Jul 2, 2007
I think there are folks out there for whom it would be truly shocking to learn that having knowledge about wine does nothing to enhance or detract from its sensory pleasures. Yet, this seems to me, as well as to philosopher Kent Bach, to be unquestionable. Dr. Bach considered just this issue in a 2004 address at the "Philosophy & Wine" conference in London. (pdf) The address was essentially an exploration into how we humans process information we get from…
Jun 29, 2007
This pretty much made my day! I do believe a star is born.
Jun 28, 2007
"The House of Mondavi", a new book by Julia Flynn Siler, is a very unusual wine book. As an indication of just how unusual take a look at what the "Customers who bought this item also bought" at Amazon.com:Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of the Lazard Freres & Company. Not many books are…
Jun 27, 2007
I have a couple of acquaintances who could legitimately be called Kooks of the Tin Foil hat variety. You probably know the type either from having come across one in a political forum on the Internet or in movies as the over-the-top conspiracy theorists who sees black helicopters flying through the night sky. My two acquaintances happen to be of the "a-powerful-cabal-of-one-worlders-are- conspiring-to-make-us-all-slaves" type. There is no doubt there they would point to THIS STORY as evidence, then point to…
Jun 25, 2007
The extent of the State’s ability to control speech doesn’t often touch on the issue of wine or alcohol. Yet today I think it does. At least today’s Supreme Court ruling in the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case reminds me of the ways by which substances such as wine and alcohol are treated by the state. The 5-4 ruling today tells us that a school has the right to censor speech at school events that might be construed as advocating…