Ever since the group we now call the pilgrims — you know, the ones who roasted turkeys and such for that first Thanksgiving feast — arrived in America in 1620, the concept of an immigrant finding success through serving food has become part of the great American dream. A few notable examples? The first great New York restaurateurs were the…
Three paintings, imperfectly understood. (1) In N.C. Wyeth’s “Octave Plunged,” a man fights a raging current, viewed from below the falls over which his hewn raft is about to plummet. He’s a lone traveler pitched heroically against the elements. The painting leads the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art’s exhibition Wyeth: Three Generations of Artistry, a retrospective inspired in part by…
Some people ask that a charitable donation be made in their name at the holidays, and they probably like that just fine. But they might find more cheer if that goodwill also landed them a gift. At Lawrence’s annual Fair Trade Holiday Market (1204 Oread, 785-969-3482), which starts today, a selection of food, handmade art, apparel and gifts goes on…
Considering all the turkey and stuffing you put away, and the rich leftovers you’ve eaten since, scheduling physical activity into the weekend is a must. The Luminary Walk at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (4525 Oak, 816-751-1278) may not be strenuous, but every footstep helps in the battle against holiday girth. And strolling through the Kansas City Sculpture Park in…
Inevitably, DreamWorks Animation will get around to developing a computer-generated squirrel movie centered on the tired stereotype of workaholic nut gathering. The squirrels will be voiced by Tyler Perry, Kathy Griffin and Frank Caliendo. Also, there will be a montage sequence set to a Smashmouth single. What a terrible movie. We already hate it! But the Frank Caliendo squirrel does…
When poetry is good, it begs to be slowed down and read aloud, each vowel and consonant and intentional pause treated with reverence. Great poetry is meant to be spoken — with emphasis and passion and emotion. Maria Melendez, the editor and publisher of Pilgrimage magazine, is a great poet. She reads her work tonight at the Writers Place (3607…
This time of year always seems right for trying not to die of typhoid and then maybe shooting a bear for dinner — at least if you’re wasting time playing the game Oregon Trail. For a less interactive but more literary window into the lives of pioneers, there’s Little House on the Prairie. The TV series is well-represented on YouTube,…
Bleeding Kansas Dodgeball League isn’t for everyone. For the softer set, the league’s propensity for trash talk, cracking jokes and getting brutal likely will be more fun to watch than engage in personally. Fortunately, the league loves a captive audience. Cheer on the mutually inclusive throwers and dodgers of balls at the East Lawrence Recreation Center (1245 East 15th Street)….
In many households, Thanksgiving is a time for family. And families for whom violence is not inevitable over the holidays can get their fix the day after Thanksgiving with today’s 7:05 p.m. hockey matchup at the Independence Events Center (19100 East Valley View Parkway, Independence), where the Missouri Mavericks take on the Wichita Thunder. Wish you could body-check the fellow…
Since last year, the average cost of milk has decreased 92 cents per gallon, and turkey has gone down by three cents a pound, putting the median cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people at $42.91, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. So there’s plenty of dough left over for cocktails at these suburban bars. Take the relatives…
E! late-night host Chelsea Handler posed for Playboy’s December 2009 issue, so these days she’s probably busy doing press interviews, tipping her airbrusher, and hanging with Hef at the Grotto. That leaves her revolving roundtable of stand-up comics with a little extra time on their hands; because they aren’t exactly the Girls of the Pac-10 themselves, they’re hitting the road,…
Most people won’t admit this, but there are those of us who don’t want to cook Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, we also prefer not to accept a sympathy invitation from well-meaning friends to eat a holiday meal with their families. It’s so much easier to go out for a restaurant meal, which can be just as well-prepared — maybe even…
Religion is one of the few things that can provoke otherwise normal people into spittle-flecking diatribes. Well, now there’s a counterpoint to those street-corner preachers who yell into the wind. Tonight at the Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill (817 Westport Road), actor Roger Scott Jackson plays his atheist-evangelist character Sam Singleton in his play Patriarchs and Penises, about growing…
To begin with, A Christmas Carol is dead. This must be distinctly understood or nothing wonderful can come of this story. The Kansas City Repertory Theatre has shucked off the chains of tradition and just this once banished its holiday perennial from Christmas present. In its place is world-premiering A Christmas Story, the Musical!, a Broadway-bound spectacular based on the…
The Big 12 North is Ayn Rand’s worst nightmare. Every team is in contention; none deserves to win the title. Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. Border Showdown at Arrowhead Stadium (1 Arrowhead Drive) between the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas might settle the division and decide who loses to Texas by 45 points in the Big 12 Championship game….
Dear Mexican: I live in a little village in England in a house that’s 200 years old, just down the hill from a tiny church that’s so old, it was actually built before God said, “Let there be light,” thus proving that Stephen Hawking is a blowhard. The only industry around here, apart from digging potatoes and interfering with cows,…
Title: “Cock-A-Doo-Dle-Do, I’m From Missouri” Words and music: George M. McCullough Published: 1924 Discovered: at Sentimental Journey Antiques, Olathe I like to crow like the rooster crows Because I feel so cockey for Missouri Some fellows crow over what they know But I crow because I’m from Missouri Here and there, everywhere That broad Missouri smile Spirit fine, all the…
Feature: “Stop Hugging Us,” November 5 Critical Thinking I am the operations manager for a municipality outside San Antonio, Texas. We cover a little over 120 square miles and we’re the EMS provider for eight cities spanning parts of three counties. Many times I am contacted by fire department personnel, volunteers, dispatchers, etc., looking for the Critical Incident Stress Management…
Dressed in his black Carhartt work suit, Ryan Kubicina circled a squat brick building in the hard-luck Lykins neighborhood with a can of paint and a brush. It was spring 2008. He’d just finished covering up the gang graffiti when he heard a strange rumbling coming from within the former Holy Trinity Church school at 10th Street and Myrtle. Kubicina…
A company came into Carthage, Missouri, a few years ago with a scheme to turn turkey parts into heating oil. The technology seemed so sublime that Discover magazine gave it a splash. But carnivores, jobless southern Missourians and reluctant foreign-oil consumers have been disappointed by what’s transpired. Earlier this year, the plant stopped accepting bones and feathers from a neighboring…
OK, this is gonna seem really cheesy, but here’s the deal. The Wayward Blog is probably not gonna see much activity over the next few days. Some of us are a-travelin’; others are working harder at their day jobs to accommodate coworkers who are a-travelin’. Our poor little watchdog of the scene will go malnourished — unless you help us…
