Nothing if not a meaty yarn, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a lot more besides, but Robert Zemeckis, a cutting-edge animator (who hasn’t told a decent story since 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit) has a tin ear for the writer’s grand moral melodramas, or he just doesn’t care much. What switched him on were the technical possibilities of Ebenezer Scrooge’s…
Historical cataclysm produces conspiratorial thinking. Germany’s loss in World War I, the JFK assassination and 9/11 are all naturally understood as the stuff of unimaginable plots, unspeakable coverups and unseen forces. The guys who made The Men Who Stare at Goats can’t quite decide whether this syndrome is risible or heavy or simply far-out. Perhaps they hope to produce a…
“You have to admire a restaurateur who will open a new business in this economy,” said my friend Dan as he and Larry and I were driving to 133rd Street and Antioch, where chef-owner Davender Kumar’s ambitious Chilli n Spice Indian Bistro opened in May. At least I thought it opened in May. “How long have you been open?” Dan…
“When I was 10, my dad died.” The words are Ben Stoker’s. In a photograph to the left, he’s a baby. A man, presumably the long-dead father, holds him out for the camera, turning the child’s head awkwardly so the photographer can see the baby’s face. The kid is dressed in a onesie and white shoes. Most striking about the…
The big chapel at the Muehlebach Funeral Home was overflowing. People who had come too late had to sit in smaller chapels off to the side and listen to the service on speakers. Others stood in the lobby or sat on the steps to the second floor. “They shoulda had this at Bartle Hall,” said someone in the packed hallway….
Dear Mexican: Why do beaners or gabachos deliberately try to ignore white people and act like they’re not there. Or when you’re walking by, the lady beaners laugh so hard with a repulsive fake laugh that you want just to punch them? Not only have I noticed this, but a lot of other people have said the same thing. Is…
Feature: “Denim & Death,” October 22 The Boot “Denim & Death” was a crap article seemingly intended primarily to trash an individual and a local business, poorly researched, poorly written and poorly edited. Abruptly switching to present tense for several paragraphs, then switching back to past? Obviously talented journalists work for real publications, and the others end up at trash…
Five days after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Vickie Taylor led a group of firefighters from Pennsylvania into the pile at Ground Zero. By this time, it was clear that there were no survivors in the rubble. But families in mourning wanted the remains of their loved ones, and firefighters wanted to bring their brothers home, so that was…
A man believed to be in his twenties was shot to death near 116th and Holiday yesterday afternoon. View Larger Map Kansas City police officers responding to gunshots found the body of a man in the street around 4 p.m. Witnesses told police that they saw a black man shoot the victim. The alleged shooter was with another man, and…
The cesspool known as The Dirty — I mean it in the best possible way — posted this photo earlier today. Not sure if the sign is real, but “The Dirty Army” claims it’s posted outside of the Chiefs’ locker room. What a nice way to welcome Larry Johnson back next week. Update (7:28 p.m. Wednesday, November 4): Oh yeah….
To get you ready for tonight’s Riot Room show, here’s a video of Broadway Calls playing the FEST this weekend shot by the dudes from Punknews. They “took a day off from their West Coast tour to fly into Gainesville and play The Fest. The crowd at The Venue showed their appreciation by stage diving. A lot.” In the video…
Liquid smoke feels like one of the magic tonics or potions from the crank doctors who used to advertise in Sears’ catalogs and travel via medicinal road shows. But the all-natural food additive — it’s smoke-infused water — is regaining popularity for people slow-cooking roasts inside of a crock pot instead of putting them on a grill. The process of…
Your boss would probably hate Dr. Nolan Gasser. As chief musical architect of the Music Genome Project, Gasser is directly responsible for countless hours of lost productivity and network lag-time at workplaces all over the world. That’s because the MGP is the driving force behind the music-streaming site Pandora.com. Heard of it? Using the ultra-shmancy, music-analyzing techniques developed by the…
You simply can’t have enough tasty snack ideas As holiday season approaches, it’s time to start thinking about entertaining with tasty snacks — which is why 500 Tasty Snacks Ideas for Entertaining could come in handy. Found at the FleaMart on Highway 40 for a very reasonable 50 cents, this 50-year-old relic features recipes for hot and cold canapes, hot…
Online indie music retailer Insound added a new shirt to their store this week. It’s a mixtape t-shirt, which they describe as follows: Mixtapes are an invaluable way to show the world your excellent taste in music and express your pain, joy, love, etc through the tapestry of songs included. Now that physical mixtapes are becoming a bit more scarce,…
Workers will be putting in long hours in the next few days preparing the Independence Events Center for its opening weekend. The building holds 5,800 for hockey. Its principal tenant is the Missouri Mavericks, who are 2-5 in Central Hockey League play. The team practices in an adjacent rink that’s open to the public when large, skilled Canadians are off…
Here are some random newsy items from my reporter’s notebook. Get Ready for Freddy’s Freddy’s Frozen Custard is coming to Kansas City. The Wichita Eagle reports on eight possible franchise locations, with the first to open next spring near 135th and Metcalf in Overland Park. Freddy’s Web site lauds the Wichita-based company’s steakburgers, shoestring fries and concretes. Health Inspector’s Close…
Y’know what’s totally fucked up about this? It’s a completely straight cover. No crazy riffing, no starting out slow and ramping it up to insanity speed like Pennywise — nope, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and Dave Lombardo of Slayer do the Ben E. King standard 100% seriously, and rather reverently. The version was recorded for the the soundtrack to the…
A 5,800-seat arena, with an adjacent ice rink, opens in Independence this weekend.
It’s easy to forget to eat your vegetables when the weather gets cold, but plenty of seasonal produce is still being sold at indoors farmer’s markets across the metro. Most of the markets have hours on the weekends and will be selling meat, cheese and root vegetables — the kinds that are perfect for roasting and making soups. The Winter…
The Chiefs claimed former San Diego Chargers receiver Chris Chambers off of waivers on Tuesday. Here’s what they’re getting: Via Arrowhead Pride. Categories: News Tags: Arrowhead Pride, Chris Chambers, kansas city chiefs
