By Tom Bogdon

Feelings about the continuing Israeli bombing of Palestinians in Gaza were as raw as the chilly weather around the Horse fountain just off the Country Club Plaza on New Year’s Day as hundreds of Palestinians and their sympathizers demonstrated their outrage about the more than 400 of their countrymen who have been killed and over 2,000 who have been injured during the last week of conflict there.

Highlighting the current death and destruction in Gaza, some of the Plaza demonstrators, these mostly young men, wrapped a boy, probably not yet in his teens, in a white blanket stained with blood-red dye, and carried the “dead” body above their heads as we have seen so many times in pictures from the Middle East.

By William Worley

In December 1900, Kansas Citians were so proud of themselves and their city that they planned a “Century Ball” to mark the official passing of the 19th into the 20th Century. There had been some confusion as to whether this should have been done a year earlier, but Kansas City had so much to celebrate in 1900. Its population exceeded 160,000 for the first time. It had hosted the Democratic National Convention in July. The city was going places.

Presided over by Mayor James A. Reed, the city’s splendiferous elite planned the most extravagant gala ever attempted west of St. Louis, which was itself just then gearing up for a World’s Fair to be held a few years down the road. No matter. Kansas City could celebrate its greatness four years ahead of St. Louis.

Opinion by Daniel Starling

Liberal Hangover Cures and Other Urban Myths About The Obama Administration.

As 2009 begins, Americans are rubbing their eyes and thanking whatever God they believe in that 2008 has finally passed. A collective hangover from last year has taken hold, bringing a bit of reality back to our dreams of work-free wealth, multi-home ownership and comfortable retirement plans with fat 401Ks.

All the high expectations of the “New Global Economy” have come crashing back down to earth, except for those attached to our incoming President Barack Obama. A recent Reuters/Zogby Poll stated that 72 percent of likely voters expect a better economy in the next year. Sounds like an “Obama Effect”.

But are these high expectations of President Barack Obama too high? Are our problems so large--that big ticket reforms promised during the campaign become too unrealistic?

By Elle Molique

Do I have to?

A disturbing trend afflicts the women of the post-X generation: the clean shave…a.k.a. hardwood floors, Kojak, or the bald eagle. I was arguing with my drummer (I’m in a rock band), who is a little bit younger than I am. Okay, I could be his mom, but I would have spent my sophomore year of high school trying to hide the fact that I was smuggling a bowling ball under my clothes. Anyway, we were waxing philosophical about pubes and he was visibly grossed out, like he had found a crinkly shorty in his gravy. I said, “You’re kidding, right?” He said no. I shifted my weight a little, trying to conceal the fact that I still had what is known as a “landing strip” in case he had X-ray vision and wouldn’t be able to finish the gig.

By Cleon Rickel

Harold Pearson, Kansas City, remembers when Union Station was the place to be.

When it was the crossroads of the nation. When it was the pulsing heart of Kansas City commerce and trade.

Thousands of people flowed through the giant concourse in the 850,000-square-foot Beaux Arts edifice, boarding or arriving from all points on trains that stopped every time of the day.

by Karen Land

No matter where in the country you reside or recreate, it’s easy – and sometimes not far off base – to assume, “This spot is definitely the windiest place on the planet.”

“It has to be,” you think to yourself, as you and the tempest play tug of war with your car door. All you want to do is get the blasted thing open far enough to squeeze the widest part of your body in or out.

And it never fails, in the process a squall guts your vehicle, tearing every to-do list, important receipt, and fast food sack from the interior and sending it across the parking lot so everyone in sight can glare at you and think awful thoughts about how you eat fatty foods and litter and don’t care about the environment. And if you’re really lucky, you might somehow avoid face-planting the side window when that wicked nor’easter or sou’wester or whatever the heck it is has had enough of you dilly-dallying around and decides to slam the door shut on your head.

By The KCTribune.com staff

The Kansan City Kansan, founded in 1921, will kick in the New Year by embracing a more popular, and economical, medium to tell the news.

This month, it will go from being a twice-weekly print newspaper, with a companion Web site, to an entirely digital publication. The Kansan shared the news with its readers earlier this week. The revamped Web site will launch Jan. 7; the last print publication will be Jan. 10.

KansasCityKansan.c om already boasts a monthly circulation of 7,000 local residents. Its format will evolve to include daily breaking news, blogging and press releases posted by businesses and organizations.

Reviewed by Russ Simmons

Hollywood seems to have lost the ability to make horror films without relying on gore to generate a gut reaction from the audience. Hey, even revulsion is a reaction.

Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson (“Four Shades of Brown”) offers Hollywood a much-needed lesson with “Let the Right One In”, a chilling and cerebral vampire movie. His efforts demonstrate that horror movies can be smart, creepy and unsettling without resulting to cheap tricks.

By Russ Simmons

The box office figures for 2007 were unprecedented. Hollywood took in $9.62 billion domestically, an all-time record. Due to the writers’ strike that set many production schedules back, studio executives expected 2008 to be a down year.

To their delight, 2008 has turned out to be a terrific year, too. As has been the case in the past, when the economy takes a dive, people find refuge at the movies. After all, compared to other forms of entertainment, a night at the movies is still very affordable. When the final totals are in, 2008 may set a new record.

The two biggest hits of the year were comic book movies. “The Dark Knight”, an outstanding and cerebral action flick, has grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide, making it the second biggest box office hit of all time. Next in line was “Iron Man”, a very entertaining popcorn flick propelled by a savvy performance by Robert Downey, Jr.