182 Comments

Oh my https://twitter.com/cdbarker/status/1352019409041289217?s=20

"The @washingtonpost has a heck of a correction coming up, since that is a bust of Cesar Chavez."

Expand full comment

Load 50 cases of wine kicked my ass. BTW:

The year 2020 has been a horribly disruptive one. One impact has been on the wine industry. Without restaurants open, or wineries, many producers turned to secondary markets to sell their wines at a deep discount.

Some of you know I’m something of a wine connoisseur, but I went a bit crazy this year, and bought too much wine. Therefore I’m offering it to you at cost, so I can create some more room in my wine cellar. All of these are 60%-30% off of list prices, and all meet my high standards.

Year Winery Type/Area Price

2012 Paul Jaboulet Cotes du Rhone – South France $4

2016 Chateaux Tour Castillon Bordeaux – France $13

2016 Chateaux – Bizard Rhone - South France $14

2014 Mazzei Fontenrutoli Chianti – Tuscany Italy $14

2009 Tapit Cabernet – Napa, CA $19

2017 Terragena Pinot Noir – Carneros $20

2013 Castello di Gabbiano Chianti - Tuscany Italy $20

2016 Wilde Farm Pinot Noir – Anderson Vly, CA $20

2014 Den Hoed Cabernet – Willamette Vly, OR $20

2015 Bien Nacido Pinot Noir – Santa Maria Vly, CA $30

If you have any questions, please ask.

Expand full comment

My father-, mother-, and brother-in-law drove up to Napa over thanksgiving. FIL was begging for my wife and i to come as well, but we wanted to have four days of peace and quiet at home instead.

They came back with so many boxes of wine, we told them it was best that we didn't go, as they wouldn't have enough room for the wine.

Expand full comment
author

If I lived within driving distance, I'd happily relieve you of some of your supply.

Expand full comment

No 1 may want some. I'll let you know.

Expand full comment

The Tapit Cabernet.

Expand full comment

Sure, I have 12

Expand full comment

I'd like a couple/few of those as well :D

Expand full comment

No problem

Expand full comment

Thanks 🙏

I can probably put in together a more thorough order at some point, but would definitely like some of the Tapit, Bordeaux, Cotes du Rhone, and one of the Chiantis :)

Expand full comment

He may be coming in the spring after the grandmas get vaccinated. <spoiler>for now I'm going to probably send him this bottle and a bottle of Oban. Going to wait on the midsummer nights dram after we see how those bottles go.</spoiler>

Expand full comment

Do you need wine-bottle-bubble wrap to mail those? I have a couple (though I guess you'd need to come pick it up from me in Emeryville...but I guess it's sort of on your way if you're also picking up wine from Cugel)

Expand full comment

Oh I may buy a couple from you. I have a huge roll of the big bubble wrap and was going to wrap that so that it was tight in the box without any movement. But maybe when I pick up the wine from Cugel I'll swing by and buy the wine bottle bubble wrap from you.

Expand full comment

I think just 1 to start.

Expand full comment

Nope I was wrong. 2 tapits and a terragena please. Do you have any more French wines? His ex-GF was french so I guess he learned a lot about French wines.

Expand full comment

if only I lived in CA, I would joyfully pillage your cellar

Expand full comment

Are those prices for each bottle? I would've expected your wine to have those prices per milliliter!

Expand full comment

Har har, but they are good prices, generally Anderson valley Pinot starts at $50.

Expand full comment
author

Today in Covid

Expand full comment
author

Not to alarm Scootie, but the City will run out of vaccines tomorrow

https://twitter.com/LondonBreed/status/1351608343685521409

Expand full comment

Signed up yesterday to be notified when it's my time (though my GP will already do this). I am group 1C. The confirmation says "it will be months."

Expand full comment
author

Here's something you don't see every day. Jetski surfers on the North Shore of Oahu at their entry point. They then see the next wave is much bigger and will break on them, so they go like hell to escape. Most make it, but check out those who barely make it. Two nearly collide and one guy nearly reaches low earth orbit. 3 bail and are hit with the awesome power of the next wave. I would not want to fall 25 feet and then get hit on the head by a jet ski.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93DeYIjUXu8#t=2m

Expand full comment

I thought maybe these were jet skis bringing surfers out for the waves.

Expand full comment

They were for towing into waves and for rescuing down surfers that get caught in the breaking surf

Expand full comment

Every once and a while a super-sized "clear out" or "close out" set rolls through and breaks well earlier than the normal zone putting those waiting for waves in danger.

Expand full comment

The final ski that launched was over 60ft in the air and I think resulted in a broken back by one of the riders. Absolutely insane day on the north shore of Oahu and Maui. Jaws/Peahi was seeing 60ft+ waves.

Expand full comment
author

Don't use meth, kids.

Expand full comment

Today, we're all 46.

Expand full comment

you're crusty though. definitely crusty

Expand full comment

Meh, we're kinda old...if we can remember Chidi Ahanatu, Natu Tuatagaloa, even Iheanyi Uwaezuoke....we're kinda old....

Expand full comment

Iheanyi was in my Poli Sci 2 section. Man had really soft hands.

Expand full comment

that guy has been ridden hard and put away wet (not in a good way)

also are you really only 47?

Expand full comment

I thought you were around my age since you graduated, I think, the year after me.

Expand full comment
author

I turn 50 this year. Above, I was going for this reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZx1mUaosCI

Expand full comment

I think all four of us are around the same age

Expand full comment

I turned 50 last March.

Expand full comment

I turned 50 last month for what that's worth

Expand full comment

Youngsters...

Expand full comment

same ...

Expand full comment

and I'll be 50 in August

Expand full comment

LOLD

Expand full comment

i'll be 49 in September

Expand full comment
author

Unlike birds, dinosaurs had penetration reproduction

https://www.livescience.com/first-dinosaur-butthole-found.html

Expand full comment
author

Elsewhere in college

Expand full comment
author

Things may be tough, but they're nowhere near Florida State's level. TL;DR: 56% of team gone in 1 year.

https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/LongFormArticle/FSU-football-roster-overhaul-flip-Mike-Norvell-159611773/#159611773_1

Expand full comment
author

A cliffhanger book or show

Expand full comment

I think Breaking Bad did cliffhangers the best, while also managing to make each episode a good story unto itself (that's the hard part).

Expand full comment

Really liked the movie as well.

Expand full comment

24.

Expand full comment

Yes! I loved 24. Great show.

Expand full comment

This Is Us. They usually have cliffhangers at the end of every episode.

Expand full comment
author

"The Davinci Code" is a fantastic cliffhanger. Not necessarily high-art, but I thought it was a really entertaining page turner.

Expand full comment
author

DBD AV Club

Expand full comment

Dickinson Season 2 LET'S GO

Expand full comment

My Twitter feed has been applauding Miss Scarlet and the Duke, so I think I'll try that out soon. Description from the internet:

When her father dies, Eliza Scarlet finds herself facing a difficult choice. As an unmarried woman, she faces poverty without a husband to provide for her -- unless she takes on the challenge of running her late father's detective agency, which would be unthinkable for a respectable Victorian lady. Fortunately, she finds an unlikely partner in the unconventional Detective Inspector William Wellington of Scotland Yard, known as "The Duke," and the pair begin to tackle the crimes and mysteries of Victorian London together.

Expand full comment

You watch Enola Holmes? It was a fun romp.

Expand full comment

I keep seeing that pop up on screen thinking "i'll get to it one of these days"

Expand full comment

It was utterly silly and fluffy, but cute and fun if you're in the right mood.

Expand full comment

I did not, but maybe I should

Expand full comment

I think you would like it, G.O., not so much

Expand full comment

Been making my way through the Small Axe series on Amazon Prime. It's a series of short films (actually one is full-length) about the experiences of black folks in England, made by Steve McQueen (the 12 Years a Slave guy).

Pretty strong so far. I most recently watched the third entry, "Red, White, & Blue," which has John Boyega giving the kind of strong, nuanced performance we didn't get to see in the Star Wars movies.

Expand full comment
author

The Good Place (S4). While S4 is not as strong as 1-2, it is still really good at cliffhangers - hence today's theme. (17/19)

#Alive (14/19) - a perfectly fine, if not plain vanilla take on Korean zombie films. Well structured, but the ending was kind of underwhelming. It was entertaining, so mission accomplished.

Designated Survivor (S1). Started off really well as a fish out of water political thriller, but is quickly devolving into 24. I'm not sure I want to finish the season. (9/19)

Dream Home Makeover (S2). I have interior design on the brain since I'm neck-deep in customizing my new house. The lead designer and I have similar tastes, so I get ideas from her. I just skip over the lame parts about her relationship with her so-called husband to watch the design parts.

Expand full comment

There's a rom com book called The Honey Don't List, starring the assistant on one of those home makeover shows/empires, and ever since I read it, I can't view any of them the same. In the book, on the surface, the wife is charming and perfect, and the husband is charming and goofy, but obviously they're very dysfunctional behind the scenes.

Expand full comment

Off topic, but I'm happy that your other blog friend's Miata videos are starting back up. I was wondering what happened to the car. I guess they didn't have time to work on both so the Miata got pushed to the side.

Expand full comment

:)

I'll pass that along!

Expand full comment

so, nonfiction?

Expand full comment

Haha it feels like it could describe any number of the couples on TV

Expand full comment
author

I watched all 3 seasons of Designated Survivor over the summer. It's such a terrible show and reminded me why I gave up on it after the first couple of episodes when it was first aired. The show did eventually got better when it tried to be more West Wing than 24, but I don't know how much of that was also due to my virtually zero expectation. Netflix does have the South Korean remake miniseries also available. I haven't got around to watch that yet but it's in my queue.

Expand full comment

I liked it. Maybe because It was coming off liking Kiefer Sutherland after 24.

Expand full comment

Lupin (Netflix)- I quite enjoyed this series. A bit too farfetched in places but overall a solid series. 16/19 WB

In The Long Run (STARZ)- Created by and starring Idris Elba as an African Immigrant in 1980's England. Quite funny, entertaining and quick paced. Each episode is only about 20 minutes. And the music is great, lots of old ska, punk, and early synth wave stuff. 17/19 WB

Hard (Showtime)- Portuguese show about a family patriarch who meets an untimely demise and his wife takes over his business which she believed to be something IT related. Turns out the old man ran a porn site complete with studio for producing his own content 15/19 WB

Save Yourselves (Hulu)- funny little movie about a NYC couple who decide to unplug and take a break from society and all things online to reconnect with each other. But during the week of solitude, aliens invade earth and are killing people while drinking all the alcohol. 14/19 WPB

Flower (hulu)- weird creepy arthouse movie in which an underage girl and her new step brother, who after being released from a treatment center try to seduce and elicit a confession from the teacher he claims molested him. 14/19

Expand full comment

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix - Saw the movie (starring Jim Carey) before watching the Netflix series (starring Neil Patrick Harris). The family really enjoyed the movie and we are especially enjoying the series. They are based on a series of books about a trio of orphaned children and their struggle to get away from the evil Count Olav who wants to steal their fortune. The movie is based on the first three books of the series. The Netflix series devotes to 45-minute episodes to each book, and they are really well-done. Great for kids and adults. Lots of inside jokes. All of the acting is fantastic and the stories are outrageous and entertaining.

Expand full comment

Finished "On My Block" - Netflix, 3 seasons, we really enjoyed the series. Be warned, it whipsaws from comedy to tragedy in a coming of age story for 4 friends.

Expand full comment
author

Lupin on Netflix - style over credibleness but it's still quite fun. I thought each of the individual episodes which has some callbacks to original Lupin stories (which I have finally started to read the English translations, I've only read Chinese translations when I was 9 year old) were well done, but the impetuses of many episodes were laughably bad (like info that can be acquired much much easier). Still, I can't wait for the second half of the series to drop sometimes this spring, I would guess. Omar Sy (Bishop in the X-men Days of Future Past) is charming in the main role even if he's way too physically imposing to fade to the background.

Expand full comment
author

A song that has a symphonic backing

Expand full comment

Alvin's orchestra by the Chipmunks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt7aKQWDdYc

Expand full comment

The Free Willy song!

Expand full comment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_You_Be_There

The Cleveland Orchestra featuring Michael Jackson

Expand full comment
author

Skyfall - Adele https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-gLRp5bSpw

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkK8g6FMEXE

Expand full comment

anything by Fleshgod Apocalypse

Expand full comment

Not exactly symphonic backing but I like the live Kanye West Sunday Service Jesus Walks performances with the live choir.

Expand full comment

New Workout Plan has a bunch of strings

Expand full comment
author

He had a good live album back in 2006 called Late Orchestration, featuring several tracks from his first two albums backed by a string orchestra.

Expand full comment

Oh I didn't know that. I'll have to check that out.

Expand full comment

Many ELO songs. I'll go with "Telephone Line."

Expand full comment

Bittersweet symphony by the Verve, which also describes the band's feelings about the royalty checks

Expand full comment

The Stones let them collect royalties on it now (I saw this on twitter and I am not fact checking this)

Expand full comment

I really really dislike this song.

Expand full comment

I am familiar with the song, but didn't know who's it was.

Expand full comment

That was going to be my pick!

Expand full comment
author

Queen

Expand full comment

Bitch, great Bowie song, homage to VU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFcKPKSr4fk

Expand full comment

is FS Junior's favorite band

Expand full comment
author

Sonja.

Queen Consort of Norway. Wife to King Harald V and mother to Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (UC Berkeley, BS Poli Sci 1999).

Expand full comment

Great band, early on at least.

Expand full comment

you didn't like Radio Gaga?

Expand full comment

I checked out after "News of the World" I think, green cover with a giant robot.

Expand full comment
author

OUR TRANSITIONING DEMOCRACY

Expand full comment

I just saw the Kamala Harris swearing in video and noticed that Sotomayor pronounced put the stress on the 2nd syllable and Kamala repeated it with the stress on the 1st syllable. You would think Sotomayor would make sure she got the pronounciation correct beforehand.

Expand full comment

To be fair, Kamala Devi doesn't really pronounce her own name "correctly" anyway. For that matter I haven't always pronounced my name completely right either, though I've gotten better about it as an adult.

Expand full comment

"Correct" is however she chooses to pronounce it.

Expand full comment

I mean, sure, that's why I put the word in quotes. But like, it's an Indian name given to her by her Indian mother.

Expand full comment

The instinct to anglicize to aid the audience is real.

Expand full comment

I was at Thanksgiving with my friend Savita (desi from Louisana) and there was a guy from India there and she changed up her pronunciation of her name to talk to him and said "I never use the real pronunciation anyways"

Expand full comment

https://media1.giphy.com/media/l4pTsh45Dg7jnDM6Q/giphy.gif

I have to speak at public meetings sometimes and introduce myself, and I've decided to start using the actual pronunciation of my name because, hell, at least I know how to say it. If others can't quite pronounce it exactly right though, that's okay, I completely understand. But I'll at least give them a chance to hear it the right way.

Expand full comment

I can't speak for my friend! But she grew up in Baton Rouge, where it doesn't seem like there's a ton of other South Asians so I wonder if that builds into her reluctance to go full . . .hmm I'm not sure what Indian language she speaks.

Expand full comment

Sigh. Yeah.

Expand full comment

Sometimes the Presidential motorcade goes down my street on the way to Arlington Cemetery but today they went in the main entrance. There was no security here so I did the ten minute walk over to the entrance. First thing I noticed was a national guardsman about every fifty yards on the inside edge of the cemetery. When I got to the entrance there were maybe a couple hundred people and a bunch of Army police and Secret Service. When the motorcade came by I was able to see Biden, Harris, Laura Bush, and Hilary through the window of their limos. It was something to have four Presidents in one motorcade. As I walked home they started the cannon salute and that caught me a little off guard.

Expand full comment

Did you notice anyone that looked like they wanted to storm the castle?

Expand full comment

Not a one. It was an all feel good crowd. If anyone would have looked the part I was probably the most likely. :)

Expand full comment

The Q tears are so sweet! Ron Watkins (who is likely Q) has officially thrown in the towel and his followers under the bus. He is moving on to his next “project” while some people will try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and families.

Expand full comment

I bet r/conservative and r/trump heads are exploding.

Expand full comment

It's been all over at the donald dot win and thegreatawakening dot win and gab nowadays.

Expand full comment

r/trump was banned

Expand full comment

nice.

Expand full comment

Lady GaGa performs National Anthem. Did a great job. This was a scene rather in contrast with essentially everything that's happened recently on those steps.

Expand full comment

I didn’t really care for JLo but I’ve never been a big fan of her as a singer. JLos management/PR team must be incredible because she’s done the Superbowl, NYE, and this inaguration all within the last year...her management must be hustling to make her a go-to for events when she's so blah as a singer. This is 2021, not 2001 so I don’t understand all the JLo appearances.

Expand full comment

I enjoy JLo's drama factor (in terms of performance, not in terms of political circus)

Expand full comment

I'm about four miles from the Capitol. A little light precip just starting.

Expand full comment

It was funny with Sen. Blunt said that as soon as Sen. Klobuchar joined the Inauguration Committee, that snow from Minnesota came as well.

Expand full comment

IT'S LIKE RAAAAAAIIIIINNNNN ON YOUR INAUGURATION DAY

Expand full comment

White Nationalist tears

Expand full comment

snowflakes for snowflakes

Expand full comment

QAnon tears

Expand full comment

Things seem to be going pretty smoothly and quietly so far.

Expand full comment
author

Smooth enough for Clinton to doze off

https://twitter.com/the_lunarfather/status/1351939091064098819

Expand full comment

Certainly couldn't have done that a couple weeks ago!

Expand full comment

He was up late enjoying the DC night life.

Expand full comment

That would probably be me too even though it wasn't a long speech.

Expand full comment
author

17 first day Executive Orders includes:

* rejoin WHO

* rejoin Paris Accord

* do something about Covid

* extend moratorium of evictions/foreclosure

* extend student loan payment pause

* reverse energy exploration/investments in national parks, including Keystone

* advance racial equity in Federal government, including nix 1776 Commission

* count non-citizens in Census

* call to Congress to grant citizenship to Dreamers

* ends Muslim travel ban

* stop the Border Wall construction by revoking Emergency status

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-president-executive-actions-covid-19-climate-change-immigration/

Expand full comment

Also an order declaring George Thorogood and the Destroyers "America's Official Band for Good Times" - felt kind of like the wrong moment though.

Expand full comment

Senators Padilla, Ossoff, and Warnock were just sworn in by Vice President Harris. God, that feels so good to write.

Expand full comment

1776 Commission web page is already scrubbed from whitehouse.gov.

Expand full comment

Have to think the other $1400 of stimulus that no one but McConnel opposed will get some conversation too,

Expand full comment

So fix 17 things Trump did to fuck things up.

Expand full comment

another 9,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,983 to go.

Expand full comment
author

The hundreds (thousands?) of flags arranged throughout the National Mall look particularly majestic thanks to the windy, miserable conditions in the mid-Atlantic this morning.

Expand full comment

Actually looks pretty good for January. Mostly sunny with some breeze, albeit chilly, on tv.

Expand full comment
author

Trump pardons 73, commutes sentences of 70 including Bannon. The list contains some genuine pardons, a bunch of obvious political favors, a few WTFs, and a ton of financial crooks.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-pardons/as-he-leaves-office-trump-pardons-former-top-strategist-bannon-idUSKBN29P0BE

Expand full comment

No love for Tiger King, though.

Expand full comment

that bitch, Carole Baskin, obviously got to Trump first

Expand full comment

I first read Barron and was wondering what he could've done.

So no insurrectionists? That's good.

Expand full comment
author

PRO

Expand full comment

Sarah Thomas will become the first on-field female official to work a Super Bowl. Will be the Down Judge, She worked one of the games this past weekend.

Expand full comment
author

ICYMI: NFL, champion for black rights and lives

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1351152481993166861

Expand full comment
author

Kelley Loeffler loses the Dream for the second time this month

https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/30744823/atlanta-dream-sale-close-being-finalized-wnba-says

Expand full comment

maybe now she can afford to find a stylist to do something about her flat hair

Expand full comment

Holly Anderson's commitment to this bit is why I susbscribe

Expand full comment

I started in with Loeffler's single process dye job but I like the flat hair bit better

Expand full comment
author

As much as I want to be excited about this or Charles Johnson selling the SF Giants, they will likely make a profit from this sell. Then again, if they are forced to pay tax on that (rather than via a loophole) then maybe that is good for the country.

Expand full comment
author

Philip Rivers retires

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1351892441847181314

Expand full comment

I'm guessing we'll officially hear soon that Brees is retiring.

Expand full comment
author

CAL

Expand full comment
author

LARRY SCOTT HAS BEEN FIRED! LAST DAY 6/30/21.

https://twitter.com/sbjsbd/status/1352083505707180033

Expand full comment

I read that Biden fired a couple Trump holdovers who refused to resign. Didn't know he had the power to fire Conference Commissioners too.

Expand full comment

HALLELUJAH!!!

Expand full comment

WHAT A DAY THIS IS!

Expand full comment
Jan 20, 2021Liked by SGBear, TD_24

Henry To'o to'o officially hits the transfer portal

Expand full comment
author

wonder what the odds are in trying to get him but I hope he comes.

Expand full comment

barring evidence of McDonald's bags filled with cash, i'm guessing high. If he really is homesick, he comes home to one of his finalists in a defense where he has a legit shot at 200 tackles

Expand full comment
author

no debate from me on that front I just don't want like a USC or SJSU (basically De La Salle South) to nab him right out of the backyard.

Expand full comment

we'll see, will depend on if he really is homesick or if he is looking for an out and wants a year at a big name school before going pro

Expand full comment