Ok, you're a music geek. What else?

[TragicMagic]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
I think Australian Shirazes are very consistent -- good quality and very good values, but they tend to be very fruity/jammy, as though you're eating a spoonful of raspberry preserves. There are some standouts, though, such as Torbreck and Two Hands.
[/quote]

Hey there! Both of those wines are from the Barossa Valley, which is very close to where I live (its about an hour away). It is of course one of my favourite regions. I have Mclaren Vale (another great wine region) only 15 mins in the other direction!

I personally prefer Cab Sav's from Barossa and Shiraz from Mclaren Vale (actually .. I prefer Shiraz from the Coonawara region more than both of these, however that's about 3 hours away from me).

TM

[Bitter Almonds]

<p align="justify">[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>Thanks XXX. I've seen 6 or 7 of those movies. It's quite a global selection. I'll try to hunt some of them down. Btw, Stanislav Lem's book Solaris is phenomenal. I've seen the soviet movie (and steered clear of the George Clooney US version), and I enjoyed it. But if you get a chance, the book is fantastic and a short read (200 pages).[/quote]

I definitely need to read the book and pass it on to my little brother for summer reading.

Actually, the Steven Soderbergh version of [i]Solaris[/i] is a good rendition, and I am pleasantly surprised he chose this as a bona fide piece of mass entertainment. This is a very difficult task, where most directors give up their artistic ambitions in order to compromise with producers and financial backers who want to make a big profit from the movie

[quote][i]Originally posted by mar¡Ì[/i]

I must say, I've always been impressed by XXX's filmic devotion. My movie collection is comparable in size but no where near as exotic.

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[/quote]

I ran out of shelf space after a few hundred dvds. Marv, plaese to recommend a ready-made shelf from Ikea, Pier1, or Crate & Barrel[xx(]

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[marie3]

[quote][i]Originally posted by mar¡Ì[/i]
<br>The Gosling Family Reserve Old Rum sounds extraordinary. I'm a big fan of the mojito and I think I made a convert out of Marie also. I've experimented with the recipe though by replacing the mint with ginger and the syrup with honey. If you exclude the sparkling water altogether, it serves a nice martini straight up. I wanted to create something very Caribbean and I love it to death [:)]

I think this is a great idea for a thread. Eight6, I'm Googling the Classic Racers show right now.

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Marv did make a convert of me. Mojitos are my favorite right now. Caipirinhas are a close second.
My mint plant has been potted and on the deck.
I have only used Bacardi when I make mojitos. I am so looking forward to checking out the other rums suggested here.
(sorry to go off topic)

[SallyLightfoot]

Mojitos are usually made with white rum. Bacardi seems to be the most common brand for it, but other cuban-style rums have their proponents: Havana Club, and then Dominican Republic's Brugal White and Matusalem. I've also heard of Cruzan Light and 10 Cane as good options.

I don't drink mojitos or white rum very often, but after reading this topic, I may need branch out a bit this summer. My neighbor served me a mint julep a few weeks ago, and it was very nice. Anything with a sprig of herbs sounds pretty inviting.

[SallyLightfoot]

[quote][i]Originally posted by TragicMagic[/i]
<br>Hey there! Both of those wines are from the Barossa Valley, which is very close to where I live (its about an hour away). It is of course one of my favourite regions. I have Mclaren Vale (another great wine region) only 15 mins in the other direction!

I personally prefer Cab Sav's from Barossa and Shiraz from Mclaren Vale (actually .. I prefer Shiraz from the Coonawara region more than both of these, however that's about 3 hours away from me).

TM
[/quote]Lucky you! Sounds like you're in the midst of some great wines! I hope I didn't sound too dismissive of Australian reds. The more expensive producers (Penfolds et al) are very very good. Overall, the one thing that sticks out for me is that Australian reds are very consistent. When friends ask me which ones are good, I tell them that they almost can't go wrong with anything on the shelf.

[KYYX4ever]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>[b]KYYX4ever[/b]>> [i]I also enjoy the wine... As long as it's dark red, thick, heavy, and full--faves being Shiraz(es), Syrah(s), and some Cabs and Merlots.[/i]

If you like dark & thick reds, I'd check out Spain and Portugal. They're both fantastic values. In Spain, I'd go for any Syrah you can find. In Portugal, I'd look for Touriga Nacional, which is made with the same grape as Port wine, only without the sweetness. Both of these regions have famously dark & inky reds with lots of subtle complexity. Also check out Chile and Argentina's Syrahs, which can be really great if you hunt around.
[/quote]

Thanks for the note. We drove around Spain & Portugal 2 years ago and enjoyed many great red wines. The Touriga Nacionals were amazing, very dark and heavy. I like when I can practically taste the earth and the dirt from the area, and the oaken (or whatever wood) vat in which it is kept, and just imagining the darkness of the cellars it is aged in. In 1989, I did an exchange to Italy during college for a year. We went on a LOT of tours of wine cellars; dark, subterrannean, and redolent of earth and wood. They were like catacombs, minus the skeletons. Unbelievably, this was years before I even drank (well, enjoyed) wine, but a great experience anyway.
I really enjoy the dark reds from the Languedoc area in France; any of those southern regions of France always impress me.
I have been very impressed with Australian reds !
I always pick up new and unusual reds, from all over the world, when I get wine. I'm open for anything, and don't get disappointed often.

[MARV]

I'm big on herbs. I also pot them and I plant them in my own compost. Pots are good because you can move them with the sun through out the day. I throw a bunch of leaves (basil, oregano, spearmint, lemon balm, whatever) in the shaker with vodka and ice.

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[SallyLightfoot]

[b]KYYX4ever[/b]>> [i]We drove around Spain & Portugal 2 years ago and enjoyed many great red wines.[/i]

I'm been a fan of Spanish and Portuguese wines (as well as cheese & cuisine) for a long time, so that sounds like an amazing trip. I've never been to Spain or Portugal, but it's on my list. Gotta love that old world vineculture.

I have a soft spot for French wines. To me, it's all good-- as in "even when it's bad" kinda good. Languedoc has surged in quality and popularity in the past two decades. When I lived in France, it was a region that was enjoyed mainly by the domestic market. If you like Spain and Italy, give Sardinian wines a try. They seem to combine some elements of both countries in an interesting way. Come to think of it, a trip to Sardinia would probably be a life event as well.

[b]Marv[/b]>> [i]I'm big on herbs. I also pot them and I plant them in my own compost.[/i]

I've tried to grow my own herbs, but I almost always fail. If I put them outside they get eaten by the critters, and if I keep them indoors, they die for one reason or another. I need to do some research on how to grow them properly. I keep buying basil plants and expecting them to live without much care, but it doesn't work out that way. You compost your organic waste, you greenie? I'm impressed. [;)]

[KYYX4ever]

I love to grow herbs, and I love to compost ! Planting herbs in your own compost really helps the herbs' growth, as it helps keep moisture and nutrients intact. They don't need a ton of watering; often, plants & herbs die more easily from overwatering than from underwatering. That is more true for indoor & potted plants, I'd say. My oregano and thyme are perenniels and grow all year, even during winter. I go out there and chop them down with hedge clippers every couple months. Anyway, a good compost pile doesn't even "smell" if created properly. Here in the desert southwest, I have to water mine. Gardening around here has its own sets of challenges. I love it, though.

[MARV]

[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>Actually, the Steven Soderbergh version of [i]Solaris[/i] is a good rendition, and I am pleasantly surprised he chose this as a bona fide piece of mass entertainment. This is a very difficult task, where most directors give up their artistic ambitions in order to compromise with producers and financial backers who want to make a big profit from the movie.....I ran out of shelf space after a few hundred dvds. Marv, plaese to recommend a ready-made shelf from Ikea, Pier1, or Crate & Barrel[xx(][/quote]

Agreed on the Soderbergh Solaris. I think we spoke about this once before. It's one of my favorite sci-fi flicks.

I had this closet built when I redid my basement and I squeeze all my DVDs in here. The shelves on the inside wall are two dvd widths deep and I still don't have enough room.

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As you can see, I have movies overflowing into other areas of my home theatre space [V][xx(]

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[Mechi]

Mojitos are better with Havana Club than with Bacardi... and the price difference in getting one rum brand or the other is no that big.One my friends is a bartender and spoils me with the best mojitos ever and loud levels of new order music whenever I visit the bar he works in. Now, every other bar I know sucks in comparison to that one.

One of the things I enjoy the most is ice-cream... I'm always visiting new ice-cream stores and trying rare flavours. Same happens with coffee and tea... and there seems to be a trend in opening specialty tea houses here in Buenos Aires (well, NYC has all those things multiplied by ten or a hundred... but anyway, it's very nice to be able to enjoy those things here).

But I'd say that I'm mostly a science geek... I keep a lot of books and even some of the experiments I've done (yes, I have my first DNA extraction sample here at home and lots of chromatography sheets too).

http://www.fotolog.com/mechi2mechi

[TragicMagic]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by TragicMagic[/i]
<br>Hey there! Both of those wines are from the Barossa Valley, which is very close to where I live (its about an hour away). It is of course one of my favourite regions. I have Mclaren Vale (another great wine region) only 15 mins in the other direction!

I personally prefer Cab Sav's from Barossa and Shiraz from Mclaren Vale (actually .. I prefer Shiraz from the Coonawara region more than both of these, however that's about 3 hours away from me).

TM
[/quote]Lucky you! Sounds like you're in the midst of some great wines! I hope I didn't sound too dismissive of Australian reds. The more expensive producers (Penfolds et al) are very very good. Overall, the one thing that sticks out for me is that Australian reds are very consistent. When friends ask me which ones are good, I tell them that they almost can't go wrong with anything on the shelf.
[/quote]

No no.. didn't sound dismissive at all. Though personally being from amongst some of Oz's best wine regions I tend to get a little biased, there is a whole world of great wines out there! I personally REALLY enjoy Sauv Blanc's from New Zealand... my favourite whites generally always end up being from new zealand. I tasted some great whites from California while I was overseas recently and also some great reds from Spain (their names elude me!!) (maybe I had too much!

[Max Murdoc]

I just added 2 more paper clips to my collection.....I think I have close to 100 now. I found a box that holds them pretty well, ironically the box has the word "paper clips" on the side. Sweet!

[SallyLightfoot]

[b]Max[/b]--
http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... inders.jpg

Maybe a belly-button lint collection could be in your future.

[b]Mechi[/b] -- [i]"I have my first DNA extraction sample here at home and lots of chromatography sheets too"[/i]

Serious DIY geek creds FTW!! I read MAKE magazine (http://makezine.com/), but I usually don't have time to indulge the pursuits of my inner geek.

[Max Murdoc]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>[b]Max[/b]--
http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... inders.jpg

Maybe a belly-button lint collection could be in your future.


[/quote]

I don't have any lint down there....and I don't really want to start collecting other peoples lint so I'll pass on that one. Thanks!