Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's person is Maria da Graça Meneghel, known to millions the world over - but mostly in Latin America - as the minimally-dressed children's star Xuxa.

Prior to hitting it big with the kids, Xuxa was a model, Miss December 1982 for the Brazilian edition of Playboy, and starred in a movie where she played a prostitute who seduces a 13 year-old boy (the rights to which she's apparently bought in order to keep it from distribution). She also had a six year relationship with Pele after meeting him at a photo shoot in 1980.

For whatever reason, a Brazilian TV exec made the mental leap from nymphette to children's host, much like PBS did with Fred Rogers. Her first show was a hit, and the folks at Globo TV picked her up. Her Show da Xuxa made her a star across Latin America, and allowed her to broaden her international appeal with shows in Spain and the U.S, where she taped 65 episodes of Xuxa in 1993.

All this exposure (so to speak) proved a bit much, and Xuxa re-focused her career in Latin America. She still hosts TV shows, sings, and appears in movies (she's apparently starred in the nine highest-grossing Brazilian films of all time, many of which involve no plot and a lot of singing and celebrity cameos).

Apparently, Xuxa's penchant for skimpy dress isn't a big deal in most countries, but it was at best confusing to those of us up here who are used to Captain Kangaroo and the like. She was parodied on The Simpsons episode where the family goes to Brazil and is exposed to the show Teleboobies, whose host jiggles quite a bit and favors pasties as work attire.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

After a too-long hiatus, we return with Curtis Sliwa, who went from being a night manager at a McDonald's to the founder of the Guardian Angels, the red beret and white T-shirt wearing volunteer crime-fighting (or vigilante, depending on how you look at it) group. Formed in 1979, there are now units in cities worldwide.

Sliwa is also a talking head, as he's had a radio show in some fashion since the early 1990s. His first show allegedly got him in a little trouble with the Gotti family, as remarks about the Teflon Don may have led to an assassination attempt. John Gotti, Jr. was tried three times on attempted murder charges, with each ending in mistrial due to a deadlocked jury. Not surprisingly for the founder of the Guardian Angels, Sliwa has occasionally subbed for the likes of Sean Hannity.

Sliwa is also a fan of stickball and competitive eating. In the latter, his favored food are pickles, apparently holding the current world record by eating 4 and three-quarter pounds worth in under 10 minutes. Talk about a Renaissance man.

Your Frozen Four pool standings, which may be a misnomer given how few of us actually have teams still standing:

Harper-Nixon 11
Coen, M. 9
Coen, S. 9
Hight 9
DeVeau 9
Rosenberg 8
Crowley 7
Martindale 7
Bruce 6
Sorenson 5

And it turns out I was wrong (again) about this being over. Should the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota top that team from Chestnut Hill, Chris Rosenberg will take his four points and eke out a win. Should that not happen, Matt Harper-Nixon will take the title. And as much as I count him as a friend, I really hope that the second scenario is not the one that plays out. I can get through the father-in-law's ribbing if Maine wins this thing, but the media aspect of a Newton College win is something I would like to avoid. I can only hope that Dice-K's first start is on April 5.

Kind of funny to look back at last year's results and see how many people scored over 20 points, as opposed to this year when we will have, at most, two in double digits. I suppose that happens when too few people call the upsets and no one has a champion left.

Moving on to a different sport, I have set up a Baseball Challenge group for those who are interested:

Name: Macho BC Donkey Wrestler
Password: donkey

Hockey pool, with half of the Frozen Four set:

Harper-Nixon 11
Coen, S. 9
DeVeau 9
Hight 9
Coen, M. 7
Bruce 6
Crowley 5
Martindale 5
Sorenson 5
Rosenberg 4

And while it's not quite over, I think Hyph is actually going to wind up winning this, given his lead and how everyone who has a champion left has Minnesota. But I screwed up trying to predict this last year, so I'll give it a better check when the Frozen Four is set after tomorrow's games.

Your Frozen Four pool standings after day 1:

Coen, S 7
Harper-Nixon 7
DeVeau 5
Hight 5
Bruce 3
Coen, M 3
Crowley 3
Sorenson 3
Martindale 1
Rosenberg 1

Before you get too jealous of Hyph and my wife, note that they were two of the five people who lost a finals team today. So there's room to catch up.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Staying with the world leaders, today we look at Benito Juarez, who was born on this day in 1806. The only indigenous person to serve as president of Mexico (he was Zatopec), he is widely recognized for his role in La Reforma, the liberalization of Mexican government and move towards a more capitalistic economy. He also served as president during the French intervention that saw the breif reign of Emperor Maximillian, and was (not surprisingly, as president) deeply involved in defeating Maximillian's forces.

Part of the liberalization involved ending the hold that two groups specifically held in influencing previous governments - the military and the church. And to think we were happy to have them stop saying the Mass in Latin.

Plenty of people to choose from today - Charles Martel defeated Ragenfrid at the Battle of Vincy, Henry V took the throne of England, Pius VII became Pope and had to be crowned with a tiara made of papier-mache because the French had taken the real one. Lots of good stories, and it was hard to pass up The Hammer or getting to quote the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V, I will say.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's person is birthday boy Brian Mulroney, who turns 68. A Progressive Conservative from Quebec, Mulroney gained leadership of the party in 1983 and led it to a majority in the Canadian Parliament the following year. The party would have the largest majority in Canadian history, winning 211 seats while no other party won more than 50. Even with this clear mandate, Mulroney had difficulty charting a direction for the country, as he inherited a massive debt. He also made his own trouble with patronage-related gaffes and an inability to quiet Canada's regionalism, a pet issue.

The Tories were returned to office in 1988, but with a smaller majority. During this term in office, things really turned south for him, as he took personal heat for introducing a national sales tax (which replaced a manufacturing tax) and the Bank of Canada's adoption of a zero inflation policy, which exacerbated the effects of an ongoing recession. During this time Mulroney also saw his various attempts to amend the Canadian constitution fail, and his closure of cod fishing grounds made him even more unpopular in the Maritimes.

This unpopularity hurt his party as the 1993 elections approached. The Bloc Quebecois broke off from the PC, and a 1992 poll reported an 11 percent favorability rating for Mulroney. In a position similar to that of Pierre Trudeau, Mulroney decided to retire, leaving Defence Minister Kim Campbell to be Prime Minister for the scant months between Mulroney's final departure from office and the election. Needless to say, she did not find this very helpful, as she had little time to either rally the party or make changes as the head of government.

The 1993 election resulted in the greatest loss of seats for one party in Canadian history, as the PC went from 151 seats to just 2 in Commons. The party would never recover, eventually merging with the Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reform Party) to become the Conservative Party of Canada, which currently is in power in a minority government.

After retirement, Mulroney went back into law and consulting, and was caught up in a scandal regarding payments by Airbus as "commissions" for Air Canada's purchase of Airbus jets. He also survived a bout with lung cancer, and became one of only two former foreign heads of state to eulogize a US President when he did so at the funeral for Ronald Reagan, with whom he had a good working relationship.

Mulroney remains one of the least popular PMs in Canadian history, although he has been noted as one of its most environmentally-friendly PMs.

I know most folks are wrapped up in basketball's March Madness, but the real madness starts on Friday with the regional tournament that will decide the Frozen Four.

As usual, I am running a free and (hopefully) fun bracket pool for the NCAA divison I men's hockey tournament. You can check out the bracket over at US College Hockey Online, and email me your picks by Thursday at 2 pm EDT.

I will again be using upset points in each round of the tournament, but as with last year it'll only be using regional seeding. So if Minnesota is once again vanquished by the champions from Atlantic Hockey (Air Force this time around), and you were smart/crazy enough to call it, you'd get 3 points.

Wins per round are scored 1-2-4-8. Ties will be broken by number of winners picked, and if we're still tied after that it'll be by number of upset points earned. If there's still a tie after that, well, you'll stay tied. It's not like there's any money running on this.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's person is Patrick McCartan, who today was named the winner of the 2007 Laetare Medal by the University of Notre Dame. Not conincidentally, McCartan is the chairman of Notre Dame's board of trustees. It seems that he's won it for how his leadership of the school's board has put ND on its current course. I don't know if that qualifies under the medal's purpose of honoring an American Catholic "whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity," but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

McCartan is a senior partner at Jones Day, and is nationally-recognized for his work as a trial lawyer.

The Laetare Medal is awarded each year on the fourth Sunday of Lent, known as Laetare Sunday, from the phrase "Laetare Jerusalem" or "Rejoice, O Jerusalem" that appears at the start of the day's Mass. Laetare Sunday is supposed to be a break from the rigors of Lent, kind of a day off that helps people focus for the rest of the season. Its marked in Mass by the appearance of flowers on the altar, priests wearing rose vestments rather than purple, and increased use of organ music during the ceremony. It is also the day that the Pope blesses any golden roses that he awards to churches and Catholic royalty for their devotion to the faith.

Sorry to say I'm not getting any medals or roses today. I suppose musing on a Tom Brady - Mother Angelica union didn't quite enrich the heritage of humanity.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today we look in on Keith Michael Patrick Cardinal O'Brien, the current Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, who is celebrating his 69th birthday today. He's held that post since 1985, and was made a cardinal in 2003. He worked up from a parish priest to posts of a more administrative nature, and was for a time the rector of a Scottish seminary.

He's also been noted as supporting Scottish independence, noting the positive impact self-determination has had in smaller countries. This apparently didn't make him many friends with the Labour party (which, perhaps not surprisingly, is pretty tight with Scottish Catholics).

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today you get Patsy Donovan, born on this day 1865 in Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland (where I've been!), who moved to the US and broke into baseball in 1886 with the New England League's team in Haverhill, Massachusetts (where I've been!). He'd eventually make the majors and play 17 seasons with the Pirates, Cardinals, Senators, and Superbas (and served as player-coach for a few, too).

At his retirement, Donovan held the major league record for games played by a right fielder. He was a career .300 hitter, and was in the top 10 career for games played, assists, and double plays.

After retirement, he was a scout and manager for the Red Sox. In the scouting role he was key in the team landing Babe Ruth, as he got tipped off from one of the Xaverian brothers at the Babe's orphanage. So, in a way, he's to blame for everything.

Sullivan died on Christmas Day in 1953. I'm willing to bet that wasn't on his list.

On-package advertising that I would only notice during Lent:

"Now Even More Lentils!"

Not surprisingly, this was being used to tout Progresso's lentil soup in the microwavable bowl. And while I don't have previous lentil soup-eating experience to make a comparison, there were no shortage of lentils.

I've been trying to come up with the most unusual/funniest item you could advertise with this phrase. So far the best I've been able to come up with is Massengill's most famous disposable product. Do your worst.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Born on this date in 1905, Berthold Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg was the oldest of three brothers born into an aristocratic German family from Wurttemburg. He went into law, and was a professor of international law at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. He joined the navy in 1939 as a staff judge and advisor on international law.

But as noble Prussians, Berthold and his family and friends weren't too keen on the Nazis, and a group of them planned to assassinate Hitler (with many of the meetings taking place in Berthold's apartment in Berlin). Berthold's brother Claus was the only one of their group with access to Hitler, and on July 20, 1944, he brought a bomb (hidden in his briefcase) into a staff meeting where Hitler was in attendance. The bomb went off, but Hitler escaped with minor injuries.

The Stauffenbergs, along with their fellow co-conspiritors, were not so lucky. Roughly 200 people were executed, though that includes a number of folks who the Gestapo just wanted to get rid of, and saw this as a good pretext. Many of the central plotters were hanged and killed by slow strangulation. Berthold was somewhat luckier, as he was executed by firing squad.

Unless Stanford does something really impressive, I am going to start the men's tournament 0-3. Which may lead you to ask why I took Davidson, Texas Tech, and Stanford. All good questions. The only one that has a good answer is Texas Tech: I took them because they were playing Chestnut Hill College. Otherwise, I just like the upsets? Sure, we'll go with that.

There's a bit of a hullabaloo (or is it a foofraw?) coming in the near future for college hockey, centering around the disposition of College Hockey America, a five-team conference that will likely disband at the end of the season. The problem arises with where these teams will go, as they're pretty diverse geographically (New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and Alabama) and the closest leagues to some of them are pretty full already (the ECAC and CCHA having 12 teams already).

Oh, and there's also a problem that, with 59 division I teams, one league is going to have to have an odd number of teams.

Of course, I've worked up a modest proposal, which I will bore you with now. Note that I make no claims to this being based in reality, though I'll try to keep close.

Hockey East would see the least change, only adding UConn, which currently plays in Atlantic Hockey. Given that all the other flagship state university campuses play in Hockey East, it's a logical fit. The UConn women's team also already plays in Hockey East.

This makes Hockey East the conference with the odd number (11), but they went for a few years with 9, so they've at least had some experience with the scheduling issues this would raise.

Teams: BU, BC, Northeastern, Providence, Vermont, UNH, Maine, UMass-Amherst, UMass-Lowell, Merrimack, UConn

The ECAC currently has 12 members, six who are otherwise in the Ivy League and six who are not. This suggests a couple of moves.

First move - split the six Ivies into an Ivy League hockey conference. Six is the minimum number needed, and given the reputation of the schools I think they'd be able to pull this off.

Teams: Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale

Second move - with the remaining six teams, add RIT (who has just made the jump to divison I and was this year's regular season champ in Atlantic Hockey) and Niagara. They'd both fit in well with the ECAC's core of New York teams.

Teams: Clarkson, St. Lawrence, RPI, Union, Quinnipiac, Colgate, RIT, Niagara

Atlantic Hockey stands pat as an eight-team league after losing RIT and UConn. I've kept Air Force in the league as they intentionally joined so they could play Army each year. Of course, they moved from College Hockey America, so in a way this is all their fault.

Teams: Army, Air Force, AIC, Bentley, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Canisius, Sacred Heart

The CCHA keeps most of its current membership, divesting itself of its two most outlying members - Nebraska-Omaha and Alaska - and taking on Robert Morris and Wayne State. The latter is a no-brainer, given its Detroit location. Robert Morris is a bit more of a stretch, but Pittsburgh is a more CCHA-friendly location than Omaha or Fairbanks, so I figure it would work.

Teams: Michigan, Michigan State, Ferris State, Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Ohio State, Miami, Bowling Green, Notre Dame, Wayne State, Robert Morris

The WCHA gets a pretty radical makeover, in one of two options:

Option 1 sees the league take on Alaska, Nebraska-Omaha, Alabama-Huntsville, and Bemidji State and grow to a 14 team league. There is actually a decent way to split into two seven teams divisions:

Teams in the Upper Midwest Divison: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Minnesota State, Minnesota-Duluth, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, St. Cloud State

Teams in the Everywhere Else Divison: North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Alaska, Alaska-Anchorage, Nebraska-Omaha, Alabama-Huntsville

Option 2 would take the two Alaska schools, the two Colorado schools, Omaha, and Huntsville and make a conference out of them (which I'm dubbing the Rocky Mountain Hockey Association; if Air Force can play in Atlantic Hockey, Huntsville and Omaha can play in the RMHA). Everyone else stays in the WCHA.

This would help to counter-balance the creation of another "Eastern" league with the Ivies spinning off. Still, the second option here would lead to seven conferences, with two of them having the minimum number of members. I did work out a plan with six conferences, but it's ugly. Let's just say the resulting Great Lakes Hockey Association is more of an organizing principle than geographic fact (and even then sees the three teams in the Buffalo area spread over three leagues).

I'm sure some of you have better ideas than me on this, so please share!

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's victim is Charles de Lorraine, duc de Mayenne, who was the military leader of the Catholic League during France's Wars of Religion. On this day in 1590, he led his troops against Protestant forces led by Henry of Navarre. Charles had the edge in numbers, but that was reduced early in the fight when his mercenary troops, sympathetic towards the Protestants, put down their weapons. The fight continued, but when the Protestants were able to best Charles's cavalry things were pretty much done.

Things would not get easier for Charles after this. He managed to raise the siege of Paris that Henry laid on after Ivry, but faced dissention in the League from a radical wing that wanted to accept the help - and claim to the throne - from Spain. Charles would eventually present this claim to the Estates-General, but at the same time was negotiating with Henry to take the throne once he completed his conversion to Catholicism. A truce was signed in 1593, allowing Henry to take the throne as Henry IV. Charles didn't get to live peacefully until 1595, given continued League strife.

Interestingly, Charles turned down support to claim the throne for himself, opting instead to back the League plan to install Cardinal de Bourbon as Charles X. This may have worked out better had the cardinal not died after the loss at Ivry.

Happy holidays!

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today we've got Victor IV, born Gregorio Conti, who was elected antipope on this day in 1138. He took over for Anacletus II, who actually has the more interesting story.

When Honorius II lay dying in 1130, a group of cardinals put the succession vote in the hands of a commission led by Haimeric, chamberlain to Honorius. They elected Innocent II, who was consecrated as pope the day after Honorius died.

This didn't sit well with the majority of cardinals, who elected Anacletus. Innocent wound up fleeing Rome, and was in reality the antipope in this situation. At least until he won the backing of several European royals, leaving Anacletus with little support. Anacletus was reasonably well liked, but couldn't command much power, staying in Rome until his death. At which point Innocent returned to Rome and, a couple months later, had Victor IV submit to him thanks to the intercession of Berard of Clairvaux.

(The Catholic Encyclopedia gives more info on both Innocent and Anacletus, and differs on some points, such as Innocent being consecrated the day after Honorius died. Anyway, more detail there for those who want it.)

Book Log 2007 #8: A Taste for Death by P. D. James

Another good Adam Dalgliesh, as he and his newly-formed squad try to solve what may be a double homicide involving a government Minister.

Unlike some of the other books I've read in this series, I got more background about Dalgliesh and his associates, making a nice balance with the mystery. It was a case where I wish I was reading these in order, as I get the feeling there are details that would have helped me when the book dealt with personal matters. There's also part of me that would have liked an approach here more in line with A Certain Justice where the book focuses mainly on those involved in the case. I'd have liked to known more about what the Minister went through in the day or so before his death, and his noble family could have easily carried a book by themselves.

Anyway, recommended as always.

I used to run a March Madness pool. It was reasonably successful, with a number of entries in the teens. I spent the two weeks watching games, going over brackets, and working out situations where my best bracket could still lead to victory. Let's just say that the infernal Christian Laetner shot against Kentucky is still something I care not to watch.

But as years passed, and as the usual pool entrants have moved along, I've stopped running the pool. Too hard to collect the money, and given what little I watch of college hoops now it feels like throwing money away even moreso than usual.

Even so, I find that I've used four of my five ESPN.com bracket entries. One went to Craig's group (info on his blog), one to the Deadspin group (info on their blog), one to the default group of BU fans, and one to a group set up by Matt Harper-Nixon. He said to invite anyone along that might be interested. I assume that includes some of you.

Group name: Blind Guessing is the Key
password: timesuck

I may do my last entry for fun in the "which mascot could defeat the other?" style. Learning today that buckeyes are poisonous for many creatures puts a new spin on things, for certain.

So as bothersome as it might be to have a hymn stuck in your head, I've been going most of the day with parts of "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood making regular appearances. It was the last song we heard on the radio driving home last night, and like virus it incubated overnight before overwhelming whatever parts of the brain cause a song to get stuck in your head.

That being said, I think it's pretty clear that Mary Magdalene could shoot the whiskey and a combo. Probably in short order, too.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's person is Sister of Mercy Suzanne Toolan. Born in Michigan, she moved to Hollywood while in her teens. She's lived in California ever since, and in her calling has been involved in prison ministry and, most notably, liturgical music. Among the many contemporary hymns to her credit is "I Am the Bread of Life," which was our communion hymn today and has been stuck in my head for most of the afternoon.

Sister Suzanne also has some connection to the Taize movement, an offshoot of an ecumenical Christian community in France.

Ran across this and thought it was amusing. Consider yourself tagged.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next three sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
6. Tag five other people to do the same.

"To be effective a team must be clear on its roles (who does what?) and goals (what are they trying to accomplish?). Norms are the assumptions or expectations held by group members that govern the kinds of behaviors that are appropriate or inappropriate in the group. They are the ground rules which regulate the group's behavior."

(from The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams by Ken Blanchard, Donald Carew, and Eunice Parisi-Carew)

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's person is Tom Brady, a nice Catholic boy who not only has led the New England Patriots to three Super Bowls, but who, by the end of the year, will be the father of children by former girlfriend Bridget Moynihan and, if reports are to be believed, uber-rebound girl Gisele Bundchen.

Which leads to the question, who's next in line to sow the seeds of love and earn a Brady bump? I've got some ideas.

Britney Spears - she's an obvious choice, given her single status, celebrity, and apparent willingness to couple with anyone. But she's kind of the pace-setter, to use a horse racing analogy. She'll burn out early and not be around at the end. Oh, wait, I just described her career.

Anyway, there are some impediments to this happening, such as Britney's kit bag full of crazy, her Flowbee-on-crack hairsyle, and the public familiarity with her labia. Plus, does Tom really want to go in the footprints (so to speak) of K-Fed? Not the best idea for a guy who, based on past results, doesn't like to wear a raincoat. Odds of hitting her with a baby one more time: 500 to 1.

Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Tara Reid, Hillary Duff - to continue with the horse racing analogy, this is the field. None of them really has a a better chance than the other, and none have a really great chance at that. Of course, if this were actually a horse race, I'd have included Ashlee Simpson.

The only way anyone in this group gets that knocked up feeling is if Tom hits them all at once. And do you doubt he could do that? Odds of hitting the reciever in stride: 250 to 1. Special odds of making step-quints: 80 to 1.

The entire female population of Lehi, Utah - Utah has the highest birth rate of any state in the US, and Lehi has the highest birth rate of any city in Utah. Seems like a pretty fecund place, just the location where Tom can plant his flag. Repeatedly. I have complete faith in Tom's superhuman loins; I just worry that the Roman faith will clash with the Mormon faith. Odds of some really Big Love: 837 to 1.

Rachael Ray - she's popular, has her own career, and with her recent deal to promote Dunkin' Donuts, she's got ever greater cachet for New Englanders. Tom could easily make a 30 minute meal of her, and she won't be yelling "Yum-O" due to their pre-coital repast. Only thing is, I'm not sure Tom is willing to get with someone who vaguely looks like a Muppet. Odds of bunning her oven: 50 to 1.

Mother Angelica - she's Catholic, unmarried (temporally), and clearly doesn't fool around. But she's also over 80 and clearly doesn't condone fooling around. That and she no longer wears an eye patch, which limits the pirate nun fantasies that Tom may have had in his head. Still, if he has faith... Odds of a Maculate Conception: 666 to 1.

A woman named Jennifer - Aniston, Hudson, that girl you know who works at the Starbucks. Could be any one of them. Tom could take care of business during a TV time out and get back in the huddle with time to spare and water bottles for his teammates. He's that good. Odds of zygoting: 40 to 1.

Reese Witherspoon - Reese may be a little on the nose for Tom, as she's an actress who is older than him. On the other hand, her career is more equal to his than Bridget's was, and Reese already has two kids. She probably wouldn't even notice another. Problem here is that Reese has been linked with Jake Gyllenhaal. I don't think the universe could withstand a confrontation between that much man-pretty. Think of humanity, Tom! Odds of making a sweet home in Alabama: 25 to 1. Odds if Jake is still in the picture: 2.4 quadrillion to 1.

Tom Brady - If you want perfection, you keep the job in-house. Sure, there are hurdles - Tom doesn't have the lady parts to make a baby, and even if he did he'd have to figure out a way to knock himself up - but does anyone doubt that Tom could do this if he put his mind to it? You can almost see Peyton Manning futiley trying this after Tom has self-sired a dozen strapping young sons. Odds of self-service Brady production: 1.00000004 to 1.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today we look at three guys named John of God, or more accurately Joao de Deus, as all three are from Portuguese-speaking countries. One is a Portuguese friar turned saint, so the only thing I'll mention about him here is that he was born and died on March 8, which I assume wasn't what he wanted for his 55th birthday.

The second, also born March 8, is apparently considered Portugal's greatest mid 19th century poet. He also dabbled in politics and education reform.

The third is a faith healer living in Brazil. I don't think he's very Catholic, so that is all I have to say about that.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today we look at Stephen Tempier, the bishop of Paris who, in 1277, published a list of 219 condemnations, philosophical and theological ideas and theories that were not to be taught at the University of Paris due to their deviation from Church orthodoxy. He'd previously published 13 other condemnations, and several more would be issued from the University of Paris in the coming century.

From what (admittedly little) I've read on this, it's hard to tell how much of this was Tempier's idea and how much it was influenced by Rome. Most of what I've read paints this as an important event for philosophy moreso than religion, given its impact on the development of philosophy as an independent field of study.

In any case, click here for a much better discussion of the event than I can give.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's person is Michaelangelo, who was born on this day in 1475. David, Pieta, the Sistine Chapel paintings, the dome of St. Peter's, Julius II's tomb, and so on.

And while there's all that connection between religion, art, and architecture, what may be less well known is Michaelangelo's poetry. Probably because much of his written work was penned for younger males. That's something they didn't really hit on in The Agony and the Ecstacy.

Book Log 2007 #7: The United States of Arugula by David Kamp

This books seeks to chronicle how, in roughly 50 years, we went from a nation of Jell-O salads and processed everything to one that, while still too happy to buy processed crap, has McDonalds talking about the 16 greens they put in their salad.

It starts with the "Big Three" of post-WWII gourmandism: James Beard, Julia Child, and Craig Claiborne. Kamp tracks how their influence over what Americans ate (and what they read and watched about what they ate) led to a new generation that took the traditional fine dining and took it back to its roots, simplifying technique and presentation while looking for the freshest local ingredients. It's here that we're introduced to Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, and the rise of California cuisine.

It's at this point that the book veers away from the broad analysis of American foodways and into celebrity chef territory as we hop from Waters to Wolfgang Puck to the current crop. There are some side trips (notably organic farming and the rise of specialty stores like Dean & DeLuca), but for the most part the latter half of the book is more about how the top chefs and their restaurants than ways in which their influence trickled down. There is a stab at this at the end with talk of sustainable agriculture and a movement to educate American kids about food during lunch, but there's fertile ground left unsowed.

Still, it was an interesting read. If nothing else it's rekindled an interest in reading bios on Beard and Child.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's person is Karl Rahner, who is considered one of the most influential Catholic theologians of the 20th century (if not the most influential). An ordained priest who spent most of World War II tending a congregation in rural Bavaria, he spent most of his life as a professor and writer.

While he wrote on many topics, and combined the writings and thoughts of Aquainas, Heidegger, and Kant, his most influential theory had to do with the individual's knowledge of God. He posited a natural knowledge of God which was incomplete, and that complete knowledge could only come through a supernatural revelation. Grace plays a role in there, but I have to admit I'm lucky that I was even able to make what I've written to this point sound coherent. No theologian, I.

Rahner was also appointed as a theological expert to Vatican II, and apparently exerted a fair amount of influence.

P.S.: Given that it's the first Monday in March, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Casimir Pulaski, the Polish hero of the US Revolutionary War, whose holiday is being celebrated today. I figured he'd be OK to mention given that Poland is one of the more uniformly Catholic countries out there, but his bio is in the Catholic Encyclopedia, so I'm taking that as confirmation.

Anyway, a happy day off to our friends in Illinois and Wisconsin.

No good excuse for the past weekend's radio silence, just found other stuff to do. Sadly, none of it was particularly more exciting than posting here, just the usual chores that dot a weekend with no planned events. Kind of nice, actually.

We did not go out to visit the USS John F. Kennedy, probably a smart move given that (on Saturday, at least) they capped the line at about 9:30 am. By that point it was roughly a mile long and four people across.

There was also some talk of going to New Bedford and taking in the various whaling and maritime sites before seeing if Wentworth could best nationally-ranked UMass-Dartmouth for the ECAC Northeast crown and a trip to the NCAAs. This plan died mostly of inertia - though Saturday would have been a nice day to mill around a waterfront - and the realization that it'd be odd to head down there while the New Bedfordian (New Bedfordite? New Bedfordvillian? New Bedfordianite?) we best know is in Florida (and his better half is likely out at Amherst watching their hockey team sweep two games from Maine).

(FWIW, Wentworth couldn't quite get it done, losing 4-3. However, former employer Babson College knocked off New England College to win the ECAC East crown and make the national tournament. Their reward is a game against Manhattanville, the second-ranked team in the country. Good luck!)

Anyway, quiet weekend. At least we got to enjoy the higher temps before we get back into the deep freeze this week.

Book Log 2006 #6: The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury

Another in the spate of post-Da Vinci books about the Templars and their ilk, this one involves a female archaeologist who is witness to an odd theft during a show of Vatican artwork. She winds up teamed with an FBI agent, who is not thrilled at her becoming more of a partner than a witness. They risk life and limb in a race against those who would like to reveal the secret of the Templars and bring down the modern Catholic church.

It's all pretty standard for the genre. Not as dopey as Da Vinci but not exactly crackling prose, either.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

We're back with someone who, unlike JFK, wielded power both political and religious: Pierre Guérin de Tencin, who died on this day in 1758. He went to Rome to assist a cardinal during the election of Innocent XIII, and stayed on for several years as the French representative to the Vatican. During this time he was made a cardinal, and was given the see of Lyons in 1740, two years before becoming French minister of state. He'd retire to his diocese in 1752.

Part of the reason for his retirement, and a certain curb on his power generall, was his sister Claudine. A former nun, Claudine would form a literary circle and become a novelist in her own right, but prior to that she was a courtesan whose influence in political affairs initiall helped her brother, but would ultimately hurt it given her affairs, whose results included an illegitimate son and a suicide of a former lover. I can't imagine there were a lot of family reunions.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today it's John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States and only Catholic to hold the office. He's also in no danger of being canonized any time soon.

I'm going with JFK because of two ties to today. The first is that it was on this day in 1961 that he authorized the Peace Corps, one of the highlights of his administration. The other is that today, the USS John F. Kennedy pulled into Boston harbor for a weekend visit, the last before it is decomissioned. It is either the last or next to last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier in the US Navy (I've read both).

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's pick is Edwin, the first abbott of Westminster Abbey, which according to one source "opened" today in 1066. I use the quotes as the Abbey was really a rebuilt version of one already standing, the improvements coming from Edward the Confessor, who built the Abbey instead of going on pilgrimage to Rome. As luck (?) would have it, Edwards was too ill to attend the consecration of the new abbey's church, and he died a few days later.

Both Edward and Edwin are honored in the Royal Army Medical Corps window on the north side of the Abbey's nave. They were apparently friendly, which explains why Edward decided to rebuild Edwin's abbey rather than start anew.

Edwin served as abbott until c. 1071. That's about all I can tell you about him, which is kind of surprising given the amount of info about the Abbey that's online.

Five more questions, this time from Julie:

1. Have you ever seriously considering living outside New England? If so, what would be your first choice of locations?

Not really, if you consider serious consideration being relocation for an indefinite period of time. There was about a month where I was going to William and Mary for law school (deposited and everything), but hadn't thought beyond that about living in Virginia. I had job interviews in Tulsa and Titusville, Florida during law school, and would have lived in either place, though I don't think I ever saw myself as a staying in either place for the long term.

Were I going to pull up stakes, I'd like to stay coastal. I like the water, even though I don't swim very well and find the beach a little boring (not to mention the sunburns!).

2. One thing we have in common is having taken "bent arrow" career paths. What have you found to be the most important predictors of job satisfaction vs. dissatisfaction?

For me, it's been the amount of trust a supervisor puts in me to work independently. My first few jobs out of school were all ones where I had a significant amount of freedom to complete tasks, which I still prefer to this day over a boss who keeps tabs. I'm probably a little more sensitive to this than the average person, but not tremendously so.

3. Following up on Greg's question: A few years ago, you posted a truly moving tribute to your late sister. What characteristics of her do you see in yourself?

I've been thinking about this for a few days, and it's been hard to come up with something. We tended to be opposites in just about everything, which is something I think I've only appreciated in the last few years. If forced to say something I'd go with sense of humor; mine's probably drier than her's was, but they're pretty similar.

4. Riffing off the same post but on a much lighter note: You mentioned that your family was very supportive when you played sports. What sports did you play as a kid, and which one was your favorite?

In an organized sense, I played baseball and soccer, and was part of a youth bowling "league" for a few years (it's wasn't a league per se, as there weren't teams but rather recognition for individual achievement). Baseball was the sport I really wanted to do well in, but I was a no-tool player. The best think I can say about my baseball career is that I managed to play every position but pitcher, which I'll spin as a willingness to do what the team needed.

I also played a lot of street hockey during the summer as part of a town rec program. We'd play every night for an hour or two on weeknights. I probably did this every summer between the ages of 7 and 14. This was probably the sport I enjoyed the most, given its informal nature and the discovery that I was a reasonably good goalie. I never made the jump to ice hockey due to a lack of opportunity and skating ability, but the street hockey was fine.

5. And, on a still lighter note: Describe, in as many words as you like, the Tao of Gerbilitude.

Gerbilitude is 80 percent knowledge, 15 percent team dissention, and 5 percent dietary intake that would make a cardiologist weep.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

I'm actually going with two today, both birthday boys.

The first is Constantine the Great, the Roman emporer whose conversion to Christianity and tolerance of the faith in the Edict of Milan are considered milestones in religious history. Of course, it's never that easy; Galerius passed a law tolerating Christianity two years before the Edict of Milan, and there's some debate as to how and when Constantine converted.

Constantine is also remembered for calling the Council of Nicea, the first ecumenical council of bishops, which went a long way towards standardizing Christian practice. He's also attached to the Donation of Constantine, a document that purported to give the pope control of Rome and the western Roman empire. Used for centuries by popes to maintain temporal control of various parts of Europe, an analysis of the document's language and content point to it being a fake.

The other person with a bithday today is The Knights of Prosperity star Donal Logue. I'm not sure how Catholic he is, but his dad left the priesthood to get married and start a family. Logue was also born in Canada and has Canadian and Irish passports, even though he's spent most of his life living in southern California. I just thought that was interesting.

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today brings us Antoine Augustin Calmet, a French theologian born on this day in 1672. He's best known for a 23 volume commentary on the Bible which was quite popular, though criticized for not fully addressing the more difficult passages. Which would make him the perfect college undergrad.

Not much more to say about Antoine, other than to note that his Wikipedia entry is pretty much his Catholic Encyclopedia entry. Even with attribution, it's plagarific.

The lack of posting yesterday and today's earlier short post were the result of my first trip to an IKEA store, specifically the one in Stoughton.

IKEA, in case you're not familiar, is a Swedish company that makes home goods and furnishings that are known for their design, low prices, and furniture that you have to assemble yourself. A couple of years back we mail-ordered some cheap nightstand-type things from them, but with the in-laws being down for the weekend and my sister-in-law living pretty close to the IKEA store, we spent most of Saturday on a family outing at their huge three-story building.

The first thing we did when we got there was eat, it being roughly lunch time. I'd heard much talk about their dining options, and went with what I'd suppose is their most iconic entree: Swedish meatballs served with potatoes, with gravy and a lingonberry jam on the side. For food served in a furniture store, it was pretty good. The lingonberry beverage (not a soda, but I don't think it was juice per se) was also tasty, if a little sweet. Certainly, I'd eat there again on a future trip.

As for the store, I'll admit sensory overload as we wandered through its showroom, given the number and variety of displays. We spent a lot of time looking at the room set-ups, and found a couple of kitchens that we'd be happy with when the time comes to renovate (though we'd probably opt for their installation service, given our lack of skills). We also found what we came for in the first place, a TV stand. The wife was sick of our last stand (which is really an end table), and that we both found one we liked was a miracle in and of itself.

Once we meandered through the showroom, it was downstairs to the marketplace, which is a cavernous maze of non-furniture home items, from kitchen utensils to bedding to window shades to framed pictures. We picked up a floor lamp and eyed some Roman blinds, but otherwise spent a lot of time trying not to get lost.

Then it was into the self-service furniture area, where you pick up the rectangular case containing your deconstructed item. And while we both found a TV stand we liked, apparently a number of other people did, too. They were out of stock.

This led to my second-ever trip to IKEA today, as the info desk noted that they'd be getting more of the TV stands today. Rather than follow the arrows that lead you through the store, we cut right in to the markeplace via the self-serve furniture. This is not as easy as it sounds, as most people follow the arrow-laden path through the store. Throw in the weekend crowd and it's another opportunity to feel what a salmon feels when heading upriver to spawn (we skipped the spawning for another look at the Roman blinds, which we passed on).

So we finally got our TV stand (and another floor lamp) and went home to put it together. Now, I appreciate the cost savings of unassembled furniture, and like the improved design and (in most cases) quality of IKEA furniture versus the kits from China. However, there are two ways in which IKEA could really improve things:

1. Instructions for assembly do not use words. It's all pictures. There are also no labels on pieces to indicate sides or the difference between the front and back of pieces. And while most folks would be able to sort this out based on where the holes are in the pictures, some of us aren't so smart. In my defense, there were three holes going vertically and horizontally on the pieces, and I just went in the wrong direction.

Still, I was sort of missing the labels and "helpful" Engrish instructions.

2. Make the screws out of better metal. Those screws I put in the wrong holes didn't like being taken out and put back in again, and in one case a screw stripped itself before I got it in halfway the first time. The wife was able to get it out and put it in its proper hole, showing more patience and better language choice than I did.

(Oh yeah, giving up cursing for Lent? Didn't go so well today.)

The wife is generally better at putting this stuff together than I am, as I get exasperated pretty easily. OK, "exasperated" may be the wrong word for something that repeatedly triggers the less savory part of my vocabulary. Not sure why putting furniture together pushes those buttons, but it does.

(Aside: the year before my mom was diagnosed with cancer, she had some work done on her knees, the result of which was that she had to spend a lot of time off of her feet. This came right after Christmas, when one of her presents was a VHS/DVD cabinet. Given her knees, I was tabbed to put the thing together, and for a couple of hours she got great entertainment from my adventures in assembly. It really was funny, in retrospect, and one of the last really funny times we had together before she was diagnosed with cancer. I know, way to bring down the room, but it's the way it goes.)

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today's subject is Pope Pius V, who on this day in 1570 excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I. He would later promulgate a bull releasing English Catholics from recognizing her as sovereign, nice in theory but a bit problematic for those Catholics on the ground in Old Blighty.

Another reformer, particularly in regards to the morals and financial probity of the Holy See, Pius V is also known for two long-lasting changes. First, he helped created a new missal for Mass, which was in place until changes in 1970. Second, he started the habit of the Pope dressing in white (which he did prior to election as a Dominican). Prior to him, popes dressed in red like other cardinals; some of the current papal vestments are still red, mostly shoes and hats.

(I promise, it won't be a pope every day, but given the lead bit of info this was a hard one to pass up.)

OK, so after the groundswell(?) of favorable opinion about Lentorama, I present:

Lentorama 2007: The Non-Canonized Catholic Person of the Day

Today we check in on Pope Paul II, who was born on this day 590 years ago as Pietro Barbo. Suffice it to say he's not going to crack anyone's top 10 list of popes, as his longest lasting acts were to create the jubilee years and OK the wearing of the red biretta for all cardinals (they're the boxy hats with the points).

Pretty much everything Paul II did with regards to foreign policy was a bust, as he managed to irritate the king of France, get the King of Hungary to declare what was a fairly mediocre war against the excommunicated King of Bohemia, couldn't convince Frederick III to wage a crusade against the Turks, and failed in attempts to merge the Russian church with Rome. He did manage to curb the influence Venice had on papal affairs, which is something.

Paul II also undertook a fair amount of reform within the Vatican, which was about as popular as such reform is today. While he did supress some intellectuals on religious grounds, he did support Christian scholars, the building and repair of monuments, and collections of art. He also seems to have been a bit of a dandy, with a taste for fine clothing and jewels (maybe he's behind the pope's big hat and golden slippers?). Paul II also provided a great deal of entertainment for Roman citizens, not quite to the "bread and circuses" level of imperial Rome but pretty lavish for the time.

While he was the nephew of a pope, Paul II wasn't as nepotistic as many popes, and didn't seem to have the penchant for out-and-out vice that other popes did. So while not a great pope, he wasn't exactly a dud, either.

Book Log 2007 #5: The Perfect $100,000 House by Karrie Jacobs

The title object of this book seems impossible, at least to anyone whose bought a house recently. The idea of "perfect" and "$100,000 house" going together doesn't quite jibe. But the author goes on a cross-country trek to find such a beast, and does so in more than one location.

As you can imagine, a $100,000 house does have some limitations. By popular standards, it's generally small, though not always at or below the author's target of 1000 square feet. It's sometimes designed and/or built by architecture students, or by architects whose ideas may not mesh with neighbors who enjoy a street of Colonials. And the price doesn't include land (among other things), just the house.

All that being said, the book does make a good argument against the current trend in cookie-cutter houses and for a smarter design/build approach that can still utilize the methods that make current home construction affordable.

My biggest problem with the book was the lack of photos. A book about design and architecture with no photos! Each chapter had a drawing, and while the drawings were nice, photos would have been a huge help for a reader who isn't attuned to thinking visually.

Sorry for the lack of posting, but it's mostly been for a lack of postable info (not that it's stopped me before, I suppose). The highlight of the last week was braving the nor'easter to have Valentine's dinner at Terramia, a very nice North End restaurant. Otherwise, it was a lot of sitting tight and waiting for the thaw.

Which leads us to today and Ash Wednesday, wherein I have my annual bout of not knowing what to give up for Lent. I'm going to give cursing another try, and so far it's been OK. We'll see how long that lasts.

I've also been debating whether or not to bring back Lentorama and its saint of the day. I'm leaning against it, given the number of saints with thin back stories. I know that announcement will sadden the three of you who followed along.

If you've not read Greg's blog recently, he's got a new meme to propagate: a five-question "interview" based on leaving a comment of interest with the interviewer. So the following is my interview based on questions provided by Greg. Should you care to be interviewed by me, leave a comment.

1. Why so long learning to drive?

The simple answer is inertia. I took the driver's test my senior year in high school, didn't pass, and drifted into other things before leaving for BU. It helped that most of my friends were a year or two older (and got their licences as early as possible), and that my hometown is small enough that you can get pretty much anywhere you need to go by walking or bike. Throw in 10 years or so of living in Boston, and there you have it.

But I have to admit I never really had the seemingly universal desire of all teens to get my licence. Even now, I think I'd be OK with not having a licence. The wife is certainly glad I have it.

2. Did you ever play an instrument? If not, what do you think would be fun to take up?

I was in the sixth grade bell choir, whose members were supposedly those who scored the highest on a musical aptitude test. I think I just test well. In any case, I won't say that I really learned how to play the bells, as our music teacher would circle the notes for us. It was really an exercise in repeatedly counting to four.

At BU I took one semester of piano. The teacher was a grad student who was fulfilling some sort of requirement, and thus not really into the teaching part. We spent three months playing and never used the black keys! This really screwed me when I took the second semester class, which was full of music majors.

From all of the RA trainings I've developed some mad skillz on the kazoo, too.

3. Within the past few years you got back into the habit of going to mass. What prompted that?

To say that I got back into the habit suggests that I had a habit to start. Church attendance in my family was never compulsory, and for many years it was mostly related to attending CCD before or after mass. As we got older I went less frequently, pretty much only on holidays or the more notable obligatory days around Lent.

What got me into the habit was the wife, who was at least a semi-regular attendee at Marsh when she was a free range Protestant. As she was deciding to take the papal plunge we moved up to Brighton (the summer of 2001) and started going to St. Ignatius (which is about the only part of the BC campus I'll speak positively about; they let you stand during communion!).

I do find that I enjoy going, and find our current parish has the best sense of community of any that I've been in. Though it's odd being a young(er) couple without kids, as the two main buy-ins seem to be having kids in the parish school or being elderly.

4. During an an average workday, what random thought about Sarah will pop into your head and make you smile?

It's usually the thought I have at about 4 pm when I think to myself that she's going to call, and she almost always does. Like a lot of couples we talk at least once during the work day, and the late afternoon calls are faves as it means we'll be together shortly... unless she's calling to say she's working late.

Other than that, if I read something online about a shared interest and I hear her voice in my head. That makes me laugh, especially when I share the item with her later and her actual response matches the one I came up with!

5. Sadly, I never met your folks. Which of their good/bad traits do you most see in yourself?

Hmm, this is a toughie. I would say that from both of my parents I took a love of reading, as both were regular readers. I'd also say that they both influenced my sense of humor, with my mom providing the prankish side and my dad the drier humor that I more often use. I'd also attribute my interest in sports to them, as both were fairly athletic as kids, and were very supportive of us when we played. This then extended into spectating, and you can thank my dad for planting the seed of BC disdain. You can also thank(?) him for my Notre Dame fandom. Both of them were pretty solidly Democrats, so you can put my left-of-centrism here, too (though my dad held a Neanderthalic position on immigration, which I don't share).

On the less positive side, neither of my parents were particularly great patients, and I take a similar tack, though not to the degree that either of them did. I also think I've taken after my dad in following an easier path, work-wise. Not that the current job isn't challenging, but like my dad I'm not looking out for a job that'll call for a ton of extra hours (which is kind of ironic, given the years spent working in the sometimes all-consuming world of residence life). The wife also likes to reference a family penchant for pack-ratism, to which I'll plead no contest. She also thinks the Coen side has some tendency for going a little over-ripe in the melon, to which I'm going to ask for a continuance.

For all the talk of dominance by the BU men's hockey team in the Beanpot, the opposite story can be told for the BU women's team. Since its inception in 1979, the women's team has won the Beanpot once - in 1981. For years they were the only club team in the competition, and the string of consolation game appearances - usually losses - underscored that fact.

But last night, for the first time since that 1981 win, the women made the Beanpot final. The only problem was that they had to play BC at BC. And it turned out as you might expect, with BC winning the thing 6-1.

And while it smacks of "it's an honor to just be nominated," it's a pretty big positive to be in the title game at this early stage of the team's varsity status. Especially when you consider that two years ago, they finished last while being outscored 13-1.

So congrats of a sort to the Lady Icedogs. Hopefully the stretch run goes better for them than last night.

Book Log 2007 #4: The Coffee Trader by David Liss

I'd been looking for A Conspiracy of Paper, Liss's Edgar-winning first novel, but the only book of his the library had was this one, the story of a 17th century speculator named Miguel Lienzo who is living in Amsterdam as part of its community of Portuguese Jews. Having seen some business reversals, Lienzo devises a plan involving the coffee trade, which is just beginning to take off. But with his plans for wealth he must also deal with a partner he doesn't trust, a brother he doesn't like, a sister-in-law he may like too much, a former partner who has apparently gone mad, and a community leader who can crush Lienzo whenever he wants. There's also some excerpts from the memoirs of a moneylender sprinkled throughout, which gives an alternate (though not really objective) view of the action.

While it's not really a mystery or a thriller, there's healthy bits of both, which keeps the pace up, and the depiction of the Amsterdam Jewish community is pretty interesting. It does end a little too neatly, but that's a minor problem. It's worth a read.

So I've now completed the Hockey East road trip, getting the Mullins Center at UMass-Amherst under my belt. The game itself was a 3-2 win that saw us take our now-usual sluggish start that builds into a lead, but with the wrinkle of either fatigue or complacency allowing UMass to get back into the game. Throw in a penalty with two minutes to go and you have some interesting 6 on 4 play which thankfully didn't lead to a tie.

There was a fair amount of pre-game spectacle, from a dry ice-filled intro to a pre-game speech from the UMass coach (which at times seemed like a dig at our fans with the multiple exhortations for classiness). The fans were pretty into the game, and there were good numbers, though at least some of the students are still learning the game (it seems like many of them were sitting right behind us).

A big chunk of the arena is sold as general admission, which is good in that it allows you to stake out decent seats. It's bad in that you have people scouting out seats into the first period, like they just got to the movies and are trying to find seats together. That'd be less irritating if the place was full, but it wasn't. Not that I'd expect it, given that it seats over 8300 for hockey.

Two things I didn't care for:

1. The lack of a central scoreboard. They've tried to remedy this by putting video scoreboards at either end, but it's not optimal for a newer building, I think. All of the banners use the middle space, which seems like a waste.

2. The general boxiness of the arena, which was reminiscent of both Tsongas and the DCU Center in Worcester that way. That's more aesthetic than anything else, of course.

All that being said, I did enjoy the experience and would go back out to Amherst for games without reservation. Now that I've been there - and now that Vermont is in Hockey East - my new arena rankings are:

10. J Thom. Lawler Arena, Merrimack College - I've now been since the renovations, and while it's an improvement, it's still not good. Sorry.

9. Schneider Arena, Providence College - though I should go back next season for a re-assessment. Just when they're not playing BU, as I don't think I've seen us win there.

8. Alfond Arena, University of Maine - my last experience has soured me on the building, with the lack of seat backs and oddly pitched roof. That and the price gouging.

7. Matthews Arena, Northeastern University - given how close I work to this venue, I've not been to a game here in years. I can't imagine it's improved, but it's still one of the few old barns out there.

6. Conte Forum, Boston College - for the same reasons as before.

5. Tsongas Arena, UMass-Lowell - I've not been here for a long time, so I'm kind of defaulting here.

4. Whittemore Center, University of New Hampshire - again, a building I could stand to revisit.

3. Gutterson Fieldhouse, University of Vermont - one of the old barns that's still a good place to see a game, as long as you don't mind bleachers. Always good energy from the crowd.

2. Mullins Center, UMass-Amherst - perhaps a little too recently visited compared to others, but a new fave for sure. Just wonder what the building is like when they play Merrimack or Providence (such as last night, when they drew fewer than half as many for the Friars as they did for us).

1. Agganis Arena, Boston University - the homer raises his head again, but really this is the class of the league. It better have been, given the cost to build it.

As many of you know, the Beanpot had its first night this past Monday, with predictable results: BU beat Northeastern and BC topped Harvard, setting up a repeat of last year's second Monday. And the second Mondays of 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004.

Not much to say about our semifinal, which opened up as closely-played as our other games against the Huskies this year, only to swing our way as the second period went on. It was one of their best games of the year, on the heels of what was likely their worst game, after which Jack had a 45 second press conference in which he specifically called out the seniors for a lack of leadership.

Guess it worked. Wish it didn't have to, though.

The game did feature what was the second-most embarrasing own goal I've seen in Beanpot play, when the NU goalie cleared the puck into his net while trying to avoid pressure from a BU player. The most embarrasing one comes from 1989, when BU goalie Peter Fish swept one into the net to give even more help to Harvard in their 9-6 win. Not surprisingly, Fish went 6-10 that year in what might be the only three goalie rotation I've ever seen (and which I don't remember, problematic given that I'd have been regularly attending games that year).

For the first year in many we did not sit at one end of the arena, having been moved towards one of the blue lines. In the process, we were also moved up to the first row of the balcony, with only a platform for disability seating behind us. The area underneath the platform is open, so we also gained a storage area.

They're going to have to pry us out of these seats.

Looking forward, I'd like to be optimistic about the final, but our results with BC this year have been so unpredictable I'm not going to hazzard a guess. Rather, I'm focusing on Friday, where I'll get to finally knock off the lone Hockey East arena I've never visited. One game at a time.

Oh, and USA Today is also on the case with the shadow penis. Alert the FCC!

And to show how out of it I am when it comes to the Super Bowl ads, here are the top 5 as ranked by USA Today's Ad Meter:

1. Crabs hijack cooler thinking it's their god - this Budweiser spot took the top spot by almost a quarter-point over the second place ad. Which is befuddling, as this is smirk-worthy at best. Yahoo! Sports also noted that it's derivative of the ETs who worshiped "The Claw" in Toy Story.

2. Mutt get dirty, gets a ride on the Budweiser wagon - speaking of derivative, the fish out of water story here isn't a donkey trying to become a Clydesdale, but rather a stray dog who, thanks to some strategically placed dirt, is mistaken for a Dalmatian and gets the adoration he didn't previously get in the gutter. It was cute, but not as good as the donkey ads.

3. RPG for beer goes horribly awry. Two guys, one Bud Light. They rock-paper-scissors for it, with one guy "throwing" paper while the other throws a rock. Literally. I kind of liked this one, to be honest.

4. A guy and a girl demonstrate the qualities of Doritos while flirting - badly - forgot about this one, which was made by some sort of amateur but was shot well and did a nice job of humorously interplaying things about Doritos (crunchy, cheesy, etc.) with what the two people were doing.

5. ESL was never so watered down - an English as Second Language class learns how to ask for Bud Light, and that if they are asked for one, how to say that they don't speak English. It was better than it sounds, but I don't think it was the fifth best ad of the night.

The two ads I noted - the Garmin ad and the K-Fed ad - landed in the bottom 10 (the Garmin ad in the bottom 5). I'd be more befuddled if I hadn't seen the surprising high rating for Wild Hogs, an upcoming Disney movie starring Tim Allen and John Travolta as middle-aged bike wannabes who tangle with an actual biker gang. That explains a lot about who was rating these things.

Anyway, you can go here to see the full Ad Meter ratings.

Not much to say about last night's game and attendant spectacle. It was four hours of perfectly OK entertainment. If I were rating on a 10 point scale, we never got below 5 but only rarely hit 7 or better. About the only point for that (for me, at least) was Devin Hester's opening kickoff return TD, though it's apparently a bad year for that in title-determining football games.

And for those who don't watch for the football, there wasn't much from the ads, either. Lots of ads that gave a chuckle, but nothing outstanding. If pushed to find a favorite, I'd either go with Garmin's "Mapzilla" or the K-Fed ad.

Prince was pretty good, too, though I'm probably not the best person to judge a Prince performance (I'm thinking this might have been the only part of the night that Greg tuned in for, so perhaps he'll comment). I'm also grading against other halftime shows, which gives Prince a pretty good curve to work with.

Even Puppy Bowl seemed a little off this year, for what I saw of it. Perhaps it was the lack of daschunds.

Book Log 2007 #3: The Quantum Zoo by Marcus Chown

I don't do so well with these books that claim to take a difficult subject and make it easy for regular folks. Unlike the one I read last year on economics, I at least made it all the way through this one. I just can't say I was thrilled, and I'm not sure why. Not sure if the explanations just didn't work for me, or if I was off-put by the quick changes from stuff I knew to stuff I really didn't. I also wasn't happy with the last section of the book, which looks at how all of the previous discussion applies to the universe. It felt a little rushed and not quite complete.

You may do better with it than I did, and if not it's at least not that long.

OK, this one struck me too funny. Now I will stop. Seriously.

And this may be the end of the worst day of school EVER.

OK, I'll stop now.

OK, given how well this one fits together, I'm beginning to wonder if the pairings are all that random. Not that it matters, this is the most entertaining The Family Circus has been in years (if not decades).

As entertainingly absurd as most random generator things are, this may actually be an insightful comment on the advent of McMansions. Kudos to Joe (via Craig) for turning me on to the Nietzsche Family Circus.

As you may have heard by now, a string of bomb scares in Boston today turned out to be marketing gone horribly wrong. The mysterious packages turned out to be magnetic lights put up for a planned promotion for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. These lights were put up in a number of cities, but apparently we were the only one to find them (or find them and go the bomb squad route).

I'm not sure if I should be happy that we picked up on this, or concerned that these things were up for a couple of weeks before being detected. Given the locations involved, an actual bombing would have screwed up traffic for months. Which is saying something, given how screwed up traffic is already.

And while it's not exactly relevant, this whole thing does remind me a bit of the book Remembrance Day that I read a month or so ago.

I was working on a post about my "blogging ennui," addressing a bunch of stuff of minor importance that was dancing around in my head. But I got a bit of a cranium sweeping earlier today thanks to a job-related snafu that will impact our fall graduation on Thursday (feel free to muse to yourselves about a fall graduation occurring in February).

Problem is that I don't like to write too much about work here (for the usual reasons), and thus you don't get the full story. I also don't quite get the same feeling I would for unloading. So I shouldn't even bother writing about this. But I am.

Is it time to go home yet?

Our run of warmer than usual winter weather has finally caught up with us in a hurry, as we're in single-digit temps at the moment and won't be getting out of the low teens today. I was considering the cold commute this morning when I went to turn on the shower and was met with something unexpected: an almost total lack of water.

As you can imagine, this got my attention pretty quickly. The cold water tap on the sink was putting out the barest of trickles, and the toilet tank did not seem to be refilling after a test flush.

After 37 years, I was facing my first frozen pipe.

Once I'd gotten the full scope of the problem in the bathroom, I went downstairs to the kitchen and found that we were getting plenty of cold water there, which was something.

I then trooped down to the basement, fearing that I'd see evidence not of a frozen pipe but a burst pipe. Thankfully, there were no indoor waterfalls in the basement, so I went to work confirming what I'd figured before: our cold water pipe runs along the front of the house before turning to go upstairs at the front left corner of the house. A corner which might as well be exposed to the elements, given how cold and breezy it was over there.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not the handiest guy around, so I hadn't really worked up a plan of action to this point other than getting our space heater and setting it to work in that corner of the basement. But what I lack in handiness I more than make up for in research skills, so I located the homeowner's guide book from Home Depot that the fabulous DeVeaus gave us for Christmas and looked up frozen pipes. Turns out the book had several excellent solutions for preventing frozen pipes, but was suprisingly quiet on unfreezing pipes.

But the Internet was more than willing to offer advice, giving me a couple of ideas that I put into motion. The first was to keep one of the upstairs taps open, which I think the wife had already done (she being from Maine, where this does happen on occasion). The other was to take a hair dryer to the pipe, though that seemed to be geared more for attacking the actual section of pipe with the frozen area.

I had no idea where that was (and it could very well be several feet up the wall), so I tried something related to that trickle of water. I kept the hair dryer at one point on the pipe, hoping that it would warm the water enough so that it'd speed thawing once it reached the frozen area.

After a few minutes of using the hair dryer (and moving it to a point farther along the pipe), I was rewarded with a banging sound and the audible flow of water as things started moving again. I hung out for a couple of minutes to see if this would lead to any leaking, but as things stayed dry I figured the worst had passed.

We've kept the cold water tap on the sink open a little, hopefully enough to keep the water moving so it won't freeze. Keep your fingers crossed.

Book Log 2007 #2: A Certain Justice by P. D. James

Once again Adam Dalgliesh is called upon to solve a murder, this time of a London barrister in her chambers whose body has also been desecrated in a way that may or may not be related to the killing.

From the few Dalgliesh mysteries I've read, I've always been impressed with how a series can be built around someone who appears in so little of the book. I'm assuming he was more central of a character in earlier entries; regardless, it underscores the job James does in creating the story that she can pull this off as successfully as she does.

Recommended, of course.

During those months when we take the long drive to the in-laws in Maine without the benefit of the Red Sox Radio Network, we've found a new on-air friend who gets us to where we're going with music, musings, and information that will improve our lives.

His name is John Tesh.

As noted by Cooch a few days ago, John Tesh has his own radio program (to which I can't bring myself to link, though it's easy to find via Google). Not sure when we first came across it, but it seems like most drives involve at least a few minutes listening to this cross between Prevention magazine and soft/light rock radio.

We don't exactly like the show, but the music is generally agreeable for a longish drive. The "intelligence for your life" is at least amusing, as witnessed by a discussion prompted by a list of the acceptible places to touch co-workers. Let's just say I could never engage in as much ass-pinching at my job as the wife does at hers.

It's exacly the sort of show you'd expect from John Tesh, which I guess is why we're not as horrified by it as we could be. At least he doesn't play any of his own music.

(I promise, at some point I will post on something other than sports. Just not now.)

For reasons I can't even fathom, I started to read today's Bill Simmons column at ESPN.com. I suppose I was drawn in by the teaser that compared the Pats to the Yankees (apparently in terms of hate by outside fans).

I couldn't bring myself to wade through however many words were used to explain why we should love the Pats, but I was taken aback by a comment that, as a sports fan in Boston, I was supposed to grow up hating the Yanks, Habs, Steelers, and Cowboys. The first two made sense. The Cowboys doesn't seem to fit geographically, but I learned to dislike them given the hubris behind the "America's Team" thing.

But the Steelers? I still don't understand why I was supposed to dislike them. Simmons may have resented their winning ways, but I didn't. The logical team to put here is the Dolphins, whose general success and marquee players were capped by the long-time losing streak we had to them at the Orange Bowl.

Once again, I have no idea what Simmons is talking about. I suppose that's a good thing.

So equal time for some other sports, in the hopes of placating Greg with something:

Baseball - The wife will be displeased with the news that Trot Nixon signed a one year deal with the Cleveland Indians. I suppose she'll get to see him when the Tribe and the Sox face off. Assuming he's not hurt.

Hockey - steer yourself over to Slate to see an interesting article on how the NHL fixed the All-Star vote to keep Rory Fitzpatrick from starting. Clearly there were voting irregularities, but it's amazing to see how inept the league was in (a) preventing it from happening, and (b) correcting the problem.

A similar problem hit the Hobey Baker folks, and they at least caught it early enough to shut things down and start over. I'm still a little surprised at how the parties involved - or their IT folks - didn't set up the security correctly in the first place.

Unrelated, but the pair of wins by the Icedogs in Maine last weekend was the first time they'd won two in Orono since 1986. Now if we can just manage to win both this weekend against Merrimack.

Basketball - the Celtics still stink.

Cycling - with Floyd Landis out of the way, things were clear to name Tour de France runner up Oscar Pereiro as the actual winner, right?

Wrong.

Turns out that he also failed drug tests during the race. In his case it was for a banned asthma medication, for which he claims to have a waiver. The problem for Oscar is that the French officials don't seem to think that the waiver was justified.

If Pereiro gets bumped, there are only four more riders the French would have to disqualify to get a native son into the winner's circle. That's doable.

So, anyway, there are a couple of football games this weekend.

NFC - as much as I feel for the people of New Orleans, I am getting a bit sick of the Team of Healing story line for the Saints. It's a little too reminiscent of the post-9/11 Patriots as Team of Destiny vibe, as both are understandable but liable to wear thin over time.

And while I hate to be a party pooper, I do tend to think that the Saints won't win in Chicago. Not sure why, as the Saints clearly have enough offense and a strong enough defense, and there's always an even chance or better that Rex Grossman is going to implode.

I suppose I'm going based on the lack of success dome teams have out in the open when it's cold. Sunday's forecast for Chicago says snowy and 30 degrees, which sounds like it could be problematic, even for a team whose top pass and catch tandem played at Purdue and Hofstra.

AFC - in stating the case for the Colts, Len Pasquarelli called them a team of destiny. He didn't have much of a rationale, which is understandable, as there is none. Clearly, if anyone gets a break from destiny this year, it's the Saints.

His other points were more reasonable - the Pats injuries at DB and the Colts vertical passing game, and the Colts now having the NFL's pre-eminent clutch kicker on their roster. The Colts also get to play this game at home, which can't hurt.

But I'm still going for the Pats, because I'm a total homer. I think the Pats are smart enough to know that they can't just beat the Colts with the run, and that they've got the defensive coaching talent to throw some things at Manning that he's not seen on film. I'd also like to think that the secondary will actually execute that game plan, and that Asante Samuel takes Ty Law's place as chief Manning tormentor. But that may be wishful thinking.

I also hope that the Pats win on a Gostkowski field goal. Nothing against Vinatieri, but after hearing about that story every game, it'd be nice to shut people up about it.

An open letter to Brent James, athletic director at the University of Maine at Orono

Dear Mr. James:

My name is Mark Coen, and I attended tonight's men's hockey game between your school and Boston University at Alfond Arena. I was seated in section FFF, row 7, seat 10. I note this because, for $23 (the same price I would pay at the state of the art Agannis Arena at BU), I got a seat with an obstructed view.

What it did not obstruct were the four times the game was stopped in order to make repairs to the nets, which apparently come off the moorings and break if they're looked at cross-eyed. Which leads me to the point of my letter: please take some of the $23 I paid to see 85 percent of the game and replace your shitty nets.

Thanks,

Mark

Book Log 2007 #1: Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss

Back during the baseball book a week phase I'd read a somewhat unsatisfying biography of Clemente, and found it odd that a player of his caliber and with his tragic hero background hadn't commanded a definitive work. And while I wouldn't call this a definitive work, it does go a long way towards that goal.

Part of what keeps it from making that final push, for me, is that while there's a lot of discussion of Clemente's personality quirks, it's not always clear to see where they came from. There is but one chapter about Clemente's formative years in Puerto Rico, and while what is there provides some insight, I can't help but feel that there's something missing. I suppose it can't be helped in some cases - a number of useful interview subjects now being deceased - but I still think there's material out there that'd be useful.

A smaller part comes late in the book, when Richard Nixon pops up. There's enough of a tie-in to make Nixon's presence germane, but I don't get the feeling it was useful, either in recounting and examining Clemente's life or in setting the tone for that part of the book.

Still, this is a nicely written work that gives the fullest examination of Clemente's life to date. That it's a contemporary baseball book not about the Y@nkees (or even the Red Sox, I have to admit) is a bonus.

We apparently got tremendous value from our free burner service today - the last inspection tag on the furnace was from 1998, and it appears that was the last year it was actually serviced. According to the wife, the technician said he was surprised that the thing was working. He spent a couple of hours working on it, which I imagine was more than he planned.

And we've finally got a thermostat in place, so we can control what is hopefully the more efficiently-generated heat. The problem is that the wires were backwards, and given how some of the other stuff has gone, why wouldn't they be?

Another step in the house work completed: we have a new chimney. OK, it's more like 99.5 percent completed, as there's some roof work needing to be done around the new flashing, and it's been suggested that we put in a liner. Roof work will be done next week. Not sure about the liner - it's a lot of money, and I don't think we're required to have it given the age of the house. It may be something we do later.

We did have one tricky night/morning during this part of the project, as we had some strong winds that, when combined with the loosely-tied tarp, caused part of the staging to come loose and bang around. No damage done, but it was more noise than you like to hear on your roof at 3 a.m.

The living room work continues, with new trim installed and work done in preparation for painting. The real issue, though, it that we're currently living without a thermostat. Which means we get heat or no heat, depending on whether or not the wires that used to go into the thermostat are crossed or not. This was less of a problem when the temps were unseasonably warm. It is more of a problem now, given that lows last night and tonight are going to be in the teens and low 20s.

There's been some sort of problem installing a new one, but someone from the oil company is coming to service our furnace today, so they may have some specialized knowledge to help get it working. Let's hope so, anyway.

Outside of the joys of home ownership, the other notable thing going on now is at work, where we continue down the path of switching over information systems. I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say that there seems to be a correlation between the number of consultants and such running around here and delays in getting things done. Admittedly I'm way at the fringe of this thing, so I'm quite likely underplaying the progress that's been made. It doesn't feel like it, though.

Blogalicious College Football Top 10 FINAL

1. Boise State (def. Oklahoma 43-42 in OT) - Yup, me and Greg Archuleta are locked and loaded and heading to BCS HQ. When you win with a modified Statue of Liberty and the guy who scores it then gets the girl, I have to throw you my vote.

Next opponent: Weber State (9/1)

2. Florida (def. Ohio State 41-14) - While I'm not a fan of the Fake Bowl, I'm happy they didn't have the "plus one" bowl once talked about. Had someone decided to let Florida play Boise State, TVs across the land would have imploded from all the blue and orange. Though I suppose that would hasten the HDTV conversion in a lot of homes.

Next opponent: Western Kentucky (9/1)

3. Ohio State (lost to Florida 14-41) - I prefer to think that the opening kickoff return caused such a tsunami of momentum that it injured Ted Ginn's ankle and put the rest of the team in some sort of shock. It'd explain why they played like ass for the other 59+ minutes, at least.

Next opponent: Youngstown State (9/1)

4. LSU (def. Notre Dame 41-14) - I was thinking of putting LSU in front of Ohio State based on their bowl results, but between playing what was basically a home game and getting to play the Irish - who haven't won a bowl since they took out Illinois-Normal in the 1923 Sorghum Bowl - this wasn't their most taxing challenge of the season.

Next opponent: Middle Tennessee (9/1)

5. Wisconsin (def. Arkansas 17-14) - I was also thinking of putting the Badgers in front of LSU given that they've only got one loss and took out the SEC runner-up in their bowl game. But then I reminded myself of their non-conference schedule - fat with teams like Bowling Green and Buffalo - and wonder if I shouldn't drop them lower.

Next opponent: Washington State (9/1)

6. Louisville (def. Wake Forest 24-13) - Perhaps too high, but this could be their swan song given Petrino's flight to Atlanta and the possiblity of Brian Brohm turning pro. So let's throw them a bone.

Next opponent: Good question. Louisville doesn't have their 2007 schedule up, and the two schools that seem like candidates - NC State and Vandy - don't have anything, either.

7. USC (def. Michigan 32-18) - Similar reasoning here for what I did with LSU, given that they also played a home bowl game and got to play the Wolverines - who last won the Rose Bowl in 1904, when they bested a plucky squad from the Los Angeles College of Art and Design.

Next opponent: Idaho (9/1)

8. Auburn (def. Nebraska 17-14) - I miss the days when the Cotton Bowl was a major game. That's all I've got.

Next opponent: Mississippi State. I think? Schedule information here is sketchy.

9. West Virginia (def. Georgia Tech 38-35) - Sadly, there are no more Georgia schools for the Mountaineers to play in bowl games. They'll have to start on a new state next year.

Next opponent: Ball State (9/1)

10. Appalachian State (def. Massachusetts 28-17) - It was not as close as the score makes it appear. Back-to-back titles for the Mountaineers, who are the best college football team in North Carolina at this point.

Next opponent: OK, I'm too impatient to wait for their athletics site to load to keep looking for this. Sorry

Out of top 10:

Michigan - probably too harsh on the Wolverines, but it was a very ugly loss.

Oklahoma - a completely different kind of ugly loss.

Massachusetts - not an ugly loss per se, but there were very few times that you thought that the Minutemen were going to make a game of things.

Hey, it was a weekend.

Friday we went back to the Cabot for The Queen, the story of how the British royal family couldn't get out of their own way in the wake of Princess Di's death until Tony Blair saved them. Seriously, Tony Blair comes out out this thing smelling like a rose.

Pretty clear to see why Helen Mirren is getting accolades from one and all, though. Very nicely nuanced performance when she could have easily taken Her Nibs into one-note territory.

Only two previews, for Stranger Than Fiction and For Your Consideration. We'll probably see them both.

Saturday we had folks come to plaster the living room, though we spent most of the day doing walking-distance errands and just farting around. We did go to see the Icedogs skate to their 0-0 tie with Northeastern, which was pretty frustrating given how they'd taken it to PC the night before.

The hockey meant not watching much of either playoff game. I did watch a decent amount of the first ever International Bowl, which had all the excitement you'd expect from a Western Michigan-Cincinnati tilt (though there was apparently some exciting trickery from WMU, which I think I slept through).

Sunday was pretty lazy indeed, as after church I pretty much spent the next six hours sitting on the couch watching football. Going back to the church part for a moment, it was the last service for both the main part of the church and the pipe organ for some time (renovations to both), and as a send off the choir closed things with the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah, and did a very nice job for a bunch of volunteers and an organ that needs six months of work. Though it will make the next few months, when we're in the lower church with an electric organ, seem a little drab.

Colts, Seahawks, Pats, Eagles.

The mercury cracked 63 degrees in Boston today, setting a new high temperature for the day. The old record was 62, set in 1993.

The wife and I used to talk about where we'd move down south when we got to retirement age. Now, I don't think we'll need to move, and we'll have to keep the in-laws' house to have a cool place to retreat to in the summer. On the plus side, my brother will be happy with being able to golf 365 days a year.

And for whatever reason, the National Weather Service uses the same system to notify us of the record-setting event that they do to warn of severe weather. Here I was thinking we'd get a January thunderstorm or something.

So I went on to Boston.com to read up on today's inauguration of Deval Patrick, and instead of seeing the new governor, the first image I get is that of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And while I recognize the import of that story - first woman Speaker, House changing hands and all that - I find it odd that a newspaper in Boston wouldn't work it out so that the first thing you see is inaugural coverage of the guy who is running the state that Boston is in. I'm blaming the Times overlords.

Hello, all. I wish I had some good excuse for making this my first post of 2007, but I don't.

The wife and I continued our War Against New Year's Eve by staying home. She was asleep before Ryan Seacrest could pry the last scrap of confetti out of his product-coated hair, but I couldn't sleep and instead watched a couple of episodes of No Reservations. One was the show Bourdain did while writing a magazine article that later turned up in The Nasty Bits, so that was an interesting bit of recursion to kick off the new year. It's a pretty good show, and I find that I'm getting used to his prickish personality. Not sure if that's for the best or not.

New Year's Day saw us start our next bit of significant work on the house, as we demoed the living room in preparation for an overhaul. Took out the trim and moldings, removed the tiled ceiling (about half of which came down on its own in a cartoon-like moment, but without anyone getting hit in the head), opened up a doorway the previous owner had covered up, and tore down the plaster and lathe from one wall (there was some damage, and it'll allow us to add insulation as it's the wall that's on the side of the house).

To be fair, "we" was predominantly my sister-in-law's boyfriend. I mostly did the three things I do best - hold things, clean up, and stand around waiting to be told what to do. Having seen a few of the things, though, I think I could do more the next time we do something like this. Just not a whole lot more.

Oh, we also took out the carpet and found that we do have a decent wood floor. There's hope that it can be refinished, which would be nice.

I do have pictures, which I'll put up somewhere as we go along.