- life is too long to be a whale in a cubicle -

I think Andrew Bird's got it right - life is too long to be a whale in a cubicle - but on the upside, M and I seem to choose interesting cubicles! We left for the Niagara wine region with a troupe of M's coworkers this past Saturday, giving me a chance to meet new and very cool people, travel to a new part of the world, and drink new wines!

I'm still getting used to regulated liquor boards (and hey, look at that pie chart; 9.7% of the ON liquor trade is illegally-based? Who knew?) instead of the deregulated approach where anyone can open a liquor store - which is good for prices (I miss you, Superstore) and for availability of niche products. But the LCBO focuses on being a responsible retailer; fair prices for suppliers and connection to the community isn't bad, either. Still, the LCBO has to make a living, so several of the vintners who we visited noted they only sell them some of their products, if any.

I found and sampled my favorite icewine to date; the 2008 Stratus Red Icewine. At $40 a bottle, it's worth every penny, but sadly too expensive for my temporarily unemployed wallet. It tasted of late summer evenings; had the scent of raspberries but the tartness of rhubarbs and strawberries (not those store-bought behemoths but the small, tart ones we'd find at our Lake beside the campfire pit; smaller than shirt buttons but with a taste that belied their size) and a whisper of the best clover honey; not too cloying or heavy.

Stratus was definitely worth the visit - the most tech-savvy of the four vineyards we visited, its focus was on being environmentally sustainable with a heavy dose of style; even its processing rooms look like they waltzed off the pages of a magazine. Our sommelier was knowledgeable and clearly passionate about his job; I found it interesting that the vineyard's top wines were created using the philosophy of assemblage; the best of all red or white grapes went into their respective vats to create Stratus Red or White; then, grapes remaining would create single-varietal wines (i.e. Rieslings, Merlots, Gamays).

I loved that every winery had a different feel to it and a different approach to growing the grapes and creating/presenting their wine; from historical to uber-modern; touristy to down-home. Touring the sensory garden and getting to taste the grapes at Rief Estate under the watchful eye of our guide (Pinot Noir grapes were my favorite, although the Gewurztraminer were also tasty) while hearing about the (13!) generations-old history behind the winery was fascinating. I also enjoyed learning about the icewine-making process; part of the reason it's so expensive is that only 7-10% of the grapes yielded are used, as opposed to 70-ish percent for traditional wines. Also, the process sounds pretty chilly and un-fun for the producers. I'm very happy that people put up with it! XD

Similarly, the historical buildings that Ravine Vineyard houses their deli-bakery and tasting room in adds loads of vintage charm. I especially enjoyed the tasting room; particularly sparse and with a rough-hewn bar, it made a beautiful contrast to the delicate if stemless tasting glasses and light, often sweet wines. I surprised myself by enjoying the Gewurztraminer more than the Riesling (both were great, but found the Riesling very sweet), and picked up a bottle on the way out. Our sommelier was excellent: fun, wine-savvy, and unpretentious.

If only her counterparts in the restaurant could have met her level of professionalism, it would have been a perfect visit. Unfortunately, they were reeling from being out their usual coordinator (on maternity leave) and hosting a wedding... and having lost our reservation. When said reservation is for fourteen, that can have a big impact on a smaller establishment. However, their response to the situation was disappointing, lacking in any sort of genuine apology for the oversight (if anything, they seemed disappointed that we stayed around) and the last time I've seen cutlery hurled down on a table and left for us to distribute was...best just to say a long time ago. It was clear they have a well-heeled and well-established clientele, very much of the 'ladies-who-lunch' tier with designer handbags and/or husbands in tow, but it was pretty clear they weren't interested in adding anyone new to said clientele from our treatment. I also made the mistake of ordering their crab cakes, served with a slice of French bread and a hot pepper/corn salsa, which, while delicious, hardly qualified as an appetizer in size. (M took one look at the dish and one look at me when it was set down and asked if I was going to be okay. I smiled weakly and said I would eat slowly.) For the love of cats, starches are cheap! If this had been served with a side of couscous, rice, or pasta, it would be a gorgeous lunch dish. Alternately, fresh-grilled vegetables are slightly more expensive but would give great colour and texture contrast! As it is, I should have known better.

TL;DR: hit the winery/tasting room; miss the restaurant.

We rounded out the tour at Maleta, the smallest of the wineries, where an enthusiastic Quebecois co-op student vintner toured us through four of their wines. I was disappointed that the sparkling wine recommended by Ravine's sommelier was not one of the samples, but their Riesling was refreshing and the setting fun and casual - it felt like being hosted by a friend who happened to know a lot (and be very passionate about) wines. The accompanying cheeses were cream cheeses, instead of, well, cheese-cheeses, as I'd expected, but at that point, it was FOOD. ^_~ My fellow tourers and I also got to see first-hand how much birds enjoy the newly-sweet grapes; anyone traumatized by Hitchcock's The Birds would have been hiding under their chair.

And then it was back to the K-Dubs for us; happily tipsy, very sleepy (the rain helped; as M puts it, "the nap index was high") and wondering just which of the VERY many wineries to visit on our next tour.

I'm leaning towards "Organized Crime" - something with a name like that is bound to be fun. ^___^



♥ music of the moment: plasticities

- there may come a day in which there's nothing left to say -

...but that day is not today. ^^ I'm not sure if a day in which there is nothing left to say is something that computes in my reality. Then again, neither did constructive thought on an Internet article's comment board, and yet.

It happened this morning - I was flipping through Wired after reading an article M sent me on shared bicycles in NYC with GPS trackers that you could rent through your cell phone (there's, as the saying goes, an app for that) when I noticed the heading "Geek Culture's 26 Most Awesome Female Ass-Kickers" and paused.

It's a worthy preface that Emily Murphy was my childhood hero; she stood out because she moved to ensure that women were recognized as "persons" under the law in the province of my birth. As a Canadian child of the 80s, this was both curious - of course women and men were people, that's just what they were! - and frightening - you mean there was a time that women weren't? - but the fact that I saw myself as a person, and those around me did as well means that the cause she fought for had definitely moved forwards.

In some, if not in all media. Over the course of mulling over and writing this post, the idea of gaming as a frontier world/media/escapism has presented itself; perhaps, as one of the last 'boys' clubs' in modern Western society, the metaphor fits.

But not easily.

As Activision (Call of Duty, DJ Hero) faces considerable brouhaha for its "lose the chick" mindset on creating female lead characters for its games, the response ranges from well-thought-out to the horror of "dumb broad, now get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich". Reading through the articles, and particularly the comment boards, is generally disappointing on behalf of the entire human race. The levels of guttural defensiveness and "LOLZ IF YOU PLAY AS A GIRL UR A PANSY" (augh, gender roles/perception = FAIL and that's a completely different post for another time) rippling from those who ID themselves as gamers and even those that ID as developers/writers/programmers ("girl games don't sell!" "there are no good girl characters!" "girl games are pink and sparkly and shit!"**) is scary. At least they're not arguing that there aren't any girl gamers anymore.

Yes, trolls exist, largely to be incendiary mouthbreathers who enjoy provoking the ire of others. But even with trolls considered, this approach by Activision and the gamers' response do little to expand on/improve the public perception of those who enjoy video games and/or identify as gamers, particularly when the story generates enough buzz to land on mainstream websites like the Guardian. And let's face it: the public perception of "gamers" is almost always unflattering.

So this is my challenge to you, gaming world. Open your heads (and maybe even your heart) to the idea of not switching over a cool-sounding heroine to a weak Jet Li-wannabe in True Crime:HK just because GTA is "what sells". Be innovative! I like male heroes, just like I like linguini alfredo. But variety is good - sometimes pad thai is nice! Or take the Fable route and offer both! ...now that's bang for your buck. XD

But. Right. Back to the "26 Ass-Kickers". The list isn't half-bad; it's skewed towards current films/books/comics (I'm pretty sure Trinity and Eowyn could take out Black Widow and Hit Girl without breaking a sweat, despite not making the list) but what was encouraging was the pages (and pages!) of comments recommending other awesome characters, and not disparaging any of the choices out of hand or saying that X male character was way better anyhow. So much so that Wired compiled the comments and made a Voted-In Top 26! I'm pretty sure that fifteen years ago, the list wouldn't be quite as long as it is today.

Everything evolves. Everything changes, over time. I'm hoping that, in a few years, someone will be writing a "26 Ass-Kickers" blogpost about videogame girls - and in the end, as a storyteller myself, I can't wait to see where their stories will take us.



**...as an aside, I have to agree with the statement that most games blatantly "marketed" to Girls Only are awful. But I don't have enough fingers and toes to count girl friends who can more than keep up with our guys as we've grown up from Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time to Mass Effect and Halo; who have level shfiftytenepic WoW characters and balance that interest with an active, successful life; who work in/are affiliated with the gaming industry. I'm a casual gamer at best, myself - I'm more fascinated by the culture because I know I could be sucked right in to the escapism that they offer. I'm looking at you, Bioshock and Final Fantasy.

TL;DR? We girls are out there. Some stats say that girls make up 40% of gamers today, and you can bet your boots though we don't mind seeing the world through Snake eyes (and, okay, might check out his backside on occasion) we wouldn't mind seeing more stories from, say, Joanna Dark. More explosions, complex characters, and twisty plots; fewer dress-spheres, kthx?