Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Benjamin
During the 5th century, Christians in Persia were enjoying a run of peace until a bishop named Abdas decided to burn down the great Persian sanctuary called the Temple of Fire. The Persians didn't appreciate the irony, and threatened to destroy all the Christian churches unless Abdas agreed to rebuild the temple. He refused, and the Persians carried out their plan, razing churches, killing Abdas, and starting a persecution that lasted 40 years.
St. Benjamin, a deacon who spent a year in prison for being Christian, was released on the condition that he'd not talk religion with the local gentry. This didn't last too long, as Benjamin felt it was his duty to preach.
The Persians, appreciating deal-breaking less than irony, repeatedly jabbed reeds inbetween Benjamin's nails and other fleshy places. After that (and here I quote Catholic Online), "a knotted stake was inserted into his bowels to rend and tear him. The martyr expired in the most terrible agony about the year 424."
In true Catholic art fashion, he's often depicted with the reeds sticking out from under his fingernails. Usually someone who dies in such a gruesome fashion is the patron saint of something related to their death, but all I've been able to find here is that St. Benjamin is the patron saint of people named Benjamin. Seems a little on the nose.
31 March 2006
Consider:
* The wife got some clothing in the mail today from Lane Bryant. In addition to their catalog, there was a coupon for a company that gave you $5 off an order of their mixed nuts or cookies.
* Curves, the women's fitness center/pyramid scheme, is apparently always located near food. The two here in town are within 100 feet of pizza places. There's one in Danvers across the street from McKinnon's, a market. There's one in Maine that we pass on the way to the in-laws that shares its space with some sort of eatery. And we drove by one last weekend in Worcester that was next door to a bakery.
* Similarly, the local Weight Watchers is within 100 feet of a Dunkin' Donuts, a Quiznos, and Chuck E. Cheese. The only other one I remember being at is around the corner from the Applebee's on Route 1 in Saugus.
Know your consumer, I suppose.
* The wife got some clothing in the mail today from Lane Bryant. In addition to their catalog, there was a coupon for a company that gave you $5 off an order of their mixed nuts or cookies.
* Curves, the women's fitness center/pyramid scheme, is apparently always located near food. The two here in town are within 100 feet of pizza places. There's one in Danvers across the street from McKinnon's, a market. There's one in Maine that we pass on the way to the in-laws that shares its space with some sort of eatery. And we drove by one last weekend in Worcester that was next door to a bakery.
* Similarly, the local Weight Watchers is within 100 feet of a Dunkin' Donuts, a Quiznos, and Chuck E. Cheese. The only other one I remember being at is around the corner from the Applebee's on Route 1 in Saugus.
Know your consumer, I suppose.
30 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Peter Regulatus
Born into an aristocratic Spanish family, he entered the Franciscan Order when he was 13, but transferred to a more austere monastery a few years later. While there he'd be known not only for his asceticism but also for being able to levitate and enter into ecstasies. I can see where finding ecstasy in a monastery would be noteworthy.
He would later become abbot and take on a reformer role, both in his monastery and at other Franciscan houses. He earned the name "Regulatus" for his focus on adhering to the rules of the community.
Thinking of the previous post, this interest in living by rules might make Peter a good patron saint for RAs. Though the levitating, maybe not so much. Other suggestions are welcome!
Born into an aristocratic Spanish family, he entered the Franciscan Order when he was 13, but transferred to a more austere monastery a few years later. While there he'd be known not only for his asceticism but also for being able to levitate and enter into ecstasies. I can see where finding ecstasy in a monastery would be noteworthy.
He would later become abbot and take on a reformer role, both in his monastery and at other Franciscan houses. He earned the name "Regulatus" for his focus on adhering to the rules of the community.
Thinking of the previous post, this interest in living by rules might make Peter a good patron saint for RAs. Though the levitating, maybe not so much. Other suggestions are welcome!
I was walking on campus earlier this morning and saw a sign for RA Appreciation Day. Not sure if it's today or not (given where the sign was, and the low frequency with which I pass that location, it may have been up all week), and it seems like there's no agreed on date (a cursory Google search returned three or four different ones), but if you're a resident assistant (or were one, or currently work with them), thank you for doing what is predominantly thankless work.
While I can't say I miss residence life - I'm happy to not have to assess vandalism, side-step vomit, or get called at 3 am for work-related issues - I do have a lot of fond memories and great friendships thanks to working in the field (not to mention some good stories, at least one of which doesn't relate to the unintended released of, uh, human liquid waste material). I would not trade those years for anything.
While I can't say I miss residence life - I'm happy to not have to assess vandalism, side-step vomit, or get called at 3 am for work-related issues - I do have a lot of fond memories and great friendships thanks to working in the field (not to mention some good stories, at least one of which doesn't relate to the unintended released of, uh, human liquid waste material). I would not trade those years for anything.
29 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Gladys
The mother of one saint - St. Cadoc - and the wife of another - St. Gundleus. Not sure how she got to be a saint, but apparently she was kidnapped by Gundleus and their romance became related somehow with Arthurian legend.
She is not the patron saint of telephone operators or sassy supporting characters from 1950s sitcoms. But she should be.
The mother of one saint - St. Cadoc - and the wife of another - St. Gundleus. Not sure how she got to be a saint, but apparently she was kidnapped by Gundleus and their romance became related somehow with Arthurian legend.
She is not the patron saint of telephone operators or sassy supporting characters from 1950s sitcoms. But she should be.
28 March 2006
Lentorama Saint of the Day: St. Venturino of Bergamo
A preacher, he became famous for his oratory in cities across northern Italy. He went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1335, bringing 30000 of his followers with him. The pope, Benedict XII, was at this point in Avignon and feared that Venturino was planning to set himself up as pope when he got to Rome. This led to a variety of commands and edicts banning the pilgrimage, although Venturino was apparently unaware of any of them (as you will see, this becomes a good lesson about forwarding your mail).
Venturino got to Rome, preached for a while, and left the city abruptly, marking the end of the pilgrimage. He then decided dropping in on Benedict would be a good idea, though when he got to Avignon he was arrested for completing his pilgrimage. He spent 8 years in prison before the next pope, Clement VI, released him. Of course, Clement had an ulterior motive - he wanted Venturino to preach a crusade against the Turks.
He was successful in this task, but was less successful (depending on your point of view) when he persuaded Clement to appoint Humbert II of Dauphiné as leader of the crusade. Humbert was an ineffectual leader and the crusade came to naught.
A preacher, he became famous for his oratory in cities across northern Italy. He went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1335, bringing 30000 of his followers with him. The pope, Benedict XII, was at this point in Avignon and feared that Venturino was planning to set himself up as pope when he got to Rome. This led to a variety of commands and edicts banning the pilgrimage, although Venturino was apparently unaware of any of them (as you will see, this becomes a good lesson about forwarding your mail).
Venturino got to Rome, preached for a while, and left the city abruptly, marking the end of the pilgrimage. He then decided dropping in on Benedict would be a good idea, though when he got to Avignon he was arrested for completing his pilgrimage. He spent 8 years in prison before the next pope, Clement VI, released him. Of course, Clement had an ulterior motive - he wanted Venturino to preach a crusade against the Turks.
He was successful in this task, but was less successful (depending on your point of view) when he persuaded Clement to appoint Humbert II of Dauphiné as leader of the crusade. Humbert was an ineffectual leader and the crusade came to naught.
Book Log 2006 #13: Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow
This is a pretty significant departure from Turow's usual works of legal and crime fiction, and a pretty good one. There is still a patina of those usual topics - the narrator covers the courts for a Kindle County newspaper, while his father was an attorney - but the real meat of the book is the father's experiences late in World War II, and how they shaped the husband and father the narrator remembers.
Most of the book is in the form of a deposition - albeit a lengthy, highly detailed, and surprisingly literary one - written by the narrator's father prior to a court martial. The narrator knew nothing of this, or of much of his wartime service, and the deposition helps show why this man closed off that part of his life after the war ended.
Which means this book is as much about family, and the father-son relationship, as it is about the war (which is not surprising, as that's another regular theme for Turow). That the book and develop and extend this theme when one of the main characters is dead in its present, is pretty typical of how well Turow addresses such relationships. John Grisham couldn't have written this in eleventy billion years.
This is a pretty significant departure from Turow's usual works of legal and crime fiction, and a pretty good one. There is still a patina of those usual topics - the narrator covers the courts for a Kindle County newspaper, while his father was an attorney - but the real meat of the book is the father's experiences late in World War II, and how they shaped the husband and father the narrator remembers.
Most of the book is in the form of a deposition - albeit a lengthy, highly detailed, and surprisingly literary one - written by the narrator's father prior to a court martial. The narrator knew nothing of this, or of much of his wartime service, and the deposition helps show why this man closed off that part of his life after the war ended.
Which means this book is as much about family, and the father-son relationship, as it is about the war (which is not surprising, as that's another regular theme for Turow). That the book and develop and extend this theme when one of the main characters is dead in its present, is pretty typical of how well Turow addresses such relationships. John Grisham couldn't have written this in eleventy billion years.
27 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Rupert
A 7th and 8th century bishop and missionary, he used his position as Bishop of Worms to spread the faith throughout Germany and Austria. In 697, he took over a deserted town and revived it. It would later change its name to Salzburg. Rupert is considered its first archbishiop, and is considered the Apostle of Bavaria and Austria.
A 7th and 8th century bishop and missionary, he used his position as Bishop of Worms to spread the faith throughout Germany and Austria. In 697, he took over a deserted town and revived it. It would later change its name to Salzburg. Rupert is considered its first archbishiop, and is considered the Apostle of Bavaria and Austria.
I will be doing something on April 11 that I've always wanted to do, but have never had the chance to do.
I'm going to Red Sox opening day. YEAH!
Someone in our office had a couple of extra tickets and they were raffled off. The good news is I won. The bad news is that the tickets were raffled off separately. So I don't get to take anyone. But I do get to go with cool people from work, which is something.
I'm going to Red Sox opening day. YEAH!
Someone in our office had a couple of extra tickets and they were raffled off. The good news is I won. The bad news is that the tickets were raffled off separately. So I don't get to take anyone. But I do get to go with cool people from work, which is something.
26 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Quadratus
Another saint created by the persecution of Diocletian, Quadratus was an Anatolian bishop put to death along with 42 other martyrs. That's about all I could find on him; there is another St. Quadratus in the Eastern Orthodox churches who gets more pub.
Neither, from what I can tell, is the patron saint of trigenometry.
Another saint created by the persecution of Diocletian, Quadratus was an Anatolian bishop put to death along with 42 other martyrs. That's about all I could find on him; there is another St. Quadratus in the Eastern Orthodox churches who gets more pub.
Neither, from what I can tell, is the patron saint of trigenometry.
Now that Wisconsin finally decided it wanted to play some more home-based playoff hockey, here's how the pool looks after two rounds (with remaining Frozen Four teams in parentheses):
Hight: 15 (3)
S. Coen: 13 (3)
Barker: 13 (2)
M. Coen: 12 (1)
Crowley: 10 (2)
De Veau: 8 (2)
Boggie: 8 (2)
Sorenson: 8 (1)
Harper-Nixon: 3 (0)
Looking over the sheets, I think this does give Brian the win. The only brackets with an active champion all have Wisconsin, which includes the only entry to have a team other than BU coming out of the other side of the bracket. That would give its entrant another four points (if North Dakota makes the final), but Paul is five points behind.
Hight: 15 (3)
S. Coen: 13 (3)
Barker: 13 (2)
M. Coen: 12 (1)
Crowley: 10 (2)
De Veau: 8 (2)
Boggie: 8 (2)
Sorenson: 8 (1)
Harper-Nixon: 3 (0)
Looking over the sheets, I think this does give Brian the win. The only brackets with an active champion all have Wisconsin, which includes the only entry to have a team other than BU coming out of the other side of the bracket. That would give its entrant another four points (if North Dakota makes the final), but Paul is five points behind.
I'll say this much: when the BU men's ice hockey team loses, they lose.
There's not much to say in the wake of yesterday's second round NCAA loss, given how every facet of the game was in some level of disarray. There were occasional flashes that suggested the team was getting on track, but they could never sustain it. Ugly, ugly hockey, not helped by the officiating, which was probably too lax on the cheap stuff, given how last night and the UNO game got chippy. I'm all for letting teams play, but it's not too hard to separate out the clean hits from the junk.
Not that it would have made a huge difference last night.
While we're 1.5 rounds through the tournament, here are the Frozen Four pool standings through the first round (I'll update for the second round after today's two games):
Barker: 9 points
Hight: 7
M. Coen: 6
Crowley: 6
Sorenson: 6
S. Coen: 5
Boggie: 4
De Veau: 4
Harper-Nixon: 3
Given how many people had BU and Wisconsin in the final (all but one), Craig may have already locked this thing up (the "beauty" of a tournament pool where there are only 15 games). I think Paul can catch him, if North Dakota makes the final.
Not surprisingly, no one had Holy Cross beating Minnesota. We heard about that walking back from dinner (we stayed for one period of BC-Miami), and got the score from the friend of ours who stayed. The restaurant, located a 5 minute walk from the DCU Center, wasn't showing hockey, opting instead for the BC-Villanova men's basketball game. At leasst that turned out right.
There's not much to say in the wake of yesterday's second round NCAA loss, given how every facet of the game was in some level of disarray. There were occasional flashes that suggested the team was getting on track, but they could never sustain it. Ugly, ugly hockey, not helped by the officiating, which was probably too lax on the cheap stuff, given how last night and the UNO game got chippy. I'm all for letting teams play, but it's not too hard to separate out the clean hits from the junk.
Not that it would have made a huge difference last night.
While we're 1.5 rounds through the tournament, here are the Frozen Four pool standings through the first round (I'll update for the second round after today's two games):
Barker: 9 points
Hight: 7
M. Coen: 6
Crowley: 6
Sorenson: 6
S. Coen: 5
Boggie: 4
De Veau: 4
Harper-Nixon: 3
Given how many people had BU and Wisconsin in the final (all but one), Craig may have already locked this thing up (the "beauty" of a tournament pool where there are only 15 games). I think Paul can catch him, if North Dakota makes the final.
Not surprisingly, no one had Holy Cross beating Minnesota. We heard about that walking back from dinner (we stayed for one period of BC-Miami), and got the score from the friend of ours who stayed. The restaurant, located a 5 minute walk from the DCU Center, wasn't showing hockey, opting instead for the BC-Villanova men's basketball game. At leasst that turned out right.
25 March 2006
Lentorama Saint of the Day: St. Dismas
He's better known as the "Good Thief," one of two thieves crucified with Jesus. Dismas rebuked his other thief, who said Jesus should use his connections to save everyone, and then asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus got to Heaven. Jesus replied that Dismas would be there with him that day. You can imagine where the other thief wound up.
Dismas didn't get his name until the 12th century, and it's derived from a Greek word for 'sunset' or 'death.' He's the patron saint of prisoners, those condemned to die, and funeral directors. Most of the churches and missions using St. Dismas as a name are related to prisons in some fashion, not surprisingly.
He's better known as the "Good Thief," one of two thieves crucified with Jesus. Dismas rebuked his other thief, who said Jesus should use his connections to save everyone, and then asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus got to Heaven. Jesus replied that Dismas would be there with him that day. You can imagine where the other thief wound up.
Dismas didn't get his name until the 12th century, and it's derived from a Greek word for 'sunset' or 'death.' He's the patron saint of prisoners, those condemned to die, and funeral directors. Most of the churches and missions using St. Dismas as a name are related to prisons in some fashion, not surprisingly.
24 March 2006
You now have two and one-quarter hours to enter my Frozen Four pool. Link to the bracket is available below. We're up to 7 entries, and will likely go up to 9 with two people who I'll see today before the games start. Which, I think, makes this the largest of my Frozen Four pools to date.
And you can still help me get to double digits!
In unrelated news last night, the wife and I took what was likely our final spin through the local Filene's department store last night. For those of you not from the area, Filene's is kind of a local version of Macy's, which is fitting given that Macy's (OK, Federated) bought them out and is in the process of merging their stores. Some of the Filene's will actually become Macy's, while in locations that already have both (such as the Northshore Mall in Peabody) will close the Filene's. Three of those locations (including ours) will eventually host Nordstrom's, which is too little too late for the one fan I know, who just moved back home.
I mention this not to lament the closing - it's not like I shopped there regularly - but to marvel at some of the markdowns. For example, the $60 bracelet set that was going for $6. I've never worked retail, and seeing this was a stark reminder of the whole markup thing. I also felt badly for anyone who paid retail for the set, as (a) they weren't very attractive, and (b) there were a good 30 sets left at the discounted price.
With Filene's closing, and the previous closings of Jordan Marsh and Lechmere's, I don't know if there's another major local department store chain still operating. I suppose I can't complain too much - I'm not a shopper, and am reasonably satisfied with finding things I do need at Target - but I guess it was nice to have more options.
And you can still help me get to double digits!
In unrelated news last night, the wife and I took what was likely our final spin through the local Filene's department store last night. For those of you not from the area, Filene's is kind of a local version of Macy's, which is fitting given that Macy's (OK, Federated) bought them out and is in the process of merging their stores. Some of the Filene's will actually become Macy's, while in locations that already have both (such as the Northshore Mall in Peabody) will close the Filene's. Three of those locations (including ours) will eventually host Nordstrom's, which is too little too late for the one fan I know, who just moved back home.
I mention this not to lament the closing - it's not like I shopped there regularly - but to marvel at some of the markdowns. For example, the $60 bracelet set that was going for $6. I've never worked retail, and seeing this was a stark reminder of the whole markup thing. I also felt badly for anyone who paid retail for the set, as (a) they weren't very attractive, and (b) there were a good 30 sets left at the discounted price.
With Filene's closing, and the previous closings of Jordan Marsh and Lechmere's, I don't know if there's another major local department store chain still operating. I suppose I can't complain too much - I'm not a shopper, and am reasonably satisfied with finding things I do need at Target - but I guess it was nice to have more options.
23 March 2006
Lentorama Saint of the day: St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo
A Spanish lawyer who would be named archbishop of Lima, he set out to reshape his diocese, both by reformation (of the non-Protestant variety) and by aiding the poor and natives, who were taking it on the chin from the Spanish rulers. This led to his founding of several schools, hospitals, and the first seminary in the New World.
Which is all pretty cool, and hopefully made up for his serving as chief judge of the court of Inquisition in Granada under Philip II. That doesn't sound so cool.
A Spanish lawyer who would be named archbishop of Lima, he set out to reshape his diocese, both by reformation (of the non-Protestant variety) and by aiding the poor and natives, who were taking it on the chin from the Spanish rulers. This led to his founding of several schools, hospitals, and the first seminary in the New World.
Which is all pretty cool, and hopefully made up for his serving as chief judge of the court of Inquisition in Granada under Philip II. That doesn't sound so cool.
Quick reminder, you now have just under 27 hours to enter my free Frozen Four pool. Bracket available here (PDF), send picks to me by email in whatever format is easiest for you that would make sense to me.
We've got 5 entries so far. I'd like to start counting on the other hand, though, so send your picks!
We've got 5 entries so far. I'd like to start counting on the other hand, though, so send your picks!
22 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Nicholas Owen
A carpenter, builder, and secret lay Jesuit, he used his trade to build hiding spaces for Jesuits in buildings across England. Arrested in 1594, he refused to give up other Catholics under torture and was ransomed. He was also involved in the escape from the Tower of London of Father John Gerard (who was arrested with Owen) in 1597.
Picked up again in 1606, he was put into the Tower and tortured, to the point that it killed him. He was canonized in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
A carpenter, builder, and secret lay Jesuit, he used his trade to build hiding spaces for Jesuits in buildings across England. Arrested in 1594, he refused to give up other Catholics under torture and was ransomed. He was also involved in the escape from the Tower of London of Father John Gerard (who was arrested with Owen) in 1597.
Picked up again in 1606, he was put into the Tower and tortured, to the point that it killed him. He was canonized in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Turning on the lo-cal news this morning, the volume and amount of babble going into the lead story made me think something important had happened. As it turns out, all the noise was about Adam Vinatieri going to join the Indianapolis Colts.
I will say that I'm conflicted. Vinatieri was an obviously critical component of the Patriots' Super Bowl wins, but $3 million a year for a kicker - perhaps the second-most replacable position, after punter - seems high, regardless of who it is. Throw in his decline in field goal accuracy and points, and you can see where the team was willing to let him test the waters.
Now, as a sports fan, I am duty-bound to believe that his numbers will rebound in a fashion most traumatic towards my favorite team (Indy visits New England in the coming season). I am also duty-bound to expect that whoever replaces Vinatieri - be it a high profile player like Mike Vanderjagt (unlikely, given that his pro career has mostly been indoors) or a rookie - will be awful. The reality, of course, will be somewhere in the middle.
One "fan" hyperbolized this morning that between the loss of David Givens, Willie McGinest, and now Vinatieri, the team might as well trade Tom Brady and pack it in for the year. I don't know if it's going to be all that bad, but I don't think we should be expecting a Super Bowl trip. Hopefully, these moves will set up some future trips. As long as they don't send us back to the days of 2-14, I'll be patient.
I will say that I'm conflicted. Vinatieri was an obviously critical component of the Patriots' Super Bowl wins, but $3 million a year for a kicker - perhaps the second-most replacable position, after punter - seems high, regardless of who it is. Throw in his decline in field goal accuracy and points, and you can see where the team was willing to let him test the waters.
Now, as a sports fan, I am duty-bound to believe that his numbers will rebound in a fashion most traumatic towards my favorite team (Indy visits New England in the coming season). I am also duty-bound to expect that whoever replaces Vinatieri - be it a high profile player like Mike Vanderjagt (unlikely, given that his pro career has mostly been indoors) or a rookie - will be awful. The reality, of course, will be somewhere in the middle.
One "fan" hyperbolized this morning that between the loss of David Givens, Willie McGinest, and now Vinatieri, the team might as well trade Tom Brady and pack it in for the year. I don't know if it's going to be all that bad, but I don't think we should be expecting a Super Bowl trip. Hopefully, these moves will set up some future trips. As long as they don't send us back to the days of 2-14, I'll be patient.
21 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Nicholas von Flue
The opening sentence on Catholic Online describing this saint: "Hermit and Swiss political figure." That's a combination you don't expect to see.
In any case, St. Nicholas was a married father of ten who fought for Obwalden canton against Zurich in the 15th century, served in a variety of cantonal positions, and repeated turned down the position of governor. He became a hermit when he turned 50 (with the support of wife and family), and moved into a monastery where he supposedly lived 19 years eating only the Eucharist, which I hope was more appetizing that the styrafoam we get now.
Hermitry apparently didn't end his political career, as he was often sought out for advice, and he was instrumental in bringing Fribourg and Soleure into the confederation, which helped avoid a civil war. He's a patron saint of Switzerland, though I wonder if that holds for the Protestant parts.
The opening sentence on Catholic Online describing this saint: "Hermit and Swiss political figure." That's a combination you don't expect to see.
In any case, St. Nicholas was a married father of ten who fought for Obwalden canton against Zurich in the 15th century, served in a variety of cantonal positions, and repeated turned down the position of governor. He became a hermit when he turned 50 (with the support of wife and family), and moved into a monastery where he supposedly lived 19 years eating only the Eucharist, which I hope was more appetizing that the styrafoam we get now.
Hermitry apparently didn't end his political career, as he was often sought out for advice, and he was instrumental in bringing Fribourg and Soleure into the confederation, which helped avoid a civil war. He's a patron saint of Switzerland, though I wonder if that holds for the Protestant parts.
Book Log 2006 #12: MASH Goes to Morocco by Richard Hooker with William E. Butterworth
I won this book as a trash prize years ago, and kept it given my M*A*S*H fandom. I'd not considered reading it until I needed a book that would fit in my coat, as I was going somewhere where I couldn't bring my bag.
The book is awful. It's mostly focused on characters meant as caricatures of contemporary figures, with only supporting roles by actual M*A*S*H characters (who are generally portrayed in roles that don't seem to follow from the TV show, which was hitting its stride when this book came out in 1976). I won't even get into the stereotypes used for the Moroccans, which if published today would lead to flag burning outside US embassies. The overall tone of the book is "aging hipster," like if the '60s version of Austin Powers wrote a book.
I only read half of the book, and don't see myself going back for the other half.
Interestingly, Butterworth is better known as W.E.B. Griffin, author of a lot of popular military fiction. Hard to imagine anyone connected with writing this crap could carve out a living as an author, but there you go. My understanding is that Hooker is an author in name only, and I hope he was suitably chagrined at having his name on this (in between cashing the checks, at least).
I won this book as a trash prize years ago, and kept it given my M*A*S*H fandom. I'd not considered reading it until I needed a book that would fit in my coat, as I was going somewhere where I couldn't bring my bag.
The book is awful. It's mostly focused on characters meant as caricatures of contemporary figures, with only supporting roles by actual M*A*S*H characters (who are generally portrayed in roles that don't seem to follow from the TV show, which was hitting its stride when this book came out in 1976). I won't even get into the stereotypes used for the Moroccans, which if published today would lead to flag burning outside US embassies. The overall tone of the book is "aging hipster," like if the '60s version of Austin Powers wrote a book.
I only read half of the book, and don't see myself going back for the other half.
Interestingly, Butterworth is better known as W.E.B. Griffin, author of a lot of popular military fiction. Hard to imagine anyone connected with writing this crap could carve out a living as an author, but there you go. My understanding is that Hooker is an author in name only, and I hope he was suitably chagrined at having his name on this (in between cashing the checks, at least).
20 March 2006
Even with the ugliness of the HE final, it appears that taking the crown has paid off for the Icedogs in more ways than one. They topped the season-ending USCHO poll, jumping ahead of both Wisconsin and Minnesota. I'm pretty surprised at this, but I suppose if you win your conference and the folks in front of you don't even make their conference final, there's room to move.
With the tournament in sight, I am once again running a free Frozen Four pool to all who are interested. Entering is easy:
1. Go here (PDF) and get the bracket. You're free to go elsewhere, of course, but this might be the easiest way to get a bracket.
2. Pick your winners. Note that there will be upset points in effect throughout the tournament, but only based on regional seeding (meaning that 1-4 are one seeds, 5-8 two seeds, 9-12 are three seeds, and 13-16 are fourth seeds). Thus, if Holy Cross upends Wisconsin in the final, and you called it, you would get 11 points (8 for the win, 3 for the difference in the seeding).
Points are awarded on a per round basis of 1-2-4-8. Ties at the end are broken by who has the highest percentage of correct Frozen Four teams, then percentage of correct picks overall. If it's stil tied, it was meant to be.
3. Send your winners to me at whatever address you have handy.
Deadline is Friday noon EST. That'll give me time to compile things before (hopefully) heading out to Worcester.
In other business...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Herbert
An English hermit and friend of St. Cuthbert, he asked to die on the same day as Cuthbert, which he did. And I don't even talk to my best friends every day.
With the tournament in sight, I am once again running a free Frozen Four pool to all who are interested. Entering is easy:
1. Go here (PDF) and get the bracket. You're free to go elsewhere, of course, but this might be the easiest way to get a bracket.
2. Pick your winners. Note that there will be upset points in effect throughout the tournament, but only based on regional seeding (meaning that 1-4 are one seeds, 5-8 two seeds, 9-12 are three seeds, and 13-16 are fourth seeds). Thus, if Holy Cross upends Wisconsin in the final, and you called it, you would get 11 points (8 for the win, 3 for the difference in the seeding).
Points are awarded on a per round basis of 1-2-4-8. Ties at the end are broken by who has the highest percentage of correct Frozen Four teams, then percentage of correct picks overall. If it's stil tied, it was meant to be.
3. Send your winners to me at whatever address you have handy.
Deadline is Friday noon EST. That'll give me time to compile things before (hopefully) heading out to Worcester.
In other business...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Herbert
An English hermit and friend of St. Cuthbert, he asked to die on the same day as Cuthbert, which he did. And I don't even talk to my best friends every day.
19 March 2006
So yesterday's long day started with Cancel Bowl, which went pretty well but for running a little late. Tried something new at halftimes akin to the Geekqualizer from Beat the Geeks, but I don't think it worked too well. I don't think I'd try it again, at least not on a tournament-wide scale.
Biggest problem of the day was when we discovered that I'd left hockey tickets for last night at home. The wife took one for the team and drove home to get them, which I was (and still am) quite thankful for.
I'm especially thankful as BU won that game, taking its first Hockey East title since 1997. It was a very strange game, as we appeared to dominate by the number of shots, but couldn't put the puck in more than once in regulation time. Of course, BC couldn't score more than one, either. It was not an artful display of hockey, and a little frustrating after we'd walked over UNH 9-2 the night before.
OT was nighmarish, with BC building up a 10-3 lead in shots and control of play. This kept up pretty much until Brandon Yip put in the game-winner.
We get Nebraska-Omaha in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and should we get by them we'd get the winner of Miami (Ohio) and... BC. For the sixth time this season. Great.
The only other thing of note from the game was that, in the infinite wisdom of the ticket office, the regulars from the student section were mixed with us regular season-ticket holders, who don't spend the game standing and cursing (OK, they don't curse during the entire game, but it's pretty regular). I don't necessarily mind this - the energy is refreshing - but the standing was an issue. Last night we had a group of five or six students - not sitting in their ticketed seats, of course - who got shirty when we (and people in the two rows behind us) tried to get them to sit down. They eventually did, and then spent the first four or five minutes of the game talking about where they could go to stand. I didn't realize that was such an integral part of the experience; it wasn't when I was a student. Must be some sort of learned behavior from soccer hooligans.
Biggest problem of the day was when we discovered that I'd left hockey tickets for last night at home. The wife took one for the team and drove home to get them, which I was (and still am) quite thankful for.
I'm especially thankful as BU won that game, taking its first Hockey East title since 1997. It was a very strange game, as we appeared to dominate by the number of shots, but couldn't put the puck in more than once in regulation time. Of course, BC couldn't score more than one, either. It was not an artful display of hockey, and a little frustrating after we'd walked over UNH 9-2 the night before.
OT was nighmarish, with BC building up a 10-3 lead in shots and control of play. This kept up pretty much until Brandon Yip put in the game-winner.
We get Nebraska-Omaha in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and should we get by them we'd get the winner of Miami (Ohio) and... BC. For the sixth time this season. Great.
The only other thing of note from the game was that, in the infinite wisdom of the ticket office, the regulars from the student section were mixed with us regular season-ticket holders, who don't spend the game standing and cursing (OK, they don't curse during the entire game, but it's pretty regular). I don't necessarily mind this - the energy is refreshing - but the standing was an issue. Last night we had a group of five or six students - not sitting in their ticketed seats, of course - who got shirty when we (and people in the two rows behind us) tried to get them to sit down. They eventually did, and then spent the first four or five minutes of the game talking about where they could go to stand. I didn't realize that was such an integral part of the experience; it wasn't when I was a student. Must be some sort of learned behavior from soccer hooligans.
18 March 2006
A quick post and then to bed, as it's been a long day that I'll write about tomorrow at some length.
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Narcissus and Felix
The Catholic Online entry for them says that Narcissus (a bishop) and Felix (his deacon) were known to have been martyred in Spain but that's about it. They then say that among the legends involving the duo are stories that they escaped to Germany or Switzerland. So maybe they weren't martyred?
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Narcissus and Felix
The Catholic Online entry for them says that Narcissus (a bishop) and Felix (his deacon) were known to have been martyred in Spain but that's about it. They then say that among the legends involving the duo are stories that they escaped to Germany or Switzerland. So maybe they weren't martyred?
17 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Joseph of Arimathea
You give up your tomb for Jesus and make sure He's buried in a fitting manner, and what do you get? Overshadowed by a guy who is celebrated with green beer and Ronan Tynan-wannabes singing "Danny Boy" over and over.
He does also get a lot of play in medievel legend, from being Mary Magdalen's uncle to being the first keeper of the Holy Grail to bringing Christianity to the British Isles. Expect him to feature prominently in The DaVinci Code II: Messianic Boogaloo.
You give up your tomb for Jesus and make sure He's buried in a fitting manner, and what do you get? Overshadowed by a guy who is celebrated with green beer and Ronan Tynan-wannabes singing "Danny Boy" over and over.
He does also get a lot of play in medievel legend, from being Mary Magdalen's uncle to being the first keeper of the Holy Grail to bringing Christianity to the British Isles. Expect him to feature prominently in The DaVinci Code II: Messianic Boogaloo.
Book Log 2006 #11: Fox on the Front by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson
This is the sequel to Fox on the Rhine, which posits what would have happened if the von Stauffenberg bomb plot had succeeded. As the title suggests, the Desert Fox would have a major role in fighting close to home. The sequel furthers that fight, but looks more at a segue from Axis versus Allies to everyone versus the Soviet Union.
On that end I think I found Fox on the Front a little more interesting, as it obviously derivated farther from actual history. On the other hand, the way it derivates is pretty fantastical (not in a The Guns of the South sort of way), and requires some suspension of disbelief. It's also a bit of a chore to keep everyone who isn't a general straight, and even some of the major players are drawn in a way that gets tiresome (George Patton most notably). But it's clearly a work of plot over character, and if you're OK with Tom Clancy's early work you'll do fine here.
The sequel also delves into political matters a little more, but not in a way that overshadowed the action on the battlefield.
Where the book did improve was with the maps, which were drawn much more professionally than in the copy of the first book I read (where the lines indicating troop movement appeared to have been drawn in with a a marker). I'd have liked a few more of them; a map for each section of the book (which broke things down into campaigns or operations) would have been very helpful.
All in all it's a good example of the alt history genre.
This is the sequel to Fox on the Rhine, which posits what would have happened if the von Stauffenberg bomb plot had succeeded. As the title suggests, the Desert Fox would have a major role in fighting close to home. The sequel furthers that fight, but looks more at a segue from Axis versus Allies to everyone versus the Soviet Union.
On that end I think I found Fox on the Front a little more interesting, as it obviously derivated farther from actual history. On the other hand, the way it derivates is pretty fantastical (not in a The Guns of the South sort of way), and requires some suspension of disbelief. It's also a bit of a chore to keep everyone who isn't a general straight, and even some of the major players are drawn in a way that gets tiresome (George Patton most notably). But it's clearly a work of plot over character, and if you're OK with Tom Clancy's early work you'll do fine here.
The sequel also delves into political matters a little more, but not in a way that overshadowed the action on the battlefield.
Where the book did improve was with the maps, which were drawn much more professionally than in the copy of the first book I read (where the lines indicating troop movement appeared to have been drawn in with a a marker). I'd have liked a few more of them; a map for each section of the book (which broke things down into campaigns or operations) would have been very helpful.
All in all it's a good example of the alt history genre.
In an unusual turn for me, I'm not only wearing green today, but I am also wearing the Celtic-patterned tie that I picked up in Ireland. This would be a noteworthy holiday event if it wasn't a combo I wear regularly. Still, I timed it out so I'd be hibernially appropriate, give me that.
I also had corned beef and cabbage for lunch, which was a little better than expected given that I ate in the college cafeteria. I did not get up at the crack of dawn to have it for breakfast, which is apparently the hip thing to do. I will also not go pay upwards of $30 as cover charge to swill tinted crap. I'll happily watch hockey and take the train home.
Imus did his show from Boston this morning (under the name "Kiss me I'm Imus"), and for the bit of MSNBC coverage I saw he had Mitt Romney as a guest. Mitt was pretty funny, and for his sake I hope he saved some of his A-list material for Sunday's St. Patrick's Day breakfast, a local political event of some importance. That's not a crowd you want to disappoint.
I also had corned beef and cabbage for lunch, which was a little better than expected given that I ate in the college cafeteria. I did not get up at the crack of dawn to have it for breakfast, which is apparently the hip thing to do. I will also not go pay upwards of $30 as cover charge to swill tinted crap. I'll happily watch hockey and take the train home.
Imus did his show from Boston this morning (under the name "Kiss me I'm Imus"), and for the bit of MSNBC coverage I saw he had Mitt Romney as a guest. Mitt was pretty funny, and for his sake I hope he saved some of his A-list material for Sunday's St. Patrick's Day breakfast, a local political event of some importance. That's not a crowd you want to disappoint.
16 March 2006
I know, you don't want to hear about my brackets. Well, I'm going to tell you about them anyway. Briefly.
Bracket 1 is my "real" bracket, with picks based on the 46 minutes of college basketball I've watched this season (6 minutes on TV, 40 at the BU-Michigan game).
Bracket 2 is my "upset special," with just about every upset that seems plausible.
Bracket 3 is a variant of my "real" bracket, with adjustments on games that I thought could go either way (based on memories that are probably from 2002).
Bracket 4 is my "ACF" bracket (the QB people will get it), where all the favorite teams win.
Bracket 5 is "Mascot Thunderdome," which means pretty much what you think it does. Duke won this one; am I over-valuing the power of a blue devil?
Is this the first year that ESPN.com has given five entries into their bracket game? In what year do we expect that to go up to seven?
Bracket 1 is my "real" bracket, with picks based on the 46 minutes of college basketball I've watched this season (6 minutes on TV, 40 at the BU-Michigan game).
Bracket 2 is my "upset special," with just about every upset that seems plausible.
Bracket 3 is a variant of my "real" bracket, with adjustments on games that I thought could go either way (based on memories that are probably from 2002).
Bracket 4 is my "ACF" bracket (the QB people will get it), where all the favorite teams win.
Bracket 5 is "Mascot Thunderdome," which means pretty much what you think it does. Duke won this one; am I over-valuing the power of a blue devil?
Is this the first year that ESPN.com has given five entries into their bracket game? In what year do we expect that to go up to seven?
Twice this week I've gone into the closest men's bathroom at work and encountered people on their cell phone while in a stall. One conversation was pretty minimal (perhaps the person on my end was concentrating?), while the other guy had whoever he was talking to pass the phone to a woman who he called a "dirty bucket." The conversation then turned to if the woman had been physically intimate with some other guy.
I hope he wasn't talking to his mom.
I hope he wasn't talking to his mom.
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Patrick
A day early? Nope. Turns out there's another St. Patrick, a former bishop of Malaga who is called "relatively obscure" by the Catholic Online folks. They think he feld to Auvergne, France during a persecution. It's claimed he's still honored in Spain, though there's so much about you-know-who that finding anything online to prove that (outside of Irish pubs in Spain bearing the name) is difficult.
Hard enough to be considered obscure, then to have your day right before the guy who has an entire holday named for him? Ouch. I wonder if "the" St. Patrick uses this one to handle overflow prayers?
A day early? Nope. Turns out there's another St. Patrick, a former bishop of Malaga who is called "relatively obscure" by the Catholic Online folks. They think he feld to Auvergne, France during a persecution. It's claimed he's still honored in Spain, though there's so much about you-know-who that finding anything online to prove that (outside of Irish pubs in Spain bearing the name) is difficult.
Hard enough to be considered obscure, then to have your day right before the guy who has an entire holday named for him? Ouch. I wonder if "the" St. Patrick uses this one to handle overflow prayers?
15 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Matrona
I feel like I should have used the plural here, as there are three women listed as St. Matronia. One was the Christian maid of a Thessalonican woman put through tribulations when her mistress learned she was Christian. Another was from Barcelona, but was taken to Rome and executed when she was found ministering to prisoners. The final one was Portuguese, but was supernaturally told to go to Italy to cure her dysentery. She died there, and is now the patron saint of people with dysentery (and good luck to them, based on that story).
The entry I'm going off of makes it sound like they've rolled all three of these women into one saint, which seems a little fishy. There also appear to be two other Sts. Matrona with different days. Good luck keeping them straight.
I feel like I should have used the plural here, as there are three women listed as St. Matronia. One was the Christian maid of a Thessalonican woman put through tribulations when her mistress learned she was Christian. Another was from Barcelona, but was taken to Rome and executed when she was found ministering to prisoners. The final one was Portuguese, but was supernaturally told to go to Italy to cure her dysentery. She died there, and is now the patron saint of people with dysentery (and good luck to them, based on that story).
The entry I'm going off of makes it sound like they've rolled all three of these women into one saint, which seems a little fishy. There also appear to be two other Sts. Matrona with different days. Good luck keeping them straight.
Apologies for the lack of personal posts, but my life has been fairly content-free of late. It's been a pretty steady rotation of work, home, and hockey. The only thing that's broken that up of late is the return of the sinus infection I had about this time last year. I like variety, but perhaps not the type that leaves me clutching my forehead whenever I stand.
We did have something interesting happen on the work front, as my original boss at WIT has left and is apparently moving, which was a surprise to me when I heard it this afternoon. She then left about an hour early, which I suppose is somewhat understandable - the good-bye thing can be pretty draining - but no one knew she was going until after she left. I'd have liked to have said goodbye, seeing as she's a good part of why I have this job. Such is life, I suppose.
We did have something interesting happen on the work front, as my original boss at WIT has left and is apparently moving, which was a surprise to me when I heard it this afternoon. She then left about an hour early, which I suppose is somewhat understandable - the good-bye thing can be pretty draining - but no one knew she was going until after she left. I'd have liked to have said goodbye, seeing as she's a good part of why I have this job. Such is life, I suppose.
14 March 2006
And while we're dealing with regular features...
Lentorama 2006 Saints of the Day: Martyrs of Valeria
Two monks hanged by the Lombards. Pope St. Gregory I the Great noted that they could be heard singing psalms after their deaths.
Not much I wanted to add here, other than Pope St. Gregory I the Great is quite a moniker.
Lentorama 2006 Saints of the Day: Martyrs of Valeria
Two monks hanged by the Lombards. Pope St. Gregory I the Great noted that they could be heard singing psalms after their deaths.
Not much I wanted to add here, other than Pope St. Gregory I the Great is quite a moniker.
Book Log 2006 #10: Devices and Desires by P. D. James
One of the middle-late books in the Adam Dalgliesh series, it follows the inspector/poet as he gets drawn into a killing on the English coast, where he is closing up the house of a recently deceased aunt.
I've only read two of the Dalgliesh books, and both in the later part of the series, which makes it a little hard to get a feel for him. This is especially true here, where the focus of the book is much more on the local characters and setting.
The book will certainly meet the needs of anyone who enjoys well-written mysteries, but I can't help but feel I'm missing something by not knowing more about the (ostensibly) main character. Maybe it's just that I don't know that I'm not missing anything.
One of the middle-late books in the Adam Dalgliesh series, it follows the inspector/poet as he gets drawn into a killing on the English coast, where he is closing up the house of a recently deceased aunt.
I've only read two of the Dalgliesh books, and both in the later part of the series, which makes it a little hard to get a feel for him. This is especially true here, where the focus of the book is much more on the local characters and setting.
The book will certainly meet the needs of anyone who enjoys well-written mysteries, but I can't help but feel I'm missing something by not knowing more about the (ostensibly) main character. Maybe it's just that I don't know that I'm not missing anything.
13 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Roderic
A priest in Spain during the rule of the Moors, he was beaten unconscious by his brothers while trying to stop a fight between them. One brother paraded Roderic through the streets of town saying that Roderic wanted to turn to Islam. Roderic denied this, but the same brother later turned him in, saying Roderic was an apostate from Islam. Roderic was thrown in jail, and after a lengthy stay was beheaded.
The next time you have a fight with a sibling, be happy that they can't get you arrested for apostasy. Yet.
A priest in Spain during the rule of the Moors, he was beaten unconscious by his brothers while trying to stop a fight between them. One brother paraded Roderic through the streets of town saying that Roderic wanted to turn to Islam. Roderic denied this, but the same brother later turned him in, saying Roderic was an apostate from Islam. Roderic was thrown in jail, and after a lengthy stay was beheaded.
The next time you have a fight with a sibling, be happy that they can't get you arrested for apostasy. Yet.
12 March 2006
We spent a goodly chunk of this afternoon back on the house hunting trail, spending more time than we'd like in the ranch houses of the recently deceased. Make that the over-priced ranch houses of the recently deceased, given how many of them still had original features (and, in some cases, applicances) from their construction in the 1950s.
There was one house that we really liked, but I have a feeling it's going to go quickly. Quicker than we can get our financing in order, but here's to trying.
Unrelated to all of this...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the day: St. Peter of Nicomedia
Tradition says he was a chamberlain in Diocletian's court, and was arrested for being a Christian when Diocletian began the last major Roman persectuion. Think about that the next time you complain about your boss.
Peter was then stripped of his skin, rubbed down with salt and vinegar, and roasted over a fire. He was delicious. "Now... now that's just superfluous, you know?"
There was one house that we really liked, but I have a feeling it's going to go quickly. Quicker than we can get our financing in order, but here's to trying.
Unrelated to all of this...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the day: St. Peter of Nicomedia
Tradition says he was a chamberlain in Diocletian's court, and was arrested for being a Christian when Diocletian began the last major Roman persectuion. Think about that the next time you complain about your boss.
Peter was then stripped of his skin, rubbed down with salt and vinegar, and roasted over a fire. He was delicious. "Now... now that's just superfluous, you know?"
11 March 2006
Seeing Craig's discovery that Kirby Puckett was the first MLB player he ever saw at bat in person, it made me wonder who mine is. This is complicated by the fact that I'm pretty hazy on the details of my first MLB game. There are two contenders:
1. A game I saw with a group of altar boys against the still-new Mariners, or
2. A game I saw with a group taken by the police department against... someone. I want to say the Kansas City Royals. I could be very wrong.
I tend to think it was the first one, and my best guess is that it would have been 1978 or 1979. Possibly even 1977, but I don't think it was that early.
It pretty much had to be a Saturday afternoon game, as we were out of school and it's not like our priest could have taken us to a Sunday afternoon game, what with work and all.
Thanks to Retrosheet, the most likely candidate for my first batter seen in person is Julio Cruz. If the game was in 1979, there's an outside chance that it was Larry Milbourne. But I don't think so, as I'm pretty sure the Sox won the game, and the candidate game that Milbourne led off in was a Mariners win.
I suppose this is pretty good, given that I can't even remember the last Sox game I went to. I don't think we went in 2005 at all. And if we did, it was clearly memorable.
1. A game I saw with a group of altar boys against the still-new Mariners, or
2. A game I saw with a group taken by the police department against... someone. I want to say the Kansas City Royals. I could be very wrong.
I tend to think it was the first one, and my best guess is that it would have been 1978 or 1979. Possibly even 1977, but I don't think it was that early.
It pretty much had to be a Saturday afternoon game, as we were out of school and it's not like our priest could have taken us to a Sunday afternoon game, what with work and all.
Thanks to Retrosheet, the most likely candidate for my first batter seen in person is Julio Cruz. If the game was in 1979, there's an outside chance that it was Larry Milbourne. But I don't think so, as I'm pretty sure the Sox won the game, and the candidate game that Milbourne led off in was a Mariners win.
I suppose this is pretty good, given that I can't even remember the last Sox game I went to. I don't think we went in 2005 at all. And if we did, it was clearly memorable.
All season, the Qdoba near Agannis Arena has had an offer going: a Terrier scores a hat trick, you get free chips and salsa. While the season provided many two-goal performances, no one could quite break through.
Until last night.
David van der Gulik put in an empty net goal, thus securing the 2900+ in attendance (it's the tail end of BU's break) a complimentary side if they make it up to Qdoba this week. Considering it's owned by Ray Bourque, this may make up for his son bolting at the end of last season.
I have no deft segue into this, feel free to make your own:
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Constantine
The first Scottish martyr, Constantine, was a king of Cornwall who, after the death of his wife, gave his throne to his son and entered a monastery. Later ordained, he was a missionary in Scotland when, as an old man, he was set upon by pirates, had an arm cut off, and bled to death.
Shiver me timbers!
Until last night.
David van der Gulik put in an empty net goal, thus securing the 2900+ in attendance (it's the tail end of BU's break) a complimentary side if they make it up to Qdoba this week. Considering it's owned by Ray Bourque, this may make up for his son bolting at the end of last season.
I have no deft segue into this, feel free to make your own:
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Constantine
The first Scottish martyr, Constantine, was a king of Cornwall who, after the death of his wife, gave his throne to his son and entered a monastery. Later ordained, he was a missionary in Scotland when, as an old man, he was set upon by pirates, had an arm cut off, and bled to death.
Shiver me timbers!
10 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: Macarius of Jersusalem
A fourth century bishop of Jerusalem, all Macarius did was be the driving force behind the Nicaean Creed, and with St. Helena find the True Cross and construct the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. With that resume, you think we'd hear more about this guy.
(I know, the True Cross thing smacks of the obsession with relics, but he's at least in on the finding, not someone who wandered along centuries later with a piece of wood in a shiny metal box making fanciful claims about its origin.)
Helena, for what it's worth, was the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine. Good company to keep if you want to be a saint, I'd think.
A fourth century bishop of Jerusalem, all Macarius did was be the driving force behind the Nicaean Creed, and with St. Helena find the True Cross and construct the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. With that resume, you think we'd hear more about this guy.
(I know, the True Cross thing smacks of the obsession with relics, but he's at least in on the finding, not someone who wandered along centuries later with a piece of wood in a shiny metal box making fanciful claims about its origin.)
Helena, for what it's worth, was the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine. Good company to keep if you want to be a saint, I'd think.
I've not been able to watch much of the World Baseball Classic, given that we don't get ESPN Deportes and that I've not been smart enough to DVR games that do find their way to ESPN2 (not to mention I don't think we've got room for whole baseball games, what with the Olympics-related backlog that we're working through). But when I get to see first round games in the Horizon League's men's basketball tournament in prime time, why should I complain about missing theoretically top-level baseball?
Adding a layer of interest to this is Barry Bonds saying he may want in if the US goes through to the next round (which, thanks to Mexico slapping around Canada, looks likely unless we can't find a way to beat South Africa). Your guess if this is something done at the behest of MLB to raise interest in the tournament, by Bonds and his management as a way to improve his persona in the wake of Game of Shadows, or both. I'll take odds on the likelihood of Bonds "injuring" himself representing his country so he can retire as a "patriot" and avoid another season or two of "did he or didn't he?" speculation.
Except that Bonds, whose connection to reality seems occasionaly tenuous (at least to me, a continent away), may just shrug it off in his Recliner of Solitude and keep chasing the Babe.
Adding a layer of interest to this is Barry Bonds saying he may want in if the US goes through to the next round (which, thanks to Mexico slapping around Canada, looks likely unless we can't find a way to beat South Africa). Your guess if this is something done at the behest of MLB to raise interest in the tournament, by Bonds and his management as a way to improve his persona in the wake of Game of Shadows, or both. I'll take odds on the likelihood of Bonds "injuring" himself representing his country so he can retire as a "patriot" and avoid another season or two of "did he or didn't he?" speculation.
Except that Bonds, whose connection to reality seems occasionaly tenuous (at least to me, a continent away), may just shrug it off in his Recliner of Solitude and keep chasing the Babe.
09 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: Catherine of Bologna
The daughter of a diplomatic agent of the Marquis of Ferarra, Catherine was raised with the Marquis's daughter but at the age of 14 opted for the relgious life rather than life at court, with all the comforts that 15th century nobility suggests.
Her life was the usual (for a saint) example of piety and austerity, up to her death on this day in 1463.
Now her story gets interesting. A couple of weeks after she was buried (without a coffin, for some reason), Catherine was dug up based on cures attributed to her and a sweet odor coming from her grave. Upon exhumation, it was found that Catherine's body was incorrupt, and is apparently so to this day.
For those of you interested in what a 500+ year old incorrupt body looks like, there's a picture here. Remember, incorrupt doesn't mean she's not changed at all.
On a related note, I think today is the first time since I started this that I would not have been able to choose a Welsh saint. I never realized how thick on the ground saints were there, as I've always associated Wales with Britain and its church. So much for reading all those Brother Cadfael mysteries.
The daughter of a diplomatic agent of the Marquis of Ferarra, Catherine was raised with the Marquis's daughter but at the age of 14 opted for the relgious life rather than life at court, with all the comforts that 15th century nobility suggests.
Her life was the usual (for a saint) example of piety and austerity, up to her death on this day in 1463.
Now her story gets interesting. A couple of weeks after she was buried (without a coffin, for some reason), Catherine was dug up based on cures attributed to her and a sweet odor coming from her grave. Upon exhumation, it was found that Catherine's body was incorrupt, and is apparently so to this day.
For those of you interested in what a 500+ year old incorrupt body looks like, there's a picture here. Remember, incorrupt doesn't mean she's not changed at all.
On a related note, I think today is the first time since I started this that I would not have been able to choose a Welsh saint. I never realized how thick on the ground saints were there, as I've always associated Wales with Britain and its church. So much for reading all those Brother Cadfael mysteries.
No trivia on Tuesday, as we changed our schedule up a bit to accomodate last night's excursion to the Colonial Theater to see Spamalot, the musical based (sort of) on Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
I put the parenthetical in there as the show, while using much from the movie, differs pretty significantly, especially in the second act. This wasn't a problem, just a difference. I think it's a pretty good difference, too, in that the show provides enough familiar stuff from the movie (and from other movies, as "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is used in a couple of places) to satisfy fans, while providing enough new material to make the trip to the theater worthwhile.
Thinking about it, though, there were a couple of scenes from the movie that I'd like to have seen in the show. The early scene with the witch isn't included, which is too bad, as it's one of my favorites. They also didn't have the scene at the bridge (so no "answer me these questions three"), and the entire thing with the historian and the police is gone.
There were a couple of places where they were able to add some local content (most notably a line about Johnny Damon playing for the Yankees), which was interesting. I associate that sort of thing with local shows (for example, Shear Madness in Boston will adapt to current local events and give shout-outs to groups in attendance). Again, I don't think it hurt the show, I just wasn't expecting it.
While I'd recommend the show (as would the wife, I think, and she's not even a Python fan), I would not recommend the Colonial as a venue (at leat not the mezzanine) if you are over 5' 8" tall. I was much more cramped than I was at the Opera House. The orchestra seats looked to have more room, while the upper balcony appears steep enough that most of your legs is above the back of the seat in front of you. So by springing for an upgrade from the balcony, we unwittingly put ourselves in less comfortable seats (or put me in one, the wife seemed OK other than being in between me and a guy who was on the large side of average and still had trouble with room).
I put the parenthetical in there as the show, while using much from the movie, differs pretty significantly, especially in the second act. This wasn't a problem, just a difference. I think it's a pretty good difference, too, in that the show provides enough familiar stuff from the movie (and from other movies, as "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is used in a couple of places) to satisfy fans, while providing enough new material to make the trip to the theater worthwhile.
Thinking about it, though, there were a couple of scenes from the movie that I'd like to have seen in the show. The early scene with the witch isn't included, which is too bad, as it's one of my favorites. They also didn't have the scene at the bridge (so no "answer me these questions three"), and the entire thing with the historian and the police is gone.
There were a couple of places where they were able to add some local content (most notably a line about Johnny Damon playing for the Yankees), which was interesting. I associate that sort of thing with local shows (for example, Shear Madness in Boston will adapt to current local events and give shout-outs to groups in attendance). Again, I don't think it hurt the show, I just wasn't expecting it.
While I'd recommend the show (as would the wife, I think, and she's not even a Python fan), I would not recommend the Colonial as a venue (at leat not the mezzanine) if you are over 5' 8" tall. I was much more cramped than I was at the Opera House. The orchestra seats looked to have more room, while the upper balcony appears steep enough that most of your legs is above the back of the seat in front of you. So by springing for an upgrade from the balcony, we unwittingly put ourselves in less comfortable seats (or put me in one, the wife seemed OK other than being in between me and a guy who was on the large side of average and still had trouble with room).
08 March 2006
Updating something from the Vermont trip, voters in both Burlington and Montpelier voted down measures that would have removed fluoride from drinking water, a result hailed as a victory for public health or the dental industry, depending on who's doing the talking.
In a completely unrelated note, last weekend's college hockey action brought about something unexpected: an interesting result in the final game of the opening round playoff series between Yale and Union. While the Yale win was an upset, the interesting part is that the game was decided in the fifth overtime, making it the longest game in NCAA men's hockey history. It was 4:01 short of establishing a new overall NCAA hockey record, a mark held by the 1996 ECAC division I women's final between UNH and Providence.
What is it with the ECAC and long games?
And finally...
Lentorama 2006 Saints of the Day: St. Arian and Companions
Arian, a 4th century governor of Thebes, converted to Christianity after witnessing the martyrdom of Sts. Apollonius and Philemon, who were wrapped in chains and thrown into the sea off of Alexandrea. When Arian and his companions confessed to converting, they were also wrapped in chains and thrown into the sea.
How did they not see that coming?
In a completely unrelated note, last weekend's college hockey action brought about something unexpected: an interesting result in the final game of the opening round playoff series between Yale and Union. While the Yale win was an upset, the interesting part is that the game was decided in the fifth overtime, making it the longest game in NCAA men's hockey history. It was 4:01 short of establishing a new overall NCAA hockey record, a mark held by the 1996 ECAC division I women's final between UNH and Providence.
What is it with the ECAC and long games?
And finally...
Lentorama 2006 Saints of the Day: St. Arian and Companions
Arian, a 4th century governor of Thebes, converted to Christianity after witnessing the martyrdom of Sts. Apollonius and Philemon, who were wrapped in chains and thrown into the sea off of Alexandrea. When Arian and his companions confessed to converting, they were also wrapped in chains and thrown into the sea.
How did they not see that coming?
07 March 2006
Between Kirby Puckett and Dana Reeve, I think I could use a little more inspiration than snark today.
Lentorama 2006 Saints of the Day: Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
Perpetua and Felicity were 3rd century Carthaginian converts to Christianity, both mothers (Felicity gave birth while in prison), and both willing to be put into the arena (and afterwards to the sword) rather than renounce their faith. Perpetua rebuffed repeated calls to denounce Christianity, noting that it was who she was and could not be changed. Her last words were reportedly, "Stand fast in the faith and love one another."
Which isn't a bad idea, even if your faith is in something outside of organized religion. Thinking about Reeve, her faith in her husband and in a cure for his condition seem to apply here in some fashion. Puckett... well, he did stand fast with his team. He may have taken loving one another a little too literally, though.
Lentorama 2006 Saints of the Day: Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
Perpetua and Felicity were 3rd century Carthaginian converts to Christianity, both mothers (Felicity gave birth while in prison), and both willing to be put into the arena (and afterwards to the sword) rather than renounce their faith. Perpetua rebuffed repeated calls to denounce Christianity, noting that it was who she was and could not be changed. Her last words were reportedly, "Stand fast in the faith and love one another."
Which isn't a bad idea, even if your faith is in something outside of organized religion. Thinking about Reeve, her faith in her husband and in a cure for his condition seem to apply here in some fashion. Puckett... well, he did stand fast with his team. He may have taken loving one another a little too literally, though.
Book Log 2006 #9: Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
I'll admit to liking Crichton, and I did enjoy this early work of his, though it took longer than I expected to get into it based on the early manuscript style of the language. It took me way too long to pick up on what story was being re-told (I'll stop there, in case you've not read it), though that's more due to my own thick-headedness than anything lacking in the text.
Don't know if I'd go back and re-read it, but it did fit the bill for commuting quite nicely.
I'll admit to liking Crichton, and I did enjoy this early work of his, though it took longer than I expected to get into it based on the early manuscript style of the language. It took me way too long to pick up on what story was being re-told (I'll stop there, in case you've not read it), though that's more due to my own thick-headedness than anything lacking in the text.
Don't know if I'd go back and re-read it, but it did fit the bill for commuting quite nicely.
06 March 2006
Notes from the weekend:
The hockey - I did not get to witness BU's capture of the regular season Hockey East title, as I was in Maine with the wife for my mother-in-law's birthday. Rather, I got to watch Maine-UMass on TV, which was not the most entertaining affair. Maine took a quick 2-0 lead (actually caught that on the radio going back from dinner), built on it, but let UMass hang around enough to result in a 5-3 win for the Black Bears.
I worry about UMass as a first-round HE playoff opponent, given that they are the sort of team that can beat anyone. I just hope they can't beat anyone twice on the road in the same weekend. I also worry about getting the New Hampshire-Providence winner in the semis (assuming we win and there are no other upsets), as both teams have played well against us this season. But that's another possible worry for another week.
The being away was nice, though I am looking forward to the coming weekend where I don't have to leave the state.
The Oscars were fine, outside of the decision to play music behind the winners from the start - it made things feel rushed from the get-go. Not seeing any of the nominated films I had no stake in anything, but was still surprised by Crash taking the best picture award. I'd have preferred a little more surprise among the acting winners - Felicity Huffman gets discombobulated when she wins, so her speech would have been very entertaining.
Jon Stewart gets my vote for a return engagement. Then again, I also liked Chris Rock and David Letterman.
In other news...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Marcian
One of seven Sts. Marcian, today's Marcian was the bishop of Tortona for 45 years. Then he was crucified. You think a gold watch would have sufficed.
It also appears that he may be the same guy as St. Marcian of Ravenna. I'd like to think someone would notice if the same guy was the bishop of two different cities, but if holding the job led to crucifixion I suppose I'd lay pretty low, too.
The hockey - I did not get to witness BU's capture of the regular season Hockey East title, as I was in Maine with the wife for my mother-in-law's birthday. Rather, I got to watch Maine-UMass on TV, which was not the most entertaining affair. Maine took a quick 2-0 lead (actually caught that on the radio going back from dinner), built on it, but let UMass hang around enough to result in a 5-3 win for the Black Bears.
I worry about UMass as a first-round HE playoff opponent, given that they are the sort of team that can beat anyone. I just hope they can't beat anyone twice on the road in the same weekend. I also worry about getting the New Hampshire-Providence winner in the semis (assuming we win and there are no other upsets), as both teams have played well against us this season. But that's another possible worry for another week.
The being away was nice, though I am looking forward to the coming weekend where I don't have to leave the state.
The Oscars were fine, outside of the decision to play music behind the winners from the start - it made things feel rushed from the get-go. Not seeing any of the nominated films I had no stake in anything, but was still surprised by Crash taking the best picture award. I'd have preferred a little more surprise among the acting winners - Felicity Huffman gets discombobulated when she wins, so her speech would have been very entertaining.
Jon Stewart gets my vote for a return engagement. Then again, I also liked Chris Rock and David Letterman.
In other news...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Marcian
One of seven Sts. Marcian, today's Marcian was the bishop of Tortona for 45 years. Then he was crucified. You think a gold watch would have sufficed.
It also appears that he may be the same guy as St. Marcian of Ravenna. I'd like to think someone would notice if the same guy was the bishop of two different cities, but if holding the job led to crucifixion I suppose I'd lay pretty low, too.
05 March 2006
04 March 2006
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: Adrian of Nicomedia: This fourth century saint got his start with the Romans, turning to Christianity one day when he impressed with the bravery of the Christians he was helping to torture. He was apparently impressed enough to forget what happened to Christians, as the day following his conversion he had his limbs struck off on an anvil and was beheaded. Of course, when the Romans tried to burn his remains along with those of other martyrs, a thunderstorm whipped up out of nowhere and put out the fire. Lightning from the storm also struck and killed many Romans, showing that even God has ironic moments.
Adrian is the patron saint of several things, including old soldiers, communications phenomena, and, perhaps continuing that ironic streak, butchers. Religious art often depicts Adrian with an anvil in his hands or at his feet, which seems a little cruel.
Adrian is the patron saint of several things, including old soldiers, communications phenomena, and, perhaps continuing that ironic streak, butchers. Religious art often depicts Adrian with an anvil in his hands or at his feet, which seems a little cruel.
03 March 2006
A forgotten note from the trip northward - turns out the people of Burlington have a ballot question this spring about whether or not to continue fluoridating the water. The group looking to end the practice cites a lack of need and studies indicating health risks in exposure to fluoride, especially in the levels used in their drinking water.
Those looking to continue the practice cite teeth, and the general desire to have them.
Unrelated to this, I was amused to find that one of the meat options from the Thai place our office orders from is "vegetarian ham." I suppose, like nutria, it comes from pigs that live in water and thus get some sort of Vatican ruling that it's not meat.
Speaking of which...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Cunegundes
Married to St. Henry (aka Holy Roman Emperor Henry II), she took a vow of chastity prior to marriage, which Henry respected during their union (which explains in large part his sainthood). When she was accused of infidelity, she proved her innocence by walking over "pieces of flaming irons" without injury.
(I hope this doesn't open the door to sainthood for all those idiots running empowerment seminars where people walk on hot coals.)
Anyway, she was pretty much broke after Henry died, as they'd given away most of their money for charitable works. A year after his death she entered a monastery (one she actually founded) and lived as the other inhabitants did until her death 15 years later.
St. Cunegundes is also the Patroness of Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Poland. The first makes sense, she was born there. The other two, couldn't tell you.
Those looking to continue the practice cite teeth, and the general desire to have them.
Unrelated to this, I was amused to find that one of the meat options from the Thai place our office orders from is "vegetarian ham." I suppose, like nutria, it comes from pigs that live in water and thus get some sort of Vatican ruling that it's not meat.
Speaking of which...
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Cunegundes
Married to St. Henry (aka Holy Roman Emperor Henry II), she took a vow of chastity prior to marriage, which Henry respected during their union (which explains in large part his sainthood). When she was accused of infidelity, she proved her innocence by walking over "pieces of flaming irons" without injury.
(I hope this doesn't open the door to sainthood for all those idiots running empowerment seminars where people walk on hot coals.)
Anyway, she was pretty much broke after Henry died, as they'd given away most of their money for charitable works. A year after his death she entered a monastery (one she actually founded) and lived as the other inhabitants did until her death 15 years later.
St. Cunegundes is also the Patroness of Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Poland. The first makes sense, she was born there. The other two, couldn't tell you.
02 March 2006
Another Lenten season is upon us, and as usual I've had my annual bout with not knowing what to give up. Lacking any real inspiration, I've decided to copy one of you and give up salty snacks. So, for the next 38 and a half days, no potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, etc.
I have a feeling this will go much better than my attempt to give up cursing, which long-time readers (all 3 of you) will remember as a splendid failure. A wholly unsurprising result, given that I work with college students.
Anyway, on the T ride in on Tuesday, I was talking with a co-worker who mentioned that rather than give anything up, he liked to do something positive, and in that way give up personal time or what have you rather than arbitrarily pick a foodstuff or habit and go cold turkey. I thought this was a good idea, and so I've decided to do something similar. And what fun would that be if I couldn't drag all of you along with me?
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Chad
The first bishop of Mercia, he's kind of the Kevin Bacon of saints - his brother was St. Cedd, he trained with St. Aidan, and spent time with St. Egbert in Ireland. He was bishop of York for a while - until the guy who was supposed to have the post returned from France and wanted his job back - and he established a see at Lichfield. My favorite bit about him: in liturgical art, he is depicted as a bishop holding a church. Saintly and strong, there's a combination.
Wikipedia noted that some wags suggested that St. Chad be made the patron saint of botched elections after the whole fiasco in 2000. Sadly, the Vatican hasn't acted on this yet.
I have a feeling this will go much better than my attempt to give up cursing, which long-time readers (all 3 of you) will remember as a splendid failure. A wholly unsurprising result, given that I work with college students.
Anyway, on the T ride in on Tuesday, I was talking with a co-worker who mentioned that rather than give anything up, he liked to do something positive, and in that way give up personal time or what have you rather than arbitrarily pick a foodstuff or habit and go cold turkey. I thought this was a good idea, and so I've decided to do something similar. And what fun would that be if I couldn't drag all of you along with me?
Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: St. Chad
The first bishop of Mercia, he's kind of the Kevin Bacon of saints - his brother was St. Cedd, he trained with St. Aidan, and spent time with St. Egbert in Ireland. He was bishop of York for a while - until the guy who was supposed to have the post returned from France and wanted his job back - and he established a see at Lichfield. My favorite bit about him: in liturgical art, he is depicted as a bishop holding a church. Saintly and strong, there's a combination.
Wikipedia noted that some wags suggested that St. Chad be made the patron saint of botched elections after the whole fiasco in 2000. Sadly, the Vatican hasn't acted on this yet.
01 March 2006
At the end of 15 questions last night, we were in second place behind a team that was pitching a perfect game. The emcee noted that he'd likely jinxed them by mentioning it, but they handled the jinx during questions 16 through 19, maintaining their perfect streak.
Up to question 20. The final question. Which they missed.
This opened the door for us, as we bet the maximum and answered the final question correctly to eke out a one point win over the team that entered the final question in third. This landed us a spot in the next tournament of champions, sponsored by the good folks at the Harpoon brewery. We even got a free round of Harpoon Ale thanks to a random draw, so it was a winning night all around.
Your questions:
What TV family lives at 633 Stag Trail Road in North Caldwell, New Jersey? The Sopranos (Greg) - First question of the night, got it on a guess. They were the first TV family that we could think of that lives in New Jersey.
Name four African countries that border on the Mediterranian Sea. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt (Greg) - we swapped Algeria for Morocco before answering, but it was all good.
What singer, born Mary O'Brien in 1939 and who passed away in 1999, experienced a revival of her career after teaming up with the Pet Shop Boys in 1987? Dusty Springfield (Greg) - the Pet Shop Boys clue iced it for Allyson. For some reason, at the mention of the Pet Shop Boys the only musician I could think of was Willie Nelson.
What type of engine was invented in 1930 by Frank Whittle? Jet (Greg) - we got this on a guess, the main problem being that the jet engine seems like something that was developed by several people rather than invented. We bet low, so the bulk of our deficit was here.
Who was the first sports broadcaster to win a Peabody Award? Curt Gowdy (Scott) - We played the current events angle here. Clearly, we need to read our dead pool obits more closely. Sorry, Chris.
What organization, founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson, won the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize? Amnesty International (Chris) - this was the only question we missed all night, as my memory for Nobel prize winners has atrophied over time. We guessed the Peace Corps, which I think we all felt wasn't going to be right. But lacking anything better, off it went.
At 12,316 feet, Mount Cook is the highest peak in what country? New Zealand (Paul) - Based on what we knew about Captain Cook, and knowing that the highest peak in Australia is named for Kosciusco, we bet the full points and went with New Zealand. The team with the perfect game did not, changing from New Zealand to Australia. Apparently, they didn't think New Zealand would have mountain of that size. I guess they don't know where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Which worked out nicely for us, I will say.
Up to question 20. The final question. Which they missed.
This opened the door for us, as we bet the maximum and answered the final question correctly to eke out a one point win over the team that entered the final question in third. This landed us a spot in the next tournament of champions, sponsored by the good folks at the Harpoon brewery. We even got a free round of Harpoon Ale thanks to a random draw, so it was a winning night all around.
Your questions:
What TV family lives at 633 Stag Trail Road in North Caldwell, New Jersey? The Sopranos (Greg) - First question of the night, got it on a guess. They were the first TV family that we could think of that lives in New Jersey.
Name four African countries that border on the Mediterranian Sea. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt (Greg) - we swapped Algeria for Morocco before answering, but it was all good.
What singer, born Mary O'Brien in 1939 and who passed away in 1999, experienced a revival of her career after teaming up with the Pet Shop Boys in 1987? Dusty Springfield (Greg) - the Pet Shop Boys clue iced it for Allyson. For some reason, at the mention of the Pet Shop Boys the only musician I could think of was Willie Nelson.
What type of engine was invented in 1930 by Frank Whittle? Jet (Greg) - we got this on a guess, the main problem being that the jet engine seems like something that was developed by several people rather than invented. We bet low, so the bulk of our deficit was here.
Who was the first sports broadcaster to win a Peabody Award? Curt Gowdy (Scott) - We played the current events angle here. Clearly, we need to read our dead pool obits more closely. Sorry, Chris.
What organization, founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson, won the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize? Amnesty International (Chris) - this was the only question we missed all night, as my memory for Nobel prize winners has atrophied over time. We guessed the Peace Corps, which I think we all felt wasn't going to be right. But lacking anything better, off it went.
At 12,316 feet, Mount Cook is the highest peak in what country? New Zealand (Paul) - Based on what we knew about Captain Cook, and knowing that the highest peak in Australia is named for Kosciusco, we bet the full points and went with New Zealand. The team with the perfect game did not, changing from New Zealand to Australia. Apparently, they didn't think New Zealand would have mountain of that size. I guess they don't know where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Which worked out nicely for us, I will say.
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