By OWEN MORRIS The first presidential debate is this Friday, or supposedly this Friday. Whatever. I planned on watching it at home or at a debate party (yes, I have nerdy friends who majored in political science) but then a co-worker asked whether I knew of any bars that would be showing the debate. Are there any? Categories: Dining, Food…
By ANDY VIHSTADT For their last LP, People Under the Stairs pulled a fast one on unsuspecting illegal downloaders by posting a false leak of Thes One and Double K reciting the 1797 Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Damn, now that’s old-school. This time around, PUTS is giving fans something to get excited about. Fun…
By JEN CHEN The first time I realized that KC is a big small town was when I tried to crash a party in Prairie Village. As I documented in this Night Ranger column, I was infiltrating the party when I realized that (a) I knew the host; and (b) I had already been invited. What’s weird is that I…
By NADIA PFLAUM Danielle seemed pretty shocked that I’d want to take her picture for a fashion blog. She shouldn’t have been. In the midst of Mike’s Tavern, she glowed — and it wasn’t just the rhinestones on her forehead that did it. “I got ’em from my niece, and she got ’em from a Somalian store,” Danielle said. “They’re…
By DAVID MARTIN The Chiefs stink, but the head coach is sure entertaining. Herm Edwards developed a reputation for being a quote machine while coaching the New York Jets. His “You play to win the game” riff, in 2002, ranks with Jim Mora’s incredulous response to a reporter’s question about the post-season hopes of the 2001 Indianapolis Colts. Edwards has…
By OWEN MORRIS This Californian stopped in the City of Fountains to hit up the famous barbecue joints and take appetizing pictures of the food. Here’s his take on LC’s. (The Eaten Path) Risotto is one of those dishes that’s acquired a reputation for being extremely tough to make. But this author shows with lots of practice and a helpful…
By ALAN SCHERSTUHL Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from area basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. Trailblazer’s Almanac and Pioneer Book Date: 1975 Discovered at: Brass Armadillo Antique Mall, Grain Valley, Missouri The Cover Promises: In America, the tree…
The architects of the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers used to work in a business that Donald Trump once had in his hands. In 1984 and 1985, Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson captured two United States Football League titles while running the Philadelphia Stars. A.J. Smith, the Chargers’ GM, worked as a scout for two USFL teams…
Early in 1993, Counting Crows recorded their debut album, August and Everything After, with T-Bone Burnett; it was released in the fall. The up-tempo song released on the album, “Mr. Jones,” became their ticket to stardom. What made Counting Crows was how they were able to balance lead singer Adam Duritz’s tortured lyrics with the sound of the late ’60s…
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has inspired legions of young supporters, instigated stadiumwide chants of “Yes, we can,” and, perhaps most curiously, become a favorite source for artistic inspiration. You’ve seen the images everywhere: home-printed T-shirts, friends’ Facebook profiles, and long fences surrounding urban construction zones. Obama stares out at you, bracketed by such messages as “Hope” and “Progress” —…
Back in the good old days, our nation’s food supply came from small family-owned farms. Today, factory farming and the meat industry resemble a science-fiction novel in which keepers pump acres of confined livestock full of hormones and antibiotics —which is bad for the environment, worse for people and more than a little uncomfortable for the animals.Farm Sanctuary, a group…
Jim Gaffigan is a stand-up comic known, to the extent that he is known, as a talent defined and enabled by self-imposed constraints: a gentle approach and language that barely strays into PG-rated territory. He might be most recognizable as the man in the unnecessarily funny Sierra Mist commercials — y’know, the big, pale guy with the comb-over beard; the…
This weekend, the usual “Chug! Chug!” anthems of downtown partiers should give way to something more refined. At first, anyway. That’s because two big beer festivals will hit town, and sipping microbrews is actually a much quicker way to get blitzed, thanks to their higher alcohol content. The partying starts at 5 p.m. with an Oktoberfest keg-tapping ceremony at Washington…
Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders details the astonishing struggles of female civil rights crusaders who, to use a Fannie Lou Hamer quote, were “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” In 1964, Hamer addressed the Democratic National Convention’s Credentials Committee, chronicling the atrocities she’d endured while attempting to become a registered voter. She pointedly asked her audience, “Is this…
Historically, the Sunflower State has been more likely to ban books than to celebrate challenging literature. In the early 1990s, the Olathe School Board attempted to dustbin Annie on My Mind, a novel that — heaven forbid — paints two lesbians positively. More recently, parents in the Blue Valley School District tried erasing author Toni Morrison and other degenerates from…
Fashion Bug as an outlet for forward-thinking style? Bite your tongue! The Third Annual Fashion Show may change your mind about the discount strip-mall clothing emporium: Fashion Bug will display its frocks on the runway at the Record Bar (1020 Westport Road) alongside designs by Sabrina Blackberry Ree, TaDa Designs and Cityboyz Clothing Co. The event is hosted by comic…
Quirky St. Louis quartet So Many Dynamos is always on tour with somebody, whether it’s a Nintendo-core outfit such as Horse the Band or a group that’s a bit more up its stylistic alley, such as nerd-rock heroes Harvey Danger. So Many Dynamos’ tight, entertaining live set certainly reflects this constant pavement-pounding: Drummer Norm Kunstel’s beats stop on a dime…
At press time, polls showed John McCain winning Missouri easily in this year’s election. It’s not even close. Depending on which experts you rely on, he’ll cut Obama down by as few as three points or as many as 10 points. It’s the same in Kansas, which means a total of 17 electoral votes — poof, gone, right there. Some…
Just because you can catch it in Kansas, don’t assume that this year’s Manhattan Film Festival has anything to do with the Flint Hills and Fort Riley. The name refers to that other Manhattan, celebrating its 11th festival of short films from around the world by screening them around the world — and giving audiences a voice in the judging….
There’s a lot you don’t know about Roald Dahl, author of subversive children’s classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG. For instance, Dahl also wrote morbid fiction for Playboy. He served as a pilot in the RAF. And he worked for years as a secret agent, charming American men and bedding American women. Author Jennet Conant…
(1330 Grand, 816-471-1330). Why drink bottles when you can have pitchers? All day, pitchers of domestic beer cost $12; premium goes for $14, and imports are $16. Mondays-Fridays, 2008 Tags: Night & Day
(1333 Walnut, 816-442-8115). In 1958, a bottle of the Kentucky whiskey was only $7. On Sundays from 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close, singles cost $6. Domestic bottles are $3, and import and microbottles are $4. Sun., Sept. 28, 3-6 & 9 p.m.-1 a.m., 2008 Tags: Kentucky, Night & Day
Ever since George Carlin came around, it’s been hard to sell vulgarity as the main attraction in the world of stand-up comedy. The trick is to be X-rated and funny, and in that regard, the fraternity of touring comedians known as the UnBookables has it right. With marquee names such as Neil Hamburger and former Man Show host Doug Stanhope…
