A bit of perspective

Brother Josh here again with a dose from Oz:
Tonight in WSET Level 3 Class, we were starting to tie up the loose ends, pick up the parts of the world we hadn't gotten to and be ready for our final test coming up in 3 weeks. Tonight focused on the minor wine "high quality" regions such as Greece, Israel, Jordan, and the US. Yup, we summarized the entire wine production of the US in half of a two-hour class. Grouped with such heavy hitters as kosher wine from Israel, it really made for some strange tasting notes.

In this class we've seen detailed maps of Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece all showing multiple wine regions, areas, climates, and cities. For the US, we got a broad view of the country, and then a detail of California - mainly focused on the bulk wine area of the Central Valley (think Paul Mason, old Earnest and Julio Gallo). Luckily the wines really proved themselves when up against the big wines of Greece. A great Chardonnay from Russian River, an absolutely MASSIVE Pinot Noir from Oregon, a Merlot and a fairly understated Zin (surprised me actually). Most of the class was impressed and surprised but I think it'll be a long time before they'd put some of the wines on the same par as first growth chateau from Bordeaux.

Somehow though, my formative wine years (aka - first years in a "real" job) were spent mainly in California and US wine and its my basis of comparison. I appreciate the structure of the "old world" wines, but there is something nice about the fruit and approachability of the US wines. Tonight it was a reminder of home and how there are so many wines available and many are quite good. It was also a reminder that to the rest of the world (ok, maybe just the UK), the US still has a ways to go before we get our own 2hr section of the WSET course.

KC Representin', YO!

So, thanks to American Idol, we have a fellow Kansas Citian in the news. Mr. David Cook, from good old Blue Springs, MO (a suburb of Kansas City) won American Idol last night. I have to say that even though I have a tough time watching American Idol even when there's nothing else on, the guy can sing and isn't your standard pop diva. So, congrats to hometown guy David Cook. I'm really hoping that he fares better than past winners. With the success of Daughtry, I think he has a chance with his style and voice. He has a mean version of "Billie Jean" that is definitely worth hearing.

Thoughts from Oz

Tim graciously provided me with 'contributor' status to his blog and thus I feel it necessary to actually contribute something to the space. I'll likely not be as prolific, but every once in a while when things get interesting I'll pipe in - and I just couldn't resist the title this go-around. So for part one, the discussion is tattoo's.

I've thought about getting a tattoo for quite a while - probably ever since seeing the celtic knot skin-art that Flea had on his chest. I've thought a couple designs would be cool, like a compass rose on the pointy vertebrae of your neck (the one that sticks out if you look down) but mainly just a bass clef of some sort. So thinking about this I ventured into the realm of "what do other people do" and boy oh boy was I surprised. Knowing that tattoo-ing involves lots of needles and permanence, what these folks go through is downright scary. I've found some great stories and illustrations on Dynamic Tattoo (just check out their 'Profiles' - 6 straight days of tattooing? Are you kidding me?) which happens to be on the Lonely Planet Blue List.

Overall, no ink for me (you can stop worrying Mom and Dad.....for now!) but the idea of a permanent and immediate reminder of an action, event, accomplishment or sorrow is one I'll likely not forget. I've already got the scars from bike wrecks, a knee surgery, an appendectomy, lawn shears incidents, and one on my thumb that I've had for so long I don't remember what happened. I do remember when and where Dad got the cross on his arm from and the frightening energy of the fire that day - and I can't forget Tim's scar from when I hit him in the head with a wooden stool...sorry bro. All of these reminders serve nearly the same result, they maybe just don't look as intricate, clean and colorful as some of Sara's work like this one. Have to say it looks pretty 'bass'-ic (Full credit to Sara Bowyer for the artwork - nice job!)

Wicked Cool

On Thursday night, Rachel and I decided to get out for a bit of culture and went to see the touring production of "Wicked". I had no clue what I was getting into other than it was about the witches from the Wizard of Oz and that there was some song in it about "defying gravity". Beyond that, I was blank. Needless to say, I wasn't prepared for my jaw to be on the floor the entire evening. First off, the show is led by two insanely powerful female leads, which, in the realm of your standard musical is pretty different (and AWESOME). And second, I love the idea of the "story behind the story". Just like in the "True Story of the 3 Little Pigs", we learn that there is a very different explanation for a very traditional story we're used to hearing. In the Kansas City production, Katie Rose Clarke was hilarious as Glinda and Carmen Cusack was stunning as Elphaba (the green gal). If you have an opportunity to see this show, run quickly. Do not hesitate. Even if the thought of singing witches doesn't trip your trigger, you'll want to see the mechanics of the Wizard in action. And between the emerald lines there is a pretty solid message about peace, tolerance and the power of fear that we could all do well to hear.

2009: The Year of the Spielberg

I was just reading a couple articles in my weekly email animation newsletter and saw a small feature on Steven Spielberg's upcoming projects. Plain and simple, 2009 is going to be ridiculous. He finishes off his summer 2008 with the 4th Indiana Jones. In and of itself - amazing. In the fall, he jumps into the first in a trilogy of films featuring the character Tintin (an absolute favorite series of mine growing up). Not to mention that series will be directed in part by Peter Jackson and star Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock. Crazy. Follow that with a biopic of Lincoln starring Liam Neeson as the title character. I uncovered an exclusive pre-production photo and I think he looks pretty convincing. So, expect some mind-blowing coverage of the Civil War from gritty hand-held cameras. Then Steven takes a turn at executive producing with "Jurassic Park IV" which may or may not be alternately titled "Steven Gets a Fat Paycheck or National Lampoon's Exotic Dino People-Eating Vacation!" Either way, there will be cool dinos. And after that, another executive producer role for Mr. Spielberg with "Transformers 2: The Kingdom of the Chrome Hood Ornament" where, I've heard, Michael Bay might blow something up.

No matter what, it's going to be an "awesome" year for Spielberg. And I am certain, a need for an increase in Tim's entertainment budget for 2009.

My Mom's Got Style

In honor of my mom on Mother's Day I decided that I needed to revisit some of the old photo albums. What I found in each photo, over and over was a very happy kid who had the best mom there is. Not only is she the greatest, she had impressive foresight. So, as a tribute I made a small video. Happy Mother's Day Mom! Video

Pedal Power - Kail Style

Next week, May 12th-16th is National Bike Week. Many cities, including Kansas City are putting out a Car-Free Challenge to see how many trips by car you can save by riding your bike. I'm committing to riding as often as I can. While I think it is a fantastic initiative, daily commuters of Kansas City have one major challenge facing them and that is a safe way to get across the Missouri river. I've taken a number of harrowing trips across our existing bridges and none have been pleasant, especially at rush hour. Good news is on the way. I found out today from the Missouri Bicycle Federation that plans are underway to build a new Paseo Bridge. The construction company has found that they can add a separated bike/pedestrian path to the bridge for virtually no additional cost. I think it's still going to take some pushing and convincing in city hall, but it's a good sign. I also read that KC has now adopted "Car-Free Weekends" on Cliff Drive on the city's NE side. Streets are closed and only open to pedestrian, bicycle and skate traffic. They are baby steps, but still very encouraging in a country obsessed with the automobile. Other countries have integrated a car-free lifestyle into weekly activities and are setting the bar for the rest of us. So come on Kansas City! Lets get out and get moving gasoline free!