KC Confidential | Hearne Christopher, Uncensored

Glazer: Scribe & Comic Chris Franjola Stick Up for Justin Bieber

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Craig Glazer

Justin Bieber – fondly known as Biebs – has finally attained a big boy/bad boy status…

Everybody’s seen the news from Florida way where the Biebs got arrested for DUI, resisting arrest, speeding and drug possession, etc., etc.. Outside of this being his official announcement that – I’m a bad ass – nothing much will come of it. Oh yeah, he also had an expired driver license, a rented $10,000 a day Ferrari and in the passenger seat, a gorgeous young model.

What to make of all this?

The Bieb’s kinda-sortas counterpart – superstar Miley Cyrus – better planned her breakout with her tongue and groove twerk tirade on international television. Miley needed to make the jump to being an adult star and leave Hannah Montana behind and she did. Like it or not, Cyrus calculations worked out just fine.

The Biebs, on the other hand, will now be under the Lindsey Lohan microscope, which is not where you want to be. For better and for worse, his mega-million dollar paydays and sense of entitlement handed to him by an adoring public led to this behavior. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | 13 Comments

Sounds Good: Patty Griffin, Mama Ray, Tim Whitmer, Switch, Irieplaceables & Mark Valentine

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Mark Valentine

Patty Griffin
Saturday @ The Bottleneck in Lawrence

Longtime area musician and concert production guy Mark Valentine bats for Matt Donnelly this week with an abbreviated list of don’t miss shows. Check it:

Here are some shows you might have overlooked:

KC Symphony at The Kauffman

The Symphony performs Gustav Mahler’s last complete work.
It’s interesting to hear what a great composer writes when he knows he will
die soon. And it’s a great venue. Expect a moving show.

January 24-26, 2014 – Helzberg Hall – Kauffman Center for the Performing
Arts

Tim Whitmer at The Green Lady

Tim Whitmer and the KC Happy Hour Express includes James Albright, Todd R.
Wilkinson and Raymond DeMarchi…plus the weekly tradition of Mayor Charles B Wheeler throwing out the first request

Fridays – Green Lady Lounge 1809 Grand from 5:30-8:30 PM Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Valentine | 2 Comments

Starbeams: I Funkhouser, Kelly’s ’85 Dodge, Kelly’s Wedding Vows & X Box

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Kelly Urich

A St. Louis lawmaker introduced a bill that would close Missouri retail stores on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas so people can be with their families on those days. Heck, if it wasn’t for retail, I’d have no excuse to get away from my family!

*******

An Olathe man is suffering from smoke inhalation after retrieving an X-Box from a burning home. The X-Box was rescued, but the cat didn’t fare so well.

******* Continue reading →

Posted in Starbeams | Leave a comment

Hearne: Star Intern Stubs Toe on KCPT ‘Bridge’ Puff Piece

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

There’s a reason fledgling journalists don’t get many front page story assignments…

That being it takes time and experience to sharpen the skills and develop the critical thinking necessary to report hard news, not just write whatever somebody says and run with it as gospel.

That’s where you can get into trouble.

Especially when the sources being quoted have an obvious vested interest in spinning the story to their advantage. That’s when you’re supposed to reach out and attempt to corroborate what’s being said with independent sources and/or experts in the given field.

Which didn’t happen in the case of Kansas City Star intern Tess Hart’s double-barrelled attaboy this week about Kansas City public television station KCPT’s recent acquisition of radio station 90.9 FM The Bridge. Continue reading →

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 24 Comments

Paul Wilson: Kansas Wants Sperm Donor to Make Another Deposit

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Paul Wilson

This time out, it’s not sperm they seek…

Kansas wants blood from William Marotta – in the form of child support – and they want it deposited at the Kansas Payment Center in Topeka.

Angela Bauer and her former partner Jennifer Schreiner were like any other same sex couple who wanted a child. Absent the ability to procreate the hot, steamy way, they turned to outside assistance. In this case, in the form of a Craigslist ad seeking a sperm donor.

Enter William Marotta, a local, Topeka body shop dude, who saw their cause as a valid one and felt he could insert a solution.

He did, They did. A star appeared in the East, and a child was born. Continue reading →

Posted in Paul Wilson | 28 Comments

New Jack City: Oscar Hopefuls Hold On Local Screens

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Jack Poessiger

This doesn’t happen often!

With last week’s announcement of the Oscar nominations, we’ve got an unusal situation.

All nine films nominated for Best Picture are still showing in local theatres.

Why? Because they were all released in the latter part of the year prompting some of the studios to either extend runs or re-release their possible award winners.

This is your RARE opportunity to experience this year’s major Oscar hopefuls the way they were meant to be seen—on the BIG SCREEN.

Here’s the line up of the nine motion pictures nominated for Best Picture. Continue reading →

Posted in Jack Poessiger | 2 Comments

Hearne: Can a Dude Named Sam Smith Rescue Our Land of the Lost?

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Sam Smith to the rescue

A couple weeks back the Scribe pretty much nailed the Kansas City of today…

Oh sure, he still loves it here – blah, blah, blah – but the excitement’s gone. The wide open, we can do anything – damn the torpedos – attitude of our storied (and at times criminal) past.

Sure, things are better than they were 10 years ago, but we’re still not Denver – not Austin, Dallas, Atlanta or Indianapolis even. We’re a sleepy city in too many critical ways – politically inept and predictable – with something important missing in the overall mix…too many somethings.

Why would the Republican Convention come to Kansas City? Even the Future Farmers bailed long ago because Louisville was more fun.

Ever been to Louisville?

But wait, we’re not alone. Continue reading →

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 7 Comments

Glazer: Rocky Mountain High Bowl * Super Bowl Cities Legally High

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Craig Glazer

A week from Sunday will be a Super Bowl first…

The big talk now is Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman, who’s having his 15 days of fame. Which may well continue if the Seahawks win the big game and Sherman makes a couple of good plays against Peyton Manning. His jersey sales have already jumped into the top 10 along with those of Seattle QB Russell Wilson.

But what we really should be talking about is the first ever Marijuana Bowl.

That’s right, both Super Bowl cities – Denver and Seattle – have legalized pot for personal use. So it’s the first time both teams in the Super Bowl are from cities where people can light up to their hearts content before, during and after the game. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | 25 Comments

Hearne: How Long is Too Long for Christmas Lights to Stay Up?

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

As rhetorical questions go, how long you should leave the Christmas lights up ranks fairly high…

Given that Christmas, after all, comes and goes on December 25, wouldn’t the 26th seem as good a time as any to take them down? Or perhaps the first of January following New Year’s Eve. The eight-day-long Jewish holiday of Hanukkah commenced on November 27th, so there no reason there to keep the lights ablaze.

Yet we seem to live in a world where people can’t seem to get enough Christmas.

The escape from all of our cares Christmas.

I mean, screw Thanksgiving. Continue reading →

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 13 Comments

Hearne: Lezak Looks Ahead; 10 More Inches & Arctic Blast

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Weather, weather everywhere and not a drop to shovel…

Think of the weather conditions here as the lull before the storms. So says KSHB TV weather wonk Gary Lezak about the area’s relatively mild climes as parts of the rest of the country suffers through record snowfalls.

So what lies ahead?

Continue reading →

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 8 Comments

Valentine: The Delusional Plan Committee

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Mark Valentine

Remember when they said the Power and Light District would pay for itself? Some financial movers and shakers at City Hall gave us a quick update recently. The bond used to pay for Power and Light costs Kansas City about $20 million per year. And Power and Light brings in less than $6 million per year in tax revenues.

So now we know.

The math used to sell the project was Delusional.

The City wants to refinance by adding more years to the loan. If they can accomplish that, we would only be in the hole about $8 million a year instead of $14 million a year for the next 2 years. Of course, that would add $36 million to the debt for 2032-2033. Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Valentine | 18 Comments

Starbeams: Kellen Winslow Goes Pee Wee, Mike Shanin, Mary O’Halloran & MLK Day

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Kelly Urich

Kellen Wnslow

Ellen DeGeneres was voted America’s Favorite TV personality, followed by Mark Harmon. Yet, another slap in the face for Mike Shanin and Mary O’Halloran.

*******

I spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day watching white guys on ESPN bicker over Richard Sherman and Michael Crabtree.

******* Continue reading →

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Sutherland: Occupy Olathe — The Class Struggle Comes to JOCO

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr.

One of the most hateful legacies of Karl Marx is the notion of “class enemies.”

This is the idea that if you belong to a certain social class (e.g. Stalin’s “Kulaks,” Mao’s “rich peasants”) you are by definition an exploiter of the proletariat and thus intrinsically evil. Class enemies were “outlaws” in the original sense. That is they were outside society’s protection. No law protected them and they could be killed and their property seized by anyone.

An unfortunate example of this syndrome ran in last week’s Kansas City Star in the form of an “As I see It” column. Written by Jim Haas of Olathe, a retired history teacher, principal, and graduate degree director, it was a slam on Downton Abbey, the PBS prime time soap opera set in an English country house 90-plus years ago. The title of the piece was; “Downton Abbey: A Republican Dream.” Continue reading →

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | 29 Comments

Buying Cheapest Betapace

Posted on January 20, 2014 by default

Buy betapace and Generic Sotalol tablets online for cardiovascular diseases. Available without prior prescription. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Paul Wilson: Ruminations on MLK Day With a Side of Alonzo

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Paul Wilson

Crime Fighter Alonzo Washington

I’m not a Twitter person…

At last count I have 49 followers. I don’t even know how I got them as I use Twitter to follow, not be followed.

It’s there to feed me, not the other way around.

Over the weekend I received a message from a guy noting the insane level of posts from resident crime fighter and Twitter-twit, Alonzo Washington. I did a piece on the local comic book caricature several weeks back – cornering him with a series of facts – and watched as he melted into a pile of goo. No surprise there, typical behavior for Washington when he can’t baffle with his bullshit.

Put another way, Alonzo has a dizzying intellect. Continue reading →

Posted in Paul Wilson | 18 Comments

Leftridge: The Completely Hilarious Thing That Richard Sherman Did

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Brandon Leftridge

So by now, you’ve seen it…

You saw it live or you saw Karen Kornacki blathering about it, or maybe you saw it on social media or Jim Rome has already released some sort of “hot take” on it.

But in case you missed it—in case you were “living under a rock” (fucking clichés—we’ll get to that)—here’s what happened:

After Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman deflected an end-zone pass into the hands of a teammate for a 4^th quarter, game clinching interception, he met with reporter Erin Andrews on the sideline and he spouted some real crazy, real aggressive shit.

It basically went like this:

Andrews: The final play, take us through it.

Sherman: (channeling one of WWE’s The Road Warriors) WHEN YOU TRY ME WITH A SORRY RECEIVER LIKE CRABTREE? THAT’S THE RESULT YOU GON’ GET! DON’T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT ME! (heavy panting. sexual. weird.)

Andrews: (remarkably nonplussed) Who was talking about you?

Road Warrior Sherman: CRABTREE! (duh) DON’T YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH ABOUT THE BEST. OR I’MA SETTLE IT FOR YOU RILL QUICK. L.O.B! (which stands for Legion of Boom, which is funny in that the Road Warriors were also known as “Legion of Doom.” Get it?)

So he stomped off, and it was very awkward. And then, the INDIGNITY rained down. And it was great. Continue reading →

Posted in Brandon Leftridge, Sports | Tagged Brandon Leftridge, racism, Richard Sherman, Seahawks | 42 Comments

How To Buy Cheap Zyrtec Without Prescription

Posted on January 18, 2014 by default

Buy zyrtec and Generic Cetirizine tablets online for antiallergic. Available without prior prescription. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Valentine: Fuzzy Target Practice

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Mark Valentine

art by mark valentine

I need a new prescription…

Everything seems out of focus to me. The headline in The Star said, “Art takes aim at gun violence in KC.” I was trying to decide how a reference to gun violence like “takes aim” was a good way to stop gun violence, so I read on.

According to The Star, African-American artists get grant money to create anti-gun violence art to display in schools and barber shops. So I adjusted my glasses. There must have been some study showing how posters have a positive effect on gun violence. I couldn’t find that study, so I cleaned my glasses.

The artists were not advocating gun control. Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Valentine | 3 Comments

Hearne: This Week’s Comments Section Greatest Hits (Redux)

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

photo by mark webb

Longtime readers of may recall the early days of KC Confidential…

Including the occasions I turned flipped the spotlight around and pointed it at the denizens of our fledgling comments section. It was an exercise in alternately saluting and grimacing at the heights to which they soared and the depths to which they sank.

Because sometimes it’s hard to do them justice given the limitations of the medium.

Take yesterday, when the newbaum turk wrote, The biggest loss is Charly Arnault moving back to Indy. She was the hottest girl on local news here.”

Not being a local television news kinda guy I was curious. Continue reading →

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 7 Comments

Leftridge: Your Conference Championship Winners

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Brandon Leftridge

Even though the Chiefs are in decompression mode—quickly losing focus with video games, weed, unhealthy eating habits and extended excursions to exotic locales—that doesn’t mean the world ends. It doesn’t mean that there still isn’t some fantastic playoff football to be played.

(The better teams prevailed, Leftridge, the better teams prevailed, Leftridge…)

And truly, they did. The four teams left are inarguably the four best teams in the league. That makes for some probably pretty awesome upcoming football. There were no weird, undeserving outliers sneaking in. The Chargers didn’t manage to finagle their way to the conference championship; The New York Giants—who’ve had a propensity for such things in the recent past—were torpedoed early this year, and never recovered.

Good.

This Sunday should be exciting, then, as football is meant to be. Evenly matched teams. Super-hero quarterbacks. Late-game dramatics. Etc., etc.

Here’s who will win. Continue reading →

Posted in Brandon Leftridge, Sports | Tagged Brandon Leftridge, Denver, NFL Playoffs, Seattle | 3 Comments

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