Things have been crazy out here the last few days: I helped out at AIDS Walk Los Angeles over the weekend (they raised over $3.9 million!). I had the honor of being Deidre Hall‘s escort. That’s right — Marlena from Days of our Lives! She was so nice and so kind. Kenneth put some photos up… And I’m sending good vibes to everyone stressed out about these SoCal fires. I know what it’s like to have a home threatened by fire… Oh and p.s. chili cheese yam fries are my new love. Now, the tennis…

Number crunching: At the rate that Rafael Nadal is crashing out matches, the Spaniard might soon end his record-setting streak as the World No. 2. And Novak Djokovic‘s march to the top isn’t helping the Spaniard’s cause. (Tennis Diary)

It’s no longer just her TITLES: The folks at HP are giving us more Serena, this time in the form of advertising splayed across Times Square billboards (and on HP’s Serena site). They’re blaxploitation cartoons featuring Serena “Super Fly” Williams in episodes like Knowledge is Power and (my personal fave) Quite a Racket. Check ‘em out.

Federer’s fall: Tennis planet does a quick write-up on David Nalbandian‘s amazing performance against Roger Federer, plus the Argentine’s defeat of Nadal in their first match against each other. We always talk about Federer being tested as the No. 1 player. Perhaps now Nole and Nalbandian can test Nadal as No. 2?

Federer enshrined: His racquet and all-white Nike outfit from the 2007 Wimbledon tourney are all on display at that Grand Slam’s museum. (jetsetters)

String It Like Roger: The latest issue of Play writes about the racquet customization phenomenon, but warns us common folk from getting a racquet just like R-Fed’s, i.e., a “Wilson [K] Factor Six One Tour with a 90-square-inch head” strung with “a Wilson 16 gauge gut main string and a Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough cross string”. It’s super-hard to control, and takes a talent like Roger to use. FYI, the full arsenal of 12 racquets he carries at each tourney costs $3,500 to keep up.

Tipsarevic in hot water: An early-round match between Lleyton Hewitt and Janko Tipsarevic from last January’s Adelaide International is one of the 140 matches under investigation as the ATP continues to try and clear its sullied name. (SMH)

(OT) Gigi and Bjork: My first love Gael Garcia Bernal and Bjork struck a pose at a premiere of Gig’i's movie El Passado in Rio. See a NSFW trailer here.

(OT) Old prints, new tricks: NYT‘s Cathy Horyn reflects on the last round of fashion weeks.

(OT) Low-cost long-haul: A new airline — Oasis Hong Kong — wants to give my love Cathay Pacific a run for its money. I can only hope that there’s room for both to play. (NYT)

(OT) Can Taste Be Taught?: As much as we’d like to think that taste can be taught (I will home-school Radek Stepanek if I have to), it’s just hard to shake off old habits. (NYT)

(OT) Shulman downtown: The Getty Institute is showcasing the work of architecture photographer Julius Shulman at the L.A. Central Library through Jan. 20. Check it out. (LAT)

(OT) From a favela rises a Gaudi: This one’s for you, Mikey. (BBC)

(OT) And this one, too: A new species of dinosaur has been found in Argentina — the plant-eating, 100-foot-long Futalognkosaurus dukei. (BBC)

(OT) Pissin’ my pants: The Economist economizes by changing their model for delivering content. A good chunk of their archive will now be free to access. (Guardian)