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New Jack City: Movies on the Silver Screen Still the Best Bet
No matter how you slice or dice it, movie theaters continue to be the least expensive out-of-home entertainment…
And for the record the five year U.S. screen count—from 2007 through 2011—has risen from 38,803 to 39,718. That’s an increase of 2.35%.
Here are some interesting stats courtesy of the National Association of Theater Owners—N.A.T.O. for short.
Since 1981, ticket prices have increased, on average, less than the rate of inflation. Forty years ago the average 1971 ticket price was $1.65. In 2011 dollars that ticket would cost $9.16.
Donnelly: Sporting Self Destruct to Drop 3rd in a Row, Vermes Rips Refs
Sporting Kansas City played a decent first half Saturday at the Chicago Fire.
Bobby Convey notched his first goal of the season with a one-timer that was set up nicely by Roger Espinoza’s cut back cross and KC went to the locker room at the half up on the home side 1-0.
The second half was a completely different story. By the time the final whistle blew, Sporting had conceded a penalty, been shown a red card, and saw one of its alleged leaders attempt a fancy juggle inside his own 6 yard box which resulted in the go ahead Chicago goal.
Yeah, total nightmare.
So after starting the season 7-0, KC now sits at 7-3. Sure, the results have been disappointing, but more troubling has been Sporting’s play of late.
Glazer: Scribe Wishes His Mom Happy Mother’s Day
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Like many of you, I lost my mother a few years back..
We only have one real mom and one real dad, so when they’re gone it hurts. I think of my mother Rita Trantham every day. Yes, she was once Rita Glazer, but my father and mother divorced long ago. Her second husband John, was a great guy, but he too passed away this year.
On mother’s deathbed she said she was proud of me and we had that long last talk.
It was painful, but I’m glad we did. You readers all know the "Glazer Boys" stories, so clearly we had many issues. My mother had far more sad days with us three kids than good ones. No doubt. I wish my mom would have lived to see King of Sting come out, but she died in 2007 when the book was done but not yet printed. She knew it was being published though. My mother also died just short of the opening of Stanford and Sons at the Legends. She did visit the complex and saw it being built before she was bed ridden.
What I most remember about my mom was how well liked she was in Kansas City.
Leftridge: Mother’s Day Gift Ideas (Because Every Other Day is About You)
Look, we’ve all got mom’s, you know? (unless your mother is dead—in which case, I’m very, truly sorry for bringing it up. What happened, anyway? She was so young!) But anyway, moms… gotta love ‘em. Be they biological or a step, in-law or kidnapper, they’ve been there for you your whole life. She was there when you graduated high school and accidentally shit your pants with the compounded nervousness of being on a stage in front of thousands of people. She stuck up for you when you were learning to ride a bicycle and you accidentally crashed it into your douchebag neighbor’s Ferrari and put a scratch in it and that greasy Mexican screamed at you and called you a worthless piece of shit, berating you until you felt like ending your life at the tender age of 5.
Moms: God bless each and every one of them. But the truth is, you haven’t done enough for her. Trust me… you haven’t. But the good news is, you can start this coming Sunday. Selecting an appropriate gift is one way of beginning to build the bridge you burned when you stole $15,000 from her savings account and ran off to Thailand where you met a chick who didn’t turn out to be a chick at all (not that you knew that before you married it in a regrettable opiate haze).
Choosing a gift can be tricky, though. What kind of mom is she? Is she a nice mom, or a really nice mom? Does she like to sing, or does she like Singer sewing machines?
Hearne: And Now the ‘Rest of the Story’ on the AMC Entertainment ‘China Crisis’
It’s one thing for the hometown paper to get scooped on a huge story like AMC Entertainment selling out to the Chinese…
Quite another to pull up short on its front page followup. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened earlier this week when the Star rolled out its version of the New York Times scoop on AMC being in talks to sell the company "or a significant stake" to China’s Wanda Group.
How serious is Wanda? Apparently very.
"The Chinese group has reportedly been eyeing an acquisition since president Wang Jianlin said in a speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing in 2011 that his company would ‘shock the world’ with an acquisition to be made within the year," the news organization Want China Times reported yesterday.
Now a little much-needed background and perspective.
Whinery: MITT ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT
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Went to the Mitt Romney fundraiser at the Westin last night and – you heard it here first – Romney is going to win in a landslide in November…
Fifty-five to forty-five to be exact…
I know, I know. Everybody thinks Obama’s got it in the bag, but I don’t think so. What has Obama done except continue the policies of W that he said he’d rescind? Last time I checked we’re still in Iraq.The popular belief is that Americans have left – but we still have tens of thousands of boots on the ground.
And while I commend the President for getting Bin Laden– If that was the goal in Afghanistan – what are we still doing there?
Unemployment is only going “down” only because the government’s numbers are hopelessly cooked.
Glazer: Add Gay Marriage to Obama Legacy of Ending War, Depression, Offing Bin Laden
In a bold move, President Barack Obama says he’s ALL FOR GAY MARRIAGE…
Some may think this was merely a political move to stay out front of Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The Republican candidate immediately jumped on it and said, "Marriage is between a man and a woman only!"
And with Obama is only slightly ahead in the polls that matter – far from where he’s been in the past – many think this will be a very close race. Most observers feel the President’s position on gay marriage will not help him much and in fact, may cost him valuable support.
Let’s face it, this much of this nation still leans away from gays getting married. Me, I say live and let live. If two people want to marry that are of the same sex, and it doesn’t hurt anybody else, let it be.
Besides, those divorce cases will be a hoot!
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘DARK SHADOWS’ Serves Up Retro Weirdness
Never having been a fan of ABC’s old TV soaper my expectations of Tim Burton‘s movie adaptation were at best "in-check."
And guess what DARK SHADOWS the movie pretty well delivered on those expectations. Not more. Maybe even a little less.
Twisting the shows storyline just a bit, Warner Brothers’ big screen adaptation maintains the basic plot of Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) who in 1752, along with his family, set sail for America where he became quite the heartbreaker.
But when he broke the wrong woman’s heart—she got even!
She also happened to be a jealous witch who cursed him, destroyed his family, turned him into a vampire and buried Barnabas alive chained to his coffin.
Now move up to 1972 where Barnabas is freshly dug up by an ill-fated construction crew and resurrected in Collinwood only to find his old family’s descendants in ruins. There’s disco, microwaves, Chevy’s—even The Carpenters performing on television for this vampire fish-out-of-water to face.
Hearne: The Gloves Are Coming Off for Next Year’s ‘420 Day’ Bash in Westport
Westport sparkplug Bill Nigro learned a very important lesson last month…
That when it comes to pot smoking, you can’t be just a little bit pregnant. If you’re going to localize and promote an annual celebration like 420 Day – the day that honors all things marijuana – you’ve got to be all in.
No pussyfooting around.
Not that Nigro’s faint-hearted first off 420 Day blowout was a, you know, bust.
"Well, we had 1,200 paying people and we had another 200 comps," Nigro says. "But I just thought it would be busier."
And well it might have been, had Niro not chickened out in promoting the event with weak-wristed quotes like, "Well, we’re not calling it 420 Day. Our event’s called the Westport Smokeout and we’re going to do some fun things."
See what I mean?
Starbeams: The Top Five Signs You’re at a Chinese (AMC) Movie Theater
Kansas City based AMC Theatres may be sold to a Chinese company. AMC recently broke ground on its new headquarters at 117th and Nall. However, if they’re going to be based in China, they’ll need to keep digging for some time.
THE TOP FIVE SIGNS YOU’RE AT A CHINESE BASED MOVIE THEATER:
#5. Romantic comedies involve someone getting kicked.
#4. You can save the popcorn bowl for a hair cut.
#3. Instead of popcorn, you get itty bitty ears of corn.
Sounds Good: Spring into Summer@Replay, Delbert McClinton@Knuckleheads, Tennis@RecordBar, Truckstop Honeymoon@Barnyard
All my picks this week are on Saturday, so you’ve got some touch choices to make…
Plus there’s a Sporting KC game Saturday at 7:30. The boys in blue are away at rival Chicago, so if you can’t park it in front of the tube at 7:30, make sure to set the old DVR.
In other concert news: the much anticipated James Morrison concert that was scheduled for the Granada tonight has unfortunately been cancelled. I believe Mr. Morrison will be hitting up Jay Leno tonight instead. His loss, right?
On to the picks!
New Jack City: AMC Theatres Selling Out to China?
The New York Times is reporting that one of China’s most prominent theater operators may have its eyes set on Kansas City based AMC ENTERTAINMENT.
The newspaper claims that according to sources briefed on the discussions, that China’s WANDA GROUP is in talks to buy part or all of AMC.
The WANDA GROUP is a Chinese conglomerate whose portfolio includes commercial properties, luxury hotels, department stores, film production and distribution.
Hearne: KU Students Fly Down Mountain, Through Fire & Into Potter Lake
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Good, clean fun alert…
Slot this one atop on your "Don’t try this at home" to-do list. From the Lawrence Journal World‘s Andy Hyland comes the followingg newsworthy nugget from the bucket list of Totally Ridiculous Things College Kids Do.
Perhaps you’ll recognize it from your young adulthood past.
"While walking on campus on Friday, I happened on one of those little moments that ensures that walking around a college campus is never dull," Hyland begins.
"A small group of students had come up with an inventive way to celebrate Stop Day. Namely, they were taking bikes up to the very top of the hill near Memorial Drive, and then were riding them down the hill to a ramp, and then jumping into Potter Lake."
For the uninitiated, that’s some serious downhill, cross country sledding.
Glazer: Kansas City Royals Fans are the World’s Biggest Suckers!
Kansas City Royals fans just love their Royals…
And why not? We’re going to games this season in near record numbers. Thats right, last year at this time the Royals had drawn 248,000 fans. This year over the same time period, 329,000 fans. And the way, with the same number of games, 15. So we’re ahead of last year by 80,000 fans or almost two Chiefs games. Wow.
Which tells David Glass this: Go ahead and lose, we got nothing better to do. We will still come in droves to watch one of baseball’s all-time worst franchises.
Starbeams: Tornado Decorating, Socialism, Univsion, Al Queda & Angry Birds
Tornados were spotted in Olathe and Raymore Sunday. Both tornados did over $30 worth of improvements.
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An 18 year old Blue Valley senior is building a hydrogen fuel cell that may eventually allow you to power your car with water. When I was 18 I successfully used water….to remove stains from the back seat of my car.
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France just elected its first Socialist president in 20 years. Some say it’s a giant step backward. I say, they’re just following our lead!
Hearne: City Market Concerts Reportedly to Relocate to Berkley Park in August
One local concert venue’s loss is another one’s gain…
So it is that the recently cancelled to save the Steamboat Arabia museum, "Buzz Under the Stars" concert series will magically reappear in August at the Richard L. Berkley Riverfront Park, sources say.
The word on the street being that the fest (August 9 or 10?) will feature a kickass bill thought to include headliners Fun and Garbage with Silversun Pickups and Alabama Shakes.
The Buzz fest will follow in the footsteps of the Dancefestopia Music Fesitval in June at Berkley Park, which incidentally will be going head-to-head with Entercom’s Buzz Beach Ball at Livestrong.
Glazer: 610 Sports Nick Wright Escapes Gravitational Pull of the Cowtown
I began backing 610 Sports host Nick Wright two years ago…
Wrote several stories saying he’d be THE GUY in sports radio soon. However many commenters on this site didn’t agree. Some even said Nick’s career would be short lived in Kansas City. Meaning he’d be fired and replaced. Turns out I was right on the money.
Word today is that Nick may be headed to Houston.
That’s not confirmed, but if true, that’s a far bigger market than KC. Years ago Houston was after Johnny Dare. Johnny made a good call and stayed put because he’s from here like Nick and loves the city. Dare feels comfortable in KC.
Dare’s’s also is happy with the plum contract he got with 98.9 The Rock, so all is well with the other big gun at Entercom. But Nick’s a very young man still and undoubtedly wants to go out and spread his wings and find out what more is out there for him. At 28, that makes perfect sense. I think if Nick were older he might stay put.
Remember Wright has only been in his seat two years and is already THE GUY in sports in town.
New Jack City: ‘AVENGERS’ Shatters Records as New Premiere Weekend Champ!
Walt Disney‘s been dead some 45 years…
However this weekend he’s probably having a heavenly party up there somewhere with St. Peter and the gang. Matter of fact, I’ll bet they’re spiking the holy water for the occasion.
Why all the celebrating?
The company he founded with his brother (and a mouse) has just generated the biggest grossing movie opening weekend in the history of the Industry!
MARVEL’s-THE AVENGERS has sold an estimated $200.3 million in tickets domestically during its first three days out of the box.
Hearne: Nick Wright Leaving Grumpy Naysayers, 610 Sports, Kansas City in the Dust
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The days of the George Bretts and Johnny Dares are long gone…
If they ever existed in the first place. Nobody today really cares if the home team has any hometown heroes on it. Or if they bend the rules or cheat a little bit – long as they don’t get caught.
Just win, baby…am I wrong?
So maybe it was naive to think 610 Sports rising star Nick Wright would be a homegrown, hometown institution.
You know, like the Raven, forevermore.
Donnelly: “We were not sharp enough,” says Vermes as Montreal Shuts Out Sporting
Sporting KC continued their mini-slide Saturday night at home against the expansion Montreal Impact, losing to the visitors 2-0.
Let’s call it what it was, a poor effort from the boys in blue.
But judging from the immediate online reaction you would think that the sky is falling on the Eastern Conference leaders.
A few examples:
@Sporting_Times tweeted, "When plan b is the same as plan a that happens ………….. MLS has figured #SportingKC out."
And then there was this exchange:
@MtRoyalSoccer, a Montreal supporter, tweeted, "@TheDailyWizKC it does not take out anything from #SportingKC but #IMFC have been progressing every single game."
To which @TheDailyWizKC replied, "@MtRoyalSoccer While we’ve been declining… #SMH."
A little knee jerk perhaps? Certainly there are some issues, as there always are with every team. But the sky is not falling… yet…
