Tag: wine
eight-eight-eight
Drew this at lunchtime yesterday. Watched the Opening Ceremony lats night. Wasn’t it spectacular? Amazing choreography and visuals. I was very impressed. And the parade of nations was interesting in that there was no alphabetical order, the countries were introduced by how many strokes it takes to write their character name in Chinese. A nice touch, that. After all the politics and protests (and rightly so) I was very impressed with everything, including that amazing stadium. Bush was there, I loved it when they zoomed in on him looking a bit bored and checking his watch. Most of the time he was looking through his binoculars (which he probably pronounces ‘binoclears’). He gave the Iraqi team a big round of applause, and then sat back and gave his Bush smirk. I had to laugh. They didn’t show him applauding the Iranians. But just a few seats away was Putin, giving his glum anti-smirk. Georgia was on his mind.
Because on the day the Olympics begins in China, and the world is looking elsewhere, Russia invades South Ossetia, the troubled breakaway region of Georgia, and now all hell is breaking loose. This is a serious and difficult situation, and a very worrying development. Georgia wants US help in this crisis. Georgia sent troops to Iraq to help Bush’s cause. They will expect something in return – and will we honestly be able to deliver? And face off against Russia?
“Interesting Times”.
did gyre and gimble in the wabe
Parts twelve to sixteen of saving the world (the sketchbook project); the book is now more than half full (or half empty). I needed a second intermission after returning from the UK so some stamps seemed appropriate. Saving stamps as it were. The dialogue is very loosely inspired by something my mate Tel said to me at school (that was about santa claus). Then I decided to draw from hereon in various colours: twelve is in brown micron pigma, there’s my acoustic guitar there look; thirteen is in – allez les bleus – blue, or chould I say cobalt (copic 0.1) and shows the bookcase.
Fourteen is the trusty purple micron again, been using that one for a while now. It’s the bathroom sink. Wash your hands. In this story I wonder if superman ever washed his hands, and if it made a difference to those he saved. Part fifteen is a copic 0.05, in ‘wine’, while the last one is a copic 0.1 in ‘olive’. That’s the recycling bin. I wanted to draw it before taking it out.
If you click on these admittedly smaller than necessary images, they will magically transport you to the world of flickr, where you can see them much much bigger (don’t worry, you won’t have to shrink first). The book continues; the due date is august 1st. Plenty of time.
Week Twenty: Forgive me, I have Zinned
The level of alcohol consumption chez scully rocketed over the past two weeks, when I received an unexpected house-guest/Best Man from London, and also unexpectedly turned thirty years old. Californian beers are pretty special, and one of my favourites is the Davis local brew, Sudwerk Märzen. Underneath the sink many empty bottles attest to our late-night hanging-out, which resulted in watching lots of films such as Rocky III or Revenge of the Sith and subsequently getting online, BUI (Blogging Under the Influence). Bacchus strikes again, or was it BA Baracas?
Last Friday, though, we took a far more civilized approach to the Bacchinalean tradition. My wife, my friend, my mother-in-law and myself deove up into the wine country of Sonoma County, in glorious sunshine through one of the most beautiful regions of America. A far cry from the flatlands of Yolo County, we were transported into an echo of Tuscany – but with SUVs instead of mopeds. I had been wine-tasting before, but I am hardly a connoisseur, and like most others who take the day-trip to the vines, I left telling myself that I would make an effort to develop my pallatte. But first I need to learn how to spell it.
We first visited Hop Kiln, a great little winery situated in an old converted hops barn. Having previously told me he didn’t like white wine, and loved a nice meaty red, R was so impressed he bought a bottle of the 2005 Thousand Flowers, a white blend that was, I think, pretty fruity (though my vinocabulary is limited to ‘it was nice’ and ‘mmm, fruity’). Hop Kiln, as do many wineries, also sold a range of seriously delicious flavoured mustards, such as Zinfandel and Garlic, or Tropical Mango. More wine-buying and tasting followed at the Mazzoco, Dry Creek and Quivira wineries, and though I took notes on each wine I sampled, I admit I was really just copying what I overheard. Was the Quivira 2002 Zin really ‘chocolatey’? I haven’t the foggiest idea.
Following a brief visit to the spectacularly Italianate Ferrari-Carrano winery, we ambled down to Healdsburg, and dined at the Bear Republic brewpub. Ah, much more common ground: micro-brewed local beers, cold and fresh, and even ‘mmm fruity’. I tried a 2006 Hefe Weizen, good nose, light on the tongue, great with chicken, while R tried the Racer 5, which I think he quite liked. He didn’t spit any out, at any rate. Oh yes, though in the vinyards we may be lost for original thoughts, but in some fields we are true connoisseurs.
petescully 