Parker Station 2007 Pinot Noir

I was indifferent to this one, which I picked up at Lazy Acres about a week ago.

Wine tasting at Fess Parker

Ben and I went wine tasting at Fess Parker yesterday. I liked 3/6 of the wines. There was a good Ashley's Vineyard Chardonnay, a great Melange Blanc, and a phenomenal "Big Easy Syrah". The not so memorable ones were the Riesling, the Pinot Noir and the SB Syrah.

A Quantum of Solace

I was very excited to see this film, and in the end it let me down. Daniel Craig was absolutely brilliant in the previous edition, so I had high hopes for this one, but it fell flat for me. The plot was ludicrously simple, the directing was simplistic, the scenes really fragmented, almost to the point where I found myself dissecting the movie into segments and working out the logistics of filming them... The locations were cool, but not enough was done with that. The Bond girl was fantastic, but that was about the highlight of the film. M was quite reasonable, too.

Dissapointing Food Writing

Ever encounter a book (or books) from which you learn a hell of a lot but which leaves you disappointed?

Meet Russ Parsons.

Both his books How to Read a French Fry and How to Pick a Peach have been illuminating but seriously disappointing.

There's always something missing. It's not the knowledge or the writing. It's not the phrasing or the erudition. Perhaps it's the self-conscious effort to get people to buy it by including recipes which are actually seriously crappy.

Either way, if I had bought these books rather than borrow them from the library, I would be seriously pissed off. As it happens, I'm glad to read, learn a few things, and dump.