Thursday, December 13, 2007

benelle devenport

from ben and danelles wedding in brooklyn:





and one more

santa cruz, ca






but thats it. the list is closed. mark has now officially submitted all of his applications. now we wait until march.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

The list (updated)

This is the final list of schools Mark wil be applying to:

Ann Arbor, MI
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Berkeley, CA
Chicago, IL
Minneapolis, MN
Nashville, TN
New Haven, CT
New York, NY

This week's favorite is Austin. Ive been there a couple times for SXSW and had a blast. I imagine its a little different at other times of the year, but it seems like a pretty rad place. Some of the pros for Austin (illustrated by emily's amazing photographs from SXSW 2005 and 2006):

Delicious food, including Amy's Ice Cream (mmmm....guinness ice cream)


Live Music Capital of the WORLD!


bike friendly (they dont all have horns)


affordable housing (all this for $100 a night!)


even if the toilets are sometimes possessed


All of this, of course, is subject to change.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

New Haven BBQ

Don't f- with the New Haven parking authority!!!



A lovely weekend in New Haven was capped by the bbqing of steaks and corn.


Bacon of the Month Club/brunch club

August's bacon: Schaller Weber Black Forest Bacon - verdict: 8 out of 10. Their double smoked bacon (see nonexistent June post) met with higher praise.


We had the pleasure of sharing brunch on Sunday morning with Zach and Micah. Breakfast burritos, fruit salad, bacon, coffee, mimosas, and plantains were quite tasty.



Who are you saving yourself for?

social action that tastes delicious

Cate made an outstanding decision to join a CSA (community supported agriculture). Mark made an outstanding decision to become Cate's Sous chef.



CSA = Fresh vegetables and fruit delivered every week. Sous chefing = free fresh salads and fruit every week.

a poll:

can you tell


which raschal



is which?

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

The List

Subject to change:

Ann Arbor, MI
Atlanta, GA
Berkeley, CA
Charlottesville, VA
Chicago, IL
Iowa City, IA
Madison, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Nashville, TN
New Haven, CT
New York, NY
Washington, DC

Today's frontrunner is Nashville, home of Vanderbilt University and apartments promising "guitar shaped poo".

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Assorted Happenings

Well, it's been too hot/humid to blog recently - surprisingly, the world has continued despite our lack of updates. A rather seismic event occurred in the last few weeks - Cate beat Mark at Scrabble when I wasn't taking it easy on her (QIS is a word, by the way). Congratulations are in order. Because we don't have a Scrabble board at her place (and often play while in different cities), we play via the wonders of the world wide web.



Beyond playing Scrabble, in the past few weeks we have enjoyed Band of Horses at McCarren Pool (today we will see Blonde Redhead play there). This shot depicts Cate (wearing the best t-shirt ever) and Carolyn (in a fantastic dress she made herself) sporting matching helmets while riding their bikes to the show after a satisfying brunch at Baci & Abbracci. Unfortunately the most memorable element of the show was the unbelievable amount of cutoff denim shorts and mustaches abound in Williamsburg. While certainly not a bad thing, it is a little disconcerting to see them all gathered in such a small place. Anyway, still good fun.



Meanwhile, back in the Haven Mark had planned a BBQ at GPSCY in order to lure the graduate/professional community to the bar. Naturally, the weather decided to have an epic storm that night. All day threatening clouds hovered above Southern Connecticut - content simply to magnify the humidity. Around 2 o'clock, the thunder started shaking the house, though the rain continued to hold off. This pattern continued while we watched For Your Consideration (neither very funny nor believable). Finally, around 6, raindrops as big as a babies fist begain to pound the terrain. While a beautiful and refreshing event (few things smell as fresh as a powerful thunderstorm), the storm also meant fewer people to bbq. The day was not a complete loss, as it resulted in the following picture of Cate (who, while quite fetching in spandex, was riding with her dress tucked in so as not to get it soaked in the downpour).



This weekend in New York started off rather inauspiciously with a bout of food poisoning for Mark. Friday was a complete wash - even water wouldn't stay down. However, Saturday showed vast strides towards improved health - culminating in an uneventful trip to the Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens to toast Eamonn and Emily before their trip to Egypt. Good times all around.

Lately we have been enthralled by Kanye West's latest video (directed and starring Zach Galifianakis with help from Will Oldham). It is probably the most brilliant hip-hop video ever - Stronger. Anyway, that's the last few weeks - overall, they've been good to us.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

I may not be a centerfold*,

but I am a covergirl.

Cell Cycle asked if they could use one of the images from our recently published review for the cover of this months issue. I was pleasantly suprised to see that it was already being used on their homepage.



*Many years ago, while taking the el home in chicago late one night, this homeless man lectured my boyfriend on how pretty I was and about how I should be treated properly. He stood in between the closing doors, and announced to the entire train that "She's good looking, I mean, she's no centerfold, but take care of her." Needless to say, I was flattered.

A few more of Mark's 15 minutes of fame disappear

For some great paschal quotes about bike polo, check this out.

and for archival raschal/bike polo news, check out this video from the new york times (scan about 3 minutes in).

Monday, July 16, 2007

After the Race


While our Saturday had certainly been full, it was only halfway done. Cate decided to see how it felt to wield a polo mallet and we looking forward to forming a team soon. Maybe.

After riding around in the parking lot, we moved the party over to the Nelson's house where Kurt and Joanna were drinking and bbq'ing their last night in New Haven. Kurt smoked a pair of turkey legs (delicious) on his fancy grill (that he bought for $40).

The night concluded with two year old fireworks (no one lost a hand or an eye) blasting off in the parking lot. We must have served as an example as soon New Haven was filled with the sounds of fireworks (let's hope it didn't mask any gunplay).

We went home and attempted to watch Waiting for Guffman with Zach and Jessica. We fell asleep within 10 minutes. However, we didn't let that stop us and we finished it on Sunday.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Monopoly Race

We wore our coordinating jersey's for the race - Mark's doubling as cup/camera holder.

Saturday was the day of the big monopoly race. Basically, everyone received a monopoly property, "$1500", and instructions upon where to go. There were four checkpoints plus GO. Each rider had to ride to all the checkpoints in order, roll the dice, and move a piece on the monopoly board (one at each checkpoint) and then add or subtract the amount of money based upon where one landed (railroads and utilities pay, if you land on the color of the property you own, you get paid, if you land on another color, you pay).

We landed in jail once, Cate did five pull-ups and we were free to go. One of our pedals fell off on our fourth lap (i knew it would happen, but it was disappointing nonetheless). We finished (after one hour - the race was two hours long) with $2710 - good enough for 2nd in the women's competition (because one of Mark's pedals fell off, Cate had to pedal for 2/3rd's of a lap so she was the racer) and fifth overall!!!

Cate won some outstanding prizes!!! Mark got to see Cate look radiant in the winner's circle!!! Basically, everyone won - except for the people we beat!!! Cate survived, and thrived in, her first race (cue Destiny's Child). Her biggest challenge lay ahead, though. She now had to pedal the tandem home by herself with Mark playing the role of dead weight. With the help of some inspirational singing by Mark (joe esposito and the Karate Kid soundtrack), Cate reached deep within and laid waste to that challenge as well!!