Just PlainNuts

I'm still officially on hiatus, but I just had to weigh in on the bat shit crazy demons at Westboro Baptist Church.
Only click on that link if you're properly self medicated because Westboro isn't a 'fun' church like Landover Baptist. No, WBC is a place filled with so much hate that it's visible from the International Space Station.

And now you're wondering what crazy antics these asshats might have a-brewing, right? They plan on picketing Heath Ledger's funeral, which should prove difficult as there's not going to be one. It's really ironic that the good Rev. Phelps and his followers (mosly family members) simply cannot comprehend that picketing the funerals of soldiers or celebrities earns them a lot of ill-will from the entire US. Nobody supports them. Nobody. Not even Pat Robertson. Not even Jerry Falwell, a former funeral picket target himself after he, uh, died.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Heath Ledger. And to the wack-job fanatics over at WBC, I pity you people. The hell you've created for yourselves is probably much worse than anything looming in the afterlife.

OnBreak

Not that I'm the most consistent blogger free floating around the ether of the internets, but I thought that I should inform my two regular readers that I'm going to be taking a break. I have no idea how long the break will last. I have work that I have to complete, and sadly, no minions to do the toiling in my stead.
I will return with tales and wine (whine) someday soon :)

Saucy Sommilier

Hi, folks! Miss Kitty here. Jennifer finds herself indisposed after two Christmas day meals that involved ham, and a Boxing Day breakfast of Eggs Benedict, which also involved, um, ham. As she has frequently pointed out over the past few days, ham is the most difficult meat for humans to digest.
As you can see, our handcrafted Pissed Squirrel Red 2007 Barolo made all that ham go down a little more easily, perhaps too easily. Yes, we indulged in the holiday feasting with family. In theory, two big holiday meals would seem like a dream come true, and when you're in the moment, it certainly is. But then there is the day after of reckoning. ...Or sometimes the night after of reckoning.
Remember the Alka-Seltzer commercials where the guy sits there saying, "I can't believe I ate the whoooole thing"? I can remember sometimes being judgmental of that guy, thinking, "You fool." Well, this time of year I'm a little more understanding. It keeps you humble. We've all been that guy, and despite our better judgment, we'll probably all be that guy again next year. Yes, self-inflicted gastrointestinal distress can happen to the best of us. That's why we all have to learn to be compassionate toward our gassy brethren, while avoiding becoming an enabler.

Fending off boredom

Christmas is a time where we're forced to endure our families. Yes, family is a precious gift, and they're just one baby step better than being alone with a bottle of vodka and a knotted length of rope. And just a little planning can keep those get togethers from turning into ancient sibling rivalries dredged up and trotted out anew. What better way to fend off being stabbed in the arm with a salad fork than to play a friendly board game? Especially if the board game has such convoluted rules that it's almost impossible to figure out who's won? To that end I recommend the Buffy the Vampire Slayer board game. It has a zillion pieces, a bunch of cards and comes in a graphically pleasing box.
At all costs avoid Scrabble. Especially if my mother shows up on your doorstep toting the deluxe version of the game and the official Scrabble Dictionary. You'll soon regret taking pity on her when she screws up the entire board by making 'adz' and 'qat'. Remember; you don't have to let her in...we do.

Happy Sparkle Season!

I just love how the feeding frenzy of sales has to be called something other than what it is in Pittsburgh.

Merry sparkle seasOn, all! I prefer the winter solstice anyway. At least that has meaning.

Pissed Red

After an exhaustive search, Miss Kitty and I have settled on this graphic as the figurehead for our 2007 Barolo vintage, dubbed Pissed Red. Believe it or not, she, not I, came up with the name. I was much too distracted with the methodology behind the nebbiolo grape used to create a fine Barolo wine to fetter my mind with name calling.
That didn't come out right. Regardless, Barolo wine originated in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy bordering France and Switzerland. Barolo is made from the nebbiolo grape, with 'nebbiolo' being derived from the local dialect root word 'nebbia', translating in English to: Fog.
The juice concentrate that we used to craft this fine wine was from the piedmont region of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state, an area that closely mimics the Italian area of the original grape, both in weather and soil composition.
So far we've sampled the Pissed Red and it's a perfect accompaniment to any meat. It's at best, only gently tannin-y, mildly fruity, and washes off the palate immediately, while still providing an enjoyable wine experience.
Overall I have to say that we'll probably barrel another batch as soon as possible!
Cheers!

Comic Chaos

Anyone need proof that Joss Whedon doesn't walk on water? Pick yourself up a copy of the Angel -After the Fall - comic and you can easily disabuse yourself of any deified delusions. This doesn't mean that I'll have the 'Joss is God' tattoo on my ass lasered off anytime soon...just what was he thinking? Comparisons between the Buffy and Angel comic are unavoidable, but one is particularly glaring: Joss's hands on approach with Buffy and his loose association with Angel (primarily involved only in rough plot outlines and allowing writer Brian Lynch to draft the script).
This is an interesting point since Joss is intimately involved in the upcoming Serenity comic. Which begs the question: Why the laissez faire attitude toward his sulking undead hero? And why are both Buffy and Serenity housed at Dark Horse comics and Angel is camped out at IDW comics? One being a premier publisher and the other, well, not awful but not running with the big guns either.
I guess I'll just get another cup of coffee and ponder all of the reasons there's a parallel Whedonverse.