Grape, Rattle and Roll

This was the name of the event yesterday at Chalone Vineyards. Personally, I hate 1950's themed events. Afterall, is there a reason for the poodle skirt? I think not. In the wine world this will also equal old guys with slicked back hair to match their receding hair line and a ton of bowling shirts because we're all fat by this stage in our lives. The Highlands did the food and that was a boon. A little mixed up with too many different themes, but every one was well executed. I had a hard time putting the mango chicken on the plate next to the grilled sausages and warmed potato salad, next to the shrimp and fennel salad, next to the grilled salmon and string beans. Still, every item was delicious. The dessert I was unable to dissect, but it was pineapple with a custardy base on a base of what looked to be pineapple gelatin. It may have had some sort of bird pudding in it or something. Anyway, it was refreshing, delicious and very different to anything I've ever had.

The wine was another story. Diageo brands include Chalone, BV, Acacia, Sterling, Jade Mountain, Beauzeaux, Canoe Ridge and numerous others I did not taste. I'm not a fan of Sterling, never have been. Yesterday was no exception. Just flat for what it was. The wine maker was there which made it even sadder. Chalone probably had the best wine there. I met their winemaker. I believe his name was Dan Cook. A mountain of a man, but seemed to be a good guy. Acacia had one wine I liked, their Beckstoffer Pinot Noir was very good, but I don't know that it was $70 worth of good. Jade Mountain had a few interesting offerings. One was actually grown in Contra Costa County, out by the Sacramento River in Antioch. Beyond that it was a pretty dismal wine day. Certainly not worth the 3 hour drive.

After an epic free day
Weight 214
FAT 35.6
BMI 36.5

Bon mots and cheap shots

Last night I had dinner with two old Title Officer friends of mine. I can't believe I've been doing this stuff for 30 years. I can't believe I'm turning 49 this year. How did I get this old? I understand when I stand up. My knees and hips creak horribly, but my mind is that of a teenager. Anyway, my friends are young at heart as well and be bitched about the business and how it is not what it was. How the kids coming up now don't know how to search a piece of property. If it's not in the computer, they're like a fish out of water. We went to One Market for dinner, after having a wine flight at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants. A beautiful flight of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. At One Market I had the Ahi, with Indian pepper spices and grilled asparagus. ST had the pork loin wrapped in bacon (pig in pig) and Toni had Beef Cheeks. I ordered us a Delille D2. Screaming great wine. I almost got the wine guy to come out and see who we were. The waiter said he had to get help finding it and then the buyer wanted to know who ordered it. Yeah, like that.

Anyway, good behavior paid off:

Weight: 214

No harm no foul.

Now on to things that piss me off. OK, so some kid is a looney tune. His parents miss the warning signs or can't figure it out or what I don't know. My good friend Chuck commented on the Unibomber one time. It was some big deal weather the guy pled insanity or not. Chuck remarked that "If you have a manifesto, you get the insanity defense, it's automatic". Crazy Korean dude, the manifesto gets you DQ'ed. Unfortunately, the way the world has changed, everyone did what they could but the law doesn't allow them to involuntarily lock this kid up. There are no pat answers. This one won't fit into a nice little package. Mental illness is messy. CNN should be embarrassed for the way their newscasters are acting. It's like Faux Fox. How ridiculous is that? If you must ascertain blame, I recommend you blame Reagan. This is truly his fault. He's the dumb ass the cut all the funds to the mental health services. Seriously. Do you remember ever seeing a homeless crazy guy on the street counting the bricks in the sidewalk in 1979? No, you don't because a guy like that was institutionalized and getting help, or at least not getting sicker and sicker and ultimately dying on the street. Mental health services have been devastated by the Republican rule starting with their Great White Leader. You get what you pay for and if you don't want to pay for it, you get things like what happened in Virginia. It's time we recognized Reagan for what he was and start healing the nation, starting with the folks who need it the most, the ones who are shuffling down the sidewalk in the dead of winter waiting for a space ship to come and eat their brains. Buy a clue.