Yearly Archives: 2011
NEW JACK CITY: Holy Cornholio; The Boneheads Are Back!
Beavis and Butt-Head ruled MTV between 1993 and 1997…
Beavis’ HnHnHnHn and Butt-Head’s UhhhUhhhUhhh became signatures of a generation.
And we all know how they fared….
For years now MTV’s been trying to get creator Mike Judge to ressurect his knuckleheads. But Judge showed little interest. After all, he’d sold off his ownership of the series to the network and gone on to other projects.
There was KING OF THE HILL and 4 feature length movies that followed including his animated BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA and one of my all time favorites, the cubicle-comedy OFFICE SPACE.
Then there were the controversies that surrounded the series.
Donnelly: KC Boy Matt Besler Delivers, Sporting Win East
What a perfect ending to Matt Besler’s third MLS regular season.
After becoming "harder" in the offseason – something head coach Peter Vermes puts a helluva lot of stock in – Besler was chosen as an All-Star for the first time in his young career.
As consistent of a performer as KC has had all season long, Besler locked down the center defense, which has plagued the squad the last few years and seen a cast of thousands swing through to try their hand before inevitably being cut.
Pablo Escobar anyone? Man, that seems like a million years ago, doesn’t it?
Saturday night in DC, Besler put the cherry on top of it all, scoring a nice left footed goal that won the game against DC United 1-0, and won the Eastern Conference outright for Sporting.
Can I type that again just for my own enjoyment?
SPORTING KC WON THE EASTERN CONFERENCE AND LOCKED UP HOME FIELD FOR THE MLS PLAYOFFS!!
Hearne: Star Parent Suffers 3rd Qtr Earnings Hit, Locals Brace for More Possible Cuts
In its struggle for survival, the Kansas City Star‘s owner slapped yet another coat of red paint on its 3rd quarter financials…
"A slump in advertising showed no signs of easing for McClatchy Co. in its latest quarter," the AP reports. "The newspaper publisher cut expenses, partly through layoffs this year, but advertising and circulation revenue declined."
How bad was it?
Earnings down 21 percent from a year ago and ad revenue off 10 percent. More than peer newspaper rivals Gannett and the New York Times. Overall ciurculation was off by 3%.
One line in particular from McClatchy chief Gary Pruitt may be unsettling to surviving local newsies:
Today: Stanford’s Jack Glazer Killed in Car Crash
Then there were two…
Stanford & Sons main man and KC Confidential lightning rod Craig Glazer’s little brother Jack Glazer was killed last night after his car went left the road on I 435 on his way home from the comedy club. The 55 year old Glazer worked at the comedy club with brothers Craig and Jeff Glazer.
"Jack was going home from work last night and ran off the road on 435 in Missouri," Craig Glazer says. "His car hit a tree and that crushed the car and killed my little brother Jack. He had worked at Stanford and Sons for many years.
Hearne: Lose the Crying Towels, Mizzou Alums Say MU Has No Choice
Parting is such sweet sorrow, then again…
For two of Kansas City’s biggest supporters of Missouri football and basketball – Missouri Tiger Club of KC honcho Joe Zwillenberg and PR wildcat Will Gregory – bailing on the Big 12 for the SEC is simply a no brainer.
"It’s stability," Zwillenberg says. "Oklahoma and Texas tried to get into the Pac 12 but they couldn’t get in, so they came back to the Big 12 and said, ‘We want to be here.’ But dude, it just doesn’t work that way, because you know eventually they’re going to screw you and contracts don’t mean crap nowadays. So I think Missouri’s doing the right thing."
Gregory agrees.
Glazer: Scribe Shivers, Then Waxes Humbler as Pro Pics Get Tougher
Week seven, ALREADY….
As America’s top game picker with just over a 90% correct pick rate, let’s delve into who’s best right now.
As always, college first.
Again, college has been a tad easier than pro ball this season. And usually that’s the case. It looks like the top teams will scream PLAYOFFS by season’s end with as many as five undefeated football teams repeating in unison, "We got jacked!"
Everyone wants to play in that championship game, but only two will get to. So points really matter in college, less so pro.
Style points, that is..
Leftridge: Tales from the Tweet: Canseco’s Return, Bulldog Needs Neutering & Arenas Pops a Zit
Another week, another batch of moist, delicious Tweets, just like your grandmother used to make. This week had a bit of everything, from deep, dark personal confessions of love, to an undying need to Tweet about nature’s most fascinating creature, the common squirrel.
The big news in the NFL this week—aside from Donvan McNabb’s benching—was the Hail Mary, desperation signing of rouge QB Carson Palmer by the ghost of the recently departed Oakland Raiders’ Head Warlock, Al Davis.
@sportsguy33 (Bill Simmons, sportswriter, ESPN/Grantland.com)
“Oakland traded 2 first round picks for Carson Palmer? Al Davis is still alive!!! I knew it!!!”
@bobfescoe (610 am)
“Why does everyone think the #raiders were dumb? they are a winning team that lost a qb and has no legit back up. desperate times.”
Sounds Good: Das Racist@Granada, Fourth of July@Jackpot
The days are getting shorter…
So you know what that means? No more sun dresses, for one, which is a total bummer. A severe rise in the suicide rate.
What else? KU basketball is right around the corner – that’s a good one.
But what I was thinking of is a bit more obvious – shorter days = longer nights.
For those of you who batten down the hatches and lie dormant through the blustery months, read no further!
But for those creatures of the night, please, read on…
Hearne: The Unhappy Departure of McClain’s Bakery from its Longtime Waldo Home
What do out of towners say about Kansas Citians?
Having interviewed hundreds, what I’ve heard most is how polite we are. To which I’d like to add, on the surface. That’s one reason we see so few edgy stories in the local media. Because outside of outright murder or mayhem, few folks are willing to speak their peace…in public, that is.
It’s poor form.
Behind closed doors or "off the record" though, character assassination is alive and kicking.
Take the recent departure of Waldo institution McClain’s Bakery from its longtime home at 74th and Wornall. When the local news media came a calling to report on McClain’s move, they served up a watered down tale of how McClain’s merely wanting more parking and a larger space.
Hearne: Starker’s Reserve Owner’s Suicide Sparks Debate
To report or not to report, that is the question…
After confirming that Starker’s owner and chef John McClure took his own life yesterday, I reported the news here. Much to the chagrine of a handful of commenters, even though I tried to do so as delicately as possible.
"Was that necessary to post right now when people are just learning of his passing???" asked LJ. "Perhaps some sensitivity to his family or friends who have not yet heard. This is deplorable."
"How dare you Hearne! Have you no tact, no soul??" added Jenn Tosatto.
Then going by % said: "It’s journalism. It may not be what people want to read, particularly if they knew the deceased, but it’s still journalism."
"So wait… I missed the part where Hearne killed the chef… as far as I can tell, McClure killed himself," said TruthSpeaks. "That sucks, and I feel bad for the terrible sorrow his friends and family must be feeling, but come on, a lot of these comments are a shining example of misdirected anger."
Bottom line: Reporting on suicides is a tricky business – even when delicately done – and most are afraid to do it.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘The Three Musketeers’—All for One and One for 3-D
How many times can Hollywood remake a classic?
When it comes to THREE MUSKETEERS movies I stopped counting at about 15.
And that’s not even going way back to 1921’s silent version which starred Douglas Fairbanks.
But then, this newest addition doesn’t really qualify in the count. It’s not a Hollywood offering but a German, French and British co-production filmed primarily at Berlin’s fabled UFA Studio now called Studio Babelsberg in Munich, home to such cinematic gems as METROPOLIS and THE BLUE ANGEL.
Here movie maker Paul W.S. Anderson takes time off from the RESIDENT EVIL series to devote his talents to THE THREE MUSKETEERS.
Today: Starker’s, Barrio Owner Found Dead, Victim of Apparent Suicide
In a sad twist of fate, Starker’s owner John McClure was found dead today at his home…
Sources say Starker’s staffers discovered McClure at his home today after he failed to show up at the Plaza eatery and could not be reached. The unofficial word being that it was an apparent suicide.
Kansas City Police say there appears to be no foul play but are investigating.
McClure, 36, was from Tescott, Kansas and studied culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America. He was also a chef and described himself as "Head Taco Maker at Barrio," a new Latin eatery poised toopen in Westport at 4141 Pennsylvania.
Leftridge: World Series Slugfest: The Pitchers Won’t Win, ‘Cause the Hitters Won’t Quit
There was a moment in the NLCS Game 6—probably after Albert Pujols’ 3rd inning homerun and before Yuniesky Betancourt’s 4th inning RBI double—when I began to wonder when the bloodletting would stop.
Game 6—along with the entire series, along with the ALCS, along with the entire postseason in both leagues—was a squealing pig having its throat sliced by steely-eyed butcher. You know, supposing that the pig had hemophilia.
But finally, after 18 combined runs and a never-ending parade of seemingly ill-prepared bullpen sacrifices, it was mercifully over. The St. Louis Cardinals were heading to their 1st World Series since 2006, their 18th overall appearance, and the Milwaukee Brewers—once champions of some nonsensical motivational slogan deemed “Beast Mode”—were left shaking their heads, wondering why big name offseason acquisitions like Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum were so decidedly terrible when it mattered most.
Glazer: Scribe Drops $300 on Lobster, Steak @ Capital Grille, Narrowly Misses Threesome
So here’s how it went down…
A few weeks back an ex-girlfriend was celebrating a birthday. She came over to my condo with three very hot looking young ladies. They’d been drinking before they came by, so all of them were a bit loose. One of the girls, half American Indian and half African (mother from there) had a crazy, great body. Big ones, ripped abs and smooth – she was 26.
For the sake of my dating life, let’s call her Amy (not her real name). We got along great and had a date a few nights later. Everything went well but there was no happy ending. Yet.
Onour second date last week, she came by my condo at about 8 PM. She seemed pretty clean cut, well-educated and lived in a nice part of OP. She drove a Range Rover, so she seemed normal.
Then she says, "I’m hungry let’s go to a restaurant in the area." Cool, I said and told her I’d already eaten, but that she could eat. So we drove down to the Plaza, went by a couple places, and she said she’d never been to The Capitol Grille. I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes – not exactly the ideal dress code for the Grille – but I told her we could get something in the bar.
Edelman: BROADWAY’S SPIDER-MAN TAKES OFF, LANDS ON ITS FEET
For all of the hype and hemorrhaging, SPIDER-MAN, TURN OFF THE DARK turns out to be alot of fun.
Don’t expect to see Bono and the Edge rubbing elbows with Stephen Sondheim any time soon, though. The crew’s score is probably the weakest link in this opus (Foxwood Theatre on 42nd between 7th and 8th Ave in NYC). It’s Julie Taymor‘s brilliant vision for Spidey’s theatrical debut, as realized by an amazingly athletic cast, that make this new production a guilty pleasure that just might make back its $75 million capitalization.
Fans of THE LION KING and the movie Across the Universe will recognize Ms Taymor’s touch as soon as the house lights dim. We meet Peter Parker in school, where he’s delivering a book report on the Greek goddess Arachne. Turned into a spider by the jealous Athena, Arachne serves as a leitmotif, literally hanging over the entire evening. T.V. Carpio, the actress who played Prudence in Across the Universe, does a terrific job in the part– especially when you consider she spends the entire show eighteen feet off the ground.
Hearne: Not So Fast, Hyatt Regency’s Skies Restaurant May Not be Dead Yet
To borrow an expression, the Skies the limit…
Or is it? The Star‘s Joyce Smith reported recently that Skies – the Hyatt Regency Crown Center’s decades-old, revolving, rooftop restaurant – would close and be converted into a “Sheraton Preferred Guest” lounge after Sheraton takes over in December.
I visited the 20-plus year old restaurant Saturday to check it out one last time. I wasn’t alone. Reservations were tight and the best I could do was a 9 p.m. seating. The point being, if you want to dine in prime time, make your reservations early.
There was even an hour-plus wait to get into Skies scenic lounge – a cheaper thrill – although the hotel did allow small groups to ride the special elevator to the 42nd floor for a farewell look.
Hearne: New Comedy City Improv Maestro ‘Out for Blood’
Things haven’t been the same since Clancy left…
Once upon a time, there was Comedy Sportz. No mas. Oh, it’s still around, just not in Kansas City. Local improv dude Clancy Hathaway was the man with the plan in those dark ages of 1987. An out of work actor, Hathaway rented space in the back of Torres Pizza in Westport then richoceted around town to location after location for a dozen or so years before having a falling out with the Mother Ship and changing the name to Comedy City.
That was then…
And while Hathaway’s Linkedin page still describes him as "da’Mayor at Comedy City," he’s now retired says new owner Clay Morgan.
Morgan – a comic since 1997 – now runs the show in the Westport Flea Market – and is leading a bolder, edgier new charge.
Starbeams: THE TOP 5 STADIUM NAMES THAT WOULD MAKE CHIEFS FANS PROUD
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The Chiefs are reportedly looking again to sell the naming rights to Arrowhead Stadium in an attempt to raise more money for the team.
As if $27 parking isn’t enough.
To that end…
THE TOP 5 STADIUM NAMES THAT WOULD MAKE CHIEFS FANS PROUD:
#5. Amos Family Funeral Home Stadium.
#4. Midwest Hemorrhoid Treatment Center Stadium.
NEW JACK CITY: Smoke And Mirror Airfare Pricing – Don’t Get Bagged by Majors
Used to be a given that when searching for an airfare out of MCI you’d get the best ticket pricing…
Rates on discounters like Southwest Airlines and AirTran. But legacy carriers like American, Delta, United-Continental and USAirways have become much more competitive of late.
I keep finding very competitive, even lower fares to popular destinations on airlines other than say Southwest. That’s especially true to a popular destinations served by Southwest with multiple daily non-stop flights. Whereras other carriers serving that particular city pair only with connecting flights.
But not so fast, there are other considerations.
Hearne: Vaunted Hyatt New Year’s Eve Bash Collapses Amid Uncertainty
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Scratch one kickass KC New Year’s Eve bash…
Kansas City’s largest New Year’s Eve Party is no more. That on the heels of an announcement by Crown Center that the Hyatt Regency Crown Center hotel and three of KC’s most esteemed upscale eateries – Peppercorn Duck Club, Skies and Benton’s – will take dirt naps at the end of November.
The word on the street being the hotel was canceling its popular New Year’s bash.
For years the gargantuan event drew thousands of upscale Kansas Citians to the Hyatt to dine, drink, dance and dart into hotel rooms before embarking on the new year. Last year’s bash was headlined by The Elders and featured live comedy and every brand of band and music imaginable, swallowing the hotel’s lobby, event spaces and 732 rooms at an entry price of $75 per person.
No mas…
