Archive Search Results

21. Martin

    In Kansas City, tax breaks don't cure blight — they create sprawl

    By David Martin

    Published: May 15, 2008

    Malls can't hide from their destinies. A Che Guevara belt buckle in the window of a former shoe store, for instance, signals a shopping center that might not be open for many...

22. Letters

    Letters for the Week of May 15

    Published: May 15, 2008

    Burnt Ends, April 24 Real Smoked Beer I've been cooking on the Kansas City barbecue circuit now for about nine years, and the best barbecue beer I've found is O'Fallon's...

23. Burnt Ends

    C.W. Ain't Ernest

    We intercept a letter for the Star’s Hemingway impersonator, who’s no expert on Iraq.

    Published: May 15, 2008

    Occasionally, the Department of Burnt Ends receives misdelivered mail. If the envelope has not been properly sealed and the letter happens to fall open on the desk, it...

24. Ask a Mexican®

    A real Scotsman calls out embarrassing impostors

    By Gustavo Arellano

    Published: May 15, 2008

    My recent column regarding the dissimilarities between Scots and Mexicans provoked a surprising amount of angry responses — by real Scotsmen furious that letter writer...

25. Interview

    Drakkar Sauna pays tribute to troubled men

    By Flannery Cashill

    Published: May 15, 2008

    “River of Jordan” performed by Drakkar Sauna, from Wars and Tornadoes (Marriage Records): The two men in Drakkar Sauna dress well. Not as stiffly as businessmen or...

26. Bonus Tracks

    Robert Smith seeks a Cure for what ails him

    By Robert Bishop

    Published: May 15, 2008

    "Dr. Black, your eleven o'clock is here." "Very well. Send him in." Psychologist Heather Black had been looking forward to her appointment with the Cure's Robert Smith for...

27. Critic's Choice

    The BellRays

    By Chris Parker

    Published: May 15, 2008

    “That’s Not the Way it Should Be” by the Bellrays, from Hard Sweet and Sticky (Anodyne Records): Spiritual kin of the Dirtbombs, the BellRays, from Riverside,...

28. Critic's Choice

    James McMurtry

    By Saby Reyes-Kulkarni

    Published: May 15, 2008

    “Cheney’s Toy” by James McMurtry, from Just Us Kids (Lightning Rod Records): By opening a song with the line I've had enough of this small-town bullshit, Texas...

29. Critic's Choice

    Strung Out

    By Andrew Miller

    Published: May 15, 2008

    Though largely obsolescent in the marketplace, old-school pop-punk bands still pack clubs. Fans welcome the opportunity to see their heroes play full shows indoors, as they did...

30. Critic's Choice

    Dark Meat

    By Andrew Miller

    Published: May 15, 2008

    “Assholes for Eyeballs” by Dark Meat, from Universal Indians (Vice Records): Any group with 17 musicians will inevitably be labeled a collective, but the Athens,...

31. Critic's Choice

    Mr. Gnome

    By Ray Cummings

    Published: May 15, 2008

    “Pirates” by Mr. Gnome, from Deliver This Creature (El Marko Records): The Cleveland duo of singer-guitarist Nicole Barille and drummer-pianist Sam Meister may call...

32. Cafe

    Blanc Burgers & Bottles elevates the proletarian patty

    By Charles Ferruzza

    Published: May 15, 2008

    I can't tell you how many times I've driven by the squat, boarded-up, white-brick building at Seventh Street and Grand, just south of the Anthony's Restaurant parking lot, and...

33. Fat Mouth

    The Food for Life Supreme Diner encourages patrons to be supreme beings

    By Charles Ferruzza

    Published: May 15, 2008

    Over the years, I've eaten grain burgers, tempeh and tofu burgers, and faux-meat patties created out of everything from millet to mushrooms. Some of them were good, some...

34. Film

    The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

    By ELLA TAYLOR

    Published: May 15, 2008

    “Things never happen the same way twice.” Thus boometh Aslan the lion (Liam Neeson), alias the Son of God, popping his computer-generated shaggy head briefly into The...

35. Art

    The Nelson spotlights hot new properties in Sparks!

    By Dana Self

    Published: May 15, 2008

    When a major encyclopedic museum like the Nelson-Atkins decides to purchase a painting by Jess, everyone ought to stand up and cheer. Over the past decade, the Nelson has...

36. Stage

    Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre puts on a play of mild to medium importance

    By Alan Scherstuhl

    Published: May 15, 2008

    As a modern musical, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' A Man of No Importance offers much of what you'd expect: a song celebrating a city ("The Streets of London"), an...