JIM WHITE DISCOVERS RHONE RED
Piemonte, Italy
When you cross the Tanaro River, north of vineyards in Barolo and Alba, you leave the prized production zone known as the Langhe and enter a wine region called Roero. It’s a bit like leaving Napa Valley proper and heading to Sonoma county.
And just as Napa Valley has done such a great job at marketing its wines to the world, so locals in the Langhe want you to think of Roero wines as coming from “the other side of the tracks.”
As it turns out, one of my favorite wine discoveries in Piemonte was a Roero wine – and even more shocking, it was white.
The wine was the 2008 Malvira Arneis Trinita, which I scored 93 points. This lovely, lemony, fruited wine comes from Malvira, a strikingly modern winery owned by Roberto and Massimo Damonte, two brothers whose families own the vineyard where the Arneis grape was first planted in – are you ready for this? – 1478.
[via David Angsten]
Ancient Human Metropolis Found in Africa [via Nina Reznick]
By Dan Eden for viewzone.
They have always been there. People noticed them before. But no one could remember who made them -- or why? Until just recently, no one even knew how many there were. Now they are everywhere -- thousands -- no, hundreds of thousands of them! And the story they tell is the most important story of humanity. But it's one we might not be prepared to hear.
Something amazing has been discovered in an area of South Africa, about 150 miles inland, west of the port of Maputo. It is the remains of a huge metropolis that measures, in conservative estimates, about 1500 square miles. It's part of an even larger community that is about 10,000 square miles and appears to have been constructed -- are you ready -- from 160,000 to 200,000 BCE!
The image [top of page] is a close-up view of just a few hundred meters of the landscape taken from google-earth. The region is somewhat remote and the "circles" have often been encountered by local farmers who assumed they were made by some indigenous people in the past. But, oddly, no one ever bothered to inquire about who could have made them or how old they were.
This changed when researcher and author, Michael Tellinger, teamed up with Johan Heine, a local fireman and pilot who had been looking at these ruins from his years flying over the region. Heine had the unique advantage to see the number and extent of these strange stone foundations and knew that their significance was not being appreciated.
"When Johan first introduced me to the ancient stone ruins of southern Africa, I had no idea of the incredible discoveries we would make in the year or two that followed. The photographs, artifacts and evidence we have accumulated points unquestionably to a lost and never-before-seen civilization that predates all others -- not by just a few hundred years, or a few thousand years... but many thousands of years. These discoveries are so staggering that they will not be easily digested by the mainstream historical and archaeological fraternity, as we have already experienced. It will require a complete paradigm shift in how we view our human history. " -- Tellinger
Where it was Found ... READ MORE HERE
Enjoy the ride. There is no return ticket: George Carlin on aging!
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21... Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling.. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone...
But! wait!!! You MAKE IT to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE IT to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You GET INTO your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; it TURNS 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1.Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath..
6... The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on.. The only person, who is with us our entire li fe, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips... Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
INSIDE DOWN UNDER [via Nik Halik]
T
These were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humour (not to mention a low tolerance threshold for cretins!)
Q: Does it ever get windy in
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
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Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (
A:Depends how much you've been drinking.
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Q:I want to walk from
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
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Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in
A: What did your last slave die of?
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Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in
A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not... Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
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Q:Which direction is North in
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
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Q: Can I bring cutlery into
A:Why? Just use your fingers like we do...
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Q:Can you send me the
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is ..... Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
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Q: Can I wear high heels in
A: You are a British politician, right?
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Q:Are there supermarkets in
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.
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Q:Please send a list of all doctors in
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.
All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
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Q:I have a question about a famous animal in
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.
You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
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Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
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Q:Do you celebrate Christmas in
A: Only at Christmas.
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Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it
LA YOGA MAGAZINE Features YOGA GIVES BACK
GO KARMA
We’ve been continuing a tradition in the November issue of LA YOGA that we focus on Karma Yoga, seva and selfless service and all the ways that we can and do give back, pay it forward and give to each other. It’s a powerful practice, and we’re participating on November 22 with Yoga Gives Back, a nonprofit founded in Los Angeles by Joel Bender, our teacher profile in this issue: and filmmaker and yogi Kayoko Mitsumatsu, people who wanted to give back to India,Kayoko's Story the birthplace of Yoga, since Yoga has given so much to them. Read how they’re facilitating changing lives in India in Kayoko’s story and join us for a team-taught Yoga practice (with LA YOGA editor Felicia Tomasko, Kasey Luber, Gary Margolin, Chris Stein , John Sahakian and Tara Judelle) where the donations will support Yoga Gives Back. November 22, 10:00 A.M. -12 Noon at Yogaglo in Santa Monica.JIM WHITE JOINS THE WHITE TRUFFLE FRENZY
Alba, Italy
Gastronomes and chefs have flocked to this remote corner of northwest Italy for 79 consecutive Octobers, in search of fall’s premiere food, the highly prized white truffle. Hallelujah and pass the truffle slicer!
Check out this colorful story (lots of pix!)
MISIDENTIFIED DA VINCI PAINTING WORTH $160 MILLION [via Nina Reznick]
By Hilary Whiteman (CNN) -- A smudged fingerprint has convinced art experts that a painting thought to have dated back to the early 19th century is the work of revered Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.
Little is known of the painting before it appeared in an illustrated Christie's catalogue in the late 1990s labeled as "German, 19th Century" under the name of "Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress."
It sold for $19,000 at the auction to respected New York art dealer Kate Ganz who kept it for 12 years before selling it on for a similar price in 2007. The work is now locked in a Swiss bank vault with an estimated value of more than $160 million.
Peter Silverman had seen the work during the original auction back in the 1990s. "I was actually an under-bidder because I thought it was a wonderful thing but I didn't have the knowledge at that time to go all the way," he told CNN.
More than 10 years later, he was walking in New York with a Swiss friend whom he describes as a "major collector of contemporary art."
"He popped into the Ganz gallery and saw this thing on her desk which was for sale. And he came out and said, 'Peter I don't know what I'm looking at here; I'm a contemporary collector. But I certainly would like you to have a look at it because it doesn't look 19th Century to me.' So I went and looked at it and I bought it right way for him."
Silverman then began the long process of proving that every expert and art lover who had seen the painting over the past decade -- and earlier -- had been wrong to assume that it was the work of anyone other than one of the world's greatest artists.
Van Gogh: drawing in words is also an art [via Nina Reznick]
Published on 27 Oct 2009
A massive new edition of Vincent Van Gogh’s letters has been released
If Vincent van Gogh had never lifted a paint brush nor touched a single sketchpad with a pencil, he would still be remembered as a great writer.
The letters he wrote to his friends and family have long been recognised as much more than the mere jottings of a painter but as a great literary achievement in their own right. As Vincent himself remarked to his younger brother Theo, “…drawing in words is also an art”.
Most of us have only caught glimpses of the expressive power of Van Gogh’s writings, but a massive new edition of the letters now allows anyone to appreciate this side of his work in full.
The edition has been produced in traditional book form (in six volumes) but the prime publication is a superb new website (www.vangoghletters.org), freely available to all users.
The web edition brings together all the original texts with completely new translations, annotations and is illustrated with all the relevant works of art. It is an amazing new resource which will, quite simply, transform our view of Van Gogh and his achievement as both artist and writer.
Click Here to read more ...
Penquin Group Canada Showcases Dracula The Un-Dead
Look at this picture and you can see where this driver broke through the guardrail, on the right side of the culvert, where the people are standing on the road, pointing.The pick-up was travelling about 75 mph from right to left when it crashed through the guardrail. It flipped end-over-end, bounced off and across the culvert outlet and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert, facing the opposite direction from which the driver was travelling.
The 22-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger were unhurt except for minor cuts and bruises. Just outside Flagstaff , AZ on U.S. Hwy 100.
Now look at the second picture below...
It's not that bad considering.... It could always have been worse...
Hoover Dam Bypass [via David Angsten]
Creeping closer inch by inch, 900 feet above the mighty Colorado River, the two sides of a $160 million bridge at the Hoover Dam slowly takes shape.
When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevada and Arizona.
In an incredible feat of engineering, the road will be supported on the two massive concrete arches which jut out of the rock face.
The arches are made up of 53 individual sections each 24 feet long which have been cast on-site and are being lifted into place using an improvised high-wire crane strung between temporary steel pylons.
The arches will eventually measure more than 1,000 feet across.
Work on the bridge started in 2005 and should finish next year. An estimated 17,000 cars and trucks will cross it every day.