Throwdown in The Village

Smokin'!

2010-03-28T19:09:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, my father in law gave me a second hand electric smoker. It worked well enough, but had a limited amount of space and struggled in less than ideal conditions. A while later a co-worker loaned me his grandfather's smoker. It was big, ugly, heavy and filthy.

I played with for a few weeks and actually joined a competition with another friend. Needless to say, the first time we competed, it was a total disaster. It's a miracle no one caught on fire or got SERIOUS food poisoning.

Fast forward a few years. The borrowed smoker is now for sale. The guy I competed with ended up buying it. He tinkered with it quite a bit and became quite familiar with it's quirks and intricacies. So much so, that we made our triumphant return to the same BBQ competition we had previously failed at. With a lot of practice and a little luck, we did quite well. 1st place ribs, 3rd place pulled pork and third place brisket. Dead last in chicken. Admittedly, it was a VERY small event, but it felt good to win.

We now have an informal team, with a plan of participating in 3-5 cook-offs this summer. We also decided we might need a second cooker. Most of the stuff on Craigslist was overpriced junk or expensive high end gear. Then, one night on the web, I found the answer! A makeshift smoker made from an old 55 gallon drum. Thus was born, my version of The Ugly Drum Smoker.

Start w/ a 55 gallon drum, some screws and grill grates. A few holes here and there and you are close to being in business. The final step is the smoker basket. You will need something to hold the hot coals (the don't sit on the bottom of the drum). If you are pressed for time or not technically savvy, you might need to employ the help of a welder.

Up next, a high heat burn and then some seasoning. After that, you are ready to cook! I've done 2 cooks so far. The first was a bust, but the second time around was much better.

The whole concept is so simple, that all I could do was shake my head and laugh when it actually worked. You can literally set this thing up to run for as much as 10-12 hours and NEVER have to touch it. Unbelievable! It's ideal for larger cuts of meat. It's a brisket and pork butt machine! Ribs are good on it, but not great. I think it has to do with the direct (albeit very low) heat. Up next, my nemesis... chicken.

2009-08-07T22:01:00.001-05:00

John Hughes... thanks.

2009-06-21T17:55:00.004-05:00

I'm done with the Kansas City Royals for the season. The last month or so has been pretty brutal, but the last straw was the home field bombing courtesy the St Louis Cardinals. The team stinks. I don't blame the players. For the most part, they seem to be busting their asses. But they are just out gunned. I'm no fan of Trey Hillman, but again, he's just playing with the hand he was dealt. Dayton Moore? Making chicken salad with a chicken shit payroll. Yep... this miserable season rests solely at the feet of David Glass.

Mr. Glass has dug this team in to such a deep hole since the day that he came to town, that Joe Torre, Sparky Anderson and Jesus Christ couldn't save this sinking ship. Granted, the team was a mess when he took over. But what changed on his first day? Nothing. He handcuffed Allard Baird by not letting him bring in free agents that were in their prime. There was no talent developing in the minor leagues because players were drafted on "signability" and not on ability.

Is this really any surprise? Someone who made their money with the "buy cheap and sell cheaper" mentality learned at Wal Mart can't be expected to change their spots. Squeeze every nickle out of what's on the floor (or field in this case) and when the well drys up, talk about relocating.

If you think about it, buying the team was a brilliant move. Buy it at a rock bottom price, ride out the storm for a few years and then put your hand out asking for a (new or) renovated stadium in exchange for an extended lease. Once the stadium is spiffed up, the value of the team increases.

What Mr. Glass fails to realize, is that people have an emotional attachment to their sports team. Might sound silly, but it's true. How else do you explain the tax payer funded renovations at the Sports Complex? Both teams stink, but there's always next year. You can always catch lightning in a bottle for "one magical season" and then all will be right with the world.

I'm old enough to have vivid memories of the 1985 World Series, but not quite old enough to fully appreciate the Glory Days that lead up to 1985. However, I am old enough to rattle of a list of talented players that were either traded away or allowed to leave via free agency because ownership was too cheap to resign them. For the record, not all of these happened on Mr. Glass's watch, but just proves he's been nothing but a keeper of the status quo. How many World Series rings are there between David Cone, Johnny Damon and Jermain Dye alone?

It's sad to hear people talk about how great the organization used to be and how Kansas City used to be a great baseball town. Often times, people chalk it up to KC being a "small market" town. That hasn't stopped the Minnesota Twins from competing every year.

You can spruce up the stadium all you want, but putting a lousy team on the field is like putting a fresh coat of paint on a Wal Mart. It might look nice from a distance, but once you go inside, it still smells like a used diaper.

Where you been?

2009-05-20T18:50:00.002-05:00

Work has been super busy and by the time that mellowed out, it was time for finals. So, here are some bitchy rants that I have been saving up for a while. In no particular order:

The 11th Annual Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl is this Saturday the 23rd. Noon at the Corner Cocktails at 85th and Wornall and then north down Wornall until we make it to Charlie Hoopers. Check out this post from last year for more details.
When did Pandora get rid of the miniplayer? Sounds insignificant, but it was nice to have a small window in the corner of my desktop while I was doing other important computer stuff. I also heard that they have been running commercials on Pandora. Unable to confirm, but not really a big shocker. Only a matter of time.
Is Playboy still relevant? I say "no". The fact that skin is so easily available online is only the tip of the iceberg. As the trust funds begin to dry up, so does the market for Ducati street bikes, designer vodka and $200 designer t-shirts. All of which appear to be a staple of the lifestyle sections. The World of Playboy is even more painful... the pages are filled with celebs that would kill to be on the B List (Mario Lopez, Brigette Nielson, Andy Dick), pics of Hef w/ his latest set of f#ck dolls and the Wrecking Crews of days long since passed (James Caan, Warren Moon and other assorted washed up pro athletes looking to score a hummer from Miss July). What's the point?? About the only interesting read these days are some of the political commentaries. Obviously, they tend to pretty liberal, but with Bush & Co. out of office, it's going after more social issues, than political parties. Legalization of pot, free condoms in highschools and the type of anti-religion rhetoric that usually comes from Bill Maher (although I tend to agree with him a lot, he's still kind of smarmy). Having said all of that, I just don't see what Playboy has to offer any more.
When I finished high school, I was lucky enough that my folks could afford to send me to college. The agreement with me an my older brothers was that they would pay for the first 4 years, the rest was on us. I ended up at KU my freshman year and quickly realized I wasn't mature enough for such a big change. As a result, I didn't last long. I farted around here and there for a few years, before finally just getting an entry level job with a local company. Fast forward to today... I've decided to go back to school and start the reclamation process on my spotty academic career. I've been totally stunned by the total lack of respect the students have for the teachers. I had one class that was supposed to run for an hour and 15 minutes. Most days we only went 40-45 minutes. In my younger days, I would be checking out the Pitch to see who was having early happy hours or cheap pitchers. But at the ripe old age of 36, I feel like I am getting ripped off (or at least my employer is since they are paying for the class) when we don't eve go a full hour. My summer class will be online. This should be interesting.
The Boulevard Brewery needs to update the hours of operation on the sign outside the gift shop/tasting room (on the old side of the brewery). I've decided to try to embrace beer snobbery and get a few of those tulip shaped beer glasses. Stopped by @ 11:40 today and the place was locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Kind of irritating. I've worked across the street from the brewery for the last 7 years. Just seems silly to not be able to accommodate someone trying to give you money during normal business hours. For the record, they are out of the glasses on the website and will be replacing them with a different design. Crap.
We had some repair work done on our house. The big hole in the bathroom wall has finally been covered up. It looks OK from a distance, but I don't think we will be letting anyone use that bathroom unless it's a life or death situation. We had it ballparked as a 3 day project. Took me 3 weeks. Not too shabby...
I'm in the process of changing doctors. Didn't care for my last one, so ended up at Pro Partners MD. So far, so good. I'm carrying around a few extra pounds and have pretty terrible eating habits... so I am pretty sure the new doctor was totally stunned when all of my blood work came back completely normal.
When you have worked at the same company for 12 years, the vacation time really ads up. So I have been trying to squeeze in as much (bad) golf as possible. Played Heritage Park and Meadowbrook country club for the first time. Heritage was nice, but I was floored by Meadowbrook. Wasn't sure what to expect, but the course was fantastic. The clubhouse was a little dated, but if I had a wad of cash to blow on a country club, that might be a candidate.
Speaking of golf. It's official. The $100 gift certificate to Deer Creek that has been sitting on my desk for 6 years, is no longer valid. It appears they have changed ownership at least once, and are no longer honoring older gift certs. OK by me. Last I heard, their greens were still shit.
Got my Green Day tickets. Pretty sure the better half and I will be the oldest people there that aren't with their kids. Lucked in to a ticket to AC/DC earlier this year. That will be 2 arena shows in 2009. That's one more arena show that the last 15 years combined.
Gun by Uncle Tupelo could be one of the coolest songs I've ever heard. Too bad they broke up in 1994. One of my older brothers was a big fan. I must have been too angst ridden to notice.

Little help for the mutts?

2009-04-01T20:29:00.003-05:00

I received this email from one of the directors of the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. If you are an animal lover (and subscriber to the KC Star), I would encourage you to read on.

The Kansas City Star let us know they have discontinued the Pet of the Week segment that normally ran in the Wednesday FYI issue. (They would feature a homeless dog and a cat for free.) This is very disappointing news for the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. We had an 80% adoption rate from this exposure and often used it for “hard-to-place” shelter pets. If you are willing to write a letter to the president/publisher and the editor/vice-president (listed below) to urge them to reconsider their decision and start featuring shelter pets in the Wednesday FYI segment again – that would be greatly appreciated.

This feature has changed the lives of Star readers that have adopted the pets, saved the lives of the shelter pets and promoted general goodwill for animal-loving Star readers.

Send your letters or emails to:
Mark Zieman, President and Publisher: zieman@kcstar.com
Mike Fannin, Editor and Vice President: mfannin@kcstar.com
Kansas City Star: 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108.

Small balls

2009-03-24T19:46:00.005-05:00

I made my annual visit to the NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament. I remember going down to Kemper Arena w/ my dad when ever his Alma Mater (Fort Hays State) would play. The NAIA moved out of town in 1993, only to return a few years later in 2001. Since the return, we have managed to make it to at least one session every year.

Monday night was the Final Four. Rocky Mountain (Montana) vs. Robert Morris (Illinois). It was a fun game that went down to the wire, before Rocky Mountain pulled out a 5 point win. There was a quiet buzz during the game, as fans were settling in for the second game. Columbia College vs. MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kansas). Municipal Auditorium was a sea of red, as fans came out in droves to support the local team.

It was kind of exciting, because there is rarely much energy in the crowd for these games, other than family members that make the sometimes long trip to KC. The other folks that make up the crowd are local basketball junkies. An interesting breed to say the least.

But tonight was different. At least it was until 3 seconds after the opening tip off. MidAmerica Nazarene University Super Fan Asshole #1 was seated directly behind me and proceeded to scream for the next 90 minutes. If I had to guess, the guy was in his late 40's or early 50's. It's possible he had a kid on the team, but judging from how quickly he bolted as soon as the clock hit :00, I doubt it. The clown spent the entire game screaming at the refs and harassing the opposing teams players. On more than a few occasions, his wife had to tell him to calm down.

I remember in high school there were a few dads like that. The funny thing is, we all felt sorry for the kid. You know the kid was embarrassed as Hell when he could hear his old man screaming that Johnny should be in the game or the refs were blind. Obviously, the guy had issues starting with his own athletic inabilities and ending with a small dick. If he was such a blowhard at a JV basketball game, imagine what he was like when Johnny brought home a report card full of C's? I bet there was a belt or a whiskey bottle involved.

I have one rule when I go to the NAIA every year... cheer for, but never against. This isn't Big Time College Basketball. No flat screens in the locker rooms and no chartered flights. Most of the teams probably spent 10 hours on a bus , driving in from god knows where to play in this tourney. To make it deep in to the tourney, you have to win 4 or 5 games in as many days. So I imagine they are all banged up, tired and frankly a little bored with the bright lights of Kansas City. The least we as fans can do, is cheer them on.

I'm sorry to report, that once I had a handle on what MidAmerica Nazarene University Super Fan Asshole #1 was going to be like, I cheered for the visitors from Columbia MO (no easy task as a KU guy).

Every time MidAmerica Nazarene University Super Fan Asshole #1 thought a foul went against his team and he asked me what I thought, I made sure to let him know I thought it was a good call. It's like the guy was simply daring me to point out what a douche bag he was.

As for the game itself, it was pretty close. Seemed as though every time a team made a run, the other team made it up and took the lead. Back and forth all night. Finally, Columbia College grabbed the lead and held on despite some last minute heroics from MNU. Fun game and a great ending. Hate to admit it, but the fact that MidAmerica Nazarene University Super Fan Asshole #1's team lost, made it just a little bit better.

Lew'sers

2009-03-19T15:16:00.004-05:00

I think I am pretty much done w/ Lew's Bar and Grill in Waldo. I've been there twice in the last week, and both times the service has been lousy. I guess sitting at a table and holding a menu must be some sort of code for "do not acknowledge presence". I counted that our waitress walked by our table 13 times, while there were empty glasses sitting on our table. Wasn't just the waitress either. The day manager was equally guilty. I guess an empty glass isn't as effective as a flare bun. I think most folks would let it slide if a bar were busy, but the place was half empty. I can't believe I gave that broad a tip. Too bad, it's a fun place to watch a game. It's also one of the stops on the annual Waldo/Brookside Pubcrawl... going forward, looks like I'll be visiting Lew's annually from now on.

The speed loader

2009-02-10T19:08:00.004-06:00

Alex Rodriguez has admitted using steroids. Who cares? Baseball has always said that cheating was bad, but then quick to wink and smile when someone corks a bat. MLB should be more worried about a massive lawsuit against them and the labs that handled the testing. The only way that the players agreed to the testing, was because they were guaranteed it would be anonymous. Sooooo... how did Rodriguez's name come out? Somewhere, that confidentiality was violated... and I'm stunned the "Players Union" hasn't threatened to sue all involved parties all the way back to the Stone Age.

Michael Phelps smoked pot! You know, when you take teen age kids and put them in a training regime that is comparable to a full time job, is it any surprise they try to catch up on what he missed out?

I didn't watch it, but I heard some grumbling that Obama's press conference ran long the other night. How quickly people forget that Change (with a capital "C") is a 2 way street. Complaining that 24 is going to be late, while we are in the midst of some serious issues is pretty shallow. Critics might snort that Obama has already given in to politics as usual. Maybe the same thing can be said about the voters? (Full disclosure, I voted for Obama. I didn't know the press conference was even on tv.)

The Chiefs finally hired a head coach. Who knows... he could be a total bust. I think fans are excited simply because it's been a total regime change w/ an infusion of young blood. Did you know that he and his family sued McDonald's after finding a dead rat in a salad?

The guy that was hired to be fired, has been fired

2009-01-23T22:27:00.006-06:00

Herm Edwards was finally fired today. Herm's a good and decent man, but his track record as a head coach is pretty dismal.

I think he would be a good fit on another staff, because he's a no nonsense guy. As we saw with the Larry Johnson 2008 campaign, Herm's not intimidated by punk kids w/ outlandish contracts (or the GM that drafted them...). I bet he honestly thought he was doing the right thing by benching Johnson in mid-season. The results are still in the air, but the intent was to show Johnson that team comes first and assaulting women and being an overall bitch, comes second. I hope Johnson is the next to go, and can go about embarrassing the NFL in another city.

In addition to tire marks on his back, courtesy Gunther Cunningham, Herm takes with him his dignity. Some may argue that he talks too much when in front of the media (agreed), but I have no doubt that he will say all the rights things on his way out of town. Herm is a "League Guy" and I don't doubt that he would run the risk of tarnishing the league, by talking shit about the Chiefs, Carl Peterson or the Hunt family.

The always ranting Jack Harry broke the story earlier this week that Mike Shanahan, formerly of the Denver Broncos, is in line to be the 11th head coach of the once proud Chiefs. I suppose it's possible. But since Elway retired, Shanahan hasn't been much better than Edwards. Jake Plummer, Brian Griese and Jay Cutler (and others I would assume) were all brought in on Shanahan's watch, and despite a few pro bowl appearances, haven't fared much better than Damon Huard, Brody Croyle or Tyler Thigpin. The conspiracy theorist in me, is hoping that Carl Peterson, as one final "fuck you" to Jack Harry, planted the story to embarrass the fool. That would be sweet.

There's also talk about former Oakland & Tampa coach Jon Gruden coming in to save the day. He did win a Super Bowl with the Bucs, but it was in his first year, with Tony Dungy's players and Brad Johnson, a journeyman QB. Gruden's track record of developing a young, franchise QB is even worse than Herm's.

The other hot name out there, is the offensive coordinator from the Super Bowl bound Arizona Cardinals (damn, feels strange to type that). He's 42 years old and his name is Todd. Do we really care about the rest? Maybe it's time to go with young coaches to match the young players? If they are going to stand on the sidelines bungling clock management, when to go for two points and just look lost & overwhelmed, why not let a few young pups take their lumps and learn with the rest of the team?

Don't go in there!

2009-01-18T14:31:00.002-06:00

I caught My Bloody Valentine the other night. There's a lot of blood, almost as much skin, quite a few laughs (although not sure all were intentional) and loads of fun. If you have seen the original, you will even recognize the nice homage to what was one of the "wickedest" killings put on film in 1981.

Presenting the movie in 3D made for even more fun. Yes, you have to wear the silly glasses... but it works. Plenty of mayhem flying directly at you. Although the much ballyhooed nude scene, doesn't really benefit from 3D.

All in all, lots of fun. But make no mistake, this isn't for kids.

You are probably asking yourself "Who in the world would bring their kids to a movie like that?" I'll tell you who... the idiots posing as parents to the 3 families that were in attendance, that's who!

I wish I was making this up, but there were indeed three families in the theater. If I had to guess, I would say that some of the kids were as young as 5 years old, along w/ an infant that cried during the previews.

I don't have kids, but in a case like this, I reserve the right to tell others how to raise theirs... The nudity and sex don't really bother me... but as a parent, at what point do you decide it's ok to take your children to a horror movie where the bad guy puts down his foes with a pick axe??? I made an effort to track the body count, but lost track after the first 6 minutes. The bodies and body parts pile up fast and they pile up high.

I was so surprised to see little children at the movie, that I emailed AMC this morning. Asking them why they don't follow Cinemark's lead, and not allow anyone under 10 in an R rated movie at 6 PM. No response yet.

I have to assume that these kids have all seen the Saw movies as well as all the Eli Roth torture porn clones... and just have to scratch my head wondering what kind of adults they will grow up to be.

2009-01-11T22:44:00.001-06:00

I've had some pretty lousy days before, butt...

Lazy Friday

2009-01-09T20:45:00.005-06:00

Someone that sits down the aisle from me at work...

Date night!

2009-01-04T20:18:00.004-06:00

This looks so dreadful, that I'd be willing to pay $8 to see it. Plus, I'm fascinated by the concept of remaking a terrible slasher movie from 1981. Did I mention that it's in 3-D?

The danger of live remotes

2008-12-28T23:11:00.001-06:00

I had forgotten about this until I caught a spoof on Family Guy.

Out of Christmas cookies?

2008-12-24T19:05:00.001-06:00

Happy Trails Carl, take Jack Harry and Kevin Kietzman with you...

2008-12-15T20:24:00.004-06:00

The Chiefs have finally parted ways with Carl Peterson. It's time. I think the nature of the game has changed enough, that it's time for some new and younger blood. The era of overpaid athletes and publicly funded stadiums has changed the NFL forever. For the record, Peterson probably should have gone when Vermeil left. Start fresh w/ a new GM and new coach. It's very possible that Peterson's departure also spells the end of Herm Edwards run as head coach. Herm's a good guy, and from what I have seen, a decent man. His future may be as a personnel guy, and maybe not a coach.

Here's what really bugs me about the whole thing... Listening to a bunch of local media blowhards play Kool and The Gang and make buffoons out of themselves because of Peterson's impending departure. What an embarrassment. These guys are professionals? Listening to a couple of jock sniffers like Kevin Kietzman and Jack Harry high five each other and giggling like 12 year olds with a Playboy is about as low as it gets.

Harry has been in KC for as long as I can remember, and his beef with Peterson goes back just as far. Any jackass can go on TV and hoot and holler and spew the same "Get Carl out of here!" rant for the last 5 years. Do you know what his solution was??? Terry Bradway, the guy that got booted from the Jets while helping Herm build his last stinker! What a douche. The only reason he's still on TV, is that someone thinks his hate of all things Carl and KU, is a draw. He provides zero insight and is there to keep the non sports fan from flipping the channel after the weather segment is over. The guy is an antique and should watch a few minutes of Lew Dawson or Frank Boal every once in a while.

As for Kietzman... if it weren't for commercials, he'd have nothing to say. His four hour stint proves that if you do nothing more than pander to an angry mob, you will be successful. He brings nothing new to the table, and his insight is weak and unoriginal.

I'm confident that the lame asses on The Border Patrol will be no different in the morning. Kansas City deserves better than fart jokes and thinly veiled homophobia.

So, there you have it. The pathetic underbelly of popular Kansas City sports media... What are these ass clowns going to do in a few weeks when they don't have Carl Peterson around to fill the hours?

Help me Soren Petro, you're my only hope...

Brother, can you spare a dime?

2008-12-06T10:24:00.003-06:00

Do we really want to bail out a company that is bringing back the El Camino?

This is the 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck. Astroturf in the bed is optional.

Chicken shit

2008-12-04T21:22:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine sent me an article from Rolling Stone, about Kenny Rogers selling his new CD exclusively at Cracker Barrel. Nothing new here... plenty of musicians do the same thing with Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Best Buy etc. I guess Cracker Barrel makes perfect sense for a country musician because of it's Southern'y home style appeal. But here's what burns my ass. The new "album" is a greatest hits collection w/ 3 new songs tacked on to it!

This is one of the reasons I absolutely hate country music (have I mentioned that Lee Greenwood is a war profiteer?). If you are a fan, and want the 3 new songs, you have to buy the other 9 that you already own. Is there a more disrespectful way to treat your loyal fans? Most of these clowns don't even write their own songs anymore (much less play an instrument)... so you are telling me that Kenny can't scratch up 10 more songs and crank out an entire album? It's nothing but a shameless cash grab. To be clear, I'm not picking on just Kenny Rogers. The Better Half is a big fan of George Strait and I think he's done this before, but with boxed sets and not just a single album.

Mainstream country music has been neutered. Seems that toeing the party line and singing songs about lazy Sundays or high school sweethearts will pretty much guarantee you a top selling tune. But if you drop the saccharine sunglasses and create something genuine, introspective or at the very least think for yourself.... you are dead. If you want proof, just look at what happened to the Dixie Chicks when they spoke out about W. Maybe they were on to something long before his own party started to distance itself from him.

Silverf#cked?

2008-11-25T00:03:00.004-06:00

The Better Half and I were fortunate enough to be offered tix to the first of the two Smashing Pumpkins shows at the Midland Theater in downtown Kansas City. Neither of us are what you would call huge fans, but we had a long weekend and a free night on the town was just the ticket.

This was my first trip to the newly renovated Midland Theater, and it was amazing. It was also a great place for the Smashing Pumpkins. I saw them once before, on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour. Don't remember much about their set (although the Beastie Boys kicked some serious ass and George Clinton and P-Funk, were terrible), but have to think that it was just too big for their sound. The Midland was THE perfect venue.

I knew going in that this was not going to be a Greatest Hits tour. Monday's show (there is a second show on Tuesday the 25th) consisted of 4.5 Pumkins songs that I recognized.... Today, Tonight/Tonight, The End Is the Beginning Is the End and Bullet with Butterfly Wings. The rest of the set list (I think) was new stuff. Loud, bombastic and somewhat self indulgent. Just about every song had a solo in the middle comprised of feedback, reverb or what ever. Not that it was bad, it just got a little redundant. The energy for the first half of the set was pretty amazing, despite the lack of familiar songs. There was a acoustic/stripped down set of 3-4 songs, that was nice, but drained the building. When they did play Today, Billy Corgan made sure everyone knew that the old stuff didn't do it for him anymore, and they were playing it to appease "the bloggers". Needless to say, they were well received. The final song of the set, was a trippy jam that went on a little too long for my taste. There was a theremin sighting as well. Sorry to say, but there were definitely some moments when the show seemed lethargic and excessive.

So, if you a Pumpkin Head, be prepared. You probably aren't going to hear much from the back catalog... but you are going to get a pretty ferocious set, with a great light show, in a venue that will literally be shaking by the third song. Side note... the drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin, was AWESOME!

Bucked by Fuffalo

2008-11-23T21:00:00.003-06:00

My mom always used to joke that the best time to go to the mall was on a Sunday during a Chiefs game. Despite hating the Chiefs (she still claims that the playoff game with the Dolphins on Christmas day in 1971, ruined Christmas dinner that year), she was right. In the 1990's and early 2000's, that was never more true. If people weren't at the game, they were watching it somewhere... and the malls were dead. The Chiefs owned Kansas City.

I remember eagerly waiting for the work schedule to come out, to see who got stuck working a Chiefs Sunday. Rest assured, from noon to about 3:30, you could sleep on the front counter and no one would be the wiser. (also a fantastic way to burn off a hangover) Fast forward to November of 2008. Despite the wretched season, I've watched or at least listened to every single game. Today was different. Friday and Saturday were both long days for me and The Better Half. As a result, we ended up sleeping in until almost 11. I had to make a quick run to Costco and figured I could be home in time to catch most of the 1st quarter. WRONG!!! Costco was a zoo. Jam packed. I was shocked. There were even folks there in Chiefs gear! Now, one trip to Costco does not a trend make.... but a few years ago, it wouldn't have been like that. When I got home, it looked like more people were at the Linwood Costco, than were at Arrowhead.

Despite recently parting ways with season tickets, this was my first real clue that apathy has turned into indifference. Sure, attendance might be down, but people are watching, aren't they??

It's sad to see... gone are the days of the excitement of a big game weekend. I still see people wear Chiefs gear at work on Fridays... but it's no longer out of pride. It's just an excuse to dodge the dress code for the day.

Nothing bad ever came out of Germany...

2008-11-18T21:32:00.002-06:00

Am I the only one that has flashbacks from The Boys From Brazil every time these commercials are on TV?

Quantum of rage

2008-11-15T15:36:00.003-06:00

Just saw the new James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace. The movie itself is OK. Plenty of chases and shootouts. However, where Casino Royale was welcomed with open arms and hailed as the gritty return of James Bond... QoS will be regarded as nothing more than a revenge story that kind of plays out like a video game. Gone is the dry whit and style of our father's Bond. QoS turns Bond into an icy killbot, that just jumps from one action scene to another. The body count is higher in this movie, than it probably was in all of the Sean Connery and Roger Moore films combined. Once again, Daniel Craig is fine as 007, but I left feeling that I saw more of his stunt double, than him. There's also a lot of the notorious "shaky cam" and it gets old fast. Not sure when the law was passed that all action movies have to be filmed like this (ahem... Bourne Ultimatum), but it's pretty much run it's course. One of the fights early on, was so bad (personally) that the only way to tell who is fighting who, is to look for the stuntman with the blond wig.

Mercifully, the camp of the Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan installments are well past us. I always thought the appeal of Connery was that he could kick anyone's ass, he just chose not to.

My hope is that now that the revenge story has played to an end and a global villain is in place, that Bond goes back to being a spy, and is no longer a blunt instrument.

Coolest backyard accessory ever!

2008-11-14T18:37:00.005-06:00

OK.... the big stack of beer is also cool.

My dark cloud of Movie Geek shame

2008-11-12T23:44:00.004-06:00

I finally caught Juno the other night. I thought it was entertaining. Personally, I thought Juno was more of a condescending shit, then a hip and witty teen. Anyway, it only took me almost a year to see it, and that got me thinking about a rather embarrassing list I've had in my head all these years. Great/Successful/Acclaimed movies, that I've never seen. Did I mention I worked in a video store for almost 10 years? In no particular order, and with some commentary, here are a few...

Dances With Wolves (until they take back the OSCAR and give it to Goodfellas, I'll never watch this movie)
The Matrix (fell asleep)
Touch of Evil (Charlton Heston as a Mexican??)
Ghost (Swayze!)
Pretty Woman (kind of creepy if you think about it)
Raging Bull
Any and all movies with Humphrey Bogart (never got the appeal of Mr. Bogart)
It's a Wonderful Life
Lawrence of Arabia
Annie Hall
Donnie Darko
Anything by Fellini or Almodóvar
Gone With The Wind (I don't give a damn either)
The Lion King
Network

Feel free to share you Greatest Misses!

2008-11-04T21:09:00.003-06:00

Thanks for the memories, section 328 row 8

2008-11-02T19:51:00.003-06:00

My best friend Patrick has had season tickets to the Kansas City Chiefs since 1989. Section 328, row 8, seats 12 and 13. With the exception of 1991, I think we went to just about every game together. Other years, were split up or sold off as circumstances dictated. But the one constant was that we always went to at least one game a year together. Today, the Chiefs hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it was our last game in the seats we have shared for 19 years.

If I remember correctly, the first year season was 10 games @ $25 each. Parking was $5. We were both in high school and so Patrick's dad paid for the tix. Almost positive it took me the whole year to pay him back.

As with any long time friends... we tell the same jokes each week, reminded each other about how Marcus Allen was so good at keeping his legs moving (Pump those knees!), made up words to the Tomahawk Chop and marveled at how much Christian Okoye loved the pot pies from the good folks at Swanson's. As with most guys, we even have a running, dirty joke that can't really be mentioned here.

If the Chiefs were a publicly traded stock, there would have been a sell off about 10 years ago. But the unique thing about pro sports, is that an organization can convince their loyal fans that they are just "one player away" from greatness. This was true in 1993 w/ the combination of Joe Montana and Marcus Allen. Since then, the team has been chasing their tail with mixed success. Trent Green, Priest Holmes and Will Roaf: good. Brett Perriman, Elvis Grbac, Shawn Barber, Ty Law: not so good.

The organization as a whole, is in disarray. Bad coach, bad management and an owner that appears to only be interested in the status quo and fleecing the good folks of Jackson County Missouri for stadium renovations. Neither of us have much of an interest in rewarding the organization for what has been a disaster since the day Dick Vermeil was hired. Sure they were fun to watch, but we all knew there were problems. Kind of like dating a stripper... fun while the going is good, but destined to fail.

I got the feeling a few years ago, that unless something dramatic happened, time was running out on our seats. Patrick toughed it out for the first two years of Herm's regime, and then that was it. No more. I know it wasn't an easy decision, but at the end of the day, why pay top dollar for a mediocre product? Why make the emotional investment when Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards look down on the fans with contempt?

We got to Arrowhead around 11:00 today. Had a few beers on the way in to Arrowhead, and took our seats for the last time. There were a lot of empty seats. There will be two more next year.

Halloween can got to Hell!

2008-10-31T21:09:00.004-05:00

4 trick or treaters. Yep. 4. I think we spent more on three pumpkins and 3 bags of candy then those 4 kids did on their costumes. For the record, we bought Smarties, Snickers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The sinister plan was to pass out all the Smarties first, and then bitch for a week about how we were stuck w/ 2 bags of our favorite candy. I'm guessing the left over Smarties will get dumped in a bowl at work, and I'll wake up tomorrow feeling like shit from all the Reese's I'm about to eat tonight.

Been there, done that!

2008-10-29T22:56:00.007-05:00

Not even going to bother with what happened. The picture pretty much sums it up. While he technically wasn't arrested, this picture and his meltdown at The British, should pretty much put an end to any chance of a legitimate return to professional golf. He'll probably hang around on the fringe because he's is so talented... but don't plan on seeing him play on a Saturday or Sunday anytime soon. Too bad.

As a big, fat, beer drinking golfer that's never shied away from a plate of wings, I'll miss him.

2008-10-26T17:32:00.003-05:00

Am I the only one that hates people that send every email as urgent? There are a few main offenders that I work with that do this. I have to wonder if they realize that by sending every email as urgent, it's no longer urgent??? Ugh... clueless morons.

Return trip from Paradise City

2008-10-22T21:05:00.004-05:00

So, the first official single is out from the new Guns N Roses album. 15 years in the making... Slash and Izzy are gone, but as long as Axl Rose is around, there will always be a Guns N Roses. To me, it sounds a little more industrial and metal than the old stuff. Click here, and judge for yourself.

Appetite For Destruction came out during my Freshman year in high school. I was never a metal fan (hair, glam, speed, death or heavy), but Appetite wasn't really any of that. Sure, they looked a little "glammy" but they had a more intense sound. More grit, grime, booze, dope and sex... and parents were terrified of them.

I remember standing in line at the Street Side Records in Lawrence at midnight, waiting for Use Your Illusion I and II (if memory serves, I blew 2 weeks worth of beer money on those albums). They were good (at times), but nothing compares to Appetite For Destruction. Not saying that they are a one hit wonder, as much as that was the definitive rock album of it's time. So does the new Guns N Roses, tarnish the name of the original, Worlds Most Dangerous Band?

2008-10-06T18:27:00.002-05:00

As expected, the PAW show kicked ass. Not sure how else to describe it. They seemed to be in great form. Grant Fitch still plays a blazing guitar (and wears ugly shirts). I was also glad to hear Mark and his trademark growl. Always surprised that a guy that small, has such a fierce voice. Don't recall their names, but the bass player and drummer seemed a perfect fit, and banged out some serious noise all night long. The crowd was an interesting mix of old farts like me, trying to recapture a little of The Glory Days... and some younger folks who had never seen them live before. I keep coming back to the word "fierce" when trying to describe them. The songs tend to be a little dark, but the music that goes with them is an amazing mash up of metal and grunge. Just when you think you have it figured out, you get a lap steel or something w/ more of a country or southern rock kick.

It's kind of funny the way they got their name out there... they had a few songs included in the soundtrack for an old racing game, called Road Rash (don't remember which version). Here's the video for one of my favorites, Jessie. (strangely enough, the video has a police dog attacking a perp, when the song is about a kid running away from home that's afraid his dog will follow him).

No idea how many The Bottleneck holds, but it wasn't sold out. My guess is that there were a lot of friends from back in the day there (IE: free tickets). So, I'm not sure how that would translate into a possible KC show. I guess that's the curse of being lumped in with Grunge and starting out in a college town. The genre dies off and all the kids go back home.

2008-10-01T19:13:00.004-05:00

The PAW show at The Bottleneck is this Saturday, the 4th. Which just happens to be the day after my birthday. My wife, knowing how much I have been waiting for this show, has even offered to drive me and some friends up to Lawrence. Can a guy ask for a better birthday gift? I don't think so. Lucky for her, she's off the hook and my brother has volunteered to assume the role of designated driver. If I do this right, should be over my hangover by Sunday night, and my hearing will be back to 100% by Tuesday. These guys rock. I wore out 2 tapes of Dragline and the CD is beat to hell. But Dragline and Death To Traitors were a constant on my tape deck/CD player for the better part of 4 years. When I got my first car w/ a cd player in it, Dragline was the first cd I played. It never got old. I was bummed each time they broke up, and then kicked myself for not going to the "reunion" show a few years back, when they all came out dressed as characters from The Wizard of Oz. I expect there to be a slight chill down my spine as they kick in to just about every song.

The first time I saw them live, was with the same brother that is driving us all up there. I'm pretty sure my first copy of Dragline was "borrowed" from a big milk crate full of tapes he kept in his apartment. It's kind of funny... we talk on a regular basis. But now that we are both married and have more responsibility than we ever did 15 years ago, we just don't do that much together, outside of the obligatory family gatherings. I'm really looking forward to this Saturday.

Adios, natural born world-shaker

2008-09-29T19:04:00.002-05:00

This is the second version of this post. On the first attempt, I threw out some movies I liked and talked about the very distinguished career of and actor and philanthropist. But when I finished, it just didn't work.

Has there ever been an American icon that essentially flew under the radar for a majority of their career? Here's a good looking, humble guy that managed to be successful in an industry that thrives on selfishness, over indulgence and infidelity.

I remember the first time I saw Newman's Own salad dressing in the grocery store. I thought it was funny the way they took his likeness (and that of his wife, Joanne Woodward) and dressed it up to fit the theme for the product. Later, after learning more about him... I realized he never took his celebrity too seriously, and wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself, if he thought it would help others. Turns out, he was right. To date, the Newman's Own brand has generated $250,000,000 for assorted charities.

The company motto says just about all you need to know about him...

"Shameless exploitation in pursuit of the Common Good."

For all the people that are famous for nothing (insert name of celebutante of the week), maybe they need a lesson in humility and compassion for the folks that don't lead the same privileged life....

Hollywood has been lying to me

2008-09-24T21:39:00.002-05:00

For some reason, the Better Half and I have lately been watching lots of re-runs of the tv show COPS. As a matter of fact, I have a DVR full of perps just waiting to be slammed on the hood of a police cruiser. But it's made me wonder, where are the Hans Gruber's, Neil McCauley's and Danny Ocean's of the world?

I've come to the realization that most people caught on the wrong side of the law, are simply desperate, indifferent to the law or just dumb. Do you honestly think Officer Poncherello isn't going to find the gun, dime bag or human foot that was cleverly stashed underneath a map in the glove box? I guess as society as a whole is being dumbed down, so are those on the fringe.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of societal ills that force force people to abandon common sense, self respect and human decency. To make things worse, the fictional people that I mentioned above, have contributed to the misguided notion that walking in to a bank with a mask and shotgun, is somehow cool. When family, society or government have failed you, why work 60 hours a week at some shitty job for scraps, when you can cook up a tub full of meth or steal a car?

Does art imitate life? Or does life imitate art? I'm not smart enough to answer that... but I think it's a safe bet that when mindless violence is masked as entertainment and glorified as an acceptable means to an end, society as a whole suffers.

Verticut me Mick!

2008-09-23T21:15:00.002-05:00

I rented a verticutter over the weekend to tackle a few problem spots in our yard. It's easy to see how this thing could end up in Cohen brothers movie at some point... After verticutting, I raked up all the thatch that came up, seeded and then fertilized. Now I just have to water the crap out of it. Fun stuff.

Overheard in class last week... v2

2008-09-23T21:07:00.001-05:00

Student A to Student B: "When is your birthday?"
Student B responds: "April 20th!"
Students A, B and C all at once: "Smoke day!"

I'm such a square, I had to Google it...

Speeders! You have been warned!

2008-09-18T00:26:00.007-05:00

I've started my mini-campaign to see about getting speed bumps on our street. I'm on a residential street, that has assumed the role of minor thoroughfare in and out of north PV. As a result, there are a lot of speeders going up and down at all hours of the day (but at the same time, it's gets plowed about every 15 minutes when it snows...). The stop sign at Belinder is nice, but I think it's time for something a little more subtle. Plus, traffic is only going to increase when the proposed work on the 75th Street corridor begins (whenever that is).

I'm not usually the type to get involved in things like this... But, I like my little piece of the world. Having grown up in Brookside, I have become rather fond of nice, quiet neighborhoods. Plus, it's a pain in the ass to back out of my driveway in the morning, when some clown is flying down the street at 45 mph, hell bent on making the stop light at State Line...

2008-09-13T17:30:00.003-05:00

Not exactly fuel efficient for the daily commute to work and it get's a little snug for drives more than a few hours long... but this thing absolutely DESTROYS PUDDLES!!!!!

Overheard in class last week...

2008-09-09T22:48:00.003-05:00

Teacher to Student A: "What does your father do?"
Student A: "I'm sorry, what?"
Teacher: "What does your father do?"
Student A, after a few moments: "He's in a Federal Penitentiary"
Teacher, immediately sorry for asking and stammering somewhat: "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to embarrass you. I thought I recognized his name as a school principal in Blue Springs."
Student A: "Pretty sure no one in my family has never worked at a school."
Student B: "My mom is in Federal prison too!"
Student C: "What did your dad do to end up in prison?"
Student D: "My cousin is in Leavenworth, that don't fuck around up there!"
Student B: "She was in a prison in Illinois, but then was moved to Iowa."
Student E: "I know some people that have been in prison. They said they mess with your shit, big time!"
Student A: "He was a felon that was caught with a gun."

I'll be damned...

2008-09-09T22:22:00.003-05:00

Tom Brady was knocked out for the season last Sunday, and the sun still came up Monday morning. Don't get me wrong, I don't like seeing anyone get seriously injured (unless it's AJ Pierzynski), especially when I have them on one of my fantasy football teams. I just thought the media attention on this was a little over the top. Do we really need 14 hours of Sports Center to explain what an ACL is? Chris Berman is a prima donna blowhard, that's been sniffing his own farts for way too long, but do we really need his in depth analysis?

Brady isn't just the starting QB for the Patriots, but he's one of the biggest stars in the NFL. This injury is going to cost the Pats a few wins (and possibly a playoff spot). It's an even bigger hit to The League and TV networks. Adios prime time ratings for match ups between him and Peyton Manning and Bret Favre (twice, now that he's a Jet!).

The League has made every attempt possible at parity. The idea is that every team (except the Chiefs...) has a chance to make the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl. The fact that the Patriots have been so successful in recent years is impressive. It's as close to a dynasty as we will likely see in any sport for quite some time. It's just on hold this season.

Hans... Bubby!

2008-09-06T20:02:00.004-05:00

What exactly happened to John McTiernan?

Happened to stumble across Die Hard this afternoon, and of course I had to stop and watch for a few. Despite being 20 years old, it holds up fantastically well. Not a huge fan of Mr. Willis, but, he's in the right movie at the right time. Alan Rickman is wonderful as faux terrorist Hans Gruber. The way that Beethoven's Ode to Joy is intertwined in the score... brilliant (especially the scene when the vault is finally opened towards the end). All in all, an excellent movie.

My wife isn't as familiar w/ Die Hard as I am, and I proceeded to drop some Movie Nerd on her about the cast, crew and random trivia. When I stopped at director John McTiernan, I struggled to come up w/ anything he had done recently. Here's a guy w/ a quality resume of some great (and occasionally overlooked) action flicks. Three of his first major films, were classics. The under appreciated Predator (1987), Die Hard (1988) and The Hunt For Red October (1990). It's impossible the channel flip and not stop when you come across one of these (admittedly) Guy Movies.

After Red October comes Medicine Man and The Last Action Hero. Medicine Man features a Razzie nominated performance by Lorraine Bracco. Last Action Hero was a bomb and pretty much signalled the end of the late 1980's One Man Wrecking Crew action flicks. Truth be told, I don't think the flick is as bad as some people contend. For fans of action movies, there are a lot of inside jokes that make fun of the genre.

Die Hard: With A Vengeance (Die Hard 3) was next. Personally, it's my second favorite of the four installments of the series.

From there, it's a string of ho-hum followed by a mixture of mediocre and crap.

He's recently made headlines for being involved in the Anthony Pellicano scandal and last I saw, was working on a plea deal to avoid time on a conviction of lying to the FBI.

I guess he was collateral damage when the action genre finally imploded....

Jerry Reed - RIP

2008-09-02T21:50:00.003-05:00

My exposure of to Mr. Reed was limited to his sidekick role in Smokey and The Bandit, as Cledus 'Snowman' Snow. Hal Needham made car crash movies cool, and Jerry Reed made it cool to talk like a truck driver. OK, maybe not, but Eastbound and Down is a classic.

Don LaFontaine - RIP

2008-09-02T21:32:00.002-05:00

The man behind the voice you've heard a thousand times.

I worked in a video store on and off for about 10 years. I loved just about every minute of, but will admit that after a while, I turned in to somewhat of a movie snob. I can assure you, that after you walked out of the store with a copy of Speed 2, we all laughed at you. Having said that, here's a great quote from Don, courtesy CNN.com.

"My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you're reading, even if you think the film's a piece of junk," he told Swindle magazine. "Even the worst picture is someone's favorite film, and that someone is the fan I am always talking to."

Pretty impressive for a guy that could make the worst turd in the world, sound like an award winner.

Fantasy football time!

2008-08-31T08:36:00.001-05:00

Three drafts in five days. The better half is thrilled...

Was this some sort of joke?

2008-08-23T23:12:00.004-05:00

Let me get this right... the Miami Doplhins were 6-10 in 2006, followed by one of the worst early drafts in years (passing on Brady Quinn to take Ted Ginn Jr at #9). Did I mention that they also traded a wide receiver to a division rival? Wes Welker to the Patriots, who finished the season w/ 1,175 yards and 8 touchdowns? The Dolphins were a mess when Nick Saban bolted for his "dream job" and Cam Cammeron managed to dig them in to an even deeper hole with a disastrous 1-15 2007 season.

In December 2007, the Dolphins brought in Bill Parcells as vice president of football operations, and appears that he has done more with his team in 8 months, than Carl Peterson has in 20 years with the Chiefs.

It was stunning just how bad the Chiefs looked Saturday night. The TV guys kept bringing up the point that the Chiefs "didn't really game plan" for this game. Excuse me? I see, they just rolled in to Miami and let the starters play for almost 3 quarters, and didn't really put much thought in to it? Most coaches won't take a dump w/o a game plan, so how in the world could they not have one for a game?

I would think this would be the ideal opportunity to devise a plan of attack, force it down the rookies throat all week, and see how they react. It's great to see that a guy can make a tackle... but can you teach him a scheme in a week and can he execute it on game day? Ridiculous. That game was an embarrassment.

The Chiefs better be careful... the fans have been more than patient as this organization has bled them dry for years and filled our heads with promises of being one player away. Now that they are forced to rebuild, due to inept spending and coaching (a-hem, Dick Vermeil, Shawn Barber, Kendrell Bell etc...), they better damn well be prepared each week.

What would happen if in a few years when they unveiled the New Arrowhead, and no one showed up?

Paradise Point - The Posse

2008-08-23T11:59:00.004-05:00

Played the Posse at Paradise Point of Friday. Once again, I managed to get up earlier for golf, than I do for work. Smithville is a nice drive from Prairie Village, so we left around 7, to make our 8:15 tee time. Folks in the pro shop were super nice. Our plan was to play the Posse in the morning, than turn around and play the Outlaw in the afternoon. I've played 36 holes in one day before, and it's quite a rush.

My how quickly a bad round of golf will change your plans! The course itself was pretty nice. The lake comes in to play a few times, and it's a nice change from the courses in our area. But it totally kicked my ass. Nothing went right. Driver was a mess and long irons didn't seem like they wanted to help me out either. Short irons were OK and putting had it's moments. But all in all, a true Alabama Ass Whuppin'. As a result, neither of us could get motivated to play another 18 holes.

Despite being aerated a few days ago, the greens rolled pretty true when putting. Approach shots didn't hold up as well. More than once, Grant or I would have a nice approach, and the second bounce would get all squirrelly on us. Certainly not an excuse for bad play. As a matter of fact, Grant locked in on the back 9 and carded a +6 (a huge jump vs. his front 9). I on the other hand, picked up two strokes from the front, but it didn't make any difference.

All in all, a fun round. A shitty round of golf w/ good weather, sure beats the best day a guy can ever have at work. It's too bad I played so crappy, because I didn't get a chance to truly appreciate the course. I'm sure we will head back up there to play the Outlaw at some point.

Tropic Thunder

2008-08-23T11:37:00.002-05:00

Saw Tropic Thunder last night. Lots of fun. The first 40 minutes are about as funny as it gets, and then the movie goes on cruise control. Pretty crude and enough usage of "fuck" (my favorite swear word...) to make a Teamster blush.

There's been some stink about a running joke about people w/ mental disabilities. The liberal use of the word "retard" has the folks at the Special Olympics upset. I have to admit, that at one point it pretty much crosses the line when it comes to bad taste. Having said that, the movie itself is a fantastic display of the absurd. Just about everything is over the top.

I've always been a casual fan of Robert Downey Jr. After seeing Iron Man, I had a new appreciation for him and his ability not to take himself too seriously. After seeing Tropic Thunder, I can't think of another actor that could have pulled off the role of a white Australian actor, playing a black guy. In lesser hands (I don't know... Jim Carrey?), this could have ruined the careers of everyone involved.

Make sure you get there on time, because part of the set up for each of the characters is a preview for a movie that they have each been in. Pretty funny stuff.

On a side note, when did movie tickets go up to $10 each for a Friday 5:45 showing?

A little good Karma

2008-08-17T15:23:00.005-05:00

My wife and I had the opportunity to volunteer for a few hours last Saturday at Harvesters. For those that aren't familiar w/ Harvesters, they are a clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of food and related household products. Just about everything that comes in their doors, is sorted and then distributed to service providers among 13 counties in Kansas and Missouri. I had been told that it was a pretty impressive operation, but was surprised at how big it is, and how smoothly it seems to run.

From what I have heard, there are a few roles that volunteers work. Most people think of sorting canned and box foods. Believe me, there's a lot to be sorted. Other tasks include washing eggs (donated by local grocers) and sorting other fresh, perishable items.

Bulk, perishable donations are double edged sword. While we were there, we were part of a group that sorted donated potatoes. More specifically, 3 pallets full of 50 pound bags of potatoes. Since they are perishable, our task was to sort thru all of them, and then put them in smaller bags of about 5-10 pounds each0. The smaller bags then went in to a giant bog, that was carted off to the warehouse (I think we filled 4 of those boxes). The potatoes were pretty small (most likely too small to be sold at a market or grocery store) and some were well past fresh. If I had to guess, I'd say about 10% of what was in the bag, was bad and had to be pitched. What's amazing, is that Harvesters can get perishable items into the hands of people that need them, while they are still good.

(bad cell phone pic)

When our 3 hours were over, we were pretty tired. Frankly, we smelled pretty bad too. Rotten potatoes and sweat are a subtle aroma that I can live with out for a while.

I could go on forever about the place, but will leave you with this... I heard someone say "I'm glad we are fortunate enough that we don't have to rely on organizations like Harvesters to keep our family fed." That's certainly true, but I would like to think of it a little differently... I think we are fortunate to have an organization like Harvesters, to help out families in need.

They're baaaaaaaaaaack!!!

2008-08-14T21:11:00.002-05:00

Saturday October 4th at the Bottleneck in Lawrence KS.

Wow! I heard that the show earlier this year at Wakarusa was a little sloppy and a lot of loud. What do you expect from these guys? I was lucky enough to catch them about a dozen times before the finally, officially and once and for all called it quits. Dive bars, outdoor shows or the majestic Liberty Hall, they always kicked some serious ass.

Mad, relieved or just embarrassed? (and I'm not talking about my Senior prom)

2008-08-13T19:32:00.013-05:00

Rant removed. Another day, another time...

Hey, China! Light My Fire

2008-08-09T21:49:00.003-05:00

I caught the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics the other night. Pretty cool, but nothing tops Barcelona for lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

Sign of the Apocalypse #1

2008-08-04T19:57:00.004-05:00

Sweet Christ! Have Americans become so spoon fed, that they can't handle pouring milk out of a square jug? Even worse, have we been reduced to actually needing instructions on how to pour milk from the damn things? I know this story has been out for a month or so, but after a rough day at work, I thought to myself "These rubes are probably the ones bitching about the new milk jugs!".

Here's the story from the NY Times. The KC Star picked up the story, and then ran a follow up of reader responses/posts. (kudos to the "stupid helmets" comment!). If you don't want to read the article, the Cliff Notes version is that warehouse retailers Costco and Sam's Club are going w/ the square jugs. They allow for more efficient packaging and transportation, as well as create a "more recyclable" container. Not to mention, they fit perfectly in the doors of newer refrigerators.

Sure, it's human nature to resist change... especially for something so routine, that we can practically do it in our sleep. But I would guess this is a sign of things to come. Steps to reduce costs (costs that are inevitably passed on to consumers), will one day be the standard, and not a novelty. Apparently, that frustrates suburban housewives and the folks that tend to bitch when the wind changes directions.

It's a drop in the bucket, but here's an opportunity to reduce consumer cost, and folks are complaining! Amazing. Did I mention that as of Saturday August 2nd, a gallon of 2% milk at Costco cost $2.99 and it was over $4 at a local PV grocery store? Additionally, because processing time has been reduced, the milk is good for almost 2 weeks, and not 6 days like the current "pour friendly" milk jugs. To me, the savings and increased shelf life, should trump any perceived learning curve.

I'll take the chicken salad, please.

2008-07-29T21:34:00.006-05:00

Anyone that caught Hard Knocks on HBO last year, might remember these words from quarterback Casey Printers as he was being informed that he had been cut... "hell I had to make chicken salad out of chicken shit". At first it was kind of funny, but as the dreadful 2007 season unfolded, those words seemed prophetic.

Hard Knocks exposed some real cracks in the foundation that the optimistic fan chose to ignore... the offense was one dimensional, special teams as a whole were terrible, Carl Peterson was more worried about butts in the seats, than developing what little youth there was and worst of all, the carousel of scrap heap and re-tread veterans didn't respect Herm Edwards (anyone remember Jason Dunn bitching about not getting a room on the first floor?).

So here we are, Training Camp 2008. And we are paying the price of the "One Player Away" mentality that plagued the Chiefs in the Vermeil era. In all fairness, this can be somewhat excused, because team owner Lamar Hunt was in poor health, and I think there was a sense of urgency to try and win the trophy named after him (the AFC Championship trophy), before he died. Sending a first round pick to the Rams to get Trent Green (at the behest of the head coach), set the tone for the remaining Vermeil Era drafts. Veterans, veterans and more veterans. Youth, be damned! You can count on one hand, the number of early picks that are still in the league. LJ doesn't count, as Carl Peterson is quick to remind us, that was his pick...

OK, I've strayed a little bit... back to 2008. I'm actually quite excited to see what this team looks like this year. Make no mistake about it, they won't be very good. Croyle is being handed the starting QB spot, after 6 underwhelming starts last year. The O-line is a melting pot of draft picks and free agents. The star RB has "malcontent" and not "team leader" written all over him and the stud middle line backer is running out of daylight to prove he really is a stud. Did I forget anything? Oh... I think there are plenty of questions about the coaching staff, particularly Herm Edwards.

Herm seems to have a good handle on evaluating talent and coaching up young players. A poor man's Bill Cowher, if you will. The one difference, was Cowher's (or the Steelers organization) knack for identifying the truly important pieces (usually o-linemen and a few skill players), locking them up and then letting everyone else walk during free agency. When that happened, there was always a young pup in the wings, chomping at the bit to get on the field (how many stud linebackers have come out of that organization?). I think that's where the Chiefs are hoping to land in a few years. The question is, will Herm be around long enough to see the fruits of his labor?

My guess is that the offense should have more direction, consistency and creativity with Chan Gailey running the show. We all know that Gunther is bat shit crazy, and with the trade of Jared Allen, he's got one less bullet in the Gun... his challenge will be to come up with a way to maximize Glen Dorsey and Tamba Hali, so they don't have to bring a LB or DB in to create pressure on the opposing QB. As for special teams... Colquitt is a stud. But the kicking, return and coverage is a huge question mark. Taking and subsequently releasing Justin Medlock, when Mason Crosby was in your backyard could haunt this team for the next 10 years.

I think the logic applied to the Royals this year, will probably also apply to the Chiefs. They might be a better team at times, but it won't be reflected in the stat books or overall record. They are most likely head for another top 10 pick in 2009, and it could be 2010, before the youth investment begins to pay dividends.

Let the battle for my hard earned dollars... begin!

2008-07-26T09:38:00.003-05:00

SureWest, formerly Everest, is moving in to Prairie Village. According to their website, they will be offering their full suite of cable television, internet and telephone services. This is good news, since Time Warner has been our only (non-satellite) choice for as long as I have lived here. I expect the novelty of something new, will be enough to entice some folks to switch. Plus, I'm sure there are plenty of folks that have a beef w/ Time Warner, so they will be chomping at the bit. For me, it's simply a matter of price. I guess it's possible that SureWest will try and severely undercut Time Warner's prices to pick up fence sitting subscribers.

When we lived in Waldo, Time Warner actually went from door to door, offering "special" low rates for current subscribers. Strangely enough, it was the day after Everest announced their arrival Waldo, by putting a hang tag on our door. We decided to make the switch for an assortment of reasons. Mostly, it was out of spite because Time Warner was charging us a fortune, and only budged on prices when there was competition.

For the record, the switch to Everest was somewhat painful. Cable and internet were the easy part, but getting the phone hooked up took 2 days and 3 technicians. But, once up and running, everything was fine. Within a few months, Aquila was looking to move Everest, and as a result, customer service was incredibly hit or miss. I don't recall the exact issue, but I called them one day and spoke to a guy that sounded like he knew it was his last day at work. He apologized for whatever the issue was and "opened up the pipe" on our service, w/o additional charge. I wasn't sure exactly what that meant until a few days later, I stumbled across a channel that featured a rather uninhibited young woman pleasuring two gentlemen. Sweet!!!! Free porn!

Anyway, back to Prairie Village... I don't know that I am looking to switch, but I expect Time Warner is working on a plan as we speak, to encourage existing subscribers to stay put. Of course, price is #1 with a bullet. Here are a few other things that would work for me:

More HD content, Food Channel and HGTV don't count, because I didn't drop a boat load of cash on an HD TV to see Paula Dean.
Update the shitty HD/DVR cable boxes. They crash all the time, and the KU/UNC game I DVR'ed in March, looks and sounds like crap.
Begin a plan to convert to fiber optic or something else that will increase bandwidth
Get rid of all the home shopping channels.

Let the games begin!

Shit or get off the pot

2008-07-26T08:07:00.003-05:00

I'm officially sick of The Brett Favre Saga. It appears that the Packers are going to trade him and move on. If I were Favre, I'd be careful about badmouthing the team or making too big of a stink... piss off the Pack and you might end up with a shit team like the Raiders, Dolphins, Rams or god forbid, the Chiefs. None of these appear to be likely destinations, but the idea that a team could pull a stunt like that and trade a high profile player to a crap team out of spite, is fascinating. Would that be a "Grudge trade"?

Bushwood blues

2008-07-21T12:36:00.005-05:00

I'm a pretty bad golfer... but I love to play. Haven't played as much this summer as I had hoped, and as a result, my game has suffered. I'm not the type to go to the range 4 times a week to work on the little things that make a bad golfer, a mediocre golfer. On a good day, I'm in the high 90's. On a bad day, I fall in the 105 range.

Seems like there has been just enough going on over the last few weeks, that just didn't have time to squeeze in a round. However, last weekend was wide open, so my buddy Grant and I headed out for an early Saturday round at Minor Park. For those folks that don't know, Minor isn't exactly the toughest course in town. It's relatively short and for the most part, wide open... but it's well taken care of and for the most part, the folks in the pro shop are pretty nice. I've been having trouble with my driver all summer, so decided to keep it in the bag for as long as possible. The longest par 4 on the course (from the blues) is #18 at 355 yards. So I decided to just hit 4 irons off the tee on everything but the 2 longest par 5's.

The first hole was a little rocky, but it always is when it's been a while since you've swung a club. The next 3 holes are par 3, par 4 and par 3 again (this is where the bottleneck always seems to occur). Strangely enough, the 4 iron off the tee was working. If I had to guess, I'd say I was getting about 210-215 yards off the tee and either in the fairway or only a few yards off in the rough. That's a good thing, because even though Minor is pretty wide open, there are plenty of trees that come in to play if you get too deep in the rough. I was able to card 2 pars on the front at 6 and 7. For a front 9 score of 47. That's plenty good for a hack like me that hasn't played in a while.

Grant grabbed a six pack at the turn, and we were headed to the back 9. Dancing w/ the one that brung me, I stuck with the trusty 4 iron and we were off.

Put up pars on 10 and 11 and then a bogey on the par 3, 12th. Then came 13. It's a short par 4 (266 yards), but is a swift dogleg to the left. Most bad (right handed) golfers slice... meaning when they hit the ball it goes from left to right, and does so in a hurry. So, this hole is a deceptive challenge for the slicers in the group. Me included. Stepped up to the tee, plannnig to just drop it down the middle of the fairway, just far enough to get around the corner and see the flag. Talk about luck... Hammered the ball down the left hand side w/ enough right to left that it apparently caught the cart path and rolled up to the edge of the green. Not sure what was luckier, my tee shot or the 12 foot pitch that rolled in for an EAGLE!!!!! First eagle of my distinguished golfing career (saved the ball, in my display case).

The eagle went to my head, and I got a little sloppy on the next 3 holes, before a birdie on 17. Standing on the par 4, 18th tee w/ a 36 on the back/83 on the card. My best is a 91 at Painted Hills, so I can taste my best round ever... I'd avoided the 60 yard wedge shot that only goes 15 yards all day until now. It was an adventure getting on the green, and when I did get on, it was to the single furthest point on the green from the hole. Had about a 60 foot putt for bogey, and for once, rolled it past the hole by about a foot (instead of leaving it 6 feet short). Grant, knowing that I was having a good round was feeling generous and gave me the putt. I politely declined, saying something dumb about wanting to putt out on my best round.... I missed the putt. Carded a 7 and walked off in disgrace with a 90. Shit.

Believe the hype

2008-07-18T23:51:00.003-05:00

Definitely not for kids.
It's as good as everyone is saying.

75th Street Corridor Plan

2008-07-05T20:46:00.004-05:00

Is anyone following the progress of Prairie Village's plans to spruce up 75th street? I finally got around to reading (well, skimming) the proposal. The basic gist it to take 75th street from State Line to Walmer, and make it more pedestrian friendly, and less of a thoroughfare for folks from Brookside/Waldo to get to OP. If someone were to redevelop some areas w/ retail and high end residential, all the better for the city.

I guess so far, I am pretty indifferent. Prairie Village is land locked, so there's no room to expand. The only way to increase revenue, is to re-zone existing areas or develop the remaining 3% of undeveloped land. Not sure what they have in mind for residential space, but I get the feeling from reading comments of the last Public Workshop, that they want to ax some of the apartment buildings that dot 75th street, and replace with something a little pricier. I'm not expecting any major retail, since you can't swing a dead cat in this town with out hitting a Barnes and Noble, Old Navy or family friendly casual dining experience... but they are certainly looking for something that would actually give folks a reason to stop, as they are driving up and down 75th street. Of course, if they really wanted to make 75th street pedestrian friendly and generate some revenue at the same time, they could just enforce the speed limit...

I've noticed one house on the north side of 75th has a sign in the yard against The Vision. To date, I can't find that they have have a web presence or attended the first Workshop. But I would like to hear their beef. Legit argument? Or just one of the folks that hate change? Either way, I'd like to hear what they have to say.

I think the Better Half and I are going to try and attend one of the Public Workshops so we can see what's on the table, and throw out a few irrational rants (Gondolas!!!!).

Open Letter To Non-Smokers

2008-07-05T20:22:00.003-05:00

With smoking bans taking effect across the metro, it's time for my fellow non-smokers to step up to the plate. Although the vote in KCMO was close, the non-smokers got what they wanted, and now they need to get out and support all the bars that have been forced to go smoke free. Go out, and support the mom and pop, neighborhood joints that are going to be dealing with the double whammy of a sluggish economy and the ban. Sure, McFadden's sucks, but this guy will keep Power and Light up and running (at least until he can't afford gas for his H2...). It's the little guys that need to be supported.

The homeowners revenge!

2008-07-01T19:09:00.003-05:00

Got the old joint out, built the new one and put it in. 16 joints to solder. Most of them last night, and the rest after work today. Not exactly pretty, but so far, it's dry. Of course, the valve on the hot water heater was bad, and wouldn't shut. Instead of forcing it, I just emptied the tank and shut off the cold water supply. That's an easy fix, but will have to wait for another day.

A few lessons learned...

Clean the copper where you are going to solder.
Make sure everything is dry. Damn near impossible to solder wet copper (although I've hear the MAPP torches will work).
Before connecting to supply lines, dry fit and then put as much of the joint together as possible. Making a dozen some odd solders while standing on a ladder between floor joists, isn't much fun. The less soldering on a ladder, the better.
Once you have soldered pieces together, the copper will be very hot and take 10-15 minutes to cool to the touch. Keep this in mind, when you tell your wife the whole thing will take "About an hour."

Time to lay some pipe, baby!

2008-06-30T21:33:00.005-05:00

OK, more like sweat some pipe. I stumbled across a leak on our basement floor, that was coming from the hot water line that runs to our kitchen. Once again, the half assed work of the merry handy men that flipped our house, throws me a new project. I don't think either of those joints are supposed to be the same color as the Statue of Liberty, so time to cut 'em out and replace, before a tiny drip, floods my basement and burns out my 20 year old hot water heater... Sweating pipe isn't a huge deal. Just make sure surfaces are clean and smooth, dry fit the whole thing first, and then it's off to the races. Oh, and don't burn down your house at the same time. My best friend owns a plumbing supply shop in Mission (free plug: The Plumber's Friend) and he recommends some gizmo called the Shark Bite. I am usually the first to jump on the band wagon when it comes to new gizmos, but they can't be nearly as fun as standing on a step ladder, with a propane torch wondering why in the Hell the solder isn't taking. If the sweating is a bust, I'll break down and try the Shark Bite. Anyway, above is the before pic, and the after pic should be up in a day or two.

Subsidized Consumption or: Who exactly is Chrysler refueling?

2008-06-24T20:50:00.004-05:00

I've had a rant about this building up inside of me for a while...

Since I first saw an ad for the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep "Refuel America" program, I thought it was a strange idea. Then it clicked! Someone in the Chrysler family did the math and figured it would be cheaper to just cover part of consumers fuel cost, than it would be to come up with a more fuel efficient car that people would want to buy. Not one of the eligible vehicles gets better than 24 MPG (according to the program calculations). Plus, these numbers have to be somewhat suspect, because the only way a Jeep Commander gets 15 MPG, is if you drive it on the moon. According to my quick math, the Chrysler family of vehicles averages just over 18.5 mpg. In fairness, I don't have a way to compare to other manufacturers... but I'm pretty sure that most of the other big boys have at least one, non-hybrid that can sniff 30+ mpg.

Of course, there's a catch... By participating in the Refuel The Middle East program, you lose out on some rather hefty incentives. Like up to 7,900 smackers on a Dodge Ram pick up truck. So, assuming you are saving $500 a year on the fuel program for 3 years, you are actually leaving $6,400 on the table. Congratulations to Chrysler for coming up with a sham promotion that actually ends up screwing it customers.

I think it's odd that in a time of heightened sensitivity to the increased cost of living, as a result of a spike in fuel prices... that an American car manufacturer would go against the grain and encourage their customers to go ahead and buy a new car or truck. Even worse; buy a new car or truck that gets lousy mileage and will lose it's resale value faster than you can say "Kelley Blue Book".

Full disclosure - My Nissan Pathfinder gets rotten mileage, but the wife's Toyota sips gas. Not exactly an even trade off, but better than the alternative of having a Durango and a Chrysler 300...

Ahhhh... Flavor Country

2008-06-19T18:42:00.004-05:00

Looks like Prairie Village has finally given in, and come up with a smoking ban that kicks in August 1st. I'm ok with this. It's nice to come home from a night out with friends, and not stink like a North Carolina outhouse.

Not Evil Enough?

2008-06-19T18:12:00.003-05:00

I first stumbled across My Morning Jacket one night while watching a documentary on the 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival. Included were two songs from the album It Still Moves. Golden and Steam Engine. I was intrigued enough to pick up the album and spent last summer getting in to it. About a month ago, I am came across their concert video, Okonokos. Fantastic DVD. I only wish I had a better sound system to pump it through!! So the new album, Evil Urges, came out about a week or so ago and I finally picked it up. I have to admit, based on the 2 singles Evil Urges and I'm Amazed, I was ready for a great album.

Instead, it's looking like a good album, w/ a few great tracks and some clunkers. It's safe to say that MMJ is exploring new territory on Evil Urges, and maybe trying to shed the alt-country/70's rock/jam band label... but it's just not working for me. The venture into Buddy Holly-esque pop and 70's soul just isn't clicking. Don't get me wrong, these guys are incredibly talented (the first 2-3 songs on Okonokos will set you straight), and I am looking forward to seeing them in KC this summer. But I get the feeling it's going to take me a while to warm up to Evil Urges.

Road trip!

2008-06-09T16:02:00.004-05:00

Spent a quick weekend in Dallas for a wedding. We didn't get a chance to see much of the town, but the folks we came across all seemed quite nice. Anyway, here are a few observations made along the way...

We decided to drive, so the 9 hours down and 9 hours back kind of cut in to our free time. I was surprised to see the difference in gas prices between Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Anywhere from $3.60 per gallon to $3.98. Maybe our 2006 Pathfinder wasn't the best car for a round trip of almost 1,100 miles... but still ended up being cheaper than flying (by about $9...).
The Pathfinder holds up quite nicely with the cruise control set at 85 MPH.
You think Kansas City is a fine example of urban sprawl? Check out Dallas. Even the side streets are 3 lanes wide. From the folks we talked to, a 1 hour drive to and from work is the norm. Makes the drive from the surrounding suburbs in KC seem like a leisurely stroll.
Seemed like about every 8 blocks, there was a stretch of strip malls and shopping districts. Think of Leawood Town Center, and then repeat every 2 miles.
Seeing what some of the folks in Dallas have to navigate just to get to the grocery store, makes me appreciate the Village even more. Sure, we are landlocked and don't have room to expand... but I can also get to the grocery store, gas station and liquor store in 4 minutes, 6 if there is traffic.
Only recall seeing one person in a cowboy hat... and that was in Oklahoma.
Garmin GPS systems are pretty cool. Ours got us to and from as well as around Dallas w/o issue. Also on the way home, it lead us directly to a small, rural Missouri town where my dad's parents used to live. It even found the street named after my grandfather. Of course, it was a dead end that lead to a nursing home...

It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage...

2008-05-26T20:18:00.004-05:00

Truer words were never spoken...

Anyone else underwhelmed by the new Indiana Jones flick? I'm still a little cloudy as to why exactly the felt obligated to crank out another one. Understandably, Harrison Ford isn't getting any younger, and maybe they wanted to test the water for some type of spin off (Mutt, anyone?), but it just felt thrown together. Seemed like just about every scribe in the business had at one time or another worked on the script, yet this was the best they could come up with? No beef with the move from supernatural to extraterrestrial, but the whole thing felt rushed. The momentum from the opening 40 minutes is completely lost the moment they leave the cemetery.

After watching them last week, neither Temple of Doom or Last Crusade are that much better than the recent addition.
I remember seeing the original at the old Bannister Mall theater when I was 9 (anyone else remember the corny paintings of Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton and John Wayne in the lobby?). As with most 9 year old boys, I was left breathless and begging for more (as was my aunt, but for different reasons...). There definitely hadn't been anything like it in my short movie watching life. Intentional or not, the bar had been set for the genre forever known as the summer action blockbuster (OK, there was Jaws and the Star Wars movies), and action movies would struggle too keep up with Dr. Jones for years to come. Genres came and went... The One Man Wrecking Crew (Stallone and Schwarzenegger mowing thru hundreds of faceless bad guys), The Buddy Flick (Lethal Weapon and Tango and Cash), High End suspense action (Die Hard, although I think it was released around Christmas '88), The Genius Serial Killer (Silence of the Lambs) and then finally the Sharon Stone "erotic thriller" of the week. None of these could kill of the passion for Indiana Jones, the way grunge killed glam rock. As CGI reared it's ugly head, scripts took a back seat to "blowin' up a bunch of shit". So... maybe Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the end result of exploding national landmarks, giant asteroids, dinosaurs and Agent Smith? A soulless mishmash of a dozen different stories by 2 dozen writers.

Much to my delight, Mr. Ford seems to have held up quite well since he last cracked the whip, but it's the genre that has aged the most.

10th Annual Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl - Post Mortem

2008-05-25T20:36:00.004-05:00

Another year, another crawl. All went well and turn out was excellent. A few observations...

Finn's Waldo Bar was closed for remodeling. Not sure if that was legit, or mandated by KC Liquor Control...
The Tap Room needs to put a sign on their front door when they are having a private party. We walked in the front door, and were greeted by about 50 people, munching away on dinner salads. 2nd time this has happened.
Bad food and plastic cups do not a good bar make (ahem, Tanners...)
I wish The Gaf had kept the old bar from Romanelli's. It was a huge horse shoe shaped bar in the middle of the room. The lay out of The Gaf's bar area is fine, but looks just like every other restaurant bar in town.
For better or worse, 75th Street Brewery appears to no longer carry bottled beer. It's either one of their fine brews, or Bud on tap. I guess it's a matter of personal taste, but if you are participating in an event that centers around drinking all day, some folks tend to pick a horse and ride it the whole day. Throwing a MUDDY MO' STOUT into the mix can be a serious curve ball.
Judging from the crowds at The Brooksider and Charlie Hooper's, Power and Light might be taking a bite out of the summer crowds at these bars. The patio on the Brooksider was pretty sparse and Hooper's wasn't exactly crowded.

10th Annual Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl Update!

2008-05-05T19:55:00.004-05:00

What: 10th Annual Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl
When: Saturday May 24th NOON
Where: start at Walsh's Corner Cocktails at 85th and Wornall
The Stops:

Walsh's Corner Cocktails
The Village Lounge
The Piano Bar
Murphy's
Patrick's
Tommy Farha's
Lew's
75th Street Brewery
Kennedy's (v1.5)
Fin's Waldo Bar
Bobby Baker's
Tanner's
The Tap Room (possibly)
The Gaf
The Brooksider
Charlie Hooper's.

For those of you not familiar with the days/evenings/nights turn of events, anyone and everyone that elects to start from the beginning and go to the end, a job well done in advance. For most everyone else, you're - as always - welcome and encouraged to join at any or all stops along the way. For some, it may represent the first time you step foot - but certainly won't be the last - into one or more of these fine establishments, as you're sure to enjoy the many creature comforts and cold libations that only the Waldo and Brookside areas can offer. No real limits or rules or amounts that one must adhere to, other than enjoy yourself and meet many a new folk.

As always, you're encouraged to invite anyone you like (feel free to forward this site as you see fit), join at any point along the way, and buy me a cold beverage at any of said stops. Or you can follow our simple rule of thumb: keepin' the juke boxes running while keepin' your belly full of food and water along the way goes a long way to making it an actual long day...and not a longer Sunday.

Hello summer!

2008-05-04T21:28:00.003-05:00

Just got back from Iron Man. Loads of fun. Can't think of a better way to kick off the summer popcorn movie season. I don't know much about the comic book, so I'll stick to the movie itself.... Robert Downey Jr. is a hoot. He's one of the few actors talented enough to not take himself too seriously, and not be a distraction at the same time (for further evidence see
Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang). To my surprise, Gwyneth Paltrow is also quite good. Lucky for us, she dropped the pretentious faux British accent. Although we have seen the montage where the super hero tries out his newly discovered powers a million times before, it still holds up well in Iron Man. Make sure to stay thru the end credits!!

Goodbye Sprint

2008-05-04T21:18:00.003-05:00

Our Sprint cell contract expired last Wednesday. 36 hours later, we were Verizon customers. We live in one of the pockets of Prairie Village that has shitty cell coverage. My guess is that being in the back yard of southern Mission Hills, there isn't anywhere to put a tower. Not a huge deal since we still have a land line. Anyway, after about 10 years of Sprint, it was time for a change. Sprint's customer service is notoriously bad, and we really only had one or two run ins with them. Of course, they were both as bad as can be (I'm talking in your direction, punk ass mf'er with the Russian accent at the store in Town Center). Because of our location, I don't expect Verizon's coverage to be much better. But the one time I have to talk to some one face to face, I don't expect I'll get some wise ass kid asking if it's life or death, moving my contacts from one phone to the other. (I swear to God, her asked me "Are you a doctor?") So... Verizon, the clock is ticking. You have 30 days (trial period) presumably followed by 2 years, to not piss me off.

FORE!!!!!!!! Censored by Last Minute Golfer

2008-05-04T20:29:00.008-05:00

Being an avid, bad golfer, I frequently use the services of Last Minute Golfer. For those not familiar with LMG, it's a website that lets you book tee times online, sometimes at a discount (hence the name...). Another feature, is the ability to leave feedback on the participating courses. Obvious things like... course condition, pace of play, service in the pro shop etc... As long as it's not obscene or offensive, anything golf related is acceptable. I managed to sneak in a round at a public course in south Kansas City on an unseasonably warm February weekend. I don't recall all the specifics, but I do know that my review was critical of the price of the round of golf, compared to the condition of the course and the time of year.

Fast forward to last week... I'm cruising LMG looking at course reviews and notice that my review is no longer online. Under the course in question where my review once lived, it had been deleted "by a course representative" for (I'm paraphrasing here) "inaccurate or unrelated criticism".

WTF?????

Of course, I disagreed. So, I emailed LMG questioning the integrity of the review process, if a course is able to remove comments that are less than flattering. That would be like eBay allowing sellers to remove negative feedback, from a buyer they just screwed over. About 5 minutes after I emailed them, I went ahead and took my cries to the street (also know as the LMG discussion board). I presented my experience and again raised the question of the value of the reviews, when the course can remove said post as they see fit. The next morning I awoke to see that my post on the discussion board had been removed!!!!

So, I posted again.

A few fellow golfers have chimed in to agree. One even brought up the 1st Amendment. I wouldn't go as far as to say this is a free speech issue. To me, it's about the integrity of the service LMG offers. After all, it's the golfers who are paying to use LMG (with a nominal "service fee" that started showing up this year), so their feedback is what counts.

That's the cruel irony of being a bad golfer and living in Prairie Village... There are 3 golf courses w/in a 4 iron of my house. All three... private.

I've got a few thousand reward points built up on LMG and will be cashing in shortly and giving them the boot. It's too bad it's come to this... as a bad golfer that doesn't have the means to pay $75 a round at some of the snootier courses, this was a nice way to save a few bucks.....

Oh... as of this rant, Last Minute Golfer has not responded to my email.

New stops on The Crawl?

2008-03-06T20:41:00.003-06:00

I've been informed that a new bar is going in where the Berliner Bear used to be. No ETA on when it will be open for business, but if it's open on May 24th, we will be stopping there. Additionally, The Tap room has opened next door to Waldo Pizza. Haven't been by there lately, so not sure if it's truly a bar, or simply a party room for Waldo Pizza. Rest assured, we will add it to The Crawl if it meets our lofty standards (open and serving cold beer).

I've been asked about a few specific locations along The Crawl... Jalepeno's, Carmen's and Sharp's (all in Brookside). We normally pass on these places, because by the time we make it to Brookside, it's usually dinner time. As a result, these places are packed w/ the dinner crowd, and there just isn't room for us... but feel free to patronize these fine folks as you see fit.

The 10th Annual Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl

2008-02-27T21:11:00.001-06:00

The 10th Annual Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl (also known as Pub Crawl X) is right around the corner. What's that? You've never heard of the Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl? Well... let's start with the basics. The Waldo and Brookside areas are located in Kansas City, Missouri. They are located a few minutes south of the world famous Country Club Plaza. The areas are home to thriving residential neighborhoods and a vast array of mostly local, mom and pop type stores. Waldo and Brookside are also the homes of quite a few neighborhood bars. Some time in the mid 90's, while having a drink at one of these fine establishments, the topic of the number of bars in the area came up. As we started naming them, we came to the realization that there were a lot more bars than any of us had realized, and that it would make for a fun day to see how many of them we could visit. At one time there were approximately 16 bars that we counted (not including a few restaurants). Thus was born, The Waldo Brookside Pub Crawl. In the past 9 years some of them have merged with their next door neighbor bar, burned to the ground or closed. But, lucky for us, when one closes, another one opens up. The early years were truly a sight to behold. We were a lean, mean drinking machine. 16 bars in 10 hours. Starting with Walsh's Corner Cocktails at 85th and Wornall, and heading north and stopping at every bar on Wornall, until we made it to Charlie Hooper's in Brookside. The only rule, is that we actually walked. No buses, limos or cabs. 3.2 miles of of beer fueled pride. More details to follow soon!