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CHEAP-O WINE REVIEW: 2007 PONT DU RHONE PRESTIGE

When I first saw this bottle at good old Trader Joe's I couldn't help but be curious. Wine in a PLASTIC BOTTLE? I'd heard about this new trend, but had yet to sample the goods. Worst case scenario I figured I could get some mileage out of throwing the bottle at my friends and watching them flinch. Boy was I surprised, this wine is one of the best 5 dollar bottles I've had in a long time. Round and full, fruity, but not too fruity. Nothing complicated, but somehow incredibly satisfying. This may be my go to party red for a while to come. You may feel conflicted about the packaging, after all glass is better for the environment than plastic. It's easier to recycle, and causes less pollution during its creation. Consider this-these bottles weigh significantly less than their glass counterparts, so when you factor in the fact that cases of these lighter bottles also weigh significantly less, you are talking about a smaller carbon footprint during the importation and distribution process. I'm just saying, being green isn't always so black and white. You can feel good about drinking this wine.

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THE LOST SEASON 5 FINALE: TYPICAL

So much happened in last nights episode it's difficult to know where to start. We watched Jacob, a.k.a Rita's abusive ex from Dexter, visit all of our beloved Losties in various stages of their lives. We watched what seemed like the final showdown between Jack and Sawyer, who for some reason still love Kate even though she's turned into a huge bitch-I'm guessing because she doesn't want to end up in prison for the rest of her life (though she ended up having a change of heart.) We saw how Dr. Chang lost his arm. And then Juliette was attacked by an unfortunate bundle of chains and sucked into the 'almost' hatch, only to sacrifice herself for everyone (no doubt so that she can move on to her new role on V.) And, as usual, it ended without answering most of our questions and while bringing up a whole boatload of new ones.

Black Shirt The Evil Guy (or maybe he's good, we don't know) can apparently possess the dead spirits of people, if their body is present on the island. This explains Christian walking around from the very beginning and hanging out in Jacob's cabin. It also explains why Locke had to die, and why Locke told Richard to tell other Locke that he had to die. It also could seemingly explain any dead apparitions on the island, though I'm still confused about Bradley Cooper (Locke's Dad and the guy who conned Sawyer's parents) though I suppose Jacob could have just 'brought' him there, as Black Shirt says he does in the opening scene with The Black Rock.

Derek, who is a Lost newby, only really getting into it this season, has solved the 4 toed, crazy island statue mystery. Knowing a bit more about Egyptian mythology than your average guy he was able to deduce that the statue is of the crocodile faced Egyptian God, Sobek. He was known to carry an Ankh in his hand, which Wikipedia says:

"represented his ability to undo evil and so cure ills."

Wikipedia goes on to say:

"Sobek's ambiguous nature led some Egyptians to believe that he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good itself...He was also said to call on suitable gods and goddesses required for protecting people in situation, effectively having a more distant role, nudging things along, rather than taking an active part."

So, yeah, this seems to shed a bit of light on whatever the hell was going on in that episode last night. This also ties in with the answer to the annoying "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" question which Richard answered in Latin and then the folks at Lostpedia translated to: he who will protect/save us.

Jacob is some sort of godlike figure, meddling in people's lives, perhaps trying to undo the evil that they have done, or that has been done to them. Black Shirt, seems to be the bad guy, but maybe he's not. Who knows? Don't think too much about it because you have to wait until 2010 for an answer. The nerve.

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DESTROYER SLAYED US

Caught Dan Bejar, aka Destroyer, in a show tonight at Echo Park's Echoplex, where he performed solo: just himself, his red acoustic guitar and some of his best-loved songs, going all the way back to 2000's Thief. 

We missed the Devon Williams band, but caught the second act, indie-jazz chanteuse Azita. Accompanying herself on electric piano with dusky, wailed/moaned incomprehensible lyrics, she reminded us of many acts past and present: Nina Simone, Carole King, Buffy Saint Marie, Rickie Lee Jones, Marianne Faithfull, Cat Power, Joanna Newsom, and Faun Fables, achieving none of their singular appeal. Having said this, we thought she had a rich, intriguing voice, a fluent piano style, and a charismatic stage presence. She's one to keep an eye on, though we recommend a few coherent covers of other people's songs.

But we came to see Destroyer, and we were not disappointed. His guitar playing was crisp, energetic and flawless. The solo performance format brought the lyrical mastery of his songs to the forefront, showcasing them in an intimate, uniquely resonant way. The audience sat spellbound for most of the fourteen song set, breaking its rapture only to cheer wildly between numbers. He offered up generous, spirited renditions of songs his fans love, playing extensively from the aforementioned Thief, as well as Streethawk: A Seduction, This Night, and Rubies. 

Nearly fifteen years and 8 albums into his career, it was clear we were witnessing a special show by a major voice of our generation. His songs, with their mix of wit, clever rhymes and earnest melodies, unfold the way our minds do: joke after joke, until what emerges from the riddle at last is a chorus heartfelt, insistent, passionate, and suddenly profound. 

Here's a setlist, for those who care about such things:

Destroyer solo, Echoplex, Los Angeles, May 10, 2009

Helena

Painter in Your Pocket

Downtown (new song)

Goddess of Drought

Watercolors into the Ocean

The Temple

Virgin With a Memory

The Chosen Few

Your Blood

Beggars Might Ride

To the Heart of the Sun on the Back of the Vulture, I'll Go

European Oils

Freedom (Swan Lake cover from Beast Moans)

Encore- Self Portrait With Thing (Tonight Is Not Your Night)

LAST WEEK ON LOST: AWKWARD.

It seems like only yesterday this season
of Lost began and now I am anxiously awaiting the finale. What will happen? Who knows! My brain hurt just trying to figure out some of last week's doozies. If it had been three years since Locke had been there then why was Locke able to watch himself walking through the jungle shot in the leg? Wasn't that 3 years ago? It seems that all logic is out the window now and the only solution is the final solution; blow up a hydrogen bomb to set things straight. Things are just getting too awkward and weird on the island for everyone and total annihilation is the only option. Obviously the whole Sawyer, Kate and Juliette together on the sub thing was horribly awkward. I couldn't find a picture so I had to make my own little "Fan Art," (I know, I'm a dork, I've already covered that.) But what about Eloise killing her own son? Jack telling Kate that he'd rather go back to never knowing her at all? Miles having to admit to Dr. Chang that he is, in fact his son from the future? Locke telling Ben he's going to kill Jacob? Everything is certainly at a boiling point and I can't wait to see how they rap it all up. But, I can't help but feeling like this season has been horribly short. Yes, they didn't subject us to the several week hiatuses of last season, but since when does 3 months constitute a season? Will we have to wait another 8 months for the 6th and final season?

REASON #78 THAT L.A. IS AWESOME: THE ROSE BOWL FLEA MARKET

Sunday May 10th, Pasadena, CA... image via me

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