A 2008 3:15 Experiment Poem for the Moon
8/26/08
never notice you moon
when you wake up this late
a big gulp out of your face
you’ll be high in the sky
when we wake up
but we won’t see you
we’re not looking
there is so much we don’t see
it’s amazing we can tie our shoes
c. Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator
I am still trying to finish transcribing my 2008 3:15 Experiment Poems and to get them on the 2008 3:15 Experiment website! (For the uninitiated, the 3:15 Experiment is where participants wake up every night at 3:15am to write…and then post their hypnopmpic/hypnogogic scribblings w/o editing on the website!)
Distractions, distractions, lovely, yummy distractions…
I promise to return momentatily to the following series of posts: the WIne Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa last weekend, and buying a car the previous weekend for me to drive to the Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa!
My Morning Wine
At 10am on this particular Sunday, I am not in a typical church.
Instead I am sitting in the Church of the Early Morning Wine Drinkers, surrounded by 8 laptops and one iPhone. The bloggers wildly tap, tip, and talk, discuss twitter and whatever else comes up in our unconference topic, “Organic Flow,” facilitated by Nick Goveric, of Wine Scholarship.
We’re holding church at the First Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa, CA.
Six folks at the table are twittering actively. I seem to be the only one at the table without a twitter account (Nick says do it NOW!), and while I wasn’t accosted more about it, I can certainly see how I am left out in many of the conversations going on at this conference–and beyond. (The question is of course, how necessary are these conversations in comparison to other actions in my life?)
The idea behind this table discussion at the “unconference conference” session is that the best conversations occur around the edges, along the seams of the conference, so why not make that an official part? And with the help of Lenn Thompson of the blog lenndevours.com a well known authority on New York wine, we’re pouring a fine selection and collection of fresh, bright, cold, wines starting with a 2007 Rooster Hill Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes region of New York, a perfect accompaniment to my bran muffin.
However, this King Ferry Treleaven Gewurtztraminer 2007, with my muffin is superb, even better than the riesling–it’s perfect for morning wine blogging or it’d be wonderful with a holiday brunch. I sent Lenn after the residual sugars but he couldn’t find the info. He did figure out where to go to watch the Giants Steelers football game, and most of this table, made up of east coasters, is going. Guess they’ve had enough wine–I hear rumours they’re moving on to beer and scotch. (Ahhh but a winery with a pinot has come calling and it looks like some of them at least will hit the wine trail one more time today!)
Next up, another New York wine, this one a Palmer Sauvignon blanc. It has a bit of funk, I agreed with John Witherspoon of Anything Wine, but overall, we liked it since it truly tastes like a sauv blanc, light, grassy, some pineapple, totally unlike a chardonnay. This seems like an obvious point but we’ve all noticed the trend toward turning sauv blanc into something heavy, syrupy, and chardonnay like. (Was this the one Elodie loved I wonder?) Nick thought at $17 it might be a tough sell.
We’re still drinking, over here, having moved onto reds (some people anyway–I’m sticking with the whites) while the various tables report on their conversations. One debate at one table was about ratings, rankings and reviews, and they pointed out that we bloggers should stick with only writing about what we find that’s worth writing about–wine that’s good as opposed to wine that’s not. The danger with blogging about something, anything that we don’t like we run certain risks (how do we know it’s not a bad bottle or??) Why not seek to create a positive environment in the blogosphere?
Joel Vincent of Open Wine Consortium talked about niches, and the pros and cons of exploiting that niche. Niches range from writing about regional wines like Texas (Chateau Bubba anyone?) or Lenn with New York. But he points out that to find the niche that reflects what you as a writer do best.
Next up a tasting called “Sonoma Luxe”–wines from wineries which don’t usually open their doors or participate in big events. Then time to roll on south to home.
Oh, and watch for photos from Beverly Taylor of Wine Sublime!
WiFi on the bus: only in America
There’s wifi on this bus taking attendees of the First Wine Blogging Conference to Sebastiani for dinner and a keynote address by Alice Feiring.
“Amazing,” says Elodie my seatmate.
I may be the only person blogging from this bus but here I am.
“Only in America eh?” Elodie says. She’s French and currently living in Prague. She and her husband have devloped a cellar tracker application for Mac users. I’ll add the link when I find her card… “I am always surprised when I come here.”
We’re on the way to Sebastiani in Sonoma for dinner at the Wine Bloggers Conference after tasting Sonoma county wines. Somewhere I have all the cards and misc propaganda about the wines which I will share sometime I promise.
I ask Elodie about her favorites, and she says, “I liked a sauv blanc but I tasted so many I can’t remember it. In the red, I liked all of them but I can’t really say there was one I appreciated more than another one. The reds were quite tasty; some were spicier than others. I usually hardly drink white wine but this sauv blanc was excellent. It made me rethink drinking white wine. If I see the bottle or the website I’ll remember it. It has an effect, something inside, you feel something special but you can’t really explain it. Makes you think, wow, I like this wine. the first rough feeling you have.”
“Email the name of the wine to me when you find it,” I beg.
And then you wil have it too.
Art Predator Drinks Up 1st Wine Bloggers Conference
I’m drinking an iced coffee on a warm sunny day in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, from the lobby of the Flamingo Hotel, host of the First Wine Bloggers Conference and watching cases of wine roll by which they are opening rapidy as they set up for the next tasting of Sonoma wines.
Wine bloggers wander around a bit dazed; the women all seem to be drinking coffee as we all gear up for more wine! I seem to be the only person publicly bloggging; maybe people are in their rooms writing but I doubt it. Last night when Gary Vaynerchuk gave the keynote, he asked how many people in the room have a blog and most of them raised their hands–probably 150 of the 180 people in the room. But when he asked how often people post, only 10 of us post 5 or more times a week. (And yes, I was one of the 10!)
Since I drove in last night (in the new wonderful soon to be written up car!), I have tasted 10 or so Zinfandels from the Dry Creek Valley, tasted a half dozen wines from New Zealand, walked through the organic and biodynamic winery Quivera with the winemaker Steve Cantor, enjoyed an incredible lunch of local foods and venison navy bean soup and Quivera wines, and followed by two breakout sessions. My head swims with wine and wine words.
Adventures and details to follow soon–after I taste some more Sonoma County wines! After that, we have dinner tonight at Sebastiani with keynote speaker Alice Feiring author The Battle for Wine and Love or How I Saved the World from Parkerization which I recently devoured and can’t recommend highly enough!
Am having a fantabulous time–wish you were here!
P.S. Since they ran out of nametags, I get to wear my Lettre Sauvage letterpress beautiful card around my neck!!
A Little Levity via Burning Wo/Man Dancing
So enough heavy drama and politico egolala. How about a music video featuring my favorite Burner–the Man himself? Or is it Burning Mom herself dancing on the playa and in the streets of the City?? And bonus, here’s a link to more Burning Man 2008 photos!
Vodpod videos no longer available.
This info came from the Burning Man enewsletter Jack Rabbit Speaks: Email questions@burningman.com any time with questions. Email post requests to jackrabbitspeaks@burningman.com with the words “POST REQUEST” in your subject line. For questions: questions@burningman.com Old rabbits: http://www.burningman.com/blackrockcity_yearround/jrs/ To get ON this ride:
SUBSCRIBE: bman-announce-subscribe@burningman.com
Not a Joke. Not Funny. Not Waving but Drowning
Yesterday I received the following narrative in an email from my father, a retired plumber, who was forwarding it from his wife (my stepmother), a retired chief financial officer from a city, who was forwarding it from my godmother, a retired special ed school teacher.
Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read “Vote Obama, I need the money.” I laughed.
Once in the restaurant my server had on a “Obama 08” tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference–just imagine the coincidence.
When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need–the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.
I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I ‘ve decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.
At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient needed money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.
I assumed of course that my godmother had written this story, that she was the “I”– the narrator. I was dismayed, to say the least. My heart pounded; how could someone I respected do something so obviously despicable? How could I continue to have in my life someone who would make a choice like this? How could my stepmother applaud her act with a comment like “Your awesome!”
This morning I did a Google search on the first line of the story. I found 445 matches for the exact wording, most of the postings from the past few days. It can be found on a variety of sites and message boards, some listed below, generating both laudatory comments like my stepmother’s “your awesome” and many people who have found this an excuse to just not tip their servers at all to people who are questioning this action and line of reasoning.
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MSNBC – Politics – Vote Obama, I need the money
Oct 22, 2008 … 10/22/08 02:39 AM. Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read. ” Vote Obama, I need the money.” I laughed. … boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?threadid=822013 – 22 hours ago – Similar pages -
Redistributing The Wealth – Catholic Answers Forums
Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read “Vote Obama, I need the money.” I laughed. Once in the restaurant my server had on a … forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=4322834 – 68k – Cached – Similar pages -
JBlog Central – The Jewish Blog Network | Sharing The Wealth….
Oct 21, 2008 … Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign the read “Vote Obama, I need the money.” I laughed. Once in the restaurant my … http://www.israelforum.com/blog_article.php?aid=1757260 – 21 hours ago – Similar pages
And during the time it took me to create this post, more turned up, and this one will add to the cacophony in the echo chamber of modern politics. This story has gone viral in more ways than one. Is this the world we want to live in?
I am reminded of Stevie Smith’s poem, “Not waving but Drowning”
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.
For a picture of the poet Stevie Smith and to hear her read the poem, go here.
And please vote for candidates who recognize that many of us aren’t waving, but drowning.
(This is also a response to the readwritepoem prompt on echolalia).
My Election Nightmare
Last night I had a really really bad dream, a nightmare actually. Not a nightmare where I could change the channel on, or a night terror like I’m used to, but it was certainly as upsetting as a night terror.
Even though my nightmare wasn’t real, it seemed so–so real in fact that I was able to import a news video from my dream to my blog. Here it is–take a deep breath and remember, it’s just a bad dream.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
On The Fence? Time to Buy!
Right now is the best time to buy a new or used car from a dealer. Lots are crammed with cars and dealerships are empty of buyers. Associated Press says 700 dealerships may close this year (see video below). Credit is tight, and consumers are cautious. Even buyers with excellent credit scores around 720 who in the past would have no trouble getting fully financed are having to come up with substantial down payments of 10-20%, according to two of the dealers we talked to.
If you have some cash and a decent score, dealers gotta move cars; if you’re in the right place at the right time, that car is going to move from the lot to your garage for some of the best prices people have seen.
According to research I’ve been doing over the months, the end of the month near the end of the year is the best time to buy. That would be now in a typical year. But we do not live in typical times. People are fearful of what might happen in the economy next, and afraid to let go of what little cash they may have.
For dealerships to stay in business, and not be one of those 700 which don’t, they have sales quotas and goals to make as well as interest payments to make on all those sparking chariots hanging around on their lots.
This is one case where the economic crisis can benefit you. Information like this got us off the fence and making the rounds of the dealerships the past few weeks. And we made a great deal!
In posts to follow, I’ll take you to the following dealerships: GM, Saturn, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Land Rover, and on-line, and discuss some of the finagling and financing which went on.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Art Predator Gets A New Ride
Which car gives the most versatility, the nicest amenities, the best gas mileage, the smoothest ride for the best price with the lowest interest rate??
Which car will take us to the mountains to ski, rock climb, and backpack, let a tired driver sleep if need be, throw a bike in the back, have enough room for passengers and let in the moon, the stars and the sun for at least 20 mpg?
New or used? What’s more green–a hybrid or?
Contenders include Subaru Forrester and Outback, Toyota RAV4 and Highlander, Saturn Vue, Honda CRX, Range Rover, Ford Escape–you name it, we saw it, probably drove it, and worked the numbers. We’ve had our eye out there for a new SUV kinda car for awhile. But with the economy tanking as fast as our current drive, it was time to whip out the checkbook and sign on for a payment plan.
Yes, Art Predator stepped away from the blog for a few days to find a new ride.
We shopped the shop, test drove the cars, tossed and turned a night or two, dealt the deal–and came up with a winner–we hope! In the next few days, I’ll tell all–including tricks you can use to get the best deal on the planet! (okay, maybe I’m exagerating a little…you will know a lot more about small suvs and some of the tricks the dealers tried to use on us!)
My friend Randall asked me to go with him to see a house in downtown on California Street that he was thinking about buying.
The house was said to be haunted by a woman. Read more…
art predator 