So web 2.0 it makes babies cry.

So in preparation for Memorial Day weekend, at Buehler’s, we once again descended upon Rehoboth Beach and worked on bruising the family liver.  First up was happy hour at Delfini’s, where I tried my first ever Dirty Martini. Which I thought was very good, but quite pretty salty.  Next I tried, and really enjoyed a Gin Gimlet. After that it was off to Wahoo for a special birthday party for Slyvia. There we were pleased to find Jim Morris on stage doing a solo set.

The next day was the Boat Drinks Botanical put on by the DSPHC. Which as always was a blast, the Calypso Nuts were there, as well as Jim Morris and the Big Bamboo Band. The above picture of my feet was taken while just relaxing and enjoying myself. Unlike the JO parrothead who was either too drunk or too stupid to figure out that I was standing in line holding a plate when he called me an ass for “not being in line”. I only saw some lady, whom I hope has more respect for herself than to be married to that JO, walk away with him in tow, and no more for the rest of the day. I tell ya, it is really guys like him that give parrotheads and the Church of Jimmy a bad name… Kinda makes me glad I’ve never seen JB in concert.. But I digress..

The next day, it was up and back to Jersey for a meeting at the Hoban’s for a pre-Buehler’s planning commission meeting. AKA a bbq and some wine, all I know is I have to get a buttload of goldfish for this weekend.

I’ve added some pics from this weekend, as well as added a bunch from my phone in the 2009 photo gallery. I also expect to be updating more frequently, and also letting you know where my feet have taken me!

So when I’m left to my own devices, I either get myself into trouble or I do productive things. Tonight, it happens to be productive things. In between the raindrops, I put nearly all of my flowers outside. After that I was in a baking mood, so I made some focaccia. As you can see from below, I was also able to use the big cast iron skillet, which is always a plus.

It was a actually a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. The recipe only called for rosemary and parmesan cheese, but I just had to experiment a bit with some sauce and mushrooms that I had here at the house.
Using things from the house has been a bit of a priory for me, as the pantry is FULL. One of the things I’ve decided that I need to do is limit my food store purchases to to only protein type items for a while. This will not only help me clean out the pantry, but it will also help me save some money. When I goto the food store, I always want to get a luxury item or two, so those are gone too. Although I do have a good supply of TVP and other various soy products in the house.

So it’s time to start Project Post It, not to be confused with the sticky little pieces of paper that litter people’s desks and monitors.  For the next month, I’m going to be doing at least one post a day on one of the 5 main blogs that I add to.  My main goal here is to update this blog the most, as it really is the most important one to me on a personal level.    I really do need to get better with updates, and can no longer keep putting it off.

Now that I’ve said it here, it will be time to start it, after some coffee and I take the lodge trestle boards (newsletters) to the USPS…

A friend and I were discussing the other day via email how we really need to start updating our personal blogs on a more frequent basis, so that’s what I’m gonna do.  That same friend sent me a link today to a painter by the name of Justine Lai.  She does some pretty cool stuff with some pretty “stuffed shirt” political types.   As a result, I’ve decided I’m going to start making posts of the cool artsy stuff I tend to check out, and created a new section for it.   From her site bio:

In Join Or Die, I paint myself having sex with the Presidents of the United States in chronological order. I am interested in humanizing and demythologizing the Presidents by addressing their public legacies and private lives. The presidency itself is a seemingly immortal and impenetrable institution; by inserting myself in its timeline, I attempt to locate something intimate and mortal. I use this intimacy to subvert authority, but it demands that I make myself vulnerable along with the Presidents. A power lies in rendering these patriarchal figures the possible object of shame, ridicule and desire, but it is a power that is constantly negotiated.

I approach the spectacle of sex and politics with a certain playfulness. It would be easy to let the images slide into territory that’s strictly pornographic—the lurid and hardcore, the predictably “controversial.” One could also imagine a series preoccupied with wearing its “Fuck the Man” symbolism on its sleeve. But I wish to move beyond these things and make something playful and tender and maybe a little ambiguous, but exuberantly so. This, I feel, is the most humanizing act I can do

An example of her interesting works

Make sure you check out her page, I assume she has showings out in the San Fransisco area.

16 are arrested in Maryland as fight breaks out at concert held to promote nonviolence

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Montgomery County police say 16 people were arrested after a fight broke out during a concert held to promote nonviolence and to remember a Silver Spring teen killed last year.

The free Stop the Violence youth concert was held Saturday night on Ellsworth Street in downtown Silver Spring in memory of 14-year-old Montgomery Blair High School student Tai Lam, who was shot to death in November.

Police say fighting broke out near the stage toward the end of the concert and at least one person resisted arrest. Police say 16 adults and juveniles were arrested for offenses such as assault and disorderly conduct.

fight,high school, stupid

Honestly? Really? It is amazing to me the levels of stupidity in which people act.

I am officially back in the office for my first full day all week!   Crazy you say? Well yes.  Monday ended up being a snow day for the “Blizzard of Death for March 2009“.   In all reality, it was not really that bad.  However, it was the first real snow fall we have had over 8 inches this year so the weather-persons were all flipping their wigs.   Needless to say, I cleared the walk way and most of the driveway and threw down some ice melt and went back inside where I proceeded to watch crappy television, and make more pita’s.

I had slightly more success with the different recipe, but not to the point where I”m happy by any means. I really think my oven might not be getting hot enough. I  need to really experiment with it more,  and perhaps mix the two recipes for a “best of” attempt. Hopefully come Saturday I’ll have the pita project perfected, or at levels to an acceptable level.

Late in the evening of my Snow Day, on comes the sickness.  First the runny nose, then the sinus pressure, and finally a 6+ foot tall 180 lb baby of a man.   So me being me, I goto bed, get up and goto work.  Only to leave an hour later, get home and goto bed.  Then I’m up at 4-ish and up to WJMC to get ready w/ dinner and the Official Visit to our Lodge.   I was doped up on DayQuil and Sudafed, with a bandaid on my nose because it would not stop bleeding from where it slit on the side.  Oh what a night…..

Followed by 12 hours in bed, then a day on the couch, it was off to Collingswood for the Scottish Rite business meeting.  I wa sback to work today, but it took me a few hours just to get my email sorted out, and I’m not even caught up on my weekly tasks.  I guess that’s what happens when your first day of work occurs on a Thursday.   At least tomorrow is Friday, I have an another OV then I get to take a break this weekend.

So I started writing this late Sunday night, nearly Monday morning,  and I’m really hoping for a snow day tomorrow.  I was pretty tired and sick to my stomach all day,  I even took a nap for a few hours this afternoon.   It was a pretty normal weekend, a bit of running around, and some random cooking/baking.  Friday night I made another attempt at pita pockets,  I’m just not getting the results I’m looking for.  I did a bit of research tonight and realized that the method I’m using may not be the best way.   If tomorrow is a snow day, I’ll make another attempt.

Saturday was mostly devoted to cleaning my bedroom and getting my clothes and laundry organized.  I had gotten in the bad habit of putting my dress shirts on top of the dresser after meetings at night.  Needless to say, they were starting to pile up a bit.  As of right now, I have 3 bags of old shirts and some old jackets that I will be donating.  I’m sure I could come up with a few more if I try hard enough.  I have been trying to reduce my t-shirt buying addiction, with some success.

I knocked out two quick loaves of white bread that afternoon, this time I put a loaf in the freezer as soon as it was cooled.  Hopefully later in the week when the first loaf is gone, it will still be fresh enough to finish out the rest of the week.   I’m finding that I really do enjoy making my own bread  Minus the time required to proof the dough, it’s a pretty quick process and really easy to do.

Saturday night it was off to the Mardi Gras party/benefit for the Camden County Animal Shelter.  It was a good time,  mostly because a few of my cousins from my Mom’s side were there, and we seldom all get together, and of course it was a for a good cause.

In other news, I figured out what we need here in Woodbury to bring business back to the city, a topless coffee shop.   How awesome is this:

On Monday, Donald Crabtree opened Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, Maine, where the waiters and waitresses serve their customers topless.   In a town with fewer than 4,500 residents, the topless coffee shop is booming with business. Paul Crabtree, the owner’s brother, describes business so far as “fantastic.”

“It’s just been crowds mobbing in,” he said.   “I know what people want,” he said. “People like nudity, and coffee is profitable. Sure, I’d start a coffee shop, but I’d be out of work in a week.”

It looks pretty white out there, I’m thinking at this point it will be at least a delayed opening. Either way, I need to get up in 6 hours and clear my side walk.