It's the Talk of the Town

It took years of trial and error before I finally came to understand that the list of acceptable topics of conversation among neighbors in my community is very short. I do just fine if I limit chatter to the following matters:

• Restaurants- only those that have opened in the past three months qualify.
• Sports- KU, KSU, MU, Chiefs and Royals only.
• The nimby issue of the moment- right now, it's this.
• The weather- seriously, what is going on?

Suburban Sunset

Sanctified strip mall, January 25, 2012.

Taupe the Dope

April may be the cruelest month, but January in these parts is the bleakest time of year. Even when the sun manages to break through the barrier of steely gray clouds it only illuminates cheerless earth tones that offer little inspiration. I'd like to think that my drab Kansas homeland builds character. I wonder instead if it only hardens my heart and constrains my imagination.

Oh Buck!

The presence of a small herd of deer thrilled me during a recent hike on a solitary trail. I was amused by the skittish creatures' failed attempts to allude me until I encountered copious amounts of blood splattered across the path. A panicked deer must have cut itself. Why didn't it realize that I didn't have a gun or bow?

Paris of the Plains

That sh*t cray.

You're Welcome

Recent reports that Kanzi, the remarkable ape in Iowa, creates fires in order to prepare tastier food, has left some people rattled. I'm not worried about my simian friends. It's the fiends in the trees that frighten me. I recently spotted a squirrel attempting to tote a cup up a tree. The daemon dropped the object when I produced a camera. I doubtless foiled a nefarious plot against humanity.

Taco Trouble

The line extended into the parking lot during the lunch hour at Taco Via today. Was the restaurant's new location at the northwest corner of 95th and Antioch offering free food? Nope- it was serving up an uninspired version of Tex-Mex that's only marginally superior to Taco Bell. People seem to love it. It's a mystery to me.

Invitation

I watched two attractive women saunter into a rock club last night. Disappointed that a jazz band was on stage, they almost immediately turned heel and scurried out the door. Your haggard correspondent was in his element. I'm elated that the mercurial saxophonist Logan Richardson is back in town. Even though I've been to jazz events on four consecutive nights, I intend to catch Richardson again this evening (Monday, December 12) at the Blue Room. There's no cover and the music starts between 7-8 p.m. Feel free to buy me a drink as we listen to some next-level stuff together.

It Begins at Home

Citing Henry Bloch, the Kempers and the Kauffmans, my frenemy at Tony's Kansas City recently noted that "Kansas City loves the 1%." It's an insightful an entirely accurate observation. While I still have to stifle an adolescent urge to key luxury cars with price tags of over $50,000, I venerate the incredibly wealthy people who have invested portions of their time and fortunes into improving the quality of life within our community.

Pupusa

During my first visit to a new Salvadoran restaurant in downtown Overland Park I considered asking for a job application. I loved the food and staff of El Salvadoreno so much that I longed to spend all my time in the homey establishment. Entirely unfamiliar to me, the cuisine possesses inexplicable healing properties.