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¡Viva la Revolucion!
What is the greatest wine country in the world? France, you say? Italy? Almost overnight, Spain—that's right, Spain—has staked a claim to that title, thanks to a band of rebellious winemakers who have overturned centuries of stuffy traditions. Alan Richman makes a pilgrimage to the Iberian Peninsula, traveling 3,000 miles along the back roads to meet the new masters of wine and taste the genius of their labors
in spain, glorious vineyards that had been abandoned and forgotten waited patiently for rescue, as only land can. Decades passed. It seems odd that a nation known for explorers and fortune seekers would fail to recognize a treasure that was literally underfoot, but that's what happened. Wine-producing regions with the potential to be among the best on earth weren't making anything worth drinking.
The birth of Spanish wine as we know it today—well, as too few people know it today—began little more than a quarter century ago. It was a renaissance reminiscent of what had happened years earlier, when Italian winemakers suddenly and successfully entered the contemporary world. Yet Spain's deterioration was more acute than what had occurred in Italy, and the recovery more dramatic. A combination of technology, ripeness, and mountainside vineyard sites has transformed Spain into a country capable of turning out 100-point wines with shocking ease. Spain is at the forefront of twenty-first-century winemaking, almost effortlessly integrating tradition with modernity.
For years, Spanish wine was drunk widely but rarely taken seriously. The country was seen as a land of beaches, a sweltering seaside destination where nothing could beat a pitcher of sangria under a big umbrella. (Still sounds good, come to think of it.) There was the fortified wine called sherry, fairly fascinating, but nobody cared. (Still don't.) There was cava, the sparkling wine that students drank because it cost almost nothing and because real champagne tastes funny to college kids. (The black bottle of Freinet Cordon Negro was spectacular marketing, though.) Rioja was sort of famous, but nobody actually liked it. The reds tasted like feeble Bordeaux. The whites tasted too much like sherry, and you know what everybody thought of that.
Even identifying a wonderful Spanish wine as Spanish—there were always a random few to try—wasn't easily done. Not long ago, at a blind tasting, I guessed that a Vega Sicilia Único Reserva Especial, a profound red from the Ribera del Duero, was an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly afterward, I brought a 1976 Viña Tondonia white Rioja to a dinner party. That's a great white, golden-hued with a nutty, floral, petrol, apricot nose. A friend of mine, a wine collector, mistook it for an aged white Bordeaux.
Blind tastings don't mean much, certainly not when I'm involved, but they can indicate that a wine possesses a national character, which Spanish wines did not. What nobody realized for too long was that Spain had near perfect growing conditions: cool, mountainous regions, hardscrabble vineyard sites, and not nearly enough water, which delights winery owners seeking concentrated juice. Greatness awaited winemakers who could recognize it.
Oddly, the country's wine industry might have died out or at least remained inconsequential were it not for an inadvertent savior, Francisco Franco, who would have qualified as one of the most loathed dictators of the 1900s had the century not been so exceptional in that regard. He was not señor; he was generalísimo.
You could argue that Franco, who locked the country in isolation while ruling as supreme leader until his death in 1975, also saved the Spanish wine industry. He encouraged cooperative wineries that -allowed poor farmers to eke out a living by growing grapes. Under his rule, wine was a component of a national sustenance program. That meant vines weren't ripped out, traditional means of growing grapes survived, and the foundation of an incredibly successful recovery was in place. Those extraordinary vineyards with their aged vines were almost never the source of magnificent wine, only of magnificent grapes rarely put to good use.
I traveled to Spain several months ago to see these ancient sites and the winemakers who work them. I drove nearly 3,000 miles in more than two weeks, crisscrossing the country repeatedly, trying to be where the winemakers happened to be, much harder than you might think. Unlike the land they love, these men almost never remain in one place.
Raúl Pérez
the seeker
here they come, tumbling out of the Mini, the old gang from Padre Sarmiento secondary school in Villafranca del Bierzo. There's Eva, Danny, Roberto, and the driver, the one who was nicknamed Little Raúl by his classmates. Small, ponytailed, impish, grinning, looking like the class clown but in reality one of the extraordinary winemakers of Spain, Raúl Pérez is carrying a box of plants that could be dandelions crawling with insects that could be ladybugs. Something about biodynamics, holistic agriculture.
Our meeting is in a hotel parking lot. He is late, but I soon learn that it is impossible for him to be any other way. When he says we will be somewhere in fifteen minutes, it is two hours, and when he says two hours, it is best to pack for an overnight stay. Eva only remembers him being punctual for a concert by Lila Downs, the Mexican singer.
We are in Bierzo, a region almost nobody knows about. The wines here are made with a grape known as Mencía that until recently nobody cared about. I expected to remain in Bierzo, firmly rooted, and talk about this region and these wines, because nearby is the town where he grew up and right here are the wines for which he is best known. It is not to be.
He has decided that all of us should drive to the west coast of Spain, a quarter of a country away, so we can go to the harbor and board his boat and dive for Sketch, a wine he keeps underwater until it is ready to sell. Pérez can discuss the technicalities of winemaking as well as anyone, mandatory for someone who makes as many wines in as many styles for as many people as he does, but when I ask him why he keeps Sketch underwater, he says with a great smile, "There is no explanation for this."
Spending almost two days with Pérez, a caring and generous and nurturing young man, is a joy, except for the parts that are lunacy. He has so many diverse wine projects all over Spain that to understand them is impossible, and even to list them is a significant undertaking. "I have a different point of view in each region where I work," he says. "Maybe it is not what another winemaker sees."
To be honest, I am left dizzy by all that he does. He is such a brilliant winemaker that nobody hesitates to work with him, and he is so uninterested in money that nobody ever thinks they might be getting a bad deal. He adds—there's a little Yogi Berra in him—"I make my living with little projects that do not make any money."
Every arrangement is different, and none of them appear to have a profit motive. He is always getting a portion of grapes from a vineyard he admires, or a corner of a cellar to use as a winemaking facility, or, at a small winery in the Ribeira Sacra region, a plate of salami made by the mother of the owner. This is what comes of being a genius, a winemaker with perfect pitch: an ability to take grapes from anywhere and bring out the best in them.
He is of Bierzo. He grew up in Valtuille de Abajo, population eighty, which is next to Valtuille de Arriba, population ninety. They are, apparently, dissimilar. "Abajo is conservative. Arriba is socialist," he says. "They are friends of mine, the people in Arriba, but I wouldn't feel comfortable living there."
His family has modest holdings, thirty-seven acres of vineyards in Bierzo that go back at least to 1752, perhaps earlier, but that is the date on the earliest paperwork. "We are a humble family, a hardworking family with not much money," he says. "My family makes wine and sells it to another winery to bottle. I was a very polite, obedient boy who wanted to be a doctor."
Reading Enología Práctica, an influential wine guide by the French consultant Émile Peynaud, changed all that. In 1993, when he was 21, he went up to his uncle, also named Raúl Pérez, and told him he wanted to start making the family wine. "He is very authoritative, the leader of all the family projects, never listens to anybody," Pérez says of his uncle. "I told him one of the faults of the way he did the wine was that he never cleaned the floor of our winery, and I was reading what Peynaud said about needing to use water to make wine." His uncle put him in charge. When the wine was ready, the uncle tasted it, and he never attempted to make the family wine again. From then on, until 2004, Little Raúl was in charge. He's now making wine everywhere except on land that he might someday own.
We must first go to Ponferrada so he can gather clothes for our journey—"packing" would be too formal a word. Here he has an apartment in a high-rise building in a part of town that appears to be replicating Shanghai. Prompted by one of his friends, I ask if it is true that he has four places where he does not live, apparently two of them rented, one owned, and one a house in Madrid given or loaned to him by one of the many wineries where he works. "It is true," he says, "but I think my home is the hotel. Mostly, my friends stay in my apartments, and I don't want to know what happens in my apartments when I am not there."
Here in Ponferrada, I discover something astonishing: Spanish dwellings are often constructed without closets, so any small chance that Pérez might decide to put something away is negated by the absence of any place to put it. His apartment could pass for a tag sale, everything on display: empty Coke cans, empty wine bottles (including Pétrus), full wine bottles (including L'Ermita), an oversize TV, shoes on the floor, shoes on the chairs, clothes on the floor, clothes on the chairs ("I don't have time for ironing or for order"), cooking devices for sous vide ("I cannot make an egg, but I can cook in a vacuum"), piles of keys. Asked if he knows what they open or lock, he replies, "No."
In his bedroom is a bare mattress and an array of clocks lined up so he can set all the alarms in hope that he might awaken and be on time. He has so much stuff that his possessions have leaked out of the apartment and are in the common hallway of the apartment building, but he says this is not a problem for the neighbors, since he has none. He is the only resident on the floor.
We set off, and I must follow in my own car because the Mini is filled with classmates yet again, although the chef of the restaurant where we ate the night before is not among them. This man also went to Padre Sarmiento but for some reason is not going with us. For Pérez, every day is a high school reunion.
I have only vague impressions of the next twenty-four hours. I remember being on mountain roads, where he is driving 140 kilometers per hour and passing cement trucks in the rain. I know that I must follow, because I have no idea where we are going and if I do not keep his car in sight he will disappear forever. In Ribeira
Sacra, which he believes will one day be the future of winemaking in Spain, we pass the steepest vineyards I have ever seen. At moments along the way, we stop, and snippets of his life emerge.
There is a wine he makes called Allison Carne. It comes from a vineyard of two and a half acres of Petit Verdot vines that he planted with his hands and works with his hands and does not sell. He will not talk about it, not at first. He has a sweet wine, made from Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Gewürztraminer, that he named El Rosario, after his favorite aunt, a wine that Eva says is so wonderful that tasting it made her cry.
I know he loves working with oak, old barrels, not new. When he must purchase new barrels, he wants the wood to be at least five years old, which is unusual, and he doesn't want the interiors of the barrels charred because he believes the wine will be overwhelmed. Indeed, none of his wines have the distinctive toasty vanilla taste imparted by new oak. I know that he is fascinated by restaurants and occasionally washes dishes at one of his favorites so he can study how a kitchen works. I know that he is always driving, once 80,000 miles in a single year, and when he is not driving he is flying, always seeking vineyards in other countries, always traveling inexpensively. "I do not know the feeling of business class," he says. "I go tourist. I take a pill."
When we finally arrive at the marina in the town of Villagarcía de Arosa and look for his boat, a Cap Camarat 715 with an Evinrude outboard capable of sending the boat flying at thirty-five knots, he cannot find it, and we cannot dive for wine.
We have unheard-of spare time, so I ask him to tell me something about Allison Carne. He says, "Very simple: Just a person who was very important in my life, and when the story ended I made this wine to give her thanks, to give her something back."
I have heard from his friends that she was a woman he once loved and maybe still does. When I ask Pérez if she has ever tasted this wine made for her, he becomes as sad as I have seen him and says that she has not.
Álvaro Palacios
man of l'ermita
on the way to the vineyard, you drive by the mules.
You will notice Moreneta first, because she is likely to be kicking the plastic feed box in the mule compound, rhythmic as a metronome, hoping that somebody will catch on and fill it up. She is too aged and slow to work the vineyards any longer, and while superfluous mules do not ordinarily live such pampered lives, especially the annoying ones with nothing to do but demand to be overfed, Álvaro Palacios retired her as a reward for work on behalf of his vineyard, L'Ermita.
"When I came to the Priorat, nobody was working with mules," says Palacios, a man dedicated to the traditions and the patrimony of Spain. "I brought the first mule back to the region in 1993, the year I bought L'Ermita."
The Priorat, only a two-hour drive from Barcelona, is Spain's most unlikely wine-producing area and, some say, its best. It is mountainous and theatrical, rural and worn, seemingly little changed by the prosperity that has come in the previous two decades. The towns feel old, and the stucco houses have tile roofs bleached by time and poverty. Some of the roads through the villages are so narrow, I cannot navigate them in my car without tucking in the side mirrors. Along with a little new construction is the detritus of a rustic, wearying past.
The Priorat's moment of prosperity came after the devastation of Bordeaux by phyllora before the turn of the nineteenth century. Spain beckoned, and every bit of land thought to have potential for wine was planted. Ultimately, in the Priorat, more than 40,000 acres went into production. Soon came civil war, Franco, isolation, low wine prices, and the opportunity to work for better wages in nearby Barcelona. Palacios says that when he came to the Priorat in 1989, fewer than 2,000 acres of vineyards remained.
He points to the hills, to forests that seem majestic but in reality are not. "Those forests are young, all of them," he says, "not more than forty or fifty years old. Everywhere there is forest, once there were vineyards. You go up there, you can still see the terraces. You can still see the dead vines."
L'Ermita survived because it was lucky, not because it was legendary. It is eye-catching, even breathtaking, but gnarled vines and sheer slopes are not so easy to love. Surely, no owner of the property felt as Palacios does. To watch him scramble around L'Ermita is to observe a man enchanted by the earth. Even the stones fascinate him. We are slipping and sliding as we climb, so steep is the hillside and so numerous the rocks, but he does not find fault. Instead he tells how they come up naturally from the mother earth and why the largest ones must be carefully removed and carried to the side or else workers will twist their ankles on the slopes. "The vineyard must invite you in," he says so respectfully he might well be referring to a member of the Spanish royal family.
L'Ermita is the source of a Garnacha-based wine that is one of the most expensive in the world, in part because it is very scarce and in part because it is very good. It is the wine most Spaniards refer to when they speak of the greatness of new Spanish wine. It is not a monster in size. In fact it seems less massive now than when it was first produced, as much about finesse as about power, even a bit Burgundian in style.
Most great vineyards face the south, but L'Ermita does not. It is on a slope that looks toward the northeast and catches cool breezes from the mountains and the sea. Because the sun shines too generously on the Priorat, the best vineyards do not stare into it. The vineyard is organic, of course, but not biodynamic, simply because Palacios is not certain that is the right course for him to take. He says biodynamic winemaking is a vocation, "almost like the priesthood," and sometimes he wonders if he will be called. His enormously complicated life—vineyards and family everywhere—is unusually calm now, and he must consider whether there is more he can do for his beloved L'Ermita. If that turns out to be the laying on of "the purest manure," as he puts it, "that cannot be bad, because it will caress the vineyard, and it is more noble and magical than what we do now."
He and the vineyard are one. He does not harvest when people who make chemical analyses of grapes tell him it is time—"They are always saying to me, 'Álvaro, be careful. We have arrived at 14.5 percent potential alcohol. You must harvest' "—but when he thinks the time has come. He likes to follow tradition, "do what the old guys used to do." What once was customary in the region intrigues him.
He tells me that in 2007, he waited longer than anyone else to harvest, both here in Priorat and at his family estate in Rioja, knowing the natural growing cycle was delayed. Other winemakers had gone ahead and picked. "People were saying, 'Is Palacios right or are we right?' The pressure was so much. Every week waiting is like two months. I am getting depressed, the pressure is so much, and I am saying, 'Please do not rain, because I will have no time to harvest if it rains.' October comes and everybody else is fermenting, and we have not even picked. It is not just me and the vines waiting, it is seventy-five other guys who are waiting to help me, and then I know it is time and I am blessed, because the wine we make is so great."
His family estate in rioja, Palacios Remondo, is four generations old. He still works there, directing the winemaking, and says, "It is a humble family with a million-bottle winery. In Rioja, to be serious you must have a 5-to-10-million-bottle winery. It is one of the reasons I left Rioja and came here."
As a boy, already a romantic, he wanted to be a bullfighter or a flamenco singer, but one day he realized he was not going to be either. He remembers playing in his family winery on weekends when nobody else was around, running and ducking under the concrete vats where the juice was fermenting and hearing the bloop-bloop of the huge escaping carbon dioxide bubbles and having dreams that monsters lived in the vats. For him that was not terrifying. It was the beginning of his indoctrination into the mysteries of wine.
He says that history, not ordinary men like him, selects the best parcels of land and that vineyards require hundreds of years to become great. He speaks of himself as a caretaker of the land, as a restorer, not as a winemaker or an innovator, the titles often given to him. He says he once spoke about this with Paul Pontallier, general manager of Château Margaux in France, and Pontallier told him that he felt such a sense of duty and such respect for the Margaux vineyards that he was awed by his responsibilities.
Palacios purchased L'Ermita from a man now in his eighties who subsequently moved to Barcelona. The man returns now and then, and the price Palacios gets for a bottle of his wine, now $650, has been known to enter the conversation. "He tells me I'm good at marketing," says Palacios, smiling. "It is a game we play together."
If there was ever a yearning in Palacios, it was to have a vineyard that would one day be considered among the best on earth, one that could give him wines like those of Romanée-Conti, or perhaps even turn out a single vintage as magnificent as 1961 Latour à Pomerol. All he wanted was a chance. He says he spends about $100,000 a year drinking great wine, not because he is self-indulgent but so he can understand what makes wine great, for otherwise how could he produce it? "I have to taste 1924 DRC, don't I?" he asks.
It seems that the real reason he left Rioja to come to the Priorat was not that his family business was too small but that it was too large. "In 1989 in Rioja, I saw no place for me. I wanted a tiny plot like Musigny or Chambertin in France. I knew that it existed somewhere in Spain. And now I have my Musigny."
Peter Sisseck
the dane in spain
clearly, he is not spanish, this blond winemaker. To confirm the point, he is invariably punctual. There is something else he does, perhaps because he cannot stop himself or, more likely, because he has been living in the Ribera del Duero too long and the outrageous statements he loves to make might not get a laugh locally. He expresses them to me. He says things, the most wonderful things, absolutely without warning, always out of context, frequently out of nowhere, usually while grinning.
On Francisco Franco, generally loathed former ruler of Spain: "This horrible dictator gave a house and ten hectares"-—about twenty-five acres—"to the people."
Peter Sisseck is known locally and internationally by his country of birth, for he comes from Denmark, previously best known for its contributions to the herring industry. There is also his wine, equally famous, outrageously expensive, named Pingus, the result of a "no-fucking-limit project" that he began in the '90s. When he is being serious, he describes Pingus as "racy, opulent, extremely aromatic, big, bold, not over-the-top." When he is not, he says, "Big ass, big tits." He anointed it with his childhood nickname, which came from a Danish comic strip.
The American importer Eric Solomon, who is married to another of the great winemakers of Spain, Daphne Glorian, creator of Clos Erasmus, says that Sisseck's wines "flirt with perfection." In a statement that dazzles with its artful blending of self-promotion and humility, Solomon says, "Robert Parker has given my wife 100 points, but Sisseck's wines stop us in our tracks."
Sisseck was one of the first garagistes working in Spain, producing tiny amounts of a highly personal boutique wine, one that competes in prestige and price with L'Ermita of Palacios. He enjoys comparing himself with Palacios, the friendliest of rivals, and he likes to point out that L'Ermita was slower to catch on. "Everyone is surprised that we are very good friends," he adds. "A lot of people would like to see us as fierce competitors, but we are not."
Pingus and L'Ermita are dissimilar wines—different grapes, soils, regions, winemakers—but they are forever linked because they are thought of as the most successful of the new-wave Spanish reds. (Clos Erasmus could surely compete, but so little of it exists that Solomon refers to it as "virtual wine.")
When I ask Sisseck if he and Palacios like to compare vineyards, argue over which has the better parcel, he says, "Do you mean, do we ask each other, 'Is mine longer than yours?' "
The Pingus vineyard site is not gorgeous. No ancient walls. Mostly it is flat, with no noticeable slope. It is even a little ugly, because Sisseck recently installed a piece of equipment to prevent frost, a chronic problem in the Ribera del Duero. It is a wind machine. "Horrible, horrible," he moans. He is thinking that it might be less noticeable if he painted it racing green.
He apologizes for the hideousness of the wind machine, points out that he had to tear out only a single vine to make room for it. Quickly, he lists the virtues of his vineyard before I fail to recognize any: It is hand-tilled and follows biodynamic guidelines. He grows peas, lentils, and rye in the rows between the vines, vegetation with roots that penetrate deep and encourage bacterial growth. He says vines as ancient as his like the enhanced environment.
Later he will show me his cellar, quite possibly the oldest in Ribera del Duero, older even than the cellars of Vega Sicilia. Sisseck's cellar once belonged to Marqués de Alonso Pesquera, and he restored it as only a winemaker who sells wine for $650 a bottle can afford to do. The rooms are constructed of limestone blocks and have arched ceilings. The temperature is steady at fifty-two to fifty-nine degrees. It is both a noble cellar and a designer cellar, impeccable, a source of pride.
"Álvaro has his beautiful vineyard," he says. "L'Ermita is one of the most beautiful I know. Here in Ribera, the vineyards are not so spectacular. But I have a cellar that is the most spectacular."
He never intended to make wine in Spain. Few Danes did back then, and despite his success it is still not a recognized career path among his countrymen. He says his involvement in Spain "just happened." It was an accident.
In 1989 he had plans to work at Ridge Vineyards in California, but the requisite work permit was difficult to obtain. While he was waiting, a friend who had purchased a farm in the Ribera del Duero asked him to come to Spain and look it over. The farm was minor, thrown into a bigger deal, and the friend wanted to deter-
mine if it was worth planting. Sisseck was
an -agricultural engineer, a graduate of Denmark's Royal Agricultural College, a reasonable choice for the job.
He says of the region as it looked back then, "It was ugly, empty, and nobody was caring for it. Instead of accepting this, I said, 'Let's do something,' although I realized it wasn't something that could be done overnight. Maybe if we were in California with billions of dollars to spend on technology we could have, but not here. I thought the region had potential but it was miskept."
To me the Ribera del Duero still doesn't impress, at least not in comparison with the verdant Rioja, the other great Tempranillo-growing region. I was there before the start of the growing season, when it was dry and barren, Napa Valley with mesas, Clint Eastwood country, the stuff of spaghetti Westerns, shoot-outs in the dust.
"There are prettier places and there are easier places than here," Sisseck says. "After a few months, I intended to go to California, but I never did. I stayed. Quite fast I realized I could make a difference."
Grapes have been grown in the Ribera del Duero, with varying degrees of success, for 2,000 years, starting with the Romans, but what seems astounding is that anybody ever thought this was a place worth planting. The Romans did, and so did the monks, and both were correct. "I tend to buy every piece of land I can, good or bad," says Sisseck, "because you can always use the land for something. I tend to feel comfortable when there's a monastery around the land I buy. Where monks put a monastery, there was always a good reason—olives, wheat, fish for Friday, wine. These guys were seldom wrong."
Maybe about one thing: "The monks lived a true organic lifestyle. And they died at 28."
The farm he checked out became Hacienda Monasterio, and if the wines don't sell quite like Pingus, they are highly regarded because Sisseck is behind them. They weren't successful at first, and perhaps they never would have been had he not started Pingus, which he ran as a parallel company. He says, "The owners of Hacienda Monasterio didn't know about it, and they would have kicked me out if they did." The first year, he purchased the grapes from a vineyard he liked, and the following year he purchased the vineyard, the one he named Pingus.
"Pingus came out of nowhere, all the doors opening at the right time," he says. "It was unbelievable, surreal." He didn't send out samples of that first 1995 vintage, but the right critics praised it. "The rest is history. What I feel very good about is that because of the success of Pingus, people became very interested in Hacienda Monasterio. It took the winery owners out of their crisis, and their anger over my moonlighting was lessened. They were thankful and gave me a share in the company—a modern form of slavery, because I can't leave. With shares comes obligation."
There is still much to do, mostly to maintain Pingus, which he does by spending enormous amounts of no-limits money, like purchasing Taransaud barrels that are fine grained, five years old, cost five hundred euros, and come with fancy bands around them. Or by speaking out, expressing whatever great truths come to mind.
"France has still not gotten over the fact that it cut off the head of its king in 1793."
Mariano Garcîa
the grand master
mariano garcía has gone for cookies. None of us at the table are hungry, because we are at the end of a routine Spanish lunch, four hours long and drawing to a close at 7:30 p.m. The white asparagus served at restaurant Zurita in the town of Tudela de Duero is the best I have ever eaten, and I receive assurances that I will always eat this well in the town of Tudela de Duero, providing I stick to asparagus and leeks.
García is supposed to be in Madrid, a two-hour drive away, later in the evening for dinner. "Being a winemaker is a hard life with the gastronomy," he says. Nevertheless, he has gone to the parking lot to rummage through the trunk of his car, because he is certain he has some special Spanish cookies in there. He calls them "the world's lightest cookies," more weightless than meringue. They are so insubstantial, one might think they are a creation of one of the new gastronomical wonderchefs of Spain who can create sweets that don't just satisfy but can float like the puffs of clouds that drift high over the vineyards of the Ribera del Duero on dry summer days.
In fact they are not. They are from the days when Spain was so poor, the only cookies people could afford were those that could be made with almost no ingredients, really just flour and egg whites. If a family was fortunate, it would have powdered sugar to sprinkle on them, and of course García has that in his trunk, too. Since he has cookies and the sugar to put on them, he must share them with friends.
He will be late for dinner, or perhaps he will cancel dinner, but whatever he chooses to do, the decision will be understood and he will be forgiven. He is the greatest of Spain's traditional winemakers, a classicist as well as an innovator, a man revered. Now 64, he made the legendary Vega Sicilia before moving on to his own projects, although perhaps "moving on" does not adequately express what occurred, because, as I mention to him, I have heard it said that he was told to leave. "There are rumors, yes," he says, smiling happily, a man in the most wonderful years of his life.
So respected is his name that he often hears of new wines that he has made, even though all he has done is stop by the winery at the bidding of a friend to taste. He unceremoniously does favors, and when he nods approval, word echoes throughout Spain.
One of his partners at the Aalto winery, Javier Zaccagnini, says that he often hears that García was the consultant on some new wine coming to market. García seems blissfully unaware that people might take advantage of him, because so much of what he does, including make wine, is instinctive. "I like to think the wines speak to me," he says.
Zaccagnini says that when he asks García, whom he calls "one of the best and most generous men I ever met," to please stop being so accommodating, García replies, "I taste the wine, I tell them what I think, it takes two seconds." When he hears this, Zaccagnini replies, "But Mariano, that is a lifetime of knowledge." And how does García respond? "He ignores me," Zaccagnini says.
In the tiny parking lot of the luncheon restaurant, García is approached by a young fellow who would, in less enlightened days, be referred to as the village idiot. The boy tends to hug everyone, which makes most of the locals scramble when they see him coming, but García is an exception. The boy holds out his hand. García grabs it, turns it over, inspects, frowns, then smiles and hands him one and a half euros. The boy squeals happily. He has passed. García has given him a daily mission of keeping his hands washed, and he is rewarded on a sliding scale. It is a very good day for the boy and for cleanliness and for kindness.
garcía was born at Vega Sicilia, the signature estate of Spain, where the wines were long ago fashioned to resemble those of Bordeaux. So brilliantly was this done that to this day only a few genuine Bordeaux properties are its equal in prestige.
His mother was a housewife. His father was in charge of the fields—in those days, Vega Sicilia grew more than grapes. "When I was a small child," says García, "the Ribera del Duero valley was absolutely full of vegetables." It is not an exaggeration to state that his was an all-inclusive existence. He was not born in a hospital but in his family's home on the estate. A local physician made the house call. "Dr. Primitive," he says. "The old names were very strange."
He hoped to become a civil servant, a significant ambition in those days, more specifically a member of the secret police, which was important work under the generalísimo. "I couldn't pass the exams. I wasn't a good enough student to be a secret policeman," he says.
He had jobs, rather tedious ones by his accounts, but nevertheless he apparently was quite good at them. (His knowledge of the pollination of corn, for instance, remains astounding. Should you meet García, it's best not to bring up the topic, because when prompted he goes on and on.) His life changed when the manager of the Vega Sicilia estate recommended that he return home and begin working in the winery, where he had shown promise as a boy. In the late '60s, he studied wine at the Escuela de la Vid y el Vino de Madrid, and he recalls being the best in his class at the production of vinegar.
"I was not number one in my school, even though I did well in wine tasting," he says. "I had a lot of frustration at what they taught us, because I knew how it was done at Vega Sicilia. In class I would say, 'I don't do that.' But it was not important to be a number one. The number ones from school were useful in the big houses that had a lot of production.
"In those days, winemaking was not like it is today. Today wine is hedonistic, about pleasure. The most important thing in those days was that the wine was safe and stable. The new-wave winemakers then were making clean wines—filtering and clarifying. There were only a few wineries. Most were cooperatives that produced wine in large volume, and wineries purchased wine from them and bottled it. That's all winemakers did, buy wine. Things started to change. There was more focus on enjoying wine, not treating it as a commodity."
He remained at Vega Sicilia as head winemaker until 1998, when neither he nor the owners could bear the long-simmering feud that had begun shortly after he started a personal project in 1978, making his own wine on the side. Mauro, named for his father, was one of the first nontraditional wines of the Ribera del Duero, although technically it is just outside the region and cannot be given that name. "I enjoyed making Mauro," he explains. "When you are making a big brand, you cannot change anything, can't experiment, can't do what you want. You can't experiment with Romanée-Conti, and you can't experiment with Vega Sicilia."
For more than fifteen years, they fought, until finally it was too much and he had to leave. "What happened at the end, I do not understand why it happened the way it did, but I have great respect for Vega Sicilia. It was good to me and vice versa."
Almost every day, he drives past the estate, because there is only one main highway through the valley, and passing by the imposing, guarded gates cannot be avoided. He has not been through them since he left, and when I ask him if he misses what he had there, he says, "It is like you split up with your wife. No problem, you find another wife, okay, but still you have feelings for her for many years."
Benjamín Romeo
the son, rising
"when i was a child, no more than 10 or 11, my father and I would go to the vineyard together, and we measured the time there by the passing of the trains."
Benjamín Romeo is speaking of a seven- and-a-half-acre vineyard just outside the walls of the town of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, the one his father, Andrés, saved all his working life to buy. It is now the source of a wine made by Benjamín called La Viña de Andrés Romeo. Understandably, this is the wine that Andrés says is the best his son makes, even though most others would pick the more costly and famous Contador.
"We went to the vineyard with our burro," Benjamín continues, "and the first thing my father does is he makes a fire. He has always told me, 'He who does not know how to make a fire in the vineyard is not a man of viticulture.' When the first train, the container train, comes through, we know it is time to put the potatoes on the fire. When the next train, the interurban passenger train, comes through, it is time for a break and to cook the chorizo and bacon on the fire and eat them with the potatoes. In the afternoon, very late, the mail train comes past, and it is time to go back. That is the train I am waiting for."
When it comes to producing wine, Benjamín has not just surpassed his father, who sold to a cooperative, but perhaps all who work in Rioja, the most celebrated wine-growing area of Spain. In the '90s, he transformed a minor cooperative named Artadi into a legend, and then he left to concentrate on his own wines, which have surpassed those of Artadi. When it comes to hard work, however, it is the father who is the prodigy, not the son.
Benjamín tells how his father, now 76, a short, stocky man with bright eyes and a workingman's hands, dirt under the nails, would go to the fields with his brother, Benjamín's uncle. The brothers had separate vineyards but shared a mule, which was used to work the soil. Andrés had the larger vineyard, but he would give the animal to his brother and work alone, wielding a morisca, a primitive hoe for putting furrows in the earth.
"The women of the town," says Benjamín, "would promenade around Andrés's vineyard where he was working alone and close to where my uncle and his wife and the mule were working together. One would say, 'Why do they not help poor Andrés?' and another would explain, 'Andrés has very big balls and does not need any help.' "
The village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra is situated at a junction—geographic, historic, cultural. It is where Basque country meets Spain, where Navarre borders Castille and León. The village church is atop a hill, and a fortress sits a few feet above it, seemingly resting on the shoulders of religion, as it surely once did. Romeo is a Rioja winemaker of international respect, but when I ask him to define himself, he says simply, "I am a man of San Vicente de la Sonsierra." He says he is satisfied to be thought of as one individual in a village of 1,500, nothing more.
Andrés quit school at 12 to work in his family's small vineyard and saved his money so he could buy more land. Still, he wanted his sons to get away from the vineyards, "to do anything but wine." I do not understand how he could say such a thing, feeling as he does about his land, and he replies, "Yes, I love the vineyards, but my children do not, not like I do. Benjamín loves the vineyard, but he loves other things. I have worked so hard in the vineyard, every day, all the time, working with the morisca. I did not want my sons to be as much of an idiot as me."
Benjamín is 43, small like his father, divorced and still so sad about it that tears come to his eyes at the memory. He says his father wanted him to be anything he wished, as long as he was a good person. He was thinking about becoming a journalist (an oddly idealized profession in Spain) when a friend mentioned that he was off to study enology. Benjamín replied, "What is that?" Then he decided to go along.
He attended the Escuela de la Vid y el Vino de Madrid, where, he recalls, "No teacher would expect I would arrive where I have arrived, because I loved to party. But I went to the courses, even if I did not study, and I am always asking and listening. My father has said to me, 'He who has the balls to go to the party must have the balls to get up the next morning and work. If you cannot, do not go to the party. This is the secret.' "
(Advisory: To our knowledge, the word "balls" has never appeared so often in a wine story. We're not done.)
His first wine job was at the Artadi cooperative, where he would go to the property of each of the twelve members to make wine for them. He recalls that what he produced was so radically different from the existing style of Rioja that none of them liked his efforts, but they were unable to say so publicly. "What can they say," he recalls, "that their own wine is no good? But I believe they are thinking, He is fucking crazy." He says his grandfather tasted one of those early Artadi wines and started singing until his grandmother kicked him under the table to stop the noise.
He made changes that seem ordinary today, employing techniques such as temperature control during fermentation. "In this period it did not exist," he says. "You must have imagination. I wrapped blocks of ice in plastic and put them in vats during fermentation. And I worked at night, when it was cooler."
In 1996 he started producing his own wine in addition to those of Artadi, and he also began buying up vineyards that nobody else desired, ones with ancient vines, low yields, poor soil, and terrain so steep it had to be worked by hand. He says he succeeded not by producing a new style of wine in Rioja but by restoring a style that existed in the 1930s and '40s. The few remaining bottles from those decades remain reference points for the region.
He says he still loves to be in the vineyard with his father and a burro, because he knows that soon there will be only tractors and the sensations he loved as a child will be gone. Now he can live both ways, the old way and the new, with the burro or on a tractor listening to music, but he knows that soon all will change, except for one thing: "The secret will always be to have two balls."
alan richman is a GQ correspondent.


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text:
Penguins switch Detroit hotels, again, for better luck
Third time's a charm?
The Penguins are staying in their third different hotel on their third trip to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Final. "Every team has their own deal, their own thing," C Sidney Crosby said. "We decided to switch hotels again. We want to find a way to have success there." The Penguins are 0-3 in Detroit in this year's Final. The hotel is the same one the Penguins stayed in during last year's Stanley Cup Final prior to their winning Game 5 in triple overtime. "It's tough getting hotels on short notice," coach Dan Bylsma said. "I'm sure it has something to do with availability."
Petr principle
Although RW Petr Sykora suffered a broken foot in Game 6 Tuesday, Bylsma declined to officially rule him out for Game 7. "We're still treating Petr like we're evaluating him day to day," Bylsma said.
Sykora replaced RW Miroslav Satan in the lineup for Game 6 against Detroit. Satan wasn't certain yesterday he'd be playing in Game 7. "You never expect to play in a Game 7 for the Cup, and I don't know if I am," he said. "We'll see, but it will be interesting if it all comes around."
Hyped-up Hossa
In retrospect, slumping Red Wing Marian Hossa thinks he's put too much pressure on himself in this Stanley Cup Final match-up against his former team. "Maybe I did, yeah," Hossa said. "You answer the same questions about it every day. You've got a history there." Hossa doesn't have a goal in the series and admits he's been pressing. "It's less space, you have to battle through it," he said. "Sometimes it's a matter of being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes a little bit of luck." He's going to try to take a different approach tonight. "You just have to relax," he said. "This is a great situation. This is a great opportunity. Be yourself, have fun, enjoy it. Who knows when this can happen again• Just try to forget everything and have fun." If the worst-case scenario occurs, and the Penguins win the Cup, Hossa insisted it won't be a totally lost season for him. "Not at all," he said. "Through the whole season, I had a chance to learn lots from the guys here in the dressing room, the older guys. I feel pretty fortunate to be in this dressing room."
Missing Wings
Kris Draper and Dan Cleary didn't practice, although both are expected to play in Game 7. Draper has been bothered by a groin injury in the playoffs. Cleary has an undisclosed lower-body injury.
"I kind of enjoyed the two days (off). I didn't do a whole lot. I just, kind of, changed my mind and relaxed. It's a new day, so we start all over again."
--Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury, on the benefit of two days between Games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Final
By the numbers
5 -- The Penguins have beaten the Red Wings five times in the past two Stanley Cup Final series, Detroit's fourth and fifth trips to the championship round since 1997. The Red Wings went a combined 12-1 in Final games in 1997, 1998 and 2001 (sweeping the Flyers and Capitals and beating the Hurricanes in five games), and have gone 7-5 against the Penguins in 2008 and 2009.


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USBDeview 2.74 (x86/x64) Portable
USBDeview - отображает список когда-либо подключавшихся к USB портам компьютера устройств (флеш-карта, мобильный телефон, принтер и т.д. и т.п.), при этом выводятся данные о времени последнего подключения, описания устройств, их серийные номера, VendorID и т.д. Полученную информацию можно экспортировать в файл форматов Text/HTML/XML.
USBDeview is a small utility that lists all USB devices that are currently connected to your computer, as well as all USB devices that you previously used. For each USB device, exteneded information is displayed: Device name/description, device type, serial number (for mass storage devices), the date/time that device was added, VendorID, ProductID, and more...
USBDeview also allows you to uninstall USB devices that you previously used, and disconnect USB devices that are currently connected to your computer. You can also use USBDeview on a remote computer, as long as you login to that computer with admin user.
USBDeview doesn't require any installation process or additional DLL files. Just copy the executable file (USBDeview.exe) to any folder you like, and run it. The main window of USBDeview will display all USB devices installed on your computer.
You can select one or more items, and then disconnect (unplug) them, uninstall them, or just save the information into text/xml/html file.
USBDeview Columns Description:
· Device Name: Specifies the device name. For some device, this column may display meaningless name, like "USB Device". If the device name is meaningless, try to look at the Description column.
· Device Description: The description of the device.
· Device Type: The device type, according to USB class code.
· Connected: Specifies whether the device is currently connected to your computer. If the device is connected, you can use the 'Disconnect Selected Devices' option (F9) to disconnect the device.
· Safe To Unplug: Specifies whether it's safe to unplug the device from the USB plug without disconnecting it first. If the value of this column is true, and you want to unplug this device, you must first disconnect this device by using the 'Disconnect Selected Devices' option (F9) of USBDeview utility, or by using the 'Unplug or Eject Hardware' utility of Windows operating system.
· Drive Letter: Specifies the drive letter of the USB device. This column is only relevant to USB flash memory devices and to USB CD/DVD drives. Be aware that USBDeview cannot detect drive letters of USB hard-disks.
· Serial Number: Specifies the serial number of the device. This column is only relevant to mass storage devices (flash memory devices, CD/DVD drives, and USB hard-disks).
· Created Date: Specifies the date/time that the device was installed. In most cases, this date/time value represents the time that you first plugged the device to the USB port. However, be aware that in some circumstances this value may be wrong.
· Last Plug/Unplug Date: Specifies the last time that you plugged/unplugged the device. This date value is lost when you restart the computer.
· VendorID/ProductID: Specifies the VendorID and ProductID of the device.
· USB Class/Subclass/Protocol: Specifies the Class/Subclass/Protocol of the device according to USB specifications.
· Hub/Port: Specifies the hub number and port number that the device was plugged into. This value is empty for mass storage devices.
Лекарство: Не требуется
ОС: Windows All (32/64-bit)
Язык интерфейса: EN + RU
Размер: 1.0/1.0 MB
USBDeview 2.74 x86 Portable
USBDeview 2.74 x64 Portable
USBDeview 2.74 x86 Portable
USBDeview 2.74 x64 Portable
портативка от go19021984 (6-02-2018, 17:59) 0 154
портабле Утилиты


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An initial report of a gruesome scenario in the 1700 block of East Miller Street Sunday night turned out to be a false report from a man with a mental illness, according to police.
Springfield police received an initial report of a man inside with a gun who had shot three people and kept their bodies in the attic, according to police scanner traffic.
Authorities blocked off the area and waited outside the man�s home from about 7 to 8 p.m. Authorities could see a gun through the window during the standoff, according to conversations heard on a police scanner.
Officers eventually met with the man, and he was taken to St. John�s Hospital to be evaluated. It turned out the man had a BB gun, police said.
The man was not charged.


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MDI mercury relays are all designed to meet the highest demands of our industry!
Our mercury relays, also called mercury contactors, are hermetically sealed with high quality glass to metal seals. The stainless steel tube is totally encapsulated in high grade, UL approved epoxy to prevent moisture damage and voltage breakdown.
Additional coil voltages and options are available, if you do not see what you need on the website please contact customer service.
An "H' at the end of the part number means that the mercury relay is back-filled with Hydrogen and are for inductive (motors) or lighting loads. The relays without an 'H' in the part number are filled with Argon and are meant to be used for resistive loads (i.e. heaters).
The -18 in the part number means there is a metal strap around the poles. If there is not a -18 there are nylon straps around the poles. Single pole relays do not have either as there is only one pole. All 100 amp relays have a metal strap even though they do not have a -18! Hope this helps, call us if you need us.
Mercury relays are also referred to as mercury contactors, mercury relay switches, mercury contactor relays and mercury displacement relays.
Marshall Wolf Automation is your authorized MDI distributor! Have a Durakool art number? We can easily cross reference it, just contact us.
|Part Number
|Product Series
|Amp Rating
|35 Amp
|1 Pole
|Normally Open or Closed
|Nylon Strap Around Poles
|Standard Stock
|Weight - lbs.
|Base Unit of Measure
|Specification Tab
Our mercury relays from MDI are available in the following models:
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How To Make Her Want You Back
If you've recently broke up with your girlfriend, you may be wanting to know how to make her want you back. Face it, even the most in love couples break up from time to time, and it doesn't necessarily mean things are officially over. You can learn how to make her want you back by following the advice below. Follow this guide to learn how to make her want you back.
- Distance yourself. Have you ever heard the expression "absence makes the heart grow fonder?" This is not only a true statement for couples, but also when are trying to make her want you back. Your ex can't miss you if you are constantly calling her or showing up at her house. It may not be easy, but if you make yourself unavailable to her, she will realize how much she misses you. Don't pursue her nonstop, give her enough space so she can see what life would be like without you, and she will contact you..
- Let her know you still care. While it is definitely important to distance yourself, you also want to let her know that you're interested in getting back together. This can be a difficult situation to balance, but it can be done. One way of letting her know you still care is to call her and tell her that you miss her. Then, casually tell her that you want to give her her space, but you wanted her to know that you miss her. Even if she seems unimpressed in the beginning, she will be thinking about your phone call throughout the day and into the night.
- Make her jealous. A little jealousy never hurt anyone, so to make her want you back, make her a little jealous. Don't take some random girl out and dry hump her in a bar within site of your ex. That's a sure way to never get her back. Instead, just show up with a good looking friend in a place where you know your ex is. Do nothing inappropriate or out of line with this girl (after all, you'll have to explain your actions when you get back together). But when your ex sees you with someone else, it will make her realize that there are other women out there for you. If she still has feelings for you, this little trick is a great way to make her want you back.
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The House-Warming
The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 750ml
ECOYA Madison Soy Candle - French Pear 400g
Rutherford and Meyer Gourmet Wafer Bites - Double Cheese 120g
Herb & Spice Mill Honey Roasted Peanuts 100g
Molly Woppy White Chocolate Chunk & Macadamia Cookie 65g
Maison Therese Piccalilli 330g
Donovans Fejioa Milk Chocolate 100g
Products are presented in our signature modern packaging - lovingly wrapped in layers of tissue and packaged in custom-made black gift boxes finished with beautiful ribbon to form a stylish and contemporary gift (with no cane baskets or cellophane in sight).
Nothing beats the feeling of gifting something you are truly proud of. And while everyone wants to find the perfect gift basket, not everyone has the time. We want to make it easy for anyone to gift something that is both beautiful and memorable.
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Deliveries are not normally made over the weekend, so orders received during this time will be picked up for delivery the next working day.
If your order is urgent or you require a Saturday delivery, please contact us and we will do our best to help.
For more information about our delivery services please click here
I have used Giftbox Boutique on a number of occasions now and they never fail to deliver
an amazing product and service. I cannot recommend them highly enough. I was able to custom alter one of the boxes as well. Great service. K. Dickenson - Wellington
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Please note: If for any reason a product included in this gift becomes unavailable or out of stock, we promise to replace it with another item of equal or greater value which matches the theme of the box you are purchasing.


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The Oprah Winfrey Show (often simply referred to as Oprah or simply just O) is an American syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history.[1] It is currently the longest-running daytime television talk show in the United States, having run nationally since September 8, 1986, for over 22 seasons and 3,724 episodes as of November 21, 2008. The show is renewed through 2011, but in a 2008 interview with Larry King, Oprah tearfully announced that in 2011, she will not renew her contract, thus ending the show [2]. She has plans on a new talk show to run later on her very own television network, The Oprah Winfrey Network. The show, a production of Harpo Productions, was the last program on the air to be distributed by King World (until the fall of 2009, only the name was mentioned in the Friday show's distribution credits)--the latter company has been absorbed by CBS Television Distribution.
Air dates are in Eastern Time Zone


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If you've never had (or even heard of) hummingbird cake, now is the time to try this Southern favorite. You know, assuming you like guilt-free baked goodies filled with yummy stuff like banana and pineapple. We certainly do...
4 oz. (about 1/2 cup) fat-free cream cheese
2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/2 cup Cool Whip Free (thawed)
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
1 cup moist-style yellow cake mix
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup crushed pineapple packed in juice (not drained)
2/3 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/2 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
2 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray.
To make the frosting, in a medium bowl, thoroughly mix cream cheese with Splenda. Add Cool Whip, and stir until uniform. Cover and refrigerate.
In a large bowl, combine all cake ingredients. Stir until uniform. Pour batter into the cake pan, and smooth out the top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 - 32 minutes.
Let cool completely, about 30 minutes in the pan and 1 1/2 hours out of the pan on a cooling rack.
Plate cake, spread with frosting, and top with pecans. Eat up!
Serving Size: 1 slice (1/10th of cake) Calories: 192 Fat: 3.5g Sodium: 275mg Carbs: 35.5g Fiber: 2.5g Sugars: 16g Protein: 5g PointsPlus® value 5*
HG Alternative: Swap out the Splenda for the same amount of granulated white sugar, and each serving will have 234 calories, 46.5g carbs, and 28.5g sugars (PointsPlus® value 6*).
Allow us to drop some knowledge on you regarding the hummingbird cake. The original was a blue-ribbon winner at county fairs for Mrs. L.H. Wiggins. As a result, Wiggins submitted the recipe to Southern Living magazine in 1978. The banana-and-pineapple-packed cake has since become the most requested recipe in the publication's history. But get this: The original recipe calls for (no kidding) 1 1/2 cups of "salad oil" and a frosting made with a POUND of cream cheese and TWO POUNDS of powdered sugar. Eeeks! Times have changed, and though many variations have emerged, most of them are still too heavy for our liking. So we've whipped up our own recipe! The cake is deliciously dense and moist, and the calorie and fat counts are blissfully low. We think our guilt-free swap deserves a blue ribbon (or two). Try it out, and let us know what you think...
Serving Size: 1 slice Calories: 535
Fat: 27g
Sodium: 265mg
Carbs: 61.5g
Fiber: 1.5g
Sugars: 55g
Protein: 4.5g
PointsPlus® value 14*
Have some pals who are into baking? Click "Send to a Friend" to share this no-guilt cake recipe!
May 28th (a.k.a. today) is National Brisket Day. While we don't have a brisket swap, we do have a totally tender slow-cooked beef recipe in HUNGRY GIRL TO THE MAX!: our Slow-Cooker Roast!
SmartPoints® value not what you expected? Click here for more info on how the values are calculated, plus more FAQs about PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® values on our website.


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Request: Photo of Alameda hazards at low tide?
Post general kiteboarding discussion topics here!
Moderator: BayAreaKite
Sent even more photos to Ollie so that the location is clearer to those who do not know Alameda well.
Of course anytime you go to a new locaton ASK THE LOCALS about the hazards and escape routes... Local Knowledge is a gift. Remember it is often what you do not see that will get you on the water!
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Shelley Bliss is a Porn Star from Russia. She was born on January 1, 1999. She is listed on FreeOnes since 2018 and is currently ranked 3872th place. She currently has 45 gallery links and 3 videos in her own FreeOnes section.
Our records show that Shelley Bliss is currently active which means she is still making movies, doing live shows and/or doing photo shoots.


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|2012-03-25, 04:32
|Link #1
阿賀野型3番艦、矢矧 Lv168
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Belgium, Brussels
Age: 32
Aquarion EVOL - Character Discussion - Jin
The purpose of this thread is to provide a place to discuss all things Jin related.
To keep the discussion enjoyable for all Aquarion EVOL fans, please follow the guidelines below and stay on-topic!
Note: Please don't use this for the specifics (i.e. episode, chapter, game, etc. discussion) there are other threads for that stuff.Thread Guidelines
Last edited by Klashikari; 2012-03-25 at 17:00.
|2012-03-25, 07:23
|Link #2
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
I'll open off: we know he is written as an otaku. Question: does anyone else get the sense he's also written a bit like he's "royalty"? Something about the way he interacts with the other hole-digging brothers seems to me to be very "I'm a prince and not used to interacting with such commoners".
|2012-03-25, 09:07
|Link #3
Carpe Diem
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ||At the edge of finality.||
Age: 28
Though his interactions on Vega would, imo, fall more on being taken aback from a lack of experience with such and petty things like digging holes to get to girls.
|2012-03-25, 09:33
|Link #4
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: California
Yay for character sub forum!
Yeah, I think Jin is suppose to be the otaku of the bunch (Zessica is the tease, Mikono is the shy young lady, etc), but one thing I like about this show is that despite what stereotype a character gets pigeon holed into (Andy will appreciate this unintended pun XD) they end up exceeding the confines of their role.
Mikono and Amata for example are going beyond their former useless mind set, and Zessica has more sides to her than just being the seemingly flirty hot chick. I like the fact that while Jin might be an Alicia otaku he is also a very capable tactician and has given Neo DEAVA a run for their money more than once. And despite coming off as cold and introverted I think his development with Yunoha in the last couple of episodes has made us aware that he's also very naive.
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What is ICANN doing? What were they thinking?
ICANN seems to be doing everything to enhance its own wellfair, but nothing to protect netizens.
* Why are they adding so many new TLDs? They cannot even administrate the ones we have, and they are perpetually putting responsibility into hands that should never have it! This special Web Update includes: Name.space sends lawsuit against ICANN over new TLDs to Court of Appeals
* ICANN gTLDs: When Names Are Borrowed from an Atlas - CircleID
* Harvard.xxx a Brand Cautionary Tale as Web Adds New Names
* United States: ICANN Opens Trademark Clearing House
* Microsoft Doesn't Like Google's Dotless
* New local domains see breakthrough
* Who Really Runs the Internet?
* Trademarks at Risk - Law.com
and more! Follow along April 19, 2013


text: Cargotec improves the efficiency of cargo flows by offering handling systems and related services for the loading and unloading of goods. Its brand Hiab is the global market leader in on-road load handling solutions and services. Hiab customer-driven on-road load handling solutions and products are utilised for example in construction sites, forests, industry, waste handling, recycling and by the defence forces.


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Click on the image below and enjoy our Saratoga office tour . . .
In every industry, there is a group of people distinguished by a passion for excellence and an eagerness for new ideas…in residential real estate, Alain Pinel -- Saratoga is that group of people!
This top-ranked team of more than 100 real estate professionals sets the standard for excellence and exceptional professionalism. The APR -- Saratoga associates are sophisticated and savvy. They pride themselves on their thorough knowledge of the local real estate marketplace. The Saratoga office not only is ranked in the top 1% of real estate offices locally, but also is ranked in the top 1% of real estate offices nationally.
APR's team-oriented drive for innovation continues to outpace the competition. True to the original mission of Alain Pinel Realtors, achieving extraordinary customer satisfaction with exceptional people remains a primary focus for the Saratoga Office.
Alain Pinel – Saratoga services the residential communities of Silicon Valley. These communities, showcasing exciting architectural design, charming streets and award-winning schools, absolutely offer a sought-after lifestyle. Choosing an agent from a leading office in your real estate community is an important first step toward accomplishing your real estate goal. We welcome a relationship with you!
Areas Served: Silicon Valley…Including: Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, San Jose, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills


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MHI President Keynoting Hall Induction Dinner
July 9, 2013 by Justin Leighty - () Comments Off on MHI President Keynoting Hall Induction Dinner
The RV/MH Hall of Fame announced today (July 9) that Dick Jennison, president and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), will deliver the keynote address at the 2013 Hall of Fame Induction Dinner.
Jennison, who joined the Arlington, Va.-based trade organization in February 2012, oversees the government relations and advocacy efforts on behalf of all segments of the manufactured housing industry. He also served in senior management roles with Omni Solutions Group, Brick Industry Association, Point-of-Purchase Advertising International, Citizens Bancorp, MCI and AMTRAK.
Darryl Searer, Hall president, said, "We are delighted to have Dick as our Induction Dinner keynote speaker as he will be able to give attendees new insight into the state of the manufactured housing industry."
The 2013 RV/MH Hall of Fame Induction Dinner will be held on Aug. 5 in Elkhart, Ind.
Searer reports that dinner reservations for this year's induction ceremonies are running substantially ahead of last year's event and urges those planning to attend to get the reservations in early to insure preferred seating. "Seating locations at the dinner are on a first-come-first-served basis, so the earlier someone signs up, the better location they'll receive," he said.
Changes in Golf Outing
While dinner reservations are ahead of the 2012 event, Searer said reservations for the 2013 Hall of Fame Golf Classic, a fundraiser for the Hall, is lagging behind.
"We have made some changes in the golf venue that evens the playing field," Searer said. "For example, at past golf outings teams could buy as many 'Mulligan Packages' as they wanted, which meant that teams that invested in the most 'Mulligan Packages' regardless of their skill level, could almost buy a victory for their team. Under the new guidelines, each team will be limited to only one 'Mulligan Package' and, therefore, the golf outing winners will be earned through their team's golfing skills rather than the amount of money they are willing to spend on the packages."
The 2013 Golf Classic will also be held on Aug. 5, at the Bent Oak Golf Club in Elkhart. The event begins at 7 a.m. with a full breakfast. At 8:30 a.m., the golf begins with a shotgun start, followed immediately after the golf round with an awards luncheon.
"Monday, Aug. 5, is an important day for the Hall," Searer said, "and I urge everyone to set aside the day to celebrate the induction into the RV/MH Hall of Fame the Class of 2013, hear our keynote speaker Dick Jennison and participate in our Annual Golf Classic fundraiser."
For more information on the Induction Dinner and the golf outing, visit www.rvmhhalloffame.org.


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Woodruff Memorial Library (WML) and Otero Museum Association were presented with a copy of the recently published book "The History of Detachment 1, 1 Combat Evaluation Group (Det 1 1CEVG) La Junta Bomb Plot" by Shirley D. Benz.
Woodruff Memorial Library (WML) and Otero Museum Association were presented with a copy of the recently published book "The History of Detachment 1, 1 Combat Evaluation Group (Det 1 1CEVG) La Junta Bomb Plot" by Shirley D. Benz. The book includes many pictures provided by the airmen/women, some of their stories, a historic account of the site, newspaper articles from The La Junta Tribune-Democrat paper, and a list of about 500 names of people that served at the site. Det 1 1CEVG performed radar bomb scoring of simulated strategic bombing missions.
After about a year of working on this book and with help from the men and women that were stationed at the Bomb Plot, Benz presented the book to WML, Otero Museum Association and to John G. Daniel, alumnus of Det 1 1CEVG.
Daniel was wounded and survived the attack of Lima Site 85 on March 11, 1968, where 12 men were killed in action, including 2 Bomb Plot alumni; TSGT Patrick Lee Shannon and SSGT Don Franklin Worley.
Daniel received a Purple Heart, Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Campaign Medal, Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Gallantry Cross Medal w/Palm, and the Vietnam Service Medal. For more information on this event visit this website:
Daniel is currently a La Junta resident with his wife, Sheryl, and he retired from the Air Force in 1979.
Benz has a personal attachment to the history of the La Junta Bomb Plot, as her husband, Robert, is a member of the Bomb Plot family having served about 16 years at this site. They are residents of La Junta and Bob Benz retired from the Air Force in 1987.
In 2011, the La Junta Bomb Plot family reconnected on the popular socializing web site "Facebook". Before long, a reunion was in the works and Mrs. Benz offered to put together this book so the alumni and their memories could be shared and recorded.
Mrs. Benz also notes this book is a great source of genealogy information for the families of the men and women stationed at the Bomb Plot. The Det 1 1CEVG Reunion was held the weekend of June 8-10, 2012 in La Junta, with about 28 members and their families attending.
The book can be purchased at cost at this web address http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3751443.


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Alabama vs. LSU Kickoff set for 7:30pm CT Broadcast: ESPN
THE GAME: The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the LSU Tigers in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 9, 2012, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La. The Tide will be making its second appearance in the BCS National Championship Game, while the Tigers are making the trip for the third time. Most recently, Alabama defeated Texas, 37-21, in the 2010 contest, while LSU was a 38-24 winner over Ohio State in the 2008 game also played in New Orleans. The game will be televised on ESPN with Brent Musburger on play-by-play, Kirk Herbstreit as the color analyst and Erin Andrews reporting from the sideline. Eli Gold and Phil Savage will handle the radio call on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, with Chris Stewart serving as sideline reporter.
HEAD COACH NICK SABAN: Alabama head coach Nick Saban (Kent State, 1973) is in his fifth season with the Crimson Tide. Named the school's 27th head coach on January 3, 2007, Saban has compiled a 49-12 record (54-12 not including five vacated wins in 2007) at Alabama while leading the Tide to two SEC Western Division championships, one conference title and one national championship. Saban holds a career record of 140-54-1 (145-54-1) as a collegiate head coach, while also serving at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU. Saban won his first national championship as head coach of the LSU Tigers in 2003, guiding the Tigers to a 13-1 record that season. Overall, Saban has coached four conference championship teams (1990 Mid-American, 2001 SEC, 2003 SEC and 2009 SEC) and now his 12th of 15 teams will be playing in a postseason bowl game with the Tide appearing in a bowl game each year under Saban's direction. Saban is also the only active coach to win two BCS National Championships and the first to accomplish the feat at two different schools.
RANKINGS: In the latest polls released on December 4, Alabama stands at No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings and the USA Today Coaches' poll, as well as the Harris Poll and the Bowl Championship Series standings. LSU is first on all four surveys.
LSU SERIES: This will be the 76th meeting between the Crimson Tide and Tigers and the second of the season. The Tide and Tigers met earlier this season, on November 5 in Tuscaloosa, with LSU taking a 9-6 verdict over Alabama in a game that needed an overtime period to decide a victor. Overall, the Tide leads the Tigers in the series 45-25-5 with the two teams splitting the last four meetings, including a 27-21 overtime victory in 2008 and a 24-15 win in 2009.
ONE OF THE WINNINGEST CLASSES OF ALL TIME: Alabama's 2011 senior class has won a school-record 47 games over the past four seasons while losing only six contests. The 47 wins is among the most in college football history and the second-best four-year total in Southeastern Conference history (Florida won 48 games from 2006-09). Nebraska holds the record for senior class wins among BCS schools with the 1997 class posting a 49-2 record with three national championships. Oklahoma (2003), USC (2005 & 2006) and Florida (2009) accumulated 48 wins. Oklahoma's 2004 senior class was 47-7 with Miami next, going 46-4 from 2000-03. Alabama's 1994 senior class won 45 games, although officially that total is 37 because of NCAA sanctions. The previous Alabama record was 44 wins for the 1980 senior class that captured national titles in 1978 and 1979. Among non-BCS schools, Boise State's 2009 senior class shares the record with a 49-4 mark, while the Broncos' 2010 senior class was 48-5. The 2011 class stands at 49-3. TCU's current senior class has 46 wins over the last four years.
CLICK HERE to read more from Alabama's game notes.


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If you are looking for a Espionage or Modern D20 ruleset, look no further than SpyCraft.
Enhanced gear and gadgets allow any budding Bond wannabe to equip themselves with the latest high tech equipment. Good selection of character classes and feats. Game runs smoothly though can be tough for new players to get a handle on it. Once they do it's well worth playing.
The game also has a number of supplements/mission for GM's to use.
Only Con that nearly caused me to knock a star off, is that the tables in the book are laid out oddly and difficult to find.
Sometimes you just feel a book is too big to be useful. There are some good ideas here, and I like the genre, but I feel that they've attempted to do too much with the game here, and it lacks focus and consequently utility value.
Spycraft 2.0 is modern d20 at its best. The book is more like a huge toolkit that provides for your every need.
I'm trying to list all the superlatives in the English language in my head. Wow, too much, let me sum up. F&@$g Amazing!! I run for two groups in Orlando Florida and my players wanted a break from fantasy. We may never go back!!! (Ok, maybe not for a while.) Great book, great system, worth every penny. The gear selection process slows the game down a bit, but the idea behind reserve items makes every character want to be McGyver. Great system, very versatile, may try to use it for fantasy instead of that other monolithic brand.
A simply fantastic book, with great rules, but beyond that: GREAT IDEAS for running any spy/military/modern game. As a treasure trove of ideas, knowledge, gear, it can't be beat.
Far and away, the best use of the d20 Modern system to date! Very complicated, so if you're not already familiar with the d20 system, be prepared to spend weeks or months studying this chunky, 500-some page pdf. (In the interest of complete disclosure, I myself have yet to finish it!) However, it is more than enough to launch into the action-packed world of espionage, danger, thrills and daring-do! Very nicely designed and illustrated, but don't expect to print this out or your printer will never forgive you! LOL If I could I'd give this 10 out of 5 stars. :D
Forgot to add in my other review.
I like this system, it's fun to play and grabs your attention. The book, however, is poorly laid out and organized with bad color choices and equally bad content relationship problems. Meaning the tables and content don't mesh well together.
Works great on the computer, if you happen to have a comp with you while you play and don't look at this as stepping away from true pen and paper gaming. Don't try and print it, you can't read it on low quality because the tabling (as in all spycraft books) is done with poor usability and color considerations. high quality printing would cost a fortune so not really worth it either.
Great game! I used to play Top Secret and James Bond many moons ago and I recently bought the d20 Modern system in an attempt to relive those days of hunting down spies, killing terrorists, etc. Unfortunately I was highly disappointed.
Spycraft was recommended to me instead. So I paid my $24.95, downloaded the pdf and printed it out at work (497 full color pages!!!). Within minutes I was creating my first characters the next day I started playing my first session. Clear rules, great system. Like someone else said, this is what d20 Modern SHOULD have been.
IF you like the slightly-over-the-top spy worlds the movies, such as James Bond, True Lies, etc, this is the game for you!

LIKED: I really like the focus on modern day, real (if slightly exagerated) operations. Ever wanted to be a spy, Navy SEAL, cat burglar, etc? Now you can be one!

DISLIKED: I didn't quite like the "cinimatic" nature of the game. I wish it was more Top Secretish in that respect.

QUALITY: Acceptable

VALUE: Very Satisfied

Awesome. Does lots of cool things with the system. Skill caps make low level characters differ on skills a lot without barring untrained use completely. Someone without ranks in a skill can never get more than 15 on a check while a first level master can get a result of up to 30. A talented amateur can no longer outshine the supposed master. Skills have been expanded to include all the good modern stuff. They've also been defined quite well so every situation is covered pretty well. Everything from skydiving (standard, HI/LO and base jumping) to bribery.
The classes are awesome and great for making a team worthy of any action movie. Almost any combo of classes will make a viable team.
The feats are just awesome. There are fighting feats for everything. Whip style feat is even good. And the shotgun style feat is called 'This . . . is my Boomstick'
The chase system from the previous edition has been expanded to cover brainwashing, interrogation, hacking, infiltration and manhunts. It abstracts and covers each of the situations quite well.
The rest of it's great too, great gear system, more gear, fluid initiative, origins, it's all awesome. Buy this.
Excellent game, if you like your RPGs rules heavy but still full of action.
Not much fun to read, but its intended to be played, not read!

LIKED: The comprehensive rules

DISLIKED: The art work wasn't to my taste

QUALITY: Excellent

VALUE: Satisfied

Don't let the title fool you; Spycraft is no longer tied to the espionage genre. Instead, Crafty games has set for themselves the loft goal of creating the book d20 Modern SHOULD have been. And although d20M adherents will still stick to the WOTC version, Spycraft 2.0 is a superb action game in its own right and, like d20 Modern, a framework upon which other things can be built readily. The chase and duel mechanics, which can be applied to an infinity of tasks, are especially elegant and well worth melding into just about any RPG. A lovely game, the only downside being that printouts of the large, full-color book are going to be very complicated (and the most likely way to get a hardcopy until the new printing gets decent distribution).
An RPG Resource Review:
This is the revised version of the original Spycraft 2.0 originally published by Alderac Entertainment Group before the Spycraft line was bought out by its authors when they set up Crafty Games.
It is not, as the authors state, something you want to sit down and read. It is a reference work, to empower you to run contemporary adventures by providing the necessary game mechanics. The work can only be described as epic - it is one of the most solid and comprehensive rulesets I have ever read, packed with detail as to how to resolve just about any situation that might arise... or at least, the tools to work out how to resolve it if it is an unforeseen situation. That's quite a benefit, many rulesets give you the mechanics for the things they have thought of, but leave you quite at sea if you need to extend the rules to a new occurrence.
Everything is very well organised, and although the options are often complex they are explained clearly and are easy to find. Both the table of contents and the index are well laid out and comprehensive, while the text itself is organised in a logical manner. However, despite the good organisation, visually it is a bit of a nightmare - text almost illegible through over-heavy 'ghost' images on the page, and tables where white and yellow text are printed on bright green.
The Introduction looks at the whole concept of espionage-based games, and explains the way in which the book has been constructed. It also talks about how this ruleset draws on standard D20, and where it differs (being an OGL rather than a D20 work), and how various 'qualities' are applied to the campaign itself, as well as to characters and items therein. There are also notes on how 2.0 differs from the original Spycraft game.
One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a Dramatic Conflict system. If you know the original game, one of its strong points was the system provided for administering a cinematic chase scene. Drawing on this mechanic, a system for playing out all manner of epic multi-part skill checks has been devised. I am not sure how well this works: you have comprehensive rules for die-rolling your way through the situation, but many such epic scenes are better role-played than settled purely by the dice... and if that particular event does not interest your group enough to role-play it (e.g. a prolonged investigation and examination of evidence) you will probably want to abstract it far more than working your way through the complete Dramatic Conflict process would involve.
Chapter 1 looks at character generation. As the whole system is devised around the concept that you can play virtually any kind of game - contemporary, maybe recent historical and on into fantastical futures - it needs to be pretty broad and flexible to accommodate the sort of game you intend to play. The whole system is straightforward and replete with choice, whatever you have in mind it is difficult not to find a way of doing it. Indeed, you will do better approaching character creation with a clear idea of what you want to play, else you may flounder a bit to come out with something that is interesting.
Chapters 2 and 3 follow on with Skills and Feats respectively, and consist of lists of what is available along with ideas on how best to make use of them. Again there are plenty of options and careful choice is necessary to match the sort of character that you want to have. It's worth keeping an eye on future development as well, as choices made early on may limit or at least delay which directions your character can go in as he rises in level.
Chapter 4 is the main change from the original 2.0 print version of this work. Looking at equipment (or Gear) it has been reworked into something which, if still complex, is actually more or less useable. Still, while James Bond always had his gadgets, one is reminded of the line from the original (spoof) Casino Royale where Sir James Bond in his retirement comments on "Joke-shop spies" as younger agents show off their gear. In the real espionage world, equipment comes in one of two ways: either you get what you're given or the powers-that-be are so eager to get the job down that they are throwing kit at you, get you anything you might possibly want. Spycraft, if you choose to go by the rules, doesn't work that way. The idea is that you have a kind of allowance which you spend on gear picks - if you are lucky you know what the mission will involve in advance, but of course, that is the initial briefing and since when did briefing officers know what field agents are going to have to face? I generally find it easier to look at real-world equipment and then figure out how it will work in game terms only if its use is going to require an element of chance. Most of the time it doesn't, it is the individual's ideas on what to do and their skill at carrying it out that will make the difference.
Chapter 5 goes through the rules for combat and is pretty straightforward stuff, especially for those who like a mechanistic blow-by-blow approach to their brawls. It is worth all participants taking their time to understand the process or a simple gunfight could occupy an entire evening while people check their options.
The whole of Chapter 6 is given over to Dramatic Conflicts. Again, it's a matter of the way in which you like to play your game. Role-players will find most of it tedious and irrelevant, they'd prefer to play out interactions rather than roll dice. Some folks will be content with a mechanistic way of resolving conflicts and they will find this an exceptionally fair and consistent way of doing so. Others will find that some of the topics it covers interest them enough to go through the process while the rest require more abstraction.
The topics for which the use of the Dramatic Conflict mechanism is suggested are chases (for which it is excellent), brainwashing, hacking, infiltration, interrogation, manhunts and seduction. The one where it really falls down is infiltration - sneaking into an enemy compound is the very essence of espionage adventure and needs to be played out, not reduced to a series of die rolls. My group prefers to play out their interrogations as well, but they are a bloodthirsty evil bunch at the best of times!
Chapter 7 is entitled Game Control and is excellent. It contains all manner of ideas such as how to set up a campaign (with plenty of ideas that set your mind going), details on creating effective and memorable NPCs from the main villain to hordes of minions and much, much more. It is something you will come back to again and again as your campaign develops.
Overall, it is an extremely comprehensive and well thought out set of rules, mechanically sound and expandable to accommodate whatever you want to do in a consistent manner. At times it is too mechanistic and complete missions could be undertaken solely by rolling dice = insufficient account is taken of the fact that this is a role-playing game, not a computer simulation of events. It is a very useful guide to gaming in a contemporary setting, but needs to be used with caution lest you become bogged down in rules.
Spycraft 2.0 (2nd printing) is an amazing piece of work, the guys at crafty games have really out done themselves. To start off with, the book is far more organized than any other d20 Game out there, greatly reducing the time necessary for making characters (although the great deal of options available make the process take a bit longer), finding rules, and so on. As stated earlier the possibilities for making a character are nearly endless due to the great number of choosable class abilities and the plethora of feats presented in the book. The skills in the game are by far the best selection and most versatile of any d20 product ever made, adding on to that the dramatic conflict system introduced by Spycraft 2.0, skills have finally became just as, if not more, interesting than combat. The feat section is the pinnacle of origination in any RPG I have ever played, or read. The feats are broken down into smaller sub-sections having the basic combat, mêlée combat, and unarmed combat (just to name a few of the sections) all broken down in to there own categories rather than being dumped in to one big pile called the "alphabetized list of feats: the list that makes no senseâ€. The game is just easy to run as well with a far improved experience point system to NPC's that aren't hard to make. In closing this game is an absolute masterpiece, pushing the boundaries of not only the d20 system, but of Rpg's in general.
Spycraft 2.0 is making its mark as more than just another d20 spinoff, having garnered nominations for both the ENWorld/GenCon RPG Awards (ennies) and the Diana Jones award for excellence in gaming.
For those not already familiar with Spycraft 2.0, it's a complete retooling of the Spycraft system. It is not based on d20 modern, but a stand-alone game. The game includes a number of useful innovations such as campaign qualities (allowing you to shift the feel of the campaign with concrete rules tweaks) and dramatic conflicts (providing tense and dramatic resolution for conflicts other than straight up battles, from chases to seduction and hacking, all using the same subsystem.) Spycraft 2.0 is a dream system for modern action.
The PDF updates the book to the second printing, with numerous clarifications and corrections. In addition, the gear chapter has been rearranged for ease of use. There are a few minor renamings and similar trivial changes.
The authors obviously spent a good amount of time ensuring that the document is as correct and useful as possible.

LIKED: A game as robust as SC 2.0 really benefits from being deployed in electronic format.

DISLIKED: It is a bit higher priced compared to the print version than I usually expect... but as the print version was something of a steal, this isn't much of a complaint.

QUALITY: Excellent

VALUE: Very Satisfied


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I have two weeks left until our goal to stop breast feeding and pumping. How do I go about it so that I dont get engorged and painful. I pump 3x at work and once I'm home i breastfeed. Should i eliminate 1 pump do for less time...????
I have two weeks left until our goal to stop breast feeding and pumping. How do I go about it so that I dont get engorged and painful. I pump 3x at work and once I'm home i breastfeed. Should i eliminate 1 pump do for less time...????
How old is your baby? IIRC, she's only about 5-6 months...?
By that time he will be 6 months
Okay, so since your baby is still so young you're going to need to go slow with the weaning process. When you have lots of milk- as would be expected with a baby who is less than a year old and still entirely dependent on you for his food- you have to be extra careful as you reduce the number of pumping and nursing sessions. The approach I would take is to drop one nursing or pumping session, wait several days, and then drop another, wait several days, etc., until you are down to no sessions at all. Meanwhile, stay alert for things like plugged ducts or mastitis, since they often crop up during the weaning process. If they do, you're going to want to put weaning on hold and empty the breast as much as possible, even if that sets your plans back.
Since you're planning to wean at just 6 months, it's important to have a plan for feeding and comforting your baby without using the breast. Until the first birthday, a baby should get the majority of his nutrition from either breastmilk or formula, with solids only "complementing" breastmilk/formula, not replacing them. So you will want to know if your baby will drink formula- many babies don't like the taste. If he doesn't like formula, you may have to go a little slower with weaning, and perhaps start mixing formula into your baby's breastmilk bottles, gradually increasing the amount of formula in the bottles until your baby will take a bottle of plain formula.
Comforting a baby without using the breast is perhaps the hardest challenge of all. Right now you probably do things like nurse your baby down to sleep, or use the breast to soothe him when he's cranky, sick, or hurting. Babies who rely on nursing for comfort are often really miserable when mom is withholding the breast just when the baby wants it most. It may help to enlist alternate caregivers (dad, grandma, whoever) to get baby through the tough transitions in his day.
I don't mean to be pushy, but I'd feel like I wasn't doing my duty as a La Leche League member if I didn't mention that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be nursed for a minimum of 1 year (the World Health Organization recommends a 2 year minimum), and that continuing to nurse has significant health and mothering benefits for both you and your baby. If you're at all indecisive about weaning, and would like to talk about what nursing can be like as you go into the second six months, or you're having trouble with nursing that makes you feel like you must wean, please let us know! Maybe we can put your mind at ease or suggest something that will enable you to continue on. If that's what you want, of course!
Thank you I'll try that. Baby is already taking a bottle and formula we started about 2 months ago when I went back to work so we're over that hurddle . I completely understand about nursing for min of 1 yr but for personal reasons we're going to stop at 6 months. But I can say I do know Im going to miss that bonding with him especially because when we started it took us 2 months to finally get good at breast feeding. We are ready and thank you again.