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Whinery: Bill Cosby & KC Mayor Sly James Tell Urban Youth, Time to Measure Up
This past Friday legendary performer Bill Cosby give a lecture to the students at Kansas City’s Ruskin High School on the state of the black community…
The refreshing viewpoint Mr. Cosby brings to the table is the preaching of personal responsibility as opposed to blaming every problem blacks face on racism and slavery. In contrast to the Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton’s of the World.
Mr. Cosby didn’t sugar-coat the problems facing black youth.
He told the kids to “pull up their pants, learn proper English, go to the library and work hard in school” if they want to succeed. He was also very critical of rap music with its negative portrayals of women and its glamorous portrayal of the drug trade.
I couldn’t agree more.
Mermaid: Passing of Parents a Time for Reflection
As many of you know, both my parents died in the past few months…
It was sudden, traumatic, exhausting, and extremely sad.
I’ve run the gamut of emotions from shock and disbelief to numbness and anxiety. I’ve cried myself to sleep and balled my eyes out at stoplights in the middle of the day.
I’ve dealt with the extremes of hospital life to the finality of hospice care. My life went from mostly normal to extreme chaos in a matter of days.
And through it all a funny thing seems to be happening……
As the fog begins to clear, the world looks different through new eyes. You begin to face your own mortality and realize every day really could be the last.
Jolly: Carlo’s Copa Room, a Hidden Italian Gem in Lenexa
Carlo’s Copa Room is hidden away near the corner of 87th and Lackman in Lenexa…
That’s right, Lenexa.
This tiny Italian gem is easy to miss because it’s jammed between the Hen House Market and a nail salon. And it’s not like Lenexa, Kansas is well known for nice restaurants, let alone anything approaching fine dining. Mostly what you’ll find are pizza buffets, fast food eateries, and maybe an Applebee’s.
Lenexa does have great schools, nice parks and is a good place to live and raise rugrats, but it’s a wasteland for palate pleasing restaurants. Until, that is, in 2004 when Carlo’s family moved to this little family-based city and opened a restaurant that is UNBELIEVABLE.
Glazer: Set Aside Hurt Feelings, Let the Games Continue – Long Live the KU-MU Rivalry
I’ve always been a KU basketball and an MU football fan…
Who doesn’t love a winner? My mom and dad went to MU and I did a year at UMKC, so I followed MU football. But I’ve always loved KU’s basketball program. It’s the best program for sports in our area, and yes, that includes the Chiefs and Royals.
KU basketball is Kansas City’s only elite team nationally and it’s been that way for decades.
Winning a 9th straight Big 12 title proves that Bill Self is a top three national coach.
And this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jayhawks. Now they’re likely going to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Big Dance in a couple weeks.
Top notch, Bill!
But this year MU showed up huge.
Hearne: MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Coming to the Uptown for Earth Day
The fastest rising star in cable news is Kansas City bound…
Love her or hate her, there’s no denying MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is a force to be reckoned with. Since taking over the 8 p.m. slot four years ago her ratings have soared and she’s crossed swords with the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs – and even been compared to legendary newsman Walter Cronkite.
Here’s the deal.
Unlike most successful, lightning rod news-talk hosts, the openly gay Maddow has the grey matter to back up her arguments and point of view. As she does in her new book Drift, about "how the decision-making process of the American military has become divorced from the democratic process making it far too easy and streamlined to use force worldwide," says Slate Magazine.
Now this just in, Rainy Day Books in Fairway is bringing Maddow’s book signing roadshow to town Sunday April 22nd.
Tales From the Tweet: Braun Beats the System, Ozzie’s Man-Boobs & Something About a Border War?
With all of the hype going into today’s matchup between Kansas and Missouri, you’d think that Twitter would be a bit more abuzz. Not so. Aside from the expected dick-cheese taunts from fans on both sides, it’s been mostly quiet. Oh, the prodigal son will return to check out the game and eat some food (presumably between bursts of pedophilian-protector defense):
@JPosnanski
“Heading back to KC for the last Mizzou-KU game. Barbecue will be eaten. Winstead burgers will be consumed.”
But somehow, this doesn’t feel as exciting as it may have been a week ago, you know, before the Tigers took a big, fat monkey-shit against the Kansas State Wildcats… AGAIN. Oh sure, it’s a possible final meeting (doubt it), and there’s a lot on the line, but after Mizzou’s narrow escape against the Jayhawks in Columbia just a few weeks ago, this one has disappointment scrawled all over it.
Look, what Mizzou has done this season has exceeded expectations. They’re a fun team to watch, no doubt, but it doesn’t appear as though all of the HEART! HUSTLE! GRIT! DETERMINATION! in Dickey V’s loins is enough to overcome the grotesque size differential. Therefore, I’m taking the Jayhawks to win, teased with IND at NE ( 40) and BAL at Spain (-7). IT’S A TEASER BET. LOOK IT UP! EVERY SPORTS BOOK IN CANADA TAKES TEASER BETS, PUNK.
Sorry—where were we? Ah yes, on with the Tweets.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘Wanderlust’ Outtakes Are Best Part of Lame Comedy
When critics exit press screenings they’re usually asked for their opinions by studio representatives…
I dreaded having to give my take to them on WANDERLUST the other day.
All I could come up with was: "I’m speechless."
"In a good or bad way?" the rep asked.
I let her guess my answer.
WANDERLUST basically tells of a New York City couple—Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston—who suddenly fall on hard times. He loses his job and she can’t sell her penguin documentary to HBO.
And they’ve just purchased a micro-loft in Manhattan.
Now overextended and totally stressed, they take a job offer from his porta-potty magnate brother in Atlanta.
Which works for about a week.
But hold on!
Hearne: The (Burned) Bridges of Jason Whitlock County
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How many more journalistic lives does Jason Whitlock have left?
If he was a cat, he’d have nine, right? But Whitlock’s’s too big to be a cat. In any case, the former Kansas City Star sports scribe has burned through at least four of his nine – at WHB, ESPN, 61 Sports and the newspaper.
And truth be known, at least three more, raising his magic number to seven two remaining?
With that large of a media enemies list, the big guy was more than a little lucky he was able to dodge the getting fired bullet again recently after his Tweet about Jeremy Lin‘s you-know-what size and that because Lin had had a good game he was gonna inflict some "pain" on a NYC hottie.
Glazer: Knock on Wood, Hip-Hop’s Gone & Westport’s Back
It’s finally happened, Westport has joined the other entertainment districts in KC that matter…
Read my lips: No more hip-hop clubs, no more rap, no more urban crowds.
With America’s Pub closing after New Year’s, the question was, how long it might take for the crowds to increase.
NOT LONG.
Kelly’s staffers say business has almost doubled on weekends since the area has completely dumped urban dance. Wow.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘Act Of Valor’- Real SEALS, Real Heroes!
ACT OF VALOR isn’t your average, everyday popcorn action flick…
What it IS, is a low budget tribute movie to the Navy SEALS, co-directed by Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy who are known collectively in Hollywood circles as the Bandito Brothers.
"Nobody from Hollywood wanted us to make it," Waugh told the Hollywood Reporter recently.
"That’s why we ended up funding it ourselves and finding private equity and why we really made a truly independent film with this."
Looking for a testosterone filled, name marquee cast?
You won’t find it in this movie.
Starbeams: The Top New Missouri Meth Tourism Slogans
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Missouri was the #1 state for METH BUSTS by far last year.
More than 2,000 busts, followed by Tennessee at 1,700.
Turns out a county near St. Louis is giving all of us a bad name, as Jefferson County had 253 busts which was more than Texas, Florida and California COMBINED.
THE TOP NEW MISSOURI TOURISM SLOGANS
MISSOURI…
Come be a part of our chemistry.
Put your mind in a whole new state.
Hearne: The Real Reason Kanrocksas Won’t be Back This Year?
Let me say up front, I won’t be answering the question in the above headline…
When things don’t work out as expected and people lose tons of dough – especially big money backers rolling the dice in uncharted waters – something’s got to give.
In the case of the music festival Kanrocksas, it won’t be returning this summer as had been promised.
Insiders estimate last summer’s inaugural fest at the Kansas Speedway churned a wake of $2.5 to $4 million of red ink.
That’s a lot to love.
Now let’s take a look at the spin spoon fed to local media in Kanrocksas press release Tuesday:
"Due to a major construction project at Kansas Speedway during the summer of 2012, Kanrocksas Music Festival will not return until 2013. Following the successful inaugural Kanrocksas Music Festival at Kansas Speedway in August 2011…"
Was the fest successful? Nobody who knows how to operate a calculator would likely describe it that way.
Whinery: RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT?
Lets get one thing straight…
I’m not a Ron Paul supporter and will probably join the thousands of Americans who write-in Mickey Mouse for President when casting my ballot this November. That being said- I find Mr. Paul to be a most interesting candidate.
I saw Paul’s speech at Union Station Saturday night and it was a barn burner.
He identifies a lot of the issues that Americans are disturbed by and which are fueling the Tea Party & Occupy Wall Street protest movements.
Here are three major issues I’d like to address:
Sounds Good: Fourth of July & ACBs@The Brick, Reverend Horton Heat@Bottleneck
Plenty of KC area concert news to digest…
First, as pointed out by Hearne last week before any formal press release, it seems that the worst named music festival ever will not be returning for a second year. Instead, the Kanrocksas organizers claim they’re taking a year off "Due to a major construction project at Kansas Speedway during the summer of 2012."
They say they’ll be back in 2013. I put the odds of that at about 50/50.
Also, last week 96.5 the Buzz announced the lineup for their annual Beach Ball, which is being held again this year at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in KCK. The schedule is about as impressive as I’ve seen the Buzz put together, at least for the last 6 or 7 years.
Headliners include The Shins, Foster the People, Flogging Molly, Sublime With Rome, Metric, The Kooks, and a few others. The show takes place on June 2nd and tickets start at just $20!
That just happens to be the weekend of Wakarusa, so I’ll be interested to see how the shows might end up affecting each other.
On to this weeks picks…
Starbeams: THE TOP 5 WAYS TO KEEP A GORILLA CONTAINED @ KC ZOO
The Great Gorilla Escape from the Kansas City Zoo has been blamed on a failure to lock two cage doors.
THE TOP 5 WAYS TO KEEP A GORILLA CONTAINED:
#5. Inform him that a dangerous man is on the loose in Swope Park.
#4. Tell him you’re working a deal to get him on the roof for a Toyotathon.
#3. Ask him to explain why the apes on "Planet of the Apes" had English accents.
Entree News: Esquina Reopens, Will No. 5 be a Winner for Locker Room & Eat at Fuzzy’s
Chef Robert Krause‘s restaurant Esquina in downtown Lawrence closed a couple weeks back…
Supposedly for a makeover and conversion from Esquina’s "Latin American" cuisine to Mediterranean or as some staffers indicated, Italian.
Loosely translated: No more more chips and salsa, a new menu and a "new interior."
Esquina reopened a few days ago, somewhat surprisingly sans a name change.
It’s still called Esquina, which technically works with its description of the new menu:
"Come experience the flavors of the Mediterranean with a Spanish flair! Esquina features a sophisticated menu
in an intimate, unique setting now with full table service and an expanded wine list."
The Italian menu talk is another matter.
Hearne: Landlord OK’s Deal for New Owners to Take Over Jardine’s
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Don’t look now, but the jazz club known as Jardine’s is poised to get a new lease on life…
I know, it’s been a long hard media slog since the club mostly went dark last November. But think about how long The Phoenix downtown was out of commish before new owners breathed new life into it a few years back.
Face it, it’s not like the road to fame and fortune – even in Kansas City – is paved with live jazz music.
Not by a long shot.
Glazer: Furor Over ESPN ‘Chink’ Headline on Jeremy Lin Overblown
There’s a "Chink In the Armor" of Jeremy Lin…
ESPN had that headline up Saturday for only 35 minutes. They fired its author and suspended well-known personality Max Bretos for saying the following earlier live on the air: "If there is a chink in (Lin’s) armor, where can he improve his game?"
So is there a massive wave of racist hate towards Lin sweeping America? The answer is of course NO.
Lin’s Asian and very few Americans hate Asians.
New Jack City: Rolling The Dice for This Year’s Oscars
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I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve had so much trouble pre-picking the Oscars…
The odds for guessing the winners correctly in several big catagories Sunday are about as good as playing the slots.
Some of the major contests even have the Vegas Sports Books in a quandary.
Granted, when it comes to the top prize—
Best Picture
—it most likely will be coming down to between THE ARTIST and THE DESCENDANTS.
My pick: THE ARTIST
Hearne: Son Pulls Plug on Former KC Mayor’s Estate Sale, Hundreds Hung Out to Dry
Scratch one absolutely fabulous and historic estate sale…
Just like that, the executor of the estate of former KC Mayor Ilus W Davis and his wife, civic leader Bea Davis put the kibosh late last week on one of what would surely have been one of the grandest estate sales in recent Kansas City history.
"I was on my way over there when I got the email that it had been cancelled," says former Shawnee Councilwoman Tracy Thomas. "I was hoping to see if he had any mayoral memorabilia or maybe a copy of the Doubleday book I wrote with Walt Bodine that mentioned mayor Davis."
‘It was a helluva sale – not," says estate sale pro Kathe Kaul, who was quarterbacking the grand event. "I don’t want to say much more."
Then again…
So what happened?
