Go ahead, criticize me for the comparison. I dare you.
Visiting Venice several years back, my daughter and I found ourselves at the Ponte de Sospiri, or the Bridge of Sighs. An enclosed bridge, which according to local tradition, offered a final view of the outside world before prisoners were taken to their incarceration. But this is merely a stream-of-consciousness introduction to what I really want to get at.
Although built in 1602, the bridge was given its name by 19th century international Rude Boy, Lord Byron. He was that century’s version of the Chris Brown of our own times. What?
Roaming all over the place, having lots of sex and putting down rhymes. In Venice, Byron paused from his travels upon falling for Marianna Segati, in whose Venice house he had been lodging. But she was soon to be replaced by 22-year-old Margarita Cogni. Both women were married. Cogni could neither read nor write. But she had other desirable qualities and soon left her husband to move into Byron’s Venetian Crib. All was not bliss– their frequent fighting resulted in Byron spending many a night in his gondola. Eventually, he asked her to leave the house and she threw herself into the Venetian canal. Beautiful.
When the first two cantos of Byron’s Don Juan were published anonymously in 1819, the poem was criticized for its ‘immoral content’, though it was also immensely popular. Don Juan (Canto IX) may have summed it up best:
Love is vanity,
Selfish in its beginning as its end,
Except where ’tis a mere insanity.
Or as CB put it more personally in Deuces, his FU song (click here) to a certain girl he had broken with:
You’ll regret the day when I find another girl, yeah
Who knows just what I need, she knows just what I mean
When I tell her keep it drama free
Chuckin up them (deuces)
I told you that I’m leaving (deuces)
I know you mad but so what?
I wish you best of luck
And now I’m finna throw them deuces up* * * * * * * *
I’m on some new shit
I’m chuckin my deuces up to her
I’m moving on to something better, better, better
No more tryin to make it work
You made me wanna say bye bye, say bye bye, say bye bye to her
Live Fast. Die Young. In February of 1824, Byron suffered a small stroke– some say caused by excessive boozing. In April of that year he was caught in a storm while riding and became ill. He died of fever on April 19, 1824. Byron dead at 36.
In honor of his Italian adventures here is a lovely Dolcetto (little sweet one) with its own desirable qualities:
Domenico Clerico Langhe Visadi Dolcetto 2010 ($13). Opening with mild woodsy notes, it undressed a bit at a time to reveal tart cherries with an undercurrent of mint and lavender on the midpalate. Finishing with a touch of cocoa and firm tannins, it is drinkable now but I suspect will improve with 3-5 years in bottle. I rate it for what it is now, not what it may become, but I will buy an extra bottle or three to see just how right I am. Rated **1/2
The little guy in the photo at the top of this page doesn’t have a guilty bone in his body. Neither should you. No-Guilt Wednesday (NGW) is not about compromising on quality. It’s all about drinking good wine that does not break the bank ($15 or less), eating good food and of course, it’s about sharing with the ones you love.
sybaritesauvage 
Your post reminds me of my lengthy Lord Byron phase many, many moons ago. On the other hand, I had to look up who Chris Brown was…isn’t that ironic?
Clerico is a great producer, and this declassified Dolcetto is pretty great. Still, how in the world did you buy it for $13?
In matters of art, one should always keep one’s mid open to the possibilities. Deuces is a pretty cool song with some creative lyrics.
My suppier is a local shop that I order from on the internet and then pick up at the store. I will send you a separate email with the name of the shop in case you want to order from them. If you go there looking for that Dolcetto– they are currently sold out.
Believe me, it was not a commentary on your choice of contemporary lyrics but a sad commentary on my own antiquated knowledge of pop-culture. Did you know I do not own a TV (have not owned one in 12 years)?
P.S. Thanks for the link! I do not interview candidates anymore, however nobody I work with would ever believe I am this much fun :-).
I go through phases with TV– mostly, I find that it does little to stimulate the creative flow that sometimes comes out on this blog. However, it does keep me tuned into what’s going on in contemporary culture. I like to remind myself that all culture was contemporary at one point or another. These days I also listen to a lot of Hip Hop radio– but that does not mean we should forget the classical stuff or jazz or latin or….
oh yes, and You’re very welcome!
SS, as soon as I began reading your thoughts on Lord Byron I thought Puccini, but since I didn’t know, I checked and it was Virgil Thomson. Should have been the former!
Anyway, the human condition is what it is, and as Thoreau would have said: ” With a little more deliberation in the choice of their pursuits, all men would perhaps become essentially students and observers, for certainly their nature and destiny are interesting to all alike. And: “(The) philosopher raised a corner of the veil from the statue of the divinity; and still the trembling robe remains raised, and I gaze upon as fresh a glory as he did, since it was I in him that was then so bold, and it is he in me that now reviews the vision.”
What’s the point? Humanity groping, often finds herself in the canal. Often we add something to this tapestry, and way more often we take from it; that is Opera at its best
As for the wine, as my brother would say: “I need it.”
Well said and quoted.
Love the Byron / Brown parallel. The more things change, the more they stay the same…
It’s a bit bizarre– but as Byron wrote in Canto XIV of Don Juan: “‘Tis strange — but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction.”