Shane Life

I found out something really cool as I started my new job at AMC on Friday:

I can ride the bus. Conveniently.

This is a huge win for me. As someone who drives almost 30 miles each way from South Olathe to downtown Kansas City for work, I get annoyed by my commute. I have to pay attention. That’s at least an hour of my life that I waste each week that could be spent reading, writing, Twittering or any number of things.

One of my benefits is the choice of a parking pass at the 10th and Main parking garage or a bus pass. I’m not sure what my schedule’s going to look like for the first few weeks, but I’m likely going to attempt to start riding the bus, which should be pretty cool.

I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

I’ve had this thing to share with you that I haven’t been able to share and it’s been killing me.

Last year around this time, I was unemployed. In all honesty, I was very fortunate to only be out of work for about three months before joining Cerner in March of 2009. I didn’t get a big severance package when the company I worked for laid me off, so that unemployment came in handy for the few meager months. Those few months were actually pretty fun. I got to hang out with Alli and Dreyfuss a lot. Saw a lot of movies.

During that time, I got more and more active in the Social Media Club of Kansas City. It was through the SMCKC, Twitter and this blog that I got into touch with Justin Gardner, the social media guru at AMC. Justin got me into a preview of the then-new Fork & Screen concept at the Olathe AMC and last February (in fact, almost a year ago exactly), I got to attend AMC’s Best Picture Showcase.

Now if you’ve followed this blog or you follow me on Twitter or Tumblr or Facebook or if you know me in real life, you know that I’ve got a crazy passion for movies. I love the experience of going to the theatre. I love blockbusters, independent films, dramas, comedies, romances…pretty much everything but horror flicks.

For the past ten years, I’ve worked for a software company, a (now-defunct) financial services company, and a healthcare company. The next ten years (and hopefully many more after that) will be spent working for an entertainment company.

Yep. I’m leaving Cerner to go to work at AMC as their Community Manager.

That’s right. Me. AMC. Movies. Internet. AWESOMENESS.

It’s not every day that your dream job falls in your lap.

Working at Cerner for the past year has been a great experience. I’ve worked with an amazing team on some important projects. I have made some terrific friends along the way. The Marketing organization is full of talented individuals who have elevated me and made going to work enjoyable. I’m proud of what I accomplished over the past 11 months. I leave feeling good about what I’ve contributed and knowing that the projects I have worked on are in good hands.

But it’s show time.

As much as I don’t like to write people off before they’ve been given an adequate shot, I’m starting to think that signing Matt Cassel to a long-term, expensive contract was one of the worst decisions that the Chiefs have made in recent years (dating back to the King Carl days). One thing is sure, Cassel is certainly not who he was advertised to be…a savvy, accurate, good decision-making quarterback.

The Chiefs front office (particularly GM Scott Pioli, who made this ludicrous signing) want to assure the fans that it is the offensive line that is the problem, not their 6-year, $63 million man.

I’m not buying it.

If Cassel has proven anything to me this year, it’s that he makes really bad decisions at inopportune times and he consistently under- and over-throws his receivers. Now, granted, it’s not like he’s throwing to Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco out there, but some of his throws have been so abysmally inaccurate that I’m really starting to doubt his capability at all.

The front office wants to tout his mobility. And I’ll concede that yes, he can run. It doesn’t mean he has to. There are two things that bother me about his so-called “mobility”:

1. He exercises the run option too quickly. I’ve seen him leave the pocket far too early on numerous times this season, leading to him getting lit up by a linebacker or losing yards as he’s pulled down by a defensive end who now has to chase him a little less.
2. The key to “mobile” NFL quarterbacks is that they have the capability to throw on the run. Cassel can’t. He can’t hit the broad side of a barn on the run. Now, neither  can his predecessor at New England, Tom Brady. But Brady is deadly accurate in the pocket. Cassel is not. Brady has good protection. Cassel does not. But if you’re going to call yourself a mobile quarterback in the NFL, you’d better be able to hit a receiver or a tight end or fullback on the run. And I’ve seen nothing this season that proves Cassel can do that.

Much of the blame for this season’s failures should fall squarely on the shoulders of the head coach, Todd Haley, who looks completely inept when it comes to managing a team during a game. I think that Haley was in the right place at the right time in Arizona.  The Chiefs had to get rid of Herm Edwards last year, because let’s face it, a cinnamon roll could coach better than Edwards. But I doubt that Haley was their #1 choice when it came to choosing someone to lead the Chiefs back to the playoffs (although I think fans would just accept a .500 season at this point).

I really enjoy Haley’s passion and tenacity. But those two things don’t win games if all they are doing is covering up the mistakes of your players that you can’t seem to coach. I think both Haley and Cassel are going to get another year to prove themselves. Rebuilding this once proud franchise is not going to happen overnight. But I think both our head coach and our quarterback need to be put on notice. I will be watching you.

That is, of course, unless the game is blacked out again.

The changing of the leaves.
Baseball isn’t on TV anymore.
Football still is.
College Basketball is almost upon us in full force.

But 75 degrees in November isn’t fall.

I’m ready for jeans and sweaters and scarves.
I’m ready to snuggle up under the covers.
I’m ready for real fall.

Sure, it looks like fall out there. But this just isn’t right.

Bring on the cold.

For some great pictures of what fall looks like, check out my friend Ramsey’s Fall in Kansas City – 2009 set on Flickr.

I was extremely lucky to win tickets from Lost In Reviews to the opening night of the Spring Awakening tour in Kansas City this evening. (Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.)

Alli and I were really excited to have a night out (on a Tuesday!) to see the 2007 Tony Award-winning musical with music by one of my favorite musical artists, Duncan Sheik.

The musical is based on a controversial German play by Frank Wedekind and focuses on the themes of sexuality and violence. The original play was banned in Germany because of its racy themes, but an amazing thing about the play is that many of the themes still ring true over 100 years later.

The show is staged very uniquely, with a simple, straight-forward set containing seating for audience member on the stage and several movable chairs that can be configured to portray a schoolhouse, a study, an oak tree (trust me on that one). There is also one minor moving part to the stage, but it’s almost unnoticeable. The lighting design for the show won a well-deserved Tony and is phenomenal. It was yet another part of the show that was unique…unlike anything I’ve seen.

The band is at the back of the stage — a piano, acoustic and electric guitars, upright bass, drums, maybe 1 or 2 other instruments. It’s an interesting choice because you notice them, but you don’t at the same time because many of the songs are performed directly to the audience, giving them more of a rock concert feel than the musicals that you’re used to.

And while we’re on the topic of the music, I have to talk about Duncan Sheik’s brilliant score and Steven Sater’s great lyrics. Somehow, they manage to take 1890’s German kids, have them sing indie rock songs with titles like “The Bitch of Living” and it all works. The performances by the actors at our show were phenomenal. I was particularly impressed by Taylor Trensch, who plays Moritz (arguably the third lead in the show). He was raw and his singing was on point. He really was the stand-out.

I really enjoyed this show as did Alli. I was amazed that something with its subject matter in a play over 100 years old could still be so relevant and meaningful. The singing was powerful, the music was eclectic and modern, yet fit the pervading themes of the show.

Glee fans (like me) will recognize Lea Michelle (who plays the diva Rachel) from the commercials since she was the original Wendla, the female lead in Spring Awakening. I think this kind of goes without saying (what with her being on a regular TV show and all), but don’t expect to see her.

For those theater-goers who might be interested in seeing the show, I highly recommend it, but that recommendation comes with a caveat: if you are easily offended, stay away. The musical embraces the same theme that Wedekind focused on in the play: sex. There are references and portrayals of masturbation, allusions to teenage sex and abuse, as well as homosexuality and abortion. As I was reading up on the background of the musical, I was absolutely floored that Wedekind’s original themes were still so relevant (and controversial) today.

There is actually a Parents’ Guide on the Spring Awakening website that may give you some idea as to whether you can handle it.

Understand, I definitely don’t want to discourage anyone from going to see it. I hope that people take the opportunity to go see this show while it is in town. Kansas City gets a small share of good touring Broadway musicals and this is one that you should not miss. That is, if you can handle it.

This weekend is one of my favorite Kansas City events — The Plaza Art Fair.

Last year, I didn’t think that the show was that great and if Jake’s report (via text) is any indication, it may not be much better this year (we’re going down sometime today or tomorrow just to be sure), but there’s one artist that we discovered last year and that I know is there this year that you should see:

Bekah Ash

Alli and I discovered Bekah on our annual stroll through the fair last year. Alli was so struck by her work that we almost bought one of her smaller pieces on the spot. But we didn’t.

I didn’t forget about her work. Alli wouldn’t let me.

For her as an artist to take such note of Bekah’s work I felt was a great compliment. I paid attention and reached out to Bekah almost immediately to see if she would do a custom piece for Alli for Christmas.

The picture on this post is the fruit of her labor. Working with her was terrific. Totally friendly and accommodating to what I was looking for, even when I wasn’t sure what that was.

If you’ve paid attention to any of the billboards for the Plaza Art Fair, you might recognize the style. Bekah is the featured artist for the fair this year and its well-deserved. I feel very lucky to have a piece of hers hanging in our house. Go and check her out.

I caught this video via @Urbanverse on Twitter (when Twitter wasn’t down due to a DDoS). It’s a imagineKC video that ran on KCPT as a part of a special on Kansas City redevelopment.

It makes so much sense for this city to have mass transit. We’re so spread out here in KC, yet the places where we work are so clustered. As we move toward a greener, healthier society, it seems like the next step to connect everyone through modes of transportation that are automated and clean.

Now if the Kansas City government could just get someone in the mayor’s office with half a brain…