Here's a way to save money...if you can get your friends to go along with it.
----
And we're off...and into another Monday.
In the end, no victory to relish.
After a run where relish and mustard spent most of the race playing ketchup,
I have no condiment. Saturday night at the K, with thousands looking on, Nick Wright,
aka Ketchup, continued his hot dog winning ways by winning the end of the 6th inning
run over Chris Hamblin and myself. The slew of negative text messages following
the race lead me to believe that some may have had green riding on green.
That seems like a bad idea.
Jesus -- legos!
Children at a church in Sweden have been especially interested in a new
6-foot-tall statue of Jesus that was unveiled Easter Sunday. That's because
it's made out of Lego blocks -- 30,000 of them. Forty volunteers spent about
18 months putting the tiny plastic blocks together. The result is a standing
Jesus with arms outstretched. Some of the children in the congregation
couldn't help but touch the white artwork. A church spokesman says it's a copy
of a statue on display in Copenhagen by a Danish sculptor. Although it's all white
on the outside, some of the donated Lego blocks that were used were of other
colors, and were placed inside the statue.
Roll over Segway! Now we can be lazy...by sitting!
GM has teamed up with Segway to try and build a people mover that's small, safe
and fuel-efficient. Here's the scoop.
Bob's Biscotti are clean. Really clean! The KC health department is out with its list of super clean kitchens and it's no
surprise that Bob's is on the list. The official biscotti of Kansas City's Morning News
with E.J. and Ellen once again, getting high marks! And they're oh-so tasty.
What the pizza delivery guy thinks you should know.
This morning, we told you some of the 13 things the pizza guy won't tell you. Here they are,
with some bonus tips too!
'General'ly good stuff.
General Richard Myers (former head of the Joint Chiefs and Shawnee grad) was
on the show this morning talking about his career, life after 9-11 and where we
go from here. The interview is right here.
A jolly good breakfast!
Tea and cumpets for a power breakfast? Anyway, the prez and the p.m.
had breakfast this morning before a joint news conference. The leaders
are in Britain ahead of tomorrow's G-20 summit. ABC's Ann Compton is
with President Obama and spoke with E.J. and Ellen this morning.
The brackets are done, let the games begin!
The NCAA tourney gets underway today here in KC and across the country.
If you're gonna be near the Sprint Center over the next few days, watch out.
There are road closures around the arena.
Not all babies are cute...but hey at least it's alive! (AP Photo/Karori Wildlife Sanctury,Tom Lynch,HO)
A hatchling of a rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has
been found in the wild on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about
200 years, a wildlife official said Thursday. The baby tuatara was discovered
by staff during routine maintenance work at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in the capital,
Wellington, conservation manager Raewyn Empson said.
-------------------------------------------------
Happy St. Patty's Day.
Today's Eating OutsideIndex = 10! Borat...uh...Bruno does it again.
Sacha Baron Cohen doesn't need to be Borat to pull the wool over people's eyes.
He's done it again. This time he tricked some members of the Alabama National Guard.
They allowed him into the Alabama Military Academy, gave him a military uniform
and briefly let him train. All of it, supposedly, for a German TV documentary. The prank
included Baron Cohen exposing his thong underwear while changing clothes.
All was going well until a young cadet recognized him and notified officers who didn't
realize who he was. Footage from the visit could be included in Baron Cohen's
upcoming movie featuring his character Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion writer.
Sesame Street, brought to you by
the letter "L" for Layoffs!
Word today that Sesame Street is the latest victim of the economy. You're
hearing that story all morning with E.J. and Ellen. Our trivia question this
morning...what changed about Oscar the Grouch from season 1 to
season 2 of the show? The answer...see above!
Now that's an ice house! Rebecca Craig / Times Photo
Click on the pic above to see more pix of ice houses. Wow!
High winds have driven ice over seawalls and into homes in one stretch of Lake Huron
beachfront in Bay County. Authorities evacuated about 30 homes along Linwood,
Brissette and Killarney beaches. They're on Saginaw Bay in Kawkawlin Township,
about 100 miles north-northwest of Detroit. WNEM-TV said large ice chunks pushed
against homes, crashing through windows in some cases. The Saginaw News said
evacuees were asked to shut off power before leaving. It said no injuries were reported.
After a nice 4-5 days of warm temperatures and great EOI's..Gary has torpedoed our chances of eating outside this week...
at least at the beginning. Today's Eating OutsideIndex = 4.1! 4.1? It's gonna be 54. While that may be brilliant outside
eating weather if you live in an igloo...4.1? C'mon!
So this is what happens in Florida in winter! AP Photo, Rob O'Neal
The winner of an annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest in Florida says success
involves more than just "the lips and cheek muscles.'' He says "it comes from the heart and soul.''
The Key West resident is claiming top honors after playing his renditions of the classic
Hebrew folk song "Hava Nagilah'' and Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night.'' The bicycle tour
operator says he takes his conch on tours, blasting it through the neighborhoods.
Contestants ranged from less than 3 years old to seniors. They were judged on the quality, novelty, duration and loudness of the sounds they produced. The winning group was an 18-piece "conchestra.'' Band members blew their shells while dancing to a Jimmy Buffett song.
Airport security...yeah right!
Did they change the rules about liquids and getting on airplanes?
Check out my E.J.'s Red Button Blog to read about the implications...
or lack thereof.
----------------------------------------------------------------
What a day!
Today's Eating OutsideIndex = 10! High temp, 70!
------------------------------------------------
Like your tater crispy?
Tater 1 - Dog 0 Pic taken by the Olathe FD.
Tater the cat has eight lives left after a dog set the family home on fire. Fire officials say
the dog chewed through a laptop power cord, sparking the blaze Wednesday afternoon
at a duplex at 1739 Spruce Ave. Investigators say the fire began on the couch and quickly
spread. A woman and her young son escaped, along with the dog. Tater stayed inside
until firefighters found him. The cat suffered some smoke inhalation, but is said to be
recovering just fine.
And here's the story. A Nebraska man who tried to calm down his
hyper cat by stuffing her into a homemade bong faces animal cruelty charges.
Deputies say they saw the man smoking marijuana through a hose attached
to a box into which the cat had been stuffed. One officer says the cat,
6-month-old Shadow, was just dazed.
Sooooooooooooey! Here congress, congress congress!
Somebody's cookin' bacon in Washington again!
Here are some more details on the porky budget bill that Congress is
gonna try to get passed this year (info from bloomberg.com). Oink, onk,
oink.
The projects, listed on more than 750 pages, include $2 million to promote
astronomy in Hawaii, $1.8 million for swine odor and manure management research in Iowa
and $190,000 for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming.
The plan would provide $400,000 to combat bullying at schools in Montana,
$2.2 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in Geneva, New York, and $381,000 for
music programs at the Lincoln Center in New York City.
The vast majority of lawmakers request the projects, including some who recently
left Capitol Hill to serve in the Obama administration. White House Chief of Staff Rahm
Emanuel, a former Democratic congressman from Chicago, secured $900,000 in the
omnibus bill for the city’s Adler Planetarium, $190,000 for its Children’s Memorial
Research Center and $95,000 for the Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago.
Talk about being in the hole!
Here's what it looks like to live in a Cave near St. Louis.
Click on the pic to see the auction.
You've heard of a homeowner being underwater -- but how about underground?
Curt and Deborah Sleeper want to sell their underground house. The home is
built inside a cave in suburban St. Louis. Of course, an underwater home refers
to house that's now worth less than its outstanding mortgage. The Sleepers have
put their three-bedroom cave home up for auction on eBay. Bidding starts at $300,000.
The Sleepers say they have a big balloon payment due and they haven't been able
to arrange new financing. They add they might not sell if they're able to get a
new loan for their cave.
Look who's back!
Tiger Woods takes to the links tomorrow after many months off
for knee surgery. We'll have a preview.
And reaction to the speech.
President Obama addresses a joint session of Congress tonite. You'll
hear the speech live on KMBZ. Tomorrow, we'll recap it and see what Missouri
Senator Kit Bond and Congressman Dennis Moore think about it.
And the Oscar for best and worst dressed goes to....
Um...okay then.
Okay, so what do we know about fashion? Click on Goldie to see
a gallery of some of the best and worst dressed from last night's
Oscars.
Who pierces a kitty?
A Pennsylvania dog groomer has been ordered to stand trial on animal
cruelty charges for selling "gothic kittens" with ear, neck, and tail piercings.
Holly Crawford's home outside Wilkes-Barre was raided Dec. 17 after
the county Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals got a tip. A prosecutor
says Crawford inflicted pain on the cats, which were listed for sale for
hundreds of dollars on the Internet. Crawford's attorney says state law says
nothing about piercing cats or docking their tails.
If you like dividends (and who doesn't)...
...Barron's is out with a list of stocks that might interest you. We talked about
it this morning. The big categories represented, drugs, cigs, food and cell phones.
Check out Barron's 20 Best Dividen Plays for 2009.
Retired? Not here.
He may have said he's hanging it up, but he's still with
us on Wendesdays at Kansas City's Morning News. So how
does Sam Donaldson think the Prez is doing, one month
into the new gig? Find out here.
------------------------------------------------
Politics, politics, politics.
If you search for "Sebelius telephone.."
on google images, this is one of the first pictures to come up!
Why? I have no idea. But the point of the picture was to find her on the
phone so we could run the headline, "Waiting for the Gov to call."
Governor Sebelius didn't make it onto the show this morning to talk about
the budget mess so we're waiting for her to call about tomorrow.
...Obama Cupcakes!
A double portrait of Presidents Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln
faces the prospect of being eaten away -- not by the ravages of time,
but by visitors to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington.
Created by artist Zilly Rosen, the portrait titled "A New Birth of Freedom,''
is made of more than 5,600 yellow cupcakes with different colored icing.
The 9-foot by 15-foot portrait is on display at the museum.
The public is invited to "de-install'' the portrait by eating the cupcakes.
C'mon! It's not what you think!
This picture outta the skies of Wichita has some thinking we
really might not be alone. The amateur photographer got a picture
of SOMETHING in the sky near Rose Hill, Kansas. He says it came
out of the clouds really fast then went back upward like a jet and disappeared.
Boeing in Wichita says it can't identify the aircraft. McConnell Air FOrce base wouldn't comment.
Duh?
Would he look like this after 200 years?
Couldn't resist when we found this picture. Abe Lincoln would be
200 years old today and his legacy lives on, perhaps more than any
other former President of the United States. Here's our talk about his
life and legacy with historian Jon Earle of the Dole Institute.
And it just keeps getting better!
Check out today's other podcasts. Click on the pic!
It's quintuple podcast Wednesday!
Click the ipods to get to the podcasts, and settle in 'cuz you don't
wanna skip any of these:
-We could be in Iraq for another half-decade or more? That's what Thomas Ricks thinks.
-Ann Compton, once again, with great insights into what the White House is thinking
as this financial crisis continues.
-Charles Herman tried to fill in the blanks that the Treasury Sec'y didn't (resulting in a
massive market drop).
-GM and Ford aren't outta the woods in KC, if you go by John Stoll of the WSJ.
-And Sam Donaldson talks cheerleader-in-chief.
Cute as a Stump!
We love aminals at Kansas City's Morning News with E.J. and Ellen.
Little known (and potentually untrue) fact that Ellen actually took
this week off to watch the Westminster Dog Show and no doubt, she
was thrilled with the outcome:
This old dog taught Westminster a new trick. At 10, a Sussex spaniel called
Stump became the oldest best in show winner at America’s top canine
competition, coming out of retirement last week and taking the big prize Tuesday night.
Stump won the sporting group at Westminster in 2004, then went into retirement.
Soon after, he nearly wasted away and spent 19 days in a pet hospital. Once he recovered,
Stump mostly spent his days hanging out with Sommer, living a dog’s life.
That was more than fine with Sommer. He’d handled a great Bichon Frise called J.R.
to the best in show at Westminster in 2001, and wasn’t looking for Stump to try again.
...highlights from a rockin' Tuesday show!
Bill Lacy, Wayne Klotz (the big-dog civil engineer) and Charles Herman.
Don't miss'em.
Tomorrow morning...
In-depth on the cuts at GM and some speculation about Claycomo
Sam Donaldson will join E.J. and Ellen
And a look at the last three years in Iraq...what a difference a surge makes.
And of course... more Love from Christopher Elbow.
...with stimulation. Claire McCaskill
on the stimulus package.
Check out the podcast of our by clicking on the pic.
And that's not all.
We talked to the lady who oversees the spending of those tarp funds,
to ABC's Ann Compton and somewhere in there, we interrupted
Ellen's vacation to wish her Happy Birthday. All of it, is right here.
Honk if you know what's wrong
with this picture! Zombies, on the Interstate? Despite a traffic warning sign on I-255 east of St. Louis,
zombies really aren't on the loose. But hackers are. Pranksters have been messing
with electronic warning signs. The latest incident came during Tuesday's morning
rush. The sign was altered to read: "DAILY LANE CLOSURES DUE TO ZOMBIES.''
Transportation officials warn such pranks can distract drivers and endanger road crews.
Sign hacking is also a misdemeanor.
Listen to this!
Tylenol, the White House and the Chiefs all part of the show this morning.
You can hear what you missed by clicking on the headphones.
...kitty tower!
We've been talking about the kitty tower this morning because of its odd
connection to the kansas city federal reserve. Find out more on E.J.'s
blog!
Job interview? Show no weakness!
What's that one question that can kill you in any interview? Joann
Lublin talks about it with E.J. and Ellen.
Also in podcasting news...
Ann Compton, Sam Donaldson and Melanie Sloan on the scandals at the White House.
Phil was hungover?
Superbowl party leads to 6 more weeks of winter.
Groundhog day, once again. And just like in the movies, it's the same thing
all over. ABC's Dan Gura was in PA and tells E.J. and Ellen that Old Man
Winter isn't done just yet.
TGIF people!
What a week!
And layoffs were a big part of it. We talked about them this morning on the
week in review. Hear it here along with Charles' Herman's update on the
economy.
Super Sunday is almost here. Check out our preview here and if you missed it, you can also listen
to Johnny Avello talk about some of the odd bets you can place on the game.
Podcasts you can bet on!
These podcasts are golden! Crazy stuff to bet on for the Superbowl
and the latest on the economy including a tax credit that might make you
wanna reconsider buying a house! Click the ipod and away we go!
Keystone cops? No! Dumb escapees! Check out these morons in New Zealand!
----------------------------------------------
Money, money, money!
Podcastoriffic stuff about your money!
Peter Coy of Business Week, Bob O'Brien of Barron's and Charles Herman
of ABC News on zombies, Sprint and everything else money. Click the Ipods.
As part of our continuing coverage of the start of Barack Obama's presidency,
Kansas City's Morning News with E.J. and Ellen is set to bring you unparalleld
coverage of all of the festivities in Washington D.C. Our Bill Gallo is leading our
coverage from Washington D.C. Here's what he told us on Monday morning.
On Sunday, Bill was on the Mall in D.C. for the We Are One concert even. Here are
a few pics and Bill's thoughts:
It took almost 2 hours for me to get through security, as I didn't have tickets for the "We are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Once we got in, we were as tight as sardines. But it was worth it to see stars like Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks and Garth Brooks (as seen in this picture). Garth actually got the crowd going more than any other performer (except Obama, of course).
Although the National Park Police don't do official crowd estimates anymore (they were heavily critized after allegedly screwing up the crowd size at the "Million Man March" in 1995), local officials estimate that between 400,000 and 500,000 people attended yesterday's concert at the Lincoln Memorial. This view is looking back toward the Washington Monument, where people gathered after the first section near the stage filled up.
There's been talk that there won't be enough porta-potties for the estimated 2 million people attending the Inauguration on Tuesday. But at the concert on Saturday, there seemed to be enough.
The public transportation system in DC is superb. The "Metro" is clean, accessible, and very very very busy. It's how I've been getting around in the District. Transit officials have extended the hours into the wee hours of the morning in order to help traffic flow more smoothly.
We also talked with ABC's Ann Compton and Aaron Katersky about the preparations for tomorrow's swearing in. You can hear everything right here.
Much appreciated! Yeah, right!
They spoke once directly, and more via the Gov's chief of staff. But all Blago
apparently got outta Rahm was appreciation. So will the connections to the
new Obama administration end here? ABC's Steve Roberts talks about
the scandal in Illinois and it's tentacles.
Open mouth...insert foot....
Chances are you'll meet a friend or a family member over the holidays who
will be without a job because of the economy. What in the world do you say
to them? E.J. and Ellen talk about the options with Ellen....
...And all through the IPod.... Scott Parks talks politics and his love for Celine Dion. Charles Herman with the latest on the auto bailout and the economy.
It's Wednesday. That means: Powerball, burnt ends...and Glenn Beck!
The Christmas Sweater, Glenn's latest stage show goes live across the nation tonite
at cinemas everywhere. Above, a video of one of the rehearsals for the show. And right here is our talk with Glenn about the book and the production.
What will Wall Street bring today?
ABC's Charles Herman talks about yesterday's big Fed rate cut and where
we go from here.
Let it...
Somebody break out the sled. It's go-time! Up to date news, weather and traffic
all morning long because of the snowy weather and throughout the day on KMBZ.
What do the Chiefs and
the economy have in common?
They're both podcastastic. QB Damon Huard talks about the departure of Carl Peterson. Charles Herman has the latest on the economy.
Aloha Kansas City!
Apparently the travel industry is feeling the pinch. From airfare to hotel rooms, prices
are headed south (unlike those of us without Florida timeshares). Genevieve Brown
with Travelocity says go get your deals NOW.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
It really doesn't... but oh if it did!
The economy and your money continue to be the hot topics...from the auto
bailout, to Madoff to credit card debt. We've gotcha covered with the host of
KMBZ's The Bottom Line, Randy Hallier and ABC's business editor Charles
Herman.
It's Friday so let's get to it!!!! E.J. and Ellen's Rundown:
Auto bailout -- gridlocked?
Will we wake up next week with a solution to the auto industry's trouble?
And who will have to give in to make it happen? This week in review is all
about the auto industry, the implications and what needs to happen next.
And while you're at it....
Check out the rest of this morning's podcasts.
E.J. and Ellen go to the dogs, Thursday 4 December 2008
Cesar joins our pack.
Cesar Millan talks about finding that perfect puppy for under the tree. Or in front
of the fireplace. Wait it's in the kitchen now! Oooh and it's doing it's thing! CESAR!!!!!!!!
We know Detroit is burning...
But will Congress show up to douse the flames? Vic Ratner's on the Hill today watching and listening to the Big 3 hearings. ABC Biz Editor Charles Herman's paying attention as well. Can the Big 3
scare Congress into action?
E.J. and Ellen's Rundown of love, Wednesday 3 December 2008
We're Americans...and it's killing us.
Okay, a little dramatic? Maybe, but the United Health Foundation is out with
it's 19th annual America's Health Rankings and we continue to decline.
Dr. Manuel Selva talked about the trends with E.J. and Ellen this morning. Hear
it here.
Hey, it could be worse!
The markets opened lower this morning after a rally on Tuesday. Sometimes it
seems futile to ask why, but we do. And we will continue to until we're through
this mess. And then we may ask some more. Here's our daily update with
Charles Herman.
Blame the 7 swans-a-swimming!
The Christmas Price Index (the actual cost of everything in the 12 Days of
Christmas, purchased each day as in the song) went up by 11 percent this year.
And it's all for the birds! Bill Stone of PNC Wealth Management has the details
with E.J. and Ellen.
GMA gets Funky. In his latest mammy-gate-, volunteer ordinance-, sparring-with-the-city-coucil-induced
national appearance, Mark Funkhouser made it onto GMA this morning with his wife
at his side. Click on the pic and see interview for yourself.
E.J. and Ellen's Rundown, Tuesday, 25 November 2008
They're doing what?????
The "for sale" part of that sign oughta read "move on in!" A group in Miami called
"Take back the land" is moving people thrown out of their homes into empty homes
that have been foreclosed on. It's an interesting and odd story. ABC's Matt Gutman has the details.
Lezak hears voices...of old man winter!
Gary's winter forecast is out and while it doesn't sound like things will be as
bad as they are in this picture...we could still be in for a wild ride! Hear Gary's
Winter Forecast right here!
And of course...
It's not a morning without money and politics. Bill Lacy of the Dole Institute at KU talks
politics while Charles Herman, biz editor at ABC, handles the money! Hear them both here.
Obama is all about going green!
And with the economy the way it is, he wants as much green to be spread around as possible.
The Prez-elect is talking stimulus in the hundreds of billions of dollars and at the same time
showing off his economic team.
The WSJ gets Funky.
Mayor Funkhouser's made his appearance in the Wall Street Journal thanks to the
volunteer scandal at city hall and there's only one place you'll hear from the author.
It was 45 years ago Saturday that John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas. Eric Bushman's series "Debunking the Bullet" takes a look back and a look at new evidence in the case.
