Some Pages Turned, Some Bridges Burned, But There Were Lessons Learned

The world of beer is expanding, in both flavor and appeal. Craft brewing has taken the beer-drinking community to new heights and innovations. The time to learn about, explore, enjoy, and appreciate this sacred beverage has never been more exciting. But how does it all break down? How can one begin to decipher the differences between styles and sub-categories of beer? How can anyone truly appreciate beer without a basic understanding of beer’s ingredients and flavor profiles?

Have no fear, LifeEpicurean’s Beer Battles: 101 series will break down basic concepts such as the difference between ales and lagers, highlights of various beer styles, proper pouring and tasting process, and the appropriate glassware for different brews. Pay attention-–class is in session. READ MORE HERE.

don't know about you, but this pic scares me somehow. and I am the one who made it :)
in reality the mask is completely white and possibly even scarier

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Mood theme of the Indiana Jones movies here. Join 6hundred72 for over 200 other mood themes.

Sack Full of Balls...

The Grammys were announced and Regina didn't get nominated for SQUAT! What is wrong with these people? They were too busy kissing Beyonce's ass to notice REAL talent!

Jet Auto II...

I am back with better quality! Hooray!

(In case you still cant understand, Tom chose to stupefy Hermione, marry Lavender, and snog Ginny <3. Matt chose to stupefy McGonagall, marry Molly, and snog Bellatrix, and Bonnie chose to marry Harry and stupefy both Neville and Draco, lol)
My favourite part is when Tom hugs Bonnie <3

While I would very much love to turn my entire dining room wall into a nice walk-in wine closet, well, that just isn't going to happen. I have a 1-BR place and the amount of floor space is great, it's the storage capacity that leaves something to be desired. I've been using a small 6-bottle rack, but liked the idea of a more visible display rack in a more sensible location - close to the kitchen.

As I started painting and reorganizing my dining room/living room, and I realized I had collected quite a bit of wine over the past two months. I haven't taken the plunge to invest in one of those 35-50ish bottle size wine fridges, so this was the best I could come up with:
A) on short notice,
B) a small budget (this costs $49),
C) that integrated really easy with my existing decor.

I used an Ikea "Benno" CD/DVD rack which integrates with Ikea's "Billy" bookcases (which I already had). I cut small pieces of cushioned anti-slip shelf liner for each nook. At the configuration pictured (click on the picture for a bigger view), I can fit two regular-size wine bottles side-by-side on each shelf, or at least three half-bottles per shelf. (For this picture, I just put single bottles in the slots and tilted them sideways so the labels could be more easily read.) The shelves are adjustable, but I really wouldn't put anything bigger than a regular-sized bottle in there. It may not the most gorgeous of wine racks, but it'll do for now!

I would LOVE to see what other folks have done to creatively display, organize, or store their collections (no matter how big or small). I especially love seeing items that have been "repurposed".

I made this over two years ago, so there are a few things with this image I have a problem with now, but I was thinking of "color therapy" post and it seems to fit the bill.

reason why I remembered about it at all is that it was sold on lori.ru photostock, apparently for "external ad". If anybody spots it in Russia on some sort of advertisement, please tell me.

Perhaps in Ten Years and with the Grace of God: Trapiche Tasting

As you know if you read this blog, I spend a lot of time sampling, thinking and writing about Texas wine drinking, but also focus on another topic: Wine drinking in Texas. Today, I am thinking about what things might be possible in Texas in ten or more years in and around its developing wine industry. What might it be like?

What got me started on this mental juggernaut was a recent opportunity to sample a selection of wines from a far distant land. The land was Argentina and the wine producing area was the region they call Mendoza (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendoza_wine). It is a land of high, dry plains not too much different from our own Texas High Plains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_High_Plains_AVA). The Mendoza was originally tamed by men of true grit and determination making their livelihoods on horseback. The legacy of the Argentine Gauchos recalls many of the same attributes of our Texas Cowboys.

Texas and Argentina are also linked in history by an ancient grape called Criolla that was brought from Spain to Argentina in 1550s. During the next half century, this grape made its way up South and Central American into Mexico, making changes along the way up north. In this process, Criolla evolved into the hearty red wine grape vine of choice for Spanish missionaries that settled the new Mexican frontier land they called Tejas. What I saw in the Argentine wines that I tasted was a vision of what Texas could become in ten years, maybe more, if we might have the grace of God on our side.

Linked in Time: Trapiche to Texas

More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=1286

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Pictures from the Festival of Trees in Red Deer Alberta.
( More festive sights under the cut )( Read more... )

This comm's been quite for a while. So here's something for y'all. Check out this video from feltbeats.com. Matt Lewis, Tom Felton, and Bonnie Wright play marry, snog, &stupefy. It's kinda hard to hear what their saying, but it's still awesome! :)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz363ImuxTo&feature=player_embedded

The Canarsie Garbage Freights...

( with holiday colors )

I think I need to post something to vent. I'm very alone right now, and need an outlet.


I'm tired of being hurt in such a way. This isn't something that should plague my life right now.
In the end Gaby ditched me for her ex. This wouldn't bother me so much if she had just been honest from
the beginning.
I've tried this whole time to bridge that gap, and learn from past mistakes. I've tried talking and making
sure she understands I just want us to be honest.
In the end I've gotten fucked over. I didn't think it would hurt that much until recently.
With her trying to turn me into a bad guy.



I've definatley felt worse, but I think this is some divine way of saying I need to give up on this shit.
All of this is too painful, and there are scars from long ago that have festered and rotted.
I don't like any of this, and I'm tired of trying to be a nice person about it.
There's no point of doing the right thing when you plan on boasting about it, so I guess I'm just going to sit
here and spit in the dark. All this pain needs to go somewhere, I might as well try and throw some here.


At the same time, after serious thought I think some things have become clear.
I feel that Daniel has been lying to me about Sara, and I guess I can't blame him since he has his feelings.
I feel that in the end, I was nothing but a rebound, and short story for a lot of people, and it looks like it's going
to be that way for me.
I don't know what to do at this point. I'm just tired of sitting around alone and trying to cry.

I think I'm just a fucker.


Don't take me for some adolescent teenager. I'm a 20 year old adult male. This really does hurt, and I need
to talk shit somewhere. I have actual feelings and conflicting morals.



I don't know what I want.