Glazer: Stanford’s Comedy Club Returning to KCK in November

oStanford & Sons  comedy club will return to Legends’ Village West in early November…

The deal has been in the works for some time now.

Stanford’s enjoyed eight good years at Village West, however when our lease ran out in 2014 the powers that be thought they had a huge medical tenant in for the building we were in and they needed our space to complete the project. Thus we were unable to renew our lease, forcing our move to the Uptown Theater and then  Overland Park.

The project fell through at Legends and now they’ve decided they want to bring back Stanford’s to recapture the adult entertainment crowd.

Our location has been vacant since we moved out 2 1/2 years ago. So it’s under clean up and redo and we are in final stages negotiating a new lease. Continue reading

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Jack Goes Confidential: Troubled ‘Girl On The Train’ Turns Obsessive Thrill-Ride

maxresdefaultAt first glance most fans of the genre will want to compare director Tate Taylor’s THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN to David Fincher’s modern marriage gone wrong thriller GONE GIRL

Well I’m here to tell you that THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is no GONE GIRL!

What we’ve got instead is an alcoholic’s struggle feeding into a prolonged and possessive case of hypnotic voyeurism—or something like that.

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is a multi-layer thriller in which devastated divorcee Emily Blunt seems transfixed on one Harley Bennett’s life in a series of what-might-be fantasies about what this woman’s life may be like in the home she once shared with her ex-husband.

Meanwhile she refuses to stop contacting her ex who is remarried and living in their old home.

Add Ms. Blunt’s alcohol infused past (AND present) and surely the new wive’s mortal fear about what Blunt might try and pull off next makes for quite the mystery!

So what we basically have are three characters, two husbands and a psychiatrist whose status quo become intertwined when one of the players suddenly disappears and everyone else in the chain becomes a suspect. Continue reading

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Hearne: A Tale of Two Cities — KC’s Inflated Streetcar Ridership Numbers

screen-shot-2016-10-05-at-2-26-49-amIn a world of made-up news stories and overblown media hype, the unsubstantiated success of the Kansas City streetcar line looms large…

Check out a recent front page headline in the local newspaper of record:

“Transit line needs more cars; KC’s streetcars are so so crowded that the authority is starting the process to buy two more vehicles”

Now let’s move beyond fantasy and exaggeration towards reality.

Streetcar supporters claim the River Market to Union Station route has drawn an average of 6,600 daily riders with Saturday ridership “often exceeding” 10,000.

Hold it right there…

“That’s beyond ridiculous,” says a local public transportation expert. “There’s absolutely no way they could be moving that many passengers. To anybody who works in the industry, those numbers are blatant lies.”

Former KC Strip trolly system main man Bill Nigro declined to address the believability of four 150-capacity streetcars moving that many riders in a low traffic part of town, but did offer some insight from his years of running trollies between downtown, Westport, the Plaza and Waldo.

“At our best, we did 2,000 people on a New Year’s Eve with 11 busses and that was a cluster-fuck,” Nigro says. “And unlike the streetcars we did it with tickets so we could get an accurate count. On a normal Saturday night we might do anywhere from 300 to 500 people and our busses stayed pretty full. To say they did over 13,000 people one day with only four streetcars is totally beyond the realm of possibility.”

Let’s take a look at my alma mater the University of Arizona in Tucson. 

The Tucson Department of Transportation claims its new Sun Link streetcar line averaged more than 4,000 riders in its first year of operation.

And while even that may be a stretch, it’s 40 percent less than the number the vested interests in Kansas City have been floating. On top of which, Tucson’s streetcar route has a demonstrable geographic and demographic advantage over KC’s. Continue reading

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Paul Wilson: Comedian’s #UnfollowTrump Campaign’s Massive Fail

screen-shot-2016-10-03-at-8-31-42-pmOn October 1, comedians Tim Heridecker, Danny Zucker and Ellen Gamerman called on their fans across the twitterverse to join forces to cut Donald Trump’s Twitter following in half.

The concept originated with Heidecker, creator of Adult Swim series “Tim & Eric” and “Decker.”

Zucker’s motivation was most likely in retaliation for Trump having blocked him on Twitter after way too many back and forth attacks.

I’ve never heard of Gamerman, but I’m assuming Craig’s slept with her.

Why three comedians you’ve scarcely heard of felt they had enough influence to pull off a feat of that magnitude remains a mystery.

My guess: it’s where three massive egos met Trump’s massive ego.

Regardless the motive, they asked followers to join them using the hashtag  #UnfollowTrump in an action they called the “The Big Unfollow.”

The flaw in their strategy was twofold.

First, most of Trump’s followers are there to be informed about their candidate. Second, the rest of his followers are there simply to watch the circus.

Neither group was likely to jump ship and unfollow Trump because three libtard, barely recognizable yuk-dudes told them to.

Continue reading

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New Jack City: Achtung, German Diners!

Gebackene Ente

The Chicago Brauhaus’ Gebackene Ente

Not a week goes by without someone asking about a good German restaurant in Greater Kansas City…

There really hasn’t been one since several years ago when Nettie closed the doors to The Berliner Bear on Wornall Road. And to be truthful the last few years of the Bear’s operation were far from its best.

Today four restaurants in the market specialize in der Deutschen Kueche.

One is Grunauer’s at 101 West 22nd Street behind Union Station.

The food there is very good but in all fairness is really more Austrian and Eastern European.

Highlights of the Grunauer dinner menu include:

* Ungarisches Rindsgulasch (Hungarian style beef gulasch)

* Karlsleber Berliner Art (Sauteed veal liver)

* Schweinebraten (Roast pork loin)

* Zwiebel Rostbraten (Center cut strip loin with crispy fried onions)

* Paprikahuhn (Grilled chicken breast.)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

And then there is the Rheinland located at 208 North Main Street in Independence. Continue reading

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Glazer: Man, the Chiefs Suck

1394125200149515809It’s been just about 50 years since the Chiefs were in a Super Bowl...

Most Chiefs’ fans today were not yet born. I was a little kid and never dreamed our team would never see another Super Bowl again. Let alone only one playoff win in five decades. The Chiefs, along with the Jets and Detroit are one of the worst run and worst NFL franchises of all time. They just are.

Comments section dude Kerouac is right about everything he writes.

They just have no real leadership, good coaching or much of anything else.

Tonight they reminded us of why KC is a joke.

I am not even watching the second half. Continue reading

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 23 Comments

Sutherland: (Democratic) Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

hcOne of the all-time classic Twilight Zone episodes starred William Shatner, as a salesman who had suffered a nervous breakdown on a commercial airline flight…

After six months’ confinement in a sanatorium, his wife arranges to have him released and books a flight home for the two of them, though she is understandably concerned that his anxiety about being on another flight might trigger a relapse.

Sure enough, when he gets on the plane to go home, the Shatner character (”Bob Wilson”) looks out and thinks he sees a “gremlin” on the plane’s wing. This creature, a mythical little monster conjured up by WWII aviators as a scapegoat for otherwise inexplicable mechanical failures, is seen deliberately reaching into one of the airliner’s engine cowlings and pulling out pieces.

When Shatner points this out to his wife and stewardess, the gremlin ducks out of sight. He knows the others think he’s crazy and might have him recommitted to a mental hospital. He’s even more fearful that if nothing is done, the damage to the plane’s engine by the gremlin will cause it to crash.

There follows a particularly scary scene where Shatner/Wilson is beginning to doubt his own sanity after the gremlin disappears for the fifth or sixth time when he tries to point out what he’s seeing to the others. The stewardess finally shuts the curtain on his window but Shatner/Wilson can’t help but look out again, only to see the grotesque face of the little monster pressed against the window!

This is altogether too much for him and, in  his terror and panic; he grabs a revolver from a slumbering police officer across the aisle. Opening the emergency exit, he is almost sucked out when the plane depressurizes but not before shooting and killing the gremlin.  Continue reading

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | Tagged | 43 Comments

Glazer: Scribe Rolls the Dice On Chiefs, K-State, KU & MU

big12-uniform-ksuWho are the Final Four in college football?

I see it this way, ALABAMA, LOUISVILLE, MICHIGAN and HOUSTON.

Ohio State is in the mix as well. It’s a long ways off but these guys all stand out so far.

Look for the Louisville Cards to take down Clemson, and Michigan to continue its path to an undefeated season and take down the Wisconsin Badgers.

KU already lost its game for the week. Don’t worry KU fans, basketball ain’t far off.

MU will be gallant but lose again.

And K-State, does anybody really care about another bowl season with an unknown team? Sorry.

Nobody’s heard of K-State and they have never won a big game.

As for our Chiefs, So far NO OFFENSE. Just none.

QB Alex Smith has been mediocre at best. So no cigar coming without a ton of help. Continue reading

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Jack Goes Confidential: Cheap Laffs Tell Tale Of ‘Masterminds’

unknownHave you ever wondered what happens to movies that seem to fall through the cracks?

Like those productions greenlightedby a studio’s previous regime and then put on the back burner?

Many of those titles end up going direct to video—or worse.

And then we’ve got MASTERMINDS, a slapstick comedy about a hairbrained armored truck heist. An inside job based on real events no less.

As the story goes Zach Galifianakis plays a hapless driver conned into the scheme by his girl-crush—and former driver Kristen Wigg.

She’s backed by a band of redneck crooks led by Owen Wilson.

Of course there’s much more to the storyline here, but you get the drift. Continue reading

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Starbeams: Mizzou Now ‘The Shoot Me State’

16fri1-master768

 

St. Louis ranks #1 on the FBI list of most dangerous cities and Kansas City ranked #10.  Missouri – The Shoot Me State.

                                                                   *******

 

First the Intercontinental, now the Downtown Marriott wants taxpayer money to fund renovations.  The city hasn’t responded because they’re too busy spending money to fix that French tickler thing on top of Bartle Hall.

                                                                    *******

Continue reading

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Glazer: Trump Gaining Ground, Hillary Hanging On

imagesAfter the debate and all the noise, where are we now on this presidential election? 

Here is the simple answer today; Hillary Clinton according to USA TODAY and most major polls, is up 43.1 percent of the vote to Donald Trump‘s 41.5 percent. In Las Vegas, Bovada, the major gambling site online went from -215 for Clinton to -250 over Trump.

Meaning Hillary is a more than two to one favorite to win.

Things are looking far better for the Trump campaign today, but is it enough?

Hey, in August Clinton was a 5 to 1 favorite in Vegas.

She had anywhere from a 12 to 7 point lead in voting percentage according to ABC, NBC and USA Today. So yes, the Donald has closed the gap big time. However, time is running out.

And no matter who you think won the debate, it didn’t move the chains much either way. We will have new poll numbers by Friday. I think Trump may have gone up a bit, but not much. Not enough. Las Vegas – who is damn good at this thing – says Trump went down.

Remember, they had Obama at 5 to 1 just before the election that climbed to 7 to 1 day before election and Obama won handily.

There are some odd and unusual issue though…

Trump draws thousands to his rallies and speaking extravaganzas, where Hillary usually draws far smaller crowds often just a few hundred or less.

Trump’s crowds are thrilled, smiling and overjoyed, whereas Hillary’s just aren’t. Another odd thing, where are all these minority voters who reportedly love Clinton at her events?

Not like Obama’s, huh?

So the big question: Can Hillary Clinton bring out the vote on November 8th? Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 30 Comments

Paul Wilson: Your White Privilege is Showing – Pay Your Reparations NOW

professor-tweetYour well-coiffed scribe is here to tell you, if you’re reading this story you’re likely born white…

And if so, you should feel guilty about it, according to Morgan State University Assistant Professor, Lawrence Brown. Not only guilty, but so guilty you should take your money, head straight to the bank and deposit it in any black person’s account you can think of.

Why? Because you didn’t really earn it; they’re black, end of story.

You’re white and you need to make amends.

Who is Lawrence Brown, you ask?

He’s the grandson of sharecroppers who lived in the Mississippi Delta and a native of West Memphis, Arkansas. Lawrence graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in African American Studies. He went on to get a Master of Public Administration from Houston University and his Doctorate in Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Being black in America and the descendant of share croppers has really hurt Brown’s ability to get ahead.

The title of his dissertation is, “The Multilevel, Multicultural, and Multi-temporal Eco social Framework of Population Health: How Neighborhoods, Culture, and History Impact Health Outcomes and Produce Health Disparities.”

We’re led to believe Harley’s a white journalism major; yet he can’t even tell you what the word dissertation means!

Lawrence first came to the media’s attention last year with a tweet stating the GOP, Fox News and Breitbart are all white supremacists and saying white cops lack moral capacity to do their jobs.

Personally, I’m guessing Lawrence is a little testy over having all that education and is still just an assistant professor. However that may have more to do with Brown’s obvious attitude than oppression. Continue reading

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Glazer: Scribe Gives Nod to The Donald

craigThe polls show that Donald Trump won the debate last night…

Only CNN had Hillary as the winner. Drudge was off the chart with Trump up 81% to Hillary Clinton’s 18%. Fortune more realistic at 51% Trump and 49% Clinton. True had it 58% Trump and 42% Clinton.

Are these polls accurate? How did you see it?

I think Donald Trump started off strong with his trade talk and how the current administration is terrible at foreign trade deals. Hillary came on strong with personal attacks on Trump about not paying workers in his bankrupt deals. By the way that’s a federal law, you can’t pay anyone in a bankruptcy.

Of course the debate moderator went after Trump on his taxes as expected.

Next came the Obama birther issue. All on Trump.

So the Trumpster was on his heels much of the time defending himself, but he did well. However it left him few openings to go after Clinton’s scandals. Trump brought up her missing emails only once, “I’ll show my taxes when you show your missing 31,000 emails.” That hit home but it was brief.

Trump scored well when he said, “Yes, you have 30 years of experience as a political leader but it was all bad experience.”

And Trump did a nice job on the war on terror, but again, only briefly.

Hillary was never shaken and looked calm, even peaceful.

Trump at times looked a bit agitated button his credit, never mean or truly angry.

The close was interesting.

Hillary wanted to leave the stage with a knockout shot so she went to this one: ” You call women pigs, you even said your Miss Universe was fat” and on and on.

Trump DID NOT FIGHT BACK WITH LETS TALK ABOUT YOUR MARRIAGE AND BILL CLINTON.

Instead he said later that he didn’t want to go there with Chelsea Clinton and Hillary’s family in the audience. He said he didn’t think it was needed. Meaning he felt he was already in good shape and able to show some reserve.

Whats the truth? Who won? Continue reading

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 25 Comments

Lefsetz: Trump Blows Out Hillary

160926213408-clinton-trump-debate-hofstra-your-own-reality-sot-one-00012411-large-169I can’t remember a thing Hillary Clinton said…

We’ve seen this movie before, when Arnold Schwarzenegger ran against Gray Davis – the lovable Terminator/Twin against the career politician/policy wonk. It was no contest, Arnold won.

And we went on a misadventure wherein California’s steam was picked up by Texas, because it turns out a celebrity debater might not be a good politician.

But don’t tell the public that.

Hillary is inauthentic.

She’s been scrutinized so long that she’s become gun-shy. She over-prepares and thinks with her head not her heart and the truth is we’re all human beings and we relate most to those who evidence their humanity.

Hillary was a smiling robot, I thought she was gonna recite the 39 Steps.

But the Donald…

He was not what he was supposed to be, a bloviating buffoon who was going to make ill-tempered comments about his opponent. We can debate whether he appeared Presidential, but he certainly appeared reasonable.

Unless you’re a Hillary supporter.

This is a game folks. Take off your blinders, cast aside your elite degree and get into the pit and try to see what’s truly going on.

Donald Trump is telling people things are bad and he’s gonna make them better, that he cares about you.

And how does he do this?

THROUGH EXAMPLES! Continue reading

Posted in Bob Lefsetz | Tagged | 31 Comments

Hearne: KC Star Axes Veteran Firebrand Yael T. Abouhalkah

yael-t-abouhalkah-uses-real-100-bills-to-explain-kansas-budget-dumpster-fireLast one out turn off the lights?

No way…not after the Kansas City Star laid the pipe today to longtime lead editorial columnist Yael Abouhalkah. Think one less dead tired, relic of the past, making room for new, fresher perspectives.

“Good Monday morning. I am on to a new adventure after The Star decided to lay me off this morning after almost 37 years there, including 32 years on the Editorial Board,”  wrote a glib Abouhalkah on Facebook. “Quick observations:

“1. Everything is OK! Great wife, two super kids, house paid for and even decent savings. And good severance pay (thanks, KC Star readers!) More time for gardening and running.

“2. Yes, will definitely miss writing about the local/state political worlds and miss the positive and negative reaction I got from readers.

“3. My wife already has plans for the future.

“4. Really appreciate all of the kind words – even from people who said they often disagree with me — that I’m hearing already.

“5. And FINALLY I get to say what I really think about Sam Brownback and Donald Trump.

Cheers to all.

Yale”

Whereupon former Star editorial columnist Barb Shelly laid an overwrought, embittered schmooze on her freshly vanquished former stablemate.

Continue reading

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Lefsetz: Material Signifiers Disappear

screen-shot-2016-09-26-at-10-27-39-amFirst they came for your watch…

Next they’re coming for your car.

Used to be he who died with the most toys won.

Now, ownership is passed  – everything’s on demand.

I first realized this 15 years ago, when I noticed Jimmy Iovine had the same Nokia phone, a tiny blue stub of a device – it was the best available, you couldn’t get one with a longer range or a better sound – functionality was king and decoration was irrelevant, we were equals.

We’re all equals today.

For those of you buying an expensive car as a status symbol, do it now, because in 10 years you won’t even own a car. And that Ferrari? The Tesla outperforms it, at least in straight line acceleration. Turns out gasoline is no match for electricity.

However before long, transportation will be an on demand item.

Not only will the car drive itself, it’ll show up at your doorstep when you need to go somewhere. And the evaporation of a need for parking lots, and parking spaces is hard to wrap one’s head around. Can you imagine a kid asking why a house has a garage 50 years from now? But you’re gonna lose your ability to stand out based on your possessions.

As for those watches, your phone tells more accurate time. They’re just jewelry. And Swiss sales are off, the manufacturers are buying up inventory to maintain prices. The wristwatch is going to be marginalized, at least that which is not computerized. And what we know about computers is they become commodities, like phones. The best is within the reach of almost all of us.

George Carlin did a whole routine on stuff.

Is anybody gonna even own any stuff in the future? Continue reading

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Glazer: Scribe Breaks Down Chiefs Playoff Hopes

screen-shot-2016-09-26-at-1-27-12-amChiefs quarterback Alex Smith was decent but we’ve seen enough of him…

He is a GAME MANAGER – a good, not great quarterback who can’t be the man without the team playing its best. With that said, the Chiefs defense had a great day against the Jets. A record eight turnovers came the Chiefs way, the most in NFL since the mid 70’s and a Chiefs record.

Our defense was again led by our overall best player and All Pro corner, Marcus Peters.

Peters had two more interceptions to lead the NFL with four total in just three games. He is without question the NFL’s best corner and KC’s best playmaker on either side of the football.

You may not like his attitude but Peters is maybe our first superstar in forever.

He is awesome. Chiefs had six interceptions.

Here’s a stat nobody’s mentioned yet:

There are but three undefeated NFL teams in just 3 weeks.

AND ALL THREE ARE LED BY ROOKIE QUARTERBACKS; NEW ENGLAND, DENVER AND THE EAGLES. Wow. NEVER EVER HAPPENED BEFORE.

What does it mean? Continue reading

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 18 Comments

Glazer:Scribe Saddles Up for Week 3 Football Follies

medieval-scribeWell, we’ve identified the NFL’s top teams after just two weeks. Denver, Pittsburgh and New England. In the secondary slots there are many, including Panthers, Oakland, KC, Dallas – and too many to name.

The Chiefs are looking to be a team that will battle for a wild card and nothing more.

Shocker.

Many, including me, saw a very good Chiefs offense with a question at defense. Unfortunately the offense has been terrible and the D up and down.

The Chiefs at home should win a close one over the not-so-great New York Jets.

I’d say 23-14 Chiefs. Continue reading

Posted in Craig_Glazer | 10 Comments

Lefsetz: Death of the E-Book

ebooksThey’re killing the book business…

The old guard – the ones married to paper and indie bookstores, the publishers afraid of big bad Amazon – have achieved their goal; they’ve killed the e-book.

That’s right, e-book sales are down by 21.8%.

The entire book business has declined by 2.7%. This is what happens when Luddites living in the past refuse to enter the future. This is what would be happening in music if the insane artists screaming about streaming were able to get their way.

Alas, music is far ahead of the book business. With everything available for one low price, with streaming burgeoning, sales are up by 8.1%.

Daniel Ek single-handedly saved the music business.

And for that he is Public Enemy Number One.

What has happened to our country? Is everyone so afraid of moving backward, losing what little they have, that they refuse to enter the future and cling to the past? Is this about income inequality, where there’s always an enemy and change is anathema? Or is this just fat cat Baby Boomer businessmen who are riding out their contracts and want to receive their bonuses and are holding back the future.

But not in the music business…

Universal Music might be home to Taylor Swift, but it’s Lucian Grainge who’s spearheaded Spotify, who decried Swift’s anti-Apple, anti-free-tier comments. There’s no one as ignorant as an artist, never forget that. And I’d worry they’d be offended, then again, I’d have to ignore the venom directed at myself every single day online.

We’ve come so far in the music business. The means of production are in the hands of the proletariat, distribution is nearly free. Yet somehow the vocal minority which controls the airwaves cannot stop bitching.

Probably, you wouldn’t have been able to play in the old system. You would have never gotten a deal, never mind get your indie album into the record store. Never mind coming up with the money to record to begin with.

And if you made a record, good luck getting it on the radio; gatekeepers ruled.

Streaming playlists are the new gatekeepers but they’re much broader in scope than radio playlists. That’s the dirty little secret of the major label world. Everybody pays fealty to radio, even though it means so much less and is out of touch with today’s times.

The future’s so bright you gotta wear shades. Continue reading

Posted in Bob Lefsetz | 11 Comments

Paul Wilson: Black Racism is Alive and Well – Film at 6:00 p.m.

gerrys-houseOn my way to Lawrence yesterday to smoke cigars with a friend and former KU and NBA player, I got a call from a real estate investor I’ve known for years…

He probably handles more Freddy Mac foreclosures than anyone in the city and is representing a home on 40th Terrace in 64130. He had a closing scheduled for yesterday with a white, single mom, desperately trying to reestablish a life for herself and her son.

However prior to having sold the house, there was a good deal of clean up and maintenance to be done. His first visit to the home found him in a conversation with the next door neighbor, a middle aged black man, who informed my friend,

“I hope none of your types buy this or make it a Section 8 rental.”

Bear in mind, this zip code is the home to more convicted murders and more crime than most of the rest of the metro combined.

Now move the clock forward…

My friend had met this mother at the home site on multiple occasions and she’d had conversations with the neighbors. We’re talking about a woman trying to buy an $11,000 home and start over.

Their closing scheduled for yesterday, but yesterday morning, my friend got a call telling him that he should come look at the house. Overnight, it was spray painted the entire length of the back of the house with: Continue reading

Posted in Paul Wilson | Tagged | 41 Comments