Winebibbing

I pour my burgundy from the Vella box onto two rocks in the stemware glass (fabrique en France, comme mon Waterman) not to chill the wine but to dilute it, water it with ice cubes.
One normally drinks burgundy as room temperature (indeed according to the norm), a standard about which I learned many years at a Magic Pan Restaurant off north Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Nevertheless chilled burgundy is flavorful, refreshing, and I am hopeful that it extends the duration of the mild buzz. Recipe: two ice cubes, six ounces of burgunday, one crystal wine glass. God blesses us.
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Identifying Terrorists

The time has come, rather late we regret, to cease identifying terrorists by their alleged religious affiliations. Terrorists should not be designated "Islamic extremists" or "Christian nutcases" or "Buddhist militants." Some terrorists claim religious affiliation, but we should not dignify their claims, and mass media should not serve their propaganda. Ku Klux Klan claimed to be a Christian organization with all its insidious trappings, but actually it was (and continues to be) an ignorant, bigoted, terrorist group. Certain so-called "skinheads" claim to be Christian, as do certain racist militias, but they actually are antichrist and anti-God in their hate-filled hearts.
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Wilde, Spinoza

I fell in love with the philosopher Spinoza today, and with Oscar Wilde as well. The latter was a gay guy, flaming, wrote funny plays, and he was a great writer. Spinoza may not have had any time for sex, gay or otherwise. His was a gloriously beautiful mind, and his ethics was superlative in its conception. I recommend both of these writers' work for joy and edification. I am glad for the lives of both these men, despite whatever flaws some have attributed to one or the other.