“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” – Leonardo
Illustration by Andrew Johnstone.
So the Gate is officially open and as of 6pm today, Sunday, Burning Man 2016 is now LIVE!
Not familiar with Burning Man? Go here for a history: Part 1: The Shadow Grows, Part 2: How Burning Man Integrates the Shadow, Part 3: Burning Man’s 10 Principles and the New Economy.
Artists from near and far have been busy DOING art and coming up with experiences for us to DO while living in Black Rock City. Read more…
Happy 100th Birthday National Park Service!
McClure Lakes in Yosemite National Park; 15 miles from Tuolumne Meadows and 2 miles off the PCT
Happy 100th birthday to the National Park Service!
Today is Founder’s Day, the day that the National Park Service was created by President Woodrow Wilson, and today recognizes 100 years of our national parks.
I am grateful that I have been to, camped at, hiked in, and written about many of our National Parks. In fact, I wrote my senior thesis about many of the ones I visited along the Pacific Crest Trail, and my master thesis included poetry that I wrote about Nevada’s Great Basin National Park.
While I didn’t follow this route, this is how you could visit all the parks in one two month long trip according to Randal Olson, a data scientist and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. Check out the interactive map here. Read more…
Carousel Candeo: Burning Man Art 2016
Every year Burning Man inspires people to make art. At first it was hundreds of people because back then there were only hundreds of people attending the event.
Read about 1992 when only 600 people attended Burning Man: The Shadow Grows
But now thousands of people attend Burning Man which means there are thousands of art projects scattered across the face of the desert, beckoning us to go yonder like a mirage except a mirage it is not: there are wild and crazy sights to be seen day and night on the open playa as well as within the streets of Black Rock City.
Get a sense of “The Places You’ll Go” at Burning Man and what this “Home” is like.
Last year, Ventura County CA artist Deniz Nichole made her first trek to the Black Rock Desert to attend Burning Man.
Soon the pyropainter was inspired to return with her own work of art, a work of art that would inspire as she has been inspired, a work of art that would be collaborative and colorful, playful and pyropainted, a painting technique that she has honed over time through sometimes dangerous experiments where she exposes pigments to flame and captures the resultant molten images on glass.
Deniz came up with what she calls “Carousel Candeo” Read more…
Happy Belated Albarino Day and more from Twisted Oak Winery!
I get “twisted” when my journey in wine from the greater Sacramento delta region and Sierra foothills continues at Twisted Oak after a 54 day backpack in the high Sierra! Read why you should get twisted too!
the Twisted Oak frikken enjoys Albarino
How did I miss Albarino Day–and the accompanying festivities which stretched for a week?
Because as much as I love Albarino, the food friendly white originally from Galicia Spain, I had a good reason–I was backpacking in a remote area of Yosemite National Park and had no cell or internet access!
But I made up for it! On my way from Yosemite to the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi, I parked my van first at Twisted Oak Winery, located in the Sierra foothills near Murphys and specializing in Iberian wines like Albarino!
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As the summer draws to a close, before I head back to teaching, I’m attending two bloggers conferences, one on food and one on wine, where I will have the opportunity to share some ideas about wine, food, and writing! I’ll mostly be blogging about these on Wine Predator, with the occasional reblog here. I’m also hitting the trail — The Pacific Crest Trail is the plan to re-hike a Sierra section that I hiked 30 years ago! Now to finish packing and hit the road! This blog posts includes a few tips on how to pair wine and food as well as some tasting notes about two very wonderful Lodi area wines from Cantara Cellars.
This has been a wonderful summer to learn about wine– and food! This summer I’ve experienced
- Cusumano wine from Sicily with Sicilian food at Sotto in LA
- Justin wine and food at the winery’s restaurant where they only offer a five course tasting menu with pairings
- Rhone food and wine at their event and the meal that Sue prepared at home to pair with Rhone wines
- Italian food and wine CHEESE vegetarian dinner dinner that Sue prepared
- South African wine and food that Sue researched and prepared for August’s Wine Pairing Weekend post
and more!And now I’m headed to the International Food Bloggers Conference in Sacramento with great food of course and wine too. Then I attend the Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi which, believe it or not, has even better food and lots more wine!
I have always been fascinated and amazed by what happens when you pair wine with…
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Cheers with Italian wine to National Wine and Cheese Day! Check out the 6 wines we paired with an Italian meal: cheese plate, salad, lasagne, pizza, and dessert!
When Que Syrah Sue and I heard that Monday, July 25 is National Wine and Cheese Day, we immediately thought of Italian food!
What goes better with a cheesy pizza or lasagna than a nice red wine like a Chianti or Nero d’Avola? Or a Grillo or Grechetto with a green salad spiced up with cheese? And what about dessert? Tiramisu and cannoli with a Muscato, anyone? And we can’t forget Prosecco!
Learn more about Italian wine Tuesdays in August from 6-7pm PST on Twitter with #WineStudio! Details below.
As we talked and Sue, who is half Italian, developed the menu for an Italian wine dinner focused on cheese, we then decided to go vegetarian. Who needs meat when you’re having this much cheese?
Our Italian cheeses for National Wine and Cheese Day Mon. July 25, 2016:
creamy Toscana with black pepper, formaggio lagorai, Italian truffle cheese, pecorino Romano, fresh…
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National Tequila Day: Try This Super Summer Sipper
Happy National Tequila Day! What’s YOUR favorite tequila? Cheers
While this blog is called “WINE PREDATOR,” I am definitely ALSO on the prowl for spirits! And one of my favorites is TEQUILA.
And while I bet you thought that May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) was National Tequila Day…
because Cinco De Mayo is a day where a lot if us, myself included, take a moment to enjoy tequila, the truth is that July 24, for some inexplicable reason, is National Tequila Day.
And in case you were wondering, National Margarita Day is Feb. 22.
So today I have for you a bit of tequila history, a few fine tequila, and one of my favorite tequila cocktails to make at home.
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Summer is such a fun time for free and low-cost outdoor concerts!
And this coming week is exceptional!
Here are a few highlights for Art Predator: Baabal Maal at the Annenberg in Century City (LA) Saturday July 16, Surf Rodeo on the beach in Ventura Saturday and Sunday July 16 and 17, and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down at the Skirball Center, LA on Thursday July 21. Read on to find out why!
I’m very excited to announce that my proposal to speak at the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi has been accepted! Check out my wine blog, Wine Predator.
Ten bloggers will speak for five minutes each in a session called “Wine Blogger Reports” about a different aspect of blogging with the intention of inspiring our fellow bloggers.
“If you want to feed your family healthy food,” says Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, “you’ve gotta ask a lotta questions.”
Helping to answer these questions and aiming to change our relationship with the land and oceans is a new 25 minute film by Chris Malloy, Unbroken Ground coming soon to a Patagonia store near you. Read more…
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