This is not about wine.

There are a few things that I have that I refer to as my "Velveteen Rabbits", things where I have loved the fur right off through use.

One is my old camera that I have had for nearly 30 years. You can see where my fingers sat on it because the surface is worn thin in those places.

Two others are my current, identical cameras, from when I switched to digital a few years back. They are battered beasts literally held together with duct tape.

I can tell a lot about my clients by how they respond to my cameras -- there are two reactions:

1. Why in the world doesn't she replace those decrepit things? She must not be any good.

2. She must work a lot judging by the conditon of those cameras. She must be good.

The first group is going to be nearly impossible to impress with even great images because they place their sense of value in the object.

The second group is going to be a snap because they place their value in me.

I could replace the cameras but the provide a great litmus test for what I'm going to have to do to get the job done in the way the client expects.

Plus, I can't replace them because my hands know where to go.

IMHO this thread is about what I think of as the "herd mentality".
People going to a restruarant that everyone else thinks is good and they think it's good because they were told so.
It's people not having the sense or courage or honesty to think and be themselves.

My Mother came to visit me recently. She's 72. I live in a funky City. No one gives a hollering hoot what you wear. We were going out to run errands. She comes out of her room wearing what I refer to as "old ladies clothes." She matched, the colors were somber, she looked 72. I gave her s#%t, asks her what the h@77 she was thinking... She said she was trying to look "right" (She also pointed out that I was dressed like a twenty year old, I like my Double Bubble t-shirt)

She went back in the room, and this time when she came out, she was dressed like herself. Bright red shirt, comfy jeans and bright red shoes.

I rarely in my life have tried to fit into whatever everyone else thinks I should fit into. I like what I like cause I like it. Some of what I like is expensive and some very cheap.

oh, then there's the other extreme. The ones that try to hard NOT to fit in.

I was young and foolish, and I hate to admit it, but I was engaged to a guy that wore different color socks (like one red and one green) everyday because it meant that much to him to be different.

No, I did not marry him. But that story is for another thread.

excellent

How much extra did they pay to look like they came from the ghetto?

not exactly IN topic but,

I remember thinking that when I first saw your camera.

I thought - sheesshhh... thats all she uses? and gets pictures like that?

I was ready to kiss your feet, offer a virgin for sacrifice, and fan you with bananna leaves....

One time I had a couple of very wealthy guests over and I didn't have a decent wine. To save face I put some $5.00 wine into a very expensive bottle. I was expecting them to say something nasty about the wine as I was going to justify it with "damn, this stuff was expensive. I'll return it". Instead, upon seeing the bottle, they complimented me on the fine vintage! One even asked where he could get some! I told him I got it from a wine dealer in France.

You're right. It ain't about the wine.

I had a girlfriend who was all thrilled that her boyfriend bought her a Pucci handbag. She waved it everyone's face for days. One day the boyfriend confessed the bag was just a good fake. She threw it out. It went from being a loved and admired item to trash in seconds. I think far too many people get their identity from things.

I'm like Boomer, I prefer quality over quantity. I have more fun trying to save money than finding ways to spend it.

I admit I've bought wine just because I thought the label was good art.

Not a bad reason at all.

Me too, me too. Remember some italian wine with a bird label..


Anyway, Greenie's post about the purse reminds me..

I'm familiar with, usually, the current primo italian designers.

I've also lived on low money for decades. So much that even if I won the lottery big time, I'd still like thrift shops for the fun of it. So, I have a Fendi bag. I look at the stitching and know it has to be not only fake, but an abysmal fake, but I buy it, for whatever.. might have been $3.00 and the people in that Salvation Army wouldn't have heard of Fendi, and, who cared, I liked it. For one thing, it has stripes, easy for me to see, another story.

So I'm at a family gathering on a holiday and one nephew's girlfriend, from Japan, sees my bag and changes her whole attitude toward me, the older aunt, in 3.5 seconds.

I dissuaded her from falling for the bag as real, and talked about enjoying the association ironically, and lost her.

All in all, it took about five minutes to become OK and then not again.

(I have a Saint Laurent coat I bought at that SArmy, and I doubt it's a fake. Or if it is, it is an excellent one.)

Oh Green witch, there are lots of us who would be a bottle of wine if it had a fantastic label.

I figure that if they appreciate art and beauty that much, they must be pretty picky about their wine. I know, it could just as easily be a come on.

My mother did that with ketchup. For years, I thought Heinz sucked ass.

Most of the time, cheap wine tastes like rubbing alcohol.

I have found Danziger (spelling?) Chianti, a rich Italian (so they say)which makes me happy at $7.88 a bottle.

I agree with the herd/value thing.

Regarding popular restaurants: I was once told by a reliable source (passed to me from my boss, from one of his customers that had opened several successful restaurants, and turned one into a chain) that it ain't how good the food is, it's how consistent the experience is. (That includes both the food and the service.)

I am always looking for deals - I love 'em. Found a really good Italian Sangiovese for under $9 - and they sell a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo for about the same... and their white is a table wine that is actually pretty decent. Farnese is the company - http://www.parliamentwineco.com/farnese.htm - In Ontario they're even cheaper, if you can believe it. What a deal. I should get a case.

My favourite wine of all time is chardonnay and right now (for the past several years), I'm in love with Lindeman's.

We have friends (a couple) who are absolute wine snobs - they don't buy anything less than $35 a bottle, and more likely nearer $75. Now, that is fine if that's what they actually like those wines, but we invited them to a Blind Chardonnay Taste Testing one night (just us and them - We bought 7 bottles ranging in price from $10 to $35 and kept them in their paper bags. After much taste testing, nobody picked the $35, proving, as we all know, that price doesn't always matter. The thing is, when we go to their place, I have to bring an expensive bottle of wine because that is THEIR taste... at my place, I serve what I like.

I think this thread comes down to this: appearance vs. quality.

yes.

Bear and I are opposites on this. I wasn't wealthy growing up, but certainly never wanted for anything. My adult extended family bought good quality, which meant name brand, for long term items like lawn mowers, cars, furniture, appliances, and then took good care of them to make them last. When I married Bear, it took years for me to get across that if you do this you actually spend less.

Bear was poor growing up. It's difficult for him to buy expensive items if he thinks a cheaper model will get the job done. He also thought I was a snob for wanting to have name brand high quality items over picking up something used or off brand for half the price.

For me, it's a matter of which one will provide the best service for the longest time. I could care less about the brand other than if that brand is known to be better than brand X. I can't imagine that a Pucci Bag would carry my necessities better than my current $20 bag, but I can see that a John Deer mower will last longer than an off brand from Wal-Mart.

In college, however, it was all about labels and being in the right sorority and having the right brand top siders. I'm glad I grew out of that.

dys is such a liar.

It really was about wine.

Drats, he got caught again!!