Holy Holly—Halle Berry!
Halle Berry’s cinematic output of late ain’t what it used to be. Easily forgettable outtings like CATWOMAN, NEW YEAR’S EVE and CLOUD ATLAS makes one wonder who’s picking the projects for her these days.
Well Good Golly Miss Molly, the boys from the WWE—as in that wrestling conglom—have cast her in its studio’s latest thriller. And it’s a surprisingly tense one. Continue reading
You win some, you lose some…
Today Coffee Wonk owner Micah Riggs won a big one. For two and one half years the 30 year-old Midtown businessman has been battling prosecutors and Kansas City Police who busted him for allegedly selling illegal “incense” in 2010.
That after police responded to a call from Riggs shop to investigate a robbery. One thing lead to another and the cops ended up busting Riggs and confiscating his supply of SYN- a legal substance, he insist and the court today upheld – that had replaced the recently banned synthetic pot known as K2. Continue reading
After reading the Brian Burnes piece in the Star about creature teacher Matthew J. Nelson and his sex abuse plea agreement, I could feel the bones of Joe Paterno rolling over. Continue reading
They were best buds since childhood and loved magic tricks…
Today they’re aging illusionists in Las Vegas, barely hanging on with their outdated “Burton and Anton: A Magical Friendship” act at Bally’s main showroom and ticket sales have plummeted.
We’re talking THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE here.
A campy behind the tricks look at Vegas magic on the Strip. Shades of Lance Burton with touches of Siegfried and Roy and Chriss Angel. Continue reading
According to my kick-ass KCC Tipsters—aka, a graphic I saw on KMBC Channel 9—Kansas City Chiefs’ new season ticket sales are up an impressive 112% from last year and renewals up 5. As the free-agent signing period chugs along, the team has made a number of impressive moves that seem to indicate a commitment to winning, and for the time being, it would appear that the fans are buying what general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid are selling.
So long, Peyton Hillis, Kevin Boss, and Stanford Routt. Fare-thee-well Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn and Lil’ Stevie Breaston. Oh, and Glenn Dorsey? You’ve been pretty awful, and you’re probably gone, too.
(BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! Multiple sources are indicating that Dorsey has reached an agreement with the San Francisco 49ers. Thank. God.)
The turnover has been fairly magnificent in a very short span, giving hope to even the most miserable of fans.
It’s about time. Continue reading
What to do, what to do?
I hear Yakov Smirnoff is in town. Which means that, surprisingly, he’s still alive and doing stand-up comedy. Crazy. I wonder if he’ll have a bunch of St. Patty’s day jokes. Because, you know, he always keeps it topical.
In Soviet Russia, green beer drinks you out of funnel!
Russia is rough, man. Stop being so lame and go to some shows for chrissakes… Continue reading
And now as they say, the rest of the story…
It’s hard to do a major league hit piece on somebody without getting the other side of the story. That’s what one would think, anyway. Yet that’s exactly what the Pitch did recently in barbecuing Kansas City Blues Society president Joe Sherrick.
“The writer did leave me a message and sent me an email,” Sherrick says. “But I knew it was going to be an attack story and I was not going to give him a verbal statement because I know how they can twist verbal statements. And a couple musicians told me that what they told him and what he wrote was twisted.” Continue reading
One good fire deserves another…
And in the case of the East Bottoms music Mecca known as Knuckleheads Saloon, a fire that damaged the clubs new $33,000 outdoor sound system, will be followed by the club’s biggest bill ever.
“I’ve got one big show I’m putting on June 29th that’s going to be a monster,” says Knuckleheads owner Frank Hicks. “Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys and Alejandro Escovedo.”
Let me guess, at Sprint Center? Continue reading
The YMCA is building a $30 million center downtown at 10th and Grand. If you’re dyslexic, it can double as a MACY’S.
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Catholic Cardinals are choosing a new pope. White smoke from the chimney signals the conclave has not yet chosen a pope. White smoke means a pope has been chosen. Hickory smoke means they have chosen the Apostle, Arthur Bryant.
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One Puff At A Time….
With all eyes looking skyward at the papal conclave, one wonders if the same smoky message might well be incorporated into certain Kansas City area institutions for updates.
For example…
*A white plume emanating from One Arrowhead Drive might signal the culmination of new Chiefs GM John Dorsey‘s draft conclave; a black plume would indicate that Andy Reid‘s ribs are ready. Continue reading
It’s not nice to break the First Commandment…
Especially when it causes blurred vision and physical discomfort to others. Yet that’s exactly what Dickinson Theatres did this past week in sellout-after-sellout at Union Station‘s spanking new “Extreme Screen” movie theater.
Dickinson oversold the theater, violating the No. 1 published tenet on Union Station’s website, setting forth the parameters for viewing 2-D and 3-D movies:
“Seats 440 for 2D movies and 380 for 3D movies” Continue reading
Poor “Nanny” Bloomberg…
One day before New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on sugary drinks was to take effect, cooler heads prevailed at the New York
Supreme Court. Judge Milton Tingling – great name for a judge – found the law “arbitrary and capricious because it applies to some but not all food establishments in the city,” adding “it excludes other beverages that have significantly higher concentrations of sugar sweeteners and/or calories on suspect grounds.”
I’ve read a lot of legal opinions and in a lot of them the law and common sense, are mutually exclusive concepts, but here the judge nails it! Continue reading
Talk about a gay, old time…
As we await the rise of smoke from the Sistine Chapel, a number of things don’t seem so black and white with the Catholic Church these days where homosexuality in the Priesthood is concerned…
Daily Dish publisher Andrew Sullivan made a comment yesterday on Chris Matthews‘ show about whether the Catholic Church’s view of same sex marriage would ever change and if that issue might affect which Cardinal would be elected Pope.
“There are so many gays electing the next Pope that who knows whether that would happen,” Sullivan said.
Did he really just say that? Continue reading
The last thing Kansas City needs right now is another high profile fire after JJ’s…
Yet that’s exactly what went down around 8 p.m. last night at Knuckleheads Saloon in the East Bottoms. That was the talk going around this morning anyway, but a quick check of the usual suspects – the Star, Pitch, even Tony – revealed that no reporting on it had been done.
So did they have a fire at Knuckleheads last night?
“We did,” says owner Frank Hicks. Continue reading
Sporting KC came out flat for the second straight game, but this 
time were unable to overcome the deficit, falling 2-1 at Toronto FC.
And once again, MLS best defense in 2012 looked shaky at best; slow and confused to be more accurate. In the 3rd minute Matt Besler played a horrific ball across the top of his own penalty area intended for Aurelien Collin, but Collin was slow to react. Toronto striker Robert Earnshaw snagged the careless ball and finished the gift easily. Jimmy Nielsen looked at his central defenders with his palms up. Continue reading
Too much of a good thing?
Somewhere in between “big is beautiful” and “more is less” lies the unmistakable truth that sitting too close to the screen at a movie can totally suck.
In the unfortunate case of moviegoers sitting in the first few rows of Union Station‘s new, state-of-the-art “Extreme Screen” this past weekend, it was an all but inescapable nightmare. Continue reading
There’s more than one Wizard playing at KC’s Union Station…
Oh sure, there’s The Great and Powerful Oz on the five-story tall, IMAX screen in stunningly bright 3-D. It’s a moviegoing experience that’s redefining upscale moviegoing in Kansas City.
However a less well known Wizard is also at play in the historic train depot turned science museum. His name is George Gusatello and he joined the then financially troubled station as CEO in December of 2008.
Four years later, and Guastello has three consecutive years of operating profits under his belt – that’s black ink, not red for those of you keeping score at home – and on top of that he’s just added the most spectacular movie watching experience to be had in the Kansas City region. Continue reading
What a way to go…
Think of it as death by lottery – a coin flip, actually. After centuries spent fine tuning the so-called American Way, it seems a little trite that after thousands – maybe even tens of thousands – of dollars are spent, months of political campaigning and gosh knows how much behind-the-scenes power schmoozing and intimidation, it all comes down to a coin flip.
Anyhoo, that’s the way the game is played in Johnson County. Continue reading
The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is spending a few days at the Price Chopper on Barry Road. Despite the bad weather, I’ve done a great
job of polishing my wiener.
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A Denver firm has won the contract to design the $20 million maintenance facility for the downtown streetcar project. This explains why the facility has a basement with rows of high-powered lights and hydroponic cultivation.
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With audio and video stores becoming scarcer and scarcer, the question is fast becoming, is there any future at all for retailers and manufacturers of higher end A/V gear?
“I don’t know, I’m concerned,” says John Kiefer, practically the last man standing out of what once were scores of Kansas City and Lawrence area electronics retailers. “Look at who lost money last year, Sony. For 60 some odd years Sony was profitable and they lost money last year. I’m questioning if there is a future.” Continue reading
