Have you ever seen a news story about one of those coupon mavens – the moms who buy $100 of groceries and only pay $2.23 thanks to coupons and BOGO sales? Yeah, that’s never been me, and it probably never will be, because they don’t make coupons for the brands I buy. Or, rather, the not-brands. I’ve never been a name-brand kind of girl – or, at least, I stopped being one when I started shopping for myself in college and discovered the joys of 99-cent “Equate” dish soap. I’ve …

Television is suffering from a creative dearth. Between Jay Leno taking up five hours of primetime per week, the still-lingering effects of the 2007-08 writers’ strike, and long-established shows trying too hard to stay relevant, I’m finding myself taking more and more programs off my imaginary DVR schedule (I can’t even afford cable, much less TiVo). At some point, you just have to give up on believing a show will get better and cut your losses. Here are five shows I’ve recently broken up with:
Gossip Girl
The twentysomething favorite (seriously, I …

The extent to which Dillons has monopolized the Wichita grocery scene is pretty astounding. I’ve never lived in a city with just one chain of supermarkets. Now, don’t get me wrong – I do shop at Dillons. But I hate the high prices, the way every store is organized differently, the fact that I’m always unable to find at least one thing on my shopping list, etc. If you feel the same way, fret not – there are alternatives.

Leekers: There are still a few locations of this locally owned store …

Considering I’ve only lived in Wichita for about a year and a half, I’m continually surprised by how often I feel at home – not just in my duplex, but out in the community, too. This city, despite its size, really is a six-degrees kind of place.
At Caffe Posto in College Hill, the number of degrees is usually only one, because I know owner Kay Conklin and usually about half the customers at any given time. The same goes for a large number of verb [ICT] staffers. It’s like our Cheers. …

Netflix has this nifty little feature called Local Favorites, which lists rentals that, according to the site, are being rented by people in your area more often than by other Netflix members. It’s not exactly a “top rentals in your area” list, then – because that list would look very similar across most communities – but a weird little microcosm of people’s interests outside the newest DVD releases.
So, what’s Wichita renting? Christianity, thrillers, old cartoons and little-known Jennifer Lopez vehicles. Here’s the top 10 from last week:
1. An Unfinished Life – …