Booze

A while ago I blogged about Port. To my annoyance, Bevmo seems to have discontinued carrying Ramos Pinto Tawny, though I can still find the Ruby in some stores. This and my current obsession with Irish music sent me off to sampling Irish whiskey. So far I seem to have a roughly equal opinion of Bushmills and Jameson's, Tullamore I'm still forming an opinion on, other brands I'll get to as I can. While not an Irish whisky by textbook definition, I've found I really like Celtic Crossing, a blend of Irish whiskey, brandy, and honey that makes for a light and tasty liqueur. Sort of an Irish take on Southern Comfort, but not in a slightly scary way like Yukon Jack. Give it a whirl.

Additional note: Irish coffee at the SF Eagle seems to consist of Bushmills with a splash of coffee flavoring and a float of Bailey's. Absolutely yummy and almost sneaky.

The Jerk

Remember that scene in "The Jerk" where Steve Martin excitedy runs around screaming "The new phone book is here"? It was a perfectly normal occurrence, but he was excited because his name would be printed in it, something most others would have thought mundane but it was special to him. I feel a bit like that character these days. I very recently got a new, high-quality bodhran custom made by Del Eckels, and I'm just loving it. I'm still getting used to having the natural goatskin head, but it's got a great sound and it's just a treat to play.

The wife and cats will just have to get used to all the racket, which had subsided the last few weeks as I was wrestling with other matters, and indulging in playstation games with what down time I had. I shall have to get back into half an hour to an hour of practice time per night.

Going to Tahoe

The last few weeks have been somewhat overwhelming. Work is work, and every weekend for the last month and a half I've barely had any time that wasn't claimed by some group of people. Exhausting.

I don't often slow down enough to go somewhere just to go there, but later this month I'm going to Tahoe. Not because I'm obligated to. Just because it's anniversary time and it will give the wife and I a chance to lounge and order room service, and remind each other why we fell in love in the first place. Now that's something to look forward to.

For all the cat owners out there . . .

OVERFLOWING CAT BOX BLUES
(Jane Robinson)

First I must mention the lack of attention:
Here I am wasting away. (it's awful)
Why did you get me if you won't pet me
Seventeen hours a day? I ask you
What is this crap when I sit on your lap?
I expect a devoted masseuse;
I got those `Nobody loves me, nobody feeds me
Overflowin' cat box blues.

Now I have grown gaunt from privation and want
But catfood I don't deign to take (how gauche)
But I could connive to completely revive
When you give-a me half of your steak (done rare)
I'll sit and I'll beg with my claws in your leg
Until you concede what I'm due;
I got those `Nobody loves me, nobody feeds me..
Overflowin' cat box blues.

Hey, I don't deserve this lousy door service:
I'm always on the wrong side. You know this
Prancing and yowling, moaning and growling
Works, but it hurts a cat's pride. So I'll just
Claw and I'll spray till the door rots away
And leaves me a hole to pass through;
I got those `Nobody loves me, nobody feeds me...
Overflowin' cat box blues.

Say, whenever I go for the bed or the sofa
You always shoo me away. (How rude!)
You say I get hair on the fabric of chairs
That offends your pristine derriere. Well now if
I can't repose where I want, I suppose, I'll
Throw up where you most like to snooze;
I got those `Nobody loves me, nobody feeds me..
Overflowin' cat box blues.

Well, you ought to know when a cat's got to go
That you owe her a spotless commode. (Let's hear it)
Why should I squat on the same soggy spot
Right on top of three weeks worth of load? Now really!
If I were a grouch I would piss on the couch,
But instead I have pissed in your shoe;
I got those `Nobody loves me, nobody feeds me...
Overflowin' cat box blues.

Since you have spayed me nobody's laid me -
I'm all neurotic and tense - it's true now -
Kneading and mewing is all that I'm doing
And not wooing toms on the fence. Don't think that
I've become bitter because I can't litter
No, but I've lost a few screws;
I got those `Nobody loves me, nobody feeds me
Overflowin' cat box blues.
I got those `Nobody loves me, nobody feeds me
Overflowin' cat box blues.

Neo-celtic

So recently I've been feeling rundown with the energy I put into kink, and instead returning to music as a way to express myself and recharge. This has taken the form of learning celtic percussion as in the Chieftains et al: Bodhran, spoons, bones. This is great fun and I'm also exploring the catalog of recorded and live session music, much of which is new to me.

Along the way I'm finding some neo-celtic stuff that seems to owe more to the Pogues than the Chieftains, such as the punk band the Dropkick Murphys who sport a bagpipe player. It's got me thinking. This is also fun, and a little more accessible for me in some ways, and makes me wonder:

Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/Thin Lizzy and other heavy rock bands had a very strong sound with twin harmonized guitars and some good songwriting. How would those songs translate to an arrangement for whistle, fiddle, guitar, and bodhran? Am I the only person who senses an opportunity to take that as a starting point and see where the original songwriting goes once a sound can be established with a few covers?

Maybe it's just that so many of my bodhran practice tunes are Led Zeppelin and Cream (don't have the chops yet for the Chieftains) but this sounds like a lot of fun to me. However, finding the right musicians for it sounds like a huge PITA, so it may go the way of some of my other ideas. Maybe just playing at the sessions in Berkeley and SF is the ticket.

ranting and wining

but not whining.

Okay, I may have mentioned I've been getting more interested in wine (port, specifically) the last couple years. I'm the sort that tries to balance price and quality, and pretty much pick out of the supermarket/bevmo/trader Joe's selections without ever reading the wine snob magazines, tho I do check in on these columns from time to time: www.eastbayexpress.com/news/a...Content


Unfortunately EBXpress hasn't focused on port yet, so here are my thoughts about some of the brands I've tried:

Presidential Ruby--one of my early favorites, both for price and availability. It's got more of a sulfite aftertaste than I currently like, but a good fruitiness to the main flavor.

Berenger Cabernet Port '01-- Most port has a dash of brandy or cognac thrown in to halt the fermentation process while there's still some natural sugar left. In this case I think it totally overpowers whatever flavor the grapes might otherwise have had, and all subtlety like nut, fruit, or chocolate flavors is gone. Having all the grace of a thrown brick to the temple, its main saving grace is an absence of sulfite aftertaste. Not a choice I'm likely to repeat, which is annoying because I really like the Berenger Zin that's all over the supermarket for cheap these days. How could they let this stuff go out the door this bad? I'd be watering it to half strength, slapping a Thunderbird label on it, and and selling it to folks who think two buck chuck is highbrow.

Graham's six grapes -- a favorite main standby. It's actually the first port I ever tried, but at first $18-20/bottle seemed overboard, so I drank Presidential while sampling other things in the $10-$20 range, which is still where I keep it most of the time. Good fruit flavors, good color and body, no aftertaste to speak of.

Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Porto '01 -- for two extra bucks or so the flavors are better defined and it's all about the smooth. This is something to drink as a reward when I've been very good, along with a Partagas Purito to smoke.

Ramos Pinto Tawny -- I think this may be a new winner on the low-price side (bevmo, $12.99). It looks thin in the glass compared to the ruby I usually choose, but it tastes great. Bring on the brie, apples, smoked salmon, and crackers.

Coming soon:
Sandeman
Warre's Warrior
Cockburn special reserve
Dow's


Brands I will probably never try, because at that price I can't believe the sulfites wouldn't overpower any other decent qualities:

Christian brothers
Sheffield Cellars

What is hip?

www.lyricsdownload.com/tower-...cs.html

Lately I've gone on a Tower of Power jag, especially at the office. Uptempo '70s funk jams just seem like a great substitute for or adjunct to morning coffee to me, a way to inject some life into bleary eyes. I may have to get more of it into my collection, but for the moment the first three ToP albums are rocking my mornings.

What is Hip? is the title of one of my favorite songs by them. The lyrics propose many things that might be part of it, but no definitive answer. So for today I invite anyone who takes the time to read these entries to give their own definitions.

Thanksgiving shibari

www.flickr.com/photos/21109787@N06/

and that's really all that needs to be said.

Cats

Recently I started monitoring this site, an endless supply of silly cat pictures:

www.icanhascheezburger.com

It's just something that brightens my day. . .