wine and whines of the week

Another weekend that has flown by too quickly. Happy Valentine's Day (plus one) to everyone. I had a very nice, relaxing weekend that was sprinkled with bits of excitement. Coming off a stressful week, it was nice to just relax Friday evening and watch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. I thought Vancouver did a great job. Saturday, Allie's family was in town. We all walked around the Art Institute of Chicago. Free for the month of February, the Institute was packed. I think when you consider the weather was mild, free admission, and it was the day before Valentine's, I cannot be that surprised. I would like to go back when it is a little less congested. My favorite exhibit was the modern art wing. Although modern art can be confusing, and questionable at times, I tend to relate more to the artist. I can respect the aesthetic beauty while looking at Monet's Water Lillies, or any of Van Gogh's pieces, but I do not get the wow factor like when I look at the bold colors of contemporary artists like Igor Medvedev. Saturday evening was capped off with a little sangria and tapas at Cafe Babareeba. A restaurant which is quickly creeping into my top five all-time. Sunday was Valentine's Day. Allie and I decided to do something low-key. We first watch the Northwestern win an exciting overtime basketball game at Welsh-Ryan Arena, and then picked out a recipe, went to the grocery store, and made dinner together. Yes, the stuffed baked chicken with the mint pesto sauce was amazing.

1. The Art Institutes's most famous piece by far is American Gothic by the artist, Grant Wood. For those who are unfamiliar, it is the iconic picture of the American farmers with the man holding the pitchfork, and his wife looking somberly into the distance. AG is probably the most famous American art piece of all-time. I was pretty excited but when I got to the small piece, I was disappointed by its platitude. I guess I just don't get it. Possibly why I do not understand the brilliance of the Mona Lisa. If all it takes to paint an iconic portrait, is to paint a quizzical look on the Muse's face, why wouldn't every artist do it? I am certainly not an expert on art, I guess I just don't understand what separates brilliance from banality.

2. As usual, I did see one movie this weekend. I watched The Last Legion. Starring Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth, and Aishwarya Rai, I was expecting greatness. The movie came out about two years ago. I give it a C-. It is not awful. The problem is that is an action movie kind of about King Arthur and there are times where it is so silly and goofy, I could not even take the movie seriously. However, Allie and her sister loved it. What do I know?

3. I have been drinking some terrific wine recently. If you are fan of red wine, I highly recommend the Clayhouse Adobe Red ($12). A terrific American red wine blend. It is good for those who have limited wine experience because it is so easy to drink. Although it is primarily Zinfandel, the Adobe Red is actually a mixture of six different kinds of red wine.

4. For those white wine lovers, I highly recommend the Zolo Torrontes. Torrontes is the most popular white wine of Argentina, and Zolo makes the best. It is about $14 but worth every penny.

5. Okay, I first had the wine of the week, now it time for my whine of the week. Democrat Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana announced he is going to retire. CRAP! Indiana looks the part of a typical moderate Midwest state. It's not. It has traditionally been very conservative. This will be a very difficult seat for the Democrats to maintain. According to MSNBC, if the election were today, the Republicans would pick up eight senate seats. It could be nine with Bayh retiring.