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March 30, 2013

Part 2 in this series of posts about Rafters Restaurant in Mammoth Lakes CA: reviews and mouthwatering photos of the foods and reviews of the two Steven Ken Wines LaRochelle Pinot Noirs we tasted there!

Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator's avatarwine predator.............. gwendolyn alley

LaRochelleKissIn part one in this series of posts, I review two white wines from Steven Kent Wines, the luscious LaRochelle Chardonnay (pictured) and the lively Lola, a Bordeaux blend, and I wax enthusiastic about Rafters Restaurant, which is one of three restaurants and four bars at the Sierra Nevada Resort in Mammoth Lakes CA.

We were up in Mammoth for a holiday weekend ski trip where I also had a twitter tasting with Steven Kent Wines and Jim Demetriades, owner of Rafters hosted me! And what a gracious host! I was able to use a beautiful side room for the tasting, sommelier Chip Irmish set me up with the correct glasses I’d need as well as a dump bucket, and an ice bucket. Staff brought water, and either Chef Kerry Mechler or various staff brought out the six dishes that chef had chosen to pair with the six wines.

Here…

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March 30, 2013

A series of wine, food, and travel posts just in time for spring break! Where are you headed? What are you looking forward to this spring?

Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator's avatarwine predator.............. gwendolyn alley

Last month, after a bluebird afternoon on the slopes at Mammoth Mountain, I participated in a fantastic Twitter Wine tasting featuring Steven Kent Wines hosted by The Rafters Restaurant at the Sierra Nevada Resort 202 Old Mammoth Road, Mammoth Lakes, CA. Established in 1967; Rafters was recently reborn as a world class restaurant with a 7000 bottle wine list!

Sommelier Chip Irmish had glasses ready and the wines chilled perfectly for me when I dashed back after a few quick turns on the slopes.

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March 25, 2013

It’s time for another Thirsty Girl Twitter tasting! Join us on Weds March 27 at 5pm!

Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator's avatarwine predator.............. gwendolyn alley

It’s Harvest Time in New Zealand and Spring Time in California! Celebrate both with the first Thirsty Girl #TGTaste Twitter Tasting of 2013 set for Wednesday March 27 at 5 pm PST  (8 pm EST). You’re invited!

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Psalm Sunday: The Drones Are Coming!

March 24, 2013
A U.S. Navy QF-86 Sabre drone of the Pacific M...

A U.S. Navy QF-86 Sabre drone of the Pacific Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, California (USA), in 1980. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PSALM SUNDAY: 
THE DRONES ARE COMING
By Grant Marcus
one in a series of political posts for peace

NOTE: Occupy the drones! March 26th-28th attend the symposium  in Westlake California where you can discover for yourself what is about to descend on California and freedom as you know it.  The conference will be at the Westlake Village Hyatt Plaza. Learn more: www.aiaa.org/ CAuav.

Today is Sunday, and when you think about it,
no greater day for freedom in America.  For some,
it is a day of spiritual commitment.  For others,
a day of spiritual enlightenment or discovery.

For some, it’s a day of relaxation, a day to test one’s wings for a variety of explorations.  But whoever you are, or whatever you’re into, Sunday in America is still, for most of us, that sacred time to express who we are as individuals.  Gender, religion, color, age, or sexuality does not matter.  It is a day of American freedom. Read more…

Calling Paul Revere: The Drones Are Coming, The Drones Are Coming!

March 23, 2013
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

DRONE WARFARE COMING TO
VENTURA COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
By Grant Marcus,
one in a series of political posts for peace

NOTE from Art Predator: Occupy the drones! March 26th-28th attend the symposium  in Westlake California where you can discover for yourself what is about to descend on California and freedom as you know it.  The conference will be at the Westlake Village Hyatt Plaza. Learn more: www.aiaa.org/ CAuav.

Just when you think that it could only happen
to wedding parties in Pakistan, Jeff Gorell, As-
semblyman, Ventura County, has designed two
bills for unlimited drone production here in the
county, and these drones will be first used on
Ventura County residents. Read more…

Why We Are No Longer Prosperous

March 22, 2013
tags:
united states currency seal - IMG_7366_web

united states currency seal – IMG_7366_web (Photo credit: kevindean)

TURNING A NATION OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY INTO A NATION
OF CORPORATE WAR-MONGERING AUSTERITY.
By Grant Marcus, guest blogger
one in a series of political posts for peace

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more
money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” Read more…

Why It’s Time to End the War in the Middle East

March 21, 2013

IT’S TIME TO END OUR COMPULSIVE CRUSADE
AGAINST THE MIDDLE EAST
By Grant Marcus
one in a series of political posts for peace

When it comes to U.S. policy of war and peace,
wisdom is quintessential.  But these days, decisions
are made more often from political bias without
compromise.  Great power and money interests win
out and reflex decisions without public interest
in mind.  And these decisions come from deep-
seeded anger, hatred, and racial/ethnic bias, rather
than sound information.

Worse, the act of war is determined by our ene-
my’s resources and the profits they can generate,
while sacrificing the general welfare of our demo-

English: Halliburton Annual Revenue

English: Halliburton Annual Revenue (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

cracy.  We end up with a diaspora of victims at

home and abroad.

While addressing the issue of war, Nobel Laure-
ate Albert Einstein stated that “Everything has changed
except for the way we think.”  If Einstein was alive
today, he may have quipped, “Everything has changed
including the way we think, which is much worse.”

Read more…

On the Anniversary of the War in Iraq: Reflections from a Peace Activist

March 20, 2013
English: January 10, 2009 Veterans for Peace m...

English: January 10, 2009 Veterans for Peace members protest against Israel invasion of Gaza at Lafayette Park, between White House and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s temporary hotel residence. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

REFLECTIONS FROM
A PEACE  ACTIVIST ON
THE 10th 
ANNIVERSARY
OF THE WAR IN IRAQ.

By Grant Marcus
one in a series
of political posts for peace
3/20/2012

Where was I on the 19th of March 10 years ago?

I remember
watching “Shock and Awe,” in the wee hours, a fireworks phenomenon gone awry as buildings exploded with American power .

As the
“journalist” talked about “smart bombs” on CNN,
I noticed how media cameras gave us shots just close
enough for the show, but also just distant enough to
avoid the human drama and bloodshed on the ground.

Just a week earlier I, along with 10-15 million
other people around the globe took to the streets to
beg our government for patience and common
sense, to beg our leaders not to go to war.  Read more…

Friday Fictioneers: An American Diary

March 15, 2013

A Glimpse Into an American Diary
guest post by Grant Marcus
>
Day 1
Without warning, Mother sits up, closes her book.
She is the proverbial hound sensing something in the air.
We watch her in silence as she places her palm
ever so lightly, caressing the wall
as if she were taking our temperatures.
>
“They are here,” she says.  “I can feel the
infrared.”  She makes the sign of a hush
so she can listen to the faintest drones overhead. Read more…

Democracy or Corporacracy? A People’s History

March 14, 2013
The Four Freedoms engraved on a wall at the Fr...

The Four Freedoms engraved on a wall at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Democracy or Corporacracy?  A People’s History

By Grant Marcus, guest blogger
one in a series of political posts for peace

WE NO LONGER HAVE A TWO PARTY SYSTEM, JUST ONE BIG
CORPORATE PARTY HELD AT THE EXPENSE OF ALL OF US

It’s so important, let me repeat that again:
We no longer have a two party system.  We
just have one big corporate party held at the
expense of all of us.  In other words, we have
a government of, by, and for international cor-
poratists, their lawmakers, and their lobbyists.
The voting public, our democracy, matters
least to these vipers of Capitol Hill.

The problem is severe, but not new.  The
first time it happened began a revolution.  You
see, our country was founded by corporatists–
in a way.  Or at least corporate power made us
so angry, it created heroes like Paul Revere,
Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, and Thomas
Jefferson…who stood up to it. Read more…

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