F1 News & Notes

As we prepare for the United States Grand Prix at the wonderful new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, here are some quick hits that you may have missed in a busy week of F1 news.

  • Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen will miss the last two races of the season, although not because of a pay dispute, as had been threatened. The Ice Man had season-ending surgery to correct a recurring back problem that had bothered the Finn over the last several races. Bypassing their official 3rd driver, Davide Valsecchi, Lotus plucked another Finn from his unwilling retirement: former McLaren and Lotus/Caterham veteran Heikki Kovalainen will man the seat on Sunday and in Brazil. Valsecchi was understandably less than thrilled with being passed over but Kovalainen posted very respectable times in Friday’s Practice sessions after not having a drive for nearly 2 years.
  • Sergio Perez is out at McLaren for next year. In a surprise move, McLaren have chosen young phenom Kevin Magnussen to replace the 23-year-old Mexican as Jenson Button’s teammate. Magnussen, the son of 4-time LeMans winner Jan, was this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 champion.
  • Departing Ferrari #2 Felipe Massa will join the Williams F1 team next season to partner young Finn Valtteri Botas, leaving Pastor Maldonado temporarily out in the cold. But Maldonado, who brings bags of Venezuelan oil sponsorship money to wherever he may land, should be able to find a drive among the cash strapped teams despite a lackluster season in a poor Williams chassis.
  • Russian teenager Daniel Kvyat earned his Formula 1 Super License and participated in Friday Practice in Austin. Kvyat, a 19-year old GP3 champion, will join Jean-Eric Vergne at Torro Rosso for the 2014 season, which not coincidentally should feature the first-ever Russian Grand Prix. Kvyat replaces Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, who is moving up to the senior Red Bull team upon Mark Webber’s departure to sports cars and the new Porsche Le Mans prototype program.

Gorgeous lady of the week — Gina Carano

Gina Carano in Berlin 15.02.2012

Gina Carano, the sexy former MMA champ, burst — and ran, and punched, and kicked — onto the scene in Steven Soderbergh‘s underrated Haywire in 2011, where she smoked Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Ewan McGregor’s asses as deluxe super agent Mallory Kane. Take a look-see here what you get for treating Ms. Carano poorly, as Fassbender finds out the hard way (note: this clip contains spoilers):

Despite some controversy about her voice being altered (read: deepened) in post, Gina can walk with her held high for her work in that demanding and satisfying action epic. She manages to be tough, smart and vulnerable at the same time as she deals with a mission gone south and treachery from her former boss. And did I mention that she kicks everyone’s ass pretty much all the time in emphatic fashion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6UTRX8SajY

Since Haywire, Ms. Carano has acted in Fast & Furious 6, the soon-to-be-released In the Blood and rumor has it that she will be playing the title character in an adaptation of the comic book Avengelyne, which seems like perfect casting for that scantily clad avenging angel.

gina-carano-3

Sure, it takes a certain kind of confident man to squire a lady around town who can probably take you in a throwdown. But here at MFL we think keeping company with a stunner like Gina is a no-brainer and we can check our macho at the door for the privilege. Besides, when it comes to the ladies, we’re lovers not fighters.

gina-carano-espn

What We’re Listening to – Angel of the Morning by Joya Landis

joya-landis-angel-of-the-morning-trojan

Angel of the Morning is one of those great songs that that is so great it’s been been covered countless times by countless artists, and they all sound pretty good. For me though, the best of the best is the 1968 version by Joya Landis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1HPG0vnILg

Landis was an American, but she recorded the track for Treasure Isle records, the Rocksteady/Reggae label run by Duke Reid in Jamaica. Ms. Landis’s version rides the fence between both genres, but to me it leans further into the Rocksteady category. It has everything that makes the genre great – the grooving guitar riff, the swagger, the tempo, the horns, the back-up singers, and of course her beautiful vocal track, which sounds relaxed and powerful all at once.

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Something special: A Chocolate Rolex GMT-Master

Every once in a while, you come across a watch that really gets your juices flowing, just like when you started out and everything was new and fresh. A special piece is exciting to find in the wild and it’s one of the thrills of the hunt when you bag one. I should add here that I am often excited about a lot of different watches I come across because, well, I’m a shamelessly promiscuous watchaholic. But there are flings and then there are the love affairs that last. And for a guy like me who has always had a special place in his heart for the classic Rolex reference 1675 GMT-Master, this one really put a charge in me.

1675GMTChoco-8_edited-3

Do not adjust your monitor–that dial really is that brown. A deep, dark chocolate brown in fact. Now, we know that the early meters-first matte dials for the Red Submariners are famous for their tendency to turn a pleasing “Tropical” brown. But for whatever reason, we see this less on the first series of GMT matte dials. It’s not unheard of, of course, I’ve seen it a few times prior. But it definitely seems more unusual. And to find a dial like this one that is evenly toned and essentially flawless is really a rare thing…

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What we’re listening to today — A Bit of Heaven by Benny Golson

A swinging hard bop track by the talented tenor sax man and composer/arranger, Benny Golson, “A Bit of Heaven” can be found on the 1959 album Gone With Golson.


Benny Golson – A Bit of Heaven

The tune features wonderful solos by the often overlooked Golson and the great trombonist Curtis Fuller, who wrote it. The rest of the bouncy group for this session includes Al Harewood on drums and the brothers Tommy and Ray Bryant on bass and piano respectively. Moving along at a jaunty 4:26 and featuring tight team playing, “A Bit of Heaven” more than lives up to its title with Golson coolly demonstrating his impressive range amongst fine company.

tomvox1’s watches for sale — November Selection

MFL is proud to present links to tomvox1’s ads for vintage watches. These are sales posts you might otherwise have to search the web for or miss entirely before they are sold. These watches are eclectic, cover a wide range of price points and offer the discerning gentleman the opportunity to acquire quality vintage timepieces that are guaranteed to be authentic and add penache & elan to a man’s wrist & wardrobe.  Most of all, they are backed by one of the world’s foremost collectors and always certain to be accurately and lovingly described down to the last detail. Simply put, you can buy a watch from some other random seller on the Internet with a lot of vague claims and small pictures or you can buy a tomvox1 watch and know exactly what you’re getting before you make the leap.

Elegant 1960s IWC caliber 8531 Automatic Date model with Double-signed Türler dial–Click here for the complete Timezone Sales Coner ad: SOLD

IWC cal. 8531 Türler Dial

IWC cal. 8531 Türler Dial

Rare Vintage 1930s Platinum Hamilton Rutledge–Click here for the complete Timezone Sales Corner Ad: SOLD

Hamilton Rutledge

Hamilton Rutledge

Vintage 1970s Aquadive 20 ATM Diver w/ Beautiful “Deep Blue” Dial–Click here for the complete Timezone Sales Corner ad: SOLD

Aquadive 20 ATM "Deep Blue" Diver

Aquadive 20 ATM “Deep Blue” Diver

 

Coming soon to hot, hot Gowanus — Royal Palms Shuffleboard Parlor

ShuffleBoard

Hoping to do for that great geriatric staple shuffleboard what The Gutter & Brooklyn Bowl have done for bowling (i.e. make the square crazy happening), some hip young entrepreneurs are opening up The Royal Palms Shuffleboard Parlor smack dab in the middle of the former wasteland known as Gowanus, at 514 Union between Nevins and 3rd Ave. After an epic fight to get their liquor license, this festive beer, wine & cocktail-serving Tang & Biscuits emporium (those last two ain’t food–it’s what the cognoscenti call the stick & the puck) is set to soft-open in early December according to the latest buzz and should be drawing a healthy portion of the bearded set by the Holidays.

There will be a whopping 10 regulation-sized shuffleboard courts inside the massive 17,000 square foot space and gourmet food trucks outside to restore vigor to the competitors. And Royal Palms takes their avocation seriously: shuffleboarders (real word? it is now) will have the options of league play, competitive tourneys featuring ranked players or simple pick up games among friends, as well as private parties. All this exuberant high life amidst the spirited competition, swinging music and cocktails is bound to lead to the bonhomie that I’m told only good, honest shuffleboard can produce… as well as lowering the median age for its players by around 35 years. So be sure to check it out when they get the biscuits flying and chalk me up for 10 frames at the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club! If it’s anything like pool, I’ll get better the more beer I have.

What we’re listening to today — Dondante by My Morning Jacket

Before there was Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes, there was My Morning Jacket. Hailing from Kentucky and dedicated to pushing their unique brand of alt-country rock to the very edge, the two things you can say about MMJ are: 1) You can never be quite sure what they’re going to try and pull off next and 2) These guys can fucking play. Check out this live version of “Dondante” and see if you don’t agree:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNfldEgE8nY

With nine albums under their belt since 1999, My Morning Jacket are as prolific as they are unwilling to be neatly categorized. Country-indie? The new Wilco? Way too easy and pat. But you can safely say that they’re their own men and follow their own vision even if it’s not guaranteed to make them rich. In short, they’re artists. Artists who have toured like maniacs and always put on a killer live show, as 2006’s double album Okonokos (and the fantastic corresponding concert film) prove so well. While you may occasionally fear for the health of lead vocalist Jim James’ throat at times with his wildly committed delivery, there’s no denying that My Morning Jacket make a lasting impression that lingers long after the shouting is over.