Wednesday Wraparound
Wine and health? Don’t worry, just drink the stuff
Red wine prevents cancer. White wine prevents cancer. It doesn’t matter.
Wine is good for your bones. Wine is bad for your bones.
I don’t know about you, but I’m bored with this constant bombardment of the latest, contradictory medical bulletins on wine’s effect on health. People, get a grip! Don’t drink wine just because you think it’s good for you, and don’t not drink wine just because you think it’s bad for you. Drink wine if you like it. You’ll die when you die.
Hello, how are you, now bugger off
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, in its wisdom, has decided that state store workers have to be more courteous, and is paying a consulting firm $173,000 to train them to say “hello,” “thank you” and “come again.”
This is what you get when you don’t trust the free market to sell alcohol, but give it to state bureaucrats. Well, I’d like to thank you all for reading my blog (and pardon me if I forgot to welcome you). And at the end of this, I’ll say goodbye, and give you a big, bright smile. Please come again, say hi to the Missus/Mister, pat your dog, and don’t forget to have a nice day!
If Bernie Madoff sold wine
he might have come up with something like this, which would justify the life sentence he’s likely to receive:
Seems a British investment bank is seeking wealthy investors to put up a minimum of 500,000 pounds (about $692,000) to buy into a “Bordeaux fund.”
Well, if the conventional wisdom is to buy low, sell high, then Bordeaux just might be a good buy these days. After all, sales are plummeting, and the latest vintage, 2008, seems questionable.
Thoughts on Bill Foley
I wondered why Bill Foley bought Kuleto because, to be honest, the brand hasn’t exactly been a superstar. The Cabernets are all right, but are under-performing for their price bracket, and the other reds are hit-and-miss. But then, Foley seems to like investing in wineries that aren’t living up to their potential, like Firestone and Sebastiani. It’s too early to say if he can turn things around, but I think he can. The guy’s got good taste; without taste, all the money in the world is worthless.
Goodbye! Have a nice day, and don’t forget to come again tomorrow!
Here’s how ‘free market’ the PCLB is. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Buddy Hobart, president of Solutions 21 (the consulting firm that was awarded the courtesy training contract)…is married to Susanne Hobart, the Western Pennsylvania regional manager for the state store system.”
umm…
Wine prevents cancer.
Wine causes cancer.
It sounds like a Democratic | Republican thing…
(I once had someone who works in the Pentagon – and loves wine – tell me that when the Republican’s are in office, the taps close; and, when the Democrats return, the corks pop, again.
Jo, that’s true. That’s why FDR’s theme song was Happy Days Are Here Again. It’s because he ended Prohibition (which a lot of Republicans would love to see come back).
Post-Gazette: a reason to support your local newspaper. At least support good journalism, whether you read it on the internet or not.
While I ponder this good investigative reporting, wouldn’t this revelation by the P-G run contrary to the “librul” media exposing a fellow “librul” bureaucracy and it’s questionable contracts? Don, where are you on this one?
Love the health story roundup, Steve. I’m with you: drink because you like it. Everyone dies of something. Wine is a much better way to go than, say, high-fructose corn syrup.
I’ve followed the wine health newsline for a while now on my blog, and I’ve basically given up except for when I think the topic makes good fodder for poking fun at the entire situation.
As for the PLCB… don’t get me started… have you seen my “the PLCB are Communists” thread at 1WineDude.com? Believe me, it’s a LOT harder to stomach them when you actually live in the Communist-wealth of PA!
Cheers!
For physicians, this is an age old problem. The proclamations are as disparate, and problematic(see below) as any fool could dream up. Post knee replacement used to be followed with do lots of stairmaster exercise. Later proved to be the opposite (and some litigious souls sued both physical therapists as well as docs who ordered the exercise), yet that is what expert recommendations were at the time.
Olive oil is bad for your cardiovascular system…but Italians live very long lives because of olive oil in their diets.
Estrogen is good for menopausal symptoms, and no side effects…has become estrogen in small dosage is useful for menopausal sx, but can make females at higher risk for stroke, clots, breast ca.
As I said, “DISPARATE”, and that is no joke. The list is endless, with Vit C, E, A, D, Zn, etc all mentioned in good/ bad scenarios. The wine thing is not the latest, but is just one of the latest. Just reading any medical journal anymore, one wonders exactly what to believe… and that’s with physicians, mind you.
If you want to be the epitome of good health, high colonics are the thing, baby…just like LOUIE the XIV with his daily cotton ball enemas. (Really)Alternative health care is so far out there on some things it would be laughable if it weren’t so absurd. The problem is that with many things there is a modicum of truth in it, so it makes it that much harder to refute, plus, some folks believe anything if they see it in print.
Part of this is the 24 hr news cycle, wherein any early controlled studies are verbally (or videocam) released before the peer review process sets in. Many of these one night wonders with recanting-the-next-day scenarios, are come-ons, intentionally released to scam people. With U-tube, the internet in general and cable news, the problem will not go away. Best way to deal with this “what am I supposed to believe” issue, is to give it some good thot, then do what seems best to you. But don’t think this is going away any time soon…Too many people can grab a moment of stardom by coming up with some absurdity that eating X causes Y. And the more the cable networks cover this stuff, the more prevalent it gets.
As far as red wine goes, I agree that it can be bad for your health…if used frequently to excess, or even worse, if it smells and tastes like kerosene. We have all had some of those. But a really nice Cab/Syrah blend, like our Cerro Prieto Paso Bordo…man, how could that possibly NOT be good for you?
Really, all these studies drive me crazy (I do look at the studies). And miss the point.
Laugh and love when you drink and you will love longer or die happy.