving to Saskatchewan so I can start a polyamorous commune with Schmutzie (who took the above cakery photo) and Palinode when the US inevitably ruins itself. Chris doesn’t realize he’s got a ready and waiting brother husband in Regina (which rhymes with vagina, if you were unaware).

Also of note:

• I absolutely could not believe how smoothly the conference ran. We’re talking about 2400 attendees, plus sponsors, and the worst problem was the crowded elevators. Every single Hilton employee I encountered was friendly and helpful, and a few went out of their way to help. The BlogHer staff really streamlined the event compared to last year; the improvements were noticeable and appreciated.
• My roommates were lovely and so low-key and drama-free. I’d room with them again in a heartbeat.

• Here’s the beautiful piece of art James Bengel created inspired by my Her Story post. It will be auctioned off soon with the proceeds going to aid in Gulf relief.

I know there’s more; I hung out with so many damned cool people I couldn‘t possibly name them all. But let me say this: if you’ve ever thought about going to BlogHer and didn’t because you were intimidated by the size, or didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a mommyblogger, or hated the thought of all the crazy people competing over who got the best free stuff (oh, trust me, there was plenty of that, but I just avoided it), or are just a shy person who thinks you have no business hobnobbing with the likes of The Pioneer Woman, I urge you to let that all go. You can avoid all of those things and get down to the really valuable stuff, which is becoming part of an empowering, positive, supportive community of writers who will embrace you for exactly who you are. If I told you the traffic stats for my blog, you would laugh at the thought that some of the abovementioned people would be in the same room as me. I’m totally Z-List. Well, maybe W-List, now, but NO ONE WORTH A DAMN CARES, and those that do, well, they can go eat a bowlful of unicorn horns.

San Diego, baby. Same time, next year.

Dear Baby Jesus, the interwebs blew up this week with BlogHer hubbub. It was like the announcement of the Voices of the Year was some kind of signal for everyone to start freaking out about the conference all at once.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m stoked. I’m pumped. I can’t wait.

Great things happen at BlogHer. At its heart, the BlogHer conference is about celebrating the writing of women and the community that surrounds those women. And that’s why I go. I have always been a writer and I will always be a writer; it’s something I do for myself because I love it. The internet allows women writers from all over the world to engage with and support each other. It’s a little like college: no matter who you were in high school, you can find your niche. You just have to look hard enough. And I’ve been fortunate enough to make several real life friends across many niches from my experiences blogging.

However, not everyone goes to BlogHer for the same reasons. For many women, blogging is a business, and a business in which they’ve done well. There’s even a whole separate part of BlogHer specifically about business and blogging. And BlogHer could not happen without sponsorship of various brands and businesses; they keep costs low for us ladybums.  But sometimes the commercial aspect gets downright ugly.

My biggest issue this week was when private party invites started going out. At BlogHer, there are several parties hosted by BlogHer or sanctioned by BlogHer. These are all open-invites; anyone can RSVP. Sparklecorn, MamaPop’s party (and the bestest party, duh, unicorn cake) is one of those parties. There are also private parties, sponsored by groups of bloggers or brands, that are held offsite. These parties are generally invite-only.  Many sponsored parties offer free stuff, often really great free stuff. Hence, people think they can act like raving lunatics to get into invite-only parties. Then maybe elbow a baby to make sure they don’t get a free pair of Crocs.

Listen, last year I didn’t go to a single private party. At all. And I came home with a lot of free stuff and had such a blast with my friends. I’m not going to lie and act like I didn’t get invites to private parties this year; I did, mostly because of my work with MamaPop. And I’ll go to the ones that my friends will be going to. But, truth be told, I didn’t get a single private invite until this week and I’d still be just as excited about BlogHer if that were still the case. There are so many events open to everyone, and there’s so much going on, that there’s no way anyone couldn’t jam-pack their weekend full of fun without every setting foot in a private party.

But here’s the thing: Twitter was going nuts in the past two days with women begging, literally BEGGING, to be invited to parties. Pure, shameless begging. Many women who got invites immediately bragged about it on Twitter using every hashtag they possibly could to let the world know how important they are.And it drove me insane. Because people are more concerned with how cool they look or what free shit they might miss out on that they miss the point of the entire conference: to talk about and learn more about blogging and  connect with other bloggers. I don’t even think I can go to everything because so many parties are at the same time. I’m not going to spend the limited time I have with friends from other places trying to party hop so that I don’t miss out on the bestest, shiniest swag. To do so is utterly missing the point of the entire conference.

I get that SO many women view their blog as their “brand” and their brand as their business. And that networking opportunities are important for business. But damn, ladies. Don’t you know that begging isn’t how you do business? Begging is NOT PROFESSIONAL. These sponsors invite people to parties because it’s business for them, too. And if you are a niche blogger outside their niche, why would they invite you? Where’s the return on investment? The women that are ravenous for free shit will write anything for free, and they fuck up the business side for people who, you know, actually sell their content FOR MONEY, not a free jump drive and a badge for their blog.

I’m sure I’ll see some people without home training acting foolish to get a Bounce dryer bar or some branded panties. And it will annoy me. Because those women should probably get out of scamming in the expo hall and start attending sessions on the craft of writing. I know that maybe if I softened my edge and quit cursing so much and talking about vaginas and dog farts that maybe I’d be more marketable to advertisers or however people make money off blogs. But that’s not me, or my voice, or my intent. And if it is yours, that’s fine, too! There’s nothing wrong with monetizing. But to think that you are owed monetization, or some sponsor owes you ad money, or swag, or special swag, or SERIOUSLY not very special swag, just because you figured out how to use WordPress, well, that’s just plain wrong. I love free stuff. I love free samples. And I love free booze. But I can have some business acumen, or, at the very least, some basic manners when it comes to how I conduct myself at conferences like BlogHer.

Focus on the content. Focus on the community. Focus on creating genuine relationships, and the rest will follow, and if it doesn’t, you still win. The means are still just as good, if not better, than the ends.

Also, wear comfortable shoes.

While I wasn’t one of the final three in my category, I was one of the 20 finalists out of 400 submissions in this category for my post I wrote for my grandma after she died this past winter. That post,  Her Story, will be displayed at the Voices of the Year Gala and Art Auction this year at BlogHer ’10 in New York City. While my grandma wouldn’t have even known what a blog was (although my other grandma is an avid reader–hi Grandma!), I hope she would feel proud of me and honored by the post.

Happily, several amazing women I’ve met through blogging are also represented on this list, including my two roommates in New York, Kansas City bloggers Celeste Lindell and Kelli Oliver George (yes, I know it’s weird how similar our names are), two amazing women I admire whom I’m also fortunate enough to know, Kelly Wickham at Mocha Momma, and Tracey Gaughran of Sweetney, also my overlord at MamaPop. In addition (because we’re rollin’ that way) two other MamaPoppers, Amy Storch at Amalah and Amy Windsor of The Bitchin’ Wives were finalists, and Amy Windsor will be reading at the Community Keynote. AND Bill Colgrove, who designed the MamaPop site, was a finalist in Design. GAH! THE AWESOME, I CANNOT STAND IT! So many of these women are people I’ve admired for so long and to see my writing next to theirs is both gratifying and humbling.

Please do yourself a favor and go check out some of the fantastic posts represented here.

Chris threw me a super-fun party for my birthday at Saratoga Lanes in Maplewood. It’s the oldest bowling alley west of the Mississippi, a second-floor joint with eight lanes (hand scoring) and lots of room for food, boozing, pool, and watching the World Cup final, which was less-than-exciting. And, of course, bowling. Many of my friends came and I thought we had a blast. Thanks to all who came out and rolled.

In addition:

• Our charter school had our review with the Mayor’s Advisory Panel Wednesday, and it went really, really well. I didn’t even make any wiener jokes. One member of the panel (who is the superintendent of one of the largest and most lauded districts in the state–where Chris works) said our curriculum and instruction plan was the best he’s seen from a charter. Things are starting to move, and hopefully we’ll have a facility finalized by the end of September, if things go as planned.
• You probably think I forgot about hardwood floors part 2, but oh, ho, ho, no sir. We just haven’t even stained yet. Maybe tonight. Things have been crazy around here, and if we wait any longer, the floors are going to be stained with two solid coats of dog pee and then where will we be?
• If you are in St Louis and you blog and have a vagina (or wish you did), come to our Pre-BlogHer meetup. I can’t say for sure, but a little bird told me there may be swag from Metamucil. Iron Stef says that digestive health is important at any age. Anyway, details are at that link, and please do RSVP. I highly recommend you come if only to try Schlafly’s AIPA if you haven’t already. It is so choice.
• So! Remember when I was flying Southwest and the flight attendant said not nice things about liberals and Spanish-speakers? And I got some canned replies from Southwest with a “we’re sorry if you were offended, but we’re just having fun!” non-apology? This week, I got a real, not-canned, e-mail apologizing in a pretty sincere way and acknowledging that maybe I was right to be offended. Plus a $150 travel voucher. So we’re all squared up, and I salute Southwest for how they handled it in the end. Honestly, I wasn’t out to get anything free. I just wanted them to know that that type of noise isn’t okay, and I think they got the message and I’ll continue to fly them.
• It’s so, so, so hot in St Louis. There’s no point in showering. Once you step outside, you’re damp from head to toe. Obviously, this means my friends and I should go camping this weekend. We went in this kind of weather last year and it was actually pretty fun. We even had a fire and didn’t melt into the backwoods of Iron County. The key is that we’ll spend the entire day Saturday at the lake in the state park where we camp watching mothers in jorts yell at their Dakotas and MacKynzies and Mercedeseseseses to put down the cigarette butts that wash up on shore. It’s like People of WalMart, but at the beach. Floating cooler for the win. Thank you to everyone today on Twitter who suggested syringes for getting vodka into Capri Suns. I’m sure someone at the beach  will have a few we can borrow.

While you are at it, check out my piece on that piece of shit Mel Gibson over at MamaPop, as well as my piece about the upcoming film adaptation of The Help. And, come back Monday, because I HAVE SECRETS.

I decided to get new cards for BlogHer because I’ve been writing at different places since I got my last ones. My ladyfriend and fellow Food Blog Mafia blogger Iron Stef is an awesome graphic designer. She created the logos for FBM and the Church of Burger, which you can see to your right in my sidebar. Stef created card designs for me, incorporating all the relevant information AND used an icon of my fist tattoo.  Check these out:

This is the front.

This is the back.

I think these are absolutely perfect for me and my style. Do I have a style? My style is t-shirts and flip flops. But if I had a real style, THIS WOULD TOTALLY BE IT. I can’t wait to give them out at our pre-BlogHer meetup and in New York.

Thanks to Stef, who rules pretty hard when it comes to helping a friend out. If you are interested in hiring her for a graphic design project, let me know and I’ll get you in touch with her.

Life’s really not like that anymore, unless you’re the idiot STILL trying to pick up 16-year olds in chat rooms, in which case, you get what you deserve when you find out that 16-year old tartlet is really a paunchy cop.

Today I saw a commercial for Match.com that said that 1 in 5 couples meet online. Chris asked if I thought that was true, and I do. There’s not the stigma attached to online relationships (dating or otherwise) that there used to be. While Chris and I met the good old-fashioned way (drunk at a friend’s party), I have many, many friends I met via the internet that I regularly hang out with in real life, like most of my food friends. I also have many, many friends whom I have never hung out with in real life, but have epic plans to do so at BlogHer, an annual blogging conference I’ll be attending in August for the second year in a row.

Last year, BlogHer was in Chicago, and I hosted a pre-conference meetup for those in the area who were going so everyone would have a friendly face to turn to at the conference. This year, I’m doing the same. This ain’t nothin’ fancy. Basically, I just named a day and time (Saturday, July 24th at 3PM) and a place (Schlafly Bottleworks) and made an Eventbrite invite. It’s a chance to meet other St Louis ladybloggers whether you are going to BlogHer this year or not.

This will be a casual, friendly, welcoming cocktail hour(s). There will be nametags that you are not obligated to wear. If you’ve never gone to any type of meetup of online acquaintances, this is the perfect event for you because we don’t bite unless you are into that sort of thing, in which case, THINGS CAN BE ARRANGED, if you know what I mean.

Plus, Bottleworks has one of those Dyson hand dryers in the bathroom, the ones that ACTUALLY DRY YOUR HANDS!  It’s been there for a few years and I still get a kick out of it.

You don’t have to RSVP, but please do if you know you are coming so we both can get a sense of who will be there. You know you want to Google stalk first.

ANYWAY, I hope to see you there, then at Art of Food, an event for Slow Food St Louis, later that night