Lots of new tunes from local label the Record Machine, whom I’ve loved ever since they released the James Dean Trio’s Getting Scary six years ago. They do quality work, these kids. First up is a proper EP from former Billions frontman Sam Billen. It’s called Tokyo Sessions, and it’s a teaser for a full-length coming later this year. The…
Arrowhead Stadium is on the not-so short list of stadiums that could host the heavily trademarked FIFA World Cup™ in 2018 or 2022. How short can a list be that include 26 other cities and stadiums? Well, they cut it from 70. “Bringing the FIFA World Cup™ – the greatest international sporting event in the world – to Kansas City…
You wouldn’t think that one man could corner the market on a widely grown staple — but then again you’re probably not that familiar with U.S. patent law and its impact on the import market. This is a tale of what is termed “biopiracy,” using patents to lay claim to items from the developing world. Larry Proctor returned from Mexico…
Question to John Yettaw, the Breast-stroker of Burma: So, what did you learn? Answer: Not one thing. Interviewed at O’Hare International Airport by the Associated Press, John Yettaw, the 53-year-old veteran from Falcon, Missouri, spoke for the first time since being imprisoned in Myanmar for thinking he could single-handedly change the fortunes of a democratic leader in one of the…
Mike Egan’s opinion wasn’t well received by the emotional crowd that packed the meeting of the Johnson County Board of Park and Recreation Commissioners last night. Facing an audience filled with animal rights’ activists from Bite Club of KC, Egan was the lone voice supporting the commissioner’s plan to cull the deer in Shawnee Mission Park. As he stood at…
To anyone who was looking forward to seeing artful and rocking, local-but-not music documentary 72 Musicians at the Kansas International Film Festival next month: We have some bad news. Yesterday, the film’s director, Bob Moczydlowsky, posted a blog entry to the film’s Web site explaining that the board of the KIFF had rejected his film, even after the festival’s president,…
The all-vegan bistro at 2932 Cherry known as Cafe Seed — reviewed in The Pitch in April — had many fans and supporters, but also generated a lot of complaints. Not about the food, which was consistently tasty, but the infuriatingly languid pace of the kitchen (it could take a very long time to get food) and the erratic hours…
Richard Tripp wants everyone to know that now, besides putting on a big party and food-and-clothing giveaway for poor people twice a year, he’s hooked up with a program that can help everyone save as much as 85 percent on their prescriptions. Honesty RX is an online fund-raising effort that lets churches, schools — and apparently badass formerly homeless cab…
Oatmeal is a breakfast that seems to require more than humankind is able to give right now. There’s a reason that most of the oatmeal people eat is instant — breakfast is often a choice of convenience. Quaker even introduced the “Oatmeal to Go” bar, which sounds like an oxymoron. But oatmeal has morphed into its current, lumpy sugar-aided form…
Former Kansas Jayhawk footballer Aqib Talib is in trouble again. Reports out of Tampa say Talib was arrested early this morning for simple battery and resisting arrest. The St. Petersburg Times reports that Talib allegedly punched a man, David Duggan, in the ear around 11:30 p.m. When police arrived, Talib was sitting in a taxi cab and refused to get…
Dr. Dre’s The Chronic will be re-released on September 1 as The Chronic Re-Lit, according to MTV. This is all Death Row’s doing, and according to the article, Dre wasn’t involved at all. I suppose that’s why we’re getting this before Detox. Seriously, it’s been a decade since The Chronic 2001. I’ll take an album once a decade if Detox…
In September, the Kansas City Jewish Community Center presents “I Write the Songs: The Music of Barry Manilow and Bette Midler.” Hand to G-d, I swear. Cary Mock and Kristi Mitchell take on singing the music of Manilow and Midler. According to the JCC website: “The ageless Jewish singer/songwriter Barry Manilow is known for some of the best pop hits…
This is out of Wichita and fucked up. A 48-year-old Wichita woman is on trial this week for allegedly prostituting her 5-year-old daughter for booze and smokes. The woman, who isn’t being named to protect the identity of her daughter, and 51-year-old Reggie Stafford are “charged with multiple counts of rape, sodomy and aggravated indecent liberties with a child,” Wichita…
%{}% In light of news that the FDA will now oversee the labeling of gluten-free beer, a few recommendations on what to drink if you’re trying (or need) to avoid gluten. KC Beer Blog notes that the next beer tasting is the 4th annual Black Clover Beerfest — a mix of hip-hop acts and beer tasting at the Riot Room…
Adrian W. Burks, the man accused of killing four people in KCK, is now charged with capital murder. Wyandotte County prosecutors upgraded the charges on Wednesday. Burks is accused of killing 21-year-old Amanda J. Remmers. 66-year-old James A. Warren, 41-year-old Peggy Castleberry and 3-year-old Juanita D. Castleberry-Bess at a home at 5234 Munice Drive on June 22. Burks is in…
The news in this city is often depressing. A 10-year-old boy was shot Wednesday around 3 p.m. in the 3500 block of East 25th Street. View Larger Map The boy’s injuries were life-threatening, and he was taken to a local hospital. All the details haven’t come out in this one, yet. Update (10:39 a.m. Thursday, August 20): Kansas City police…
The title of “Westport Rapist” has been recycled several times throughout the last 30 years. There’s been Robert Fellows, Samuel Johnson, Shy Bland and Gary Jackman, to name a few. Clarence Gibson, who is 67 years old and a 27-year veteran of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, worked as a detective in the sex crimes unit from 1976 to…
Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. A Bill of Divorcement Volume I: But And If Thou Marry Date: 1994 Discovered at: Waldo estate Sale Representative Quotes: “If marriage is to have any…
More than 70 vendors will take part in Greenfest 2009, an event focused on sustainability and the green movement. Festivities also include live music by local bands. Sat., Aug. 22, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 23, 12-6 p.m., 2009 Tags: 3560, Night & Day
Yes, Lawrence is filled with odd inhabitants, but today through Sunday, the city’s quirk factor will reach a yearly high. During the weekend-long Lawrence Busker Festival, street performers from around the country will congregate on Lawrence’s downtown streets and atop its buildings. We’re not just talking singers — you’ll also see sword swallowers, fire eaters, magicians, living statues and dancers….
If there’s a Hall of Fame for bad career moves, Brian Dunkleman will be enshrined there someday. Still, you’ve gotta admire the guy because he stood behind a very simple principle — that it’s wrong to treat people cruelly for sport or spectacle — while committing what Simon Cowell called “the biggest mistake in the history of show business.” Dunkleman walked…
Charly “the City Mouse” Fasano is a man with a baritone that belies his rodent appellation. The poet and storyteller, originally from Denver and now based in Chicago, draws inspiration from his experiences touring with rock bands, failing in relationships and being lost in familiar places. His Snitches Get Stitches, for example, collects poems about traveling with a country band….
At first glance, Midwestern Kansas City may not resonate as an international melting pot of cultures, but for the last 30 years, this city’s Parks and Recreation Department has celebrated the diversity of KC’s population with an Ethnic Enrichment Festival. The festival — much like KC’s ethnic community — has grown over the decades, and this year’s event at Swope…
