THE GURGLING COD

Ribbons!

The Gurgling Cod spends rather more time than he ought on the subject of kitchen stuff you do not need. But here, from O&M Thailand, via EMD, is evidence, at left, of what everyone needs. New midrange knife from Wusthof, or an OCD chupacabra? You decide.
Alternatively, Damien Hirst, Fergus Henderson, and M.C. Escher have taken over  O&M's Thailand shop. In either case, worth registering for, stat.

Wedding gift idea

I was unmoved by the story, via Chow, in the Economist, about how, what with 30% of murders being commited by knife, some Brits are working on making kitchen knives that do their job as well as a regular knife, but are harder to stab people with. Then I remembered knives are popular wedding gifts. Imagine opening that box from Sur La Sonoma and seeing that Aunt Such and Such has given you the Wusthof 7 pc non-spouse-killing knife set.

Tiptoe through the juleps

Once again, Codrespondent Saratoga Slim weighs in with his Derby analysis, which we present, as always, for entertainment purposes only:

Surprising lack of real speed in this year's race (only 3 horses have run a Beyer of 100+ more than once). I'd worry they'll try to artificially bump up the speed by making the track hard as hell, but the weather at CD is meant to be fairly wet the next few days (including Saturday), so it may not be a closer's race.
The contenders:
- If CURLIN steals it on such limited racing, he could be a real treat to watch over the next month and a half. He's not my favorite, but it's awful tough to rule him out.
- STREET SENSE looks like a more traditional favorite and should be dangerous, especially if the weather holds, the track is running fast, and the early pace is tough, since he has the speed and stamina to close at the end.
- ANY GIVEN SATURDAY has a great name and can handle the distance, but his jockey chose to ride Circular Quay instead...
- CIRCULAR QUAY is solid, but has had a 2-month layoff, and hasn't run an inspired workout.
- HARD SPUN on the other hand, is coming off an insanely fast workout at CD; on Monday he went 5f in 57 and 3 (for an 11.5-clip). He's had a 2-month layoff as well, but at least he looks sharp. He doesn't come from off the pace, but if the weather is indeed crappy the next few days and the track isn't too hard, I agree w/JK -- he looks to be a really good buy @ 15-1.
- GREAT HUNTER is decent, but I don't see him beating the other contenders, especially not from the 20 hole.
- SCAT DADDY looks good and has only once run out of the money (barely, and in the BC Juvenile, against solid competition), so he could be in the mix.
- NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ has the sort of cheesball name I really hate to support pari-mutuelly, but I see him in the mix and at decent odds. He's never run a Beyer over 100, but then again, he's never run less than a 92, and has 4 wins, a place, and a show in 6 starts.
So, not to hedge (but it's Thursday), but if it stays dry at Churchill, I'd go w/Street Sense from off the pace. If it does indeed rain over the next two days, and the pace is slower (or even if the track is sloppy), I like Hard Spun and Nobiz Like Shobiz.

Speaking of which, if you have any weddings to attend, esp for younger folks, consider julep cups as a gift. They sure won't need them, but it is the kind of recondite item in the pantry that suggests actual civilized living. "Juelp cups! They must have eight soup bowls that match! Classy!"

For that special day

The world is a special place. Never more so than when two young people conspire to extort a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer from their relatives pledge to spend the rest of their lives together. One of the special things people like to do on those special days is have special meals to share with their special friends.* In the service of specialness, some even allow their guests to choose from a selection of possible entrees. Too often, however, one runs into the problem of special guests who are illiterate, and unable to indicate their choice. I am happy to say that this is one problem that now belongs to the past. Thanks to Paper Source, one can adorn the invitation for your special day with food shapes,  let your guests circle their choices and eliminate the need to read entirely! Bravo, Paper Source!

*My father was shocked to learn that the cinetrix and I intended to feed people at our reception, insisting that champagne and tiny bowls of peanuts were the thing. In retrospect, that would have been cooler.