Oh, goody, Arabs again. Last year's Arabesque festival in Chicago's Daly Plaza was perfect. The weather was gorgeous, there was plenty of Arab music, calligraphy, henna hand painting, flavored tobacco for your hooka pipe and a line of graceful guys with those gorgeous Arab eyes getting up on the empty stage to dance a little impromptu Dubka arm in arm.

This year one of the vendors is Amal which is promoted as a supplier of unique jewelry which gives ten percent of its proceeds to Women for Women, a highly rated not-for-profit organization for women survivors of war. Highly appropriate, as this week the U.N. finally declared rape as a weapon of warfare. Says the Amal "about" page:

Ah, the evil eye protection. There's something to that, you know. A friend of mine in the middle east had an evil eye on her kitchen wall that faced anyone entering her apartment. A week before she was assaulted, the eye, and nothing else, disappeared from her apartment.

If you go into the right shops, away from the tourist section, you can even find blue plastic eyes about the right size for sheep and cows.

I just happen to have two eyes that guard me as I sleep. Are they just nice to look at, or are they something else?

What makes that perfect coffee break?

Well designed machines to make it in...

Striking pots to serve it in...

Beautiful cups to drink it from...

And not forgetting... cosies to keep it warm!

Coffee time @ H is for Home

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

À vrille

il faut se rendre à l'atome de tout
à l'évidence du point
tout converge sur un chemin doux

elle vibre naturellement cette sphère
bioaquatique
elle rencontre son centre en arabesques incisives

je n'ai qu'à voguer
qu'à joindre les bouts de ficelles
les roches que je sème prennent des formes de mystère

tourner en rond à un goût sucré

du dehors au dedans la course est variable
tout se touche et se répète dans l'éclosion

il y a des naissances
des délivrances et surtout le corps qui explose
la suite est à suivre comme le temps fou

ça me lance
ça me va et ça me vient
c'est ça et c'est autre chose
c'est ce qu'il y a en dedans qui veut sortir

ce mandala est une trampoline

donc
ce qu'il y a de plus merveilleux est ici à venir

(Dessin : Caroline Guay ©)

_____________________________________

Quiconque croit que le web est impersonnel devrait lire ce qui suit. Je m'inspire d'un billet de MFL du blogue Regardez la musique pour dire tout haut que les liens amicaux virtuels ne sont pas moindres que ceux qui sont habituels. Ils sont simplement différents et n'ont pas besoin de la preuve du toucher et des regards réciproques pour s'épanouir. La réalité change à la seconde et nous devons nous ouvrir aux possibilités (enfin, je le prône bien subjectivement), sans bien sûr nous jeter dans le vide les yeux fermés...

Donc, aussi, le poème plus haut est une autre preuve du positif de la virtualité. Mon ami CarolineG a pondu un billet très intéressant au sujet de l'inspiration et, au gré de la discussion, j'ai repensé aux mandalas qu'elle dessine et lui en ai glissé un mot, pour illustrer que l'inspiration est souvent inscrite dans un système : pour sa part, le système du mandala où on part du milieu pour construire le dessin en ajoutant des couches. Et ça lui a donné l'idée d'inverser le processus et de construire un mandala en commençant par l'extérieur. Le résultat trône en haut de ce billet!

Et moi, ça m'a donné le goût de faire un retour d'ascenseur, de m'inspirer du dessin que je lui ai partiellement inspiré pour écrire ce petit poème. Ce n’est pas plus compliqué que ça!

Vive l'interactivité!

So I bring to you a post with some Canadian hip-hop artists that I love. There is a vast amount of great talent coming out of the Canadian hip-hop scene and I want to share it all with you. I'm going to compile a list here and the list will be linked as I get the albums uploaded, so if the album isn't up for download yet just give it a few days. If you have any requests for the list or have something you would like to contribute just post a comment and let me know!

This is going to take a pretty long while to upload all this shit.. So if you have any of these albums and feel like doing something nice.. upload one or two for me and you'll be properly credited and thanked!

Kevin Barrett is a prominent 9/11 activist. While he has significantly contributed awareness for the 9/11 truth movement, he has also damaged its credibility with damaging associations, discrediting theories, and controversial statements.

Barrett has supported 9/11 disinformation conferences such as The Science and the Politics of 9/11: What's Controversial, What's Not? [1] On 911blogger Barrett promoted this conference with the plea to “Join the cutting edge of the movement to save our planet.”[2] As Jim Hoffman observes, “Jim Fetzer's conference in Madison in August of 2007… included Morgan Reynolds, Judy Wood, Dave Von Kleist, Barbara Honegger, and others, and featured conclusively debunked theories, such as hologram planes and Tower-vaporizing space beam weapons.”

(...)

According to Veronica Alif, public relations director for Rosenthal USA, the company has employed artists from other fields throughout its 123-year history. So working with an innovative fashion designer an artist in his own field was a natural progression for the company's tabletop patterns. At the time of the original license, Gianni Versace was very much involved in the Rosenthal design process. Today Gianni's sister, Donatella, who has taken over the business, remains involved in the production of further Versace by Rosenthal series.

Gianni Versace's artistic influence in the worlds of fashion and the stage was virtually unparalleled. His legacy is carried on by Donatella Versace and she perfectly translates his expressive vision from the runway to the table in this spectacular collection of tableware and Giftware from Rosenthal.

Derived from remarkably different cultures, this collection is masterful at uniting the historical and the ultra-modern to arrive at truly timeless yet totally contemporary designs. For the creation of the most lavish dream worlds, Versace by Rosenthal has utilized only the highest quality porcelain, crystal, and cutlery from Rosenthal. Precious material, brilliantly crafted, internationally presented. Please purchase on online http://www.etabletop.com

Maurice Binder's titles for Ken Russell's THE BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN (the second sequel to THE IPCRESS FILE with Michael Caine).

Saul Bass gets a very good press, and rightly so, but maybe we should also talk more about Maurice Binder? While Bass is more consistently elegant and tasteful, Binder could be guilty of breathtaking kitsch (those later Bond titles!), as well as more classical work.

ARABESQUE is a film made by Stanley Donen, who told his cinematographer, the great Christopher Challis (TALES OF HOFFMAN) that the script was so bad their only hope was to try every crazy photographic trick in the book. It works! The presence of Sophia Loren and Alan Badel also help compensate for the fey script and the usual Gregory Peck drag-factor.

A similar contempt for the story enlivens THE IPCRESS FILE, where director Sid Furie started the shoot by tearing up and stamping on his script in front of the whole crew. "THAT'S what I think of THAT!"

Michael Caine supposes he must have had to borrow somebody else's copy for the rest of the film.

Anyhow, Binder certainly gets these films off to a groovy start. I once asked production designer Ken Adam about Binder. The two had worked on many of the same James Bond films. I made the mistake of pronouncing the name "Morris Bynd-er". But Binder was a German like Adam himself:

"Maw-reece Bin-der," he enunciated, "was a lovely man, who liked, very much, to photograph silhouetted naked ladies."

Well, yes.

Binder himself told the story of his struggle with a model's pubic hair, which stuck out in a censorable mohawk formation, visible as she turned in silhouette. 'She wouldn't shave, so I thought I'd smooth it down with vaseline. I was just patting it down when [producer] Cubby Broccoli walked in. He just looked at me, then said, "Maurice, I think maybe I am paying you too much."'

Maybe sometime I'll post the titles of Billy Wilder's THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, a favourite film of mine. Elegant and witty credits by Binder, with Miklos Rosza's finest and most melancholy score. 'Why is it so SAD?' asks Fiona. The violin theme started life as a concerto by Rosza, and Wilder listened to it while writing the script. The sadness seeped into the comedy, making for Wilder's most deeply-felt work since maybe THE APARTMENT. It's also Wilder's SCOTTISH FILM and makes better use of Robert Stephens' unique gifts than any other movie -- although working with Wilder was so stressful for Stephens, he attempted suicide partway through the shoot.

(While Mitchell Leisen would annoy Wilder by cutting his scripts to make things more comfortable for the actors, Wilder, it seems, never did ANYTHING for the comfort of his actors...)

My friend Roland suggests that you tend to find the best title sequences attached to the worst films, and there are certainly cases of that, but as long as there are films like TPLOSH around, I can't subscribe to that as a guiding principle.

Download

The Sound of Disinformation: What Will They Say Next?

By Arabesque, December 11, 2007

Disinformation is deliberately misleading information. In the 9/11 truth movement, this has been taken to the extreme. Often, this results in moments of hilarious, absurd, and unintentional comedy. Did they really say these things? What were they thinking? Listen for yourself and find out.

Jim Fetzer shows his love for... Judy Wood and beams from space?

Jim Fetzer: “I must say I think we’re finding out Judy, what happened on 9/11. I’m just blown away by your work. This is the most fascinating development in the history of the study of 9/11… I’m going to make a wild guess Judy; I’m going to presume that these [directed energy] beams had to be located in Building 7?”

Judy Wood: “Nope. I don’t think so.”

Fetzer: “Planes?”

Judy Wood: “No… I think it’s very likely it’s in orbit.”

Fetzer: “Oh Really?? Oh ho ho ho ho! Oh Judy. Oh my, oh my, oh my. This is huge… this is huge Judy.” [source: Jim Fetzer interviews Judy Wood, Non-Random Thoughts on RBN Live, November 11, 2006]

Morgan Reynolds embarrasses the real 9/11 truth movement by making the bogus claim that there were no planes used on 9/11.

"There were no big boeing crashes... I encourage everyone to do a frame by frame, penetration of the south tower, and what you will see is a fake, cartoon display. An aluminum plane cannot go through a building like the south tower was, as if it were thin air. We don't really understand how they did that... they are contrived." [source: Fox News, Youtube, Dr. Reynolds exposes 9/11 TV fakery on FoxNews, September 13, 2006]

Webster Tarpley rants about Arabesque, Cosmos, Michael Wolsey, truthaction.org and others in the Kennebunkport Warning controversy:

"Who opposes the Kennebunkport warning? We discovered going through this that if you take all the slanderous filth, counter-organizing, disinformation and so forth, about two-thirds of it comes from about half a dozen people as far as I can see. And let's tell you who they are. First of all, you have to look at the site called truthaction.org. As far as I can see about two-thirds of the site appears to be devoted to slanders and vilification of the Kennebunkport Warning. This shows what one can only call the typical style of the counter-gang... they mix in a huge dose of anonymous slander, vilification, denigration, calumny, libel, and defamation. The leading poison pen seems to be an individual called Cosmos... Anonymous slanders are his stock and trade. He wants to slander you and vilify you from the shadows, spread disinformation, distortions. These are the venom-mongers, the merchants of pus who like to operate from behind the scenes. These are the wreckers and saboteurs... Then we have somebody else called Colonel Jenny Sparks in quotation marks... Another poison pen slanderer, another wrecker and saboteur. The only questions we have are, is this COINTELPRO, is this the current style of the FBI counter-gang? So here we have Cosmos who shows you he looks like he's trying to imitate Che Guavara or a member of the Sons of David baseball team. He's hiding behind a huge beard, looks like the Italian aviators in A Night at the Opera... Michael Wolsey, Visibility 9/11. He appears of course in shades, he's got some cool shades on, he doesn’t want you to see him... Another person who has been active in these slander operations is somebody called Arabesque... I think [his] disinformation department is absolutely admirable. He seems to have all the disinformation you could want. He's pushing it and peddling it on this sleazy, smelly website. So thats arabesque911.blogspot.com... These people have practiced a constructive fraud on public opinion. I think they operate with multiple pseudonyms. We do not know who they are. Colonel Jenny Sparks for all we know may be a cigar-chomping FBI agent or a branch of Shin Bet somewhere in the Occupied Territories or a subcommittee of the National Security Council. We simply do not know... These are the poison pens and the slander snipers and these are the people you have to watch out for." [source: Webster Tarply, The Genesis World Report with Webster Tarpley, September 6, 2007]

Webster Tarpley praises... Nico Haupt?

Nico Haupt… is one of the leading researchers in the 9/11 truth movement. Indeed, he’s been called the enfant terrible of the 9/11 truth movement research. He’s always controversial, but he’s always on the cutting edge of research. He is the author of the 9/11 encyclopedia. He conducted for quite a while the 911skeptics.blogspot. I would point out that no matter how controversial some of his ideas may sound, over the years a lot of his discoveries have been indeed been incorporated into what is the conventional and accepted wisdom about these matters… Nico is the one who practically invented the terms LIHOP and MIHOP… Finally he is one of the leading people in the research on how the news-film of 9/11, that you saw on CNN and the other networks was doctored. He also has some… very controversial, but extremely heuristic findings about implications about doctored news-film and other considerations for what actually happened on 9/11… He has some very very interesting research results…" [source: Webster Tarpley, World Crisis Radio, March 25 2006 ]

Jim Fetzer almost cries and gets emotional about TV fakery research

When I discovered a scientist of the caliber of Judy Wood... [long pause--gets emotional] that I've spent so much time seeking to open minds. To broaden the imagination, to consider alternatives that one might prefer were not the case... [voice hoarse] And I'll say today... when it comes to the study of this video fakery, you've seen a brilliant, scientific objective analysis from this man... Ace Baker. ...I say that between the breath of study provided by September Clues and... Ace Baker, that there's a prima facie case that has to be overwhelmed by superior evidence if it can be produced--not only of the existence of video fakery, but the overwhelming probability to manage events... the whole thing through the media without planes--I'm telling you the evidence is growing... you have to take this seriously... we're down the rabbit hole. This whole thing has been a massive deception... it's objective and provable! ...we had Morgan Reynolds whose been pilloried like practically no one else has been pilloried for even advancing the idea that there's no planes... by God... we could listen to a patient explanation of what really happened in terms of methodical analysis of actual footage... and the point was proven! And it was brilliant! And you were here! You were here! [source: Jim Fetzer, Ace Baker Presentation, Scholars for 9/11 Truth [http://www.911scholars.org/], The Science and the Politics of 9/11: What's Controversial, What's Not, August 3-5, 2007.]

Do they actually believe what they are saying? What will they say next?

“The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments.” - Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, section 191

Kazuya Akimoto Art Museum

Art Blog1 Art Blog1+4

now RE-Named and categorized at Art blog1 or Art Blog1+4

"Tricolor Arabesques"

acrylic 29 "x 20 "

listed in New Works 2006

Keywords

(within kazuya-akimoto.com)

abstract expressionism

tachisme

color symbolism

ornate

abstract symbolism

lyrical abstraction

repetition

pattern

botanical

ornamental,decorative

number 3

latest new 10 paintings

Today's Keyword

within Museum paintings

color symbolism

( excerpted)

#6606 "Black Ships ( Kurofune) "

2007

#6426 "Purple Backstreets "

2007

#6347 "Blue Venus, the goddess of love"

2007

#5849 "Green Serpent "

2006

#5747 "Ecce Homo "

2006

#5727 "Red Butterfly "

2006

#5705 "Sleepless Night "

2006

#5700 "Red Meshes"

2006

#5504 "Tricolor Arabesques "

2006

#5492 "Red Propagation

2006

#5473 "Dyeing Blue "

2006

#5467 "Red Permeation "

2006

#4747 "Orange Trunk "

2006

#4255 "12 Black Crescents in the Orange Sky"

2005

#1715 "Green Stripes "

2004

#1657 "Yellow Ripples "

2004

pas120 "Geometric Trinity "

2003

pas090 "Missing Cuneiform Character "

2003

pas086 "Concentric Blue Circles "

2003

pas064 "Purity of yellow pigment "

2003

pas063 "The Purity of Red Pigment "

2003

pas062 "Purity of Blue "

2003

pas038 "Blue Crucifixion "

2003

pas037 "Frozen Blaze "

2003

Kazuya Akimoto Art Museum Art Keywords, Tag Cloud within museum paintings

abstract abstract expressionism abstract landscape animals archaeological architecture areas asian astronomical biblical biological black black and white blue blue and red botanical brown brush strokes bugs buildings calligraphy cells chiaroscuro circles cityscape color fields colorful comparison copies after mastes crack criminal cubism dark debris distortion earth elements evenly painted evocative expressionism exterior eyes faces figurative floating flowers forms fractions geographical geological geometric gold gothic graffiti green and red green hard lines hexagons human figures icons inner innerscape interior irregular forms juxtaposition landscape light lines living things man masses mathematics minimalism monochrome monsters mosaic movement music mythological natural elements natural scene night odd things oozing optical orange ornamental patterns piles purple random elements raw art rectangle red religious scientific scribble sea seasonal serenity shade silver sky soft lines splashes square stains stone streetscape structure suggestive elements surrealism symbolic symbolic signs tachism thick lines triangle undulation visionary warfare waving weather white woman yellow

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Cui Bono? The 9/11 Promotions

By Arabesque, December 2, 2007

The 9/11 official story is a tale of outlandish incompetence. We are led to believe that Al Qaeda successfully evaded a multi-billion dollar defense establishment, NORAD air defenses, standard FAA intercept procedures, US airbases, [1] the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, international intelligence agencies, etc. without any significant or effective resistance. While any serious investigation of the 9/11 attacks was blocked by President Bush and Dick Cheney for more than a year, [2] a theory of systematic and incredible incompetence emerged: Al Qaeda got "lucky". Mindy Kleinberg, of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee in an opening address to the 9/11 Commission criticized this notion:

"It has been said that the intelligence agencies have to be right 100% of the time. And the terrorists only have to get lucky once. This explanation for the devastating attacks of September 11th, simple on its face, is wrong in its value, because the 9-11 terrorists were not just lucky once. They were lucky over and over again. When you have this repeated pattern of broken protocols, broken laws, broken communication, one cannot still call it luck. If at some point, we don't look to hold the individuals accountable for not doing their jobs, properly, then how can we ever expect for terrorists to not get lucky again?"[3]

What happened to those who “failed”, and what exactly were their “failures”?

Former Senator Gary Hart observes that, “in terms of accountability, I think this is one of the great mysteries of the last three or four years. Three thousand Americans died three years ago, and no one lost his or her job over it. A president who says that he is a strong president, and those around him say he is, did not fire anyone. Either he was misled, in which case, somebody should have been fired. Or he misled us, in which case he should be fired.”[4] Senator Charles Grassley similarly noted that “I can’t think of a single person being held accountable anywhere in government for what went on and what went wrong prior to Sept. 11, it seems that nobody in government makes any mistakes anymore.”[5] According to testimony given to Congress these statements are accurate; not one single individual within the CIA, FBI, and NSA has been reprimanded, punished, or fired for the events of 9/11.[6]

(...)

Les videre her.

Anyone bringing this Versace product home would be surely considered as a loony pet freak. The chances of your pet eating from much fancier dinnerware than you would actually are not that slim.

Fashion comes to the table with this elegant dinnerware service designed by Gianni Versace. This beautiful pattern was inspired by the work of the jeweler Faberge. Versace’s appreciation of classical is translated to elegant crystal for your table. This magnificent crystal glassware provides more than a hint of luxury-each piece is a lavish expression of remarkable style, creativity and ingenuity. Fashion comes to the table with this elegant dinnerware service designed by Gianni Versace. The whimsical motif of blossoms, berries, insects and ornaments combine to create a stunning tabletop. Please purchase on online http://www.etabletop.com

The Blue Flower motif consists of one or two large and some small flowers. The main flower might be a tulip, rose, poppy, carnation, convolvulus, or marguerite. The smaller ones are usually cinquefoil bluebell or primula together with leaves and buds. In Blue Flower braided, or osier as it was originally called, the flowers are framed by a relief border in basket weave and the lids are topped with large tulip buds. Beutiful, collectible holiday plates from Royal Copenhagen.

One of the last luxury services still in existence from the 18th century is perhaps the world's most prestigious dinner service in production today. Flora Danica is reputed to be one of the most original and inspired products of the European art industry from the golden age of porcelain. A collection of sculptural and innovative designs. These individual utensils for the kitchen and table are created around a common idea, to unite form & function. Beutiful, collectible holiday plates from Royal Copenhagen. Please purchase on online http://www.etabletop.com

Currently, Lunt manufactures over a thousand different items in our Greenfield facility, including the flatware pattern Embassy Scroll, chosen by the U.S. government as its official tableware in all U.S. embassies and consulates around the world.

Family commitment and pride in quality work continue to drive the company now led by the fourth and fifth generations of the Lunt family. Along with our Greenfield plant, Lunt owns and operates another U.S. factory in western New York State making specialty scissors, and is the sole U.S. distributor of fine stainless steel tableware manufactured in France under the Couzon brand.

Our products are also now available in a variety of media including pewter, alternative metals, and more. All of our offerings are crafted to the highest standards of the silversmith's art. Lunt silver flatware feels elegant to the touch and is designed to suit any lifestyle. Lunt silver baby gifts make timeless treasures for that new addition, and Lunt silver frames present your favorite photos in the finest light. Lunt silver. Perfect for table, desk, or personal treasures, and as special gifts that show you care. Its products are available here. Please purchase on online http://www.etabletop.com/

In other news.....I've gotten my first wrinkle......

I'm not pleased. It's right on the bridge of my nose. I spent most of the weekend looking at it and drinking water, hoping it was a dehydration wrinkle....but no...I furrow my brows when I'm stressed and pensive....everyday. So i just ended up peeing a lot this weekend and stressing my bladder instead. It's official, it's a wrinkle, small and noticable to me only for now, but still....it's a wrinkle. Nobody likes being reminded of mortality.

Why can't I have a normal wrinkle? forehead, corners of the mouth....no, bridge of the nose, right between the eyes. Oh well.

IN other news...

I've been really inspired by singer/song-writer/journalist, Jully Black. Canadian celebrities are just soooo nice. She adds her fans to facebook and keeps them in the loop on her life. She also seems to be on a mission to respond to all 600 birthday greetings she got. Isn't that sweet? So I've been thinking about this "T-shirt" thing for a while and i think i have a starting focus now. I want to make "i (heart) canadian celebrities" shirts. First there will be a "Jully Black Edition", followed by an "Arabesque Edition"....just people true to my heart and we'll see how things progress. I'm gonna do it - Summer 2008.

In 1856, his son Giuseppe, upon having officially obtained the title of Master in Goldsmithing, founded the Guiseppe Sambonet Company and registered his seal with the initials "GS" as a guarantee "of quality, which is still in use today at the Turin Mint.

Sambonet continued to refine the quality of its products to such a point as to merit the title of "official supplier" of many noble families, amongst which were HRH the Dutchess of Genova and HRH the Count of Turin.

In 1932, the production was extended from sterling silver flatware to silverplated nickelsilver flatware. The first industrial scale electroplating system set up in Italy. In 1938, Sambonet began to produce stainless steel flatware, the first company to grasp the new metal's potential as a protagonist of the modern market. In 1947, using in-house technology, Sambonet started to produce stainless steel knives and "orfevre" blades. In 1958, Sambonet won a tender for the Cairo Hilton Hotel, for a new holloware line, which is currently on exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. This was the beginning of the Sambonet tradition as a hotel supplier.

In 1997, Sambonet enters Paderno Group, a leading company producing professional cookware and kitchen utensils for the foodservice industry. This step enables Sambonet to now offer a wide and complete range of products. Etabaletop is an authorized dealer of Sambonet. Please purchase on online http://www.etabletop.com

The Corning Museum boasts a wide array of dazzling historic glass objects, and also offers special events, such as the recent 46th Annual Seminar in glass. The topic of this year's seminar was "Nature in Glass," with a major focus on the life and work of Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, the creators of the Harvard glass flowers. The glorious flowers will be on view through November 25 and will delight both children and adults. The basic ingredient of every model was colorless glass, which the Blaschka's manipulated with other materials, such as copper wire, oil-based paint and even paper.

In addition to the Blaschka exhibit, the Corning Museum is rich with decorative objects and fun activities. Visitors can see a window created by glass master Louis Comfort Tiffany, tour the many floors dedicated to historic glass objects, watch glassblowers create spectacular glass objects, and even create their own glass object using traditional glass working techniques. Even the outside of the museum offers a unique display: Glass pumpkins and gourds reflect the bold colors and shapes of the season.

Upon leaving the Corning Museum, visitors can drive through the surrounding Finger Lakes Wine Country, featuring many award-winning wineries. During the fall season, this is a great weekend retreat, with charming inns such as the Inn at Glenora providing a relaxing environment. Glenora features an on-premise restaurant called Veraisons, and boasts stunning views of Seneca Lake and the fall landscape. Wineries in the area include Genora Wine Cellars, offering their signature Pinot Blanc with delicate pear and citrus flavors and a distinctive dry Riesling, which won the 2007 Critics Challenge Gold Medal. The Herman J. Wiermar winery holds its wine tastings in a striking setting: The tastings are done in an old scissor-trussed barn that was redesigned with a modern interior. Besides these notable mentions there are virtually dozens of wineries to visit set in the most breathtaking setting. For more information http://www.etabletop.com/

"Claudia Roden was born to a cosmopolitan Jewish family in Cairo, where she grew up eating – and questioning the origin of – food from all over the Middle East. She began by collating recipes at a young age from everybody she met, from family members to virtual strangers. “Food was,” she explains, “a way of re-connecting with my culture – my lost heritage. And the discovery of a 13th century manuscript in the British Library eventually led to my interest in food sociology and anthropology.”

To read more on Claudia Roden, click here.

The recipe below, featured on the BBC's website is from Roden's most recent cookbook Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon

Prep Time: 3o min

Cooking time - 1-2 hours

You can buy frozen artichoke bottoms from Middle Eastern and Asian stores. Ingredients 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed ½ tsp crushed saffron threads or saffron powder ¼-½ tsp ground ginger 1 chicken, jointed salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ lemon, juice only 2 tbsp chopped coriander 2 tbsp chopped parsley 2 small preserved lemons, peel only 12-16 green or violet olives, either stoned or left whole 9 artichoke bottoms, defrosted Method 1. In a wide casserole or heavy-bottomed pan that will fit the chicken pieces in one layer, heat the oil and add the onions. Sauté, stirring over a low heat, until softened, then stir in the garlic, saffron and ginger. 2. Add the chicken pieces, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and pour in about 300ml/10fl oz of water. Simmer, covered, turning the pieces over a few times and adding a little more water if it becomes too dry. 3. Lift out the breasts after 20 minutes and set aside. Continue to cook the remaining pieces for another 25 minutes, then return the breasts to the pan. 4. Stir in the lemon juice, coriander, parsley, preserved lemon peel and olives, then lift the chicken pieces and put the artichoke bottoms in the sauce beneath them. Add a little water if necessary and cook for about 10 minutes until the artichokes are tender. Serve with the olives and lemon peel on top of the meat