December 2005 Archives

It's the end of the year, and I have been splurging a bit...

1990 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut - France, Champagne (12/30/2005)
Pale gold color; big nose of yeasty ripe fruit. Great attack of refreshing acidity with a mousse of a billion bubbles. Long mid palate, turning sweet on the long finish. A great bottle of wine. The best champagne I have ever tasted. (97 pts.)

2001 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (12/29/2005)
Dark, clear ruby-purple color. Moderate nose of dark fruits with a bit of cabernet earthiness. On the palate, low acid, medium-full body, dark chocolate and medium tannins providing the backbone. Some alcohol noticable on the finish. Quite well made; would benefit from a year or two of bottle age. (90 pts.)

1863 Barbeito Madeira Boal - Portugal, Madeira (12/28/2005)
Tremendous nose of caramel, toffee and brown sugar that enveloped the table and was obvious two feet away. Clear brown color. Smooth palate, medium-full body with a marked tartness like a granny smith apple. Very smooth and a long finish. (92 pts.)

Four jobs you've had in your life: paint salesman, cost accountant, CEO, consulting practice director.

Four movies you could watch over and over: Ran, Melvin and Howard, Adventures of Baron Munchausen, On the Waterfront

Four places you've lived: Cedar Mills, OR; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; San Francisco, CA

Four TV shows you love to watch: News Hour with Jim Leher, Nova, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Twilight Zone.

Four places you've been on vacation: Kenya, Oxford, British Virgin Islands, Japan.

Four websites you visit daily: Instapundit, American Spectator, New York Times, California Insider

Four of your favorite foods: smoked salmon, stilton cheese, mushrooms, wine.

Four places you'd rather be: The French Laundry, The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, the Village Vanguard, the summit of the Matterhorn.

Great Performances on PBS, last night showed an extraordinary 45-minute computer-graphic film of Stravinsky's The Nightingale.

The film blends 3-D computer graphics with live action and it is simply brimming with creativity and ideas. The tips of hundreds of violin bows appear out of the mist-covered ground. We inhabit a weird yet wonderful world run by an all-powerful "man behind the curtain" who happens to be personified by two black gloves manipulating an enormous control console. "He" has hundreds of assistents sitting in front of computer screens, typing away in rhythm with the music. There are Gigantic Chinese Urns inhabited with dancing girls instead of Genii. There are courtiers who appear as heads inside of Chinese lanterns. There are crowds of black-gloves applauding wildly and pointing at the scenery to get some bit of stagecraft done. There is a cigarette-smoking death (Violeta Urmana), in league with a mad flying, clicking bar-code applier, and there is the Nightingale (Natalie Dessay) who sings most beautifully, and makes a present of a cellphone to the Great Emperor.

Does all of this sound weird? Well, I suppose it is... a bit. But it is also stunning, moving, and, yes, even awe inspiring.

Sigh, if only Dr. Atomic had risen to even a fraction of this level of excellence. Also, I am certain this must have been funded by the taxpayers of France. I am glad it was French taxpayers and not American ones, but miracles like this do make me waver in my opposition to public funding of the arts. Still, why should my pleasure be funded by taxes from folks, the vast majority of whom, would no doubt find this to be absurd?

Update: You can buy a DVD of this production from Amazon.

Well, here I am in Bangkok, Thailand working on a business analysis for a local polymers company. At Siam Polyolefins, Ltd. (the company we are working with), the standard business dress for men is dark trousers, white shirt and a tie. There is an official company neck-tie, so everyone wears the same tie each day. (My jet-lag was so bad, that I didn't notice this until the third day!) On Friday, they have casual dress day, just like the U.S. Well, not exactly like the U.S... Here it means you can wear a colored shirt, it doesn't have to be white! Tie still required.

Eight of us (Nick, Erica, Melanie, Diana, Malik, Jim, Eric, and Paul) got together to taste a complete collection of 2003 Cru Beaujolais. This Beaujolais vintage has generated a lot of positive commentary and we were expecting fruity, ripe, and fairly serious wines.

Paul provided the wines, Nick provided the food, and the rest of the attendees provided the camaraderie and fun.

Nick's repast included Acme Rustic Baguettes, cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building: Cypress Grove Lambchopper, Comte, and Membrillo; Bresaola (dried beef) from Mastrelli’s Delicatessen in the Ferry Building, a variety of pates: Truffle Mousse and Pate de Campagne with Black Pepper from Fabrique Délices, obtained at 24th Street Cheese Company, some homemade roasted red potatoes with thyme, salt, and olive oil, and some rotisserie chicken from Costco. Everything was delicious. I was especially impressed (because I didn't expect to be) with the Costco rotisserie chicken which has a bit of a foodie following. It was REALLY good!