Book Log 2008 #46: USSA by David Madsen

In this book, the US has won WWIII and occupied Russia. A large displaced persons camp rings Moscow, and large areas of the country are off limits due to radiation. The espionage market has dried up, forcing many cashiered spies into working on corporate cases. Among the lower tier of such spies is Dean Joplin, whose luck turns when an officer of the occupation police hires him to conduct an off the books investigation of a murder in a new luxury hotel.

From there things progress as you might expect in a spy thriller/mystery. There are a few places where you'll find echoes of future Arkady Renko plots, but this book never comes close to the excellence of that series. It's not a bad book, but it never quite uses it's setting as well as it could have. The depiction of the occupation police officer and his family is also kind of off-putting, which doesn't help.

I don't think it's quite worth seeking out, but may be worth a browse for alt-history types.

The Blogalicious College Football Games of the Week

Thursday - Florida State at North Carolina State. They say that no parent should outlive their child (so true), but I don't know if there's a similar sentiment for a parent's career outlasting that of their children. Probably not where the Bowdens are concerned. Maybe Bobby winning this week will help to open up the NC State job for one of the boys. Score: Florida State 24, NC State 10

Friday - Hawaii at Boise State. The (Rainbow) Warriors are on here a lot, aren't they? I suppose it helps to have a time zone to yourself. Plan ahead for their appearances here when they host Nevada and Idaho, which should be more competitive than this game. Score: Boise State 55, Hawaii 7

Saturday (early) - Vanderbilt at Georgia. I love the Vandy story so far, but I really can't see them going into Athens and winning, considering they've not done so since 1874. Actually, they won there in 2006, Georgia's "down" year when they went 9-4. Still, as long as the Bulldogs don't try another fan blackout they should be fine. Score: Georgia 37, Vandy 17

Saturday (mid-afternoon) - Toldeo at Northern Illinois. Even you don't consider their win over Michigan an upset given the way the Wolverines are playing this year, you know that there's going to be a let-down, right? Score: Northern Illinois 31, Toledo 2

Saturday (night) - Oregon State at Washington or Mississippi State at Tennessee. The Head Coach Death Watch focuses on Seattle and Knoxville, as Ty Willingham and Phil Fulmer coach for their jobs. Willingham at least has the excuse of Jake Locker still being out, not that it will keep the axe at bay for long. Score: Oregon State 31, Washington 7, Willingham 0; Mississippi State 12, Tennessee 6, Fulmer 0

Last week: 5-2
Season: 24-17

Book Log 2008 #45: New Masters, Old World by Cynthia Saltzman

This book details how a small group of American collectors, flush with fortunes made during our rapid industrial growth after the Civil War, created (and later dominated) the European market for high-quality paintings by the likes of Vermeer and Rembrandt (among others). These collectors, working with European-based intermediaries of varying ethics, created collections of both quality and quantity, which enriched private residences before becoming the foundation for colletions of museums across the country.

The story is deftly told from both the art and business perspectives, which isn't surprising as Saltzman has a background in both. She also gives a great deal of background on both the collectors and their agents, which helps to explain why the interest in collecting developed and how it was often exploited for personal gain.

The one major issue I had with the book is that it doesn't end as well as it starts. Coverage of the end of this collecting period, marked by the deaths of the original collectors and the varying success their heirs had in keeping the collections, seems rushed and much less interesting. A minor issue is that there are a number of paintings mentioned that are never reproduced in the book, and while Saltzman describes them well having the visual would be a bonus.

A good read for anyone interested in art or Gilded Age history.

Just once, when Sarah Palin or someone of her ilk drops a "Barack HUSSEIN Obama" in the middle of a speech, I want the crowd to react like the kids do in the Harry Potter books when Voldemort gets mentioned by name. Whatever faith I have in humanity will finally exhaust itself, but at least I'll get a chuckle out of it.

The Blogalicious College Football Games of the Week

Tuesday - Troy at Florida Atlantic. More mid-week love for the Sun Belt Conference, who is to ESPN2 what the Big East is to the mothership. The Owls tripped me up last week, so this week I am obligated not to take them so they can screw things up for me again. Score: Troy 27, FAU 10

Thursday - Clemson at Wake Forest. Wait, there isn't some MAC-WAC paddywhack we can get for Wednesday? Or does paddywhack more describe what Notre Dame is in for this week against UNC? Either way, Clemson is marginally lucky to be playing the second-best college football team in North Carolina this week. They may still be in this game at halftime. Score: Wake Forest 27, Clemson 6

Friday - Louisville at Memphis. Dick Vitale is sitting by the phone wondering why he hasn't been called to cover this game. Score: Louisville 38, Memphis 9

Saturday (early) - Texas at Oklahoma. Well, not really at Oklahoma as the game's being played in Dallas, which I'd think is unfair to the Sooners if they weren't the best team in the country and if Texas wasn't overrated (their 5 wins: FAU, UTEP, Rice, Arkansas, Colorado). Oklahoma at least played one ranked team (TCU was #24 when they faced off). I look forward to a Big XII title game where the winner here and Missouri combine for 1400 yards. Score: Oklahoma 37, Texas 28

Saturday (mid-afternoon) - Michigan State at Northwestern. If the Wildcats are going to shore up their claim of being the Vanderbilt of the Big 10, it starts here. But I have a feeling it'll stop here, though as it's the Big 10 the Spartans could lose by 30 just as easily. Score: Michigan State 17, Northwestern 15

Saturday (night) - LSU at Florida. I really need the Gators to lose here, as (a) I'm sick of them skulking around the BCS picture, and (b) it'd he highly entertaining if they were ranked lower than Vandy (or not at all!) when they take on the Commodores in November. I am slightly less sick of LSU hanging around, if only because I take warped pleasure out of James Carville trying to talk football. Score: LSU 23, Florida 18

Sunday - Louisiana Tech at Hawaii. I was all set to talk smack about the (Rainbow) Warriors, except that they beat Fresno State last week. Still not going to stay up for this thing, which is good as there doesn't appear to be a local outlet showing the game. Score: Hawaii 20, Louisiana Tech 2

Last week: 4-3
Season: 19-15

Book Log 2008 #44: A Few Seconds of Panic by Stefan Fatsis

I was somewhat disposed to dislike this book due to some loyalty towards Just Kick It, where another aging soccer player becomes a football kicker. I enjoyed that book quite a bit, and as it takes place locally I was a little miffed (irrationally so) that a better-known author would get more publicity for kicking for a better-known team (even if, unlike St. Amant, he didn't get to kick in live games).

What I should have been thinking is that there was a chance that there'd be two highly enjoyable books that use a similar premise to tell very different stories. That's the reality of the situation, as this book is as entertaining in its depiction of life in the NFL's least-secure position as Just Kick It is in telling the story of players looking for another season doing what they most enjoy.

Fatsis is skilled at getting into subcultures - if you've not read Word Freak, do so at your earliest convenience - and kickers may comprise the NFL's ultimate subculture. Granted, he gets access other kickers don't (he speaks with Mike Shanahan and team execs quite a bit), but he also gets into the minds of established guys like Jason Elam and fringe guys whose names I can't even remember. He's also there during Todd Sauerbrun's drug suspension, which helps to add some color to the narrative.

So, your two conclusions: one, I'm an idiot, and two, read both of these scribe-turned-kicker books.

Book Log 2008 #43: The Bluest State by Jon Keller

Keller, who has spent his career as a local political journalist, seems like just the right person to write a critique of the one-party, hack-heavy Massachusetts political system. And in places the fit between subject and author is just right, with Keller skewering the way folks like Tom Finneran played power games while not addressing state-wide economic issues like job growth and a lack of affordable housing.

But things don't work so well in most of the book, in which Keller blames pretty much everything on the outdated policies and values of the "boomer liberals," which in most cases is a Kennedy or John Kerry. And, of course, these folks hate America, don't give to charity, think religion is bunk and are to blame for the whole PC thing (seriously, there's a whole chapter on PC language and thinking that would have made some sense if the book was written ten years earlier).

I think my issue with this book is similar to the one I had with Thomas Frank's What's the Matter With Kansas? (which is mentioned a few times in the book as well). Both have an interesting premise and the material to really support it, but things drift as the book goes on. Maybe I'm just fated to be disappointed in contemporary political writing.

Book Log #42: 1434 by Gavin Menzies

I started this book thinking it was related to 1491, Charles Mann's book that uses a variety of new research and methodologies to paint a very different picture of the pre-Columbian Western Hemisphere than that which has been typically presented. Instead, it's the follow up to 1421, in which Menzies theorizes a Chinese discovery of America.

Suffice it to say that I was sadly mistaken. Where Mann makes his argument based on published research and interviews with people in the field, most of Menzies' ideas seem to have sprung from his head while on vacations with his wife. In fact, both he and his wife are mentioned more often then any Chinese admiral in the parts of the book I could get through. Needless to say I didn't make it through the entire work, and while it may have taken a turn for the better, I'm doubting it did.

Even so, I am interested in a suggested third book in the series, where Menzies will apparently argue that legendary admiral Zheng He is buried somewhere around Asheville, North Carolina. I'm looking forward to an Al Capone's vault-style TV special for if and when he finds Zheng's tomb.

Book Log 2008 #40 and 41: Service of All the Dead and The Dead of Jericho by Colin Dexter

Two more in the Morse series, the first revolving around deaths at a local church, the latter on two killings on a small street in the titular Oxford neighborhood. Both are good, and have some similarities where the victims are concerned. More development in the Morse-Lewis relationship, which is pretty much where it'll be for the rest of the series, I think.

The Blogalicious College Football Games of the Week

Tuesday - Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee. I like football, obviously, or I wouldn't waste my time doing this sort of thing. But I can't think of what would lead me to watch this game, outside of a large cash payment or Erin Andrews playing real-time strip ratings. All I know of FAU is Howard Schnellenberger, which seems like enough. Score: FAU 33, MTSU 7

Wednesday - Louisiana Tech at Boise State. See above, replace "FAU" and "Howard Schnellenberger" with "BSU" and "Ian Johnson." Throw in a reference to Smurf Turf if you'd like. Score: Boise State 33, Louisiana Tech 7

Thursday - Oregon State at Utah. The letdown commences. Score: Utah 41, Oregon State 3

Friday - BYU at Utah State. There actually is a trophy given to the best team out of BYU, Utah, and Utah State, called the Beehive Boot. The Aggies will officialy be eliminated from contention after this game, as they've already been thrashed by Utah. Mark your calendars for November 22, when the Cougars and Utes will play for the book (and, most likely, the Mountain West title). Score: BYU85, Utah State 2

Saturday (early) - Alcorn State at New Mexico State. A couple of weeks ago I called UC0nn-Baylor the least essential game of the season. I stand corrected. This would make sense if this were the Aggies homecoming game, but it's not. For some reason they've scheduled Boise State for homecoming. Apparently they get more money from alumni who drink away the pain. Score: New Mexico State 23, Alcorn State 0

Saturday (mid-afternoon) - Florida State at Miami. This week's entry into the Remembrance of High-Quality Football Past, as this series that for years had national title implications now serves as the decided for who gets to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. On the other hand, you don't hear about as many players from either program going to prison as you did back in the day, so there's that. Score: Miami 17, Florida State 9, Florida Department of Corrections 0

Saturday (night) - Ohio State at Wisconsin. Please, Badgers, put an end to any possibility that we'll have to sit through another title game thrashing involving the Buckeyes. One loss may not do it this year, especially after USC tanked. A grateful nation thanks you in advance. Score: Wisconsin 20, Ohio State 18

Last week: 4-2
Season: 15-12

Virginia Vacation - Day 10

Not sure how much of a vacation day this was; I suppose it depends on how much you like being in the car. We spent the whole day driving back, leaving before 7 am and getting home around 5:30 pm. I worried about getting stuck in traffic around the Meadowlands as the Giants were home, but it was fine (even stopped at the Vince). The traffic hit once over the GWB and on to the New York Thruway, which was very slow. Another argument for taking the long way around.

The only notable part of the trip was on 128 coming up from the Pike to home, where we got to see a fully engaged car fire. Thankfully, it looked like everyone got out of the car before it went up.

All in all, a much better vacation than Indiana, which was only a vacation for one of us (and even then not much of a vacation, as there's only so long you can hang out by yourself before you start to go a little batty). Then again, vacationing with in-laws can often lead to the same thing.

Virginia Vacation - Day 9

We finally connected the Historic Triangle by going to Colonial Williamsburg. It was pretty interesting, though we'd have appreciated more clarity between what buildings were recreations and what ones were original. Guides would usually note this, but not always (the guide for the capitol building never mentioned that it was rebuilt), and if you didn't go into a building you really had no way of knowing.

Also interesting were the number of buildings on the site that were serving as private residences. You'd need a very high tolerance for strangers traipsing through your backyard, among other qualities. I don't think I could put up with it.

Consequently, you can just walk on to the site from the town. You'd not be able to enter buildings (the staff is very alert to people not wearing a ticket badge), but if all you wanted to do is nose around and see the performances (there's a drum and fife procession, and on the day we were there a number of street theater pieces telling the story of local reaction to independence), you certainly could. And for the money we paid, I almost think I'd have preferred to nose around for free.

And that wrapped up the actual vacation portion of things. All that was left was the drive home.

Virginia Vacation - Day 8

We put the history aside for the day and took up geography, so to speak, by going to Busch Gardens Europe.

For those not familiar with the park, it has nationally-themed sections whose rides and attractions theoretically tie in to the country. For example, in Scotland you'd find the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster, in New France the log flume ride, and in Poland the Escape from the CIA Secret Prison motion ride.

(OK, I'm kidding about the last one. Poland isn't represented in the park.)

One of the things I've noticed as I've aged is that I've become a bit of a wuss where roller coasters are concerned. For me to go on one I need to see it in operation, gauge the height of the initial hill, find out what sort of restraint system is used, and then take a few minutes to ponder if it's for me. The Griffon was clearly not a coaster I was going to ride, given the 90 degree drop after its initial hill (and the way that the riders are held at the top, over the edge of the drop, for a few seconds before plunging to, what I see in my mind's eye, as a splatterific death on the pavement below).

To that end, I wound up passing on the Loch Ness Monster, which the wife went on about five minutes after we entered the park. If she'd been willing to wait a few more minutes I may have joined her, multiple loops be damned.

I do not have this same problem with other rides, so I did go on the variety of motion rides, the log flume, and even the bumper cars (I love bumper cars, they were always the highlight of summer trips to Canobie Lake Park when I was a kid). I did squeeze in one coaster, the Big Bad Wolf, which isn't too bad (though it has its highest hill towards the end, which seems a little cruel).

We also took in a few of the shows, which was kind of disappointing as they had all been changed for Howl-O-Scream. Seemed to early for that to me, but as Halloween candy has been on sale in our supermarket for a month I suppose it's the way things are going. While I wasn't looking forward to the shows, I would have preferred step dancing and guys and liederhosen slapping their feet to vampires singing covers of '80s music.

I will say that Busch Gardens is marginally less of a gougetastic experience than the Disney parks, and going on a Friday in mid-September pretty much guarantees minimal lines. It wasn't a bad way to spend a day of the vacation, and I'd go back if I was in the area (and it was a day where it wouldn't be too crowded), but I'm not exactly plotting my return trip now.

Virginia Vacation - Day 7

This was our second day of historical nerditry, as we went over to Yorktown. Same deal as Jamestown, the state has their own facility with recreated period scenes and the National Park Service is in charge of the actual location. Unlike Jamestown, though, there's been no numerically-significant anniversary to spur spending, so both locations are a bit disappointing.

The state's facility, the Yorktown Victory Center, has a decent museum area, but the movie they show is not very good at all. It tries to tell the story of the battle and the revolution by going through an American encampment before the last big push of the battle and hearing what various soldiers are talking about. It's not content-free, but it doesn't tell you much.

The recreated areas are small, and the encampment is too clean and ordered to suggest that the troops stationed there are fighting a war. There's also a farm/homestead area which doesn't quite fit in, though I liked that they were growing hops.

The NPS site's visitor center is suffering from age a bit, and the movie appears to have been made no later than 1981. The short walking tour we took did an excellent job of covering the basics of the seige and did take us through some of the remaining earthworks. But to see the whole site requires a driving tour, which we decided not to take. Which is too bad, as I'd have liked to seen more.

We did go through the actual town on the way to the NPS site. The downtown appears to mostly be an open-air mall-type thing, which we thankfully did not stop to explore.

One thing we noticed on the way home was the preponderance of gates on the on and off ramps that would cut them off from the roadways. From what I've read they seem to be there to allow for contraflow during hurricane evacuations, though I imagine they'd also help if the military had to get a lot of people in or out of the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area quickly.

So that was two-thirds of the Historic Triangle down.

Virginia Vacation - Day 6

My brother is an excellent golfer. My father loved to play, and wasn't too bad, either. One of his uncles was, for a time, the pro at the Westchester Country Club. So there is some connection to the game in my family.

I, for whatever reason, don't seem to share that connection, or at least not to the same extent. Which is why I had some trepidation going into this day of the vacation, the day where I annually tee it up with my father in law and the wife's uncle.

The Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg has two championship courses, one designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and the other by his son Rees. We did not play either of those. Instead, we opted for the $29 special to play the Spotswood Course. Which, when you think about it, isn't a bad deal considering it allowed us to play unlimited holes and included carts.

The course itself needs a little work. The 8th hole (which is the subject of the bottom right picture on their web page) may not be draining properly given the level of green slime on the water, and had more sand than grass on its green. Overall, though, it's a perfect course for hackers like us.

We're quite a trio when we go out, considering that the wife's uncle is legally blind and I often play like I am. Seriously, if this were a Cooch golfing recap I'd have had to contact MIT to design a polygon to contain some of my more egregious scores. But as we played on I got into the rhythm of things and even had legitimate par opportunities on occasion. Not that I converted any of them; it's hard to putt when you're more used to doing so while timing the arms of a tiny windmill. On at least two holes I took shots from under trees with a left-handed seven iron that my dad carried around for just such an occasion.

We wound up playing the course three times, as the second time around we zipped through in just about an hour. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but around hole 23 we started to flag, and we more or less played it out to satify honor.

The day ended up pretty much like every other vacation golf day, I enjoyed myself but not so much that I want to play every week. Though we do have a municipal course in town that's fairly cheap...

The Blogalicious College Football Games of the Week

Thursday - USC at Oregon State. The Trojans open their Pac-10 campaign against a team that lost by double digits to Stanford and got whacked by Penn State (but beat Hawaii - woo!). The only hope for the Beavers is if USC is already looking forward to the BCS title game, which is possible given the "strength"of the conference this year. Possible, but unlikely. Score: USC 98, Oregon State 3

Friday - Connecticut at Louisville. UConn's second consecutive Friday night game. I assume their opponent next week is New Haven East High? I shouldn't mock the Huskies, considering Louisville won't play another Saturday game until mid-October. The Big East should just make ESPN a title sponsor already. Score: Louisville 10, UConn 8

Saturday (early) - Army at Texas A&M. This would have been a great game - in 1958. Today, Army loses to New Hampshire by three scores and the Aggies open the season with a loss to Arkansas State. Sad. Score: Texas A&M 35, Army 2

Saturday (mid-afternoon) - Marshall at West Virginia. You would think that a game between the state's only two Divison I teams would be more of a rivalry, but it's not. The Mountaineers have a series sweep going, and last year marked the first time in 92 years that the Thundering Herd hosted the game. It does have a snazzy name - the Friends of Coal Bowl - with the winning team taking home the Black Lung Trophy. But it won't really be a rivalry until Marshall wins one, which I don't think will be this year. Score: West Virginia 27, Marshall 10

Saturday (night) - Illinois at Penn State. If nothing else, this game will either prove that the Nittany Lions are (relatively) for real or that the power of ZOOK!!!!! hasn't dulled. The Illini are going to have to sweat intensity and crap passion to pull this one out. Score: Penn State 23, Illinois 20

Sunday - San Jose State at Hawaii. Thanks, time zones, for making me recognize this crap-ass game. Score: San Jose State 7, Hawaii 3 (14OT)

Last week: 5-1
Season: 11-10

Virginia Vacation - Day 5

This was the first day of historical geekery, as we went over to Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English settlement on American soil.

I was a little confused when reading about Jamestown, as there are two main attractions. One, Jamestown Settlement, is run by the state of Virginia and is a recreation of early Jamestown on land that is near, but not part of, the original site. There's a large and well-appointed visitors center, behind which you find the recreated settlement area, which includes typical native dwellings, the fort and a work area of the town in about the 18th century, and full-sized replicas of the ships that brought the colonists to Virginia in 1607.

The other part is the actual site, which is run by the National Park Service as part of Colonial National Park. The site doesn't have any original structures, but does have some later ones as well as a good museum showcasing artifacts found during excavations. It's also cheaper than the settlement site.

We wound up doing both, and both have their advantages. The settlement recreation made it much easier to visualize colonial life, and some of the guides were quite adept at explaining life for natives and settlers alike (the younger guides were less knowledgable, though I expect that they were recently-hired college students based on some comments they made). We also got to put on some colonial armor and help hollow out a canoe, which was fun. Still, there was an air of make-believe to the place that made it a little hard for things to fully sink in.

The actual site has the advantage of being the actual site, as well as some extremely knowledgable rangers. It helps to have seen the recreation first, I think, as it allows you to overlay the visuals on to the original site. It takes away some of the fun of coming up with your own mental pictures, but at least replaces that with something reasonably accurate.

Both facilities show the benefit of the 400th anniversary of the founding, with new buildings and exhibits. Both also try to demonstrate the balance between the English settlers, the natives they found upon arriving, and the Africans who wound up in the area after escaping from the Spanish, an important part of the history but one that the settlement beats over your head a little too much, I think.

Anyway, if you ever go I'd plan on visiting both sites. No combo admission, sorry to say, but both offer combos with sites at Yorktown. More on that on Thursday.

Book Log 2008 #39: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder

I've had both good (Home Town) and not so good (The Soul of a New Machine) experiences with Kidder, and am happy to report that this was also one of the good ones (perhaps I just need to read books he's written before they turn 20 years old).

The book follows Paul Farmer, who built a small health outreach program in Haiti into Partners in Health, a multinational organization that tackles TB and other medical issues in some of the world's most difficult settings. Farmer's approach is personal and pragmatic, and successful in ways that more bureaucratic groups (like the WHO) can't model or support given the greater bureaucracy involved. Kidder deftly weaves Farmer's personal life around this story, from his unorthodox upbringing to his own, rarely-seen wife and child.

In reading this I experienced equal parts awe at Farmer's successes and dismay that I'm wasting my life tapping on keyboards. It's an inspiring work that underscores that, after all the science and money, it's people who matter most.

Virginia Vacation - Day 4

A rest day, mostly spent in or by the pool at the timeshare. Had a conversation with a guy from Ohio that I gave up on once he recommended eating at Red Lobster while we were in town. That was pretty much all the interaction I had with other guests for the week, which is probably for the best.

We did go grocery shopping, and failed in my first quest for a bag of Utz's crab chips (which contain no crab, they're potato chips with Old Bay seasoning). They don't show up in supermarkets up here, even though Utz products have been widely available for at least a year. The only place I've found them up here have been at the Christmas Tree Shop and a local Italian grocery which doesn't always offer them (or were out the last time I went in, which was some time ago). Thought they'd be easy to find given our proximity to Maryland, but no soap.

We're back from a week-plus vacation to DC and Williamsburg, Virginia, and rather than try to recap it all at once (which has worked out so well for past trips to Devon, the Dominican Republic and Indiana), I'm going to do a day-by-day recap, with each day this week subbing for one day (or more) of the vacation.

So today, it's Virginia Vacation Days 1-3: Friday through Sunday

We left Boston on Friday night, hit the expected rush hour traffic but once we got through it was smooth sailing... until we got to New York. I think we averaged 4 miles per hour on the Cross Bronx Expressway. While that's never the speediest stretch of road, we've had bad luck through here the last three times we've driven through, so it may be time we take the Tappan Zee route permanently. Stayed the night at a Holiday Inn Express in Edison, New Jersey, where the front desk guy apologized for not getting us a ground floor room, which we found odd.

At least until the next morning, when a tour group where the average age was about 70 descended upon the breakfast bar en masse just as we were finishing up. We got out before they started to riot for Postum.

We made it to DC by 11 or so, and after getting thoroughly lost (as usual) and finding no luck with parking, we finally stopped in West Potomac Park and embarked on an afternoon walk around the monuments. This included several I'd not seen before, including ones for George Mason (a little creepy being larger than life-size), FDR (impressive, but we walked through it backwards, which I think diminished things a bit), the Korean War (very well executed) and World War II (which I liked, probably fitting that it was more traditional than the Korean or Vietnam memorials). We also saw Bob Dole at the WWII memorial, who was doing meet and greets with members of a veterans group.

The walk was over three miles, and it being over 90 degrees with significant humidity we were pretty wiped by the end, and looked forward to cooling off at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. Which we couldn't find, although we probably drove under it at least once before sorting out which ramp we had to take to get up to hotel level. It's not a bad hotel, but it clearly caters to business folks, between the charges for everything and the lowel level shopping area that was closed up tight on a Saturday afternoon. Both HUD and Transportation have buildings in the area; HUD's may be the ugliest government building in the district. You be the judge.

We then took the Metro over to Union Station to have dinner at the Capital City Brewing Company. I have serious subway envy when it comes to the Metro, and while it is showing its age a bit it does at least have certain amenities that the T lacks, such as signboards that tell you when the next train is arriving and automated fare machines that work better than the Charlie Card system, even though they're at least 20 years older. I know everyday riders would be able to give me its faults, but as a casual rider I still enjoy it more than my daily trip.

Sunday was to start with a trip to Mt. Vernon and then the drive to Williamsburg. We decided to squeeze in a quick stop at Arlington National Cemetary. That quick stop wound up being almost three hours, forcing us to scrap Mt. Vernon. We got turned around leaving Arlington, putting us back into DC, which was more or less shut down thanks to the National Triathlon. We spent nearly an hour getting to a place where we could get the hell out, and I'll admit that I lost my shit at least once. I usually don't over traffic, but this time the whole delay was so obviously avoidable that I couldn't contain myself. There were no detour signs or police officers to direct traffic or provide directions. Actually, I did see two officers, but they were firmly entrenched in their cruiser (too hot to get out, I suspect). A better metaphor for federal governance could never be created. The wife navigated our escape, and we got down to Williamsburg in late afternoon.

The afternoon saw us take a quick view of Williamsburg as we tried to get to two different CVS branches to get prescriptions filled. It's probably a good thing I never visited when I was planning to go to law school at William and Mary, as I never would have decided to stay at BU if I had. Although the number of shopping centers may have put me off.

Meme time! Ran across this post on Boston.com's dining blog, so here's what I've eaten on The Omnivore's Hundred:

(And because I'm feeling dorky, it's now with added color coding. Black are the things I've had, Red the things that would likely kill me, green the things I would eat, orange for the things I think I've eaten but am not sure about, and purple for the things that I think would make me turn that color if I ate them.)

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I'd like to think I'm reasonably adventurous about eating, but many of the green items I'd try only if I wasn't in a position where I'd have to buy an entire serving if I didn't like it.  There's also a subset of things I'd try buy feel no particular compulsion to go out and do so (steak tartare, salted lassi, and most of the alcoholic drinks).  If forced to try any of the purple foods, I'd probably give horse a go. My father in law has had it (in Spain back when he was in the service), and he said it wasn't bad. Though I don't think he knew it was horse before tucking in.

The Blogalicious College Football Games of the Week

Wednesday - Kansas State at Louisville. I don't think there was ever a time where this would be a good football game, and at this point it wouldn't even be a good basketball game. And isn't it a little early in the year to be starting in on the Wednesday games? Couldn't ESPN give us two baseball games with playoff implications? Score: Louisville 9, Kansas State 4

Thursday - West Virginia at Colorado. Both teams have had a week off - the Mountaineers to stew in their loss to East Carolina, Colorado after their win over Eastern Washington. I can't imagine either team is in a good mood (Colorado only won by 7), but I'll take the team that really has something to prove. Score: West Virginia 24, Colorado 6

Friday - Baylor at Connecticut. The least essential match-up of the year. I think Baylor is under the assumption that UConn is still 1-AA, and by the end of things they'll wish that assumption was true. And then they get to play Oklahoma! Also, I promise that this is the last time I feature Baylor, this is more pub than they deserve. Score: UConn 35, Baylor 0

Saturday (early) - Iowa at Pittsburgh. The Big 10 has six early games. This is the only one not on the Big 10 Network. FAU-Minnesota is, as is the looming bloodbath of Penn State-Temple. I assumed this was because ESPN would show it, but apparently not. More fun with programming from these folks. Anyway, I'm willing to bet that the loser of this game sacks their coach before the end of the season. Adios, Kirk. Score: Pitt 6, Iowa 4

Saturday (mid-afternoon) - Florida at Tennessee. When was the last time this game was played where one of the teams wasn't ranked? It was 2002, when the Gators went to Knoxville and won 30-13. That makes things easy. Score: Florida 30, Tennessee 13

Saturday (night) - Massachusetts at Texas Tech. I suppose it's games like this that helps Our State U offer hockey, so I'll give them my best on the way to the slaughter. You don't eke out a win over Holy Cross and then hope to keep up with the Big XII's resident offensive circus. Score: Texas Tech 66, UMass 3

Last week: 2-3
Season: 6-9

Book Log 2008 #38: The Anatomist by Bill Hayes

Hayes originally set out to write about Henry Gray, whose anatomical text has been the reference of choice for over a century. Unfortunately for Hayes, it turns out that Gray left little behind that could be used to write a biography, in part due to his early passing from smallpox. Rather than give up, Hayes turns his focus to Henry Carter, the book's illustrator, who proved a more accessible subject, and especially interesting given his competing drive to succeed in medicine and an almost militant piety.

Hayes mixes this story with his own involvement in a series of anatomy classes, where he goes from simple observer to amateur expert while musing on what anatomy and its study tells us about ourselves. The two tracks of the book don't always mesh well, but the ending throws a twist unusual to non-fiction, one which helps to tie things together. It's a short read, but an interesting one, as much for Hayes' story than Carter's.

Book Log 2008 #37: Panic in Level 4 by Richard Preston

Preston name-drops John McPhee early on in the introduction to this book, which is fitting as the book takes a McPhee-like wander through the fringes of science. The majority of the stories take place in Preston's medical/biological wheelhouse, from his own encounter with a possible exposure to Ebola to a rare genetic disorder that results in self-cannibalism. The other stories feature the Chudnovsky brothers, whose focus on higher math - specifically determining pi - led them to build a supercomputer in their New York apartment.

I liked the stories in general, but I think there's a kind of disconnect between stories that doesn't lead to the sort of unified whole that McPhee gets in his work. As fringey as the Chudnovskys might be, they may be a little out of place in a book that references high-level biohazards. But that shouldn't dissuade you if you like Preston's previous work.

Book Log 2008 #36: The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor

The latest in the Gordianus the Finder series, it picks up with Gordianus back from Egypt, looking forward to spending time with his family when he is thrown into a double investigation into the death of a friend and a potential plot against Julius Caesar (no, not that plot).

That there is a new book is apparently a surprise, as some readers thought Gordianus had died at the end of the previous book. I never thought that, which is either a sign that I'm working on the same level mentally as Saylor or I was just too dense to think that the ending of the book was also the ending of the series. I'm going with the latter.

Another solid and entertaining entry in the series.

The Blogalicious College Football Games of the Week

Thursday - North Carolina at Rutgers. I think the Scarlet Knights are happy this is North Carolina rather than East Carolina, though the ways things are going they may have preferred South Carolina. Western Carolina gets no consideration based on lack of directional conformity. Sadly, this digression will likely be more entertaining than this game, which at a different time of year would be known as the Armed Forces Bowl. Score: Rutgers 17, UNC 3

Friday - Kansas at South Florida. Could ESPN perhaps switch this game with Thursday's game? Because I won't be home Friday night and would much rather watch this, even though Kansas is likely to demonstrate to South Florida why people think the Big East is a joke. Score: Kansas 37, USF 10

Saturday (early) - Washington State at Baylor. If nothing else, this guarantees that one of these teams will have a win over a D1 opponent this season. Not so fast, Baylor. Score: Washington State 7, Baylor -2

Saturday (mid-afternoon) - Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech. Winner here takes on the winner of Cal Tech-MIT for the Golden Protractor. Score: Virginia Tech 32pi/7, Georgia Tech 3!

Saturday (night) - Oklahoma at Washington. Jake Locker leads the Huskies to a furious comeback, only to get called for two celebration penalties when he smiles and pats the back of his center after a touchdown. The 50 yard extra point hits both uprights and the crossbar - twice - before the ball falls into the end zone. Score: Oklahoma 31, Washington 30

Last week: 3-2
Season: 4-6

Book Log 2008 #35: Bananas! How the United Fruit Company Changed the World by Peter Chapman

It's been a while since I've read this, but I do have a sense of lingering disappointment. I think it stems from a lack of follow-up on the event that starts the book off: the dramatic suicide of CEO Eli Black, who threw himself out the window of his office on the 44th floor of the Pan Am Building in New York. The book delves into the company's early history, and how it grew in power to dominate the countries that were home to its plantation, culminating in its involvement in a 1954 coup in Guatemala.

From there, though, the history of the company gets sparse, missing I think a chance to link the company's rapacious practices with its later problems (even if the link isn't provable, it'd have been a nice contrast from a literary point of view).

Overall it's a decent example of how globalization can go wrong, though at times the author's ovbious contempt for his subject takes away from things. Not that there's much to love about United Fruit, but less is more at times.

The Blogalicious College Football Games of the Week

Thursday - South Carolina at Vanderbilt. I was leaning towards the clash between Nicholls State and New Mexico State, but that got postponed what with the hurricane and all. I'm guessing because the Nicholls State folks didn't want to get stuck in Las Cruces. I think I'd rather take my chances with the storm surge, too.

As for the game being played, South Carolina is tuning up for Georgia next week, and might be looking past this game. Vandy is playing Rice next week, and maybe will be looking forward too much for next week, when everyone will get to play. Score: South Carolina 23, Vandy 15

Friday - Navy at Ball State. There may be more rushing touchdowns than passing attempts in this game. The Fightin' Lettermans are a perfect 2-0 against the Middies, but I don't think three will be the charm. Score: Navy 35, Ball St. 24

Saturday (early) - Southern Miss at Auburn. Maybe the Tigers/War Eagles will do us all a favor and have their crippling loss early this year. It's the football equivalent of doing your Christmas shopping in October. Both teams feasted on schools in the University of Louisiana system last week, so it's not like either team has actual data to look at for this season. I'm pretty sure Auburn used their swim team in the final quarter of their game. Score: Auburn 27, Southern Miss 17

Saturday (mid-afternoon) - San Diego State at Notre Dame. The Aztecs lost to Cal Poly last week. Should the Golden Domers somehow manage to lose this game they should drop football forever. I realize I've just made several new San Diego State fans with that suggestion. Score: Notre Dame 35, SDSU 3

Saturday (night) - Murray State at Indiana. The game the Big Ten Network was created to show. Seriously, this is their prime time game this week. I can't imagine why cable operators wouldn't want to add this to their roster of channels. Score: Indiana 9, Murray State 6

Last week: 1-4
Season: 1-4

I don't have a real opinion on this whole Bristol Palin pregnancy thing, other than hoping she and the baby daddy get away from the sort of names that were used on Bristol and her siblings. Although it would be amusing to have the Vice President introduce the nation to her first grandchild, Yardarm Slapshot Palin-Johnston.

My theory on McCain's VP choice - he selected her for her fresh, young organs. Has anyone checked to see if they share a blood type?

So I'm scrapping the college football top 10 this year, never quite liked the way it worked out. Instead, you get:

BLOGALICIOUS' GAMES OF THE WEEK

Thursday - UTEP at Buffalo. I know almost nothing about this game, and if I were more of a wag I'd make a joke about the Miners defense's approach in containing Trent Edwards. But I do have a feeling that whoever wins this game will wind up playing in the New Mexico Bowl. Bank on it. Score: UTEP 9, Buffalo 5

Friday - SMU at Rice. Hey, it was this or Temple-Army, a game where it's quite possible that neither team will cross into opposition territory in the first half. Either way, it looks like a great night for baseball. Score: SMU 12, Rice 7

Saturday - James Madison at Duke. This game is second to App State-LSU as far as how happy a potential 1-AA win would make me. But as I don't see App State striking twice, I'll go with the Dukes beating Duke. See, there's more of them! Score: JMU 45, Duke 2

Sunday - Colorado State at Colorado. All the security in Denver this week will make its way to Boulder. Take the sharpshooters and the points. Score: Colorado State Police 42, Colorado 21, CSU 17

Monday - Tennessee at UCLA. Because opening the season in California worked out so well for the Vols last season. Score: Tennessee 21 UCLA 3

Another school year is nigh, and in some cases undergraduates have already returned to campus. That being said, I'd like to pass along five handy tips to those of you heading off to college for the first time (or to those of you coming back who may need a refresher).

1. Look both ways before you cross the street. I know this seems obvious. You've made it through your 18-plus years without this being a problem (hopefully). But if I had a dime for every student who nearly became a hood ornament because they were paying more attention to their iPod than oncoming traffic, I'd be writing this from the study of my mansion rather than a cubicle.

Watch the lights, stick close to crosswalks, and pay special attention to cab drivers, as they follow no more than 40 percent of traffic laws at any one time.

For those of you going to school in Boston who may find themselves on Commonwealth Avenue, Beacon Street, or Huntington Avenue, please also give special attention to the Green Line. Their cars do not stop like your mom's SUV. They stop like small trains because, well, they are small trains. If you don't know why they would take longer to stop, please find a physics major to explain it.

2. Save your complaints for something worthwhile. We know. Your room is too small. Your roommate does that thing with his/her hands. The food sucks. We know you have these problems because every student has had the exact same problems.

So get used to your small room, learn to live with your roommate's idosyncracies and take my word for it that dining hall food has come a long way in the last 20 years. When you have something to complain about - your room is taking on water from the bathroom upstairs, or your roommate is doing that thing with his/her hands with someone else while you're in the room - find your RA or similar person.

Oh, and if you're the person who is going to write the school paper talking about how your hometown is so much better than your current location? Put that energy into transfer applications to schools in your hometown. I'm sure they'd love to have you back.

3. Don't get kicked out before classes start. There's always one student who is a little too excited to be at (or back at) school. They get a little high spirited (literally or otherwise), maybe pull a fire alarm as a prank, and the next thing they know they're either looking for a new place to live or a new school entirely.

Please don't be that student. There are no worse phone calls, either from the student or staff perspective, than the one that informs a parent that their child's educational plan has just taken a fairly significant detour.

You'll learn pretty quickly what you can get away with, so give yourself the first couple of weeks where you don't do anything more stupid than normal. That should get you through safely. And if it doesn't, it's destiny.

4. We are not out to get you. When things don't go your way, it's easy to place blame elsewhere. For some students, this becomes a vast conspiracy involving their RA, professors, the financial aid office, various deans and the guy who sorts the mail.

There is some communication between staff when there's a problem. There has to be, otherwise one hand doesn't know what the other is doing and more problems are created. But we don't spend our time telling the campus to jerk you around. We have enough to do already.

5. Get your parents to back off. To say that parents are more involved in a student's college career now than they were, say, 10 years ago is an understatement. The term helicopter parents wasn't coined without reason.

It's hard to get your folks to back off. They're used to doing things for you, and you're probably used to them doing those things. But a major part of going to college is developing the independence that will see you through the rest of your life. You don't have to cut them out completely, just be firm with them when they want to register you for your classes or call the president because they don't like the color of your room's walls. You'll be doing everyone a favor.

That's it. Class dismissed.

Now that the cauldron has been extinguished, it's time for a very special:

MAKING IT BETTER: The Summer Olympics

Granted, most (if not all) of these suggestions are aimed more at whatever international body runs the sport. But I imagine the IOC has some leverage here.

1. Create an audit system for gymnastics where the judges have to document deductions, and make them publicly available. This doesn't have to be real time (judging seems slow enough now), but I think there'd be fewer shenanigans if the judges were under greater public scrutiny. If nothing else, gymnasts would have data to help them know what to expect from certain judges, sort of like how baseball players know how each ump defines the strike zone.

2. Wire up the boxers like the fencers. The current judging system in boxing is probably the worst of all the current Olympic sports and is among the worst all-time. Why not use technology to put sensors in the gloves and uniform in such a way that contact leads to points, with contact information transmitted wirelessly?

Other option - use a panel of judges for each boxer and give them more time to register punches. This will cut down on the amount of work per judge, and allow for them to register combinations that the current system can't always handle.

3. Bring back baseball and softball, as the idea that both are dominated by Americans was pretty much put to rest this year. Or, if the MLB steroid issue was as much of a factor in their removal as Rogge suggested, also get rid of cycling, weightlifting and track - to start.

4. Cut taekwondo, as it needs to get its own house in order before it can continue as an Olympic sport.

5. Getting back to cycling, bring back the team time trial as a road discipline. Maybe that'll get the Tour de France to put it back in for a stage. It's always one of my favorites.

6. If we can't have baseball and softball, add in rugby. It's a popular world-wide game that the US sucks at. Like soccer.

That's all I have for now. I'm sure I've missed something, so suggestions are welcome.

Book Log 2008 #34: The Lost Constitution by William Martin

I've generally enjoyed Martin's historical scavenger hunts, but was highly disappointed in this one, where antiquarian Peter Fallon gets involved in the search for a rumored early draft of the Constitution complete with notes on the debates, which people on both sides of a movement to repeal the 2nd Amendment want to see in order to further their cause.

I think the book misses on a few marks:

* The politics of the book are too simple and the ultimate message in favor of rational discussion and bipartisanship doesn't resonate that strongly.

* The idea that people staunchly in a political camp may be putting on an act to protect personal lives or to gain power seems to want more outrage than I could muster.

* We have a much better sense ahead of time how the missing object is going to play into the current story line that we did in books like Harvard Yard and Back Bay. This takes away from the ending a bit.

* That ending is very hard to believe.

* There was no family tree at the front of the book, which would have been helpful in keeping the historical characters straight (especially when that story line started to branch into cousins).

I'd not bother with this unless you want to read all of Martin's books.

Book Log 2008 #33: Six Frigates by Ian Toll

This engaging history of the founding of the US Navy goes well beyond simply telling the story of the ships that formed the nucleus of the American fleet. It also puts the Navy into the context of American standing abroad and the internal struggle between federalists and republicans. The latter is more interesting, I think, as it's not the story you usually hear about this subject (at least based on my US history class in high school, where the fight against the Barbary states was the focus). I also appreciated the discussion of the Quasi War, which probably didn't get enough coverage in high school.

There's also a great deal of detail in the personal, especially in the men who not only captained these vessels but also had the responsibility of seeing them built. The story is especially interesting around the Chesapeake and the Philadelphia, the two ships which probably had the least success of the original fleet. Personally, I'd have liked more talk about Old Ironsides, but that's the homer in me coming out.

I'd be interested to hear if the US history teacher or US naval officer who are at least semi-regulars here have read this and what they thought of it. Speaking as a generalist, I'd happily recommend this book for anyone interested in early US history.

There's an analogy out there between the US men's basketball team from 2004 and the two US 4 x 100 meter relay teams this year, but I can't quite figure out if it involves a lack of fundamentals or lack of preparation. Or why not both?

I know that I own exactly one house. Well, maybe something like .12 houses with a bank owning the rest. Can I be President now?

Book Log 2008 #32: The Ghost by Robert Harris

This book's unnamed subject is a ghostwriter who takes an abrupt turn from the musicians and athletes he usually writes for when he is hired to complete the autobiography of the recently out of office Prime Minister of Britain, a Tony Blair-like figure. Turns out the previous "ghost," a former staffer for the PM, died under odd, but not suspicious, circumstances.

Or at least that's how it seems, with the doubt building in the writer the longer he's on the job, between the PM's frosty relationship with his wife and an existing manuscript that seems almost intentionally clunky. The writer turns from his hired job to trying to figure out the facts behind the death of the previous writer, and in doing so is exposed to much greater danger than he ever imagined.

Harris is better known from writing historical novels, and I think he may be better suited for them. This isn't a bad book, but it's not as good as his past ones. It's better than the average political thriller using the same plot would be, but I don't know if that's much of a compliment.

So I've been absent. What's been up? Let's start from last Friday:

Funeral - had my aunt Shirley's funeral on Friday, which went as well as a funeral could go. Saw a fair amount of family that I'd not seen in a while, and the rain managed to hold off for the most part. I did get to spend some quality time with the neices and nephews, which is always good. We got back to the house late in the afternoon, actually pulling up at the same time as our...

Houseguests - the wife's cousin and her husband are over from England, and they stayed with us for a few days. It was great fun, as we got to sightsee a bit, drank too much, and probably watched more Olympic coverage than they'd have liked (though we did see a swimming event where the Brits went gold-bronze, which went over well). I didn't get to spend quite as much time with them as I'd have liked, thanks to...

Work - our big graduation was today, and we added a little over 500 new alumni to the rolls without too many problems. We did have a few more problems than usual, though, thanks to a database problem on Monday that kept us from releasing grades to students until Friday. We could see them, so I was able to do a fair amount of my usual pre-graduation work, but parts of it got pushed back. I had a nice little plan going into the week, which was summarily blown to hell. We should have seen this coming when we closed grading with fewer than 20 individual grades missing. When I did get home, it was time to settle in and relax with...

The Olympics - which would be fine if I was in as much in love with swimming and gymnastics as NBC would like me to be. I wound up missing some sports entirely (cycling and judo), which others I've only caught fragments when I managed to catch a recap or the start of early morning coverage on one of the cable outlets. I feel like there was more variety to coverage in 2004, or at least the scheduling allowed me to see more.

So there it is. Back on the blogging wagon this week. Expect multiple appearances of the Book Log.

I've not written here before about my aunt Shirley, which isn't surprising as I rarely write about my family here (they do know about this blog, after all). I bring her up today as she passed away yesterday, which wasn't unexpected but is still a little challenging to face as she was the last direct relative we had of that generation on my dad's side.

I don't have any specific fond memories to share (she never killed a rattlesnake as far as I know), but she did play a fairly important role in my life thanks to a Christmas present to all of us kids back when I was just starting school: a full set of the World Book Encyclopedia (with annual news and science supplements, too!).

As you can imagine, I spent a fair amount of time with the various volumes of the encyclopedia. I was especially fond of articles on countries, and enjoyed the section on human anatomy where you could peel back plastic pages to reveal the various systems and organs.

There are a number of other notable things I could discuss - her career as an educator, missed opportunities to get family history, the personality quirks that she shared with my dad and that seem to be coming for me - but I think the main thing, for me, is the role she played in fostering my love of reading and thirst for knowledge, trivial or not. And for that, I thank her.

Odd personal fallout from the Manny trade - I've been roped into taking him in a bet with my sister to see if he or Jason Bay will have a more productive rest of the season with their new team. We're basing it on batting average, RBI and home runs, which so far is working out nicely for me.

The odd part of this is that I'm more or less neutral over the whole thing (outside of paying the rest of Manny's salary; McCourt can afford it). I'm not even sure how my reply of "I don't know about that" to my sister's assertion that Bay would out perform Manny got her worked up to the point of betting. I don't think we've bet on anything, ever. Still, if I get dinner out of it I'll play along.

Book Log 2008 #31: God Save the Fan by Will Leitch


This book is not what it purports to be, based on its cover. It is not a manifesto or plan that will help sports fans get their sports back. What it does do is take players, owners, media and fans and puts each on display, letting us see the less savory bits that have been smoothed over or ignored elsewhere, for our education and entertainment (though often in reverse order).

It's to the book's credit that there's not much actual overlap in content between it and Deadspin. There are several items in it that were also treated on the website, but there's new stuff in the book which helps round out what was originally posted.

I'd have to say the extent to which you'll enjoy the book will directly related to the extent which you enjoy the website. I like the website and liked the book. Certainly worth a read.

I did something the other day that I wasn't expecting to do, ever: I joined Facebook.

I wasn't particularly resistant to joining, but I didn't have much interest in doing so, either. Then a friend from high school sent an email with a link to her profile, and I figured joining would be an easy way to keep tabs.

Don't expect to do too much over there, though I have set up a couple of applications, one a map showing where I've been and the other a book listing deal where I'm trying to put in every book I've ever read (an attempt that's doomed to failure but will be entertainingly futile).

I've not made a great deal of outreach to add friends, but that may change as I poach people off of the friend lists of those of you lucky enough to have made the cut so far. I'm resisting the urge to friend my eldest niece, though there'd probably be some comedic value in it.

Trio Trophy - DAY TWENTY-FOUR RESULTS


(1) Police Squad! d. (3) The Critic, 9-0

That was less competitive than Walter Mondale in '84. And similarly not surprising. Leslie Nielsen will now accept the Trio Trophy from the president of the Scheinhardt Wig Company... as soon as we can figure out who that is.

Hope you had fun with this. I had a reasonable amount of fun, at least when I wasn't writing the first round synopses.

We now return you to the daily routine of book logs and other such scintillating entries.

Book Log 2008 #30: Major by Todd Balf

In a time where cycling is hardly a blip on the American sporting landscape, it's hard to believe that there was a point in our history where cycling was a major draw. Even harder to believe is that, for a period of time around the turn of the 20th century, the most successful rider was African-American. But both are apparently true, as demonstrated in this combination of biography and sport/social history.

Race is an obvious theme of the book, given the unlikely nature of Taylor becoming a star at a time when African Americans were banned from baseball (it helped that Taylor could race abroad, where cycling was also big and race not as much of an issue). But it's also the story of an athlete looking to reach the pinnacle of performance and success, and the ways in which that can shape and change the athlete's life. The story is spiced up by the influence of Taylor's mentor, bicycle builder Birdie Munger, and main rival Floyd McFarland.

A few years ago I read a "biography" of Honus Wagner that was more about the Pirates than Wagner himself, substituting his personal history with a year by year account of the team and how Wagner fared for the season. I worried about something similar here, but was happily proven wrong. A recommended read if you want something sporty but different.

Book Log 2008 #29: What's the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank

I'd wanted to read this when it came out in 2004, but didn't get around to it and eventually forgot about it... until the next Presidential election came around and I saw it in an election-themed bookstore display.

Hard to say how I felt exactly about the book. I tend to think there's something to his general thesis, but I'd like to have seen how these folks have fared with recent downturns in the economy and support for the Iraq war. There were a couple placed where the book felt a bit padded, most notably a chapter about a Kansan who claims to be the Pope. By the time the chapter came up Frank had been pretty clear about the unusual ways Kansas and religion mix, and I don't the chapter added much.

I guess I found it interesting but vaguely off-putting, for reasons I can't particularly express a couple of months after reading it.

Trio Trophy - Day Twenty-Four

So it all comes down to this. Your final:

(1) Police Squad! v. (3) The Critic

How they got here:

Police Squad!
Round 1: defeated Bakersfield PD, 11-0
Round 2: defeated Love, Sidney, 7-0
Round 3: defeated Andy Richter Controls the Universe, 3-1
QFinals: defeated Max Headroom, 7-0
Semis: defeated Sports Night 7-1

The Critic
Round 1: defeated Voyagers!, 11-3
Round 2: defeated Freaks and Geeks, 3-1
Round 3: defeated Kolchak the Night Stalker, 3-2
QFinals: defeated The Greatest American Hero, 3-3
Semis: defeated Twin Peaks, 5-3

Trio Trophy - DAY TWENTY-TWO AND TWENTY-THREE RESULTS

I know, I promised you a final today. You'll get it tomorrow instead, with voting allowed through the end of the week.

First semifinal:

(1) Police Squad! d. (1) Sports Night, 7-1

Quote of the Match: "Police Squad! - at least it had the good sense to kill off its special guest stars before they could do too much damage - see Paula Marshall and Ted McGinley." - The Grim Reaper

And the other semifinal:

(3) The Critic d. (1) Twin Peaks, 5-3

Quote of the Match: "The Critic. Fun fact: Franklin Sherman was based on Ernie Harwell." - Mike via anomymity

As I mentioned in passing over the weekend, I was away for a while last week. The wife and I had a vacation planned, but shortly before going she got the word that she'd have to travel for work. So, instead of neither of us going on vacation I still took the week off and traveled with her.

Which is how I spent my vacation week (mostly) in Indiana. And while it wasn't the sort of nightmare scenario one might expect, I can't say that I'd be the poster child for the Indiana Tourism Board, either.

This may or may not get recapped, though as I never recapped last summer's trip to England (or this spring's trip to the Dominican), don't expect anything soon. Or at all.

Trio Trophy - Day Twenty-Three

Your other semifinal:

(3) The Critic v. (1)Twin Peaks

How they got here:

The Critic
Round 1: defeated Voyagers!, 11-3
Round 2: defeated Freaks and Geeks, 3-1
Round 3: defeated Kolchak the Night Stalker, 3-2
QFinals: defeated The Greatest American Hero, 3-3

Twin Peaks
Round 1: defeated The Slap Maxwell Story, 6-1
Round 2: defeated Cupid, 4-3
Round 3: defeated The Outer Limits, 3-2
QFinals: defeated Sledge Hammer!, 3-3

Trio Trophy - Day Twenty-Two

The first of the semifinals, with the second coming Wednesday.

(1) Sports Night v. (1) Police Squad!

How they got here:

Sports Night
Round 1: defeated Idiot Savants, 7-2
Round 2: defeated The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., 5-2
Round 3: defeated Buffalo Bill, 3-1
QFinals: defeated The Tick, 5-2

Police Squad!
Round 1: defeated Bakersfield PD, 11-0
Round 2: defeated Love, Sidney, 7-0
Round 3: defeated Andy Richter Controls the Universe, 3-1
QFinals: defeated Max Headroom, 7-0

Book Log 2008 #28: The Sunrise Lands by S. M. Stirling

The Change that put an end to electricity as we know it continues, but now with a new generation taking the lead. This is the first of a four book series that follows Rudi Mackenzie, the son of two leaders in post-Change Oregon, as he travels east with a group of new and familiar characters to go to Nantucket, where all of this Change business seems to have started.

Not sure if I'm fully on board with this jump yet, but I do like that it opens up more of what happened across the US. A fair bit of this book (and of the one to come, at least) deals with a church/cult that's taken hold in Montana and is growing in strength thanks to the involvement of Ted Kaczynski.

If you've read the previous series you might as well read this one.

Book Log 2008 #28: Dough by Morris Zachter

This interesting little volume tells the story of Zachter's family, his two bachelor uncles who ran a "bakery" in New York City that didn't actually bake anything (he often refers to it as "the day old bread store") and his mom, their sister, who left teaching to take an upaid role in helping them run the store. What makes things so interesting is when Zachter learns that the uncles (only one of whom is living in the book's present day, and he with dementia) are millionaires. This is a total surprise to Zachter, and sparks both wonder at why his uncles continued to live and work as they did and anger at how they let their sister give up her career to work for them gratis.

The book reminds me quite a bit of Sweet and Low, though that book's story is much more contentious. I think it's also a somewhat better book, in that I never quite felt that Zachter got the answers he was looking for. Not sure if he ever could have, really. So at the end I still felt a bit unsure as to what, if anything, I should take from the story. There are certainly things to take from it's portrayal of working Americans and New York City, but I could have used a little more resolution.

Trio Trophy - DAY EIGHTEEN THROUGH DAY TWENTY-ONE RESULTS


Hello all, we were away for a few days and without the Internets. So you get all your results at one go.

From the Turn On bracket:

(1)Sports Night d. (10) The Tick, 5-2

Quote of the Match: SportsNight - This show was doomed well before Paula Marshall. Sorry, but the curse attached in Episode 4, when Ted McGinley first appeared." - JB*

From the South of Sunset bracket:

(1) Police Squad! d. (2) Max Headroom, 7-0

Quote of the Match: "Police Squad! -

Mayor: I don't want any more trouble with you like I had on the cyberside last year.

Drebin: When I see a guy wearing a mask and sunglasses in cyberspace, I shoot the bastard!

Mayor: That was a production of "Headroom in the Server", you moron! You killed 5 avatars! Good ones!

Well, I tried. I am not nearly witty nor do I have enough tech proficiency to make this work, but I tried." - Baron Von Rotten

From the Co-Ed Fever bracket:

(3) The Critic d. (4) The Greatest American Hero, 3-3

Quote of the Match: "Even though it opened the door for the animated flashback/cutaway that Family Guy and American Dad have made their life's blood, and even though Jon Lovitz keeps following us around and reminding us he's no Phil Hartman and even though it means agreeing with Baron... nope can't do it. I'll vote with the show I loved as a kid over the show I enjoyed but never embraced as an adult - GAH." - Grim Reaper

(The MacFarlane references almost bring me back to the side of the pajamas. Almost.)

From the Public Morals bracket:

(1) Twin Peaks d. (14) Sledge Hammer!, 3-3

Quote of the Match: "This would have been a tough one. However, I watch the pilot for Sledgehammer the other day, and it just wasn't that good.

Also, Sherilyn Fenn was on the cover of the first Playboy I ever purchased, so I'll have to go with Twin Peaks." - Pastorerik

(I look forward to you working that bit of personal history into your next sermon.)

Trio Trophy - Day Twenty-One

We finish the week with the Public Morals bracket final. Monay we'll have a semi-final pitting the Turn On winner versus the South of Sunset winner, while Wednesday will have the Co-Ed Fever winner taking on the victor between:

(1) Twin Peaks v. (14) Sledge Hammer!

How they got here:

Twin Peaks
Round 1: defeated The Slap Maxwell Story, 6-1
Round 2: defeated Cupid, 4-3
Round 3: defeated The Outer Limits, 3-2

Sledge Hammer!
Round 1: defeated The Ben Stiller Show, 8-6
Round 2: defeated Square Pegs, 3-1
Round 3: defeated Andy Barker, P.I., 3-2

Marked for Death: No question on the Twin Peaks front, thanks to Madchen Amick. Take your pick: Central Park West, the Fantasy Island remake, Jake in Progress, Joey, Freddie, Kidnapped, Viva Laughlin and Shark. As for Sledge Hammer!, we can start right at the top thanks to David Rasche. He followed up his starring role with runs on Nurses, High Society, and DAG. Does he really know what he's doing?

Trio Trophy - Day Twenty

And now, the Co-Ed Fever bracket finalists:

(3) The Critic v. (4) The Greatest American Hero

How they got here:

The Critic
Round 1: defeated Voyagers!, 11-3
Round 2: defeated Freaks and Geeks, 3-1
Round 3: defeated Kolchak the Night Stalker, 3-2

The Greatest American Hero
Round 1: defeated G v. E, 6-3
Round 2: defeated Battlestar Galactica, 4-1
Round 3: defeated I'll Fly Away, 4-1

Marked for Death: It's hard to come up with a show killer for an animated program, as the voice actors tend to get a lot of work, if not long-term roles. Also, most of the folks who worked on The Critic have also worked on The Simpsons, which is apparently unkillable. But there is a decent candidate in Park Overall, who was on the inexplicably popular Empty Nest before a small recurring role on its short-lived spin-off Nurses and later roles on Ladies Man and Reba. As for The Greatest American Hero, you can probably go with Faye Grant, who played one of Ralph's students before they were written out. She'd go on to get roles on the series V and Time of Your Life, where she couldn't Jennifer Love Hewitt and her two co-stars.

Trio Trophy - Day Nineteen

Your South of Sunset bracket finalists:

(1) Police Squad! v. (2) Max Headroom

How they got here:

Police Squad!
Round 1: defeated Bakersfield PD, 11-0
Round 2: defeated Love, Sidney, 7-0
Round 3: defeated Andy Richter Controls the Universe, 3-1

Max Headroom
Round 1: defeated QED, 8-2
Round 2: defeated Get a Life, 3-0
Round 3: defeated TV Nation, 5-1

Marked for Death: While it's hard to say that there was any one show killer on Police Squad!, Alan North, who played Captain Ed Hocken, went from this show to playing Judge Mort Harris on Love, Sidney, which couldn't have helped its chances. While several of Max Headroom's cast members have had long careers with its share of stumbles, you'd have to give the nod to Ric Ducommun, whose two episodes set him up to take out Ink, The Wayans Bros., Shasta McNasty and Normal, Ohio.

Trio Trophy - Day Eighteen

Bracket finals this week, we'll do a bracket a day with the usual two days to vote. Semifinals next week (Monday and Wednesday), with the finals match-up the following week.

Today, the Turn On bracket final:

(1) Sports Night v. (10) The Tick

How they got here:

Sports Night
Round 1: defeated Idiot Savants, 7-2
Round 2: defeated The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., 5-2
Round 3: defeated Buffalo Bill, 3-1

The Tick
Round 1: defeated Stacatto, 5-3
Round 2: defeated My So Called Life, 3-0
Round 3: defeated Black Sheep Squadron, 4-2

Marked for Death: Sports Night removed all doubt over a short run when it brought on Paula Marshall to play Jenny, a porn star who is apparently goofy for sports nerds based on her interest in Jeremy Goodwin. The Tick's dead show walking status was confirmed when Liz Vassey was cast as Captain Liberty. While she's not lured CSI onto the rocks just yet, her pre-Tick resume includes Pig Sty, Maximum Bob, the Fantasy Island revival, Push, Nevada and Veritas: the Quest.

Trio Trophy - DAY SEVENTEEN RESULTS

From the Co-Ed Fever bracket:

(4)The Greatest American Hero d. (1) I'll Fly Away, 4-1

Quote of the Match: "The Greatest American Hero - It was either vote against I'll Fly Away, or just drop out of this thing entirely to maintain some level of self resepect (Ok. I left the door is wide open. Bring it.)" - mingusmonk

(I'm not sure that The Greatest American Hero and self-respect go arm in arm, but I'll give you a pass, it's a holiday weekend.)

From the Public Morals bracket:

(1) Twin Peaks d. (4) The Outer Limits, 3-2

Quote of the Match: "The Outer Limits - People had stopped watching Twin Peaks after the mystery was solved. I remember the show going out with a whimper. Sure, it gripped the country, but isn't it better off with a Prisoner-esque mythos?" - Baron Von Rotten

(Agreed, especially as I'd rather have one movie about The Prisoner than two based on Twin Peaks)

Book Log 2008 #27: The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry

Cotton Malone is back, and this time he's set on the trail of Alexander the Great's resting place, which is alluded to in ancient texts as the place where one can also find a cure for a mysterious "fever" that seems a lot like HIV. Competing against Malone is the prime minister of a new country formed out of several current central Asian nations, who wants the cure as part of a power play that will see her unleash biological weapons against bordering countries.

The book follows the usual template for entries in this series - lots of international travel and chases - but it's better than The Alexandria Link, which had too much of both to actually care about plot. Not that you'll mistake this for War and Peace, but it's a reasonably entertaining thriller more in line with Berry's earlier books, if still not quite as good as them.

Book Log 2008 #26: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

Larson writes in the introduction to this book that it's not only about the connection between the murderer H. H. Crippen and the invention of wireless radio, but also a look at life during the Edwardian period. This statement signals, I think, the realization that the connection between crime and technology isn't as strong here as it was in The Devil in the White City. There, the Columbian Exposition and H. H. Holmes (aside - don't name your kid something with double Hs, it seems to up the odds of them becoming homicidal) grew together, with the grandeur of the former inversley translated into the horrors of the latter.

You don't get that in Thunderstruck. The connection is there - Crippen wouldn't have been apprehended so easily without wireless - but there's clearly not the same immediate connection between the two. Thus the pettifoggery about the book also being about the Edwardians, which is kind of disappointing as it doesn't feel like there's any special discussion of the era outside of the occasional remark about how Edward VII liked the theater and his cigars.

It's not a bad book per se, but I think it pales in comparison to The Devil in the White City, with which it can't help but be compared. Worth a read if you're interested in the period, but not something you'd need to seek out.

Book Log 2008 #25: The Big Killing by Robert Wilson

The second book in the Bruce Medway series, this time the action revolves around a series of apparently tribal killings that are in some way related to the Liberian civil war and the diamond trade. Medway gets pulled in when he picks up two jobs: one to act as courier for a mysterious videotape, the other to babysit a prospective diamond trader.

I didn't think this was as good as the first book in the series, as the writing at times tries to hard to deliver the noirish quality with which the first book was often credited. The supporting cast from the first book is much less in evidence in the second, which is also to the book's detriment.

That being said, it's still a quality mystery and worth the read.