2010 Nissan 370Z Black Cherry with Wine Leather at Victoria Nissan - Left Rear

2010 Nissan 370Z Black Cherry with Wine Leather at Victoria Nissan - Taillamps

2010 Nissan 370Z Touring Roadster in Black Cherry with Wine Leather - 19in Rays Sport Wheel

2010 Nissan 370Z Touring Roadster in Black Cherry with Wine Leather - Dash

2010 Nissan 370Z Touring Roadster in Black Cherry with Wine Leather - Air Conditioned and Heated Wine Leather Seats

2010 Nissan 370Z Touring Roadster in Black Cherry with Wine Leather - Nissan Navigation System with XM Nav Traffic and Nav Weather

Now in stock at Victoria Nissan.

This 2010 Nissan 370Z Touring Roadster in Black Cherry with Wine Leather has EVERY available option including:

• Black Cherry exterior
• 7-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode, paddle shifters, and downshift rev-matching
• Sport Package including Nissan Sport Brakes, Viscous Limited Slip Differential, 19″ Rays superlight alloy wheels with WR rated tired
• Navigation Package including Nissan’s Hard Drive Navigation System with XM Nav Traffic, XM Nav Weather, and Zagat restaurant reviews, 9.3 GB Music Box hard drive for digital music, and iPod compatible USB connectivity
• Splash Guards
• Floor Mats
• Carpeted Trunk Mat
• Illuminated Kick Plates

Questions or if you want to purchase please call Hutch Pine at Victoria Nissan – 361-533-1205, or email me at hpine@victorianissan.com

the rundown

• a-team rhone producer
• black cherry, blackberry, and spice
• light bodied, great food wine
• ridiculous value for under $10

i will start this review by telling you to stop reading, go to your local wine shop, and buy a case  of this wine. that’s all i have to say to you.

okay, so i have a little bit more to say, but that is probably the most important thing coming out of my mouth, err, keyboard. is this the best wine you will ever taste? no. is this probably the best wine you will taste under $9? do the new york yankees have an obscenely bloated payroll?

a lot can be said about perrin & fils, i have yet to taste a wine i haven’t absolutely loved from this southern rhone producer. they have a great blog that covers harvest notes, their wine making process, and talks about the various wines they make. it’s a really cool look into the ethos of this producer, especially if you can’t make the trip out to the promised land. you can follow them on twitter, too: @beaucastel.

they, of course, make the ever famous chateau beaucastel chateuaneuf du pape, but if you are a little hard up for disposable income, they make plenty of killer wines that can be comfortable within your budget.

perrin & fils cotes du rhone reserve rouge 2007

and this wine is one of those that will be great friends with your wallet. i picked it up for $8.99, and i got a whole lot more than i was expecting (which was already plenty.)

the nose to me has a little raspberry and licorice, the wine itself is simply bursting with black cherry, blackberry, along with a nice spicy finish. it’s deliciously light bodied, with just a smidgen of wood, which i think makes this wine an easy choice whenever you need to satisfy a lot of different palates at dinner with a red wine.

there are faults to this wine: it’s a bit too light, perhaps a little too simple with its fruit-forward attack. but i’ll take the pepsi challenge, you bring me a bottle under 9 bones that even approaches the quality of this wine, and i’ll do a series on boone’s farm.

seriously though, i’ll take suggestions.

Well, I’m sorry that I neglected my little journal here, but I intend to start building it again. I had a somewhat difficult gardening summer, with the least successful project being my porch-grown tomatoes. Their foliage was lovely, but did not seem to produce much at all compared to my community garden plot. I did get quite a few Cream Sausage and Black Cherry tomatoes, but the others were sporadic in comparison. The Aunt Ruby’s German Green and Great White tomatoes in my garden were extremely prolific by comparison, although the green ones took literally months to ripen.

Zapotec Pleated, Yellow Brandywine, Cream Sausage, Aunt Ruby's German Green and other heirloom tomatoes

The biggest successes of my summer included my lacinato kale, which was beautiful and stood all summer without bolting – I harvested some practically every week – and the beets, which were tasty and beautiful in salads. I was also pleasantly surprised by the sweet flavor of the “strawberry spinach” (Chenopodium sp.), although the harvest wasn’t very large.

Kale, beets, kohlrabi, strawberry spinach, etc.

Last week, just prior to the killing frost, I pulled up all of my basils – lemon basil, purple basil, and the others – and made huge batches of pesto, combining the spinach with garlic, olive oil and sunflower seeds in the blender. I also made batches with sorrel and parsley – basically, one part parsley to three parts sorrel is the recipe, and it’s delicious. I then froze almost all of the pesto, for a winter of tasty pasta dishes. I also made lemon-basil sorbet, which was scrumptious.

Beautiful beets!

But the biggest success of all was my corn – although, thanks to funky corn genetics, all three varieties basically grew the same! Instead of being Oaxacan Green Dent, Anasazi, and Triple Play corn, all of it came out as one big batch of Triple Play (with an exception here and there of beautiful green cobs of the Oaxacan). Which was fine, because Triple Play is a beautiful yellow and blue fresh eating heirloom sweet corn. It was beautiful and delicious.

Triple Play heirloom sweet corn

Using my corn, patty pan squash, hot peppers and tomatoes, I’ve been cooking tons of colache, and making squash casseroles. I’m drying pears, apples and tomatoes in my dehydrator. I may try to make a green tomato soup. And now, with all of my winter squash, I’m beginning to make lots of baked dishes and soups. Yum.

Just uploaded to Etsy a new scarf… Black Cherry Fizz. This scarf is cheap because it was knit with the leftover yarn from another project.. and free shipping. Knit with a fun and fuzzy eyelash yarn. It varies from pink to burgundy with a couple of spots of shimmering beige.

SHI Symbol's Excitement is building

Well I’m excited anyway and I know you will share in my excitement too when I tell you why!

We’ve been growing steadily and thanks to everone’s interest and enthusiasm, SHI Symbol International has been nominated under 3 Small Business Award categories this year.

• Most Innovative Entrepreneur
• Best Marketing Award
• and Business Woman of the Year

This has to be thanks to the fantastic partnerships we’ve been forging with so many cool people and companies, and of course Singles, particularly in the United States. Thank you in particular to Chris Leyva, Ryan Callum, Black Cherry Group, Roberta Perry, Anthony Migyanka – Biz Television, SHI Symbol International’s resident psychologist: Eileen Edwards, the Dream Machine Cocktail King – David Brogan, TheTopTravelClub, the Carrie Bradshaw of Broadway, the lovely Kimberly Dawn Neumann, Karen Vowell-Mager of Creme Magnolia fame and to everyone else we really love working with – it’s really made a difference.

The Good News is we’ve made it through to the FINALS and all will be revealed on Wednesday night – yes the 14th October 2009.

So, please, do send me all those positive vibes and I’ll be jumping up and down – one way or another – on Wednesday night.

As they say in the ’soapies’ – you’ll have to wait for the next instalment!

Who doesn’t love a delicious tomato picked warm from the garden?  I have to admit that I  like them with a little dirt still clinging to the skin.  And that scent…nothing screams summer more than perhaps a clump of basil…but I digress.  Every spring I race up to the market in Fonthill to buy a flat of heirloom seedlings from Linda Crago of  Tree & Twig. The “tomato lady” and I start with a few e-mails in March about the varieties that I really liked the year previous and then suggestions about a few new varieties are introduced and before you know it I have purchased a few more seedlings than I planned on.  Somehow I always find room for them all!

This year was a really tough spring.  I lost my first batch of seedlings to a freak frost over the May long weekend, despite having tucked them away in a sheltered spot.  This necessitated a second “911″ trip to Fonthill market for more seedlings…Despite a cold and miserable non summer, the tomatoes have finally come on stream.

Heirloom tomatoes from the garden in a delicious Good Earth salad

This evening I supped on a simple salad of assorted heirlooms – tiger toms, green zebra, purple calabash, striped Germans and my all time favourite – black cherry tomatoes; splash of olive oil, sprinkle of coarse salt & pepper, dash of balsamic vinegar… and of course some torn basil leaves.  Add a slice of olive bread hot off the grill and you almost don’t need the steak (well, almost).  I always marvel how nature can come up with all these different shapes and colours and patterns.  Why do these tomatoes taste so much better than the best hot house varieties?

As anyone with a garden knows, there comes a time when there are too many tomatoes at once.  This evening I sliced up whatever was left added sugar and …the first batch of 2009 tomato jam is only a few bubbles away!  That will be worth a mention in the newsletter.  If you haven’t tried our tomato jam, just you wait.

Some years are more fruitful than others.  Last year was one of those years.  From mid-June until mid-August I never set out for my morning walk without slipping a pint jar into my pocket.  I wanted to be prepared to pick first the low bush blueberries, then the huckleberries on the powerline right-of-way, and later, in August, the blackberries that overhung the Far Field Road.

But for nearly three weeks in July, most of my berry-picking centered on our home grounds where, for the first time in more than two decades, black raspberries escaped most of the ravages of deer and the attention of black bears and produced a crop that I could barely keep up with.

Video of Marcia picking raspberries in 2008. (Subscribers must click through to watch.)

Back in 1971, when we first saw our place on a Fourth of July weekend, I couldn’t believe the abundance of black raspberries growing in the backyard. Over the years, as the deer herd increased, the black raspberry canes decreased. Then, the bears appeared. Those canes that survived the browsing of the deer, namely those growing on the steep slope below the front porch, were trampled by bears overnight and stripped of their almost-ripe fruit.

The ubiquitous white-tailed deer

During the last several years, our hunters have trimmed the deer herd and the black raspberries have begun to recover.  Last summer we had a perfect storm of berries — patches outside the kitchen door, below the front porch, surrounding the springhouse, on a steep slope beside the guesthouse, and in the guesthouse backyard.  Secondary patches thrived beside the driveway and in our side yard.  Every hot, humid morning I was out early, picking several quarts.  Although some went into the freezer for winter fruit salads, we ate most at our meals, either alone or combined with blueberries and huckleberries, depending on whether I had the strength and will to pick both in one day.

The word “fruit” comes from the Latin fructus meaning “that which is used or enjoyed,” and we certainly did both with our wild berry crops.  I did most of the picking.  Occasionally, I was rewarded with more than berries.  Once in the patch outside the kitchen door I found a song sparrow nest that contained four greenish-white eggs heavily blotched with brown.  While picking blueberries on the powerline right-of-way, a tiny American toad hopped in front of me.  Hooded warblers serenaded me as I harvested blackberries on the Far Field Road.

With all the bears on our mountain, I was surprised that they left the black raspberries alone and that I never encountered them amidst the blueberry and huckleberry shrubs.  No doubt, the incredible abundance of wild berries everywhere on our mountain kept them busy.  I, after all, ranged only a mile or so in search of berries, but I knew of other patches on neighboring properties that had as much or more berries than our property and that were not picked by humans. And the bear scat on our trails certainly showed evidence that they were enjoying berries as much as we were.

Not only did the wild fruit crops palatable to humans thrive.  So too did those palatable to birds and animals, such as the red-berried elder, also called mountain elder. This beautiful, native shrub likes cool, moist, rocky woods and blooms in April.  On steep slopes, where deer cannot reach to browse its twigs and foliage, red-berried elder thrives, bearing pyramidal clusters of berry-like drupes here by the sixteenth of June.  Our son, Dave, photographed chipmunks eating them, and I have watched rose-breasted grosbeaks gobbling them up.

chipmunk with red elderberries

The naturalist-writer Henry David Thoreau once wrote in Faith in a Seed, “If you would study the habits of birds; go where their food is, for example, if it is about the first of September, to the wild black-cherry trees, elder bushes, pokeweed…” The “elder” he meant is the common elder, those shrubs with flat-topped, clusters of small, white flowers that  are even more popular wildlife food.  By early September, those shrubs inside our three acre deer exclosure hung heavy with the umbels of purplish-black, berry-like drupes, and I flushed two ruffed grouse feeding on them.

Because common elder blooms long after the last frost — in late June and early July — it always produces a bumper crop of fruit.  “Many species of wild birds are attracted to the ‘banquet table’ which the common elder spreads in the fall,” William Carey Grimm wrote in The Book of Shrubs, such as gray catbirds, American robins, eastern bluebirds, northern cardinals, rose-breasted grosbeaks, eastern towhees, red-bellied woodpeckers, brown thrashers, and wood and hermit thrushes.  But because white-tailed deer browse on its twigs and foliage, the “common” elder has become uncommon in many areas. What the deer don’t eat, the sprayers of roadsides, drainers of swamps, loggers of stream sides, and abolishers of fencerows destroy, because this is a shrub of fencerows and waysides that flourishes in rich, moist soils along streams and swamps.  Those in our exclosure grow along its moist border, reaching a height of seven feet, while those that grew along our stream at the edge of our First Field wetland are gone because of deer browsing.

Wild black cherry trees are not deer food so we have many in all stages of growth including large trees. As early as the second of July, I flushed a brown thrasher fledgling that was eating wild black cherries from a medium-sized tree at the edge of First Field.  But it was mid-August before most of the cherries in the forest began to ripen.  Then they were loaded with fruit, some of which were green, some red, and some black.  Common grackle flocks quickly discovered them, and during an evening walk, my husband Bruce and I watched hundred of blackbirds stream over First Field and land on Sapsucker Ridge, their black bodies silhouetted against a golden sky as they ate cherries.

Cedar Waxwing in an ornamental cherry tree (photo by m. heart, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license)

The following day, Tim Tyler, one of our hunter friends, was cutting out black locust trees on First Field when he discovered a cedar waxwing nest with four pale gray eggs spotted with brown in a locust tree.  He immediately stopped cutting there and left a small grove of six trees standing to protect the incipient waxwing family.

Thoreau wrote about finding a small black cherry tree in “full fruit” and hearing the “cherry-birds — their shrill and fine seringo — and robins… The cherry-birds and robins seem to know the locality of any wild cherry tree in town…” “Cherry-birds” are cedar waxwings. Had the waxwings waited for the cherry crop, which was unusually late because of a cold spring, before starting their family?  They do, after all, feed fruit to their nestlings. On the other hand, it could have been a second nesting.  Successful cedar waxwing couples often have second families, especially during good fruit-bearing years.

I kept an eye on the nest from a distance and always saw the female sitting on it.  But on the fifteenth of September, a cedar waxwing keened from the bare branch atop one of the tall black locusts above the nest site.  It looked around alertly, as male cedar waxwings do when they are on guard for their family. I peered at the nest through my binoculars and saw the female on the nest as usual.  Then she flew up toward the male and both of them flew off.  I took the opportunity to check their nest and found four nestlings.  One looked more advanced than the others did, but this sometimes happens with waxwings because often the female starts incubating before she lays all her eggs.

That was the only time I went near the nest, but I continued to watch it from a distance.  Soon the nestlings’ little crested heads were visible above the rim of the nest.  At least one parent was on guard in the tall locust whenever I walked past. Based on my calculations, that the female sits 12 days on her eggs before they start to hatch—a process that can take form 48 to 96 hours—and another 16 days as nestlings, I expected them to fledge around September 24.

Sure enough, on the morning of September 24, the cedar waxwing nest was empty except for a broken egg still holding smelly liquid and two squished wild black cherries.  The nest had been woven of wild grape stems, lined with dried weeds and plastered on the outside with fluffy white material.

In addition to cedar waxwings, I saw red-eyed vireos, blue jays, and scarlet tanagers harvesting wild black cherries, but the list of songbirds and other wildlife that feast on them is legion.  Thoreau mentioned gray catbirds, brown thrashers, eastern kingbirds, blue jays, red-headed woodpeckers, eastern bluebirds and northern cardinals as the most common birds that eat wild black cherries, in addition to robins and cedar waxwings.  Huge piles of bear scat studded with cherry pits on our trails testified to their popularity with bears. And the smaller animals, such as foxes, squirrels, and chipmunks, also ate the fruit.

A bower of pokeweed above Coyote Bench ripened too in September.  Pokeweed, known by many alternative names, for instance, pokeberry, poke, redweed, inkberry, and pigeon berry—can grow up to 12 feet tall in rich, moist soil.  Its long clusters of dark purple berries and large shiny seeds are popular with many songbirds, especially mourning doves, hence its name “pigeon berry.”  Philadelphia-based bird artist, Alexander Wilson, wrote back in the early nineteenth century that “the juice of the berries is of a beautiful crimson and they are eaten in such quantities by these birds [robins] that their whole stomachs are strongly tinged with the same red color.” I’ve watched eastern bluebirds harvesting the berries from pokeweed growing beside our house.

Solomon's plume (AKA false Solomon's seal) in berry

Several of our spring wildflowers flaunted autumn fruit also.  In mid-September, I walked down our road and found twin orange berries hanging from the end of yellow mandarin stems.  A series of twin blue berries dangled beneath Solomon’s seal stems, bright red clumps of jack-in-the-pulpit berries bent over from their weight, and a string of pinkish-red berries hung from the stem ends of false Solomon’s seal.  Wild spikenard displayed upright clusters of wine-colored berries.  Even the small beginnings of maple-leaved viburnum shrubs had a few dark, bluish-black clumps of berries.

But the wild nut crops were thin or non-existent, probably due, in part, to a cold spell in late spring.  No wonder wildlife was busily harvesting the September fruit crops. Because nature often gives bounteously with one hand and takes with another, the more diversity we have in wildflowers, shrubs, and trees in our forests, the more likely the animals and birds are to find enough to eat even if a major food fails.
__________

All photos were taken by Dave in Plummer’s Hollow except where indicated otherwise.

Black Cherry Group for Artists - San Diego Music Awards 2009

Now is the time to get behind your favourite band or artist and book your ticket to the hottest gig in town – for 2 whole days – August 26th and 27th.

Why? – This is the San Diego Music Awards PRE PARTY – where not only will you meet loads of friends and maybe make some new ones – (NOTE: if you’re Single, have you got your SHI Symbol on – speak to Chris Leyva for all the latest), but you are also encouraged to rally for your band and vote for them online.

San Diego Music Awards 2009

The actual San Diego Music Awards are on the 10th September so this Pre-Party is your big chance to make a huge difference to the very talented artists vying for the awards.

Among the talent on show and in the competition are:  Los Hollywood, A Scribe Amidst the Lions, Fuzz Huzzi, The New Archaic and of course the inimitable, multi-talented Chris Leyva. Just remember, this is just a snippet of the range and depth of talent on show. You have to see and hear it to believe it.

There’s an old saying along the lines of – Be There or Be Square and you sure as heck don’t want to be square!

Get your tickets from Black Cherry Group for $5 for a whole night’s entertainment and for some lucky people you may even receive one of the limited FREE tickets. What have you got to lose but log on to see if you can score a  free ticket. 

You will have an absolute ball at this LIVE event at 4th & B, with 1700 fans alongside you shouting and screaming for their favourite artist.  The action starts around 7.30pm each night.

See you there and don’t forget to seek out the special SHI Symbol Brand Ambassadors roving the night, get your picture taken and see what happens…

SHI Symbol – Universal Meeting People Tool for Singles

Black Cherry / 5th Album / Release Date: [2006.12.20]

Of course I was never allowed to drink the wine, although on certain occasions my father would let me take a sip from his glass, but at that age, wine was still a grown-up’s drink and not meant for children, and besides I had not yet acquired a taste for it.

I’ve been holding on to this picture of Alison Goldfrapp for a few weeks now, idly clicking it open from my desktop every once in awhile to soak up some of her shy, retro glamour.

'Ello, govenah.

I’ve always thought Goldfrapp should sing the next James Bond theme song. She has that dreamy, lounge singer appeal with some theatrical turns in the melodies that make them feel like movie soundtracks. Soaring. Very sexy. I usually have at least one of her albums in rotation. Listen to this song and tell me you don’t agree.

Should probably install a Goldfrapp-only ipod with overhead speaker system in the closet. I can’t imagine any bad outfits coming out of listening to her ethereal sighing of “Black Cherry.”

I have never been so thirsty after doing a challenge. Today’s product was Fresca.

Fresca

Fresca has two new flavors out (sparkling peach citrus and black cherry citrus) as well as having a “facelift” of their packaging and brand image. I remember Fresca from when I was a kid and how ugly the cans were. And I really do honestly remember thinking that, even as a child. They were pretty out-of-date and didn’t appeal to anyone outside of older people. I think the new image is fantastic. I love Fresca–it has a really unique taste that you wouldn’t expect, and plus it’s sugar and caffeine-free (always has been). Now the outside matches the inside.

Anyway, for this challenge, I wanted to share the Fresca love. I have noticed over the years that Fresca isn’t the most recognized name in soda, and if people want a citrusy soda, they tend to gravitate towards Sprite and 7-Up and the like. Lame! Fresca is awesome and people should know and love it. I also wanted to showcase the new flavors as well as the old.

To start, I just looked up images of the fruits that make up the flavors of Fresca. I was thinking about the whole “sharing the love” thing, and I quickly noticed something–all of the fruits could somehow be constructed into the shape of a heart. So, I went from there. I also wanted to make sure that I incorporated some element of the new can design in the visual (I incorporated the half-tones they use). I didn’t want to leave out their tagline, either (“Surprisingly complex”). I ended up doing three ads in about 63 minutes, but I’m not penalizing myself for the extra 3 minutes since I did more than one ad.

(c) Amy E. Rumbarger 2009

(c) Amy E. Rumbarger 2009

(c) Amy E. Rumbarger 2009

Should be able to see the copy on those, so I won’t re-iterate. Onto the aftermath!

How do you feel about these ads? I like them a lot! I’d like to spend more time on the execution to experiment some more, but I do like them a lot as is. Side note: I have a history of working with both peaches and grapefruit. See the Tour De Georgia and Method campaigns on my site.

Given more time, what would you have done differently? Just more experimentation on the visual and the opportunity to shoot the photos myself instead of manipulating stock photos. Also, more time to massage the type and the copy is always good, of course.

How would you extend this into a campaign? It already is! But I think the whole “love” thing could be extendable into a lot of different media…too tired to think about exactly how, but you can use your imagination!

Wow, 15 days done already! Come back tomorrow for more, and for now, feel free to comment, e-mail me, or follow me on Twitter.

This wine came up at around table 23 in that great Avante tasting of 30 April, 2009.  I was very interested to see this Italian wine labeled Pinot Noir rather than the usual Pinot Nero.  Great labeling move for the U.S. market.  After a week of cold maceration, the wine was fermented in stainless steel.  This preserved much of the fresh fruit quality.  The nose on this beauty reveals a new world style featuring light spice over black cherry and strawberry aromas.     Lush black cherry fruit notes dominate the silky palate and extend into the soft velvety finish.  This wine will pair well with poultry or a roast loin of that other white meat.  If you want to go a bit more exotic, try it with pan seared duck breast with dried cherry wine sauce.  My favorite pairing, however, is with a second glass of the same.  I am a simple man.  Just ask my wife.  Mack Carder, CS

28JL01. A newly on-its-own robin chased a cicada through the air, the insect giving its predator-discouraging call, but broke off the chase and flew back the way it came. The robin was never close to the cicada during the part of the chase I saw.

13MR02. First morning of robin (or any) dawn chorus at my house.

Koda Kumi~Kingdom~

Kingdom-10/10

Introduction For Kingdom-Pretty soothing song, and I enjoyed it, but as for all introductions and interludes in any album I skip it, but to play the album correctly the first time I ever listened to Kingdom, I played it altogether and it definitely made the album just as good.

Last Angel feat. Tohoshinki-I LOVE this song, it’s the first dance song to kick off the album for Kingdom and sets the tone for other heavier and better dancing tracks. This song was used for Resident Evil: Extinction as the promotional song in Japan, and I enjoyed it very much. It’s also the first track released as a single to appear on this album.
Amai Wana-1 of the heavier dance tracks I was speaking of earlier. It features a heavy arabian feel as many of Kuu’s past works such as Shake It, and Candy have possessed. In any case this song isn’t a hit and miss and a definite fave of any Kuu fan.

Himitsu-The first ballad type song to appear on this album. It’s one of my absolute favorites of this entire album, and although the pv is super boring the song evens it out. All I have to say that it’s a Kuu song you MUST listen to.

Ai No Uta-The 2nd song on the album to appear that was released as a single and a ballad as well. Kuu usually ad libs song and ruins them for me if they’re ballads, but with Ai No Uta this wasn’t the case, because it’s a mellow ballad with mellow vocals that make this song a powerhouse.

anytime-A poppy kinda make you happy on a rainy day song. I love the pv’s for this song as there is a single version and an album version. They’re both cute, and really adorable…same as cute…LOL! Anyways anytime is just a fun enjoyable track that I find highly infectious and one of my favorites.

Under-A dark, dance track that is like my #1 off this album. The pv features Kuu in a yellow jumpsuit hiding from the police and such, and dancing as well and a move where she does the splits so significantly, and if you watch the making of she really performs the splits the way it’s displayed in the pv. Overall this song is my favorite from Kingdom.

But-The single that set the tone for all singles released after it. Although none have matched its cunning with synth beats, and bass I still find the other singles enjoyable but not as much as But. It was released as a double a-side single with Aishou a power ballad that I’m in love with currently. Anyways this song is one of her best in a LONG time. Since Secret I haven’t been able to love a dance song of Kuu’s as much as But.

Koi No Mahou-A cute poppy track, I love this song! It’s another one of my favorites from the release of Kingdom, but as we get onto Anata Ga Shite Kurete Koto you’ll find that’s my #3 favorite and that Koi No Mahou is #4. Overall this song is cute and that’s why I love it, cause Kuu does cute like no other…unless it’s Ai Otsuka.

Aishou-As I was saying it was released with But as a double a-side single. All I have to say is that this power ballad by Kuu really brings it to the table, with her intense vocals and the music in the background, it set the tone for me.

Anata Ga Shite Kurete Koto-My #4 favorite song from this album, I love it, all I have to say about it is that it’s cute in many ways, and makes my smile even though it’s not a cutesy type of song.

Wonderland-Another cute/poppy song from Kuu. It’s like Alice In Wonderland meets Broadway. The pv is acted out like a broadway play would be, and the music makes me reminisce of Alice In Wonderland. I love this song as well…she hasn’t done a single thing wrong with this album.

Freaky-The only song to be released from her single Freaky even though it was a double a-side single with Run For Your Life as the 2nd a-side. Anywho it’s an intense dance track like Under, but with more of a rock influence. I love the pv, because the way her makeup was handled made me look at it in astonishment. The butterfly wings at the ends of her eyes set it off for me.

More-The final ballad of Kingdom, displays Kuu’s vocals at their best, I love this song, it has a gospel feel to it, but the pv wasn’t to my liking. But overall this song was a good edition to Kingdom.

Black Cherry-The final track to Kingdom is the longer version of Introduction from her previous album Black Cherry. I didn’t like this version that was on the album, and luckily someone on AHS had a new mix where Introduction and this track were mixed to make it longer and better. I was satisfied with it.

Although this album’s promotion was cut because of the scandal and the statement and blah blah blah, this album still sold pretty well.

by Carl Strang

The first chipmunks began to show themselves at Mayslake in the second half of March. Today I’m sharing my dossier  on the species. The codes are my representations of dates, the day followed by my month code, finally the year. The dossier was established in late 1986 or early 1987, entries added thereafter as needed. Since this one is relatively long, I have edited out some entries that simply give date and location observations.

Chipmunk, Eastern

Lives in underground burrows; often plugs some entrances with debris. Vocalizations include “chip-chip-chip…” and chip-trill alarm “chip-chip-churrrrr.” Single “chip,” birdlike. Lives in forests and at forest edges. Also savannahs with some bushy cover. Can climb trees but usually forages on ground. Disappears for most of the winter, apparently plugging burrows. In presence of red fox (passing with another chipmunk dead in mouth), they gave a couple quick chips and were silent (MY86). I have had one “singing” while watching me.

6MR87. Newly opened chipmunk burrows in Willowbrook Back 40 the first signs of that species this year.

7AP87. Chip-trill at my approach produced response by gray squirrel: jumped onto low branch, looking alert.

10MY87. Chipmunk pursued by another, stopped with 3 high chips in a lily-of-the-valley patch within forest at North Blackwell, as the other turned back. Then the first one came out into deep oak litter and foraged. Frequently stuck head under leaves, a few times burrowed completely under. In one spot munched several invertebrates, only remains found later were part of a striped slug (1/3 of head end missing, recently bitten off). Ate at least 3 items, 2 appeared to be slugs, the other had legs.

23AU87. When running hard (e.g. crossing open space), hold tails vertical. One ate an acorn.

27AU87. Chipmunk drank from small pool: barely put mouth in water, remained still until done except for rapid fluttering of cheeks. It drank for about 20 seconds.

16AP88. Morton Arboretum. An old chipmunk’s hoard of acorns, now reduced to shells, inside the hollow root of a dead oak. The top of the root has rotted away, exposing the shell fragments.

29MY88. Hartz Lake, in woods. A chipmunk saw me move my arm laterally, gave 3 chips increasing in speed, and ran. Immediately 2 jays feeding on the ground flew up. They were 40-50 feet away.

4AU88. Willowbrook Back 40. Chipmunks active. Early estivation this year because of drought?

31AU88. Willowbrook Back 40. Chipmunk 15-20 feet up, on slender branches of a 25-30-foot-tall black cherry, cheeks full.

1SE88. Willowbrook. Active past couple weeks, sniffing over the ground and quickly climbing high into cherry trees (and quickly down, head-first), filling cheek pouches.

5MR89. A cold (20F) windy day, ground frozen with crusted snow layer, yet some chipmunks active in a firewood pile at McDowell.

12MR89. Hartz Lake. An area hotly contested by 4-6 chipmunks, in low wooded area with many fallen trunks, standing hollow stems, and brush. Much chasing, sometimes turn around and chase back. Often make squeaking calls. I stalked successfully within 5 feet, lay down with arm alongside log for a while without being recognized, but none came close enough to touch (they had pretty much settled down by then).

8MY89. A foraging chipmunk appears to find its food mainly by smell, sticks nose into vegetation with eyes closed, takes object with mouth and pulls out to eat.

31AU89. Chipmunks producing lower “chuck” call with great horned owl above.

7SE89. Chipmunk eating a small (less than 0.5″ diameter) red crabapple fruit.

28JE&1JL90. Chipmunks up in mulberry tree canopies (15 feet up) at Willowbrook and West DuPage Woods (mulberries ripe more than a week now).

Late MY90. Hartz Lake. Chipmunks foraged by nosing and digging among oak leaf litter in area of scattered trees.

30AU90. Chipmunks in cherry trees, Willowbrook.

5SE90. Willowbrook. Chipmunk tracks, clear, in fine mud. 3-lobed heel. Hind tracks less clear; pushing off harder from hind feet.

18JE91. Chipmunks on ground, Willowbrook, stuffing themselves with fallen mulberries at midday.

13SE94. Chipmunks climbing high into box elder trees and eating seeds, this week. Go out to the finer twigs, look a little clumsy but undaunted.

5AU95. On Red River in WI, mink hunting along shore. As it came close, chipmunks gave a single loud “chip” apiece and were then silent (see red fox entry, in MY86).

Summer 1999. I listened and watched daily, and did not detect a time when there were no chipmunks active. No estivation, or overlapping among individuals?

2MR00. Willowbrook. First chipmunk of the year seen.

15MR00. Willowbrook. One chipmunk chasing another.

12NO01. Chipmunks still foraging, on a sunny day in the 50’s, Morton Arboretum.

This is the third release I have reviewed from the outstanding Michael & David Family of Wines, two of which have become a household staple for Carey and me.

6th Sense is a mammoth Syrah, boasting a litany of robust flavor characteristics in amazing concentration. The nose is incredibly lush, exhibiting the essence of vanilla extract in the purest form I have ever experienced. Black cherry dominates the fruit qualities of the nose in a rich, syrupy way. Like most wines, as the wine settles in the glass, the dominant flavors and aromas dampen and new, more intricate, offerings open up. Notably, mocha, blackberry, sweet pipe smoke, and pepper shuffle in elegantly.

Words cannot describe the boldness of this wine. Initially, the black cherry flavors were so dense that it reminded me of cough syrup (in flavor, not texture!). But, as the wine moderates, mocha and pepper undertones really take over and blend the flavor profile out beautifully. The Michael & David tasting notes describe cedar accents that I did not initially pick up on, but was able to recognize and see the interesting importance of this flavor characteristic.

This wine exhibits a round, almost chewy, texture that literally glides through the mouth. 6th Sense is an outstanding Syrah. You can almost picture the hot, late-summer Lodi sun carrying the grapes, on 30 year-old vines, to the brink of ripeness and destruction, only to be saved by a daring, last minute harvest, and a gamble rewarding us with an almost unimaginably bold wine.

$11.99 – $17

by Carl Strang

Spring is a time when buds are an attractive food for some animals. Here is my most recent record, a fox squirrel eating willow buds at Mayslake Forest Preserve.

Going back through my dossiers  I find records of 3 bird species and both local diurnal tree squirrels as occasional bud eaters. The summary follows.

Goldfinch: silver maple buds (1 observation).

Cardinal: elm buds (1).

Purple Finch: silver maple (several birds on each of 2 occasions).

(Bird observations all were at Willowbrook Forest Preserve).

Fox squirrel: American elm (5 occasions), mulberry (3), box elder (3), sugar maple (3), silver maple (2), cottonwood (1), and now willow (1).

Gray squirrel: American elm (7), mulberry (1), box elder (1), silver maple (1), cottonwood (1), willow (1), green ash (1), black cherry (1), and hawthorn (1).

(Squirrel observations were from 6 forest preserves plus the Morton Arboretum).

Buds have a relatively high protein content, which presumably is the attraction, but they are protected by bud scales which may be why their consumers appear to be limited to herbivorous species with relatively strong biting capabilities. The two squirrels select similar tree species for their menus, with both apparently preferring American elm above all others. Fox squirrels in addition seem to favor maples, including box elder. All my observations range from January to May, a time when alternative, perhaps preferred foods are relatively scarce. Any generalizations in a compilation like this have to be regarded as tentative, but I will continue to record new instances and see what if anything emerges.

Always Test Your Candle Ingredients!

Really, What a disappointment this soy wax turn out to be. All natural yes, but it needs something extra to make it exactly perfect. These candles started burning normally. I really thought that this was the wax for candlemammas triple scented and highly fragranced soy candles. The fragrance was Black Cherry and it turned out to be very rich and high in these candles. Then, before I knew it… the transformation began. I used the zinc and cotton core wicks as the picture shows. What was happening to the mess in the pictures?
The soy votive in the clear glass jar candle was made out of the same mixture put into the other two candles shown. I know the triple scented votive in the clear glass jar candle had too much air around it. The tighter fitting votive burned better but not perfect. I will burn that one longer to see what happens. The tealight even turned out a horrible looking wasted glob for a candle. I know that this wax will not work for candlemammas highly fragranced candles. I am really glad that I tested this wax before giving it away to family and friends for triple scented candles.

Viendo el vídeo no pensé que esto fuera tan porno ò____oU XDDDD Bueno, bueno, la canción me gusta mucho, es muy pegadiza : D….. la letra es muy… directa ‘3′ XD VeryImportantDoll@hotmail.co.jp

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nombre Black Cherry

Intérprete Acid Black Cherry

CD Black Cherry / Black List

Escucha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9eN25Z0OJM

Descarga http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?k3gdiyvntm2

Luz de luna. Sombras. En solitario.
Es sólo que tengo tanta sed…
La fruta en la que hundí mis dientes…
me embelesa con su dulce, dulce, pero mortal, veneno.

Cereza Negra… hazme el amor, entrégate a mí.
Tienes que dejar tu semilla para renacer dentro de mí…
Está bien si no me amas… porque yo no te amo.
No me hagas aún más desdichada que ahora.

Los dos, con esta historia… es sólo una aventura sin importancia de camino a algo más.
Tu corazón sigue siendo un misterio… el número de lágrimas que he derramado sólo da cuenta
a las noches que pasé en tu abrazo.

Rojo. Rouge. En el cuello de tu camisa.
Besar y tragar palabras tan profundamente…
Incanto. Brilla… una fragancia que no es mía.
No puedo creer… el movimiento de esos labios.
Aún, éxtasis, repite.
Mientras haces las alas, recé por temblar.
Un escándalo obvio, labios estudiados tan de cerca.
A cámara lenta, recalcándome…

¡No pares de besarme! No puedo alejarme de ti…
¡No pares de besarme! Pero, no puedo olvidarte… AH~ ¡Ven, dentro de mí!

Cereza Negra… hazme el amor, entrégate a mí.
¡Deja tu semilla dentro de mí!
Está bien si no me amas… porque yo no te amo.
¡Hazme así de desdichada!

Territorio prohibido…Ahora ya nunca podré desprenderme.
Lo siento, Cereza Negra… No puedo olvidar la persistente sensación de tu beso.

¡No pares de besarme! No puedo alejarme de ti…
¡No pares de besarme! Pero, no puedo olvidarte… AH~ ¡Ven, dentro de mí!
Cereza Negra… hazme el amor, entrégate a mí.
¡Deja tu semilla dentro de mí!
Está bien si no me amas… porque yo no te amo.
¡Hazme así de desdichada!

Cereza Negra, dámelo…
Cereza Negra, dame más…
Incluso aunque la verdad sea que siempre te he amado…

Nuestra corta historia, es sólo una aventura sin importancia de camino a algo más.
Con esto, finalmente, aunque… sólo un momento, recuérdame así…

Punx show at the black cherry. Some people got mad at me for takes so make photographs(the flash is annoying), i guess all i can say is oh well, and i wont do it again.(atleast not to the same group of people)

Im on the edge of wondering if these are photographs? or snap shots?

I really admire Viktor Vautier’s work and in a way it reminds me of some of his night life shoots.

does anybody reading this have an opinion on this?