Live blogging of the Missouri Grand Prix

(Web Exclusive) The 2010 Missouri Grand Prix kicks off Feb. 12 and runs through Feb. 15. Keep checking back as Vox reporters post live updates from Missouri's biggest swim meet.

Album Review: Mary and the Giant — Music for a Nervous Breakdown

(Web Exclusive) From the outset of Columbia folk quartet Mary and the Giant’s Music for a Nervous Breakdown, the band lets the listener know one thing: These musicians are not amateurs. Mary and the Giant is taking the right steps toward becoming a Columbia favorite, and regardless of the need for some technical tweaking, any local music enthusiast can find something to enjoy from this folk quartet.

Hear This: Hot Chip and The Album Leaf

Hot Chip's new album, One Life Stand, sees the band stretching into new territory and depth. The Album Leaf's, A Chorus of Storytellers, breaks the band's three and half years of silence with a soothing, beautiful album.

Following Flynn’s thread

In 2007, wanting to discover more about the stories behind the people in the Abu Ghraib pictures, Brooklyn-based author Nick Flynn traveled to Istanbul to talk with some of the ex-detainees. Those stories, woven together with parts of his childhood and his impending fatherhood, became his newest memoir, The Ticking Is the Bomb. On Feb. 18, Flynn will share his newest memoir with Columbia during a reading at the Reynolds Alumni Center.

Cutting it old school

The ball-topped red, white and blue spinning pole; the smell from comb-filled jars of blue antiseptic mystery fluid; a whiff of chemicals from those old clippers; and a bunch of old geezers griping about sports or these damn kids today — behold the classic view of the barbershop.

Aid for the aftershock

Hemingway’s restaurant manager Calvin Rolark keeps fresh pairs of socks in the back of his Jeep. “I’m big on water and socks,” he says, laughing. Rolark’s belief is that if one person can make an impact, imagine what an entire community can do. So Rolark put his theory into practice, and Hemingway’s held a silent auction for Haiti relief on Jan. 29. Columbia’s generosity to disaster-stricken Haiti is in the story behind the donations.

Leeches and razors

Barbering is truly an ancient profession. Primitive razors have been found from as far back as the Bronze Age, which began sometime around 2,000 B.C. Even ancient Egyptian artwork depicts men getting shaved, according to a British Broadcasting Corporation article “The Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything.” Many of these ancient barbers were also surgeons (clearly a good idea) who would let your blood if you came down with a spot of the black plague, close your wounds if you had some bad luck in a duel or pull out a rotten tooth because you didn’t have Crest in 900 A.D.

Mountain lions, barbershops and Vox, oh my!

Bigfoot. The Loch Ness monster. Area 51. As a child I was enthralled by legends and lore — I pored over books about the Bermuda Triangle, and I loved the Indiana Jones movies. My juvenile obsession with these monster myths reared its dorky head when I read our feature on mountain lions in Missouri: Are they real? Could they be in your back yard? Use your cat-like reflexes to discover what’s fact versus fiction.

RJD2: The man with a musical midas touch

RJD2 has been categorized as a mash-up artist bordering the instrumental and electro-pop genres — somewhere between soul, funk and psychedelic. Whatever the description, the point is that placing RJD2’s music in any one genre is, as the DJ himself puts it, virtually impossible. RJD2 has not only created four sensory-stimulating solo albums but also established his own record label in 2009.

RJD2 on the screen

(Web Exclusive) RJD2’s music, besides earning him an award from The American Society of Composers, Authors and Producers, has appeared in various movies and advertisements. Manufacturing bigwigs from Saturn to Adidas have borrowed RJD2’s musical creativity for their ads.

Black History Month

(Web Exclusive) When you think of black history in America, you probably think bus boycotts in Montgomery, Ala.; Black Panthers in Oakland, Calif.; or Dr. King in D.C. However, black men and women have been making history and fighting for the same causes in this town for just as long.

A talented Seat

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Penn & Teller and Brian Wilson are just a few of the celebrities in illustrator Eric Seat’s portfolio, which has earned him numerous awards from art publications such as Print Magazine and Communication Arts. And New York, the mecca of the art world, has taken notice of this Columbia resident.

Read This: Presidential Reads

In honor of President’s Day Monday, local political experts provide you a list of the best books about U.S. commanders in chief.

Made in Columbia: Wood artist

Having hundreds of any one item stashed in the basement could easily qualify someone as a pack rat. But local woodworker Jeff Ferguson has an excuse for the 600 wooden bowls piled up in his storage room — they’re his works of art in progress.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Logo a go-go

MU alumni have been appearing on reality shows from Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County to MTV’s True Life. With this publicity and MU branding everything from Snuggies to undies, it was inevitable that MU’s logo would get airtime.

Vox Asks Columbians: Who was your first crush, and how old were you?

New moon, New Year

It might already be 2010, but for much of the world, the New Year has yet to come. Lunar New Year means a fresh start for many Asian countries, but it’s not your typical holiday. People of East Asian descent will observe the New Year on Feb. 14. They’ll celebrate by honoring family, eating rice in all sorts of sweet and savory varieties and, most importantly, giving thanks.

College student runs for mayor of Columbia

Sean O’Day lives in a little house off Old 63 with two cats, two dogs and three roommates. Surrounded by the trappings of a college residence ­— beer cans included — O’Day, 23, is combating the stereotype of an apathetic young adult by running in Columbia’s April mayoral election. Kittens scamper over bookshelves and tables as O’Day reclines in a kitchen chair and talks about his decision to run.

On the Job: Master Jeweler

Kanye West says “Diamonds are forever / Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe.” Jim Pringle is responsible for many of the diamonds in the sky in Columbia. He’s been crafting jewelry for 25 years and won the De Beers Design Award in 1993, which propelled him to shine on the international jewelry stage. Pringle’s clients rave that he’s made some of the best jewelry of all time.

Lunar New Year recipes

Think you are the next Rachael Ray? Want to test your cooking skills with international recipes? Try your hand at Chinese dumplings, a popular dish, and ddeokguk, rice cake soup from Korea, to commemorate Lunar New Year.

Hello, Kitty!

Copper’s, Sophie’s and Mitzi’s barking could be heard from the house. That early October 2008 morning in Sedalia, the Welsh corgi, Jack Russell terrier and dachshund were really making a racket. Their yelping was different than ever before. As 12 little paws scattered around the deck, the curious fear in their incessant barking was hard to miss, as if they were privy to some terrifying secret. Then came the screaming. A terrible, unidentifiable screeching that rang through the trees. As she sat in her living room and listened to the strange noise, Michelle Sharp’s mind wandered to the week before. Could it be? she asked herself for the second time.

Movie Review: Antichrist

If terrifying, intensely graphic thrillers with misogynistic undertones, not to mention castration, are your idea of a good time, well, there’s not much hope for you. But, alas, there is a movie that will delight you. For everyone else, be wary of Antichrist, showing at Ragtag beginning Feb. 12.

Making a splash

This year, the Missouri Grand Prix will include big names from the national team such as Ryan Lochte, Eric Shanteau and Garrett Weber-Gale and international stars such as Ous Mellouli and Kosuke Kitajima. So when the fourth annual running of the meet starts Feb. 12, drama should be a given.

Eat This: V-Day Treats

Couples and cynics alike know what Valentine’s Day is actually about: dessert. Fortunately, some Columbia chefs have prepared chocolate treats ideal for the holiday craving. Whether you have a sweetie or you’re going stag, make plans to visit any (or all) of these restaurants to satisfy that V-Day sweet tooth.