24. Never take a laxative and a sleeping pill at the same time.

Wine Tasting Notes - Casillero del Diablo Carmenere (Chile, 2011)

Wine Tasting Notes - Casillero del Diablo Carmenere (Chile, 2011)

This past Friday, my wife sent me out to pick up a bottle of sangria to celebrate the end of a long and busy week.  While I was at the bottle shop, I saw an endcap display with the Casillero del Diablo Carmenere on sale for $6.99.  The staff notes on the display looked promising, so I decided to give this wine a try.

The color is a dark red, almost purple hue with a brilliant shine on the edge right where the liquid touches the glass.  I'm not quite sure if there is an official term for this, but it had a beautiful color to it.

I gave it a brief swirl and breathed in deep to savor the aroma.  Ripe berries, plums, and a smoky, roasted flavor drifted up to my delight.  On the backside, I smelled earth and leather.

On first sip, I tasted dark berries and black pepper with soft tannins.  The finish is long and intense, highlighting the earthy taste of wet leaves and rich, dark chocolate.  The acidic qualities linger throughout the finish and I am suddenly reflective of the last two months, reminiscing of autumn, contemplating the coming winter, and savoring the moment.

This was an excellent wine that I enjoyed with kimchi soup that my wife made.

http://www.casillerodeldiablo.com/minisitios/productos_en/reserva/home.php

Top Five Worst Christmas Songs

Well, it’s that time of the year again.  Time for turkeys, hams, snow, shopping madness (I’ll save that one for another post), decorating trees, and Christmas music.  Now, I love the holidays!  I have always loved Thanksgiving, not only because of turkey dinner, although this makes up about 98% of my enjoyment of Thanksgiving, but also because of football, a day off from school/work, and I’ve always liked the story of the first Thanksgiving.  I like Christmas, too, because as a kid, I loved playing outside in the snow, visiting my grandparents, going to church, making Christmas cookies, and exchanging gifts.

I don’t get into the “Christmas spirit” in September, when stores start putting out their merchandise.  I actually saw Christmas decorations for sale in August this year.  Gross.  Christmas is in December, not in August; we have several intermittent holidays before Christmas (Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, Halloween, and others).  We don’t need bad Christmas music for the months leading up to December 25^th.

We used to sing Christmas songs at school, back in those days, but they were Christmas songs.  You know, White Christmas, O Come, All Ye Faithful, Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, Jingle Bells, songs like that.  But somehow, these aren’t the songs that are popular on the radio.

That’s where I start getting pretty upset.  I can stomach some pop music, but pop Christmas music has created its own tradition of being awful, intolerable, and brings out the absolute worst in musicianship, where otherwise great musicians and singers feel compelled to perform at their lowest level.

You must think I am Ebenezer Scrooge.  Well, take this: BAH HUMBUG ON BAD CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

So, I have compiled a list of the Top 5 Worst Christmas Songs:

#1 Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney)

I really, truly, honestly, and fully do not like this song.  I get sick in the mouth every time I hear it come on the radio, with its smooth synthesizer introduction (whump, WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW whump, WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW), its processed voice tracks, and its horribly annoying melody.  Please, Paul, you were so good when you were a Beatle, help me understand what happened!  Was this just a bad experiment, or did you actually think that this would be a good song?  I would (simply) prefer that we just throw this one out in the snow.

#2 Santa Baby (anybody)

Oh, no, please don’t play this song ever again!  Can you believe that people have actually had to suffer through this ditty for almost 60 years?  This is such a diversion from the true, religious nature of Christmas that I can’t even comment.  Bad jazz, bad pop, bad country, this song is just plain awful no matter how you spin it.

#3 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Jackson Five)

Did you know that this song was originally condemned by the Catholic Church in Boston?  Even though the ban was short-lived, it goes to show that from the beginning, this song was recognized as a flop.  I personally condemn the version by the Jackson Five because it is the most obnoxious.

#4 Baby It's Cold Outside (all versions)

It’s cold outside, so why not stay indoors and sing about it?  No, how about a cup of eggnog instead- that will keep you busy from spouting out this conversational drivel.  It’s worse when the duet can’t function in harmony, and as yet I have not heard a recording of anyone who can.

#5 (tie) It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Andy Williams)

While it may be the most wonderful time of the year, this is definitely not the most wonderful song to sing.  The harmonies attempt to be creative by using deceptive cadences, but they sound really cheesy.  The intro that tries to sound like church bells sounds almost as ridiculous as the synthesizers in Wonderful Christmastime (see above).  What bothers me the most, though, are this song’s lyrics.  “Marshmallows for toasting?”  That’s for camping, which is in the summer time.  “Scary ghost stories?”  That’s for Halloween, which is in October.

#5 (tie) Carol of the Bells (supposedly a Polish folk song)

I’m guessing that this just might be the most-spoofed Christmas song out there, probably because it’s pretty easy to find four syllables to fit into the repeating four notes that are supposed to sound like bells.  I’ll admit, there was a time when I did like this song, but it’s played so often in TV commercials that even the original version grates on my nerves.

Joint Crackers

I've found an amazing new website devoted to one of my subconscious pastimes: cracking my joints.  There are a ton of forums for popping knuckles, toes, backs, necks, and weird joints like hips, knees, jaws, and sternums.  Check it out:

Joint Crackers

23. Laughter is the best medicine.

Travel Tips - Chicago O'Hare Airport

Travel Tips - Chicago O'Hare Airport

On a recent business trip, I had the opportunity to explore the Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD) on a four-hour layover and I would like to share a few of my discoveries and tips.  First of all, the airport is huge!  I didn't get the chance to check out all of the terminals and concourses on my visit, but I did explore G, K, and L a bit as I was wandering about, waiting for my flight.

Tip #1 – Make sure your phone and laptop are charged before you arrive at the airport.  My phone was down to 6% before I finally found a charging station near the Starbucks by the security area (I think it is Terminal 3).  Electrical outlets are few and far between and the ones that I did find either didn't work (worn out, no juice, etc.) or were in use.

Tip #2 – Eat at Wolfgang Puck's.  I ordered the turkey melt and I was very impressed.  They put thyme on the French fries, which was pretty neat.

Tip #3 – Use the family/companion restroom.  It is clean and they have this neat automatic plastic toilet seat cover that changes when you wave your hand.  It’s also in a quiet part of the airport so you don’t need to feel hurried/rushed if you have to change clothes, wash up, etc.

See also:
Five Things I Love about Omahaians
O'Hare International Airport

22. Hang up and drive.