Janovy: “End of the Line?” November 27 On the Road Again C.J. Janovy’s column about the U.S. auto industry reminded me of my mother’s ’66 Pontiac Tempest wagon, navy blue with blue interior and a luggage rack. Every summer, she drove us to Dallas to visit her mother. In the early years, we took old U.S. Highway 69 through southeast…
A Kansas City connection has emerged in the sordid story of Bernie Madoff, the money manager alleged to have run a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission admitted Tuesday that it had received credible information of Madoff’s misdeeds years earlier but had failed to act. Christopher Cox, the SEC chairman, announced an investigation into the commission’s asleep-at-the-wheelness….
After nine months, a pair of special prosecutors has cleared former Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison of criminal wrongdoing in an investigation of his conduct during an extramarital affair. Morrison’s political nemesis, Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline, handpicked Tim Keck and Robert Arnold to investigate allegations that Morrison used his affair with Linda Carter to attempt to spy on…
%{}% ODV is a local group of wine lovers dedicated to “demystifying the art of wine appreciation and discrediting its pretentious stereotype.” The group’s name is a play on the obscure brandy Eau de Vie (New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov has compared eau die vie’s popularity in America to that of bouzouki music) and members gather once a…
It seems that Spc. Dustin Chalker isn’t any closer to settling his suit against U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Chalker, a soldier stationed at Fort Riley, originally charged that he’d been forced to attend events that paid special attention to prayers from his battalion chaplain. Chalker claimed he’d asked for exemption from these events on the grounds that he wasn’t…
I don’t want to boast, but a couple of times I’ve noted the upcoming domination of non-caloric stevia. Stevia is a naturally occurring (at least in Paraguay) herb that’s incredibly sweet and may or may not be slightly mutagenic at high doses. The FDA has been stalling on releasing a report on whether stevia is safe. Yesterday, though, Coca-Cola announced…
What do Miss Major and Her Minor Mood Swings, Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys, Tater and the Gravy Train and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup all have in common? They’ll all be getting down at Knuckleheads Saloon tonight, yo! Here’s what a can of mushroom soup looks like when it’s getting down on some pork chops: Ooooh-WEEE that looks…
Advertising Goliath Bernstein-Rein gets in the holiday spirit with the Bernstein-Reindeer Rodeo, an 8-second style rodeo challenge. It’s a pretty simple game (just use the left and right arrows to try to balance your elf) with pretty cool graphics (and an awesome rodeo clown snowman). I’m no Lane Frost Luke Perry. As Bernie the elf, I beat Bjorn to Buck…
I received an e-mail today from a reader named Miles who has a very good memory about Kansas City restaurant history — I mean, he remembered that I was a waiter at a restaurant called Mama Stuffeati’s more than 20 years ago — but has a mental block at recalling specific details. “I’ve been wracking my name trying to remember…
A few weeks ago, I heard rumors about a fund-raiser to help pay legal bills for indicted Board of Public Utilities official Marc Conklin, because Todd Graves isn’t working cheap. I didn’t get nearly as far as The Kansas City Star’s Mark Wiebe, who infiltrated Conklin’s chili feed. Wiebe also got BPU board member Mark Jones to admit he attended…
After two weeks in which many Downtown domestic beer lovers questioned their sanity and love of piss water light lagers, the Teamsters have settled their dispute with Budweiser distributor United Beverage Company, which is owned by former Chief’s safety Deron Cherry. Via the KC Biz Journal: The Teamster’s weren’t happy with some issues and stopped delivering Budweiser to the Downtown…
You guys thought Carl Peterson was bad. Just wait until Kansas City’s racially insensitive first lady Gloria Squitiro gets a crack at running the Chiefs. FuKCedCity breaks the bad news to a beleaguered metro. Categories: News Tags: carl peterson, Fresh Meat, FuKCedCity, Gloria Squitiro, JoCoSOB, Jolie Justus, kansas city chiefs, Kansas Jackass, KCK Sports, Nick Sloan, Planned Parenthood of Kansas…
Neil Mason is best known for mashing up other artists’ work (at times, to the chagrin of record labels), but he isn’t afraid of originality. From his Team9 website: “I’ve spent the last few months neck deep on an original album – the first since 2003. ‘We Dont Disco’ is an electronic soundtrack to the days of my life. A…
%{}% The holidays are a time for heavy drinking — especially when your loved one leaves you. Here’s what to drink under those crappy circumstances. Just another reason to stay away from LA. Its drinking water is now directly from toilet to tap. Actually, it’s a neat process (read: expensive) to make gray water and sewage drinkable and soon, it’s…
%{}% Zombies of Spain: Back in 2005 when I was a bartender, the company I now work for, Village Voice Media, advertised their opening for a video game columnist. Not only am I an avid gamer, I am THE BEST at writing, according to my stepmom, Linda, who has known me since I was five and is therefore in a…
We’re not crazy for loving sad Christmas songs. Thank god so many musicians write and record them, proving there’s a deep need to express a hell of a lot more of the season’s complex emotions than you’ll hear on KUDL this time of year. Here’s one person’s Top Ten, with a nod of appreciation to David Cantwell over at Living…
Jingle Jam
Burlesque Downtown Underground: Under the Mistle Toe
Recycled Sounds closed three years ago, and now it appears its former owner is wanting get rid of some rekkids. Now’s your chance, vinyl hoarders! The A-side: And the B-side: Um, don’t try to print this and use it to get the $5 off. Or, well, you can, but don’t say we told you to do it. Categories: Music Tags:…
