At least once a week, The Wives receive a catalog in the mail -- Victoria's Secret, Macy's, Nordstrom, and the list goes on. They pick them up for a few minutes to critique styles, bash the models and tease the thought of a purchase, and then the catalogs get thrown into the recycle bin.

In true use-the-numbers-to-sell-the-story journalistic fashion, I should let you all know that, each year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers according to Catalog Choice. That's an environmentalist sin.

What’s the annual impact?

• Number of trees used – 53 million trees
• Tons of paper used – 3.6 million tons
• Energy used to produce this volume of paper – 38 trillion BTUs, or enough to power 1.2 million homes per year
• Contribution to global warming – 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equal to the annual emissions of two million cars
• Waste water discharges from this volume of paper – 53 billion gallons of water, or enough to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

So if you truly have some catalogs that you can live without seeing again, I encourage you to visit Catalog Choice to unsubscribe to those unwanted catalogs. Do keep your Victoria's Secret catalogs though. I need reading material when I visit.

I drink a lot of wine, probably averaging half a bottle an evening. The Wives have grown used to the sound of a bottle popping after 8 p.m. I have to refuel my Italian blood at least daily.

I was a 3-buck Chuck drinker for most of 2007, but refined my taste after visiting Tuscany last fall. Since then, I've been all about Chianti, Syrah, Pinot Noir, et all. Red, red, red and more red wine. Except, as Paul Giamatti so eloquently stated in "Sideways," "I'm not drinking any fucking Merlot!"

With these variety of wines come a price, and I've slowly climbed from 3-buck Chuck (except when Matt Wood is in town) to and plateaued at the $10 range. I can score rooster-label Chianti Classico's at Trader Joe's at this price, which I can live with.

But according to Chicago Tribune article, price doesn't indicate quality, and may even mislead people to think that they like a wine more than they actually do.

In a California Institute of Technology study, "Twenty volunteers were wired up for brain scans and told they would be tasting five different cabernet sauvignons. In reality, there were only three wines -- two were offered twice but priced differently... Volunteers liked the $90 wine better when they knew it was priced at $90 instead of $10. And they liked the $5 wine better when it was listed at $45. Interestingly, the scientists found that the $5 wine scored best when the volunteers had no price comparisons."

Now I'm really tempted to blind taste-test myself to learn if I like that 3-buck Chuck Cab Sav more than my $10 Cab Sav. However, I don't know how accurate my perceptions will be after I've downed both bottles. I'll have to try to find out.

Papa's got a brand new bag!

I've got my own new blog on the Seattle P-I called "Lost in the Sound." As I stated in that blog's manifesto, I will attempt to "provide an insider view and analysis of that which embodies the local music economy -- bands, venues, promotion companies and even elected officials -- and provide a resource and outlet for local musicians and fans to share and discuss creative ideas and issues."

Basically, I have a lot to say about the music scene that needed another space and wanted to keep WIB personal, random and aimless -- a blogging potpourri.

DON'T WORRY. This blog, as Mariah Carey once said, "will always be my baby." You won't notice a decline is activity here, nor will you see a decline in my whoring out focuspoint news. My other blog is editorial, so making my own band announcements there would be a conflict of interest.

So you've got another stop in your daily reading. After getting your WIB fix, head over to Lost in the Sound. I'm already there.

It's official! I'm heading back to Europe March 10-24 to see Germany, the Czech Republic and England. Wesley's my partner in crime for this trip. Let the jealousy consume you.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
...And gets recapped on the blog. I'll share only the highlights (or lowlights, if you will) of Scott's bachelor party here:

• The Imperial Palace. What a fantastic, cheap and seedy hotel in the center of the Strip. In the words of Scott, "I am Imperial Palace for life."
• The Adult Entertainment Expo and 2008 Adult Movie Awards. While we choose not to attend the official adult festivities, we did catch the after-parties at LAX in Luxor and Jet in the Mirage.
• The Seahawks game. We all lost money in that loss to the Packers.
• Scott's "I Heart Lap Dances" shirt (with Elvis shades) and Hawaiian shirt.
• "No estrella." Scott grew tired of receiving prostitute playing cards on the streets with stars covering up the women, so he learned the Spanish translation for "No star."
  
• The almost-wedding. Our friend Mario met a girl on Saturday night and they decided to buy rings, call a limo and head down to the Little White Chapel to get married. Unfortunately, a scheduling conflict occurred, which restricted the matrimony. What a shame. They would have been a good couple if only Mario could remember her name. "I know it starts with an L," he said.

We had a damn good time. Thanks to everyone who made the trip, and congrats Scott! You officially give up half of everything you own in just a couple weeks! Also, check out Wesley in the photo album for the official Jenna Jameson afterparty at Jet.