KC Confidential.com

One would think that in today’s fragile economic climate, the Discount Movie Theater scene would be thriving…

But that’s not the case!

During the past couple decades you could count as many as 10 different so-called Dollar Houses throughout the metroplex.

Today? Just one full time operating Discount Theater—NOLAND FASHION SQUARE 6 THEATRE in Independence is still showing sub-run movies at $ 2.00 ticket prices.

The other—Shawnee’s TRAILRIDGE CINEMA 3—seems to be on life support with just one performance this past Sunday at 3:00 p.m. of THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX in the entire 3-screen complex.

So what’s killing the Dollar Houses? Continue reading

There’s a more interesting front page mix of stories today…

Who knew, for example, that meat goats were in short supply? Owing to an influx of people from other countries where goat meat is widely consumed.

The timeliness of this story is another matter…

The headline reads: “No kidding, goats are in short supply.” So like, there’s a dramatic new shortage or goat crisis or something here?

In a word, no. This is a story that could have been written ago. And guess what, it was. Continue reading

Willie Nelson long ago transcended country music stardom to become an American icon. But if his overarching fame packed ’em in at his Friday show at Ameristar Casino, his awesome musical chops kept ’em hollering and whistling and clapping for more.

How many other times had the Red Headed Stranger – including back when his hair was a lot more red than gray –  entertained audiences with self-penned country classics such as “Crazy,” “Funny How Time Slips Away” and “On the Road Again”?

It’s got to be a crazy number. Probably not even Nelson could tell you. Still, on Friday, he sounded like he meant every word and note that came out of him while hugging the hearts of some 1,300 loyal fans.

Many sang along. More than a few left gifts at the lip of the stage: ball caps, a jacket, a woman’s bra. Well, he is an icon – perks, baby, perks! Continue reading

“I think it’s a crash course between Sherron Collins and John Wall.”
Adrian Branch, predicting the top two seeds, Kansas and Kentucky, will face off for the national championship three weeks from now, ESPN Radio

“Don’t go chalk! It’s not the year to go chalk!”
Digger Phelps, ESPN
GH: Phelps picks to advance to the Final Four? Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky and Villanova. Three #1 seeds and a two seed. He picks the overall #1 seed, Kansas, to win it all. Digger continues to play the role of Lee Corso for ESPN’s college basketball expert panel.

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It’s Sunday, comics are colorized, an ad’s on the front page and finally news we can use…

A-1 Section: Looks like the KCMO school closings may lead to larger classes, less learning.

And hoo boy, a front pager that goes however many paragraphs in detailing a family’s wake up routine, right down to dialogue like: “Hi, sweetie,” “Hi, baby” and “How did you sleep?”

Now there’s a grabber lead-in to a story about gadgets. Not. Continue reading

Still playing catchup, still breathing, life goes on…

Did I miss anything vital Saturday by not reading the Star until the wee hours Sunday? Let’s find out.

Let’s see, Funk still has spunk. Count on reporter Lynn Horsely to deliver solid goods.

Not again. Would somebody please stop milking the Waldo Rapist story? Naturally the neighborhood is upset, the local media drumbeat has been nonstop. Shade of those old Jack the Ripper movies. You expect that from TV news, but the Star? Continue reading

Freaky Friday…

Ever go two, three days where you were too busy to curl up with the newspaper – life goes on, right? Did with me.

That said, let’s take a belated look at Friday’s Star where a single heavy duty news story about the Legend’s in KCK going outlet mall leads the charge on the front page. It starts with word of a name change from The Legends at Village West to Legends Outlets Kansas City.

And while that change is being downplayed, make no mistake this is a major league switcheroo.

And coming as the first major chink in the much-ballyhooed Wyandotte County shopping Mecca’s PR armor, it’s a subject worthy of further investigation. Not today, of course. Continue reading

This week featured an amazing amount of failure from Kansas City, Missouri.

So much so that fleeing to the suburbs like so many middle-class people have in this town’s recent history seems to be a somewhat viable alternative.

I’ve always noted that all of JoCo is nothing more than a vast cultural wasteland, but this week it seems that Kansas City Proper is moving closer to becoming a sprawling urban wasteland. It might be time to leave.

Here are five reasons why:
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As journalism makes a transformation to the digital age the dreaded, anonymous mean-spirited Internet comment is now becoming a curse for journalists who were part of a corporate enterprise that controlled public opinion through their stranglehold on media channels.

Now the Internet has given rise to angry, pajama-clad reactionaries who are seemingly on equal footing with reporters who have slaved away on a story.

To wit, a recent consumer satisfaction opus backfired on Pitch reporter Nadia Pflaum and her newsy instincts seemed all wrong in the populist/plebeian setting of a comment forum. I don’t care about the details of the story because they’re really not that interesting. What’s important is that the tale started with Nadia investigating the moaning and groaning of an unsatisfied consumer and ended with a great deal of anger aimed her way.

Unfortunately, it seems that it might have been her dead tree investigative instincts that led her astray.
Continue reading

The Big 12 basketball tournament is down to the final four tonight with everyone (well, maybe not everyone but the vast majority of those inside Sprint Center) hoping/expecting a third meeting between Kansas and Kansas State for the title on Saturday night. Here are some of my thoughts after spending Thursday watching Big 12 hoops at Sprint Center and patrolling The Power & Light District.

• Kansas State is back…and they looked pissed! I filled out two brackets Wednesday morning and in one I had Oklahoma State winning the whole thing. I have been that impressed with the Cowboys down the stretch run of the regular season. But KSU looked like a Final Four team in racing to a 30-point lead in their quarterfinal matchup.

• The Texas cheerleaders ran away with the conference award for most physically impressive cheer/dance/sex routine. When they broke out their butt-hugging chaps Thursday night, there were few men in the audience rooting for a Baylor victory. I am sad to say the Longhorn gals will not be around for the weekend.

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Only attendance at “A Treasury of Irish Tales” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Westport Presbyterian Church will reveal precisely which blessings, curses and toasts wind up in live readings duly dedicated to “sinners and tale spinners, leprechauns and liars of the Emerald Isle.”

But when readers Walter Coppage, Nancy Marcy and Jeanne Murphy get their lips moving with acoustic music by Kelly Werts, I have a suggestion: Emphasize the curses!

At the risk of ethnic profiling, nobody gets as eleqouently or as humorously or as perfectly mad as the Irish: “May the curse of Mary Malone and her nine blind illegitimate children chase you so far over the hills of Damnation that the Lord Himself can’t find you with a telescope!”

Or if brevity is your thing: “The fate of Ned’s cock to you!” Apparently, Ned’s rooster met a bad end. Continue reading

The competition is mighty and the mighty have fallen…

Without a doubt tough, times have hit the party zone known as Westport. Not even counting the obvious – Power & Light, Plaza, Martini Corner & Waldo – the once prosperous Westport is down, way down, but not totally out. And a drowning entertainment district will grab at whatever it can. Continue reading

Local headliner comic Mike Smith has a keen sense of humor.

For example, he thinks politically correct types shouldn’t hassle teams like the Chiefs about changing mascots because the imagery being projected is that of a proud and powerful people.

For example:  “I can tell you right now, nobody in Wyandotte County would be upset if they came up with a team called the Wyandotte County Crackheads,” Smith quips.

Nor does Smith buy into the concept of the police being our friends.

“Uh-uh, heroes only come when you call them,” Smith says. “I’ve never been riding around in a car and the red and blue lights come on behind me and I think, ‘Thank god they found me!’”

On a serious note Smith thought he’d spotted the Waldo Rapist recently in his rearview mirror. Continue reading

Ah, the fine line between love and hate…

Channel 41 weather wonk Gary Lezak walks it every day. Few folks get more stoked about their job than Lezak, who spends practically every waking hour obsessing about all things meteorological.

And catastrophic.

“One more inch of snow on one day and we’ll break the all-time record for the number of days with one inch or more of snow,” Lezak says gleefully about this winter of our discontent.

For the record, one more inch and the new record would become 15 days.

Raising the question of whether the extreme weather that causes most locals to hunker and bunker a total turn on for the G Man? Continue reading

Being in the mood for a good laugh earlier this week, I reluctantly made myself attend the screening of SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE….

Figuring that I had probably seen everything there was to see in the trailer, that is.

Not so fast! The picture turned out to be a real surprise.

Originally titled HARD 10, SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE turns out to be an often raunchy – but with its own brand of sweetness – story that will satisfy most audiences looking for a fun night out at an R-rated comedy. Continue reading