The New York Times ran an op-ed piece this week by restaurant survey czars Tim and Nina Zagat, about the flush of restaurant industry class-action lawsuits in New York. The plaintiffs are frequently servers fighting back the tradition of restaurant owners “routinely cheating their workers by confiscating waiters’ and busboys’ tips to share with managers and other ineligible employees.” One…
A man accused of abducting his 18-month-old daughter surrendered to Alvin Brooks and the AdHoc Group Against Crime on Wednesday. KCTV5 reported that Rondell Ross brought his daughter, Skylyn, to AdHoc’s offices and asked Brooks to call Kansas City police. “He said he wanted to get it over and that he loved his daughter,” Brooks told KCTV5. “He wants his…
The Jackson County Medical Examiner has ruled the death of Tulsa man Doug Tipton, who died following a fight at Kona Grill, a homicide. Even with the ruling, it’s unclear whether any charges will be filed. Tipton, 31, is Kansas City, Missouri’s 100th homicide victim of 2010. The Star reported that investigators want to interview more witnesses to the fight…
Where We Pee is a weekly look at the excretory facilities of the music venues and cool-kid hangouts around town. Johnnie’s is an old bar on 7th Street in KCK that was reopened last month by former Harlings bartender Chris O’Connor. I’ve been there about three times since it opened, and you know I’m urinating multiple times per night, son! …
The New York Times published a great story last week about a map of the South from 1860 census — the last to tabulate slave populations — that illustrates Missouri’s slave population just before the Civil War. University of Denver history professor Susan Schulten writes that the county-by-county map of 15 states, which was noteworthy for using the funky new…
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. Three Godawful Coloring Books The coloring book industry now profits thousands of dollars per year and stands as the most reliable method for transmitting sketches from bar…
Those awaiting a national champion in Kansas City may finally be in luck. Sure, this champion won’t be local, but the crowning will be. The Sprint Center plays host to the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, which begins at 6 p.m. with the first of two semifinal matches. This is a chance for the nation to focus on immensely…
Recipe for Laughs Stand-up comic Cheril Vendetti hasn’t been in Kansas City since she headlined at the old Tootsie’s, back before she met her partner, Tonya. Since then, she has become “Baby Daddy” to 9-month-old Sophia Rose and written a cookbook, Mistress of the Mob Cuisine. “I never thought I’d get invited back,” Vendetti says. “I guess the whole town…
Bill Belzer toured Europe playing drums for Uncle Tupelo in the early 1990s, which is an impossibly cool item to have on one’s résumé. But, over the years, he has also been in some memorable local bands: Mongol Beach Party, the New Amsterdams, Ssion. To benefit the Kansas City Free Health Clinic’s HIV testing programs, Belzer hosts what amounts to…
To help support her family, Aviva toils as a hotel cook and suppresses her lifelong literary aspirations. But when her sister, Anita, introduces her to the washed-up novelist Oded, he recognizes Aviva’s talent, mentoring her and inspiring her to pursue her dream. The cost of that dream coming true is the axis on which Aviva, My Love pivots. The winner…
It is a truth universally acknowledged that cranky old men — like, say, Sen. John McCain — can have their calcified, knotty hearts warmed by Christmas Eve visits from spooks, the kindness of Cindy Lou Who, or the strains of symphonic Christmas music. Following the Christmas Festival performance at the Lyric Theatre — a show that includes performances by the…
Tron Legacy is now in theaters, but your opportunities for seeing the original are fairly slim. It’s in Disney’s “vault,” and copies mysteriously keep vanishing from Netflix (perhaps due to copies selling for $75 and more on Amazon). The Tron Legacy Party rectifies that problem for you by showing the first Tron on five big screens and four TVs. And…
¡Feliz navidad! Well, not quite. But the time of nativity — or navideña — is fast approaching. Do something festive that could indirectly contribute to someone’s Christmas miracle. Kontrolando Show and other local purveyors of Latin music set hips shaking during Fiesta Navideña KC 2010 at Martitas Place (4960 State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas). The 18-and-older party also includes…
Lots of kids dream about a jolly, fat guy squeezing down the chimney with a sackload of iPods and Elmos. But at least one resident of the Stahlbaum house thinks about something else on Christmas Eve. Lithe young Clara imagines that her nutcracker toy turns into a handsome prince who does battle with a seven-headed mouse king. Upon the rodent’s…
The still life images caught in the 10 storefront windows of BNIM are not moving until January 15. The installation of photo friezes, viewable from the road, is a collection created by artist Maria Creyts, aka “mariaura.” Dec. 3-Jan. 15, 2010 Tags: Maria Creyts, Night & Day
Even if it doesn’t quite put you in the Christmas spirit, 1942’s Holiday Inn still has a certain high-camp quality to draw you in: two middle-aged, balding entertainers (Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire) wooing the same women; the former quitting the showbiz grind to open an inn that’s open only on holidays, presenting themed entertainment 15 days a year. It’s…
Going to farmers markets might seem like a warm-weather activity. But the organic bounty of local growers extends right into the cold-weather months and is available to consumers on Friday evenings through February 25 at BadSeed (1909 McGee). This week is the BadSeed Holiday Market. Owners Brooke Salvaggio and Dan Heryer provide whiskey and Shatto cream so that shoppers can…
In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, collectors Lennie and Jerry Berkowitz have contributed a collection of fine ceramics for an exhibition called Collecting With Passion: Contemporary Ceramics From the Lennie and Jerry Berkowitz Collection. The show, a master course in inspired curation and a tribute to the enthusiasms of private collectors everywhere, includes works…
Check out the photorealistic drawings of Rodrigo Lazcano while you munch on chips and salsa. Lazcano’s first exhibit, The Power of Black, remains on view at the restaurant all month. Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Dec. 1. Continues through Dec. 31, 2010 Tags: Night & Day, Rodrigo Lazcano
More than 10 artists will display and sell their work in a variety of media that include handmade skin care items, lamp-work jewelry, ceramics, wood working, natural adornments, photography and much more. Thu., Dec. 16, 6-9 p.m., 2010 Tags: Night & Day
Gunshots interrupting the funeral of a homicide victim is shocking even for Kansas City. But that’s what happened yesterday just as mourners walked out the doors of a church at 25th and Benton. It’s impossible to understand. Kc Rissa attempted to explain in the comments section, while pleading for help. Here’s KC Rissa’s unedited comment: “Everybody looks at young kansas…
As a former Catholic school boy, there was one movie we were all taught to treat less as a horror show and more as a legitimate warning sign of the very real possibility that at any second Satan himself would take control of your body. That was The Exorcist. Zombies probably weren’t going to eat me, but the devil might…
%{}% If you’ve ever wondered how many years in federal prison you’d get for trying to move 730 pounds of marijuana across Kansas, then we finally have an answer. Two years. Not bad for that much reefer. Back in November 2009, the Kansas Highway Patrol stopped 69-year-old John C. McCollum in a Budget Rental truck that was towing a Ford…
Multiple reports say Matt Cassel was practicing with the Chiefs this morning. That’s the good news. The bad news, KMBC Channel 9 reports that Cassel, who had his appendix removed a week ago and missed the 31-0 ass whooping from the San Diego Chargers, called his status “day-to-day.” Categories: News Tags: kansas city chiefs, matt cassel
