Cup of Coffee

April 9, 2014: Wait, What?

108 Comments

Pro wrestler The Ultimate Warrior died last night, just a couple of nights after being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. I loathed him in the ring so I wouldn't bother mentioning it, but details are scarce so I'm bracing for another bizarre death here.

108 thoughts on “April 9, 2014: Wait, What?”

  1. Wild Playoff Watch

    They're in!

    MIN - 96 pts **clinched top wildcard spot**

    That's all you really need to know. The Wild beat the Bruins in the shootout, scoring their first goal 1 minute into the game, and the tying goal with 1 minute remaining in the third period. That means they are in. Two games remain for the Wild (three for most other teams), but they can't change their position, so the only thing still out there is the 100 point season, which probably isn't worth a whole lot.

    The Wild will play the division winner with the lower point total in the first round. That could be any of the following four teams:

    St. Louis -- 111 points (Central)
    Anaheim -- 110 points (Pacific)
    Colorado -- 109 points (Central)
    San Jose -- 107 points (Pacific)

    GAMES TONIGHT:
    Anaheim/San Jose -- If the Ducks win, they clinch the Pacific division.
    Dallas/Columbus -- The Stars magic number is 4 for the final playoff spot. Columbus clinches a playoff spot in the East with a win.

      1. Oh, hold the phone. This is an unscheduled surprise. This young man has had a very trying rookie season, what with the litigation, the notoriety, his subsequent deportation to Canada and that country's refusal to accept him. Well, that's more than most 21 year olds could handle.

        1. Eddie Shore?
          Oh, piss on Eddie Shore.
          Old-time hockey?
          Piss on old-time hockey!

          1. You guys are killing me. How long do I have to wait till my son is old enough for Slap Shot?

            1. ...Never let the children watch a hockey game. I have a theory that children imitate what they see on a TV screen. They see violence, they'll become violent. They see someone stick up a bank, they'll stick up a bank. Heroin. You name it.

              1. I completely agree. I watched "Justified" last night, and right now my hair can only be described as a "Full Boyd", because science.

                1. Right. I can't stop referring to myself in the third person whenever I catch Sesame Street.

                    1. I actually took tap lessons when I was about 8 because I loved Savion Glover when he would make appearances on Sesame Street.

                    2. That's ok. I can tell you that this pair of pants you've had since your sophmore year of college simply have to go. They don't say "lighthearted professional" they say "look out, here comes crazy!" What you want is a simple A-line, that will flatter your figure, and seems very classic, but you can use patterns and color to bring out that lighter side.

                      Obviously CoC's quote has jumped off the rails a bit here, but I like where it's going.

        1. I don't think we care now that DG has uncovered the secret to the Wild's success: Wild Playoff Watch! 16-0.

      2. Just thought of something and had to check...

        /ducks out of room/
        /comes back in/

        In news that will surprise no one here, it's just as I suspected. Dany Heatley has been a healthy scratch for 5 of the past 6 games, playing to the tune of minus-1 and 0 G/A/ SOG in <9 minutes of ice time in the Wild's only loss during that stretch (a 3-2 SO to the Blackhawks).

        In the 13 games played in March before his benching, Dany was a minus-8 with 2 Assists and a grand total of 8 SOG, averaging ~12 minutes of ice time. The Wild were 4-5-4 in those games with wins against Calgary, Detroit and both NY teams - none of whom have more points than the Wild and only 1 (currently) a playoff team.

        Also of note is Bryzgalov: 7-0-3 in the past 10 with a 1.665 GAA and .930 SV%. Holy Crap he's been a great get by Chuck.

  2. Last night the Wild beat the Bruins (last year's runner up in the Stanley Cup playoffs) and the Wolves beat the Spurs (last year's runner up in the NBA playoffs). Too bad the Twins weren't playing the Cardinals.

  3. You may have noticed I haven't written about my bowling recently. That's because my bowling recently hasn't been much to write about. This week, however, I got my third 500 series of they year. I just barely made it--169, 143, 189 for a 501--but I'll take it.

    I haven't been terribly consistent this year. I've probably had as many series below 400 as I have above 500, so my average is either 149 or 150, depending on how much this week pulled it up. Still, given that I haven't bowled regularly since high school, which was 37 years ago now, I'm fairly happy with it.

    1. Our bowling alley closed a couple of years ago. Sadly, my town is neither small-town enough nor hipster enough to support a bowling alley. A tweener.

  4. Kevin Love had one of his worst games of the season, Pek and Martin, Budinger and Bazz were out, so naturally, the Wolves absolutely blew out the Spurs.

    1. Rickey was, I think, 10-16 from 2-pt range. I'm assuming those were mostly layups?

  5. After Mason Plumlee blocked LBJ's dunk at the buzzer to deny Miami a win and drop them within a half game of Indiana last night, I could only think of one thing: man, that battle for the eighth seed between two teams that are a combined 21 games under .500 is gonna be exciting!

    1. Heh. Suck-it Four Letter.
      Worst part is, enough of the country actually buys the crap they spew to allow them to keep spewing said crap.

  6. I mentioned this yesterday late in the CoC, but wanted to again in case you missed it: My son has two tickets to tomorrow's (4/10) Cake show at First Avenue. Face value $40.00. Let me know if interested and I'll hook you up.

  7. Hey CoC and others, the New York Times has an article from Sam Sifton about making your own pizza and includes a dough recipe. I've just skimmed the article, but it definitely seems worth a closer look.

    2. Re pizza: I've been making grilled pizza for a long, long time. I started by buying dough from trader joes, which still can't be beat for 1.19 and lack of time / planning. I've recently perfected bitman's dough recipe, but something was still lacking in the final product. I've always rejected the peel as a hipster must have. However, as I recently found out, the peel is an essential tool for baking a pie. I'm going to fire up the grill this weekend and test out the peel to grill application.

      1. do you have a screen or stone or summat that you use on the grill, or do you put the pie directly on the grate?

        when I've grilled pizza, I've always gone direct to grate to partially cook one side, flipped and assembled the pie on the partially cooked side, then returned the assembled pie. I've had problems with enormous bubbles forming in the crust because of the intense heat from below. Mebbe I need indirect heat?

        1. The glazed stone I'm reviewing in a post for tomorrow is (apparently) designed with grilling in mind. You can be sure that once I've mastered it's use in the oven that I'll be headed out to the grill with it.

        2. I've always used the same method you're describing. With the peel, I'm aiming to make smaller pies with slightly thicker crusts for the grill. Post after I try this out.

    4. It makes sense that the younger generation knows this better. People who graduated in the 80s or earlier didn't have it on the geography tests of countries and their capitals, while those who have graduated since 2000 would have.

  9. Guess who wrote this:

    The first Boston record has more good songs than any Kiss record, and Tom Scholz is more talented than all the members of Kiss combined. The eponymous 1976 Boston LP sold 17 million copies, which roughly equates with the aggregate sales for all Kiss studio records involving the original members. I’m a big fan of Boston, as is much of middle-aged America. There are more reasonable people who like the music of Boston than there are reasonable people who like the music of Kiss. But Boston are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and very few listeners care. Nobody feels betrayed or outraged. And this is because there aren’t enough humans who love Boston for nonmusical reasons. Such creatures exist, but they are few and far between. Those of us who dig Boston tend to think about them only when “More Than a Feeling” or “Something About You” comes on the radio; conversely, those of us who dig Kiss think about them all the time. We buy new Kiss records we know we won’t like, and the purchase still feels essential. It almost wouldn’t matter if the CDs were blank, because Kiss has transcended music and become something else entirely. And if you are not going to lionize the transposition of creation and emotion — if you’re not going to lionize the ability of a musical band to matter more as a concept than as a mere producer of sound — I’m not sure what we’re pretending to do here.

    Hint SelectShow
    Actual Spoiler SelectShow

    2. I knew half way in but no one, and I mean no one, would could ever write that last sentence other than its actual author.

        1. What this world needs is a good $0.05 cigar more hipsters in their 40s that are obsessed with the band Kiss.

    1. That would be 5 days and 4 games they decided to play short-handed before making a roster move and disabling him. We're now on day 3 and game 2 for the Hammer.

            1. Since it was my idea, I'll do my best. I will need some help on occasion when I'm out of town and not following the team much.

    2. Since he's playing for Indianapolis, probably not. Assuming they call up an outfielder, rather than another utility infielder pretending to be an outfielder, I'm guessing Mastroianni. He went 6-for-8 in a doubleheader yesterday. He's hot!

      2. Since he's playing for Indianapolis, probably not.

        Guess I needed my snark indicator. :o)

        Sent from my iPhone from Target Field

    1. Maybe the "Best MLB GIF: Goofy Stuff" division.* But Billy Hamilton is leader in the clubhouse for "Best MLB GIF: Doing Baseball Things" so far. At least until Puig is standing flat-footed near the foul pole and guns down someone trying to go first-to-third.

      *Not that that's a put-down. A good chunk of what makes baseball great is the goofy stuff.

        1. There's going to have to be a special ""Best MLB GIF: Billy Hamilton Doing Billy Hamilton Things" category at this rate.

  13. More from the Pistorious trial:

    "That's it. Have a look there," Nel gestured at the screen, his voice rising. "I know you don't want to, because you don't want to take responsibility, but it's time that you look at it. Take responsibility for what you've done, Mr. Pistorius!"
    ...
    "As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember! I don't have to look at a picture, I was there!"
    His voice trailed off into a hysterical, high-pitched falsetto, sounding remarkably like a woman.
    ...
    Nel's shock tactic could backfire. Several state witnesses testified to hearing "terrified" female screams, a crucial part of the prosecution's case. The defense insists the shouts were Pistorius himself.

    I keep finding myself thinking that the charge of premeditated murder can't be right, because he shot through a door. If a person plans to shoot someone they wouldn't do so through a barrier. It could have been an impulsive shooting - anger or something - but premeditated seems wrong.

    1. Q: Are you a legally licensed business?
      A: Who the f^*% are you? You want tacos or what?

      That's gold, jerry.

    2. Bánh mì Tacos (V) – $8
      Mock duck, pickled cucumber, carrot, and jalapenos, herbed mayo, and cilantro

      The whole idea/execution is pretty awesome, but could someone more sophisticated than me please explain what "mock" duck is?

      1. I did google it, but I am hopeful that what I learned was just a terrible, terrible joke.

          1. Pretty much, yeah. I don't have a problem with tofu or vegetarian stuff, I only have a problem with pretending that it's actually meat.

            1. The cans of it I've seen (yes, it comes in a can) have called it "braised gluten pieces" to clarify exactly what it is!

              1. Ahh, fake meat in a can- does that make it a close relative of Spam, or just a wanna-be?

              2. yea, probably not soybean-derived, but rather seitan, which is wheat-derived. "Textured vegetable protein", on the other hand, is often soy.

        2. Mock Duck goes very well in Pad Thai.
          It's not meat, but it seems sorta like some mushroomy thing.
          It's much better than like tofu for most vegetarian options I can imagine.

          1. I actually rather like deep- (or shallow-) fried tofu. Coated with a bit of corn starch, it comes out golden and crispy on the outside, and a bit airy on the inside. Works great in pad thai (although your suggestion sounds really good), and as a paneer substitute in saag.

              1. easy to do.

                I like to press the tofu for a while to reduce the water content and firm it up (using extra-firm to begin with). I cut a block into two or more sheets, place the sheets on paper towels, cover with more paper towels, and then a plate or frying pan with some weights on top (like a heavy bowl). This compresses the tofu somewhat and squeezes some water out. Change the paper towels at least once. then cut into batons.

                Toss lightly in corn starch and fry. I generally use enough oil to cover the batons about half-way up, so "shallow-fry" rather than deep fry. Because cheap. Fry on both sides until golden and crispy. Remove gently, place on (dry) paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt immediately. Good in Thai or Vietnamese-style salads, pad thai, etc., and also a surprisingly good substitute for cheese in saag paneer. And probably good with marinara dipping sauce like fried mozz. Not AS good, of course. But not bad.

                1. yup. another good application.

                  along this line, I made a green curry last week. REALLY green, in that I blanched several cups each of broccoli and and spinach and a whole bunch of basil, shocked them all in ice water, then pureed (not all of the broccoli) with garlic and ginger and jalapeno and green onion and a can of coconut milk to make the sauce, then added to the pot where I already had garlic and ginger and brown sugar and (fish sauce if not vegan, soy sauce if vegan) and onion/carrot/potato/mushroom/bamboo shoots/cauliflower, then added the reserved chunks of blanched broccoli at the end. Wow. REALLY green.

    3. I need to pay a visit to a friend in the delivery zone just so I can order this.

      I don't go out of my way to eat mock duck, but I don't mind it and I'd definitely try that taco. However, I think I may need to write up an "Appetite" post with the favorite method of preparing tofu at my house.

Comments are closed.