I went to Kansas City on a Friday. By Saturday I learned a thing or two.
I was all hyped up over this image of Ryan Reynolds as The Green Lantern and thought it was a sneak peek for the upcoming movie version, but then my extra-nerdy friends informed me that it was a very clever photomanipulation done by super-geeky fans. Those killjoys ruined my holiday season!
I am going to Kansas City next week for a work trip and will arrive Saturday and want to check out what the city has to offer. So earlier this week I sent out a few messages through a few online gay services asking what's hoppin' in the KC on a Saturday night, and have received no response to my queries. Perhaps there simply is nothing gay going on in KC on a Saturday night. But I hear the barbecue there is good so I'll go eat some ribs by myself. If any of you readers who have lived there have any suggestions on where and/or where not to go out there let me know.
I like it when they're playin' my song and the butterflies fly away, then I'm noddin' my head like yeah, and movin' my hips like yeah.
But in space that will never happen because the butterflies can't fly away. Therefore there would be no noddin' of my head nor any movin' of my hips.
On that note, I just finished Arthur C. Clarke's 2001, 2010, 2061 and 3001 quadrilogy. The late futurist was a good writer and it's interesting to see how some of his fictional ideas actually happened and what didn't. For example a data search on 2061's equivalent of the Internet took the character an hour to find what he needed. Today in real time it would probably take less than 10 minutes. By 3001 they had to take on the Obelisk, and brought it low with the equivalent of a Kindle and a trojan virus.
Clarke also identified himself as an atheist and many of his fictional characters seemed to serve as a writing device for his position on spirituality:
"One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion."
He frequently described religion as a form of insanity that helps people deal with the unknown and things they fear. But he has hope for a future without insanity:
"Perhaps it is better to be un-sane and happy, than sane and un-happy. But it is best of all to be sane and happy.
Whether our descendants can achieve that goal will be the greatest challenge of the future. Indeed, it may well decide whether we have any future."
With priests in Uganda pushing for death sentences for gays, and Catholic priests elsewhere stating that gays lack salvageable souls, I see Clarke's position clearly.
OMG NATIONWIDE EGGO WAFFLE SHORTAGE!!! Goodbye, Butterstick.
Jimbo, gay nightlife in KC is a shadow of its former self. I lived there for 10 years and during most of that had the pleasure to spend Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons at the Dixie Bell Saloon. It was the perfect combination of a woofy, friendly crowd and staff, a bit sleazy, no attitude, and cheap drinks. I even worked there in the leather shop for 7 years...lotsa fun stories to tell. Alas the old DB and its later incarnation the DB Warehouse are both no more. I would say give Missie B's a try, it has alot of the old staff from the DB and so has some of the same crowd, a good mix of all kinds of guys really. There's also a sports bar Outabounds. The few times I have visited, it had a decent crowd with some jock-ish boys and men in it. There's a leather and bear bar called Daddy's. The few times I was in there (it opened after I moved away) there wasn't much of a crowd, but I haven't been back to visit in about 4 years, so who knows. Sidekicks Saloon used to be a fun place, some nice looking cowboy and wanna-be types and a mix of others, but I have no idea what it's like now.
You can get ribs in KC, but they're better in St. Louis. (FWIW.) Not sure where to go on a Saturday night, though; the last time I was there on a Saturday I was 17 and deep in the burbs.
Childhood's End is another good read by Clarke. Any advice on the 2001 series? e.g. skip the third book or definitely read the fourth book?
Thanks for the suggestions so far!
I don't go to the bars in KC since the Cab and DB closed but I recommend eating at Sharps, there is always lots of guy candy (customers and employees)... the power and light district is always fun as well.
"Saint" Paul, of course, never said the words "transsexual" or "homosexual" in any language. Those concepts simpy didn't exist back then, and that lantern-jawed cardinal is a lying piece of shit.
In 1 Corinthians 7:8, however, Paul expressly discourages people from marrying. He says those who are unmarried or widowed should stay like him: single. I won't hold my breath waiting for the RC or any other church to start hammering away at that particular verse and to stop harping on the select few verses they choose to interpret as impugning GLBT people.
I was a very religious child because I bought into what was sold to me every Sunday under penalty of eternal doom. I've gotten wiser over the years and can see now that organized religion is almost always nothing but trouble.
Arthur C. Clakre's morality/religion comments are right on. Belief in god is delusion. Religion is a scourge. Amen.
Jimbo, I've spent a fair amount of time in K.C., and you absolutely, positively must get ribs at Oklahoma Joe's BBQ. They also have the best French fries and Texas toast you'll ever put in your mouth. KC is a sprawling area and I don't know what part of town your meeting is in, but they have a couple of locations. I've only been to the original, which is just west of the Country Club Plaza (a nice shopping-and-entertainment district to check out as well; it was the 1920s forerunner to the modern-day planned shopping center, but oh-so-much more aesthetically pleasing).
Here's Oklahoma Joe's website:
http://www.oklahomajoesbbq.com/
There's also a local chain called Gates BBQ that has locations all over town; it's also quite good, if not as charming as Oklahoma Joe's. Word to the wise if you go there, though: You need to know what you're going to order before you get to the front of the line and the order-taker screams "HI MAY I HELP YOU???" at you. If you don't answer immediately, she will turn to the person behind you in line and say "HI MAY I HELP YOU???" and you'll be S.O.L.:
http://www.gatesbbq.com/
I have heard that Fiorella's Jack Stack BBQ is also quite good, but haven't ever eaten there:
http://www.jackstackbbq.com/
BBQ joints to avoid: Arthur Bryant's (prob. the most famous BBQ joint in KC, but mostly a trap for tourists) and, above all, do NOT go to KC Masterpiece. It is not an original Kansas City barbecue joint; in fact, Kraft invented the sauce first and then instituted the restaurant. Not very good.
If you have time for more artery-clogging food and money to spend on it, Kansas City is also a great place to get steaks. The Hereford House is one of the most famous places, as is Pierpont's in KC's Union Station. There's also the historic Savoy Grill in the Hotel Savoy. All three of these are in, or just south of, downtown Kansas City, Mo.
Enjoy your culinary adventure!
I loved the quadrilogy, even though 2061 was my less favorite. Pretty cool the idea of uploading Dr Poole's memories from his lost-in-space dead body in "3061", in essence an immortality recipe. If you haven't read "Childhood's End" yet, do so. Sad, but beautiful.