Commentary

September 10, 2009 Like 0 James Burrus

Exactly why, at age 9, I began showing up with my dad (who had an office in the same space above the Katz Drug Store on the Square in Independence, Mo.) to work in my grandfather’s law office is vague.

Uncategorized

An Ode to Emma

September 10, 2009 Like 1 Andra Coberly

Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does—Emma, Jane Austen Sometimes I see the signs—little tendencies that remind me of my grandma.

Closing Scene

Where’s the Gonzo?

August 17, 2009 Like 0 Lacy Boggs

Iraq, Afghanistan, health care, Guantanamo, adultery, history, context. Our economy, our perspective, our government are screwed up today, in large part, because those people who deign to make a living informing you and me—We The People—about what matters in the…

Duly Noted

Remember the Time

August 17, 2009 Like 0 French Davis

By the time you read this, it won’t exactly be timely, but at this point, I can’t really fathom writing about anything else.

Scene

Grandpa Pete’s Vodka Recipe Lives

August 17, 2009 Like 0 James Burrus

The story behind 303Vodka is almost as good as the smooth, 80 proof potato concoction it describes. Almost.

Uncategorized

If I Were Arne Duncan…

August 17, 2009 Like 0 Andra Coberly

I remember the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the standardized test of my youth. It’s not the most emblematic memory of my school days; it’s not my favorite memory or even my least favorite.

Closing Scene

My Personal Plan Bee

July 22, 2009 Like 0 James Burrus

By all indications, the grace period on our Profligate Human Progress charge account is over, we missed the minimum Kyoto Protocol payments and the interest and penalties for failing to meet our environmental obligations is poised to take us to…

Cuisine

Refreshing Flavors

July 22, 2009 Like 0 Lacy Boggs

“This is my old stomping grounds!” my friend shouted to me as I slid into the seat opposite her at Centro Latin Kitchen. “I used to get drunk here all the time when it was the Samba Room. And I…

Scene

Duly Noted: Reach Out and Violate Someone’s Right

July 22, 2009 Like 0 Lacy Boggs

Thanks for nothing, Judge Walker. Last month, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in favor of AT&T in its landmark wiretapping case, upholding the law former President George W. Bush signed in 2008 effectively immunizing from prosecution all telecommunications.

Scene

Burrus at the Bar: High-Octane Beer Gets the Wine Treatment

July 22, 2009 Like 0 Lacy Boggs

Big beer. It’s a creeper trend that has, in the past year or so, gone ballistic as evidenced by the proliferation of high-alcohol, massively hopped special brews often sporting familiar names with “imperial” bolted on the front. Avery’s Maharaja Imperial…