Bendheim, Don't Break 'Em

Bendheim Wall Systems, exclusive North American distributor of Lamberts LINIT, is proud to have supplied the custom channel glass enclosing the five lenses of the Bloch Building, the largest channel glass project in the United States. We are also proud to have been installed in the Steven Holl/Rogers Marvel collaboration for the restored center section of Higgins Hall at Pratt Institute and the Steven Hall/Justin Ruessli Swiss Embassy residence that opened last month. All three projects glow to different degrees thanks to varying combinations of LINIT channel-glass textures and treatments.

Marc Fink, Bendheim Wall Systems
Passaic, New Jersey

Best of Kansas City, October 5 Darth Mall
Reading your "Best of" issue, I typically agree with some selections and think you are back on the juice picking others, but it's your free magazine.

I move around the city a fair amount so get to visit a lot of places, but I am baffled with "Best Aging Shopping Center" and your choice of Metro North. Is this what passes for humor at the Pitch? Assuming you had some criteria and assuming they're definable, what were they? Did you just put this category in to see if some of us were paying attention because you didn't think duplicating page 47 was enough?

BTW, the best hamburger north is in Platte City at The Pool Hall, and the hot beef sandwich at Woodswether is way better than the Reuben. Wayne St. Vincent,
Kansas City, Missouri

Blast It All
I nearly sprayed bourbon out my nose when I came across your category, "Best Construction Site." What a crock of hooey!

Whose ass did the Pitch kiss for that one? It is a joke, right? J.E. Dunn violates Kansas City's noise-pollution ordinance daily by working before 7 a.m. and thus disturbing hundreds of residents within a mile. "The explosion"? Explosions occurred daily, for weeks. Only after an unfortunate civilian was seriously injured and landed in the hospital were warnings posted. The initial blast was so unsettling that panicked residents fled their buildings in terror. OK, it is kind of funny now, but, at the time, it was nearly coronary-inducing.

An e-mail to J.E. Dunn concerning the violation of said ordinance was ignored — no surprise there. But your "Best of" blurbs become more ridiculous and whitewashed each year, akin to treacly Latter-day Saints TV commercials. I can live with the noise; your publication's not-so-subtle promotion is harder to swallow. Cheers! John Linville,
Kansas City, Missouri

Chief Concern
I look forward to the Best of Kansas City every year. While I often disagree with various choices, I understand everyone has their own perspective and I enjoy reading it anyway.

This year, however, I take serious issue with your choice for Best Chief. So Larry Johnson ran for 1,750 yards. That's nice. Tell that to the women that he has allegedly assaulted and threatened. Wrap it in a bow around his charges for aggravated assault and misdemeanor battery. I'm sure his fabulous numbers are just the ticket to restore their faith in our wonderful "blind" judicial system. The perfect salve for their wounds.

I notice you had to create a "Best Saintly Chief" category so you could put someone in there who was worthy of mentioning. It's even more interesting to note that the man you picked for this category, Will Shields, started a foundation to help "abused, battered and neglected women and children." The world is full of irony, but with this set of choices, you guys have fallen headfirst down the stairs and given yourselves a black eye. Zach Colt-McMahon,
Kansas City, Kansas

Photo Finish
I made great friends in KC while at the Kansas City Art Institute, and this past Saturday (10/7/06), Rick Monrotus, my brother Bill and I drove from St. Louis to join them at the 2nd Annual Evil Monkey BBQ and Dominoes Celebration at Dolphin Fine Art.

It was a spectacular KC fall day, great friends, food and music. Just when you think it can't get much better than this, it did. I was told my In Missouri show at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center last October was selected as the "Best Photography Show" in the Best of Kansas City issue of the Pitch.

Kansas City's reputation as a great art town is legendary, and I just wanted to thank you for the recognition. What a nice surprise. Don McKenna St. Louis, Missouri

Buzz Words
Hi. You don't know me, but my name is Slimfast. I work at KRBZ 96.5 (the Buzz). I have been working there for four years, in which time I worked alongside Lazlo for three and a half years. Lazlo won Best On-Air Personality two out of the three years I was there. My name was never mentioned. (It's Slimfast, by the way.)

I am now the

co-host of Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz, which just won Best Morning Show. Once again, my name is Slimfast — one word. It was not mentioned. However, Danny Boi and Jeriney both got mentioned. I have been at the station longer than both of them and have always made more money. Yet I have not been mentioned once in the Pitch. I would also like to point out the fact that I host a hip-hop show with Pitch award-winners Mac Lethal and Joe good.

My name is Slimfast. Just curious why you don't like me.