Category Archives: Hearne_Christopher
Kiss Off: Time to Take off the Face Paint, Kiss Fans Say
Those Kiss coffins may prove useful after all… The band Kiss – which played Sprint Center late last week – is notorious for its merchandising prowess. However its so-called Kiss Kaskets – actual coffins decorated with the Kiss logo and … Continue reading
Hold the Dorothy & Toto Jokes: After 70 Years Kansas Should Embrace Stereotype
We got it, we sell it, we still don’t like it…
For upwards of 70 years people around the world have been typecasting the state of Kansas based in no small part on scenes from the Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland as Dorothy. You know the drill, farmland galore, plenty of hayseeds and twisters – oh and that memorable line Dorothy utters when she and her dog behold the magnificence of Oz: Continue reading
How Not to Find Yourself Up Sh*t Creek This Winter
Game on!
What passes for winter here is majorly upon us and we must take measures. Undoubtedly that comes as little surprise to anyone with half a clue who has spent virtually any time in the Kansas City area.
Still you-know-what happens and it’s easy to let mundane things like ridiculously frigid temps sneak up on you.
Take last night…
“We’re getting frozen pipe calls already,” Roger the Plumber said early Wednesday evening. “It’s going to be one below zero.”
Locals can take measures to avoid financing Roger’s next vaca to Hawaii. Continue reading
White Christmas Redux: Dave Stephens Holiday Inn Tonight!
About KC swing king Dave Stephens Continue reading
‘Pussycat’ Headed to Folly; Fine Arts Theater Group Owner Caught Smuggling Treats
About local jazz diva Carol Duboc
Light ’em Up: Prairie Village Man Declares War on Town’s Top X-Mas Display
Been awhile since Prairie Villager Mike Babick has had to deal with pissed off neighbors Continue reading
Hearne on the Street: Horner’s Corner & Conquering ‘Invictus’
Who doesn’t love to bag on KCTV weather wonk Katie Horner?
The hits just keep on coming for the meteorologist who passes for the poster child for Channel 5’s ongoing efforts to save people from storms. Despite the fact that any number of those folks – or so it would seem – would rather todie happy watching the lowly Kansas City Chiefs or whatever sitcom/reality show that happens to get interrupted for a weather warning.
Did it ever occur to Horner’s fang-bearing critics that she’s just doing her job?
Thought so, sorry I brought it up.
And for some strange reason some of the dudes here at Continue reading
Tony Drops the Hammer on Anonymous Blogger Commentary
It’s like this; most people who leave comments on Web sites conceal their identity…
Why not? Who in his or her right mind would dare out themselves as the horse’s asses and/or blatantly biased individuals the cloak of anonymity so artfully conceals. Not that everyone who leaves an anonymous comment is a loser, mind you. you. But you don’t have to bottom fish too long to find one. And some folks – myself included – do sign their names. But darn few.
The percentage of online comments posted that are anonymous, in the estimation of longtime area blogger dude (and KC Confidential contributor) Tony Botello?
“They usually are (all) anonymous,” Botello says. “And for the most part they aren’t as good as somebody sitting down and writing a letter to the editor. People used to sit down and write the letter and use their name and it had more credibility. Now with blogs and Web sites, they’re all brain farts and only people who would hang out in bathrooms smelling other people’s farts would enjoy them.”
Okay, maybe not all, Botello concedes. Continue reading
Polar Bears of the World Unite: Well’s Top Deck to Remain Open 365 Days
To the hallowed tradition of Polar Bear Plunges into icy, outdoor waters add The Well’s top deck…
Since it’s opening late last summer, the restaurant and bar’s outdoor patio overlooking what passes for downtown Waldo has been a hit. That is until the weather started getting on again, off again nasty. After all, Tiki Torches, outdoor fire pits, space heaters and the like can only go so far.
However to keep the scenic party hang in play this winter, The Well has added outdoor tenting to its deck. Continue reading
Life After Mangino, Father X-Mas Strikes Back; McBeth Lights Up and Flattens Out & Collison Mashes One
The current sad state of the KU Football fan psyche in Lawrence Kansas?
Color it weather beaten. That after a seriously sick season in which the team went 1-7 in the Big 12, rumbled with members of KU’s top-ranked basketball team, then rode coach Mark Mangino out of town on a rail.
The $64 million question: will KU athletics honcho Continue reading
Plaza Nightclub Blonde Smacked with Lawsuit Over Larry Johnson Spitting Incident
The beat goes on…
An alleged Continue reading
Penny for Your Thought: Should Anonymous Posters be Put to Death?
For sixteen years I wrote a column in the Kansas city Star – put my name on it and everything…
And guess what? Some people didn’t like what I had to say. Some got mad; some got over it, some didn’t. At times the column was controversial. Getting bagged on comes with that turf.
And every so often I’d get an anonymous letter or a nasty voicemail. Most reader communications arrived in email form and seldom were caustic. I took my share of hits on the Star’s letters page – not that many – but it wasn’t like they escaped my attention. Continue reading
Kiss Family Reunion: Lewellens Saddle Up for Last Kiss
Once upon a time – last millennium – seventh grader Joe Lewellen went off the deep end – way off…
“I went and saw Kiss at Kemper Arena in 1977 and within a month after that I started a Kiss fan club,” Lewellen says. “I rasn a classified ad in Circus magazine and the checks and letters started rolling in.”
Next thing Lewellen knew, “I was the president of Kiss Underground, the kiss fan club worldwide. My mom came up with the name and Paul Stanley would call me all the time and give me the latest scoop. This was way before the Internet.”
That was then… Continue reading
Carol Duboc at the Folly: From Wilt to John Mayer to Hubert Laws
Was a time when Carol Duboc was on the cutting edge party plan…
Hanging with Wilt Chamberlain, writing songs for the Fine Young Cannibals, cowgirl-ing it in music vids with The Rock. Did I mention that she’s flying jazz laegend Hubert Laws in December 12th for a wine tasting at the Folly.
Oh yeah, and a concert.
“Hubert is a three-time Grammy nominee and he’s also played on a number of Grammy-winning albums including Walking in Space, a Quincy Jones album,” Duboc says. “I met Hubert in 2001 when I was producing an album and I wanted a flute and he’s played on every one of my albums since – he’s amazing.” Continue reading
Hearne on the Street: How Br
Kansas takes a pair of hits from Sacha Baron Cohen on the new DVD release of his movie Br Continue reading
Hearne on the Street: Cranberries Mail it in Thanksgiving Weekend
The following commentary does not constitute a concert review…
I’ll let entertainment writer extraordinaire Continue reading
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Just last summer the crackerjack staff at the historic Hotel Phillips downtown were bracing for the worst…
Producers for actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie Continue reading
Fire Mark Mangino for Being Too Tough? No Way, former Chief Says
Kansas football coach Mark Mangino may be fat – phat even – and as the athletic director who hired him stated, he’s clearly a disciplinarian…
So what’s the big deal, wonder former Chiefs running back Ted McKnight?
“All the coaches I’ve had were tough on me,” McKnight says.
As for the possibility Mangino poked and/or choked an offensive lineman in practice, “Are you kidding me?” McKnight says. “You’re going to worry about a guy with shoulder pads and a helmet on and the coach pushing him? That’s part of the game. I don’t know if we’re looking to have kinder, gentler coaches, but…”
Football players need to man up and not take things personally, McKnight says. Even at the college level. Continue reading
Plaza Lighting Ceremony 2009: the Old Switcheroo
Kate Spade did it – George Brett too – even David Cook…
They all threw a switch on a Continue reading
