The Wall Street Journal

Kansas City-Area Library Uses Butchering Demonstration to Lure Patrons

These are exciting times for library users. Not only can you go to the library to check out books for free, you can also go for a live demonstration of hog butchering! Well, uh, you can do that in Overland Park, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City. Not here. Not yet. But isn't it glorious to know ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: Why do Mexican men love classic cars?

Olive Garden Reviewer Marilyn Hagerty's Victory Tour

Last week, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Herald restaurant critic Marilyn Hagerty wrote a review of her town's new Olive Garden. The review went viral, first because of snark, but then because Marilyn Hagerty is a complete badass whose reaction to the whole to-do -- in sum: I'm just doing my job; get a ... More >>

What the Dickens?! For Kids!

​John Hendrix makes a living creating illustrations and covers for periodicals such as the New York Times and Rolling Stone. It's a difficult field to break into, and it's just as difficult to maintain one's standing because you have to keep producing at a steady rate. "Sometimes you get a call at ... More >>

Local Booksellers Racing to Fill Borders-Shaped Hole

If you've been one of the many circling the carcass of the Borders in Brentwood at its going-out-of-business sale (and, judging from the length of the lines, which are Christmas-length, you probably are), you may have observed this leaflet on the checkout counter: ​This is not an act of corpo ... More >>

Salmonella Detected in Cargill Turkey Last Year

​The Wall Street Journal reports today that the USDA first detected salmonella Heidelberg in Cargill's Springdale, Arkansas, turkey-processing plant last year but was restricted by its own rules from doing anything about it.Cargill recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey after at least 77 peop ... More >>

Say Goodbye to Borders

image viaSo long, Borders. We'll miss you. We're sorry you had to go out like this.​After failing to find another buyer after last week's deal with a private investor fell through, Borders has declared unconditional surrender. The bookstore chain, which has been on the brink of death since it ... More >>

Spotify's US Launch Approaches; Which Music Service Are You?

​Music fans in the United States don't have a lot to envy of their European brothers and sisters, at least unless they're big fans of Abba or the kind of sticky, glitter-covered dance-pop that usually just makes me really want to leave the youth hostel and brush my teeth. One exception: Spotif ... More >>

Helicopter Drones: U.S. Military's Newest Toy

​You know about the drone airplanes used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but did you know that the U.S. military also has drone helicopters? The Navy currently has several Fire Scout helicopters aboard its warships overseas and plans to soon add a total of 168 of the remote-controlled aircraf ... More >>

Clayton Gets Vito Rancanelli's Mad Tomato

Robin WheelerMad Tomato in Clayton​ If there's any doubt that Vito Rancanelli, Jr. is using fresh, local food at Mad Tomato, his new venture in Clayton, just spend a few minutes in the dining room at lunchtime. First, a farmer with a young daughter arrives, carrying a case of fresh asparagus. ... More >>

Twitter Co-Founder, St. Louis Native Jack Dorsey Raises $27 Million for Square

Jack Dorsey​The Wall Street Journal reports this week that Jack Dorsey has raised $27.5 million in venture capital for his latest start-up, Square, that allows smart phones to process credit-card payments.The funds come courtesy of Sequoia Capital, the California-based firm that provided early see ... More >>

Poisoned Candy, Free Lifetime KFC, and Other Halloween Food Horrors

What's scarier - urban legends about psychos contaminating Halloween candy with poison and sharp things, or dressing up as Colonel Sanders to win a lifetime supply of KFC? The Atlantic debunks spooky tales of razor blades and cyanide in treats, giving evidence that most "Halloween sadist" stories ar ... More >>

Chilean Wine Sales Skyrocket After Mine Drama

Chilean miner rescue leads to increase in Chilean wine sales. Harper's Wine and Spirits notes that British retailer Tesco has had a 325% increase in sales of wine from Chile since the rescue of the miners who'd been trapped since August. Gourmet Live shares one of the stories from their iPad app r ... More >>

It's Official: Rams Are Nation's Least Popular Team

As if we needed a study to confirm this.​A new study by the media-research firm Nielsen Co. confirms what you may have expected about the St. Louis Rams. Not only does no one in St. Louis care about the team but neither does a national audience. The study specifically looked at last year's season ... More >>

Food Prices Spark Riots in Africa

Food riots in Mozambique have killed 10 people and led to 142 arrests. Reuters Africa reports that because of a 30 percent increase in bread prices, angry citizens have organized bloody, fiery protests via text messages. Wheat prices have soared because of drought in Russia. Farmers markets are pe ... More >>

Walmart Sandwiches Recalled

Deli meat used in Walmart sandwiches recalled for possible listeria contamination. Food Safety News reports that Zemco from Buffalo, New York, has recalled over 380,000 pounds of meat. None of the meat was sold as retail product; it was all used for Walmart's Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches. Par ... More >>

Don't Panic Over Halal Food Carts Near Ground Zero.

Good God, no! They're selling Halal food at Ground Zero! The Washington Post sensibly explains to a concerned reader why selling food that adheres to Islamic law in Lower Manhattan isn't threatening.An English professor was forcibly removed from a Manhattan Starbucks because she refused to participa ... More >>

Beef From Cloned Bulls in the Food Chain

Last week a U.K. farmer anonymously confessed to selling illegal milk from cloned cows. Now the Guardian announces that beef from cloned bulls has entered the food chain. Two bulls were sold for food by a Scottish farm, one last summer and a second in May. The farm, which is the largest breeder of H ... More >>

The Newspaperless Newsstand: The Planet's Daily News Kiosk Faces Financial Strife

Kase Wickman​Anthony M. Streekfuss, known to most simply as Tony, is a jack of all trades: He acts as an early morning security lookout for businesses in St. Louis' Central West End, gossips with the locals, and spoils passing canines with the dog treats he has on his person at all times. As owner ... More >>

Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms: The Supreme Court Rules, Everyone Claims Victory

Image viaEven Alfalfa is smiling about yesterday's ruling on alfalfa.​Gut Check hasn't read much case law since our high-school debate career ended and our briefcase (and trophies!) went into storage in our parents' garage. However, we were fairly certain that when the Supreme Court issued a rulin ... More >>

Starbucks to Offer Free Wi-Fi

Image source​As if the instant coffee and custom Frappuccinos weren't enough (and they probably weren't), Starbucks has now decided to offer free Wi-Fi to all its customers starting July 1. Previously customers had to pay for Internet access in two-hour increments through their Starbucks card ... More >>

St. Louis Teapartier Gina Loudon Wants You to BUYcott Stuff Associated With Arizona

Image viaLocal Tea Partier Gina Loudon on The Daily Showa few months ago.​From the uber-conservative local lady that brought you the Buycott of Whole Foods last fall (then went on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to chat about it): The St. Louis Tea Party's Gina Loudon is showing solidarity with Ar ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 4.29

What makes a farmers market? In a small town in Wisconsin, farmers are clashing with vendors who sell produce they buy at auction. The Wall Street Journal examines the feud in Tomah, where a farmer claims to have received violent threats from resellers. Stacey Miller, executive director of The Farme ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.22

With last night's debut of "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution", the reviews are rolling in. The Washington Post recognizes it's pap but can't look away. (The Washington Post) New York mobile food vendors turn to Twitter. The immediacy of the social networking site allows owners to tell followers wher ... More >>

Monsanto Subject of Antitrust Workshop Today in Iowa with U.S. Attorney General

​Updated at 11:50 a.m. Competitors, activists, farmers, politicians. They all get a chance to weigh in on St. Louis-based Monsanto today at a "workshop" in Iowa that's to focus on antitrust behavior in the agriculture industry. In attendance at today's meeting will be U.S. Attorney General Eric Ho ... More >>

Matthew Davis Talks About Mongolia and His Book When Things Get Dark

Image via​In the summer of 2000 Matthew Davis, a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, moved to Tsetserleg, a small town in the Mongolian countryside, to begin a two-year hitch in the Peace Corps. Now, nearly ten years later, he's written a book about his experiences there, When Things Ge ... More >>

Missouri Rep. Ike Skelton's Lonely Cry to Get General McChrystal to Testify

Photo Via U.S. Army troops in 2006 in Kunar province, Afghanistan.​ General Stanley A. McChrystal​Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan recently opined how strange it is that General Stanley McChrystal, our top commander in Afghanistan, has not been asked to testify before ... More >>

Cardinals' Dan McLaughlin is Baseball's Second-Biggest Blabbermouth

Last August, the ever-brooding Jeff Kent, finishing out his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, threw one of his patented hissy fits when a Los Angeles Times columnist had the temerity to suggest that Manny Ramirez's arrival had helped Kent raise his batting average by twenty points. Wikiped ... More >>

Chad Garrison wages a lonely protest, while a newlywed takes a bummer of an acid trip in a Fenton park

Will "Mississippi Nights" see a new day? Plus: White people like Lake St. Louis, and a Philly fan gets (sic)

Is MySpace Dead Yet?

Even with fewer and fewer people using it, MySpace is still a behemoth. The social media company has over 125 million users and is still clocking about 70 million page views a month. Revenue averages $250 million a year. But none of this really means anything without some context, and the announceme ... More >>

Fairmount Park earns some green while Wash. U. breeds fruit flies in need of naps

Hey, Danny Meyer! Cards Fans Gotta Eat, Too!

User "Metsfan84," Wikimedia CommonsMy colleague Chad Garrison passed along this Wall Street Journal article reviewing the food at the Yankees' and the Mets' new stadiums. Restaurateur extraordinaire Danny Meyer receives a whole lotta love for his offerings at the Mets' Citi Field. These include outp ... More >>

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Gets Political With Its Online Advertising

On the eve of Election Day two weeks ago, some online readers of the Post-Dispatch opened their inboxes to find an intriguing note from the local daily: an e-mail touting Proposition A, the controversial gambling ballot initiative that aimed to do away with the $500 loss limits enforced at the state ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: Is being in this country illegally a non-moving violation?

Meet our first MasterMinds: The RFT rewards four outstanding young St. Louis-based artists in the categories of film/video, visual arts, literary arts and performing arts

The Case of the Shanghai Shamus

A shy St. Louis poet pens subversive detective stories set in his communist homeland.

Pearl Harbor

Doing justice to Mariane and Daniel’s story.

Buggers

For once, Unreal is scared to get between the sheets. Plus: Anheuser-Busch gets buzzed, and the Francis Howell School District plans to take back Christmas.

They Did What?

2005's Top WTF? moments

Shiver We Timbers

Yarr! Unreal's a-searchin' for booty (but, please, not those VH1 Divas Live CDs). Plus, we go gaga over a QVC pitchman and meet a local blogger who needs to get something off her chest.

Buffet of Champions

You came, you saw, you voted: the winners of the 2005 Riverfront Times Music Awards

Burnt Offering

Did the Post-Dispatch try to buy itself?

Raising the Bar

Anthony's brings class and comfort to the power meal

You Want Fries with That?

Unreal finally finds happiness with that elusive combination of beer, prophylaxes and popcorn shrimp; plus, Whitey Herzog in a Misfits T-shirt!

Best Power Lunch

Anthony's Bar

Arabian Knight

Jack Shaheen crusades against cinema's depiction of Reel Bad Arabs

Bad Head Job

The Post leans on TV for election coverage and flubs the Big Story

Party Crashers

Ralph Nader tries to derail the corporate-sponsored presidential debates with a lawsuit. Protesters have their own plans to disrupt the Bush-Gore affair at Wash. U.