The Current Online

by Brad Shelton

Construction on the infamous Grandview Triangle began in early 2001, with a projected goal of five years, $200 million. The project will include new lanes and exits, road repairs, 26 bridge replacements, and a regional transit hub center. The construction is headed by KC engineering firm HNTB and the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Currently completed is the new southbound I-435 phase, and the new westbound I-470 section is underway. The new roadway will reduce traffic congestion for those heading west during the morning traffic hours. During the final construction phase, the contractor will be required to keep the lanes open during peak travel times.

The 2004 and beyond schedule looks to open a new northbound I-435, eastbound I-470, a relocated Red Bridge Road, a new 71 highway, and the Red Bridge Transit Center. Various repairs and renovations will be included throughout the process.

The Red Bridge Transit Center is set to start sometime in 2005 and will provide a bus-loading center, passenger waiting areas and even a bicycle and trail connection. The Center is projected to cost around $650,00, with $520,00 coming from CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.) The Transit Center will provide apark-and-ride type atmosphere. There, passengers will be able to park their cars and take the bus to distant areas, thus saving gas and help the metro area in keeping the air clean.

The Grandview Triangle project should be complete by the end of 2006. Nearly 200,00 vehicles currently travel through the triangle each day and by the year 2020, there are to be an expected 360,00 per day. The newly improved interchange expects to accommodate drivers and help improve Kansas City’s tangled triangle.Construction on the infamous Grandview Triangle began in early 2001, with a projected goal of five years, $200 million. The project will include new lanes and exits, road repairs, 26 bridge replacements, and a regional transit hub center. The construction is headed by KC engineering firm HNTB and the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Currently completed is the new southbound I-435 phase, and the new westbound I-470 section is underway. The new roadway will reduce traffic congestion for those heading west during the morning traffic hours. During the final construction phase, the contractor will be required to keep the lanes open during peak travel times.

The 2004 and beyond schedule looks to open a new northbound I-435, eastbound I-470, a relocated Red Bridge Road, a new 71 highway, and the Red Bridge Transit Center. Various repairs and renovations will be included throughout the process.

The Red Bridge Transit Center is set to start sometime in 2005 and will provide a bus-loading center, passenger waiting areas and even a bicycle and trail connection. The Center is projected to cost around $650,00, with $520,00 coming from CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.) The Transit Center will provide apark-and-ride type atmosphere. There, passengers will be able to park their cars and take the bus to distant areas, thus saving gas and help the metro area in keeping the air clean.

The Grandview Triangle project should be complete by the end of 2006. Nearly 200,00 vehicles currently travel through the triangle each day and by the year 2020, there are to be an expected 360,00 per day. The newly improved interchange expects to accommodate drivers and help improve Kansas City’s tangled triangle.

by BRAD SHELTON

Quentin Tarantino’s fourth film, Kill Bill, is one of the most exciting, creative and energetic movie ever made. Like the way Star Wars created a trend and following for space movies, Tarantino has developed the same for Kung Fu films.

Kill Bill starts off with our heroine, Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) she is set on a path of revenge. She takes it to the suburban house of Vernita Green (Vivica Fox). A former agent for Bill(David Carradine), and was part of the failed attempt to knock off the Black Mamba. The fight scene between the two is physical, yet very funny. The situation gets more unusual when Vernita’s daughter walks in on the fight.

Kill Bill follows in a similar out-of-sequence structure that Pulp Fiction pioneered. The revenge plot of Vernita Green is shown on a checklist after the death of O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), who is later in a battle scene with Thurman.

After the battle with Vernita, Tarantino develops how the Black Mamba’s reason for revenge was created. In this sequence we are introduced to a few of the villains that Thurman has fought and will fight, thus leading us to the Black Mamba on a search for O-Ren Ishii.

The story goes international as the Black Mamba travels to Tokyo to battle it out with Ishii, a former agent turned crime lord. We are introduced to how Ishii became the villain that she is with a segment showed in Japanamation. This scene does a fantastic job of not only devolping the story, but breaking traditional rules and throwing animation into a live film. With the Black Mamba in search, we get prepared for one of the best fight sequences ever filmed.

In the final fight scene, Tarantino does perfectly what the Wachowski brothers tried so hard to do in The Matrix Reloaded: one hero, in this case, heroine and dozens upon dozens of villains, engaged in one gigantic fight scene. And to make this scene even more special, Tarantino throws in one of the most intriguing characters ever created, Go Go Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama), O-Ren Ishii’s teenage bodyguard, gets introduced as an innocent-looking school girl with a temper for destruction. She is without a doubt Thurman’s biggest competition in the entire film. Her weapon skill with the mace and chain, only makes us wonder how she became who she is and why.

If there has ever been a character who needs a spin off, it’s her. And with her introduction to the Black Mamba, an amazing fight scene only gets better.

Tarantino does so many right things in this film that other directors should try using. He made an action movie with an almost entirely female cast, which Charlie’s Angels tried and failed miserably. The reason for Tarantino’s achievement was his ability to create the women’s fighting actions to be very similar to that of a man’s. Both Thurman’s character and Lui’s character show that a women’s strength can be just as brutal as a man’s. Tarantino also creates a mystery within each character, which makes us curious enough to not only see Kill Bill Volume 2 but hope for more.

by BRAD SHELTON

They could possibly be the most dynamic group of all time. Hip-Hop? Yes, but I was referring to music in general. Their notoriety is similiar to that of Led Zeppelin, The Supremes, and The Beatles. Outkast just might be the most critically acclaimed group of all time, and for a good reason.

With four classic CD’s behind them, Outkast has risen to another level, far exceeding expectations of fans and critics alike. This time, it is the release of a double disc solo effort by each artist. The music has evolved and, at the same time, remained trademark Outkast sound.

The Love Below
The Love Below is everything that we imagined Andre could do and more. His blend of 70′s funk and Prince-ish R&B creates a new type of music, for which a genre cannot yet be established. Hip-Hop was the newest form of music, but Andre has paved a way for a much more unique style, rich in culture and creativity.

The album’s first two songs consist of a lounge-type concept, Andre sings the entire songs rather than rapping. In actuality, Andre’s raps are few and far between, but that only shows his artistic flow even more. On “Spread,” we get the best of both worlds with Andre. The majority of the song is sung with a medium-paced tempo, then Dre comes in rapdecade at the Independence campus before she took the position in the Longview PACE office.

Palmer plans to stay at Longview until she retires, when she said she’ll live with her husband of 29 years and remaining stress-free by doing what she enjoys most, gardening and sewing.

Palmer reminds students, “Enroll early,” Make plans and be prepared when you enroll.ping on the first verse at a faster pace, allowing the song to be much more dynamic. In “Prototype,” Andre brings back the times of Prince’s Purple Rain days, with a dash of Outkast funkness. “Hey Ya,” the commercial hit, is probably the best track on the entire disc, as it shows the musician in Andre who brings so many different types of music genres into one song.

Andre accomplishes what many music artists today have been struggling to do for a long time: create a song that, regardless of your musical preferences, you can’t help but love the song. The Love Below includes 20 tracks, which is a pretty high amount for a hip-hop record, and in this case, you have another whole disc of fine tunes waiting.

Speakerboxx
Andre is definitely the adventurous member of Outkast and expecting his creativity to go far beyond Big Boi would be a mistake. Speakerboxx is everything from the old Outkast to the new. Its style is like Hip-Hop meeting a rave party, where conscience rap blends with beats that make your head nod and you can feel the urgency that Big Boi sends your way.

The first track, “Ghetto Music,” personifies this style, as an organ laced beat is mixed with a faster bass line and the chorus is brought to a halt with a Patty Labelle sample. It’s an unusual song that represents everything that Outkast is about. “The Place To Be,” featuring Killer Mike and Jay-Z, reunites the three and delivers one of the better songs on SpeakerBoxx. Killer Mike brings a needed aggressiveness to the song, while, unfortunately, we only get Jay-Z on the chorus. “The Way You Move,” is another song fans expect out of Outkast and Big Boi uses his time wisely on the song by quickly explaining his relationship with Andre: Ready for action/nip it in the bud/ we never relaxin/ Outkast is everlastin/not clashin not at all/ but my ni**a went to do a little actin/ now that’s for anyone askin. Summing it up well enough for us to know that a solo project from the both does not mean an end to the group.

The Love Below/Speakerboxx is the kind of album that rarely gets produced. While their other albums have been critically acclaimed and defined as classics, this one is in a class all by itself. It is as good as their past efforts and in a way, better. The Love Below/Speakerboxx will be a blueprint for other artists to expand their talents and take risks. Outkast did and their final outcome was a pure masterpiece.

by BRAD SHELTON

They’re like two brothers who fight for their mother’s love. One of the two has much more success. The other one sits lonely on channel 25, waiting for the right producer to come along and re-invent what has become an embarrasement to television.

BET, or Black Entertainment Television, has been around for 21 years. They have been the primary source for black entertainment (UPN is a strong second) and, as the years progress, they continue to play second chair to their rival MTV.

Both Viacom music networks deal mainly with music but annually incorporate new shows and ideas to boost ratings and to distance themselves from being labeled as just music video channels. MTV is usually successful at these attempts, with hit shows like Real World, Road Rules and one of cables highest rated shows ever, The Osbournes. MTV has also won multiple Emmys for TRL, which still remains the highest rated video countdown on television.

BET’s daily line-ups consist of the same material since I can remember. BET spends about 15 hours a day showing videos, five hours of infomercials, one hour of news and the rest of the day devoted to time fillers. They have never had a successful show that competed well with MTV. 106th & Park is their prize possession but the constant support of B2K and Bow Wow leaves people pessimistic about tuning in. The only shows that come close to being hits are the ones that are bitten from MTV. MTV’s Cribs, became BET’s How I’m Livin. MTV’s Making the Video became BET’s Access Granted. MTV’s Diary became BET’s Turnstyle. So BET has never really had much originality.

BET doesn’t focus enough on black issues either, and while they, like MTV, are not a news station, they could follow in the footsteps of MTV and do more special reports on issues that need to be covered. MTV has an hourly news update and offers 30 minute shows dedicated to problems that might be an issue to teens. BET has shown no interest in covering anything remotely close.

MTV also puts out a few movies produced by the in-house company that draw viewers in on a different approach. BET plays Juice three Fridays in one month.

It’s not that BET probably wants to be second on the list it’s that they seem afraid to spend any money. They don’t need expensive actors in their shows; they need expensive producers who can come up with great, ground-breaking ideas. Until that day comes, MTV will continue to thrive on fresh ideas and entertaining shows and BET will continue to be successful at being unsuccessful.

by BRAD SHELTON

Like fine wine, Nicholas Cage improves every year. Last year he starred in Adaptation, the year’s best film. This year he returns with a more difficult role and nails it with perfection.

Matchstick Men is a wise drama that never loses sight of what it sets out to do, which is captivate its audience by fully developing its characters and giving what could have been an ordinary movie a complex story.

As Matchstick Men begins, we learn from the first few minutes that Roy(Cage), is not your average character. Every time he opens a door, he must open it and close it three times before proceeding to where he is going. We also find out that he is a con man, who with partner Frank (played brilliantly by Sam Rockwell), pull elaborate schemes on innocent unknowing people.

The cons could all work with ease, but tension arises due to Roy’s obsessive-compulsive disorder. His problems “on the job” convince Frank that Roy needs to see a shrink.

This is where the story helps us to know the characters better, and find out what their true nature is. Roy’s shrink convinces Roy to get in touch with his daughter Angela (Alison Lohman), who he has never met. She is 14 and excited to get to know the man her mother once told her was in prison and then dead.

At first Roy is indecisive about her, but he soon learns that she is what his outrageous life has been needing. We see Roy come into his own with the new relationship between him and his daughter. At one point in the film he teaches her to do a con, tells her it was wrong afterwards and then reveals to his shrink that he actually enjoyed teaching it to her.

The relationship between Roy and his daughter, Roy and Frank and Roy and his job all blossom throughout the film. Roy goes for one last scam, so that he can focus on his relationship with his daughter. In the next series