Why didn't you tell me the wine was so good?
With 19 wineries in the Spokane area, you would think we would know more about viticulture, sipping not slurping and just exactly what goes on at a wine tasting. Hidden during the week, wineries tend to become the center of the stage when the first Friday of each month rolls around. Last weekend, that was definitely the case, particularly at four wineries within walking distance from campus.
If you're uneducated about wine, you won't be once you've been to Vintage Hill Cellars at 319 W. Second Ave. Gonzaga business professor Cody George is the winemaker at Vintage Hill, but his father was the lecturer. George's earthy wines are paired with green olives, walnuts and crackers among other hors d'oeuvres during the tasting, bringing out various aspects of each sip. The sampling is ended with a uniquely bold Merlot served in a chocolate-rimmed glass.
John Dunning and his collection were featured at Vintage Hill's downtown tasting room. His works of copper and wine barrels covered the walls as well as provided seats and tables for those in attendance.
Watercolor paintings by Gay Witherspoon mellowed the mood at Barrister Winery. Scenes from the Northwest played into the beauty of the brick building at 1213 W. Railroad Ave., where Barrister is located. "Lonesome" Lyle Morse serenaded his crowd with acoustic blues while an accommodating staff graciously filled glasses with their current releases, Rough Justice and a smooth, fruity Cabernet Franc.
Not to be outdone, Why is it anyone's business that Bol Kong stole some stuff besides those involved? Just because we go (or went, in my case) to the school does not mean we are entitled to the newest gossip. Same deal with sexual assaults. If Gonzaga fails to accurately report their statistics for reporting sexual assaults/rapes, that is one thing, but not announcing to the campus that someone was assaulted would be inappropriate and bring unwanted attention to the victim. I understand the emotion, we want control and to have an impact. But please drop the emotion and look at situations with an objective mind. Remember, we're all a bunch of drunk college kids, sometimes we need still need a little parenting. Dear Brian & other readers, Thank you for the constructive criticism. I think what some people don't know about me is that I really do listen to what people have to say to me even when it can be viewed as hurtful. I've been using constructive criticism and hate to improve myself all the time. My very very first song that came out called "So Fresh" was monotonic, contrived, and the lyrics were outrageously bad. But at the time, that was my first song that I put out and I thought it was amazing. I'm able to accept now that my past work was not good, and I need to step up my game. People have criticized me for talk singing, for off-beat vocals, and wordiness. So then I worked extra hard to get rid of that. People criticized my dance moves, so in my latest music video for "Summer Rain" I got rid of dance moves completely. I don't look at criticism as a bad thing, if anything it's helping me work harder and work on my quality control. As an artist, you can kind of have tunnel vision and when you see your art you see it as beautiful, when everyone else sees it differently. It definitely helps hearing all types of perspectives. I have a music minor so I am taking vocal lessons at the moment, and have been part of the school choir for about a year now. Everyday I'm working on my vocals to make them stronger. Throw a song at me to cover and I can perform it well. Over the summer I plan to learn piano and/or guitar. Where my vocals go wrong is when I make my own original songs. Creating melodies and creating musical compositions over instrumentals is probably my weakest point. Making melodies that stay on key are hard, it's much easier to sing a melody that has already been created. And making melodies is hard because I don't play any instruments (but will soon be picking one up). I will also be taking Music Theory which is precisely about musical composition, melodies, harmonies, etc. Regardless, everything that you have mentioned can be improved upon. Even my uncoordinated dancing can be improved upon. There are people that are naturally talented and can do what I try to do all very well. But I just have raw talent, that takes longer to develop but will end up just as good as anyone with natural talent. I encourage readers to listen to some of my recent live performances on YouTube and check out some of my songs on my latest album "Dangerous Lover". It won't make your ears bleed, it won't make you die. The lyrics, vocals, and musical composition have all been improved upon since the release of the past summer's "Young & Sexy". Talent is a very subjective thing. Should we not encourage basketball hopefuls to give up just because they can't get every three-point shot? Should we not encourage enthusiastic writers to give up trying to get published because they have a limited vocabulary? Should we not encourage musicians just because they don't hit the right not every time? I'm an amateur, and I can fully accept that. I'm a pop star in training. Like every other artist that's ever become successful, you have to make mistakes to get better. Nobody is born a superstar. Not even GaGa or Adele. This is the real Joe Gooding (JG). If you ask me personally that I made this post I will confirm it. I'm assuming you can take constructive criticism. You have a lot of passion and your self-marketing is admirable. But I feel like I would be doing you a disservice by encouraging you. I'm going to be brutally honest: you are not a good singer and your dancing is embarrassing at best. Please know that I'm not saying this to be mean; I'm saying this because EVERYBODY I speak to who knows about you feels the same way and doesn't have the decency to tell you this. You should really consider either taking a break from posting videos and releasing songs until you at LEAST improve. Your "official videos" are amateurish, your vocals are off-beat, off-key, and sophomoric. Your dancing is erratic and, simply, not good. I understand passion. I get that you're doing what you love. But I would feel bad if I didn't tell you that what you are putting out is NOT quality work. This is as polite as I can be while being brutally honest. I have a feeling that you will brush my opinion aside, saying that your passion trumps any criticism. And while this is true to an extent, you need to know that talent needs to work hand-in-hand with passion. You have one, but not the other. I didn't post anonymously out of courtesy, and at the risk of taking flak for this comment. If you want to talk in person, I will gladly tell you the same thing in person. Internet anonymity isn't always a good thing, and this is one of those cases. Reply with a way to get in touch and I will gladly oblige. Nevertheless, I wish you luck and I truly hope that you improve because you certainly have the drive.
Wineries Lyle Washington - News
Watercolor paintings by Gay Witherspoon mellowed the mood at Barrister Winery. Scenes from the Northwest played into the beauty of the brick building at 1213 W. Railroad Ave., where Barrister is located. "Lonesome" Lyle Morse serenaded his crowd with
We asked this year's entrants, who hail from 10 countries, 48 states, and Washington. DC to state their personal stories about running and their desire to participate in NVM. These stories mirror the annual participant data gathered by Running USA,
Barrister Winery - “It's All About Rocks and Water … and Other Things,” of watercolor paintings by Gay Witherspoon depicting scenes from around the Northwest; music by “Lonesome” Lyle Morse playing acoustic blues. 1213 W. Railroad Ave. (509) 993-9310.
Lyle K'ang. 2603 Rudkin Road. 509-453-3670. GILBERT CELLARS. 7 pm Friday. 5 N. Front St. Kyle Stuck with Josh Carlson and Kaia Sorem. Music in the tasting room or the Gilbert Underground. 509-249-9049 or www.gilbertcellars.com/events.