It’s the most highly reported mystery this week…
The dramatic, totally unexpected, on-air resignation Wednesday of KCUR-FM host Jabulani Leffall was the talk of the town. In the local media anyway.
Yet outside of regurgitating Jabulani’s resume, quoting an unnamed source on his cryptic, final on-air utterance and lifting KCUR’s reaction to his departure off its website, precious little was actually learned or reported.
So let’s take a look, shall we? Continue reading
Anybody a little underwhelmed?
A year ago on January 9th Coachella unleashed its lineup for last summer. It’s entire lineup.
Included were The Black Keys, Radiohead, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog. Along with four or seven dozen other acts ranging from the Arctic Monkeys, Shins and Bon Iver to Girl Talk, Santigold and Grace Potter.
Way way down at the bottom of Coachell’s lengthy first day artist list – in print so fine it was barely discernible – was the name Kendrick Lamar.
Lamar was the first act trumpeted today by Kanrocksas for the music and camping fest’s second coming in June at the Kansas Speedway. Continue reading
Sporting Kansas City had just one pick- #14- in the MLS SuperDraft conducted earlier today…
Their other picks were traded away over the off season in exchange for several players at positions of need. Most observers felt Sporting would take a midfielder with their sole pick due to the departure of Roger Espinoza and Julio Cesar after last season.
And that’s exactly what they did, selecting Mikey Lopez, a sophomore out of the University of North Carolina. Continue reading
More Oscar foreplay, anyone?
Is it me or does it seem like anybody and everybody has been lining up to crow about what they think the best movies of 2012 were?
Let’s see, there’s the Critics Choice, Golden Globes, even the MTV Movie Awards.
Did I forget to mention the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and Bollywood’s Asian Film Awards?
And the one that actually matters, The Oscars.
While that may seem like a lot to love for everyday, average moviegoers, it’s not nearly enough for the film fanboys at CinemaKC. a local movie schmooze site.
Not even close.
To that end, the name of CinemaKC’s game is “Critics vs. Oscars Free-For-All” and goes down this coming Wednesday, evening January 23rd at the Screenland Crossroads.
BROKEN CITY is not a bad political crime thriller…
There’s just not much here we’ve haven’t seen before. Cutting back on some of its R-rated soundtrack and trimming a few of its violent scenes a tad, would have made it a decent made-for-TV movie.
The BROKEN CITY is New York City where mayor Russell Crowe is in a tight race for re-election. His first lady is Catherine Zeta-Jones, but it’s a cool’ relationship to say the least. And Crowe suspects she’s cheating on him.
But with whom? How and where? Continue reading
Another platitude filled speech on gun control…
It’s unfortunate, although not UNEXPECTED, that the President is using the tragedy in Newtown to advance his agenda with a set of proposals that will do little to prevent these types of atrocities.
Bans and restrictions have done nothing to stem the flow of illegal drugs to junkies, so how are we to believe that a ban on high capacity magazines or assault rifles will keep them out of the hands of homicidal maniacs? Continue reading
To characterize Sporting Kansas City‘s naming rights deal with Lance Armstrong as ill-conceived would be a laughable understatement…
Does anybody really believe Sporting was completely blindsided by the breakup with Livestrong? Clearly the end was near, Livestrong merely beat Sporting to the PR punch.
Big surprise. Continue reading
And we’re baaaaack…..
Wheew. That was a close one. After wallowing through the disgusting mire known as the holiday season, we’re finally back to seeing some quality shows rolling through our cold and desolate wasteland on the plains.
It’s OK to come out people. Everything’s going to be OK, I promise.
Check it… Continue reading
President Obama just signed the bill creating a national commission to mark the centennial of the First World War at the World War I Museum. Since Spirit Fest went away, I’ve been looking for new ways to get TANKED at Liberty Memorial.
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Lance Armstrong admits to Oprah Winfrey he doped to win Tour de France. Meanwhile, I would like to confess: I’ve ridden in Kansas City’s BIKE MS for 18 years and every year my blood has tested positive for Boulevard Wheat.
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The mystery deepens…
A funny thing happened a few hours ago. The music fest known as Kanrocksas announced on its Facebook page that it would put discounted advance tickets back on sale at 8 a.m. this Friday. Continue reading
That’s cold…
Quietly, after more than five years of “giving back” to the hands that fed it, the Kansas City Star has made the unkindest cutback of all.
Starting last June the newspaper put the kibosh on former publisher Mac Tully‘s “Tributes” feature in the obituaries section.
“It just slipped away,” says former Star editor Jim Fitzpatrick. “Kind of like Jason Whitlock.” Continue reading
Do the math…
Ten team members, umpteen pitchers of beer, eight hours. That my friends is the working formula for the upcoming Kansas City-based Crawl for Cancer which for the 13th time goes down on May 13.
The question being, where? Continue reading
As many of you may know next to my hobby of covering the movie scene and reviewing films, I’ve spent the past two decades as an independent travel agent…
First with Abbey Road Travel in Overland Park and for the past decade at Shelton Travel Service on the Country Club Plaza.
So as you can imagine, I field a lot of questions related to travel—especially LEISURE travel. What follows are my answers to what are probably the 10 most frequently asked questions. Hence 10 tips for better travel in 2013.
Q: Why are vacation ‘PACKAGES’ usually a better deal than booking individual vacation elements?
A: By using wholesale suppliers and combining air with hotels and other elements (i.e. rental cars) we are able to take advantage of negotiated contract rates which often include unpublished, lower “bulk” fares with airlines.
Q: Should I purchase cancellation insurance and how much does it cost? Continue reading
For 12 years, he was the director of college scouting for the Green Bay Packers. Actively involved in player personnel decisions for the better part of 22 years, John Dorsey has had a very direct hand in shaping the landscape of a perennial winner.
And because of his hiring, I am now fully on board with the beginning of the Andy Reid Era.
Dorsey—a linebacker for the Packers from 84-89—started out as a college scout in 1991, became director of player personnel for the Seattle Seahawks for one short season, and returned to Wisconsin in 2000 where he resumed the role where he’d previously experienced his greatest success. In 2012, he was named director of football operations.
And now, as general manager, he’ll be selecting future Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Draft and signing brave free agents willing to align themselves with a struggling organization.
I couldn’t be happier.
See, unlike Scott Pioli—who henceforth shall only be referred to by spitting on the ground in disgust—Dorsey really seems to know how to pick ‘em. I mean, REALLY know how to pick ‘em. Since 2005, with Dorsey helping the decision-making process, here are some of Green Bay’s notable picks: Continue reading
Know this about the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet downtown…
There are better reasons for going there than that they kick people out for talking and texting. Far better reasons.
That said, the Alamo likes to remind moviegoers about giving them the, uh, “silent treatment” before every screening by replaying a crank message from a girl in Austin they kicked out a couple years back.
“Yeah, I was wondering of you guys actually enjoy treating your customers like a pieces of shit?” her rant begins. “Because that’s how I felt when I went to the Alamo Drafthouse!” Continue reading
Some things just were never meant to be…
Like harmony between the inaugural Kanrocksas fest and alternative radio station The Buzz. Primarily because Kanrocksas – a largely alt rock festival – went down a mere 11 days prior to The Buzz Beach Ball at Livestrong. The net result being that radio station refused to accept ads or promote Kanrocksas.
And while it’s hard to pin it down exactly, sans access to the Buzz listenership, Kanrocksas took a healthy seven-figure bath.
Very ugly. Continue reading
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback announced $10 million in funding for the mentally ill in Kansas. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of politicians giving themselves raises.
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A guy with a concealed weapon permit accidentally shot his wife at the Longbranch Saloon in Lenexa. The man reached into his front pocket to get something and accidentally discharged the firearm! The bullet hit her in the leg and she was treated and released. As punishment, the judge sentenced the man to life…with his wife. Continue reading
Well folks, we’re not quite out of the funk just yet…
This weekend looks to be one of the slowest live music weekends in recent memory. But soon, very soon, things will pick up.
A few upcoming shows that are firmly attached to my radar screen are at the Granada in Lawrence in the next few weeks.
The first is Eliot Lipp on January 20th. Lipp is an electronic music guy, but he also has an ugly addiction to analogue. He’s been simmering on both coasts for awhile and is now breaking into smaller markets as well. Continue reading
Most people haven’t closely followed the unraveling of Lance Armstrong…
That’s not a huge sin because it hasn’t exactly been front page news like his winning seven Tour de France titles and dating Missourian Sheryl Crow at the height of her career were.
Far from it.
Most of the coverage in the Star and Lawrence Journal World, for example, have been little more than news blips – a paragraph or two here, a couple paragraphs there. Continue reading
Don’t look now but the rock-etship known as Kanrocksas is about to attain lift-off…
Sources say, Kanrocksas is poised to make a partial lineup announcement next week and put phase two of its discounted two day festival passes on sale.
Other than a 12 hour pre-Christmas ticket sale late last month, mum’s been the word for the alternative rock fest slated for June 28th and 29th at the Kansas Speedway.
The bottom line being: This year’s lineup is a major go, organizers say. Continue reading
