Just wondering, because that’s what the guy at Birria Los Cuates (643 W. Ajo Way) charged me yesterday. I didn’t want to be a cheapskate and complain if that’s a fair price, so I thought I’d ask first.

My other question is: What in the hell is going on at Birria Los Cuates? When I walked in, the entire staff was sitting in the booths in the front room, and nobody would get up to take my order or let me sit down. It was so weird. Eventually, the oldest guy got up and served me a bowl of birria and a plate of tortillas. He then took his seat again, leaving me to fend for myself in the loneliest, mustiest dining room ever.

And what is all of that mail doing on the counter next to the cash register? Like, stacks and stacks of it all over the place. It looks like somebody is living there. That would be awesome to live in a Mexican restaurant, but it probably gets old fast.

So ... if the people who own Birria Los Cuates read this, the next time I come in, could the four of you at least split two booths, and let me have one? That way, I can watch soap operas with you while all of us ignore the customers.

Thank you.

OM Modern Asian Kitchen is doing something different for an upcoming wine dinner: You choose the wines, and the restaurant’s culinary team pairs your choices with surprise entrées.

I don’t have to understand the motivation behind this role-reversal to appreciate its innovative nature, and it sounds sort of fun. My first thought was that such an event would feel a lot like a blind date—but with fewer awkward moments.

The list of wines to be featured at the dinner is posted below. It takes place Wednesday, May 4, and space is limited. Call 299-7815 to RSVP.

Update with playlist and download at bottom of the post

• Illustration Ryn Gargulinski
• Viagra beer, anyone?

That story and more are up this week on Rynski’s Shattered Reality radio show on Party934.com and FM 94.9 in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

Next show is Wednesday, April 27 (today!) and every Wednesday online at Party934.com. Showtime is noon in Arizona, 3 p.m. EST.

Party 934 is a radio alternative for listeners sick of stations that play one song followed by 500 commercials.

This week’s songs again mention boys and girls and we promise not to leave out the polka.

Thanks! to all who keep the song requests coming.

This story about Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's new "Mugshot of the Day" program has been making the national media rounds. From NPR:

The top picks so far aren't unexpected: They're the most disheveled, unusual looking people among those booked into the downtown Phoenix jail.

Sheriff Joe is turning the prison system into a sideshow act. Ummm, wow.

• Photo and experiment by Ryn Gargulinski
• Peeps at the start of experiment in Tucson tree.

Although the sugary snacks have several claims to fame—such as their astounding array of colors that now include bright blue, and shapes that go way beyond Easter chicks—their main claim to fame is their shelf life.

Peeps supposedly stay fresh, sweet and edible for an incredible two years. That is, of course, if you keep them wrapped in their plastic, far from greedy little fingers—and out of the Arizona sun.

We wanted to test Peeps' longevity through a Tucson summer so we stuck them on a stick in a tree last March, right before Easter 2010.

You’ll be amazed and perhaps even surprised at what we found.

First off, Peeps do not melt in the Arizona sun. They instead become hard and dense, not unlike those sugar roses on wedding cakes you’re not supposed to eat, but still try to every time.

Update with playlist and download at bottom of the post

• Photo Ryn Gargulinski
• White sheep are too easy to steal.

Orange sheep deter thieves—or at least that’s the hopes of one farmer who dyed his entire flock of 250 sheep a bright-orange hue.

That story and more are up this week on Rynski’s Shattered Reality radio show on Party934.com and FM 94.9 in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

Next show is Wednesday, Apriil 20 (today!), and every Wednesday online at Party934.com. Showtime is noon in Arizona, 3 p.m. EST.

Party 934 is a radio alternative for listeners sick of stations that play one song followed by 500 commercials.

This week’s theme is songs that mention boys and girls, and, oh boy, we have a fantastic lineup.

Thanks! to all who keep the song requests coming.

From May's issue of GQ:

I was down there for Mardi Gras; Cage was probably down there to buy human skulls. I arrived early for my dinner at Stella! (an excellent restaurant whose only crime against taste is that exclamation point), so I decided to wait for my friends at the fine bar. There were four stools, three of them occupied: by a fortyish couple and a man in a Mardi Gras mask who was buying them flamboyant beverages. The man sounded an awful lot like Milton from Drive Angry 3D. He wore rings the size of iguana heads. I took a seat at the bar, and when I looked over again, I saw Cage, unmasked.

The woman was showing Cage cell-phone pics of the couple's adorable Latino-American kids. They must have been cute, because it drove him to melodramatic heights. "Now, that's AMERICA!" he declared, pounding the bar. More drinks!

He wanted to be friends forever. "Gimme your card. I want your card!" said Cage to the husband. The guy didn't have a card to give.

"How do I get in contact with you?" Cage nearly screamed. "GIVE ME YOUR DIGITS!!!"

Update with playlist and download at bottom of post

• Illustration Ryn Gargulinski

An Applebee’s restaurant in Michigan took serving liquor to a minor to an all-new level when a 15-month-old boy was given a sippy cup full of booze.

The boy’s parents noticed something was asunder when their son Dominic Dill-Reese took several sips out of the cup, put his head on the table to sleep, then woke up extremely happy, calling out “Hi!” and “Bye!” to fellow patrons.

That story and more are up this week on Rynski’s Shattered Reality radio show on Party934.com and FM 94.9 in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

Next show is Wednesday, April 13 (today!), and every Wednesday online at Party934.com. Showtime is noon in Arizona, 3 p.m. EST.

Party 934 is a radio alternative for listeners sick of stations that play one song followed by 500 commercials.

This week’s theme is birth, renewal and creation, which created a list of some snazzy songs.

Thanks! to all who keep the song requests coming.

• Photo Ryn Gargulinski
• Bare feet work on the beach, but not in Tucson.

Not because being barefoot is a horrible thing. On the contrary: Barefoot is by far the coolest way to be while romping across your carpet, lawn or the dog beds strewn in the living room. But barefoot becoming a trend stinks, because that means the practice has a chance of going mainstream.

Once something goes mainstream, someone finds a way that it causes cancer or otherwise wrecks it for the rest of us. Besides, if something goes mainstream, that means it’s already passé in New York City and Milan, and we have to come up with new trends and habits.

Drew Carey did the mainstream thing with the thick, black-framed glasses I used to wear, forcing me to switch to a lighter tortoise shell style to get away from the trend.

Evidence of barefoot’s mainstream status cropped up earlier this week, with Tuesday’s One Day Without Shoes. Folks across the world, or at least the country, pledged to refrain from wearing footwear to raise awareness for “the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life,” according to the movement’s website.

Shoes can certainly have an impact on a child if they hit him in the face, but we think they were talking about the dangers of athlete’s foot, being laughed at in gym class or stepping on a rusty nail.

I have no idea how this test works, where it came from, or whether a square or a triangle is more likely to be reading my thoughts, but if you'd like a somewhat meaningless fortune and a feeling of unease for the rest the day, go for it.

[io9]