More on competition. . .

. . . I don't know why.

Even wineries/vineyards engage in the practice of competition. Oh, I understand why. But still I find competition to be a process that only promotes dirty politics, ill will, the desire to circumvent the customary and the accepted. In short; much ado about nothing. Well, almost nothing. I do see the marketing value in the venture but I still am uncomfortable with it.

from the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition website. . .
"Seven decades of tradition began shortly after the end of prohibition, when the annual L.A. County Fair began awarding medals to the finest wines in California. The competition achieved world-class status, attracting wines from North and South America and finally in 2002, opening the doors to wine entries from around the world. Today, the event includes spirits and extra virgin olive oils. The judging panel has grown to nearly 100 judges from all parts of the globe."

The competition also is the foundation for an extensive wine education program that’s available to 1.4 million visitors to the L.A. County Fair. Public wine tasting began in 1968; in 1998 a wine education center opened, complete with consumer-driven classes, tastings and a display of the award-winning wines. The Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition is committed to educating the public about wine, featuring industry experts with extensive knowledge about wine growing and selection, wine tasting and wine and food pairings. . . "

In an earlier post I bellyached about competition and how I was never good at anything nor would I ever be and that even in my musical endeavors I find the entire concept of competing simply nauseating. Well, maybe it's the politician in me (he's very, very tiny mind you) or just the fact that these 'kudos' must occasionally be pursued in order to flaunt them in the marketing of one's 'wares' as it were, but I did submit an entry in a songwriting contest recently AND, also threw my artistic 'hat' into the ring in an awards competition held in the Washington DC area annually. I never get my hopes too unrealistically high about winning these things as I did when I first began to market my music, but one always harbors that secret wish that, who knows, maybe this time I really will win.




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Did you know. . .

From Wikipedia. . .
". . . Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest known production of wine, made by fermenting grapes, took place as early as 8,000 years ago in Georgia[5] and 6,100 years ago in Armenia. These locations are all within the natural area of the European grapevine Vitis vinifera.
Pressing wine after the harvest; Tacuinum Sanitatis, 14th century

Through an extensive gene-mapping project in 2006, Dr. McGovern and his colleagues analyzed the heritage of more than 110 modern grape cultivars, and narrowed their origin to a region in Georgia, where also wine residues were discovered on the inner surfaces of 8,000-year-old ceramic storage jars in Shulavari, Georgia. Other notable areas of wine production have been discovered in Greece and date back to 4500 BC.[16][18][19][20] The same sites also contain the world's earliest evidence of crushed grapes.[18] On January 11, 2011 in one of Armenia's Vayots Dzor province cave was found a wine making press dating to approximately 6,000 years ago.Literary references to wine are abundant in Homer (9th century BC, but possibly composed even earlier), Alkman (7th century BC), and others. In Ancient Egypt, six of 36 wine amphoras were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun bearing the name "Kha'y", a royal chief vintner. Five of these amphoras were designated as from the King's personal estate with the sixth listed as from the estate of the royal house of Aten.[22] Traces of wine have also been found in central Asian Xinjiang, dating from the second and first millennia BC.

The first known mentioning of grape-based wines in India was in the late 4th century BC writings of Chanakya who was the chief minister of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. In his writings, Chanakya condemns the use of alcohol while chronicling the emperor and his court's frequent indulgence of a style of grape wine known as Madhu.

A 2003 report by archaeologists indicates a possibility that grapes were mixed with rice to produce mixed fermented beverages in China in the early years of the seventh millennium BC. Pottery jars from the Neolithic site of Jiahu, Henan contained traces of tartaric acid and other organic compounds commonly found in wine. However, other fruits indigenous to the region, such as hawthorn, cannot be ruled out. If these beverages, which seem to be the precursors of rice wine, included grapes rather than other fruits, these grapes were of any of the several dozen indigenous wild species of grape in China, rather than from Vitis vinifera, which were introduced into China some 6000 years later.

One of the lasting legacies of the ancient Roman Empire was the viticulture foundation the Romans laid in the lands that today are world renowned wine regions. Areas with Roman garrison towns, like Bordeaux, Trier, and Colchester, the Romans planted vineyards to supply local needs and limit the cost of long distance trading. In medieval Europe, the Roman Catholic Church staunchly supported wine, since they required it for the Mass. Monks in France made wine for years, aging it in caves. An old English recipe that survived in various forms until the 19th century calls for refining white wine from bastard—bad or tainted bastardo wine. . . "




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I'm praying for rain. . .

. . . NAHH!!!! Not really. If you're anywhere near the northeastern part of the U.S. you well know that rain is the LAST thing for which anyone here, in their right mind, would pray. But the tune "Little Old Wine Drinker Me" by Hank Mills begins with that line, and its a great country tune covered by Merle Haggard, Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum, among others.

And they are NOT praying for rain in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York because it will permeate the grapes late in the season and could adversely affect this year's vintage. And I mention this only because rr&wt (rest, relaxation and wine-tasting) is on the schedule for yours truly.

from Wikipedia. . .
"Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes.[1] The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients.[2] Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes and converts them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different types of wine.

Wines made from other fruits, such as apples and berries, are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine or elderberry wine) and are generically called fruit wine or country wine (not to be confused with the French term vin de pays). Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (i.e., sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer and spirit more than wine, while ginger wine is fortified with brandy. In these cases, the term "wine" refers to the higher alcohol content rather than the production process.[3] The commercial use of the English word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions.[4]

Wine has a rich history dating back thousands of years, with the earliest known production occurring around 8,000 years ago on the territory of modern-day Georgia.[5][6] It first appeared in the Balkans at about 4500 BC and was very common in ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome. Wine has also played an important role in religion throughout history. The Greek god Dionysus and the Roman equivalent Bacchus represented wine, and the drink is also used in Christian Eucharist ceremonies and the Jewish Kiddush. . . "




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You've always been. . .

. . . ahead of me
One fact that I
In my infinite wisdom
Could not always see
But in the end you always convinced me
Things aren't always
What they appear
The things I've always looked for

Once long ago before we met
I thought I could
Single-handedly make the
Spinning world go away
Just like some king
from back in those bygone days
But I was wrong
I don't belong
Inside this category

Seemed to be
At the time to me
To my advantage
Missing why
Not knowing
When to try
To start believing
In my
Very own
Self
Determination

Sometimes at night
When I'm alone
The solitude
And the quiet can bring out
All the worst in my head
But now it seems that isn't so big or bad
I've learned a thing
Or maybe two
And just ahead
There's
Always
You

ALWAYS YOU (from "Put A Finger On It")
©2006 Raymond M. Jozwiak
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Can you explain. . .

. . . the meaning of this bumper sticker:

"GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS ESPECIALLY OUR SNIPERS"
My first thought is the same as Lt. Dan's first thought below. But Lt. Dan obviously gave it much more benefit of doubt than I.

Following is from a blog called, "The Diary of Lt. Dan"
". . . this whole "God Bless Our Troops" thing. Bumperstickers abound that contain some version of this sentiment. I saw one today that said "God Bless Our Troops. Especially Our Snipers." When I saw that I thought, "What a wierd thing to wish for." And then I started thinking about how it was meant. The obvious and ugliest meaning is the "Bless them that they can kill a lot of our enemies from far away without being noticed so they can come back home safe." To me, that doesn't seem like something God would be particularly fond of, since the poor sap at the business end of the .50 is one of His children, too.

Another meaning I thought of was "Bless them so that they will be safe, since my son is a sniper and I don't want him to die." This version seems to be more allong the lines of what God might be interested in, since it is about saving life, rather than taking it. However, the sniper in question is at war, and is out to kill other people, so in a larger sense, him getting killed is (while tragic) only fair. You can hardly be a soldier who does his job and expect the soldiers on the other side to not do theirs, now can you?

The last meaning I thought of was this one, but I doubt highly that this is what the author of the bumper sticker meant: "Bless our snipers so that they won't be able to find any enemies to kill from any kind of distance, since all of the enemy soldiers will have laid their weapons down and made peace so that we don't have to kill anyone anymore so everyone can go home to their families and live happy, peaceful, productive lives." Now that is a sentiment I think God would be completely on board with. . . "

Although I cannot agree with the concept of a theistic, invasive "God", I like the Lt.'s sentiments. But then, Lt. Dan is more highly evolved than many earthlings.

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Things are getting HAIRY. . .

. . . Perry!!

From MSNBC . . .
'The first lady of Texas was asked after the event to clarify her comments on the latest debate saying that her husband is not “polished” like some 2012 candidates.

“Gov. Romney has been running for president for four or five years, and that was my husband’s third debate,” she told reporters. “I think [Perry] would tell you that the other night was not his best performance. But he is only going to get better, and I think part of the attacks had something to do with it. I think when you have seven arrows being shot at you -- and you are the one person in the middle -- a 30-second rebuttal doesn’t give you much time.”'

PERFORMANCE???


http://youtu.be/xqOMuR5Z530


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A good friend . . .

. . . of mine was recently diagnosed with cancer. Like so many others, it began with a persistent pain in one place, source of which could not be identified. When it finally was identified, the cancer had metastasized to the lungs. In any case, this person is responding well to chemotherapy at this writing.

At the workplace of my friend, the staff has decided to hold a 'raffle' to assist with medical expenses. Tickets are $1.00 each, or 6 tickets for $5.00. Prizes of 1st place $250, 2nd $100 and 3rd $50 will be distributed with the remainder going to my friend. The explanatory memo concluded with, "Please be as generous as you can, and be reminded that, there but for the grace of God go you or I."

The tribal closing remark infuriated me. It implies to me that there is a 'God' who chose my friend to inflict cancer (punishment?) upon. And this 'God', in 'his' infinite wisdom and choice of my friend is 'merciful'(???) in NOT inflicting it upon ME and the author of the memo??? What could my good friend have done to piss this 'God' off so royally? Is this a 'God' of which YOU would want to have any part??? A theistic ‘God’ possessing such worthless ‘grace’, to me simply does not exist.

I prefer the consciousness of thinkers such as John Shelby Spong, Ernest Holmes, John A.T. Robinson and other more intellectually discriminating folks who view 'God' not as a theistic "man with a beard on a throne in a heaven", but instead as the ground of all being. This view of ‘God', though unbeknownst to the author of the 'raffle' memo, is precisely the thing that prompts her to help our friend in the first place. I can only wish that we didn't resort to primitive, tribal cliches in matters of life, death and God.




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