No sommelier had ever risen so rapidly as Bordeaux native Henri Marnier. At age 30 he had built a storied wine cellar at Au Troll Mignon in Neuilly. By the time he was 35, Henri's opinion could make or break entire harvests.

Across the ocean in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, no star at Cletus Siding blazed brighter than that of Burt Stump, winner of a national sales incentive trip to Paris.

So it was, on April 4, 1966, that the two had their one and only encounter. Following Henri's counsel, the Stumps ordered a '58 Chateaux Margaux. Stump took a sip and pronounced it "undrinkable." Marnier pronounced it "eminently drinkable." Stump said, "Fine, you drink it." Marnier answered, "Fine, I will," then finished the bottle in front of the Stumps, taking two hours to do so. "Margaux," he said, "will not be swilled."

Two hours later, France's premier sommelier collapsed. Three weeks later, he succumbed to Margaux-induced sepsis.

Four decades later, Henri Marnier remains "Le Martyr de Bordeaux." Burt and Brandine Stump enjoy an active retirement in Coral Gables, Florida.

---from a handout that encompassed our check at the local French joint.

Posted by: Kathy at 03:41 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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To paraphrase the husband: There's a reason why AT&T's nicknamed "The Death Star."

AT&T Inc. has joined Hollywood studios and recording companies in trying to keep pirated films, music and other content off its network — the first major carrier of Internet traffic to do so.

The San Antonio-based company started working last week with studios and record companies to develop anti-piracy technology that would target the most frequent offenders, said James W. Cicconi, an AT&T senior vice president.

The nation's largest telephone and Internet service provider also operates the biggest cross-country system for handling Internet traffic for its customers and those of other providers.

As AT&T has begun selling pay-television services, the company has realized that its interests are more closely aligned with Hollywood, Cicconi said in an interview Tuesday. The company's top leaders recently decided to help Hollywood protect the digital copyrights to that content.

"We do recognize that a lot of our future business depends on exciting and interesting content," he said.{...}

{my emphasis}

So, basically what we have here is an ISP saying they're going to start patrolling their pipes for copyright infringers. This means not only will BitTorrent whores be singled out for their bandwidth hogging ways, but could, conceivably, extend to anyone who looks at a clip from a tee vee show on You Tube. AT&T is doing this because they value their relationship with Hollywood more than they do the customers who fork over God only knows how much per month for internet service, and who, essentially, keep their business in business.

Ironically, they're doing this so they have access to future content to sell to said internet subscribers.

Who won't be able to download it without thinking long and hard about whether AT&T could potentially cut off their internet service if they do.

Idiots.

The only funny bit about this is that Cingular, which as the commercials incessantly remind us is "now the New At&T" is launching the iPhone at the end of the month. It's not clear what, specifically, this means for iPhone suckers users, but I don't suspect it'll be anything good when it comes to providing content for that nifty little screen you're supposed to be able to watch movies and tee vee on.

See also: Tech Crunch and Tech Dirt

Posted by: Kathy at 11:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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{Insert the sound of my bald head smacking against my desk here. Repeat fifteen times, then take some advil.}

This should be a big honkin' sign you have too much bloody money:

{...}"I've taken the time to familiarize myself with the impressive field of Democratic candidates and am convinced that
Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate to lead us from her first day in the White House," Spielberg said in a statement.

Spielberg, a founding partner of DreamWorks Studio and the director of such films as "Jurassic Park," "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan," had waited several months to decide which candidate to endorse as Democratic hopefuls jousted for Hollywood's financial backing.

His decision reflects Clinton's growing support among show business heavyweights following a period in which many donors hedged their bets by giving money to several candidates, including Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen.
John Edwards.

"My sense is that there continues to be three very strong talented Democratic front-runners, and there's a long way to go," said Andy Spahn, Spielberg's political advisor.{...}

{my emphasis}

Steven Spielberg has his own political advisor?

Are you kidding me?

There is actually a class of working politicos who advise film directors as to whom they should endorse for the Democratic nomination for president?

Again, are you fucking kidding me?

Give it to the poor, Stevie. Give it to the poor. Or, in the absence of any poor people in Beverly Hills, give it to me. I'll spend it wisely. I promise.

I'm so glad he chimed in with his decision, too. Because I've been waiting for it like I've been waiting for the sequel to War of the Worlds.

Or a case of the clap.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:48 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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