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S.KRAUSE

What kind of humanities scholar are you?

Inside: Why Wisconsin (occasionally) rocks, what sort of humanities scholar are you? wine, an update on Kyle and Cheryl, and Sarah Silverman on what sets her use of racial slurs apart from Michael Richards' infamous rant.

Money Quote:
Sarah Silverman on what sets her use of racial slurs apart from Michael Richards' infamous rant: “My racist jokes are very well thought-out and planned.” (“The View” via Eat the Press)

I lied about the Kyle and Cheryl bit. Sort of.

As I write this a tubby but not too tubby, short, white girl with dreads and wearing something stretch-pantsy in 4 degree weather is banging at their back door.

When I first heard her I went to investigate and found her talking on a cell phone with one hand while knocking with the other.

She just managed to get into the building via the front door. Then she banged on their main door. I originally thought of Kyle and Sheryl as local pot dealers, unsubstantiated, mind you, by any action on their part, but in the late summer the number of late-night arrivals at their back door added to this whimsical interpretation. White-dread-girl's phone voice and whining just added to the interpretation, though, with her triphthong pronunciation of dude. Or rather a curious tonal version, but I'm sure there were different vowels there, too.

Finally Kyle let her in.

All is quiet again, my amusement for the evening provided.

Yesterday, when at Woodman's picking up a bottle of wine recommended by two Boston friends I came across Rex-Goliath's Giant 47lb. Rooster Zinfandel. I'm not a big zin drinker, but there's nothing wrong with a good zin, wine-snobs be damned. But let's not forget: 47—Pomona number! And the winemaker? Michael Kafka! How could I not buy this wine?

So I picked up a bottle for $5.99 and continued my shopping. I planned on waiting to drink it until tonight or the weekend, but last night I said f**k it!, popped the cork, and had a few glasses. Tonight I had the rest. It is quite pleasant after breathing a bit, and while it's not terribly complex it is a not-too-fruity zin with a decent initial bite.

It's a good cheap wine. And a good, cheap wine.

Would drink again.

Jen kindly passed along a “what sort of humanities scholar are you?” quiz from Die Zeit (or, if I want to be a certain type of anal, from der Zeit), promising “to tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

How could I refuse?

Evote results - bar graphs

Konstruktivist oder Existenzialist?

1. Wie bewerten Sie die Arbeit der Geisteswissenschaften?

2. Warum nimmt man Geisteswissenschaftler oft nicht ernst?

3. Brauchen wir eine geisteswissenschaftliche Elite?

4. Gibt es den Geist überhaupt?

5. Gibt es noch Hoffnung für die Geisteswissenschaften?

The reason why Wisconsin occasionally rocks and you and your state don't is quite simple: we have Russ Feingold. Yet even if you cannot claim him as your senator, you can at least enjoy (and agree with!) his guest-opinion over at Salon: “Symbol of a Timid Congress: Why I oppose the Warner-Levin compromise resolution on the Iraq war.”

—February 2 2007