Big Ass Syrah 2005 Napa Valley Syrah - Wine Review

Big Ass Syrah 2005 Napa Valley Syrah. OK--so I was a bit amused when we decided to try this wine based upon the recommendation of the wine guy at ABC Wines in Jupiter. FL.

The wine is described as follows:

Ample, full, rich, generous - Big Ass Syrah lives up to its name! Ripe fruit aromas of blueberry and cassis are meshed with caramel and toasty oak. This powerful nose also exhibits elegant aromas of dried rosemary, which adds complexity to this full-bodied wine. On the palate, flavors of blueberry and blackberry are exhibits on the entry, while savory, smoked bacon is found on the mid-palate. This wine is aged for 16 months in new French and American oak, which adds vanilla and a hint of pepper to the fruit characters. Dark chocolate flavors linger on the finis.

The wine is excellent. We served it with pork ribs which were very well spiced and the wine held its own. The wine is definitely fruit forward with an excellent nose and good staying power--but not over-powering. It goes down very smoothly and despite a name which might cause one to over look the wine--it is worthy of a good tasting.

Rating: If you like Shiraz/syrah--try this wine. It is good with spicy foods. The nose is excellent and the staying power is well refined. I really liked this wine and found it unique enough to become a house wine. The wine is between $11-15 per bottle.

People on the Beach Part 2

I continue to be amazed at some of the people on the beach. After our walk earlier, we returned to play in the surf and get some more rays from Sol.

The waves today were beautiful--it was far to rough to snorkel, but we enjoyed playing in the water. But two people caught my attention as we were enjoying the company of our friends on the beach.

I am a slave to technology, everyone knows that. But on the beach--I put the cell away to enjoy the beach. I mean--way walk the beach if you are just going to be blabbing away on a cell phone.

Talking on a cell walking the beach represents everything that is wrong with our society--we do not know how to get away from the stresses of life. We are killing ourselves with stress and imagined importance. We take ourselves way to seriously.

Think about it--if the phone rings during a family dinner--should you answer it?
Your cell rings during a dinner out with family-- do you answer it?
Now change family to business associate or customer--does the answer stay the same?
You are toweling off after a shower and the phone rings--do you answer it?

Point is--these nifty communications devices are supposed to free time for us, yet they are making us slaves of technology.

So, while it may seem as if I am ridiculing the people on the beach, I am really sorry that they cannot free themselves from the chains of technology long enough to enjoy the sights and sounds of the beach. And to de-stress.

The kids on the beach have it right. Take time out to enjoy the sand, the sun, and the fun.

Pelicans on Patrol

This morning we decided to walk along the beach early rather than riding our bikes. We did this for something different to do and to enjoy the early morning of the beach. It is a busy place in the morning, but not from people--from the animals and especially the birds. We enjoy watching the birds as they interact with the environment.

The pelicans are some of our favorites as they seem to fly along the beach in formation, looking for breakfast. The fly close together and seem always to know where they are going. They are fun to watch. They are surprisingly big birds.

Also the beach is always alive with other sea birds who are hunting for meals. They stand so still. Waiting for the unsuspecting meal to appear. They also watch the people on the beach--I suppose wondering if we are going to compete with them for breakfast. Of course, we don't directly compete--I mean when was the last time you ate a crab fresh from its hole on the beach? But in a sense, through our disregard for the environment, we are competing with all life on the planet for the right to survive.

Ah, the beach.

Sunday in Jupiter

It is another beautiful morning here in Florida. The weather has been awesome. Last night we were able to sit on the balcony and enjoy the evening--it was almost cool with the breeze after the afternoon thunderstorm cruised through.

We went to one of our favorite haunts to enjoy Island music--Panama Hatties. So the dancing added a bit more to our exercise routine.

This morning we biked 9 miles to start the day along the ocean. It was another beautiful Florida morning.

Oh, yeah--and now we're off to the beach.

Jackson - Miracle Baby an update

Jackson is four months old. He is doing great and I linked his Mom's blog to his name so you can get an update on his progress from those first few days of life as he was undergoing open heart surgery at Johns Hopkins to the awesome child he is now.

I got this picture from the blog so you can see how bright he is. He continues to be a miracle every single day and I urge you to check out the blog to ready how great he is doing. God has worked a true miracle and we are all enjoying this miracle every single day.

Continue to pray for Jax and his development and for his mom and dad and the entire Haslup clan (don't forget Ethan).

And I still say--he is going to do awesome and wonderful things.

Hancock: Movie Review

Hancock, the movie was an afternoon project the other day. We love to watch movies during our vacation and catch up a bit with what's out there. Despite the relatively low ratings from the critics, we decided to take a chance on Hancock.

We thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Will Smith shows a great degree of versatility in the role and the supporting cast is fun to watch. The story--this is not just another superhero movie worked for us. The plot twist through which Hancock is a superhero also worked.

Kenneth Turan of the LA Times said this of the plot twist:

"But then, just about without warning, “Hancock” makes a completely unexpected and head-shaking plot turn that derails the film in a way that it never recovers from. This second part of “Hancock” has the further disadvantage of coming up with its convoluted rules as it goes along, making it especially hard to understand what is happening to its characters or the reasons for its events."

I admit the plot twist really changes the course of the movie and takes a bit of flexibility to get used to, but in reflecting back on how it worked out--I thought it worked. Let me tell you, I liked this twist a lot better than the ending of the new Indiana Jones movie.

Will Smith in the lead is great as the superhero Hancock. Jason Bateman as a supporting actor is strong as well serving as Ray, the man who begins to ressurect Hancock's career as a crime fighter. Be advised--there are no Oscar worthy performances in this movie. Jae Head is cute and makes a solid contribution to the film an the son, Aaron. Charlize Theron as Mary, the wife if Jason Batemen's charascter is beautiful, but the role didn't work well for her.

The movie moved well, I never looked at my watch to see how much longer I had to suffer.

Rating: Entertainment for a rainy afternoon. Definite rental when it comes out on DVD.

WALL-E: Movie Review

WALL-E the movie. I knew I wanted to see this movie, but I had no idea how deep this movie would really be. Pixar and Disney have teamed up for many great movies and this one is by far the best. The messages in the movie about being responsible citizens of the planet, taking care of ourselves, and of love are very mature and deep. But the movie is a lot of fun too. The movie short which precedes WALL-E is extremely funny--I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

WALL-E is not a kids movie! It is a must see movie for our generation. The main character is a lovable trash-compactor robot charged with cleaning up the world after the human race departed for a five year trip in space--which turned into 700 years. There is romance and friendship in the movie. The robot comes of age watching "Hello Dolly" which adds a surreal twist to the plot.

WALL-E is extremely well done and the animation is definitely top notch. The messages in the movie are serious and real--so the entertainment factor is high as well as the social statement factor. The movie is well balanced and there are no slow periods.

Rating: Superior. Suitable for all ages. My recommendation is that you drop what you are doing and go see this movie. Everyone will be talking about it so you need to see it too. Buy it when it comes out on video. Some of the statements made in the movie are too close to being true.

People on the Beach

I love the beach. Nearly everyone knows that. Chris is the people watcher though. She always has some really keen insights about the faces and the people that we see on the beach. Some are sad and some are happy. Today we were chatting about people that really touched our hearts.

The group here was taking mother (we guessed) for a walk on the beach.  We talked about how in years gone by, Mom, in the pink, would take the girls to the beach and hold their hands as they went to play in the crashing surf. And now, years later, the roles are reversed. Shortly after I took this picture, the girls sat Mom in a chair in the surf and let her enjoy the waves crashing at her feet.  Life is a path we follow. We begin holding the hands of our parents for security, and then we hold the hands of our children for security and we end in the loving arms of our children.

Next we saw this man walking on the beach. He was very tall and very alone--it seemed.

We were not sure of his story, but his solitary walk spoke volumes of his past. Maybe he was a basketball player or other sports related person. One doesn't really know. But he was on the beach this day and part of our beach experience this morning.

 

But, then there was this one last face on the beach this morning--looking out and enjoying the rays! 

Sundown at the Square Grouper

We went for happy hour to the Square Grouper last night to enjoy some good times with an awesome view of the Jupiter Inlet. It is an outdoor Tiki Bar with live music most nights.

The view is awesome of the inlet and last night we were treated to two water birds who were fishing right in front of us. It was an awesome afternoon watching the inlet change from afternoon to evening and the birds feeding.

There was a country singer on stage and we listened to him until we left. He sang a lot of old fun country songs--including "Should'a Been a Cowboy" which we sang very loudly to. The weather continues to be awesome and it is good to get away form the everyday hustle and bustle.

Birds on the Beach

Chris is great with a camera. Last night, when she wasn't recording the mad dash of turtles to the sea, she was stalking birds on the beach. With great success. Of course, little did the birds know that they were being stalked as they were at the same time stalking the sand crabs who populate the beaches as well. This particular bird was especially persistent and we believe was eventually rewarded with a crab dinner. He just out waited the poor crab who knew something was up, but just couldn't contain his cuirosity! Unfortunately, he won't make that mistake again. And you thought Mother Nature kind. Yeah--not if you're near the bottom of the food chain. I guess not everyone who goes to the beach has a good time!