Have you ever wondered why there are no craft wines? Why wines can be fine, but only beer is ever craft. The impression this terminology produces is that brewers are master craftsmen, subtle geniuses bulging with wizardly skill and arcane expertise. Winemakers, or vintners, on the other hand, are just not. That’s not to say […]
Wine
The Dictionary as Literature
As well as being a fascinating work in its own right, Gaspar Bouchard’s latest work, Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary: The Novel can be seen as an apotheosis of the post-antirealist movement. This book brings that movement’s characteristic antipathy to plot to a triumphant consummation. The dictionary, having no order other than the conventional order of […]
Holiday Uncheer©
Cheer, as everyone knows, can mean (among various other meanings that I am not interested in discussing today) three distinct things: (1) A feeling of gaiety, mirth, or cheerfulness;1 (2) A loud shout or acclamation expressing applause, joy, enthusiasm, cheer (1), or approbation; and (3) Alcoholic beverages of all kinds, particularly those set forth to […]
New World Record: Most Simultaneous Nose Pickers
The Italian City of Reggio Calabria, largest city in the region of Italy known as Calabria, now holds the world record for most simultaneous nose pickers. The entire population of the city, 180,897, along with 392,843 tourists who came to participate in the historic event, spent five minutes on October 19th picking their noses. In […]
Repurposing: Wine Storage
Do you like wine? If you do, you may wonder where best to store your wine. There are, of course, a lot of boring commercial options—wine barrels, wine racks, and wine coolers. But if you don’t really like these options, if you prefer something original and exciting, then stay tuned . . . (Noise and […]