Posted by: Sam McLeod in Misc Stories on
Jun 28, 2010
Yesterday morning I had a cell phone. I could call people on it. That was yesterday morning.
"You've got to tweet," my editor said. "And Facebook. All day long. All night long. All the time."
"But I don't like to Tweet or Facebook," I said bluntly. "I hate it. It's shameless self-promotion."
"Do you like writing books, Sam?"
"Sure."
"Do you want us to publish them, Sam?"
"Of course."
"Then you've got to sell books, Sam. To sell books you must engage in shameless self-promotion. These days that means you've got to Tweet and Facebook. It's simple."
"But my phone doesn't Tweet or Facebook, so I can't. We'll have to find another way."
"Get a new phone, Sam."
"But..."
"No buts, Sam. Get a new phone."
New York people can be difficult.
So yesterday Annie and I took my phone to the Tri-Cities. (I can't tell you which one.)
We went to the cell phone store and told the phone people I needed a new phone-one that Tweets and Facebooks. Annie had to go with me because she's the account holder. They weren't about to deal with anybody but the account holder.
"You've come to the right place," April said. "We'll get you all fixed up, Mr. McLeod."
April was adorable. I'm guessing 21-maybe 22. Beautiful smile, blonde curls, big blue eyes, dimples-the whole deal. She was bubbly, too. She talked really fast.
April took one look at my cell phone, rolled her eyes, and threw it in the trash. She pulled a little black rectangular thing off the shelf. It didn't look like a phone.
"This is our new 14G Mega-47 WhizPixel with SimSync Sizzlers," April said.
"Is it a phone?" I asked.
Posted by: Andrew Holt in Wine, Art on
Jun 21, 2010
Sinclair Estate Vineyards recently held its grand opening for its downtown tasting room with not only a nice party and pouring of wine, but also, an art show featuring the work of Edmonds, WA artist Andy Eccleshall (Ek-ul-shail).
Eccleshall was born and raised in the U.K. before crossing the pond 16 years ago to ply his trade in the Puget Sound area. He has made a name for himself as a mural artist; you can see his work at the Sinclair's Bed & Breakfast, Vine and Roses, as he has painted beautiful tapestries in each suite.
But his true love is painting what he calls atmospherics. His definition: unusual contrasts in light created by the atmosphere. Eccleshall is particularly drawn to dramatic scenes as many of his paintings include big thunderhead clouds, but he also enjoys softer light content such as a misty morning. In both cases, he says his goal is to capture the power or softness of the natural light.
Eccleshall developed his love for portraying atmospheric light in his early teens as he soaked up the October days in England. He says that light from the England sky possesses a crispness unrivaled and that he became endeared to the light occurring just after the sun had fallen below the horizon, for it lit up the clouds with its powerful blast.
Posted by: Catie McIntyre Walker in Wine on
Jun 14, 2010
Robert Parker, leading US wine critic of the Wine Advocate publication called them "Blobbers." Anthony Dias Blue, Editor-in-Chief of The Tasting Panel Magazine referred to them as "bitter, carping gadflies." Who are these people? Well, hold onto your wine corks as they are coming to a town near you - - that's right. They are coming to Walla Walla!
The 2010 North American Wine Bloggers Conference will take place this month, June 25-27 at the Marcus Whitman Hotel. It is the premier conference for new media and the wine industry. A total of 300 independent wine bloggers, industry bloggers, and other wine and social media professionals will gather from all over North America and beyond to meet, learn about the wines from Washington State and share their wine blogging knowledge.
This is the third year for the North American Wine Bloggers Conference. The last two years it has been held at Santa Rosa, California and sponsored by the Napa Valley and Sonoma Vintners Associations, so 2010 is a big year for the conference to be moved out of California and into second largest wine producer in the US, Washington State. It is especially exciting that the first impression of the Washington State wine industry will be Walla Walla.
For decades wine journalism had been dominated by a few visible critics, such as Parker and Dias Blue and their publications. Today, citizen wine bloggers are having an impact on how wine lovers, from the novice to the aficionado, as well as the wine industry are getting their news and reviews. If you are a wine lover in any degree, wine bloggers want you to know what they know by taking the intimidation and stodginess out of wine. Welcome Wine Bloggers!
Posted by: Scott Peters in Fishing on
Jun 07, 2010
Fly fishing, fly tying and good wine . . . a few of my favorite things in life! It's not often that I can combine all three at once. Now, toss in good friends, some great food out of a Dutch oven and "Wow!" - we've got an event that you can only find in Walla Walla. The Walla² Fly Fishers just held their 2nd Annual Fly Fishing Fair at Waterbrook Winery, and now that it's over I can't wait for next year's. Really, in a community named for its many waters and now known for its wine, doesn't it make sense that we are finally putting these two things together?
If you weren't one of the almost two hundred people lucky enough to enjoy the event in person, let me tell you about it so that you can put it on the calendar for next year. We started-off with expert fly tyers demonstrating their skills, added a few incredible fly casting instructors sharing their knowledge, and staged it all in a beautiful setting, including a pond stocked with fish (at least purportedly). Did I mention that this was also a family event? The fly tyers gave away their flies and there were casting games with prizes for kids and Waterbrook wine for the adults.
So, that's how we put it all together this year and had a great day for all involved. As it turns out, I'm not the only person who enjoys my favorite things. . .
Find more details about Walla² Fly Fishers and our events at - http://wallawallaflyfishers.blogspot.com/2010/05/fly-fishing-fair-2010-at-waterbrook.html
Photo courtesy Waterbrook Winery
