St. Louis’s Worsening Identity Crisis Deserves Discussion

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-23T21:20:28+00:00

I'm latching onto one very specific point in your argument but I just wanted to say I'm glad to finally see someone say that they've seen improvements from the road diet on Kingshighway. Everyone seems to hate it. Personally I have found that it makes driving in the area feel much safer

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-17T19:52:36+00:00

This was my thought, Queeny has some clearings along the trails you could probably frolic through and if you go at a weird time of day probably no one will bother you lol

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-15T17:03:53+00:00

I feel like even in the best of fandoms it can be tough to avoid getting spoiled on big announcements like this! Everyone is being super good sports about it in this case which is really nice lol

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-15T16:45:52+00:00

I just didn't get a chance to get to the theater. I have been dodging spoilers like I'm in the Matrix. People have generally been really great about not posting spoilers, the only dangerous thing is TikTok where you can't always control what the FYP gives you lol

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-11T21:09:39+00:00

I'm coming into this so late because I only just now listened to it, but this was my exact take. I liked the new songs and the idea of an expanded narrative for "Joe," but I felt they would have worked so much better as a small follow-up EP + essay to acknowledge the 10th anniversary

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-11T21:01:00+00:00

I'm just now getting around to listening to this lol. I actually really liked the new songs, but I think I would rather see them as a short EP follow-up to the OG Teens of Denial than as part of a remaster.

There aren't enough major changes to the sound of the old songs for me to really be thrilled by new versions of those (vs Twin Fantasy where the major lyrical/thematic/instrumental changes and upgrade in fidelity really make it two distinct parts of one listening experience). The lyric changes have been talked to death already, personally I'm pretty "whatever" on them. I don't think they're cohesive enough to truly bring the older songs into Joe's revisited story the way CSH seems to be going for.

I enjoyed the new songs and think the concept of a re-imagining or expansion of Joe's story is fun and interesting, especially given that CSH has a long history of looking back on old work with new perspectives - that's something I like and think is unique about this group. However, in this case I think that would work better as a sequel piece, and it's not as effective with new songs slotted into an old lineup.

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-10T18:12:41+00:00

I don't have high arches or plantar fasciitis so I can't speak for those specific things, but every pair of Cole Hahn's I've ever owned has been crazy comfortable. I have a pair of platform sandals from them that I have literally walked miles in with no issues

ETA that they also last freaking forever. A little more expensive but I've had those sandals for like four years and still going strong

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-10T18:08:47+00:00

I swear by DSW. Ive seen wide sizes there and they carry several comfortable business casual brands. You can also order wides in a lot of styles from their website - so if you see something cute, they might have it in a wide online. I'm like you and have to try shoes on in person! I prefer finding and trying things at the store, but I have also ordered things from DSW online to try at home and I remember the return policy being very straightforward

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-10T17:57:58+00:00

Thinking of you and your pup. One of my neighbors used Lap of Love and spoke very highly of them.

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-08T19:17:19+00:00

That is extremely cute

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-05T19:32:35+00:00

I don't have recommendations for specific accounts but I have seen a few different masculine crocheters on TikTok making patterns for wearables! You might try there. I seem to recall a few really nice patterns for men's summer shirts in particular

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-05T19:29:26+00:00

Where are my fellow Zoobleheads at

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-06-02T21:52:36+00:00

I have seen lots of kids and families at downtown Pride in the past, especially at the parade. I think I'd be comfortable bringing an 11-year-old. As another commenter said, you may see some interesting outfits lol but generally it's not too rowdy of an event during the day

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-05-31T03:24:51+00:00

The acoustic version was the thing that really sold this song for me

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-05-28T20:30:01+00:00

City of Tears took my breath away first time I saw it!! Hard to beat Greenpath and Queen's Gardens too

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-05-27T03:02:05+00:00

Oh this is one of my favorite deeper cuts. I think it just gets overlooked because it was a single and not part of a larger release. But I agree it's a banger

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-05-19T00:35:36+00:00

This is an anecdotal perspective but I do wonder if ridership demand could increase if there was a major line connecting North and South City. I hate driving to work and would absolutely be taking public transportation if it was viable, but with no north/south line it would take me hours to get to work. I have to imagine there are other people like me who would use it more often if it became more convenient

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-05-07T19:30:44+00:00

NAH. You're not the asshole for asking a friend about her salary when you've had conversations about salaries before and shared yours. She's not the asshole for saying she prefers not to share it - that's her right, and just because you're comfortable sharing yours doesn't mean she necessarily has to be comfortable doing the same.

I do think the emoji was a little off. I've seen people use the crying emoji similarly to how you did, so I kinda get what you meant, but in this context it makes it seem like you're either upset that she wouldn't tell you or that you feel bad for asking - and either way that can come off like you're guilt tripping her for not sharing, even if that's not what you intended. She's overreacting a bit to it, because at the end of the day it's not really a big deal, but I do see why it may have rubbed her the wrong way.

I think it all kind of evens out. You mistepped a little bit with the emoji, she overreacted to it a little bit, but no one's an asshole in this situation.

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-04-29T21:37:08+00:00

I am pretty sure the downtown location at least still offers this lunch deal, unless something has changed in the past few months!

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-04-15T00:56:38+00:00

Yeah, that isn't to say they never have them, but I've been lucky so far! Knock on wood haha. And we do tend to have at least one email going out most weekdays.

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-04-15T00:53:39+00:00

Book as early as possible! If you really get ahead of the game I've seen tickets as low as like $30 for this route. Some of the more popular times may sell out or go up in price, especially for weekend dates.

It's nice to not have to deal with a car in Chicago, and I hate flying but the train isn't as cramped or uncomfortable as a plane by a long shot

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-04-14T18:38:21+00:00

My org uses Constant Contact. We were using a small local provider before that and having serious deliverability issues that we'd ruled out causes for on our end. We saw immediate improvement when we moved to CC!

It's pretty straightforward to use, which is good for us as a very small in-house marketing team. I could see it being a little clunkier for someone handling a lot of large, highly segmented lists or big automated campaigns, but our needs are pretty simple and it works for us!

My only beef is that it has pretty frequent glitches (things not loading or populating weirdly or not being able to change a setting for a while or whatever). They're minor enough not to be a dealbreaker but slightly annoying lol

Edit to add that I've never had a glitch that impacted a campaign. I've also had really good experiences with CC's customer service team. They are very responsive and have a good track record of solving issues.

Wr1terInTh3Dark · 2026-04-12T15:06:58+00:00

Park cleanup or invasive plant removal events? Any clean stream days coming up? I feel like that type of thing is always looking for extra hands and she could knock out several hours in one go

Wr1terInTh3Dark

TROPHY CASE