Monday, February 12, 2007

Ow. My head.

We had a great time at the Boston Wine Expo yesterday. I think. I'm fairly certain we had a good time. Things got hazy after the South African wines. Or maybe it was the wines from Portugal. Or it might have been that last tasting of New Zealand wines. At any rate we were all quite happy when we left. I think. I'm... 85% certain. What I do know is that drinking some wine will make you believe that buying expensive cheese is a very good idea. In fact, it may possibly be the best cheese you ever tasted. The best cheese ever! Cheese! With truffles! Please, take my money in exchange for this mind altering cheese. Fromage! Yes, "cheese" is too common a word. Tonight, after work, I will partake of some fromage. Perhaps with a nice glass of red wine. Scratch that last part. After yesterday I may not want another glass of wine for at least another... 32 hours. Heh.

I did learn a few things at the Wine Expo, however. Dollar for dollar the wines from Portugal were pretty darn good. The South African wines are decent, too. And cheeky. Anyone up for some Goats do Roam 2005 Bored Doe? Yes, this is one of those wines that are banking that their label will reach out and grab you from the store shelves. When I asked the rep how that particular marketing campaign was working for them she replied, "The lawsuits haven't caught up to us yet."

Wine humor, very dry.

The wine itself was drinkable, but I preferred the Fairview Viognier (if you're looking for a slightly sweeter white, and I'm not usually a sweet wine lover) and the Fairview Pinotage. It's a nice change from your Pinot Noir or Zinfandel. You can get either of those for under $20.

And a quick note to my fellow wine lover, Pundit Mom: I found a "baby" Super Tuscan for under 20 bucks! A 2004 Poggio alla Badiola Toscana. It's not as earth shattering as some I've had, but it's not your grandfather's jug o' wine, either. If you're new to Super Tuscans don't let the fact that they're blends throw you off. Sure, the "Super Tuscan" moniker is a bit of fancy packaging but they're not your every day table wines. And if you're drinking Italian wines sometimes it's nice to break away from Chianti's.

------------------------------------------

Okay, enough about the vino. Let's talk about the Grammys. The things that stood out for me:

  • Justine Timberlake's nose hairs (he may have brought sexy back but no one looks good that close up)

  • Shakira's abs

  • Christina Aguilera's tan. And the poodle she was wearing on her head looked fabulous too.




  • Smokey Robinson's head (which has replaced Kenny Roger's head in the pantheon of bad plastic surgery)
  • Lacy Underall's Carrie Underwood's hair (country music inflates your politics and your hair apparently)
  • Mary J. Blige's skin (and her four Grammys. Go Mary J.)

  • The Dixie Chick's homage to the Simpsons (HaHa)

  • Sting still looking shag-a-rific. Shag-a-licious? Shag-able. But he needs to trim the hair. As my sister said, Sting is starting to look a bit like Beeker.

  • Gnarls Barkley and their pilot costumes. Is it just me or in those costumes did Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse look like this generation's Captain and Tennille?




Other than that? Yawn. There were some good performances (I can't decide if John Mayer is trying to channel Stevie Ray Vaughn or Joe Cocker, but white boy can play the gee-tar), some sit-up-and-take-notice performances (Have I mentioned Shakira's abs yet? And her hips?), and some WTF performances (why were there so many Eagles songs? Done by performers other than the Eagles? Wasn't Don Henley there? If he wasn't I'm sure he was available.).

The red lacquer stage made me hungry for sushi and the director was caught sleeping on more than one occasion. There are never any huge surprises (not since 1989). The Grammys make me long for the MTV awards, which is saying a lot because in MTV years I'm older than dirt. But at least they're not as sanitized as the Grammys. Should there be that many people wearing monkey suits at a music award show? I think not.

Thank the lord for Ok Go, who took their inspiration from my great grandmother's old curtains...


And Imogen Heap. At first I thought it was the effects of the wine, but no, she really looked this way...


I guess she didn't kiss that frog hard enough.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

We love Goats do Roam in our house too...My husband brought it home and I fell in love...Good choice.

I need to his a wine expo soon...Or just a liquor store...I'm that desperate.

Anonymous said...

i found Christina Aguilera's hair to be incredibly distracting...but she totally RAWKED that song. i thought it was GREAT.

metro mama said...

We're loving the South African wines lately. Thanks for your recos.

Sparky Duck said...

Portugese wines are good because they are both cheap and strong.

As for the grammys:
Christina can never ever never ever look bad in my book.

Shakira has to use what she has since her songs are eh.

Sting shagarific? heck even I can agree with this. But didnt it seem like the Police Bassist was pissy?

karengreeners said...

grammys? total snooze fest. until smokey robinson got onstage and his face scared the living bejeezus out of me.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, how does Shakira do that? Does she have an extra hip joint or something? I'd like someone to explain to me how that's humanly possible to shake your ass like that. Not that I want to try it, I just want to know how.

Blog Antagonist said...

Oh thank you! I've been looking for something a little different to get DH for Valentine's Day to go in the new wine cooler I got him. He's a pretty hard core Pinot Noir fan, but he's usually pretty open to trying other reds. The SuperTuscans sound very interesting.

Kate said...

You're making my mouth water talking about all that wine. Get me to the nearest wine shop, stat!

www.JusticeJonesie.com/blog said...

I am glad I am not the only person sick of Christina's look. Enough already! We know you are into the 30's glam, however, we are 7 years into the new millennium. Silver hair is not in.

Mama en Fuego said...

I didn't watch, but ROFLMAO Sting DOES look like Beeker...

jittacatgirl said...

(i will preface this by saying that i enjoy her music...)

um, yeah. imogen heap. or is it imogen THE heap?

and i thought all the Entwives were gone... somebody get Treebeard!!!

Jeni said...

love that shakira...

The Domesticator said...

Ok...I just left you a long comment, and it was eaten.
Anyway, enough about wine? Enough about wine? Oh, no Mrs. C....it's never enough!
BTW, I have drank my way through The Boston Wine Expo quite a few times...
*sigh* I miss it.

Damselfly said...

Bored Doe, LOL!

Dontcha think that weird guy wearing the gray sweatshirt and orange tie who was standing up there with the Dixie Chicks looks like the caveman in those Geico commercials?!

Redneck Mommy said...

Those damn Portugese wines have been the cause of more than one embarassing escapade of mine. Let the good times roll baby!

As for Sting, well he may be Beeker, but he's Beeker with biceps. I'd bend like a pretzel for him any day. Yum.

And Shakira, well, let's just say that yesterday I spent a good portion of the evening trying to imitate her moves, until my kids came in and inquired as to whether I needed an ambulance or not because apparently, I looked like I was having seizures.

Very unsexy seizures.

Jenn said...

You are so right, hips don't lie

Imogen rocks my socks, but with all that money, you'd think the girl could hire a fashion expert..or buy a mirror.

petite gourmand said...

ahh.. sting-o-licious.
he was looking pretty sexy-very nice pecks, but so true about the beeker up do.
Trudy was drooling in the front row.
and yes, Justin is yummy but not "Blair Witch Style" that close up..
do you think that first song he sung "what goes around" is about Britney?
I really hope not.

wayabetty said...

Have you ever tried the "two buck chuck" at Trader Joe's? Well, it ain't bad for 2 bucks or so. I'm thirsty for some booz, it's been a while since I had some and it'll be a while since I will have some too. You know, this pregnancy and breastfeeding will get in the way.

Jess Riley said...

"Bored Doe." How clever!

I wish I had gone to the wine expo. I also missed the Grammys, mostly because our "shows" were on HBO.

Creative-Type Dad said...

Totally know what you mean about the cheese when drinking wine.
They could sell me Velveeta and say it's from some rare goat in Guam and I'd believe it.

Irreverent Antisocial Intellectual said...

I watched The Police and then flipped the channel. How funny is it that Stewart and Andy just looked old and grateful while Sting was just hot?

Anonymous said...

Even as a muppet sting is hot.

PunditMom said...

Mrs. C, Thanks for the wine tip! Always looking for good wine on a budget!

Also, those red guys scare me!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the wine tips! We are always on the hunt for good wine that we can afford. I also enjoyed your Grammy roundup.

ewe are here said...

I have a special fondness for wine labels.

I didn't watch the grammies, but John Mayer now makes me scratch my head and say 'Why why why Jessica Simpson? Of all the women in the world!'

Shudder.

ShannanB said...

My initial thoughts....
1. LOVED the Dixie Chicks winning 5 Grammy's
2. Loved Christina's performance but it was a little over the top.
3. Hello by Lionel Richie is now permanently stuck in my head.
4. Loved the rendition of Crazy by Gnarls and the crew.
5. Almost cried when Stevie Wonder cried (I can't believe the turned the music up on him...)
6. Was really looking forward to The Police but disappointed that they only played one song.

7. Love your blog. I sometimes feel like you are reading my mind.....