Ann Bauer If only I’d known when I posted my last entry about White Burgundy and Fall Out Boy! Suddenly, everyone in the wine world seems to be talking about Clark Smith who — along with his wife, Dr. Susan Mayer-Smith — has been conducting "research" into the relationship between wine and music. The owners of GrapeCraft … Read more
I’ve fallen in love with plenty of imperfect movies. There was Donnie Darko, a film whose haphazard, cross-genre narrative I forgave because it cut right to the core of how weird and perilous it feels to be a depressed teenager. And Benny & Joon, a sweet, just-shy-of-precious story that was redeemed by genuine filial warmth … Read more
You would think — would you not? — that having been rendered temporarily, partially deaf would improve one’s ability to evaluate wine. Blindness, after all, makes the other senses more acute. Why not a faint pain and constant ringing of the ears. I had occasion to ponder this on Thanksgiving, after attending the Young Wild … Read more
It’s #128 on Amazon, so I’m guessing this book will appear under many tinsel-frocked Christmas trees — My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals, by Melanie Dunea — a thick, lush photo, interview, recipe volume that’s been described as Annie Liebowitz meets Heat. The conceit here is that 50 chefs, ranging from … Read more
I recall sitting in a long, dull editorial meeting one Monday afternoon. It was around 4:30; a dozen writerly types, all disengaged. Our eyes were darting between our watches and the door. Then, the editor gave us the topic for our annual food issue: Best Pizza. Suddenly, everyone in the room perked up and had … Read more
I’m an unreliable narrator. You should know this. Here are my flaws: I’m alternately delighted and devastated by other people (there is, for me, little middle ground); I look for meaning in everything I see, whether or not it exists; and I believe too fervently in my own ability to change circumstances, no matter what … Read more
There is a peculiar poignancy in watching I’m Not There, Todd Haynes’ film based upon the life of Bob Dylan, in Minnesota. This is the home Dylan repudiated, along with his name, his family, and his faith. It’s long been a sore point for many here: that one of the greatest songwriters of our era … Read more
I spend more time in the Byerly’s wine store than you might think. No, it doesn’t have the shop-on-the-corner charm of Hennepin-Lake or Solo Vino or Sam’s. It doesn’t have the breadth of Haskell’s or Surdyk’s. It isn’t dirt cheap like Costco, World Market, or Trader Joe’s. What it is is easy. It’s close to … Read more
WARNING: Plot points revealed below– ***************************************************************** Don’t shoot heroin. Don’t screw your brother’s wife. Don’t steal from your parents. If you do, make sure they won’t be there. Don’t embezzle from your company. Don’t squander your child support on cheap booze. Don’t whine, especially if you’re a guy. Pay some attention to the company … Read more
It’s been my experience that people under stress generally respond in one of two ways: they either shut down, sleep more, become lethargic and gain weight; or they become frantic, insomniac, impossible to calm and they lose. I’m a loser. When my first husband left our family — out of frustration and addiction and through … Read more