Tag Archives: Wine

June 17, 2015 · 3:15 pm

Web TV Review: ‘Brown Bag Wine Tasting’ with William Shatner on Ora TV

William Shatner and Wil Wheaton on “Brown Bag Wine Tasting.”

I really like William Shatner and I know I’m not alone. He’s a great talent and quite energetic. It would be a challenge for many of us to keep up with him. One project that he’s doing is entitled, “Brown Bag Wine Tasting,” a new web series from Ora TV where Mr. Shatner asks willing participants to blindly taste wine and describe it in terms of what they do. It’s a clever premise. I got a chance to check out the show and it lives up to what it promises to be.

It’s a breezy and light-hearted conversation that actually takes its subject of wine seriously. In a recent episode, it’s William Shatner in conversation with Wil Wheaton, actor and host of “Tabeltop.” Wheaton starred as Welsey Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” As in every episode, it begins with some chatting. Shatner proves to be a genuinely interested and playful interviewer. We learn a little bit about the immersive quality of video games and the two speculate on life in other dimensions. Perfect themes to go with wine. And then Wil is challenged with describing his unidentified wine in terms of what he loves to do, brewing beer. It all runs for only a few minutes and I can honestly say that it holds its own among similar mini-webisode shows.

The latest interview on “Brown Bag Wine Tasting” with Wil Wheaton is live now. Go to Ora TV and you’ll see other episodes too ready for viewing. I checked out one with William Shatner interviewing Ray Isle, Executive Editor at Food & Wine magazine. And it also proved to be very informative and entertaining. New episodes premiere Wednesdays, 11am PST/2pm EST. Check it all out right here.

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Filed under Ora TV, Star Trek, William Shatner

Tagged as Beer, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Ora TV, Pop Culture, Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Television, Wil Wheaton, William Shatner, Wine, Wine Tasting

September 13, 2014 · 10:17 pm

Review: ‘An Age of License: A Travelogue’ by Lucy Knisley

Lucy Knisley snatches from the ether bits of ephemeral conversation and other momentary pleasures to present to us, “An Age of License,” her latest travelogue graphic novel. We are swept up by a whirlwind European adventure as we follow Knisley on an all-expenses paid trip of a lifetime in September of 2011. As opportunities arise, one must try to choose wisely. And so we see how Knisley fares, after some pre-travel jitters (it happens to the best of us) and she is off and running. Knisley has a clean line in the service of a direct and crisp narrative. It is a pleasure to see her continue to evolve as an autobiographical artist.

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Filed under Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Food, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Lucy Knisley, Travel

Tagged as Cartoonists, comics, Entertainment, Europe, fantagraphics books, Food, France, Germany, graphic novels, Lucy Knisley, M.F.K. Fisher, Media, Memoir, Norway, Pop Culture, Publishing, Sweden, Travel, Travelogue, Wine, Writers, Writing

August 21, 2014 · 7:00 am

Review: ‘An Enchantment’ (Louvre Collection)

Christian Durieux states that he sought to create comic book poetry with his graphic novel, “An Enchantment.” He definitely succeeds in doing just that. The collaboration between the Louvre and NBM ComicsLit to co-edit books inspired by the Louvre results in such wonderful works of comics. This one is pure magic. It’s like watching a dance sequence with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The comic flows so well that it glides. It could easily have been wordless but the dialogue is so charming.

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BALLARD COMICS #11

Editor’s Note: While any place of quality is welcome in the Ballard hub, we have a soft spot for any business that finds a way to authentically integrate itself within the culture. The Noble Fir is a fine example of thinking locally. It is a tavern with an eye, a mind, and a heart, to being part of the community. You’re looking for something unique and refreshing? You want to feel like you’re really still in Ballard? Then visit The Noble Fir.

Maybe a place like The Noble Fir would have seemed just a bit too luxurious in the past. Maybe. But then again, Seattle has maintained a long love affair with microbrewies and can boast at having some of the best in the world.

Why not have that level of excellence, and even elegance, amid the industrial and mechanical fixtures of old Ballard?

What we all wish to avoid is The Planet Hollywood treatment. If a place has no real connection to anywhere, then it contributes to diminishing that place. Not to put down Planet Hollywood but I think you know what I mean. So, yeah, The Noble Fir, and other fine establishments like it, are what we want to see: something that enhances the character of Ballard and actually fits.

These sort of ponderings take time but we have plenty of that. And, once a good mood is set, perhaps with a fine ale, in a good place, we can settle in and find all sorts of stories to tell.