Go, Do, Be.

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Just watched Diamonds Are Forever for the first time in a while. I forgot just how kooky and absurd this movie ended-up. It's especially bizarre given the fact that the previous film (On her Majesty's Secret Service) James got married (zoiks!) and then his new bride was killed in an alpine drive-by shooting!

How do you follow that drama? Well with the absurd duo: Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd of course. Give Rosencrantz and Guildenstern a bottle Château Mouton Rothschild, a timebomb in an ice cream sandwich, a flaming kabob jab that goes horribly wrong.

SEE?

Seems like there are other foodie chips melting through the Bond cookie.

Amy and I headed north to Healdsburg for an amazing day topped-off with an amazing dinner at Cyrus, one of the best restaurants in the bay area (possibly the country).

I'm reverse-blogging this so please bear with the memories. I recall the service to be top-notch. I witnessed a table of 6 (maybe 8?) served silently, simultaneously, with such grace and precision. Our service was impeccable: every question about preparation or ingredients was met with expert, but friendly answers. I witnessed negotiations between an obviously French patron and a server over the cheese course. The server knew everything about every cheese: climate, preparation, treatments... the patron (and I) was impressed.

Our tasting menu worked like this:

1. Canapés
2. California Select Caviar with Accompaniments.
3. Amuse Bouche
4. Thai Marinated Lobster with Avocado, Mango, and Hearts of Palm.
   Wine: Kerner, Abbazia di Novacella, Alto Adige, Italy 2007
5. Me: Foie Gras "Torchon" with Tamarind and Dates.
   Wine: Riesling Kabinett, Dr. Crusius "Traiser Rotenfels" Nahe, Germany 2007
   Amy had the Gnocchi with Morels and Snap Peas
6. Seared Scallop with Chorizo and Clams.
   Wine: Manzanilla Pasada Sherry, Hidalgo "Pastrana" Jerez, Spain.
7. Duck Breast with Bok Choy and Asparagus, Sesame- Shao Xing Sauce.
   Wine: Pinot Noir, Skewis "Lingenfelder" Russian River Valley 2005.
8. Amy: Wagyu Beef with Burdock and Shiso, Oxtail Umeshu Consommé.
   Me: Lamb roulade with Mélange of Spring Vegetables.
   Wine: "Pian del Ciampolo", Montevertine, Tuscany, Italy, 2005
9. Artisanal and Farmhouse Cheeses presented Tableside.
   Wine: Savigny-les-Beaune, Camus-Bruchon "Vielles Vignes", Burgundy, France 2006
10. Verjus Sorbet, Blood Orange Riesling Soup with Crystalized Picholine Olives.
    Wine: Brachetto D'Acqui, Marenco, Piedmont, Italy 2006
11. Tiramisu, Cappuccino "Spoon", Caramelized Fennel and Espresso Gelato
    Wine: Bual Madeira, Henriques & Henriques "15 Year Old", Portugal
    Amy: Carmelized Walnut Carrot Cake with Yuzu -- Carrot Sorbet
12. Mignardises

Hits: Cocktails were really good: the bar uses seasonal ingredients to create new drinks. The Amuse Bouche was a play on all senses of taste. The Scallop was amazing: the scallop/chorizo/manzanilla pairing was so perfect. The Foie Gras "Torchon" was a play on indian flavors: I think they served it with papadam and maybe even a puri -- lots of fun.

Misses: Very little. The espresso in the desert was too bitter. The Blood Orange Riesling Soup was a little lame. Nothing much else to complain about.

If we win the lottery we'll get back there sometime soon. Untill then, the memories will keep us rolling along.

April in Carneros is happening this weekend. We stumbled upon a few really nice wines when we went last year. The vineyards along Las Amigas in Los Carneros is turning out to be one of our favorite spots in the whole Napa/Sonoma area.

Our favorites from the last April in Carneros included:

• Bouchaine (web became members there)
• Ceja (head there every chance we get)
• Richardson (the 'garage in the field': barrel tastings of tasty Pinot )
• McKenzie-Mueller (outrageously tasty Cabernet Franc from their library)

Ok, so technically my 2/3 entry arrived on 2/4. But it's there. I was too beat to drop in the rippin' guitar solo in the 3rd verse so please imagine something good.

• Derek: Ruby On Rails -- it scales in so many ways.
• Peter: Malice And Caprice -- I REALLY liked this one.
• Me: If Yes, Then No -- more confusion.

Website housekeeping note: I moved everyone's ftp directories from /29/you to /29/players/you. I'll delete the other directories soon. This will help with a page that will do automatic updation as the files come in.

Seth + Peter: I too am really digging listening to everyone's songs. I can't express how psyched I am that youses (an EXTREMELY talented bunch) are kookoo enough to try this with me.

This week will be tough! It'll be our first time balancing this with work. Anytime you sit down to write, try writing two. Have a few ideas in your back pocket for those time crunches. Also, no penalties awarded for digging up something a few years old too.

Speaking of a few years old -- when I told eve about this she was interested in helping. She asked me to transcribe a song she wrote which I'll try to put to music on 2/6:

http://29.netscrap.com/29/players/greacen/lyrics.txt

Finally, Michael Tornatore dropped off a drum kit today, a loaner for the month. I didn't have a chance to use it yet but I'll likely switch from recording exclusively on the laptop to start using my 'studio' (finally) which means some elec-trific-o-rock-i-fication in my (and therefore your) near future.

Good luck this week!

I probably should be writing songs about rain today, but instead I had some quality time with Ginger, who turned 1. The moment she went to sleep, all attention went to you-know-what (no, not a bottle of wine (this time)) and 'On The Other Side' came to me.

Sure it's barely demo quality, lyrics are jumbled and someewhere between pointless and sketchy... I still kinda like it. Like yesterday's, I'm wishing that I had my drums handy, I think it would be fun to work out the rhythms for these tunes.

I wasn't the only one who was in the studio on Saturday.

• Seth: I Am Now -- Wow, Seth goes for the 'whole band' recording. And it's catchy!
• Peter: Call This Song -- I like it! Clever! I like the 'use the song to deal with the songwriting' form (like Derek's) too.
• Me: On The Other Side -- This came from nothing at all today. Yes, I noticed there's still a thin line between it and nothing at all.

Plus, I have ideas for the next 3 songs. Hopefully, I can trend toward completing a song a little earlier in the day.

Also, I've been really lame about putting a page on http://29.netscrap.com. I think I may need to move the directories containing mp3s on http://29.netscrap.com to make it easier for the web page to update itself. Yeah, I don't do code pushes for content updates if I can help it.

If you link to a song there... you may get an email from me about updating it.

Lastly: 6 more weeks of winter? Phil, you're killing me. Oh yeah, that and Supabowl tomorrow!