Christopher’s Internet Affliction

Hello!

I left the house this weekend! Oh me! Oh my! Fancy, fancy! Who would have thought such a thing! But, yes, on occasion, I like to venture out into the real world and enjoy some good ol’ fashioned visceral experience. You know me- I’m a party ani-mule.. slamming gin & tonics (hold the gin, please!) at the bar, dancing on the bar, leaving at closing time, covered in sweat and various goo, yanno. The usual. You know how C-dawg rolls. (edit: I just try to be polite and un-noticed!)

Anyhow, this was a very fun event! I’ll have to check it out again sometime. It was at Exit, a Chicago punk-sorta-club, which was fun- I knew the doorman, so that made cigarettes fun, met a friend from the intarwebs, and had fun overall! I really like seeing people so happy!

The event was hosted by Vaudezilla, a local burlesque troupe. I met Red Hot Annie there, whom I’d been bantering with online for a couple years now.

But most of all, I went to see my friend Jolie perform. She’s an excellent and devoted belly dancer, and it was high time I saw it for myself. So, onto the train I go, leaving the safety of The Embassy (some call it an apartment) for points new and unknown.. And here we go.. wait for it.. SHAMELESS PLUG: GO TO JOLIE’S SITE. TAKE CLASSES!! She fucking rocks and is good stuff all around. Trust me!

I did put new batteries in the camera, but apparently, they’re good for about eight photos. But that’s okay! Photos after the jump.. Keep in mind, if they’re good, they were lucky shots. These guys move too fast for me! >_< (more…)

Okay! It’s no secret at all that I loves me some coffee. And I also love to do things

Coffee Roasting

myself. So, after learning about the finer points of the coffee bean, in the employ of a large coffee chain (HEY! I had a lawyer to pay!) I appreciated it a whole lot more.

There’s an easy and a easier way about this. Really- I spend about two dollars per pound of freshly roasted coffee.. so here are your steps. I’m going to give the easy, beginner instructions.

1. Get a coffee roaster. You can get a nice Iroast 2, which is great- you can program all sorts of stuff into it, and it’ll do the work for you. The key is, with any roasting, to watch, smell, and listen. But I’d go easy your first time out, and get your wok out. This will do fine.

2. Buy some green coffee beans. Some ethnic food stores have these, but you are usually best served online, as you tend to get a better description of what you’re buying. I like beans from Java- low acidity, almost chocolate flavor. Blend, experiment. Get a sampler pack! Sweet Maria’s is the bomb for the new roaster. Pick up a Chemex, too. Total date points for the guys out there. Not that you need one, but they’re pretty great!

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Now, I feel that it’s really in most young (and old!) men’s dreams to have a really, super swank den/library/sanctuary type of room in their homes. So, I decided it would be a whole lot of fun to imagine a bit- I’m quite far off from such a project! And so, allowing my mind to roam about with unlimited funds, and fun! I’m browsing the internet to find how I’d set up this room. Go forth and read on..

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