Wednesday, August 31 2011
Man, I gotta prune those Triffids
It was lovely last weekend, the perfect day to have my mother out for a birthday dinner. I'm home pretty rarely, and the folks don't travel as well as they used to, so it's not often they get out to my place. I decided this would be a perfect time for a homey little crab boil. For those who haven't read my blog before, I did my first crab boil back in June. I've done one more since then, and figured it was about time for a third.
Don't bother us, boy: we're eating. Mom and Dad hard at work on the shellfish.
I'd have to say the meal was a success. The crabs were sweet and succulent, the spot prawns firm and juicy . . . aw heck, it was all good. Mom told me she had never eaten cracked crab before! I guess it was about time, then. Spot prawns were a first for both Mom and Dad as well, but they really liked them. Still, I was the only one who sucked the heads. Hepatopancreas isn't for everyone, I guess.
Funny enough, it was the most food I've ever seen my dad eat. Not that he doesn't have a good appetite, but he kept up with me, and I've got 120 pounds on him! Glad you enjoyed yourself, Pop.
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Posted by Tim AT 2:02PM
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Friday, August 26 2011
Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson. Jancis at the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference
I’ve had a month now to digest the wine bloggers conference, and to try to figure out what it really meant, after all the tasting, the schmoozing with suppliers, fawning over famous writers, observing authorities, and cocking a snook at critics. I’ve been struggling to find some sort of over-arching theme to what’s happening in a field where I’m supposed to have something cogent to say about wine, and a meta-commentary about what everybody else is saying about wine and how they’re saying it.
Previous conferences have had their share of controversy, which I worked very hard to encourage. The two most prominent tempests in a blogspot have been 1) the difference between the corrupt and co-opted old-order of wine critics versus the wet-behind-the-ears, no-credentialed jerk-off-the-street-and-easily-swayed blogging newbies, and 2) Whether or not the current international style of high-alcohol fruit bomb wines are delicious, or a sign that the world is about to end in fiery torment.
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Posted by Hunter S Timson AT 10:30AM
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Sunday, August 14 2011
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
Well, perhaps it's not that bad. I've still got Monday off (to compensate for the BC Day holiday that occurred while I was on vacation. Yes, I've been lolly-gagging for two solid weeks, and the only thinking about wine that I did was to consider which bottle to open with lunch, and which one to open with dinner.
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Posted by Workaday Tim AT 6:53PM
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Comments
Jason
Posted 2 years ago
Tim,
Great post and good times at #wbc11!
I share your philosophy as well about tasting flawed and low quality wines, many of them my own, and collecting my same tasting reactions. It has helped me ad much as the wines I have enjoyed the most. I also remind people that there is a lot of drinking wine out there, it ain't gonna rock your world when you taste it, but it can make for a great lubricant when socializing and/or having food with a mixed group. Taste those as well. Drink some of them here and there.
I found the post -#WBC11 tweets and blogs fascinating and of course jumped in myself. I don't carry a lot of eyeballs so I am sure it didn't reach that far. The conference was great fun and I met enough people and had plenty of new experiences to make it a huge success for me.
Cheers!
Jason
Hey Jason, that's a great point. While I mentioned tasting crappy wine, there's a lot of good, solid, well-made wine out thtere that wouldn't win a medal at any competition, but makes for a satisfying and entertaning beverage. I'm happy with cheap and cheerful more often than I am with highly rated blockbusters.
I really enjoyed WBC11 too--always interesting to hear people who (mostly) disagree with me. See you at WBC12!
Tim