Uh...yeah...so this is me.

Lately I've noticed a recurring trend within the blogging community, from both wildly popular bloggers to itty bitty ones. Bloggers seem to be either coming out and exposing their true identity or going through the ridiculously long amount of time it takes to type out "100 things about me". Well this is the real me, Thunder McAwesome. Nice to meet you. And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hit you with some knowledge.

1. I'm fucking awesome.
2. Love Pearl Jam
3. Sandwiches are delicious
4. Kool-Aid is the tops
5. I play rugby
6. Love the Sox
7. Had major reconstructive surgery on my right shoulder leaving me with a bitchin' scar
8. I used to steal piles of chicken wings from Ponderosa by wrapping them in napkins and just walking out.
9. Baseball road trips = Thumbs Up!!
10. Have the uncanny ability to remember song lyrics instantaneously
11. I like "the pot"
12. I majored in History in College....HISTORY?!?!
13. I also minored in Religion, yet I seldom can be found at church (Major Holidays aside)
14. Irish
15. Enjoy eating Spaghetti O's right out of the can.
16. I have no idea how many concerts I've been to (see 11)
17. Hate pretentious assholes
18. and fucking morons
19. and dudes with their collars popped that call me "Brah"
20. I've been kicked out of more bars than you.
21. I have meticulous hand writing
22. I'm fucking 'ilarious!!
23. An expert in the art of grilled cheese making
24. Modeled my style of hockey play after Bruins great Cam Neely.
25. Also why I wore number 8 throughout my hockey career
26. I still wonder why I didn't get drafted following my Senior Year at LeMoyne College.
27. Oh..did you know where I went to college, well now you do, LeMoyne in Upstate NY.
28. Awesome at Trivial Pursuit
29. and Rock & Roll Jeopardy...when it existed.
30. My favorite play in football is the play action pass
31. To aid in my appreciation for all things awesome, my father made me watch "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" when I was 10
32. I was a finicky eater as a child.
33. I have since seen the err in my ways
34. Have a love and appreciation for cooking as my father started teaching me the ways in my early teens.
35. I can't sing all too well but I love me some karoake
36. My bloodline can be traced to Music Legend, Huey Lewis
37. Oddly enough, my name is neither the Toast, Thunder McAwesome, or even my mom's pick of Squire Brandon. Simply put....it's Casey
38. Don't let the goofiness fool you, this kid is wicked smart when he wants to be
39. Avid golfer with..I'd say, about a 8-10 handicap
40. I like good beer
41. Love every single one of my friends.
42. Even though Kool-Aid will disagree, bumper cars are the way to go at amusement parks
43. Have a fondness for dancing and often search for opportunities to do so.
44. I'm 5'11"
45. My favorite word is pants (try not to laugh when it is said right)
46. I could care less if I impress you or not
47. I can be defensive at times...I've been burned in the past
48. Star Wars Nerd!!
49. Not a fan of tucking in my shirts (aka Business Class Toast)
50. Family has had NY Giants Season Tix since probably about the 50's.
51. I wear T-Shirts...not alligator polos
52. I'd like to live on an island
53. I'd also like to learn how to play the banjo/mandolin
54. BBQ sauce is my dippin' sauce of choice
55. I've broken my right arm twice playing hockey (wrist, radius and ulna in forearm)
56. And the aforementioned shoulder injury, which was a severly torn rotator cuff, was hockey related.
57. Despite having brown hair, when I grow a beard it comes in red
58. While in college, aided in a prank by wallpapering the campus with flyers that advertised a fake film festival known as "Gary Busey Day". Clever huh?
59. All Hot Films...All Gary Busey. or the Buse is Loose!!
60. Created a dance craze that at one point was sweeping the nation..the calculator
61. Often I wear flannel shirts, it's the rocker in me. Weather permitting of course
62. Pompous D.C.'ers can go (expetive deleted) themselves
63. Favorite treat, the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie
64. Saw a game a few rows behind home plate at Fenway. Fuck and Yes!
65. I still have my first material possession, a stuffed raccoon named Rocky
66. Rocky often accompanies me on road trips and currently resides in a bookcase in my living room.
67. My apartment is known as "Fort Awesome".
68. I should be a paleontologist.
68. If I could go back in time, I probably would be
69. My younger brother is far more handsome and much taller than I. (5'11" vs. 6'4")
70. I'm an Uncle
71. My Irish twin sister lives in FL.
72. I've been to Portugal
73. I used to have a convertable.
74. When driving former convertable, I would be seen wearing aviator shades and a cowboy hat.
75. I have a big ribcage
76. and stumpy legs
77. but a pteradactyl like wing span
78. I like to mix ketchup and brown mustard together to make my own secret sauce for fry dippin'
79. I strive for 5 every day (servings of fruits and veggies)
80. Hate cell phones but feel naked when I leave mine at Fort Awesome
81. Feel that "The Big Lebowski" is the best movie in the world
82. Aside from signing my name, I can no longer effectively write in cursive
83. I can laugh at anything..and I often do.
84. I believe in chivalry and I try to prove to Kool-Aid that, at least for her, it is not dead
85. Very fortunate to have a love for music instilled in me by my father at a young age.
86. Have a strong desire to see Rome.
87. Oddly enough, I was extremely shy throughout my childhood until I was a junior in high school. That is when I realized that I really don't care
88. I can speak German
89. I feel bad for my older items when they get replaced by a newer model.
90. Initially I went to school for chemical engineering until I discovered college level calculus.
91. If the situation calls for it, I can communicate entirely in movie quotes. Seldom does this happen.
92. Don't tell Kool-Aid, but I have a huge crush on Tina Fey
93. Although when Kool-Aid wears her glasses.....hmmmm.....
94. I'd like to train to do a triathalon but get turned off of it with the whole swimming thing (and I'm a decent swimmer, I just don't know how to really train for it nor do I want to get kicked in the face)
95. Last time I was kicked in the face I broke a tooth and its remnants had to be yanked. (Damn rugby, damn yous!!)
96. I don't know why, but I can't wear sneakers with shorts, unless I'm working out.
97. Ability to eat chicken wings in one swift motion
98. I may be planning something big here in the relatively near future.
99. Love chipwiches.
100. Whatever situation I am in: meeting parents, interacting with co-workers and higher ups, entertaining guests, conducting training sessions for clients, sitting at a bar having a beer; I'm me, no-one else.

Yup...took as long as I thought.

"Ribs. I had ribs for lunch, that's why I'm doing this."

I stole this from somebody, now I'm givin' it back!!! The idea that is. Ate a bit too much come lunch time here at the office and now I find myself engaging in a little bit of arts and crafts. Eh...its passing the time, pleasing my food baby, and most importantly, keeping my eyes OPEN. Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts when I finally post this summbitch.



More importantly, if you at home ate too much for lunch, are just looking to pass some time in the afternoon, make your new food child happy, or maybe you're just trying to stay awake, you too can be a part of this mad cap and zany fun. It's easy, just go over to the site flickr, create an account if neccesary (takes a second and a half) and type your answers to the following 12 questions one at a time in the search bar.

Once each each picture pops up, simply copy the URL and paste it here, after you set up your mosaic of course. Click create and you've got a project here worth of a gold star from your 4th Grade Art Teacher. Take that Mrs. Collins!! Not so shitty with the papier mache now am I?!?!

Oh right, the questions:

- What is your first name?
- What is your favorite food?
- What high school did you attend?
- What is your favorite color?
- Who is your celebrity crush?
- What is your favorite drink?
- Where would you go on your dream vacation?
- What is your favorite dessert?
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- What do you love most in life?
- Choose one word to describe you.
- Your Flickr name?

A classic from someone who will most certainly be missed.

Some of the best times I’ve ever had in a car were listening to one of my many George Carlin cds kinda stoned as I drove back and forth to Maryland. Thanks for the laughs George.



George Carlin (1937-2008)

Two words: Fuck and Yes! **UPDATE**

I fucking love Pearl Jam. Simply put, my feelings for the band can be summed up with the following equation: Pearl Jam = wicked awesome. They just flat out rocked us here in the district for well over 3 hours last night. PJ just wasn't out there spinnin' the favorites either and The Toast did not expect to be hit up with some of the beats that filled the Verizon Center Sunday night. So many randoms and even a few B-sides tossed in to boot. "Merkinball"...what?!?! Niice.

Set 1

Hard To Imagine
Severed Hand
Hail Hail
Do The Evolution
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
Evacuation
Corduroy
I'm Open
I Am Mine
I Got Id
Daughter
Light Years
Even Flow
Green Disease
You Are
U
Who You Are
Why Go

Encore 1

Comatose
Sad
Given To Fly
Come Back
Grievance
Black
Rearviewmirror


Encore 2

No More
Last Kiss
Crazy Mary
Alive
All Along The Watchtower
Yellow Ledbetter

And Charlie...thanks for stopping by buddy. I love you.

Finally, I get to say it again. Two Words: Fuck and Yes!

We're only hours away from the arrival in the District of one Little Charlie Coville and his special lady friend, and my current BFF, Mary and giddiness has pretty much taken over here at Toastedblog. True, some of it is due to being reunited with my bestest buddy for an entire weekend. I'm also kinda amped for what the weekend has in store for us as DC is getting hit with not only a barbecue cook off but also a brewfest. More importantly though, we've got Mutha-Fuckin' Pearl Jam to boot!!! I just hope they play fuckin' "Inside Job".

It's been a few years since I've gotten the pleasure of seeing a Pearl Jam show. Surprisingly enough they don't head out 'ol Syracuse-way too often. And this time I don't have to drive a few hours in two directions which greatly improves my drunkening chances for the evening. However, that's not what the evening is about so I'm not going to worry too much about it. Just looking forward to seeing the most fucking awesome band on the planet and doing so with one of it's most fucking awesome people. Awwww...for those who know me, what I said is actually kind of sweet.

And now, time to hit y'all with my anticipated set list:

Why Go
Breakerfall
Life Wasted
Army Reserve
Insignificance
Do the Evolution
Red Mosquito
Small Town
Once
Gone
World Wide Suicide
Even Flow
I Believe in Miracles (Ramones Cover)
Bushleager (for the reason that the show's in DC)
Daughter
Smile
I am Mine
State of Love and Trust
Alive
RVM
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

DAMMIT!!! I didn't work "Inside Job" in there. This is me with my fingers crossed that they did. Oh mama...Charlie, baby-back ribs, better than delicious beers, Mutha Fuckin' Pearl Jam!!! I'M SO HAPPY....I'M SO HAPPY!!!

Fake Cheese = Real Delicious

As you gander above one may notice a rather large shot of a Velveeta Shells and Cheese package prominently displayed on this very Toastedblog post. Reasons for this are three fold:

A. Velveeta Shells and Cheese are fucking delicious
2. I made them last night
and C. The combination of the above, a few hot dogs thrown on the grill, and a root beer proves to be an absolutely exquisite meal.

"C." isn't just for those alone times either. You can do this shit up for any and all occasions. Dinner party of multiple couples?? You may notice that it also comes conveniently in deluxe 12 packs. Romantic evening alone with yo' Kool-Aid?? Just be sure you make some broccoli to go with it and you'll be hittin' the skins in no time at all, quite possibly in response to your wherewithal to whip up a few servings of the creamiest and the dreamiest, Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Hell, if Kool-Aid were to allow it, this stuff shall and will be served at our wedding.

I haven't even touched on the best part of this shit yet. When you're finished puttin' down all dem shells, said eater gets to mop up all of the leftover cheese sauce with whatever you've served it with, case in point, a damn fine Hofmann hot dog. . Oh..Mama is right!

"Walk tall, kick ass, learn to speak Arabic, love music and never forget you come from a long line of truth seekers, lovers and warriors."

Not too long ago I heard about a documentary in the works about the good Doctor himself, Hunter S. Thompson, simply titled "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson". I guess what I'm doing here is just doing my part by making my fine internet audience aware of these awesome goings on. It comes out July 4th. Check it yo!!

View Trailer Here: www.huntersthompsonmovie.com

One...Two...Three....DOOO EEET

Recently I haven't felt like typing all that much; maybe it's due to the fucking heat, maybe it's doing actual work at the office instead of spending multiple hours studying movie quotes or the fantasy baseball free agent wire; I don't think one will ever really know. However, I'm not exactly out there pussy footin' around either, you know, shopping for organic groceries or listening to soft mellow rock. Pbbbt..like who would do that, ridiculous (looks around trying not to be noticed, see below). What I have been doing is what we men like to do, which is, a little TCB...oh yeah, it's taken' care of business. To keep this trend up, a listing of my many manly activities. Whoop Whoop!!

- After 10 months it's finally official, I am a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I now have the license to prove it. BOO-YAH! And what??!!, with the insurance. switching that to VA to boot. TCB my internet friends, TCB. (for you lady readers, the license photo looks damn fine)

- The majority of my recent evenings have involved charring animal flesh over an open flame. And we're not using no whimpy gas grill here neither, takin' my time with that shit, mounds of charcoal covered in lighter fluid. Also, it should be manditory or perhaps instill a By-Law that the actual grilling process be at least 4 beers long. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, that's what I always say.

- I successfully lifted 240 lbs yesterday at the gym. I am ALL that is man.

- Spent an evening checking out Semi-Pro, I kinda wished that I could take that one back. High points, sure it had some, but most points were kinda on the low end. Ouch.

- Fought cancer by running 3.1 miles. (Pay no attention to the fact that Vanessa Carlton was there)

- Followed that up by getting drunk in parking lot prior to rockin'. moe. in VA, WOOOOO!!!!!

**Let it also be known that I am set to travel home for some moe. shows this weekend at the Saranac Brewery. Mo' moe. WOOOO!!!**

- I've realized that the funniest word, other than pants, is probably diapers.

- Drank multiple cans of pabst.

- Eaten approximately 2 dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies since Sunday. Delicious.

- Going to continue this trend this evening while I watch Rocky Balboa, eating various grilled meats, and drinking delcious growler beer while Kool-Aid goes on some work outing.

**Sidenote: I love Trader Joe's and have been listening to a lot of Belle and Sebastian lately....what of it?? You think you're better than me. Have you listened to "Tigermilk"?? It's fucking fantastic!!

G.D. Sun..what with it's giving us life and all.

This kinda made me chuckle as I read it this morning. Philly fans hate Santa, New Yorkers have decided to take it a step further. Yanks fans really are idiots at times. You go to hell...you go to hell and die!! Fucking sun!!

Coco takes no shit from Rays.

Fight
by bsap11

Scenes of last night's brawl at Fenway following Coco Crisp getting plunked in the upper thigh (which is dangerously close to the no-no spot) by Rays pitcher James Shields; which was an obvious reaction Coco trying to send a message to the Tampa Bay infield by sliding hard into second base on an attempted steal the previous night. Also, after you exchange words with the opposing teams manager and you follow it up through the media with this, you gotta have to expect getting thrown at.

Crisp: "I don’t know if he could hear what I was saying, but basically I was saying I did that on my own, don’t punish anyone else on the team. Don’t get Petey (Dustin Pedroia), don’t get (Julio) Lugo, don’t get AC (Alex Cora) sliding hard at second base. Get me with a pitch. If you want to retaliate with somebody, I’m the man."

Baseball...It's faaaaaantastic!

No Power. No Thank You. Why Not Get Drunk. Yes Please!!

Some ass nasty thunderstorms stomped the district yesterday afternoon, really hitting hard at about three o'clock giving the Toast something to break up the afternoon monantany that seems to be hitting my office of late. From what I hear, 60mph winds, fierce rain, and falling trees really do a number on power lines so I was fortunate enough not to have electricity when I happened to make it back to "Fort Awesome" after a rough day of not doing work.

Following a good hour long run through the neighborhood and a nice random trip to target for some new underpants and various essentials (yes, a new copy of "Blazing Saddles" and jumbo bag of delicious trail mix qualify as essentials) I was left fending for myself for a way to pass the electricityless evening. To make matters worse, I was sans Kool-Aid as she was engaged with some co-workers in atrocities of which boyfriends should never have to endure, dunn.dunn.dunnnnn..."Sex and the City". So I did what any other red blooded irishmen would have done in my situation, I hoofed it to the nearest pub and began to tie one on.

I did some good work too. This wasn't your normal Wednesday evening out because there was no power drunk, this Wednesday evening out because of no power drunk had some pinache to it. Why is that you ask?? Because the bar I stopped in at was complete with a Toast fav...karoake. Oh Mama is right!! At about 12:30, after a number of pints, riveting discussion during the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup, and an unfulfilling bout with some awfully bad nachos, the Toast rocked some Huey Lewis for the oddly large country music contingent at the bar's karoake night and called it an evening; hopefully to a fully operational Fort Awesome.

Had a bit of trouble getting to all cylanders this morning but at least I didn't miss work entirely. Tonight we may get into round two as I visit to a recently discovered brewery in Old Town Alexandria is in the works for some delicious growlers. Oh Mama is right.

How to be a fucking awesome boyfriend.

Sometimes when I think about it, I'm just not really all too sure how I retain a special lady-friend. I mean, I pretty much do a lot of the things that us men-folk are known for: I make her car smell like farts and enjoy getting drunk. I play video games, frequent bars, alehouses, brewpubs, brewerys, rugby practices and drink-ups, the Toast can often be found watching sports or movies with aliens and/or stuff blowing up in them, and I destroy the bathroom following burrito nights; the list can pretty much go on and on.

Well, I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not the sharpest kid out there either. I often have trouble putting two and two together, not to mention that concepts such as proper moments to cross the street seemingly have never said hello to me over the years. I'm fucking awful with money, I went to college to get a degree in History (History!?!?). And forget about me remembering birthdays, anniversarys, your name, as this brain can only seem to retain dynamic knowledge like movie quotes and song lyrics.

But, then I remember that I'm also pretty much the shit and for some reason I get (understand) ladies; Kool-Aid in particular. And why is that you ask....cause I'm funny and I talk to them. Also, it's so blatently obvious to ladies such as the Kool-Aid that I love her and would most likely be lost, cold, confused and frightened without her, like an abandoned puppy. That is why I go out of my why to tell my special lady-friend how important she is to me and how fucking awesome she is; how she is so fantastic out of the sea of the many many female crazies and lunatics out there. It's not my impressive ability to mow down a heaping pile of pulled pork that gives me the title of the Most Fucking Awesome Boyfriend on the Eastern Seaboard, rather, it is because of these two very important facts about the Toast that I kinda get a get a free pass on all of my very many shortcomings. I make her laugh and make myself essential to be around by loving her unconditionally. Plus, I still do a hell of a job just pawing at her like I'm a bear going after a fully stocked cooler.

It is extremely important that I point out the fact that I am not trying to "get away" with anything here. I am not using this love for my girlfriend as a means to get me things like my sandwiches being made for me on a daily basis or the ability to engage myself in a the "Lord of the Rings" marathon on a Sunday afternoon. I don't have the cranial capacity to cook up a hot plot like that. But what I can do is keep my girlfriend smiling and happy and that should keep me free to impress with my keen sense of taking down baby-back ribs, serenading her in the Corolla by singing both the words and guitar parts to "Do the Evolution" by Pearl Jam, and staying in with an entire bucket of original recipie bird and video games for quite some time.

Man, shit was HOT back then.

Oh no, keyboard solo...and the sax, WHAT?!?! Not to mention the fact that it's off an album called "What's Up Dog?". Listen up 'Merica, this is talent.

Top Ten Reasons the Toast won't go see the new "Sex and the City" movie

10. I've probably got some better shit to do.

9. It's highly possible that I'll get chlamydia just from watching it, what with all the many many sexual partners that the one really old and slutty character has had. Oddly enough, Kim Cattrall may be the best looking one out of the lot.

8. I get extremely whiny and pissy whenever Kool-Aid stops on a random syndicated episode while flipping through the channels. I tell myself I don't really want to act this way in her defense, I mean, she does enjoy the show and she often lets me do the things that I would like to do, especially when it comes to deciding what we watch on T.V. All that being said, read the first part of reason no. 8 again; what makes her think that a solid two plus hour chunk will be any different??

7. It's not "Die Hard".

6. Subsequent theater combustion upon my entering from being too man-tastic thus canceling all anticipated and scheduled viewings until building is repaired. By then, it won't be in theaters anymore. (Sweet)

5. Why would I want to when I could just go see new Indiana Jones movie instead. Niiice.

4. "Band of Brothers" is probably on the History Channel.

3. I've got the baseball package on Comcast.

2. None of the following are likely to be found in the movie: explosions, machine gun fire, high speed car chases, hilarity, sports montages, eagerly anticipated female nudity, Nicholas Cage, high octane action, precise battle formations, swordplay, tanks, cheerleaders, women being reasonable, awesome scenes, cars or helicopters turning into fighting robots.

Nor will it feature kick-ass shit like this:

yeah!

1. I recently found out that Kool-Aid is going with some of her work friends.

/does fist pump

All ladies love babies, Toastmaster General.

I can't believe that I haven't done this yet. Above you shall notice the picture of a rather small child. Who is this baby and what is it doing getting in the way of Friday afternoon hilarity here at Toastedblog. Well, that child is my nephew, Baby Zima, or Callan Richard Zima if you're not into that whole brevity thing; and the reason he is here is that I am all sorts of doing stuff of late and haven't had time to spin out something awesome for y'alls reading pleasure. Doing work, that's insane.

Baby Zima was born a little over a month ago and from what I hear he's already rolling over. I guess that's a big deal for the little ones. Anywho, Uncle Toast has undertaken the monumentous task of making sure the son of my Irish twin sister becomes a dinosaur nut. I can't make him into a fan of every sports team that I love, that's his father's job but, what I can do is stuff enough dinosaur themed clothing, stuffed brontosaurus, and fossil building kits down this buck-a-roo's throat that he is forced to love them as much as I did when I was a kid. Yup, with a little bit of effort and elbow grease, there is no limit to this little guy's potential.

The following is a list of how to's, random bits of knowledge, and life lessons that Uncle Toast will pass unto Baby Zima:

- Properly eat chicken wings.
- Be a hit with the ladies. (Just act goofy and be yourself, it's amazing how they respond)
- Why McDonald's is only good for their Egg McMuffin's
- Effectively shotgun a beer
- The importance of having a good backhand while playing ice hockey
- How to tackle a man up to twice your size
- Never ever drink beer on an empty stomach
- Stick to your guns
- Make sure to read, alot. Being smart has it's advantages
- Never be afraid to dance
- It doesn't matter how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose. And even that doesn't make all that much difference.
- Always loosen the bolts on a tire before you jack up the car
- Eating a burrito before sex is always a bad idea
- Desperation is a stinky cologne
- Don't worry about getting hurt while playing sports, when you play afraid, that's when injuries happen.
- Fried chicken is delicious
- There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't
- Never get less than 12 hours of sleep
- Never play cards with a man who has the same first name as a city
- Never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body

You stick with me kid, the rest is cream cheese.

Huey Lewis and the Foo's!

This was recently sent to me from my good pal Uncle Jitter who, needless to say, knows that it's hip to be square. Uncle Huey. The Foo Fighters. That's nothing short of the jackpot right there. Fancy Plays all around!!



But why stop there when the Toast is all in the mood for the News. It's just too damn sweet for words.


"Heart and Soul" (a personal Toast favorite)



"It's Hip to Be Square"

Oh Huey Lewis, you're just too Van Damme awesome.

Yeah...we're not really doing work here today either.

So the Toast has triumphantly returned to blogging after a few days away from the office, home, and having his cell phone turned on. It's back to all sorts of normalcy here in the District and rumor has it, the Toast kinda wishes he was still at the beach. But I didn't tell you that, you must'a heard that one somewhere else. Anywho, Toastedblog here will feature a quick rundown of events of the holiday weekend when I have more time to be witty and creative. Plus, I needs a few minutes to upload sweet sweet pics of the trip so you all can revel in multiple action shots of a sunburned toast running into the ocean. That's pretty much the gift that keeps on giving, the WHOLE year.

Anywho, I'm not going to leave you listless and unentertained as the Toast certainly not come here to do that. Upon receiving good news from a certain fellow blogger out there on the national interweb, I took part in a request of answering a few questions, 8 times as a matter of fact. A special bonus to you internet readers, I actually answered these in a somewhat serious manner as apposed to being completely goofy and full of nonsense. That being all thrown out at you, enjoy the read and we'll catch you on the flip flop.

8 Things I am passionate about:

- Rocking: I love music. I love going to see shows. I love finding out about new shit to check out and give a listen to. I like giving garbage music a shot and then never giving it another go. I love rocking out to Pearl Jam over and over again. I love suggesting different albums to my friends so that they'll check 'em out and maybe enjoy them as much as I do. I love getting the same in return.

- Sandwiches: Try to tell me that you don't enjoy a delicious sandwich. Go ahead, I'll wait.

- L-I-V-I-N: Every day I do. This kid is all about going out and trying new things.

- Being Active: It has been pointed out to me that I am indeed steadily approaching the age of thirty and I am still throwing myself under the bus week in and week out playing kickass physical sports like rugby and ice hockey. Despite the way I sometimes feel on a Sunday following a few games the day before I really don't envision myself letting up any time soon.

- My friends: A stereotypical answer I know, but if you are considered a friend of mine...get ready for a good time and some good luvin.

- Kool-Aid: Another one of those, "hmmm...that's original" answers." That being said, to hell with all of you's. Not going to get all sentimental on you but I will break off a new flava in your ear. Kool-Aid is by far the most phenomenal kick ass lady that I've ever been fortunate enough to encounter. To have her around me on a daily basis has made me feel pretty much like the tops and I can safely say that I've never had as much fun nor laughed as much with anyone. I'm always am wanting to do things with her. And get your minds out of the gutter as I'm more refering to the simple day to day things to planning adventures with her. Going to the grocery store, that counts. Touring Europe, sure when the time and money is right. To put it in words that I may have told her once or twice: she's like a female version of Charlie. (Charlie = best friend, awesome Italian, great at video games)

- Beer: What can I say, I like me a good beer. We're not talking like an alcoholic fan of beer. Just a fan of some really out there and delicious stuff.

- My Sports: I am forever a sports fan. Nothing is quite like watching your team compete with close friends in tow and a bucket of wings to share. Dem's the good times.

8 Things I want to do before I die:

- See Ireland: It's about time I went all the way back home. (clever use of accent)

- Write a children's book: I worked in an educational toy store all throughout college. My time spent there was some of the funniest this kid has ever had. Throw in my passion for writing and we've got something cooking there.

- Own a pub: Irish roots + Fondness of People + Love of delicious beers = Time to figure out how to run my own pub

- Learn how to play the guitar: see also mandolin or banjo. Yeah.

- Become a Dad: It's just something I always thought that I would be good at. Plus, forcing my son to become a left handed knuckleball pitcher thus greatening his shot at making the big leagues and becoming my gravy train on biscuit wheels is my sole retirement plan at this point in my young life.

- Compete in a triathlon

- Meet the boys in Pearl Jam: If any of you can assist me in this I will be forever grateful. Good god they're awesome.

- Live on an island: For at least a few years; would be nice to leave all this bullshit behind and just live.

8 Things that I say really often:

- The many different forms of the dang it. 1. Dang It = not good 2. Reverse Dang It = ayy!! alright 3. Tremendous Dang It = That will ruin your weekend 4. The Seldom heard Wicked Dang It = not too sure if anyone has survived that

- FANCY PLAY!!

- Not gonna lie to you...

- What it is Kool-Aid?!?!

- Oh Mama

- Drive fast, take chances: words to live by

- Jack-Pot: see Tommy Boy

- YAHTZEE!!

8 Books that I've read recently:

- The Rum Diary. HST

- A Confederacy of Dunces. John Kennedy Toole

- High Fidelity. Nick Hornsby

- Where the Sidewalk Ends. Shel Silverstein

- Hell's Angels. HST

- A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams

- Galapagos. Kurt Vonnegut

- The Gonzo Papers: Vol. 3: Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream. HST

A lot of Hunter Thompson in there I know. Just have been on a kick lately.

8 Movies I've seen 8 times:

- "The Big Lebowski": My favorite flick out there.

- "Caddyshack": Bill Murray quite possibly at his best. Arguably, Rodney Dangerfield at his.

- "Young Frankenstein": Comedy gold!!

- "Anchorman": Pretty much has made me laugh harder than anything that I have ever seen

- "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas": Damn fine job of demonstrating the late Doctor of journalism.

- "The Empire Strikes Back": Fellow Star Wars nerds rejoice!!

- "You've Got Mail": I don't have to defend myself to you people.

- "Batman Begins": Christian Bale as Batman is the shit. Sorry Michael Keaton, you had a good run. The Toast is really looking forward to "The Dark Knight" when it comes out here in July.

- "Die Hard": Fucking Awesome!! Still to this very day. Sweet.

Virginia Beach Mutha-Fuckas!!!

So, the Corolla is all stocked and ready to roll for a sweet three plus hour drive down to Virginia Beach this afternoon. The Toast is tentatively set to take off from the office at about 3pm for a rendezvous with Kool-Aid at our Alexandria apartment to change into short pants and grab any last minute necessities (sunblock and road beers, I'm looking at you here).

Pretty much our plan for the weekend is simple:

- rise and shine, you're at the fuckin' beach...JACKPOT!!
- take advantage of liberal all-you-can-eat policy at hotel's continental breakfast
- look good in swimwear (dang dang!!)
- lie on beach, thoroughly enjoy recent purchase of HST's "The Rum Diary"
- prevent Toasted Irish skin sunburn w/ repeated sunblock applications (SPF 50 bitches!!)
- build elaborate sand castles with Target purchased sand toys (weeee!!!)
- run around and demonstrate frisbee skills for passers by
- check out Kool-Aid when she is not paying attention (it should be known that the Toast is always caught)
- locate nearest on-boardwalk ice cream distributor
- go out for night time eats, some drinks but let's not get crazy here
- rest easy Toast, you've had a tough one
- repeat
- spend Sunday hitting up awesome rides at beer themed amusement park (aces!!)

Basically I need this little respite of a vacation here, albeit kinda short. Work has been weird and oddly stressful of late and with the nonstop running around with rugby and standard day to day stuff this nice four day'er comes at the perfect time. Also, the Toast loves him some Rolley-Coasters and word on the street is that Busch Gardens is chock full o' them. I almost forgot, I'm spending a day plus in Colonial Williamsburg to boot. The History Major side of the Toast absolutely goes nuts for this shit.

And from what I hear from the Kool-Aid, this is to be our first REAL vacation together. I mean, we've gone places but each trip we take seems to have involved some sort of extraneous circumstances: either another couple (Little Crapper and Mary for Yanks weekend in NYC last summer), another family (Trip to see Ma Dukes in Chigago this past Jan.), or random weddings (i.e. friend's wedding in Albany last summer/her Brother's wedding in Vermont last fall). This one is all Kool-Aid and me. Not gonna lie to you; I like this idea and I'm excited to be a part of it.

So that's about it. Last minute rundown of items; book..check. sunglasses..check. beers and fruit to enhance on beach enjoyment..check. goofy cabana wear..check. kick-ass mix for drive down to VA beach..check. Attractive lady friend..check. Nice ass weather for a few days..check. Yep, everything certainly is coming up Casey. Enjoy the long weekend internet folks. Toast/Casey OUT!!!

Eat Shit Cancer!!!

Jon Lester threw a no-hitter for the Sox last night as they beat the Royals at Fenway 7-0 and it probably couldn't happen to a better person in the majors. Lester, only 24, has already had to go through so much in his young career and as the day goes on you folks out there will continually hear about his overcoming of non-Hodgkins lymphoma since being diagnosed just 21 months ago. Terry Francona probably has put it best though in one of his many responses to Lester's heroics last night:

"He's not just a good kid because he threw a no-hitter," Terry Francona said. "He's a good kid because he's a good kid."

Lester's No-No last night seems to begin to cement his knack for extraordinary events since his emotional return to playing ball. I mean, he won his first game back in that July night last summer in Cleveland, pitched the World Series clinching Game 4 last fall in Colorado, and finally culminating last night in a No-Hitter in front of a sold out Fenway Park and with the Red Sox Nation glued to their sets at home. The Lefty was consistantly throwing first pitch strikes and hitting 94, 95, even 96 mph with his fastball, showing tremendous command with all of his pitches walking only two (one in the ninth) and striking out a career high nine batters. Hell, he's beaten cancer. I think that can also be classified as extraordinary; don't you??

I came into the game last night at about the third inning or so following a trip to the gym and had it on in the background whilst I made some quite delicious chicken marsala. The game already pretty much at hand as the Sox were up 5-0 and we were greeted with a Varitek homer in the 6th as Kool-Aid and I sat down to eat some damn tasty bird. From there on out, Kool-Aid and I intenetly watched every pitch while the Fenway crowd remained standing until the final out in support of Lester.

But the moment of the evening came after Lester recorded the final out and after the traditional jumping all over the pitcher at the mound in celebration. As Lester began hugging his way through all of his teammates, he then came upon Manager Terry Francona and the two seemed to embrace each other as almost father and son. Tito went so far as to call Lester his son with a class that seems to be growing in Francona each day.

"This probably isn't fair to say, but I feel like my son graduated and my son threw a no-hitter," said Francona, whose son Nick had graduated from Penn earlier in the day, and who had grown close to Lester during his ordeal.

Francona continued: "To watch him do that tonight was beyond words. What a story. You feel like a proud parent. We're proud of him all the time but to watch him do that tonight was beyond words. I tried to put it into words but it's hard because -- what a story."

"It's something I'll remember for a long time," said Lester. "I've been through a lot the last couple of years. He's (Francona) been like a second dad to me, It was just a special moment right there. "He cares a lot about his players. It's not just about what you can do on the field."

Last night was something that Red Sox fans, and all baseball fans alike will cherish and talk about for some time to come. Just a few months after pitching the clinching game of the World Series, the cancer survivor Lester, who's still just a kid, goes out and pitches a no-hitter. Basically, its inspirational stuff for the ages. Today, the Toast feels good and so should you.

What are your Desert Island 5?

Ok, we all have them and since I'm not really in all that much of a writing mood, nor a thinking one, let's just see what five albums you'd have to have if stranded on a desert island. Special bonus points for any Phil Collins takers. Losers.

1. "The Bends", Radiohead
2. "London Calling", The Clash (Honorable Mention: "Sandinista")
3. "Quadrophenia", The Who
4. "Ten", Pearl Jam
5. "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea", PJ Harvey

Shenanigans

Just a recap of random goings on. Have a good weekend.

- Radiohead completely dranched the shit out of me last sunday. Not once did the torrential downpour let up. Five hours of being cold and soaked to the core has rendered me ill the past few days. They still put on a pretty decent show especially when I was hit up with a little Karma Police and Fake Plastic Trees during the encore. However, it will always be remembered for the weather that was endured. Why Virginia...why??

- Nothing cures Friday afternoon boredom like a giant bag of peanut butter M&M's.

- Yesterday I kinda parked a little too close to a pickup on the street in front of my apartment. In response to this, the corrola was met with a note that simply said: "Fuck You"! Alright pal; take a look at yourself. Now give yourself an open handed slap to the mouth. You live in a large city with a high population and you've never been boxed in a tiny bit before. Grow up Peter Pan..Count Chocula.

- the other day Kool-Aid and I hit up a Chipper here in Old Town. Now this place, called Eamonn's, labeled itself as a true Dublin Chipper. Would a true Dublin Chipper serve you Guiness in a plastic cup?? For shame Eamonn's...for shame.

- I've been without internet at home since Sunday and after I strategically placed a call to tech support the earliest that they can send a tech to come get me back online and thus meet my daily at home internet needs is this Sunday morning at 9am. Fucking Comcast.

- Chef Boy-Ar-Dee is some pretty tasty shit and works wonders when you are in a pinch and need something for lunch, especially when it was purchased on sale so your pantry is loaded to the gills with Mr. Boy-Ar-Dee's finest. Today I had the mini ravioli's with meatballs. Absolutely Exquisite.

- I am attempting to win a go-kart in a at-work raffle for a company sponsored carnival that takes place on Sunday. This is me with my fingers crossed.

- Over the past few weeks I couldn't tell you the amount of ice cream that I have eaten. Kool-Aid and I have gone out for ice cream, both visiting places ranging from the corporate spectrum like Maggie Moo's to local favorites in The Dairy Godmother, or just eating a shitload of chipwiches and Ben and Jerry's at home. This recent trend does not bode well for beach season.

- Any film that features the incomperable Kurt Russell has its chances of being awesome increased at least three fold. Recent random Russell films viewed include:

"Death Proof" (which, of the Grindhouse flicks, was much better than "Planet Terror")

"The Thing" (A fucking classic)

"Tombstone" (Kilmer was the balls as Doc Holliday)

"Big Trouble in Little China" (Russell as Jack Burton: "When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the bar room wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail.")

Dem shits is all sorts of bad ass!!

That's it, that's all, that's all there is. SHA-ZAMM!!

Oh....Hello There.

This morning I sort of took my sweet ass time getting moving prior to work. I stayed under the covers far longer than normal after my daily Kool-Aid wake up attempt. I rolled around and hid my head under the blankeys attempting to grasp five more minutes of sleepies. I contemplated shaving for a bit and just stood in front of the mirror before I just went ahead and made myself pretty for the day at the office. My typical shower time was extended three fold as I just didn't feel like getting out from underneath the ever so relaxing and soothing warmer than warm shower water. I debated for about 5 minutes on what shirt and pants combo I was going to choose to strut around in all day for the ladies (and some gentlemen) at the workplace. Because of this there did come a time in my daily routine that some things had to get skipped and that was, what rumor has, the most important thing of the day...a balanced breakfast.

Traditionally the Toast just grabs him a little lunch baggie full of frosted mini wheats and a bananna as he heads out the door for the morning commute to beautiful Bethesda. However, with Radiohead on Sunday night and the early part of the week chock full o' activity there has been no time to re-up on some breakfast supplies so this morning I just ran out the door with my laptop and gym bag and assumption that breakfast today would have to take a backseat to some skillful driving in order to make it to work "relatively" on time. About halfway into my journey I began to feel those hunger pangs that made me wish that I hadn't stayed in bed until it became absolutely necessary to get out from under the covers. I sort of wished that I hadn't contemplated shaving for those precious minutes, extended my shower time three fold, or even debated internally for that spot of time on what stupid work clothes to wear and instead just threw on what ever was clean or whatever was next in the standard Toast work-wear rotation. I was damn hungry and at this point there was nothing that I could really do about it.

So I walked into my building not eating the bananna that I normally would from the walk to the parking lot to the front door. I began to approach the section of our office suite where my particular office is located without the baggie of mini wheats that I am accustomed to take down with my morning coffee while I check email and any blog activity. I turn on the light in my office after opening the door and I go to fetch my laptop out of my bag when I see what could only be seen as a gift from the heavens above placed strategically where my lappy is rested daily. What is this fanciest of plays you ask?? Well...simply put, a shmuffin.


Normally I would have preferred a crossantz but one in my situation cannot be a begger nor a chooser and sometimes you just can't get what you want but you just might find that you get what you need. Oh...blessed are you Sheetz customers that I work with. The Toast is certainly over joyed to have you in the office. Now, if you'll excuse me, this shmuffin is not going to take care of itself.

"You have not been..Paying Attention"

I'm going to see fucking Radiohead; I almost forgot!! It just plain ol' slipped my mind but the Toast and a bevy of assorted ladies and gents get to go check out Radiohead this weekend. Kinda wish it wasn't a Sunday evening show as I have a big, day long pow-wow of a meeting downtown on Monday at 8AM. Can't call in sick to that one I'm afraid. Maybe I'll just tell all dem co-workers I hopped on the wrong metro. Hopefully Kool-Aid can still do that killer metro operator impression.

"Please stand back..doors open on the left." oooh.....(fingers crossed)

You'd have thought that with all of the trouble that went into getting these seats I'd be a little more aware of the goings on. I just hope that I am able to walk on Sunday as us rugby boys have our final game of the spring season on Saturday afternoon and it can come no sooner as I am already having a heap of trouble walking around. Just looking forward to a bit o' rest I suppose. Now where I was I? Oh yeah. RADIOHEAD...WOOO!!!!

"I learned fried chicken at the school of hard knocks."

The Toast is an awfully busy man and because of this fact I miss a ton of shit: i.e. birthdays, frequent bat mitzfahs, proper restroom breaks, the McRib for a limited time only, and most importantly, popular music and television. Now, sometimes this isn't such a bad thing, American Idol I'm looking your way on this one. But every once in a while being a man about town with two hundred things to do will cause you to miss some of the worth whiles out there. Good thing that technology has a way to get around some of these instances.

About two weeks ago the Toast made himself a nice little purchase from Amazon; that being the first season of "30 Rock" on DVD. Now, I had experienced this show a few times before but had never really given it the proper attention that a show of this magnitude requires. We'll blame the Thursday evening rugby practices for my lack of devotion..and all the sports watching and drinking that can also take up my highly precious time. Now, from what I had seen previous to this clutch buy I had found particularly hilarious so this wasn't one of those impulse grabs that we Toasts are known for; plus it had a little bit of Tina Fey, which is never gonna hurt nerds like me.

Well, ever since this online purchase I have been sucking down episodes of "30 Rock" like dino nuggets. Presently I am two dvd's down with one to go and when I run out, its all tremendous dang it for this guy as I'm going to have to wait and watch episodes one week at a time like some sort of chump. No idea what I am going to do then. Anywho, the interactions between the head writer character Fey and the eccentric executive character Alec Baldwin are priceless and really make the show. One of my favorites includes Jack Donaghy (Baldwin) explaining to Liz Lemon (Fey) why he can't get rid of the beeper he bought from her beeper salesman boyfriend: "I can't. I'm expecting a call from 1983." Fuck it, any time Baldwin is on the screen you're most likely about to see something funny. I'll add a case in point here in a few, if I have internet at home that is.

**sidenote**I fucking hate comcast and their ability to have non-working internet service about 67% of the time.

Realistically there are so many other portions of the show that make it great, especially when this seems to be a time in which there are few comedies on television even worth my time (opinion of course). From the fact that Fey's character spends half of the episodes talking about food (sandwiches!) and getting drunk, to frequent hilarious guest spots like Will Arnett (GOB) as Donaghy's homosexual archnemesis, a surprisingly hilarious version of Tracy Morgan, multiple references to star wars which is always comedy gold for it's nerd like fan base, and that flashback humor that pops up every now and then which appeals to the no attention span side of me, this show has got it working in all the right spots. It's entertaining, smart, chock full o' hilarious writing, great supporting cast, and hits you with stuff that makes you think or the quick Donaghy one liner. It's pretty safe to say that: "I love me this show so much, I want to take "30 Rock" behind the middle school, and get it pregnant."


**Update**
To go with my Donaghy talk from earlier

Kickass albums of my younger days: Live's "Throwing Copper"

The Toast loves music, dig?? Also, the Toast grew up during the grunge era of music so it should be known that I am far more experienced in picking out fucking awesome beats than about 83% of the rest of the internet. So the Toastedblog staff here has decided to go ahead and put together I nice little recurring post type thing that goes back and references all of the kick ass shit that I grew up with, took chances during my teenage years with, and still to this day rock fairly regularly. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, KICKASS ALBUMS OF MY YOUNGER DAYS.

Seems weird that I start off a segment about kickass music with a post dedicated to a Live album as the past few years and albums have not done much for the "rockin'" cred (I mean, have you listed to one of their latest "Songs of Black Mountain"?), but back in the early and mid 90's this band knew how to get shit done. And I'm not talking about songs like "Lightning Crashes", which is a little mushy for all the teen angst I was ridden with. I'm talking about rockin' tunes like "Iris" and "White, Discussion", and fucking "Stage". Even when they had songs that were about to hit you with some feelings, they kinda rocked (see "I Alone" below).

It's easier not to be wise
And measure these things by your brains
I sank into eden with you
Alone in the church by and by

I'll read to you here, save your eyes
You'll need them, your boat is at sea
Your anchor is up, youve been swept away
And the greatest of teachers wont hesitate
To leave you there, by yourself,
Chained to fate

I alone love you
I alone tempt you
I alone love you
Fear is not the end of this!

It's easier not to be great
And measure these things by your eyes
We long to be here by his resolve
Alone in the church by and by
To cradle the baby in space
And leave you there by yourslef
Chained to fate

Oh, now, we took it back too far,
Only love can save us now, all these riddles that you burn
All come runnin back to you, all these rhythms that you hide
Only love can save us now, all these riddles that you burn
Yeah, yeah, yeah

I know what you're saying: "You're kidding me right??". and it's true, a lot of their lyrics are a bit preachy and, in times, kinda corny. But in the end, these York, PA boys were able to pull it off. At times I don't know why or how really and if I had the ability to get onto youtube here at the office you can give it a ganders yourself and you too internet reader will see why. After all is said and done though, a teenaged Toast could just throw this album on and rock his "problems" away. "Throwing Copper" should and will continue to be cranked up to 11.

We're Re-Listing Dang Its People!!

This past saturday had the Toast traveling up Baltymore way as my rugby team was slated to play in a day long tournament known by the locals as the North Bay Cup. Day long tournaments are great. You just hang out all day and play fucking rugby, that's it. The only problem with it is...you just hang out all day and play fucking rugby. And when I say all day, I mean all. day. long. Our first match of the day started at 10:30am and by the time we had completed taking the final game and winning the tournament it was 8:00pm.

We're talking four full games of rugby people...all in one day on a field that was so hard that it felt like playing on a poorly paved parking lot; every time you hit the deck you felt it. So, needless to say that I am still a little worse for the wear; banged up if you will. Not gonna lie to you my lovely internet readers, the Toast is straight up whiny. Presently I'm featuring a laundry list of injuries and such that has me all hop-along here at the office this morning and getting met with questions of if I'm ok and inquiries wondering what I really do with my weekends.

A quick rundown of what ails me:
-I dislocated the ring finger on my right hand
-twisted my previously bum wheel, right knee has a bit more trouble than the everyday trouble it normally has and is used to
-inability to fully straighten my right arm or lift it any higher than my shoulder
-when attempting to look from side to side I must keep my head straight as my neck won't allow simple movements, basically, I turn around like a superhero (i.e. batman sans cape)
-a pretty fierce scrape and deep bruise the size of a five pound ham on my left hip to go along with the dozen others per aforementioned field conditions

Also, at one point I had to take a minute for the first time ever playing rugby in result of a hit. I've never really had to do that before. Basically taking a minute in rugby is exactly what it sounds like. Rugby, like soccer, has a the clock continuously running and spot subs are not made. So, following the hit, and I mean I was absolutely blasted a few seconds following a pass that I made, I had the wind knocked completely out of me and spent a minute or two just gathering myself while taking a knee. From then on out, I spent the remainder of the game looking for a window of opportunity to line up the party responsible for the cheap shot. Kool-Aid has since done her best in these dire times by giving me the back rub that pretty much blows all other back rubs out of the water last night. She can be awful fierce when it comes to fixing all of the man-friend's rugby related back issues. "Oh mama...hurts so good" was all that could be said.

With all that complaining thrown out at you, let me get to the good stuff. We did end up winning this tournament in North Bay and we looked pretty good doing so, aside from our second match of the day against a team from Brooklyn; the team we ended up meeting again and defeating in the finals. By the time I got back home after a few beers at the post-tourney drink up it was shortly after 10pm and Kool-Aid was there waiting with some frozen pizza (JACKPOT!!) following her day at a horse race with her lady pals called the Gold Cup. And I also got to take in another viewing of one of my faves, "28 Days Later" (Two words, FUCK. and YES.). 2/3rds a frozen pizza after a long day of rugby and a sweet Danny Boyle flick to go with it, that's going to scratch you right where you itch.

This tournament pretty much signals the end of the spring rugby season as we only have a week left of practice and a friendly match against a superleague team down here in DC this coming weekend. Not really looking forward to the end of the season but it will give me some spare time for my other awesome tasks and pursuits: ultimate frisbee, teaching kool-aid how to golf, getting some hiking in, continuing my struggle in learning how to play tennis, etc. Plus, the ice hockey league that I am in has just started up again for the summer so I'll have that to look forward to. Don't worry about me folks, there's plenty to get up for. Whoop Whoop!!

"Right near da beach..BOY-eee!!"

Currently the Toast is doing a nice bit of planning as a scheduled trip is in the works. That's right kids...Kool-Aid and the Toast are beach bound as a weekend in Virginia Beach is all the rage and the haps for Memorial Day. Word on the street is that we're looking at taking off on Thursday afternoon putting us down in Virginia Beach hopefully by the early evening, all primed for hitting up a nice seafood joint so I can get my crab eatin' on. Throw in a day and a half at Busch Gardens with the rolleycoasters and this seems to have the makings of a nice little long weekend here.

In preparation I have been spending a bit of time researching Virginia Beach online just to get an idea on what to expect as I have yet to head down that-a-ways as I am still in the infancy stage of my Virginia residency. All in all it's none to shabby but I guess I'd be saying that about any vacation resort type place that plans to feature Kool-Aid primarily bikini-clad. Rolleycoasters, seafood, beach time'in, Kool-Aid in provacative attire..looks like everything is coming up Casey!! ACES!

Early on today all that I pretty much understood about the Virginia Beach area is that it features a boardwalk and our hotel is on the ocean front. Yup...that's it, there's a beach to lie on. You know what that means, burnt Toast..HA! Anywho, following a bit of poking around, I have discovered that it is a richly historic area (as most in Virginia are, or at least seem to be) and that it is surpisingly well populated. I thought that it was just going to be some high class, but smaller beach community. Nowhere did I invision what Wikipedia told me; 435,000 people with hundreds of hotels and miles of beaches...what's the deal??

In any event, this little getaway should be a damn good time. A couple days of relaxing on the beach, maybe take in a few of the local sites, and surprisingly, have my first trip with Koo-Aid to a theme park. Who's the big winner?? This guy!!

**As a special bonus today I have just been informed that Kool-Aid has acquired three of the Toast's unofficial second favorite treat (the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie) from some function at her office. If there is no hill running at rugby practice tonight I will most assuredly rest easy this evening as today has truly made me the king of kings.

"Get your patchouli stink outta my store!!"

It's no lie that one of my favorite movies of all time is "High Fidelity" and just the other day I finished reading up a copy of Nick Hornsby's novel that I recently purchased at the used book store down the street from me here in Old Town Alexandria. Well, in both book and movie our hero and main character, Rob Fleming (Gordon is his last name in the film), is the owner of a fledgling record store and to not only pass down time at work, but even time of hardship in his life, he makes top 5 lists covering a wide array of topics ranging from top 5 track one,side one singles to top 5 breakups, the latter of which pretty much becomes the plot.

As I reread the book over the next few days I couldn't help finding that I was unconsciously doing the same thing, that is, coming up with my own variety of top 5 lists and now I've decided to share with you folks. The deciding on my favorite songs part was one of the more difficult things that I have ever had to accomplish, and I graduated from private college. Keep in mind internet reader, the following are just opinion and should not be construed as fact. Also, some may end up as top 7's, just roll with it.

Top 5 Movies
- The Big Lebowski
- The Empire Strikes Back
- High Fidelity
- The Incredibles
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Top 5 Bands
- Pearl Jam
- Radiohead
- Tool
- the Clash
- the Who


Pearl Jam, "Rearviewmirror"

Top 5 Singles
- "Rearviewmirror", Pearl Jam
- "Fake Plastic Trees", Radiohead
- "The Magnificient Seven", the Clash
- "So Watcha Want", the Beastie Boys
- "Queen Bitch", David Bowie


Bill Murray. FUCK and YES!!

Top 5 Singles (Tier Two)
- "Alive", Pearl Jam
- "Push It", Tool
- "Save it For Later", the English Beat
- "Rainbow Connection", Kermit the Frog
- "Rebubula", moe.

Top 5 TV Shows
- Arrested Development
- The Simpsons
- Seinfeld
- The Muppet Show
- Looney Tunes

Top 5 Guitar Solos
- "Alive", Mike McCready of Pearl Jam
- "Comfortably Numb", David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
- "Paranoid Android", Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead
- "Stash", Trey Anastasio of Phish / "Knights of Cydonia", Matt Bellamy of Muse
- "Third Eye", Adam Jones of Tool


Muse, "Knights of Cydonia"

Top 5 Sandwiches
- turkey on seeded rye
- philly cheese steak with peppers, onions, and mushrooms
- chipwich
- pulled pork sandwich
- plain ice cream sandwich. ate one with lunch in high school almost every day. delicious.

Top 5 ladies I'd want to console me following tragic Kool-Aid loss in bus crash
- Kate Beckinsale
- Jessica Alba
- Tina Fey
- circa mid 90's Meg Ryan
- Liz Phair


Hey!! Kool-Aid wears glasses sometimes too!!

Top 5 Guilty Pleasures
- peanut m&m's
- Huey Lewis and the News (closely followed by George Michael)
- "You've Got Mail"
- Chick Rock (i.e. Liz Phair, PJ Harvey, the Yeah,Yeah,Yeahs)
- dancing when just happy or intoxicated/car singing.


oh..and of course, a little David Lee Roth. I love when the fireworks go off, around the 3:36 mark.

Top 5 Sports Heroes
- Ray Bourque (favorite hockey player of all time)
- Cam Neely (went as far to model my style of play after him)
- Trot Nixon (the original Boston Dirt Dog)
- Mark Bavaro (Giants fans know what I'm talkin' about)
- Phil Simms (88.3 completion percentage in Super Bowl XXI)


Cam Neely

Top 5 Careers
- professional ice hockey player: fuck that'd be awesome. I'd be in great shape, making good bank, not as high profile as other atheletes, maybe even endorse a Canadian beer and we all know that Canadian beer is like moonshine. plus hockey is greatest sport out there.

- paleontologist: what can I say, I like me some dinosaurs.

- music journalist: I like to write, I like beats, why not get paid for both. but not reviewing and listening to the majority of crap out there today. be kinda like Rob in regards to this one.

- own either my own music or book store and having it be successful: Get to hang out and listen to my favorite tunes all day long and its something that I think I would be really good at. Let's face it, I'm a people person and I belong interacting with others. plus, I'd be working for myself and not someone else. oh...and this..suck it online purchasing!!

- own my own bar: see above...but with booze.

Garbage Day!

Quite possibly the finest scene in all of cinema.

400 Babies!!

The Bruins lost their series to Montreal last night and just wanted something to make me happy. This is starting to do the trick.

"So, my cologne is distilled from the bilge of Rupert Murdoch's yacht."

You want to learn somethin' about uncomfortable situations?? Let me hit you with this little scenario. It seems that I am on the daily cycle of going to the bathroom at about quarter after four every afternoon here at the office. Well that's all fine and dandy and everything but it seems that I'm not the only one that makes this standard procedure. Who else joins our hero in this daily practice, why it's our company president that also appears to be on this cycle (see ladies, our cycles can coincide as well). Not only that, he seems to be a bit of a talker at the urinal to boot! So, being already uncomfortable enough standing right next to a corporate big whig with my pants down, I now have to engage in simple pleasantries with him.

Now, I'm not too sure if he's just not that well versed in men's room protocol or if he never got the handbook but standard procedure for us dudes in the bathroom is to just look ahead and do our business...unless you're about 10 beers in and at "insert sporting event here". Then you can talk all you want on a variety of topics. The horrible third down pass that you saw. Why in the hell did they run three consecutive pass plays on the goal line?? Man, that Josh Beckett sure is hurlin' some serious heat tonight!! Did you see the rack that blonde in the beer line?? I can't believe I ate for the "cycle"!!

**Eating for the cycle consists of taking down the following at a Milwaukee Brewers game: hot dog, polish sausage, italian sausage, and bratwurst. I once experienced two friends not only accomplish this feat, but continued eating for a second cycle in one sitting. Unprecedented!!**

However, we are not at "insert sporting event here" and I am certainly not 10 beers in. This is not the time to bring up how my goes at training our new office in Cherry Hill, NJ went. I'm sorry buddy, I don't want to rain on your parade and I don't mean to come down on you. But it's just not my deal, talking in the men's room that is. I'd prefer to make all my bathroom runs at home base if I could. Although I don't seem to have a problem just taking a knee on the rugby pitch and pulling up the right leg of my shorts to take care of business. Ooh....did I take this subject too far??

Everything's all Highs and Lows; Peaks and Valleys.

Just decided to hit the readers up with the haps over the past few days. It's a whirlwind of activity I tells ya!! However, everything is not always gravy in the relm of the Toast. Ladies and gentlemen, the dang it's and their respective reverse dang it's in recent Toast activity; and vice versa.

Reverse Dang It: On Friday night, Kool-Aid and the Toast hit up the brand new Nationals Park for a game against the Braves. It's damn gorgeous outside with the weather all sunny and about 75 degrees. Hell...I even wear short pants with flippety flops.

Dang It'ed: Eating what was known as the half-smoke with the works. We're talking chili, onions, and mustard. Pile on some nachos and a few good time beers it makes for an interesting evening for those seated around you.



Reverse Dang It: Kool-Aid brings me a bucket of KFC to eat while watching the Bruins game on Saturday night as I'm too lazy and dead tired following a few rugby games earlier in the day.

Dang It'ed: Putting down an entire 10 piece bucket of chicken in two sittings. Trust me folks, this should not be attempted....at all costs.

Reverse Dang It: Aforementioned rugby games on Saturday.

Dang It'ed: It's fucking humid as hell outside and Toasts sometimes do not do well in the sun. Oh...and we lost our playoff game against Harrisburg. It was a good match though, just didn't get a few things to go our way. Plus, it seemed that they wanted it a bit more even though we had an advantage in numbers and appeared to be in better shape as they were huffing ang puffing about 20 minutes into the first half.

Reverse Dang It: Spending a Sunday with Kool-Aid where I go out and do my best to boost the economy singlehandedly by purchasing many various and completely random items. Well, I did need new rugby boots but what the hell is this tennis racket all about?!?!

Dang It'ed: Going with Kool-Aid to a shoe WAREHOUSE!! Sigh... Plus, I did not do as well as anticipated on my tax return. The "classic" unsweet haul. How's that tennis racket looking now?!?! Damn you's gubberment, damn you's all to hell!!

Reverse Dang It: The Toast getting all important like by traveling up to Jersey for workies for a few days and doing a a few presentations.

Dang It'ed: Waking up at 3:30AM to meet a few co-workers at my office in Bethesda at 5AM. Whomever green lighted this idea deserves a shovel to the face. While my presentation goes very well on Tuesday I run into a few troubles on my work trip. My hotel room gets no channels that carry any hockey games and Game 4 of the Bruins and Canadiens series is on. I am forced to walk down the street to a Bennigan's where I can only find Flyers coverage with limited Bruins highlights. (B's end up getting shutout 1-0 and are now down in the series 3-1). Wednesday starts with a bang as I do not get my 6AM wake up call and upon meeting my two co-workers in the lobby for breakfast I promptly spill two consecutive cups of coffee. Plus, all you toastedblog readers are forced to go two whole days without new material. That may be the biggest dang it of them all. However, reading this particular post is not doing well for the cause.

Well..there you have it. It's not a complete rundown of the recent days in the life of the Toast but I'm not spending any more time trying to be witty and creative as I seem to have nothing today. Besides....I can't give out all me secrets. Do me a favor though folks, root for the B's tonight. Maybe they can steal one in Montreal thus keeping hockey on the Toast's front burner for a while longer. Now...I have to get back to doin' stuff. Take 'er easy.

Hey!!! They Won One!!!

The Bruins, after dropping the first two games of the series in Montreal, decided to go ahead and win one last night taking Game 3 in overtime 2-1, and let me tell you toastedblog faithful, it was a fantastic game to watch. With limited time here this morning I can't really get into detail or anything, but Milan Lucic is pretty much the balls. Lucic gave Boston its first lead on the Habs all season early in the first period by taking a pass from Marc Savard in the slot and fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Montreal goaltender Carey Price. Savard would also get the the game winner about halfway through the first overtime after he jumped off the bench as the extra attacker on a delayed Montreal penalty and hammered home a terrific cross-ice feed from defenseman Dennis Wideman. The Toast yelps with approval and Ooohh weeee...we've got ourselves a series.

I really can't say enough about the way Lucic played last night though. He was flying all night and hitting every Montreal player that was on the ice. And Thomas was outstanding for the second consecutive game stopping 27 shots from the high falootin' Canadiens.

What's more important is the fact that it is incredibly awesome feeling something more when watching playoff hockey. Its been a few years since I've had the pleasure of seeing the B's in the playoffs and I am thoroughly enjoying every minute; whether I have had to tape a game and watch it late night because of rugby practice or foregoing a night out on the town on Saturday so I can stay home with a few beers and watch the Bruins eventually lose in overtime, I am watchin' the SHIT out of this series!! Normally I am forced to watch games that have far less meaning to the Toast. Granted, they are still awesome, I mean...it is playoff hockey. All the forechecking, hitting, overtime games, are still there. Its just that I have to live vicariously through other people's teams and not my own. Well, not this year. At least for now I still have the Bruins to make up for all my shortcomings throughout my storied career in hockey.

**The Toast resumes his hockey playing late Wednesday night as summer hockey league begins; this time we'll hopefully be missing out on that highly coveted first round playoff exit, much like this past winter.**

Game 4 is set for Tuesday at 7pm and with a scheduled work trip to New Jersey coinciding with my strong desire to watch playoff hockey I am going to have to do my best to find a bar with the game tomorrow night. Clearly I would rather have this work trip at another time but I guess one must never underestimate the staggering drawing power of the Garden State. Damn Jersey with your making me wake up at 4am so I can be at the office at 5am to drive to you with two other co-workers. You've already made me iron dress shirts now I have to wake up before dawn. I wasn't aware that my alarm clock had a 4am!?!?! Mark my words Jersey..if you make me miss Game 4 there's going to be hell to pay.

"Ain't that a B"!

Today, my former college roommate, current best buddy, and everyone's favorite little crapper turns 29 years old. Happy Birthday Little Charlie Coville!! On the weekends, Charlie does stunts for Little Richard in gay movies.

Now get down here for Pearl Jam!!! As of tomorrow morning your ticket is waiting.

**By the way, I am going for best available so get ready for close up shots of McCready jammin'!!**


/starts singing guitar solo from "even flow"

....awesome.

There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and it's filled with people who are filled with shit! And the vermin of the world inhabit it!

A while back I cracked an egg o' knowledge on y'all about movie watching with the Toast and what I was attempting to accomplish may not have been a weekly drilling but more creating a type of post that was going to jump out and say hello from time to time. Unfortunately supporters of the Toast on the internet have been without my rather important random movie knowledge. You have no idea what to rent, what to see. How will you get by without the Toast and his "rent that shit" take on fine cinema?? The answer simply is...you can't. Just try to imagine what you're lives would be like without me. Awful isn't it??

I just have one question for you all; have you seen some of that shit that is out there?!?! The reason that this hasn't been flung on you my devoted internet faithful isn't due to a lack of trying. I mean, I'll watch me some movies, they really rev my engine, but some are just not worthy to grace Toastedblog. There just is a lot of shitty films out there. However, I should really explain that I have been weeding through the crap and checking out some decent flicks. They just happen to be those that don't get any burn here on the blog is all. Take note to the list below:

- I am Legend
- No Country For Old Men
- Michael Collins
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age
- The Darjeeling Limited
- Beowulf
- Sunshine
- Death at a Funeral
- American Gangster
- Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End

What you read is a list of films that I went ahead and rented over the past, I don't know, few months. A few were decent (Sunshine, Funeral), some I had seen in theatres (Old Country, I'm talking about you here), some I wanted to see in theatres (Legend, Gangster, Darjeeling), and yet some were rented just to complete the trilogy (I couldn't even finish the third "Pirates" flick, it was that bad). I mean, as I had mentioned before in a previous post, I don't really take too many chances on bad cinema. Most often flicks will get at least a thumbs up from the Toast and those movies listed above aren't bad (once again, "Pirates" aside), they just don't have that certain special something. Except for "No Country", that movie was harsh. Yeah!

Now that doesn't mean that they'll get two very enthusiastic thumbs up from the Toast either. And that is why I am writing this very post you are reading. Or is it: "why I wrote the very post you are reading". Whatever, all I am trying to get across is that I did, in fact, recently catch a flick that gets the "highly coveted" two enthusiastic thumbs up stamp of approval from the Toast. What was that you ask?? Well, if you haven't deciphered the photo overhead I feel for you and your lack of awareness. IT WAS "SWEENEY TODD" DAMMIT!!

I found it hard to believe that Johnny Depp did not have any singing experience prior to this film, he's that good. I guess when you are an amazing talent stuff like singing comes naturally to you. Anyone who has caught the Toast's "electric" karoake version of "Don't be Cruel" by Bobby Brown knows exactly what I am talking about. Getting the movie down did require two takes as the first attempted viewing came on this past Saturday night following my day long rugby, drinking, and pulled pork binge but it is definitely worth a two hour sit down with some milk duds.

Since taking it all in I have found myself belting out tunes from this particular musical; just wandering around singing about "Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies" and "Pirelli's Miracle Elixer" as I am out completing my day to day. Depp's performance aside, which I won't call brilliant but will label as hella fine, the rest of the cast put together for "Sweeney" is fantastic and very fitting for the film. As usual, Alan Rickman plays a villian as only Rickman can, snobby and elitist with, I don't want to call it a charm because one definitely doesn't find Judge Turpin "charming", but its definitely him and Helena Bonham Carter is terrific as Mrs. Lovett, complete with a fine array of heaving bosom shots. Throw in Sacha Baron Cohen, albeit his part in the film is small, and you've got something working here. And they sing...well!!! Who knew??

The movie is dark, creepy, sweet, savvy, humorous, intense, and just a damn fine time. If a musical is getting this kind of take from the Toast you know it's good, as if it had "real bits of panther in it". To give it a two word review, one could call it dazzling disturbing. Just go ahead and rent it, you'll see for yourself.


**Quick Sidenote**

I really liked the song "By the Sea". Johnny Depp's body language throughout the whole tune is priceless.

*DING* Fries are Up!!

It should be no surprise to those close to the Toast that he is, what they call, fair skinned. To make matters like a hundred times worse, I don't totally get the concept of "sun screen". So, with a few rugby games this past Saturday I went ahead in doing my best to keep up with my nice Irish white boy image and decided to don a sunburn to take down all the lesser and weaker sunburns in it's path. Take that common sense!!!

So we have a Toast already walking around a little haggard and bit banged up following two hard hitting rugby games. Add what seems to be like a fifth degree sunburn to the mix you'd think I was on the verge of a certain and very painful death. All aboard the wicked pain train!! The thing that's killing me is that it probably wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't such a complete fucking baby about it. You should see me whining as I struggle to do even the most simple of tasks.

- Putting on a shirt: "Oooh....it scrapes my sweet, but tender, arms."

- Taking a shower: "I no wanna go in there, the steam causes it to sting."

- The intimate times: "Ah....can you move to the right, you're on my sunbuh....AHHH...you just caught it with your fingernails."

- Shaving: "Are you fucking kidding me?!?!? I'm still two days away from trying that shit!!"

Realistically we're looking at your classic farmer's tan with a sprinkle of flare as rugby shorts don't offer "traditional coverage". Let's just say that short shorts and high socks make for interesting burn lines. And I look like a fucking idiot at work today. I haven't really shaved since Friday morning, I'm completely red face, aside from the peeling skin I have in certain spots, and I'm itchy. You'd have thought I was going through some withdrawals here; and who's to say that I'm not?? Plus, it's not like this burn is going to turn into a boss tan either. My Irish roots won't allow that to happen. You must be out of your goddamn mind!! Stupid southern sun, I hate you. I never had this problem in early April back in Central NY.

Although this situation I have found myself in is not without its few, or should I say lone, high point. With the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in a few years I have entertained the thought of letting my sunburned enforced stubble turn into a full blown playoff beard. Nothing screams rabid New England hockey support like red facial hair. Only problem is that this look is most likely short lived as the B's have drawn the lucky number eight seed and have to face-off against the hated Habs. Damn you Montreal and your ability to just turn off the French!! Linguistic barriers do not stop and start at your convenience, you miserable piece of shit!! Has the whole world GONE CRAZY?! Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?

Man, I love that movie.

"Fuck the tournament??"

"We must have waffles! We must all have waffles forthwith!"

Ahoy hoy internet audience, remember when I hit you with this little gem??

"Make mental note to eat more eggo waffles as those fuckers are tasty."

Well, now I'm about to do you one better. I have just found the piece de resistance of the waffle world. You've heard of these Eggo waffle things before. Yeah, well this is pretty much going to blow that right out of the water; listen to this: Chocolate....Chip....Waffles. Think about it, you walk into a grocery store and see Eggo waffles sittin' there, there's chocolate chip Eggo's sittin' right beside it. So, lets get down to brass tacks. Which one are you gonna pick man?? That's right, the chocolate chip and BOY, are they something special.

You've gotta get hip and with it toastedblog faithful. We're living in different times man. We don't have the short attention spans like you kids today. We could just sit..and stare at a candle, for like, three hours and just, you know, have our minds BLOWN. I mean, eatin' an orange, well that's like takin' a trip through a citrus mountain...but with waffles.



Have I noticed these waffles before?? I think the better question would have been: Have I bothered to purchase these waffles before? The answer simply put is no. Until now. A recent trip to my local grocer's freezer found these little beauties and they have quickly touched my tender heart and soul. Man, with that syrup all warmed up, we're talkin' the tops here. I was fortunate enough to take two of them down yesterday and needless to say, it is something that all must experience as quickly as possible. So drop what you're doing and run, don't walk, to the nearest potential chocolate chip eggo waffle vendor and load that sumbitch of a cart up. Mark my words, you shant be disappointed.

It's Opening Day!!!

That's right!! It's time to rise up and kick a little ass toastedblog faithful. ROCK, FLAG, and EAGLE!!!