Vital Blog

Fifth Annual 24 Hours of Yoga a New Year’s Eve Celebration!

Who: It’s time once again to come out for the Fifth Annual 24 Hours of Yoga New Years

Eve Celebration! Marbles is hosting a rare opportunity to spend New Year's Eve into New Year's Day in the healthiest ways possible for you and the planet with a 24 hour schedule of back to back yoga classes. There will be ongoing classes with teachers volunteering

from yoga studios from around the St. Louis area, teaching for 24 continuous hours. This has become a very fun and popular event!

Brain Drain

By Lucas Hudson

Christmas is a time for sore cuticles, raw from fingernails clawing at red clearance stickers, and laughable attempts by parents to convince suspicious toddlers that presents are delivered by an obese cookie-obsessed, chimney-dwelling septuagenarian; but most importantly, Christmas is a time when bright young professionals come back to the family roost after planting roots in different cities. But for locally-born, preening professionals, why is the Christmas trip back to mom’s house via airplane instead of automobile? Comparatively speaking, does St. Louis truly suffer from a "brain drain" epidemic, or is the potential problem an exaggerated local myth reinforced by our well-documented racial problems, yearly crime rankings, historic population loss and the 17th time we’ve asked a coastal transplant: "So, why are you here?"

Meet Jeffrey Carter: The New Artistic Director of the Gateway Men’s Chorus

By: Joan Lipkin

It’s a big deal when a new artistic director comes to town. When the artistic director is Dr. Jeffrey Richard Carter and joins the Gateway Men’s Chorus, now in its 22nd season, it’s a very big deal. Carter’s considerable credentials include a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Kansas, and a Master of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Missouri.

At noon on Nov. 15, while city workers hurriedly decorated Kiener Plaza with holiday lights and erected Christmas trees along Market Street, a chorus of chants and cheers took flight on the autumnal air as St. Louis once more was filled with the melodies of social justice.

More than 1,400 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and straight allied activists from throughout the region braved the cold and damp afternoon to protest the recent passage of Proposition 8 in California on the steps of the Old Courthouse downtown.

Tony Sandler in Chevalier-Maurice & Me

 Tony Sandler finishes the CSTL Fall season November 13-14 at The Sheldon with "Chevalier-Maurice & Me."  Neither caricature nor impersonation, this show is a heartfelt homage to this widely-admired  entertainer.  This is a terrific and touching show.  It has been the  subject of a PBS special and DVD, and contains the charm and savoir  faire that Maurice himself brought to film and stage.  Hear Gigi and many of the songs that Chevalier made famous, in a compelling and  dramatic revue of his life and work.

Tony Sandler plays for two nights only- Thu. Nov.13 at 8:00 p.m. and Fri. Nov. 14 at 8:00 p.m.  For individual tickets, go here.  The Sheldon's Web site is here.

All pertinent information can be found at Show Me No Hate. I hope to see many of you there.

Peter Cabrera-Nguyen, Ph.D. student at Washington University is leading the local effort to protest the Mormon Church, which Cabrera-Nguyen claims bankrolled the successful effort to pass Proposition 8 in California, which bans gay marriage in the state.  The church's tax-exempt status makes their financial contributions towards banning gay marriage controversial, and could threaten said status.

Rep. Oxford’s Recommendations In the November 4 Election:

 On the Ellen show on October 20, Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden gave three strong indications of why the LGBT community can trust that they will have allies in the White House when Barack Obama is elected on Nov. 4. First Biden took Ellen’s hand and warmly congratulated her on her recent marriage. Secondly he stated firmly that he would vote No on Proposition 8 to overturn same-sex marriage if he lived in California. Thirdly he reminded the audience that he and Obama have both opposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage rights.

Miss Gay America 2009

By: Colin Murphy

Senior Writer

      The Show-Me State provided the jewel in the crown at the final night of the 37th annual Miss Gay America (MGA) pageant held in St. Louis as three former Miss Gay Missouri’s were chosen to compete in the top ten, including a triumphant Victoria DePaula from Kansas City, who clinched the coveted national title.

     MGA, the oldest and most celebrated female impersonation pageant of its kind was held at the Millennium Hotel downtown Oct. 8-12, 2008. Sometimes called “the boys pageant,” MGA requires all of its contestants remain male in every sense. Hence, no hormones or surgical augmentation is allowed below the neck.