An overturned tanker on I-70 near the stadiums is causing major traffic problems. The cause of the overturn is unknown, but police have ruled out a Royals home run ball.
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Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly got busy with 7 women on his yacht during the Cannes Film Festival.
Not to brag, but I once did that on my john boat at Wyandotte County Lake. Continue reading
Will Gregory
About fleeing-the-scene media blogger John Landsberg…
First a quick reminder, I too will miss his “reporting” on the comings and goings of local television newsies. Landsberg’s takes may have been fuddy-duddy at times (and they were), but Bottom Line did its best filling a niche nobody else has really attempted to fill since the women folk in FYI at the Star ran off media dude Barry Garron in the 1990s.
Let me go on record here that I too will don a black armband when Landsberg moves his grandpa sweater collection to South Carolina.
As a going away gift to readers however, he opened up with some departing shots and explanations about local media and himself.
Let’s take a look. Continue reading
There are benefits to driving hundreds of miles into the desert…
Besides of course, the roadside marvels, gourmet dining, etc. For one, I got to check out a local alt weekly, The Santa Fe Reporter.
Funny thing.
In a town roughly one-twentieth the size of KC, during what might be described as the “off season,” The Reporter is whomping ass by comparison to the Pitch with 56 pages, more than 60 percent of them ads. Compared to a recent 44 page Pitch with less than 60 percent ads – many of which were promotional “Pitch Presents” ads, likely to have been discounted or free.
Now brace yourself for a sex shocker. Continue reading
Inquiring minds want to know…
What was it that caused KCTV to bid an un-fond adieu to “Better Kansas City” co-host Kelly Jones while retaining her on air partner Lisa Holbrook?
While the comments section is more often than not a minefield of misinformation and caustic cracks, every once in a while what appears to be a hidden truth will surface.
Take “interesting facts” entry yesterday in the story about Jones unhappy seeming departure from Channel 5: “another rumor has it was too many complaints about her.”
Bingo!
So says a source who spoke with stationalities at KCTV about the waffle-loving, not-so-dearly departed lifestyle show host. Continue reading
“The Way We Live Now” was the memorable title of an Anthony Trollope novel from the 1870’s. It would apply just as aptly to the books of a contemporary author, Thomas M. Caplan.
I had the pleasure of meeting Caplan a couple of years ago in New York. When we introduced ourselves and he heard I was from Kansas City, he startled me by asking me what we would be having for lunch if we were having it at the Plaza III restaurant in Kansas City that day.
After I told him about their signature steak soup, prime rib, and creamed spinach, Caplan explained that he was writing a spy thriller set in Kansas City and had decided to start the book by one of its characters eating at that restaurant. Continue reading
Is anyone really surprised that it doesn’t matter who the President is when it comes to abuse of power?
The revelations coming out today about the National Security Agency‘s (NSA) spying on Americans – which coincidentally leaked out on the 64th anniversary of Orwell‘s “1984” – show that every communication Americans engage in is being recorded and catalogued.
All the media companies – not just Verizon but Apple, Google, Sprint, et al – are under “secret court orders” to help gather, record and turn over those records to the Government. You don’t even have to be suspected of any wrongdoing.
EVERYTHING IS BEING MONITORED!!! Continue reading
This just in…
When’s the last time you had – you know – heavy duty romance at the movies?
Never?
Well, here’s your chance. The days when drive-in movie theaters were called “passion pits,” owing to the conveniences afforded by dark parking lots and steamed up car windows are in the rear view mirror. And chances are many if not most of you missed out on that action. Like I did.
But tonight you can travel back in time – free of charge – to the Boulevard Drive-In at 1051 Merriam Lane in KCK. Continue reading
I SO very much wanted to like this movie…
And I sorta did, but I sure didn’t love it. Maybe my expectations were just too high.
THE INTERNSHIP – which reteams Vince Vaughn with Owen Wilson – just doesn’t measure up to THE WEDDING CRASHERS which had ’em rolling in the aisles back in 2005.
For both laughs and raunch.
WEDDING CRASHERS was a solid R while INTERNSHIP uses a softer PG-13 approach. Continue reading
Kanrocksas Promoter Bill Brandmeyer
After Kanrocksas pulled the plug a week and change ago, reaction was mostly along the lines of “Fuck Kanrocksas!” I’m paraphrasing, of course, but that was the gist of it.
Ahhh, the internet.
But if you want a more measured and practical take, check out a good analysis written by David Hudnall over at the Pitch. He says a lot of things that I totally agree with regarding the balance sheet and why the fest was doomed from the get-go. Good read.
Now go out and see the shows I’m hyping. Otherwise I get no free beer… Continue reading
Maybe now she’ll date the Scribe…
I don’t watch much local television news. Never did really…
I’ve spent far more time reporting on and writing about local TV news personalities than basking in their tube time.
Stories that ranged from a major news anchor who a Kansas City Police Chief told me was arrested in Westport for flashing a two girls – the matter was dropped after the women opted not to press charges, the chief said – to trying to track down whether Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton hit on former, smoking hot Channel 4 anchor Kelly Minton.
Neither of those stories made it into my column, despite there being plenty of evidence to support both.
Which brings us to KCTV’s Kelly Jones. Continue reading
As I’ve written previously, it would be a stupid decision by the West to go to war in Syria and my prediction is being validated…
Not only has Syrian President Bashir-Al-Assad solidified his control of the capital, Damascus, he’s now winning back territory from the “Rebel Scum.”
Why do I refer to the rebels as scum and support the “dictator?” Because its the pro-Israel thing to do!!!
A few examples of misguided “NeoCon” policies… Continue reading
About the closing of the Halls Plaza retail store this summer…
This is no minor bump in the road, ladies and gentlemen. The shuttering of one of Kansas City’s most prestigious retail operations by arguably it’s most prestigious, locally headquartered corporation is not a good sign. Not a good sign at all.
Check out how Halls describes its Plaza location on its website:
“Halls Plaza is a luxuriously appointed jewel in the crown of Kansas City’s most famous and prestigious shopping district, the Country Club Plaza.”
Got that? Halls Plaza is the jewel in Kansas City’s crown jewel, that being the Plaza.
There’s more. Continue reading
Every now and then, we need stories that help to restore our battered faith in modern man…
While we hear about tornadoes in Oklahoma – a tragedy of enormous magnitude – a smaller but equally devastating disaster is taking place up north in the land of the self reliant individual. In Galena, Alaska.
As much news as I consume on a daily basis, I hadn’t heard anything about it, yet 90% of the tiny town has been wiped off the map. Continue reading
Here’s one that kinda slipped between the news cracks recently…
That Wichita is considering fines of up to $1,000 a month on residents and businesses that use too much water.
We don’t hear too much about water shortages in these parts – not like my adopted cities of Tucson and Santa Fe – but a wise old sage at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum advised my young daughters several years ago to study hard and specialize in water rights law for the future. Continue reading
Six down, sixty some to go…
The reapportioning of the rock festival formerly known as Kanrocksas continues. This time out Live Nation will present headliners Imagine Dragons, Capital Cities, twentyonepilots, Family of the Year and Churchill at Starlight on Friday June 28th.
Crossroads KC already snagged Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros late last week to headline on Saturday June 29th, on what would have been Kanrocksas second and final day.
Make no mistake, the Dragons bill at Starlight – a mini fest in its own right – is coup for both the theater and Kansas City music fans. Continue reading
Today I reluctantly canceled my subscription to the Sunday NEW YORK TIMES…
The newspaper has been part of my Sunday morning ritual for nearly a decade, but lately it’s been more trouble than it’s worth.
Allow me to explain. Continue reading
This one was a big game for both teams…
Montreal came in as the #2 team in the East, with Sporting right behind in the standings.
So it was no surprise that Sporting Park was sold out, jacked, and ready to rock.
Unfortunately, according to KC captain and goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, the team wasn’t quite as fired up as the Cauldron was. Continue reading
Millions of wild pigs are causing problems to Missouri crops. They’re also doing a number on all-you-can-eat buffet at Isle of Capri.
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Michael Douglas says he thinks he got throat cancer from oral sex. I was young! I needed the money! He said he was clean! Oh, with a chick? Never mind.
******* Continue reading
Shades of Jovan Belcher…
Think back to late last year and the chaotic end of the former Kansas City Chief‘s life. Belcher drove a $175,000 car, owned a small arsenal and was taking down $1.9 million a year. Not exactly chump change, but far from nosebleed levels where NFL stars are concerned. And remember how friends said Belcher argued about “normal stuff” like money with the girlfriend and mother of his child that he blew away?
Aside from the tragedy and the horror did it escape anybody’s attention that Belcher was living a ridiculously indulgent, over-the-top lifestyle? Like former Chiefs star Neil Smith who is reportedly, essentially broke.
It’s the age old story, right? Continue reading
When it rains it pours…
There’s no way organizers of the Wakarusa fest could have predicted the monsoon and tornado threats that did in this past weekend’s fest a year in advance. And there’s only so much promoters can do when it comes to making the best of a horribly bad weather situation, given that most of their resources go into giving festival goers the best bang for their buck entertainment wise.
All of that said, the unwashed who attended this year’s 10th anniversary of the camping and music fest that started out in Lawrence, Kansas are engaged in a serious debate over how this year’s Wakarusa went down. Continue reading
