Monday, January 28, 2008

Quitting Smoking - Day 1

Agggghhhhhh!!!!!


AAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

ahem.. I`m o.k - just a craving....

I did good today . . Didn`t kill anyone.. I had one cigarette at 3pm ..the only one I will ever have again I believe...

The pills do work a bit...I recall much worse anger and frustration when I quit last.  But , it is not a magic pill.  I still have to Quit... It doesn`t just magically clear all urges away.  

But I`m hanging in there , and am confident I can do it.  
KB

Friday, January 25, 2008

Going to Boston for weekend

Finally , got things lined up for the winter to get some fun in. Haven`t done alot this fall or winter , mostly due to work. This weekend going to Boston and seeing a marilyn manson concert. Not everyones cup of tea , but Lori and I will have fun. Staying at her sisters and going to the museum of fine arts during the day. I love city hopping.

mid feb - lined up a trip to mount snow vermont to get some skiing in and then a night in north hampton mass (cool little college town) on the way back to see a band - The Clicks

let ya know how it went
kevin

Monday, January 21, 2008

Yes , it is a global economy

World markets dive as fears of U.S. recession grow
Posted: 02:39 PM ET

LONDON (CNN) — From Paris to Mumbai to Tokyo, Monday was one of the worst days for stocks since the terror attacks of September 2001. Europe’s main three indices, the FT-100 in London, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX in Frankfurt fell between 5 and 7 percent.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Getting Healthy

I signed lori and I up at the gym last week , I did a couple of light workouts so far , she has also taken advantage of the inclusive classes.  Went this morning to gym , I`m weak ...gotta get back into it.  I`m sore from light weights.  Oh well...They also have basketball court , ran around shooting hoops , felt good.  

THe last two weeks have been eating good , lost about 5-7 pounds already .. Pisses lori off.  
I`ve been eating more often , just lower calorie food , and not stuffing my face at night.  

Part of the reason I`ve done the above , is cause I`m starting the chantix quit smoking pill.  When you quit smoking , ya get real hungry.  I also need to take it with food , and I usually don`t eat breakfast til late , instead going right for coffee , so I`ve been eating breakfast in am in anticipation of starting the pill on monday.  

I`m hoping , the gym (release agression ) , the wonders of this pill , and plenty of small snacks , will make quitting smoking easier , as well as preventing me from getting fat prior to the wedding.  
Wish me luck

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Benjamin Franklins Autobiography

Finished this book last week or so , and since lent it to charlie.  I didn`t think I like biographies but have now changed my mind.  Granted this is an autobiography , that is actually written by the author in his own words.  Benjamin Franklin is a wonderful writer.  

Anyway , some of the reasons I lent it to charlie , is that BF loved to discuss and dispute various intellectual topics , science , poetry , politics etc; and was hoping it would inspire Charlie and I to get some discussions going on the message board again.  Reading a topic , and thinking about it critically is one way to learn. But to discuss it , air it out , listen to differences of opinions , 
articulating critical thoughts , that is learning. 

Anyway , some more of my thought on Benjamin Franklin on the Kasual Kafe History Page 

Monday, January 14, 2008

The new food pyramid

 --This is the governments new , nonsensical food pyramid - See more at http://www.kasualkafe.com/foodanddrink.htm

I saw a cool movie - Identity

Some excellent actors in twisting plot that won`t fail to surprise.  Some of the actors...John Cusack ... Ray Liotta ...Amanda Peet.. Clea DuVall..Rebecca De Mornay etc;

Besides the plot ....the filming itself was wonderful... Lots of tarantino-like - refilming of same time frame with differing view points.  This isn`t a scary movie perse , but the delivery and filming definitely gave it some creepy tension , as well as the setting ( in a dingy ass -  out in the middle of nowhere motel) during a dark rainstorm.  Yes - maybe played , but adds to the movie
Anyway - rent this movie
KB

Sunday, January 06, 2008

The bodies Exhibit

Went to the bodies exhibit in Hartford , ct - just like the one I kept wimping out on in manhatten.  Now that its here at the civic center , I had no excuse , I had to go

 -enter the kasual kafe to read my review (will eventually archive to kasualkb`s log)
//////////

My thoughts on pacifism

It is easy to be pacifist if one does not encounter an aggressor ; but confronted by an active aggressor , a pacifist must must toss aside this stance 
or submit themselves to the will of the aggressor.  

Most pacifists in reality depend upon a non-pacifist to protect them , which is why I say ...

"Show me a community of pacifists and I`ll show you either a benevolent protector , or a graveyard."

Pacifism , in my opinion , is an unsustainable ideological system to practice in human society.  
KB

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Santa was good to me

well lori is my santa..she got me a garmin gps for my car....its very cool...

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy New Year

2008 is here , Lori and I spent the end of year / beginning of year celebration in NYC.  We went down to madison square garden to watch the UFC viewing party with Matt Serra and Forrest Griffin.  They did a little Q&A with the crowd then we watched the fights on concert style screen in the middle of the stadium.  Both main fights Liddell vs. Silva and GSP vs. Hughes - both were great fights (esp since I was rooting for the eventual winners)  
  We spent the entire weekend in manhatten , walking , shopping , walking , eating , walking , sightseeing and walking ...on new years eve we added some drinking to our walking.  
We didn`t go up by the insanity at times square but hung about 7 blocks back within crowds in the 100`s not multi-thousands.  Didn`t see the ball drop but heard the noise as the countdown started and saw all the fireworks as our "local" crowd erupted with kazoos , and whirlygigs and hoots and hollers , Happy NEW YEAR ~!!!...and of course the obligatory new years kiss with my girl.  
  Last year there was a handful of us at my house , watching Dick Clarks new years on t.v - very freaking depressing .....woo hoo - the ball dropped . Yay .  --- Didn`t want to do that again.  
  The raucus noise and excitement of NYC and the proximity to the LIVE show of times square ...that was all I needed to kick off the new year right.  
  Happy 2008

Monday, December 17, 2007

Seasonal Depression

Is it the cold harsh weather and lack of sunlight ?  Is it the holiday joy , blaring from the radio or documented in the news ,  that one assumes everyone feels except yourself .  
Is it the thought that following xmas is the new year , etching into history the past years` unfulfilling monotony.  Is it knowing that this years goals , will once again fail to be reached.  
  The years have sloughed off my blissful naievety... I no longer dream.  I no longer hope.
I am suffering from seasonal depression ; the season is the millenium.

Just Read , Next by Michael Crichton

Another great book by Michael Crichton - read non-spoiler review


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Dickens , A Tale of Two Cities

I just finished reading this book - See Books and Mags


"Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit [...].""

Saturday, December 08, 2007

I am bored

There is a quote on boredom attributed to Soren Kierkegaard in “Either/Or”:



The gods were bored, and so they created man. Adam was bored because he was alone, and so Eve was created. Thus boredom entered the world, and increased in proportion to the increase of population. Adam was bored alone; then Adam and Eve were bored together; then the population of the world increased, and the people were bored en masse. To divert themselves they conceived the idea of constructing a tower high enough to reach the heavens. This idea is itself as boring as the tower was high, and constitutes a terrible proof of how boredom gained the upper hand.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Yes , I am Handy!

I officially and successfully , through blood , sweat and tears , changed my first flat tire today.  
Well , its not really my First flat tire , but first in a long time , and maybe the first completely alone.  Why is this such an accomplishment ...
Woke up to a flat tire ... I whipped out my bicycle foot pump ...pumped the tire up to a driveable inflation and made my way to the first gas station to fill it up completely.  My intent was to at least make it to a service station I use near my job and beg a ride to work from there as they fix/replace my tire.  Well , i make it to the 1st gas station .....NO Air ... I rumble and bumble to a second one ....cringing at every revolution of the tire as it vibrates the car ....and for a mere 50 cents I may purchase air to inflate my tire ... Psssssssss.... goes the air hose as
it fills my tire and Pssssss at approximately the same rapid pace do I feel air blowing at my chin thru a hole in the sidewall that you can stick a finger thru.  DAMN !!@$#..Not gonna make it to work with that much of a leak.  Rumble and bumble back home ...gonna have to put on the spare

Well ...it only took me an hour and half or so because the crappy little jack and wrench that comes with most cars suck.  The screw-style jack doesn`t come with a crank handle so you have turn it with a screw driver , half a revolution at a time.  Once I have the tire lifted sufficiently and begin to remove it , the crappy ass jack kicks over ...Three freaking times.  I knew enough to put the e-brake on and a brick under the back tire to keep the car from moving , but you don`t need a lot of movement for the damn jack to kick.  The last time the tire was almost  off and the jack tipped over dropping the disc brakes onto the bottom of the tire and rim jamming it into place ..agghhh..This all happened prior to my first coffee !
So , at this time I call work to alert my lateness and complain about my situation .. and head out on foot for a coffee ... Appx half a cup of coffee and a mile or so round trip later , I tackle the jack again.  Success ... Wheel off , Donut style spare on ...remove jack successfully 
, tighten lug nuts ummm tightly...  I am victorious .. 
I am a credit to my gender .. I am Man ... I can change a tire..
  
  

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

Another thanksgiving gone by , didn`t do anything , didn`t speak to anyone , other than sending out some text messages .....went to Lori`s parents for about an hour then went home and laid on the couch watching football ignoring the phone that won`t stop ringing ....feeling down..Yeah the Jets got destroyed ...didn`t help the mood

Black Friday - had a nice day ...avoided all malls and stores ...took a nice scenic drive out to the northwest corner of ct stop[ing at a few parks on the way ...too cold to walk for very long ...we also hit Session Woods Wildlife Park , Burlington but simply checked out their museum of stuffed animals and skipped the hike - be back in the spring ... AND finally  as a surprise for my girl (she generally hops in the car for one of my excursions with no questions or expectations  or knowledge of our agenda ) took Lori to the Last Post - a kitty retirement home of sorts.  Its in Falls Village ,ct and this is a no kill shelter for cats who find themselves willed there or dropped off or whatnot.  Lori was in kitty heaven as we entered the Large Kitty Dorm.  There are large exposed wood beams with reclining kitties , numerous kitty beds , scratch posts kitt
toys and stuff.  And dozens and dozens of Cats !!! This cat hotel has kitty doors that lead to a fenced in area for kitties to run around , as well as a porch.  
As soon as lori kneeled down to pet an insistent kitty , we were surrounded .... easily 8 or more kitties were around us vying for attention.  Lori made her rounds and met almost every kitty.  We went outside on the porch and sure enough within minutes
the porch was packed with purry pussycats.  Say that three times fast !
Had to drag Lori out of there as she would`ve stayed for hours ... I anticipated that the kitty contentment she would experience would mean lots of nice and lots of love for me . . but even I was surprised how 
the glow of those kitty moments would last.  She was nice to me all day and all night .

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Hello all

  Its been a long time since I posted.  Sorry ....
Had a great labor day weekend.  Went to Maine , stayed in a nice bed and breakfast.  Over the weekend we visited about 7 different waterfalls between maine and new hampshire , drove up Mount washington auto road (6280 feet up) which was freaky as hell.  Took the scenic kangamangus highway in nh on the way home , Did a lot of hiking , dipping our feetses in the cold swimming holes by some of the waterfalls we visited , took tons of pics of some amazing bluff views in all the scenic areas we visited.  Ate killer breakfasts and had a killer dinner one night (I had my newest favorite since Aruba , Osso Bucco , and Lori had Elk Ribs (best steak you`ll ever eat)  I had my first taste of Elk in wyoming many moons ago so had to convince Lori into getting it. She loved it.  
  Going back to work is a drag , but again , had a great weekend.  

Friday, March 02, 2007

snowshoeing in new hampshire

Howdy
Lori and I had fun in New Hampshire.  I got to ski at gunstock on a beautiful day with beautiful views of Lake Winnapausauke (sp?)
On Sunday , we thought it would be nice to snow-shoe through the woods.  Lori wasn`t so down with x-country skiing thinking she`d spend more time in the snow than on it .  So we rent snow shoes , find the x-c ski area and start our hike.  ..................
   Now one must understand this concept to fully appreciate the following story.  Walking is an exercise that I have performed with sufficient skill for the better part of a 1/3 of a century.  
I have held the misconception that snow shoes were a tool created by ingenius men, to allow treading  upon piles of snow fearless of sinking into it.  I couldn`t have been proven more ignorant.  
  The prepostrous contraptions that Lori and I adorned for our exhilarating walk through nature 
disdained such travel with hilarity.  
 Walk on pile of snow , sink into pile of snow , pull foot out of snow , dump freshly accumulated pile of snow onto your other foot , repeat process ad nauseum.  
DUMB INVENTION !!! 

I`m thinking these type of snow shoes we rented werent meant for this type of adventure.  
We took groomed trails,  so except for a few moments of stubborness where I jumped off trail in attempts to prove the previous battles as hallucinatory , the contraptions were not actually necessary for our endeavor.  
I`ll admit the claws on the bottom were helpful for the groomed trails and that without these  one might find themselves without sufficient friction during ascents up icier areas thus proving what goes up , must come down.  
Another issue I had was that these damnable shoes were almost as long as skis ,or at least mine were ; Lori , wearing the womens style shoe, seemed like normal length .  Mine were like little snow boards that extended a monstrous length behind me , causing them to slap me in the back of the opposite leg during every forward step and  collided with each other violently during the ensuing stumble.  
I believe the resounding ruckus may have prevented our observations of wildlife.    I eventually_managed to construct a new gait ,  a bowl legged, hop ..drag ...skip style that 
enabled me to  drag these encumberants up and down  hilly trails with adequate adroitness.  I must admit this was quite tiring.  
Good exercise though.  Thats the mantra I had to keep repeating to myself during this trek to keep from losing my mind.  
Now , down hill skiing on Gunstocks wide black diamond (compare to blue at killington)  , that was fun.  Got a few hours in while lori finished her book in the lodge.  
  The town we stayed in was kinda dead , we had a couple of nice dinners , played cards with eachother in the room and went to bed early.  Pretty laid back weekend , but I had good company.  
Overall it was a nice weekend regardless of the impression you might have of the above description.  
  Going skiing again in a couple of weeks at gore mountain , upstate NY where my mom lives.  Gonna visit her , stay overnight , and then hit the mountain , minus the snow shoes

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

My letter about healthcare

FWD- Email
Kevin-
This is Joe from Working Families--we spoke on the phone earlier. Just wanted to thank you for letting me post an excerpt from your letter on the blog. You can see the post here: http://ct-workingfamilies.org/blog/?p=34
Feel free to comment, send around to friends/family, etc. And let me know if there's anything you need me to change.
If you do show up at the speakout tomorrow in Manchester, make sure to find me and say Hi.
Anyway--thanks a lot.
-Joe Dinkin
Communications Director
CT Working Families
978 223 5868
JoeDinkin@gmail.com

Saturday, February 24, 2007

chillin in New hampshire

I`m blogging from the Tuc Me Inn bed and breakfast in new hampshire. Tomorrow Lori and I will be doing some snowshoeing and hiking in the woods.
We are taking a long weekend so I can ski on Monday ... Going to gunstock.
Just had a nice dinner - I got the the OSSO BUCCO !!! my favorite ever since I had it for the first time in Aruba. OSSO BUCCO !!!!!
Lori had something ....I had OSSO BUCCO !!!
love it
ok . ...the town is a bit dead at night , probably going to bed early ...gonna kick lori`s ass at Uno first
goodnight
Kevin

Monday, February 12, 2007

Vegas


 Got some pics up - will fill in some detail over the week
visit the kasualkafe gallery

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Back from Vegas

Back from Vegas - 60 to 70 degrees most of the week , came back to temperatures in the teens 
and snow on the ground.  bummer 

Lori and I had a great time in vegas , everything we planned to do and see was done ...Love it when 
a plan comes together 
I`ll get some pics up this week and let ya`ll know what we did 

KB 

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Wassup from vegas....Colts Win ..congrats Payton. Lost a bunch of $ on game. No I didn't bet the game . Lost it playin slots while watchin game

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Rockstar Supernova

Lori and I went and saw Supernova at the oakdale theatre last night.  It was very cool , and a lot of 
fun.  For those who don`t know , Rockstar Supernova was the Rock version of american idol where
contestants sang in competition to win the front man job for the band consisting of 
Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and ex-metallica bassist Jason Newsted.  

Lukas Rossi , the winner , brought his unique growling voice , along with his amazing falsetto , and general rockstar attitude to last nights show.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show , Lukas as front man transforms the "hard pop" music mostly written by tommy lee and clarke , into a new sound.  Lukas also performed his own song that I loved , Head Spin , that he wrote with his former band Rise Electric.  Listen to it here performed on the show.

Dilana , the chic that came in 2nd I think , maybe 3rd opened , followed by Toby the Aussie , and then Dave Navaros band Panic Channel.  Dilanas set was without a drummer , just 2 guitarists one of whom apparently was Magne ., a contestant.  She sang some originals and a great Black Crowes cover , She talks to angels , she definitely nailed it ... she has a wonderfully diverse voice and style.  Lori thinks she should`ve won ....she thinks the men were scared of a woman singer.  

Tobys band was o.k , kinda what I expected .  Hard poppy crapola , sung pretty well with good energy.  Nivarros band had a couple songs I recognized and I thought it was pretty cool.  Lori felt it was 80`s music only slightly updated.  

Finally SUPERNOVA , Damn that was fun.  Lukas just captivates you with his unique voice and quirky stage presence.  There were a couple of songs that stood out esp. his Head Spin song , as well as a ballady song that entranced you.  He performed a Rossi-style version of Bittersweet Symphony that was just tons of fun.  I really enjoyed the concert , I will admit that some of the songs written were not written with Rossi in mind , Toby or even Dilana would`ve made it sound more mainstream as was the spirit it was written in , Lukas at times doesn`t sound like he is singing in the english language , though his emotion drips with every syllable .  I think the band
picked rightly in Lukas who , as hinted, will play a bigger part in there next album.  He transforms everyday mainstream rock into something unique , palpable and emotional.  I would call it Grunge EMO . Lori I`m sure would disagree.  
  My other complaint , that Lori would definitely agree with , is that in the end we thought Dilana
would`ve sung a song with Lukas during the encore which was disappointingly short.  Dilana should`ve had more performance time , she in our minds , was a close 2nd if not possibly the best singer of the bunch.  I would`ve enjoyed more of her .  
All in all , I loved it ....Bought the CD on the way out .. The CD tames Lukas a bit and may make him more accessible to the average fan.
Kevin Beary