Wine and How It Gets That Way

I used to have a blog dedicated entirely to the world of wine. I also used to work at a small winery. I don't do either any longer. But I'm still drinking wine.

The thing with wine, and the reason I got a little burned out on blogging about it, is that it all boils to down to taste and yet we all seem hell-bent on proving why the wine we like is the best. It's a game you cannot win. I'll use a totally different, yet strangely similar, subject to make the point. You like Kenny G, I like John Coltrane. Now, I know that Coltrane trumps Mr G. But there is no math to point to, there is no actual score. Taste be taste. Go spin your Kenny G if you must (but really, I hope not).

So anyway, I know what I know and I like what I like. The interwebs are filled with people arguing about stupid shit. The world of wine, while presumably the domain of the elite and educated, is no different. There are chat threads where Robert Parker is the villain and others where Neil Rosenthal is the bad guy. For the record, I like the wines Neil imports, and I avoid many of the top "Parker Point" wines. I'm just tired of arguing about the reasons why.

The nice thing about wine is you decide. The subject can be quite complex and a person can get in deep. But at the end of the trail I hope you're at least drinking something you like and not simply trying to defend a philosophy all the way to your grave.

I'm planning on making the odd post here and there about wines that I really like. I'll kick things off here by saying that if I could only drink one wine it would definitely be this one.

Cheers!

Desert Dwelling

Spent a few days earlier this week in the desert this week. The desert is definitely home to all sorts of misfits, crazies, extreme personalities, and your basic loners. Oh, and then there is the retirement community to add to the mix. I always seem to spend half my time in the desert just tripping on the people who call the place home. For sure, I always feel like an outsider. There is a solid line of demarcation between those who are in the desert temporarily and those who are dwelling there on a permanent basis.

But with scenery and geography like this, any human oddities and awkward interactions are easy enough to deal with.

Along the trail up Mt Ryan in Joshua Tree National Park.

Top of Mt Ryan and views out into the endless landscape.

Looking down while heading up Mt San Jacinto via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Sunset on top of Mt San Jacinto.

Speaking of deserts...I tweeted yesterday that every man, woman and child should be checking out Jimmy Chin when cruising on the interwebs. Just to whet your tastes a bit more - check out this short movie set in the Ennedi Desert by Jimmy & the Camp 4 Collective.

Towers of the Ennedi from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Towers of the Ennedi features Alex Honnold, who readers may recall being featured on 60 minutes as that guy who climbs mountains without ropes or safety lines. When I watch him do his thing I get hot and begin to sweat in a not so pleasant way. Still, I'm fascinated and can't turn away. For Alex it's all "chill". Weird. Like big wave surfers, these types of climbers are definitely born and not made.

Cheers!

Good Bad TV

OK, this is pretty lightweight, but as the MacDonald's ads say - I'm loving it.

For those of you might care, or might care to remember, or have tried but are unable to forget...David Caruso was once a hot television actor who poo-pooed television acting and went for the gold of movie acting. Only someone figured out he wasn't so much of an actor and so he went slinking back to television and traded in his big screen dreams for a pair of sunglasses and the cheese.

Enjoy!

Wanted: Dangerous Woman

How awesome is it that Lisbeth Salander has a Wikipedia page? A fictional character from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo/Millennium Series books, Lisbeth has enough spirit to inhabit several "real" people. Yes, this is a dangerous woman. But not in the tired old Femme Fatale mold.

A lot can and has been said about Lisbeth Salander. While there is so much to like about this character, what I find especially appealing is that she fights back. Lisbeth Salander fights back hard. Is there anything more disgusting in the human realm than the way many men treat women? I'm not talking about talk - sure, words can hurt. But actual physical intimidation and bodily harm is far more brutal and common place than any decent person would care to know about. Understanding that there will always be a physical disadvantage, and cowardly males willingly to exploit this difference, Salander has no qualms with picking up a broken bottle to level the playing field.

Add to this fighting attitude a list that includes: whip-smart, irreverent, intense, curious, uniquely attractive, brutally honest...Lisbeth - you had me at broken bottle!

In a nod to Lisbeth's computer hacking, the above drawing was lifted from this site.

Yeah, yeah...I know the Millennium Series books were a huge deal a couple of years ago and everybody and their brother was reading them. What can I say? I tend to run a bit outside the pack and often find things when I find them. Sometimes I'm an early adapter. Other times I stare blankly and mutter wha? to unimpressed hipsters. But if you haven't read any of the books or seen any of the films, I highly recommend them. Having rented all three of the Swedish movies and also watched David Fincher's US version of ...Dragon Tattoo, I can say they're all good with a straight face. Faithful to the spirit of the books and totally engaging.

There are far better authorities on the Millennium Series and author Stieg Larsson than me, but I will relay this one fact that also hooked me into this series and Lisbeth. As a teenager attending a summer camp in Sweden, Stieg Larsson witnessed the gang rape of a young girl. He froze. He did nothing. The girl's name was Lisbeth. This event haunted him for the rest of his life, and he ended up writing the Millennium Series and naming the heroine after this girl in what I suspect was a cathartic act and attempt at some sort of redemption for failing to act. Straight to the point right out of the gate, the original Swedish title of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is Men Who Hate Women. While he may have been too frightened as a teenager, as an adult, much like Lisbeth Salander, Larsson pulled no punches when confronting cruelty and injustice - particularly the kind that too many men inflict on too many women.

We need more dangerous writers. We need more dangerous women.

The Stuff of Men

I'm not a big fan of the term "real men". There are certain subtexts to when and how this type of phrase is used that I'm just not comfortable with. Too many homophobic, narrow minded folk are champions of this kind of talk. Which is too bad, because I do identify with a certain feeling that many men have sort of lost their way in modern society. I fully include myself in this assessment. Case in point: I don't really know how to do a lot of things with my hands, fix things, take apart things, build things. I would like to work with my hands more. I'm working on changing that a little bit every day. But as odd as this may sound, it's work trying to find time for good old fashioned work.

I love working. I've got to work everyday with my hands. Even if I am doing paperwork all day, I've got to go home and chop vegetables or something. It's really important to me. ~ Yvonne Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, surfer, climber, blacksmith, man.

Yes! Even right now, I wish I was doing something more physical. But here I am - sitting at the computer, typing. This strange impulse to communicate getting in the way...

My job involves computers, data, automated processes, phone calls and paper. Not exactly the manly-man-world. It's the modern world, convenient, allows for a pay check, and very easy to feel lost in. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only dude out there feeling like this. To be clear, I have no desire to swing backwards as far as to become a cave-man. This is some stupid shit to want to do. I want to use my modern brain and rational thought. And yet, I also crave something...essentially basic.

By the way, ladies - I'm not trying to leave you out of the discussion. Modernity certainly has a host of challenges for you as well. But I would feel foolish trying to express what those might be or actually feel like. I'm sure you would be much better served being your own messenger in that regard. Like Popeye would often say, I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam. At this point, a slightly wayward, somewhat hopeful man.

Hopeful, I say, because of the example of people like Yvonne Chouinard and also the Malloy brothers - who happen to work for Patagonia. No coincidence there, I think.

Chris, Keith and Dan Malloy are world class surfers, watermen, film makers, travelers, artists, ranchers, environmental advocates, and good old fashioned men. They are definitely thinkers and can express themselves in many different ways, but at the core - they do stuff. Watching their films, reading interviews with them and learning about their latest exploits always inspires me. In a 24/7 technology overload world, I need all of that I can get.

Frequent readers may recall a previous post about the short film Box of Birds featuring the Malloy brothers and their family. Worth a look as well are their surfing films, which you can find out more about over at the Woodshed Films site. The latest is Come Hell or High Water by Keith, all about the world of hard core body surfers. My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing a screening of the film a few months back at Patagonia's Ventura headquarters. Like all the films by this crew - definitely worth a look. Here's the trailer.

Watching a film like this about people doing one of the most primal of ocean activities, simply riding waves with your body, helps stoke those man-do-stuff fires that are far too often left to smolder somewhere deep inside of me. Afterward I feel energized to go out and do my own thing. Some days, I settle for chopping vegetables. But other days I roam, quite a bit more free.

~ Cheers!

February Surf

Winter is definitely the prime surf season in Southern California. Being that I've been hitting the trail runs frequently, I haven't been getting out into the water as much as I would like on my new SUP board. But I'm going to try to get out more as we head into Spring and especially Summer - when the swells flatten out and are ideal for more SUP days. I love the ocean and have a hard time imagining not living near it.

Bonus - correctly guess where each one of the masks on the wall above my board are from and win a prize. The prize will probably be just me telling you "good on ya mate", but hey, its something.

I'm probably not much fun to watch, but check out this great little video by Redondo Beach local and wandering surfer Holly Beck. She's one of my favorites. The video was shot two years ago, so it isn't from this winter. Still, you'll get the feeling for a typical dawn patrol session during California winter months.

Holly has a real strong spirit and love of surfing, diving, and all things ocean. I especially appreciate her old school take on things. If you check out Holly's blog post from early 2010, around the time of this video, you can get a sense of what I'm talking about.

I remember a time when beginners and kids stuck to the inside, the shoulder, or didn't show up at all. Priority in the lineup was based on dedication to the spot as much as surfing ability, and if the main guys in the lineup didn't know your name you wouldn't even think of paddling for a set wave. I wish it was still like that. I travel all over the world, sit on the shoulder, take the scraps, bow down to the locals. When I'm at home I take set waves.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of localism - which leaves a bad stink on the sport of surfing. But I love respect for the locals and the local spot. And while we're talking about the lineup and respect, will my fellow SUP riders please stay out of the lineup if you can't hang? Your giant 10 foot plus board is mighty dangerous to everyone else around if you aren't capable of handling the surf. Get out in the water, nobody really cares that much about what you're riding. Just be cool and show a little respect for your fellow wave riders.

~ Cheers!

OKC: More Than OK

It's a weird year in the NBA. It wouldn't shock me if a totally boring but consistent team, like the Spurs, win the title. The lockout, compressed schedule, injuries. Who knows?

But by far, the most fun team in my eyes are the Oklahoma City Thunder. Almost makes me get over the fact that poor people of Seattle were shafted by the sketchy ownership move. Almost...

Anyway...dig this from tonight's game with the Lakers...

Metta World Peace being shown to be Metta Slow Feet by the great Kevin Durant. Later in the game, the player formerly known as Artest would try to be the intimidator, but only ended up getting in the refs heads, earning a cheap technical foul and barely registering with the Thunder as they cruised away to the win.

Cheers!