Another busy week here at SSC. We are being invited to more events, be they related to the arts, wine or luxury resorts. Suddenly, our calendar has become a challenging, almost Olympic-like, schedule of places to be, people to see. Rushing to Napa Valley the other day, I realized once again Loni had left her car’s gas tank on ‘E’, her favorite position for the gauge. So I sweat it out, heading up 101, hoping that the fumes would get us to the next station. Why, Loni?! I’m too busy she says. Running from meetings and appointments. Oh, life is tough.

‘Toast of the Town’ was a great time on Thursday night up in San Francisco. We tasted many wines, and enjoyed the fine foods being served by over 35 restaurants from the area including Mustards Grill in Napa, one of our favorites. We met the co-founders of Wine Enthusiast, who put on the event, Adam and Sybil Strum. Loni was able to spend some time on camera with Adam talking about the event. Stay tuned for the video, photos and more.

Speaking of wine, Franiscan Estates hosted a superb private tasting for Loni and I and we enjoyed everything from Sauvignon Blancs and Chards to a great Meritage and big, bold Cabs. We have a full tasting report on the way, and a behind-the-scenes look at their large 250,000 case production facility. 

‘The Kite Runner’ premiere was a huge success. We were thrilled to be part of opening night at the sold out San Jose Repertory Theater. See if Loni and I agree for once in our he said/she said review.

Yesterday, we judged some playoff rounds at a debate tournament in Saratoga. We should write about that in more detail. I believe debating skills to be a very important skill for kids. It can help them understand how to better articulate an opinion by understanding both sides of a position, and to construct an argument with logic, evidence and structure. At home, I’ve discovered that Loni prefers the loosely defined, ad-hoc argument style. Now I know the difference.

I also managed to re-wire our home theater system this weekend, during a nightmarish 3 hours of pulling cables, untangling stuff, and cursing the tiny connectors and dark crevices I could barely see even with the help of a flashlight. All to accommodate Loni’s cherry, entertainment armoire. We added a remote blaster system as well so components can be controlled while hidden. The end result is great, but my legs and back are still aching. Loni, where’s the sympathy?

All Things Wine
Stark Sips
Loreto, Baja California Sur
The Arts
Food and Dining
Gadgets and Tech
Northstar at Tahoe
Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear