iNDEED – Black Tears (Trailer) from Tamarcus Brown on Vimeo.

Here’s one-seventh of this song from iNDEED. I guess this means an official video is coming? It also looks like a New York Times story is forthcoming. All good things.

Received the latest issue of Lucky Peach last night. By far the best of the first three issues, the Chef’s issue (Spring) is devoted almost entirely to tackling the tricky subject of the celebrity chef and how it’s changing the way we eat. So check it out for that.

Or, check it out for this coffee mug cake you can make in two minutes.

Apparently the below recipe from the magazine was inspired by some sort of chocolate lovers chain e-mail Internet meme thing that I missed. Oh well, I’ve got it now and the ability to have chocolate cake within 120 seconds feels like what it is…magic.

The stuff you need and probably already have:

1 coffee mug / 1 egg / 3 T milk / 3 T oil / 3 T flour / 4 T sugar / 2 T cocoa powder / 3 T semi-sweet chocolate chips / splash of vanilla extract / pinch of salt

Mix the egg, milk and oil in the mug. Add the flour, sugar, and cocoa and mix again. Next the chocolate chips, vanilla and salt. Mix and then microwave for two minutes. Eat chocolate cake.

Love that lady, love that idea. Good work Indianapolis.

So this showed up on the Jealous Curator today. You can see more of where that came from here.

I, like Lake in the story, use “cut” because, as a child who was infatuated with Jordan and reading, I never really bought the story of how Michael Jordan didn’t end up on varsity as a 5-10 sophomore. He was a sophomore. He  did grow eight inches by the time he went to college. There are any number of strategic decisions that would’ve made cutting Jordan feasible. I knew all of these things as a 12-year-old who adored “Come Fly With Me” and would regularly watch 70-plus NBA games a year, but needing a big man — the actual explanation — will never trump cutting the eventual best basketball player in the world.  That’s a hook that will grab even non-sports fans’ interest.

That Jordan, the most ruthlessly competitive athlete we’ve ever seen, used the snub to become the greatest basketball player in the world also made for a convenient backstory. But thirty years on from when Jordan first emerged on the national scene as a freshman at North Carolina, nobody had ever stopped to ask one simple question: Was it actually true? That led to a better question: What ever happened to Pop Herring b.k.a. “The Man Who Cut Michael Jordan?”

It’s not a story, like so many sports stories, of an extraordinary triumph over unbelievable odds. It’s an ordinary story of an ordinary life the was, to this point, known only as a plot point in the vast machine-made mythos of Michael Jordan. That’s why it’s the best sports story of the year.

Happy Black Friday, all. It’s time to start buying in the name of worldwide bonhomie/obligation. Should the Internet/Santa need some ideas here are a bunch of things most people wouldn’t think to give me. (Though I’m still all for well-conceived surprises.)

The Hill-Side: PN57-080

Somehow, caring for and/or polishing my shoes and boots has become one of my favorite things to do while watching TV. This would make it a lot easier.

Quoddy Maliseet Oxford

Speaking of shoes, I’m really high on these oxfords from Quoddy. Navy with a brick sole is my first choice, but I’m also liking the green/gum. They don’t come cheap, but I’m firmly in the “buy once” camp.

Stanley Stainless Steel Flask

First for the stocking, then for the inside coat pocket.

Vintage Junghans Military Watch

Given the prices of vintage watches these days, $260 seems like a good deal, even for one that’s been refurbished.