Art & Life for August 2005

Photo of the Month

This lovely study --so colourful, so lush, so August!-- was taken by Cindy List, photographer, gal about town, hair stylist extraordinaire, author, make-up diva, the list goes on…

Oh, The Humanity of It All...

This month's featured humanity is Language:

To complete last month's list of words I love, here is this month's list of words/phrases that rattle around in my least favourite category!

"previously enjoyed" - C'mon! Are you goofin' me? Don't insult the collective consumer intelligence. If a car is used say "Used cars for sale" not "Previously enjoyed cars."

Crotch - What a perfectly despicable sounding word. The hard "c" sound and that dreadful "awch" follow-up. Yuck.

Strategize - Corporate Speak is an easy target, but of all the drivel that emerges in the name of hipster biz talk, strategize is the one that sends me screaming out of the room.

Ointment - I don't know why, this one gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Empower - This one was tied with "facilitate." Overall, they are not bad words, it's just that they have had the life wrung out of them by the self-help movement. 

Wine of the Month

White of the Month - Lingenfelder 2002 Riesling Bird-Label

I was completely prepared to dislike this wine!! It was given to me by a dear friend, so I should have known better as she has impeccable taste! But…it was the label, replete with an odd, folk-art spotted bird. ("Labelistas" everywhere know the aesthetics of label-picking, and yes, ironic is cool - but cutsie birds are verboten.) To boot, previously, I had a spat of inferior Rieslings, and was a little tarnished from the ordeal. However, this racy little wine won me over- it was dry, fresh and bright and had everything I love - good acidity, a hint of minerals and an underlying limey taste. Yum. Perfect casual summer sipping!  3.5/5 stars - $13.95

Red of the Month - Il Grigio da San Felice Riserva 2001 Chianti Classico

Yep, another Chianti! (Hey - it's summer, it's hot - who wants those toothsome, meaty reds?) This one was also chosen for the label. It turned out to be an excellent wine! Deep, deep ruby in colour, it had a typical Tuscany Chianti bouquet, fruity and spicy with prominent wood tones. It finished long and was quite delish. Perhaps, it was the starry night or the wonderful company (we miss you B+A!) but we are going out on a limb and giving this a 4.5. At the SAQ it checks in for a little less than $30.00

Cool sites for Wasting Time

Smoking Gun- Gold Paint  I received this from a very cool person, who had received it from a friend with the message, "I hope if I am ever arrested my mug shot is this awesome.  I mean, if you're gonna go down, do it with some spahkle"

Fed Ex Furniture  Visit it soon - before the lawyers swoop in and shut the site down. Some guy made all of his furniture out of Fed Ex packages and shows IKEA a thing or two about affordable, student home décor.

My Favorite Word  Everyone has a favourite word - what's yours? If it isn't listed here - join in the fun!

Stuff that Disturbs Other People!

Oh I love it! I'm not the only one with quirky pet peeves a little outside of the ordinary! Thanks to all that wrote to confide! Many had word issues; "very unique" and "funnest" were mentioned. Another wrote about the use of quotes around the words on menus, as in the case of "fresh" fish. ("It means the fish ain't fresh, folks, 'cos using quotes like this means you're using the word in a way that is different to its normal usage!") Other things that drive people crazy are: people who clip or file their nails in public, pantyhose with shorts, Maple Leaf tickets so expensive that it's cheaper to drive to Buffalo to see a game, Jell-O (the way it wobbles), the way all kids in television advertisements seem to be poster kids for ADHD ("If I see one more kid screaming about their pudding pops, or squirty pizza pocket, I'm starting a letter-writing campaign!") Colleen Jones ("Who thought she'd be a good addition to the CBC? Does curling make her a weather expert? Oh, maybe it's the "velvety" voice. Shudder.") Keep 'em coming and at the end of the year I'll create a "What we love to hate in 2005" page.

Stuff I Love

This month? This month I'm grooving on:

• Manu Chao's Proxima Estacion: Esperanza
• Homemade ice tea
• The Fabulous Miss Kate's awesome lemon-cream pasta recipe
• A really amazing book called Get Unstuck & Get Going - get yours today!

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