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.

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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.