Guest Post: Six Things Your Kitchen Should Never Be Without

Editor’s note: This post comes from our pal Katie, who is a marketing coordinator for Food Service Warehouse.

When it comes to cooking, you may be miles away from being the next Wolfgang Puck. And let’s be honest: your friends (and any lady friends in your life) probably prefer it that way. Still, as an emerging, independent and self-sufficient adult male, the ability to hold your own in the kitchen is one of those things you can’t afford to put off forever. As awesome as it sounds to live off of Top Ramen and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for the rest of your life, those days should have ended after you left college.

This guide offers six must-have kitchen supplies to get you started on the right foot. We promise that these simple items will give you the opportunity to start cooking up meals like the pros…or at least a little better than you were before.  And hey, you may even impress someone along the way.

1. Chef’s Knife

Every kitchen needs a reliable knife, and a chef’s knife is a good place to start. A good chef’s knife has a blade at least eight inches long made of carbon steel or stainless steel, or an amalgam of the two. Choose a forged knife over a stamped knife, since it pays to invest in something that will last—especially if this is your only kitchen knife. Be sure to hand-wash your chef’s knife to keep it in prime condition.

2. Cutting Board

No use for a chef’s knife unless you have the right surface to cut on. Cutting boards help save your countertops from nicks, and they also provide a food-safe surface that can extend the length of your cutting utensils. Cutting boards come in plastic or wood varieties of all shapes and sizes. Select wood if you prefer a heavy board with a natural look. However, plastic cutting boards are generally easier to clean and less likely to harbor bacteria. It is even more preferable to select several different cutting boards that you can use for different types of foods, which will go the extra mile to prevent cross-contamination. No salmonella here!

Guest Post: No Bears At The Beach

Editor’s note: This post comes from Maria Bastet  – a hair removal enthusiast who blogs on all topics concerning the subject. You can find more of her articles located HairRemoval.org.

Chest hair is a good thing. It sets you apart from the effeminate bodies of the 98-pound weaklings on the beach. It’s an evolutionary fact: women are attracted to men who exhibit higher levels of testosterone, and chest hair is one of the main ways you show it. (Thick facial hair can be, too, but that ebbs and flows. Rather than a full beard, you may be better off with a moustache. Hey, it’s worked for Tom Selleck all these years, right?)

That evolutionary impulse has its limitations, however. Hair where it’s not supposed to be – on the back, for example – pushes potential mates away. The lesson here is this: if you want to meet girls at the beach this summer, get rid of that rug on your back.

So, how do you do it? Well, if you’ve seen 40 Year-Old Virgin, you know that waxing isn’t just for women anymore. Waxing works like this:

1. Spread a thin layer of hot wax material over your back hair.
2. Apply a cloth strip to the wax.
3. Rip it off in a quick fashion.
4. Scream like the little schoolgirl you are.
5. Repeat every 2-8 weeks.

Guest Post: Been Through A Break-up or Divorce? Throw a B.I.G. Party!

Editor’s note: This post comes from the B.I.G. party crew (b*tch and/or bastard is gone).

It’s Saturday night at the Cellar Pub in the small ski town of Sun Valley, Idaho.  There’s nothing unusual about the bustling scene of après ski revelers with the exception of a group huddled around one end of the bar.  To the casual onlooker you could be forgiven for thinking that a birthday celebration was at the heart of this group’s festive spirit.  Each of the 20 guests are wearing the same Black baseball cap with Nick’s B.I.G. Celebration stitched in white on the front.  But it was not a birthday celebration that prompted this joyous occasion.  A closer examination of the back of the baseball cap and the B.I.G acronym is revealed in all its glory – B*tch Is Gone! (www.bitchisgone.com)  Yep, Nick and all his friends (male and female) are celebrating his divorce.

It turns out Nick signed the divorce papers earlier in the week ending a long year of misery dealing with his ex-wife and her lawyer.  The details of what his ex-wife did that led to the divorce seemed common knowledge in the bar, and there was no shortage of people lined up to buy him a drink.

Guest Post: Divorce Can Make Things Better

Editor’s Note: This post comes from our new friend Leo Averbach – Author of Breakup: enduring divorce.

I went through the divorce mill and came out the other side feeling better for it. However, it was not plain sailing. The breakup was tough, really tough. Firstly, I was shocked to learn that my wife was having an affair. It hit me like a train; I was torn apart. Secondly, divorce was not in my script at all, so when I saw my marriage crumbling beyond repair after nearly twenty years together and three kids, I was totally disoriented.

In fact, my whole life disintegrated. My family was in tatters; I was no longer a husband or life-partner and was struggling to remain a father. I lost all sense of who I was and my confidence plummeted. I felt completely deskilled instead of the reasonably competent  naked at the counter of life. For me this was loss on a grand scale. Most of all, I felt emasculated and impotent in all senses.

Somehow I managed to turn the situation around. It took time, of course, and I was fortunate to have help, in the form of therapy. The therapy helped me to rebuild my confidence, to start believing in myself and to put myself center-stage. I shed a lot of my emotional armor and began to develop an awareness of my feelings. This fundamentally changed the way I functioned, shifting me from being ‘in my head’ to being ‘in my heart’ more; from looking out to looking inward. I gradually came to the realization that “it’s all in me”, that we see the world as we are, not as it is.

Guest Post: 10 Reasons to be Happy about Your Divorce

Editor’s note: This post comes from our new friend – blogger Alexis Bonari

We don’t mean to be flip. Divorce can be a devastating experience that leaves you feeling lonely, confused, and uncertain about your future. Depending on the circumstances of your divorce, that may be a best-case scenario. But there’s always a silver lining. And even though there will be some things that are hard about your divorce, there are a number of reasons you can remember to be happy about your sudden bachelorhood:

1. No more trips to the Pottery Barn. Or to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Or to that rustic little B&B in Vermont. Pick your poison. Now you’re done with it. All those Sunday afternoons you may have spent nesting or doing “romantic” things that really just bored you can now be spent doing things you’d rather be doing. Unless, of course, you’d rather be at Pottery Barn, then never mind.

2. No more visits from your in-laws. They may have been good for a weekend of babysitting, or even a wonderful, home-cooked meal, but the surprise visits and nagging about when you should get that promotion at work were enough to drive you over the edge. No more will you have to endure the probing questions that only thinly mask disappointment and condemnation. No more will you have to endure seemingly endless stories about the pansies in the garden or the goings on down at the lodge.

3. You can leave your socks on the floor. Or leave the toilet seat up. Or wash the dishes once a week. You no longer have to hear incessant pleas to take out the trash or to keep the ribbon drawer tidy. Your “man cave” is your whole house, and you can do as you please. (Note: Don’t go too crazy with your new relaxed attitude on house work. You will still want to invite a lady over at some point, and your house should have a welcoming vibe and not send her screaming.)

4. Eat pizza every night if you want. There will be no more arguments about what’s for dinner. If you’re in the mood for pizza – or Chinese or wings or sushi – have it. It doesn’t matter if you “had that last week.” You are the decider now.

5. No awkward couple dates. You know the ones: You meet up at some new fusion restaurant with some new couple that your wife met through work or through her book club, and while your wife is having a fabulous time chatting it up with her new bestie, you’re stuck locking eyes with the tax accountant who loves badminton sitting across from you. And you’re expected to find the same cosmic connection that your wives have. Now you can pick your friends – and your dates. You don’t have to hear, “Oh, we’re going to dinner with the Joneses on Friday. You remember Bob? You love Bob!”

Guest Post: Domestic Violence Is Never Acceptable (Unless You Are A Woman)

Editor’s note: This post comes from our new friend – Santa Monica, CA-based attorney, newspaper columnist and author David T. Pisarra Esq.

Women are to be cherished. Held gently. We speak of them as “frail flowers of life.” They are not to be abused. “Never hit a girl” is the training boys get from the time they are old enough to listen. And rightfully so. Violence should never be tolerated.

But that message doesn’t seem to reach everyone.  It appears that it’s perfectly acceptable for a girl to abuse a boy. Hit them, kick them, scratch them and abuse them. They can take it.  And more importantly; they can’t fight back.

This is the double standard to which we as men are subject. And it’s a system we have been complicit in creating.  A woman knows that at even the slightest impoliteness of a man she can plant her feet in the ground, scream “abuse” and the die has been cast. The man is now an ‘abuser’ and he’ll wear that scarlet Letter for a long time.

So how are we complicit? We are complicit in our silence. We’ve become indoctrinated to the idea that our role as men is to take it. Just look at how men are portrayed in the media. We chalk up the abuse we see on television as humorous, and ignore how offensive it is in reality. A recent and extremely appalling example was the Pepsi Max commercial “Love Hurts” that aired during the Super Bowl and reached an audience of 150 million people.

The commercial was of an African-American couple that progresses through various scenes of their life together. The implication is that she is controlling the food decisions for his diet to keep him healthy. It opens with her kicking him under the table in a restaurant as he tries to order fries – so he orders fruit instead. She then walks past him in the kitchen as he is eyeing a pie and pushes his head into it. The third scene takes place in a bathroom with him hiding in a shower trying to eat a hamburger. Her hand comes through the curtain, rips his hamburger from him, and then she pushes a bar of soap into his mouth.

Guest Post: Fashion and Grooming Tips for the Sudden Bachelor

Editor’s note: This post comes from our friend and blogger Maria Rainier.

Let’s get this out of the way.  Fashion and grooming Rule Number One for newly single men: Don’t overdo it.  That means don’t take a bath in your cologne, don’t whiten all the enamel off your teeth, and don’t wear a pimp hat.  Seriously, no one else thinks you look “edgy.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that you can go out into the singlesphere in your pajamas with a beard and toenails you haven’t trimmed in months.  Just because you will eventually turn into a slob doesn’t mean you’ll snag any points for honesty by being this way now.  (Oh, don’t be offended; women stop shaving get “comfortable,” too.)  Instead, make a little effort to shows ladies that you’re willing to act like a single, not like a guy who’s been around the block too many times to care anymore.

Hair, Nails, and Bathing

Guest Post: GUILTY BY REASON OF ANATOMY: The Negligent Parent Myth

Editor’s note: This post comes from our new friend – Santa Monica, CA-based attorney, newspaper columnist and author David T. Pisarra Esq.

I’ve never worked in a slaughterhouse but there are days when I feel like I do.  Working in the trenches of Family Court, where I represent men 99.5% of the time, makes me understand what it must be like to work in a meat factory. I see the same blank looks and resignation in the eyes of many men as I would imagine are seen in cattle going off to become hamburger.

The reality of Family Court is that men are treated with a fake gentility, a phony veneer of sincerity intended to make them feel that the courts will treat them and their ex equally. Don’t believe it.

When you walk in to Family Court as a man – whether it’s for a divorce to challenge visitation rights so you can be a better Dad to your kid, or even to find out just how much money you have to pay your cheating ex-wife, you will not be treated equally.

On the surface you will respectfully be called “Mr.” by the judge. The clerk of the court will very politely swear you and your ex in and the proceedings will begin. Unfortunately, this is about the time that most men are done for. You’ve sworn to tell the truth. You’re a man and have been told all your life to tell the truth, play by the rules and if you’re the better man for the job, you’ll get it.

Men figure that they are the best man for the job of being the father to their children, So they feel if they tell the truth, the judge will see that too and they’ll be fine, They automatically assume they’ll have 50% custody of their kids because, after all, why shouldn’t they?

Guest Post: Dealing with Single Men from a Woman’s Perspective

Editor’s note: This post comes from our new friend  and blogger Maria Rainier.

They say us women can go from zero to b***h in 1.2 seconds and I feel the same respect should be given to men. After a breakup, men can go from macho and hot to frazzled and sad in 1.2 seconds. Whether he’s a good friend, a good friend’s friend or a random guy in a crowded coffee shop, dealing with a man who is dealing with suddenly being single can be scary.

How to be nice without shattering egos
Men can be rather aggressive after a breakup – I think it’s because their ego is crushed and it needs stroking. Most women aren’t and shouldn’t be interested in a man who just hit the dating market again.

We’ve been taught not to lie and we’ve also been taught that there’s a time and a place to lie – this would be one of those times. The last thing you want to do is shatter a man’s ego after a breakup –it’s not good to lead him on either – especially if you know it’s not going anywhere.

Telling white lies

1. Sport an engagement or wedding ring (My bartending friends do this; it worked like a charm).

1. Even though overused, the “I’m really sorry, but I’m so busy” line works really well.

1. Depending on the place, you can pretend you’re picking up your kids (This one always works).

1. Pretend to be foreign, deaf, blind or any other disability/condition that immediately turns men off.

1. This can lead to bad karma: pretending your grandmother just died.

1. The secret code word all girl friends have to bail you out of a jam – mine is “ducks flying south.”

1. And the ultimate – using the “it’s that time of the month” card.

Ultra-aggressive bachelor
There is nothing wrong with being single, but as a female being confronted by a newly single guy, it can be a little scary. Guys are Mr. Fix-It and when their relationship can’t be fixed they transform into Mr. Aggressive. They tend to search out any woman that will give them a chance in order to feel better about the breakup.

Guest Post: Back To Bachelor

Editor’s note: Today’s great post comes from our friend Ivana.

When you’ve had your heart torn brutally to pieces right in front of your eyes – or a slightly less dramatic metaphor, whatever you’re imagining – it’s difficult to pick up the pieces and resume the carefree, liberal bachelorhood you abandoned all that time ago. If you don’t watch out, you’ll find yourself putting on weight and working on a closer relationship with your Xbox, or worse still, identifying with every Coldplay song and crying over the Jeremy Kyle show.

While there’s nothing wrong with daytime telly, takeaways and a healthy addiction to games consoles, this behaviour won’t exactly get you back on the bachelor track in style. Yes, your pride has been dented. It’s probably about the equivalent of decking it face first at an ice rink. But what you need to do now is get up, brush yourself off and skate on, head held high. You owe it to bachelors everywhere. Here are five ways to resume bachelorhood in style and get straight back on the dating scene…

1) Get back in shape…
Exercise is a fantastic way to distract yourself, especially from the pangs of a break-up. You can imagine your ex’s face on the punch bag and take out every ounce of anger on it. You can exhaust yourself to the extent that you collapse into undisturbed peaceful sleeps each night. You can let the endorphins generated by exercise wipe away any negative thoughts. And this will ultimately work towards honing your body into the chiselled physique that every true bachelor should possess…

2) Get back on the field…
Focus on your passions. Whether this is football, golf or photography, it’s great to devote time to something completely unconnected with your personal crisis. Plus, it’s probably healthy to be in the all-male environment of most team sports just now.