The Palate That Could

Yesterday my friend Ramin and I threw down some Magic Dogs for dinner. For those unfamiliar with the newspaper publicity of Rusty's Magic Dog, you can check it out here.

So, with the organic dogs and rolls and all the delicious toppings, Sierra Nevada Porter Spicy Brown mustard is a KEY ingredient. As Ramin and I were devouring the dogs, something was off. I immediately noticed it. It was the mustard!

Did they change the recipe, did it spoil?? what was the problem?? I've bought this stuff for almost 2 years through dozens of barbecues... I've probably purchased 12 bottles of this stuff in the past 2 years and this bottle was NOT the same.

Well, there's only 1 way to find out... get Sierra Nevada on the line!

So, I called them on the phone today and a nice guy answers and asks me about the bottle and I read a code from the bottle off to him. He picks up a similarly coded bottle from his stash, from the exact same batch as mine.

He tastes it, then he shifted the conversation. "You have an amazing palate... consumers never even notice this slight difference in taste.  You must really be able to taste the difference in food, beer, and wine... pretty remarkable". 

He says the recipe has not changed, but the mustard mellows as it sits on the shelf. In the past 3 months, Boulder has been eating the heck out of this stuff, so it's fresher. And with the freshness, it's sharper and has a more pronounced horseradish flavor. 

I guess I didn't need Sierra Nevada to tell me I had an amazing palate, but there you go!

And he's going to send me a free bottle... one that's older to see if I notice the difference. 

Bam!

Mammatus Clouds

After reading a friend's blog on clouds, it reminded me of an interaction I had with the chief meteorologist for Fox 31 in Denver. Chris kindly answered my question as to what kind of clouds I photographed last summer. 

Here is his email:

"Very cool clouds you saw at the Eisenhower Tunnel!  It appears from the photo that those clouds are a combination of rain shower “streamers,” or shafts of falling rain and Mammatus clouds.  They form only in connection with thunderstorms, and appear as pouch-like bubbles underneath the higher clouds, and are typically seen after the worst of the storm has passed.  For a more accurate/scientific description, click here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud .  Hope that answers your question…and thanks for watching!"

There's your meteorology lesson for the day...

LOVESMITH

my friend donnie is getting back to playing music; check out lovesmith HERE.
above is one photo from our photoshoot last week... hope you enjoy.
-R

Krakow & Nowa Huta, Poland

click photo to enlarge...

I never got around to posting photos from Poland, so here you go... To learn more, check out the links for the beautiful city of Krakow and the former industrial communist district of Nowa Huta.

The last three images were shot in Krakow, and the rest in Nowa Huta.

Enjoy.

moonrise over denver/boulder

got the chance to see the moonrise earlier this week. kind of like a sunrise, except the moon comes out of the horizon. it plays an optical illusion on us, and looks ginormous. the don and i took a little drive above boulder and saw the moon ascend out of denver and hover above the plains. beautiful, huh?

Space Capone - Party Times Ten

Hey everyone, please do yourself a favor and check out my friend Space Capone getting down on TBS Weekend Extra. You can buy his album on itunes HERE. 

Do it, it's a party times ten. 

offshore drilling

Since 1981, there has been a law banning oil drilling off America's beautiful coastal areas.

That covers most of the country's coastal waters, including beautiful places like the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the islands of South Carolina, and the scenic cliffs and beaches of the west coast.

For normal people and nature lovers alike; the ocean represents a place of inspiration, God's beauty, and relaxation.

From CNN, "Many officials from coastal states oppose offshore drilling because of the risk of oil spills that can spoil beaches. Environmentalists want offshore drilling to stop, to protect the oceans from further pollution."

John McCain says he wants to take this law off of the books, and start drilling off of America's shores to lessen gas prices. Do we really want to irreparably sacrifice our coastal areas to make a quick fix for oil prices? I don't think so. This is a temporary and political fix for a larger problem. It would be disastrous to leave our coastal areas in the balance for such a cause.

Even Republican Cali Governor Schwarzenegger chimed in on the idea last week, saying: "But anyone who tells you this would bring down gas prices any time soon is blowing smoke."

I don't care what political party is behind the idea. Abolishing this law is a bad idea for the future of our country.

funny...

i don't know this photoographer, and i'm sure he/she is a great person and super down to earth.... but i thought this was pretty funny. click to enlarge. haha, myspace can be brutally honest.

obama / mccain article

here is a great article describing each candidate and their quirks... check it out HERE.

This Holiday Life Photos

Check out some of my photos above, seen here on This Holiday Life's website.
Check out the music on their myspace page and dig it!

Obama Clinches the Nomination - Makes History

After endless months, it is finally over. Even though Hillary did not take the opportunity to bow out gracefully, Obama officially clinched the delegates to secure the nomination. Here is a good recap of the primary season.

Obama's speech was a breath of fresh air; he talked about doing this for his grandmother, and praised Hillary for making history as a female candidate (and to get her supporter's votes), but he did not mention any trace of making history himself - the first black general election candidate. He talked about others throughout the speech, but he did not talk about this monumental achievement in terms of himself... he left this to the after-speech political commentary... which is really interesting and shows he really is appealing to all Americans.

I'm glad it's over, i'm kind of sick of the whole thing. The Obama vs. McCain race should be exciting, as well as who the VP selections end up being for each party. I'm looking forward to what both candidates have to say in the debates.

I'm glad this phase is over, now we can move on with it.

the great scottish deerhound

"A most perfect creature of heaven ... of the noblest northern breed ... deep in the chest, strong in the stern, black colour, and brindled on chest and legs, not spotted with white, but just shaded into grey - strength to pull down a bull - swiftness to catch an antelope."

The Talisman - Sir Walter Scott of Edinburgh, year of 1825

a couple years ago, i developed an interest in a breed of dogs called the scottish deerhound. they're fairly rare, so you don't really come across them around town. however, a breeder happens to live about 10 miles away from boulder... maybe the only breeder in colorado. they're called deerhounds for a reason; they used to hunt deer in the highlands of scotland. so, they're big and extremely fast, but also gentle and the chillest dog breed in the world.

anyway, today i got the chance to meet her and her deerhound at a dog show in longmont.

YES. a dogshow. it was unreal. if you've seen the movie "best in show", imagine that without the satire. it was amazing.

fortunately, the deerhound breeder shannon was super cool and not one of those types. when you have a rugged dog like a deerhound, there's no room for that. she even jokingly mocked the whole dog show scene. she was extremely friendly and down to earth, a wonderful lady.

so, here are some pix of chloe the deerhound (standing) and one of her friends laying down. chloe loved me... ha... they were amazing! hopefully i'll own one someday. i also threw in a poodle photo for good measure. what a crazy and interesting world.