I used the word ’spelt’ in my last journal entry. Upon seeing my mother’s comment asking if spelt was a type of grain, I questioned whether ’spelt’ was a real word at all.

According to Dictionary.com ’spelt’ is, in fact, an acceptable past tense conjugation of the verb ‘to spell’ meaning ‘To constitute the letters of a word.’ However, “spelled” sounds like the better choice.

Upon further investigation I discovered the reason for my confusion. ‘Spelt’ is actually the British past tense of ‘to spell’ while ’spelled’ is the American past tense. So, as surprising as it may seem, I was incorrect.

And to answer my mother’s question: Yes, spelt is also a hearty wheat grown in Europe.

Kurt, Chris Baumann, jesse, and I went rock climbing this weekend. Kurt hadn’t been in awhile, and it was Chris’ first time. Kurt was all power. Huge giant leaping grabs and overly elaborate diving catches. Chris, being basketball tall and Ally McBeal thin, did an extremely good job and finished two 5.8’s.

Kurt and I also put up a dart board and reminisced* about the days when we had the dart board mounted on the 2nd floor porch of the man barn and would throw darts from the street through the barn door in an attempt to hit the board. We had a good time. The only way it could have been better is if Jon Abad had been there.

*i spelt this word properly on my first try

yesterday Jesse and I tried to put up a fingerboard. Fingerboards are strange little devices that mimic rock formations so that you can strengthen your fingers for rock climbing. We wanted to put it in the foyer. Here’s a simple “how to” for putting up fingerboards.

Step 1:Find studs in wall by drilling 47 holes wherever you think there might be a stud.

Step 2: Get frustrated and buy a stud finder
Step 3: Use stud finder to find actual studs
Step 4: Discover that there aren’t actually any studs because it’s an I-Beam
Step 5: Cut backing plate out of wood that stretches across jousts along top and bottom of I-Beam
Step 6: Mount fingerboard to backing plate
Step 7: Realize your screws aren’t long enough to mount the backing plate and postpone the project ’till later

Other than that, the weekend was a success.

TOPSITE UPDATE: Jon Abad and I are doing GREAT (#3 and #4). But, It seems that it resets every weekend. So, make it your Monday Ritual to click on the topsite button and vote again. Jon Abad and Mike D will rule this wptopsite even if we have to cheat tell everyone we know!

It’s like a dream come true:
Rockstar Rockclimbing

It’s a rock wall that has sensors in the climbing holds that will play a note when your weight pulls on it. Next time I’m in Sweden, I’m going there.
thanks to j.abad for the link

I have a friend who was trying to gain 50 lbs to win a bet.
he’s halfway there.

he wins the fat award of the week.

At the suggestion of one JonAbad, I have joined the race to the top of TOPSITE.

So Click on the funky icon in the top right of my page. The goal, of course, is for Jon and I to reign supreme at #1 and #2, thus controlling the vast wealth of fame and fortune that go with those coveted spots.

Right now I’m rated below a site that’s written entirely in Norwegian . I consider this a virtual kick in the pants.

that’s the icon. Click on that.

and after you click on mine, zip over to Jon’s site and click his too. we’re merging our powers to dominate the wordpress scene.

p.s. if you click on the stats button under my name you can leave an exciting review of my site.

check out that clip.

I’ve said it before: My band would reach instant stardom if we had Sting playing bass for us.

I really think the quality of the music wouldn’t matter with Sting in the band. He wouldn’t even have to play anything. he could just hang out in the recording studio. I bet it’d awesome.

Then, after we soar to fame, we could kick Sting out. Imagine that! It’d be like that one time when a former Miss America asked if she could take the seat next to me at the cafeteria of my former place of employment and I said: “no, I’m sorry. that seat is taken”

Really though, we would never kick Sting out of our band. he’s too legendary.

Sting? if you ever happen across this as you sludge through the endless mass of the internets, you can consider this an open invitation to jam with my band.

My uncle Jim got me an ‘inside the egg electric egg scrambler’ for Christmas.

It’s really weird. You jam the egg onto a small off-center needle which then WHIPS around inside the egg.

Amazingly, it is actually quite convenient. Every time I want omeletes, french toast, or crepes I don’t have to dirty an extra dish for beating eggs. Also, last night we tried Hard boiling these yolkless eggs.

it was strange. Tasty… but strange.

artful taste unmatched
oh sharp Vermont white cheddar
the Van Gogh of cheese

Jesse called the gas guy to get us a new gas meter. They are coming on Saturday between 8 and 4.

Between EIGHTam. and FOURpm.

mind you, that’s an 8 hour block of time. I bet if they REALLY tried, they could cut that down to a 6 hour block. Maybe even four hours.

So anyway, if anyone would like to visit CT this weekend, someone will be home between 8 and 4.

This weekend was a fury of activity followed by a swath of inactivity. First, the fury:

Friday night I spent some time with Wizzo, the captain, infinity, francisco, kate, and others. There was a beruit game like never before. Wizzo stood at one end of the table, The captain at the other. I sat at one side holding a guitar so tightly, francisco was opposite me holding his guitar so tightly.

When wizzo shot, Francisco would play rhythm spanish rock guitar and I would solo furiously. When the captain was throwing, our roles would reverse. It was something for the record books.

After quesadillas, smore brownies, golf, and a perfectly timed HnH entrance, I left to visit my mother for her birthday.

As usual, my rents were extremely busy bustling around fixing up the porch. My mother was painting some exciting colors and looking happy. Happy birthday mom!

soon after, I left for Manchester to visit jill. and thus begins the swath of inactivity. We watched three lifetime original movies. My advice to others: Never watch lifetime original movies. They were HORRIBLE. MISERABLE. we also saw Garden State. That was good. I enjoyed it.

Sunday I dug my car out of the parking space with my window scraper and mosied my way back to CT. stopping in the woo to see tom & mykal. My only weekend regret is not seeing glossy.

it was a good weekend.

So seeing as Alicia either doesn’t know how to type a movie review or she doesn’t know how to watch movies, I, Kurt Onofrey, am making a bid to claim the Movie Reviewer Title from her. From this day henceforth I will be both more dilligent in the Movie Reviewing Posting, as well as responding to movie review requests. And to kick off this new Golden Age I’ll start off with the National blockbuster, Ocean’s 12:

Ocean’s 12

Ocean’s 12 has been burning a path through America’s Movie theaters this past week and with good cause. Starring such dynamic acting talent as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Matt Damon. Reprising their roles as thieves and pickpockets from the remake of the the movie Oceans’ Eleven, Danny and his group of criminals are hit with a blast from the past as Las Vegas Casino kingpin Terry Benedict shows up to settle on a debt from the first movie. To make up for the money owed the crew must take a job to pay back the 160 million that they stole, plus interest.
The entire cast from the first film is back again from Don Cheadle to Bernie Mac. With such an all star cast you can’t really miss. Everyone plays a much more integral role in the caper this time and it is nice to see everyone taking part. After a few foul ups, a rival thief, and a pesky Interpol Agent (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the story starts to heat up. The acting in this film was just as amazing as the first film. The scheme and the eventual heist is one of the best laid stories i’ve seen in a while. But lets not put all the glory on the actors here. I found the cinemetography to be abosultely fabulous. One scene from an landing pad was pretty spectacular.
Over all I would say that this film surpasses the first film in its entertainment factor, but falls a little short of the original in its ingenuity. A definate purchase if your a fan of any of the stars in the movie, or if you enjoyed the original. I’d give this movie 4 Ocelot Claws out of 5.

Well I hope you enjoyed my first review. There are plenty more where that came from.

~ K

Is George W’s daughter Barbara cute?

(picture taken from CNN.com)

I didn’t think republicans could be attractive… (besides becky of course)
maybe the bush daughter is a democrat?

I have been plagued with a cold for almost two weeks now. I think it’s finally on its way out, but man what an annoyance. Jill believes that the duration of this illness has been lengthened by my poor sleep schedule. I’m sure she’s right, I just have the hardest time getting to bed early. This is even more true since I moved into the House of Rock.

I mean seriously. It’s the House of Rock.

I now have business cards with my name on it.

If you’d like one of my business cards (personalized and signed of course) you best sign up today. They are going like hot cakes!

I had a brief e-mail correspondence with my Uncle Jim who lives in Missouri about Jared Diamond’s new book COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

At the end of all my e-mails Gmail allows a ’signature’ mine is a quote about rock climbing:

“When you ride your bike, you’re working your legs, but your mind is on a treadmill. When you play chess, your mind is clicking along, but your body is stagnating. Climbing brings it together in a beautiful, magical way. The adrenaline is flowing, and it’s flowing all the time.” — Pat Ament

My uncle responded to my letter, and included an addendum to this quote:
“PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU ARE PLUMMETING TO YOUR DEATH!”

Ever notice the “Current Music” “current mood” things on many liverjournals/blogs? Well, I think I’m going to start including a “currently eating” start to my entries simply because most of the time when I’m updating, I’m also taking a snack break. And what better way to share my love of food with the world than to tell everyone exactly what I’m eating.

CAKE

On October 7th, Mike K. and I went to see Cake perform at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. A longtime fan of Cake, I was excited for weeks about this concert and couldn’t understand why neither my brother nor my sister wanted to have a night out on the town. I prepped, and repeatedly played “Motorcade of Generosity,” “Comfort Eagle,” “Fashion Nugget,” and “Prolonging the Magic” on my computer. I was worried about one thing, however: the newest album, “Pressure Chief.” Sure, “No Phone” is a good song, but upon purchasing the rest of the CD, I was sorely disappointed with the other tracks. I felt like John McCrae’s voice was weaker, and the songwriting lacked the biting flair of their previous attempts. Then, to make matters worse, I learned that “Northern State” would be the opening band, and after visiting their website, http://www.northernstate.net, I discovered that they were possibly the worst “band” I have ever experienced, even if only for a second. (Note to self: do not join all white female rap group - bad career move. Especially if one of the members has renamed herself “Hesta Prynn.” Actually, let me insert a little review of northernstate.net right now: easy to navigate, yet FEARFULLY WRONG.
Why, oh why, does your font change to street graffiti when I run my unsuspecting mouse arrow over it? And why does your music suck? And why does this woman exist: http://www.princesssuperstar.com/discography/is.shtml?
And why does she call her records “rekkids”? NO. STOP.)

Anyway, I had nothing to fear, for we skipped out on Northern Suck, and hit Chinatown instead. Here is my review for out Chow Chou City dinner: Yum. I ordered the delightful green beans and beef, and Mike got something equally as good, but I must confess I don’t remember what it was. The service was speedy, though, and the Tsing Tsao beer was fizzy and relaxing, setting the stage for: CAKE.

We had seats way in the back, but they were great! We were right in front of the projection booth, so we didn’t have to worry about blocking anyone’s view. The Orpheum’s temperature that night was pretty much how I would imagine a theater-sized oven’s would be - we were like little appetizers, slowly being cooked for some sort of gargantuan creature’s pre-game h’ors d’ouerve. That didn’t happen, though. No roof was taken from the building and we weren’t plucked from it like ants.

The audience was mostly aging frat dudes, which I thought was kind of funny. In fact, at one point during the night, the heady odor of pot wafted over us. I pictured a 28 year old guy, hanging out with his buddies from Xi Theta Epsilon, the BU Chapter, hearing “Daria” and saying, “Dude, remember how awesome it was when we heard that song that time with that chick at that bar? And then we smoked up and it was awesome and we watched Robocop and then we threw your sofa out the window? And then we smoked pot? Dude, you have some? No way! For old times, dude, for old times…”

Set List:
Sheep Go To Heaven
Frank Sinatra
Is This Love?
something by someone named Buck Oates????
Stickshifts and Safetybelts
Comanche
Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle
Daria
Nugget
Wheels
Never There
No Phone
Haze of Love
Carbon Monoxide
The Distance
I Will Survive

It was such a relief to hear so much old material. And McCrea’s voice was fabulous — no weakness there! He did engage in banter with the audience that bordered on angry, belligerent derision, though. You’d laugh, but then you’d think, “Is he actually angry at the audience?” Especially when he was trying to get the crowd to sing. I am proud to say that we were on the side that sang the loudest. We pleased John McCrea. The other side didn’t so much.

The audience lots its momentum during the Buck Oates (still not sure if that’s who it was) cover, and I worried about the vibe diminishing even more. But man, to put Stickshifts and Safetybelts right afterwards was a swift and clever recovery. In fact, we learned that the band doesn’t actually have a setlist with them — everything’s on the fly. Good work, CAKE. Also, congratulations on really doing LIVE versions of your music! It’s so fun for the audience to hear songs in a new way.

this rules.

Three of four weeks ago:
Jesse and HCAlicia were relaxing in Jesse’s room in the house of rock when the sound of footsteps could be heard slowly climbing the stairs… but I wasn’t due home for another 6 hrs.

Jesse and Alicia both sat up startled at the noise. “Hello?!” Jesse called out… the footsteps immediately stopped.

He jumped up ran to the bathroom and retrieved a long metal rod and began descending the stairs. The front door was still locked.

Last night:
With no electric outlet for our dryer, we’ve been hang drying our laundry. One Monday I hung my freshly washed bed sheets over the shower rod in our downstairs bathroom. Last night I retrieved these freshly washed sheets and brought them to my room. As I pulled the sheets across my bed I noticed a small dusty hand print centered on the dark green felt sheet.

But my hands were perfectly clean…

(cue eerie music)

At a yankee swap I happened to unwrap Kurt’s gift: a small gold cat that waves its hand continuously. It was dubbed Arsenio because its raised hand motion kind of looks like Arsenio Hall’s classic hand motion.

It’s actually a Maneki Neko Cat. which according to legend, beckons people and good fortune depending on which arm is waving. Mine is going left hand style, which means it’s more for people than good fortune.

I took the cat to work, and it sits on my cabinet waving furiously. Every once in awhile I catch the motion of its arm with the corner of my eye and I get startled. Just about everyone who comes in looks at it and asks “is there a battery in there?”

It just keeps waving and waving. It’s waving right now… as you read this.

it’s kind of creepy.

On the really tough days at work, I crack open a packet of Kool-Aid and drink a few quarts of the liquid joy. In 20 minutes my day can go from Mundane to XTREME.

Kool-Aid can provide quite a kick as it has TONS of sugar. Sugar is the only real stimulant however, because Kool-Aid is non-caffeinated.

And that’s where my idea comes in: Caffeinated Kool-Aid. You could go from ‘dead tired’ to ‘jittery’ after downing a tablespoon of the stuff.

I believe someone has already invented Caffeinated water… mix in a little K.A. mix… It’d be like Jet Fuel for your mind.

The ham sandwich I brought for lunch today is 2.5* inches thick at center.

2.5 inches of HAM!

Heaven
And
Meat.

*yes, I actually measured it.