Yearly Archives: 2011
Starbeams: The Usual Suspects, Fox News, Bryan Busby, Erin Andrews & Betty White
Fox has rejected a Super Bowl ad from a group called Jesus Hates Obama. However, Fox News has given the group a one-hour show.
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KMBC 9’s Bryan Busby has been named TV meteorologist of the year by the AMS. I’m still hoping to be ex-employee of the month at KCCONFIDENTIAL!
Tony: Hang in there, Cowtown Election Season Is Almost Over
As the frat boy once said to his drunken Freshman female acquaintance, "We’re almost done here."
And a date rape joke is the perfect way to describe the beginning of the end of this Kansas City election cycle. Typically, The Kansas City Star split their Mayoral endorsements between two lawyers in a milquetoast attempt at diversity that means nothing. Most of the no-name City Council candidates are soon to be weeded out. And it looks like the tenure of Mayor Mark Funkhouser will soon be at an end.
Sadly, global economic turmoil along with wars and rumors of wars have more influence over local life than the guy serving the same cup of soup in the Mayor’s office in this cowtown.
So, it’s with no small sense of relief that we approach the end of the Mayoral race and most likely Funkhouser’s last days in office despite the deep admiration of suburbanites who don’t have to deal with his stubborn, dour and aloof leadership style.
Glazer: Sunday, Super Sunday, Dancing With The Pack
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Well, it’s here at last…
Remember where you were last year for the big one? The year before? For 10 plus years, Hearne has had the big party at his home. This year, now that he’s single, NO PARTY. So we’re all going to the Woodside event. If you don’t have a place to go, join us at Woodside Country and Tennis Club, starts at 5:30.
Are you like me, do you feel that the Super Bowl has become a National Holiday? I do.
It ranks up there with, uh, Christmas,
OTC: No Cheerleaders @ Super Bowl A First
“There will be no cheerleaders at the Super Bowl for the first time in 45 years. The Packers did away with their cheerleaders in 1988 after market research indicated fans didn’t really care, and in 1970 it was an ‘organizational decision’ to dissolve the Steelerettes.”FoxNews.com
GH: I was stunned to hear that the Packers and Steelers do not employee cheerleaders. They are not alone. Six NFL teams do not have sideline eye candy. Which teams? Some of the oldest in the league join the tradition-rich franchises in Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and the New York Giants also go skirtless on game day.
“Gimme an I-R-O-N-Y!! The upcoming Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium, home of the world’s most famous cheerleaders and monument to all things poufy and glittering, will make history for a different reason. There will be no cheerleaders. The Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers are two of the six NFL teams that do not employ cheerleaders, and the NFL said Thursday that they have no plans to bring in ringers.”
Bill Platschke, columnist, LA Times
GH: I would have let the Cowboys cheerleaders do their thing in Dallas for Super Bowl 45. There are a lot of events where sexed-up cheerleading outfits don’t belong (high school activities for one), but the NFL is not one of those. The Raiderettes are one of the few redeeming things about the Oakland franchise.
Bill Platschke, columnist, LA Times
GH: I would have let the Cowboys cheerleaders do their thing in Dallas for Super Bowl 45. There are a lot of events where sexed-up cheerleading outfits don’t belong (high school activities for one), but the NFL is not one of those. The Raiderettes are one of the few redeeming things about the Oakland franchise.
Tony: The Cold Realization That "The Paper" Is Dead
This cold, nasty week in Kansas City brought to light an unfortunate fact that spells doom for the newspaper industry.
Here are a few events that will change the face of reporting in Kansas City forever.
The blizzard delayed newspaper delivery for the first time in a long time and complaints didn’t even register a blip in other media.
KCC was the first to report that The Star fired people and cut jobs in secret.
The subscription model on the iPad promoted by Rupert Murdoch’s "The Daily" was the only ray of hope for print media organizations who have all but abandoned hope for newsprint as a viable means of delivering news. Now let’s examine why all of these thing spell doom for newspaper organizations.
Sounds Good: Stik Figa, Suzannah Johnannes, Brandon Draper & the Decemberists
Snooooooooooooooooooooow! Cooooooooooooooooooold!
Look, accept the reality that the world will soon be buried beneath a cold, hard, layer of frozen water and come out of your safe rooms.
Man will survive. Man must survive.
Man will develop a system of underground civilizations stretching across the globe. These civilizations will learn to survive on nothing more than dope-ass MC’s and weird, pretentious northwestern indie rockers.
Come with me if you want to live….
Hearne: Last One Out Turn Off The Junk Mail
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Once upon a time, it looked easy…
There was Amazon, then came eBay, Google, Facebook, Twitter. And now we’ve got Groupon. The red hot, daily half-off sale sales pitch that comes in the form of massive email blasts blanketing specific geographic areas. Half off at Jardine’s jazz club, cheap seats for KU football, Royals ducats – yoga lessons, bikini waxes, you-name-it.
And now after watching Groupon take off, everybody wants a slice of the action. Lucky Monkey, Living Social, Muncharoo and now, ladies and gentlemen, even our hip, horny friends at the Pitch.
Starbeams:Top 5 signs it’s really cold; KC economy and looming football strike totally suck
TOP 5 SIGNS IT’S REALLY COLD IN KANSAS CITY:
#5. Considering traveling to Egypt to warm up over a burning car…
#4. A bum on the Plaza asked for a quarter for a downpayment on an Amish Furnace…
#3. Can hardly wait for the 26th consecutive rebuilding season for the Royals…
#2. The Hare Krishnas on the Plaza are singing Ice Ice Baby…
#1. Nikita has applied for a gig at the Miami Zoo
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I’m trying to figure a way to get the Westboro Baptist Church to join the protests in Egypt.
Today: The Official Kansas City Star Jason Whitlock Fire Sale
In a world of Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Butt, it’s hard to top the Star‘s Everything Must Go sale on Jason Whitlock…
Because, quite literally, everything that hasn’t gone – i.e. Whitlcock himself – with Big Sexy’s name on it is now streaking out the door at 18th and Grand at fire sale prices. Everything!
Take the newspaper’s however many year-old stockpile of Jason Whitlock bobbleheads. Got yours yet?
If not, hurry down to your closest Kansas City Star store because they’re going cheap, cheap, cheap.
OTC: Football’s Best Recruits Continue To Shun Cold Colleges
Rivals Top 20 Schools for 2011 Football Recruiting
1) Alabama 11) Oregon
2) Florida State 12) Tennessee
3) Texas 13) Oklahoma
4) USC 14) Florida
5) Georgia 15) Nebraska
6) LSU 16) North Carolina
7) Auburn 17) California
8) Clemson 18) Ole Miss
9) Notre Dame 19) Texas Tech
10) Ohio State 20) South Carolina
Rivals’ experts rank every Big 12 South school except Baylor ahead of the first Big 12 North school, a surprising Kansas at 34. Mizzou is next at 46. Iowa State’s and Kansas State’s recruiting classes did not make the top 50.
In Rivals Top 20, only three programs (ND, OSU and NU) can be considered cold-weather schools. It is my belief that the warm weather states and schools will continue to dominate college football. This is not a good thing for our local schools in the former Big 12 North. Even Mizzou’s Gary Pinkel appears to have lost some of his annual recruiting magic with a class that many experts are labeling as subpar. Kansas fans are giddy over Rivals placing their class as the Big 12’s sixth best. It’s all about expectations. And if you’re a football team from the North, those expectations have never been more miniscule. Read on.
Today: Saviors Day, Streetside, Blonde & Chiefs in Super Bowl
The Save Streetside Records watch party continues…
The final post last week on its 1,000-plus fans Facebook page hints a savior’s in the wings.
"Thanks to all those that came and wished a fond farewell (which reminds me of that Elliott Smith song). Stay tuned for more details on the New Store!"
That said, while staffers at Streetside and Shawnee’s Vinyl Renaissance have said VR would be doing the rescue/revival honors, its manager declined to comment, inferring that while something may be in the works, it might not be a straight down the line takeover. In any case, the Westport store was pretty much picked clean and now stands mostly empty, awaiting a new tenant.
Whomever that might be. So stay tuned.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘THE COMPANY MEN’ Scares With Corporate Reality!
Let’s see now. With the SINGLE WHITE FEMALE-like psychological thriller THE ROOMMATE not screened for critics and the action thriller SANCTUM’s screening snowed out this past Tuesday, my critical options were limited this week.
THE COMPANY MEN is a star-studded low profile drama taking on today’s new realities of American life.
In THE COMPANY MEN, Ben Affleck is living the proverbial American dream. Great corporate job at the mighty GTX conglomerate. Beautiful family. Country club membership. And a Porsche in the garage.
But all that is about to go down the drain. It’s called downsizing and leaves Ben along with co-workers Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones jobless. Three men at the top of their game now forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.
Tony: Facebook And Twitter Are Now Your Local News
Today I’ve been inspired by a recent redesign of a Kansas City Community Newspaper.
The Northeast News has really stepped up its game as far as social media strategy and its website is now completely plugged into Facebook, Twitter and even has an RSS feeds for nerds like me who like a looking at the news as it’s published.
This is a big deal because it’s a forward thinking step that acknowledges that the old "presentation" model of journalism really isn’t viable any longer and news media outlets are really part of an ongoing conversation with their readers.
Again, good news for me because I love having conversations with people wherein they put a lot of effort into making a reasonable and logical arguement and I chime in with a pussy joke.
So I guess we all win. Here’s how:
Hearne: Thou Shall Not Overpour; States Crack Down on Bars & Bartenders
When liquor officials conclude the investigation into Brian Euston‘s .387 blood alcohol level, there’ll be plenty of time to reflect and learn from this very sad tale.
Euston, you recall, was the 24 year-old man who died in Westport last fall, following a one-punch altercation outside America’s Pub around 3 a.m. That after a night of intensely heavy boozing. Let me repeat, intensely heavy.
Missouri’s liquor control statute forbids the sale of alcohol "to any person intoxicated or appearing to be in a state of intoxication, or to a habitual drunkard."
Around the country prosecutors and states are starting to charge bars and bartenders serving liquor to intoxicated patrons.
Today: MacWorld Expo Limps Past Finish Line With No Steve Jobs, No New Macs
Let’s play a little catch-up…
Some passing observations on what was once one of the highlights of the year for millions of fans of the company known as Apple. The celebrated MacWorld Expo went down last week. Until last year, the annual January gathering of Mac product developers, fans and followers was a monster. It was beyond huge.
No mas…
STARBEAMS: Solar Hibernation; Super Bowl and Stalking Erin Andrews
One NASA scientist thinks we’re hitting a period of solar hibernation. We’re getting less solar radiation from the sun and that could cool the planet for 30 years
I’ll believe it when I see Mexico putting up a fence to keep out the Americans.
If the storm brought nothing else, I now have a lifetime supply of Boulevard Beer and Girl Scout cookies in the basement.
Glazer: The Rise & Fall of Kelly’s & the Brian Euston Controversy
For more than half a century Kelly’s Westport Inn ruled the bar scene here…
People even used to refer to Westport as KELLYS-PORT through the early 1990’s. No more. With its business off more than 50% since the late 90’s, a bar that once grossed an incredible $2 million a year when that was major money has fallen well below $1 million annually.
And that’s cost them clout with the city. For decades Kelly’s was the home away from home of the men in uniform – cops, firemen – not so much anymore.
The Kellys were Westport from the late 50’s up until, well. Stanford & Sons came into being in 1975.
Take 5 (below): What’s Your Blizzard of Oz Story?
“That was the most over rated weather event in the last 20 years. I HATE the news for working us all up into a frenzy. The media wanted this storm to be so bad. I can tell you there have been much worse storms.”Bob Fescoe, Wednesday morning on Twitter
“Blizzard conditions. I-70 shut down to StL/1st time since it was built in 58. KCI shut down. No buses. KCMO St of Emergency…and it’s overrated?”
Kris Ketz, responding to Fescoe’s tweet, Twitter
Kris Ketz, responding to Fescoe’s tweet, Twitter
GH: I thought the weather people got this one spot-on right – and they did it three days in advance! When over half the country is crippled by a winter storm, I think it is difficult to consider any part of it overrated. But maybe your experience with The Blizzard of Oz is similar to Fescoe’s. Or more like mine where I was stranded in an Overland Park hotel Tuesday night with my truck snowbound in our office parking lot. I took the photo (above) near College Blvd. & Cedar in OP, just as the postman was making his daily pick up Tuesday at 3:30 PM. This dude definitely follows the USPS unofficial creed; “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
Add your storm story to the Comments section below.
OTC: John Kadlec Retires His Edsel Voice From MU’s Radio Booth
“Just saw this about MU fb analyst John Kadlec retiring. I enjoyed his work and our conversations. Wonderful link to Mizzou, Big 8 history.”Blair Kerkhoff, of The Kansas City Star, Twitter
GH: Kadlec spent 16 years as Mizzou’s football radio color analyst. While Kerkhoff says he enjoyed his work, it was 16 long, painful years for my ears. Read on.
“You are truly a Mizzou legend!”
Kevin Kietzman, while interviewing Kadlec on 810 AM
Kevin Kietzman, while interviewing Kadlec on 810 AM
“A very nice man.”
Nate Bukaty, 810 AM
Nate Bukaty, 810 AM
“A great man.”
Steven St. John, 810 AM
GH: At least the 810 crew didn’t pretend to laud Kadlec’s broadcasting skills. They politely talked about everything but.
Steven St. John, 810 AM
GH: At least the 810 crew didn’t pretend to laud Kadlec’s broadcasting skills. They politely talked about everything but.
Hearne: The Truth, The Whole Truth & Nothing But The Truth from Gary Lezak
Seems like just the other day…
That Channel 41 weather wonk Gary Lezak laid down a 13 inches of snow long range forecast for this winter’s total snowfall.
His take for today:
"We have had a major snow storm with blizzard conditions," Lezak says. "The total accumulation will end up in the 8 to 12 inches area and it will end around 10 p.m. tonight. It will be 10 below zero Thursday and this will not be the last snowstorm of the season."
