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A New Year, a New Weekend, a New Meander

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  1. Those Meander wines are pretty expensive, but they sound tasty.

    I've been telling everyone about a Portuguese red wine from the Dão region, Quinta Dos Grilos. If you can find it, and that isn't real easy, it is typically priced around $12 a bottle. It's really good. I would even venture to say that you don't have to like red wine to like this red wine.

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  2. Me, too! Almost as much as I like books.

    No, I take it back. I like beer better. STILL.... another thing to add to my list. We have a couple really good independent grocers who are big on wine. I'll ask them about it.

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  3. The Portuguese wines and ports are very good in general. I don't what it is about Portuguese grapes but they sure do make for some excellent wines.

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  4. Now that people are talking, some of these follow up campaign books might be fun to read:

    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/2008-campaign-all-over-again-in-new-book

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  5. "In Cold Blood" hangover. Help me! (Those who can.)

    Once Perry Smith is locked up he has a view of Garden City's main street and notices that two grey tomcats prowl the same every evening. The cats look to feast on dead birds squashed in automobile grills. I'm familiar with bugs caught in automobile grills, but birds?

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  6. Yes, actually I caught a bird in my grill, not once but twice. The first time I was on my way to Yellowstone and it really ruined my day. Hard to imagine that it would happen daily in the same spot, but as I recall this is Salt Lake City, or some place similar, so it's possible I guess.

    You need a dose of Straight Man to straighten you out after all of that murder and mayhem.

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  7. And speaking of straight men, that line -- I caught a bird in my grill, not once but twice -- is the perfect set up for Bo, the master Weber grill man, wherever he may be.

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  8. Noting "This Day in History," it is a shame more persons don't display a little "Common Sense" when it comes to government.

    Thomas Paine has to be one of the more fascinating historical figures, as he played a significant role in both the American and French Revolutions. Gordon Wood even went so far as to include him among the "founding fathers" in his book Revolutionary Characters, noting him as America's first public intellectual given the impact of his pamphlets.

    Yet, today we see such loathsome figures as Glenn Beck shamelessly cribbing the title and assuming the mantel of America's leading pundits.

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  9. Interesting to think of Thomas Paine and Glenn Beck as peers. Heaven forbid.

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  10. Okay, so birds do get stuck in car grills. I was thinking maybe there just happened to be an unusually large number of birds flying around in western Kansas in 1960.

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  11. avrds -- I'm having trouble reading funny books these days. Not in a laughing mood. The front page story in the Sunday New York Times, "Officials Obscured Truth of Immigrant Deaths in Jails," got my day off to a familiar start. Yet another example of government malfeasance. And the fact that the Obama administration has rehired Nina Dozoretz to clean up the mess is astounding.

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  12. I can relate to that. I think that's the reason I'm turning to funny books -- to escape all this news. I have a stack of them waiting, and then may try a Flashman or two.

    As much as I admire Obama, and think he is by far the best president of my lifetime, I'm afraid I've become disaffected. I received an email to make calls on behalf of the woman running in Massachusetts. Just don't have that commitment anymore I'm afraid. I can hardly keep my own leaky boat afloat.

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  13. Yes, av, it would be very difficult to see Beck and Paine as peers, let alone from the same planet, but in these strange days, it seems there is no shame when it comes to "borrowing" from history. I think the best thing is to approach "hotheads" like Beck with a sense of humor, otherwise one would go crazy.

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  14. I let my review of the NY Review of Books lapse as per usual so am stuck reading it on line. They always lure me back eventually, but they have to lower their rates. Like the New Yorker, renewals are pricey.

    In any event, for those who subscribe, looks like there's an interesting review of Lears' book that I read awhile back (it's not available online, alas).

    Also an interesting review of Palin's new book -- what a story!

    http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23532

    And finally, the historian Tony Judt has Lou Gehrig's disease and is going to be writing about it from time to time in the NYR (not easy reading to be sure):

    http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23531

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  15. This sounds like some pretty hard-core gossip, but I may not be able to resist reading this nonetheless:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/books/11book.html

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  16. Here's a really good interview with Howard Zinn, once you get beyond Harrelson's awkwardness. I'm listening to it now:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BydZv9ykJU

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  17. When I heard that one or both of the authors of "Game Change" were about to be interviewed on the radio, I promptly switched the station. Sometimes enough is more than enough.

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  18. Yes, I know, I am a glutton for punishment. But I followed that election so closely and worked practically full time on it for months, so am still fascinated by all the revelations that are coming out.

    I have learned quite a bit about the book by watching Chris Matthews -- he interviewed the two authors and I was glued to the set -- but I still may have to read it myself. Once a political junky, always a political junky I guess.

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  19. The special senate election in Mass. has become too close for comfort, but the good news is that it appears the insurgent Republican has peaked.

    I'm amazed by the "mood" of the country. I suppose the gloomy December economic report has something to do with it, but one year in, it seems Americans aren't giving Congress any slack, holding the current Democratic-led assembly accountable for the state of affairs. Rasmussen showed that more Americans (38%) felt that the Spring stimulus bill hurt the economy than those who felt it helped (30%), despite the fact that production has increased, unemployment holds steady and indicators look positive for a Spring recovery.

    Anyway, let's hope Brown's "41st vote" Senate bid is thwarted.

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  20. I guess everyone is busy reading Madison.

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  21. Good morning, Gintaras.

    No, I'm waiting for my book (and a couple others I have coming like, I admit it, Game Change.....). I tried to get a used copy of the Madison book but the copy had already sold, so did an order through Amazon.

    As for Massachusetts, I've received a couple more requests to make calls. If I were living there, I'd definitely get out and vote, but I still haven't regained my enthusiasm for the democrats (although what an opponent...).

    The New York race is also interesting. I'm fascinated by the fight to keep candidates out of the primary. I wish it weren't just Harold Ford who has the nerve to fight the system, but I'd like to see Gillibrand at least have to campaign. What a system.

    But the main deterrent here right now is the loss of the recent comment function. Hard to see where the comments are now that I'm used to that addition. I added it to a blog I have with my music friends and its down at that site, too. Have they just taken the comments and run?

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  22. Probably just overload. I imagine it will be up and running again soon.

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