Not Intent on Arriving

Check out this video, which was made from one of our favorite songs.

Today, we did a hike of Mount Snowqualmie outside of Seattle. Mount Rainer was looming in the distance, crystal clear.

Seems like a pretty quiet day in the world, but here are some things worth reading.

1) People Research That: A scientist predicts what Marie Antoinette would look like with 21st-century plastic surgery. Why?

2) The Results Are In: No, not in the primaries across the country.  Instead, a report out today declared the 2009 “Cash For Clunkers” program a clunker.

3) British Teen Banned From United States: Don’t send drunken, hate-filled e-mails to the President of the United States.

4) A Root Beer Stand Out of… Root Beer: A colorful story from the Freakonomics guys about restaurants running out of their namesake food.

5) Obama’s New Book: Apparently, the guy signed a three-book deal earlier in the decade. He needs to write one more. Ergo, “Of Thee I Sing,” a children’s book, will emerge this fall.

6) Another Shady Purchase: Israel just bought the twitter username @israel from a Miami-based porn site owner.

7) Most Motivated Voters This Year: The award goes to— Stephen Colbert?

1) Facebook’s Image Problem: A profile of CEO and founder Mark Zuckerburg comes out in the New Yorker. It’s long, but gives the impression that Zuck is really no different than the rest of us (though he once called users, “dumb fucks”). One critic saw the upcoming biography of the site called “The Social Network” and confirmed that the movie may bring the site some bad press. Maybe it’s because some of the more racy scenes remained in the movie.

2) Get the Election Party Started: The fall election cycle is about to heat up.  Check out ten of the closest Senate races. This comes at the same time that news has emerged of dead people campaigning against incumbent politicians.

3) GaGa Excites Millions of People: She announced the title of her 2011 album, which will be called “Born This Way.” She sang the chorus of what will be, presumably, the title track of the disc.

4) Remembering the Victims of 9/11: The Boston Globe has an amazing gallery of various images from 9/11 remembrance events.

5) Reason for a Bad Baseball Team: With the Washington Nationals continuing to struggle, writers are looking for an explanation. Now, two op-ed writers may have found the answer. The Curse of Abraham Lincoln’s Assassins.

6) ITunes Instant: On the heels of Google’s big announcement last week, a new searchable version of iTunes has emerged. The cool part: it was invented by a 15-year-old.

7) A Busy Guy: Cops in Paris are going after a man who allegedly fathered 55 children with 55 different women.

8) An Unusual Ally: Sharks may have found a friend in a strange place. Survivors of shark attacks.

9) From the Archives: The first-ever “Mountain Dew” commercial.  The product has changed a bit over the years.

10) An Easy Mistake: But, a really bad one. A school Trophy Club, Texas suspended a boy for having bloodshot eyes. They thought he had been smoking marijuana. In reality, his father had just been murdered and the boy had been crying.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in downtown Seattle.  We biked down to the NW Cider Summit and enjoyed an early afternoon of hard ciders from across the world, though mainly focused on the Northwest.

Though my heart remains firmly in love with Woodchuck Cider (made in Middlebury, VT) there were some pleasant surprises that I really enjoyed at the festival.

1) Carlton Cyderworks (Oregon)- Duke

This was the clear winner yesterday at the festival.  A beautiful and tasty apple-blueberry cider. A nice balance of sweetness and tannins. Unfortunately, the maker does not currently sell outside of Oregon.  We hope that he remedies that soon.

"Duke" by Carlton Cyderworks

2) Blue Mountain (Oregon)- Eden Ridge Sweet

This cider came just from apples but managed to balance a sweet taste with a slightly dry aftertaste.  Quite pleasant and one of the few ciders I tasted that I could imagine drinking an entire bottle.

"Eden Ridge Sweet" by Blue Mountain

3) Wandering Aengus (Oregon)- Any Type

I know it seems like I’m giving undue credit to Oregon ciders, but they truly shined at the event yesterday.  Wandering Aengus offered a wide variety of different products, including some experimental varieties.  I particularly enjoyed a cider made with hops that was mild, but also really tasty.  Another cider that mixed pear and apples was really delicious.  The Wanderlust included hints of ginger and was really nice.  Would work perfectly with a plate of prepared food.

4) Red Barn Cider (Washington State)- Sweetie Pie

My favorite true Washington State cider came from the Red Barn Cider company. Though they only had two varieties of cider for tasting, I really thought the “Sweetie Pie” was a clean flavor profile that would be nice at a dinner party. Also worth noting is the design of the bottle. It was eye-catching, which is always important during the selection process in supermarkets.

"Sweetie Pie" by Red Barn Cider

I was encouraged by the wide variety of cider available at the festival. However, attendance was pretty sparse and there was never an overwhelming crowd. The glass we were given was cheap plastic and kind of disappointing. Additionally, the European ciders were far below the American ones in my eye. Below is a view of the festival.

A view of the festival