Earlier this year I wrote one of my first pieces for the Huffington Post entitled “Flyover Country? Not this Kansas City.” The column focused on many of the incredible things happening on Silicon Prairie. Since then Kansas City has continued to impress with its unbelievable momentum in the entrepreneur, startup and innovation space. Kansas City is on a roll. It’s a city on move.
Now as many people might already know Kansas City has the best barbecue in the world. Not only is it the best, but recently one of KC’s outstanding BBQ restaurants, Oklahoma Joe’s, was named The Manliest Restaurant in America by Men’s Health. Try the Z-Man and fries, you won’t be disappointed. KC is the barbecue capital of the world, but now through The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Big 5 Initiative, KC is building to become “America’s Most Entrepreneurial City.” A lofty goal with serious competition on both coasts, but with Kansas City’s rich history of entrepreneurship and innovation anything is possible.
Recently, many impressive developments are helping to move the ball past the goal line with entrepreneurs in Kansas City. Much of this is due to a renaissance in the spirit of collaboration. Groups such asKCSourceLink, UMKC SBTDC and the Kauffman Foundation are providing unprecedented access, opportunities and resources for entrepreneurs. This can be no more apparent than at Kauffman Labsthrough the 1 Million Cups (1MC) program. Every Wednesday morning local startups present their companies to a diverse room of hundreds of mentors, advisers, investors and entrepreneurs over coffee. In addition, the Kauffman Foundation recently powered Global Entrepreneurship Week in 129 countries, which included a full week of over 40 activities for entrepreneurs of all ages and stages of business in Kansas City.
In Kansas City, local government is also developing innovative public-private sector partnerships and real collaboration with the entrepreneurial community. The Mayor of Kansas City, Mo., Sly James recently announced Launch KC. Launch KC is an initiative designed to attract and develop entrepreneurs and IT professionals in the thriving information technology community around the downtown area of Kansas City, MO. A few key parts of the Launch KC initiative are reducing the costs of launching tech companies in KC, building a downtown wireless district, providing incentives on business equipment to tech startups, connecting entrepreneurs to corporate resources and establishing a major technology lab in Kansas City’s Union Station.
Read the rest of… Jason Grill: Kansas City is Building America’s Most Entrepreneurial City
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Dec 11, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Bitter Sweet Symphony
I am a sucker for bitter sweet as a prefix for anything.
I admit that.
I think that much of life, even the most beautiful , brilliant, gratifyjng and elegant parts are still —at best — imbued with a bitter sweet quality. And that isn’t a “sad” quality.
Just a human one.
So being the cutting edge music aficionado that I am, I couldn’t resist the title of this song I stumbled across this morning: And absolutely love this song and sound and video.
Note; I use “cutting edge ” loosely.
Meaning plus or minus 15 years. Apparently this song was released in 1997 and received notable acclaim.
But, hey, that’s more cutting edge than, like, 16 years later.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Tue Dec 11, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The first round of the RP Playoffs has concluded and 5-seed Show-Me-Mules and 3-seed RP Tittles have advanced to the semi-finals. 4-seed The Dirty Diapers and 6-seed The Bungals will play for 5th place. The byes passed and this coming week we will see league leaders Team Unibrow and Targaryen 2012 get back in action.
In the Consolation bracket Augies squeaked by Quaker Country by the tiniest of margins, .12 points to be exact. On the opposite side of the spectrum Bandits absolutely crushed WOMBATS 122-59. This week Powerful Lobbyists and Fighting Mongooses will attempt to salvage their seasons with a Consolation victory.
Overall it was a good week to be a recovering politician as our fearless leader, Michael Steele, and Rod Jetton all advanced to the next round. Only two week left! Who you got?
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Dec 11, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET
#TeamJYB3:
Day 2 of my new diet to loose 15 pounds (or at least).
Woke up.
First thing I thought of was “I’m on a diet.”
Went back to sleep.
Woke up a second time.
Planned to workout this morning for 4-5 minutes and then have Bran cereal.
Put off workout. Amazed self getting small chores done that I have been putting off for several weeks (trying to avoid working out this morning.
Ran out of time to workout but had most productive morning in weeks.
Seeing this diet program as having great unintended consequences for keeping up to date on routine tasks.
At one point, considered vacuuming to avoid working out this morning. (PS I don’t even know where we keep our vacuum stored)
Ran out of time for Bran cereal too.
Darn!
Not really.
I tell myself I will work out later today—and for 5-6 minutes. To teach myself a lesson to not skip working out.
And I won’t eat a Apple Fritter for breakfast (at least not a whole one).
Weighed myself. I’ve actually lost 3/10th of a pound (at 192.0 down from 192.3)
At this rate, I am going to lose 2.1 lbs per week.
I become concerned because over the course of a year, if this rate stays steady, I will weigh only 83 lbs. If I continue at this rate for a year and a half, I will weigh 28 lbs.
And will need an entire new wardrobe and can’t afford one now.
Decide to go forward with diet anyway.
====
#TeamRP:
A travel day.
Ugh.
Since there is only one nonstop to New York and one nonstop back to Lexington, I have to get up at 5 AM and get home after Midnight to fit in a day trip to the Big Apple for business.
Aside for all of the modern inconveniences of plane travel — rushing to the airport, taking your shoes off, getting irradiated, etc. — it is hardest on my fitness and nutrition routine.
Exercise is out — no way am I getting up 30 minutes earlier when I already have to lose an extra hour of sleep. And it is almost impossible to find healthy things to eat as I am rushing to and around NYC. Don’t even mention the client lunches and dinners where I have to suffer through a salad while my younger colleagues partake of the steak and fries.
At least I will be home tomorrow — I rarely have business trips that last more than two days. I can only imagine what that would do to my fitness challenge participation.
Any tips out there among the RP Nation frequent travelers on how to stay in shape on the fly?
By Nancy Slotnick, on Tue Dec 11, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
“Don’t you know you’re my everything?” Chaka Khan sings in Sweet Thing. She is singing to her lover who is being shady and trying to run away. “I wish you were my lover, but you act so undercover.” Oh shoot- now I am distracted by “Chaka Khan let me rock you, let me rock you Chaka Khan. Let me rock you.” That’s all I want to do. Rock you. I feel for you. Chaka. I really do. But I also feel for me. Waiting for you is really hard. Chaka.
The waiting is always the hardest part. Waiting in line especially. I was waiting in line in the Ladies Room of the Empire Hotel Lobby recently and a stubborn-looking older woman was in front of me when I walked in. There were a few stalls there and one looked vacant to me, even though the door was closed. I attempted to check to see if it was available and the woman cockblocked me. Well, not literally because this was the Ladies Room but she did it in her own feminine way—by standing in front of me and blocking me!
Then in a very faux helpful voice she said “there’s someone in there.” I had fully intended to let her go in first if it was free, but being the good girl that I am, I backed off, fuming. (She did have about 50 lbs on me.) As soon as she went into her stall, I breezed into the stall that was supposedly occupied and of course it was vacant. (I do know how to peek under and look for feet!) The dilemma was that there was no move for me to make that would bring me justice. Should I wait for her to come out of the bathroom just to say: “man, were you wrong, lady!”? It would defeat the purpose. But it’s still bugging me two months later.
Don’t blow my high, that’s all I’m sayin’. Chaka. (sorry it’s going to keep coming out of me like a hiccup now.) I feel for you, and if you want to wait in line in the Ladies Room, that’s your prerogative. But don’t stand in my way, please.
Now, in a love relationship, this dilemma gets even trickier. There are times when you’re waiting in line together, driving in the same car, planning timing for your future or making big purchases together and you can’t just push Betty White out of the way. I actually like Betty White. She stays relevant for her age so that’s a bad example. But I think you know what I mean. You can’t push your girlfriend out of the car just because she’s telling you to drive slower. At least not when you’re driving over 25mph. Chaka.
So here’s what I do. Or I should say what I try to do when I’m having more than my usual patience and confidence. I rock you. I wink at Betty White and make a “shhh” symbol. I tiptoe over to the door, slowly swing it open and make a grand gesture, just like a Manhattan doorman right before Christmas bonuses. Then I usher her into that stall like the queen that she believes she is. She’ll be thanking me and I’ll be in the next stall in no time. That’s on my good day.
Or I sneak past her so fast that she doesn’t even see what happened and I pee before she has a chance to stop me. In that case, I rock me. I haven’t tried that one but I may be about to try it. Either way works though, and there are a million other creative ways to self-actualize. The fun is in the figuring them out. Chaka.
The words I say they may sound funny, but whoa sweet thing, don’t you know you’re my everything?
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Dec 10, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Pigskin
Sad news again this week when Cowboys’ Jerry Brown Jr, a practice squad LB, was killed in a car accident while a passenger with teammate Josh Brent, a defensive tackle. Brent has been charged with intoxicated manslaughter and has been released on $500,000 bail. [Yahoo! Sports]
Adrian Peterson is a wonder to behold. After offseason reconstructive knee surgery he is playing at a ridiculous level and is clearly the best running back in the NFL. He is so confident in his ability and his physical health that he wants to break the single-season rushing record this year – and he could. [LA Times]
We had a high profile coaching casuality today when the Ravens fired Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron. The move has to be based on the fact that even with a lot of talent on the offensive roster the Ravens only rank 18th in total offense. [NFL.com]
Check out this amazing catch by Krin Durham, someone who you probably didn’t know unless you were a Lions fan and maybe not even then! [.gif]
This Seahawks fan accurately predicted Seattle’s 58-0 win over Arizona Sunday night in the NFL.com comments section. [screenshot]
Here is your preview of what looks to be a fantastic Monday Night Football game: Houston v. New England. [ESPN]
By Ronald J. Granieri, on Mon Dec 10, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping…
So the RP called me Saturday morning with a question.
This one was about last week’s Office episode where Dwight Shrute relates the story of Belsnickle, the pre-Christmas visitor of German and Pennsylvania Dutch folklore.
Swathed in furs, this surly figure shows up at the door with a switch in hand, to swat bad children, scaring them straight so that they will behave in time for Santa to bring them presents.
Is that for real? He asked.
Oh yes, I responded (and of course checked Wikipedia afterward to be sure).
That of course led to the obvious follow-up question: WTF?
The short answer is, because German folklore is crazy. Read the original Hausmärchen from the Brothers Grimm if you want further proof.
The longer answer is because parents back in the day realized you needed something stronger than “now, now, Santa’s watching!” when they want to get the little one to behave in the run-up to the holidays. And part of me thinks those parents from days of yore had something.
Belsnickle is delightfully direct. No false threats or mind games.
Modern parenting has gone too far away from that in the world of holiday planning, preferring subtlety to an unsettling degree. The most modern surveillance state version of this is the Elf on the Shelf, who appears in a different spot in the house every morning, constantly watching children and reporting back to the North Pole
Somehow people think this idea of Santa’s CIA is cute and not creepy. What’s next, reindeer-driven drones? If so, we can even re-write famous carols, viz.:
He sees you when you’re sleeping… his drones fly overhead
They record every move you make, now does that fill you with dread?
Or
Here comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus
From Langley, VA
He’s got a lot of clandestine intel
And could put you away!
Somehow, a fur-clad hobo with a switch doesn’t seem so odd or scary after all.
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Dec 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Analogy fail.
As helpful as analogies are, they can’t be too personal or too obscure. And keep them light. For example, here’s analogy fail from several months ago I used with a couple of close friends trying to be funny.
“You know that feeling you get when you walk into your old apartment for the first time in six weeks after going to rehab and you have to remove three month old milk cartons with soured milk and clear out old pizza boxes with dried hardened pieces of rancid pizza crust that could be used as a prison shiv?”
Well, as it turned out, the answer was no. No one could relate. So what were some lessons I learned?
First rule: Too personal. Don’t assume just because you had a personal experience 27 years ago, everyone else did too and can relate to the image or feeling you are trying to recreate.
Second rule: Don’t use obscure references like “prison shiv” even if you’ve never been to prison, never plan to go, and have no plans to ever use a prison shiv and only know about them from one of your favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption.
Third rule. Know your audience. Be careful giving out dangerous ideas. The only people who would appreciate the pizza crust prison shiv reference are people who may one day be in a position to actually make and use one in prison. And then you’ll feel really stupid.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Dec 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
Love this, from The Huffington Post, a North Bend, WA couple marrying on the first day of Washington State’s new marriage equality regime:
According to US News, Larry Duncan, 56, a retired psychiatric nurse, and Randell Shepherd, 48, a computer programmer, of North Bend, Wash., have been together 11 years. They wore the matching outfits as a “fashion statement.”
“We were at a party and we met eyes and fell in love,” Duncan said to the news source.
“He came up and asked me out, and I said yes,” Shepherd added
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Dec 10, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET
As Jews around the county join with their families to celebrate the Festival of Lights, I wrote an essay for The Times of Israel celebrating the song that made Chanukah cool, and saved American Jewry (sort of…). Here’s an excerpt:
It was easy to understand why so many U.S. Jews – particularly our youngest – took refuge by fading into the multi-colored fabric of secularized Christianity that enveloped American culture. With Gentile discrimination so diffuse and subtle, the only remaining strident enemy in the 3,000-year battle for Jewish survival was, in fact, ourselves.
But then the 1990s brought forth a modern-day Judah Maccabee: Adam Sandler.
OK, I exaggerate just a little.
What the ’90s did bring was an army of modern Maccabees, in the form of prominent, familiar, likable Jews thrust into the pop media spotlight: Jews that were both clearly identifiable and proud of being both American and Jewish.
This helped produce a sea change in Christian Americans’ acceptance of their Jewish neighbors. In the vast center of the country where few Jews lived, ignorance previously had bred distrust and suspicion. Now, through the magic of television – and shows such as Northern Exposure,Beverly Hills 90210, Friends, and most prominently, Seinfeld – Jewish comedians, actors, and characters entered the living rooms of middle America. Rural citizens who’d never met a Jew before now “knew” dozens, and understood that “they were just like us” – maybe a bit wackier.
Just as significant was the impact on Jewish Americans. We could now hold our heads up a bit higher, feel a little more comfortable to publicly pronounce our faith. We were now the tellers of Jewish jokes, alternatively wry and self-deprecating, instead of divisive and mean-spirited.
It was a phenomenon that Jonathan Alter – in his famous 2000Newsweek cover piece heralding Joe Lieberman’s history-making Vice-Presidential candidacy – labeled the “Seinfeldizing of America.”
And at its epicenter in 1994 was a hastily produced, three-and-a-half minute musical segment on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.”
Recently, many impressive developments are helping to move the ball past the goal line with entrepreneurs in Kansas City. Much of this is due to a renaissance in the spirit of collaboration. Groups such asKCSourceLink, UMKC SBTDC and the Kauffman Foundation are providing unprecedented access, opportunities and resources for entrepreneurs. This can be no more apparent than at Kauffman Labsthrough the 1 Million Cups (1MC) program. Every Wednesday morning local startups present their companies to a diverse room of hundreds of mentors, advisers, investors and entrepreneurs over coffee. In addition, the Kauffman Foundation recently powered Global Entrepreneurship Week in 129 countries, which included a full week of over 40 activities for entrepreneurs of all ages and stages of business in Kansas City.
