The Trio Trophy - Day One

Welcome to the Trio Trophy, a tournament to determine the best TV show that, through the incompetence of network suits or the pedestrian taste of the masses, deserved a long run but did not get it.

Shows are grouped into four brackets of 18 shows. Each day will present four match-ups, from which you will choose the best show in each match-up (or abstain if you so choose). Voting is open for 48 hours from the time the match-ups are posted. There'll be new match-ups every weekday.

To start, we've got four of what amount to play-in games between the lower-seeded shows.

From the Turn On bracket:

(15) American Gothic v. (18) It's Your Move

American Gothic lived up to its name, if nothing else. Set in Trinity, South Carolina, it followed young Caleb Temple (Lucas Black) in his struggle against his biological father, town sherriff Lucas Buck (Gary Cole), whose bloodthirsty reign was apparently backed up by some level of supernatural power. The pilot episode saw Buck kill Caleb's sister and manipulate his legal father into killing himself, unusual stuff for a CBS drama.

This show was best known at the outset for being created by Shaun Cassidy, who was apparently compensating for all the sunny musical numbers his brother did on The Partridge Family. It lasted for 22 episodes (18 of which aired) during the 1995-96 season.

Watch various clips of American Gothic here.

It's Your Move pitted scheming high schooler Matt Burton (Jason Bateman) against his mom's writer boyfriend Norman Lamb (David Garrison), whose experience as a kid like Matt allows him to foil Matt's various plots.

Low ratings dictated a change, and 14 episodes into the run one of Matt's schemes is busted by his mom, who previously was pretty much clueless. Not surprisingly, this conversion to a conventional family sitcom did nothing to jump start the ratings. The show lasted 18 episodes during NBC's 1984-98 season.

Watch clips from It's Your Move - and its apparently seminal two-part episode "The Dregs of Humanity" - here.

(16) Gideon's Crossing v. (17) Idiot Savants

Gideon's Crossing suffered from being ahead of its time in two respects. First, as it followed Dr. Ben Gideon (played by the always excellent Andre Braugher) in his work running an experimental cancer treatment center and teaching new doctors, it missed being the House of its time. Even if Gideon didn't use a cane or have patients who regularly bled out of orifi better left unbloodied.

(It should be noted that both shows were produced by Paul Attanasio, who also worked on Homicide with Braugher.)

In the other respect it had Eric Dane playing a doctor, but apparently not to the level of McSteaminess that has helped Grey's Anatomy suds its way to longevity.

So even though it had the cast and the critical acclaim, it didn't have enough Vicodin abuse or pretty surgeons. 21 episodes were aired during the 2000-01 season on ABC.

This is the only decent clip of Gideon's Crossing I could find, and it features Eric Dane.

Idiot Savants was MTV's best attempt at an actual game show. Four contestants answered questions over the course of a week, with the leading point-scorer for the week winning a car or some such "major" prize. Interesting features of the show included the Dunce, who had to sit out rounds but could steal points when no other contestant knew the answer, and the Grand Savant round, where contestants had to correctly answer 10 questions on a subject of their own choosing while ensconced in the Cylinder of Shush.

The show was hosted by Greg Fitzsimmons, who managed to cut through some of the usual emcee shmaltz with his particular brand of sarcasm.

Less gimicky than Remote Control, the programming geniuses at MTV decided that what the youth of America really wanted to watch was 100 hours a week of Real Wolrd/Road Rules Challenge (which, sadly, probably wasn't far from the truth), leading to the show's cancellation after five weeks in 1996.

Watch a variety of clips from Idiot Savants here.



From the South of Sunset bracket:

(15) Relativity v. (18) QED

Relativity opens with Isabel Lukens, played by Kimberly Williams, doing the only sensible thing when offered a proposal of marriage from her long-time beau: she runs off to Italy. There she meets and falls for Leo Roth, who just happens to be a fellow Los Angelino. The series then follows them as they return home and try to deal with their new relationship, Isabel's old one, and the various lives and loves of their families.

This is one of the several family-based romantic dramas created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, who also gave us thirtysomething, Once and Again, and a show we'll be hearing from later. Clearly, they really know how to hit one specific audience. Unfortunately for them, it's never quite big enough.

Relativity was also one of the first shows whose dedicated/psychotic fans sent foodstuffs to network brass as a sign of devotion, as they sent cans of Campbell's soup to protest plans to cancel the show. It failed, making Relativity one of the 800 or so shows cancelled during Jamie Tarses' reign at ABC. It did last 17 episodes, which is something, I suppose.

Watch clips of Relativity here.

QED were the initials of Quentin E. Deverill, an early 20th century Harvard professor whose forward-thinking inventions were scoffed at by his peers. This led him to leave the ivory tower for London, where his inventions coupled with his sleuthing abilities to make him a bit of a steampunk Sherlock Holmes.

The show marked Sam Waterston's first foray into TV. It was a brief one, lasting for six episodes on CBS in 1982. We'll hear more from him later.

Watch a clip of QED here.

(16) Skag v. (17) Bakersfield P.D.

Skag was the nickname of Peter Skagska, a foreman at a Pittsburgh steel mill. His life isn't easy; he's on his second wife, neither of his sons seem interested in following in the old man's footsteps to work at the failing mill, and his disabled dad is living with the family. And, in the show's first episode, Skag suffers stroke.

It's probably no wonder that a show as dour as this didn't catch on, even with a strong cast (featuring Karl Malden as Skag and Piper Laurie as his wife) and writing. NBC got five episodes out of the show in 1983. The three hour pilot, though, landed six Emmy nods, so it wasn't a total loss.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I can't find online video for Skag.

Bakersfield PD followed the exploits of some of that California city's police officers, most notably recent transplant Paul Gigante, who had a little trouble fitting in with his redneck partner Wade Preston, given that Gigante is African-American. Gigante was played by Giancarlo Esposito, better known as Michael Giordello, son of Al Giordello on Homicide. Ron Eldard played Preston.

Shot with natural lighting and no laugh track, it didn't quite click with the fart and single-entendre crowd at Fox, lasting 17 episodes during the 1993-94 season.

You can see a clip from Bakersfield PD here.

Reminders and updates:

1. The Brilliant But Canceled tournament (still to be renamed) will commence Monday. If you have suggestions, please comment or send them along. Thanks to all of you who've given input so far, even if I've been lousy at emailing you back.

2. Next week also sees the start of Euro 2008, so if you've not joined my Euro Pick 'Em group at ESPN.com, get the lead out. Password is cornerkick.

3. While it's in one of the more, uh, "transitional" parts of the South End (SoWa, or South of Washington Street), I'd recommend Gaslight if you're looking for a casual semi-fine dining experience. The food is French bistro, and is very good if not great, but there's a good-sized parking lot next door where you can park for free. That makes up for a lot.

I won't comment on the SoWa name. You can guess what I think.

Book Log 2008 #24: Schultz and Peanuts by David Michaelis

I'd always heard that Charles Schultz was not the happiest guy, and this book confirms that in voluminous detail. And for what could be depressing reading, given how often we hear about Schultz feeling depressed, isolated, or powerless, the story of how Shultz achieved his one life's goal - the creation of a daily newspaper comic strip - and the impact that had on the world at large helps to balance out the gloom. It also helps that several strips are reprinted that reflect how Schultz mined his life for story ideas.

Set aside some time and dig in.

Book Log 2008 #23: In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce

With all the focus recently on the growing economic clout of China, I was interested to delve into this book, which examines similar growth - and the myriad challenges to it - in India. The book starts by looking at India's growth in the tech sector and lack of growth in manufacturing, comparing it to China's more traditional growth path, and then starts to deal with the problems that could derail India's success.

Luce is a long-time India journalist and has married into a local family, so he's able to bring professional and personal perspectives to the issues, which helps to give greater depth to the discussion. Most of the book dwells on the problems, which by the end makes you wonder how India managed to get as far as it has. I wasn't crazy about the ending, which uses four particular issues as measures by which one could chart India's progress (such as how the country will address a growing HIV problem). I'd have appreciated something more conclusive. Even so, this book goes a long way towards explaining modern day India for those of us who only get the occasional piece on the news.

So I'm mulling running a tournament here over the summer. The basic idea is Brilliant But Cancelled: The Tournament.

(Note to any NBC Universal legal counsel: I'll change the name when it starts, save the cease and desist letter for someone else.)

I don't have much of it planned, but it would generally follow the format used by Craig (among others) - each day would feature a number of match-ups (likely four to start, fewer as we move along), with multiple days allowed for voting in the comments and by email. At this point I'm thinking of limiting it to broadcast network prime time shows that lasted no longer than two seasons or 50 episodes (to cover older shows that had longer seasons or ran more than once a week), but am open to argument for including cable and/or non-prime time programming. Field size is open, too, but would likely be 64.

I'd probably start this in early June, though I'd really want to end it by August 1, so it's finished before our big graduation that month.

I'm working on shows to include now, but nominations are more than welcome, especially as I may miss some of the more recent shows that the kids watch.

I survived my brush with jury duty yesterday, getting excused about mid-day. I went farther this time than when I did state jury duty a number of years ago, as this time I actually went to a courtroom. There were only two trial starting yesterday, so they took fairly large groups to both. I made it through the judge's initial questioning in voir dire, but did not survive the peremptory challenges.

We were asked a few times to not discuss the case with people until it's over, which I'll honor here until I see news of a verdict (it should make some level of local news, and the way the judge was talking it'll likely wrap this week).

Generally, there would be many worse places to serve jury duty than the federal courthouse in Boston. Between the waterfront views and the well-maintained courtrooms, there's a lot to like. The only negative I can come up with is that the bathrooms were clearly not designed to handle large groups of jurors on a break.

Book Log 2008 #22: New England White by Stephen Carter

I really enjoyed Carter's first novel The Emperor of Ocean Park, so I was very happy to tuck into his follow-up effort, which takes two of the first book's minor characters - Lemaster and Julia Carlyle - front and center.

Julia is the main character, a dean at an unanmed Ivy's divinity school, while Lemaster is the school's new president. An economics professor at the school - a former lover of Julia's - is killed near their home in a nearby town, and she becomes wrapped up in solving his killing when it is linked to the death 30 years earlier of a teenager, a murder that Julia's daughter Vanessa has become obsessed with, either a cause or a sign of some underlying mental health issues.

As with the first book, the mystery that frames New England White is at times secondary to any of the book's various themes, from mother-daughter connections to the internal politics of academia to the inter- (and intra-) relationship of the "paler" and "darker" nations.

It all comes together in a pretty engrossing whole. I actually missed a subway stop while I was reading this book, which I don't think I've ever done before. I've read some complaints that the book is too long and that there are too many ancillary characters and subplots to keep things straight, but I'd have to disagree. These can be challenges (I'll admit to some flipping to remind myself about certain characters), but without all the detail I don't think the book would have been as complete. If you go into it expecting some complexities of detail (and if you read the first book, you were probably going to do this anyway), you'll be fine. Recommended, but not for a casual browse.

Fans of the beautiful game (and people who like to choose winners in international sports based on flag colors or whatever) are welcome to join the group I set up on ESPN.com for their Euro 2008 pick 'em game.

Group Name: Go England! Wait, what?!?
Password: cornerkick

So first, the good news. It appears that federal jury service does get you excused from state jury service, as I got my postcard from the state yesterday telling me I was excused. That was a nice surprise.

Now for the bad news. I actually do have to go to the federal courthouse on Monday. However, this does work out a little bit for me, as the missus and I have a pass to see a preview showing of the new Indiana Jones movie, which means we'd probably drive in to work. Now the feds are going to pay for me to drive in and park. So there's your silver lining.

Sorry for the hiatus, work picked up quite a bit with our May graduation on Sunday, where we added 108 new alumni to the rolls. It went quite smoothly, but given all the other stuff we have to along with graduation it's a tough week to do anything extra.

This week isn't much better, but I have found a little time to blog about the network TV upfronts on Tube Boob, which should now be linked on the right. I've posted there more this week than I have in the last three months.

Not much else to say right now, sorry to say.

Book Log 2008 #21: The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America by Joe Posnanski

In a way, I liked this book for the same reason I enjoyed Let Me Tell You a Story: there's a wealth of entertaining anecdotes, which in this case are all the more interesting given that they take place at a place and time that most Americans couldn't have been given their skin color. But I think the more valuable part of the book comes from seeing how Buck O'Neill took the discrimination and missed opportunities and turned them into a powerful, positive driving force for Negro Leaguers and baseball in general.

The writing flows freely and often puts O'Neill's words into poetic form, which more often than not enhances the quality of what's said. It's also clear that the author has a demonstrable love for his subject that is refreshing at a time when sports biography tends towards the sycophantic or the combative.

At some point soon I'll have to read I Was Right On Time, O'Neill's autobiography. In the meantime, I'd highly recommend this book.

Book Log 2008 #20: Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

If you've read any of Russo's other works, the themes here - the clannish nature of small town life, the regret of advancing age and the difficulties of intergenerational family life - will be familiar. But it says something about his skill as a writer that he can continue to mine these topics (as well as the setting of upstate New York) without being repetitive or dull. That he does this while writing what is his grandest novel in scope - it covers three lives in depth over the span of 60 years - is icing on the cake.

That being said, the book does unfold in a very conversational way that doesn't have the sort of concrete resolution that may be expected. In that way it's actually more like life, which rarely has the sort of denoument that allows things to wrap up nicely. But it also makes it a little harder to feel like you can get your head around what the book is actually about. The shifting of time in the narrative can also cause a little whiplash, but it's a small price to pay for a novel this endearing.

It's probably one of the best novels of the year, but I can't help but think that some folks will find it disappointing.

It's things like this that make me think that maybe we should never count Florida's votes for anything ever again.

Book Log 2008 #19: The Overseer by Jonathan Rabb

Very disappointing conspiracy thriller, whose premise - a 16th century text that provides a blueprint for world domination is being implemented by a trio of powerful men under the direction of the titular figure - is interesting. Its execution, however, is not.

The Overseer is one of those thrillers where everything happens or is described in some sort of superlative fashion, hoping that a litany of things that happen at the last second or involve the best or worst of something will provide a sense of motion or energy that aren't actually there. The characters are pretty standard - evil old men and young, relatively attractive protagonists who develop the required romantic interest in each other - and not particularly interesting. The sinister plot itself is never fully explained, which isn't necessary but would have helped given the fragmented and vague references to parts of it (though I was amused by the repeated referenced to the first trial, thanks to it being constantly put in italics).

It's never a good sign when you consider giving up on a book when you're three-quarters or more of the way through. I fought the impulse to do so expecting a payoff that never came, and really wasn't likely given the several hundred pages that came previously. Save yourself the trouble and don't bother picking this one up.

Book Log 2008 #18: Civil War Fantastic by Martin H. Greenburg (ed.)

At first I was pleasantly surprised that this collection of Civil War alternative history stories didn't include some of the familiar favorites like "Bring the Jubilee," but I should have taken that as a sign. None of the stories here come close to that story's level, and only a handful were particularly interesting.

It's not really worth seeking out, but if you come across it and have need for a reasonably diverting book of short stories, it's worth a browse.

So a while back I mentioned that I'd been selected for federal jury duty, and that I was trying to get a deferment as it fell right during our May graduation. Turns out my concerns were adjudged reasonable, as the feds have allowed me to push things back by a couple of weeks. It was a quick and painless sort of deal, quite unlike the stereotypical bureaucratic nightmare.

So, of course, the state judicial system had to jump in and ruin the moment by summoning me for jury duty in July.

It may not be all that bad, as one of the categories for dismissal from state service is currently scheduled jury service. It just wasn't clear if federal jury duty counts, but I'm going to give it a go. I'm not expecting much.

Book Log 2008 #17: Instruments of Darkness by Robert Wilson

While I can't make the claim the publisher does that this book echoes Raymond Chandler (note to self: read some Raymond Chandler), I did very much enjoy this book, Wilson's first novel.

It's the start of a four book series featuring Bruce Medway, a professional middleman working in West Africa whose more usual work - brokering trade deals of varying legitimacy - intersects with his less usual work - finding people - with the sort of results you might expect from working with such dubious characters.

It's a lot less introspective than Wilson's later works - especially the Falcon series, where the crime is often second fiddle - though there's room for that to open up over the next three books. It was a solid beach read if you need something more than the standard vacuous thriller.

It's apparently National Library Week, which seems like one of those things I should know, being kind of a library geek.

Not much more to add to that, other than you think they'd come up with a better slogan. But I suppose there's a reason why they're working with books rather than writing them. At least they got it trademarked, what with the market for bootleg National Library Week merch.

Seriously, though, if you've not been to your local library recently, this seems like a good week to stop in.

Book Log 2008 #16: Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith

This is the latest novel featuring Moscow police detective Arkady Renko, in which he finds himself tangled up with new Russian politics when people report seeing Joseph Stalin in a Moscow subway station. These sightings become connected to a police colleague and Chechnya war hero who is running for parliament, and raise further questions about the colleague's actions in Chechnya. There's also a personal element to the case, as Renko's girlfriend knows the colleague from Chechnya, and seems to be more interested in being with him than with Renko.

Another solid outing in the series.

From the NCAA 2006-08 Men & Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations, Rule 6 Section 18:

"A goal shall be allowed if the puck has been directed into the goal by an attacking player with the skate, unless a distinct kicking motion is used."

Sadly, there's no further clarification on what makes a distinct kicking motion, though based on tonight's game it seems to include a puck hitting a foot that isn't moving towards the goal. Dammit.

While some use the term Hockey Christmas in reference to the Frozen Four, last night's results made it more like Hockey Whatever Holiday Involves Repeated Knees to the Groin. I thankfully did not see much of the first game (got a score early in the third period and turned it off), and watched enough of the second to be both irritated at Notre Dame at blowing a 3-0 lead and Michigan for not getting to the final, as I'd assumed they'd be a more daunting opponent for that other team.

In any case, the final tally:

Coen, M 13
Nichols 13
Barker 12
De Veau 12
Hight 12
Burger 11
Rosenberg 11
Sorenson 11
Bruce 9
Boggie 7
Coen, S 6

I win on the first tiebreak, as I correctly guessed 8 games, and Kelly only picked 7.

So all of this sets up what seems to be the national title game of haterade for most folks. I, of course, will be rooting for Notre Dame, but I can understand that some of you may not be able to do this. I just ask that you not root for that other team, if possible.

Book Log 2008 #15: Last Seen Wearing by Colin Dexter

In this, the second book in the series, Morse is called in to take over a missing persons case involving a 17 year old girl. The case is over two years old, but has been the focus of renewed interest based on new information - apparently supplied by the missing girl herself.

It's pretty classic Morse, which is pretty impressive given that is only the second book in the series. I did feel like the solution came from a little bit out of left field, but the overall entertainment value is high enough to forgive that.

You may remember back in the fall I asked for suggestions on a location for a warm weather vacation. Or you may not, given the dearth of suggestions (thanks again to you happy few who did chip in your two cents). Either way, this past week was the week of the warm weather vacation, which saw us go to the Dominican Republic to stay at a resort on the Playa Dorada, which lies on the north coast near Puerto Plata.

I'm not sure if I'll recap the trip here, actually write something up separately, or do as I've done for last summer's trip to Devon and think happy thoughts about a write up before letting it pass. We'll see how motivated I can get to do something.

Anyway, happy to be back, or at least as happy as can be given that it's in the 40s and drizzling.

And, potentially, triply screwed. Which is problematic given the nature of the previous screwing. I'll try to stay away from sharp objects and open flame.

(That's a joke, or an attempt at one, I swear.)

I'm doubly screwed.

I'm screwed.

Book Log 2008 #14: Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell

The latest in the Saxon Tales series, as the Saxon-raised-Dane Uhtred wavers in his oath to Alfred, King of Wessex, when he is tasked to drive the Danes out of London.

It's a fine story, even without the usual dash of nostalgia that historical fiction gets from setting up in London past (it's too far in the past to really get that). The website notes that this takes place about five years after the last book, which I hadn't really noticed. Given the subplot about Alfred's daughter getting married, I should have twigged on to this, as she wasn't really marrying age in the previous book.

I caught the first couple of innings of today's Sox-A's opener before going to work, and was interested to see that the NESN broadcast of the game opened with a quote from Sun Tzu. Which may have been more appropriate if Sun Tzu weren't actually Chinese.

There were apparently a number of broadcast outages that hampered viewing, which I assume will cause Red Sox Nation to recall their ambassador to DirecTV.

I wound up following most of the game using ESPN's game tracking widget, which was very slow. I didn't get the final score on it until I'd heard it from a co-worker a good 5 to 10 minutes beforehand (he had the final when ESPN was still listing the game as 6-4 Sox). I also didn't like how it listed balls, strikes and outs, using filled circles as a default and then emptying them to denote where the batter or team stood for each. So backwards. Like most ESPN widgety things, there's too much focus on style (graphics actually show pitched and hit balls) and not so much on accuracy (the thing listed Okajima as pitching an inning that Papelbon actually threw).

Book Log 2008 #13: Have You Seen Dawn? by Steven Saylor

Rue Dunwitty has "escaped" from small Amethyst, Texas and made a life for herself in San Francisco. But on a return trip to see her grandmother she sees a sign in the local grocery store asking for information about a missing girl. The case begins to become the focal point of Rue's trip, as she starts to see suspects everywhere - even in her own family.

Saylor doesn't typically write fiction in contemporary settings - the closest he's come is the late 19th century in A Twist at the End, which is also set in Texas. I have to say I liked that book much more than this one; the characters were more interesting and the period details helped to flesh the story out. There's good detail about the town, and characters are given a chance to develop some back story, but it's hard to reach the same level that you'd get in a historically-set work.

It's not a bad book, just enough of a change from his usual work to make the differences stand out.

Has your March Madness bracket gone to pot? Well, here's a shot at redemption with my annual Frozen Four tourney.

The rules are relatively simple. Take yourself here to get the bracket. Pick your winners and get them to me by noon EDT on Friday.

Scoring will continue to be 1-2-4-8 points per win per round. Upset points based on regional seeding throughout the tournament is also in effect (so if you pick Air Force to win its first game, you'd get 4 points if they pulled it off, one for the win and three for beating a number 1 seed).

Should this thing end in a tie, it will be broken by comparing the following in order:

1. Most correct winners picked
2. Most correct match-ups picked
3. Most teams in the Frozen Four
4. Caber toss or monkey knife fight

One entry per person, please. There aren't enough games to let you go crazy with multiple entries.

Book Log 2008 #12: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

I had a bit of a catastrophe streak going, between the last book that took place in a world without electricity, and this one that imagines what would happen to the Earth if, all of a sudden, people just disappeared.

Most of the chapters put forth specific scenarios, such as how Manhattan would flood and revert to its wilder beginnings without the people who keep the subway tunnels from filling with water. It also delves into some more theoretical areas, such as which animals would survive, how endangered species may rally or continue to dwindle, and if anything would evolve to take our place. It's all quite interesting and sharply written.

In some chapters, though, he's more focused more on cataloging our current neglect of the environment and how our consumerist society would impact the planet for millenia after we disappear. It's a strong argument for changing the way we do things, from our use of plastic to the way we mine for mineral resources, but it's also a little distracting. I found it changed the tone of those chapters a bit, as the what would happen part was much less of the focus of these chapters.

Still, this is probably the best book I've read in 2008.

Another hockey season went into the books last night, as the Icedogs dropped a 3-1 decision to Vermont. I should be happy we got as far as the league semis; if you'd told me on January 1 that the team would get that far, get back to being nationally ranked and have an outside shot at a NCAA tournament berth, I would have put up a sizable wad of cash against that happening.

(It also didn't help that we were sitting in front of a guy I tangentially know who, in a very loud voice, basically called the game as if he were working it for the Blowhard Pessimist Radio Network. Thankfully we don't sit anywhere near him during the regular season; we'd probably have tried to throw him under the Zamboni by now if we did.)

But it's still pretty frustrating to think about the missed opportunities with this team (losses given away to Robert Morris, Harvard, Dartmouth, the OT loss to BC in the Beanpot), especially one with so many seniors and, on paper, so much talent. Throw on to that the amount of talk among fans about whether or not Jack lost the team, of if he's stayed on too long, and it's both frustrating and a little sad.

Looking forward to next season, we're apparently hosting the Icebreaker tournament, Michigan is coming back for a couple, the guys are going to the Denver Cup, and the women's Frozen Four will be on campus. Let's focus on that for the next seven months.

Book Log 2008 #11: A Meeting at Corvallis by S. M. Stirling

Picking up not too long after the end of The Protector's War, the conflicts and tensions that have been building in the first two books finally come to a head and result in war. It's a pretty satisfying conclusion, though I did have some minor quibbles with the amount of time spent with a relatively new character (who I assume will play more of a role in the next series, which jumps ahead in time quite a bit) and the epilogue, which was way too mystical for my taste.

I was happy to see more attention paid to the communities not previously given much more than passing mention, one run by the remnants of the Oregon State faculty, the other by a monastic order. Though if the OSU faculty senate in the book is anything like the one's I've encountered, it's hard to believe they made it through the first week, never mind eight years.

Not that you care, but I've already lost a game in this madness that is March. I took Temple over Michigan State, as I found myself reaching for upsets. In that vein, you can add Baylor sometime within the next hour, unless there's a serious Purdue collapse.

(Don't take this to be hatin' on the Big 10. Though I may be hatin' on Sparty a bit after last season's NCAA ice hockey tournament spanking.)

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 44: Temple of Robotology, New New York, NY

With worship founded on the writings in The Good Book 3.0, adherents of Robotology are to refrain from smoking, looking at pornography, abusing electricity, and consuming alcohol.

Robots unable to resist temptation wind up in Robot Hell, which is located underneath an amusement park in New Jersey. There the sinners will face eternal damnation - unless they can best the Robot Devil in a fiddling contest, at which point the robot goes free and wins a solid gold fiddle (thanks to the provisions of the Fairness in Hell Act of 2275).

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 43: St. Barnabus Church, Dibley, Oxfordshire, England

Located in a rural corner of England, St. Barnabus was one of the first Church of England parishes run by a female vicar after ordination of women was approved in 1994. The Reverend Geraldine Granger took over after the mid-service death of the 102 year old Reverend Pottle. The community took to her slightly unusual methods - such as a springtime service to bless the village animals - and came to accept her as their spiritual leader.

When it became clear that I wasn't going to be lawyering for a career, the law and I came to an agreement where we'd go our separate ways and not bother each other. This accord took a very slight break this morning when I attended my very first parking violation appeal.

Your fact pattern: the city enacted a parking ban on February 12, which means that those of us who park on the street had to move our cars to a city lot, which I did. The ban runs 48 hours, but may be rescinded earlier than that if possible, which happened in this case while I was at work on Thursday. I returned to Beverly on Thursday night to find a ticket on the car for a meter violation.

My thinking, based on past experience, is that the meters in the public lots were not active during the ban. We'd never put money in them in the past, and never received a ticket during a parking ban prior to this one. The announcement of the ban, which we checked on the city website, was silent on the issue of the meters.

According to the sargeant who heard my appeal, the meters remain in force during the day, which he said was noted on the city's parking hotline and in something that runs in the local paper every year. That the same information isn't presented on the website didn't seem to be an issue for him. In fact, he seemed to think that a person would still call the number, which seems redundant.

I'm not so much irritated about the fine as the feeling that it'd be pretty easily avoided if a line like "parking meters are still operational during the snow emergency" was added to the online announcement. It's pretty minimal, and given how likely people are now to go online rather than pick up a phone, I think it'd avoid future problems (unless this is some sort of revenue generating racket, which wouldn't surprise me). Given that a couple of other people got stuck paying what sounded like pretty dodgy handicap parking-related tickets (though I only heard their side of the story after their hearings), I shouldn't feel too bad.

I can't help but think this bodes poorly for jury duty. I'm going to be foreman on a Mob trial and wind up becoming Frank Henderson from Caspar, Wyoming after the defendant swears his vengance. I can feel it.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 42: Triple Rock Church, Chicago IL

Located on the south side of Chicago, the Triple Rock Church played a vital role in the continued operation of St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud orphanage. It was at this church that two of the orphanage's former residents, Jake and Elwood Blues, were divinely (and musically) inspired by the Reverend Cleophus James to reform their band and raise the money necessary to pay the back taxes on the orphanage building. How no one got a sainthood out of this is beyond me.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 41: Universal Life Church, the Internet

So the idea of this feature was that, during the 40 days of Lent, I'd mention a church that I'd been to or had some connection with, significant, tenuous, or otherwise. But then we go to church yesterday and the bulletin mentions that Lent doesn't end until Holy Saturday, which is the day before Easter. Apparently, the Sundays during Lent don't count. Heck of a time to learn this, though if nothing else it gives you an idea of the level of detail we went into in Sunday school.

So, for better or worse, more churches for you. But I have a feeling they'll be more like today's entry than those previous.

As some of you know, I am an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church. Have been for over a decade, when on Halloween in 1997 I put in my name, clicked a button, and received my certificate. It is just that simple. I did it in furtherance of something Halloween-related, but whatever it was I don't think it came to pass, so I became ordained for nothing.

I assume I'm still an active member of the ULC's clergy, though I don't think I'd fall back on it to get a decent parking space or perform a wedding. Though as Massachusetts does grant one day licenses to perform weddings, I am available for your matrimonial needs.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 40: Sacred Heart Parish, Manchester MA

Finally, the one church at least a few of you have seen in person back when the wife and I made it official. This was the fifth sacrament I've had administered at Sacred Heart, and unless I make a radical change in career and/or health status, the last one.

I was an altar boy here, went through Sunday school here (mostly, as a few years we had class at the instructor's house), and even worked here doing maintenance (let's just they got their money's worth from me cleaning up after bingo nights). For all that, I never felt like there was much of a parish community. Looking back I think there was one there, but not one that necessarily spoke to kids. And being in a parish now that has a school, the contrast is that much greater.

Still, it couldn't have been all bad. I've spent the last 40 days talking about churches, and I've not eaten meat on Fridays or bitten my nails (mostly) during the same period. None of that would have happened without Sacred Heart being in the picture.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 39: Immaculate Conception Chapel, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, QC, Canada

This is the lower level of the basilica in this small town outside of Quebec City, which the wife and I visited on our first vacation together as a couple. It's named for Saint Anne, Mary's mother and patron saint of sailors, who built the first church here back in the 17th century.

We didn't look at much else at the site other than the basilica and chapel, given that it was early March and still pretty snowy. There is a stations of the cross there using life-sized figures, which can be a bit much. It is considered a pilgrimage site, and a variety of health-related miracles are attributed to visits here. I can't say that I experienced any, though hopefully I'll get an eon or two fewer in purgatory for stopping by.

There is also a canyon nearby with a waterfall, which we also stopped at. At some point we have to go back there when it's above freezing.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 38: East Wedding Chapel, Bellagio, Las Vegas NV

Not so much a church as a nicely-appointed room where something religious may or may not happen, depending on the officiant of choice. Still, it's one of the few places where you can use the terms "classy" and "Vegas" in the same sentence without irony or sarcasm. And it lets me keep the chapel streak alive, which is something. Sort of.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 37: St. Therese Carmelite Chapel, Peabody MA

If you were ever at the mall and thought, "hey, I could use a quick sacrament," then this chapel is for you. It's been at the Northshore Mall since 1960, and appears to be the first mall-based chapel in the US.

I've never been in, but the wife and I have been in the store on the rare occasion when we needed a religious-themed gift. I tend to enjoy the book area, which veers occasionally into the mystical (you'd be surprised at the number of books out there about uncorrupted corpses of saints). But I might stop in at some point, as I never considered the opportunity for anonymous confession. Not that I have anything really bad to disclose, but I'd like to be able to look our priest in the eye without feeling embarrassed.

Book Log 2008 #10: The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry

While I still hold to my thoughts on Berry and his last book, I also think that each successive book Berry has written has been a little less enjoyable than the one before it. Or at least that's a theory that fits given this latest book, which fell flat for me.

Brief synopsis: Cotton Malone is a former Justice Department agent who is now retired and owns a bookstore in Copenhagen. A surprise visit from his ex-wife and a RPG attack on his store put him on the trail of the collection of the Alexandria library. His ex-boss has a subplot involving a conspiracy at high levels of the US government to prevent Malone from finding the collection.

It's the stuff from which these "historical" thrillers are made, except that this book is all about the find rather than the item being found. In the earlier books, there's actually something to see when Berry's heroes find modern day Templars or the heir to the Russian throne. In this book, all the hyped up action leads to a discovery that more or less goes nowhere.

I wonder if the pace is the problem. This book came out in early 2007, he has a new book involving Alexander the Great that came out in December, and he has another book slated for this coming December. I'd happily have him write a little less if it meant a better end result. I'll have to track down the newest book to see if my theory holds.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 36: King's Chapel, Boston MA

A stop on the Freedom Trail, King's Chapel may best be know for its burying yard, Boston's original cemetery. It has fewer famous burials than Granary, which is across the street, but does have some of our earliest colonial residents, including our first governor.

I have never been in the church, though I've been by it hundreds of times. Really, I chose it for today to keep up the streak of chapels. Every time I see it I wonder what happened to the rest of its steeple, but given the lack of discussion in any history I've come across I'm assuming it never had a full steeple. Probably the Puritans' fault.

Beware the Ides of March, indeed - I got a summons for jury duty in the mail yesterday. It's a federal court summons, which I've not gotten before. Apparently, I have to be available during a three week window in May, during which time I have to call in the Friday before each week to see when and if I have to appear.

Problem being that the first week of this window ends with our spring commencement. Which, for an assistant registrar for graduation, is kind of a busy time. So I'm hoping to defer things by a week. I won't know if it's been approved until a week or so before the window starts, which is unfortunate but it does give me some time to set up contingencies should I not get a deferral and actually have to report that week.

Looking on the positive, I've never been to the new federal courthouse, so that'll be interesting. It's also close to where the wife works, so we could have lunch at the Barking Crab or Daily Catch. I think my per diem would just about cover it.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 35: North Shore Chapel, Danvers MA

We pass this church when we go to and from the highway. It's in the building that used to house St. Alphonsus, a Catholic parish that was merged into ours. The name lives on, however, as both this website and the billboard that just went up down the street reference the address by noting the St. Alphonsus name. I have to think on some level it must be galling to have to refer to your current church by the name of the one that preceded you in the space. It's like a Burger King that mentions it's where the McDonald's used to be.

40 Churches, 40 Days

Day 34: Chapel of the Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph, Waltham MA

This is the chapel at the retreat site where the wife and I did our marriage prep classes. I have to think that there are Catholic schools across the country with similar-looking chapels.

Nothing too notable about the place, but looking at a larger view of the picture I could swear that the figure between the confessionals is smacking the palm of his (or her) left hand with whatever is being held in the right hand. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 33: Emmanuel Chapel, Manchester MA

I remember the first time I noticed this chapel when I was a kid. I thought it was very strange that it would only be open in the summer, as all the other churches in town were open year-round. Of course, I didn't really consider location; the chapel is near several summer homes that are within walking distance and are only occupied when Brahmins and their progeny are up for the season.

So while I eventually figured out how this worked, I still don't know anyone who goes there. Which pretty much tells you what circles I travel in.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 32: King's College Chapel, Cambridge, England

We'll stay academic for this chapel, which could probably hold every other chapel mentioned in this series and have room left over for a couple of the smaller churches. It's very impressive, especially the ceiling, supported by the world's largest fan vault.

Seeing this was the high point of our day in Cambridge, though to be fair we didn't have much of a day. The weather was awful, and we got stuck in one of the slowest restaurants I've even been to for lunch, so our sightseeing plans were curtailed a bit. We did have a nice chat with a local while watching the River Cam swell, and we did see the Mathematical Bridge, but it wasn't the best day of our trip by any means.

Book Log 2008 #9: On Royalty by Jeremy Paxman

Paxman, a British journalist known for his aggressive interviewing, takes what he calls a "very polite inquiry" into the role of royals in the modern world, with a predominant focus on his native Windsors. Among the anecdotes and quirky history, two questions emerge: why are the royals still around, and why is the general public so fascinated by them?

I like the first half of the book better than the second, as it takes a wider view of royalty (an early chapter focuses on Leka, the pretender to the Albanian throne) and has a more logical progression to the topics covered. The second half bogs down a bit, I think, while examining the failure of republicanism to replace the monarchy. After that the expected slog through the death of Diana and the annus horribilis drags things out even more.

So while there's a lot to like here, I think the book doesn't quite answer the questions it raises.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 31: St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Salem MA

The wife and I happened upon this place not too long after moving up to Beverly, during one of the occasional aimless drives we take (please don't hate me for enlarging my carbon footprint). I've never considered the North Shore a hotbed of Orthodoxy, so you can imagine my surprise when onion domes started sprouting in what is an otherwise traditional local neighborhood.

The fact that this church exists is about all I know of it, though from the website I've learned that it's part of the Orthodox Church in America, an independent branch of Orthodox Christianity that grew out of the Russian Orthodox church. I won't go further into this, as I'd probably make some sort of ecclesiastical faux pas. As the link suggests, more information on the OCA is available on the Internet.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 30: Marsh Chapel, Boston MA

I imagine at least a few of you are familiar with this building, even if just from walking by it. Original plans were for something much grander, but had to be scaled back due to cost and stability concerns (our campus is, in large part, built on landfill). Even so, it's one of the better on-campus chapels I've been in, and does a nice job balancing spiritual needs with secular/educational themes (where else can you find stained glass windows with Presidents Lincoln and Cleveland?).

I can't say I was a regular celebrant here. I occasionally went to the mid-day Mass on holidays, jammed in with the rest of the C&E Catholics. I went to the evening Mass more often than I'd care to remember. This is the "contemporary" service, or as I like to call it, the hippie Mass. Lots of guitar, hand-holding and other stuff that I try to avoid. Only on one or two occasions did I attend the night Mass with instrumental music, which is odd as it's the one I most preferred. I just never quite got worked up enough to make the walk down from West Campus every week.

The last couple of years that I worked at BU I would go to the Good Friday meditations, where a variety of chaplains would speak, with sermons separated by music. It takes three hours to sit through the whole thing, which I never did.

And, of course, I've been to one wedding there, complete with an appearance from Rhett. I'll let those more directly involved with the experience comment if they so choose.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 29: St. Joachim Church, Rockport MA

You may remember back on Day 3 that there was a church I was going to talk about at another time. Or you may not; you'd be excused, it does seem like this has been going on for months. At any rate, St. Joachim is now part of the Holy Family Parish, but previously it was the church that my family in Rockport frequented. I think at least one of my siblings was baptized here, but I could be mistaken.

I only recall being there once, for my grandmother's funeral. As you might imagine from the pictures, it looks much more like the typical Protestant white village church we have in spades up here, and the same is true for the inside. I wasn't paying much attention to these sorts of things at the time, but I do retroactively appreciate the simplicity.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 28: Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Boston MA

This cathedral is located right across the street from campus. I've never been in, but it sounds impressive from the description. Certainly more impressive than their web site, or the job of the person who was supposed to pay their web host but apparently forgot.

Then again, the business office is located in Brookline, so it may be that they lost the check while in transit.

Fun work-related note is that, in changing our graduation dates back to Sunday from Saturday, a fair amount of parking normally used by celebrants is going to be taken. Not to mention that the start of the liturgy there may be interrupted by the drone of bagpipes. Fun times for our community relations person, no doubt.

Book Log 2008 #8: The Protector's War by S. M. Stirling

The first book in this series posited a change whereby electricity stopped functioning and combustible materials like gasoline and gunpowder no longer work as effectively, with the sort of gruesome outcome you might expect. The second book moves forwards eight years, where the groups that came out of this change have formed into larger neo-feudal societies, with the largest trying to consolidate its hold over the Pacific northwest. The bulk of the book prepares us for the start of the titular war, with much skirmishing and alliance-forming.

We're also introduced to a trio of Englishmen who, having run afoul of King Charles, need to get out of Blighty and find a new place to live. I'm not sure how much I like the way this part of the story unfolds - we get most of it in flashback - but it's a decent story line. As long as you don't get too distracted by the stereotypical English manner of speech.

I did feel like the book spent more time on the group formed along Wiccan/Celtic lines, which led to a lot of songs (also not surprising given how often Tolkien is referenced as an inspiration for characters). They aren't long, but it gets old quickly. I'd like to get more about the bad guys, and about some of the people we've not really interacted with yet (which is hinted at by the title of the next book).

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 27: St. Francis of Assisi, Belfast ME

This is where the wife and I used to on Christmas Eve when we'd be up at her parents' for the holiday. The music is much better than the church over in Winterport, but there are two drawbacks:

1. We always get lost going over to the church. It's not in a particularly tricky location, but we never quite get it right, leading to some rushing to get there on time.

2. It's not a big church, so we often got stuck in the balcony, which would be fine if it weren't faced with Plexiglas. If you're in the front pew, it's like being at a hockey game, just with less peppy organ music.

We did see someone pass out here one year (as you can imagine, it gets a little toasty between the small size and capacity crowd), but it turns out a member of the choir is also a doctor, which is kind of handy.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 26, First Congregational Church, Hadley MA

This, and the Farm Museum, dominate the downtown of Hadley, where the wife and I had occasion to stay on Saturday after watching the Icedogs lose a 5-1 debacle to UMass. Not surprisingly, the part of Hadley closer to the UMass campus is more built up, between the hotels and the Hampshire Mall.

This was our second trip to UMass for a game, and while I didn't notice it then, this most recent trip suggests that the Mullins Center may be the most techno-friendly arena in all of college hockey. They should really look at putting in some black lights and selling glow sticks at the concession stands.

We also got to stay in a Howard Johnson Express (according to the website, though it's not signposted as such), which is right across the street from the Holiday Inn Express. We like the latter better than the former, but not an extra $50 better. Still, I don't think we'd go back. Even the EconoLogde looks to be in better shape than the HoJo Express, which says something.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 25: St. Fachtnan's Cathedral, Kilfenora, Co. Claire, Ireland

We got a little lost on our drive out to the Cliffs of Moher, and wound up cutting through the edge of the Burren, an odd rocky bit of country. Figuring we had some time, we stopped at the Burren Center, which was OK, though many of the exhibits appeared to be at least as old as me.

Next door to the center is St. Facthnan's Cathedral, which as you can probably tell from the pictures isn't quite what it used to be. We didn't get much of a chance to look in the ruins, as there was some restoration work planned and most of the place was blocked off by scaffolding. It's a pretty impressive site nonetheless, and the standing crosses are pretty impressive, too. You'll notice in a couple of pictures a cross that's surrounded by a low pipe fence. That's to keep the cows away, apparently, as the field in which it stands was, when we were there, home to about 20 cows. Needless to say, we trod carefully when going to get a closer look.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 24: St. Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland

We wound up in Cobh on a Sunday morning on our way back to Killarney from Cork, and while we first intended just to nose around town, we wound up actually attending Mass here, given the timing. The wife was leery of doing so as she was wearing jeans, but enough of the locals were also in jeans, so she sucked it up this one time.

The cathedral itself is pretty impressive, and as the website linked above notes it sits in an ideal position, both to see and be seen. We went to Cobh originally to see some of the Titanic-related stuff and because it's generally recommended as a tourist stop. But you can't really miss the cathedral, and we figured it was worth the hike.

This was probably my favorite of all the churches we saw, as I like the architectural style and the interior wasn't too over the top.

Oddly, the Wikipedia article on St. Colman is better than the ones available on Catholic Online or the Catholic Encyclopedia. Or maybe it's not that odd, given the relative amounts of traffic for each site.

I feel like I should do something wacky in honor of February 29. But I have no idea what. A small brainstorming session last night didn't help, as the good ideas seemed to center on doing something with what hair I have left, either coloring or shaving off. Needless to say, I did neither.

Any suggestions for Leap Day wackiness would be appreciated, if only so I can get a jump on 2012.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 23: St. Brigid's Cathedral, Kildare, Co. Kildare, Ireland

Just before our wedding we became godparents to my niece Bridget, so it made some sense that as we drove to Dublin we'd stop here and get her something. Turns out that would have been hard to do in the church itself, as it was closed. We did poke around the grounds a little, but wound up buying our Brigid-related material (two St. Brigid crosses, one for her and one for my aunt) across the street at the tourist information office. There's a metaphor for something here, but I can't quite grasp it.

It was on this drive that we also saw a bar called Tipsy McStagger's, which was apparently in Ennis. Always appreciate a Simpsons reference, especially that far from home.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 22: The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland

We made a stop here while going from the waterfront to the city center, and while it's a fairly impressive building it's a little too busy inside for my taste. The Waterford crystal chandeliers are a nice touch, though.

We did take a look at St. Patrick's Church as well, though it seems that several of the former priests are either entombed in the walls or buried under the alleyway that leads to the church. So if that sort of thing creeps you out, you should probably give it a pass.

Book Log 2008 #7: Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter

When we were in England last summer, I managed to land a boxed set of all 13 Inspector Morse books for $14. How could I pass that up?

This is the first of the series, and in reading it I came to a conclusion I should have made earlier: Morse is the British detective version of Dr. Greg House. Both favor their last names, both rely heavily on their subordinates (though Morse ventures less often into actual abuse), both have a taste for controlled substances (though to be fair, alcohol is very lightly controlled), both have more success with the ladies than you might expect, and both are wrong more than once before finally solving a case. Now if only Morse played the guitar, or House liked crossword puzzles...

Anyway, the mystery in the book is a good one, though I'm not sure enough is presented in the book for the reader to come to the solution before Morse does. I suppose that underscores his powers of detection. I probably enjoyed seeing the start of the Morse-Lewis relationship more, based on already knowing how that goes.

If you've not read the books, you should. The movies aren't so bad, either, but they can deviate from the books fairly widely, so be forewarned.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 21: Church of St. Ann Shandon, Cork, Co. Cork, Ireland

On our day in Cork we did not actually visit this church, but saw it as part of our bus tour as its steeple is one of the city's major landmarks. Two sides are clad in red sandstone, the other two in white limestone; red and white are prominently used by the city and its athletic teams (which is something we could identify with, being BU alums and all). The tower is topped with a weather vane featuring an 11 foot gilded salmon. Coming from the home of the Sacred Cod, I could identify with that, too.

The clock on the steeple has the nickname of the Four-Faced Liar, as winds off the river and the varying thickness of numerals on each face will cause each clock face to be a little off from the other three. I can attest that when we were there, the two clock faces that we could see told different times. Though the story could cover for a habitually drunk clock keeper. Not that would ever happen in Ireland. No siree.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 20: St. Mary's Church, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Mary, the saint so nice Killarney used her name for churches twice (though this one is C of I). This one is right downtown and is of normal parish size. I know we looked in on this one during our trip, though I think we were killing time before the Ring of Kerry tour we took. I'd need to go back to the pictures, but I think this is one of the gaudier churches we saw in Ireland, and I think it creeped the wife out a bit, though I could be making that up.

I don't think it hit me at the time, but going back and getting the links for the two St. Mary's made me realize that for all the stuff in Kerry and around Killarney, there's not a great deal to see in the town itself. Still, it's a good base to work from, especially if you prefer guided tours to going on your own.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 19: St. Mary's Cathedral, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Another theme week for you as we spend a week with churches in Ireland. It's a little surprising how many churches we saw on our honeymoon, but then again you can't swing a dead monsignor without hitting a church in Ireland.

I can't say I remember a great deal about St. Mary's - I'm pretty sure we didn't go in - but I do have a picture of its spire, which had a ladder running up the length of it. Not sure if it was permanent or there for some sort of repair work (or perhaps for penitential purposes). Thought it was funny, regardless.

Book Log 2008 #6: Team Yankee by Harold Coyle

Coyle's first novel, inspired by General Sir John Hackett's The Third World War, focuses on a small part of that book's war by showing the namesake team, an armored unit, fighting in various parts of Germany.

The book actually starts before the war, showing how the team trains and prepares. We also meet the main character's family, which has a subplot for a while but is forgotten as soon as the family is out of harm's way (which is too bad, as it's the sort of story line that's generally ignored in books like this).

Once the fighting starts, the story shows some of the usual themes of how the team is able to use its training to succeed where, on paper, they'd seem unlilkely to do so. We also get to see how some of the individuals develop and change, both in their military role and personally, though I don't think enough is done here to give real insight.

The book has the usual eye for detail, not surprising given that Coyle was an Army officer at the time he wrote the book. It was also turned into a graphic novel scripted by David Drake, who, as a combat vet himself, apparently noted areas in the story where Coyle, who had not seen combat, didn't quite get the detail right. I'll have to take his word for it, not being a combat vet myself.

There's also a Team Yankee game (board and computer), so clearly this book made a mark back in 1987. Not sure how I didn't pick it up then. In any case, it's a strong but typical example of military fiction, weaker when dealing with people and better when in the fight.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 18: Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, UK

It's hard not to think of Westminster in terms of history, from its role as Britain's coronation church to the array of individuals buried within its walls. But it is an actual church as well, though I can't quite imagine going their for service every week. It seems like overkill, like using Fenway to play wiffle ball.

The one time I've been there was nothing service-related going on, but we did walk around the grounds and got to see some of the young choristers in its choir school at lunch. It was pretty much what you'd expect from a cafeteria full of elementary school-aged kids.

And if there's not enough history here for you, the houses of Parliament are located across the street. Or if you want something more modern, the London Eye is a reasonable walk away on the other side of the river. This trio of sites was pretty much one of our days in London.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 17: St. Mary and St. Gregory, Frithelstock, Devon, UK

I tend to agree with W. G. Hoskins, who notes on the linked page that St. Mary and St. Gregory is unexciting. Still, it's very atmospheric, especially when examined at twilight. I have some pictures of it, which of course I don't have anywhere that I can link to right now. That fits in with my general lack of a write-up about the trip to England last summer, not to mention my laziness in putting up links to the travel-related material.

In any case, should you find yourself in this part of England, stop by and take a look after a nice dinner at the Clinton Arms, though based on group feedback you'd be better off avoiding the clam appetizer (too small). I'd highly recommend the "Dover smokey," a fish and smoked cheese dish which is much better than it may sound.

With the variety of employers letting people out early today, we again stand resolute in the face of winter weather and remain open. The reason, according to our HR office:


"This is due to the fact that the majority of our students live on campus and require service and support from all areas."

Questionable writing style aside, this is at least more logical (and more honest) than the previous response to wintry weather. Still, an afternoon off would have been nice.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 16: Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland

We visited here during our honeymoon, and in retrospect it's kind of funny to think that during our brief period in Dublin, the two churches we actually looked at were Protestant (though perhaps not surprising, given the long presence of Britain's official representatives in Dublin). Christ Church is one of two Anglican (or Church of Ireland) cathedrals in Dublin, which is an odd set up and one that has apparently led to some friction.

Christ Church is also still recognized by the Catholic church as the official seat of the archbishop of Dublin. He's been making do with another church for some time.

Three notable tourist points about the cathedral:

1. It's the resting place of Strongbow, a leading figure in the Norman invasion of Ireland and namesake of a tasty hard cider.

2. There's a 13th century crypt below the church that's open for touring. Nothing really gruesome, but some interesting historical items are on display down there.

3. By the choir there is a mummified cat and mouse on display. Apparently they were found in an organ pipe in the 1860s, mummified by the dry and airy conditions within. They are posed as if in chase, which suggests a somewhat disturbing episode of Itchy & Scratchy.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 15: Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church, Daytona Beach Shores FL

I've never been to a service here, but have driven past it a couple of times when on vacation, as we used to stay at a place right up A1A from here. I assume the concession stand offers a range of sacramental treats.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 14: Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, Lowell MA

This church will be familiar to some of you, given that a few readers have attended a wedding and/or a christening there involving the same couple. It's been interesting seeing the church grow as an outsider, as it's grown quite a bit (and added more mosaic work) since my first visit. It's also an interesting experience as a Catholic to go to an Orthodox service given how much is similar between the two. Of course, there's a fair bit more Greek used at the Trans than we use week to week.

Most of my visits to the Trans have centered around their Greek festival, where you can get all the usual Greek foods and some new ones, such as loukoumades, which I now crave having gone and looked up a link.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 13: St. John's Church, Beverly Farms MA

This is the first non-Catholic church I remember going to for a service, as my sister Cathy and I tagged along with a neighboring family. Still not sure why we went, I assume it was some sort of curiosity about people going to a church that wasn't ours. I don't remember much of it, other than that there was feet washing.

After that, I didn't go back for a good 25 years, until we went to the funeral for a family friend. The church itself would fit in pretty much anywhere in England, which isn't surprising for Episcopalians. Lots of dark wood and timber beams. The pastor at the time was a woman, who doesn't appear to be there any more (and may have just been there for the funeral, not sure), which is too bad, as she was quite good. I suppose I should be happy that we get to have female altar servers now.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 12: First Parish Church, Manchester MA

We're going ecumenical this week, starting with the local Congregational (or United Church of Christ, depending how you look at it) church in my home town. This is the typical New England white wooden church on the village green, the church at the center of town. Its clock is the one everyone looks at to get the time, and its bells not only rang the hour, but two or three times a day they played a song. The tree outside the church was for years the town Christmas tree (now the "Friendship Tree"), and it was the location of the baccalaureate service the night before the high school graduation (which started the year after I graduated).

For the central place the church has in the town, I've only been in it a few times, pretty much only for funerals. This was my mom's church, but she didn't go that much herself. When she did go to church she generally went with us, though she often went to midnight Mass for Christmas on her own, before going to work (she did overnights at a nursing home). She was much closer to our priest than the First Parish pastor, to the point where our priest performed her funeral service. And yet for all that she never converted, which always kind of blew my mind a bit. But thinking about it now, it probably says something about what she learned at this church, the importance of faith over the details that we tent to put into it. Or, as Bart Simpson said, "It's all Christianity, people! The little stupid differences are nothing next to the big stupid similarities!"

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 11: Glavin Family Chapel, Wellesley MA

If it weren't for the sculpture pictured on this page, you'd probably have a hard time telling that this building is a chapel. It's basically a large rectangular solid set on its short end, making it look more like the First Assimilated Church of the Borg than anything else.

This is sort of the point, though, given the range of spiritual organizations that use the chapel. I mostly used it during the week if I couldn't get off campus on a day of obligation, as the lunchtime service usually drew as many employees as students. The priest served a few schools in the area, and was a nice guy, with a slight undertone of crazy grandfather in him. He had a particular habit of blessing too many hosts, which usually saw him have to eat a good 20 to 30 wafers after the service ended.

And for its box-like structure, it really is a nice space. The ceiling is done like the hull of a ship, which helps with the acoustics and breaks up all the straight lines. There's also a small garden and patio outside, which was mostly used during my time for social functions. A few of you might remember that this was the location of the opening and closing meetings for NAQT sectionals in 2003. BU hosted, but used our campus due to some function on their campus that weekend. You think with quizbowlers being in a chapel we'd have taken the opportunity to use some holy water or incense to fight the funk. An opportunity lost.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 10: St. Joseph Parish, Needham MA

We end our tour of Metro West churches in Needham, with the church that we liked the most during our time at Babson. It was unfortunate that we came across it so late. It had a feel very similar to our current church, which I suppose isn't surprising as both are the largest Catholic churches in their respective towns, both have schools, and both are headed up by younger priests. Plenty of parking at both, too.

Unlike our church, it was built after World War II, and is one of the few "modern" churches that isn't ugly. And it was air conditioned, which the current church definitely is not.

A new wrinkle to BU home games tonight: a variety of "fun" facts on the scoreboard, most of which were not that fun. Examples and improvements:

1. First fact: BU and Maine have played to overtime in 17 of their last 97 meetings. Care to guess how many times BU and Maine have played overall?

Better fact: BU is 1-0-8 in overtime against Maine since their last OT loss to the Black Bears in the 1994-95 season.

2. Second fact: 24 players on this year's team have at least one assist. Considering the team as a whole had 171 assists, it shouldn't be surprising that so many people have at least one.

Better fact: BU has 13 players in double digits in points.

3. Third fact: BU went into tonight with a 6-0-1 run against Maine, including a sweep last weekend. Only problem is that last weekend BU played Lowell. We're pretty sure they meant last year's weekend sweep up at Alfond.

Better fact: this one, only less poorly written.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 9: St. James the Great, Wellesley MA

This was the church we probably went to the most in Wellesley, but we never did feel like it was a permanent thing. It was just odd feeling all around, from its location right on Route 9 to the generally low attendance to a soloist who, for all the dodgy church music we've heard, may be the worst one we've encountered.

And yet, when the diocese decided to shut them down, they started a vigil that continues today. As this article notes, they're also pursuing a legal case related to the sale of the property in both the US Supreme Court and an ecclesiastical court at the Vatican. That's a lot of fight for a church that, to me, felt like it wasn't going to make it. Safe to say I may have misjudged them.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 8: St. Paul Parish, Wellesley MA

Staying in Swellesley, St. Paul was the closest church for us from Babson, which is funny as we didn't start going here first. In that old post that I linked to yesterday, I noted the problem that the place was high-churchy but then did hippie things like singing the Lord's Prayer. In retrosepct that wasn't the biggest problem.

The priest there at the time was pretty comfortable speaking out on issues from the pulpit, and he was especially motivated when the same sex marriage thing first happened. It's understandable, given his role, but we started to cross the line when he had parish families come up and talk about how their heterosexual union would be threatened, etc. We didn't need to be prostelytized in our own church (though, based on what I just said, he'd probably disagree).

In any case, it wasn't too long after this happened the first time that we moved on for good. In the priest's case, he's now at the diocese headquarters, working in the vocations office. It's probably a good fit.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 7: St. John the Evangelist, Wellesley MA

There's not much more I can say about this place that I didn't mention back when I first mentioned it. I can't say the intervening years have done much to make me thing we made a mistake by not giving it more of a chance.

One thing worth mentioning is that it was out of this parish that Voice of the Faithful, a lay group that aims to put more accountability and transparency in the administration of the church, was founded. I'm not sure how I feel about them. In theory I support their goals, but the few interactions I've had involving the group have had a condescending tone to them. That may be different now that they're a much bigger group, but it's hard to overcome that sort of initial impression.

While I generally watch dog shows to irritate the wife, I will admit to some irritation with this result. Probably a good thing I'd forgotten it was on and didn't see it live.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 6: St. Agnes, Walker MN

I've never been here (heck, I've never been to Minnesota), but if you poke around a little you'll figure out a connection.

So for the first time since 1995, I will not be spending the second Monday in February watching the BU men's team play for the Beanpot. They managed to lose their opening round game against BC last week (4-3 in OT), and I can't say I have much interest in watching them skate for third place in front of a few dozen fellow fans. I suppose I can't whine too much given the streak of final appearances. It's also hardly a surprising result for this year's team, which is underperforming at an above-average rate.

The flip-side of this is the women's team, who got back to .500 over the weekend with a sweep of Vermont, a nice way to end a week that started by avenging last year's Beanpot final loss to BC. The women knocked off BC in the first round of this year's Beanpot, and all they need to do now to win their second Beanpot is knock off Harvard. Who are the top-ranked team in the country at 22-1. I say if they pull this off they should get to play in Agganis the rest of the season. The men's team is 3-6-1 there this year, so it seems like an obvious move.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 5: Le Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, Montreal PQ

This was a stop during my lone visit to Montreal, and it was a nice diversion in a city whose best-known building is the woeful Olympic Stadium. The two things I really remember from the visit was the modernly-appointed chapel that was bigger than any church I'd been to up to that time, and a tour guide's comment that equated Celine Dion's wedding with a major affair of state. It was funny at the time, but in retrospect is surprisingly apt.

Interestingly, the website has links for English-langauge content, but they don't seem to work. Which is just how the Quebecois like it, you'd have to think.

Book Log 2008 #5: Eat This! by Ian Jackman

This guide to the best of American food is voluminous and has suggestions for every palate. That being said, I do have a few quibbles with the book:

1. There's a definite NYC bias to a lot of it. I will acknowledge that it's a food mecca, but for a book about food in the US, there are times when the book is wedded to the five boroughs pretty strongly (most notably the pizza chapter).

2. Based on what he wrote about here, I'm curious as to how deeply he delved into regional fare. For Massachusetts, he mentioned two local places to me - the Clam Box in Ipswich and Woodman's in Essex - but mentioned the first when talking to a guy in a New York restaurant about his favorite lobster roll, the other when a woman was talking about how her favorite restaurant in Marin County flies in clams from Woodman's.

He also bring up some local food lingo, such as "grinder" for a hot sub and "tonic" for soda. I don't think I've heard either term used regularly in years. Grinder appears on some older signs in sub shops, while I don't recall anyone younger than my mom using tonic on a regular basis.

3. The chapter on why there's not a chapter about kid's food is pretentious. That may not be the word I want, actually, but it's an odd five page interlude where the author talks about how kids can and should eat regular food rather than the usual array of fried, processed nuggeted crap. Not that I disagree with that, but it doesn't really fit the book. Besides, many chapters mention his kids, who are eating at the same places, and usually from the same menu, as their dad.

4. Jackman mentions at some point that his favorite beer is Rolling Rock. That makes me highly suspect of his palate.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 4: St. Vincent de Paul, Bucksport ME

We've gone here the last two or three Christmases, as it's less crowded than the church in Belfast and slighly easier to find. Each year they've had a different priest, and this year the one who did our Mass also did services in two other towns, neither of which were particularly close to Bucksport.

I'll give the parish credit for trying to incorporate a lot of music into things, but they may want to reconsider the quality versus quantity dynamic. There's also one singer whose attempts at an operatic delivery are pretty dreadful. Not that I could do any better, but I'd like to think I'd be able to take a step back and realize things might be better if the organist went solo.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 3: St. Anthony's Chapel, Gloucester MA

St. Anthony's is a seasonal chapel, one which I didn't even know existed until friends of ours got married there a couple of years ago. As you might imagine, a seasonal chapel doesn't have much by way of environmental controls, so when you're in a wedding in July, it's good to have the occasional sea breeze that comes from the chapel being very close to the ocean.

The chapel is part of a family of churches that have become one parish in the wake of the various church closings around here over the last few years. There are familial ties to a couple of the other churches in this parish. St. Ann's is where my paternal grandparents were married; I'll leave the other one for another day.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 2: The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Boston MA

This is, I think, the closest Catholic church to my office. I'd always meant to go take a look at it, but didn't do so until it came up as a location for geocaching (the spires make a good surveying benchmark, apparently). So I wound up taking the short walk on a sunny fall afternoon.

It was well worth it, both for the building and the view of the city from Mission Hill. On the day I went up I also caught part of choir practice, which was a nice bonus.

It's Lent again, and I'm taking another pass at giving up nail biting. We'll see how it goes.

It's also time for me to come up with some sort of thematic series of posts. Not sure if this will be less of a mixed bag than the previous ones, but at least it'll be different. Presenting:

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 1: St. Mary Star of the Sea, Beverly MA

An easy choice to start, this is our current church. We've been lucky to find a place we like so quickly, given how long it took us to find one when we were living at Babson. It also helped that it was within walking distance of our apartment (and now our house).

The history of the church is pretty interesting, given that most of the priests have been of Irish descent while the parishoners tended to be of Italian or French-Canadian background (there are Italian and Franco-American social clubs within walking distance of the house as well). Most of these folks came to Beverly to work at United Shoe, which was still a going concern when I was a kid. Getting back to the ethnic divide, there's still a preponderance of Italian and French names among older parishoners, and the priest in charge is still of Irish descent. The other priest, however, is from Ghana. As you might imagine, that's a first for us.

The church has had some recent renovation, thanks to the sale of some local property. Now the interior looks fantastic and we're in less danger of having a beam fall on us during Mass, which is win-win.

Wound up going red instead of blue yesterday, thanks to George Washington. It was his head I saw, rather than whatever state-specific scene was on the back of the quarter (the Maryland state house, I think), making my ballot choice final.

My previous plan was to vote for the candidate with the greatest amount of support outside of our polling place, but I'm assuming the weather (freezing rain, with up to an inch of sleet on the ground) kept people home. So much for Ron Paul's dedicated masses.

One thing I noticed as we were leaving the polling area is that there was a ballot available for the Working Families Party that had no one listed on it. An opportunity missed.

As if there were any chance that I'd vote for Romney tomorrow, I read today that former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is campaigning with him. Based on past experience, I think that any idea that Santorum favors is a good one to reject.

Still, not sure if we're going red or blue tomorrow. May wind up flipping a coin.

Game - well, clearly that didn't work out the way I'd hoped. That being said, I'm more disappointed about the lack of perfection than actually losing the game. Just another oddity in this most peculiar of NFL seasons for the Pats.

I'm also not thrilled with Eli Manning getting the MVP award. I understand why he got it, but I'd have much rather seen it go to the Giants' D-line, or at least a representative thereof (Justin Tuck, with his 5 solo tackles and 2 sacks, seems like the right choice). They made the difference in the game, as without their relentless pressure Brady would have had more (or any, really) time to do what he does best.

Ads - also an oddity this year is that I'm not stupefied by the selection of the top ad by the AdWatch people at USA Today. Some minor quibbles, but nothing egregious. No classics, though.

Book - you've likely heard (or will hear) that there is (soon to be was) a book available for pre-order on Amazon.com about the Pats' perfect season. While this will be seen as evidence of hubris, I would like to remind one and all that the Boston Globe, who was to put this book out, is owned by the New York Times Company. Conspiracy!

Book Log 2008 #4: One Red Paperclip by Kyle MacDonald

You've probably heard of the guy who used the power of the Internet to trade up from a red paperclip to a house. I had, but knew almost none of the details, which is what drew me to pick this up when it popped up at the library. I'll admit to having pretty low expectations, based on a quick flip through which made it look like a lot of the book was made up of emails.

Turned out I was wrong, as the emails make up a very small part of the story, which is told in an able and humorous fashion by the guy who actually made the trades. The one thing that didn't work for me was the mock-inspirational sayings between each chapter. One per break would have been plenty.

It's a quick read, and worth perusing if for nothing else than to learn about Corbin Bernsen's snow globe collection.

Book Log 2008 #3: Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

I'll admit to having been attracted to this slim biography more for its author than its subject, as I expected Bryson to take his usual whimsical view to English literature's greatest playwright. But he didn't, for the most part.

Instead, Bryson take a fairly straightforward approach, but not so much at who Shakespeare was but who he wasn't. Bryson is quick to note we know almost nothing about Shakespeare other than what appears in official documents and a few written mentions in works by other people. From there, he builds a biography based on what life was like at various places and times, and using that more to deflate theories that are mostly speculation.

So while it's not much of a biography (how could it be?), it does give a fairly objective picture. Just one that doesn't include its subject very much. I liked it, but it's an odd approach that will likely frustrate people looking for a story that's more robust, regardless of its accuracy.

Book Log 2008 #2: The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

This book is set in present day Sitka, Alaska, where (as is mentioned often), it's a strange time to be a Jew. Sitka is the focal point of a district founded in the 1940s for Jewish immigration in the wake of the collapse of Israel, but it's all about to revert to the state of Alaska, leading to new chapter in the Diaspora for many.

One person who is moving out - permanently - is a junkie found dead in a flophouse that is also home to a drink-favoring homicide detective. The detective's interest in the case is tempered by his borderline alcoholism, the apparent involvement of a powerful Orthodox sect, and the reappearance of his ex-wife... who is now his boss.

Take away the unique background and this set-up wouldn't be out of place in mainstream mystery fiction. But with it - and with Chabon's stylish prose and ability to develop characters - there's much more depth to this book than the average work in the genre.

That being said, I did feel like the latter part of the book struggled a bit to maintain the various threads of the story, but it's still very successful. Very much worth a read.