Despite its many flaws, Yahoo 360 has been pretty good to me over the past 2.5 years, but now, some 300,000 hits later, I've decided to move for good. You see, for some time now I've been blogging on Wordpress and copying the majority of my writings over here as well, but it is just getting to be too much trouble to try and keep both places updated. I welcome all of you to come over to my new home at:

http://mattwisdom.wordpress.com

or check out my short fiction at:

http://wisdomfiction.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I think it is safe to say that we all have things that we love and tend to be rather snobby about because we “know” what constitutes being “good” in this object of our affection and expect others to agree. For me, one of those things with which I tend to be preoccupied is food. There are few things in this world I take more delight in than well-prepared meals. Traditional ethnic foods, in particular, hold a special fascination for me. The food industry in this country is so consumed with making money that they throw together these corrupted shadows of real cuisine, in the hopes that by making them excruciatingly bland, nobody will object. And, thus, America stuck out its proverbial tongue at authenticity and created the chain restaurant – overwhelming the consciousness of the general public to the point that even their barely palatable meals are appetizing.

Yeah, I know I’m a big unapologetic food snob.

So, when our family decides to eat out, I always clamor against the suburban mega-restaurant chains around our home and insist that we find an eatery that is locally owned and operated. Luckily, even in our concrete-choked piece of suburbia there are several places to choose from.

We have a great Indian restaurant, called Taj Mahal, just a few short miles from our home owned by a couple that I would guess to be around my parents’ ages that have been very nice to our family when we have stopped in to eat. On our first visit, the man even took us into the kitchen to show us his tandoor and to explain how some of the dishes were prepared. And their hummus is excellent, even better than mine.

There are two Thai restaurants that have recently opened for business and both of them are excellent. I love their green curry chicken, though I usually go through several glasses of water to help battle the heat.

We also have a few good Japanese places that usually have excellent sushi (yes, you can get sushi in Mississippi), if you like that sort of thing (and I definitely do!).

Memphis offers even more culinary delights that we have been able to enjoy over the past few years. We had some excellent Mediterranean food at an eatery in the Cooper-Young district (and there are few things better than authentic Mediterranean cuisine). We’ve had wonderful Thai and Vietnamese meals at other establishments, as well as other, more familiar types of food.

Yesterday, though, we decided to try a new and different taste. Something that neither of us (the girls are still out of town) had ever partaken of before – African food. After a quick search through various establishments online, I found a spot that caught my attention, an Ethiopian restaurant.

So, after work, Diana and I journeyed to midtown Memphis and found this small diner tucked into a building on the side of Poplar avenue. The room was decorated with various African crafts and the presumably Ethiopian couple spoke to each other in a totally indecipherable language. We both ordered types of stir fry – Diana’s was one of fish and mine of lamb – and the lady taking our order made sure to tell me, in no uncertain terms, that this dish was hot.

The provisions that she set before us, though made from vastly different organisms, looked strangely similar covered in a red sauce. The main dish was accompanied by various green vegetables (what looked like lettuce, cabbage, and greens) and a plate of injera, a traditional Ethiopian flatbread with the consistency of a thin piece of plastic foam. The meal was very enjoyable, though a bit unsettling to our tastebuds – especially for Diana, who understandably tends to have more trouble with spicy foods while pregnant. Altogether, though, it was different and much preferable to the comestibles offered in American eateries.

What about you? Are you a fan of ethnic foods? Am I too much of a snob?

- We had an eventful weekend and have another crazy week ahead of us. Here’s a quick rundown of recent and forthcoming events:

o On Friday we said goodbye to our friends AJ, Erica, and their twin boys as they move off to the great Pacific Northwest. Though I wish there had been more opportunities for our families to spend time together, it will be nice to have a free place to stay in Washington when we decide to visit.

o Saturday morning I took the girls (Diana had to work) to Beebe to visit my family. That evening we were a part of a surprise party for my brother, Jeff, that was held at a Chucky Cheese-like arcade where we dined on pizza and played video games and skee ball. Oh, and he turned 28. We stayed with my parents and celebrated Father’s day with dad on the following day and had a great meal and a good time.

o I returned to Southaven Sunday afternoon alone, having left the children with my parents, and Diana and I are looking forward to a few nights of peace at home, as well as some time to watch the Netflix movies gathering dust on the entertainment center and to visit some restaurants where we have thusfar avoided taking the girls.

o I’m only working through Wednesday this week, so there will be a week’s worth of meetings and reporting crammed into three days, which will be a bit of a headache.

o Thursday we are leaving for a short family getaway to visit my good friend Andy and his wife Clara in Mobile, AL. The girls will get to have their first beach experience which they are very excited about. Being big readers, Andy and I have a penchant for taking literary field trips so, on this visit, we are planning to visit Monroeville, AL – the hometown of Harper Lee and former home of Truman Capote.

o I do want to delve a bit farther into writing about generational music, but I haven’t had the chance to think about it much over the past few days. Instead, I’ve been writing another bit of fiction and am considering starting a second blog dedicated solely to my intermittently written pieces of prose.

o The garden is going spectacularly and I noticed several small squash and tomatoes that will be ready for picking in no time. In addition, the jalapeno plant is producing its fruit like crazy and we could already pick a few of them.

I've been sort of slow to acquire several of the latest albums this year - many of which have been very good. For example, the latest My Morning Jacket, entitled "Evil Urges," is excellent. Here's a clip of a song from it: