Scrapbook

Facts

– “Nature I loved, and besides Nature, Art”
– Good food and wine are as essential for a balanced life, as are good friends and regular exercise (best on a bicycle, outdoors,
with friends…followed by a meal and wine…)
– As places go, nothing beats California (we’ve spent hours considering all the options…nothing…)
– Life’s too short to settle for mediocrity (es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas – Emiliano Zapata)
– Rain: Great thing, once you’ve brought your whole crop in healthy…
– Ham: Absolutely – any type, anytime, and in large quantities
– Vegetables: If you don’t believe me, pick up a copy of Jeremy Fox’s cookbook or come over to our house for dinner sometime
– Coffee: for having fun
– Tea: for getting things done
– Salt: because it’s fat-free, kosher, gluten-free, lactose-free, crunchy, has zero calories, no added sugar or high-fructose corn
syrup…and mmm, salty!

People

– Valentino Rossi – would have made the list regardless, but now tops it easily: at 38, still a contender for the crown, and more
fun to watch on and off track than any of the others
– Conor McGregor – Fighting is not my sport, but come on: a little Irish dude rising to the top through sheer determination
and then switching sports to take on another new challenge (and make a little money:)
– Peter Sagan – a bright light in what is both my favorite sport and one plagued by cheating and more cheating
– Angela Merkel – would have made the list regardless, but after making sure that a million refugees get in against everyone
else’s wish, and still keeping her job as head of the country; that’s balls of steel
– Ben Merz, Ruben Solorzano, Jeff Newton, Salvador Bernal, Juve Buenrostro, Chris King – these are the guys out in the
vineyards, without whom what we do isn’t possible, and a lot more fun and rewarding!
– also the Dos Equis Man, Fatboy Slim, Paolo Conte, Geoffrey Rush …the list goes on
-Favorite dead guys: John Lee Hooker, Bob Dylan (when he goes), Steve McQueen, Alexander McQueen, Marco Simoncelli,
Stevie Ray Vaughn …and alas, now also the great Giuseppe Quintarelli

Music

– is like air (essential for existence) Miles Davis; Jaco Pastorious; Bob Dylan; Son House; The Beatles, The Stones (in that order);
Keith Jarret…Wu-Tang…Fatboy Slim…Maria Callas …of course, really there’s no end in sight – recent favorites: Jose Larralde,
Tsegue-Marie Gubreou, Devendra Banhart, and many many more…

More Facts

– Motorcycles: Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul (I think McQueen said that)…but not worth it, that
helicopter ride is never far off!
-…bicycles can be pretty fun too (Vive Le Tour – doping or not, these guys, Peter Sagan, Andre Greipel, and the rest are all
superhuman)
– Computers: will cause us all to atrophy before long (these are the machines we were warned about) – and ‘Siri’ will go down
as one of the key causes for the increase in illiteracy in the US
– Chicago or Tennessee – who cares, the Blues is the Blues (but if you have to go there, probably Chicago)
– Best Word: ‘MAGISTERIAL!’ (invented by some British soccer commentator on Lionel Messi scoring…”the little magician
has done it again…magisterial! magisterial!”) …you have to actually hear him scream this to do it justice…
– Best Nickname: “The Shark of Messina” (cyclist Vincenzo Nibali)
– Best quote” This man has the face of an altar boy and the heart of an assassin” (on Chris Froome attacking the rest of the
field in the Pyrenes)
– When push comes to shove: Injury over illness (hopefully there will be very little pushing or shoving…)

Miscellaneous-ish