Sweet Spot for Bordeaux 2008

With 2009 Bordeaux having been reviewed to great fanfare, yet not officially scored by the 'umpire' (you know who), now is the time to rehash the 2008s which came out reasonably priced, or as some would say underpriced. Likely the high cost of 2009s will make the well scored 2008s look like a bargain, and drive up demand and thus price. So now is the time to buy your 2008s, still officially as futures since the wines wont be available yet.

Drill Baby Drill!

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/video-of-oil-rig-fire-and-rescue-efforts/

The coming implosion?

What happens to a group of entitled, relatively well off and or privledged persons when their entitlements, wealth, and status fall by the wayside? All hell breaks loose... Are we setting ourselves up in the US for demogoguery to come to the fore and wreak havoc? That worries me. With the deterioration of economic conditions, comes the wrath of the masses. And watch out, it can be, shall we say, not pretty.


Historically, the best integrated and most advanced societies seem to produce the biggest eruption - beware U,S, and A. Just look at Germany. the punitive econmic conditions imposed on Germany after the first World War went quite a ways to promoting an atmosphere where the populace would support a rabid, foaming at the mouth, lunatic, who, how shall we say this, 'rocked the world'. Moreover at the time Germany was one of the most advanced, progressive, and integrated societies of its time.


The world considers the US to be the biggest threat to world peace, and for a reason. After all which country has over the past decade has constantly flounted or eschewed international treaties, and with such attitude (Kyoto, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Banning Landmine start, International Criminal Court).


Have we created the circumstances for wild populism and the embraching of crazy ideas - like the end of income tax, state succession, political speech dominated by corporate wealth. When ditto heads and reactionaries float such ideas, and through their manipulatin of the media, it approachs what i consider demagoguery.

Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor put it nicely when he recently stated that, 'I dont remember a time in my lifetime when so many people and such a high proportion of Americans felt they were in danger of losing their jobs, their homes, their savings, or who have already done so, and when you have that much fear and anxiety, that is fertile ground for demogogues on the right or the left.' (See Ch13, approx Min40).

He also notes that Supreme court decision freeing corporations and unions from spending limits could not come at a worse time when Americans are feeling disenfranchised - it will all fuel the fire.

See:

http://fora.tv/2010/01/22/Robert_Reich_Bank_of_America_Annual_Economic_Forecast#chapter_06

Quadriderm NF

So I'm sure this exists and all, and most of us are just flat out clueless, but just how available are prescription meds over the counter for a price? I mean all you have to do is look at your spam filter: 'Vicodin ES available online today', 'Vicodin#Xanax#Pecocet#Valium#', 'Enhance your focus with Adderall' 'Increase your Penis in Width by 20%'.

It comes to my attention only because a patient recently showed up using quadriderm NF. Quadriderm NF - ever hear of it? Well me neither. Hecho in Mexico and contains betamethasone, clotrimazol, gentamcin. Hmmm thats's quite a compund. Didn't realize you can get that in Mexico. 'No but I got it here'. In Concord, CA.

Well, I see. I mean, I know that the underworld tries to take care of its own, and come on who can blame them for that? But, that's quite a compound to be using without much instruction. And it makes me wonder what kind of real meds can you get for the asking... If your really want to know, as i say, just check your spam filter.

Salon

So I had my first taste of Salon the other night. Salon 1997. No idea what I'm talking about? It's supposedly a super high-end premium champagne. Check out the link if you care.



http://www.decanter.com/archive/58186.html



We'll anyway, I care about champagne, like it a lot. The famous economist John Meynard Keynes supposedly said, 'My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne'. I suppose that makes me Keynesian? But in actuality it's most telling that I will remember him for that more than anything to do with that dismal science. Perhaps that gives you some insight into me as well. Yet I digress...



Back to Salon 1997. It was, shall we say OK. Just fine. But nothing really special. I suppose its not fair to judge a house based on a single bottle or a single vintage. So I wont. But I'm not really sure if anything will get me to ante up to play that game again.



According to my cellartracker notes, my favorites to date have been:



N.V. Domaine Pernet-Lebrun Champagne

N.V. Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Brut 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs

1998 Gosset Champagne Celebris Brut

1998 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Cuvée Fleur de Champagne

1996 Fleury Champagne Brut

1997 Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut Millésimé

1993 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru

1998 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Brut

N.V. Tarlant Champagne Cuvée Louis Brut Prestige



I was looking for where to get one of these, and damnit these wines are hard to find. K&L wines may or maynot have the last one, the Tarlant Cuvee Louis. Currently they have Tarlant Brut Zero in magnum, which I would be interested in trying myself. http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1046887

Opening salvo

Well i finally got my act together to start a blog. What took me so long? Dunno, I'm busy. But it seems like a good thing to do especially for my legion of fans, no? Its a shame that all the URLs that i wanted are taken. I had to settle for munchrat.blogspot.com. Everyone knows munchrat, but if not they soon will. She defies taxonomic classification.

So then what to blog about today? How about just what's on the top of my head and that would be - what wine am I having tonite. Actually i'll save that for other posts. There's plenty of meat there to chew on. How about the amazing and inordinate political paralysis in the united states these days? One the one hand you have some very serious problems (national as well as global) that need to be addressed, on the flip side you have extreme paralysis among the government. The problem is that extremists and moneyed interests have hijacked the electoral process, and everyone in government is too busy looking out for their own ass. Too afraid to look cozy with the other side, dont want to be tossed out by the fringe? You know what to do then - heads in the sand until the government goes broke, planet boils over and all hell breaks loose. But hey, at least you'll still have your seat.

I'd like to grab you by the seat of your pants...