No Name Post

Why can I never think of titles for random hodge podge posts like this?

I forgot Wino Wednesday again this week. Writing a note for myself next time. Meanwhile, life goes on...

Saw a bum on the side of the road today. His sign read: "Why Lie? I want $$ for BOOZE." His honesty made my day. Here are some other funny bum signs. And my personal favorite below.

Found out I went to the nation's college with the "Most Conservative Students." At least it wasn't rated "Top Stone-cold Sober School", sorry BYU.

A strange sighting this week in Parker, CO. A Murano convertible?? Actually, I find out its called a CrossCabriolet (indeed there is no space between the two words)

My sister introduced me to Foster the People. If you like Vampire Weekend, their music is a really similar style - laid back but with cool rhythm.

Some last minute summer temptations about beach cruisers. Red or Ecru? Mallory already claimed Powder Blue so our colors will complement each other as we bike Mackinac together someday. Which reminds me of a fabulous summer trip to Mackinac with MB...

Dream of lazy bike rides and have a blissful weekend!

Not at all bad, for a Monday

I've been pretty productive today - which is most surprising as I have been craving a day of R&R lately. Had the day off, so its been busy with errands, business calls, organizing my mess of papers, et cetera.

One such important errand includes making a trip to the local Borders. As you may know the entire corporation is folding up, hence uber discounts at store liquidations! I had to slap myself on the wrist when I almost bought the entire series of "The Pacific" on Blu Ray for $40. Amazing deal, but God, will you please mark it down even further before I go back again??

I decided I'll wait till after Thursday (to be explained) and treat myself after my important meeting. So today I settled for Laura Inghram's latest book, "Of Thee I Zing," ($9 for a $30 book? Yes, please!) It's a social commentary on the decay of our American civilization today, from "Muffin Tops to Body Shots" as she wittily describes it.

As per Thursday, I am looking forward to driving out to the Springs and meeting with the director of a Charter High School that is classically focused much like Hillsdale. I'm really excited to meet with people intimately familiar with Hillsdale, its mission and values. As my fellow graduates would testify, it is extremely difficult to explain and have people understand the concept of Hillsdale and the Liberal Arts. So in short, this is a very special opportunity for me - I long to re-immerse myself with academia.

On another note...

Here is a long-forgotten story about American generosity to our troops during WWII. Incredibly touching!

Recently saw this documentary on how big our government has become since the Reagan administration ended. It was pretty helpful actually, and it simplified some principles that seem to get lost in political jargon. The documentary also pointed out this Obama faux pas. I'm surprised that A) I haven't heard this till now (then again, I did live under a rock at college) and B) who would elect a guy that doesn't know how many states make up the USA?!?!?

Nevertheless, if you wish to be patriotically inspired, Noonan's "When Character Was King" is an incredible portrait of Reagan's character and the American optimism of the time. I've only read one chapter and I'm already emotionally drawn in.

Speaking of Reagan, if you ever find yourself vacationing in Southern California, you simply MUST visit the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. It was a gorgeous facility and a wonderful experience!

Just One of Those Days...

...when you kinda feel like this...

So in an effort to lift the mood, here are some pretty nifty things:

One of my favorite blogs, Cup of Jo, posted this neat shark photo. I don't know how she stumbles across the coolest things.

Perfect timing for a chick flick night with mom or sisters. Will you be going to see "The Help"?

Check out this really neat BBC series of Sherlock Holmes meets the 21st Century.

Doesn't this clever composite make you chuckle?

I found this most adorable tea shop in Downtown Denver. Treat for myself on Monday??

Hope you have a prickly free weekend!

Casual Culture

Our society is plagued with a severe casualness. People no longer get the stare down for grocery shopping in purple sponge-bob pajama pants and a Tinkerbelle t-shirt. Observe some of these atrocities courtesy of peopleofwalmart.com...

And my personal favorite... Darth Vader's personal assistant.

Of course society will always have its weirdos.

So what happened to shirts and ties at Sunday church services? Just the other day I was reading the August edition of InStyle and something like 71% of women think a LBD (little black dress) is acceptable attire to a Black Tie event. Seriously?!?! If you're going to pay a pretty penny to attend such an event, wouldn't you want to go all out and dress to the nines?

So what brought us to this point? I can't help but think that technology has played a significant part. We've traded courtesy for convenience. In a sort of trickle down effect, its changed our way of life from what we wear to what we do in friendly company. What do you think fellow bloggers? Do you think we've relaxed too much?

Wino Wednesday | In Haste...

Hello dear friends. Life has been a bit busy and overwhelming lately. So in haste, today's Wino Wednesday will be rather superficial... wine movies!

Here are some movies I have enjoyed that have some sort of thematic strain about wine:

1. Bottleshock (2009)

2. Sideways (2004)

3. A Good Year (2006)

4. French Kiss (1995)

5. Notorious (1946)

6. The Earth is Mine (1959)

7. Year of the Comet (1992)

Wino Wednesday | What would you pay for an old bottle of vinegar?

Better late than never, right?

Today's post was inspired by my latest read, The Billionaire's Vinegar. What a fascinating book! A brief summary for you all... In 1985, a cache of wine was found walled up in a Paris basement. The bottles were old and engraved with "Lafitte, 1787, Th. J."

Now here's some Wine 101. The old spelling "Lafitte" refers to one of the premier crus in Bordeaux, Chateau Lafite. To give you an idea of its value on the market, recent vintages from 2009 or 2010 can go for as high as $4k. Another thing to know about some of these prestigious Bordeaux growths is that they are most often made with the intention to age. Why age a wine? Have you ever had a red that was much to big for your palate to handle. It may be overly strong on the tannins leaving a "furry" feeling on your tongue. Well, over time, the minor amount of oxygen in the bottles will temper the wine giving it a completely different taste and softening out those harsh tannins. In fact, back in the 18th and early 19th centuries, European aristocratic families would constantly be stocking their wine cellars, not for themselves, but for their progeny. The wine you drank was what Dad bought.

The date 1787 on the bottle obviously made this Lafite extremely valuable. The question was - has it exceeded its prime time? Bottles left to age too long will start to lose their flavor. The engraving most important to this bottle was the "Th. J." Can you guess what that indicated? The wine hunters of that day had uncovered a treasure trove of bottles of Lafite, Yquem, Petrus and other prestigious vintages once belonging to Thomas Jefferson, well known for leading the American discovery of fine wine.

To make a long story short, Christies first auctioned one of the Jefferson bottles and sold it for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. Wallace narrates the story from there, the history around the bottle, Thomas Jefferson, the elite circles of antique wine collectors, and ultimately the dark mystery of its origins. What I loved most about this book is it takes a complete 180 halfway through - it kept me mesmerized the entire time!