Round Up

Cinema
Good – Batman Begins
Bad – Nanny McPhee (I was inflight)
Fugly – The Perfect Storm

Previews
Marie Antoinette
Alpha Dog
Slither
An American Haunting
La Mujer de Mi Hermano
RV
American Gun

Cellar
Red - Casa Lapostolle “Clos Apalta” 2001, Apalta Vineyard, Colchagua, Limited Edition
White – Anapamu Chardonnay, Monterey 2001
Sparkling – Veuve de Verney
I do confess I tasted many hard-to-find Southern Italian wines this month which I know I will not ever find Stateside so it was pretty pointless to save labels. The Chardonnays, however, were uniformly pointless.

Cocktails
Red Heart
Combine equal proportions of pomegranate vodka, pomegranate juice, lychee juice and grenadine. Simple yet succulent. I like to garnish with heart of one lychee. Yum yum yum.

Week in Wine

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
2005 Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc ($25)
2005 Fairhall Downs Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($16)
2005 Forrest Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($16)
2005 Framingham Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($17)
2005Jackson Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($17)
2005 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($17)
2005 Lawson’s Dry Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($16)
2005 Matua Valley Paretai Estate Series Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($17)
2005 Nobilo Icon Collection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($22)
2005 Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($16)
2005 Sauvignon Republic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($18)
2005 Selaks Premium Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($16)
2005 Silver Birch Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($14)
2005 TENZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($19)
2004 Tohu Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($13)
2005 Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($18)
2004 Woodthorpe Te Mata Estate Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc ($17)

Millennium Park

Something about Millennium Park implores me to while away time there. This happens rarely. I have to “give myself” permission to do nothing. I know not why. I am not on the clock. I purposefully have nothing to do today (Oh yes, my compulsive nature could find another play I need to see, another gelateria I need to sample, another wine bar I need to evaluate, another so on and so forth) and yet I hesitate albeit briefly before I decide I am going to have a Coke and a smile. Right here, right now. But before the light leaves me, I should attempt an arty picture because bot h of the monoliths cannot be framed in one shot. See , I had to indulge my compulsions. Now I can rest back and people watch.

Michigan Avenue

Nobody really calls it the Magnificent Mile, right? Right? Because that would be so faux pas (in the words of M, whom I am incredibly missing right now; no matter, we have a whole day in Napa on Tax Day and I am looking forward to to it so much) and yet it is in the travel brochures, in the in-hotel “informational” channels, in the magazines filled with places only Desperate Housewives from Wisconsin could love. Speaking of the Heartland, I caught not one (as is my wont) but two performances of Second City (The Best Of, an d the current mainstage show called Iraqtile Dysfunction). The former was stellar, the latter rescued only by the talents of Brian Gallivan (you read his name here first). I was amazed at the number of heartland heroes (what should I call them without passing judgment?) who left during the show. During intermission, I saw letters posted near concessions written on actual hotel letter paper (Ritz, Hilton, Hyatt, Essex Inn too!) protesting the anti-American nature of the shows. Some people don’t get satire. Then again, what would you expect when you come to Second City? Seinfeld?

Chicago Theater

Chicago has a rich theater tradition and this Spring (officially, I tell you), I have been extraordinarily lucky. The David Mamet Festival is in town. He is one of the living playwrights who bites the hands that feed him, and has a diabolically wonderful time doing so. I saw “Romance” (a piffle of a courtroom farce which was crisply written but unmemorably so) and “A Life in the Theater” (essentially a 78 minute conversation between a veteran actor who’s done it all and a young up and comer joining up for a season of repertory/purgatory). For entertainment, there was French farce in the new translation, award-winning, of Georges Feydeau’s “A Flea in Her Ear”, made quintessentially American with bon mots too contemporary and brazen to be truly anachronistic, and “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” , a Broadway show with just enough audience interaction to keep things jiggy. Unfortunately, the latter was attended by masses of parents from said Heartland who brought their munchkins from elementary school. A key plotpoint hinges on a centerpiece song entitled “My Unfortunate Erection”. Lucy, you got some ’splainin’ to do tonight.

Navy Pier

Navy Pier is part of the “new” Chicago to me. Anything that wasn’t there when I first enjoyed the fruits of the city is nouvel, perhaps erroneously but this is my Sblog so I have liberties and license. I always like the passagiatta there. It is brilliant execution on the part of the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Eye (or whatever that monstrosity is called) nothwithstanding. If you have not been, it kind of resembles the British Airways London Eye but having been funded by McDonald’s, you sit in little capsule that look like – and I am not making this up – packets for French Fries as the McWheel makes its 29 minute “flight”. It is best to take this flight around sundown. There is a water garden just aft near the Children’s museum and there are several green parks about to unwind yourself. I was in astonishment that, despite the balmy weather, there were not enough persons of a certain age about. Then I made a cut through the shiny doors to the Skyline Stage for my performance time at the Shakespeare Theater. Suddenly, I saw the multitudes. All of them gobbling down food in the various food courts spilling out oodles of unhealthful junk food. Do we have a childhood obesity epidemic coming up or are the fatties just trapped behind the revolving doors I wondered and fled for the Juice Bar.

Down Town

When you’re alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go
Down Town
When you’ve got worries all the noise and the hurry
You can always go
Down town
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles
Forget all your cares
So go
Down town
Things will be great when you’re down town
No finer place for sure
Down town
Everything’s waiting for you
Down Town

That’s the first song lyrics I can recall. I first heard it when I was seven. I was, at that time, in New York City. I always knew I wanted to be down town. I now am. And I like it. But I want to go home. What is it about symmetry that whenever we get where we want to be we realize we should have never left in the first place? The journey home is never too long: your heart arrives before the train. Not every road you come across is one you have to take. For sometimes standing still is the best move you ever make. Wistful much? I need one of those Cosmopolitans with Keten One that C knows to make for me when I need them most.

Chicago Bean

This is my kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of people too
People who smile at you
And each time I roam, Chicago is
Calling me home, Chicago is
Why I just brim like a toad
It’s my kind of town
My kind of razzmatazz
And it has, all that jazz
Tugging my sleeve, Chicago is
The Wrigley Building, Chicago is
The Union Stockyard, Chicago is
One town that won’t let you down
It’s my kind of town

So I can’t quite explain it. Others have indicated possible explanations, hypothesis, theora, whatever you care to call it but it is quite illogical. But my kind of town Chicago is. This wasn’t where I was born, this wasn’t my first port of call to the Western World (Londontown!) or Stateside (New York City), but yet I identify most with the Second City and I have no good explanation. I have something of Chicago inside of me that will be essential. I can identify with it. I grew up there, in multiple senses of the word. When I walk in the dead of night, I feel at home. I have never felt that way in the city (SF) but then again I have never physically lived in the city. I might be comfortable treading unfamiliar territory in both Londontown and New York city but I could never feel the trappings of Chicago anywhere else. When I first went West (to California), I pathologically umbilicated enough to return every two months, if not more often. Then I bought a home. Any place you hang your hat is home. Now I have a house that I finally call home. It is organic, it lives and it beckons me back. I return to Chicago fondly. But my heart belongs to (the) San Francisco (Bay area).

Week in Wine

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Atlas Peak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($38)
2002 Bighorn Cellars Broken Rock Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($36)
2002 Black Coyote Bates Creek Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($30)
2001 Broman Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($48)
2002 Cuvaison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($42)
2002 Elodian Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($37)
2002 Flora Springs Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($30)
2002 Frank Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40)
2002 Mount Veeder Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40)
2002 Oberon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($20)
2002 Ortman Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($35)
2002 Rutherford Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($35)
2002 Smith-Madrone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($35)

Snacking London

Cafe Rouge: French bistro chain. So retro and so unfashionably fashionable.
Carluccio’s Caffe: Fresh sourced Italian fare.
Ed’s Easy Diner: American themed. Shakes are good.
GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen): Angus beef or venison burgers
Pizza Express: Utterly predictable but everywhere. 95 at last count
Pret a Manger: Sandwiches. Wraps. Sushi. Tea Cakes.
Ranoush Juice Bar: Kebab cafe. A Favorite. Edgware road and Kensington
Strada: Pizzas baked over a wood fire
Tootsies Grill: Rock music. Great fries.
Wagamama: Bowls of noodles. Oodles really
YO! Sushi: Futuristic conveyer belt outlets with color coded plates.

Random London

• It is the largest city in Western Europe
• Over 300 languages are spoken in Greater London
• A third of Londoners belong to an ethnic minority community
• 41% of Londoners are 20-44 (25% is over 65) which makes its population younger than the rest of the UK
• 1 in 6 of the UK workforce works in London
• 3 of the 5 most deprived boroughs in England are in London
• 25% of the unemployed British live in London
• 20% of the workforce of London (700,000) are employed in the cultural and creative sectors
• 49 million people (half from overseas) visit attractions in Londontown annually
• More than 60 billion dollars are generated from tourism annually (a third of total UK revenue from these sectors)
• 6 of the top ten tourist attractions in the UK are in Londontown
• London’s metropolitan population is 7.25 million as of 1995 (greater London includes a population of 10 million)
• London has annual net inflows of people with 50 non-indigenous communities with populations exceeding 10,000
• there are currently four World Heritage Sites (Palace of Westminster, Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich and Kew Gardens) and 17 national Museums across Londontown
• London has 3800 pubs (9% of UK public houses) and 233 nightclubs (15% of UK). In Westminster alone, there are over 330 venues open after midnight. I smell party!
• There are 6128 licenses restaurants in London (22% of UK restaurants) including 50 major country cuisines and 36 Michelin star rated restaurants.
• London has 40,000 shops and 80 individual markets including Walthamstow Market, Europe’s longest daily street market.
• The West End is the largest retail area in the UK with, in Oxford Street alone, over 300 shops with Selfridges containing 40 retail departments
• 120 million passengers arrived and departed through London’s airports in 2004 (67 million through Heathrow which is the busiest and best connected in the world)
• There are 21000 licensed taxis in London. Black Cabs come in 12 different colors.

Dining London

It is no paradox that some of the best Indian restaurants are in Londontown. So many choices – where should you dine?

Amaya (Chelsea; tube: Knightsbridge)
Halkin Arcade, Motcomb St. 0870-7808174

Benares (Mayfair; tube – Bond St)
12 Berkeley Square House. 020-7629-8886

Cafe Spice Namaste (City; tube – Tower Hill)
16 Prescott St. 020-7488-9242

Chutney Mary (Chelsea
535 King’s Road. 0870-780-8136

Cinnamon Club (Westminster and Victoria; tube – Westminster)
Old Westminster Library, Great Smith Street. 020-7222-2555

Rasoi Vineet Bhatia (Chelsea; tube – Sloane Square)
10 Lincoln Street. 020-7225-1881

Red Fort (Soho; tube – Tottenham Court road)
77 Dean Street. 020-7437-2115

Tamarind (Mayfair; tube – Green Park)
20 Queen Street. 020-7629-3561

Veeraswamy (Mayfair)
99-101 Regent Street (enter on Swallow St). 0870-780-8137

Stage London

The big news is that Mary Poppins has been declared unsuitable for the under sevens as hordes of parents treat their kids to this overblown fare. Children undergo frightful experiences – Jane is tempted to join a scene in a porcelain bowl only to find that its characters mean to keep her trapped there forever)

The more popular shows currently are -

• Billy Elliot (Victoria Palace)
• Blackbird (Albery)
• Blood Brothers (Phoenix)
• Blue Man Group (New London)
• Chicago (Adelphi)
• Dancing in the Streets (Cambridge)
• Embers (Duke of York’s)
• Evita (Adelphi)
• Fame (Aldwych)
• Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly)
• Hay Fever (Haymarket)
• Honour (Wyndham’s)
• Les Miserables (Queen’s)
• Lion Kind (Lyceum)
• Mack and Mabel (Criterion)
• Mamma Mia! (Prince of Wales)
• Man for all Seasons (Haymarker)
• Mary Poppins (Prince Edward)
• My Name is Rachel Corrie (Playhouse): chornicle of a death foretold, political and elegantly spun
• Spamalot (Palace)
• Movin’ Out (Apollo)
• Night of the Iguana (Lyric)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Garrick): Christian Slater and Alex Kingston in the leads – what’s not to love?
• Period of Adjustment (Almeida)
• Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theater)
• Producers (Drury Lane)
• Rat Pack – Live from Las Vegas (Savoy)
• Resurrection Blues (Old Vic)
• Royal Hunt of the Sun (National)
• Sinatra at the Palladium (London Palladium): bizarre multimedia experimental crap
• Stomp (Vaudeville)
• Sunday in the Park with George (Wyndham’s)
• The Old Country (Trafalgar Studios 1): spies tha fail to engage the audience
• Two Thousand Years (National)
• We Will Rock you (Dominion)
• Whistle Down the Wind (Palace): similar drivel as Blood Brothers. Huge cruisefarer favorite
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Apollo)
• Wicked (Apollo)
• Woman in Black (Fortune)
• You Never Can tell (Garrick)

Paddy Cake

Chicago is famous for the peculiar tradition of “going green” on St. Patrick’s Day. The tradition started in 1962 when city pollution control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, 100 pounds of green vegetable dye was released into the river to keep it green for a week. Today, to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of organic orange (the native color of the water is a murky blue) dye are released making the water green for a few hours. The original idea came from Savannah natives where mayor Tom Woolley had plans for a green river but rough water precluded the trick and they never tried again. Erin go brah!

Week in Wine

Sonoma County Merlot
2003 Chateau St. Jean Sonoma County Merlot ($25)
2002 Chateau Souverain Alexander Valley Merlot ($18)
2003 Field Stone Alexander Valley Merlot ($20)
2003 Gallo Family Vineyards Sonoma Reserve Merlot ($13)
2002 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Merlot ($19)
2003 Kendall-Jackson Highland Estates Taylor Peak Bennett Valley Merlot ($40)
2002 Kenwood Reserve Sonoma Valley Merlot ($25)
2003 Matanzas Creek Bennett Valley Merlot ($30)
2003 Sebastiani Alexander Valley Merlot ($24)
2003 Simi Sonoma County Merlot ($22)

Chardonnay-in-a-Box (you know who you are)
2005 Banrock Station South Eastern Australia Chardonnay ($18 for 3-liter box)
2004 Black Box Wines Monterey County Chardonnay ($20 for 3-liter box)
2004 Black Box Wines Napa Valley Chardonnay ($24 for 3-liter box)
2004 Grayson Cellars Monterey Chardonnay ($10)
2005 Hardys Nottage Hill South Eastern Australia Chardonnay ($9)
2004 McManis Family Vineyards River Junction Chardonnay ($10)
2004 Meridian Santa Barbara County Chardonnay ($10)
2004 Reynolds Vineyards South Australia Chardonnay ($9)
2004 Smashed Grapes California Chardonnay ($10)
2004 3 Blind Moose California Chardonnay ($10)

Airline Booking

As a committed leisure traveler, price is supreme. Trade-offs include travel at undesirable times of the day and the possibility of significant changes necessary in preferred travel dates or routing. However, for leisure travelers with extremely limited holiday time (like me, of late!), I exercise significant constraint in time of day and travel duration, but this does not mean I should be paying willy nilly for these limitations. This is an almost Sisyphean task as inputting any flexibility into the most popular air travel websites (I almost exclusively use kayak.com) returns in an overload of suggestion deluge. Sifting through this can take minutes I do not have, further compounding the challenge. Now I will waste more time and pay more if the frustration factor is high. The trick is to get the answer with the fewest mouse clicks and the highest degree of certainty. If I cannot book a flight in five (5) minutes of online time, I have lost.

For flights within the US, the best sites for those of us with minor flexibility in travel dates, times and airports are ITASoftware and Sidestep. ITA is an airfare only site which does not sell tickets but has seat inventory as current as that of Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity combined. Sidestep is software you load onto your PC (downloaded directly) and searches other wbesites (like Southwest) when you, for example, use ITA or any other travel website.

ITA is best as quickly and easily displaying the tradeoff between time (one stop, multijump) and money via its matrix of results that conveys the information promptly. It also displays potential savings by using nearby cities as options. ITA shows warnings that I like (e.g. prop plane, long layover, day change) very clearly. Do not confuse shopping with buying. Find the fare you ilke, then purchase directly on the airline’s website for (occasionally) better fares and (nearly always) free wares such as added flyer miles. This eliminates intermediary charges and confusion. The only exception is combining non-partner airlines.

Airfare Chicanery

Back to back, throwaway and hidden city tickets are inbuilt loopholes that airlines created for the patient traveler but it is to the advantage of management to pretend these do not exist.

back to back ticketing is a way to avoid the stay over on a Saturday night rule that many airlines push. If you buy two proper tickets flying every sector of the ticket but use variable dates to include one (1) Saturday on each roundtrip, then this works if you know you will need to make two (2) trips to that destination from your home.

Throwaway ticketing is a noir version that I use. I buy a ticket to travel to City B from City A on the day I wish to fly there with a return flight a couple of weeks later. then you buy a second ticket for travel from City B to City A on the day you actually want to fly home, and book a flight back to City B a couple of weeks further out. You will use only half of each ticket but the savings will be considerable. You also see how many people are doing this (do not feel guilty) as this is why most flights are oversold. You can improve your savings and make it harder for the airline to realize what you are up to if you make the second half of each ticket not a simple return back but instead a flight to somewhere else that is in a different location and costs even less to fly to!

Sometimes flights to certain cities are prohibitively expensive but they might be included on a multijump itinerary. It is cheaper to fly to New York (all the way) than to Syracuse. I do not know why. This only works if you have no checked in luggage but if you can get a multijump filght to NYC with Syracuse as one of the stops, you can simply get off at Syracuse and not board the plane again. Your ticket is checked for validity only when boarding a plane and not before letting you leave. This will work only if you do not want to use all of the other flights on your itinerary because as soon as the departure management system detects an unflown flight, it will cancel all remaining flights on your itinerary.

It is bizarrely illogical in industry to seel two units of a product for less than one unit of the identical product. Yet airlines do stemming from some idiotic arrogant lunacy. If you read the small print (I was waiting for a flight) of the “Ticket Validity – Compliance with Terms and COnditions of Sale”, it states clearly that they forbid you to buy the cheapest fare they have on offer. If you need to change your flight or miss a flight, they will penalize you heavily. Just because it is stated inthe contract does not make it enforceable. Airlines are on shaky ground if you use less services than you paid for (the throwaway ticket trick) and there has been only one civil case in history brought against Delta (which impounded the passenger’s flyer miles for failing to fly all sectors and using a hidden city fare trick instead). Delta lost massively despite invoking all manner of statistics and rules. Remember, compared to purchase from a travel agent or third party website, you have significant legal protection if you buy your fares from the airline’s official website, toll free phone number or ticketing counter. I always find the best fare online and then book it on the phone with the official toll free number to avail of this opportunity.

If you want to stay under the radar on back-to-back throwaways, do not use your flier number. It just makes it that much easier for them to track you. I do all of my business travel with one credit card and flyer number (with one official sounding name) and pleasure with another set. Use different persona for avatars to make it difficult for them to trace your variations as long as your driver’s license shows your complete name. One of my flyer cards has my last name spelling transposed at the end with two letters. I am not changing that with good reason. Be friendly at the airline gates butkeep a low profile. Happy landings.

Happy Purim

We go back several hundred years before the Common Era (everything is all wavy and harp music plays). The Jews have been exiled from Israel having been defeated by the Babylonians. The Babylonians have been in turn defeated by the Persians and the Jews are now living under Persian rule. Cue belly dancers and snake charmer music. Many Jews live in the capital of Persia, which is Shushan. The king of Persia is named Achashverus (say that five times fast). For brevity and wit, I will refer to him as King A moving forward. King A has a queen, Vashti. She does something to piss him off; some questioning of his authority, and he ditches the bitch. This happens while the King is on a royal (ha!) bender and so several days later when he sobers up and realizes he has no queen, he decides to get a new one. But this is no quick hop onto the E-harmony website. He does things king-style and rounds up every virgin in the entire kingdom. One of them happens to be Esther, an orphaned Jew living in Shushan under the care of her uncle, Mordechai. She is carted off to the harem and prepared for her “audience” with the king. Having plowed his way through every cherry in Persia, King A decides that Esther is the best tang he’s had and crowns her his queen. All good, right? Wrong. One of the king’s ministers, Haman, has a bug up his ass about the Jews. He is first minister to the king and so when he goes around town, all the citizens are required to bow down to him. But Mordechai refuses, as bowing to any entity other that God is a sin. This pisses Haman off big time, and since he doesn’t do anything small, he conspires through legal legerdemain to have the King sign off on an order to exterminate all the Jews in Persia in one month’s time. Spy movie aficionados (and fans of Austin Powers) will recognize the fatal flaw here of putting off the demise of your intended victim.

Mordechai hears about the edict against the Jews and goes ballistic. He tears his clothes and sits in sackcloth and ashes every day at the gates of the palace. Esther hears about this and is horrified. She sends him fresh clothes but he refuses, sending back a message saying that if she thinks she will be safe from the edict hiding out in the king’s palace, she has another think coming. It is clearly a divine hand that put her on the throne and only she can save her people. Esther gets with the program and decides to take on the man. However, there is a catch. Apparently, it is a capital offense to go in to see the king without a formal invitation. But the king had not called for Esther in some time. Knowing that going in to see him without the proper credentials meant a trip to Vashti-land for her, Esther fasts for a full day and then goes in to see the king uninvited. Miraculously (OK it’s not that amazing, but we take our miracles where we can find them) the king extends his scepter (ha!) to her and she is permitted an uninvited audience. She asks that the King and Haman attend a banquet that she will host. He agrees and Haman also gets the invite. Haman meanwhile has been building a gallows especially for Mordechai in his backyard because he is one big sicko. He heads off to the party and a good time is had by all. Esther repeats this strategy two more times, and at the third party, with Haman in attendance and King A feeling no pain, the king tells her that he will grant her any wish in the world. So here it comes. No, she doesn’t ask for a pony. She asks that her life be spared; that an evil man is conspiring to murder her and all her people. The King asks who would dare attack his queen. At this point Esther busts Haman. His ass is grass. The king has a huge freak out and throws Haman into jail.

While the king can’t repeal the edict about the murder of the Jews (remember, legal legerdemain) he sends out a follow-up edict that all the Jews are given free reign to defend themselves and give grief to anyone who seeks to harm them. The Jews muscle up and when the day comes, they kick royal ass, bloodying anyone who goes after them. Meanwhile the king hangs Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordechai (gotta love that biblical irony) along with all of Haman’s sons, affectively wiping out Haman’s bloodline. Mordechai is appointed minister in Haman’s place and there is much rejoicing. To commemorate this event, we read the story of Esther in temple. During the reading, whenever the name of Haman is mentioned, everyone makes noise to drown out the sound of his name. Kids use noisemakers called gragers that can be amazingly irritating after an hour or so. Which is why I think the drinking part for the adults was instituted. Why does everyone dress up? I have no idea, but Purim is called the Jewish Mardi Gras and the biblical prohibition against cross-dressing is lifted for this holiday, so you know the Jewish gays go batshit for this one. The holiday pastries, hamantaschen, are supposed to represent either Haman’s hat, or his ears, as the Hebrew term for the pastries is Ozne Haman, or, well, Haman’s Ears. And the book where this story is found is called “Megillat Esther,” so you just heard the whole megillah. Have a cookie.

Sit Assignment

Use your best behaviors when speaking with the bitches who assign seats on long haul flights. Speak slowly and clearly always. They wield insuperable power in determining your comfort zone and exercise great discretion.

Legally, you can request seat assignments (except exit rows – they need to know you look like an adult) up to sixty days in advance of a domestic flight and longer for overseas passages. Flight reservations can typically be made only 11 months in advance.

Book your ticket as early as possible and reserve your seats at that time. If seats are not yet available, your agent/handler can put you in a queue to assign you the most desirable seats as soon as assignment is permitted.

Make sure that all of you frequent flier member numbers are in your computer record before requesting assignments. Airlines block off desirable seats for these special folk. This helps in addition to old fashioned begging, pleading and (in my case) flirting with everyone regardless of age, gender and skin pore diameter. Yes, I stoop.

It is hideously common to be told that "all seats have been preassigned". This is almost never true. Nearly all flights are oversold by 50% (or more) and not all seats have even been released prior to departure. This gives the ground crew flexibility at the airport when people turn up and, umm, demand to be seated together for "good" reasons (mother/child, transplant organ/puppy) and works wonders for public relations for the near bankrupt airline of your choice. When "important" clients complain, magical withdrawal from the reserve supply helps keep them in good stead as well. How can you be important? Have a frequent flier number and ask to speak with a supervisor. Remember – EVERYBODY HAS A SUPERVISOR. I did not know that when I was naive. Then I had my fifth birthday and life has been fabulous.

If you book through a website or an agency, which does not have good seats, book anyway, then ring the airline directly, use the airline's official website or (last) speak up at the airport counter. You will almost always get a better deal with oral contact. Some agencies (shocking) do not have seat finding programs. Always check the seat locator website because the alphabet letter (unless it is A) means nothing. I was once on a flight with missing letters and byzantine twisty rows.

When checking in, ask for any spare seats that were not pre-assigned. Check in earlier than required to avail of this. Always ask for exit rows. If you are on a secondary connecting flight, check in all the way for premium seating so you do not have to fight your way during layover. Ask for when seats will be released or ask to be put on a waiting list.

Once you are on the plane and still stuck in a bad seat, you can legally resite once the door is disarmed for departure but before takeoff, or after takeoff has been completed. As soon as the door is shut (disarmed), run. If you get up before, you will annoy the crew and they will be very unpleasant thereafter. Every empty seat after disarming doors is fair game. For everybody.

Trick: if you find three empty seats, go sit in the middle one. People will almost never come and sit next to you unless they are really creepy. Life is all about taking chances. Then you can preserve the whole row and sleep by lying across lengthwise. Also, most planes are emptier in the back so move backwards when you can.

Good night and good luck.

Seat Locators

Most of us prefer to sit further forward on the plane because it saves us a fe wminutes when getting off. Some think the front is more likely to survive in case of an aircrash. There is no good evidence to support that twisted thinking but I hear of it all the time from disgruntled peasants who simply cannot afford to fly properly in first class. The advantages of sitting in the back in peasant class include being able to board first and finding plenty of overhead space for your wheelies and monstrous carry ons. It is noisier there and closer to the engines mounted in the rear of the planes, experiences more turbulence and most of the toilet use is in the back (psychologically). I never sit alongside the engines: besides the noise, in case of a catastrophic failure, mechanical parts will fly out of the engine into your face, which is not very nice for your skin tone.

The strongest part of the fuselage is where the wings join the body of the plan but this is mitigated by local regional fuel tanks which are a huge disadvantage. Bottom line – there is little statistical difference in survivability rates that where you sit is not relevant.

Seat rows along the exit windows/doors are designated exit rows with seats more widely spaced apart to make it eaiser for people to move from the aisle to an exit in case of an emergency. If you ask very politely, some will pre-assign exit rows, others will only assign at check-in time, while Virgin will just give it away to anyone who pays $75. The logic is you must be able to help in case of an emergency, be able-bodied (not a child) and speak fluent English. That excludes half of us in California.

Buklhead rows are tricky – no seat in front of you to recline and take up your legroom/personal space but you cannot quite stretch you legs quite as much, and there is absolutely nowhere to store your carry on items. Attendants will stow them away but you might not access them easily inflight. A potential fear is that infant bassinets hang off hooks, which means you might be sharing with very small (read: CRYING INCONSOLABLE) infants.

If you are seated close to a toilet or galley, there will be a lot of foot traffic, conversation and erstwhile noise pollution. Also smells. However if you are too far from the toilet, your emergent trek could be arrested by a blocking service cart. These make way for nobody.

Window seats have a view and offer a convenient side to sleep upon but aisle seats permit you to spill over into the aisle a wee bit (but you could be bumped into!). You probably know which one you prefer if you wish to get up frequently inflight. Insure you don’t get a window seat over the wing – there is no view.

Some seats permit only a small measure of recline, others none at all. These are typically in front of an emergency exit row and at the back of a cabin where there is a bulkhead behind them. These are to be universally avoided.

Towards the back of some planes, blocks of seats start to have one less seat in them and have more room side to side and in front of you as well. The extra comfort is worth the few extra minutes to get off at the end of a long trip.

I always print up the “desirable seat chart” before I fly if I have not already obtained the seating of my choice. I use SeatGuru but I think Seat Expert is an alternative.

Best Seats

When selecting flight seats, you often read about seat pitch. This is confusing and unrelated to the perceived comfort inflight as we cannot all enjoy sleeper seats. I usually am so completely exhausted before holiday I could sleep in a dog basket that is large enough.

Pitch refers to inches between the start of one row of seats and the start of the next row of seats. This can be as low as 29″ in peasant class and 75″ in first class (when converting into full length beds). Most domestic airlines are between 31 and 33″. Sometimes a 31″ pitch is more leg room related than a 32″ seat because part of the linear space taken up is used by the seat back (and hence seat back thickness will usurp that space).

Reclining is key to me (after happiness with leg room). Too much reclining can push my feet into the seat in front of me. The chap in front of me reclining (it has been an attractive lady only once) may also choose to recline synchronously and thus sandwich me completely. The location of the hinge of recline is paramount in this.

Seat width varies from between 17″ to 19″, and every inch makes a difference (oh, yes, you know it does). This is the most reliable indicator of comfort and is visibly obvious to anyone with vision. A wide seat is nicer to fill and wriggle within than a narrower one. It really is that simple.

The foot rest is a total waste of ingenuity, time and space as I can never see use for it. The movable ears (whatever the official name) are nice to let me twist down or move in as a headrest when trying to sleep. Very nice for the sore neck problem on long flights.

Overall, international airlines offer more seat comfort than domestic ones. Among local ones, American Airlines has more room per peasant and Jet Blue has more space for most of the seats on all of its planes.

Week in Wine

ITALIAN WHITES
2004 Anselmi Veneto San Vincenzo Bianco ($12)
2004 Anselmi Capitel Foscarino Veneto Bianco ($19)
2004 Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna ($13)
2004 Beni di Batasiolo Gavi ($13)
2004 Campo al Mare Vermentino di Toscana ($17)
2004 Campogrande Orvieto Classico ($14)
2004 Cantina del Taburno Campania Greco ($14)
2004 Cantina Terlano Alto Aldige Pinot Bianco ($17)
2004 Cecchi Litorale Maremma Toscana Vermentino ($17)
2004 Corbara Podere il Caio Grechetto dell'Umbria ($13)
2004 Marco Porello Camestri Roero Arneis ($14)
2004 Mastroberardino Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Coda di Volpe ($19)
2003 Teruzzi & Puthod Toscana Terre di Tufi ($20)
2004 Vigne Regali Principessa Gavia Gavi ($14)

Whites
2005 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve California Riesling ($10)
2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Gewurtztraminer ($9)
2005 Santa Julia Mendoza Torrontes ($8)
2005 Rosemount Estate Diamond Label South Eastern Australia Traminer-Riesling ($10)
2004 Lindemans Bin 70 South Eastern Australia Chardonnay-Riesling ($8)

Reds
2004 Black Swan South Eastern Australia Shiraz & Merlot ($8)
2003 Covey Run Columbia Valley Syrah ($9)
2003 Beaulieu Vineyard BV Coastal Estates California Merlot ($10)
2002 Meridian California Merlot ($10)
2005 Nova Wines Norma Jeane California Merlot ($10)

Dining NYC

If you’re in the city for a long weekend, a few quintessential suggestions for lunch and dinner there:

Jean Georges
Desserts.
• 1 Central Park W., between 60th and 61st Sts., 212-299-3900, jean-georges.com

Beppe
Tuscan bread in cabbage. Noodles in walnut sauce.
• 45 E. 22nd St., between Broadway and Park Ave. S., 212-982-8422, beppenyc.com

Blue Smoke
Lamb. Foie gras. Salmon.
• 116 E. 27th St., between Park and Lexington Aves., 212-447-7733, jazzstandard.com

DB Bistro Moderne
$29 burger. Fries.
• DB Bistro Moderne: 155 W. 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth Aves., 212-391-2400, danielnyc.com• Corner Bistro: 331 W. 4th St., at Jane St., 212-242-9502

Café Sabarsky
Kaffeehaus style. Austrian atmosphere.
• 1048 Fifth Ave., at 86th St., 212-288-0665, wallserestaurant.com

Chennai Garden
Lunch buffer. Floral puddings. Vegetarian.
• 129 E. 27th St., between Park and Lexington Aves., 212-689-1999, chennaigarden.com

Strip House
$70 steak. Spinach in truffled cream. Potato igloo.
• Strip House: 13 E. 12th St., between University Pl. and Fifth Ave., 212-328-0000,

Florent
Grilled cheese sandwich.
• 69 Gansevoort St., between Greenwich and Washington Sts., 212-989-5779, restaurantflorent.com

Prune
Weekend brunch.
• 54 E. 1st St., between First and Second Aves., 212-677-6221

Le Bernardin
French seafood. Ostera caviar.
• 155 W. 51st St., between Sixth and Seventh Aves., 212-554-1515, le-bernardin.com

2nd Avenue Deli
Pastrami sandwich. Crispy fried. Chicken in the pot. Knish.
• 2nd Avenue Deli, 156 Second Ave., at 10th St., 212-677-0606, 2ndavedeli.com

Matsuri
Club food.
• 369 W. 16th St., Maritime Hotel, at Ninth Ave., 212-243-6400

‘Wichcraft
Sandwiches.
• 49 E. 19th St., between Park Ave. S. and Broadway, 212-780-0577, wichcraftnyc.com

Masa
Sushi. Only 26 seats.
Masa: 10 Columbus Circle at 59th St., 4th Floor, 212-823-9800, masanyc.com

In Vino
Wine bar. Southern Italian wines
• 215 E. 4th St., between Aves. A and B, 212-539-1011

Il Laboratorio Del Gelato
100 gelatos. Hazelnut, coffee, banana, ginger, dark chcolate.
• 95 Orchard St., between Broome and Delancey Sts., 212-343-9922, laboratoriodelgelato.com

River Café
Romantic barge.
• 1 Water St., Brooklyn, 718-522-5200, rivercafe.com

Pastis
Bistro fare.
• 9 Ninth Ave., at Little W. 12th St., 212-929-4844, pastisny.com

Per Se
French Laundry in the city. $125 prix fixe including dessert and cheese.
• 10 Columbus Circle, at 60th St., fourth fl., 212-893-9335, frenchlaundry.com/perse.htm

Spice Market
Asian fusion fare.
Bao 111
Nouvelle Viet Namese
• Spice Market: 403 W. 13th St., at Ninth Ave., 212-675-2322, jean-georges.com
• Bao 111: 111 Ave. C, between 7th and 8th Sts., 212- 254-7773, bao111.com

Jewel Bako
Japanese
• 239 E. 5th St., between Second and Third Aves., 212-979-1012

The Grocery
BUlgur pilaf. Charred octopus. Duck.
• 288 Smith St., between Union and Sackett Sts., 718-596-3335

Vatican Memo

A MEMO FROM THE VATICAN

by PAUL RUDNICK

From: His Holiness

To: All seminaries

Subject: While the Church approves of ordaining “transitory” homosexuals—that is, those men willing to take subways and buses rather than taxis—according to our most recent directive we “cannot admit to the priesthood those who practice homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’ ” The following questionnaire should be used to help identify and root out such truly committed homosexuals.

1. Jesus would have been a bad boyfriend because:
(a) He wasn’t gay or sexual in any way, so the question is disgusting.
(b) He would have cared about everyone, but not enough about you.
(c) He wasn’t really Jewish.

2. Priests traditionally wear black with a white collar because:
(a) The attire is simple and modest.
(b) It’s slimming.
(c) The matching quilted shoulder bag is what really makes the whole thing work.

3. Priests take a vow of poverty because:
(a) It’s selfless and humbling.
(b) It’s handy when the check comes.
(c) It makes their apartments feel larger.

4. Should Kate Moss be allowed to take Communion?

5. If there were a Fox series set in the Vatican, it should star:
(a) Wilfred Brimley, as a wise, compassionate Pontiff.
(b) Jennifer Love Hewitt, as a lovely and devout young nun who can talk to martyrs.
(c) Me and Heath. Period.

6. If you found yourself attracted to another priest, you would:
(a) Ask him to pray with you to battle the sinful urge, over drinks.
(b) Banish all such thoughts from your mind until you lose fifteen pounds.
(c) Ask him, “What’s black and white and wants your number?”

7. When you were watching “The Passion of the Christ,” did you ever think, It’s deeply moving and profoundly important, but it’s not “Chicago”?

8. God is:
(a) All-loving and all-forgiving.
(b) All-loving and all-forgiving, sometimes.
(c) All-loving and all-forgiving, unlike white spandex tank tops.

9. Do you believe that the Ten Commandments should apply to everyone except Dennis Quaid?

10. If a couple asked you to christen their baby with the name Tiffany, would you respond, “Why don’t we just call her You Big Trailer Park Whore?”?

11. Do you believe that the Church should get involved in the final round of “American Idol”?

12. If you were asked to counsel a young couple who were about to be married, would your first topic be “Everyday china”?

13. Whom would you recommend for sainthood?
(a) Mother Teresa.
(b) Mother Teresa’s less popular sister, Linda.
(c) Any of Mariah Carey’s personal assistants.

14. The phrase “Hate the sin but love the sinner” refers to:
(a) Homosexuals.
(b) Fried foods.
(c) Kelly Ripa.

15. Essay question: Why didn’t God just destroy Sodom and Gomorrah through overgentrification?

16. In the Gnostic Gospels, which apostle is referred to as “scrumptious”? (This is a trick question, because, no matter what Luke says, it’s not Mark.)

17. If your bishop asked you to take a vow of silence, what would your response be?
(a) Unquestioning obedience.
(b) To comically mime the words “Stop it!”
(c) To scribble on your notepad, “Fire!”

18. What is the difference between God and Oprah?
(a) None of God’s book is true.
(b) God didn’t create Dr. Phil.
(c) God still won’t do “Letterman.”

Poll Sale

So as if being ugly weren’t bad enough, not only are ugly teens more likely to be stay-at homes on prom night, they are also more likelt to be criminals in the offing, conclude two economists who tracked the life courses of young ones from high school through early adult hood. This may be why mug shots are creepy. Federally sponsored surveys included 15,000 high schoolers that showed that the long term consequences of being young and ugly were small but consistent. Cute guys were uniformly less likely than averages would indicate to have committed seven (7) crimes, including burglary and drug selling but the ugly would consistently break the law. Uglies were less likely to be hired, and earned less

Meanwhile, a very scientific Esquire poll made a striking observation. Attractive men, it concluded, are particularly attractive when they look attractive. Blue jeans make the man, or at least the man the ladies love. 70% of women polled said there was nothing sexier than a basic jeans and tee look. It especially worked if he’s got the body to go with it.

Your hard-earned tax dollars at work with all these surveys.

Oh, meanwhile, as you can see from the reproduction above (what are they selling exactly and to whom?) the Aberzombie catalog is now on sale. Enjoy!

Oscar Mire

Watched the Oscars with my laptop to try a liveblog -

1656: Billy Bush asks Sid Ganis for a prediction. He says the Oscars will be great. I open a Bolly.

1701: Creepy Sims: Movie Nerd edition. Bay Bridge to Tour Eiffel. Nooooooooooo!

1705: Jon Stewart in bed with George Clooney.

1710: Charlize Theron attacked by Giant Taffeta Spider the size of a Lindsay Lohan.

1716: Obligatory snide Western clips showing covert gay sex. Enough brokebacklash already.

1720: Clooney makes love to himself. He is so smug. And attractively very rich.

1730: Ben Stiller in a green unitard is not wearing underwear. I did not need this on hidef telly.

1735: Wallace and Grommit creators wear silly bow ties they doff on the statuettes. Creepy.

1749: Animated characters are making funny. Another glass of Bolly.

1751: Jennifer Aniston. And Jon Stewart makes an Angelina Jolie adoption joke too soon.

1752: Memoirs of a Geisha wins pretty award. I still hate the film. Designers wear ugly outfits.

1758: First of many montages. What happens when they run out of film clips?

1801: Narnia wins. Christians cheer. Lucasfilm sinks into depression era.

1803: Rachel McAdams hair is the color of her dress is the color of the backdrop is the color..

1807: Rachel Weisz and her Golden Globes are on stage. She was in The Mummy.

1819: Lauren Bacall has a stroke. Film noir montage. Umm, why? More Bolly.

1820: The word "Pimp" is used. Kids, go to bed. Now.

1823: Faux campaign ads. Very Daily Show. Dame Judy bashing, woo-hoo.

1825: Faux penguins. Security.

1834: Sandra Bullock looks overtanned. World is reminded Keanu Reeves used to be cute.

1836: Geisha wins another pretty award. I still hate it. Maybe more.

1839: Nobody has thanked a lawyer or agent. Progress or censorship?

1841: Montage # 349 of political films. Are they selling Best of on K-tel?

1843: Keira Knightley wearing racoon makeup. That is so circa 2001. But she is Merlot'd.

1847: Yitzhak Perlman solos nicely. Poor sod.

1900: Anti DVD propaganda. And I just finished my screening room.

1904: Yitzhak Perlman joke. Please leave the cripple alone.

1906: Meryl Streep tries to be funny. Lily Tomlin has a large weird head.

1912: Robert Altman montage. I swear this is the Montage Oscars.

1920: M Night Shyamalan AmEx ad. Is he still doing you know movies?

1923: I am not making this up. There is a song called "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp". Bolly.

1926: This Pimp song won. Kids, up. Now. Cut to Jamie Foxx. Wow, that did not just happen.

1927: I am telekinetically begging for a Jon Stewart joke. He obliges.

1929: Jennifer Garner is topless. And possibly lactating.

1930: Salma Hayek still has an accent. And very large breasts.

1934: Favorite dead-meter event – Richard Pryor or Ann Bancroft? I can't tell. Don Knotts MIA

1951: Philip Seymour Hoffman could do Weight Watchers or he will look like Kathy Bates.

1955: Something has invaded John Travolta's skull.

1957: Geisha wins third, and hopefully last, pretty award. I still hate it. Damn you Geisha!

2005: Reese Witherspoon has no pores. Zoom on her husband. I hope she forgets him.

2008: She doesn't. I am thinking divorce. Closeup so tight she runs out of oyxgen.

2012: Diana Ossana looks quite Amazonian but her partner wears jeans. Why?

2021: Ang Lee makes a "quit you" joke. Lame. Enough of that movie already.

2023: Jack Nicholson in shades. More Bolly to numb the pain. It's all about him, innit?

2027: Crash wins. Oh, how wonderful. I saw it in LA when it opened. With A & B!

2028: So close. Crash producers thanks financiers.

2031: Jon Stewart disappears never to surface in Hollywood again. Pimp is in the lexicon now.

The 78th Annual Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2005 were presented at Hollywood & Highland. Nominees (with predictions bolded and erroneous calls in RED) were:

Performance by an actor in a leading role

China Googled

Tiananmen Square on Google
Tiananmen Square on Google China
Do you feel lucky?

Using a Chinese IP address, you cannot access www.google.cn or images.google.cn but you can access google.com (which redirects to www.google.com/intl/zh-CN). Why not do a side-by-side search yourself this weekend?

Oversees Credit

It is annoying to be charged unexpected fees when traveling overseas. I am favoring my American Express Blue Card. These are the benefits:

American Express:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 2%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? No
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – N/A
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – N/a (5% for cash advance)

Bank of America:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? No
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – None if at 6 specific banks. $5 otherwise

Capitol One:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – None
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? No
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – N/A
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – No ATM card.8.9% for cash advance

Citibank:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? No
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – 1%
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – 1% at Citi ATM; 1.5% + 1% at nonciti ATM

Diners Club:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? No
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – N/A
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – No ATM card

HSBC:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 1%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? Yes
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – 1%
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – 1% (if non HSBC, $1.50 + 1%)

JPMorgan Chase:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? Yes
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – 3.5%
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – $3 plus 3.5%

MBNA:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? Yes
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – N/A
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – 3%

Providian:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 1%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? Yes
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – N/A
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – No ATM card. 1% for cash advances plus 3% or or $10 (whichever greater)

Wells Fargo:
Fee for credit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee applicable when overseas purchase charged in US$? No
Fee for debit card purchase in foreign currency – 3%
Fee for ATM (cash dispenser) withdrawal of foreign currency – $5

Week in Wine

Russian Valley Pinot Noir

2004 DeLoach Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($18)
2003 DeLoach O.F.S. Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($20)
2001 Eric Ross Poulet d'Or Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($27)
2004 Frei Brothers Reserve Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($28)
2004 Hook & Ladder Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($20)
2004 J Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($30)
2004 Kenwood Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($18)
2004 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($29)
2003 Russian Hill Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($25)
2004 Siduri Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($26) I

Syrahs
2004 Bulletin Place South Eastern Australia Shiraz ($8)
2003 Concannon Central Coast Syrah ($10)
2003 Devil's Marbles Limestone Coast Shiraz ($10)
2003 Forestville California Shiraz ($6)
2004 McManis Family Vineyards California Syrah ($10)

Zinfandels
NV Barefoot California Zinfandel ($6)
2003 Beringer Founders' Estate California Old Vine Zinfandel ($10)
2001 Cameron Hughes Lot 5 Sonoma County Zinfandel ($10)
2003 Ravenswood Vintners Blend California Zinfandel ($10)
2002 Tamas Estates Livermore Valley Zinfandel ($10)

Eating Blogs

Waiter’s Rant was the first blog I read, and enjoyed. A more formal version is Bruni’s Diner’s Journal in the NY Times. Most of the foodie blogs come from New York, possibly because the apartments lack a kitchen. On the left coast, Vinography reviews restaurants as well. Bay Area Bites is decidedly more casual and entertaining to read. I also like EGullet and Mouthfuls. Where was I before Al Gore invented the internet and how did I manage?