"Over the years in animation, there have been a lot of great animators.
Ub Iwerks was one of those people. We know his work, but we don't necessarily know the man."
The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story (in 5 parts on DailyMotion:
1,
2,
3,
4, and
5) tells of the life of Ubbe Eert Iwerks, from the formation of the friendship with Walt Disney when they met at advertisement studio in Kansas City, their artistic collaborations and Ub's 20 years of animation, to Iwerk's technical creations that kept Disney animated pictures ahead of other studios.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Aug 31, 2012 -
14 comments
In a first-person tale of woe, a beleaguered New Yorker stranded in the Land of Lard related his
struggle to find adequate vegetarian options [NYT link, featuring obligatory pic of sullen, obese Midwesterners]. Reactions came swiftly, albeit
indirectly [also NYT] since, curiously, the article itself lacks a comment section.
Best comment: the one touting the multiple and tasty options, including veggie dogs and veggie chili on coney dogs, at the dive bar just across the street from the KC Star. Despite an apparent unfamiliarity with such staples as grilled cheese sandwiches, the cub reporter's failure
probably won't keep him down for long. [more inside]
posted by Madamina
on Jan 11, 2012 -
99 comments
When we reach these, the bleakest and coldest days of winter, my mind inevitably turns towards the warm days of summer and one of America’s favorite pastimes:
Barbeque.
[more inside]
posted by shiu mai baby
on Feb 17, 2010 -
74 comments
"A bad way to make a living." A series on the history and ecological impact of
strip mining in southeast Kansas during the early 20th century that includes articles, photo galleries with sound files, and video slideshows about the region. The area, known as the
"Little Balkans," because of the large Eastern European population that worked the mines, was a
large mining community that has given the US the
second largest electric shovel in the country, a home to
one of the largest socialist newspapers in the country (called
Appeal to Reason and
founded by Julius Wayland) as well as the
Little Blue Books series started by
Emanuel Haldeman-Julius in 1919. Oh yeah, it was
also --second paragraph-- the place that most of the
bootleg alcohol that fueled the
Kansas City Jazz Scene of
that time was from as well. Of course, if you should ever find yourself in SEKS, and you eat meat, go to either
Chicken Annie's or Chicken Mary's [transcript] since they're only a few miles apart in their modern incarnation.
The legends you hear growing up there aren't always true, but it doesn't matter because the onion rings are fantastic. And yes,
in some ways all Kansas has left is history.
posted by sleepy pete
on Mar 22, 2007 -
9 comments
“Not only is it illegal, but it's becoming increasingly dangerous,” Leggio said of underage drinking. How dangerous? Well apparently dangerous enough that one affluent Kansas City community has decided that it is best to have police spy on teens during high school basketball games. Oh it gets better, apparently a carload of teens is enough for a Lenexa cop to follow you! So the parents should be up in arms right? Nope, they encourage the police, even calling them ("she told dispatchers that when she called home to check on her son, it sounded like a party was going on"). Yet surprisingly, despite this almost police-state like mentality against drinking,
attitudes are slow to change.
posted by geoff.
on Jan 2, 2005 -
35 comments
A movie theater in Kansas City, MO now prohibits children under 6, and requires children between 6 and 16 to be accompanied by an adult. They no longer show movies rated G or PG, instead deciding to go with "adult films, independent films and films geared toward adult audiences." There's even a VIP lounge where adults can sit in recliners and drink alcohol while watching the film. Speaking as someone who actually goes to movies to see the movie, not use it as a place to park brats for two hours, this is a revolution, but I can understand why parents would feel discriminated against.
posted by RylandDotNet
on Jul 6, 2003 -
88 comments
More disturbing mismanagement in Kansas City This time at the VA hospital:
A recent report in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine said that the hospital in Kansas City was overrun with flies and mice in mid-1998. Nurses even found maggots growing in the noses of two comatose patients. Both patients, astoundingly, were in the intensive-care unit.
posted by milkman
on Mar 28, 2002 -
6 comments
In death, J.D. O'Neal leaves few with fond memories “Jerry Dow O’Neal II owned
The Current News, a small gay magazine. [...] By last month, when J.D. O’Neal committed suicide to avoid prosecution and shame, hardly anyone in Kansas City considered him a good friend. The 37-year-old white-collar crook and gay-rights opportunist had created enemies throughout the community. [...] ‘It was important for [J.D.] to appear successful.’ [...] ‘I’ll believe he’s dead when I see the body’ ”
posted by joeclark
on Nov 24, 2001 -
3 comments
Kansas City's Secret Santa has been handing out cash in hundred-dollar bills to needy individuals and random people during the Christmas season for the past
twenty-one years. He's completely anonymous, preferring to give joy without getting any credit. He tries to find people with specific needs and surprises them in their homes or at their jobs with the cash they need. He gives out well over ten thousand dollars every year.
posted by daveadams
on Dec 22, 2000 -
11 comments
