There are occasions when the degree comes in handy. I no longer can feign ignorance to someone posting about a musical performance at a venue that would not be on anyone's radar. Nor would I pass up on a good exhibit at a museum. Perhaps running into an old classmate who has established a career in said institution. Admittedly, I know many artists working in various genres and media. They provide further context in this work as well as the support of each other in our various forms of art.

It is an observation I had over the past nine or so years that may seem insulting to my food enthusiast friends and acquaintances. The idea of food as iconic and luxurious, such as fine wine, spirits and even automobiles, just seems baffling from a distance. The notion of celebrity chefs serving up iconic plates for every other budding or established kitchen team to recreate has been a sport unseen even in American culinary history.