• For the Record
• In Vino Veritas

STATIONS: NOTE THE DATE OF THE EVENT IN THE FIRST THREE STORIES.

1. The preservation of true history in the face of human rights abuses is the passion of historians everywhere and the topic of an upcoming panel discussion at MTSU. The forum, titled "Whose Story Gets Told? Human Rights and the Power of Records,"; is slated for Tuesday, June 19. Visiting scholar Dr. Trudy Peterson says, ironically, despotic regimes often keep very detailed records.

records1.mp3 :17 OC: "of material, typically";

Peterson is teaching a course on public history this summer at MTSU. She says once a tyrannical government falls, a wealth of information becomes available. Peterson says even when key documents are not readily reachable, copies usually turn up somewhere.

2. War, famine, oppression—the documentation of these human agonies for posterity is important. An upcoming forum at MTSU on Tuesday, June 19, will examine how historians tackle this challenge. Visiting scholar Dr. Trudy Peterson says the official archivist of Iraq is laboring bravely to keep accurate records in the midst of the chaos there.

records2.mp3 :18 OC: "the Iraqi people";

Peterson says Saddam Hussein's regime apparently kept good records. Some of them have fallen into U.S. hands; others have been acquired by private Iraqi organizations. Part of Iraq's national archives were burned in an act of arson by persons unknown in the early days of the U.S. invasion.

3. Author Alex Haley said, "History is written by the winners,"; but it is the historian's job to make sure all parts of the story are told. That will be the focus of an open forum at MTSU on Tuesday, June 19. Visiting scholar Dr. Trudy Peterson says there has been a concerted effort in recent years to chronicle the entire story in countries where human rights abuses have taken place.

records3.mp3 :18 OC: "international criminal tribunals";

Peterson says she expects plenty of documentation to be available to international criminal courts on the ongoing crisis in Sudan and its Darfur region. She says the two most important sources will be the U.N. High Commission on Refugees, for which she formerly worked, and the non-governmental organizations that are trying to provide aid to Sudanese refugees.

4. The Romans said "in vino veritas";—"in wine there is truth."; And Dr. Tony Johnston knows the truth about wine. The MTSU agribusiness and agriscience professor is an expert on the subject. For those of us who aren't experts but would like to know more, Johnston recommends a wine-tasting. But he advises us each taster spits out each wine after tasting it and refreshes the palate with cheese or a cracker in order to get the most accurate impression of each beverage.

vino1.mp3 :18 OC: "to the food";

Johnston's advice to first-time attendees at a wine tasting is not to be overwhelmed by the expert's opinion and to understand that it is perfectly acceptable to taste or smell something the expert does not.

5. Prior to the 1960s, California wine was not respected abroad because European grapes did not fare well in most North American climates. Now California wines are some of the most highly prized wines in the world. Can Tennessee follow suit? Well, Dr. Tony Johnston, wine expert and MTSU professor, says Tennessee now has 25 commercial wineries and more are on the drawing boards.

vino2.mp3 :14 OC: "for their wines";

And if you'd like to make your own wine at home, Johnston says it will cost you about 200 to 250 dollars for the materials. Federal law allows an individual to make up to 100 gallons of wine each year for personal use. You may give away that wine to your friends, but you may not sell it legally.

6. That little ol' winemaker, Dr. Tony Johnston of MTSU's Department of Agribusiness and Agriscience, has a few tips for amateur oenophiles (EE-nuh-files)—a fancy word for wine lovers. Johnston says it will take about 200 to 250 dollars worth of materials to get started. Fermentation will take about six to eight weeks. Store it in the freezer for a couple of weeks to keep it from crystallizing. And Johnston says you should wait a couple of weeks after you bottle your homemade vino before you drink it.

vino3.mp3 :18 OC: "in the bottle";

By the way, Johnston says the old bromide about drinking red wine with meat and white wine with fish is not carved in stone anymore. He says it may be preference-based, but it is not mandatory wine etiquette.