Keith's Personal

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Fondue

Ah… fondue. It has the reputation of being hopelessly 70’s. David recently received a fondue set for his birthday. How we had gone all this time without a fondue set is beyond me. I’ve made fondue twice with it now, and the second round was so good, that I had to tell myself to not get into a fondue frenzy – it was going to start doing damage to my waistline.

I get my cheeses from Artisanal. You can order some of them from Fresh Direct. And Whole Foods has a pretty good selection as well. Maybe one of these days I will wander down to Murray’s Cheeses for a selection.... go on »

Tags: Cheese, Main Dishes

The Hardest Work Out of My Life (thus far)

I took a new fitness class today. It was recommended to me by a friend. It’s a gym that is only a block or two from my house called AeroSpace NYC (http://aerospacenyc.com). To be honest, I’ve been meaning to go for months. And this week I finally put my foot down with myself and said I had to go. And even then, I chickened out twice when I got to the front doors. Looking back on it, I have no idea why I was so stressed out about attending.... go on »

Tags: fitness, NYC

Sis & Lorenz Visit NYC

I just said goodbye to Sis and Lorenz. David was kind enough to use his miles to purchase tickets for Sis and Lorenz for a little winter visit. Looking back on it, it's hard to believe that it was just over two days. I'm surprised Lorenz' head didn't burst after all the activities we threw his way.... go on »

Tags: family, Lorenz, NYC

Quince Branches

For David's 50th, our good friends Maria & Michael sent us some quince branches. I had never heard of keeping quince branches as a cut flower, but they have turned out to be beautiful.

At first I was a bit intimidated by the size. There were about 5-6 branches and they were 6 feet tall. We didn't have a vase big enough to hold them. I went to our local high-end florist who got us a vase and cut the ends for us - both cutting off the tips and splitting the bottoms to help them absorb water.... go on »

Tags: kitchen, House

A Pomodoro in Time

I just finished reading a book called “Pomodoro Technique Illustrated” by Staffan Nöteberg (http://www.amazon.com/Pomodoro-Technique-Illustrated-Really-Minutes/dp/1…). I guess it’s a little premature to say that it’s changed my life, but in my first week of truly implementing the method, I find myself on Thursday and have already accomplished more than I had mentally apportioned to get done for the whole week. A couple of months ago, I had read the free PDF by the original author and decided to test it out, but in typical fashion I sort of did it half-ass.... go on »

Tags: learning, NLP, self-improvement

Got Problems, Baby?

If you skipped my other CD mixes, fine. This is the one to download. One night I dragged Benji to see Coffy at the Film Forum - not really knowing what to expect. I was transfixed. It was hard-core, it was sexy, it was righteous revenge, it was ... Pam Grier. She's a better vigilante than Batman. If you haven't seen Coffy or Foxy Brown, you really should. I can honestly say that my sense of entertainment was altered when I saw Coffy.... go on »

Tags: music

I've Got Kitsch in My Heart

This was my second attempt at making a CD mix. I really felt like I hit my stride on this one. I borrowed lots of film clips “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” and “Blood Sucking Freaks”. And the music is a bit more focused – clearly hitting more of the late 60’s and 70’s psychedelia.... go on »

Tags: music

I've Got Kitsch on the Brain

Around 12-15 years ago, I discovered a mix tape that belonged to a friend of mine. The tape was called "Schlock Around the Clock" and it was a revelation. I don't think I recognized any of the music on it. It juxtaposed The Cramps with Eartha Kitt. It had movie clips spliced into the songs. I listened to it non-stop and it kicked off years of musical obsessions and CD hunting. ... go on »

Tags: music

Big and Fearless

Last year, my friend Sara asked me about my resolutions that I had for 2009. For some reason, I took it very seriously and wrote a lengthy post about my resolutions. I accomplished most of them to some degree. I’m not going to worry about the ones that I apparently wasn’t as resolute on as I could have been. But we both enjoyed the process so she wrote me this year for my 2010 resolutions. And here they are…... go on »

Tags: comic books, consulting, diet, health, learning, NYC

A Hammerlock Swing Dance Move with Neat-o Exit

I’ve been meaning to write down some of the new dance moves I learn in private class so that I don’t forget them. And what better place than a blog for others that might be curious?

The past couple of private lessons have been dedicated to hammerlock positions. While they look incredibly twisty and complicated, it turns out that they’re really easy.

The first one I learned starts with a tuck-turn on the leader’s right side. At the end of the tuck, you give the partner a good spin, hold onto the hands, and put them into a hammerlock.... go on »

Tags: dancing, swing