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TWC often walks this way. It's over the ridge, on the plateau where Navel Oranges once grew in an area several miles square. Odds are you've eaten one of them, although this was the periphery of So Cal's version of the Gold Rush.
They're gone now, victimized by the price of water or, perhaps, enticed into early demise by the dazzle of the developer's patter. Not that the patter is buying anything in this county. The Guy has been working on that for eight years. Ain't no percentage in it now, The County has seen to that. Meanwhile, the interest is still due quarterly.
Gone now. Except this one (and a couple of others).
Why this one? Who decided that this tree was to be spared the bulldozer and the chainsaw? To what purpose? For what reason? The others are long since cleared, cut to size, stacked into cordwood, and shrink wrapped into five log bundles, which you'll find at Christmas time, where summer Kingsford was neatly stacked on the front porch of the local Whole Foods or Pavilions. A couple of sweet-burning bundles of orange wood will do a lovely fire on Christmas Eve with la familia.
Word this morning about a new plan where everybody gets to sell distressed assets to the government.
We figured that.....we'd give regular Americans the same opportunity
to sell their bad assets to the government. We need your help and you need the Government's help!
And remember, when estimating the
value of your 1997 limited edition Hanson single CD "MMMbop", it's not
what you can sell these items for that matters, it's what you think
they are worth. The fact that you think they are worth more than anyone will buy them for is what makes them bad assets.
For now the taxpayer bail out of Wall Street has gone down in flames. 67% of House Republicans and 40% of House Democrats just said NO.
In a stunning vote that shocked the capital and worldwide markets, the
House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the
nation's financial system, ignoring urgent warnings from President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties that the economy could nosedive without it.
Don't even think this is the end of it. They'll be back. Cue the hand wringing, we know it's bad but it is a necessary evil.
El Jeronimo de Crow threw himself a birthday party Saturday night. I say that by way of explanation as to why TWC is not writing about the fabuloso Pinot Noir that I found all lonesome behind the plastic cups next to the stack of spare tortillas.
The striped label was a little hard to see with all the clutter--the Two Buck Chuck, a couple of forgettable Chards, and, inexplicably, what looked like Carlo Rossi jug Burgundy which turned out to be Almaden jug red. I haven't seen an Almaden wine since before Y2K, so that was interesting. It was also inexplicably popular, the empty three liter jug bearing mute testimony.
The Pinot was a delightful surprise and in short order, it was time for
round two so I excused myself, leaving Mrs TWC (looking glam in black)
to entertain in my absence only to discover that the Pinot was GONE. Without
any proof it had ever existed. No notes. Plenty of CRS. Brian didn't get any, neither. Which makes a decent enough segue.
Mr Cool & The House Blond dancing poolside to the Stray Cats
Been meaning to get onto this for a week or so anyway. Early on, the Hogue family recognized the potential of the Columbia River Valley. Sharing the same latitude as many of the great vineyards of France, throughout the growing season the valley averages two hours per day more sunshine than California vineyards.
The Genesis vineyards date to the early 1970's and are among the oldest in the state and are so named to honor the beginning.
No Star used to rag on me about ignoring Washington State wines, a fact certainly not in evidence, particularly since, well, right here is a review of a Washington State winery.
It's a good Merlot and I enjoyed it. However, I would expect it to be pretty good given the $12.00-$17.00 price tag. Wine Spectator gave it an 88. That's a little stingy or maybe my scale reads high. I'll go with stingy.
Winemakers Notes:
Washington is widely recognized as an exceptional Merlot-producing region, and this supple, silky wine is a one example of the quality of Merlot the region is capable of producing. The 2005 vintage shows heady aromas of plum, cherry, and black olive, with hints of gun smoke and leather. Its flavors of ripe berry, oak and spice are well balanced and there are appealing notes of black cherry, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. This is a big Merlot that will pair well with grilled chops, ribs or steak, or a Margherita-style pizza.
I had to look that up. Margarita Pizza that is. Turns out, it isn't what I thought. No To-Kill-Ya, no salt. Recipe here.
I'm a James Arness fan so the Gun Smoke and Leather is intriguing. Not sure I found recently fired pistola but I'll buy the leather, the black cherry, oak, and a little spice. It is, indeed, a pretty big Merlot and could easily stand in for cab.
By the time we left, one guy had a spoon stuck on his nose (ON his nose. Not up his nose) and it was moving this direction.....
I'm not sure exactly how much good this stuff does, but if you are so inclined, there is a digital petition to stop the trillion dollar bailout that you can sign here.
Lots of good information at the site including news, & updates, contacts.
Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina.....
After reviewing the Administration's proposed bailout plan, I believe
it is completely unacceptable. This plan does nothing to address the
misguided government policies that created this mess and it could make
matters much worse by socializing an entire sector of the U.S. economy.
This plan fails to oversee or regulate the government failures that led
to this crisis. Instead it greatly increases the role for Secretary
Paulson whose market predictions have been consistently wrong in the
last year, and provides corporate welfare for investment firms on Wall
Street that don't want to disclose their assets and sell them to
private investors for market rates. Most Americans are paying their
bills on time and investing responsibly and should not be forced to pay
for the reckless actions of some on Wall Street, especially when no one
can guarantee this will solve our current problems.
Did you know your government will help you by offering you an equity stake through the heart?
Pelosi, D-Calif., said that Bush's agreement with
Democrats on limiting pay for executives of bailed out financial
institutions and giving taxpayers an equity stake in the companies is
evidence of progress.
My bookie, Sy, is giving pretty good odds that you'll not see a stock certificate evidencing that equity stake any time soon. Besides, an equity stake in bad mortgages ain't no stake at all.
Tip of the glass to No Star 
Good Morning Gentle Readers,
