The Wine Commonsewer™

Keeping the Peace on Bourbon Street

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

 

I want the bracelet. Not his bracelet set. Hers.

They don't call them peace officers anymore, but I like the idea of a peace officer  on horseback. A visible presence that is easily seen above the crowd. This strikes moi as a safer and more effective police presence than walking the beat or kickin' it in a cruiser, a few blocks away.

It seemed as though these cops were an integral and non-threatening part of the street scene. You were confident that they weren't going to hassle you. It felt like they belonged here and that everyone was comfortable with their proximity. That goes a long way toward erasing the posturing (on both sides) that comes with the us v them line in the sand.

The Boy chuckled when he saw the photo and painted me a verbal picture that went something like this:  Three weeks later the cop gallops up to our wrought iron gate on his very tired and dusty horse shouting something about it being illegal to take photographs of the police. 

UPDATE: I planned to send this blog post over to NOPD with a note, but then I reconsidered. Sure would suck of there is a departmental policy which prohibits cute chicks from petting the horses. TWC would not want to cause that cop any unwarranted grief. Sure, just because *you're* not paranoid, doesn't mean they ain't out to get you.

BTW, the police officer is not looking at me, that is a Disney-esque, portrait-hanging-in-the haunted-house, trick of the lighting. Trust me. I looked at the original, full resolution photo. He's looking back over his shoulder after hearing a little commotion in that general direction. 

Happy Mundane,

TWC

Photo Credit: TWC 01-21-12 © all rights reserved

 

A Rose by Another Name? Softclix: Marketing Brilliance

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

This box contains needle sharp lancets. When used as intended, a diabetic places a lancet into a plunger-like device that is a bit shorter and a bit more rotund than a mechanical pencil. Once loaded, the flat, round bottom end of the device is placed against your fingertip and then the plunger is activated. The spring loaded lancet quickly pokes a hole in your finger, If all goes well, there is enough blood flow to allow a blood glucose test. It feels something like when the doctor pokes you in the finger for a quickie blood test. 

Every time I look at a box of these needle sharp lancets I marvel at the name: Softclix. Who thought that up?

Sheer marketing genius.

As Always,

TWC

The House Blond on Learning Spanish

 

Hooray for Spanish 1, I can read the label on a bottle of wine from Chile!

 

Your Government Knows Best, Junior #SOPA

More information at http://americancensorship.org/

Early Morning Light

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Happened to glance out the window Monday morning and thought the light was kind of interesting. You are looking at the Lake Mathews Estelle Mountain nature reserve, which encompasses most of the open area and then arcs around to the left. several miles further out, at the base of hills, lies Corona, California.

As Always,

TWC

Photo Credit: TWC 01-16-2011 ©

On Boxed Wine

Normally, we try to keep it clean around here, but this is priceless. My apologies.

As Always,

TWC

 

Box Spring Mountain at Sunset

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Box Spring Mountain is at the east end of March Air Force Base near the intersection of I-215 and I-60 in Moreno Valley. The mountain is only red in the setting sun for a few minutes on certain clear evenings. It is about fifteen miles southeast of Casa de las Rocas Grandes, humble abode of TWC.

As Always,

TWC

Photo Credit: TWC 01-14-12 ©

2010 Primal Roots Red Blend

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Ten bucks US is too much for this wine, there are simply too many attractive alternatives. That isn't to say it's a bad wine, though it has a bit too much cloying sweet cherry for my palate. That might not bother you. It is a blend of 37% Syrah, 43% Merlot, and 20% Zinfandel, mostly sourced from the North Valley. That would be the San Joaquin Valley, better known as the Central Valley of California. The winery is in Acampo, which is, essentially, Lodi. 

The wine is not a bad Tuesday night wine. Good with pasta or pizza. Definitely improves with air. Give it a good sloshing in the decanter, which will help the sweet cherry on the backside, but not the fumes on the nose. Fumey is a TWC technical term meaning that there is a predominant aroma of alcohol. Behind that there are aromas of red fruit and a little whiff of grenadine.

Winery Tasting Notes:

The 2010 Red Blend has aromas of mocha, vanilla, and spice that give way to a silky texture along with rich flavors of raspberries and chocolate that are truly uninhibited.

Once again, TWC's rule about kitsch and cool factor kicks in. Quite often, the cool factor of the label is inversely proportional to the quality of the wine. This one comes closer to selling sensual and uninhibited than some do, but, it sells at 42% above TWC's Standardized Wine Price/Value Ratio®. It is a perfect $6.99 wine.

UPDATE: This wine is available at Sam's Club in So Cal for $6.98.

Bonus:

 

As Ever,

TWC

Had Your OJ Yet?

 

Tip of the glass to Vicki P

Mark Twain on New Years Resolutions

 

Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath.  Today, we are a pious and exemplary community.  Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.