Dr. Rebecca J. Epstein-Levi

So since I'm annoyed let me say a few things today.Some folks have been writing about Christian Nationalism and apocalyptic right wing movements for YEARS here in the US. YEARS. Do we get to have a platform in major mags and newspapers... rarely.

Statement by the Vanderbilt AAUP Executive Committee on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” October 6, 2025 On October 2nd, Vanderbilt was among nine universities “invited” to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” with the federal government. The Compact, however, i…

Vandy AAUP on the Compact. Share widely!

"We join the @aaup.org National Leadership in urging the Board of Trust, Chancellor Diermeier, Provost Raver, & the Vanderbilt leadership to completely reject this Trump loyalty oath & any other that seeks to commandeer Vanderbilt’s institutional autonomy."

Team washed rind all the way. Have you tried the Grayson from Meadowcreek Dairy?
Also amazing is the Rush Creek Reserve from Uplands. Warm the whole thing up in the oven, serve with a robust honey or roasted grapes. Slice off the top and spoon it onto baguette.

I enjoy a glass of cold buttermilk, and I have been known to eat NYF (that's nutritional yeast flakes, for those who weren't in a co-op at Oberlin) by the spoonful. I also like crunching on raw bucatini.

Some people really need to learn the difference between "so-and-so will save us" and "when your enemies fight each other, let them."

The people behind this contract are vindictive, unserious clowns. Any administration that chooses to take them seriously should be mortified.

Today is a deeply embarrassing day for Jewish lesbians.

The people behind this contract are vindictive, unserious clowns. Any administration that chooses to take them seriously should be mortified.

"The compact is a threat." That's all that needs to be said.

Statement by the Vanderbilt AAUP Executive Committee on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” October 6, 2025 On October 2nd, Vanderbilt was among nine universities “invited” to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” with the federal government. The Compact, however, i…

Vandy AAUP on the Compact. Share widely!

"We join the @aaup.org National Leadership in urging the Board of Trust, Chancellor Diermeier, Provost Raver, & the Vanderbilt leadership to completely reject this Trump loyalty oath & any other that seeks to commandeer Vanderbilt’s institutional autonomy."

Relatedly, here is an email I just had to send out:

I have a little over a week to have some version of my very rough mss draft ready to send out to be workshopped. My students have rough drafts due on which they will be expecting feedback during this time period. Oh, and my university is one of those included in the "Compact."
In conclusion, FML.

My wife made a beautiful and delicious cocktail!

(Alt text: an opaque, softly orange cocktail in a nick and Nora glass).

I did another #KnifeSky thread, I see.

I did another #KnifeSky thread, I see.

NEITHER knife was a compromise or a bad purchase. They each do what they need to do superbly.

Enfin.

I also own a 210mm gyuto made by Yu Kurosaki before he was cool. I think I paid $250 for it in 2016. He doesn't make that model anymore, but a comparable knife by him runs closer to $300 now. It is an absolute fucking joy to use, and still my favorite in my collection.

For what it's worth, I own the Tojiro Basic, the cheapest knife in this thread. It's what I take on vacation with me, and it is leagues better than just about anything you would find in a vacation rental kitchen, without my needing to baby it.

But you should understand that that $40-$50 is NOT buying performance. Spending $101 instead of $139 is not, in that sense, a compromise.

*(Actually I have some quibbles with the Shun's combination of a thin, hard blade with a deep, upswept belly & would probably choose the Tojiro out of the two).

I think Shun Classics ($140-$150) and Tojiro Classics ($101, recall) are both very good knives. I do NOT, however, think the Shun is $40-$50 better than the Tojiro.* I think it is beautiful, and if you think its beauty is worth that extra $40 there is no shame in that!

This level of fit and finish and aesthetic detail is also a big part of what you are paying for with the high-end knife brands you can find at Sur La Table and the like. Shuns, Miyabis, Zwilling Kramers are all excellent knives, AND a big part of their expense is the shine & name recognition.

(Honestly I think the Daovua is beautiful, but there is a somewhat different set reasons it's cheaper--the workshop is less high tech, it's a Vietnamese workshop rather than a Japanese forge or factory, and while it is an aesthetic standout, there are other elements of the f&f that are rougher).

You will, however, notice, that as you go up the price ladder, the fit and finish gets smoother, the more attention is paid to aesthetics, and, by the time you get to the Masakage Kiri, it is associated with the workshop of a named smith.

Nor does the most expensive necessarily use "better" steel--in fact, the Tojiro Basic ($47), the Tojiro Classic ($101), and the Masakage Kiri ($350) ALL use VG-10 steel, though for the Masakage Kiri it is forged in-house, whereas for the Tojiro knives it is machined from a sheet.

NONE of these knives are crap. All of them are quality instruments that, for the right person and the right use case, would be excellent purchases. (I have not personally used each exact model, but I have used knives from each of these lines). NONE of them are overpriced vanity purchases, either.

Masakage Kiri VG-10 Gyuto 210mm This 210mm gyuto from the Masakage Kiri line of knives is an excellent example of Masakage's commitment to aesthetically pleasing, high-performance kitchen knives. The Kiri line is handcrafted by Yosh...

And finally, the Masakage Kiri 210mm gyuto, for $350:
www.chefknivestogo.com/kiri2.html

Kanehide PS60 Gyuto 210mm Our #1 pick for a good quality, entry-level gyuto! The Kanehide PS60 Gyuto 210mm is a lotta knife for the money. Hitachi makes this steel for the razor industry and has a dominant share of the market ...

Fourth, the Kanehide PS60 210 gyuto, for $180:
www.chefknivestogo.com/kapsgy21.html

TOJIRO CLASSIC Gyuto 210mm We're updating our product listings to reflect a recent name change by the manufacturer. Tojiro DP is now called TOJIRO CLASSIC. The knives are the same � only the name is changing. For decades, TOJI...

Third, the Tojiro Classic (fka Tojiro DP) 210mm gyuto, for $101: www.chefknivestogo.com/tojiro-dp-f-...

Daovua 52100 Gyuto 210mm Daovua 52100 Gyuto 210mm. Daovua has recently imported some high-quality carbon steel from the USA called 52100, and this promises to improve the quality and performance of their knives. 52100 is a ca...

Next, the Daovua 52100 210mm gyuto, for $75:
www.chefknivestogo.com/da52gy21.html

TOJIRO BASIC Gyuto 200mm TOJIRO's latest knife is designed with the perfect blade thickness for optimal handling and ease of use. This knife brings professional-grade sharpness right into your home, with a timeless design tha...

So let's look at a few different examples, all from the same site for price point consistency, from cheapest to most expensive.

First, the Tojiro Basic 200mm gyuto, for $47:
www.chefknivestogo.com/tobavggy20.h...