Month: April 2011

  • Asian Market Excursion in Kansas City

    The spicy bite of red curry paste, the taste of sweet roasted coconut juice, the fragrant licorice scent of Thai basil, these ingredients draw me out of winter’s clutch, away from a snowy suburb in south Kansas City to Thailand. I don’t board a plane for my getaway. Instead, I navigate icy roads to Kim…

  • Harvest: A Late Season Visit to Fair Share Farm

    Late summer sun bleaches the sky into soft cotton denim over the fields of Fair Share Farm. Head up Highway 69, race down the straights of Route MM, and ride the gentle bends until a dusty finger of gravel road beckons. This 228-acre organic farm in Kearney is just a few miles from Watkins Mill…

  • Sixty Pumpkins

    Sixty pumpkins bashed, battered, beaten, and bruised, pale orange flesh and seeds scattered on the street by vandals. This sight greeted me as I returned home at 2:30 AM after a Saturday night spent at Davey’s Uptown. I was still energized from performances by Howard Iceberg and the Titanics, The Expassionates, and Hidden Pictures, three…

  • Candice Millard, Author of River of Doubt

    The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s daunting and deadly exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth. The book recounts the last great physical challenge that Roosevelt posed for himself in the Amazon rain forest. Author Candice Millard, a former writer and editor at National Geographic who resides…

  • Jim Chappell: A Good Sport and Great Scholar

    Seated at a table, Jim Chappell opens a book of poetry and begins to read in a deep baritone. His finger scans the lines like a narrow spotlight illuminating the page. His voice warms to the words and revels in the rhythm and alliteration. The periphery of the room melts away, the banter of voices…

  • Mark Winne, Food Policy Expert

    Food policy expert Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap, gave a presentation called The Ugly Underbelly of the American Food System in 2008 at the Kansas City Central Library. Winne also helped KC Healthy Kids with the KC Healthy Food Policy Initiative. The Food Policy Initiative is working to educate people about the…

  • Chef Andrea Sposini

    Chef Andrea Sposini looks authoritative in a pristine white chef’s jacket that drapes comfortably over his slim build. His head is closely shaved. He waves hello with one hand. A long rolling pin waves back and forth like a conductor’s baton in his other hand. He grasps both ends of the rolling pin and flattens…

  • Alex Greenwood’s Mystery Thriller Pilate’s Cross

    Kansas City-based author Alex Greenwood discusses his e-book mystery thriller Pilate’s Cross. Learn more about Greenwood’s debut novel, read an excerpt, and watch a trailer for the book created by produced by T2 + Back Alley Films. About the Book ‘The X-Files’ meets ‘The Prisoner’ when John Pilate, his sarcastic imaginary pal Simon, and lovely…

  • Jeff Somers, Author of The Eternal Prison

    Author Jeff Somers discusses The Eternal Prison, the third book in the action-filled Avery Cates science fiction series that combines a noir detective style with a worse-for-the-wear high-tech aesthetic in a dystopian future. Also, read a review of The Eternal Prison. Pete Dulin:  Did you conceive of the idea for the plot of the series…

  • Bobby Watson, Professor of Jazz

    Sheet music for “Ruby, My Dear” by Thelonious Monk rests on the Steinway Piano in Bobby Watson’s office.