Tuesday, October 28, 2008
If you have been hard hit by the financial crisis, you may be looking for ways to help save money any way you can. Even if the financial crisis didn’t affect you very much (For example, the totality of my investments includes $127 in my checking account and a beta black lotus card) most 2.0somethings are flat broke, so any way we can class up our lives and save some money at the same time is a good thing.
Enter the good people at the kitchn, who have created a list of wines they recommend for under $15. While most lists like this focus on wines in the $13-15 range (still kinda of pricey), more than half of the wines on this list come in between $7-10. That means you can get a bottle of solid wine for the same cost as a six-pack of bud light. Kick Ass.
Even if none of the wines on the list appeal to you, the post gives broad guidelines on how to find a value:
My recommendation is to explore newer and less well-known regions and grape varieties. Well-known and lauded regions like California, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany and Champagne all carry a premium. While value certainly still exists in these regions, it can be harder to find. I am actively seeking out wines from the newer regions of Spain, the less well- known areas of Italy, Argentina, South Africa and Portugal.
This is the same advice that 2.0somethings’ favorite wine guru, Gary Vaynerchuk, has been giving in a series of shows he has been doing on cheap wines. So look for wines from places you have never heard of and hope for the best.
Here is how I usually do it: pick up and frown at different bottles for 5-7 minutes. When that time is up, grab one and stride towards the counter confidently. If the owner tries to engage in conversation about the wine, pretend you are getting a phone call.
That, my friends, is a recipe for success [Ed. Note - no, no it is not].
The kitchn – cheap wines for tough times
via Apartment Therapy
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
They fought on the beaches,
They fought on the landing grounds,
They fought on the fields and streets,
They fought on the shuffleboard courts and on Space Mountain,
They never surrendered… What?… Oh, that guy is surrendering?
After a bruising primary on which he staked his entire candidacy, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will most likely announce today that he is dropping out of the Republican primary. Senator John McCain won the Florida primary, narrowly edging out former Governor Mitt Romney. Many people are saying that this solidifies Sen. McCain’s position as front-runner of the Republican primary. Additionally, the Florida win gives him momentum and credibility going into next week’s Super-Duper Tuesday when 22 states will have primaries or caucuses. However, you can’t count out Mitt Romney, who has more money than god and better hair.
On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton won the Florida primary — sorta — and held a massive Potemkin celebration for the national media. While the Democrats held a primary yesterday, Florida had moved their primary earlier against the orders of the national Democratic party so any delegates elected in Florida won’t be allowed to vote at the Democratic Convention. In deference to the national party, no Democratic Candidates campaigned in Florida or ran any advertisements. So Senator Clinton won the primary, but didn’t really win anything. Not surprisingly, Senator Clinton has been saying for a few days now that not seating the Florida delegates is unfair.
The Republican party is mad at Florida for the same reason, but rather than revoke all of their delegates, the Republicans are allowing Florida to send half of their usual number of delegates.
Meanwhile, back at the White House, President Bush is sending out signals that there are no major troop reductions from Iraq in the near future. In fact, word is that when the President leaves office our troop presence in Iraq there will be as large or larger than it is now.
On the other side of the capitol, Attorney General Michael Mukasey told the Senate that the practice known as waterboarding is definitely torture–proabably–maybe–OK in most cases–Usually. Even if it is, apparently he isn’t sure if it is always illegal. Last time I checked we signed a treaty with some specifics on the matter. But that was before 24 started and we realized how kick-ass torture is.
The New York Times has a great article detailing the inconsistent and confusing laws surrounding buying and selling alcohol in America, especially online. In the article, the author confesses to breaking the law and ordering wine directly from a California winery. Don’t worry, he has already been arrested and waterboarded to give up the name of the winery.
