Ken Wheaton's Blog, page 11

Barbecue: Seven Stops in Kansas City

Nicholas and I have just wrapped up our barbecue tour of Kansas City. Between arriving Sunday evening and Wednesday, we hit the following seven places in this order:Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue (Freight House location), Arthur Bryant’s, Joe’sKansas City Bar-B-Que, Danny Edwards BBQ, Q39, L.C.’s Bar-B-Q, B.B.’s Lawnside Blues & BBQ.

The Short Version
Before I get into the details, some of you might just want to know the answer to the following question: If I only have time to hit one place...

Memphis to Kansas

Payne’s Bar-B-Q, Memphis

I’m writing this from Kansas City, Mo.

My son Nicholas and I are celebrating his graduation from high school with a barbecue tour. Three years ago for his birthday, we did the Austin area. I wrote about that in fairly exhaustive detail shortly after the trip. Short version: Blacks, Stiles Switch, Franklin (where he fainted), Louie Mueller, and Salt Lick. (I’ve sense been back to Austin and tried Lambert’s, Freedmen’s and Iron Works.)

Last year, for his birthday, we we...

My First Post – An Unexpected Problem in the Yucatan

One of my oldest friends has started to share his travel stories and he starts out with a series of unfortunate events.

Cajun Traveler

Cancun, Mexico – 3/25/16

I never thought that I would be writing about this on my first ever travel blog post. I considered leaving this part of my journey out, however, I have always told myself if I’m finally going to start a travel blog, it will be honest, raw, and comprehensive. So here goes…

In over four years of extensive travel to over 30 countries, I...

Star Wars Super Bowl Trump

If that headline doesn’t win an award for best SEO-optimization, I don’t know what would? The only thing missing is Kardashian and “You Won’t Believe What Happened Next.”

Anyway, one of the reasons I hadn’t been blogging much is, as stated last time, bandwidth issues. When I took on the new job, I didn’t give up writing the column at work, so, well, it’s sad really. I remember back in the day when James Lileks wrote a daily 6-katrillion word piece for his own blog, did some sort of radio stuf...

10 Alternate Slogans for (Horrible) Bob’s Furniture

Here there be dragons

All I wanted was a recliner.

Now, some of the ex-suburbanites who dwell in New York are already laughing, because they’ve convinced themselves that a recliner is something to be scorned rather than a technological marvel that deserves a place in the annals of history right up there with the air conditioner and television. But you go right ahead and pretend you scoff at the recliner because of your impeccable taste in design rather than some deep-seated daddy issues that...

She Put That $#*% on Everything

To quote the legendary Jim Anchower: “Hola, Amigos.I know it’s been a long time since I wrapped at ya.” But I had a few changes since last I dropped in on this space over five months ago.

I’ve grown a beard and shaved it off. I got a new laser printer. Cara and I moved to Bay Ridge from Park Slope. We miss the Slope and the commute. And we’re still renting. But now instead of a 700-square foot (if that) two bedroom, we’re in a four-bedroom house, which means we can throw stuff all over the f...

Time Once Again to Fight Cancer!

Epitome of style and grace

I’m doing the Team in Training thing again, raising money to kill cancer dead.

In fact, I’m sweating from a run as I type this message. But it was a good day for a run. In the 70s and little humidity — unlike Sunday when I ran in Louisiana and it almost killed me. I don’t know how people train in Louisiana.

This year the team and I are running the Brooklyn Rock n Roll Half. I’m hoping to PR (at the age of 40-something) and I’m also hoping to bust some fundraising re...

Video: Our Robot Overlords Now Know How to Jump

Thanks, Boston Dynamics (and Google). Thanks MIT. Thanks a lot.

Already Sick of the 2016 Election? Have I Got a Proposal for You!

Election ads have already begun. This is horrible news for the country. I love political ads because, while they’re full of lies, they’re among the most honest ads out there in that they show the marketers involved as sniveling, cutthroats who’ll do or say anything to gain or maintain power! But I don’t live in a swing state, so I’m not subjected to political ads from now until next November. NEXT November.

So, in my most recent column for Ad Age, I’m proposing Abigael’s Law, named after the...

On the Unbearable Hysteria of Tech World

To the overwhelming majority of Americans, the words periscope and meerkat refer to periscopes and meerkats. In certain demographics, though, they’re Periscope and Meerkat and they’re going to change the way you experience reality! And because of that, every marketer should be rushing to Periscope and Meerkat immediately. Because there’s nothing people using a new service love more than a bunch of fucking commercials (sorry, native content) cluttering it up.

With a serious face, some people w...