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A Thought Piece on Learning about Sommeliers and the movie Uncorked

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I first heard the term Sommelier watching the 10th season of Fox's reality cooking competition, Masterchef. The final three contestants were a white woman named Kate whose husband was a Sommelier, a black woman named Dorian whose expertise was baking, and an imaginative Harvard student, Nick. On several occasions, Kate’s nerves and lack of certain food knowledge worked against her while Dorian's willingness to learn and adapt aided her in becoming a leader in the competition. Kate's advancing in the competition was only due to another contestant doing worse than her. The look on Kate's face when Dorian won was priceless. When the confetti dropped and Dorian's name was revealed, Kate was in utter shock for quite some time at the fact that she did not win. The one thing Kate did wrong, in my opinion, is use wine as a base for most of her dishes, a method obviously inspired by her husband. She touted his profession throughout the entire competition. I believe she t

On the Fake Kanye Story

"The Daily Currant" ran a fake interview with Kanye West saying he thinks he is 'the next Nelson Mandela'. In response to his pseudo remarks, some people took to Twitter saying: [Kanye West thinks he's the next Nelson Mandela. Let's lock him up for 27 years as a test.] This headline begs me to ask the question: did people get offended because Nelson Mandela was mentioned or because Kanye West supposedly said it? Let's say Kanye West didn't make this statement(which he didn't). A 7 year old kid did after learning of Nelson Mandela's accomplishments, or hell, George Clooney. Would you then respond, "Alright, put your hands behind your back..." and rush him off so he can begin his 27 year prison term? He didn't say it, but it can be debated that Kanye does have a greater immediate influence over this generation, especially in America. This is not to lessen Nelson Mandela's accolades. Admittedly, like many people, I hadn&

Chris Grindz "S.Y.A.D" Mixtape Review

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Score 8/10 Chris Grindz exhibits a confidence throughout S.Y.A.D you don’t often hear in first releases. Sit Yo Ass Down, the paternally titled mixtape from the hip hop St. Louis native is a declaration of independence from the system that held Grindz down for 3 years. Out on a lifetime mission for his voice to be heard, Chris Grindz is quickly making his name known. Selected by Hot 104.1’s STL Home Jams DJ’s Finster and Rob Boo, Grindz was chosen to be a member of Freshman Class IX , a collection of the aspiring hip hop artists in the area. . Grindz is an exceptionally gifted lyricist and exhibits it while paying homage to great predecessors like Jay Z, Kanye West, Eminem and Junior Mafia on the mixtape, making listeners wonder if the original artist did it right the first time around. Compositions from local producer TriPpyDude, better known as Strongboy can be heard on tracks Panic Meter and Twerk n’ Ride. Murch Beats also makes a cameo with Money Calling. Grindz doesn’t talk

What Should've Been Said About the Kanye West Interview

When the planes hit the twin towers, I was sitting in my seventh grade Civics class. An assistant principal peeked his head in our door, whispered something to my teacher and she immediately grabbed the remote and turned on the television. Smoke plumed from the side of a tall building I'd never seen before, and another standing next to it. I stood there mystified, not knowing what to feel or say. After moments of silence, my teacher spoke the exact sentiment of every ignorant mind in that room: "I don't think you guys know how serious this really is". I can say the same for most of the people who saw the Kanye West Interview. To answer the question 'Are you a fan of Kanye West?' is like asking 'Do you believe in God?' I recall asking others had they witnessed one of the greatest dialogues in our generation, the answer was either yes or no but was preceded with rather or not they were a fan of the artist himself; if they weren't, they had no d

Patina

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Recently I heard the word used in an interview between Kanye West and Zane Lowe via BBC-Radio 1. The renowned artist dropped knowledge and used very colorful language to get his message across. Mr. West wasn’t all sailors tongue, as he was sure to enunciate even the swear words despite a layer of diamonds and gold on his bottom row of teeth. In this interview, Kanye used a lot of words and among them was patina. According to the 1996 Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary, patina is “a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and esteemed as being of ornamental value”. This is the way in which Mr. West used it: So it becomes all of this thing where all of the musicians- the musicians try to get more money by promoting other products, right? So you'll say 'Hey, you know what? I've got this water and we've got, you know, we've got this red version. We got a red bottle, and we've got a David Beckham ve

Sex On T.V.

It is the middle of summer and I'm sitting on my couch watching Natalie Portman orgasm via Ashton Kutcher on my television; and somewhere, because school is out almost everywhere in the United States, I know that someone younger than me is watching the same thing.

Madame Cyrus

As one present Disney Star rises, a former Nickelodeon star falls. In light of the Miley Cyrus fiasco, do you believe celebrities have a social responsibility to behave in a particular manner? I have a niece who is now 10, however she was 3 years old watching Hannah Montana when she first appeared on television in 2006. She now sees Miley as a young woman(no longer a child kiddie pop star) completely naked swinging on a wrecking ball. I'm all for women's liberation, but wow. Can this even be considered ART? I don't think my niece will travel downtown in her birthday suit anytime soon looking for a suitable piece of construction equipment to climb up on; but, will this drastic change in behavior and image affect how my niece, or any little girl for that matter, handles herself as she grows?