The Holland striker said he takes to the pitch before every game and treats it as though it may be his last, so that he ensures he enjoys the match and plays attractive football.

I think it is just looking at it from the basics and play every single game like it is your last, he told Press Association Sport.

Enjoy it and do what you always do and then the goals might come, sometimes they dont but at least youre playing football the way people want to see it.

It wasnt dominated by one ethnic group or class but included many new communities: the middle-classes, religious groups, many more Chinese and even some children joined. Some would say, surely correctly, that Bersih 3.0 was more 1 Malaysian than 1 Malaysia.

Another important element of Bersih is how it signals a new era in Malaysian socio-political activism. A new kind of civil mentality. Given the excitement and passion surrounding April 28, it may be easy to forget that less than half a decade ago, the biggest and most enjoyable political story was of this lone ranger, Raja Petra Kamarudin, tearing up Putrajayas veil of corruption with his high-class exposes, now its about half a million people in the streets getting tear-gassed.

In 2008, the symbol was a fist; in 2012, its a flower. With RPK, the colour was always black (or a fierce red) now we all know what colour rocks.

From RPK to Bersih. Has Malaysia made a transition? Maybe.

RPK is essentially one guy pleasuring himself via exclusive access to and dissemination of sensitive information (and his readers pleasuring themselves by watching him pleasure himself whilst secretly wishing they were privy to such restricted data, documents and, well, self-pleasuring).

Bersih is about a collective movement that, quite literally, refused to be hemmed in, deals openly and transparently with public issues and cannot be limited to one or even a million persons, all of whom wont find much pleasure in being tear-gassed.

RPKs primary method is exposing classified information; everything hinged on the truth of RPKs clandestinely obtained and, thus, highly exclusive files. Bersihs method is striking at the heart of a public and non-exclusive process, which involves a more risky journey of debate, reflection, grey areas, conversations and scores of people doing something as radical as sitting down. (It is thus no coincidence at all that in his recent series of essays about Bersih 3.0, RPK brags that he will reveal the real story, the untold story of Bersih).

RPK tells of dark, secret things and asks us to believe that he and usually he alone can guarantee knowledge no other can (willingly) provide. RPK, like a social pervert, flashes and displays the obscene underside of political society and begs us to stare aghast and cry foul.

Bersih, via its demands for fair and clean elections, asks for nothing more than what is already guaranteed in the Federal Constitution. Its objectives were not to show off how much it knows about the dark side of Malaysian elections but to undermine the obscene practices of a ruling regime that publicly declares one thing (ie fair elections) but secretly cheats.

RPK requires an exceptional way of doing and knowing things; Bersih promotes a collective and open method. RPK tells you he knows something and asks that you believe him; Bersih says it doesnt know anything other than the fact that the election process fails to meet the standards everyone agrees on.

With RPK, one doesnt debate or have a conversation; you either believe or disbelieve him. With Bersih, debate and engagement are part-and-parcel of the process; without participation, there would be no Bersih.

A fan of RPK is essentially homogenous, fantasising about howhe/she, too, can be as powerful a writer as RPK, who himself remains the exception to the activist community, ie hes undeniably special.

On the contrary, a Bersih supporter, whilst remaining within the community called Bersih, is nevertheless heterogeneous, unique, with the colour yellow and the demand for clean elections being the unifying factors. And yet each of them is special in their own way. Each of them will have their personal stories, their unique experiences.

An RPK fan is essentially a non-participating voyeur, pleasuring himself on RPKs fantasmatic quasi-truths, with RPK being the ultimate self-pleasuring purveyor of exotic information. A Bersih sit-in protester first of all believes in something bigger than herself, then participates as if everything depended on her (which is of course the most one can ask of a participant).

With RPK, it was largely him against the government, one huge public arena with minimal substantial involvement by the public. Bersih, on the other hand, elicited greater communal debate and engagement (witness the unprecedented number of personal reflections, for example).

There is detectable shift from the RPK-style logic of exception and categorical rigidity (ie the masculine) towards Bersih-like openness, non-boundedness and even mystery (ie the feminine) in that no 100 per cent absolute clear resolution avails itself.

RPKs ways of exposes may unveil many dirty little government secrets, but the process is itself cloak-and-dagger-ish. He unmasks one lie only to hide another (his own). Bersih, on the other hand, pushes for an all-out national un-masking. RPKs logic is that of exclusivity and exception; Bersihs is about mutuality and transparency.

Its also telling that those who seek to attack Bersih usually revert to accusing the movement of secret conspiracies and unstated connections. For example, Helen Angs insinuation that Christians are the buddy-arm of DAP seems like an RPK-ish shot at exploding a kinky national secret except, unlike RPK, she doesnt have men in black feeding her hidden files, hence her quasi-thesis comes across as boring conspiracy and torrid sociology.

RPK is phallic, Bersih feminine. One still relies on the cover-up of fantasy, the other seeks to expose all cover-ups. RPK behaves exactly like the political personalities he exposes in his work, creating admirers who love him without questioning his methods and sources. Bersih invites everyone to work and to please mind their methods.

In this vein, the controversy over the use of Dataran Merdeka for Bersih 3.0s protest was a struggle between covering up (via fantasy) and the uncovering (via immersion). The governments denial by force of the protesters right to occupy the square with peace seeks to conceal the lie that there is already a hegemonic occupation in place.

To declare, as Kuala Lumpurs City Hall did, that the square is permitted only for sports and cultural (entertainment) events as these events are beneficial to the public and to reject events of a political nature was not just hypocrisy (as if the barring of the Square was without partisan concerns), it was also a political gesture par excellence of separating and drawing a line between domains Political and otherwise.

By disallowing Bersih the use of the Independence/Freedom Square, the elected representatives of the people are now declaring that the very people whom they represent are not permitted to independently or freely exercise their rights to gather at one of the nations symbolic locations of independence and liberty to demand reformation to the way peoples representatives are chosen(!).

If Dataran Merdeka itself masks the originary violence of Malaysia as a nation-state and the ruling regimes barricade of the Square signals their defence of the national lie (and everything that the process of Independence covered up), then Bersihs occupation of the Squares margins points at a rhizomatic perpetual keeping open of a gap within the nation. This is to say that an event like Bersih directs attention to the cracks within society, fissures that hegemonic powers would like to pretend dont exist.

In terminology made popular by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, one could say that the governments position like that of most if not all political usurpers is akin to that of the Master, seeking to name and control the symbolic order; RPK approximates that of the Pervert who delights in presenting and showing off to the public the obscenities and inherent transgression of the powers that be without seriously demanding a change; and Bersihs role is that of the Analyst who seeks to keep open the gap, the generative, productive space which is the Real and around which perpetual circulation happens.

Finally, in speaking against Bersih 3.0, Prime Ministers Najib Razaks insistence that Malaysians can demonstrate but not lose their senses paradoxically echoes what, according to Lacan, feminine jouissance (or enjoyment) is fundamentally about, ie losing ones self (which surely includes ones senses) within the framework of ones existence and by so doing reconfigure ones reality by bringing out that which is most dangerous at the heart of it.

If enjoyment is a key political factor, then the Malaysians people shift from RPK to Bersih is to be welcomed. This is a move away from voyeuristic esoteric knowledge towards openness, participation and solidarity. This is a shift away from masculine arrogance to feminine immersion, from a craving for private secrets to a demand for public truth, from the fist to the flower.

And nobody except those with something to hide would feel thats a bad thing? New Mandala

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Twelve-year-old Grey Area would have loved Railsea, but he was a pretty weird little dude. Perhaps kids who cut their teeth on Thomas the Tank Engine, then Lemony Snicket and Scott Westerfelds Leviathan are ready for something more bizarre and complex. In that case, theyll have been waiting for a wild ride just like this. Spoilers ahead…

Railsea is not so much a retelling as an affectionate parody of that bane of many a high school students existence, Moby Dick by the similarly surnamed but unrelated Herman Melville. Its not set on the world Bas-Lag from Perdido Street Station, Scar, or Iron Council rather, this is another Dying Earth, similar to those crafted by acknowledged MiÃville influences Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance.

Humanity clings to survival beneath a poisonous upper atmosphere on rocky outcrops separated by the railsea, an ocean without waves whales. Endless railroad tracks of mysterious origin loop crisscross over the soil constantly achurn with enormous burrowing predators. Mr. MiÃville has helpfully included his own illustrations of some of these cthonian terrors. How do you feel about naked mole-rats? Now imagine a colony of them, each one the size of a German Shepard with the table manners of pirhana.

We can always count on China to satisfy our daily requirement for monsters.

All manner of trains ply the railsea; driven by steam, diesel, sail, clockwork, or good old-fashioned galley slaves. Some of these salvage buried technology from civilizations long past or incomprehensible artefacts left by alien litterbugs. These latter items are called strugatski, an homage to the classic Russian novella Roadside Picnic. All of these diverse cultures depend on the found and repurposed tech and lionize the crafty Indiana Joneseque salvors. There are big gears and the occasional top hats, but if we must label things, this is really a Salvagepunk novel.

Other trains hunt the giant moles and other beasts for meat and hides. All the captains of these moling crews aspire to attain a philosophy; a word here meaning an huge animal that has torn off a limb inspiring the amputee to obsessively chase the creature. Each truncated pursuer attaches a symbolic import to his or her specific philosophy; the armadillo of regret the badger of humility the enormous earwig of nostalgia etc.. The exploits of famous captains and their philosophies are major topics in warfside moling taverns. There is a fandom complete with dedicated periodicals. Captain Abacat Naphi is a current favorite, everyone knows of her pursuit of the ivory-furred great Southern moldywarpe that left her with a cyborg arm and furious purpose. She will sacrifice anything and anyone to find and destroy her philosophy, Mocker-Jack, the Mole of Many Meanings.

Aboard Captain Naphis moler, the Medes, is Sham Yes ap Shroop, Ishmael analogue assistant to the classically wise gruff trains doctor, Dr. Fremlo (my favorite character). Sham is not satisfied with the excitement and adventure of moling life moons over how wonderful a career in salvaging must be. After experincing his first moldywarpe hunt, the crew comes upon a wrecked train. On it, Sham finds a camera memory card that sets him on a quest as single-minded as his captains.

The young protagonists of Railsea are, of course in finest YA tradition orphans, largely free of adult control, who come across as authentically adolescent. Sham is physically socially awkward, simultaneously eager terrified of the great wide world opening up before him. His new friends, the Shroake siblings, bicker constantly in a manner reminescent of my own family roadtrips, yet this brother and sister salvor team are ferociously loyal to each other. The three of them and Captain Naphi are set off to the ends of the railsea seeking to make sense of their impossible world. Nothing allegorical for teens there.

The plot veers away from the obvious Ahab parody. We get to see much more than life aboard one train or one captains obsession, although Naphi has a great twist to reveal. Along the way there are pirates, a Plucky Animal Companion, treachery, nomads, huge battles, all manner of monsters as well as impish literary games.

So heres the thing: Railsea is metafictional as @%#. Ugh, that word again meta gets bandied about as much as paradigm was twenty years ago. Gee, why are we producing consuming so many self-referential stories? You can chime in with your ideas in the comments below. The story switches tracks between characters in brief chapters, but only occasionally jumps the rails or grinds to a crawl. Just when the reader becomes annoyed at the lack of focus upon this character or that aspect of the world building, the text shifts provides a handy but never clumsy infodump. Then we get cut-scene chapters, that chide us for being impatient attempt to explain the nature of storytelling itself. The reason behind all those damned ampersands is revealed as well with an elegant chuckle. All the action various trains of thought continue to build speed inevitably converges to one of Chinas usual unexpected climaxes. As big a fan of his as I am, I have not enjoyed many of his novels endings (Time Golems, really?) but I really enjoyed what awaited Sham company at the end of the line.

Like MiÃvilles previous offering for younger readers,UnLunDun this novel is breezier than his adult works perhaps even twee. Despite his copious intellect and political leanings, it is not a salvagepunk manifesto. A grim bloody invention like the railsea would be a perfect setting for yet another dystopian romance, but this contains only a frisson of teen shmoopiness. There are tons of brilliant ideas and deep thoughts to be mined here but I never felt beaten over the head and shoulders with A Message. It felt like spending the day with an utterly mad, brilliant, dear friend playing with his train set. The language structure are more challenging weirder than most YA books, but any reader who gets a giggle out of thinking will enjoy this very different old-fashioned Storybook.

Railsea is available May 15 from your local independent bookseller.

Grey_Area is Chris Hsiang, bookseller with Books Inc. in San Francisco.

4Videosofts MTS Converter is the best MTS Converter software. It can easily convert MTS video to other popular video formats, such as MP4, H.264, MKV, AVI, FLV, OGG, WMV, 3GP, MPEG and more with outstanding quality. In addition to the MTS video converting function, the updated MTS Converter also brings you the features of converting M2TS/TS video as well as other general video and HD video files to the video formats you want, such as AVI to MP4, MKV to MP4, FLV to WMV and so on. Also, it facilitates the input of converted video files to your iPad, iPad 2, iPad, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone, iPod, PSP, BlackBerry, Palm, Zune, Xbox or other devices.

This new version of MTS Video Converter is equipped with advanced AMD APP and NVIDIA#xAE; CUDA#x2122; GPU processing acceleration technology, which makes your MTS converting speed 6X faster than before, saving you much more time.

Want to show your own personalized video? Now 4Videosoft provides you with powerful editing features, with which you can trim video length, crop video frames, merge video chapters, add watermarks and change the brightness, contrast and saturation. All of these perfect functions of the MTS Video Converter will definitely bring you the ultimate MTS video enjoyment. Moreover, this magic MTS software is available only for $29.00. More special and powerful features and the free trial version can be downloaded from the following website http://www.4videosoft.com/mts-converter.html.

System Requirements

]]> http://www.budgetmagnet.org/2012/05/18/4videosoft-updates-mts-converter-to-bring-you-the-ultimate-mts-video-enjoyment/feed/ 0 http://www.budgetmagnet.org/2012/05/18/hodgemail-is-playoff-mayhem-enhancing-your-enjoyment/ http://www.budgetmagnet.org/2012/05/18/hodgemail-is-playoff-mayhem-enhancing-your-enjoyment/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 08:53:06 +0000 Admin http://www.budgetmagnet.org/?p=1133 A few days before the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger asked a Western Conference general manager for his thoughts on how the postseason would be played out.

The GMs answer was simple and prophetic – it was going to be nasty.

And for the first week of the NHLs second season, nasty has been just one word to describe the play thus far.

Where headlines are concerned, postseason accomplishments have been overtaken by dirty play, questionable hits, scary injuries and eight (thats right) suspensions. Thats one for every day of the playoffs so far with more on the way.

And its certainly something that has polarized everyone who follows the game. On one side, its argued that this isnt indicitive of Canadas national pasttime and that the game has taken a turn for the worse. At the other end of the argument, its a part of the game – brought on by emotion, drama and intensity and only makes the postseason that much better to watch.

So heres Daves question to you: Is the on-ice mayhem that brings multiple suspensions enhancing your enjoyment of the Stanley Cup playoffs, or detracting from it?

Here are the answers that Dave liked best:

Paul had these comments: Chicago screams about RaffiTorres. I didnt hear Chicago say anything about DuncanKeith. What the NHL is doing doesnt work – time to try something else.

This from Joe: If the next Philly-Pittsburgh game were on Saturday instead of Friday, Id re-schedule my wedding.

Daryl offers this thought: Only when they faced elimination did the Penguins concentrate on playing hockey. Funny how well that works.

Fil writes: It makes you wonder why we didnt see more of ColtonOrr and JayRosehill down the stretch. The Leafs could still be playing.

Greg sent this observation: With so many stoppages, I have time to go to the fridge without missing any goals, so I guess it has enhanced my enjoyment.

John writes this e-mail: Hockey is no longer family entertainment. I wont let my kids watch the playoffs unless Im there to monitor the TV set.

And Norm had to know wed use this: Instead of switching to a 2-2 Ottawa-NY Rangers tie game, I kept watching Pittsburghs 10-3 blowout of Philly, just in case. Youre welcome, TSN.

And Daves Reply to All:

The NHL has a clear choice that it cant make. It has to choose between mayhem and safety. It wants both, but it cant have both.

Some in the hockey audience would make the choice for the NHL by wiping out the office of BrendanShanahan in order to create an anything goes jungle that would let the animals hurt each other and deal with each other.

The NHL might like the consistency that doing nothing would provide, but the NHL cant shrug its shoulders and look the other way – not as long as it professes to care about concussions, and of course, it should care and it must care about concussions.

Its out of business if it doesnt, and even at that, beware the lawsuits from victims of hockey violence that are bound to mirror the current situation in football.

So the choice should be easy, but as hard as it tries to avoid making it, the NHL is seen to be confused, and out of control, and negligent.

Researchers discovered the phenomenon ultimately affects body mass and may be a factor in the continuing rise of obesity.

Hedonic hunger refers to the desire to eat for pleasure, and to enjoy the taste, rather than to restore the bodys energy needs, said Palmiero Monteleone, MD, of the University of Naples SUN in Italy and lead author of this study.

For example, desiring and eating a piece of cake even after a satiating meal is consumption driven by pleasure and not by energy deprivation. The physiological process underlying hedonic eating is not fully understood, but it is likely that endogenous substances regulating reward mechanisms like the hormone ghrelin and chemical compounds such as 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are involved.

In the current study, researchers assessed eight satiated healthy adults, feeding them each their personal favorite food and, later, a less-palatable food of equal caloric and nutrient value.

During the feeding period, researchers periodically measured 2-AG and ghrelin levels. The plasma levels of ghrelin and 2-AG increased during hedonic eating, with the favorite foods, but not with non-hedonic eating.

This increase suggests an activation of the chemical reward system, which overrides the bodys signal that enough has been eaten to restore energy.

Hedonic hunger may powerfully stimulate overeating in an environment where highly palatable foods are omnipresent, and contribute to the surge in obesity, said Monteleone.

Understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying this eating behavior may shed some light on the obesity epidemic. Further research should confirm and extend our results to patients with obesity or with other eating disorders in order to better understand the phenomenon of hedonic eating.

The study will be published in The Endocrine Societys Journal of Clinical Endocrinology amp; Metabolism (JCEM).

Source: The Endocrine Society

The Northern intelligentsia and political leaders are now getting excited by the resignation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo

from the post of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman, and are more prepared to regain their groove with him on strategic reasons, Sunday Tribune can report.

Obasanjo, according to fresh findings, has been receiving different delegations from the North, both in Abuja and his Abeokuta home, since the news of his resignation as BoT chairman of the ruling party broke out, all ostensibly congratulating him for taking a “wise decision.”

Meanwhile, the unexplained reason behind Obasanjo’s sudden resignation from the mainstream network of the PDP, according to investigations, was not unconnected with his desire to detach himself from the inner caucus of the party in order to maintain a high measure of neutrality as countdown to 2015 election year, gathers momentum.

The new stance by the former president on politics, as explained, meant that he would no longer be rigidly committed to presidential aspiration of anyone, including that of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

An old associate of the former president told Sunday Tribune in Abuja that Obasanjo had come of age in politics, and for that, had seen the necessity to sit back and review his active participation since 1998, while taking stock of how he had faired in his desire to put Nigeria on the path of greatness.

Obasanjo, the source disclosed, has not been totally happy that those he stuck out his neck for to attain power, including the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the incumbent president, fully appreciated his efforts, much as they attempted to hold him in abeyance while they enjoyed power.

The North is, however, said to be keen on making Obasanjo maintain neutrality ahead of 2015 in its desire to tackle President Jonathan head long following the early campaign for his second term by his supporters.

According to findings, the North is of a strong belief that it could confidently handle Jonathan alone on the 2015 matters, whereas it may find it a bit difficult to do so in the event that Obasanjo steps in again to mobilise support for him, as he did to make him become acting president, then, a substantive president and finally, an elected president in 2011.

Obasanjo, it was learnt, is not desirous of dipping his hands in the murky politics of 2015 in line with a growing orchestra that the incumbent president should step into the ring for another trial, rather than honouring the initial agreement that he should have just one term in office.

The incumbent president rode on the crest of popular sentiment that the South-South deserved to be offered presidential power in 2011 to balance the power distribution equation in Nigeria, hence, the support he enjoyed from top political stakeholders in the country at the expense of the interest of the North to present the next president then.

When former President Yar’Adua died mid way into the expiration of his term in 2010, the desire by the North to fulfil his full term, in line with the existing zoning of political power, was truncated with agitation that Jonathan be given the chance, thus sparking the greatest controversy on zoning in Nigeria.

Obasanjo’s desire to relinquish the office of BoT of the PDP is said to be more predicated on the emergence of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as national chairman of the party. He fully supported the candidacy of Tukur and that of national secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Obasanjo, it was explained, believed that the duo of Tukur and Oyinlola have the wherewithal to hold the party effectively and with ability to resolve all contentious issues over 2015.

Indication that Obasanjo is now out to prove his neutrality in national politics could be noted with the manner he has been interacting freely of late with members of other political parties, including the leading opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), just as his private visit to Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, continues to generate more controversies in political circles in the country.

Investigations have also revealed that that the North has started making subtle moves to form a new political party as a counter force to the PDP towards 2015 in anticipation that supporters of President Jonathan would use the ruling party to promote his tenure elongation, even through constitution amendment.

Some PDP governors have started distancing themselves from the mainstream activities in the party as evident by the manner they reportedly frustrated the meeting called with them by the new leadership of the party last Thursday.

Share

I do occasionally feel that people need to give some thought about what they want before walking into a store.

Heres what I mean -
How much would you like to spend?
Nothing too much, er, mid-range. Sorry chaps, one persons cheap is another persons expensive.
Do you know what youd like?
Something nice. I dont recall anyone asking me for a disgusting bottle of wine. Nice I thought was a foregone conclusion. Maybe Im wrong?

More recently I had this scenario thrust upon me. A customer walked into the store, first one of the day I might add. The gentleman asks –
Im looking for a wine for someones 40th, what can you recommend?
I go through my usual repertoire of questions –
How much would you like to spend?
Not sure.
Do they like Red or White?
I dont know.
Do you know if they have a particular style they like, grape variety, full, medium or light bodied wine?
Sorry, dont know…What would you buy?
Excuse me?
What would you buy for someones 40th?

Where do you go with that? As I mentioned to the customer, the art of gift buying is unique to the person they are buying for. I do not know this person so therefore I cannot offer up too much helpful advice. In the end I pointed out a selection of wines that I thought were good. He decided that he needed to consult his wife.

I do take into account that this was an extreme case. The chances are he had been sent out to get a last minute present.

Based on this I thought I would give some pointers in buying wine.

Have a fixed budget in your mind. To say something as non-specific like cheap, mid-range doesnt really help. When I go shopping I know roughly what I want to spend before Ive entered a store. As I stated at the top, one persons cheap is anothers expensive.

If you are buying for someone else, gifts, dinner parties, find out a bit about what they like. Do some research. I know as vendors we are here to help but we can only go so far with the information provided.

Price doesnt guarantee quality. Because a bottle maybe expensive it doesnt make it exceptional. Ive sampled cheaper wines which have tasted better than dearer wines. The cost of a bottle can be based on certain factors, for example regions and restrictions. Southern French table wines should be cheaper as they have fewer production restrictions. They can be mass produced, use multiple grape varieties. Appellation Controlee regions like Burgundy or Bordeaux have set guidelines. There are very tight controls on how much they can produce. This can, invariably, produce wines with a higher shelf price.

Dont gender specify wines. If a wines good, its good regardless of gender. Nothing worse when someone asks for a wine, saying its for a woman. All of our palates are different. We all taste different things. I dont see where gender comes into it.

If you see wine available to taste then taste it. They have been opened for a reason. You may not buy one there and then but you might like it, hopefully you will be back to buy a bottle in the future.

Do not be put off by the wine store itself. If you are greeted by a wall of wine then allow the sales person to do the work for you. If the sales person is any good and the right questions have been asked they will find a wine that should suit your needs.

Dont let the seller guide you to a point where they are trying to sell you something you dont want. A customer told me the other day that he went to a store and asked for Argentinian Malbec. The assistant commented on that French Malbec was the best and led him to France. He didnt want French. He subsequently left without buying anything. By all means, listen to recommendations if the store cant fit your needs but dont be led away from your request.

Finally dont be worried or embarrassed about asking silly questions. The vast majority of the wine drinking public know little about wine. Use the vendor. Let them be your guide. Hopefully you will learn too. Impress your friends with this new found information. Believe me, there is nothing more satisfying than holding a group of people in the palm of your hand by talking about wine.

I would be interested in hearing your wine buying nightmare stories.

Now go forth and purchase with a bit more confidence.

Keep up to date with global wine news on my blog www.magicsnewbiewines.com

The revelations came out in a Vanity Fair magazine article featuring excerpts from Washington Post reporter David Maraniss new book Barack Obama: The Story due to be out next month.

According to The New York Post, the book detailsyoung Obamas relationships with two women — Alex McNear and Genevieve Cook — whom he dated while in his early 20s.

Obama met McNear while attending Occidental College in California — at the time she was a co-editor of the colleges literary magazine — before the two reconnected in New York during the summer of 1982. They met up at an Italian restaurant when McNear arrived in the city and quickly started dating, The New York Post added.

McNear told the author that she mainly remembered walking miles through the city with Obama, visiting art museums, eating at restaurants and engaging in deep philosophical conversations about life.

Then in December 1983, Obama met Cook, a 25-year-old elementary school teacher, at a party in New Yorks East Village. The future president was reportedly wearing blue jeans, a T-shirt and a dark leather jacket when he ran into Cook in the kitchen. The two later chatted and bonded immediately over the fact that both had grown up in Indonesia.

Im pretty sure we had dinner maybe the Wednesday after, Cook recalled. I think maybe he cooked me dinner. Then we went and talked in his bedroom. And then I spent the night. It all felt very inevitable, She was quoted by The New York Post as saying.

Cook also recalled how Obama would spend Sundays lounging around bare-chested in a blue and white sarong, while drinking coffee and solving The New York Times crossword puzzle.

Cook kept a journal at the time in which she wrote, I open the door, that Barack keeps closed, to his room, and enter into a warm, private space pervaded by a mixture of smells that so strongly speak of his presence, his liveliness, his habits — running sweat, Brut spray deodorant, smoking, eating raisins, sleeping, breathing, The New York Post quoted Cook as saying.

Obama described Cook without naming her in his memoir Dreams from My Father as a woman in New York that I loved. He wrote, She was white. She had dark hair, and specks of green in her eyes. Her voice sounded like a wind chime. We saw each other for almost a year. On the weekends, mostly.

Obama later said that his description of Cook in the memoir was more of a compression of former girlfriends that also included a girlfriend in Chicago.