Book Review: Smart Mobs

Smart Mobs, The Next Social Revolution
Howard Rheingold, 2002, ISBN 0-7382-0861-2
This is an important book, especially for anybody interested in the future of mass communications, politics and/or our society. Rheingold talks about how portable devices, pervasive connectivity and increasingly powerful hand-held computing is leading to the creation of virtual communities tied together by their devices and not by their physical proximity. Remember Moore's Law applies to hand-held phone/computers [Wikipedia Link.] Most of his examples are not in the US. Rheingold makes the point that we are far behind in this country in having the kind of infra-structure that supports pervasive portable computing.

Despite being printed in 2002, Rheingold's book is timely today as we look at what is happening to print journalism. Why subscribe to a paper newspaper when the technology to get information in your portable device is here, is improving, is more timely and is more compelling than print?

One of the things that really is apparent to me as I read this book, and do things like text message my friends, is that there is a mobile generational digital divide based not on incomes, but on age. Many of my older (my age) friends who consider themselves very tech literate just do not seem to get this technology and the social implications of it. Could this be because our socialization skills were developed in a pre-silicon era? We have already seen pedagogical implications of mobile technology in students using the collaboration capabilities of portable picture capable devices to cheat on exams. Rheingold over and over makes the point that we need to not think of portable devices as cell phones, he says we need to think of them as remote controls for life. In my opinion when you mix portable devices with RSS enabled software as a way to deliver podcasts, you have a killer way to deliver instruction. Here is a related Blogsite [Link].

In my opinion we hold the future of journalism, the future of education, the future of social interaction in our society; in the palm of our hands.

This is a geek must read book. It rambles a bit, but worth the effort. My "new scale" rating [Link] 93.

Book Review: Winslow in Love

Winslow In Love, by Kevin Canty, Nan A. Talese
February 2005
This is a great book. It is captivating and very well written. My "new scale" rating [Link] 95. This 2005 Book, [Link] was an absolute joy to read. Sometimes it takes awhile for a book to grab me. This one had me at the first sentence. This is an intellegent book about a subject that is almost a cliche, an older, spiritually lost alcoholic professor and a younger, equally lost, student. But, it is no cliche and has unexpected twists and turns right up to the last pages. In this book, it is the writing. Here is an example of what I mean:

"The one thing I finally figured out," says Erika, "is that you'll never ever understand what goes on between two people when they're in a relationship. Easier to see what's happening on the dark side of the moon."

This book has had mixed reviews, like this: [Link] and [Link] and [Link]. I loved it!

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Movie Review: Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

Great foriegn film for everyone
It's a love story, it's a musical, it's a tragedy, it's a foriegn film filmed in America. My "new scale" rating [Link] 90. This 2003 Movie, [Link] Kal Ho Naa Ho (tomorrow may not be) is an Indian movie filmed in New York City. Most of the dialect is in Hindi, with some spurts of English. It is about an Indian family and their Indian neighbors making a go of it in New York. The DVD has English sub-titles. It involves a love triangle and a hidden secret, or two, that once revealed changes the lives of those involved. Time well spent!

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Movie Review: Crash

One Grim Movie
This 2004 Movie [Link] was one depressing film. My "new scale" rating [Link] 60. I was gritting my teeth through this film and it gave me nightmares. It had a surrealistic feel kind of like the 1999 movie Magnolia [Link]. I kept expecting frogs to start dropping out of the sky. It was too raw in how it portrayed people. Yes, I know the capacity for ugliness is in us all and we are all an interweaving tapestry of good and evil. I didn't need this movie to tell me that. Best movie of 2005? Well, it must have been one grim year for movies!

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Wine Review: Lake Sonoma Winery, Barbera, 2002

A decent wine
Nice, gentle palatte, nice nose & easy to drink. Not bad, not exciting, a good wine. My "new scale" rating [Link] 79.

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Wine Review: Hook&Ladder, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2004

An all-time favorite of mine
At twenty dollars retail this is a steal. This is a wonderful Pinot. It starts well and finishes wonderfully. On your first nose you know this is something special. It has layers of delightful flavor complexity, an incredible smooth palate and a long, long, long lingering finish. Cecil DeLoach owner and winemaker at Hook and Ladder [Link] really did a great job on this wine and I love it. It is very case worthy. My "new scale" rating [Link] 95.

Winemakers Note:
The grapes provided us with a wine which is at once extraordinarily complex in its flavors and aromas while also filled with black and blue fruit flavors and aromas: Black Cherry, Blackberry and blueberry. The aroma is seared with barrel spices, cinnamon and a mellow smoky components. It is classic Pinot Noir in structure with a smooth entry yet mouthfilling. This is classic Russian River Pinot Noir produced by one of the region’s pioneering Pinot winemakers.

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Wine Review: Coro Mendocino, Blend, Graziano Vineyard, 2002

Coro Mendocino, Blend, Graziano Vineyard, 2002, Mendocino County
What is a Coro? Click on this great story to find out [Link]. We shared a bottle of 2002 Coro from Graziano Winery [Link] with my brother-in-law John Graziano, who is the winemaker at Millbrook Vineyards in New York State [Link]. My rating (See New Scale Link) = 87. Very nice blend, very big, very fruit forward. This really reminds me of a Paso Monster Zin. The Zin really dominates this wine.

Winemakers Notes for 2001 vintage:
For the first time in U.S. history, a collaboration of 8 Mendocino vintners has set blending and aging parameters for wines distinctive to a region (ie. like the appellation controllee wines of Europe). Each winery created its individual blend based on the protocol and a panel of experts reviews it. Each winery personalizes the common label, which will be recognizable as Coro Mendocino, and bottles the wine in a uniform bottle.

This unique blend of old vine Zinfandel and three classic Italian grape varieties, Sangiovese, Barbera & Dolcetto, have come together to create a wine that has great structure and elegance. Aromas of violet, spices, and cedar weave through the vibrant raspberry fruit character, culminating in a harmonious finish laced with vanilla and toasty oak. The wine’s complexity and depth of flavor will continue to evolve with further bottle aging.

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Wine Review: Syrah, Babcock, 2003 Frying Pan

Syrah, Babcock [link], 2003 Frying Pan [My Rating [Link], 9] Very good. An excellent Syrah. Rich and elegant. Big and bold with a strong taste of black cherries and cinders, finishing long with a lingering oakey and smoky taste that makes me think of the sun and the hard earth this wine came from.

Retail $50, Terrior Exclusive, Received Nov 05 Wine Club. Winemaker's notes:

Alisos Vineyard, Los Alamos Valley. At this point, the Alisos Vineyard is considered one of Santa Barbara County’s preeminent sources of fine Syrah. Being fairly close to the ocean in the Los Alamos Valley, it is slightly cooler as Syrah climates go. But within the property there is a small north-south running canyon, the direction and depth of which hides it from any prevailing breeze. It is one of my least favorite places to take cluster samples because anytime after 9:00 AM on a warm day, you get cooked as you traverse the canyon. Because of the way the vine rows are laid out, it makes no sense to walk all the way to the ends of the rows to turn into other sections of the vineyard. You have to poke your body and your bucket of grapes through the vine row. The sweat on your body always insures that you wear home a layer of dust. The soil is said by grower Loren Colahan to be a “shattered hardpan”, a marly looking chert hardpan to be precise. Our side of the canyon, where this wine comes from, faces west, drenching the perfectly stressed vines in sunshine all day. Its wines are epic. For its name I condensed the concepts of the canyon’s heat and its hardpan soil; FRYING PAN.

Technical Notes: VARIETAL COMPOSITION: 100% varietal VINEYARDS: Alisos Vineyard, Los Alamos Valley, Santa Barbara County FINISHED WINE: Residual Sugar: Dry, pH: 3.69, TA: 7.5 gm/L Alcohol: 14.8% TIME IN BARRELS: 18 months, 33% new French oak BOTTLING DATE: December 2004 TOTAL PRODUCTION: 132 cases 12/750 ML RELEASE DATE: November, 2005 SUGGESTED CA RETAIL PRICE: $50.00 per 750 ML

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Wine Review: Syrah, Babcock, 2003 Nook and Cranny

Syrah, Babcock [link], 2003 Nook and Cranny, Estate Grown, Santa Rita Hills.[My Rating [Link], 8.5] Good. An excellent syrah but not as rich and elegant as the frying pan. Bold with a tart taste of black cherries and smoke. It starts out big and ripe. It is high in alcohol and it tasted it right away. Still, nice with a lingering oakey and smoky finish. Retail $50, Terrior Exclusive, Received Nov 05 Wine Club. Drank 1/7/06. Perhaps more time in the bottle would have taken off some of it's edge? Winemaker’s Notes:

Syrah grown west of Highway 101 in the Santa Ynez Valley can be extraordinary. The trick is in getting it thoroughly ripe. Our vineyard is under a heavy influence from the ocean, and like the rest of the Santa Rita Hills, it’s very cool and breezy through out the growing season. In fact, most of our ranch is too cool to consistently ripen Syrah. But, as luck would have it, we have a couple of small sites that do accommodate this noble Rhone varietal.

With the exception of Burgundy, the prevailing wisdom says that great vineyards in the northern hemisphere ideally face west or south, so as to insure that their vines get plenty of sun. But with Syrah we have found it necessary to plant on east facing hillsides, out of the wind, where it is actually a couple of degrees warmer through out the day. With 95% of our vineyards facing the wrong way, we are only talking about a couple of tiny adjacent hillsides. Making it even more extraordinary is the fact that their soils are a matrix of gravelly loam and shattered sandstone, the kind of stuff that intimately governs the vigorous nature of Syrah, while still allowing it to ripen. What we have are two little viticultural sweet spots, indeed on our ranch, the NOOK & CRANNY for the growing of world class Syrah.

The downside is that we can’t make very much of this stuff. The upside is that 95% of our ranch is Mecca for growing Pinot.

Technical Notes: VARIETAL COMPOSITION: 100% Sryah VINEYARDS: Babcock Estate FINISHED WINE: Residual Sugar:Dry, pH: 3.57, TA: 7.3 gm/L, Alcohol: 15.0% TIME IN BARRELS: 18 months, 33% new French oak BOTTLING DATE: December 2004 TOTAL PRODUCTION: 169 cases 12/750 ML RELEASE DATE: November, 2005 SUGGESTED CA RETAIL PRICE: $50.00 per 750 ML

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Wine Review: Zinfandel Russian River Valley, Lake Sonoma, 2002

Our Comments:
This Lake Sonoma Winery [Link] wine came to us in our wine club in Dec. 2004, Drank 12/24/2005.

[My Rating [Link], 9] I like this a lot and would buy again without hesitation. Just a bit Jammy, but not too raisiney. In a family tasting at Christmas Eve 2005 this was our favorite among three good ones, including Coyote Creek. A bit bigger than the Paso zin, but not as smooth. this was fun. Bought one During Sonora Trip 2004, received the other 12/04

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Restaurant Review: Gilley's Coffee Shoppe, Los Gatos, CA

My opinion of Gilley's Coffee Shoppe

Gilley's Coffee Shoppe
(408) 395-3318
47 N Santa Cruz Ave
Los Gatos, CA 95030

[My Rating [Link], 6.5]
Susie and I went to Gilley's this morning and I am still suffering from the heartburn. We went there on Monday, January 02, 2006. The food was mediocre in my opinion. The menu raved about the coffee. The menu writer must not have tasted it. I have had better coffee at truck stops. Before breakfast I asked the waitress about the hash browns and she said people raved about them. They turned out to be typical undercooked mushy glop with a little brown crust on the outside. I ordered the Italian Scramble, that was marginally okay, a little overcooked with globs of goopy cheese. Next time, if there is one, I will stay away from anything fried there. There are a lot better places to have breakfast in the same area, in my opinion.

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Wine Review: Zinfandel, Montevina 2003, Terra d'Oro, Amador County

Our Comments
This Montevina Winery [Link] wine came to us in a gift exchange at Peggy and Georges, 2005, Drank 12/24/2005. Very Good, spicy, held up very well with the other wines of the same or a better price point that we tasted and drank on Christmas Eve 2005. [My Rating [Link], 8.5] I like this a lot and would buy again, even if I had to pay for it.

Mystery wine reviewers notes:

This classic foothill zinfandel showcases jammy berry fruit aromas accented by red spice scents and hints of truffles and oak vanillin. Its rich, focused, brambly flavors are supported by firm but supple tannins and persist into a long, fruit-filled finish. This Zinfandel beautifully complements grilled and barbecued meats, rack of lamb, and pasta in red sauce.

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Wine Review: Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder Winery, Napa Valley, 2002

Our Comments
I bought this Mount Veeder Winery [Link] wine at Trader Joe's Dec 2005, Drank 12/25/2005. Well balanced and a treat. We had this at Christmas dinner 2005 and it was a hit. Not a big oak cab, this will not knock your socks off, but consistent from the first sip to the nice finish. If slow and steady wins the race this is a real winner. [My Rating [Link], 9] We like this a lot.

Mystery wine reviewers notes:

The 2002 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is solid and well-made, with a trim band of cedar, currant, herb and fresh earth flavors that are well-proportioned, if lacking extra flavor dimensions. Drink now through 2012..."

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Family matters

I hope you are having a great family holiday. I am taking a posting break from this blog, to spend time with my family. I will be posting some of these holiday activities and you are invited to follow along at the Sloan family blog [Link].

Wine Review: Zinfadel, Cline, Sonoma, Dry Creek Valley 2002

Our Comments
Bought During Sonora Trip 2004, Drank 12/7/2005, Susie said "This one is a winner." A real pleasant Zin, This is all about balance! Not a monster zin, very mellow, well balanced and easy to drink, finishes nice. Well balanced. [My Rating [Link], 9] We like this a lot.

Wine makers notes: The 2002 Sonoma Dry Creek Zinfandel is derived from five separate Dry Creek appellation vineyards. Combining fruit from both hillside and valley floor has produced a wine of excellent depth and flavor with the characteristic Dry Creek spiciness.
 
Fermentation and Aging
Individual lots of fruit for this Zinfandel were harvested separately according to ripeness and balance of acidity. The grapes underwent near total destemming and a very gentle crushing to ensure a large proportion of whole berries in the must — contributing to the explosive fruit character of the wine. Fermentation was carried out in stainless steel with select cultured yeasts. The grape juice, skins and seeds (called “Must”) was fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at the optimum temperature to extract rich flavors and provide excellent color. The wines were pressed off their skins at dryness and racked gently before being laid down to a complement of small French and American oak cooperage for 14 months — approximately 40% of the barrels are new American Oak.
 
Winemaker’s Comments
The 2002 Sonoma Dry Creek Zinfandel shows concentrated dark berry, firm tannin structure and great acid. Prolonged aging in new and used wood has lent this wine a subtle vanilla quality that nicely complements the explosive fruit notes. Enjoy this wine presently for its effusive black fruit, or cellar for 5 to 7 years. An excellent accompaniment to grilled Tri-tip or Porcini Risotto.

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