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Fifteen days of celebration begin next week with the start of the Chinese New Year, ringing in the Year of the Monkey.  Not the typical drunken debauchery that most in the United States would recognize, it is a celebration of the old and the new, honoring the deities and ancestors, and the hope of a new year. In honor of this centuries old cultural tradition, the Nelson-Atkins Museum hosted their 8th Annual festival for the Chinese New Year a week in advance.  This free event featured performances, activities, and food celebrating the Chinese culture. We arrived later than we intended, but still had an opportunity to see much of the offerings, though did not sample any of the food.  We only caught a bit of the Lily Zhang Li Taylor Dance Academy performance, before feeling compelled to move, lest we miss anything.  The little ones did provide quite a bit of amusement though, dancing in brightly colored costumes to traditional music to relatively full house. Making our

The Fountain City Roller Derby launched its 6th season, and we decided to drop in and show a little support for the Royal Pains in their match up against the Deadly Sirens, at the B&D Skate Center in Independence.  I had not been to a Roller Derby since I was a kid, and was intrigued when offered the opportunity to go.  Back in those days, competitions were down at Municipal Auditorium, Memorial Hall or something like that, and very much a “blood sport.” The focus of this event appeared to be more education and friendly, though still somewhat aggressive, competition.  Taking up a good position on the wall, where the curve breaks into straightway, we watched the girls warm up before things got started. There were a few bruisers, but overall most seemed just your average girl-next-door types. They are all part of a larger community comprised of 120 men and women skaters spread across 4 house, 3 co-ed, 2 zombie league teams and one tournament. The announcers mentio

We dropped in on the Pizza Bar at Power & Light District for the Kansas City Chiefs recent playoff game, as we did for the previous as well.  It was a good spot to hang out in the warmth with a few friends.  A lot of folks had the same idea too.  We looked in on the “Living Room” a few times. I was a little surprised the crowd wasn't quite what it had been for the Kansas City Royals just a few months prior. It was cold though, and lacking the warmth of the ceiling heaters, not quite as comfortable as your own living room. This particular Saturday was not too bad though, and quite a full display of red and gold. I snagged a couple of shots along the way, sill experimenting with the new Nexus 5x. I need a means of stabilizing that more, or quit attempting to balance on a narrow slab of concrete. Aside from the one little video shot, I tried a partial photosphere, stole a shot at a couple of the cheerleaders talking with some folks, and stumbled acros

Kabal started to really ramp up in February 2003.  I only photographed a couple of shows there during this month, but the attendance at their Playboy Party said it all.  It was quickly becoming a hot little night spot, surprisingly, on word of mouth alone.  That was intent, according to the owners, who were quickly becoming close friends.  It helped that they were not catering to the typical club crown in Kansas City at the time; at the time, primarily, HipHop or Big Room Progressive or Trance.  House music was the primary attraction, and they were just getting started.  They did feature a couple of nights of HipHop though, just not on the weekend.  Later in the month, I dropped in on one of those nights, put on by Action Jackson Entertainment for the Ladies, featuring local HipHop and Spoken Word performances.  Like Kabal, it started off slow at first, gaining more and more credibility with every new attendee. I made a couple of trips out to Lawrence in February 2003 again.  I