Project MERCATOR & Project PANDORA
I meant to publish "Moustache Hero," "This Week in Motorsport," & the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. last night, but those plans were derailed by a rather last minute invitation to a bonfire (Yeah, on a Tuesday. I know.) by a girl who {a} recently joined the speech & debate team, though she's not yet convinced it's for her, and {b} is rather openly considering ditching her boyfriend—or "wife," as she habitually calls him—in favor of your humble narrator. I did not get home until just after 1:00 A.M., even though I'm still feeling the effects of staying up with the 24 Heures du Mans while combating a hacking cough I acquired from my mother and, more significantly, had already endured a beast of a day trying to lend a hand to some automotive troubles of The Impossible Ingenue's. I still needed to put some finishing touches on the items below and was in no real shape to do so last night; apologies for the delay, but better late than never, yes?

Moustache Hero
Inspired by the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred horse racing, there is an informal Triple Crown of Motorsport: victory in the Grand Prix de Monaco, the 24 Heures du Mans, and the Indianapolis 500. Only one man has ever claimed the Triple Crown of Motorsport. An alternate definition of the Triple Crown is winning the 24 Heures du Mans, the Indianapolis 500, and the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, but the difference be damned, because only one man, the same man, meets either criteria. That man was Graham Hill (1929-1975). Lasses and lads, the moustache of Graham Hill. Behold!



This Week in Motorsport
The Grand Prix du Canada was a mixed bag for my boys at Lotus. Jarno Trulli was forced to retire (again!) with mechanical troubles/reliability issues, but Heikki Kovalainen not only finished the grand prix, but bested the Renault of Vitaly Petrov! Yes, Petrov is a rookie while Kovalainen is a veteran who once showed enough promise to be given a drive at mighty McLaren, but Formula One is about the marriage of man and machine and to this point Petrov's machine has been demonstrably superior to Kovalainen's. So, I must agree that Lotus are showing genuine progress: The Lotus Eaters. Woot!

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Dienstag, 15 Juni
Less Than Jake, "Short Fuse Burning" from Anthem (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary:

"Hey, everybody, don't forget me, forget me,
Hey, everybody, don't forget me,
I forgot who I used to be.
And I'm a short fuse burning,
I'm so close to exploding.
So, everybody, don't forget me,
I forgot who I used to be."

Montag, 14 Juni
The Hippos, "Asleep at the Wheel" from Forget the World (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: An apropos choice for the day after Le Mans, a day that found my sleep cycle still out of kilter.