Author: Aaron Weber

Out of Fashion

As a weblog name, A Fistful of Euros is brilliant: it describes the topic (Europe and finance) while at the same time playing with the idea that Euros just aren’t all that exciting: it is, after all, incongruous to imagine Clint Eastwood fighting for Euros the way he did in For A Fistful of Dollars.

That incongruity suggests that we readers feel that US currency is the best one, not just because it is easily converted and stable, but because it’s just plain cooler. It is the coin of the American cultural empire, of rap stars, of Hollywood. It connotes international power and wealth in a way that no other currency does. Bank notes with color in them just seem all funny: in the Simpsons episode “Blame it on Lisa,” kidnappers finally getting a ransom say “Gee, our money sure is gay.”

That may be changing. According to Slate, the dollar is going out of style in that bastion of economic innovation, the illegal drug smuggling racket.

Story Time

My grandfather was persuasive and confident man, as southern leftists had to be, even more so in 1935 than now. In those days he was a student at the University of Virginia, making money tutoring gentlemen who slacked off all year and studied only under duress, usually in last-minute cram sessions that he would prepare for all semester.

I don’t know whose car it was, but he and a friend were driving in a thunderstorm in the evening. Yes, a dark and stormy night. They were moving slowly, so they had plenty of time to see the woman walking down the middle of the road in a thin cotton shift. They helped her into the car: she was apparently fleeing a drunk and violent husband.

I don’t know if they gave her a ride to the bus station, or bought her some coffee, or perhaps a meal. I do know that her story was one that everyone has heard before: husband out drinking late, a violent attack, passing out by the woodshed, he’d likely kill her if this kept up. At some point my grandfather said, “I’m surprised you don’t just wait for him to pass out, then chop his head off with an axe. That’s what I’d do.”

Several hours or weeks later, that’s what she did. In her defense, she said a man from the University had told her it was a good idea. She didn’t recall his name, and he didn’t come forward to announce himself as an advisor or accessory to the crime. The result of her trial isn’t part of the story either.

I’m not sure what I would do in her situation, but it’s quite likely that in his, I’d have made the same off-hand remark. And if I said it, and she then killed her tormentor, I would have to wonder whether I was indirectly responsible for his death. And if I didn’t, and she died at his hands, would I be indirectly responsible for hers?

Product Review: Moderately-priced Rioja

Bookdwarf and I have been drinking a series of moderately priced Rioja from my new favorite liquor store, Downtown Wine and Spirits in Somerville, MA. (Note that the Flash animation wait message is “Getting Loaded…” and that they give a great case discount on full and half-cases).

The Rioja contestants:

Lan Rioja 1998, $10: Friendly, warm, good value. Tannic but not harsh.

El Coto Rioja 2001, $11: The most well-rounded of the group, and the one that made us decide to go try a bunch more Rioja. Earthy, not fruity or sweet, but still easy to drink. We picked up a couple bottles of this one.

Palaciego Rioja 1999, $12: Rioja in general is full-bodied and earthy, and most of the ones we’ve tried also have somewhat harsh tannins and rough edges. This is much smoother and silkier than the rest in the group.

Cerro Añon Rioja 2001, $14: Big, smoky, and not at all sweet or fruity. Bookdwarf liked it more than I did, but both of us agreed that it was overpriced.

Cortijo III Rioja 2003, $10: I was immediately attracted by the bright orange label, and it turns out that this is one of the featured selections at Best Cellars as well. However, we didn’t really like it. Bookdwarf’s notes say “Nothing special, not even that good a deal. 5.5/10”

Darien Rioja 2002, $10: This one confused me. It was a little too wood-and-mineral flavored, and so acidic I was almost tempted to say it was spoiled. Perhaps we got a bad bottle? Or maybe it needs to be left in the dark for a couple years? I can’t tell. My guess is that we got a bottle that had been improperly stored.

Rioja-style Spanish wines that are not technically Rioja:

Lacatus I vino de mesa, (n.v.) $8: Not actually a Rioja, because it’s not 100% Tempranillo grapes, but very much in the same style. Definitely rough around the edges but not harsh, and quite full-bodied and a great deal. The other Lacatus wines (Lacatus II is a white table wine, and there’s also a Cava) are also great deals.

Estío vino de mesa 2003, $9: 70% Montrastell, 30% Tempranillo, great bargain. Smoother than the Lacatus and many of the other less-expensive Riojas.

By comparison, two bottles of completely different varieties:

Francis Coppola Rosso Shiraz 2003, $14: more expensive than all but one of the Shiraz bottles we bought, and completely opposite all of them: almost absurdly fruity, and pretty sweet.

Mont-Pelier Merlot 2002, $8: OK. Easy to drink, medium-bodied, not too sweet, definitely a good deal if not a great wine.

Meat in St. Louis

My sophomore year in college, my girlfriend at the time wrote a paper to the effect of “what’s the deal with gay men and Judy Garland?” This entailed, for the most part, watching Meet me In St. Louis repeatedly. I mean repeatedly. But I learned something from it: the way that Judy Garland represented, for a certain time, a certain barely repressed spirit to certain segments of the population.

And the original lyrics to the song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Places like Carols.org.uk describe it as the saddest Christmas song, but they totally miss the reason. They have the lyrics as

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.

That is how it’s been popularized and is the more common version. But the line “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough” is totally out of place, because it’s been put in to make the song less sad. The original is “until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow.”

The song is about being separated for an indefinite amount of time from everyone and everything you love, and having to find what happiness you can now; it’s about everyone around you completely ignoring your emotional needs, about celebrating even though you’re desperately unhappy, and having to hide that unhappiness from everyone around you. That’s why it’s the saddest Christmas carol.

And the fact that Judy Garland got roles where she sang regretful torch songs covering that same sense of alienation was what made her so popular with legions of alienated people, gay and otherwise, through the forties and fifties. I have no idea what turned her into a gay icon.

But I do know that, ever since that fateful week, I’ve had the complete lyrics to all too many of those songs burned into my memory. Including the parodies, like Beat me In St. Louis.

Dakar Noir

The Dakar Rally 2005 begins on January 1st, this time in Barcelona. Sixteen days, six and a half thousand miles by car, truck, or motorcycle, on roads, mountains, forests, and deserts, through Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal. And for significant portions of the race, the route doesn’t provide much evidence when you leave it: they post the coordinates of checkpoints, and contestants are expected to navigate from one to the next. Even with a GPS, people tend to get lost. Two of the eight American competitors are from my area. Total competitors: 230 bikes, 165 cars, 70 trucks. And a lot of support vehicles.