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How can you not be cool with a name like Thelonius? Notes to a biographer:

Yeah, I can dig it.

Um… yeah… I should probably get to it. Down to 3 left with strings!

Maybe I’ll have a Super Stringing Parrrrrty while folk are watching that other game from that other sport this weekend.

Starting a new series here to commemorate the found wines that we enjoy, focusing on the best value wines (bottles under $25, preferably under $15), but just any wine we enjoy in particular.

It should probably be noted that I know next to nothing about classical wine, grapes, or other things sommeliers care for and describe. I only know what I like.

The first entry is: Graziano Zinfandel Mendocino 2004

Price paid – $19 @ Central Market

This wine was quite the surprise. I saw it (on the top shelf, hidden away, no less), was in the mood for a zin, and thought “why not”?

I don’t know if it’s because of the organically grown grapes, the weather that year, or the tears of virgins, but this is some good wine. The taste is bold. For me, it was very peppery, with a good initial taste and lingering taste, with a round, fruity feel. Ghostfinger got a lot of chocolate out of it as well. In any event, it was the most pleasantly surprising wine of the new year and my favorite of the last few months. If you can find it, give it a shot.

OK, to inaugurate my new phone … if you play iMob, friend me. My code is 137141307

If, say, you get a new iPhone and, say, have a 5+ year old gmail account… it is not a good idea to sync your contacts with said gmail account. Unless you like spending 20 hours cleaning that shit out.

Just sayin.

Andy Murray loses in Oz.

Verdasco was playing out of his freaking mind. Good match. Bummed my boy lost. My other boy, or boy-b (Federer) is looking not so great either (looked tired since the second round). On the other hand my other other boy, boy-c, Nadal is looking amazing.

Except for the clothes. Nike did him so wrong there. Just… wrong. I mean … seriously –

That’s just bad, Nike. Bad. And I don’t mean the expression.

Anyway, given my recent luck at backing massive losers, I expect Fed to lose soon and the detested Djokivic to repeat as champ. Boo!

Update: Murray had the flu and was hospitalized shortly after his match, so he gets a pass. Djoke wilted in the heat, and Fed’s in the final (I have Nadal-Verdasco DVR’d … no spoilers!). So… it’s looking good. Fed’s playing some amazing tennis and Nadal was too until the Simon and the what I’ve seen so far of the Verdasco match.

Compare and contrast:

v.

But I do, indeed, love Vince’s nuts.

Not a YouMeme, just awesome.

Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Undead

Seriously, how did I not think of that already? Dammit. My future career goal as a porn movie title copyrighter, long on hold, is not looking any brighter here.

Best mac & cheese I’ve ever made. Also, the first.

Very rich comfort food. Obviously not for the faint of heart or blocked of artery.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
12 oz condensed milk (one can)
6 tsp butter
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp hot sauce (I used Tapatio… but only because I couldn’t find my Cholula)
fresh ground black pepper (dunno, a peck? enough until it feels right)
1.5 tsp ground mustard
4-6 strips of bacon
12-14 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz mixed shredded Italian cheeses (I get the asiago, parm, mozz mix)
1 lb. elbow macaroni
Shredded parmesan (optional)
Panko bread crumbs (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon. Set aside. Chop up when cool.
2. Cook the macaroni. ~7 minutes for al dente for most boxed brands
3. Add eggs in mixer bowl. Mix in condensed milk, pepper, hot sauce, salt, mustard powder.
4. Drain the noodles, but don’t wash them.
5. Stir the butter into the noodles (I found it easier to do it in 1 tsp pats)
6. Stir the mixture into the noodles. Mix until evenly coated.
7. Stir in the shredded cheese and bacon. Mix until all cheese melted and evenly distributed.

You can stop there and serve. However, if you’re like me, you’ll want to:

1. Pour the noodles into a buttered 9×13 baking dish.
2. Spread the shredded parmesan on top until moderately covered.
3. Spread Panko bread crumbs on top until moderately covered.
4. Broil until top begins to brown. (You can bake before you broil to bring the temp up if it’s cooled too much for your enjoyment. If you like the top blackened, add more Panko, some herbs, and bacon and broil away).

Note: I also forgot to put the bacon in the first time. You can add it later pre-baking/broiling and just bury it in the noodles. Works fiiiiine and is a bit more aesthetically pleasing, if you ask me.

Cost: $11-12
Serves: 6-8

Review: 4/5. Best mac and chee ever, but still room for improvement. A squaring off flavor to even out the rich roundness of the dish. Still, this serves a bundle and fills everyone up. Don’t get the blue box, make some comfort lurve.

In honor of one of the greatest players of all time being inducted into the Hall of Fame (along with Rice, finally), I present to you the 25 best Rickey Henderson stories.

My favorite, not included, happened when he was a Mariner. Rickey was on first base. The pitcher, thinking he was going to steal, threw a pitchout. Rickey shook his head and said with a sneer, and I quote “Rickey don’t run on pitchouts.”

Update: I should note that if Rice gets in, then there is no logical way that Edgar Martinez should not also be in the HoF. Unfortunately, the BBWAA is short on logic and long on complete idiocy.

This is old, but here’s some great tennis:

I fully enjoy both Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal (who, along with Federer, are my favorite 3 to watch), but the player I most enjoy is Murray. His court movement is fantastic (it’s better now than in the video above), his 2-handed backhand is the best I’ve seen, and as you can see in the above clip, his down the line forehand is monstrous. Plus, I think Murray and Fed are the best strategists currently on tour (watch the above when Murray starts throwing in soft shots amongst all the pace), which is fun to watch and think about. Like a great jazz soloist or chess champion, it becomes apparent down the road what the setup was all along. Fed has better technical footwork, but Murray glides … like a dancer. There’s a grace there you don’t see often. I’m absolutely jealous of Murray’s footwork. And backhand. And talent.

Here’s their 2008 US Open match (Murray won). Watch Murray’s footwork:

Watch Murray’s movement, court coverage, and return of serve preparation – all way above where they were a year before. He’s still improving and will be, I think, the next new #1 player in the game (Fed may retake it again, I don’t see Rafa having a multi-year stranglehold on the spot, and I don’t see Djokivic in the top 3). Unlike Rafa, Murray’s serve is a strength (Rafa’s is merely adequate), which is a great help on hard courts and non-2008 Wimbledon (which was slower than in previous years, to Rafa’s benefit and Federer’s detriment). As a side bonus, unlike Rafa, you can actually learn from and attempt to emulate Murray’s technique.

Rafa’s one of those singularities – an inimitable freak of nature (among other things, he’s actually a righty who plays lefty). He’s all energy and enthusiasm and fun, and he’s no slouch in the strategy department, but to-date he’s never really had to strategize as his sheer physical skills and refusal to give up on any point keep him matches that could be a bit shorter if he thought ahead a couple more moves. I think he’s a great player, but until he gets a better serve he’ll be limited in success on hard courts. He seems like a really genuine, nice guy … with OCD, some mania, and a supreme focus on tennis.

Federer is, of course, amazing and probably the best player of all time. But that’s for another day. Or another writer.

Back to Murray. Here he is practicing groundies – notice the footwork and the pace even when he’s just practicing. That he probably has 6″ precision throughout is standard for the good pros, but still a sight to behold for someone like me. Good times.

This entire aughts have been a rough, not so very good happy fun sexy time for most. So you know what that means, bitches – time to turn this decade around and rescue its reputation by having a majorly kickass year.

Get to it.