New blogger Kansas City Camera snapped this really cool photo while exploring an abandoned grain silo on Southwest Boulevard behind Strasser Hardware.
Reminded me of this message at 16th and Main that I walk past on my way to work.
We all know that The Kansas City Star will be going through a fourth round of layoffs soon (I've heard early March), but we don't know who or what they'll be cutting. Until maybe yesterday.
On his Bottom Line Communications blog, John Landsberg wrote that
Chris here. I told Justin I was going to interrupt his next blog post in mid-sentence with a whole Daily Briefs post, and he said, "No you're not," and I said, "Yes I am," and before he could say "No you're not" again, I was all, like, "copy-paste-publish-submit." Seriously, this guy? Always strutting around like he's the king of boners and Christmas presents. Well, this is the first of a new collectible series of Daily Briefs Miniatures, which are like little novelty replicas of actual Daily Briefs posts, by the fine people at The Franklin Mint. This one is about the Kansas City Star's Website.
Nick at willnotbetelevised points out that the poor old Kansas City Star's Website isn't among the top 30 online newspaper sites that have managed to increase the average time a reader stays on their site. Chris at Daily Briefs points out the Nate Silver-ish stats-geekery represented by compiling unbelievably esoteric lists like that, seriously, it's like baseball nuts who actually give a nacho-scented beer shit about the BQR number, which baseballprospectus.com defines as "bequeathed runs prevented from scoring," measuring "how many more or fewer of the bequeathed baserunners subsequent relievers allowed to score than would be expected from league average performance in those situations." (Ahem.) Excuse me for a moment.
But the point is well taken: The Kansas City Star Website is an unfun, ugly and unnavigable construct made out of the kinds of content you find in FYI and Mom2Mom. E. Thomas McClanahan is inside there, too, like a digital right-wing Lawnmower Man whose birth cry will be the sound of EVERY TELEPHONE IN RUSH LIMBAUGH'S MANSION RINGING AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!Nick is also correct about the building at 18th and Grand, which I understand has been "shaken to its foundations" this week, being wuh-HAY too large for the offices of The Pitch, which are actually housed inside a shoebox, where we sleep in little match boxes and wash our little faces in sinks made out of nutshells. Back to you, Justin.
the "Star will likely eliminate its KCK, Northland and Eastern Jackson County bureaus" but not Johnson County (of course). Landsberg cited "an anonymous source close to the situation."
This would be really bad news for the metro's outlying areas and the overworked reporters covering them. The bureaus have already been cut to the bone, leaving good reporters struggling to cover large portions of the city. Coverage is already suffering. I can only imagine how bad it'll be if the bureaus close.
Another local blogger called it quits today. Farewell May's Machete. I'll especially miss her posts on exploring her sexual identity.
Last week, State of the Line announced they are calling it quits. They promised this week would be their last, but I noticed the guys haven't posted anything since this epic post. What else is there to say?
Good luck, May and SOTL.
Bill Houlehan stores millions of Atari games in a limestone cave in Independence. And he's selling them for $5 a pop.
I read a story about Bill Houlehan, who bought up Atari's inventory in the '90s in The Escapist yesterday. It brought back a lot of memories for me; my first video-gaming system was an Atari 7800. So I called the cave and spoke with Bill's son, Tom Houlehan.
Houlehan told me that in the early '90s, as Atari struggled financially, his father swooped in and bought the company's 3-million game inventory. Every last one.
"There was a bit of a bidding war for the games," Tom Houlehan said, "and we were able to get in there and snatch them all up."
Bill Houlehan and his closeout/liquidation company, O'Shea Limited, ended up with 40 to 50 titles. They stored the cartridges 150-feet underground in a 20,000 square foot warehouse. But they didn't buy the classic games to sit on them; they immediately started selling them to overseas buyers.
"They were still buying container loads of games," Tom Houlehan said. "There was still a thriving market over there for the games."
The best sellers are Dig Dug, Pole Position and Ms. Pac-Man.
"Those are the games that are in every order, practically," Houlehan said.
They still have about a million games left, although some titles have sold out. Collectors are also starting to grab titles in anticipation of a biopic of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell with Leonardo DiCaprio attached, Houlehan said.
Makes me want to bust out the 7800 and re-start my romance with Ms. Pac-Man.
I'd never heard NPR's "Kansas City's wholesome image belies mob past" piece, but yesterday "Day to Day" reran the September 2007 show. It's a quick, six-minute tour of KC's seedy mob past. Makes me want to take the tour.
Hat tip to TKC.
I'm pretty sure Justin Moss has never seen the Kansas City Public Library (pictured above) in person. Moss compiled a list of "The 15 Strangest Buildings of the World" and named KC's library the world's sixth strangest. Actually, the building he's thinking of is across the street.
KCTV-5's Ash-har Quraishi is about to do something no sane person has tried: Feed his computer paper. And it's going to eat it. Seriously.
Damn. My computer must be broken.
Hat tip to rpsmee.
Sad Friday. My friends at State of the Line are calling it quits after next week. It's always sad to see one of the best blogs in the city go. Best of luck to Pendergast, Benton and O'Neil in the future.
Midtown Miscreant, a must-read Kansas City blogger, sent along these photos from PETA's Plaza protest of Giorgio Armani.
Kansas' Republican Party needs a new executive director. Spider-Man fan Christian Morgan is "stepping down to pursue other opportunities," according to a release. Kansas Dirt Diver had the scoop yesterday and claims Morgan is headed to the Republican National Committee.
"I look forward to pursuing new opportunities, and look forward to working towards getting Republicans elected in 2010," Morgan said in a statement.
The party says Morgan's last day is March 31.
Morgan was known for his sharp elbows and slicked back hair. No word on whether Morgan gets to take this big check with him.
Kansas House ignores Brownback, Senate, goes home early for long weekend
Soundgarden's sludgy sound, last night at the Midland (review)
Oklahoma Joe's ribs named the best in the country by The Daily Meal
Story celebrates with a pig roast and other weekend possibilities
Royals fan sprints on the field, steals rosin bag
Don't mess with the Army, feds remind two local businesspeople
Parisi's Pete Licata is a World Barista Championship semifinalist
Homer's Drive-In: the oldest drive-through in the metro