It’s the dog days of summer and the bums are doing their best to stay cool and make the best of it the only way they know how – drinking, cycling, shopping for ski gear and watching ski movie trailers.
Weekly Flavor
- Mario: Maraia, Barbera Del Monferrato, Marchesi di Barolo
Classic Barbera del Monferrato wines have a deep ruby hue and a bouquet of ripe plum and cherries, often piqued by a hint of black pepper. They are known for retaining a balanced acidity even in warmer vintages, making them an ideal partner to tomato based dishes. Barbera based wines are lower in tannin than those made from Nebbiolo, making them more approachable in their early years.
Barbera del Monferrato, situated in Italy's northwestern Piedmont region, is probably the least known of the three Piedmontese classified Barbera zones. It is the largest of the trio, with around 10,320 acres (4300ha) under vine. Most of the wines come from around the province of Alessandria, but the vineyard area also stretches into eastern Asti.
All Barbera del Monferrato wines must comprise at least 85% Barbera, the remaining 15% made up from any combination of Freisa, Grignolino and Dolcetto.
- Brian: Herradura Ultra Anejo
A blend of premium anejo and extra anejo, extra filtered for a superior finish.
Ski News
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Swedish Freeskier Matilda Rapaport Has Died at 30
Swedish freeskeir Matilda Rapaport has died today at the age of 30 after being buried in an avalanche in Farellones, Chile on July 14th. The avalanche burial left Matilda without oxygen for a prolonged period of time. This lack of oxygen left Matilda in a coma.
Matilda's mother and husband, Swedish World Cup ski racer Mattias Hargin, were with her when she passed away today.
Matilda is the is the 2nd female Freeride World Tour athlete to die in an avalanche this year after two-time world champ Estelle Balet died on April 19th in Switzerland.
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"Once-In-A-Decade Storm" Buries Australia in Up to 70cms on New Snow
Australia just got buried in up to 70cms (28") of new snow this week. Australia doesn't generally get big dumps like this, so it's a big deal. MountainWatch.com is calling it a "Once-In-A-Decade Storm". Cool!
Aussie ski resorts currently own 6 of the 10 deepest snowpacks on Earth right now.
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Trailer: 4Frnt's "Here and Now" Looks Crazy
In their 6th installment, 4FRNT brings the ski world "Here and Now". The movie includes regulars such as Wiley, Hoji, and Wise but with the addition of street specialist and former K2 team member, Cam Riley.
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What the Killington World Cup Will Look Like
At the end of June, officials from the USSA, FIS and Killington headed out to the official site of the Killington World Cup to map out the event in which the best female racers in the world will race in Vermont for the first time since 1978.
According to Killington Communications Manager Michael Joseph, it will take six non-consecutive days—or 144 hours—of snowmaking throughout the month of November to prepare Superstar for the race
The snowmaking team will measure temperatures and humidity, weighting all the variables necessary to get the hill hard-packed, groomed and ready to go
The race is scheuled Nov 26 and 27, 2016
Additional Details in this related article
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Come Ski Antarctica With Us In November 2016
(By Miles Clark) In November 2014, Miles Clark I was fortunate enough to guide 4 fun skiers in Antarctica for a week with Ice Axe Expeditions aboard the 331-foot Sea Adventurer. It was by far the coolest trip I’ve ever been on anywhere. Not just the coolest ski trip I’ve been on, but the coolest trip I’ve been on anywhere.
Antarctica is the only place I’ve been that is 100% natural. There’s not many places like that left on Earth. Essentially no evidence of humans anywhere and we get to charge around and ski on it.
It was the trip of a lifetime and I can’t wait to go back with you and yours. If you’re interested in learning more about this 2016 Antarctica ski trip, please contact me at [email protected]
Main Topic - Summer Check In !
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What is going on for the bums this summer.
Summer fun and waiting on summer end
Around The Horn
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Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2016)
The Marijuana Legalization Initiative made the November 8, 2016, ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute. It will be Question 4 on the ballot.
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The $25,000 Executive Physical
This next-generation health exam unites genetics, high-tech imaging, and cellular data so we can know more about our own health than ever before.
I am not the only Neanderthal in the room. The physician walking me through the 400-page binder that explains my genetic-sequencing results reveals she is also a Neanderthal. I feel a warm flush of kinship, as if we are part of the same exclusive alumni club. Alas, this club is anything but exclusive, I later discover; most people of northern European descent have a touch of Neanderthal in their genetic material.
So while I am not the only Neanderthal-human hybrid in the room, I am, however, the only Denisovan. To be more accurate, while about 97 percent of my nuclear DNA is homo sapiens, it contains 1.7 percent Neanderthal DNA -a different species! -and a tiny sliver of DNA from the Denisovans, another early hominid species, discovered just eight years ago in Siberia. I learn that Denisovans and Neanderthals were contemporaries of the first humans. One theory says both early hominids migrated out of Africa about 300,000 years ago-Neanderthals generally making the European tour and the less populous Denisovans hooking a right into Asia. I'm tickled to learn the population on the planet that has the most Denisovan DNA (which is only about 3 to 5 percent) in their genomes resides in Papua New Guinea. It is a sharp turn from my more recent ancestry, which the binder confirms as straight-up northern European with a splash of Native American. Go great-great-great grandma.
Helen Messier, MD, PhD, and fellow Neanderthal, is the medical director of genomics at the Health Nucleus in La Jolla, Calif., which offers a new species of health evaluation that integrates genomic data with sophisticated diagnostic imaging and assessments. At $25,000, it is an amped-up and next-generation version of the executive physical, which began as an investment in the health of C-suite employees by large corporations in the mid-20th century. She is the one who explains my ancient roots to me, as well as the clinically relevant findings of the genetic testing.
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Virgin Active Launches Pokemon Go Workout
TTch head or not, the sudden rise of Pokemon Go cannot have gone unnoticed by anyone who has ventured outside over the past week. As news stories on users calling 999 to report a stolen Pokemon or even being shot at continue to roll in, it wasn't long before the health and beauty world took notice.
Virgin Active, always quick to make the most of a trend, will this week introduce the world’s first Pokemon Go inspired training run.
Starting on Wednesday, eager London-based runners and Pokemon Go-ers will be able to take part in a personal-trainer-guided runs starting and ending at the gym's Walbrook branch, jogging a route in which they can capture Pokemon as they go.
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This 65-Year-Old, $35,000 Scotch Is a Window into the Macallan's Past
The Macallan has been whisky collectors' brand of choice for decades; the distillery has released so many rare and limited-edition bottlings that it's hard to believe any treasures still remain. But their latest, the Macallan in Lalique 65 Years Old ($35,000), is an astounding time machine in a glass, the culmination of a decade-long project to release some of the rarest Macallans in the brand's possession.
The Macallan in Lalique Collection is a pairing of extraordinary, extra-aged whiskies contained in Lalique crystal decanters, each designed to symbolize one of the Six Pillars upon which the brand is built. The collection debuted in 2005 with a 50-year-old expression. The Macallan 65, the final release in the series and also the oldest, was laid down on November 10, 1950-at which time Harry Truman was president, Willie Mays was a top minor-league prospect, and Mick Jagger was 7 years old.
The whisky is a window into a bygone time-a brief period when the Macallan was, surprisingly enough, peated. Back then, the brand did its own floor maltings, meaning the barley used in distilling its whisky was roasted, or malted, in-house. After World War II, fossil fuel to heat the kilns was hard to come by in Scotland, so the Macallan used the fuel at hand: peat. It comes as a shock, when nosing and tasting the whisky for the first time, to sense the unmistakable smoky notes of the peat.
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Pablo Escobar's Brother Demands One Billion Dollars From Netflix Over Narcos
What is it with South American historical figures suddenly thinking they can control everything to do with their family names? You’ll hopefully recall the brief existence of a case of publicity rights violation brought against Activision by Manuel Noriega over the depiction of him in the gamemaker's Call of Duty series. That case was quickly tossed out by the court because the First Amendment has just an tiny bit more weight when it comes to artistic expression than does any publicity rights for public historical figures from other countries that might, maybe, kinda-sorta exist, possibly. We might have struggled at the time to find a complainant less likely than Noriega to win this sort of long-shot in the American court system, but we need struggle no longer.
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How the Shape of Your Glass Can Make Your Beer Taste Better
"This is pretentious as shit," were the actual words Matthew Cummings used to describe his first foray into craft glassware. Cummings is a glass-blowing artist who likes to drink beer with his artsy friends. On a whim, they decided to blow some glasses that would fit perfectly into their hands. As they sat around drinking from their creations they realized they'd stumbled onto something amazing-albeit outrageously over the top.
"If you're drinking your beer in a chilled shaker pint, you might as well be drinking water," says Cummings, who now owns The Pretentious Beer Glass Company. "Shaker pints were designed to fit into cocktail shakers and stack well, not to make your beer taste better."
The line of specialty beer glasses Cummings created are striking in their oddity. Bulbous in parts and angular in others, the creations are as much a conversation piece as anything else. "We don't do anything for aesthetics. Everything has to help highlight the beer in the glass," Cummings says. Each glass is made to showcase a particular type of beer. For example, his hoppy beer glass helps release aromas by having more surface area at the top of the glass. "The more surface area you have, the more friction you have, so it keeps the head going, which is where all the aroma is," says Cummings. The malty beer glass features several "waists" that trap bubbles and ensure you get a bit of carbonation with every sip. Currently Cummings offers seven beer glasses, plus a special "dual" glass for pouring the perfect black and tan.
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India "gold man" battered to death
An Indian man who bought one of the world's most expensive shirts made entirely of gold has been allegedly battered to death, police said.
Datta Phuge shot into the global limelight in 2013 when he bought a shirt made with more than 3kg of gold and worth $250,000 (£186,943).
A money lender based in western Pune, Mr Phuge was called "the gold man".
Four persons have been detained for questioning. Police suspect a dispute over money led to the murder.
The police said some 12 people attacked Mr Phuge, 48, in Pune on Thursday night.
