lummi island wine tasting may 2 ’15
(Note: many images will open to larger versions when clicked)
Bread Friday
Sorry, Janice is still away, no bread this week. Ryan is also away, but yes, the wine shop will be open as usual on Friday evening, 4-7. Come on by!
Dude, it’s May Day! Workers of the World Unite!
As we have mentioned before in these pages, there is a War going on, and it seems to have been going on since our species first appeared in the Ongoing Kaleidoscope of Evolution. Some say it’s our Big Brain that made us (in our own Humble Opinion) the Best Species Ever, with, you know, a shot at the Evolution Hall of Fame for Longevity. Others muse that it’s really our Big Hearts and ongoing acts of unselfish Love and Kindness that make us, you know, God’s Favorites. Well, we’ll see, maybe that will all work out.
So it is a continual Shock that our news for the last many months has been dominated by cell-phone video coverage of Murders of young men of Color across our country by the Policemen who are supposed to protect Everyone. Tragically, we All Know that this has been going on for a Long Time, but it is only in the past year that the Cell Phone has become So Ubiquitous that, like, Hello, maybe No One can Get Away with Anything any more, not even the police.
While all this is tragic, on this May Day it is worth taking note that this Omnipresent Witness of the Cell Phone is starting to get some Traction in taking the “Plausible” out of “Plausible Deniability,” and That is going to have Profound repercussions. Which makes us wonder, hmmm…how long before it becomes illegal to take photos of The Authorities as they go about their business. And just to tie this back into the title of this entry, Marx’s Main Point is that it is the Goal of the One Percent to capture for themselves the Productivity Dividends of Labor, and everything we are seeing around us these days, including the senseless murders of young black men, the export of the means of production from America to Elsewhere, the proliferation of War across the Globe, and so much more, is Testimony to it.
So on this May 1, we offer a Toast to Cell Phone Photography, which plops Truth right there on the table whether it is wanted or not; and which has its inevitable and unpredictable way of changing things. And we do definitely need some Changes.
Analemma
(photo of Budapest Analemma by György Soponyai)
We all know what a dilemma is, since they happen pretty much all the time. But an “analemma?” Huh??
Well, according to this very interesting blog entry by David Dickinson, an analemma is the figure-8 traced out by the Sun in the sky through an entire year as seen at the same time from the same geographic point over the course of one solar year. As he points out (news to us!), many Globes include the Figure of the Analemma, curiously reminiscent of the Infinity Symbol.
The important point here for us on this May Day, this cross-quarter day about midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice, is that the analemma traces out in the sky both Equinoxes, both Solstices, and all four Cross-Quarter days, including of course May Day.
Winter Solstice is at the lower right, and Summer Solstice is at the upper left. Both Equinoxes are where the lines intersect, and the four cross-quarter days are at either side of the widest bights in the two curves. And the reason why the figure-8 is not symmetrical is mainly because the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is elliptical rather than circular. Cool, huh???!!
SAAA
Here is Tator modeling her “Lummi Island Run” hat from a few years ago. Tator has a certain Wisdom, as do all dogs. Their Wisdom is about bringing our attention back to Basics. Like “I’m a little insecure, wouldn’t you like to pet me and snuggle me a little?” Or, “Why are you just Standing there…this stuff smells Great, why aren’t you Rolling in it with me?”
Back when I was a body-centered psychotherapist for a bunch of years, I developed the notion that every being was driven by Four basic needs: Safety, Affection, Attention, and Approval, or “SAAA” for short. All are forms of psychological Nourishment;, and though most of us have made up all kinds of reasons why we can’t get them, don’t deserve them, or can get along without them, of course, they are all complete nonsense. We need Nourishment to survive. And Nourishment is feeling Safe from harm, feeling that we Belong, feeling that we Count, and feeling we are valued in our community. Without these things, life is ongoing Suffering, and we need to do better than that.
The growing problem of the moment is that there is a War going on and we are all caught in the Crossfire. The war is between the one tenth of one percent who own Everything, and Everyone Else. Even Feudal Lords took at least a little responsibility for the well-being of their serfs. But now it’s harder to see that WalMart, or McDonald’s, or any other Corporate Employer sees workers as anything more than slaves who want too much.
Fortunately, some of us still have access to wine, which in most cases will make Everything Better.
This week’s tasting
Idilico Albarino ’13 Washington $14
Full spectrum of floral, almond and white peach aromas leading to flavors of apricots and peaches with a bit of citrus to make it really bright. Albariño has bracing acidity from those cool nights
Venta Morales Tempranillo ’13 Spain $9
Deep ruby/purple color in addition to lots of berry fruit and a touch of licorice presented in a lush, Spanish fruit-bomb style.
Casa Contini Biferno Riserva ’09 Italy $12
80% montepulciano, 20% aglianico; wonderfully smooth and balanced, with smoky blackberry, chestnut, and peppery aromas.
La Renaudie Tradition ’11 France $16
Côt and Cab Franc; aromas of cherries, blackcurrant, and dark fruit with fine, silky tannins.
Orowines Bluegray Priorat ’11 Spain $16
Named for the licorella slate of Priorat, which yields intense, terroir-specific wines from the harsh soils that challenge local varieties like Grenache and Mazuelo to the utmost, yielding tobacco and spice notes to the raspberry jam flavors. Rustic, earthy, spicy, and wildly aromatic.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
2072 Granger Way
