popcultist

You know that thrill you get when you're just about to kiss someone for the first time? This isn't like that.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween Party...

... was last night, actually. My place of employment throws a big Halloween shindig every year. It's one of the things we do, along with our big New Year's Eve party. Fairly laid back this year, although we did have aerialists, which was new.

Here's a few thousand words for you:

Eventually, I'll post the rest of the pics.

 

BTW, I'm listening to the CD single of Matthew Sweet's "Time Capsule," mainly because it contains two of my favorite B-sides ever, "Speed of Light" and "Thing." I love B-sides; they're a pretty good indicator of songwriting strength. Any band with a greatest hits album should release a B-sides collection as well.

 

Friday, October 27, 2006

Top Five Fears

I was just scanning through some stuff online this AM when I found this blog post.  Nice idea.  So I will co-opt it, formatting and all.        :)

 

What are your top five fears?

Mine are:

Suffocation

Suffocation includes drowning, since it's what actually kills you when you're under water for too long. Reading the comments to Zara's post, drowning seems to be shared by a lot of people. However, I'm not afraid of water, and I'm not afraid of a large bodies of water.

I'm afraid of not being able to breathe. If the air in a sauna starts to get too stifling, I become deeply concerned. I get uncomfortable in very warm cars.  But it's not just that. I need to breathe through my nose. Yes, I will breathe through my mouth when necessary, but I don't like it. I sometimes have issues with nasal congestion at night and need to take decongestants just to be able to sleep. When Brandy and I went scuba diving (as illustrated here), I started hyperventilating at the very end of the dive and was on the verge of passing out when I broke the surface. Which sucks, because I always liked the idea of being Jacques Cousteau. I think if I were in a diving bell or even had a suit with a full helmet instead of a mouth-only rebreather, I would have enjoyed it more.

The fear of suffocation, unfortunately, also leads to an occasional fear of...




Small, enclosed spaces

Yes, the actual name for this would be claustrophobia. However, I don't have a bad case as it only rears its ugly head when there's no ventilation and I can't breathe. I don't mind crowds. I like airplanes. I think I would be OK in an MRI machine, since there are openings for air flow.  But being trapped in a coffin would be bad. Native American sweat lodges (aside from giving me nose bleeds) aren't so hot, either.




Paralysis

I can't imagine having full use of my mental capacities and not having enough control over my body to do anything. And that's why Stephen Hawking is The Man.




The Dark

Not really the dark, per se, but things obscured by the dark. Like serial killers. Or dog shit on the sidewalk in front of my apartment. 




Elected Republicans

Actually, any type of evangelical, fundamentalist, intolerant person with some sort of power over my life. I have no problem with normal people possessing conservative social mores. I have problems with people who force their conservative social mores on me. You do what you want to do; I'll do what I want to do. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, I think we're all good.

George W. Bush believes that "activist judges" are undermining the fabric of the nation by inflicting their "liberal" beliefs on us.

Look, jackass (or should I say Dumbo?). I don't care what you believe. You obviously don't care what I believe. But I don't try to legislate my beliefs on you -- unless you count Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, and yes, the Right to Bear Arms. Go fucking harrass someone who gives a shit about your Bible-beating, right-wing, backward-thinking, neo-fascist, theocratic oligarchy. I hear they like that sort of shit in Saudi Arabia, too.

I live in America, the Land of the Free. While here, you're free to go fuck yourself.

 

Wow, that little diatribe got loose in a hurry. Anger borne of fear? Nah, probably just anger.        :)

 

Thursday, October 26, 2006

New Musical Information

Since I've been putting off the next Spinach Inquisition post, I thought I'd tackle something I've wanted to type up for a while now.  The bottom of this post will act as an archive for my old MySpace Music blurb, but here's the new Music blurb.

Imagine you're a Lost castaway. You have power and a record player. You just happened to be carrying 25 LPs on Oceanic flight 815. What are they?

The stipulations here: You must actually own the albums (in whatever format). No greatest hits compilations. No live albums. No movie soundtracks (b/c then everyone would say The Big Chill soundtrack and New Order Substance and Depeche Mode 101 and the the Ella Fitzgerald Verve Collection). I'm numbering the list, but it's not in any real order.

  1. Since I'm currently listening to it: Sugar, Copper Blue
  2. The Beatles, White Album
  3. The Sundays, Blind
  4. Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Are You Normal?
  5. Matthew Sweet, Girlfriend
  6. The Cure, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
  7. Belle and Sebastian, Tigermilk
  8. Brittle Stars, Brittle Stars
  9. Buffalo Tom, Big Red Letter Day
  10. Charming, Champagne and Magazines
  11. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Get Happy (reissue)
  12. Nick Drake, Bryter Layter
  13. Depeche Mode, Violator
  14. Dillon Fence, Living Room Scene
  15. Luna, Penthouse
  16. Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville
  17. The Pixies, Doolittle
  18. R.E.M., Green
  19. The Replacements, Pleased To Meet Me
  20. Simon & Garfunkel, Sounds of Silence
  21. The Judybats, Pain Makes You Beautiful
  22. Mojave 3, Out of Tune
  23. U2, The Joshua Tree
  24. Teenage Fanclub, Thirteen
  25. Velocity Girl, Simpatico!

It's a little scary how most of these albums came out when I was in high school and college. Perhaps familiarity breeds content?       :)

Anyway, I want to see comments with everyone's list of 25. Or however many you want to throw up there. Because I'm curious about these sorts of things.


-----

In no real order: The Sundays, The Pixies, Velocity Girl (and by extension, Sarah Shannon), The Cure, The Smiths (and Morrissey), Matthew Sweet, Depeche Mode, New Order, Brittle Stars, Charming, Elvis Costello (both with the Attractions and the Imposters), The Blake Babies (and Juliana Hatfield, The Mysteries of Life, and John Strohm), Mojave 3 (and Slowdive), Radiohead, Guster, R.E.M., Blur, The Mighty Lemon Drops, The Ocean Blue, The Stills, Franz Ferdinand, Simon and Garfunkel, The Jayhawks, Straw Dogs, U2, Atticus Scout, The Lou, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Cocteau Twins, Matt Nathanson, Teenage Fanclub, Luna, Lush, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Sugar (and Bob Mould), The Raconteurs, Foo Fighters, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, My Morning Jacket, The Judybats, Lush, Dillon Fence, Ultra Vivid Scene, Weezer, The Beach Boys, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Death Cab for Cutie (and The Postal Service), Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire, British Sea Power, The Replacements, Nick Drake, Ladytron, The Cardigans, Dressy Bessy, Pulp (and of course, Jarvis Cocker), The Arrogants, Majestic and the list goes on and on and on...

 

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Concerts and filing cabinets

I am annoyed.  I am annoyed because this morning I moved a bunch of furniture around to make room for a filing cabinet but when I went to Costco to purchase said filing cabinet, they ended up not having any.  Filing cabinets.  At all.

So I went over to Office Depot, and they have a cool looking one, but it's expensive and a weird "raw metal" color.  It looks dark grey on the Web site but more of a tan / grey in real life.  I like the recessed drawer pulls, but I might have to go with a basic black model now.  Thrilling, no?

In other news, I went to see Veruca Salt at Cafe du Nord last night.  By myself, Brandy being out of town and all.

While I normally dislike doing things by myself, I don't mind going to shows alone.  Don't get me wrong; I'll try to get people to accompany me, but I find it easier to take in the sounds and sights of a live show when on my own.  No worrying that the other person can't see, no trying to shout a conversation during your favorite song.

Other than the somewhat sparse attendance, it was a good show.  VS sounds as good as ever -- chunky guitars, neat hooks, lovely female vocal harmonies that erupt into yells.  A thoroughly enjoyable musical evening.

Last night's discovery, however, was Agent Sparks, the second opener.  (Admittedly, I missed The Strays, the first opener.)

Nice atmospheric pop with male / female vocals that ventures on occasion into the land of power chords.  Speaking of the female vocals, Stephanie Eitel is quite the cutie.  And you know how I love the cute female vocalists.  Almost as much as I love the hot female bassists.

Oh, wait.  I'm having a Melissa Auf der Maur moment.

Hmmm... much better.      :)

Have a lovely United Nations Day.


Monday, October 23, 2006

Rebirth

Hey, all.

It's time for the popcultist blog to begin anew.

I've heard all of you who said, "Tony, we're not reading your blog because you have to join MySpace to do that." To that end, I'll be posting to both this site and the MySpace blog from now on.

You might also notice that I've spent the morning copying all my MySpace posts over to this blog. You won't be able to see any dates, but they're all there for you to peruse. These are the things I do to entertain myself when Brandy leaves town for four days.

Happy reading!

People suck. I love people.

I've always had a love / hate relationship with people.  And by people, I mean the entire human race.  This is not to say that I'm some sort of psychotic, misanthropic recluse shying away from all human contact in favor of life with llamas.  Or Wilson.  Far from it.  I enjoy the company of my fellow (wo)man as much as the next guy.

The human spirit, and the words and deeds that spring from it, is wondrous to behold.

So, while I might be a general misanthrope, I like individuals.  Taken by themselves (or in small groups), people are entertaining and worthwhile companions.  Their views are usually reasonable or, at the very least, comprehensible, and each has something to contribute, some valuable life experience or insight shared by no one else in the populace.

In my somewhat-short life, I've met very few people -- aside from the mentally ill or elected Republicans -- who made me question our shared humanity.  And even the mentally ill usually have something valuable tucked away in the recesses of their brains.

On the other hand, large groups of people are called mobs for a reason.  Inexplicably, when gathered in large groups, people can easily be herded in a direction that contradicts basic human decency.  When combined with fanaticism or blind adherence to political or religious doctrine, those large groups of people are capable of scary things.

Time to get ready for work.  The next post will tie in the Spinach Inquisition to a critique of Republicans.  Ooooh... political discourse.  I'm sure you're all super-excited now. 

 

By the way, in case you were wondering what I'm listening to right now:  Pandora.  It's currently playing a quick mix of my Sundays, Pixies, Guster, Matthew Sweet, Mojave 3, Pilotdrift, and Broken Social Scene stations.

 

SF Neighborhood Names

Castraight... Bwah ha ha ha ha...      :)

Haight @ Fillmore

Be sure to click on the link in the second comment as well.

 

Weekend Catch-up

It certainly appears as if the Spinach Manifesto will become an ongoing segment of this blog since I can't seem to muster enough time (or economy of language) to finish it.  In the meantime, I'll catch you up on what's been going on.

I must declare:  Lou Dobbs is my fucking hero.  Click and bask in the genius of Lou Dobbs -- Part IPart IIPart III.  Obviously, I don't agree with the esteemed Mr. Dobbs on every issue, but he's got some very good points.  After I read the book, I'll tell you if I'm still in Camp Dobbs.

Last Wednesday, I went to the Wine and Spirits Top 100 Tasting.  There's very little I can say about this tasting that you couldn't gather from the flyer.  Wine & Spirits magazine's top 100 wineries of 2006.  At least two different wines at each table (usually more).  Since this was post-work, much less spitting than usual.  I didn't get tanked, but let's just say that I remember making lots of friends but don't remember any of their names now.

Some of my favorite wineries from the tasting (in alphabetical order): August Kesseler, Bruno Giacosa, Calera, Charles Heidsieck, Domaine Serene, Domaine Weinbach, Dr. Loosen, Duckhorn, Dutton-Goldfield, Elena Walch, Feudi di San Gregorio, Iron Horse, Joseph Drouhin, Krug, L'Ecole 41, Louis Jadot, M. Chapoutier, Marcel Deiss, Patz & Hall, Peay, Pol Roger, Qupé, Schloss Gobelsburg, C. von Schubert, Seebrich, Terrazas de los Andes, Von Strasser, Williams-Selyem

The Tigers are going to the World Series!  They have home-field advantage!  I couldn't get tickets this morning!  Damn!

Overall, a good sports weekend.  The Tigers, obviously.  Michigan beat Penn State.  The Steelers beat KC.  The Islanders picked up their second win of the season.  The Sharks won on Friday.

I love this time of year.  Baseball's in the post-season, hockey's just getting started, and the NFL and college football are hitting their stride.

Plus, I'm in the midst of preparations for the Sammyball draft.  For those of you who are interested, click on the draft spreadsheet to evaluate the teams (and to marvel at the amount of brain power expended on baseball teams that don't exist).  After the draft is over, I'll post my working copy of the draft spreadsheet so that you can see some of the inane crap I do in search of my second Sammyball title.

Part XIII (or whatever number we're on now) of the Spinach Manifesto will go up soon.  Oh, I'm also going to start calling it the Spinach Inquisition because that's much punnier.


Tigers vs. A's

Hey, kids.

 

Turns out I'm going to the game tonight.  With my boss.

 

No, that's not strange.  Much.

 

Anyway, he's a Yankees fan and was so sure the Bombers would beat Detroit that he bought ALCS tickets.  So now I get to go to the game.

 

I hear the seats are field level, 3rd base side.  I'll tell you how it went (unless I'm killed on BART).

 

Unnatural Selection, Part I

I must admit, I find it a bit ironic that the grower / processor responsible for the contaminated spinach is named Natural Selection.  Not to make light of children, the elderly and the immuno-compromised dying, but you couldn't create a more apropos name if you were writing this as fiction. 

With the weekend's "precautionary" recall of lettuce and beef, this whole situation seems almost fictional.  Or should I say farcical?  Obviously, multiple recalls involving different types of food products seem to indicate a systemic issue rather than isolated instances of bad practices.  However, we must remember that adherence to current guidelines is voluntary.  Despite multiple produce recalls in the near past.  And several deaths. 

The FDA guidelines — known as "good agricultural practices" — include irrigating with clean water, providing toilet facilities for pickers, making sure animals don't contaminate produce in packing sheds, properly washing fresh produce and maintaining correct temperatures during shipping. Since 2004, the FDA has been urging closer adherence to these practices among California growers of leafy greens, including spinach.

OK, I understand clean-water irrigation (and personally, I'm voting for this as the contaminating agent in the current scare), pest control, proper washing and temperature control.  However, the lack of toilet facilities had never before occurred to me. 

You have workers in the fields?  Well then, of course, there must be Port-A-Potties around.  What do you mean, "there aren't any?"  Then where do the workers...uhh, do their business?  Wait.  Don't tell me.  I don't want to know.

I might never eat a salad ever again.

OK, that might be going a bit overboard.  Honestly, Escherichia coli is everywhere.  Unless you are elderly, a child or immuno-compromised, you're probably not going to be drastically affected by E. coli poisoning.  Also, our friendly neighborhood E. coli can be killed by simple boiling, so well-cooked greens should be fine.  Not tasty, but fine.

If you're still concerned about bacteria living on your lettuce, you can super-wash your veggies at home -- Brandy and I spray white vinegar on all our fruits and vegetables before rinsing them, and we'll be adding the peroxide step now -- which should eliminate most bacterial guests.  If you've got some extra cash, you could always try ozonated water (and be sure to tell us how it works because we're curious).

Which brings us to the socioeconomic rant (yes, it did take an awful long time to get here, didn't it?).  The gist of my feelings on the current state of affairs?

Everything has a price, and there are always trade-offs.

This holds true from the daily purchases made by each individual to policy decisions made for the entire country.  Dole spinach or Earthbound Farms organic spinach (that would be a lose / lose decision)?  Domestic car or foreign car (or foreign car made domestically)?  Subsidies going to agro-industrial giants or free trade undermining the ability of domestic farms to compete?

To take the spinach analogy a little further while referencing the first post, farms could insure the cleanliness of their spinach by investing in different growing or harvesting methods, be they hydroponics or better monitoring of water and soil.  But that would cost money, and the producer could only raise prices so much before the public would stop buying their spinach.  And buying imported spinach doesn't negate the possibility of contamination.  How many other countries have cleaner farms than the U.S., do you think? 

Let's move to a different product to further illustrate the point.  It is possible for most wineries to make a 95-point wine on an almost yearly basis.  However, that would mean paying obsessive attention to the fruit in the vineyard, discarding more of the borderline fruit that usually makes it into the wine, using only the finest oak barrels on the best lots of juice, and selling only the best of the resulting wine.  And each of those bottles would cost about $500.

Obviously, that is the sort of thing that Screaming Eagle would have you believe they do.

Automakers could make cars last much longer than they do now.  However, it's not just planned obsolescence that's keeping our cars from being built like tanks.  While the complex web of corporate ethics, supply, demand, and market saturation might imply some degree of quality manipulation, the fact remains that better quality products generally cost more money.

Part II (dealing with the social aspect of these economics) soon, seeing as how this is already way long.

 

OK, I suck

The Spinach Manifesto will have to wait until next week.  I don't want to give short shrift to something as important as my basic beliefs about the socioeconomic State of the Union.    :)

Since I don't want to leave you empty-handed, here's some of the stuff I've been pondering recently:

  • The Tigers beat the Yankees yesterday!  Even better: Justin Verlander pitched well enough to keep the game in the Tigers' hands.


  • I finally figured out why I didn't receive any email between Wednesday and Saturday last week.  Someone hacked into my domain and filled up my server quota.  Twice.  I've since dealt with the issue, but the week's lesson: change your passwords often and change them to something harder than 123456.     :)


  • If you buy a large melon, cut it up that day.  You're more likely to eat it if it's already cut up into chunks, and it's easier to store Gladware® in the fridge than whole melons.


  • In honor of TO's return to Philly this weekend, The Eagles Fan's Guide to Projectile Weaponry.


  • Bored in San Francisco?  What the hell is your problem?  Oh, I mean, here's some stuff for you to do this weekend.  Blue Angels?  How about some Red Bull?

  • Motorcycle hero, blazing away

    Sorry, woke up a little late today to finish the Spinach Manifesto.  Tomorrow, for sure.

    I leave you, in the meantime, with Ghost Rider.

    Check out the trailer.  I know it's a typical, appeal-to-teenage-boys, Hollywood movie trailer, but I can't help thinking the movie looks a little cool.  Immature?  Yes.  Yes, I am.

    However, most pivotal to Ghost Rider's success, Sam Elliott must play a wise, fatherly figure who is killed by the bad guys, motivating the hero to finish the job (see Tombstone).  Then, it's guaranteed to at least become a cult classic (see Road House).

     

    P.S. - The title of this post refers to both the subject of the post and the CD to which I'm currently listening.  Track 7, kids.  I wonder how Henry feels about this movie.


    A brief diversion (or, quit smoking, Ohio)

    We'll return to the regularly scheduled sociopolitical diatribe later.  I'm running quite late for work (because I was being a big baseball geek), but I needed to post this for those of you who live in Ohio or know people who do.

    ---

    Pertains to Ohio voters only ..

    If you're not already aware, there is competing legislation on the Ohio ballot this November (one backed by the American Cancer Society and the other by the tobacco industry).  One initiative called SmokeFree Ohio (backed by the ACS) and the other called SmokeLess Ohio (backed by the tobacco industry).  Once SomkeFree Ohio got more than enough signatures it needed for an amendment to appear on the ballot (Issue 5), the tobacco industry realized the seriousness and, in turn, initiatived a campaign to confuse and deceive voters (Issue 4).

    Bottom line .. to ban smoking in public places (restaurants, etc) ..

    Vote NO on Issue 4

    Vote YES on Issue 5

    This comparison chart will provide further clarification:

    http://www.friendsofohiohospitals.org/ballot/SFO_SLOcomparison.pdf

    ---

    Speaking completely in my own self-interest, passage of Issue 5 would remove one of the biggest problems I have with visiting home.  Other than it still being Ohio.    :)

     

    Bacterial Contamination (or, the cost of doing business)

    Following my rather unpleasant bout with food poisoning in Michigan and the whole California spinach debacle (not related), I've been contemplating microbes and the elimination of such from food products, which has led me back to one of my age-old dilemmas.  But more on that later.

    If I'm understanding the story correctly, the infected spinach came from ORGANIC farms using contaminated cow manure fertilizer.  This bit of information was not at all surprising.  They're organic farms.  They have to use manure (or some other natural, organic substance like compost) to fertilize, and some cows naturally carry hazardous strains of E. coli.  As the saying goes, shit happens.

    However, if you wanted to guarantee a completely clean bag of spinach, you could.  But that would require more stringent screening, more (clean) farm workers, more water filtration, more pest control, and more infrastructure in general.

    Or you could go in a completely different direction and use chemical fertilizers, filtered and/or sterilized water, and filtered-air greenhouses or grow lamps.  I'm speaking, of course, of hydroponics.

    Whatever happened to that, anyway?  When I was much younger, it sounded like the agriculture of the future, of space.  Now, not a word, aside from the underground rumblings of pot farmers.  I wonder if this spinach scare might resurrect it.      :)

    In any case, the problem here, as it is with all things, is cost.  This is a gross oversimplification, but I'm writing a blog entry, not an economic treatise.  To trim this down and humor my über-short attention span, let's return to list form:

    - Agricultural companies (and farms) are in the business of making money, not growing crops for the good of mankind

    - Extra preventative measures = extra money going to production = less profits

    - Companies don't like to lower profits, so, barring foreign competition, less profits = higher prices for consumers

    Of course, this makes complete sense to anyone who took economics (or has a functional brain, really).  The more interesting aspect of rising cost occurs when consumer prices rise to the point where the public stops buying the item in question.

    What is the equilibrium price for spinach?  If you could find spinach that was guaranteed to be clean, how much would you pay for it?  $2 / pound?  $5 / pound?  $15 / pound?

    Obviously (to me, at least), no one would pay $15 / pound for spinach.  It's not worth it, mostly because there are so many alternatives out there.  But what if all vegetables suddenly were infected by E. coli at the same time?  How much would you pay for clean spinach then?

    To put this in another light, and explore my recurring dilemma, let's look at something for which there is not a viable, widely available substitute.  Like gasoline.  At what point will gas become so expensive that people will stop buying it?  $5 / gallon?  $10 / gallon?

    My dilemma?  Nothing less than a question of small government vs. big govenment, or, in it's most basic sense, conservatism vs. liberalism.

    More later, as this is way too long already.  And has the makings of a synopsis of my views on life.  Yikes.

     

    P.S. - The A's are leading the Twins, 2-0, in the top of the third.  Go A's!

    P.P.S. - More importantly, go Tigers!  The Evil Empire must be defeated.


    College Football Rant (and it's not even mine)

    I just found one of the most painfully beautiful rants on college football (or anything else, for that matter) I've ever heard.  It's pretty long (about 15 minutes), but it's so worth it.  Read Deadspin's post to get the gist of the rant.

    Pucker, pucker, pucker

    And this was all after MSU's loss to Notre Dame last week.  Earlier today, MSU lost to previously-winless Illinois, the saddest-sack team in the Big Ten.  The guy is going to go on some sort of kill-crazy rampage...

    I feel bad for him (and Brandy's Dad), but at least Michigan won back the Little Brown Jug.


    (Finally) the Mojave 3 show and one of the best Chills yet

    So Brandy and I went to the Mojave 3 show at Slim's last night.  Dinner was very good (ribeye with potatoes and roasted red peppers), although we almost weren't allowed to sit in the balcony which is the best part of getting dinner tickets.  The show itself... well, to be perfectly honest with you, it was a bit disappointing.  (I hope Neil takes this with a grain of salt if he reads it.  He might.  The band is on my Friend List, after all.)

    Let me qualify my disappointment.  Taken independent of context, the show was fine.  The songs are gorgeous.  Neil Halstead's live vocals are amazingly, uncannily identical to the recorded version - it's obvious that there's no pitch-shifting going on in the studio.  But it was also obvious that it was one of the first shows of the tour and that they are breaking in a new bassist.  Which brings us to the most disappointing part of the show...

    No Rachel!  And no Rachel means no wonderful male / female harmonies, no beautiful intertwining of vocal lines, no rock-solid bass lines, and no repeat of the transcendental performance at Bimbo's a couple of years ago.

    In keeping with the altered lineup and the more straightforward pop-rock of the new album, the entire show was a bit more uptempo as well, which was fine up until they played "Some Kinda Angel."  Let's just say that I prefer the album version of my favorite Mojave 3 song.

    Lest you think that I hated the show, let me reiterate that I throughly enjoyed the whole evening and highly recommend you go see them when they come to your town.  I just want to see Rachel, too.

    -----

    On Wednesday night, Brandy and I went to another Chill, which you might remember from one of my previous posts [I just tried to link to it, but MySpace is being a bitch, so I can't find the specific URL.  It's one of the 8.21.2006 posts, if you'd like to find it on your own].  Well, this was one of the best Chills yet - hosted by Diageo and Moët Hennessy (man, talk about a monster luxury goods company).  Three words for you:  Hennessy Paradis Extra.  Two better words for you:  Richard Hennessy.

    Since I seem to like lists, here's another one for you.  If you have the means, you can pretty much buy any of these products sight unseen and enjoy them thoroughly.  And if not, you can probably get me to buy them off you.

    - Krug Champagne.  Any of them.

    - 2001 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River - I'm generally not a huge fan of Australian cabs, but for this one, I'll definitely make an exception.

    - 1999 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan - Ahh, good Bordeaux.  At seven years since harvest, this wine is just coming out of its infancy and starting to drink really well.  To borrow a corporate slogan, "M'm! M'm! Good!"

    - The Concha y Toro Almaviva again.  God, I really need to go buy a case of this.

    Yummy yummy.

     

    We're back...

    ... from a nice long weekend in Michigan with the in-laws (and Jamie).  As always, a restful trip.  For those of you who dread spending time with the in-laws, I have to say that I love mine.  Very cool, super laid back, and really nice.  It's a great thing to genuinely like your wife's parents.  At the very least, it's infinitely preferable to not getting along with them.  That would make holidays all sorts of uncomfortable.

    And what can you say about Jamie (especially since I know she reads this blog)?   

    Highlights (and two lowlights) from the trip:

    - Wings and beer at BW3 with Brandy and Jamie while watching Michigan beat Wisconsin.

    - Dinner (and lunch... and breakfast) at Coral Gables restaurant in East Lansing.

    - Playing with the cats and not suffering too much of an allergic reaction to all the fur.

    - Good: hanging out with Jen and Steph.  Bad: hanging out with them while watching MSU implode against Notre Dame.

    - Food poisoning.  Not good.  Very not good.

    - Visiting with Brandy's Grandma Ruth.  Cute as a button and sharp as a tack.

    - Seeing Autumn and the boys, meeting Michael and Chris, and visiting with them after the boys had tired themselves out at the fair.  

    - Getting my first pair of Crocs™.

    - Apples.  Fresh, Michigan apples.

    - The beginning of autumn in the Midwest.  The only season I truly miss.

    As you might notice below, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs have released an album together.  It's all covers, mostly from the Sixties.  I was dying to hear their takes on "The Warmth of the Sun" (The Beach Boys), "The Kids Are Alright" (The Who) and "And Your Bird Can Sing" (The Beatles), which might be remembered by those of you who witnessed early "performances" by Atticus Scout.  Ahh... the good old days.


    Owww... my liver

    If you'll notice below, Mojave 3 is back on heavy rotation.  Only one week until the show!     :)

    So yesterday's tasting was very nice.  They had a gnocchi station and a blue cheese-stuffed mini-burger station and lots of cheese and tray-passed hors d'oeuvres and chicken caesar lettuce cups and... oh, you wanted to hear about the alcohol?

    How about 25 and 50-year old cognac?  Or some very tasty tequila?  Or one of the newer ultra-premium vodkas (and they were nice enough to provide blue cheese-stuffed olives with that)?  Or some local San Francisco favorites?

    Lots of liquor there.  Lots.

    Lots, I tell you.  A whole separate room from the...

    Wine.  Lots of wine.  Anyone who's been to Moscone West can tell you that it's a large, open, airy space.  Which is nice when you're elbow-jockeying with a bunch of people to get some really nice champagne (the Fleur, as a matter of fact, was the champagne we were drinking when I proposed to Brandy).

    To cut down on the sheer, overwhelming volume of it all, I'll just give you some recommendations:

  • Acme Wine Marketing reps some very nice producers.  Per Bacco consistently makes excellent Chardonnay and Pinot - and one of my favorite domestic Pinot Grigios.  McDowell Valley Vineyards is making very interesting and tasty Rhone varietal wines in Mendocino and their very own McDowell Valley AVA.  And Howell Mountain Vineyards is Howell Mountain Vineyards.  Keep an eye out for their second label, HMV, for more affordable options.


  • Babich makes some really nice Kiwi wines (New Zealand, not wine made from actual kiwis).  The Unoaked Chardonnay is a nice change of pace from the "California style."


  • Ever since Greg La Follette took over winemaking duties at DeLoach, the wines have been a little harder to find and quicker to sell out.  I completely understand.  I, too, am a member of the Cult La Follette.  Super-nice guy, too.  Most of you should be able to find DeLoach wine, maybe even at your local supermarket.  Go for the appellation (Russian River Valley) or single vineyard stuff or O.F.S. and you can't go wrong.  And remember, the man works wonders with Pinot Noir.


  • If you haven't started drinking South African wine yet, well then, "Big Smile!  Big Smile!"*  Can't go wrong with Mulderbosch.  The Beyond Sauvignon Blanc was very nice.  Some very nice Cab / Cab blends from Rustenberg and their second label, Brampton.  Nice up-and-coming (still) wine region blending elements of the New and Old Worlds.


  • From Down Under, d'Arenberg makes a nice range of consistent wines.  Obviously, the pricier bottlings get the better fruit, but everything is at least drinkable, if not downright tasty.


  • And some of my favorite wines from the tasting:  Basserman Jordan Trocken (dry) Riesling, Schloss Wallhausen Riesling Kabinett, P.J. Valckenberg Riesling Kabinett "Vinolok" (Glass stoppers! Woo hoo!), Maximin Grünhäuser M-S-R Riesling Spätlese, J.J. Prüm Riesling Auslese, and of course, Madonna Eiswein (Icewine) [and no, it has nothing to do with that Madonna].
  • Bottoms up.

     

    * = As much as I personally think Mel is an ass, Lethal Weapon 2 was pretty funny.  "Eeeny... meeny... miny...... hey, Moe!"


    Going Wine Tasting and KSK on Bar Food

    In a couple hours, I'll be at the Young's Market Company Trade Tasting at Moscone Center.  It's sort of like last week's SWS Import Tasting, except they'll also be pouring domestic wines.  And they might have some sample bottles of hard liquor.  And don't forget all the marketing schwag.

    This one's more like a county fair:  sort of hit-or-miss quality-wise but lots of fun, if only because of the sheer volume and diversity of products on display.  It's sensory overload for alcoholics.    :)

    In other news, the oh-so-funny lads over at Kissing Suzy Kolber have posted another gutbuster (both literally and figuratively).  With greasy fingers and congestive heart failure, I gladly present you with the KSK Indoor Tailgate: Your 2006 NFL Bar Menu Guide.

    I actually couldn't stop laughing for a while there.  "What the fuck is wrong with you, Jim, you ungodly fat fuck?!"

    Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha...


    Ouch (or, what happened on Monday)

    Yes, yes.  I know you want to hear about the show.  In a second.

    Yesterday morning, I had my second of six personal training sessions at the gym (they came with my membership package).  I'm a little sore this morning.  And by "a little sore," I mean "my hamstrings are so tight, I can barely bend at the waist."  I'll be going back to the gym in a little bit because, if I don't warm back up and purge some of the lactic acid built up in my muscles, I'm sure I won't be able to move my lower body tomorrow morning.

    OK, on to the show.  Well, the rumors weren't exactly right.

    The actual lineup (in reverse order of performance):
    Your headliners for the day:  The Eagles
    To satisfy the hip-hop set:  The Black-Eyed Peas
    A living legend:  Bob Dylan
    The surprise act:  The Foo Fighters

    Damn.  What a fucking awesome day.

    First off, you have to remember that there were something like twenty thousand (20,000) people there.  The complex stretched over a few parking lots, with food and some bleacher seating in the back and a very large open area in front of the stage.  Nice large stage, set up with San Francisco Bay in the background, and large (maybe 30') videoscreens on either side.  There was another 30' screen in front of the bleachers and a few other, smaller (10') screens scattered about the food area.

    The Stella flowed like water.  The Bud Light flowed like water.  The bottled water flowed like water.  The sausages and tortilla chips didn't flow nearly fast enough, as it seemed like there was a feeding frenzy and mini-riot every time a new tray of food was set down.  The lines for salad, mini-black bean burritos and stir-fry were less long, but probably because the food wasn't as good.  There were carts giving out corndogs, churros and ice cream.  Each cart had four lines radiating out from it:  the two lines of people waiting for food, the line of assholes who didn't want to wait in the normal lines and formed their own, and the line of helpers bringing in more food and taking away empty boxes.

    All in all, though, a really fun day.

    Brandy finally got to see the Foos play their acoustic set which, although abbreviated, was just as good as the Berkeley show.  And the stage setup was exactly the same.  If I'd gotten a chance to look at the stage before the whole thing started, I would've called it.  As it was, our little group of merrymakers rushed to the front after Brandy saw Dave Grohl standing behind the CEO as he made his opening remarks.

    What can you say about Bob Dylan?  Other than the fact that he looks really old now, he was great.  His voice was in fine form.  The backing band was tight.  He played "Like a Rolling Stone."  Unfortunately, he played keyboards the whole time and only busted out the harmonica once.  But now I've seen him play live.  Cool.

    The Black Eyed Peas?  Nice show.  A little singing, a little rapping, a little dancing, a lot of the camera guys focusing in on Fergie.  I don't blame them a single bit.  Damn, that girl's abs are amazing.  A little frightening, actually.  And they were running over time, so the Peas busted out a double-time version of "Let's Get Retarded" to close their set.

    I've never been a huge Eagles fan.  In fact, I don't own a single Eagles album (which, for those of you who have seen my CD collection, is saying something).  I'll have to get the Greatest Hits disc soon.  It's not like I was unaware of how many hits these guys have had, but you hear them on the radio all the time.  However, I'm really glad I got to see them live.

    They played most of the hits (no "Desperado") and some of the solo works of Don Henley ("Boys of Summer" and "Dirty Laundry") and Joe Walsh ("Life's Been Good" and "Funk No. 49"), although Glenn Frey's "The Heat Is On" was conspicuously absent - probably for good reason.  They, of course, encored with "Hotel California," going back to the original version instead of the flamenco guitar-tinged version from Unplugged.  Very nice.

    Can't wait for the next party.  I'm pretty sure that to top this one, they'll have to have The Stones and The Beatles (after resurrecting John and George).


    Off to see a show

    Very short post today, to be followed up by a very long post tomorrow.

    Brandy's company (which shall remain nameless, although most of you already know) throws big parties every once in a while.  Each party involves big name entertainment.  Last time, it was Mary J. Blige, opening up for Matchbox 20, opening up for Elton John.  The party before, we saw Earth, Wind and Fire.

    And you don't know who's playing until they get on stage.

    So the prevailing theories for today's Magical Mystery Show?  The Black Eyed Peas, Bob Dylan and The Eagles.

    Tomorrow, I'll let you know who, and how, it was.


    Lots of wine... no drunkenness

    Short post today, as I'm somehow running late this morning.

    Yesterday, I went to Southern Wine and Spirits' Import Tasting at the Westin St. Francis.  A lovely event, and one I try to attend every year.  And after attending countless and innumerable wine tastings, I've learned one thing: always spit.

    Granted, there were some wines that I actually drank.  The Concha y Toro Almaviva is outstanding and worth every sip.  They were pouring Inniskillin's Oak-aged Vidal and Cab Franc Icewines.  Trimbach's Frederic Emile Riesling is consistently wonderful.  Our friends at Gloria Ferrer / Freixenet were kind enough to pop a bottle of the Chateau-Lascombes (which Robert Parker revised upward from 91 to 95 points) for us.  But that's about all I drank.

    Despite the numerous tables overflowing with good, imported juice, I really didn't drink all that much - maybe half to three-quarters of a glass all told.  I did manage to taste, however, lots of nice Burgundies, Bordeaux, Italian wines, Chilean wines, Australian wines, German wines, Spanish wines.  Yum.  Love those tastings.  And Young's Market Company is doing their big tasting next week.      :)

    Afterward, my friend Jim (who was in town on business), RWR Jon-O and I met Brandy at Oola for dinner.  Very nice.  Except for Jon, we'd never eaten there, and we were pleasantly surprised.  I had a bacon cheeseburger with avocado, and all you need to know is "truffle cheese."  Mmmmmmmm. 

    I'd like to own a truffle farm when I grow up.  Which I guess means I'll have to live in France or Italy.  Maybe I'll devote the rest of my life to growing that quality of truffle in the U.S.  One can dream...

    Anyway, I'd highly recommend Oola as a decent date spot (dim lights, hanging fabric, exposed brick, generally cool vibe), but it's even better as a place to take out-of-town visitors.  Nicely San Franciscan without being too self-consciously cool, very good food and a selection of wine and liquor that's broad without being overwhelming.

    So I'll leave you with one thought:

    Truffles.


    One wine to report

    It's been a slow drinking week for me, so I only have one wine to report.  It's nice, though.

    2005 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough - Another prime example of New Zealand SB.  Racy acidity and stunning citrus notes underpinned by a nice, slaty stoniness.  A touch of guava and bit less of the pronounced asparagus I've been getting from NZ SBs recently.  Great with shellfish (we drank it with more bacon-wrapped scallops).

    BTW, Safeway's had U-10 scallops on sale for $7-8 / pound which is why Brandy and I have been having them so often recently.  Really nice pan-seared or bacon-wrapped.  And there's nothing more kosher (or halal) than bacon-wrapped scallops.     :)


    Reposted

    Reposted from (and for) the illustrious Joomi...

    You're on my friends' list...I want to know 20 things about you. I don't care if we've never talked, never liked each other, or if we already know everything about each other. I really don't. You are obviously on my list, so let me know with whom I am friends! JUST HIT REPLY.


    1.Your Full Name:

    Anthony Donghui Kim

    2. Age:

    32

    3. Single or Taken:

    Married, so I guess that means taken.   .    :)

    4. Favorite Movie:

    Now why did you have to go and ask that?  Right now, I'll say Old School.

    5. Favorite Song:

    Ever?  But there are so many.  How about a Top Ten?
    The Rolling Stones, "Gimme Shelter"
    The Beatles, "The Ballad of John and Yoko"
    Matthew Sweet, "Girlfriend"
    New Order, "Age of Consent"
    The Sundays, "Blood on My Hands"
    Radiohead, "Fake Plastic Trees"
    Jeff Buckley, "Lover, You Should Have Come Over"
    Echo and the Bunnymen, "Bring on the Dancing Horses"
    The Smiths, "This Charming Man"
    Depeche Mode, "But Not Tonight"


    6. Favorite Band/Artist:

    Ack... The Sundays?  Velocity Girl?  Elvis Costello?  The Judybats?

    7. Dirty or Clean:

    Clean.  Mostly.

    8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:

    On my virgin flesh?  Oh, the horror...   .    :)



    HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...



    1. Do we know each other outside of myspace?

    Yes, I believe we do.

    2. What's your philosophy on life?

    Attitudes are contagious.  Mine might kill you.

    3. Would you have my back in a fight?

    Of course.

    4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?

    Of course.

    5. What is your favorite memory of us?

    Of course... I mean, just hanging out at work, back in the heady days of answering phones and doing clerical work.

    6. Would you give me a kidney?

    Of course, providing we match.

    7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:

    I just corrected the typo in the above question.  It had read "intresting."  That should tell you all you need to know.

    8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?

    Of course.

    9. Can we get together and make a cake?

    Of course, but I don't like cake.

    10. Have you heard any rumors of me lately?

    I don't hear rumors about anybody.

    11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?

    Of course... I mean, of course not.

    12. Do you think I'm a good person?

    Of course.

    13. Would you drive across country with me?

    Of course.

    14. Do you think I'm attractive?

    For an Asian?  Yes.

    15. If you could change anything about me, would you?

    But then you wouldn't be you.

    16. What do you wear to sleep?

    T-shirt and boxers.  Or nothing.

    17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?

    I haven't, but sure.

    18. Would you go on a date with me if i asked you?

    I'd have to clear it with the missus first.

    19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?

    We're going out to dinner.  Lots of wine.

    20. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?

    Sort of.   .    :)

     

    Fresh Start

    I've joined a gym.

    I'll let that sink in for a few seconds, especially for those of you who've known me for a while.

    OK, I'll repeat it.  I've joined a gym.

    24 Hour Fitness.  The one on Market Street, about two blocks from my apartment, although I can go to any of them.

    And today, I went to my initial training session, where you fill in your health and diet questionnaires and have your physical baselines measured.  And those measurements said...

    Yay.  I'm out of shape.  I do believe I knew that going into this.  I didn't think I was 16% body fat, but hey, that's why I joined, right?

    By the way, 16% body fat is still average.  However, it's not the 6% I was in high school.  But that was fourteen (14) years and about twenty-five (25) pounds ago.

    Hmmm... at that pace, I'd be about 215 pounds when I'm 60.  Sexy.  At least I won't be bald, too.

    Lest you think that I'll become a workout-obsessed, Atkins freak (yeah, I'm sure you were all thinking that), I'll list my goals here, simple and humble though they may be.  They'll act as a reminder to me and as something about which you can all nag me.  Because I love nagging, and it's not at all the reason I moved 2518 miles away from my mother.

    1.) - Better cardiovascular fitness.  Time to start concerning myself with cholesterol, arteriosclerosis and heart attacks.  The ribeyes and foie gras aren't going to clear themselves out of my arteries.

    2.) - Better flexibility.  Because seeing my toes is not enough.  I'd like to be able to touch them, too.

    3.) - Increased strength around my knees and lower back.  Which should lower the frequency with which I experience pain there.

    Those are the only real goals.  Now, if I happen to lose some inches around the wine gut or gain some muscle mass (especially in the upper body) or develop Buns of Steel, then more power to me.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go see a man about some Clear...


    9.11.2001

    If you've been awake for more than 15 minutes, I'm sure you've already seen about 14 minutes of 9.11 coverage.  Here's one more:

    The NFL and America: A 9/11 Tribute

    As for me, I was asleep when the first plane hit.  Brandy and I had just started dating about a month earlier, and we had spent the night at her place.  I think I had worked the night shift before, so I was still asleep while she got ready for work.  Just before she left, she flipped on the Today Show, as she usually does, then she woke me up.

    "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center."

    I was probably working on about 4 hours of sleep at that point, so it didn't sink in, probably not for a couple of minutes.

    "What do you mean, 'a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center?'"

    At that point, she was running late, so she left, and I dragged my ass out of bed just in time to see Tower One smoking for about 3 minutes before the second plane hit.  And I sat and watched, half-dazed from the lack of sleep and from the utter surreality of the events unfolding on TV.   Then the towers came down.

    The rest of the day was something of a blur.  I was off that day, so I just sat around all day, watching news coverage.  I'm not even sure if I ate.

    No one I know died in the crashes.  I can't imagine what it's been like for those who lost loved ones.  I can only offer my condolences and assistance, and I can remember that life is short, even without the events of our day.

    Life is too short.  Live your life.


    Random Musings

    Up until very recently, I've treated this blog like a daily (or not-so-daily) journal, retraining myself to write... well, anything.  Seeing as how it's been over five years since I've had to produce actual content on a regular basis, you'll understand if I've had to shake off a bit of rust.

    Back when I was in college, I used to send out mass e-mails filled with little rants and raves, all done in a style very similar to this blog - i.e. conversational, and very much like I'd actually speak to you.

    The point, you ask?

    Well, I finally feel like I'm finding my voice again.  So hopefully, I'll be able to make these posts more entertaining and perhaps a tiny bit informative.  A little bit like my Random Musings from college. 

    Feedback, as always, is desired and greatly encouraged.  You might have noted that the humor tends to be a bit dry in these parts, so if you'd like to see some ha-ha-funny stuff, you'll have to ask for it.

    As many of you already know, I have no shortage of strong opinions, so if you'd like me to address any topics in particular (or in general or in the buff), I'm more than happy to do so.  I've never had a problem inflicting my opinions on others.   :)

    Damn malfunctioning smiley menu.  Now it really does look exactly like the emails I sent out in college.  Oh, well.

    OK, on to the good stuff...

    • The Steelers won last night, behind injury-sub Charlie Batch's three (3) TD passes.  I fully expect to see Jeremy Johnson's "Days Since A Steelers Loss" sign to be updated at work today.  Geez, how many days has it been (not counting preseason, of course)?

    • I participated in my fantasy football draft last night, during the Steelers / Dophins game, actually.  I stand a very good chance of going winless.  That's what happens when you weigh the scouting reports, check injury lists, create a draft board, and then pick with your gut instead.  Will I never learn?*

    • The Tigers won last night, behind a rookie-of-the-year-caliber performance from Justin Verlander.  The Tigers' magic number is now 18.  I'm a happy camper.

    • Prepare for the geekiest thing you've ever seen in your life.  Part of the reason I'm a happy camper: I own Verlander in one of my fantasy baseball leagues.  But it's not just any league.  It's a league in which I participate with fraternity brothers from college (mostly).  That's not all.  It's a simulation league.  Which means that we take stats from the previous season (with some weight given to players' historical performance), and our teams actually "play" against each other.  Let that sink in for a second.  Yes, it's make-believe make-believe baseball.  And we play during MLB's off-season so that we have baseball ALL YEAR LONG.  To plumb the depths of our baseball-related dorkiness, feel free to visit the Sammyball Web site.  And yes, I was champion of the geeks one year.

    • Popped open a bottle of Chardonnay last night (sue me, we were having bacon-wrapped scallops for dinner), and it turned out to be corked.  Not so much as to be undrinkable, but enough for me to notice.  Perhaps I'll try the Saran Wrap technique [if you submerge Saran Wrap in corked wine for a little while, it's supposed to attract the molecules of trichloroanisole (TCA) that cause "corkiness"**].  Someone really needs to come up with a better closure.  Attention, materials scientists.  Sterile cork substitute required.


    * = Probably not.

    ** = Corky as in cork tainted, not Corky as in Life Goes On.


    Beerfest and a fest of... well, Cirôc, actually... and cheesesteaks

    Brandy and I went to see Beerfest last weekend.  Yes, somehow I  convinced her to see yet another Broken Lizard movie.

    OK, I exaggerate somewhat.  Aside from some of the gratuitous nudity and the recurring dick / bodily function / substance abuse humor, she did enjoy Super Troopers and Club Dread, so it wasn't too difficult to convince her to go.  I'm certainly glad we did.

    Funny movie, a solid grade-B effort.  Not as side-achingly funny as Super Troopers, but it had more than it's fair share of belly laughs.  I really don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave you with some choice words:  Grand Gam Gam, summer sausage, Jürgen Prochnow, Das Boot, beer pong, one dollar, Landfill Two, frog research.

    C'mon, it's a movie about beer.  And drinking beer.  And training to drink beer.  And contains the funniest (and nakedest) cultural collision in a biergarten since National Lampoon's European Vacation.

    However, I must admit that it seemed obvious that there's going to be an uncensored / unrated version of the movie coming on DVD.  And I'll be buying it.

    -----

    Last night, we went out with some of Brandy's friends from work.  It was "Drinking for a Good Cause" as a couple of guys were raising money for the Waves to Wine Bike Tour, benefitting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Nice little event.  After having a few Cirôc cocktails (the only alcohol you could get with a drink ticket), Brandy and I picked up a Jake's cheesesteak on the way home.  Excellent steak, very highly recommended.

    But now, I REALLY want to take a trip to Philly soon.  Jim's is calling.

    Oh, Jesus.  In researching that last link, I just discovered that Jim's overnights cheesesteaks anywhere in the country.  I know it won't be the same.  I know this steak doesn't exist.  I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious.  After nine years, you know what I realize?  Ignorance is bliss.  Oh, wait.  I mean, I need to experience the real thing, in Philadelphia.  And to have Pat's and Geno's for comparison purposes.  Mmmmm... cheesesteak.


    Since I don't like posting bulletins with this stuff...

    Go to this site & enter your name in the box & hit the Sloganize button. DON'T CHEAT, KEEP THE FIRST ONE THEY GIVE YOU. Add your slogan to the bottom of the list and repost.

    www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi

    1. The Jenn Sign Means Happy Motoring
    2. All You Need is a Sarah and a Dream
    3. Obey Your Benjamin
    4. Drinka Pinta Jordan A Day
    5. No John, No Comment.
    6. Bring out the Leah
    7. Reach out and touch Jessa ( ij ust HAD to get one like that
    didnt i!)
    8. Can't Do It In Real Life? Do It On Heidi.
    (I don't know Jess, I think I just 1 upped 'ya!)
    9. There's really no wrong way to eat a Buttercup. (wow.....um.......)
    10. Great Jeff. Great times.
    11. Bridge that gap with a Cody
    12. Make someone happy w/ an ANNA
    13. Reach for a Danielle
    14. Life Should Taste As Good As Steph.
    15. Naughty, but Jimmy.
    16. Execedingly good Joel.
    17. Nobody does it like Jessica.
    18. Full Of Eastern Natalie ....ok
    19. A smooth running-janie is a relaxing experience
    20. You'll never put a better bite of KELLEE on your knife
    21. I'm not gonna pay alot for this Jamie
    22. The Future's Bright. The Future's Katie.
    23. Because Sarah is Complicated Enough
    24. A Glass and a Half in Every Wendy.
    25. Nobody better lay a finger on my Monique.
    26. Joe Is Job 1.
    27. Gonna be a while? Grab a Dollface. (I agree. That's a good one!)
    28. Poppin' Fresh Camilicious
    29. Only Don can prevent forest fires...
    30. Wouldn't you like to be an Amie too?
    31. Anthony tested, mother approved.
    32. Snap Into A Slim Erica. (OH YEAH!)
    33. A Smooth-Running Rolando is a Relaxing Experience.
    35. What can Jennifer Escudero do for you?
    36. Two Hours of Cerissa in Just Two Calories. (Dude.. I have no life.. I can't believe I'm doing this.. haha!)
    37. What Can Ryan Do For You? (You guys.. dont look at me like that..)
    38. America's Most Trusted Dar. (I try to tell people this but hey now there is proof!)
    39. Mike Mayo makes everything better. (well, everything but your self esteem LOSER.)
    40. Smart. Beautiful. Erin. (ah, so true)
    41. Little. Yellow. Different. Patrick. (i think i'm offended)
    42. Can You Tell Tony Kim From Butter? (No.  No, you can't.)

    Finishing up some wine and a little college football

    Well, I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend.  Brandy and I got off to a promising start on Friday night, going to Edinburgh Castle to see a couple of Phil's friends play.  It had the makings of an entertaining evening with Phil, Gini and friends (all young, very young).  However, after a couple of beers and some fish and chips, our true colors showed (that would be the wan gray of old age), and we bailed before the shows even got started.

    We're such homebodies.  Sad.    :)

    Anyway, back to the last couple of wines I was going to point out.

    2003 Hanzell Pinot Noir Sonoma Valley - As I started saying in the last wine post, there's a lot of history here, but the wine stands on its own merits.  Pretty Bing cherry and plum notes, a touch of rose petal and mushroom, all backed by a firm hand of toasty oak and food-friendly acidity.  A little much mocha for my taste, but well-balanced and a very nice Pinot.

    2005 Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough - A lovely example of New Zealand SB in general and Marlborough SB in particular.  All the bright citrus, gooseberry and grass notes you would expect from a Kiwi SB, wrapped up in a gorgeous, bracing acidity.  My only (very minor) complaint would be a slight vegetal note that's somewhat akin to pickled asparagus.  Very good wine, though.

    -----

    Now you're thinking to yourself, wine and college football?

    Well, yes.  Granted, they're not the most logical of blog pairings, but then again, this blog is all about the things floating around in my head.

    Of course, Brandy and I had to watch Michigan and Vanderbilt, since we're both Wolverine fans.  I won't bore you with any commentary on the game other than my assertion that Michigan needs to pull Chad Henne's head out of Lloyd Carr's ass to have any chance of winning the Big Ten.  They might have won 27-7, but the game was ugly and should have finished more like 72-7.

    Strangely enough, my favorite thing about the broadcast was listening to Chris Spielman.  Truly entertaining.  Most likely, the great majority of his comments are dead serious, and in that case, he scores very highly on the Unintentional Comedy Meter.  Next Saturday, I highly recommend that you find the game he's working and watch.  Bwah ha ha ha ha...

    Before you think I'm poking fun at a slightly impaired ex-football player just because he's an OSU grad, I'll have you know that I'm not.  I'm very aware of his great community works, his spinal injuries and his wife's battle with breast cancer.  He's shown that he's a remarkable human being, and it's great that he is still working in the game he obviously loves.

    To quote from collegefootballnews.com, "Spielman is goofy, but hes a fun listen and deserves a higher profile gig; like the third man in the booth with Nessler and Griese. Hed be PERFECT for that. Im sort of shocked he isnt a mid-level NFL announcer yet."

    Gotta love the goofy ex-players who do color commentary.  It makes Saturday just that much more fun.


    Well, here's the weekly wine post

    I'm finding it surprisingly difficult to post something about wine / booze every week (this being only Week Two).  I just need to start remembering what I've been drinking.  After all, I already do the sensory breakdown by force of habit.  I'm pretty sure that's something that will never go away.

    Having written music criticism for my college newspaper, it's really the same way with music.  Sometimes, I need to consciously take a step back and just appreciate the totality of a work without immediately breaking it down.  As in pretty much all things in my life, I need to stop looking at things so academically.

    But this is neither the time nor the place to stop being critical.  We have wine to discuss, after all.  Let's start with:

    1998 Edgewood Estate Malbec Napa Valley - Tasty wine, very rich and fruity.  Dark fruits, mocha, some baking spices and just enough acid and tannin to keep it from being flabby.  A very nice Napa Malbec from a supposedly down vintage.  This was actually from the home cellar, a weird one-off purchase we made on a chance stop driving through Napa with friends.

    2004 Two Hands "Yesterday's Hero" Grenache Barossa Valley - Some very nice old vine Grenache (which is one of the primary red varietals of the Southern Rhone) from Australia. Opulent, focused fruit without being jammy or over-extracted.  Solid backbone of acid and a light tannin that wraps everything together.  A great wine either alone or with food.  I'd say lamb or a heavier pork dish would be wonderful.  Ooooh, weiner schnitzel... yeah, that's the ticket.  Now I want to take a bottle of this to Suppenkuche or Walzwerk.  God, I love living in San Francisco.

    2004 Hanzell Chardonnay Sonoma Valley - They're using the broader appellation because their estate vineyard falls in between some smaller AVAs.  Doesn't really matter, because the wine is damn good.  As one of the pioneers of winegrape growing in California, Hanzell has a long and rich history, and the wine stands up to the reputation.  Rich and flavorful without being overbearing.  Creamy, but with a clean, sharp acidity.  This Chard may have started California down the road to "Buttery and Oaky," but it has long since been passed by the Rombauers of the world.  Good enough to make me want to start drinking domestic Chard again.

    I've got some more to go through, but I'm late for work.  More later.


    Not to be a simple reposter...

    ... but I've recently discovered (yet another) sports blog that makes me laugh out loud.

    Kissing Suzy Kolber (the title itself is funny to anyone who watches ESPN with some regularity) is equal parts ridiculous, sarcastic, informed and enlightening.  For a good example, read this really funny open letter to Tony Kornheiser, one of the new guys doing ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcasts.

    ---

    As for music, I'm actually listening to Ned's Atomic Dustbin's new single, "Hibernation," (which they released last year but Jeremy Johnson and I only recently discovered).  Excellent song.  The B-side, "Ambush," is a nice mid-tempo, non-4/4 song that hearkens back to some of the ballads on Brainbloodvolume.  There's also a decent remix of "Kill Your Television" that would sound really good while on Ecstasy.  Good stuff.

    Here's the link to their Myspace page, if you'd like to hear a sample.

     

    And just for the hell of it...

    In case you hadn't seen it, one of the best SNL skits in years...

    Lazy Sunday

    Natalie Portman's bit isn't bad, either.

     

    I know we're all overly sensitive, but...

    ... this is ridiculous.

    Emmy Plane Crash Skit Called Insensitive

    Before I go on, I'd like to extend my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those people killed in the crash.  It was a senseless tragedy, and one (it seems from the NTSB's initial report) that could have been easily avoided.  The individual stories of those killed - the newlywed couple, the man catching an earlier flight to get home to his kids - are heartbreaking.

    I'm not trying to lessen the impact of this event on these families and the rest of the nation.  I'm not saying that the timing of NBC's Emmy broadcast was great.  I'm not even saying that the decision to greenlight the bit, mere hours after the crash, wasn't insensitive.

    But, to quote Rob Corddry, "Come on!"  (Or if you prefer John Stossel, "Give me a break!")

    For those of you who missed it, the Emmy award broadcast last night started with a pretaped intro bit.  O'Brien, dressed in a tux, sits aboard a plane to the Emmys.  The plane starts to shake.  He gets thrown around and crawls into an overhead compartment.  Flash to O'Brien crawling out of the surf on a tropical island. 

    To anyone who's ever seen Lost, this was a direct riff on all the plane crash and initial beach sequences from the show, except there were no actual planes crashing, no people being sucked out of a gaping hole in the plane, no exploding engines on the beach.  However, Jorge Garcia (who plays Hurley) appears in the scene, running with O'Brien to a "Hatch," through which O'Brien lowers himself and ends up in The Office, then on the phone with Jack and Chloe from 24, then in an exam room with House.  All very clever and fairly amusing for a TV awards show.

    Understandably, any mention of a plane crash would be horrifying to someone who lost a loved one in a crash - doubly so if the crash happened recently.  However, "Gilbert said he plans to ask NBC for an apology.  'They could have killed the opening and it wouldn't have hurt the show at all,' Gilbert said. 'We wish somebody had thought this through. It's somewhere between ignorance and incompetence.'"

    What the fuck?!?

    It's one thing to be sensitive to the situations of others.  It's something completely different to neuter TV shows (or music or movies or journalism) to avoid offending them.

    While I agree that NBC could have cut the Lost section of the opening montage (at the cost of coherence), I don't see why they should have had to.  Were they going out of their way to mock the plights of the Comair victims?  Were they being intentionally hurtful?  I sincerely doubt it.

    By the way, Tim Gilbert is the general manager of NBC's Lexington, Ky. affiliate, WLEX.  He did the right thing by making a public statement.  I'm glad he's sticking up for the interests of his viewership, which has been directly touched by this tragedy.  But asking for an apology? 

    The two events were connected by nothing more than subject matter and bad timing.  Insensitive?  Probably.  Bad taste?  Maybe.  Ignorance and incompetence?  Hardly.

    These days, it seems that we live in an overly sensitive, overly litigious society.  People can't say anything even remotely controversial without having to come back later and recant the sentiment for fear of a lawsuit.  It's almost amazing to me that anyone says anything any more.

    Don't get me wrong.  There are still words and acts that are hateful and stupid and have no place in society.

    Mel Gibson is still a racist motherfucker.  Hate crimes against gays are inexcusable.  People who kill in the name of God are hypocrites and morons.

    But should we stop making movies about wars or accidents or medical malpractice because we'll offend the victims' families?  Should we stop making jokes for fear of hurting someone's feelings?  Should we stop living our lives because of life's many tragedies?

    Yes, life is tragic, and people can be cruel.  There's bad stuff all around us.  But perhaps everyone should stop looking for stuff to be offended by and start living their lives.  Maybe they'd find something to be happy about.


    Geeking Out

    Just a quick post today about how Myspace sucks and rocks at the same time.

    I've reverted to my college days when I was a gigantic music geek.  Yesterday, after Jeremy Johnson pointed out to me that Ned's Atomic Dustbin had released a single a couple of months ago, I went and bought the single.  Then I realized they had a Myspace page.  So off I went to look at it.  And add them as a FriendTM.

    So, of course, I had to see if any other of my Favorite Bands from College were on Myspace.

    Yes.  Yes, they are.

    So now, I'm turning into one of those gigantic Myspace dorks who has more bands on their friend list than actual friends.  Which, on second thought, isn't too inaccurate a picture of my real life.  ;)

    (Why does my Smiley menu not work?  Damn Javascript.  Or perhaps it's IE.  Damn Microsoft.)

    Anyway, that's it for now.  I'll continue to geek out now.

    P.S. - I will be buying this JH album soon, but for now, I'm just listening to the songs she has on her Myspace page.  However, she has a download page on her actual Website and a very cool statement about a downloading honor system.


    Mojave 3 at Slim's (or, Why Dinner Tickets Rule)

    In about a month, Mojave 3 will be playing at Slim's, so I'm currently rotating the three albums I own.  Out of Tune is my favorite of the three and sits firmly in my Top 50 Albums of All Time.  Generally speaking, it's soft, slow alt-country / folk rock played by British people.  The two newer ones, Puzzles Like You and Spoon and Rafter, are still country-rock but have a more distinctly Britpop feel to them.  A little faster, a little more catchy and more friendly to those of you who think you hate all country music.

    For those of you who don't know Mojave 3, I highly recommend you check them out on Pandora or some other streaming service.  I would also recommend checking out Slowdive, the band from whence Mojave 3 sprang and a cornerstone of the shoegazer movement of the late '80s / early '90s.

    Anyway, back to the point of this post: dinner tickets at Slim's.  If ever given the opportunity to purchase dinner tickets for a show at Slim's, do so.  The food is actually pretty good (and definitely a step up from the bar chow available on the floor), and you get to sit down for THE WHOLE SHOW.  If you get one of the first few tables, you have an unobstructed view of the stage.  No jockeying for position with a guy who hasn't showered in a week, no getting trapped behind the only 6'6" 260-lb. guy in the room, no moving out of the way for people who will inevitably spill beer on you.  Wonderful.  I'm getting giddy just typing about it.

    Obviously, my love of dinner tickets (and assigned seating in general) illustrates just how old I've gotten - not chronologically old, although that is certainly also the case.  I really am turning into Crotchety Old Guy.  I'd rather see a band at the Warfield than the Fillmore.  I prefer balcony seats to being on the floor in general admission.  And I don't like waiting in line.

    That might be at the root of all this, really.  I remember a time before you could purchase tickets online, when getting good seats to New Order or Depeche Mode or INXS required you to go stand in line at a ticket retailer (usually a record store) before the crack of dawn and hope that you didn't get the stupid guy who couldn't work the machine fast enough.  Sure, you could constantly hit redial on your corded phone and deal with the beep-beep-beep of a busy signal or the "all circuits are busy" message, but what fun is that?

    Unfortunately for me, most of the bands I like play smaller venues, i.e. bars that have no assigned seating... or seats at all.  All general admission - great when you're buying your tickets since you don't have to worry about buying them early to get good seats.  You just have to buy them before the show sells out.  However, if there's no line to buy the tickets...

    There you are, standing in front of the bar waiting to get in.  You're at the end of the line.  It's 7 p.m. for an 8 p.m. show.  The line currently extends to the end of the block.  Forget grabbing one of the two booths or 6 barstools.  Forget being able to see the band over the massed throng.  Forget walking out of there without beer spilled down your back.

    All this might make it sound like I hate live shows.  Quite the opposite.  I love seeing bands live.  I don't particularly love some of the people at the shows, but on the whole, everyone's cool.  And  I'm not opposed to standing.  I'd just rather sit.

    So I'm really looking forward to Mojave 3.  I just hope we can get there in time to snag one of the front tables.


    Four Things

    ... and proving that Myspace is, indeed, a gigantic time suck, I've logged back on, surfed around and found this interesting nugget to post:

    A) FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:

    1. Wine Buyer
    2. Marketing Specialist (read: tech liaison in disguise)
    3. Associate Producer (read: corporate cog in search portal machine)
    4. Features Editor, college newspaper

    B) FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AND
    OVER:

    1. You've Got Mail
    2. Office Space
    3. Memphis Belle
    4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    These are movies that have been on TV recently.  If I'm channel surfing and I come across one of these, I'll stop and watch.  There are several others, like Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon or Ferris Bueller, that also prompt the same response.

    C) FOUR PLACES WHERE I HAVE LIVED:

    1. Rochester, NY
    2. Toledo, OH
    3. Ann Arbor, MI
    4. Green Bay, WI

    D) FOUR T.V. SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH:

    1. Psych
    2. The Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner
    3. 30 Days
    4. The Boondocks

    E) 4 PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION:

    1. St. Thomas / St. Croix
    2. London
    3. Seoul
    4. Philadelphia (don't knock it until you try it)

    F) FOUR WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY:

    1. ESPN MLB Scoreboard
    2. Excite 
    3. Aaron Gleeman's blog
    4. The Superficial

    G) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS/PLACES TO EAT:

    1. Miyabi
    2. Maverick
    3. Chou Chou
    4. Zuni Cafe

    H) FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:

    1. Nowhere, actually
    2. 
    3. 
    4. 

    I) FOUR THINGS YOU WANT TO DO THIS YEAR

    1. Pass the Certified Sommelier exam
    2. Go to Europe (this year or next)
    3. Start writing - either a novel or this little Web site / TV pilot I've been considering
    4. Move, but not out of SF

    J) FOUR FRIENDS WHO I THINK WILL REPOST

    1. Joomi
    2. Lauren
    3. Phil  (c'mon, you know you want to)
    4. One of the Sisters LaPlaca

     


    Finally, a post about wine

    It has taken me a while, hasn't it?  OK, I have two items of interest:

    I popped into this month's Chill on Thursday night.  For those of you who don't know, Chill is a monthly wine / spirit tasting event for sommeliers, wine buyers, chefs and restaurant GMs (and no, I don't know why I'm still invited to them, other than the fact that lots of random people show up anyway).  In any case, I was pleased to see, after my unfortunately wineless trip to the Niagara Peninsula, that they were pouring Inniskillin at Chill.  Still awesome.  The Vidal Icewine is magnificent - sweet, yet balanced by a refreshing acidity.  The Cab Franc adds flavors of red berries and a touch of earthiness.

    Up until the Toronto trip, however, I had been unaware of Inniskillin's Sparkling Vidal Icewine.  And they were pouring it at Chill, too.  Dangerous.  Very Dangerous.  That's really all I can say about it.  Let's just say that I'm very glad we bought a bottle of it in duty-free coming home.

    The main event, however, was Trade Tasting Day at Williams Selyem on Wednesday.  There's a lot of wine to talk about, so let's get to it, going in pretty much the same order I tasted it.

    2004 Allen Vyd. Chardonnay Russian River Valley - Creamy, with baking spice and pear notes.  Nicely ripe, though I prefer a bit more acidity.  Probably a 91 point wine according to James Laube at the Spectator.

    2004 Heintz Vyd. Chardonnay Russian River Valley - A little bit of cream balanced by a nice, crisp acidity.  More tropical fruit than the Allen and more my speed in general.

    2004 Hawk Hill Vyd. Chardonnay Russian River Valley - My favorite of the three.  Crisp, vibrant acidity, stone fruits with a touch of floral notes and a nice, stony minerality.  Great food wine that cries out for seafood.  I'm thinking seared scallops myself.

    2004 Bucher Vyd. Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - Classic RRV PN.  Cherries, cola, loamy earth, floral notes, and enough tannin to keep the fruit honest.

    2004 Weir Vyd. Pinot Noir Yorkville Highlands - A little more red fruit, some baking spice, and more stony than earthy minerality.  The wine I'd want to drink with a lightly spiced pork tenderloin.

    2004 Flax Vyd. Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - I typically like wine from this vineyard, but I must admit that this vintage left me a little flat.  Seems a bit too ripe, with black, rather than red, fruits and a bit less acidity than I'd like.  Still very good, just a bit unfocused.

    2004 Vista Verde Vyd. Pinot Noir San Benito County - Getting back to a more restrained style.  Red fruit, violets, and earth.  Nicely balanced.

    2004 Ferrington Vyd. Pinot Noir Anderson Valley - Lots of fruit and baking spice.  A touch of earth and noticable tannins.  This could pair well with light BBQ or pork served with fruit sauce / salsa.

    2004 Allen Vyd. Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - Probably went a little out of order here, as Rochioli properties typically make large, firmly structured wines.  Oh well, still tasted good.  Vibrant red fruits, a touch of rose, and tannins that make you sit up and notice.  Not overly tannic, but definitely a big wine.

    2004 Rochioli Riverblock Vyd. Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - A little riper than the Allen, with a touch more black cherry.  Some nice notes of sassafras and roses, lending complexity.  However, more pronounced stoniness in concert with a towering wall of tannin (for Pinot) make for quite a mouthful.  However, it's not Pinot masquerading as Syrah.  It's not thick and overextracted, just big.  Excellent wine, but not for the faint of heart.

    2004 Coastlands Vyd. Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - Yes, I did have some bread and cheese before jumping from the Rochioli to this.  Here we encounter our first pronounced notes of mushroom, in addition to dark fruit and baking spice tannins.  Nicely concentrated but not syrupy.

    2004 Peay Vyd. Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - Lots going on upfront here.  Mix of red and black fruit, some cocoa, and a bit of stone.  Not the most complex wine, but enjoyable.

    2004 Hirsch Vyd. Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - A little spicier than the Coastlands and Peay, with similar dark fruits.  A little more tannin, too.  A very nice wine that I would have no problem drinking on its own or with some nice cheese.

    2004 Precious Mountain Vyd. Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - Almost always my favorite of the single-vineyard Pinot bottlings (and at $85 / bottle, why wouldn't it be?).  Complex, well-balanced and on the big side.  You can easily suss out fruit, florals, earth, spice, mushroom and a firm, underlying tannin that pulls you through the finish.  Yummy.

    2004 Forchini Vyd. Zinfandel Russian River Valley - Damn good zin.  Ripe without being too jammy.  Rich without being cloying.  I suspect the zippy acidity does a lot to balance all the ripe fruit.

    2002 Mistral Vyd. Port Central Coast - Winemaker Bob Cabral has Portuguese roots, so this isn't too much of a stretch.  And you can't argue with the results.  A lovely, drink-now port with dense, dark fruit and chocolate.  Nice bit of spice on the palate.  For those of you into pedigree, the port is fortified with spirits from Germain-Robin, arguably the finest craft distiller in the U.S.

    OK, hope that wasn't too much for you.  It certainly ended up being bigger than I thought it would.  Not bad for a first wine entry, huh?

    Comments welcome.


    Before we get to the wine, some baseball...

    Hola, kids.

    I'll explain my mood.  I'm gloomy, not because I'm listening to Thom Yorke's solo album and thinking that I'll be popping in Hail to the Thief soon or because it's overcast and slightly chilly today, but because the Tigers traded for Neifi Perez yesterday.  Neifi Perez!  One of the most useless players in Major League Baseball.

    Granted, Omar Infante (the best in-house option for replacing the injured Placido Polanco) is not that great, but he's a hell of a lot better than Perez, who hasn't been a servicable batter since the Clinton administration.  Infante has marginally better offensive stats (.269-.311-.378 vs. .254-.266-.343) with a sharp edge in OBP, which, taken in the context of these two light-hitting utility infielder types, should be the most important consideration.  Also, Perez has posted these sub-par offensive numbers at one of the better offensive parks in either league.

    OK, does Perez at least give you a favorable platoon advantage?  After all, he is a switch-hitter.  No, he doesn't.  Despite batting from both sides of the plate, Perez also hits lefties better.  This is a very bad thing.  Aside from the obvious redundancy of the situation, it behooves a team to have someone who hits righties well, seeing as how right-handers make up the large majority of population, pitchers or otherwise.

    So if Perez isn't a better hitter, does he give you better defense?  Actually, no, he doesn't.  The two have essentially the same defensive stats (with a slightly higher Z range for Infante).  Even if Perez is the better defender, it doesn't outweigh Infante's higher OBP in terms of games won or lost.

    To take a step back, say you're Dave Dombrowski (Detroit's GM, who I think makes great decisions - most of the time).  Your starting 2B goes down with an injury, perhaps for the rest of the season.  Your team is in the driver's seat heading into the home stretch.  It won't be a cakewalk, as the team is slumping a bit and your division rivals are making big pushes, but you should make it into the playoffs if you can just keep playing decent baseball.

    Why would you trade for Neifi Perez?!?  Yes, the organizational answer is infield depth, but do you really need two light-hitting utility guys behind the light-hitting utility guy who stepped into the everyday 2B role?

    Arrgghhh.  I only hope the rotation pulls it back together for the last month of the season.

     

    Toronto, Part Deux

    ... when we left our intrepid protagonist, he was mildly bemused by the antics of his extended family - the a capella karaoke, the drunken toasts, the typical chaos of a Kim family get-together.  He was busy taking and posing for pictures with the bride and groom when, suddenly, Uncle Greg (who has established something of a reputation as the family clown / smart-ass) got it into his head that he wanted to take Brandy and Tony out to dinner the next night.  At a buffet.  In Niagara Falls.

    So the next morning, after a relaxing recovery breakfast with Michelle's family (at whose house they were staying), Brandy and Tony were whisked off to Aunt Hyun Gyung's place to plot out the course of the day.  Michelle's older sister, Maryan, was kind enough to clear her schedule for the day as well as volunteering her driving services.  After some debate as to who would be going and several roster changes, Brandy, Tony, Maryan, Tony's parents, his grandmother and his cousin Steve finally piled into two cars and departed for Uncle Greg's.  After picking up Uncle Greg and his wife, the motley family, now nine-strong, departed for Niagara-on-the-Lake.

    The plan, as it was originally conceived, consisted of driving to Niagara-on-the-Lake, walking around the picturesque tourist village while waiting for the buffet to open at 4 p.m., then proceeding to that site of culinary carnage.  Unbeknownst to the principals, N-o-t-L was currently in the midst of its annual Peach Festival, so when The Nine pulled into town, they were swiftly struck by how little parking seemed available.  Lo and behold, the Parking Gods smiled on them and, after a bit of waiting in a public lot, they embarked on their little walk.

    N-o-t-L's sidewalks swarmed with families while classic car enthusiasts cruised the main drag.  Peach products were strangely scarce considering it was the annual Peach Festival, but some stores were selling peach preserves or peach ice cream or chocolate-dipped peaches (borrowing from the concept of the candy / caramel apple).  It was a classic scene from the annals of Americana, or in this case, Canadiana.

    Having had their fill of family wholesomeness after less than an hour, The Nine departed for Niagara Falls and the promise of all-you-can-eat crab legs.  Tony had but one regret thus far on the trip: he had not been aware that N-o-t-L was the tourist epicenter of the Niagara Peninsula winegrowing region, and the family had not budgeted enough time to stop at any wineries.  So as the invitingly-designed tasting rooms of Inniskillin, Peller Estate and Jackson Triggs (and their wonderful icewines) faded tantalizingly into the distance, he thought, "those crab legs better be damn good."

    It had been some time since Tony had last visited Niagara Falls.  When he was younger, his family had lived in Rochester, NY, a scant hour and a half drive from the Falls.  Being somewhat on the way to Toronto, his family had driven through there numerous times and taken in all the tourist sites, even the famed Maid of the Mist.  It had been a tourist trap, even then, but he was surprised by how much more developed the area had become.

    In retrospect, Tony probably should have realized that the word "buffet" not prefaced by "Old Country" meant that the establishment was part of a larger structure.  How large?  Try Fallsview Casino / Resort.  A little slice of Vegas, transported to the Canadian border.  Same feel, same slot machines, same amusement-park lines for the buffet.

    Omitting most of the gory details, imagine eight famished Koreans and Brandy tearing into an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Crab shells, shrimp tails and trimmings from hand-carved (slightly overdone) prime rib flew around the table.  Napkins and wet-naps disappeared at an alarming rate.  Well-worn trails appeared in the carpeting between the table and the buffet area.  Second and third bussers had to be called over to help clear.  Iced tea flowed like water.  Water flowed like water.  And unfortunately for Tony, after dinner was over, his club soda glass had an ugly run-in with the server's hand, and it, too, flowed like water.  Down the front of his shirt.  And all over his pants.  Right in the crotch area and down both legs to the knee.  Looking very much like he'd lost control of his bodily functions.  And it was cold.

    As Brandy not-so-helpfully pointed out, at least it hadn't been red wine or cranberry juice.  And Tony thought to himself, "or hot coffee."

    So, full of fairly decent buffet food and slightly damp in the pants, our tired protagonist departed Niagara Falls, then Toronto without further mishap.

    ---

    Sorry about the third-person narrative.  It just started coming out like that, then I decided to run with it.  More on wine later.


    Toronto, gosh

    Sometimes, I just stun myself with my own geekiness.

    I was sitting here for a second, trying to think of a somewhat-clever title for this blog entry about my trip to Toronto when what should pop into my head but C-3PO in Return of the Jedi, relating the plots of the first two episodes to the Ewoks in an attempt to elicit their aid.  If I recall correctly (and based on the number of times I've seen The Trilogy, I probably do), "torontogosh" was the word he used to describe AT-ATs.  My, what a "wocky*" memory I have.  Really, I'm hanging my head in shame right now.   ;)

    Before we go any further, I should probably give you some background.  For those of you who don't know (and hadn't already guessed), I'm an only child.  However, my parents have five siblings.  Each.  Of those ten families, eight aunts / uncles are still married, one is widowed and one is divorced.  And of all those families, only one other aunt (the divorced one) had only one child; most of them had three.  So let's just say that I have a lot of relatives.

    Brandy and I spent the weekend with my Mom's side of the family in Toronto, celebrating my cousin Michelle's marriage.  I say marriage and not wedding because she and Dong (no jokes, please - it's just too easy) got married in Aruba a couple of weeks ago.

    Michelle's the middle child of that family, but she's always struck me as the grounded one.  Not an attention hog, very no-nonsense.  So it made a lot of sense to me that she would want a private ceremony.  Actually, I used a lot of the same logic for doing our wedding in St. Thomas.

    My family can be... a tad overwhelming at times.  If you don't wish to take part in a three-ring circus, it's best to not have my entire family in the same room at the same time.  I'll skip over most of the details, but let's just say that two of my uncles become something of a dynamic comic duo when they get drunk, and there was a lot of wine, a microphone and PA system, a new nephew-in-law named Dong, and a standing habit of singing karaoke whenever my parents come to town.  Even my Dad started into the first couple of lines of "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You."  Keep in mind: there was no karaoke machine.

    I'm sure Michelle's new in-laws were a little stunned, although they seemed to take everything very well.  A mad house, but quite entertaining.

    Once again, I've dragged on for far too long. Tomorrow, I'll write of Niagara Falls, casino buffets, and Pinot Noir, lots of really good Pinot Noir, very little of which I actually ingested. 


    * - "Wocky" is Huttese for "mighty."  Jabba the Hutt used the word while addressing Chewbacca.  How's that for geeky?   :)


    The Cardinal Rules

    Greetings and salutations, dear readers.

    As some of you might have already noticed, I've been posting on this blog for a bit. Most of it has been random, free-form, touchy-feely stuff that's probably better suited for a 13-year-old girl's diary, but hey, you write what's deep in your heart, right? :)

    So let's get to the heart of this post: The Cardinal Rules. These are the rules to which I'll be adhering while writing this blog. Because there's nothing less interesting than an amorphous, infrequently updated blog. Except maybe the Democratic Party.

    Cardinal Rule #1: I will post at least three (3) entries per week. That's pretty self-explanatory, I think. It's my guarantee that there will always be something new to read up here, unless you're a crazy stalker-person who refreshes the page every couple minutes, in which case, I'm deeply concerned. If my day-to-day life is more interesting than yours, you might want to look into doing some drugs.

    Cardinal Rule #2: I will try to keep it interesting. I can't promise there won't be any more non-specific, emotion-dumping posts, but I'll at least make a conscious effort to post some real content, be it personal news (of some actual significance), baseball musings, wine reviews, music reviews, movie/TV reviews... hmmm, that's a lot of reviewing. Then again, I have always enjoyed inflicting my views upon others.

    Cardinal Rule #3: I will try to not censor myself. Now, I can already see some of you shaking your heads, thinking "since when has that opinionated bastard censored himself in any way, shape or form?" And you'd be right. Mostly. As some of you well know, I'm one of those people who doesn't really filter a lot of what he says before he says it. However, saying the first thing that pops into your head isn't quite the same as posting it online, preserved in perpetuity for billions (possibly) to see. I do realize, also, that those controversial comments are usually the most interesting reading. After all, if we all thought the same way, we wouldn't need blogs in the first place. Or choices. Or lives, really.

    Cardinal Rule #4: I will post something about wine / alcohol once a week. Once again, this one speaks for itself. Some of you value my opinions on wine, and I have been asked on several occasions to make wine recommendations, so I'll try to post some of that info for everyone. For some more immediate help, I highly recommend you check out Decanter, Wine Spectator, or Wilder on Wine.

    Cardinal Rule #5: I will encourage responses and rebuttals. Actually, this one will depend upon you, my dear readers (all two of you). If you see something you agree / disagree with, post a comment. I love hearing others' points-of-view. I'm not dumb enough to think that I have the right and only answer to everything (I leave that to the religious fundamentalists out there), so I want to hear what you think. I want you to try to sway me. I want to hear your experiences, your take on things, your opinion. And, I'm pretty sure, so would everyone else.

    So that just about covers it for now. Let me know what you think.

    As this has rambled on for quite a bit, I'll leave you now. Tomorrow, I'll tell you about my trip to Toronto last weekend and maybe a little something about some really good Pinot Noir.

    Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

    So, after a few obscure, navel-gazing, somewhat-incoherent blog posts about life and such, I'm writing about some of the things around which I thought this blog would be centered: baseball, TV and music. So let's go in that order.

    Yesterday, I watched one of the most horrible Tigers games I've ever seen. Leading 3-0 over the Twins in Minnesota, the Tigers imploded in the bottom of the 8th. Granted, I'd had a bad feeling the entire game. They'd stranded runners in pretty much every previous inning, including leaving the bases loaded a couple of times, and all against Johan Santana, but nothing prepared me for:

    • Infield Single
    • Error
    • Error
    • Double
    • Infield Single
    • Balk
    • Ground Out
    • Fly Out
    • Intentional Walk
    • Triple
    • Strikeout

    For a more complete synopsis of the "Inning from Hell", please visit the July 31 entry at Aaron Gleeman's blog. I can't bear to even think about it anymore. Hopefully, they got all the bad defense out of their system and, with the addition of Sean Casey, can get back to the business of winning Detroit's first World Series since 1984.

    A couple of new shows worth mentioning: Feasting on Asphalt on the Food Network and Psych on USA. Both very much worth watching.

    I'm really liking the newest My Morning Jacket album. "Gideon" and "Anytime" are my stand-out tracks, but it's a solid listen from start to finish. Think Ziggy-era Bowie space rock filtered through Who-ish power chords and U2-esque drive and then Southern fried.

    As for my disappointment? I'm sure everyone's had this happen to them. You get sort of psyched up for something, knowing that it's tentative and more likely to fall through than not, but still get disappointed when it falls through. Oh well.

      Musical Associations (or Wednesday morning certainly seems to be... )

      ... a good time for blogging. Especially after working the previous night.

      A brief note before we go any further: It's been a long time since I wrote anything on a regular basis, so I'm trying to use this blog as writing exercise. If I manage to exorcise some personal issues/demons as a result, all the better. Of course, the Cardinal Rule of Blogging© states that one should not reveal too much personal information online. I figure I'll only post stuff that I would discuss with someone at work. Which is pretty much everything.

      Now that we've addressed that, on to the main event...

      I don't know if I'm feeling particularly nostalgic these days or if blogging (and its necessary self-reflection) is prompting me to dredge up the past, but I've been experiencing a barrage of associative memories recently. You'd think that, as a wine guy, I'd be experiencing a lot of smell- or taste-related associations, but it's really been music.

      Of course, I realize that I've been listening to a bunch of old CDs, and that those are rife with associations to my past. The Sundays' Blind, Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend, Ned's Atomic Dustbin's God Fodder and Jeff Buckley's Grace will always stir up great memories of college for me. The Beatles' "Yesterday" and New Order's "Regret," on the other hand, will always remind me of the suitemates who played those two tracks very loudly and non-stop. For a week. Literally. You'd think that that sort of thing would only happen once in your life.

      However, it's actually been some of the newer stuff that's been acting as a trigger. I'm really starting to form associations with She Wants Revenge, the Foo Fighters and the Raconteurs, but the associations are more emotional than event-related.

      Which brings us to the thing that's been bumping around in my head this morning: I really wonder how, when I look back at this point in my life 20 years from now, I'll feel about where I was. And what memories those artists and songs will stir up.


      Be cool

      Well, I hope everyone managed to stay relatively cool this weekend. I know SF only got up to... what, 85 - 90 degrees?... but damn, it felt hot. Definitely not the kind of weather I enjoy. Also, living on the top floor of a three-story building does not help with heat dispersion.

      To cool off a little, Brandy and I turned her pre-birthday weekend into movie weekend, finally managing to see Superman Returns (in IMAX 3-D) on Saturday and seeing Clerks II on Sunday. Movie theaters being air conditioned and all...

      So, in a nutshell, I liked Superman Returns. Not the best superhero movie ever - and definitely not as good as Singer's work on X-Men - but definitely not the worst. And not remotely as bad as Superman III and IV. The 3-D thing was OK, but definitely not necessary. Some decent action sequences, some wooden acting, some cheesiness at the end of the movie. All in all, an enjoyable summer movie experience and a great way to beat the heat. I'll give it a solid B.

      I liked Clerks II a lot. Completely different in style than the first, but just as raunchy. Definitely rewatch Clerks before you go. You might also want to watch Silence of the Lambs, but not for any reasons that might immediately pop into your head. If you were worried that they showed all the good parts in the commercials, then you're actually right, but taken in the context of the film, all the clips are still very funny. And Rosario Dawson just keeps proving why whe's one of the coolest women in Hollywood. A-

      As if movie/birthday weekend weren't already jam-packed with fun, we went to see the Raconteurs at the Warfield on Saturday night. Rocking-good show. Great energy, nice live touches on the album tracks and some interesting covers. Some people love the contempo-retro classic rock these guys are making and some don't, but the show was damn good, if hotter than a freakin' sauna.

      Have a great week, and hang in there. Cool weather coming soon.

      I hope.


      Feeling a little introspective

      ... these days, for whatever reason. Once again, I'm up way earlier than I need to be because I can't go back to sleep (you'll notice this is a recurring theme in my life - damn my Mom and her insomnia).

      After working a busier-than-anticipated shift behind the bar (which is not to say busy, just busier-than-anticipated) and only getting about 5.5 hours of sleep, I feel strangely awake. The possibilities of a few future scenarios are playing out in my head, and as my lower back barks a little to remind me of how much bending and lifting I did at work last night, I must admit I'm feeling a bit old.

      Sure, I always say I feel every one of my 32 years, but honestly, most of the time I feel exactly the same as I ever have. I guess that's the nature of aging. Everything changes so gradually that you don't notice anything's different until it's too late. Sort of like the "boiling frog" experiment.

      For those of you who don't know, if you place a frog in boiling water, it will feel pain and immediately jump out. If you place the frog in room temp water and slowly raise the temperature until it's boiling, the frog won't notice until it's dead. And probably not then, either.

      So I guess what I'm saying is that we all need to take a step back and get some perspective on our lives to get an accurate reading of where we are and where we're going. I think I've been living with tunnel vision for a little while now. Perhaps it's time to reevaluate...

      Dr. Fill's meaningless test. I scored a 49. How much can you score?

      So generally, I think these things are interesting, but annoying. But I take them anyway, so how annoyed can I really be? Must be all those psych classes.

      In any case, I'd be more interested to hear from friends to see if they agree with results of this little self-assessment. You know, that whole perception-is-reality / do-others-view-me-as-I-view-myself type thing. Because, honestly, if I were just trying to place myself into the categories underneath, I wouldn't have picked the one I ended up in. Go figure.

      Test follows.

      ---

      Dr. Phil scored 55; he did this test on Oprah-she got a 38. Some folks pay a lot of money to find this stuff out.

      Read on, this is very interesting!

      Don't be overly sensitive! The following is pretty accurate and it only takes 2 minutes. Take this test for yourself and send it to your friends.

      The person who sent it placed their score in the subject box. Please do the same before forwarding to your friends.

      Don't peek but begin the test as you scroll down and answer.

      Answers are for who you are now......not who you were in the past.

      Have pen or pencil and paper ready. This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today. It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees.

      It's only 10 Simple questions, so..... Grab a pencil and paper, keeping track of your letter answers to each question.

      Ready?? Begin...

      1. When do you feel your best?
      a) in the morning
      b) during the afternoon and early evening
      c) late at night

      2. You usually walk...
      a) fairly fast, with long steps
      b) fairly fast, with little steps
      c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
      d) less fast, head down
      e) very slowly

      3. When talking to people you..
      a) stand with your arms folded
      b) have your hands clasped
      c) have one or both your hands on your hips
      d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
      e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair

      4. When relaxing, you sit with.
      a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
      b) your legs crossed
      c) your legs stretched out or straight
      d) one leg curled under you

      5. When something really amuses you, you react with...
      a) big appreciated laugh
      b) a laugh, but not a loud one
      c) a quiet chuckle
      d) a sheepish smile

      6. When you go to a party or social gathering you..
      a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
      b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
      c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

      7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted......
      a) welcome the break
      b) feel extremely irritated
      c) vary between these two extremes

      8 Which of the following colors do you like most?
      a) Red or orange
      b) black
      c) yellow or light blue
      d) green
      e) dark blue or purple
      f) white
      g) brown or gray

      9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep you are.
      a) stretched out on your back
      b) stretched out face down on your stomach
      c) on your side, slightly curled
      d) with your head on one arm
      e) with your head under the covers

      10. You often dream that you are..
      a) falling
      b) fighting or struggling
      c) searching for something or somebody
      d) flying or floating
      e) you usually have dreamless sleep
      f) your dreams are always pleasant


      POINTS:
      1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
      2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
      3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
      4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
      5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
      6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
      7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
      8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
      9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
      10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

      Now add up the total number of points.

      OVER 60 POINTS: Others see you as someone they should "handle with care." You're seen as vain, self-centered, and extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

      51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who take chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

      41 T O 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding, someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

      31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.

      21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

      UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

      Now forward this to others, and put your score in the subject box as: "Dr. Phil's Test - I'm a __"

      7:15... on a Wednesday morning

      Don't you just hate it when you wake up ungodly early, then you can't go back to sleep? Do you lie in bed trying to trick yourself into dozing off? Or do you just get up and be productive? Or, as in my case, do you get up and watch TV or surf the net?

      Typically, I'd try to watch some baseball here (because I enjoy it, not because I'm trying to go back to sleep), but unfortunately, even on the West Coast, it's a couple hours before any games start. Dammit.

      So here I am, typing about nothing, trying to gather my thoughts, listening to CD2 (the acoustic one) of "In Your Honor" (btw, if you have a chance to see the Foo Fighters on this acoustic tour, I HIGHLY recommend it), making really bad spins on Cure references in my blog subject line, and generally feeling a pronounced sense of ennui. Or perhaps it's malaise. Or maybe some other French word describing a general sense of boredom or disenchantment.

      Isn't it amazing how a blog post about nothing can go on endlessly? And since I've always been fairly good at this stream-of-consciousness bullshit...