Dear Joe,

Loved the piece about Candy Cane Lane, but why no pictures? A trip through in the station wagon was a regular tradition in my family like everyone else’s. Our favorite was always the home on the West Side that had Santa’s posterior sticking out of an upstairs window.

Mary Kramer, Kansas City

Dear Mary,

Thanks for the note. We did actually have pictures lined up, unfortunately the ice storm kept our sources from being able to send them until after our deadline, and we had to go to press without them. We’ll try to keep them on hand for next year. (Full story)

by Wayne Jensen, Independent Writer

First allow me to stipulate for the crowd that I believe that 100% is 100%, not 110%, 120% just the plain ole 100%. If we can all accept that we can move forward.

When I hear people take positions that are counter-intuitive to me it chafes a bit. When I hear people take moral stands that are in conflictive it rubs me raw. The following is going to examine what I think are some of the major disconnects argued under the veil of morality that in fact are preposterous positions. (Full story)

by Sam Hendrix, Independent Writer

The holiday season has, in the past, always been a time when box office numbers hit sky high with the string of “Oscar worthy” movies that hit mainstream theaters but this year has seen lower numbers than 2006.

Bringing in $8.7 billion since January 1^{st, this figure is down 0.9% from the year-to-date totals in 2006 of $9.2 billion (www.boxofficemojo.com). Not since the 6.1% decrease from 2004-2005 has the movie industry lost money from the year before. This has many movie goers questioning what exactly has caused this decrease of box office intake. Some blame the high price of gas; others say tickets cost too much; many blame the lack of interest in Hollywood movies. All are valid points when considering the possibilities of the financial downfall of the movie industry this year. With gas so high as well as ticket prices, this limits the frequency of attending movies by the regular audience. A result of the peak of gas prices is the increase of most essential items such as food and other living necessities. This has scraped the pockets of audiences across the nation directly contributing to the less money available for entertainment purposes. (Full story)}

by Bob Shultz, Independent Writer

A long time ago, in a time not so far away… there existed a Holiday TV special that the makers were sure would be as popular as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Perhaps, it would even be bigger then Charlie Brown and his anemic Christmas tree. It had adventure; it had music, wild colors, and it had a cast that was loved the world over.

It was to be a sure fire hit; a slam-dunk for years to come. An epic of “appointment Television” that fans and advertisers alike would swoon to year after year. (Full story)

by Joseph Belcher, Independent Writer

It’s 6:45 a.m. Saturday morning and Foxy pulls up in front of the barber shop in his 1996 Ford Ranger. There are three cars already parked in front waiting for him and most likely, one of them has been there at least a half an hour, hoping to be first in line.

Larry Means, better known as Foxy, has been a human icon on the Avenue since about 1972. The red, white and blue striped barber pole, outside of “Foxy’s hair Den” at 2018 St. Joseph Avenue, turns 24 hours a day. But how much longer will it keep turning? (Full story)

by Eavin Moore

The call came in a couple of month’s ago to The Regular Joe offices. The note in my box just said “Hippy Museum,” with a local phone number and a question mark. I returned the call and was met with a voice mail greeting consisting of the first couple minutes of The Strawberry Alarmclock’s “Incense and Peppermints” followed by a confusing series of instructions. I left a message and hoped for the best. I didn’t hear back and had pretty much written it off, when this guy showed up at my office. (Full story)