If any of the soon-to-be-fired staff of The Kansas City Star make it over to the Angry Journalist Web site to vent — and lord knows they deserve to vent — they’ll see a plea from University of Kansas assistant professor Scott Reinardy to become part of his study. If they e-mail the j-school prof, they’ll be part of a…
Flickr: Don Iannone During that other Great Depression, the movies tried to cheer up the masses of unemployed, fearful and poor with cheery musicals! That snappy little dancer from Independence, Missouri, Miss Ginger Rogers, sang “We’re in the Money,” in Pig Latin no less — E’reway inway ethay Oneymay — in The Gold Diggers of 1933. I actually prefer the…
This past Saturday, Blayney’s in Westport hosted a benefit show to pay its rent to the Westport Business League. There were 17 bands that each played half-hour slots for 14 hours including Fast Johnny Ricker, Lonnie Ray Blues Band and Tekila. “Over 200 of my closest friends came out to support Blayney’s and live music in Westport,” says owner Dick…
People with heart conditions could feel safe at Kansas City, Missouri, City Hall today. First responders packed a conference room on the building’s 13th floor in order to participate in a discussion about a possible merger between the fire department and the MAST ambulance service. Earlier this year, the city council formed an advisory committee to look at the issue….
According to Chris Bihuniak’s extensive song list, “When You Grow Up” falls under “Life Lessons,” sub category: “unconditional love.” We know good material for a song when we see it. And the people behind the International Songwriting Competition claim to know a good song when they hear it. With a list of judges that claims folks as diverse as Tom…
We’re finally getting details on the homicide in Independence’s Benton Park early Saturday morning. Court records accuse 19-year-old Mauricio Lopez of killing Jeffrey P. Johnson. Lopez allegedly shot Johnson at 2:42 a.m. during an argument over a man calling and text messaging his ex-girlfriend. View Larger Map Court records say John Fuiamono wanted to fight Eddie Rodriguez, his ex-girlfriend’s new…
Grandpa hasn’t forgotten us. Neil Young is coming to Kansas City on April 30, making up for the Election Night 2008 date he reschudeled back in October. Previously purchased tickets will be honored. Tickets for the new date go on sale this Friday, March 13. Says Live Nation: “All tickets for this show will be general admission floor with reserved…
Earlier today, I wrote that Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels introduced two soon-to-be Boulevard offerings at Flying Saucer last night. Here’s what some of us thought of the offerings. The second beer we tasted is currently nicknamed Tank 7. When it’s released it will have a different name (“It takes much longer to think of the name than to think of…
Donna Brazile, who might be the smartest woman on cable news, or on all of TV, or maybe in the whole country, paid a visit to the University of Kansas last night to give a speech titled “Women in American Politics: Are We There Yet?” Most of her prepared remarks were canned “women have come a long way but we…
I’ve met The Kansas City Star’s Mark Wiebe. He covers the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities, and he does a pretty good job. He’s hammered the BPU in his columns — and rightfully so. Wiebe seems like a pretty good guy, so I’m shocked why anyone — let alone a Unified Government commissioner — would call him a…
Over the weekend, The New York Times published an article about how cheap booze is flying off the shelf. Consumers are putting price before quality, and this is apparently a bad thing for alcohol producers. Nonsense. When it comes to alcohol — especially liquor — price and quality don’t go hand in hand. There may not be great vodkas for…
Flickr: Matneym Leave it to Nightline to go above and beyond the call of duty and send a reporter to cover the latest trend in Texas: breastaurants. Hooters and its buxom staff has been the punch line of jokes for years, but it’s turning out to be recession-proof. Sales were up 2 percent in 2008, and the chain has shown…
A new study shows that, even in the Midwest where “God Hates Fags,” conservative officials want to teach kids creationism and educators want to fight teen pregnancy with abstinence, America might be losing faith. Yesterday, Trinity College in Connecticut released the American Religious Identification Survey, which questioned nearly 55,000 citizens about their church allegiances. The verdict: The number of US…
New blogger Kansas City Camera snapped this really cool photo while exploring an abandoned grain silo on Southwest Boulevard behind Strasser Hardware. Reminded me of this message at 16th and Main that I walk past on my way to work. My photography skills aren’t near as good as Raven’s. Check out Raven’s blog; there’s only one other post, but I’m…
Brodie Rush’s Be/Non is making a film to coincide with its upcoming release, A Mountain of Yeses, which is coming out as a vinyl/download package on May 19. The film’s live-action protagonist is played by Steve Tulipana, … More details to come… who plays Captain Gray, a spaceman in search of a home away from planet earth, Brodie Rush tells…
Last night I was fortunate enough to attend Flying Saucer’s tasting of Boulevard’s Smokestack Series beer. It was presented by Boulevard’s brewmaster Steven Pauwels, who not only talked for 90 minutes straight but also kept the crowd of 40-plus enthralled. Tough to do when they’re slowly getting drunk. Pauwels, who came to Kansas City from Belgium for the Boulevard job,…
A couple of days ago, Alan “Professor Crap” Scherstuhl sent me this video from Pat Vamos, a Kansas City guy who’s making bizarre videos for the Upright Citizens Brigade. This one — an ’80s flashback called “Krunnk Shuttle” — is hosted by Gary Coleman and features Mr. T and Corey Haim. “The video truly aspires to art,” Scherstuhl promised me….
%{}% Choosy Moms Choose the Hype Machine: While I was listening to tracks from Just-1’s very, very serious hip-hop album Blinded by the Truth on the Hype Machine, I swear to god this ad was in the sidebar: Peter Pan? On the Hype Machine? Reassuring salmonella-scared moms? Massive over-representation of dance music on the internet brought to you by Lunchables,…
%{}% An amateur anthropologist’s tour through a big-box store. In this case a Costco in Johnson County. Unsurprisingly, it’s a little weird. Saying goodbye to an old friend is tough. Even if that old friend is really just an old oven mitt. Are cherries really a “super-food” with amazing powers, or just another fruit that’s good for you? Those who…
When word hit yesterday that yet another beloved Kansas City institution is being sold off, I couldn’t help but think about another time fun itself was put up for sale. Back in 1997, Words of Fun exiled the great Zambezi Zinger roller coaster, the ass-kickingest thing we could ever get my mom to ride. A circling, snaking blast, the Zinger…
