Tuesday, September 4
Wine fraud article takes shot at Jefferson
Who wouldn’t love to hear Thomas Jefferson talk about politics? But what about wine? This week’s The New Yorker quotes a passage from John Quincy Adams’ diary, in which Adams remarks that Jefferson knew less about wine than he thought he did.
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This week’s The New Yorker, a special food issue, contains a profile of tycoon and collector Bill Koch (pronounced "coke"), who discovered that bottles of wine said to belong to Thomas Jefferson were fakes. While all the stuff about the allegedly shady dealings is interesting indeed, our favorite part of the article is when author Patrick Radden Keefe says of Jefferson that he may have been "America’s first great wine bore." He cites a passage from 1807 in John Quincy Adams’ diary, in which Adams notes that Jefferson prattled on about wine during dinner. "Not very edifying," Adams wrote. And in the Isn’t It Ironic department, the issue also includes a two-page ad for Vineyard Estates at Kluge Estate Winery, which promises "fine wine, classic architecture and spectacular natural beauty."
Wednesday, September 5
UVA Art Department lands big faculty fish
Life is sweet when you can class up an already classy joint. UVA Today announced, um, today that art historian extraordinaire and longtime curator of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., Elizabeth Turner, is slated to join the faculty of the McIntire Department of Art. The department’s chairman, Lawrence D. Goedde, sounds positively giddy about his new recruit. "Her…many connections in the scholarly and museum worlds will be invaluable to our students who have ambitions in those areas," he says.
Thursday, September 6
A Cole-powered future?
Is there any word cooler than "switchgrass"? We think not. But there’s more to that child of nature than a word. An article on today’s washingtonpost.com says that researchers across America believe "switchgrass could help supplant corn as a source for the fast-growing ethanol industry." Ethanol has been touted by President Bush and others as a potential gasoline substitute. And it turns out that one of the rare switchgrass fields in Virginia is just west of Charlottesville. Owner Taylor Cole, the article says, has planted 40 acres in the hope that the ethanol market will soon take off. Way to grow, Taylor.
Friday, September 7
Dave delivers at Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech student newspaper, the Collegiate Times, is all abuzz about last night’s benefit concert by Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Phil Vassar and Nas. "There were laughs, tears, and cheers." the Times says. "There were 52,000 living, breathing faces of all races, cultures and religions, situated in the familiar ground of Lane Stadium." Word is that Dave’s cover of Bob Marley’s "Three Little Birds" was the high point of the night—"every little thing gonna be all right" is just the kind of refrain everyone at the university needs to keep singing after last April’s tragic shootings.
Saturday, September 8
New Orleans paper takes odd view of Virginia rivalry
In anticipation of the early season showdown between second-ranked LSU and ninth-ranked Virginia Tech, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans ran a lengthy feature that began with an image of a banner that hangs in the Merryman Center filled with signatures from UVA athletes. "Traditionally, Virginia Tech Hokies regard parcels from University of Virginia Cavaliers, a.k.a. Wahoos, with considerable suspicion," the story said. "The package may be nudged with the toe, perhaps left outside overnight or sniffed by the family dog before opened." The banner, however, was in support of the Hokies after the campus shootings. Alas, Virginia Tech lost the game, 48-7.
Sunday, September 9
Cristman and Olsen: being professional together
Adam Cristman, standout soccer player for UVA, who now plays professionally for the New England Revolution, came almost home Sunday to Washington, D.C., where the Revolution lost 4-2 to D.C. United.
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Former UVA soccer star Adam Cristman came close to home today when his team the New England Revolution battled it out with D.C. United. Cristman, a four-year starter for the Hoos who scored 34 goals in his college career, didn’t have much of an impact on the game, however, and the Revolution lost 4-2. Another former UVA star, Ben Olsen of United, was involved in a controversial no-call that led to United’s third and game-winning goal. According to the Boston Globe, Revolution Head Coach Steve Nicol, who was ejected from the game, was miffed when a penalty that would have stopped play wasn’t called after a clash between Olsen and the Revolution’s Khano Smith.
Monday, September 10
Mark Edmundson meets Freud in The New York Times Sunday magazine
UVA professor Mark Edmundson is at it again. And by "it" we mean bringing education to the masses. Edmundson, who is known for publishing in popular publications as opposed to peer-reviewed yawns that almost nobody reads, writes about Sigmund Freud getting religion in this week’s New York Times Sunday magazine. The essay, titled "Defender of the Faith?," centered on Freud’s final book, Moses and Monthesism.
