Illustration by Jack Raybuck Dear Dan: My question is on managing “gray area” intimacies during the pandemic. I have a lover/friend that I’ve been hanging out with—fucking, drinking tea, going on hikes, eating ice cream, watching movies, and other activities—for about nine months. He’s 36 and was married for ten years, and due to that experience, he’s been a bit…
Albert Brooks at a Q&A following a screening of Drive // Creative Commons Any time a new Pixar film is right around the bend, people get excited. While so many movie studios recycle the same plotting or voice actors Pixar tries to mix it up. Case in point is their latest offering, Soul. With changing dynamic art styles and an…
Magdalena Padilla poses with new friends. Magdalena came with her mom and brothers from Russellville, Missouri. “We work hard to teach our kids that everybody is equal and everybody matters. We were talking this morning, and she’s like, “I’m 7, and I know that God loves everyone and could never hate someone why would someone say that,” Magdalena’s mom recounts….
Now that there’s all the time in the world… // Photo by Brock Wilbur Do you find yourself with a lot of time on your hands and a vacuum of entertainment to fill it? Are you perhaps feeling isolated from other humans and society in general? Let me tell you about books. You can immerse yourself in stories, find new…
Header from QBC // Art from Anna Marie Church www.annamariechurch.com The news is bad, everyone’s anxious, and most people in the service sector are at least temporarily out of work. Kansas City could really use a beer. That might explain the overnight popularity of Quarantined Beer Chugs, a distended Facebook group full of videos of locals chugging beers and grinning….
The Crossroads Community Kitchen has served thousands of pay-what-you-can meals in the past week. // Photo courtesy of Crossroads Community Kitchen/The Rieger It has been just a week since all of Kansas City’s restaurants and bars have been forced to reckon with disaster. Many have closed their doors, while others are (to varying degrees) subsisting on carryout and curbside service….
From a book about various apocalypses. This book is not on the distraction list. // Photo by Brock Wilbur Right now, the world seems to be hovering somewhere between dystopian and apocalypse. Want to take your mind off the crippling fear that brings with it? Try a book that’ll draw you in so much with its world or narrative that…
We’re in uncharted territory and have a lot of free time on our hands. For some that also means money may become tight. As such any and all free avenues of entertainment, are welcomed. Which means this is probably the best time to become acquainted with a little thing called Tubi. That eyebrow raise you’re probably making right now isn’t…
Illustration by Jack Raybuck As of Midnight, March 24th, Kansas City and surrounding counties have been put on stay-at-home order for the next thirty days. It’s not everyday that we’re asked to stay in our homes to prevent the spread of a virus, but here we are in the midst of a pandemic with a lot of questions on our…
Yeah, we also still remember his fawning adoration for Madison Bumgarner in 2014, but give the guy his due. His is one of the greatest sportscasters of this era. And now he’ll give play-by-play on your home video! Without actual live sports, Joe Buck is on Twitter calling anyone and everyone’s home videos. Got a dog that likes to fetch?…
Roy Thomas // Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment Roy Thomas currently edits a comics history magazine called Alter Ego. It’s a subject the 80-year-old Show Me State native knows well because he helped make it. And he’s still at it. Thomas served as Marvel editor-in-chief, but he also helped create and develop Wolverine (Adamantium, the metal in his skeleton is…
We’ve been asking members of the KC community to submit stories about life under house arrest. If you’ve got a story you’d like to share, please send it to brock@thepitchkc.com for consideration. Today, Ericka Cherry digs into the highs and lows of connections, or lack thereof, via digital pathways. My phone lights up next to me. One text, two texts, three,…
Ever had one of those birthdays that everybody forgets because there’s just so damn much going on? So you sit down mid-afternoon with a stale donut and a brew and call it a celebration. Such might be the fate of the Affordable Care Act signed into law 10 years ago. The birthday of the signature healthcare legislation would be big…
Event logo. // Courtesy of CXCW. This year has been abnormal, to put it lightly. In a normal year, SXSW would have been this weekend, the de facto yearly kick off to outdoor concerts and music festivals. Except this year has been anything but normal. As outbreaks of COVID-19 reached the United States, SXSW was cancelled and many others followed…
A December match for Journey Pro at Kanza Hall. He’s facing Christian Rose in a no-ropes match // Photo by Chris Manning Anthony “Sharkbait” Gutierrez had his first fight while studying at Lee’s Summit West High School. It lasted eight seconds. “We ended up kicking each other at the same time,” Gutierrez said, “and our shins collided, and his shin…
Magic in a time that lacks magic. // Illustration by Lee Leslie There was a time when certain children’s games were considered to be instruments of the actual Devil by conservative religious sects. The so-called “Satanic Panic” targeted not only purported occult items like Ouija Boards and Tarot Cards, but also nerdy role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. In retrospect…
Winchester House // Photo courtesy Winchester Historical Society This is wildly cool to me and I thought you might want to have this in your life today. The Winchester Mystery House is an architectural wonder and historic landmark in San Jose, CA that was once the personal residence of Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, the widow of William Wirt Winchester and…
Photo by April Fleming From the Editor: This delicious bit was written for our March issue, back in February. While you can’t enjoy South of Summit’s cocktails right now, we hope we all get to soon. South of Summit turns out to be a good stopping place if you like tequila or mezcal—it’ll certainly be one of the only places…
For the time being, venues across the city are shut down, and live music is at a standstill. Thanks to Travis Fields of the Westport Saloon , however, we have one hell of a treat. The bar’s always been at the forefront of livestreaming nearly every show which takes place there, and the vast majority thereof are archived at the…
The new normal? Probably. // Photo by April Fleming I haven’t talked to a parent in the last week and a half that is not – at a minimum – halfway freaked out. It’s of course due to, you know, pandemic and potential economic collapse, but in almost equal measure none of us know what the fuck we are going…
Combining the stores. // Courtesy of Char Bar I don’t know what’s hitting you the hardest about not being able to go out to various bars and restaurants in the city right now. There are a few places where I quite simply just miss sitting at my regular chair. And more than a few where I wish I knew the…
Photo courtesy Freeform Things are getting weird. Kansas City is starting to feel like a ghost town and the President of the United States has declared a national emergency in response to COVID-19. Currently, there’s no sports, plays, comic-cons, concerts, or films since they have all been canceled. This is what this week has been like. It’s probably going to…
Photo by Jeff Curnow The Kansas City Symphony released the first episode of its new podcast called “Beethoven Walks into a Bar…” The podcast features three hosts from the Symphony family: David T. Beals III Associate Conductor Jason Seber, Principal Flute Michael Gordon and Education Manager Stephanie Brimhall. Moving forward, they plan to invite guests to join in as well….
Photo courtesy of Sharice Davids Representative Sharice Davids just announced that the Small Business Administration has approved Kansas’ request for disaster assistance. ‼️ BREAKING ‼️ The Small Business Administration has approved Kansas’ request for disaster assistance, providing much needed relief to our small businesses. Apply here: https://t.co/d0uBrgU10f — Rep. Sharice Davids (@RepDavids) March 21, 2020 Kansas businesses can apply here…
