National Socialist Movement March in Columbia Missouri

There was a parade in columbia missouri on march 10th to protest what the national socialist movement called the teaching of marxist views at the University of Missouri Columbia. They were escorted on their parade route by Columbia Police, County Sherrifs and the Missouri State Police. Columbia approved the permits for the parade in the intrest of Freedom Of Speech. The parade which was supposed to last for an hour was cut short when several protesters became violent and the police had to use pepper spray. 7 of the protesters were arrested. None of the Nazis were arrested. The people of columbia were urged by local officals and police to simply ignore the march which i think would have been a much more effective statement than physically attacking the marchers. but protesters can never seem to behave themselvs. i think both sides were stupid. but i guess both achieved their goals. whatever....

St.Louis Art Museum

(St. Louis Art Museum and Forrest Park)

This past weekend I made it into St. Louis with my sister and her family, for a day at the art museum. The museum building was built in 1904 for the Worlds Fair in St. Louis. My sister was there for a guided tour with one of her college classes. I stuck with the tour for the first half hour or so, until I realized how much there was that I didn't really care to know about art. So I wandered around the museum with my niece Hannah and my sisters husband Bill. The exhibits at the museum were amazing. They had pieces on display by Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Dhali, Degas and Rodin. There were also large sections on ancient Central and South American art, Egyptian art, and Chineese, African, and Indian art.































Van Gogh































Monet


some more pictures....











I would have to say all of the collections at the museum were great, with the exception of their moder art gallery. But then again I hate modern art, mabey i just don't get how a pile of broken glass or a piece of wire tacked to the wall is art. I think I was most impressed with the Asian and the Central and South American galleries the most.
I am planning on going back later this month to take some more pictures when the museum is less busy. I would alos like to check out some more of Forrest Park. It is a huge park right in St. Louis and is actually bigger than Central Park in NYC. There seems to be allot more to see there. there are a couple more museums and the St. Louis Zoo is there also, along with a golf course and miles and miles of paths for biking or you can rent a Segway to cruise through the park on, that sounds like fun.