Jonathan Ramsey

Saint Louis has many great places to hear Irish music, folk music, and singer-songwriters. I have to admit there’s a place in my heart for Hartford Coffee Company.

Hartford Coffee is nestled in Tower Grove South, a block south of Arsenal and Tower Grove Park, at the corner of Hartford and Roger streets. The owners are very sensitive to the needs of the coffeehouse’s patrons, many of whom live in the surrounding neighborhood. There is a play area with a flat panel playing kid-friendly telly fare. There are tables near wall outlets, and a large “bar” with ample outlets for computer-toting workers and students.

Well, this Saturday, 23 May, they will have your own Jonathan Ramsey performing Irish folk and original songs starting at 7PM. That’s right, kids. Text your BFFs and Tweet your intentions of heading out for a night of fun at Hartford Coffee!

I’ll see you there!

Jonathan Ramsey Live
Irish Songs of Hope, Life, and Shame
Hartford Coffee Company
3974 Hartford Street
Saint Louis, MO 63116
(314) 771-5282

29 May, come out to Ten Mile House for a very special show with Blue (of Morning Vision Blue), Brian Hoehn, and Double Take. The show starts at 9PM.

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I just ran across this on Myspace. It begins with the horrific story of how Saint Louis musician Dan Hamm lost his leg in a complicated series of vehicle events in January 2009. After losing control of his car in icy conditions, Dan got out of his car to check the damage. As he was stepping out of his car, it was struck by another car. Still okay, he went to look at the damage to his front end. Then, another car rear-ended his, pinning him between the car and a tractor-trailer. In the aftermath, he lost his leg.

Dan, 23 years old, is very active, and enjoys the outdoors. So, he needs to purchase a prosthetic leg capable of handling his activities. He plans to become a physical therapist to help others who face similar circumstances.

Now, Saint Louis band Madahoochi has joined forces with the Saint Louis Hoop Club to help Dan raise $30,000 to buy a prosthetic leg. 31 May 2009 they will host an event at Off Broadway Saint Louis with musicians Vitamin A and DJ Thumpasaurus. Saint Louis Hoop Club will perform, and there will be a pot luck dinner at 6pm. Attendees should bring hula hoops to hoop in the courtyard, and bring musical instruments to jam!

More info at the Madahooping For Hamm Myspace page.

As a quasi-vegetarian, I must admit this is a bit disturbing. As I sit in wait for the post-apocalypse, that I think isn’t here yet, though, this might just be genius. It’s a “business card” made from beef jerky, with a laser-inscribed name and message.

We’ve waited forever for a breakthrough like this.

Actually, is there a Li-Ion card with built-in solar charger coming? How about a card that will electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen, so I can run my car on it?

What about a business shotgun, axe, or ball bat. That would help fight off the zombies that are sure to come.

What do my ‘net peeps think about this meat madness? Is it just mad?

Could they make a vegan version? Dried Peach Cards?

Raisin Cards?

Maybe I’ll stick with the shotgun card.

If you want your bizniss on a slab-o-dried-beef, check it out at MeatCards.com. Yum!

iPhones, iPods, Zunes, Archos, and the many other portable music and video players have lots of things in common. One of the hottest things, though, is earbuds. All of us who carry devices and their earbuds have the same problem, too. How do you safely store your earbuds.

DIY sites on the internet host thousands of tips on cheap, easy ways to stow those earbuds, but, invariably, the advice is bad. The most commonly touted “clever” solution I’ve seen is the old “wrap the cord around a credit card” trick. Please don’t wrap your cord around a credit card. A credit card is the worst thing to wrap your cords around. Any time you bend a cord, you put stress on those bend points. Doubling a cord back on itself around a credit card, a library card, or a piece of cardstock is a horrible idea. What happens when you repeatedly bend a paper clip back and forth? It wears out and breaks. It may take several times. It may take several hundred times, but that’s a shortened life for an earbud cord. Wrapping around your hand or your iPod itself is better, but it still puts stress on the cord. So, what do you do?

The best way to wrap a cord is in a circle, the bigger the radius the better. You could wrap some duct tape around a toilet paper tube, a short piece of PVC pipe, a 6oz water bottle.

If you don’t feel up to making your own, you can always purchase the ready made type. Some of these are merely cases, but you can neatly roll the cord up into a circle, and place it gently within.

Sometimes, though, I just roll up the cord and place it neatly into a freezer “zip” bag (Glad, ZipLock, Target, etc.)