Category: Cynical-C

Question of the Day

Chris 7 Comments 130 views

What are your favorite reads of the year so far?

I’ve talked about how I love using Goodreads plenty of times. As book tracking software it does the job but where it really shines is being able to see what friends are reading. I’ve found so many good recommendations that way. Here are some of the books I’ve read this year that have been fantastic.


I’m currently reading The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. which is Neal Stephenson’s latest tome. I can’t fully recommend it yet since I’m only a third of a way through and sometimes his novels have a way of unraveling but I’m loving it so far.


The Stranger in the Woods. Totally engrossing story about a guy who walks off into the woods one day and lives there for a few decades. He isn’t exactly a sympathetic character considering that he manages to live in the woods by burglarizing the neighborhood community but the story is still compelling.


American Kingpin. About the founder of The Silk Road aka Amazon.com for drugs. I had heard of The Silk Road a few years ago but couldn’t understand why anybody would actually get illegal substances through the mail. That’s about as much thought I had put into it which probably helped when reading this book since I had no idea how it ended. Probably the 2nd best book I have read this year. I should probably mention my favorite.


My Favorite Thing is Monsters. Holy crap. I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels, or comics, or whatever you choose to call them. I heard about this from an NPR story and the library happened to have it in. The story of how the author wrote it is a story in itself, and this is her debut graphic novel. A girl transfixed by monster movies, who sees herself as a monster detective trying to unravel a murder of a survivor of the holocaust in 1960s Chicago. There’s a lot going on in that book and the graphics are breathtaking.

Question of the Day

Chris 15 Comments 258 views

We haven’t done one of these in a long time.

Are you traveling anywhere soon? Mrs. C and I usually book things at the last moment and we just got back from NYC two weeks ago so at the moment there’s no travel plans, at least not until July. But I would love to live vicariously through your plans.

Question of the Day

Chris 5 Comments 219 views

Am I the only one who, despite thinking Trump a vile bullshit-shoveling, third rate used car salesman type pitchman, dictator-worshipping orange blight on our country who may actually be the president who leads us into a nuclear holocaust, thinks that the election could actually have been worse if this guy

had been elected President?

During the Sally Yates hearing when he made an appearance, my instinct reaction was, “Oh thank Zeus he didn’t win!” followed by my train of thought doing a lot of calculations to figure out if I was an idiot or not before my brain crashed. I asked a few friends what they thought and every time, they paused to think it over before saying, “Oh, yeah, I guess it could have been worse.”

What say you Cynics? I’m sorry for even making your brain do this exercise.

NYC Food

Chris 3 Comments 210 views

I got back from my long weekend trip to NYC on Monday. I love visiting that city and don’t do it nearly enough. Mrs. C and I usually try to take a road trip in the Spring to just recharge our mental battery after the long winter but for NYC it’s easier to fly in then worry about parking the car in the city.

We were there from Friday to Monday and had some amazing food. Here’s some of the highlights:

You can’t visit Manhattan without having a slice (or 12) of pizza. A lot of people recommend Joe’s Pizza but I didn’t get a chance to try it on this trip. I got my slice from Patzeria’s Perfect Pizza and it was delicious.

Le Relais De Venise L’Entrecote. The original location is in Paris and I love this concept. You don’t get a menu at all (well, you do get a wine list). All they serve are steak frites with a side salad. They ask you how you want your steak and when you’re done eating your first portion, they slap another portion on your plate. It’s fairly inexpensive and the green sauce is addictive.

Brunch at Cookshop in Chelsea. That’s a fried egg sandwich with pickled jalapeno cabbage slaw on top. I think we just stumbled upon this place as it was opening and decided instead of walking the High Line, that brunch would be more fun. We weren’t wrong.

Pictured above is a cookie, not a muffin. It looks like a muffin top. But I don’t care what it looks like because it was one of the best desserts I had in NYC. Mrs C said there were too many chocolate chips in it which makes me question my entire relationship with her.

The combo sandwich from The Halal Guys. I forgot to take a picture of the sandwich because I was too busy stuffing it into my face. We stayed at the Sheraton in Times Square and the Halal Guys have a bunch of carts on 6th and 53rd which we walked by and always saw a line. The smell almost made me cancel a dinner reservation a few times to give it a try. We finally did try it on the last day before we left for the airport and I’m still thinking about that sandwich. Mrs. C got the combo platter over rice and that was just as good. Their yelp page has over 8,000 reviews and I can definitely see why after trying it.

Question of the Day

Chris 22 Comments 645 views

Which kitchen appliance (besides, the usual, fridge/oven/microwave) do you use a lot?

Besides my toaster and drip coffeemaker which are everyday things for me, I use my panini press just about whenever I make a sandwich. And the Delonghi pump espresso maker comes in handy for an afternoon espresso/mocha in the afternoon or when there’s a blizzard raging outside the house. Like right now.

Question of the Day

Chris 7 Comments 365 views

Another report about how Trump is looking to boot Spicer:

The Trump administration got off to a busy start following the president’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017 and it is reportedly seeking a new communications director to “lighten the load” of White House press secretary Sean Spicer, according to sources who spoke with CNN.

Sources told CNN the president is not thrilled with Spicer’s performance over the last few weeks. (Perhaps President Trump is more upset that Spicer was portrayed by a woman on SNL last week.)

How long do you think he has? Leave your estimate in the comments. I’ll say he’s gone by March 2nd.

Question of the Day

Chris 10 Comments 402 views

How will you be impacted when the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare, it’s the same fucking thing) is repealed?

I receive healthcare insurance through my employer. Of course, if I lose my job, I’ll lose that coverage. I am a resident of Massachusetts which had passed a version of Obamacare before Obama was President thanks to Mitt Romney (which was extremely strange during his presidential run when he was against Obamacare despite already implementing it in his state but politics). I’m not sure what the impact will be on MA residents if Obamacare is repealed.

There are just too many questions out there for the long term.