Fràn Healy of the band Travis told Spin that if Radiohead singer Thom Yorke had written the phrase I must confess/my loneliness/is killing me, critics would declare it brilliant. Instead, the Max Martin-penned lyric slithered from the mouth of Britney Spears during “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” which, although extremely catchy, never caught on as a guilty pleasure with…
“There is nothing better than waking up and fucking my chick, going to breakfast with her, going to the beach with her for a little while, then going skateboarding with all my friends,” exclaims U.S. Bombs frontman Duane Peters in one long breath. “Then I’d come home, take a shower, then go to the punk rock show, play a set,…
When fans of the Vandals, the punk band for which drummer Josh Freese delivers the high-velocity backdrop, hear his comparably subtle work on new project A Perfect Circle’s debut CD, Mer de Noms (which achieves heaviness through density and atmosphere rather than speed) they might conclude he’s sleepwalking. However, as Freese points out, the flashiest displays aren’t always the most…
Beauty is where you find it, says Deathray frontman Dana Gumbiner. At least that’s how he justifies risking his considerable cool-crowd credibility, which was bolstered immeasurably by forming a band that features two former members of hipster faves Cake, by publicly admitting he digs Britney Spears. “I was watching this thing on MTV, Making the Video, and she is just…
British director Mike Hodges might not be prolific (he’s made eight theatrical films since Get Carter, his 1971 debut), but his movies often have been oddly prophetic. Get Carter opened to a tepid box office and some occasionally scathing reviews for its forceful depiction of gangster violence. Last year, however, the British Film Institute rated it 16th on its list…
What hath American Pie wrought? Another round of goofy, derivative teen sex comedies, apparently. In this one, Breckin Meyer plays a college student who videotapes himself having sex with a pretty coed — then accidentally mails the tape to his girlfriend in Texas, leading to a panicked attempt to intercept it before it reaches her. Viewers’ enjoyment of this film…
There are three reasons to see a Jackie Chan movie: the fights, Chan’s engaging personality, and the fights. Shanghai Noon has all of these elements in abundance, and the film throws in an amiable sidekick (Owen Wilson) for good measure. A 19th-century Chinese Imperial Guard (Chan, of course) is sent to Nevada to rescue his country’s kidnapped princess (Lucy Liu…
Shot by director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas, Miss Julie) in “four continuous takes” and with only a “predetermined structure” as its story, Time Code literally shows four separate scenes at the same time throughout its 93-minute duration. The film’s first clear quad shows two women. In the foreground, but blurry, is Emma (Saffron Burrows, Deep Blue Sea); the…
Like many recent efforts from writer/actor/ director Woody Allen, Small Time Crooks treads familiar territory. The movie’s set in New York, and he plays yet another neurotic. Still, his gift for snappy banter (for example, actor Michael Rapaport’s warped take on Pavlovian psychology and cookies) remains undiminished, and there’s a genuine sweetness that was missing from his snidely caustic…
Director Mike Hodges shocked 1971 audiences with the brutality of his thriller, Get Carter. His new movie, Croupier, delivers a much different but equally potent sort of jolt. He and screenwriter Paul Mayersberg (The Man Who Fell to Earth) eschew violence and conventional gambling motifs. No guns ever appear on screen, and the story is not told from a desperate…
Eleven years ago in the Windy City, Sandra Thomas founded what would be the beginning of the Sport and Social Clubs of the U.S. It’s a strange corporation run by sand volleyball-playing executives whose dress code involves a pair of sneakers and sunglasses in the summer — or any other logo-laden gear from your favorite sport’s apparel-producing icon. The Sport…
For some fans, baseball is forever associated with summer. But that connection is rather misleading because the season begins with much fanfare in the spring and ends with the playoffs and World Series in the fall. Thus, the hand-to-eye coordination sport that more closely defines summer for many recreational purists is Wiffle ball — an activity as comparable to baseball…
With a snap of the wrist, a tug of a string, and a wealth of instinct, David Ellis adeptly guides his homemade kite through twists, twirls, plunges, and power lines in an awe-inspiring display of skill. Despite all that talent, it’s not the thrill of battle that keeps this longtime member of the Kansas City Kite Club turning out week…
Whipple anus. Jelly Bean. Old Man Bones. Although these names may conjure up images of jazz musicians or porn stars, they are actually part of a group of plants that will be introduced this summer and fall at Powell Gardens, a botanical paradise 30 miles southeast of Kansas City on Highway 50. “Sometimes these names can be a little embarrassing,…
As you travel along the newest hiking/biking trail in Johnson County, it’s easy to forget just where you are. One stretch of the Mill Creek Streamway Park winds through forest so dense it’s difficult to see the creek that gives the trail its name, winding through the countryside some 60 feet below. From there, the forest clears up, showing a…
Barstow School Organic Farmers’ Market, 11511 State Line Rd. Sat(s)., 8 a.m.-1 p.m., through Oct. 18. 816-942-3255 Bonner Springs Market, Downtown Bonner Springs, KS. Sat(s)., 6 a.m.-sellout; Wed(s)., 3-6 p.m., through Oct. 28. 913-422-1020 City Market, 5th & Walnut. Year-round: Sat(s).-Sun(s)., 7 a.m.-4 p.m.; weekdays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. 913-642-1271 Excelsior Springs Market, Nance’s Supermarket, 314 Concourse. Through September. 816-630-6215 Independence…
It’s that time of year again — when farmers’ markets start popping up all over the metro. For those interested in organically grown produce, farmers’ markets are a good source, but you should remember a few things. For instance, many of the networks associated with promoting local organic farming offer this simple piece of advice: Know your farmer. “It is…
Inspired by the four elements of the hip-hop culture — rapping, DJing, breaking, and graffiti writing — urban fashion has become an estimated $5 billion a year industry. A lot of folks laughed at the kiddie rap duo Kris Kross when its members hit the scene in 1992 wearing baggy jeans and oversize baseball jerseys. Yeah, they wore their gear…
Heading north into Atchison, Kan., on the Amelia Earhart Memorial Highway (more commonly known as K-7), drivers see signs proudly boasting the town’s claim to fame as the birthplace of feminist aviation legend Amelia Earhart and pointing the way to various Earhart monuments. The signs are punctuated by a small billboard posted on private property that says, “Abortion stops a…
Arnie Fagan is a grown-up’s Willy Wonka. Half eccentric nomad and half marketing guru, he lords over Cool Stuff, his import store in Columbia, Mo., like some zany king from a fairy tale. He calls himself “El Presidente.” Everybody knows him. When he sits on a bench outside his store — the “store to explore” — on a warm, sunny…
The blame game As an employee of Topeka State Hospital for 19 years and an inveterate letter to the editor/call a legislator/memo writer, I take exception to Dr. Cynthia Turnbull’s contention that the administration was repressive and “sanitized” minutes or grievances (“On Dangerous Grounds,” May 4-10). I was never negatively sanctioned by the hospital nor SRS. As a colleague of…
Randy Long hasn’t gotten the reaction he had anticipated after telling his story about his Akita Adoption and Rescue of Mid America in Williamsburg, Kan., to PitchWeekly (“Disposable Pets,” March 2-8). “It really hasn’t done me any good as far as calls with offers to help the plight of these dogs. I have gotten more calls of people wanting…
Prairie Village mother sent to prison for killing two of her children says she was not competent when accepting a plea agreement On the windy night of Oct. 24, 1995, a raging fire demolished an upscale home in Prairie Village, Kan. The fire took the lives of Kelly and Tim Farrar, ages 6 and 13. The succeeding investigation led…
Steve Chasteen played with trash for a living for two and half years and loved it. With a bulldozer as his tool and doing a good job as his motivation, Chasteen built cells of solid waste at Waste Management’s Forest View Recycling and Disposal Facility in Kansas City, Kan., at 4800 Kaw Drive. The landfill was built in 1986 and…
