Odd jobs
Unusual labors of love
Holiday honoring working people finds a few with unique passions
By Kim Callahan / , Dave Ranney / , Scott Rothschild / Monday, Sept. 5, 2005
Richard Renner would prefer not to eat fire, but “I’ll do it if I have to,” he says. Read story.
Not your mama's Tupperware Party
'Passion Parties' ... A social alternative for sex toy shopping
By Richard Gintowt / Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005
Jenn Chapman's apartment is a kinky lovers' paradise. Double dongs, butt plugs, anal beads, vibrators, big blue dildos - all neatly arranged and awaiting call-up to the bedroom big leagues. "The day that stuff comes in I have to lay everything out on the floor and count inventory," said Chapman, a 30-year-old Lawrence part-time entrepreneur whose day job is marketing for a business-planning firm. "My boyfriend gets a little irritated because they're spread out across the living room floor, and I'm trying to keep the dogs away." Read story.
Thrift-store cowboy
Sweet western shirt costs only dime, changes a life forever
By Tim vonHolten / Monday, Jan. 3, 2005
For those who had a prosperous year, Christmas morning held the promise of a nice goose and a plump red visitor with an engorged sack filling your flue. Who doesn't dream of being smothered in a flood of oversized packages swollen with the love of their fellow man? Who indeed? Read story.
A firm grip and a smooth snatch
For Master Esthetician Elizabeth Krull, technique can make the difference between pain and worse pain
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004
Once upon a time, Big Wheels had hand brakes, Corvairs were the pinnacle of speed and handling, and a man’s chest fur was a hirsute treasure to be cultivated and cherished by himself and all others. Read story.
The hole truth
Archaeologist/Soldier of Fortune Jessica Craig cracks the whip on danger
By Tim vonHolten / Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2004
After years of coursework, research, and digging in severe heat with pick, trowel and soft-bristle brush; after earning an undergraduate degree and a Master's degree, and beginning a Ph.D (whatever that is) that will include defending three field statements and another thesis; after being separated from her fiancée for months at a time and learning the difference between a shard of glass and a sherd of pottery (the difference is one letter), Jessica Craig still steps willingly into a world of calamity. A world of peril. A world of villainous guides, Nazis, and traitorous monkeys. Jessica Craig is an archaeologist. For real. Read story.
Single lens reflux
Watch the birdie … and show Nick Erker your ass
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004
If you're one of those troublemakers who thinks that sorority and fraternity life involves nothing more than getting intoxicated enough to be counted as legally dead and abusing people who work for a living, stop reading now. If you think the Greek system is ridden with emotionally stunted children looking for other emotionally stunted children with whom to have emotionally stunted sex, then this story is not for you. There's nothing here that will change your mind. Read story.
Ladder Day Saints
Lawrence firefighter saves lives, doesn't make love to Jennifer Jason Leigh
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2004
In real life, our childhood fantasies are frequently pushed aside in order to try making a living writing snotty little "stories" about other peoples' jobs instead of pursuing dreams of a cowboy life. Um, for example. But in real life, horses do exist, and some stalwart men and women ride the range rounding up doggies or something. And real-life robbers from lower-income neighborhoods are busted by real-life cops. There are even real astronauts, believe it or not. And some people actually ignore the sphincter-tightening reality that fire is something you run away from. Fast. Read story.
The most important meal of the day
Sean Tucker fed hundreds of people this week. What did you do?
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, May 18, 2004
If you've previously limited your philanthropy to bludgeoning mobile phone users or breaking the windows of pharmaceutical representatives' Hummers, you may need to reconsider your level of involvement. Although these are certainly valuable societal offerings, there are other ways - surprisingly, even legal ways - to contribute to the betterment of humanity. Read story.
Heaping helping with a side of ranch
J.D. Kerr's bad choices lead out to the farm
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, May 11, 2004
J.D. Kerr has made some bad choices in his lifetime. Not bad choices like choosing the wrong wallpaper or going to see a Martin Lawrence movie; bad choices leading to drug and alcohol abuse, abandonment, and jail time. Read story.
She believes the children are our future
Pre-school teacher Stephanie Duncan's iron-fisted reign of terror
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Stephanie Duncan doesn't wake up in the morning with the intention of undermining the American way of life, but as lead teacher of Lawrence Community Nursery School, she wields considerable power. And as the adage goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Read story.
The art of noise
Record label owner Brad Logan likes it loud, uncommercial
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
The music business is a sham. We all know that. Okay, the people that listen to Kenny Chesney and Aerosmith don't know it, but the rest of us do. With the exception of the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and catholicism, it may be the most corrupt business in the world. Brad Logan wants to save you from further atrocity. Read story.
They call me … Mister Adam
Adam Mitchell is nicer than you
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004
As a lad, Adam Mitchell played by himself or read books while his mother worked the night shift. Nothing Dickensian; it was just the simple reality of being a child of a working parent. While Mitchell could have easily become a self-involved, thrift store mannequin like the rest of his generation, he instead developed conscience and responsibility -- he works with kids. Sweet kids, too. They call him... Mr. Adam. Read story.
Tale from the Back Room
20-year-old makes most of sucky job, avoids sticky situations
By Tim vonHolten / Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004
So what happens when a young woman becomes a cog in this male-dominated multi-billion dollar machine that continues to grind and grind and grind, again and again, faster and harder, year after year? Read story.
The Dactyls :: After three years of lineup changes and hiatuses, this Lawrence fave celebrates the release of their debut with a free show and a free tasting of Juice Stop's new Local Band Smoothies ... More info
