Sep 30, 2009 A MAN who flashed himself in full view of his neighbour opposite was fined $800 on Wednesday.

Graham Wayne Smith, 60, a trainer, pleaded guilty to the offence at his Yishun flat at about 1am on March 10.

A magistrate’s court heard that a 43-year-old housewife living opposite Smith reported him to the police for doing an obscene act.

Investigation showed that the complainant was in the kitchen when she noticed Smith looking at her flat with a pair of binoculars.

After telling her 18-year-old daughter, they switched off the kitchen lights.

A while later, when the complainant switched on the lights again, she saw Smith in the buff.

Smith admitted to the police that he had used the binoculars to look into the complainant’s unit and intentionally removed his clothes and masturbated in front of them.

Pleading for leniency, his lawyer, Mr Paul, said his client, who has been married to a Singaporean for more than 30 years, was contrite, remorseful and ashamed of what he did.

That night, he said Smith was working late at home and was under much stress. Not a habitual drinker, he took some wine and a bit of his wife’s sleeping tablet.

The lawyer said in his mitigation plea that the incident had brought the couple closer, and both were actively seeking all help to save their marriage.

Smith also had health and other family-related problems, he said.

He could have been fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to three months.

I was at a friends house (what else is there to do?) the other night and they were drinking this:

Only in Boston.

Seriously.  Nowhere else would something this tacky be socially acceptable.

It was at a Sunday afternoon, I had one hour for myself before our official meeting was about to start and I decided to have a glass of wine in Vapiano in Mittelstrasse which is near Friedrichstrasse in the centre of Berlin.

Vapiano is a worldwide operating chain restaurant in an Italian style, but at times I like to go there. The standardization means that you know in advance what you are getting.

I went through the wine list and choose the Gavi (6 Euro/glass) which was nice but I should have odered the most expensive wine on the list, the Riesling (8.5 Euro).

GAVI »ORO« GAVI DOCG
La Scolca, Piemont, Italy.
fine, elegant, harmonious and fresh.

GEHEIMRAT »J« RIESLING, SPÄTLESE, TROCKEN
Weingüter Wegeler, Rheingau, Germany.
According to ‘Fine Wine Review’, of the USA, this Riesling is the best Spaetlese in Germany and award winner of the German Riesling competition.

I sat in the “garden” (or better: the yard) of Vapiano and enjoyed my glass of wine in the hope that I was not to be disappointed when later that day the election results would come in. What a splendid hours that was.

K&L Wine Merchants

Quick:  you’ve got to pick up a couple of bottles for a dinner party, and want to spend about $20 per bottle (or less).  Short of stocking up on bottles at your corner bodega, where would you go?  While BevMo! might seem like a good stand by, let me throw you a curve ball:  K&L Wine Merchants (SOMA:  4th & Brannan) has some of the best bargains in the entire Bay Area.

K&L might best be known as the go-to place for higher-end,  hard-to-find wines in the Bay Area, but it also happens to be a great place to find quality, value wines. I put them to the test on Sunday, and they passed with flying colors.

I was planning on serving a hearty entree for a “Mad Men” dinner/viewing party, so wanted a tasty red to round out the meal.  Lucky for me, K&L had a really exciting selection of syrahs, all for under $20, including two harder to find selections from David O’Reilley, of Owen Roe fame:

• 2007 Owen Roe Ex Umbris Syrah (Columbia Valley, WA) – $19.99
• 2006 Corvidae “Lenore” Syrah (Columbia Valley, WA) – $12.99

I decided to go with these two in order to do a Pacific Northwest tasting — the “Lenore” being particularly fitting for a “Mad Men” night given the literary allusion to Edgar Allen Poe’s classic, “The Raven.”

But K&L had even more to offer.  Either of the following would also have been great selections, and also tremendous values:

• 2006 Copain L’hiver Syrah (Mendocino) - $12.99 [From all-star winemaker Wells Guthrie]
• 2007 Boom Boom Syrah (Washington State) – $14.99 [From rock-star winemaker Charles Smith, recently voted Food & Wine magazine's winemaker of the year]

Moral of the story:  K&L might well be my new favorite wine store–not only for special occasions, but for everyday wines, too.

PS – K&L also has a great mobile site:  m.klwines.com.  Check it out.

Si possono leggere in giro diversi articoli che parlano di una prevista inclusione di wine nell’installazione di default in Lucid Lynx. Diverse persone risultano infastidite o addirittura preoccupate da ciò.

Nel post precedente avevo accennato che una maggiore integrazione di wine era in progetto già da karmic, anche se poi è slittata. Qui c’è il progetto originale. Come vedete si parla appunto di una maggiore integrazione allo scopo di rendere più semplice l’uso di wine, non c’è alcun accenno ad alcuna installazione di default di quest’ultimo.

Salvo decisioni successive possiamo dormire tranquilli: wine non ci sarà nella nostra box

Had the most amazing dinner with the winemaker/owner of Willakenzie Vineyards in Oregon along with 23 other wonderful people at Spruce last night. Bernard (owner) makes the best pinot noir I have tasted in a long time. You must try it!  www.willakenzie.com

Tomorrow, the City Club. Wine tasting dinner, round two. menus and wines served at both to follow…..

Producer: Bacio Divino
Name: Pazzo
Vintage: 2004
Region: Napa Valley, United States
Price: ~ $30

The only thing better than drinking your wine is drinking somebody else’s. My friends Ryan and Rochelle brought over a bottle of Pazzo by Bacio Divino from the Napa Valley and it was excellent. I believe they received it as a gift for their wedding and were generous enough to share it with my wife and I on “Games Night 2009″ the highlight of which was Taboo.

The colour is clear but deep ruby red and the bouquet has deep notes of black and red cherries, spice and subtle hints of oak. Because this blend is predominantly sangiovese (with petite syrah, cabernet sauvignon and viognier) the palate too has an abundant dark cherry taste but also has smooth notes of spice and earthy wood. The wine is quite balanced with good acidity. It’s character persuades you to keep coming back for more and with each taste you discover something new. So frickin’ good! Again, excellent wine. Thanks Ryan and Rochelle!

Booyah!
J

Posted via email from Wino Blogger