Best Sleeper Hit: WordJong (Nintendo DS) — It may not sell like Mario, but this mishmash of Scrabble and mah-jongg hooks you like handheld crack. Already a word-of-mouth hit, despite being released only this month, WordJong is perfect for quiet afternoons, loud commutes, or romantic walks on the beach. Best Old-School Graphics: Odin Sphere (PlayStation 2) — Don’t count out…
Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Warner Bros.) — It’s the collector’s-set briefcase that seals the deal, a gunmetal-gray case that all but shouts “Completist dork!” Also: There’s damned near every single version imaginable, plus a making-of doc almost as essential as any iteration of the movie itself. Film school in a box, grade A-plus. Nosferatu: Ultimate Edition (Kino) — Kino…
Many of my friends love pizza so much that they’d happily eat it three or five times a week. These same friends are also passionately devoted to a particular pizzeria — typically Waldo Pizza or d’Bronx — and wouldn’t dream of being disloyal by eating in any other pizza joint. I am not one of those people. True, I like…
Burnt Ends, December 6 Sketch This Regarding the Burnt Ends item about Kansas City’s Regulated Industries officers ticketing Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School drawing session in the West Bottoms: What a true waste of spending by our great city here. Couldn’t these funds have been better spent on many other useful projects? Or busting someone who is bringing harm, not art?…
Dear Readers: Gracias, thank you, gracias for another successful year. The Mexican now appears in 32 newspapers across the country, with a weekly circulation of just over 2 million! As more readers join the reconquista, many ask the same preguntas about the column’s methodology, philosophy and generous use of the term pinche puto pendejo baboso. Following is a mini-F.A.Q. to…
This has been a bittersweet year for restaurateur Jimmy Frantze. The low point of 2007 was having to close Frondizi’s, his seven-year-old Italian restaurant on the Plaza, after he couldn’t come to terms with his landlord. The high point has come at the end of the year: This month, the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association named…
The best night at the Sake Bar (135th Street and Quivira in Overland Park) is definitely New Year’s Eve. One reason this year’s big party is expected to smash all previous records is because the fliers for the event double as free tickets. And if you bring a party of six or more, you’ll get a free bottle of champagne….
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week: American Pie Presents: Beta House (Universal) The Brothers Solomon (Universal) Eastern Promises (Universal) Galactica 1980: The Complete Epic Series (Universal) The Heartbreak Kid (Universal) Intimate Affairs (Universal) The Kingdom (Universal) Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection (Facets) Shattered (Lions Gate) WWE: The Best of Raw 15th Anniversary (WWE) Tags: Harry…
By DAVID MARTIN Thousands of logo-festooned Midwesterners will travel to celebrate the outstanding seasons of their college football teams. The Missouri Tigers face Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on January 1. Two days later, the Kansas Jayhawks line up against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Here’s a guide for fans who may be making…
Did Santa bring you exactly what you wanted today? If not, light up a spliff and console yourself with this warm rendition of “Deck the Halls,” performed by locals the Republic Tigers. The Republic Tigers, “Deck the Halls” MP3 Categories: Music Tags: republic tigers
By ERIC BARTON Terry Lee Franz probably hasn’t had what you’d call a good year. The 52-year-old from Overland Park told police back in may that he was stabbed by his wife during an argument. That’s not what you might expect from Mrs. Claus. Franz is known as the Santa of cars, a guy who gives away free rides to…
Merry Christmas from all of us here to all of you there. Please enjoy this classic, and don’t get drunk and hit anyone like last year. Categories: Music
Resident Pitch cartoon-maker Josh Ziegler submitted his list today, with the following additional comments. My list of music of 2007. Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s popular acts. So sue me. I thought the local music this year was pretty bland. I’m still cool, right? And I counted two for Radiohead because their B-sides that came with the deluxe discbox was…
Our Best Online Radio Personality, Chronic the Hedgehog of Pop Free Radio, thinks you should know about the following. Top 14 Songs from Local Artists That Played On Popfreeradio.com in 2007 (even if the songs are older) 14. Change Me – Kill.Pop 13. Convict’s Lullabye – Select Five 12. Liking You – Pedaljets 11. 10,000 Black Eyes – National Fire…
By CHRIS PACKHAM FRIDAY: From 3 to 6 p.m. at the Replay (946 Massachusetts in Lawrence), play pinball for free. Whoops, you lost a ball. Don’t worry: You won’t have to plug in another quarter — because the pinball is free! Whoops – lost another one. You’re not good at this, are you? SATURDAY: It’s Over, the ACBS and…
John Hulston, owner of Anodyne Records (home to the Architects, Roman Numerals, Meat Puppets et al), sent in his list, too. Find out below how to join in on the listmania fun. The Besnard Lakes – Are the Dark Horse (Jagjaguwar) Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends (French Kiss) Sunburned Hand of the Man – Fire Escape (Smalltown Supersound)…
By CHRIS PACKHAM The hitherto unrecognized obsessive compulsive streak in the Jungian collective unconscious is apparent in the tendency of internet folk to compile lists. The whole unfunny fucking output of Cracked.com consists of nothing but Digg-bait lists of things they saw on TV. Note to Cracked.com editors: Making jokes about your own site’s tendency to compose every article…
By MEGAN METZGER 13 Records I Like That Came Out in 2K7: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: 100 Days, 100 Nights Various Artists: A Date with John Waters ESG: A South Bronx Story, Vol. II Jay Reatard: Blood Visions The Capstan Shafts: Environ Maiden LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver Wire: Read and Burn EP Field Music: Tones of Town…
By PETER RUGG This sign on the Boulevard says it all. Ralph Roades was pushing his restaurant/hotel at Lake of the Ozarks when he figured it out. “I just wanted to get some business in,” says the 56-year-old publisher of Wide Open magazine. So began Roades’ signature brand of promotion. He’ll carry it on in Kansas City for the first…
Galleries come and go, and their exhibits change from month to month. But it’s a reasonable bet that the new and as yet undecorated Kansas City Metro Patrol Station, near the intersection of Prospect and 75th Street — on the site of the former Fairyland amusement park — will prove to be a slightly more enduring venue. The city has…
Every gal can relate to unwanted overtures from predatory dudes in a bar. It’s just part of the terrain. But those advances must be especially irksome when you’re a woman uninterested in men, period. Girl to Girl KC offers an alternative to the wearisome bar scene every third Friday at the Empire Room (334 East 31st Street). The event, which…
Santa will arrive at the T-Rex shark tank at The Legends today with a fat sack of algae sheets for all the good little Heterodontus galeatuses and other saltwater fish. That’s right: Santa feeds the sharks at 8 a.m. today, after which he’ll be available for consultation with your kids. Head Curator Paul Edgerton portrays Santa inside the shark tank….
