On a recent wine pleasure-seeking tour through the Edna Valley, Risqué and his LUSHES had the unexpected pleasure of being privately toured though Tolosa’s facility, escorted by the adorable winemaker, Nathan. Nathan, with his cute boyish smile and pink cheeks, delighted Risqué and his pleasure seekers by sharing a quotum of Tolosa’s 2007 Sauvignon Blanc just days before it was to be bottled.
The 2007 Estate Sauvignon Blanc comes from one of their Edna valley floor “Salaal” vineyard blocks that are usually cooler than the other vineyard blocks. Tolosa strives to create a Sauvignon Blanc that produces characters of guava, passionfruit and citrus (omitting the somewhat usual characteristics of “Cat-pee” or “Juniper Berry”). Nathan stated that they do this “with aggressive leaf pulling and fruit thinning” and, of course, starting with good clones and viticulture.
Risqué always enjoys a crisp delicious Sauvignon Blanc but is highly offended by SB’s that exude “Cat Pee.” So… Risqué was uncertain if he’d like this… but, being willing to indulge in almost anything…plunged in. Nathan is on the mark with this… it is succulent guava and passion fruit with stone fruit, sweet Meyer lemon and bountiful honeysuckle. If it’s “aggressive pulling” that produces this tasty offering then Risqué says "pull away!”
Keeping an eye out for this (yet to be) release of the Tolosa 2007 Estate Sauvignon Blanc is highly advisable as Risqué is planning on seeking a lot of pleasure with this beauty through this next long, hot summer.
News like this kinda makes you doubt equal protection. Stephen Moller was just released early from prison, just one year after being sentenced for the death of Sean Kennedy, a 20-year-old gay man in South Carolina.
Stephen Moller
The community was already outraged last year when Moller received a rather lenient sentence of three years for what was argued to be a hate crime, since witnesses testified that Moller yelled anti-gay slander at Kennedy as he beat him to death outside of a bar in 2007.
Sean Kennedy
The Human Rights Campaign released a statement reading: “This adds insult to injury. To release a man just one-year after his sentencing in this heinous crime and to inform the victim’s mother through an automated recording is despicable. Sean Kennedy was violently attacked for no other reason than his sexual orientation. This is a text book case of why we need to pass federal legislation that would bring stiffer penalties and provide local authorities with the full resources of the U.S. Justice Department to address vicious hate crimes.”
Sean’s mom, Elke Kennedy, wrote a letter to congress in support of the Matthew Shepard Act, a federal hate crimes statue that would, among other things, give the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias motivated violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It also allows the Justice Department to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias.
I think Moller’s sentencing in the first place, and now this insulting early release, highlight the need more than ever for the federal Act. Unfortunately, there are biased bodies of government who are unwilling to try hate crimes, and in some cases, even acknowledge them, leading to the breakdown of justice seen here.
To get more info on the Matthew Shepard Act and to find out how to help ensure its passage, check out FightHateNow .
"As of this week, an estimated 265 service members will have lost their jobs under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" since January 20.
That's when President Obama and the new Congress came to town promising change—change they've failed to deliver, certainly with respect to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Every day they wait to act, another service member is fired simply because of his or her sexual orientation.
We're marching to the White House this Saturday to call on President Obama to show leadership on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Even though you're not near Washington, you can join this effort by telling your friends why 265 is disgraceful—and why we've got to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell":
Like those who drew a line in the sand 40 years ago at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, we're standing up to demand action. It's past time for these discriminatory discharges to end.
After 16 years of this nonsensical law, it's critical that President Obama and Congress act to kill "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Together, marching, we have a real opportunity to deliver a powerful message to the White House, to Congress, and to the American people—and to let our service members know they have not been forgotten.
Tell a friend now why 265 is disgraceful."
For more info on Saturday's march or the cause, go here .
Why I'm even attempting to find meaning in a Britney video is probably my first problem. But alas, here is the brand new Britney Spears video off Circus, "Radar."
What's actually going on here? Why are they playing polo? Why is the movement super slowed down for a dance/upbeat song? Is there some Madonna/horse connection?
And honestly, why am I so perplexed by a damn Britney video?!?
As I sit and write this, LGBT America is recognizing the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. While at the gym and sweating on the elliptical, I thought about how the Stonewall uprising was sparked by continued police raids in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The raids were an aggressive enforcement of the law that prohibited the sale of alcohol to gays.
I came up with plenty of clever quips about how lucky we are to be able sit down like Carrie and Samantha and order a Cosmo at our favorite gay watering hole. Or how thousands of us can breathe a collective sigh of relief that angry police with paddy wagons didn’t show up at the Pride beer tent and throw us in the slammer.
But the joke was on me. When I got back from the gym, I went online to see how my friends in New York, Toronto and San Francisco were doing with their Pride celebrations. I meandered through Facebook and found funny updates and ridiculous mobile upload photos that showed some of my nearest and dearest up to their fabulous gay best.
Some were flirting and handing out marriage equality brochures, some were head-to-toe in rainbows and marching in the parade; and some, okay let’s say a lot, were drinking, partying and having a great time.
But then it hit me. It was a small, almost defeated sounding note from one gay guy in Fort Worth, Texas. Quietly and humbly he was using Facebook to let his friends in other parts of the country know that something bad had happened there.
According to him and other witnesses, while many gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the Gay Pride movement, local Fort Worth police borrowed a page from the history books and raided a newly opened gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge. With zip tie handcuffs and what many described as considerable force, officers apparently entered the relatively quiet bar and arrested patrons; charging many of them with public drunkenness.
It is a horrible, insulting and sobering thought that this can happen in 2009. Almost as if all that we have overcome in the past 40 years just reared its ugly head and kicked down the door.
For those thinking now isn’t the time for an organized march on Washington, you may want to think again. This is happening to your brothers and sisters right here in this country—and it’s happening right now. If that isn’t a cause to show strength and solidarity, I don’t know what is.
