Chateau L'Ermitage Rose

Chateau L'Ermitage makes a delicious Rose in the Rhone valley of France, Costieres De Nimes appellation controlee, 2010.  Mis en bouteille au chateau (bottled at the estate), Castillon & Fils proprietaires.  This Rose was 50% Syrah, 30% Grenche, and 20% Mourvedre.  Imported by Saranty Imports, White Plains NY (Terrisson-wines.com).  Rose wines are (in my opinion) best drank chilled, in warmer weather.  It hit 116F here in west Phoenix this week.  I'd say that was "warmer weather" by most standards.

The wine comes in a clear bottle with a white label that doesn't photograph well.  When looking for it at the store, look at the French Rose selection.  I got it at Trader Joes for less than $10 (I think it was about $6 a bottle).  And, it is the last bottle I have stored on my desk next to my desktop.. so the wine blogging will cease for today.  To be continued next month (likely).

Drudgery

Drudgery is no fun, but there's some German recruiting marketeers at jobsintown.de who can put a creative twist to it.

What if Don Draper had been German?

Maison Maurel Vedeau, Pinot Noir

Vedeau Les Cepages Pinot Noir, Saveurs Veritables 2009, Vin de Pays d'Oc.  I found this Languedoc wine from Southern France at my local Fresh & Easy, and enjoyed it with an organically fed, pasture raised, hormone free Double Check Ranch ribeye grilled to a perfect rare red.    Yes, this is a negociant bottled wine, which is not my favorite way to make wine (too much anonymity and lack of control in the quality) but it was drinkable, and fine for am inexpensive Pinot Noir, at less than $6 a bottle on sale.

Purity Ring, Fineshrine

Listening to XM radio all last week, I kept hearing Purity Ring played quite frequently.  Megan James' voice sounds like a little girl's in many respects, and my son, who saw them live at the South by Southwest music festival, said they were very good live.  He told me that in person, Megan is a tiny young woman.  The song Fineshrine has an alluring nature to it.  One can take it anatomically (which is rather gory), romantically (which is sort of sweet), or metaphorically (...about creation, or harmony, or whatever other connotations one might choose to assign).  I just take it in, and enjoy listening to it.  The video is visually stunning.   Included here:

If you liked this song, listen to Ungirthed, at the link here: link.  It's modern, contemporary, high quality electronica.

Sud Salice Salentino

Sud Salice Salentino DOC, Di San Marzano, bottled by Feudi di San Marzano Italia S.R.L. is a wonderful Salice Salentino.  The wines from the South of Italy is under-rated, under-appreciated, and largely unknown to the uniformed international wine drinking public who largely migrate to massive corporately branded Merlots, Cabernets, and Charonnays.  I strongly prefer the path less traveled, the wines undiscovered by the common man, the rarer finds.... and I try to bring them here, when I can.

I try Sardinian, Puglia, and Sicilian wines whenever I can.  I've not yet been disappointed. 

There is no reason to just stick to the Yankees and Manchester United, when there so many other teams out there who play remarkably well. 

Vecchia Cantina Chianti

Vecchia Cantina Chianti (DOCG) 2010, from Total Wine ($9) is a delicious Chianti.  90% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo.  Bottled by Soc Coop, Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano Soc Agr, Montepulciano Italia, it's another Alfio Moriconi selection, and I've come to trust Mr. Moriconi.

If you're looking for a good, reasonably priced Chianti, try Vecchia Cantina.

The xx - Shelter

Romy Madley Croft's voice reminds me of a cross between Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star and Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl.  The xx just needs to let her sing, please, on every single song.  Oliver Sim, remain reticent, for your own good and the sake of your band's success.  Romy's voice is angelic, melodic, ethereal, music to my ears.  Sim's voice is Gorrilaz-like (without the experience and depth) and his barely-post-pubescent droning vocals grate upon my consciousness.  When I hear him start to sing, I wind up fast forwarding through the album.  It's a reaction akin to when I hear the group Mogwai start to sing... and my brain and senses and very being (which had been enjoying the album up to that point) goes "ew ew ew!"

Don't get me wrong, I like Gorillaz, they've been around a while, and at first I didn't like them much, but they've grown significantly on me.  And I like Mogwai (thanks to my buddy Ryan's introduction of them to me) as long as they don't sing.  I love listening to Romy Madley Croft's voice.  Can't say the same about her bandmate's.   I hope their September 2012 release features her much more than their 2009 debut album did - wasted $10 on iTunes buying an album that has only 3 songs not contaminated with Sim's droning.  Oh well.

To illustrate my point, listen to Night Time.  It's a great song (link here).  Then...  3/4rds through it, Sim's voice ruins the mood, destroys the connection the listen has made with Romy...  grrr.

Never Underestimate The Power of Stupid People

Wisconsin residents elected Paul Ryan.  Mittenberg the Third selected the young ideologue as his running mate this morning to try and appease Tea Party stalwarts and extreme libertarians who want to privatize (corporately raid) Social Security and gut Medicare with voucher programs.  If Americans elect this dumbfounded duo, a dark spiral down into a massively polarized have-and-have-not society will likely precipitate within what is left of my lifetime.  4 more years from now... the strangling grip of corporate money will be so strong on the electoral process that an individual's vote will no longer matter (not that it really matters much currently).  Il faut voir - we shall see.

Conte Priola Chianti

I've been behind on my wine blogging, and have accumulated quite a stack of empty bottles in my office.  So we're going to do some house cleaning this afternoon.

Conte Priola Chianti DOCG bottled by I.P. Fossalta de Piave Italia 422/VE, is not bad.  We found it at Total Wine for about $10, and I had it with some spicy, tomato saucy, fully flavored, hearty dish a month or so ago.  yes, the Italians love pasta, but I abhor the gluten in wheat, so it was a meat and veggies dish, but I don't recall exactly.  Chianti, by definition, it about 95% Sangiovese grapes, and the Italians (like their French and Spanish cousins) know how to make a high quality wine when it comes along with governing bodies of regulation and quality control.  Bravo Conte Priola.

Republicans Allergic to Facts

Romney spokes person Andrea Saul gets enraged Republicans to call for her firing after she accidentally speaks the truth about her boss's health care plan that he engineered and passed in his previous job. (link here) and here: 
http://www.businessinsider.com/romneycare-andrea-saul-mitt-romney-obamacare-bain-capital-2012-8

I thought Republicans were supposed to stay "on message" and not say such things, especially truthful things that contradict the official party message.

Purity Ring

Take The Bangels Susanna Hoffs voice, make it 20 years younger, combine it with OMD's & New Order's synths, and sprinkle a heavy dose of ethereal, mystical, allure on it, and one can approximate Purity Ring's music.  No "auto tuned" vocals here.   They don't need it.

and

(just 8 Million hits)
and Belispeak

My  son told me about this band last weekend.  It's been playing through my head repeated this week in my hotel and in the office. It's not the traditional "music one can rock out to", no...  but it does have a nice beat and I could dance to it  =)

Hyatt is for short people

I've stayed at 2 Hyatts in 2 days - Greenville SC and Atlanta GA - and both have showers built for hobbits.   My chin and mouth are even with the shower nozzle's height.  I can look at where it comes out of the wall.  If I was in New Zealand and filming a Peter Jackson movie, ok, but I am just a normal 6ft tall human. 

Hyatt, you have nice rooms,  excellent service, reasonable prices, comfortable beds... why do you have showers for such short people only?

The x x Angels

Heard this on XM radio last weekend as I drove with my son for 14 hours through the Appalachians.  Her voice is beautiful. The x x. Angels.

Witamy Pana Romney

Witamy Pana Romney  (welcome, Mr Romney)

Yeah, Mitt's not running for "President of Poland", that's true.  But compare his bumbling in the UK, his "culture matters" bigotry in Israel, nearly causing a war with Iran, and his cool reception in Poland.  My, he's proving himself to be quite presidential.

Duck Hunters

This made me crack up  =)

Free Jazz vs Babies on Piano

This made me laugh.

Alluring Dance - Expectations vs Reality

This reality check, made me laugh, heartily!  Harry back & chest, hula skirt, mustache, pot belly, and thrashing, LOL!   It's a very silly gif.

Lost Wormhole

If you find it, be careful.

Meanwhile, in Japan

When I was a kid (like 5 years old), my mother knitted "bear pillows" for my brother and I, that looked like the face of a smiling bear, with floppy ears.  She made it out of old towels that were soft, and I remember sleeping with it through elementary school, but grew out of it before High School.  I guess in other cultures, you don't grow out of hugging your pillow.

Take The A-Train

This tune has been in my head since I heard it on KJZZ earlier this evening.

Duke Ellington, Take The A-Train