Spring Break
The beginning of the Year Of the Rat was marked with music, dance, crafts and food. It was a packed family celebration on Friday evening, Feb. 1 during the Chinese New Year at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The crowd at the Lily Zhang Li Taylor Dance Program consisted of mostly parents and kids.
"The Complete Persepolis," a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi is an utterly human and personal story. Satrapi successfully mixes the emotions of childhood and the journey to adulthood with political and social turmoil. It is Satrapi's memoir of her life in Iran before, during and after the revolution and the Iran-Iraq war.
Warm, easy and cheap chili can spice up the dreary February days. This chili is easy on the palate and the pocketbook. After the expenses of the big holidays and with tax season looming ahead, a comforting yet inexpensive meal that can be shared is just what's needed.
Women joining the work force is so last century. The idea of a woman's job no longer includes factory work making bullets; rather, the modern day woman is commanding the hustle and bustle of corporate America while trying to look good too. Dressing for an occasion is always a good idea.
Quindaro is not the name of a Chipotle knock-off or Nacho Libre's new sidekick; it's the name of a lost city in Kansas, and a new play that is showing at Union Station Feb. 13-24. The play is a brand new work written by Kathleen McGhee-Anderson which previewed Saturday, Feb.
Stars is the best pop-rock band few are talking about. Every album from the Canadian band comes with little fanfare, mainly because of the modest distribution their Indie label can afford. While snob-press Web sites continually laud their efforts, the popularity gained since their 2003 breakthrough album "Heart" has been underwhelming at best.
It's a familiar story arc: legendary group returns from a long hiatus to record a new album. Putting aside various personal disagreements and conflicting solo projects, band members finally reunite. If this is a difficult task for a three-piece rock band, imagine how difficult it must have been to assemble all eight surviving members of rap forefathers the Wu-Tang Clan.
I'm starting to think Francis Ford Coppola wants to be immortal. Two of his last three films, though they span over a decade, deal with the trouble of aging. The peculiar "Jack," starring Robin Williams, depicted a boy who ages at several times the normal rate, and so becomes a boy trapped in a middle-aged man's body.
Tuesday, Feb. 12 "Art Sounds, Nathan Bartel, Caitlin Horsmon, and Paul Rudy": This free event starts at 8 p.m. at the Kansas City Art Institute, Epperson Auditorium, 4415 Warwick Blvd. Crown Center Ice Terrace: Ice skating season is fast-approaching its end.
