In Mindless Eating, author Brian Wansink describes an incident in college where he wanted to impress a date with an expensive bottle of wine ... but he couldn't actually afford an expensive bottle of wine. But he was able to convince the clerk where he bought the wine to slap a higher price tag on his cheap bottle of wine. Indeed, his date picked up the bottle, noted the price, and said, "This is expensive wine. It's very good." Now, Wansink didn't relate this story to say that all women are greedy gold-diggers who demand to be showered with expensive bottles of wine; rather, it was about how our perceptions of food and beverage quality are affected by external factors and not by the intrinsic quality of whatever we're consuming. (Wansink added that he has remained friends with the woman he dated, and they still get a good laugh out of the wine story.)

In another experiment, Wansink gave half of the patrons in a restaurant/lab bottles of fine California wine, while the other half received North Dakota wine. The catch? It was the same wine; only the labels were different. Yet those who drank the "California" wine rated their entire dining experience more positively than those who had the "North Dakota" wine.

According to Wansink, those of us who don't know anything about wine tend to choose wine by deciding on a price range, then selecting the most eye-catching bottle within that price range. Ummm, yeah, that would be me.

As a self-professed and self-educated Wine Snob (tm) I am happy to see that they are finally having women as judges.

My complaints: Firstly, the hetereonormative comment made by Pierce ruffles my feathers in a number of ways that I think are obvious. Secondly, what is Pierce implying with her "Especially men" comment?: Men want to know what wine to order for women for dinner? (Male) wine execs want to know what wines to market to women?

Personally, I'm perfectly capable of ordering my own damn glass of wine thank you very much.

Wow. That rather innocuous comment bothered you? Ever seen a commercial for "Dirt Cheap" Cigarettes and Beer in St. Louis? Your head would probably explode.

They once got in a shipment of "thirty-dime wine" and rolled out a commercial that said "Remember, the more of our wine she drinks, the better you'll look."

But the presence of the car also affects our experience of the city in very tangible ways. Cars are a very real danger that both pedestrians and motorists have to be aware of in order to survive. If we’re careful, we look sharply left and right at junctions and crossings to check for oncoming traffic. Thus, by necessity in such situations, we are forced to ignore the finer details and nuances of the cityscape.

Similarly, we are attuned to an entire lexicography of signs dedicated to communicating conduct in relation to motor vehicles. But the interpretation of greens, reds and ambers at traffic lights and crossings can preclude an even-paced, reflective urban experience.