Adding Transparency To The Critical Process: The Hanging' Judge And Being Wined And Dined

It was actually a week spent on jury duty, which kept me away from the computer and weighing in on the Tupac forgery fiasco, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5: The Musical" and Dr. Pepper's pitch for Axl Rose. Away from L.A.'s Superior Court, though, I was able to make it to two shows (80 to go) and see 10 acts (216 to go) on the path to 100/300; catch "American Idol" saying goodbye to yet another male R&B crooner and  weigh in on "Top Chef."
Most important, though, was cooking a birthday dinner for my wife and some friends. The menu and the wines:

Assorted cured meats
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne

Mackeral with White-Bean Bruschetta
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose Champagne

Diver Scallops with Fresh English Peas and Asparagus
2000 Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc

Cornucopie con quattro funghi freschi (A pasta from Puglia in a fresh mushroom cream sauce)
2000 Williams Selyem Mendocino Pinot Noir
2000 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva

Piemontese Short Ribs  in Silky Rhone Sauce
1998 Sori' Paitin Barbaresco 

Fromage
(Sottocenre; Fleur de Alps; Humboldt Fog; Cantallet Cantorel)
2004 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel

Chocolate Cake
Moscato d'Asti

The travel back and forth to court certainly increases the listening in the car. On the stereo:
Car: Lionel Loueke "Karibu"; Dolly Parton "Backwoods Barbie"; Counting Crows "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings"
Home: Brad Mehldau Trio "Live"; R.E.M. "Accelerate"